“I think it’s you, but I’m willing to give you a chance to explain why you haven’t done anything about the project managers who are clearly in Lianna’s pocket.”
“You’re making it difficult to remember boundaries.”
“If you explain your reasons, I might not be annoyed, which means I won’t need comfort.Talk, Mr.Steele.”
The corners of his mouth twitched as even more gold flooded his eyes.
“It’s unclear whether they’re acting of their own free will or being coerced in some way.I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until your welcome party.”
Uncrossing my arms, I admitted, “I didn’t even think of that.”
“Your welcome party?”
I rolled my eyes.“That they might not be willing pains in my ass.”
His pupils went wide, and he glanced at the door.
I quickly popped out of the chair.
“My annoyance is gone.Thank you for explaining.”I turned to leave.
“Sophia.”
The way he said my name, heavy with warning and need, stopped me.How could he make me so horny just by saying my name?It had to be the delicious way he smelled every time he got close to me.
His hands skimmed down my arms as his lips grazed the back of my neck, sending a shiver through me.
“Next time, close the door when you come in.”
I shook my head.He chuckled against my skin, then released me.
In a different—and distracted—frame of mind, I responded to the emails, giving them simple solutions to their non-issues.
Konni called me into his office again after lunch.When he asked me to close the door, I gave him a suspicious look.
“Our parents are on the phone.”
I shut the door and hurried to sit.“What happened?
“The company is a shell company owned by the Hildcrasks,” Balak said.
The news surprised me more than it should have.
“It’s owned by a trust, actually,” Mom said, “with a fair number of members.Mostly Hildcrask descendants and their spouses.”
“And dad is in the trust,” I said, already guessing.
“He is and has been since your mother started facing employment issues,” Balak said.
I considered what he was saying.Dad gained access to power and influence by marrying into the Hildcrask family.He’d used the shell company as a cover to force Mom into a position to sell him her company shares, and then, when things got really bad, he’d tried to use me to gain the contract with Hestian.
It made sense.But it also didn’t.
I realized they were all being quiet as I processed the news.
“If you think I’m going to have some kind of emotional breakdown that the donor is behind everything, I’m not.But I am struggling to make sense of it.
“Even though I hadn’t talked to him in years, I remember how he was.
