Chapter Eight
Trace
I watched Cierra walk out into the night and it took all my strength to stop myself from chasing after her, crushing her against me, and kissing her tempting lips. I ran my hand through my hair and slumped against the pillar. If I hadn’t spotted Ms. Pierce, the night would’ve played out differently. Her drunken gaze was the cock-blocker I needed. All I saw after that was my grandfather’s face, and it wasn’t smiling.
Shit. I have to get a grip. But Cierra felt damn good in my arms. She did something to me that I couldn’t explain.
“You up for another game of pool?” Nick asked as he came up to me with a draft in hand.
“Not really.” I pointed to a tall dude guzzling a beer. “He’s looking to play.”
“Cool. What happened to the chick you had in your clutches? She didn’t want any fun?” Nick laughed.
“You saw that? She actually tripped and fell into me. Hey, that guy’s coming our way.” I didn’t want to explain Cierra to Nick. Normally we’d have a laugh about it and I’d move on to scope out the room for another hot chick, but it wasn’t like that with her. Talking about her in that way seemed cheap, and besides, I didn’t even know what was going on with the two of us. I know she felt the same strong pull but she was fighting it. I was sure she still saw me as a player and an asshole, but the connection was real, and that’s what kept bringing us together.
I have to stop thinking about this. About her.
“I’m good to go,” Nick said as he followed the tall dude to the pool table.
I went to the bar and ordered another dark lager. Several women were checking me out, tugging their tops down so more cleavage showed and trying to catch my gaze. I wasn’t into it. Then Ms. Pierce wobbled her way toward me and I turned around, hoping she hadn’t seen me. If I just kept my back to her I’d be—
“Mr. Prescott.” Her voice was like a cheese grater on my nerves. “What are you doing here?”
“Same thing you’re doing. Drinking.” I half turned toward her.
“I never thought I’d see you in a place like this. I mean, I thought you only hung out in places where you have to be on a list to get in.” She hiccupped and brushed her bangs away from her forehead.
“Surprise. I’m just like the ordinary folk.”
“That is a surprise.” In her inebriated state, sarcasm was lost on her. “Are the paparazzi here?” As she spun around, scanning the room, she lost her footing and, once again, I saved a woman from falling on her ass. But she wasn’t Cierra, so I settled her against the bar.
“It looks like you’ve had enough, Ms. Pierce.” And I had as well. “Good night.” I walked over to Nick and told him I was going to take off. He wanted to stay, so we made plans to meet at the club for a game of racquetball the following week.
Outside, a chilly mist clung to every surface. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I walked toward my car. Once inside, I started thinking about Cierra, what she might be doing right now. I imagined her in a short, sheer nightshirt, stretched out on her couch with her knees bent and her legs parted. No panties, just a peek of pink visible….
My cock punched against my jeans. I was hard just thinking about her.
So fucking lame!
I threw the gear in drive and sped away.
That Monday, I made it a point to avoid Cierra. I’d convinced myself that I was going through some crazy shit because I had just taken on a huge responsibility in running Velocity. Cierra was an easy distraction, and that’s all there was to that. Now that I had a handle on what was going on, I didn’t need to lean on what I knew so well—women.
Besides, I had a much bigger problem to deal with: crucial information about Vibra had been leaked to one of our competitors, DTG Agency. I’d been on the phone all morning with our client, trying to assure them we had a handle on it, but the truth was we didn’t. As much as I and my grandfather hated to admit it, we had a mole in our midst. My grandmother would’ve killed me had she known I brought my grandfather into the melee, but I needed his help. He knew the employees better than I did, and he would be better at guessing who would have access to the information and would betray us.
The focus at the moment was the production department, but in this industry, all the departments worked closely with each other. It could be anyone. It was a mess. We were two weeks from launch and DTG Agency, which had sprung up only in the last few months, was turning out to be a big contender.
The fact that the shit hit the fan after my first week didn’t go unnoticed. It felt like someone was trying to either sabotage my position or get back at my grandfather for leaving abruptly. Doug Raley’s face slid across my mind, as well as Gwen St. Martin in Online Development, Ron Stillwater in Accounting, and a few other staff members who’d been bitter about the way Grandpa handled the situation.
What I needed to do was find out everything I could about every employee and DTG Agency. I wasn’t going to risk Velocity’s credibility and the faith the shareholders and the community had in the company. I picked up the phone and dialed Ivan Soulianovich. He was a private investigator I’d used over the years when I needed to thwart phony lawsuits from photographers, women, and others. A rich guy like me had all sorts of people trying to take my money. It seemed like my wealth brought out the worst in people.
After talking with Ivan, I decided to stroll through the different departments and make sure everyone knew I was going to be present in their work lives. If I could see the daily workings of each department, I’d be better equipped to figure out where the leak was coming from.
I left Cierra’s department for last, hoping she’d have taken off a bit early. No such luck. She was hunched over her desk, her brow furrowed, fingers flying across the keyboard when I passed her office. Just because she was there didn’t mean I had to talk to her; she was obviously in the middle of something and I knew I shouldn’t disturb her. I went by for a second pass and paused. She lifted her head, those captivating eyes met mine and I was frozen to the spot. I couldn’t move. And I didn’t want to. It felt as though someone had stung me, but instead of pain it was this sharp wash of excitement that shuddered through my body. She smiled at me nervously, lifting her hand to wave, and I did the same.
“Hey,” I said from where I stood.
“Hi.”
I took a few steps and stood in the doorway. “You look hard at work. I like seeing that.”
She laughed. “Lindsey asked me to send some things to her so she’s up-to-date when she comes back on Thursday.” She gestured toward the computer.
“She really trusts you.”
She shrugged, then shook her head and grinned as though she couldn’t lie even to herself.
“Yeah, she does. She knows I was at that meeting with you last week, and I think that’s elevated me in her eyes.”
“You shouldn’t need any elevating,” I replied, leaning one arm on the door frame.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Did you get home okay the other night?”
She blushed at the reminder. I loved the way crimson painted her cheeks.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“It was good seeing you outside of the work environment.” Her cheeks turned redder.
What the fuck are you doing? I was flirting with her at work, out in the open. I had a clusterfuck going on with Vibra, two new prospective clients I was wooing, and a board of directors that wouldn’t be too happy about the leak, and I was flirting with Cierra, an employee. What the fuck is wrong with me? And I wasn’t even going to think about the no-fraternization policy. I was striking out on all fronts.
“Yeah.” She turned to her computer. “I should probably get back to work,” she went on, her voice lowering a little bit. “But… thanks for dropping by.”
I turned on my heel and walked away, putting some distance between me and the woman I couldn’t seem to stay away from. Heading to the elevators, I wondered if I’d bitten off more than I could chew with Velocity.
And with Cierra.