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Fucking his sons would be a slap in the face and create sour grapes within her company. Again, as a woman, the last thing she needed was to gain a reputation for sexual misconduct. Not that men didn’t do it all the time; they just didn’t get the same treatment for stepping out of line.
“Shawna,” Sabrina snapped over the intercom, her finger depressing the button so hard, the tip blanched white, “bring me my coffee.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And push my ten-thirty to eleven.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead. She had a headache the size of Texas, and it was only getting bigger.
“Will do.” Shawna paused. “Is there anything else I can bring you?”
Just then, there was a knock on her office door, and Sabrina glanced up, the throbbing in her temples momentarily causing confusion. How could Shawna already be there when she still had her on speaker? But then the door opened without her permission and Sabrina’s sour mood tanked further.
Glaring at her visitor, Sabrina said, “Yeah, a couple of aspirin.” Conner cocked an eyebrow, and she revised, “Make that the whole bottle.”
He entered her personal space without invitation, as many men tended to do, in her experience. As if the thing between their legs granted them special authority. He inspected her office as he approached, looking handsome in his two-piece suit and tie. While she didn’t understand the new fashion trend to wear pants as tight as humanly possible, tapered all the way to the ankle and making their feet appear as big as a yacht, Sabrina appreciated the sleek and sophisticated look on him. Especially the way it accented and cradled his ample package.
“Bad day already?” he asked when she disconnected the speaker on the phone.
“It’s Tuesday,” she stated. The tone in her voice implicated that he was only adding to the suckage.
Nodding, he finished his perusal of her space and came around to her desk, standing in front of it and staring down at her. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”
“Nope.” She got to work, pretending to set her focus there when in reality, all of her attention was on the man hovering over her. How was she supposed to concentrate when she could still feel his hands on her, feel the heat of his skin and the power of his body on top of hers. Feel him thrusting inside of her, hear his every labored breath in her ear? And he was wearing the same cologne he had on last night, which only made the memories starker.
Ignoring the feel of his eyes on her, she kept at her “work” while he continued on. “Well, if you change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
“My brothers and I are here for you,” he finished with a smile in his voice. “At any rate, I’m not here to harass you. I need the papers for the Stockman account, as well as the schedule for the week’s meetings.”
“Shawna will make sure to give you the files you need. Why do you need the schedule?” she asked the more pertinent question, as she always attended meetings alone, ever since taking over the running of the business.
“Because I, and possibly my brothers, will be attending them with you.”
Sabrina dropped her pen on the paper she’d been pretend writing on and pierced him with narrowed eyed. “Since when?” she scoffed.
“Since we became partners, partner.”
Heat crawled up her neck, setting the little hairs on end. “That wasn’t part of the deal. I’m your boss, not your partner. That’s what happens in a merger.”
“Actually, the very definition of a merger is tomerge,” Conner countered. “As we have a stake in how well this company performs, and we each have a strong mind for business matters, our working together can only be beneficial.”
Sabrina opened her mouth to argue, to refuse him outright, but he turned heel and headed for the door, cutting her off in the process. “Never mind, I’m sure Shawna can provide that too. I’ll let you get back to work. Hope that headache gets better.”
The door closed on his words, leaving Sabrina sitting there, slack-jawed and angry. The nerve! Conner and, by association, his brothers, had just barreled right over her. If they thought she was just going to play nice and roll over, allowing them to shove her aside in her own business, they had another thing coming. She’d see to it they were all on the first flight back to the UK!
***
“I just got notice that there was a substantial charge made to the corporate account this morning. You’re planning to leave the country?” Sabrina’s father questioned.
He’d called during her lunch hour, interrupting a very fine and soothing cup of java during the only time of the day when she could catch an ounce of peace, away from the dredges of work. Sabrina was always happy to hear from her father, but not when she knew he was going to pitch a fit and question her authority. He might not be present in the office physically, but he maintained an annoying habit of inserting himself virtually on a regular basis.
“Not me, Daddy. I’ve arranged for the Hargreaves to return home. It’s just not working out having them here.”
“Why not?” His tone took a distinctive turn that didn’t bode well for her. Hell, she already knew he was going to object to her decision, and she was prepared for the fight.
“Because they think they’re going to run the show, when they have nothing to run it with. They’re trying to take over, Daddy. I won’t allow it.”
“Sweetheart,” he said in that placating tone he always used when he’d decided she was being hormonal, “I know you think you can do it all alone, but running a business is a twenty-four-six job.”
