Eagerly gripping the papers to my chest, I tried to act professional, but I was practically bursting with excitement. From her smile, I knew that I wasn’t fooling her, but she dismissed me with a wave of her hand. I thanked her once more before skipping from her office before she changed her mind.
Lucas Montgomery warmed my bed at night and my thesis was well on its way.
The week was getting better and better.
Chapter Eight
Sloan
Wrapped in his arms, I leaned against him on the couch and snuggled. “What movie did you want to watch?” I murmured.
Lucas kissed the top of my head. “I wanted to enjoy a steak from a five-star restaurant. Staying in to order pizza and watch a movie was your idea,” he reminded me.
“Five-star restaurants require makeup and dressy clothes. Randi is going to be suspicious if I keep raiding her closet, and I’m too tired to try my hand at contouring and smoky eyes.”
He snorted. “I’ve seen you all dressed up. I doubt you spent more than five minutes on your makeup.”
Lifting my head, I stared at him. “Does that bother you?”
“Why would it?”
“Reporters are always taking pictures of you. Imagine the rumors if the woman at your dinner table wasn’t wearing the latest styles or newest makeup trend.”
He leaned down and kissed me. Slow and easy. My toes curled, and something warm and comfortable settled in my stomach. “Sloan, I have never given a damn about the reporters. Neither should you.”
Leaning over me, he grabbed the remote for the television and turned it on. “I guess you’ll want to watch a romantic comedy?”
Looking horrified, I stared at him. “Are you kidding me? Your television is huge, and you have surround sound. I want to see explosions or awesome special effects.”
“You are surprising,” he murmured as he pulled the list of movies up. I chose one that I’d seen a hundred times. I wasn’t here to see a movie or eat pizza. I was here to enjoy his company. It was amazing when his naked body was wrapped around me, but I wanted to be with him without the dirty, dirty sex.
It was dangerous. Pretending to be his girlfriend was definitely playing with fire, but he didn’t seem to mind, and I was feeling daring. Things were going well.
“I haven’t asked you yet. How is the search for the mole going?”
His body tensed undermind, and I wondered if that was a subject best left untouched. “Not well. There are a lot of suspects and no clear motives.”
Picking up a slice of pizza, he held it up to me until I took a bite of its gooey cheesy goodness before taking a bite himself. “I can’t remember the last time I had pizza.”
I snorted. “Really? I have pizza at least twice a week. The pizza place is the only thing around campus open past ten. I’ll probably be ten pounds fatter by the time I graduate. Would you still want me then?”
The thoughtless words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Of course Lucas and I wouldn’t still be together by the time I graduated. That would be more than six months from now. I wasn’t even sure I could keep his attentions for the next two weeks.
“You’d have to eat an awful lot of pizza between now and then to gain ten pounds,” he said in a neutral voice.
Diplomatic. Part of me desperately wanted to ask him how long he thought he’d be interested in me, but I knew it was dangerous territory.
“Well, I’m glad I could remind you of the common life. Tomorrow night, I’ll fix you a bowl of ramen.”
He wrinkled his nose, and I laughed. “No? How about grilled cheese?”
“I offer to take you to the nicest restaurants, and you offer to make me ramen and grilled cheese. How is that fair?”
I stole another bite of his pizza and smiled. “I had no idea that our agreement was based on fairness.”
He stared at me and ran his hands down my body. Even though there was lust in his eyes, I could have sworn there was something else. “No, it’s not.” His voice was husky when he leaned down and kissed me. Setting the slice down on the plate, he moved his hand up under my shirt, and soon the movie and the pizza were forgotten.
Randi was waiting for me when I snuck back into the apartment just after dawn. I would have left for class directly from the Montgomery estates, but I’d forgotten my books. Lucas was up before the sun and doing push-ups in the bedroom.
Otherwise, I would have been back sooner, but there was something incredibly sexy about watching him exercise naked.
I was impressed with how many sit-ups he could do while I was straddling him.
“I got in an hour ago,” Randi accused. “Imagine my surprise when your bed was still made. I know damn well that you were not at the library, so you might as well tell me the truth.”
I could still smell Lucas on me. “I thought you’d be happy that I was having some fun.”
“Of course I am. I’m worried that you’re not telling me about it. Sloan, be honest with me. Are you still sleeping with Montgomery?”
She crossed her arms and stared at me. Taking a deep breath, I let the bag slip from my shoulders. “Would it really be so bad if I was?”
“If it was anyone but you, I would say no. Sloan, he’s going to hurt you.”
Jutting my chin out defiantly, I glared at her. “Randi, I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. Lucas and I have an agreement that’s purely sexual. It’s been a great way for me to release my tension. I think I’m quite good at this casual sex thing.”
“And what’s his interest in you?” She immediately closed her eyes and shook her head. “Shit, Sloan. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know exactly what you meant,” I growled as I grabbed my bag. “You think I’m not pretty enough or exotic enough to catch the attention of Lucas. Why don’t you just admit it? Are you jealous?”
“Sloan, you know damn well that’s not what’s going on here. Yes, Lucas can have his pick of women. He likes them powerful. He’s just playing with you, Sloan. As much as you might hate to admit it, you’re not the kind of woman who fucks a man at night and forgets them the next morning. He’s not the man who settles down with someone. You know that I’m right, but you’re ignoring it. If you get lost in whatever fantasy keeps playing in your head, you’re going to get hurt.”
I felt nothing but cold anger as I stared at her. God, I knew she was right, but this was something I had to prove to myself. “That’s my problem and not yours. Next time, mind your own damn business.”
She gasped, but I was already halfway to my room. Slamming the door shut, I leaned against it and tried not to cry. Deep down, I did want her to find out. I wanted someone to talk to, but it was obvious that Randi was not going to support me.
We’d never fought. At least not like that. We’d argued over music and noise levels. I sometimes lost my patience with her when she forgot to clean the dishes, and she’d snap at me when I forgot the groceries. But this was different.
This had actually hurt.
The shower started, and I knew that I wasn’t going to get the chance to bathe before class. The scent of Lucas and sex would follow me around all day.
I wasn’t exactly upset about that.
Stuffing the books in my bag, I tried to put the argument behind me as I grabbed a blueberry muffin from the kitchen and shoved it in my mouth. Opening the door, I walked straight into Matthew.
Matthew Rehn was my odd neighbor. He was handsome, but he worked odd hours and never spoke much. Randi and I had talked endlessly about our theories about him.
At best, he was a secret CIA agent. At worse, he was a serial killer.
But he was always nice to us, so we didn’t bother him much. I couldn’t hide the surprise from my face when I saw him.
“Matthew!”
The muffin was still in my mouth and muffled the sound. He lifted an eyebrow and smiled at me. “I’ve caught you at a bad time.”
Pulling the muffin out of my mouth, I swallowed. “I’m sor
ry. I do know not to talk with my mouth full. I was just on my way to school.”
“Right.” He handed me an envelope. “This was at my door last night. I tried to deliver it then, but neither you or your roommate were home. It’s addressed to you, but there’s no postage on it. Were you expecting something?”
I shoved the muffin back in my mouth and shook my head as I took the envelope. I could have put down my keys, but that didn’t occur to me until after I looked like a complete idiot in front of my neighbor.
“Right,” he laughed softly. “Have a good day.”
I stole a peak around the doorway as I watched him enter his own apartment. One of these days I was going to figure him out.
Shoving the envelope under my arm, I locked the door behind me and shuffled to the car. After only a couple of hours of sleep, I desperately needed coffee.
Although it made me late, once again, to Dr. Elliot’s class, I did stop for coffee. Luckily, my professor didn’t interrupt class this time to berate me.
After the lecture, I pulled the signed form for my thesis experiment from my bag and hurried down the steps. “Dr. Elliot?”
“Is your alarm clock still broken, Ms. Whitlow?” he said without looking up.
Damn. He did notice. “No. I just didn’t get much sleep last night,” I muttered.
“I assume that’s because you were working on your thesis?”
Only if my thesis included a gorgeous naked man on the couch. And the bed. And the floor. “I got permission from Surry Elementary school. I’m in the middle of speaking with Lab Rescue and High Tails Humane Society. They’re both looking over the information, but I think High Tails has already decided to work with me. They have until Monday to get back to me, and then hopefully I can start drawing up an itinerary.”
“Excellent. Keep pushing the way you are, and I know you’ll be ready for this summer. It will have to be a full twelve-week program. You won’t be able to cut it short in order to have more time for your analysis.”
“I know. I’m not going to take any short-cuts.”
“Good.” He finally turned to eye me. “Ms. Whitlow, I’m sure you’re aware that Montgomery Industries is a big supporter of the school.”
“What?” Surprised, I stared at him. “I didn’t know that. Why are you telling me this?”
He looked like he wanted to say something before he shook his head. “It’s not important. I’m sure you’re acting ethically and morally in your actions.”
Shoulders slumping, I stared at him. He knew. He knew that I was sleeping with Lucas, and he thought I was using that power to push my thesis along.
But how did he know?
More importantly, why did he think I was the kind of woman who would use sex to my advantage?
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said softly as I lowered my gaze. “I’ve worked hard to get where I am now, and there is nothing but hard work driving me.”
“Of course. I don’t mean to imply otherwise.”
But he did, and we both knew it.
“Have a good weekend, professor.”
“Email me if you need me for anything,” he said absently, but he didn’t look me in the eye.
For some reason, I couldn’t meet his eye either. I had nothing to feel guilty about, but that didn’t stop the knot from forming in my stomach.
Is that what everyone would think?
It wasn’t until I got back to the car that I remembered the envelope. Sitting in the stuffy heat, I pulled it out and ripped it open.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I found. Pictures. One right after the other.
All of them with Lucas and Iris. Naked and in different stages of ecstasy.
“It’s in the past,” I whispered. “It has nothing to do with me.”
My hands shook as I shuffled through them. Even though I knew what it would do to me, I couldn’t stop.
There was a note at the end.
This is who he is with during every lunch break. You seem like a nice girl. I thought you should know.
Chapter Nine
Lucas
“The expansion into Japan is going well. The factory should be up and running sometime next month,” I said tonelessly as I tried not to yawn. It wasn’t just that I didn’t get much sleep last night. There were easy moments with Sloan. Time where it felt comfortable and natural. But when she was in my bed, I gave her everything I had. I was driven by every moan, every quiver, every soft sound that I could wrench from her pretty little mouth.
It was perfect and exhausting.
“And Boston?” Jenson asked hotly. “We’re not here to talk about Japan. I want to know why you’ve halted the search for real estate in Boston. We projected next quarter using those numbers.”
Just two years ago, Jenson was nothing more than the irresponsible son of an extremely wealthy family. His mother was born into old money, and his father owned a pharmaceutical company. His mother died years ago of cancer, and he lost his father in a house fire. Jenson had immediately sold the company and had millions to play with.
He had a hand in several pies around the country, but he seemed to enjoy investing in me. I wanted to smack the smile right off the little asshole’s face, but his father and my father had been good friends. If he were older, we might have grown up friends.
I couldn’t fault him. He was just bringing up what everyone was thinking. I had to handle this carefully.
“I was given some new information last week, and it has caused me to reconsider the Boston project.”
Jenson smirked. “And what was that?”
“Some information that could greatly affect the Boston economy. That should play out over the next month, and then I’ll decide whether or not we should make the move or not.”
Addison cleared her throat. “What information would that be? Who is your source?”
I smiled. “Mrs. Addison, I have always shared pertinent information with the members of the board. I only withhold now because if you knew, you could be a witness against me.”
There was nervous laughter in the room, and I knew I’d covered the issue for now. We concluded the meeting, and when it was just myself and Hamburg left, Torrence joined us.
“Did you see anything suspicious?” I asked in a low voice.
Torrence shook his head. “Nothing. If it’s a board member, they’ve covering their tracks. You handled the situation well.”
“That’s true,” Hamburg grunted. “Meeting was a damn waste of time. You didn’t tell us anything new.”
“That’s the point,” I said softly. “I hate to distrust my own board, but I can’t risk any sensitive information getting out.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Torrence’s phone rang. I saw the tension in his mouth when he looked at the screen.
“Who is it?” I asked in a low voice.
He didn’t answer. Turning his back to me, he held the phone up to his ear. His shoulder’s tightened in anger, but he only thanked the caller and hung up.
“Torrence, what the hell is going on?” I demanded.
“There was a press release in the DC newspaper,” he said softly. “Something about a merger with Garland Software.”
I froze and stared at him. “That’s not possible,” I muttered in a low voice.
“Montgomery?” Hamburg growled. “What is he talking about? We’ve never discussed a merger.”
A shudder crawled down my spine. “That’s because the information never left my office. My private office. In my house.”
“God,” Torrence muttered. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“David Garland contacted me three weeks ago. He wants to retire, but he’s afraid his son will run the business into the ground. He wants to sell it to me so long as it could keep his name. I told him that I would think about it, but we both knew that I would agree. It’s a lucrative buy. The conversation never left the office. It never made it past the fucking phone. Torrence, you swept my home. You d
idn’t find anything.”
“No,” he said quietly. “So someone placed the bug and removed it without you knowing. They had access to your home, Montgomery. That’s incredibly dangerous.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. My mind was already whirling as I tried to think of the people who had been in and out of the house. I had a cleaning staff. People to maintain the grounds and the pool. The cleaning staff had a key, but they were thoroughly investigated. They were also the only ones allowed in my house without supervision.
“Torrence,” I said softly.
“I’ll look into your staff. You still have your security cameras up and working?” he asked gravely.
I nodded. “I’ll stop by tonight and have a look at the monitors. Please let me send someone home with you until I can get there.”
“No. If I do anything out of the ordinary, they’ll know. Come when you can.”
“Lucas.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“What about the company that you keep,” he reminded me softly.
Sloan. “That’s a low blow, Drew.” But he wasn’t wrong. Sloan had spent the night with me. I’d licked every inch of her naked body, and for all I know, someone could have been listening.
It made my blood boil.
“It won’t be a problem. She won’t be setting foot anywhere near the estates.” I would not put her in danger. No matter how badly I wanted her. “Hamburg, you don’t breathe a word of this to anyone. I’ll speak to Garland myself and see what he wants to do next. His stocks are probably going through the roof.”
The older man watched me carefully. “You can’t keep this a secret for long. The board is going to know about the leak. DC isn’t some small town. News of the merger will reach them.”
“Nothing has been finalized. I’ll contact the newspaper and let them know they’ve made an error. Pressure them to retract the article. If the board asks, we can blame the leak on Garland.”
Evergreen: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 93