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That afternoon I had just sat down with Rob when Pamela buzzed. “Holland O’Dell is hoping to speak with you?”
I tried to stop the wild grin from dashing across my face, and turned my head from the table so Rob wouldn’t see it. I’d asked Holland to pop up, but hadn’t expected her yet. I’d hoped to lay the groundwork first. “Send her in. Thanks, Pamela.”
A moment later, Holland walked through the door, and I stood up from the small round table where I’d been sitting across from Rob. I wished I knew what exactly it was about that girl, but the second I saw her, it was like every cell in my body vibrated. My dick twitched and my blood heated, and now—after what had transpired on her desk earlier this week or the stolen kisses I’d managed in the days that followed—I couldn’t stop the images that flitted through my mind. And those did nothing to help me regain control of myself. I waved Holland in and introduced her to Rob, but what I wanted to do was wave him out and nail her against the office door.
She wore a slim black pencil skirt and a soft blue blouse that showed her curves but still managed to be completely professional. Her hair was hanging in loose waves around her face, over her shoulders, just brushing the tops of her breasts. And those bright blue eyes were sharp and clear, and focused on my face as her perfect pink lips moved.
“Earth to Oliver,” she said, in a voice that told me she’d probably said something else that I’d completely missed because I’d been busy letting my mind wander over her generous curves.
“Right,” I said quickly, straightening my tie and gesturing to a chair next to Rob. “Let’s give Rob a quick rundown of the presentation we made to MLB, get him up to speed.”
Holland nodded, her eyes on my face. “I brought my laptop. I can pull up the presentation.”
“Sure,” I agreed.
Rob’s eyes hadn’t left Holland since she’d walked into the room, and I began to feel my blood heat for a totally different reason. Rob’s focus on her was complete. Whatever Holland had that pulled me to her, Rob felt it, too. And I didn’t like that at all.
“Do you mind if I stand?” Holland asked. “It’s easier for me to focus if I can walk a little.”
“By all means,” Rob said, his smile just a touch too wide.
Holland began her presentation, just hitting the high points this time, not getting into the weeds as we’d done before. To my surprise, she didn’t stop and signal me to discuss the tech application. She repeated the presentation I’d given, almost word for word. There wasn’t a single point where I needed to correct or clarify. If I had thought Holland O’Dell was amazing before, now I was floored. The woman was incredible, and I felt a surge of something that felt oddly like pride. As if she was mine to be proud of.
Rob asked a few questions, and when Holland finished, they were discussing the application in glowing tones, but I couldn’t focus on the words. My eyes were on Holland, but my thoughts were swirling around the revelation I’d had while she spoke. I wanted her. But not just in my bed. I wanted her to be mine, and that was a completely new sensation. I’d had relationships before—mostly because I had felt like being exclusive was the next natural step along the dating and fucking continuum. But I’d never been too serious about anyone, even Celia. She’d been part of the package I’d been handed—never something I’d decided I wanted. And after everything that had happened in the last year, I had told myself I would never let anyone close. Loving people…well, that just set you up, didn’t it? If you loved someone enough, you gave them all the power. The power to control you, to own you…the power to hurt you. I had thought I was too smart for that. I’d been wrong. I had chosen Holland; I just hadn’t realized how much I’d meant it when I said it to her in the bar.
I sat there, watching Holland’s face light up as she discussed the applications of her idea, as she told Rob about the people at MLB, how they’d received our presentation. I sat there and realized I’d already lost the power and given it all to her, in only a week. If anyone had told me it would happen this way, I probably would have walked away, muttering curses under my breath about the impossibility of the idea.
The way I saw it now, I had two choices: go all in, or get all the way out. As I watched the way Holland’s perfect pink tongue darted out to lick her lips as she glanced at me, I realized I’d never be strong enough for the latter. I was in.
