AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He leans down, his lips hovering near mine for a brief second before he moves further back to my ear.
“Well, that’s a shame. And for the record, no, I wouldn’t have regretted it had I taken you home that night. My only regret is that I didn’t get the chance to before I had a reason to resist.”
Chapter 8
Beckham
I spend the rest of my Sunday evening trying to convince myself that acknowledging the attraction and desires between us is okay—smart even—but also fighting off the pangs of jealousy at the thought of her now dating.
If we allow a little harmless flirtation, it will keep our desires at bay, make us less likely to act on them. Considering how we first met, it’s ridiculous to pretend that given the chance, we wouldn’t have fucked each other’s brains out by now if we could.
Still, knowing who her father is and how young she is, even I can’t manage to talk myself into not giving a fuck and taking what I want from her.
I scroll through my email at my desk, attempting to bury myself in work in my home office to distract me when I see an invite from Pierce to visit their headquarters in Vegas as soon as possible for further discussions.
I lean back in my chair and anxiously tap my foot. I hate this feeling. I’m a very in control man and the fact that even with half a dozen red flags and the risks involved, I still can’t seem to shake the pull this woman has over me.
I consider not inviting her, but I know that would be a dick move, especially after I got her involved with this acquisition specifically and the work and effort she’s put into it. I push back from my desk, standing up and heading upstairs to take a shower and go to bed. I’ll deal with it all in the morning when I see her bright and early.
* * *
I park my car in the garage and take the elevator up to my floor. Every morning I get little butterflies in my stomach the closer I get to my office, knowing that I have to walk past Brontë.
“Good morning, sir.” She smiles from her desk and holds out a fresh cup of coffee for me.
“Good morning, Brontë. I told you, you don’t need to get me coffee.”
She stands, gathering a few items in her arms, then follows me into my office.
“What a weird way to say thank you.” She smiles at me as I place the cup on my desk.
“Thank you.”
“I need you to sign the retainer renewal for outside counsel,” she says, handing me the contract, “so I can send that back to them today, and then I also need you to look over and approve the raises and performance reviews from HR for your executive team.”
I take the items from her, our hands grazing each other in the process, and I think I see her flinch at my touch as she jerks her hand back and folds it neatly into her other hand.
“Thank you. I’ll handle these today. I need to talk to you about Pierce.” Her eyes grow wide as she stares at me. “They want a meeting at their headquarters in Vegas, I’m thinking next week.”
“Oh, that’s great.” She smiles like she’s relieved. “I’ll get you all booked. I assume you’ll be taking the private jet? I’ll make sure they have a car for you too.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and begins to take notes, I assume. “Is there a specific hotel you normally stay at in Vegas? I’ll reach out to them and have your suite arranged, also.”
“Yes to the jet. Double-check with Pierce that a Monday through Tuesday meeting will work. Also, no, I don’t have a usual place in Vegas actually so it’s your choice.”
“Okay, will do. I’ll just see who has the best suite available for you for those dates.”
“Well, if there’s any place you’ve always wanted to stay but haven’t, book there.” I look at her and she blinks in confusion. “You’re coming with me, Brontë.”
“Oh.”
“That is your job, isn’t it?” I smile at her and she laughs.
“I guess it is. I was thinking more in the assistant mindset.” She nods as she goes back to tapping at her phone. “So, okay, I’ll book two rooms and get this all sorted. I’ll shoot you over the itinerary and have it on your calendar by end of day.”
* * *
One week later…
“So these are the only numbers I’m still sorting through. I can’t quite make sense of the entire cash flow yet, but there are several different accounts I need to sort through before I bring it up to Jack or Bryan.”
