by Cecy Robson
“Jesus, Evan,” I say straightening. “All this work, and you’re not even getting paid for it?”
“No.”
His fingers skim along my backside. It’s not sexual, at least that’s not how I take it. He’s taking comfort in my presence, just like I’m doing in his.
“I believe in this company,” he says. “And I’ll sacrifice whatever it takes to save it.”
“But don’t you have bills that extend past what you’re shelling out here?”
“I do,” he admits. “But I should have enough in savings and stocks to cover it.”
“Should?” I ask.
He doesn’t want to tell me. But I’m starting to think I’m the only one Evan confides in. “I may have to deplete my savings in the coming months if things don’t change. It’s either that or file for bankruptcy, and I refuse to go that route.”
I kiss the spot between his ear and his cheek. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself around him most of the time, and even less now. “Then let me help you.”
“Wren, I can’t ask you to give up your salary.”
“Good, cause I wasn’t offering,” I admit.
He laughs and nuzzles my neck. I wish he didn’t feel so good there, he does. “How much did your marketing reps make? The ones you let go last week?”
“They were young, new, and inexperienced so only about a hundred thousand each.”
I nod. “Okay. So how about we replace them with old and not so new, experienced people who won’t need as much.”
He shakes his head. “They were two people. You’re talking about hiring what? Twenty reps alone?”
“You’re not hiring,” I tell him, grinning back at him when he cocks an eyebrow. “You’re paying them by the sale, just like they would make at the dealership. Ten grand in their pockets for each sale they make. You teach them everything they need to know about Mechanicus Whatever-icus, pay them for their travel, lodging, and food, and you’ll make close to ten times as much with the first good faith check the buyers drop.” By now I’m really smiling. “A hundred times as much over the next few years, from that one sale.”
His hand, the one that’s been tracing invisible circles into my upper thigh stills. “Ten thousand dollars isn’t a lot compared to what they’ll bring the company.”
He’s not shooting me down, he’s thinking out loud and coming to terms with the cost versus the revenue. That doesn’t stop me from going full speed ahead. “I’m not talking salary. I’m talking sales bonus. A week to train. A week to sell. And you get ten grand. That’s two-hundred and sixty thousand dollars a year, selling one product every two weeks—which is more than they would make selling cars, and a shit ton more for you.”
“And I don’t have to pay them insurance or benefits,” he adds.
“Not unless you choose to hire them. And in a few months, you won’t need to train them so intensively. They’ll have all the basics down, and still be selling like they’re on fire.” I smirk. “This company pays too many people who don’t do squat a ridiculous amount of money, and doesn’t reward those giving it their all.”
“Wren, this sounds good in theory. But while they have extensive sales experience, they’re unfamiliar with robotics, let alone nanotechnology of this caliber. Despite their strengths, a week isn’t enough time to learn all the tech we’ve developed and need to sell.”
“No, but it’s enough for twenty people to learn one product each. Yeah, that one product is complex, but so are the car engines we’ve familiarized ourselves with. And they’re not haggling on price or contracts like we had to, you have your legal team for that. Clifton and Anne, and your senior staff, can teach them what each product does and oversee their pitches via conference calls while my reps work their magic.”
“All right, that’s a solid plan for my sales department. What about the administrative staff?”
“I’ll take care of the administrative staff. I can fire, hire, and reward. If you trust me, I can do that for you—”
His mouth crashes into mine and his fingers dig through my hair. That crisp shirt he’s wearing doesn’t stand a chance when I yank him closer, his sweet taste making me ache for more.
Jolts of heat burn their way through my core, adding an extra sizzle to our already burning kiss. “Bloody hell,” he rasps, his voice tortured as he buries his mouth against my neck.
My nipples tighten to stiff points, straining and begging to for his teeth to scrape along sensitive buds. But as ready as I am to continue, he doesn’t appear ready to carry things through.
He pulls away slowly, his head falling against the headrest. “I’m sorry,” he gasps. “I know I promised to behave like a gentleman.”
Some kind of sound, maybe a squeak, escapes my throat before I manage any semblance of words. This is a man who knows how to curl my damn toes. “I’ll let it go this time,” I say, prying my fingers lose from his collar.
He laughs as I fall against his chest. “I like you here,” he says, his hand returning to my ass.
“With your hand on my right butt cheek?”
“That, too,” he says quieting. “But I meant having you close.
His lips feather over mine. “My favorite time of day, is any time I get to see you.”
“That’s my favorite part, too,” I admit, wishing I could say it better.
I close my eyes and rest against him, enjoying the feel of him.
We have a lot to do, but neither of us move for few long blissful minutes. “Are you sure you can do what you’re taking on?” he finally asks. “It’s not easy to let people go.”
“It’s not,” I agree. What I don’t say is that I’m willing to do a lot more for his company, and even more for him.
“All right,” he says, switching back to big badass boss mode. “Cancel my next meeting, get the directors of HR, Sales, and Finance in here, and I’ll make it happen. How soon can your former coworkers start?”
“They’ll be here at eight-thirty tomorrow morning.”
I don’t have to look up to know he’s smiling. “When did you phone them?”
“Two days ago,” I admit. “After I worked out a plan, reserved the conference room downstairs, and had Clifton and Anne’s secretaries free up their schedules.”
He laughs. “How did you know I’d say yes?”
I ease away enough to see his face. “I didn’t,” I admit. “I only knew you’d listen.”
His features split with surprise and what looks like the start of grin. Genuine feelings from a genuine man capable of stirring far too many good feels. I rise and walk out. I don’t know what’s happening between us.
All I know is that I’m ready for more.
CHAPTER 14
Evan
In the weeks that follow, the amount of work seems to increase, rather than lessen. Not that it slows me down. In fact, my drive to succeed surges, as does the need to hold Wren in my arms.
I step out of my office. There’s no stack of folders I’m holding or documents I’m reviewing, there’s simply a desire to see the woman I can’t get enough of.
She glances up as she slips on her coat. “Hey,” she says. “I was just on my way in to tell you I’m leaving and to thank you for my present.” She tips her head to the side. “You’re leaving soon too, right?”
“I have another hour of work before I can head out.” I smile at the disbelief clouding her features. “This time, I mean it.”
“I hope so,” she adds, sounding worried. She lifts her new purse, showing it to me. Already it’s stuffed with the contents of her old purse, and possibly the former purse itself by the looks of it. “This wasn’t necessary. Pretty, pricey, and sweet, but not necessary.”
“Yes, it was. I only wish I could do more.”
“You already do enough,” she says.
“Not for you,” I admit.
I reach for her hand, wincing when pain shoots into my shoulder. A fine line forms across her forehead when she crinkles her brow. �
�Finnie worked you pretty hard this morning, didn’t he?”
Yes, and I’m still feeling the effects. Not that I bother to mention it. “It’s worth it,” I say instead. “In the few weeks your brother has trained me, I’ve had better conditioning than in the months I worked out with that imbecile.”
I don’t bother to keep my annoyance from my voice. Wren, of course, notices. “Imbecile?” she asks. “Are you still pissed at your personal trainer for saying I have a nice ass?”
“No, I’m pissed at him for telling me you have a nice ass and admitting how he’d like to ‘tap it’”.
“All right,” she says. “But in his defense, not that I’m nuts about what he had to say about me, he didn’t know we were together.”
“He does now,” I remind her.
“Evan, everyone on the entire floor realized that when you went all caveman.” She clears her throat, attempting to mimic my accent and doing wretched job. “Blimey, that’d be my woman you’re talkin’ about, ye bloody wanker. Bugger off before I shove your tiny bollocks up your steroid injected arse!”
“I never said that,” I say, chuckling.
“Close enough.”
“And you sound like Steve Irwin.”
“The Crocodile Hunter?”
“That’s right” I reply.
“Hmm,” she says. “I was going for David Gandy.”
I shake my head.
“Daniel Craig?”
“No.”
“Hugh Jackman?”
“He’s Australian.”
“You sayin’ I suck at accents?”
“Embarrassingly so,” I admit.”
She pretends to be offended when I throw my head back, laughing, but ends up laughing just as hard.
“Hey, I can do a lot of things, but English accents aren’t one of them.” She tugs my sleeve. “My point is you really lost it. I thought you were going to throw me over your shoulder or some shit.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I say, flashing what I hope is an innocent smile. “Unless you want me to.”
She laughs. “I shouldn’t say this, but it’s nice to know that you care.” Her tongue slides along her incisor. “About me and my assets.”
“I do,” I confess, reaching for her hand. “More than you realize.”
Her playful demeanor leaves her, replaced with soft beauty that warms my chest. “You make it so easy to like you,” she says.
“I can say the same about you,” I tell her quietly. “That, and that I like you more with each moment that passes.”
She seems to think beyond what I say. My thumb carefully strokes the back of her hand as I realize how tired she seems. “It’s late. Let me walk you out.”
She knows I’m not asking. Every night I escort her to her vehicle, relishing any time we can spend alone. We see a great deal of each other, now that we work together, and often eat lunch and dinner in my office. But our intimate moments are limited, and our conversations usually revolve around business or “Evan Almighty taking Over the World,” as she describes it. With everything we’re implementing, I’m hoping that will change and I can devote more time to our relationship.
Her fingers thread through mine, our steps as we walk down the hall of cubicles are the only audible sound. I nod to the security guard stationed near the elevator. “Good evening, Mr. Jonah,” he says.
“Good evening,” I respond.
The corners of his mouth lift when he focuses on my lovely companion. “Night, Wren.”
“See ya, Mikey,” she calls. Unlike me, who can barely keep track of my immediate staff, she’s already familiarized herself with the majority of my employees and made quite the impression.
“Oh, hey Wren. Did you hear?” he asks. “The 76ers are up by ten.”
“Of course they are, Mikey, because the Celtics suck and my boys are making sure they know it.”
He laughs as I simply shake my head, wondering how she keeps up with it all. The elevator doors open, the tech in my watch in tune with the sensor fixed to the arch, summoning the elevator whenever I near.
“Alfred, parking level,” I say, leading Wren inside.
“Parking level initiated,” Alfred announces.
Wren leans her head against my shoulder when the doors close. I slip my arm around her waist. “By the way, California Medical emailed me a few moments ago.”
She lifts her head. “And?”
“They don’t want Eldar Mechanicus.”
“For fuck’s sake, why—”
“They want the entire line of Mechanicus,” I tell her smiling.
Her initial frustration is quickly replaced by shock followed by elation. She throws her arms around me. “Evan!”
I pull her against me. “I believe the CEO’s exact words were, ‘your representative Penny killed it.’ He was leaving for the day, but he’s calling tomorrow to finalize the deal with me and my legal team.”
“I knew that kid had it in her,” she says, jabbing me in the chest. “Holy shit, that’s sixty-grand to her for a week’s work—which means she just passed Oscar in sales!”
“And brought in six hundred thousand for the company in good faith deposits.” Her eyes widen when she realizes what this means. That doesn’t stop me from telling her. “We’re looking at six-hundred million over the next ten years with this hospital alone, more if they extend it to their network of clinics and doctors.”
“You’re doing it, Evan,” she says. “You’re saving the company.”
I lean in for a celebratory kiss, but she steps away when the elevator door opens. Lionel, one of the key members of my legal and contracts team steps on, the exhaustion in his posture doing little to squelch his enthusiasm. “I just saw your email. Well done, Evan.”
I shake his hand, smiling, then promptly return it hold Wren’s. She tries to keep a respectable distance in front of my staff, initially shying away from any show of affection. I don’t want to pretend that there’s nothing between us, nor deny what she means to me. I told her as much and prove it every time I walk her out.
Lionel’s focus briefly drops to our entwined hands. Like many of my staff, he’s likely had his suspicions, but I’m happy to confirm them all the same.
“What time do you want to meet?” he asks, turning to face the doors.
“I suggested noon since it will be nine their time.” I look to Wren. “We’ll notify you as soon as we know. Just make sure the team is available.”
“Evan, the team will set up tents in your office to avoid missing that call,” he tells me, causing us to chuckle.
We walk out of the elevators, through the enclosed glass lobby, and into the parking deck. “Good night, Evan. Wren,” he adds, nodding.
“Good night,” we reply.
He heads toward the right. My reserved parking space is just a few feet from elevator, as is the Assistant Vice-Chair spot where Wren’s vehicle waits. “That’s a good title for you,” I say motioning to the letters painted into the concrete.
“No, that’s a good spot for someone more qualified than me.” She opens the door with the key fob and places her new purse on the seat.
“You may not hold the degree, but you have a gift for business.” My gaze darts across her face as my arms find her waist. “You deserve a change in title and more money. But I’m too selfish to let you go.”
“Then don’t let me go,” she tells me.
I suppose it’s too soon to tell her I never want to, so I say something else instead. “Will you do something for me?”
Her smile is sweet while her tone suggests more. “Haven’t you figured out that I would do anything for you?”
I close my eyes, relieved not only to hear her words, but how she says them. “I want us to go away next weekend. Pick the place, I don’t care what it costs. My only wish is to be alone with you.”
Since the day she fell onto my lap, our kisses come more frequently as well as our affection. We’ve also managed a few dinners out and some functions with her
family. Just last Sunday, we went to see a movie that according to her had, “a lot of shit that will blow up and people shooting at each other, but you’ll love it.” She was right, but it was the time we shared that I most enjoyed.
As I ask her to plan our getaway, she knows I’m asking for more than a goodnight and a gentle touch. I want to wake up with her beside me.
“If I say yes, will you do a couple of things for me?” She grins at my nod. “There’s a birthday party coming up that I’ve been invited to. I’d like you to go with me.”
“Fair enough. What’s the other thing?”
“I want you to go upstairs and finish your work.” Her skin flushes as her smile widens. “Then I want you to come home to me.”
I straighten. “You want me to spend the night with you?”
She meets my face, ardor erasing all doubt. “I’ve been trying to be good,” she tells me. “But tonight, I want more than a little naughty. Tell me you want it, too, so I don’t have to spend another night without you.”
CHAPTER 15
Wren
Evan doesn’t move. I supposed he’s stunned stupid. But I mean what I say. Every night I leave, it’s like I leave a part of me behind. At first, that nagging feeling made me think I forgot to send an email or prepare a document he might need. But when that nagging feeling continued without cause, I realized the one thing I was leaving without was him.
I wanted to bang my head against the steering wheel when it finally hit me. Not that this isn’t a good thing. It’s just, I don’t know, new. I’m used to assholes like Bryant. But Evan isn’t him. Every time we say goodbye, I have to fight the urge to run back to him.
“You’re not saying anything,” I tell him, smoothing the hair along his temple.
“Only because I have no intention of returning to my office.”
“But you have to,” I remind him.
“No, I don’t,” he says, leaning in to kiss me.
I press my hand against his chest, keeping him in place where his lips linger over mine. “I know what this company means to you, bossman, and I won’t keep you from your work. Take your time, I promise to wait.”