Page 75 of Open To Negotiation

I loved it.

“Ah-ah, Mr. Knight. I told you the rules.” He grumbled something under his breath I couldn’t hear. “We’re ready for our meeting if you are.” I turned to my team and waved them over. I would make introductions when we were in the boardroom so I only had to do it once.

“Right this way, Miss West,” he replied in a deep voice that felt like it rumbled down me. He held his hand out for me to pass, well aware that I knew where I was going. He came up behind me, I could feel his heat but at least he followed my rule.

Noah turned the corner as we made it to the top of the staircase that led to the boardroom. “Quinn!” he said excitedly as he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground. The man was full of light and energy, always.

“Aren’t you too hung over for this?” I laughed as he set me back down.

Today I’d gone slightly more professional, I was in a black silk skirt that went to my knees and a cropped black turtleneck sweater with a pair of green heels. I wiggled my skirt back down and moved my hair back behind my ears.

“So he can touch you but I can’t?” Theo said tightly from beside me.

He was shooting daggers at Noah who just smirked back. Not at all looking like someone who was as drunk off their ass as they claimed to be last night. Noah was in a slightly rumpled suit, so he hadn’t gone home. I knew they all kept changes of clothes here meaning that he hadn’t gotten time to go to his office yet.

“Why don’t you take Lisa, Sam, and James inside and introduce them to the rest of the men, Mr. Knight and I will be in momentarily,” I said with a tight smile to Noah who ushered the team into the room and sent me a wink.

I grabbed Theo’s arm and took him around the corner so they couldn’t hear us inside the room.

“So you can break the no touching rule?” he asked with a scowl.

“Theodore.” I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. “I put that rule in place for you because we are sleeping together—”

“Do you really think that is all it is?”

“What?” I shook my head at his rude interruption of my well-crafted speech.

“Love,” his eyes softened, “you think we’re just sleeping together?”

“Well… I just…” I was trying really hard not to let my heart get ahead of me here.

“I guess I haven’t said anything because I thought it was pretty clear but I’m all in this, for you, with you. You’re mine.”

“Like property?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No. I’m yours in this arrangement too. I can call you my girlfriend, that seems so inconsequential, but it will do for now.” I bit my lip to hide my smile as he reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear, his hand lingering. “Is that clear?”

“Yes,” I said, knowing I was blushing. I really liked being called his. “But can I finish what I was going to say now?” He smirked and then waved his hand so I could go on. “You have different rules when I’m here on business.

“I don’t love my job, but I do want to do a good job for you. I don’t want to be questioning if you like my ideas or are saying yes just because… we’re in a relationship. I want you to take me seriously, I want the team to take me seriously. So you can’t touch me while I’m here.” He wrapped some of my hair around his finger, his eyes locked on mine.

“Fine,” he grumbled, clearly seeing my logic. “But I’m instituting the rule for all those assholes in there,” he said as he pointed toward the boardroom. I smiled and nodded, that was a compromise I could live with.

Going up on my tiptoes I placed a quick kiss on his cheek before spinning out of his grasp and going to the boardroom while he groaned behind me.

For the next hour my lead designer, Lisa, and her second on this project walked them through every single marketing idea we’d come up with. James added value points or other options they could take if they wanted. Each of them sat there listening intently while I tried to gauge their reactions.

I’d grown to know them but they all had some serious poker faces on right now. As Lisa finished the presentation, we all turned to look at Theo at the head of the table, Asher on his right. Theo tapped his hand on the desk as I waited anxiously.

“I think we should do it all,” Theo finally said.

I blinked a few times and then shook my head. “Did you miss the part where Lisa asked you which of the options you want done? The intent isn’t to take on all of these strategies.”

“I heard it, I just want to do all of them,” he said casually as he leaned back.

I frowned, watching him for a beat. “That’s not how it’s done.”

“Well, not normally. But if we tackled different regions and followed a rolling strategy, we would be able to have them running for a while,” James said thoughtfully.