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He sighs. “The security footage has captured you, so let me see your ID.”
I take out my driver’s license with a flare of pride, the same one I feel every time I need to show it. “I promise. Five minutes.”
He writes down my details, then gestures for the turnstile doors.
I hurry through the building, to the elevators, imagining myself working for a large company like this. When the doors open, I rush across the open-plan room to Mom’s desk, the one closest to the door. The memory drive is still plugged into her computer. It’s an easy mistake to make. I take it out and pocket it quickly.
Then footsteps pound down the hall so loud and confident they seem to shake the walls. I turn and walk fast, but then a door off to the side opens violently.
It’s Jacob, ducking his head as he walks beneath the doorframe. He’s wearing a T-shirt and casual jeans, his silver hair messy as if somebody has run their hands through it. Okay, I’m imagining it’smewho did just that.
“What are you doing here?” he says.
I realize what Mom means. His voice iscold. He sounds pissed. I have to play this right. I can’t risk Mom’s job.
CHAPTERTWO
Jacob
I just left a video call with Trent Saunders, the CEO of the company we’re merging with. It was heated, as many have been since this deal started. Trent doesn’t seem to understand the importance of the truth. Trent thinks that marketing and turnover are more important than journalistic integrity. It’s creating problems.
The rage turns to a different kind of heat when I stare at the woman. There’s a quiver in my chest as if my heart is struggling to catch up with the woman I’m devouring with my eyes. Tension touches my groin, stiffness threatening as I take all of her in.
She’s got her brown hair tied up in a bun, neat and combed, but with a few rebellious strands here and there, giving her a sexy, slightly wild look. Despite wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, I’ve never seen a more attractive woman. Perhaps that’s not saying much, sincenowomen attract me.
This is like an atom bomb of want, detonating deep within, spreading as I drink in the sight of her curvy hips, her thick thighs, and her voluptuous chest.
I remember what my business partner, Brad, said a few days ago.“We don’t want any bad PR right now. We need to stay focused. The deal is all that matters.”
I agreed gruffly since he was right, and he wasn’t talking about me. There’s nothing I do, in public or private, that would bring us any bad press. But falling for a woman who must be half my age—her cheeks are innocently flushed, her eyes wide as she stares—would definitely bring problems.
These thoughts suddenly flashing in my mind could lead us to ruin. I don’t understand how she can ignite this in me, a whirlpool sweeping up all my negative emotions and throwing out something surprising, certainty crashing into me.
This woman, whoever she is, is mine. There’s no doubt about it. She belongs to me. No other man can touch her or be with her ever. I push that down deep and stifle it.
It’s not just the PR. I’ve never let my feelings rule me. Cold facts, figures, statements of truth, but isn’t it a statement of truth to say I need this woman so badly it hurts?
She’s still just staring at me, not answering my question. As I approach, her body language stiffens … just like my manhood gets harder the closer I get.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I… uh, I was working late, and I got lost.”
“You work here?”
The company is large, so it’s not surprising I’ve never seen her before. I know I would remember her if I had. Already, every inch of her is tattooed on my mind.
“I’m… an intern.”
She bites her lip briefly when she pauses. She’ll bite it like that when I glide my hand up her leg, pressing so she can feel the desire through the firmness of my touch, her lip biting getting more exaggerated the closer I get to her sex.
Again, I push these thoughts away.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“M-Michaela,” she says after a pause.
Perhaps I make her nervous. That’s the case with a lot of my employees who think I’m always on the verge of snapping. It’s my general demeanor, I’ve learned, that causes discomfort.
I’ve never cared about my reputation for grumpiness before, but with Michaela, I wish I could summon something else… an easy smile, perhaps some disarming words.
