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After pulling his truck into his spot at Harris Construction, AJ was greeted by a text that made his stomach curl in on itself. He cursed.
Denise: I can’t wait to see you, either, baby. I can be there this weekend. Can i have a hint about my gift?
“Shit,” he hissed, dragging himself from his truck and toward the office doors.
He’d known that using the Swan email account was probably a bad idea, but he wanted to continue the charade with “Swan” just a little bit longer. Of course, Denise got the email, too—she’d gotten her hands on the other ones. How, though? It wasn’t like Maeve handed them to her and then gave a by your leave for Denise to pursue a romance with AJ using Maeve’s words. If he had one guess, he guessed Denise got access to the Swan emails through her position as the IT director. But how had she known those first emails at all? Why had she even been looking in his private emails in the first place?
The woman has been after your cock for weeks now.Would she take the pursuit too far, digging into his work emails to spy on him? Yes, after that first email from Swan he should have had her email him at her personal email address, but he’d been scared that she would balk at changing things up. Over the months, though, he should have taken that step. Now, Denise had emails that basically detailed his personal hopes, dreams, and sexual fantasies, things he’d only meant for Swan to know.
The invasion of privacy was catastrophic. Thankfully, he hadn’t shared anything that would be considered taboo or would lead to reputation killing situations if the information got out. Sure, he’d get some sideways glances from clients, but it wouldn’t hurt. Too much.
Denise’s invasion of his private life was a serious issue, one he needed to figure out before things with Maeve got more serious.
Maybe he could talk to Maeve and ask her about it.
He rolled his eyes at that.
No. As angry as Maeve was at Tony’s, she’d bolt the second AJ spoke Denise’s name. It was bad enough that Maeve had born witness to AJ’s actions and words the morning Denise had falsely pronounced herself the Swan from the emails.
Uh huh, like you weren’t a little bit convinced Denise was telling the truth.
Fuck. Yes. He could admit to himself that after his initial reservations about Denise, he’d wanted to believe she really was Swan. She was gorgeous, polished, and his body had responded to her. But once he’d actually sat down with her, had a conversation with her, everything felt off. That first rush of attraction fell away, leaving only a numbness.
Something he’d never experienced with Maeve. Even when she was hiding as the office mouse, he’d been aware of her, his gaze always going to her, his thoughts catching on her in the quiet moments. She might have believed no one noticed her unless they needed something from her, but from the second she stepped into the office, AJ had seen her. He’d noticed.
He just hadn’t noticed that he’d…noticed. Until she’d emerged from her shell at Velvet and struck him hard and fast. He’d been blindsided by his attraction for her, having believed his focus on her had been harmless. Professional.
Bullshit.
With her, his body and mind were drawn to her. Her quiet sensuality, her rare smiles the could power an ecosystem, her understated wit, and her warmth and thoughtfulness. Everything he’d learned about Maeve, everything he’d seen of her with him and others, it all drew him in. It was like an unintentional seduction, one that teased all of him at once.
Denise was a practiced seductress, while Maeve had no idea the power of her charms.
Striding into the office, he couldn’t stop himself from looking for Maeve. Her office door was shut. He stopped, staring at it. That door was rarely shut that early in the morning, since Maeve was in and out making the coffee, running the copy machine, and getting the office tidied up for clients. The fact that her door was shut meant she was once again hiding.
From him.
That kiss the night before had turned him inside out and thrown him on his head. Never in his life had a kiss ignited him as that one had. He was willing to admit that he’d had more than his fair share of kisses. He was red-blooded, surging with the sexual passions of his Latin ancestors. He loved to fuck. Was extremely good at it. He could kiss, could make any woman drop her panties with a single press of his mouth to hers. Not once had a kiss ever made him want to strip a woman bare and sink inside her on the spot. Until last night. Maeve’s mouth was heaven, hot and fucking delicious. He could have kissed her forever, but the drive to take her, to claim her, make her his had been so strong, he would have fucked her against the side of the building without any care about who was watching.
Maeve’s kiss made him lose his goddamn mind. And he wanted to do it again and again and again. Forever. The rest of his life.
Maeve’s kisses were his.
So what was he going to do about it now that his suspicions about Denise had come to fruition? Now that he knew Maeve was Swan, he had two options.
He could confront her.
He could wash his hands of her.
The latter wasn’t even an option at all. He couldn’t do without Maeve. She was quickly becoming his everything—and it was driving him crazy to not know what the hell to do about the situation in which he’d found himself.
First, he knew he had to drop Denise and cut all ties with her. That woman was a grasping harpy, a liar, a schemer. No doubt she’d probably heard about his money and was angling to get her hands on it. Really, he should have her brought up on charges of impersonating with the intent to defraud. That was a mess. He’d rather just leave her deceitful ass in Miami and have Sly fire her.
Next, he needed to get Maeve to admit she was Swan. That would be tricky, however, since the woman currently believed he and Denise—the imposter Swan—were a couple. But he couldn’t let the potential consequences stop him from trying to get the woman of his dreams to finally reveal herself to him.
He had to get her some place where she couldn’t run, but it would take some cunning. And probably some help from Blaze.
Grinning as a plan formed in his mind, he threw his stuff on his desk and took another long look at Maeve’s closed office door.
