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Small blessings, for sure. She wasn’t fit for human company today. And speaking of humans. Sabrina hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the Hargreaves yet today. To her credit, she hadn’t truly been looking for them. Aside from the swiveling looks around the main office anytime she left her desk for a brief break, which was often. She couldn’t seem to sit still, couldn’t hold onto one train of thought for too long either.
The only steady thought she did have was about them, and the more time passed that she didn’t see them, the less she thought of them. It occurred to her that the reason she was so hung up on them when she’d never been about anyone before was because they meant more to her than other men had, but she didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. She needed to focus if she expected to get anything worthwhile done, and she couldn’t afford to let any of it slide another day. There were cases that had to be addressed and filed so they could be put to bed or get processes going so they could be further dealt with and increase their revenue and expand their business model. After all, she was the CEO and a business didn’t run itself. Sabrina had her hands full. She couldn’t afford distractions. So if the Hargreaves managed to make it in today, she wasn’t going to pay them more than a passing mind. If they didn’t show up, which they damn well better if they expected to continue getting paid their ridiculous and extravagant salary, then she didn’t care then either. It was their livelihood they were jeopardizing, not hers.
Yes, Sabrina had better things to do than revisit Friday night repeatedly. She certainly wasn’t staring into space thinking about how their hands felt on her body or the way they felt inside of her or the way William tasted on her tongue or how satisfied shestillfelt all these days later. And she sure as hell wasn’t getting turned on either.
Sabrina was a master of self-control, like her father, and she wasn’t beholden to idle fantasies when there were more pressing matters to be concerned with. She was stronger than that.
Who was she kidding? Sabrina had caught herself staring at the same diamond patterned wallpaper numerous times already this morning, and every time she did, she had to get up and pour herself a fresh cup of coffee because the one she had, had mysteriously gone cold.
Hours had been lost already. It was disgraceful. Why was she allowing one encounter with three hot men to distract her this way? She needed to get on track and get focused and get shit done. This kind of weakness was unacceptable. She hadn’t worked this hard or this long at being the best at what she did to be taken down by her libido.
Clearing her throat, Sabrina shook her head, whipping her long hair from side to side, and leaned her head left to right until she heard and felt the cracking that released pent-up pressure, and then she folded her fingers together and pressed them outward until they did the same. Then, feeling refreshed, she turned her attention back to the computer screen in front of her and the spreadsheet that contained all the facts and figures concerning the Hargreaves’ merged business holdings that now belonged to her family’s business. For the next few hours, she bounced between that and additional interested investors, proposals, and writing up letters to their constituents, as well as the board of current investors that would keep them in the loop on where they stood, their gains and losses, and a projection of the future.
It was a lot of high-brow talk that always made her feel like a stick-in-the-mud and a hoity-toity rich bitch. It was, in effect, a kind of split personality, and one that she didn’t connect with on any level. But it was necessary. If she didn’t play the tough, cold, and rigid role, no one would take her seriously, and even though she was easily one of the most hated people in the business circuit, the persona she adopted was respected. It got things done, and it let people know not to cross her.
While it might not be who she really was behind the scenes, Sabrina was confident that she could take on and take down anything and anyone if needed. It was just exhausting sometimes. She’d love to just be herself, let her hair down, so to speak, and deal with people on a personal and more human level. But she had to be cutthroat to get the job done, so that’s exactly what she was.
It made her father proud, even if he wasn’t one hundred percent sold on her ability to do so, but maybe that was because he was her father, and he knew who she really was behind the scenes. He knew that softness she carried, so he was always waiting for the shoe to drop, and with it, his business.
It was that shred of doubt in her that made Sabrina push so hard to prove herself, to him and to everyone.
“Sorry to interrupt. Do you need anything?”
Sabrina stopped typing, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, and she blinked up at the door where Conner stood, watching her with a mix of expectation and concern. Why the concern?
“I’m sorry, what?” She’d heard him speak, but she had no idea what he’d said, she was so absorbed in her work.
He stepped farther into the room, continuing to hold the door handle as if he didn’t plan on staying long. “You’ve been in here for hours. Do you want to take a break? Or maybe have some lunch brought up? When was the last time you left this room?”
Sabrina frowned, trying to process all of his questions. How long had she been sitting there, zoned out on her work to the point the rest of the world faded away? The clock read 2:00 PM. The last time she recalled looking at it, it had been 9:00 AM, and she had already been attempting to plug away for the better half of three hours. Her eyes bore the feel of strain from staring at the screen for so long, that dry, sticky feeling suddenly uncomfortable.
Opening the desk drawer to her right, she fished around for the tiny bottle of eye drops she kept there, and when she found them, she leaned back and dropped a few splashes of solution into her eyes.
While she blinked the fluid around, she considered Conner’s other question. Was she hungry? Now that she thought about it, her stomach was pretty empty, and as if to shout her neglect at her, it growled back, providing them both with an answer.
Conner didn’t appear happy with his assessment of her, and he pressed his lips together briefly before saying, “I’ll have Shawna order something.” He pointed at her as he backed out of the room. “You need to take a break. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
Sabrina only stared after him as he closed the door. What was there to say? She wasn’t unused to personal neglect. When she got into the zone, it was the only thing that mattered, and even though she knew it wasn’t good or healthy to do, she accomplished so much in those moments that she couldn’t complain. Sometimes, things just needed to get done, and everything else took a back seat. If it was an everyday thing, she might agree with his concern and may even be inclined to improve on it, but it just didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
Her lack of caring was dispelled when, a short time later, all three of her guys showed up at her office door with a boon of sandwiches and treats and drinks. Mouth watering, she chose to ignore the looks on their faces that said there would be a talk coming in favor of chowing down on all that delicious fare.
Chapter Fifteen
“You have to take better care of yourself.”
“It’s entirely unacceptable that you just ‘forget’ to eat.”
“Did you sleep enough last night?”
The criticism came one after another, and while Sabrina understood that it all came from a loving place, she wasn’t hearing it.
“Look, guys, I’m glad that you care enough to be concerned, but once again, I’m an adult. Believe it or not, I got here all by myself, manage to get dressed every day and eat food and get from point A to B without anyone holding my hand. And I think since I’m still alive and breathing, I’m doing a decent job of it. I don’t need any more fathers in my life.” She couldn’t believe she was having this discussion again. It was just like when they showed up at her home scolding her for not calling into work.
And she was having none of it.
Apparently, neither was Conner. “Shawna said you came in like a zombie and have been plugging away in here for hours. Even she’s concerned about you. It seems like someone has to be, since you’re clearly not.”
Sabrina was growing miffed. These people were her coworkers, and while they developed some kind of friendship by working—and sleeping—together, that didn’t mean they had license to comment on how she ran her life.
