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Dad crept up behind Lottie as she threw her bag over her shoulder. He was only an inch shorter than I was but he practically towered over her. As he tapped the side of her arm to get her attention, my stomach knotted.
The very real possibility of Lottie mentioning the forty-nine-percent deal we’d agreed on suddenly caught up to me. Unfortunately, with all the chaos going on, I’d not come up with a solution for that situation yet. I really wasn’t looking forward to telling whomever I decided on that they would be losing something. And I definitely didn’t want to come across as a disappointment to my father amid the company crisis and changeover.
Ignoring my brother’s attempts to keep me with him, I made my way over to my father and Lottie before they could get too deep in conversation.
“…are things going between you two? You looked so sad in that photo, I?—”
“I asked them not to publish that one,” I interjected, placing my hand on the small of her back. Lottie looked up at me in surprise, her brows furrowed in slight confusion but otherwise unquestioning. “I’m glad you two have finally got to meet, though.”
Lottie pushed her hand out in front of her, offering it to my father. “I’ve heard so much about you, Edward. My father, Brody Hammersmith, works with Hunter. I think you’ve crossed paths a few times.”
Dad’s eyes widened as he took her hand, giving it a good shake. “You’re Brody’s daughter? No wonder my son was so keen to hire you. I think you’ll be a good fit here, Charlotte.”
Her answering grin spread so wide I thought her face might split in half. “Thank you.”
“And you’ll be a good challenge for my son,” Dad laughed. “He needs someone with a bit of fire in them.”
“That’s absolutely Charlotte,” I laughed, trying not to let the effect of Dad’s dig show on my face. He’d never approved of my lifestyle, never thought it was good for my image or for the company as a whole. “She’s not afraid to stand her ground or speak her mind.”
“I like that.” Dad nodded, cracking the first real smile I’d seen from him in ages. This could work. “Will you two be going to the breeding conference this week?”
“Conference?”
“We are.” I wrapped my hand around Lottie’s waist, pulling her just a little closer as a silent request to not question it further. “We leave on Thursday.”
Dad’s lips flattened into a tight line. It was a quiet mark of approval, a classic he’d used since we were kids when he meant business but didn’t want to outright state that he was happy with what we were doing. “Good,” he said, one hand patting me too hard on the shoulder before he was called away.
Charlotte looked up at me. “You didn’t mention anything about a conference.”
“I wasn’t planning on going until he asked,” I whispered. “It’s in Texas. I’ll get us in.”
“Texas?” Charlotte hissed, her brows furrowing in vexation. Quickly, I ushered her from the room, common sense finally kicking in and screaming at me to remove her from the situation before she could cause a scene. The moment the conference room door shut behind us, her voice rose. “You think I can just drop everything and go to Texas with you?”
“It’s just for the weekend. Calm down.”
“You can’t just tell me that last minute. I have my own life.” She leaned back against the wall of the hallway, that sliver of chest I could see rising and falling with each irritated breath. “What if I had plans?”
“You don’t have plans,” I said simply.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that, Lottie. Because you would have told me about them so that I didn’t schedule a date.”
She glared at me. I was right, and she hated it, but fuck, that look of contempt and exasperation plastered on her face coupled with the office attire made her look as tempting as ever, if not more so.
“Am I wrong?” I asked. Leaning in just a little closer, I brought my lips to her ear, letting them drag across her soft skin. “Do you have plans, sweetheart?”
She swallowed, jutting out her chin as a form of protest.
“I thought not.”
Seeing her in her element during the presentation had been distracting enough. I’d hardly made a dent in the emails I needed to send because I could barely keep my eyes off of her. That mouth drove me insane with every word she spoke. I didn’t care what words were coming out of it. I just wanted it on me, anywhere. I wanted to feel the soft skin that was teasing me between the undone buttons of her shirt. I wanted to smell the fresh-cut strawberries, the cinnamon, the whipped cream. I wanted to taste it.
“Come with me,” I rasped, dragging my fingers down along her arm until our fingers interlaced. “I need to see you in my office.”
“What?” she breathed. But I was already moving, pulling her toward the elevator at the end of the hallway. The door was open, a handful of men and women in ill-fitting suits and heels slipping out and heading in the opposite direction. I hated this building, hated the lack of character compared to the ranch, but at least I knew that here, my office had privacy. It wasn’t an old-style building, it was state-of-the-art, with working locks.
Locks I’d absolutely be putting to use.
