In Too Deep

Table Of Contents Other Books by Rachael Sommers Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Epilogue Other Books from Ylva Publishing About Rachael Sommers Sign up for our newsletter to hear about new and upcoming releases. www.ylva-publishing.com Other Books by Rachael Sommers Chemistry Fool for Love Never Say Never Acknowledgments As always, thanks to Astrid, Daniela, Jenny, and the rest of the team at Ylva for making this and my other books a possibility. It’s fantastic to work with such a great publisher. This book would be nothing without my beta readers—Sarah S, Yan, and Declan. Thank you all for your help and support every step of the way. My thanks to Sarah P for Americanizing my Britishness. To my sensitivity reader, Amber—thank you for taking the time to ensure Marcos was written in a respectful way. Thanks to C.S Conrad for helping both with the development of this story and with a lot of the sensitivity issues. I would be remiss if I didn’t offer my thanks to my friend Helen and her family for giving me a taste of what Tenerife has to offer. It was an easy decision to set this story there. Finally, Laura: I love you endlessly. Chapter 1 “Do you really think you can bully my client into accepting this deal?” Lucy straightened up in her seat, leveling the lawyer sitting opposite with her best piercing stare. “Bully?” He looked outraged. “This is an excellent deal, Ms. Holloway, and I’d advise your client to—” “An excellent deal?” Lucy shook her head and stabbed her index finger on the front page of the paperwork sitting on the table between them. “It’s an insult.” She pushed it toward him. “And we will not be signing it.” “You won’t get a better deal than that.” Lucy held his gaze, knowing he was bluffing, and shrugged. “Then we’ll go to court and have a judge decide, shall we? Though I think we both know that with the way your clients conducted themselves over the past few months, they will rule in my favor. And we’ve done you a favor by trying to settle this out of court, but if you and your client want to take a chance, I’m more than willing to hedge my bets.” Lucy shut the cover of her binder of notes with a snap and watched her opposition’s eyes widen in alarm. “If that is all,” Lucy said, straightening the collar of her jacket, “then I have another meeting to get to.” “Wait!” He caved before Lucy had risen from her seat. “I’ll give them a call. See if we might be able to come to another arrangement.” “Do not keep me waiting too long, Mr. Langdon.” He and his colleague scurried away, and on Lucy’s left, her own colleague chuckled. “Watching you work really is something,” Felix said with a wry shake of his head. “What do you think they’ll come back with?” Lucy pursed her lips, glancing once more at the agreement on the table. “I promised Cleo I wouldn’t settle for less than a million.” Compared to some of the deals Lucy had dealt with in the past, a million was small change. But to a small business owner—who was being bullied out of producing a useful product by a pharmaceutical conglomerate on a bullshit patent dispute—it meant everything. Watching Langdon pace up and down through the glass walls of the conference room, his phone pressed to his ear, Lucy wished she could lip-read. But body language she could do, and as she saw his shoulder slump, Lucy smiled victoriously. “We can double it,” Langdon said when he stepped back into the room, a scowl across his face. “But that’s the best you are going to get. I can have the paperwork sent over later today.” “I will speak to my client, and we’ll sign if we’re happy with it.” Lucy gathered her things and strode past Langdon with a wide smile. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Langdon.” He muttered something under his breath as Lucy held the door open for Felix. She was sure it was far from complimentary, but Lucy didn’t care. She loved bagging herself a win, and she couldn’t wait to give Cleo the good news. “Drinks tonight to celebrate?” Felix said as she stepped into the hall. He followed beside Lucy in his electric wheelchair, his notes from the deposition balanced carefully in his lap. “I can’t. I already have plans.” “Hot date?” Lucy—known in the office to be notoriously private—didn’t dignify him with a response. “I’ll see you for the deposition later.” She left Felix at the door to his office and made the short trip to her own. Settling behind her desk, Lucy straightened out her keyboard as she glanced at her diary. She had an hour before she was due to meet Carla for lunch, and a non-stop afternoon of meetings to look forward to after that. Knowing she wouldn’t have time to do so later, Lucy reached for her phone and keyed in Cleo’s number. As it rang, she spun around in her chair to glance out of her window, admiring the beautiful view of the New York skyline. No answer. Typical. It seemed Cleo would have to wait to hear the good news. “Hi, Cleo,” Lucy said when prompted to leave a voicemail. “It’s Lucy Holloway calling with the result of today’s negotiations. I think you’ll be happy with them.” Behind Lucy, the door opened. Expecting Felix or one of her other colleagues, she held up a hand and spun slowly back around. “Give me a call as soon as you—” Lucy blinked in surprise when she laid eyes on her visitor. Darren looked different to the last time Lucy had seen him: drawn, haunted, bags under his