“So you’re good with this arrangement?” Imani asked at the other end of the line.
Devon breathed into the phone. He peered around his office, like he had for the past two hours ever since the fiasco meeting at the conference room in the morning. Where the hell was she? He tried her cell phone, only to hear the jazzy ring tone from her desk. “Yes. She can be the CEO.”
“This will be better for all of us, Devon,” Imani said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. “When I hired you to work with us, Matthew was against it. Creatively, you are a genius. Even if you can’t always keep it in your pants. I’m not wrong about her. I’ve studied some campaigns she managed in New York.”
Devon clutched the football-shaped paperweight in his hand. “She’s smart. Caring. She’ll do great.”
“Wonderful. Matthew said he doesn’t want to buy any of my shares, and given his divorce proceedings that wouldn’t be recommended anyway.”
Distracted, he looked at the football. Why the hell was Elena hiding from him? Ever since he’d come back to the office to talk to her, to discuss their future, she had been absent. His heart was like a freaking drum, each beat louder than the last. Loosening his tie, he said, “Yeah.”
“I’ll give you a good deal. In fact, I was thinking—”
For how much longer would he have to wait? Shit. He sucked at waiting. Surging to his feet, he sat the paperweight down on the table and flicked off his computer. “Can we discuss it later?”
“Sure.”
He hung up. Rolling up his sleeves, he strode through his office. There wasn’t any telling item at her desk that announced she’d be back soon. The papers were stacked as usual, her computer screen was black on sleep mode, and not a single pen had been left out of the stainless steel holder. Everything was where it belonged except… the cat mug.
With a smile, he headed to the break room. If she wasn’t there, at least one of her two friends had to steer him in the right direction. He’d waited a long time for a woman like her. A woman who could make him forget the pain of the past, and make him not want other things as much. Other women. And shit, he wasn’t about to let her go without fighting.
Someone greeted him as he marched on the hallways. He grunted in reply. Devon had to find Elena and talk to her. Convince her that he was worth a second chance. He stormed in the break room, and was almost out of breath.
A couple of employees turned around, eyeing him with curiosity, and he rubbed his forehead. He scanned the area, his gaze darting from the table to the refrigerator to the cupboards. Shit. Elena wasn’t there.
He was about to leave when his cell buzzed in his pants. He withdrew it and a wave of disappointment swept over him. The number wasn’t Elena’s, nor did he recognize it.
He hesitated to answer, but as he exited the break room he pressed the talk button. “Devon here.”
“Go to the main elevator,” said a female voice that sounded a lot like Toby’s assistant. There was a snicker, and before he answered, she hung up. Great.
Elevator? He followed the instructions anyway, his pulse skyrocketing. Eating up the distance with long powerful strides, he ignored the glances darting his way. Who cared? The only thing he wanted was to find her. And kiss her. And never, ever let her go.
He pushed the elevator button. Once.
Twice. Three times.
The doors opened. Colorful balloons filled the interior. Green, blue, red, and yellow inundated his field of vision. He dipped his head to the many curly white strings, his heart thrumming in his chest. A couple of people whispered a few feet away from him, and he imagined some curious coworkers were as eager to find out what was happening as he.
Then, it hit him… When he was stuck in the elevator as a child, he dreamed of balloons. And the only person he told that to was…
Elena.
She stepped forward, pushing a couple balloons off her face with her hands. Her hair was tousled and she had to push some of it from her face to look at him. The moment his eyes found hers, his gut clenched. A flutter went through him. It was as if he were a teenager again on his first date. But, this time, it could be the first day of the rest of their lives. And it would be, he’d make damn sure of it.
“Devon, I’m sorry.” She spoke first, her voice tremulous. “I swear I didn’t go behind your back about finding the truth about Imani. I never came to this company to be the CEO.”
“You will be a great one. I accepted your suggestion. And I’m behind Imani’s decision one hundred per cent.”
“Really?”
A balloon popped, and she jumped. He stepped into the elevator, and had to push a few of them out of his way to make room. How long did that take her, and who helped her? A fuzzy sensation, one that was still new to him, lit him up like fireworks on a dark night. “Yes. I was a stupid idiot for thinking for a second that you were this heartless person who wanted to throw me under the bus. I’m sorry, Elena. I was scared because I love you.”
“You do?” She squealed. “I love you too, Devon Wilder. I want to fuck you every day of my life. And I also want to do everything couples do before and after fucking.” Although her voice was steadier than before, a lovely shade of red covered her cheeks.
“Like marriage, and children?” he suggested, even though it sounded more like a statement. “And labs. A couple of them. Maybe a white picket fence?” He meant to say it playfully, although his tone was dead serious. A nervousness that wasn’t common to him crashed over him, and he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Anticipation brewed inside him, as he gazed deep into her bedroom eyes.
“I so much prefer wrought iron to white picket fences.”
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, and a shot of arousal zapped up his arm. “Thank God. That was a deal-breaker.”
She watched him, and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Are you sure? That I will be enough for you?”
Another balloon popped, but he didn’t take his eyes off of her. “No. You are more than enough. More than I deserve, but I will earn your love every day. When I was with Regina, it was different. It was comfortable and safe. With you… I can’t bear imagining you with another man. Hell, I punched your ex for coming close to you. You are it for me, baby girl. You’re all I want,” he said, enunciated the last sentence as if he wanted to leave no doubt of his love for her.
She got on her tiptoes and linked her arms around him. “I can’t believe this… I’m so happy.”
He shoved some more balloons out of their way, and they ended up floating away. “Wait. Does that mean you will change the company’s policy so employees can date without repercussions? Even marry them?”
Her gaze fell to his lips. “That may be my first order of business.”
“I know just how to convince you,” he said, and pulled her into his arms. His lips covered hers, his tongue finding its way into her delicious mouth.
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“You’ve been a very, very bad girl, Kate,” Graham said in a low growl, and the little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. He turned her around and pulled up her black skirt, exposing her shivering flesh. “And this is what a bad girl gets.”
He bent her over the table, the cold glass pressing against her bare breasts. Gasping, she plastered her hands on the smooth surface as he pulled down her panties. She wished she had kinkier lingerie on, instead of the boring tan-colored undies even her Tea Party grandmother would approve of.
When he palmed her ass, his hand circled it lusciously, leaving her skin warm and tender. “I’m going to fuck you hard, but first you need to pay for being a naughty girl with a crush on her father’s best friend.”
She chewed on her lower lip. How could she argue? He swatted her butt, and she heard the sharp slap before her skin tingled and throbbed for more . . . much more. “Sorry. I–I couldn’t help it,” she said, her breath fogging the glass.
He squeezed her ass again and Kate moaned, the sound so loud she’d bet the neighborhood could hear. God, what was she thinking? And why did it feel so damn good?
“You like it dirty. And now it’s time to pay for it,” he said.
Yes. Yes. Yes. She’d dreamed of this for years, and now, at the age of twenty, her fantasy would finally come true. Her nipples tightened. She ached to be touched where no other man had ever touched her before. She had saved herself for this moment. For him. Graham Davenport.
“Spread your legs for me, Kate.”
God. Her clit vibrated at the idea. He nudged her thighs apart with his hand, his fingers scissoring her soaking wet folds. She moved her head from one side to another, unable to stay still at the delicious sensations his touch evoked in her.
He groaned. “Oh, Kate . . .”
Four years. She’d wanted him for four years, and finally, they were about to—
“Kate? Kate Crawford?” said a higher-pitched male voice, much different than the one previously ringing in her ear.
Kate’s eyes opened with a start, and she almost jumped from her airplane seat. The flight attendant flashed her a friendly smile. “We’ve arrived in Maui.”
Still startled, she glanced around at the blankets and pillows left on the empty seats and littering the floor.
"Thanks," she whispered and grabbed her large tote in the overhead compartment. The pilot greeted her when she exited the airplane, and someone put a colorful lei around her neck.
She picked up her luggage, then headed to the area where hotel shuttles and vans picked up passengers. A burly, uniformed man in his fifties carried a sign with her name on it.
"I'm Kate Crawford," she said, stretching out her hand. A woman with a plan, she added inwardly. The images of the dream popped into her head, and she bit back a smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Louie.” He reached for her luggage even before she could refuse any help. “Mr. Davenport told me to pick you up.”
He did, didn’t he? She knew the man who occupied her mind for the past few years, Graham Davenport, the world's sexiest man who happened to be her father's close friend, would not pick her up from the airport himself. She'd known him for a decade and had started to feel tingly around him when she'd been sixteen.
Back then she’d blamed it on her teenage hormones, or maybe her strict upbringing had messed with her brain. She’d tried to squash that infatuation anyway she could: she turned to the church, she dated guys her age, and she studied a lot. She even ran track for the school team.
But now Kate could no longer lie to herself. She’d start a one-year course in one of the best hotel schools in Switzerland in the Fall. This summer meant her last opportunity to try to convince Graham she hadn’t saved herself for him for no reason—and she’d stop at nothing. I'm a freshman when it comes to actual sex, but a Ph.D. when it comes to fantasizing. The time to turn her fantasies into reality had come.
She followed the driver out of the airport, and he took her to a stretch limo and not the hotel shuttle guests would hop on upon arrival at the island. Why the deferential treatment?
I know why. He opened the door for her, and she slid into the limo. This was Graham’s way of showing she was no regular tourist. She was his friend’s daughter and he’d always kept that in mind and treated her like such. However, the tables would soon turn. When she’d begged her father to ask Graham to accept her as an intern in his exclusive new resort for the summer, she knew he wouldn’t say no. Graham and her dad went way back—even though her father had a few years on Graham and was certainly more of a homebody than the sexy man who haunted her dreams.
“Is this your first time in Maui?” the driver asked before he turned on the engine.
Images of naughty dreams where Graham screwed her fast and hard against a wall or in the sea, populated in her mind. He’d talk dirty to her, kiss her, and claim her as his. Did he know he wanted to do all these things? Maybe not, but she wouldn’t mind showing it to him.
“Yes.” She’d take care of other first times while visiting.
“Graham, are you okay?” Sheri asked, neatly holding her iPad on her lap. They had gone through some sales reports, but he couldn’t have remembered any of the data if someone had held a gun to his head.
Graham blinked. “Yes. Of course,” he said, smoothing his tie.
“Did you go to any meetings today? I didn’t see anything on your schedule. Is this about the Preston function next week?” she asked, mentioning the fundraiser that would get him one step closer to nailing a million-dollar account he’d coveted for a long time.
"No," he said honestly. Though he definitely should be thinking of the Preston ball and finding a proper date for it. Someone who could blend in the background and didn't seem annoyed but also not fascinated by the thousand-dollar-per-plate event.
"Then why on Earth are you wearing a tie?" Sheri pointed at his striped gray suit and dark silk tie. "You only dress like this when you're entertaining out-of-town business folks or meeting with big clients."
Graham swallowed hard. He’d barely admitted to himself the way Kate Crawford stirred him, there was no way in hell he’d admit it to his assistant of five years. Though as a forty-six-year-old single mom to four kids, Sheri always knew which buttons to push to get information, so he’d better shut her down fast. “I thought I’d switch things up a bit.”
“Are you trying to impress some woman? Because with your looks and checking account, you’ve pretty much got that covered,” she said, chuckling. “But hey, the suit is a nice touch.”
He curled his fingers into a ball with white-knuckled intensity. Impressing Kate had never crossed his mind—in fact, if anything, he preferred to keep her away. Images of the bonfire gathering in Malibu flashed through his mind. Jacob had invited him to Kate's seventeenth birthday celebration and he'd ended up going. Until then, Kate had been his friend's daughter: someone he chatted with about music and TV shows and teased once in a while—all in good fun, of course.
She’d found him alone, staring at the Pacific Ocean, and struck up a conversation. Kate had shot some lingering glances and seductive smiles his way, but he’d ignored them. Then, she’d leaned closer to kiss him—his cue to excuse himself and leave the party immediately.
He’d made a point to only meet Jacob for activities that excluded Kate—during lunch or couples’ only dinner parties. What’d scared him most about the bonfire night wasn’t that she’d tried to kiss him—but, for one moment, he’d wanted to kiss her.
“Well?” Sheri pulled him out of his reverie.
“I need some coffee,” he said gruffly.
She tossed her curly hair to the side and surged to her feet. “Grumpy. Hmmm. I’ll find out whatever it is you’re hiding from me.”
I doubt it. What would she, or anyone, think of him lusting over someone two decades his junior? “Black coffee. No sugar. No cream.”
She flashed him a knowing smile. “I’ll be right back.”
When she closed the door behind her, Graham sighed. He ran his hand down his face, remembering the awkward conversation he’d had with Jacob Crawford. His best friend had asked him to show Kate a day-to-day routine at the resort—as she would be attending a hotel school against his wishes all the way in Europe. But Jacob believed his daughter needed to have real hands-on experience, too, and who better to ask than Graham?
Graham sighed. Jacob had never asked for a thing, and he had been the one who’d loaned Graham money when he’d wanted to open his first property in California—he’d had the concept and the sweat equity but being the guy from the wrong side of the tracks, he hadn’t had the money to make it happen. His entrepreneur friend had helped him, and even though he’d paid him back well over a decade ago, that had been monetarily—he still owed him his loyalty. Damn it. Jacob had believed in his talent. And now, he should wave an olive branch to the girl who tempted him beyond belief. The only one he couldn’t have.
His phone pinged.
Did Katie arrive safely? Haven’t heard from her and she was supposed to arrive two hours ago.
Crap. Graham had sent the driver he used for VIP guests. Sure, he could have picked her up himself, but imposing limits from the beginning was better and keeping a safe distance, critical.
He glanced at the text message from Jacob. Shit. Checking on her was the least he could do. He slid his phone into his pocket and rose to his feet. Sheri entered his office again, carrying a hot cup of coffee when he lifted his hand and said, “Sorry. Gotta go.”
She said something he didn’t hear, nor wanted to. Sheri had a dangerous intuition when it came to his life, and he’d hate for her to discover the dirty secret he’d kept locked for years.
He swallowed hard.
He marched through the lobby, a couple of employees nodded or smiled at him. He strolled into the check-in area and logged into one of the computers to look for her room number.
“Looking for someone?” a female voice said, and he raised his gaze.
Kate stood on the other side of the desk. Her blue eyes gleamed, and he blinked so he wouldn’t focus on them. Staring at her was more dangerous than staring directly at the sun. His gaze slid down her long, soft neck, a pulse visibly throbbing at the base of her throat. The red spaghetti-strap dress hugged her body like a glove. Her breasts appeared fuller, much bigger than before.
Graham stepped back as if someone had threatened to fight him and he wondered if it'd be worth it or not. He'd never been in a fight he hadn't won—and to continue his track record, he'd kept away from Kate Crawford because battling an emotion was harder than anything.
She flashed him a smile—tentative at first, then her bow-shaped lips exposed her sparkling white teeth. The last time he’d seen her she’d had her hair down her back, and now the ends curled at her shoulders, with sophisticated layers framing her beautiful face. Kate Crawford was all sultry woman, ripe for the taking. “I already checked in. I came downstairs to ask where I could find you.”
A thrill moved through him. Shit. “Tomorrow morning I’ll introduce you to the general manager, who’ll go over some paperwork and goals to make sure you get the most out of your time here.”
“Thanks.”
He cleared his throat. “You should text your father.”
"I will. I guess I'll just order room service." She shrugged. "Nice seeing you, Graham," she said and walked away.
He sucked in his breath. Shouldn’t he at least feed her? They knew each other, and he couldn’t let her order room service during her first night in Hawaii before her trainee program. Wouldn’t it be the right thing to do? She’d text Jacob and tell him his best friend hadn’t even bothered to make her arrival special. Damn. Jacob always made time for him when he visited L.A., where Graham used to live. Many times he’d even throw a dinner affair. Once he’d visited California during his birthday and Jacob and his wife, Anna, prepared a surprise birthday party for him. And what was he doing in return?
“Kate,” he called, and she turned around. “I’ll take you for dinner tonight. I’ll pick you up at the lobby at seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Graham forced a smile. One dinner and that would be all.
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