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He rolls his eyes. “It’ll grow back by tomorrow. I shave all the fucking time, West.”
I clench my jaw, grinding my teeth together.
He cups my chin in his hand, his strong fingers flexing against my cheek as he forces me to look into his bright blue eyes. “And if you’re pissed about me shaving, I think it’s time we try to find a new addition to our little unit, don’t you?”
I try to shake my head, but he holds me still. “We said we wouldn’t do it again.”
“I know what we said, but come on…” He tightens his grip on my jaw. “We’re really giving up?”
“How many women have there been, Xander? Twenty? Thirty? I’ve lost fucking count.”
His fingers slip from my face, and he runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “Twenty-two.”
I stretch my neck in an attempt to alleviate the tension there, but it doesn’t work. “Let’s not add another to that particular body count.”
“Maybe number twenty-three will be the one?” His hopeful smile and puppy dog expression make me wish I shared his enthusiasm and his sunny outlook on life. Too bad I’m a realist.
I shake my head. “I can’t do it again. It’s too much trouble and it never fucking works out.”
“It doesn’t have to be so much work, West. The NDAs. The contracts.” He throws his hands in the air. “We could simplify things a little, you know?”
A frown furrows my brow, and my temples start to throb. “The fuck?”
His eyes soften and he leans across my desk, tracing a finger over my jawline. “It doesn’t have to be another fucking merger is all I’m saying, West.” He nods at the mountain of paperwork in front of me.
I swallow down the ball of emotion lodged in my throat. Anger and frustration eat away at my insides, and this man right in front of me deserves none of it. But the goddamn pressure of this Grayson News Corp merger is making me crazy. Sensing he’s not about to let this go, I change tactics. “It’s not good for Zeke… he blames himself every time. I can’t stand to see him tear himself apart when it ends.”
Disappointment flashes across Xander’s face, and I feel like a jackass for putting it there. But he knows I’m right. He stands straight, stuffing his hands into his suit pants so that the already tight material stretches across his groin. The outline of his huge cock stares me directly in the face, and I run my tongue over my lip. That simple action makes him smile. “Then stop acting like a jealous asshole because I shaved.”
I clear my throat. “I’m not jealous. I’m fucking stressed.”
“All the more reason you need some pussy,” he says with a wicked grin. “How about we go to the club tonight? The three of us? You need to relax, buddy. And Zeke… well he’s wound tighter than a coiled spring.”
I sink back in my chair.
“It’s Friday night. Wall-to-wall pussy,” he adds with a chuckle.
I sigh. “Fine. Make the arrangements.”
He winks at me. Cocky fucker. “Consider it done.”
Xander heads out, and I return my focus to the papers on my desk but call out as he reaches the door. “Hey, Fitch.”
He turns, his smile bright, probably because I used his nickname. “Yeah?”
“You look way better with some scruff on your face.”
He barks a laugh and disappears from view.
ChapterThree
LILY
It’s still raining. Dammit. I stifle a groan as I strap my helmet back on, then take Betty from the bike rack in the lobby. My legs continue to shake after my encounter with West Archer. I almost passed out when I saw those steely gray eyes and square jaw. It’s been fourteen years, but he’s barely changed at all. Well, discounting the fact that he’s now a super successful billionaire. At least he didn’t recognize me, but I was just a little kid the last time he saw me. I had no idea the man responsible for the takeover of the magazine I work for was the same guy who… Long-buried memories invade my consciousness, ascending from the deep recesses of my brain and causing my eyes to swim with unshed tears.
No. I shake my head. I won’t think about it. I won’t think abouthim.
Betty squeaks in protest as I wheel her through the WXZ tower’s lobby and drags me back to the present. I wipe my eyes and focus on being here right now, in the greatest city in the entire world. “I know, girl. I don’t like the idea of cycling home in this rain either, but we gotta do what we gotta do, yeah?”
