Playboy Boss

by Roe Valentine

  “Thanks to you, Kon.” She accepted his hug. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to thank you for your gifts. It’s been tough this last week.”

  He peered at the sleeping baby, and his heart warmed. He was once that peaceful. “No worries, Mari.”

  “I thought I would come by and introduce everyone to my little Andres.”

  “Andres,” Konrad repeated. “That’s a fine name for a tyke.”

  Marisol laughed quietly. “He’s something special.”

  “Looks like it.”

  Susan walked over. “Isn’t he lovely, Konrad?”

  “Absolutely.” He continued to stare down at the child, emotions roiling inside him. He hoped the child had all the love he needed and more. There was nothing worse than neglect. He knew that too well.

  “It’s true what they say,” Marisol began, her gaze on her baby. “I never would have understood it before, but I am not the same person since this one came into my life. I can never be the same.”

  “You’re a mommy,” Susan said.

  Konrad’s heart throbbed, and he wondered if he’d be different too. And then he wondered why he’d thought about being a father. He’d never thought it before. He changed the subject. “So, are you back to work then?”

  The women laughed.

  “He’s got a nice, young temp,” Susan directed to Marisol. “She has him wrapped around her finger.”

  Konrad met Marisol’s all-knowing gaze. “She’s exaggerating. You know you’re the only one for me, Mari.”

  “I don’t know…” Susan shrugged. “He took her to the EaDo Property and gave her a tour of Korr Solutions himself. When has he ever given any one of us a tour of Korr Solutions?”

  “Wait a minute. You took her to the EaDo Property? I haven’t even seen it!” Marisol lifted an eyebrow.

  “I thought she needed some context.” Konrad needed to be more careful.

  “Speak of the darling,” Susan said, making Konrad’s gaze travel to the door where Scottie had walked through.

  Scottie wore a fitted white dress that grazed her knees. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, emphasizing her bright eyes, more green than brown in the fluorescent light.

  “Darling, indeed,” Marisol said under her breath.

  “Shut up, the both of you,” Konrad muttered. He’d hoped his heart was not in his eyes as he watched her. Scottie completely took his breath away.

  She paused before them. “Good morning.”

  “Scottie, this is Marisol.” Konrad pointed to the stroller. “And this is her baby, Andres.”

  “Nice to meet you. I promise I’m not messing up your desk.” She laughed, peering into the stroller.

  Marisol caught Konrad’s eyes for a second before turning her attention to Scottie. “It’s all good. Mess away.”

  “Cute baby.” Scottie grinned down at his little chubby face as he stirred.

  “Thank you.”

  “Well, walk around. Show off that fine boy of yours. I’ve got to get to it.” Konrad walked toward the desk to retrieve his briefcase.

  “I’ll drop by your office before I leave,” Marisol called to him.

  “Sounds good. Scottie, I need you in my office.” Konrad didn’t look back at the women. He could only guess what they were thinking. Yes, Scottie had him very much wrapped around her finger.

  “Of course,” Scottie said, walking closely behind him.

  In his office, he put his briefcase on his desk. “Close the door.” He listened until the door clicked shut. Without looking at her, he said, “How am I supposed to work when your ass looks quite tasty in that white dress?”

  “Umm…” Luscious lips curled up, making him instantly hard.

  “I’m going to ruin that dress. I hope you realize that.”

  “Konrad…” She was breathless.

  He looked up, meeting her languid gaze. “Are you wearing panties?”

  She bit her lip. He grew harder still, like a schoolboy. Scottie made him feel young again, like he could start over.

  Just as she was about to respond, the intercom buzzed. “Konrad?”

  Scottie pressed her lips together. He held up his hand when she attempted to leave his office. “Yes, Susan?”

  “You have a visitor. Pilar de los Santos.”

  Scottie’s eyes darkened, and her whole face stiffened.

  Bloody hell. What an inopportune moment. Not that he didn’t want to see Pilar. He did. They were friends. But why was she there?

  “Send her back.” He disconnected the line.

  “Pilar?” Scottie said, repeating the name.

  Konrad realized how bad it looked. Women dropping by his office. Scottie had already seen it from day one working for him. He’d felt like such an ass for making her buy gifts for them. By the look on her face, she clearly could not forget it.

  “I’m not sure what she wants,” he said sheepishly.

  “I should go work on the presentation for the EaDo property meeting.” She pivoted, but he stopped her.

  “No. Stay.” Her eyebrows raised. He needed to prove to her he was not the same man. Even if he’d only changed just a little, it was enough. “Come here.”

  She glanced behind her. “Where?”

  “Here.” He pointed to himself.

  “Someone will see.”

  “Not if you’re quick.” The challenge made his heart race, because they could easily be seen. Glass walls. Glass door. They were on display like china. And Scottie looked just as fragile.

  She glanced behind her again, walking toward him, slow at first, then faster. Her eyes growing wide and her mouth slightly parting, she seemed unsure of herself. So was he. But he knew one thing. He was going to kiss her. Nothing could stop him, not even the prospect of getting caught.

  “Yes,” she whispered between heavy breaths.

  Konrad glanced outside the glass. No one. He leaned down, taking her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down until she moaned. And just as quickly, he stood, staring at her flushed face.

  “You’re bad,” she said, her fingertips lifting to her mouth.

  “I know.” He took a step back.

  A knock at the door put a mile between them. He took in the curves of Scottie’s profile, her lips, her nose, her delicate chin. Where had this woman been all his life?

  “Kon?” Pilar’s voice took him from his reverie—his dream. His gaze met hers. An odd look washed over her face. She glanced at Scottie. “Is everything okay?”

  Scottie answered. “Y-yes.”

  “Of course. What brings you by?” Konrad asked, accelerating the conversation. As much as he liked Pilar, he didn’t like how upset Scottie was.

  Pilar pulled something from her handbag, a flash of chrome catching the light. “I found this under my bed. Your watch.”

  Fuck. Of all the places, it had to be Pilar’s apartment, where he’d been many times. Fear slipped into his body, making him tense up. When he looked at Scottie, she looked like she’d been kicked in the stomach. All her insecurities were on her face again. This was her problem with him. He knew it. And though they’d made strides since Sunday, this might set them back. He could feel it in his bones.

  “I’ll leave you guys to talk. Excuse me.” Scottie left the room faster than he could form another thought. The door snapped closed behind her.

  “She was there that night, at your friend’s party.” Pilar’s stare was intense on him, her eyebrows lifted.

  He nodded, moving to his chair and sitting heavily in it. “She’s my temp. It was a coincidence. I had no idea she would be there.”

  Pilar walked to a chair across his desk and sat, setting the watch on a stack of folders. She looked up at him, not saying a word, just staring with glossy black eyes. “It’s her, no?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck, his thoughts on Scottie. What must she be thinking? Feeling? His past had come back to hit her in the face, and he hated it.

  “What do you mean?”

  She touche
d her bottom lip, red and full. “You have lipstick here.”

  He sank back in his chair, rubbing his lips together. “Oh.”

  “She’s why you changed so fast. Right?” Pilar crossed her bare legs.

  Yes. “Thank you for bringing my watch. I thought I’d lost it forever.”

  Pilar laughed. “You’re like this watch.”

  Lost and found. Maybe. That was too simple though. “Pretentious and obscenely expensive? Yes, I’m quite like it.”

  She shook her head, standing. “Bye, guapo.”

  He waited until she walked to the door, and just before she opened it, he called to her. “Pilly…”

  She turned to him. “Sí ?”

  “She is why.” There. He’d said it. And he meant it.

  Pilar nodded, a ghost of a smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eyes. “Good.” A second later, she was outside of his office and down the hall.

  Scottie hadn’t been at her desk, though, when he’d stepped back out in the aisle. His anxiety flared. She’d run again, as she had the times it was too much for her. He wanted her to stop running, to trust him. Let him prove to her what he wanted to prove to himself. But it had to be with his actions, words weren’t going to prove anything to either of them.

  He found her in the break room. Jeff was at her side, making her laugh, which Konrad hated. He clenched his jaw at the sight, wanting nothing more than to fire Jeff for being alive. Calm down, Korr. He needed to contain himself. Scottie had been in his bed last night. She would not walk away so easily.

  “Scottie, I need to talk to you.” His voice boomed louder than he intended.

  She continued to stir her cup of coffee, not looking up at him. “About?”

  Jeff’s eyes widened. Scottie was too defiant to be professional, but he knew it was her hurt and insecurity talking. Still, he grew angry at her indignation in front of his employees. “Now, Scottie.”

  “Pardon me, Jeff. Duty calls.” She lifted her cup. “And yes, I will have lunch with you today.”

  Konrad’s fists clenched. Why was this her answer? Why did she punish him for a past he wanted to forget? What did she want from him? What did she need from him to get past her fear of him?

  He took the coffee cup from her hands and placed it on the counter as they walked out of the break room. “You won’t need that.”

  “I wanted that!” She’d raised her voice.

  “Keep it down, Scottine. This is my office, and you will not cause a scene.”

  She pressed her lips together, disdain coloring her face. She followed him down the hall and out of the suite. Konrad didn’t bother to say a word to Susan, who still chatted with Marisol. Sod them. His careless urgency drove him. He’d worry about the consequences later.

  He stopped Scottie at the lift and pressed the button to summon the car. He didn’t know where they were going, but he needed to get her out of his building. To his surprise, she didn’t say another word, only followed him.

  Outside, in the unbearable heat, they faced each other. “You’re not having lunch with Jeff.”

  “You left your watch under Pilar’s bed. So I think I can have lunch with Jeff.”

  He shook his head. “I left that watch there before I met you, Scottie. You know who I used to be.”

  She crossed her arms, turning her face away from the sun. “I know who you are.”

  He grabbed her wrist, pulling her arms apart. He hated the barrier she’d created between them. “Was, Scottie. Who I was. I’m not that bloke anymore. If you can’t believe me, we don’t have a chance.”

  She yanked away from him. “I guess we don’t have a chance then.”

  He was stunned. After what they’d shared, it was hard to hear those words. He thought they’d agreed to let the past live in the past. “If you believe that, walk away right now.”

  She shook her head, the turmoil evident on her face. They stared for several beats before she pivoted on her heels away from him, his heart falling. Before he reached for her, she turned, her eyes bright and glossy. “I don’t want to.”

  He didn’t touch her. He didn’t pick her up like he wanted to do. “Pilar knows about you. So does Dallas. And soon, I want everyone to know you’re with me.”

  He’d barely recognized his words, or his voice. This was not the Konrad he knew and loved. This Konrad was brave despite the fear that kept him dangling on the edge, since he knew his feelings were different with Scottie.

  She was shocked. “Oh…”

  “What time is the meeting with Ortho-Sync?” Konrad needed to be with her.

  “It moved to two this afternoon.” Her voice quivered.

  “You’re coming with me.” He took her hand. “I’ll have to buy you a new dress after what I have in mind.”

  She gasped. “You mean it?”

  Pulling her toward the parking garage street entrance, he said, “Let me show you how much I mean it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Do you think anyone will notice I have on a different dress?” Scottie looked down at the first couture dress she’d ever owned.

  “Not a chance.” Konrad winked at her from the driver’s seat of his sports Mercedes.

  “I’ll return it tonight.” She couldn’t imagine keeping the almost thousand-dollar dress. For that reason, she’d not removed the tag.

  “Don’t be absurd. It’s a gift.” He turned the wheel to get on Main Street. “After all, I completely ripped your other one. I owed you.”

  “You didn’t owe me.” She looked at her unmanicured fingers. “I would have taken the loss.”

  “You don’t have to take a loss with me, Schatzi.” The words fell from his lips as if they were easy to say.

  Was it really that easy now? Though she felt more at ease with him, like she had on Sunday, she still felt sensitive. This was real. It was all becoming more real with each moment with him. She’d always thought her worst fear was she’d fall in love and be completely crushed and abandoned. She’d felt that early on in life. The feeling kept her in a box. Konrad made her want out of that box. But it meant falling, and she was on her way.

  “What kind of loss would you take?” What an odd question for her to ask, but she really wanted to know how far he’d go.

  He stalled, pensive as he came to a stoplight. “I’m not sure I can answer that.”

  She stared at the sleek lines of the inside of his car. She knew how much he loved it. It was his identity. “Would you give up this car?”

  He laughed. “Not a chance. This is my baby.”

  “Not even for happiness?”

  “This car brings me happiness.” He turned to her. “This car and I have been through a lot.”

  A lot of women. Scottie had to force the thought out of her mind. She’d have to stop it. Or walk away, and walking away was not an option.

  “I could give up everything for happiness,” she said, sitting back in the plush leather bucket seat. “Happiness is all there is.”

  He stepped on the gas again when the light turned green. “We should all be so lucky.”

  She turned to him, taking in his profile. “Well, I feel happy right now. With you. In this car.”

  He smiled, eyes still on the road. “Good. So do I.”

  She smiled, turning her gaze forward again. Yes, this was happiness. It had to be. And she felt safe. That might be all she ever wanted.

  ****

  After the meeting with Ortho-Sync, Scottie and Konrad stayed behind in the conference room. Konrad was beaming. It was a done deal. Scottie, however, couldn’t forget the Bayou Sling team. True, they were offering five percent below asking price, while the medical device company offered two percent over asking price, but didn’t the Bayou Sling deserve a chance? EaDo was perfect for the brewery. They could gain customers quickly and offer tours in the facilities. Plus, Scottie liked their give-back program. They hired veterans and freed convicts who were trying to rehabilitate. And they were a green company, advocates for recycling and m
inimizing their carbon footprint.

  Scottie thought Konrad had made a mistake by only looking at the bottom line. Bayou Sling could offer more for the community than the medical device plant could.

  He closed his laptop. “That rooftop patio condo community is as good as mine.”

  “Another condo community?”

  “Of course. Why not?”

  She looked down at her hands. “I think Bayou Sling deserves the location.”

  He frowned. “That’s not feasible. I already explained the bottom line to you.”

  “Bottom line is they will have a more meaningful impact in the long run. This medical device company manufactures artificial hip parts, which is important, but they can put that manufacturing plant anywhere. Bayou Sling can’t be just anywhere.”

  Konrad thought a moment. Then his lips curled. “That’s so romantic, Scottie, but I’m a businessman. I make money, and I will make plenty of money with this sale.”

  She shrugged, knowing it was a lost cause. “I just think if the opportunity for something good comes along, you should take it.”

  He stood, slipping his laptop under his arm. “Oh, I intend to. With you.”

  Just like that, her mind was off Bayou Sling. She smiled at him, memories of their morning coming back, sending ripples through her body. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Taking you home with me. Feeding you Chinese take away. Then giving you the most intense pleasure you’ve ever known.”

  The apex of her thighs throbbed. “Why wait?”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Come again?”

  “Indeed.” She stood, thinking she wanted to taste him. She wanted to give him pleasure as he’d given her. “The copy room is empty.” And there was a proper wall and door for privacy.

  “You’re quite naughty, aren’t you?” He grinned.

  “Yes.” She walked to the glass conference room door and pulled the door handle. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Five minutes later, Scottie heard the door of the copy room open. Konrad filled the doorway. God, this man was so beautiful. He closed the door, holding her stare as he locked it.