“Come in,” he calls.
I use my elbow to open the handle and step in with confident strides, only to halt in place when I’m greeted with just John, alone. His sleeves are rolled up and he is behind a mountain of paperwork.
“Charlotte,” he says in surprise at my entrance. “Everything okay?”
“I—” I stammer, so confused by the situation I don’t know where to begin. “I thought you were meeting with Mr. McAllister at ten?”
“I was,” he confirmed, sounding just as confused. “He called in about twenty minutes ago to cancel. He had a personal matter to attend to first thing that couldn’t wait. Said he would drop by later.”
“I see…” I stare at John, my temper deflating. I was so psyched to finally get this over with, I don’t know which way to turn now.
“Was there something I can help you with?” he asks tentatively.
I sigh, dropping the box into one of the chairs in front of his desk, then taking the other for myself. “I was hoping to crash your meeting.”
“Oh?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and think how best to phrase my thoughts. “Don’t you think my game of cat and mouse with Mr. McAllister has gone on long enough?”
John frowns. “It is unusual that he hasn’t been around much since you started. But he has been a busy man of late and he trusts his staff.”
“He trusts them a little too much in my opinion.” I point at the box on the chair to my right.
“What pray tell is that?” he asks.
“That,” I jab a finger at it. “Is a record of everything that this Elisabeth King bought or withdrew on Liberty’s dime.”
He scowls and gets to his feet, coming around the desk. Without a word he lifts the top off the box and whistles when he sees the scale of the problem. Thousands of pages make up the records I pulled from the system, documenting every single transaction connected to ELISKIN that has no supporting documentation. Even if we give her the benefit of the doubt and assume some of them are accounting errors or sloppy record keeping, we are still looking at seven figures here.
He lifts a sheet from the top and inspects row after row of figures. His brows raise higher and higher as he reads down the page.
“I’ve been trying to tell you that her embezzlement was quite extensive.”
“Jesus.” He runs his hands through his hair in an unusual show of stress.
“Do you think we can get him to show his face now? John, we are talking millions, this could break a company. We are lucky that Liberty is profitable. But this has still come right out of the profit margin.”
“I will talk to him as soon as he gets back.”
“Good, I think we should get the authorities involved as soon as possible.” I stand and pace the space in front of his desk.
“I don’t know if he will agree to that.”
I face him, taking a step toward the desk and brace my hands on it. “What do you mean? Was he so in love with her that her stealing millions from him is okay?” I take a few deep breaths and force myself to sit back down.
“I understand your frustration. We can only advise him. The ultimate decision is his.”
I let out another breath. “I’m sorry, John. I know my place. I would just handle this very different if I was in his position.”
“We both would. But there are other factors at play here. One of Liberty’s biggest customers and a personal friend of Mr. McAllister is Elisabeth’s father.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay,” I huff. “I’ll leave it with you to set up the meeting.” I stand and look at him as he studies another sheet from the box. “But John, I want in on the meeting.”
“You’ll be there, you have my word.”
“Thank you.” I nod, leaving him to digest it all.
I cross the main office to my area and notice Jo’s absence as I pass her desk, hoping against hope she’s on a coffee run, because Lord knows I need something to get me through this day. I close my door behind me and lean against it, dropping my head back to the wood.
“Rough morning, kitten?”
I jump out of my skin and turn to see Rhys sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed.
“You scared the crap out of me.” I put a hand to my chest, feeling my heart pounding.
He smirks, but doesn’t move. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’ve been busy,” I snap. He’s right I have, but I won’t admit that to anyone but myself.
“Mmhmm.”
“How did you know where I worked?” I scrunch my brows trying to think when I might have told him.
He chuckles and reaches in to his breast pocket, producing a Liberty business card. My Liberty business card.
“Where did you get that?” I demand.
“I swiped it from your hall table when I left last night. Something told me I would need to come hunt you down eventually.”
He slowly unfolds his legs and sits up, and that’s when I notice what he’s wearing. My mouth goes dry at the sight of him. He’s dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, wearing it as if he was born to look suave, when I’ve only seen him in worn black jeans and biker boots. The contrast is staggering. The glimpses of ink on his neck and hands, set against the crisp white of his shirt. His expertly tied double Windsor. I look him up and down, not believing my eyes.
If I hadn’t seen for myself what lives and breathes under that suit, I would never believe it. My face heats at the recollection of him last night, hard and wild, moving beneath me until we both found our release. He is to die for, the suit is just the cherry on a delectable cake. And I’m meant to be mad at him. Shit.
It’s too late to take back the thorough visual molestation I’ve just performed. He looks too smug to have not noticed. I look away, annoyed with myself. Damn him.
“Don’t stop now, kitten. I was enjoying that,” he says, holding open his arms, presumably so I can get a better view.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” he says, moving toward me.
I take a step toward my desk hoping to put some furniture between us to protect me from my lack of sense when it comes to this man. I wipe my palms down the sides of my skirt and swallow hard.
“You can’t shut me out if I’m here.” He raises a brow in challenge. “The question is, why are you shutting me out?”
I try to play it cool and shrug. “I’ve been busy this morning. I would have gotten around to your texts.”
“I wasn’t talking about the texts. I told you I’d come back last night and when I did, your door was locked and you didn’t answer.” He takes a step closer to me and I take another one back toward my desk. “So why, kitten?” He advances again and I find I can’t move any further when I feel the desk press into the bottom of my butt.
“I was tired and I figured you wouldn’t come back. I didn’t want to sleep with the apartment unsecured.”
“Liar.” He is just a breath away from me, his scent surrounds me and I have to fight not to close my eyes and inhale deeply.
He brushes his knuckles down the side of my face. I have to hold myself still as the desire to lean into his touch is overwhelming. I gulp. I am a shitty liar, I know that. I was relying on him barely knowing me, but I guess that failed.
“I didn’t think you’d be back,” I admit.
“I’m a man of my word,” he counters.
I glare at him. “Maybe I didn’t want you to come back.”
A small smirk curls his lips. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
I can’t keep a lid on my irritation when I see his satisfaction. “Why would I want you to come back when you have the gall to answer a booty call, fresh from my bed?”
He stifles a laugh. “A booty call?”
I close my eyes and breathe through the desire to wile the smile from his face. “Yes, Rhys, a booty call. You know? Those times when your fuck buddy calls and you go running?”
�
��I know what a booty call is, kitten. I’m just trying to ascertain how you thought I got one last night.” He leans in, his voice too soft for this conversation.
“Because I know that was Lisa calling and you couldn’t get to her fast enough.” I shove at his shoulder lightly, just trying to get myself some breathing space.
He straightens, turning to sit beside me on my desk. “That was Lisa on the phone. But it wasn’t a booty call.”
I scoff.
“We haven’t had that kind of relationship in a while.”
“What difference does it make? She can still call you and you go running to her. That’s a problem, Rhys.”
“She can’t. Last night was—different.”
I shake my head. “It’s all the same to me. You got out of my bed and went to her. That’s all I need to know about where I stand in all of this.”
He turns to me and takes my hand. I try to snatch it away, but he holds it between both of his.
“Last night, Lisa had a breakdown. She called me, and yes, I left you, but I didn’t go to her.”
I look up into his eyes for the first time and frown at the sincerity. “Then where did you go?”
He huffs. “She’d let herself in to my place and was having a meltdown. Worse than any she’s had before. She has problems. Substance abuse, various addictions. I’ve tried to help her, but this was new. It was time to deal with it properly. So when I left you, I called her father. He met me at my place and I let him in to deal with her. He’s going to get her some help. Rehab I hope, but it’s not my problem.” He squeezes my hand to check I’m following him and I look up, not knowing what to say.
“She’d made quite a mess having her tantrum. It took me a little while to put things right and then I had to get security to change the entry codes and a few other things. Then I came right back to you. I didn’t even see her, Charlotte. I’m done.” He lifts my chin with a finger. “I’m not her fuck buddy anymore, kitten. Not since I met you.”
I blink at him, unsure of what I’m supposed to say to that. Is he trying to tell me that he ended things with Lisa because he met me?
“I wish it hadn’t ended how it did, but last night was incredible.”
“It was nice,” I agree, meekly.
His brows raise. “Just nice?”
His outraged expression makes a giggle erupt from me and I give in. “Okay, you win. It was fucking amazing and to be honest, that scares the shit out of me.” I can’t look at him as I admit my weakness.
He’s having none of it. He lifts my chin and gives me a knowing smile then leans forward and places a chaste kiss on my lips. Even the simple touch of our lips sends lightning bolts through me.
He lingers in my space. “Do you feel that?”
“I do,” I whisper. I fist my hands in the lapels of his jacket. I need to shake myself out of his spell. “Why are you in a suit?”
There is a glint in his eyes and they crinkle at the corners. “I had a meeting. Are you trying to change the subject?”
“Yes. You look good in a suit.”
“Thank you. Are you going to let me back in?” He smiles. I can tell he’s enjoying the back and forth.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe isn’t good enough, kitten.”
“I haven’t had a relationship in years. I wasn’t very good at the one I had. I—” He cuts me off with a searing kiss. My argument falls flat as I melt for him.
When our lips part, he stands, stepping between my legs in a fluid motion. I’m forced to lean back slightly, bracing myself on the desk and he leans over me, caging me in.
“Don’t you think this, thing between us is moving too fast?”
“Kitten, sometimes you just know from the moment you meet someone, that they’re special.”
His words have warmth spreading through me, softening me to his advance. I can’t deny he’s right, from the moment I laid eyes on him something in me awoke. Something that had never been awoken before. “I don’t understand how you’re taking this so easy. Shouldn’t you be running for the hills?”
He chuckles. “I live life to the fullest, kitten. I never run from an opportunity.”
I feel myself deflate. “So what you’re saying is, this happens to you all the time.” God I’m an idiot. Of course it does. The way women must look at him as he strolls confidently through life like some Scottish playboy wet dream, he probably has moments like that on the daily. I place a hand on his chest and push him back a little.
“That is not what I said.” He takes my hand off his chest and brings it up to his lips, kissing the tips of my fingers.
“Stop that, I can’t think when your mouth is on me.” I try tugging my hand away, but he holds firm.
“Ever since I met you in the airport, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. It’s daunting, but I’d like to see where it’s headed, wouldn’t you?”
I nod. It’s involuntary, as if my body isn’t going to allow my brain to screw this up for us and I thank it, because my brain still says run, hide, save yourself. But my body answers his call as he leans over me and teases my lips open with his. We sink into a bone melting kiss. The kind that finishes a conversation without words. I tell him I’m afraid and he says I have nothing to fear. I’m alive with feeling, the brush of his pants on my inner thigh has me opening more to him. As the kiss turns from something cerebral to something altogether more carnal, I’m taken away from my surroundings to a place where only feeling his touch matters.
My cell phone ringing brings me crashing back to my desk. My desk in my office, in my place of work. Oh Jesus. We sever the kiss and share a look of, ‘damn, we got a little carried away there’, but the cause of the interruption keeps ringing and we both glance at it on the desk beside us.
Michael’s name fills the screen and I cringe.
The ringing persists.
“Aren’t you going to get that?” he asks with an edge to his voice.
Reluctantly I reach for the phone, accepting the call. “Hey Michael,” I greet. “Can I call you back later?”
He doesn’t give me an inch his body still pressed against mine, but his face pulls back enough to watch me.
“Sure, I was just checking you were okay and still employed,” Michael says.
“I’m all good, I’ll fill you in later.” Even I can hear the discomfort in my tone.
“Okay. Are we still on for dinner?”
I look at Rhys and cringe as I reply, “Yep, I’ll see you tonight.”
We end the call, Michael I’m sure wondering why I sounded off and Rhys glowering, with a flash of something threatening in his eyes.
“Who is Michael?” he asks in a strangely calm way.
“He’s a friend of mine.”
“Friend?”
I cock my head to the side. “Are you jealous?”
“I don’t share,” he replies, unapologetically.
“That would imply I’m yours to share,” I counter, his jealousy giving me a confidence I was sorely lacking only moments ago.
Rhys closes his eyes and takes a breath. “I thought we were just in the middle of establishing that when we were interrupted.” He shoots a glare at the phone as if it could somehow convey to Michael his displeasure.
I raise my brows. “I have to say this possessive side of you is pretty hot.”
He puts an arm around my waist bringing me closer to him and I wrap my legs around him, feeling him hard between us. “Don’t play with fire, kitten.”
“Maybe I like the heat.”
He growls. “I’m going to make myself crystal clear. I won’t share you and I’m not ready to let you go. So you call back this ‘friend’ and you cancel dinner tonight.”
I suppress a laugh, because Mr. Growly doesn’t seem in a very giggly place right now, but I’m enjoying his reaction, no lie. “Rhys, I can assure you he’s just a friend, nothing more.”
“You’re a beautiful woman, Charlotte. I highly doubt he doesn’t notice that.”
“It’s not like that between us.”
Rhys’ phone makes an alert sound from his pocket and he sighs. “Fuck, I have to go.” He takes me in a fierce kiss, it’s a claim and I love how it feels. “Christ, I could get lost in you right now.”
“Why don’t you?” I purr, not wanting him to leave.
“I’ve got a meeting.” He breaks contact with me and steps back so we aren’t touching.
“I’ll meet you here for lunch tomorrow.” He smiles and wiggles his brows. “Don’t wear knickers.” Before I can respond, he smashes his lips down on mine and devours me, before breaking away with a groan. “Cancel your dinner tonight, kitten,” he warns, before adjusting himself and taking long strides out of my office.
I take a deep breath and answer, “No” to the empty room.
Fifteen
Louise: Got plans tonight? I could use some Charlotte time. x
Me: Are you okay?
Louise: Yeah, just missing you and want to fill you in on my new single status.
Me: Oh shit. What happened?
Louise: Nothing really, it just wasn’t working out. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you. What time do you get off?
I stare at my phone. I haven’t cancelled my dinner with Michael as Rhys demanded, I didn’t see why I should. Besides, it’s not like he would know and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. But if Louise needs me, that’s more important. Michael will understand.
Me: In a few minutes, but I was meeting Michael for dinner. I’m sure he won’t mind if I cancel.
Louise: Michael? I thought you were seeing Rhys now?
I roll my eyes.
Me: That is yet to be decided.
Louise: I see. Don’t cancel though, it’s fine, I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?
Thinking about it, I’m sure Michael wouldn’t mind if Louise tagged along.
Me: Why don’t you join us? You never got to try the food at his brother’s restaurant and it is amazing.
Louise: I am not crashing your date!
Me: It’s not a date. It’s dinner with a friend and he will be fine about it being two friends I’m sure.
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