The Inheritance
Page 9
“How did you know I was coming?”
“Martin told me but he’s very busy, so I offered to take this little task off his hands.”
“How noble of you. Can I have the keys?”
Neal presents them, the pair resting in the center of his palm. “Come and get them.”
I pull one hand behind my back, slowly striding towards him, my eyes fixed on the keys. I reach out to take them and Neal snatches back his hand, fingers enclosed around them. I bite back a groan of disappointment. I should’ve known this was some sort of trick to get me closer.
“You can have the keys,” he says, standing. He throws an arm around my waist, his hand resting against my back and I stiffen. “On one condition.”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“I don’t owe you anything and those keys belong to me.”
Neal grins and raises an eyebrow. “You don’t owe me anything?”
He keeps his palm against me as he grabs a newspaper from his desk. The finance section. The featured story revolves around Neal: NEW CEO of J.M. WHEELER DATING DECEASED MENTOR’S DAUGHTER. Below the headline is a photo of Neal and me, crammed in the back of the cab, my face staring out of the window. I scan the article, hoping it’s all sensationalized bullshit when I stumble upon Suzanne’s name and her quote: “They’re so in love, you can just tell by looking at them. Very affectionate despite their long distance status. I won’t be the only newlywed soon, if you know what I mean.”
My fingers tighten around the newspaper and Neal smiles.
“Did you forget about our little charade? Because I didn’t. I would hate to go to the press and tell them it’s all bullshit. That one of us started this lie because she was jealous of her ex-best friend fucking her ex-boyfriend.”
My jaw tightens. “What do you want?”
“The company’s having a dinner this Friday to welcome me as their new CEO. Usually I would attend these things alone but considering what the city thinks of us, it would be more appropriate for you to come as my date.”
I try to imagine Neal and I strutting into a ballroom, my arm wrapped around his, all heads turning towards us. A bubble of excitement rises in my stomach. I quell it with a frown.
“Fine. Just give me the keys.”
Neal laughs and shakes his head. “Do you think I’m an idiot? You’ll get the keys after Friday.”
The mischief glittering in Neal’s eyes say there’s no use fighting with him. After two days I’m starting to learn he’s resilient, unmovable, no matter how hard I kick or pout.
I turn out of his embrace and start towards the door with a sharp, “Fine,” on my tongue.
His eyes are hot against my back as I reach for the knob. “One more thing.” He makes his way towards me, his mouth inches away from mine. “Lift up your dress,” he says, the words ghosting over my lips.
No. The word brews in my stomach but my hands don’t get the memo. My fingers curl at the hem of my dress, lifting the yellow fabric until it’s bunched along my waist, my thighs and underwear revealed for Neal.
He grins, as if he didn’t expect me to listen, but now he knows with a few words he can control me, like putty in his hands.
He drops to his knees, expensive fabric sliding over beautiful tile floors, his hands gripping my thighs as he presses his nose against me and softly blows.
Thank You!
Writing The Inheritance (Volume One) has been such a wild ride. I hope you’re excited for more! If you enjoyed volume one, please let me know in a review on Amazon and Goodreads. I depend on you, the reader, to craft an enjoyable and steamy story.
The Inheritance (Volume Two) will be released in a few weeks. For updates, cover releases, other exclusive goodies, and to connect with me personally please LIKE my Facebook page.
Once again, thank you!
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Other Works by Zelda Reed
Escape
Part One
Part Two
The Kids Who Were
Volume One
Volume Two
About the Author
Zelda Reed has never met a glass of whiskey she didn’t love. A Los Angeles native, she moved to the windy city of Chicago to complete a degree in Fiction Writing before falling head over heels for every romance novel she could find. Writing is her passion and she lives for making her readers happy, using her novels to spread a little more love in the world.