Silvia POV

There was no doubt in my mind that I was sitting in this fancy restaurant trying not to feel completely out of place while Gerard was flaunting his power, his wealth, and his influence over me, and it bothered me to no end. I hated even more how he was able to turn the tables and make me look like an idiot. He would have preferred to meet me at his office or a coffee shop rather than having to dress up and look like he belonged to San Diego's elite. Right now, I was that round peg in a square box that I was always trying to avoid. I was sure everyone could tell that I didn't belong here. At least we were in a private dining room. I had no idea things like that existed, which proved I didn't belong in Gerard Hush's world.

It was clear to both of us that we were not getting along at all. At the same time, my hormones couldn't help but get hot and excited at the sight of him. The room we were in was of considerable size, but the moment he entered, his immensity, his personality, filled the space so much that I felt claustrophobic. He radiated masculine energy and all my nerve endings tingled at his proximity. My hormones were betraying me. That was another thing to resent him for.

The innkeeper came in with the letters.

"Do you want to see the menus, Mr. Hush, or do you already know what you wants to order? We have some off-menu dishes that we can offer you."

Products off the menu? Does that also exist? Gerard looked at me from across the table.

"Do you like scallops?

"Clear. " I had eaten scallops before, but being a poor hungry artist, it was not a regular part of my eating regimen. I was more of a ketchup noodles or Ramen girl.

He ordered something that sounded French and then turned to me.

"I think you'll find that this has all the flavors and textures you need in a meal.

I smiled at him, even though inside I felt like a total bitch for the way I had attacked him earlier. But, of course, my inner bitch wasn't going to hold back.

"Well, if that turns out not to be true, I know of a great taco truck down the street."

"There's a time and a place for a great taco from a taco truck. This is not that time.

"Are we going to do this all night or are you going to cut to the chase and tell me why I'm here?"

He nodded curtly.

"Okay, I'll get to the point. We would like to offer you the position of Lead Artist at Hush Incorporated.

I was speechless.

"After my interview, I can't believe you didn't set my resume on fire."

His fingers played with the stem of his wine glass.

"Who says I didn't do that?"

"So how did you get my number?"

He shrugged. As I did so, I realized that he didn't want to be here any more than I did. Just like in the interview, we were both here because his brother and my sister had forced us to.

"You and I don't get along. “I don't see how this is going to work, no matter how much Ronny and Kelly want to,” I said, thinking that I could think of something to get us both out of this predicament.

"Are you saying you don't think you can do the job?" "I knew he was making fun of me. He was poking my ego, or perhaps my lack of confidence.

"I know that, in theory, I can do the job, but I can't design nonsense."

His jaw tensed as he turned to look out the restaurant window. I scolded myself for being a slut again. Why did my inner bad girl always come out when he was around? Finally, he turned to me, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Are you going to accept the job or not?

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to understand what his game was. Why was he following Ronny and Katy into this?

"We can't even have dinner without attacking each other, how can we work together?"

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, while he stared at me.

"Let me sweeten the deal for you a little. I can organize a solo exhibition of your works at a local gallery if you accept a six-month trial position. This time my jaw didn't drop open, but rather my jaw dropped to the floor. Assuming neither kills the other, we can eventually leave and tell Ronny and Katy that we tried.

Of course, I would have to accept it. I would drag myself over broken glass to get a gallery show. I had tried for years, but had never succeeded. Still, he surprised me when he made me the offer. Of course, I am sure Ronny and Katy had convinced him. I didn't know how, but they had done it.

"What do you gain from this? -asked.

"What do you care as long as you get what you want?" "He responded.

He was right. Actually, I didn't care. However, I was curious.

"I just want to make sure we're fair and honest."

His lips moved. They smiled upwards into a half smile, and holy hell did that make him incredibly handsome. I wondered what it would be like if he smiled with his whole mouth.

"Well, point number one, I'm getting Ronny and Katy off my back. And point number two, I get to do the European advertising campaign, which, point number three, again, gets Katy and Ronny off my back.

"I guess that sounds like a fair deal, then."

"So, do we have a deal?" He asked.

"We have a deal. "I raised my glass to clink with his and thus consolidate the deal.

After our agreement, and dinner arrived, we had a rather pleasant meal. We continued joking throughout dinner, but it didn't have the same tone as before. I wasn't sure if it was because I felt so good about having a gallery show, or because of the wine. Maybe it was that Gerard seemed to be on his best behavior. I wondered if Ronny had talked to him, or if Gerard had realized what a jerk he'd been before and was trying to do better. I'm not sure why he would be trying to behave, considering how I had treated him before, but whatever the reason, we enjoyed a good meal and lively conversation.

By the time we finished dinner, the noise in the restaurant had increased. The music downstairs was louder and as I looked out the window I could see that there were more people, many of them dancing on the floor. He looked out the window too and I wondered if this was where he came to stalk his prey. He looked away and returned his attention to me.

"You like dancing? “ He asked me.

"Clear. "I wasn't sure if he was asking me if I wanted to dance or if I just liked dancing.

"But I still have to work later tonight, so I'll have to leave very soon."

That wasn't a complete lie. I had more work I wanted to do, but in case he had any ideas for later, I wanted to make sure I had a way out. Then I laughed at myself because Gerard would have no interest in me, and even less so with all those long-legged blonde women shining in their barely-there outfits on the dance floor. I'm sure he could choose the best one. He probably already had.

We finished our meal and he walked me to my car.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the office," he said as he opened the door for me. I turned to look at him with a smile.

"Yes, it should be there around noon, right?”

His lips moved again into that half smile. It made me want to see a complete one.

He had given a chance to make some kind of sarcastic response, like, for example, that he needed a good rest if he wanted to be presentable, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at me as if I were an enigma.

Then he gave a small laugh, as if amused by something he was thinking. I didn't have time to ask him, as he reached out, put his hand around my neck and pulled me towards him, melting his lips with mine.

My brain went blank of everything except his taste, and the heat of his body pressing against mine. Just as my body began to melt against his, he took a step back, turned, and began to walk away.

What the hell?

As he continued walking, he said over his shoulder:

"That was revenge for yesterday.”

I managed to open the car door and, with trembling legs, get inside. I sat behind the wheel with my heart racing and my mind in a whirl because of what had just happened. I couldn't say I hated Gerard Hush, but I definitely didn't like him. So why did my body react that way when he was so close or when our lips touched?

I began to realize that working for him might be even more of a problem than I had anticipated. Before, I was worried about being bored or having my creativity stifled. But now, I had to wonder if my hormones would go crazy whenever he was around.