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It would be harder for me to push back on my jet being what brought her here, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have eyes on her anyway. I typed back:

11 a.m. works perfectly. I’ll clear my schedule.

And now I was sitting here on Thursday waiting to be alerted about her arrival. Sure, there were plenty of things I could be doing right now while I waited, but everything paled in comparison to just sitting here and waiting for her as I examined every way this could go. Not to mention why she decided to come all of this way today.

I opened up the file I had on her and stared at some of the photos Declan and his associates had taken to check out for the fifty millionth time while I passed the time until her arrival.

My office phone rang and I saw Nancy’s name flash on the screen. I knew it was go time before I answered. “Hi, Nancy.”

“Mr. Ashcroft, Ms. Prescott has arrived,” Nancy announced.

“Send her in,” I replied, straightening my tie. I stood and buttoned my suit jacket, positioning myself by the window. I heard the door open behind me, but I didn’t turn around immediately. Let her take in the view, the office, the power dynamic. I counted three seconds before I pivoted to face her.

Sutton stood just inside my office, wearing a brown suit that hid her figure much to my dismay; however, it brought out the color of her eyes more. I watched as she took my office in and I assumed she was analyzing the setup in front of her and making an assessment.

“Sutton,” I said, moving forward to greet her. “Welcome to Ashcroft Group’s headquarters.”

“Cain,” she replied as she extended her hand.

I took it and it was as if the memory of me fucking her against the wall once again took center stage. I wondered if she was thinking of it too.

“I hope your train ride was comfortable,” I said, releasing her hand after holding it longer than necessary.

“It was fine.” Her tone gave nothing away. “Thank you for accommodating my request on such short notice.”

“Of course. I’m always happy to see you.” I gestured toward the sitting area of my office. “Coffee? Water?”

“Coffee, you know how I like it,” she said as she moved toward one of the chairs I’d indicated.

Her comment sounded like a slight dig, but I didn’t let on that I took it as such. I walked over to my personal coffee machine. “Black, no sugar. Then we can start the tour.”

“Why am I not surprised that you’re giving the tour yourself?”

“I wouldn’t waste my time delegating something this important,” I replied as I turned to hand her some coffee that Nancy freshly brewed about fifteen minutes ago. “The head of Prescott Vantage deserves the CEO’s personal attention.”

Her eyes were darting around my office before her gaze locked with mine. What was she looking for? “I’d like to see as much as you’re willing to show. And maybe while we’re walking around we can talk about whatever the subject of the video conference was going to be?”

“Of course,” I replied smoothly. “We have nothing to hide and not to mention you’re now an employee of Ashcroft Group.”

Her gaze narrowed after my comment, but I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. “You didn’t need to say that when it’s something obvious that we both know.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at the tone her voice took. “Since we are talking about things that are obvious, let me address the elephant in the room. Why did you actually come here, Sutton?”

“To have a tour of Ashcroft Group’s headquarters. What’s so hard to believe about that?”

“You’re bold, but I don’t think bold enough to demand a tour without a reason behind it,” I replied, watching her closely for any reaction. “And you rejected my offer of the jet, which suggests you wanted to control your arrival and departure. So I’m curious about what is actually motivating you.”

She took a sip of her coffee, using the moment to gather her thoughts. I could see the cogs turning in her head and that she was deciding how much to reveal.

“Can’t professional curiosity be enough?” she said. “I’m now running a subsidiary of your company. Understanding how the parent organization operates seems like basic due diligence.”

“Professional curiosity,” I repeated. “That’s what we’re calling it?”

Sutton’s eyes didn’t waver from mine. “Call it whatever you want. I’m here now.”

“Indeed you are,” I said, setting my own coffee down. I took a step toward her and then another until I was standing in front of her chair looking down at her. “And I’m delighted to show you around. Shall we begin?”

Given I was so close to her, she had no choice but to touch me as she rose to her full height where she still needed to look up at me. We studied one another for several seconds as if we were sizing each other up.