Chapter 11

Leo

Having Grace’s hand in mine relieves some of the tension in my shoulders.

I’ve been in Tokyo all week, working with Sun Toys trying to come up with a plan to sell the company. Due to the size of our companies and the amount of money involved, these discussions take months. But in the back of my mind I’m not convinced I’ll be able to get my brother to agree to sell.

Every day the tension in my neck and shoulders got tighter and tighter. Especially whenever I spoke to George on the phone. I don’t know what his problem is.

He thinks the world is his playground and everything revolves around him. I don’t know how we ended up being such different people.

It’s been weighing heavy on my mind all week.

That and the need to find Grace again. I had my secretary track down her company, and decided to stop in for her on my flight back to New York.

When I saw Grace sitting at the back of her open-plan office, I immediately felt more relaxed than I have in months.

I haven’t been able to get her out of my head all week. She’s been the obsession of my nightly fantasies. And she’s every bit as wonderful now that she’s with me in the flesh.

“There’s a good coffee shop a five-minute walk from here,” Grace says as we step out of the elevator.

“Sounds good.”

We rode down in silence, each lost in our own thoughts but with our hands clasped together. We walk down the street hand in hand, but I can’t help thinking there some rigidity in Grace’s arm.

What is she thinking?

“I didn’t have a way to contact you,” I say.

“You got rid of me in the taxi so fast that I assumed you never wanted a way to contact me,” she says, looking down.

“The rescue happened so quickly I wasn’t thinking straight. I was only concerned with getting you home safely.”

“This is the coffee shop,” Grace says, gesturing to the door.

The sign above the door says Market Bean and the inside is done up to look like an old-fashioned farmers’ market. I hold the door open and follow Grace inside.

After ordering a cappuccino and a skinny latte, we weave through the room to a table in the far corner, beside a crate filled with burlap sacks of coffee beans marked Kenya.

Grace slides into the seat facing the front of the coffee shop, and I take the seat across from her.

She takes a sip of her latte, the corners of her mouth turning up as she drinks. I can’t help but be mesmerized by her.

At the awards dinner, she was dressed skimpily with heavy make-up. We sat side by side and I didn’t get a good chance to really look at her. Plus, my eyes spent most of the time fixed on her cleavage. Then, of course, in the darkness of the cupboard I couldn’t see her at all.

But now, in the daylight and with her in conservative work clothes and natural-looking make-up, it’s a struggle to take my eyes off her beautiful face. She’s even more stunning than I remembered all those nights when I had my cock in my hand while thinking about her.

And I haven’t even looked at her chest once.

“So, it was a weird night, huh?” Grace says, holding her mug with two hands.

“Definitely one of the weirdest I’ve ever had, but also one of the best,” I say, holding her eyes in mine.

She stifles a laugh but can’t hide the redness in her cheeks.

“It ended well enough,” she says.

“I would have preferred it if we hadn’t been found for another thirty minutes or so.”

This time the redness spreads from her cheeks and down her neck. She turns her head away and casually does up the top button on her blouse. I’d like nothing more than to undo it again.

No. I’d like to watch her undo them all.

The redness lessened, she turns back to me and says, “You didn’t speak to Shawna for very long.”

“I wasn’t there to speak to Shawna. I only came to find you.”

“But what about the company? Did you talk to her about licensing brands?”

“Briefly,” I say, thinking I should’ve talked to the woman longer purely for the sake of making Grace look good to her boss. I have zero intention of entering into any agreement with her company.

Her face falls, unable to hide her disappointment.

“I’m in a hurry today. I’m on my way to New York from Tokyo. But I couldn’t wait to see you again, so I altered the flight plan and I have a couple of hours here.”

“You landed your plane just to see me?”

“I did. But I don’t have long, I have to be in New York for a meeting which means I have to leave here by ten-thirty in order to make it on time.”

A broad smile springs across Grace’s face, and her eyes light up. “I can’t believe someone landed an airplane just to have coffee with me.”

“Jet,” I say, correcting her.

She giggles and rolls her eyes the same time. “Fine, jet. How do you just stop to have coffee like that?”

“Easy, to just tell the pilot to land and they alter the flight plan.”

She shakes her head. “It was a rhetorical question. I mean, just for coffee?”

“I was hoping for more, actually.”

Grace’s eyes flare and she pulls her mug in close to her chest. I smirk, knowing exactly how she took that statement. I let the silence hang heavy between us and wait to see how she’ll respond.

“So, Leo, are you hoping that your brands on the Mini Motivations app will be a massive success and make you lots of money while increasing your brand visibility?”

This time I laugh. I decide to give her some hope. “Well, now that I’ve met Shawna, I can learn more.”

“I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know about the company. I may be junior, but I’m very knowledgeable about it.”

“Trust me, the last thing I want to talk to you about is business.”

“Right, I’m the something more than coffee that you want.”

“Exactly. I want you to come to New York with me for the weekend.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I have to work tomorrow, for starters.”

“You don’t. I’ve cleared it with Shawna. She thinks it’s a great idea for you to come to New York.”

Grace’s face becomes unreadable. Her eyes narrow in thought and she purses her lips together. But at the same time, her cheeks blush again. I wonder if she thinks Shawna is using her as an office whore again.

If that’s what it takes to get her on the plane, then so be it.

“I have another event to attend tonight, and I’d like you to,” I pause, choosing my next word carefully, “escort me to it.”

She shifts her eyes to the remains of the coffee in her mug. I’m sure she’s contemplating all sorts of things, and I wish I knew which ones were foremost in her mind — Shawna or the memory of my cock.

“Is that an industry event?” she asks.

“It is.”

“And Shawna wants me to go?”

“She’s eager for you to go. Phone and talk to her if you like.”

“I have never been to New York before.”

“Even better. You’ll love it.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. This whole idea is so sudden.”

Rummaging through her purse, she pulls out her phone and types something. I was kind of hoping she’d phone Shawna.

When I told Shawna I wanted to take Grace and that she’d miss work until Monday, she reacted in a shameless, pathetic way. It was all I could do not to tell her off.

I finish my coffee as I wait for Grace to do whatever it is she’s doing on her phone. A moment later, the phone chimes. Grace looks at the screen and shifts slightly in her chair.

She raises her eyes to mine, and says, “Okay, let’s go to New York.”