The Manipulator

"Oh, I see." Clover took a sip of her gin and tonic, feeling a slight flush on her face. "That's why I'm so serious about this. And I've had enough of working long hours every week."

"I pay you well for your time and you need the money."

"Yes, I do, but not to the point of sacrificing everything else,” Clover replied.

"Have you resolved all the issues at your mother's house? Plumbing, electricity, termites?"

"I really regret ever considering you as a friend,” she uttered, and anger started to build inside her.

"I'm actually glad you did." He smiled. "It made things easier."

"What things? Manipulating me into working long hours because you know I'm in a tough financial situation?"

"Your financial situation is actually fine, but for some reason, you've taken on your mother's problems." He couldn't understand it, but he found it intriguing. He had no obligations to anyone. Growing up unwanted and unloved made life much simpler.

"Because she's my mom,” she said as if it made perfect sense.

"Many people wouldn't care."

"Well, many people are jerks." She raised an eyebrow. "Including you."

"I'm a businessman. I don't apologize for that."

"Most businessmen are still human beings at the core."

"I'm exceptional."

"Yeah, an exceptionally arrogant jerk."

"Yet, you considered me your friend. Do you always befriend jerks?" He grinned. He loved winning these little arguments. He loved winning, especially against a worthy opponent.

"I'm..." She paused her mouth opening and then closing with a frown on her lips. "Just tell me your offer or I'm out of here." She glanced at her phone. "I need to go home, get ready, do my hair and makeup, and find the perfect outfit. Elias and I have video chatted, but this will be our first in-person meeting, and I want to look—”

He had to interrupt her. If she kept going on about Elias and getting intimate, he would lean in and kiss her. Once their lips touched, there would be no holding back from tearing off her clothes and having sex with her. It was time to present the offer, and once she took it, there would be no turning back.

"I want to offer you co-ownership of Climetrix."

Clover stopped mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open for a moment, and Flynn felt a surge of desire. He was not a small man, but her wide mouth could consume him entirely.

"What did you say?" Clover couldn't believe what she had just heard from Flynn. He couldn't possibly be offering her co-ownership of Climetrix.

"You heard me," he replied, taking a sip of his drink. "I want to offer you partial ownership of Climetrix."

"I would be a part owner of my own program?" Her heart raced. Climetrix was her creation, her baby. She had never even imagined that something like this would happen. She had been contenting with just creating something that could potentially save women from abduction and assault.

"Yes. You've done an outstanding job, and I believe in rewarding excellence."

"Really?" She had indeed done an exceptional job, but a hint of suspicion lingered in her mind. Flynn wasn't one to give compliments; he usually barked orders and expected results.

"Yes," he said, taking a sip of his drink. He was dressed in his usual attire - a white business shirt and black slacks that matched his short, dark hair. He looked every bit the wealthy urban businessman that he was. "I don't usually praise people for doing their job well. That's what I hire them for, and if they don't, I let them go. But you," he said, his dark eyes scanning her body, causing a tingling sensation inside her and triggering a sense of suspicion in her mind, "have done more than just a good job. That deserves exceptional rewards."

"Really?" She was momentarily speechless, but not for long. She could talk even while puking - a skill she had honed during her college days. "Thank you. I didn't think you noticed or cared or... I'm just so happy." She smiled. "I always work hard, and Climetrix is such an amazing application. What we're doing... it's wonderful, and I've always dreamt of being more involved, but I never thought—”

"Then you accept my offer?" he interrupted.

She grinned and was about to respond, but his words cut through her happiness and reached her rational mind. "Offer? What's the catch?"

He smiled, a slow smile that inexplicably made her stomach flip and her heart race. Oh dear, if Flynn Octavio Dashwood was turning her on, she definitely needed to get laid. But that would have to wait for another time. She glanced at her phone.

"Forget about your date," he said.

"I can't."

"You can."

"I have to text Elias and let him know I can't make it."

"Go ahead. Text him," he said dismissively, flicking his wrist. "But then put the phone down."

"Fine." She decided to stay and work tonight for the co-ownership, but she would find a way to meet Elias tomorrow. She sent the text and tucked her phone into her laptop bag. "Now, what's the catch?" she asked again.

"I wouldn't call it a catch," he replied, frowning.

"Of course, you wouldn't. You'd come up with some business term or—”

"I don't come up with business terms. I use them."

"Same thing."

His expression grew more intense, causing lines to form on his cheeks where his dimples would usually appear when he smiled. "It's completely different," he stated firmly.

"According to you. You manipulate things to suit your own agenda," she retorted.

"Everyone does that."

"Not me. I accept reality as it is. I don't try to alter it." She had learned at a young age that simply wishing for something wouldn't make it come true.

If it did, she would have had blonde hair and a perfect body. Some things were unchangeable, and the things that could be changed required a lot of effort. She shifted uncomfortably. Instead of sitting in an office chair all day, she should have been working on making her butt smaller.

"You don't accept reality as it is."

"Yes, I do." That comment struck a nerve. She took pride in her ability to accept things as they were.

"You change everything the moment you enter a room or speak up."

"I don't talk that much." Clover knew she tended to ramble. It annoyed almost everyone, but she couldn't keep the words from pouring out of her mouth. Her mother used to joke that her daughter didn't have a first word; she had a first soliloquy.

"Not that much?" He clenched his jaw, and Clover was certain she heard his teeth grind together with force.

She needs to keep quiet. It's better if she doesn't say anything. She should wait for him to speak, but the words slipped out unintentionally, as they always do.

"So, what's the catch? There has to be one. I can't believe you're giving me co-ownership just because I did good—no, an excellent work. With you, there has to be more than just a reward."

She winced as his eyes narrowed and his grip tightened around his drink. "Uh... you might want to be careful. I've never seen a glass shatter in someone's hand, but I imagine it would hurt. All those shards of glass and—"

He placed his drink on the nearby table and leaned forward, covering her mouth with one of his large hands. His other hand firmly held the back of her neck, keeping her in place. "There is no catch, but there is more to the offer."

"Like what?" she mumbled against his hand, attempting to pull his wrist away.

Flynn frowned again but released her and leaned back in his seat.

"I already work so much that I practically live here. I do want to be a co-owner and I appreciate your offer, but I need some time off. I need a life. I'm tired of being your servant."

"You're not my servant." However, the idea intrigued Flynn.

Clover at his beck and call, doing everything he commanded, submitting to his every whim, eager to please him in any way he desired. He would make it enjoyable for her. His submissives only complained when he neglected them.

"I might as well be."

"You have no idea how far you are from that position."

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "I'm here all the time. I do whatever you ask."

"Not whatever I ask." If that were the case, she would be on her knees with his cock in her mouth.