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“Yep. Thanks.”
The ride to my apartment is quiet, minus the screaming voices in my head all yellingwhat the actual fuck! How do I walk into work on Monday after a night like that? Do I pretend it’s just a normal workday?Hey Mr. Monroe. Sorry I’m so tardy getting your coffee. Who would have thought riding you all night would make muscles I never knew existed so sore?Also, I need to start working out.
I open my photos app and swipe through the images I secretly snapped last night. The beauty of the ballroom. A selfie with my fancy champagne. A few stolen shots of Theo while he spoke to a client. He truly is a sight. Even his profile has my cheeks warming. I hug my phone to my chest as I hide my growing smile. What have I started, and where do we go from here?
Theo
Monday morning…
“Morning, Mr. Monroe!”
I don’t bother to respond to Amy. My morning has been anything but pleasant. I haven’t slept, and I’m on edge. I storm past her, continuing to my office, and stop at Fay’s empty chair. The sole reason my world has suddenly turned upside down. Speaking of, where the fuck is she? Doesn’t she know what seven sharp means? I look at the clock. It’s only six-thirty. My chest tightens. Seven feels like forever from now. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her. Forty-nine hours too long.
I throw myself into my chair and reach for my desk phone to call her and demand she get into the office immediately. But my hand hovers over the receiver. What am I doing? I need to stay in control. And right now, I’m acting irrationally.
I sit back, gripping the back of my neck. After Friday night, things are different. I can’t explain it, but there’s a whole new determination flowing through me. A driving force that I haven’t felt in almost five years. I can’t go through with merger charade anymore. I won’t. There has to be some loophole to stop the merger from going through. Something I missed while scouring through the contracts, hoping to find an out. I need to kill the merger and break this hold the Hills and my father have over me. It should have never been approved by MIC’s shareholders. The Hill Group does not look promising on paper. Their financials alone would have dissuaded anyone. But if Charles’ company adds no value, why is my father so insistent on absorbing it?
The Hill Group has done mediocre land development, dabbling in land surveying up until six years ago when the company made a huge shift, allowing their surveying department to grow to more than fifty percent of their business. Right around the time my father and Charles proposed the merger.
The one thing all these contracts and deals have in common? The Hill Group. With so many red flags from their land survey department, something doesn’t add up. He’s spent millions clearing the way for the sale. What is so goddamn special about this company? And why haven’t I looked into this earlier? Maybe I could have found a way out of this a lot sooner.
My mind drifts to Fay. The benefit dinner. I fucked up. I never should have stepped foot into that hotel room. What did I think was going to happen? And it’s not an if but a when that my father will catch wind of our night. I’m playing with fire with her, and there’s no doubt we’re both going to get burned. But now that I’ve fully had her, I don’t know how I’ll deny myself again.
She drives me mad. I could have walked away. Saved us both from the claws of my father. And I would have, but she’s my weakness. The moment that dress fell to her feet, I knew I would have her in every way I wanted. Needed. Craved. God, I fought the urge to bite and mark every piece of her creamy flesh.
When she finally passed out, I had to force myself to leave. She looked beyond exhausted. But damn, did she look like an angel sleeping. I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and hold her. Get high off her sugary scent. But I needed space to think clearly. After our night, I can’t fathom not having full access to every inch of her. I know damn well I’m no good for her. But I’m a selfish man. And I plan on fighting to make her mine.
A soft knock on the door grabs my attention. I check the time and sit forward as Fay walks into my office with a steaming cup of coffee.
“Morning. Here’s your coffee. And I saw your morning list. I’ll get right on—”
“Shut my door,” I say, unable to keep the bite out of my tone. Her lips part, taken back at my sharp demand, but the time away from her has me on edge. How the hell have I gone so long without touching her? It’s all I can think about.
“Yep, sure.” She sets my coffee on the worktable, turns, and shuts the door.
“Lock it.”
Yeah, I’m crossing that line again. I’m out of my chair and stalking over to her before I realize what’s happening. She twists the lock and faces me. “Are we having a super secretive meet. . . oh!” A soft gasp leaves her lips as I crowd her personal space. She smells like lavender and perfection, and I don’t stop until my Italian leather shoes touch her heels. When her startled gaze meets mine, I get lost in her hazel depths for a moment. I can’t fight this urge and don’t even try. My eyes drop to her lips. I want nothing more than to kiss away her cherry lip gloss. And since all rules have already been thrown out the window, I do.
A mix between a raspy moan and a gasp falls from her lips as I dip my head to kiss her. I swallow her sweet sounds and snake my hand around her waist, bringing her snug against me. She’s absolute perfection in my arms. I kiss her until some of the crazed need dissipates. But I know the only way I’ll fully feel at ease is to push her up against my desk and fuck the tension away. When she melts even more in my arms, I slowly pull back.
“Now that that’s out of the way. . .” I step back before I follow through and tear her skirt off. “I need your help scanning five years’ land surveys.”
“Five years.”
“That’s right. We’re looking for discrepancies. Anything that seems off. Possible code violations. Any structure findings that seem wrong.”
“Theo, I haven’t worked here long enough to know what I’m—”
“I don’t expect you to. Just be another set of eyes for me, okay? Anything that looks off. I know you’ve only been here a short time, but you’ve caught on quick. I’m impressed. I have no doubt you can do this.” My praise catches her off guard. “So, unless you want to discuss how much you enjoyed the benefit dinner, I’ll need you to print out those reports.” God, she’s cute when she’s flustered.
“Yep. Reports. I’ll get right on that.” She spins around, almost losing her balance. She grabs the door handle, tugging it open, forgetting it’s locked. “Duh. I locked it.” She finally gets it open and stumbles out. It’s an odd reaction for me, one I seem to be doing more of late, but a smile spreads across my face.
We’ve been staring at reports for over an hour. I had Legal pull every land survey MIC was affiliated with over the last five years. I slam the current report down in frustration. “I thought something would—”
“Here.”
“Did you find something?”
