Chase sat in his office, bouncing the ball against the wall. He’d thought long and hard about why Penny had left him. He’d been an idiot for accepting Raine’s phone call. He’d simply been enjoying a fine Caribbean sunrise, watching the waves roll in as the dolphins frolicked in the peaceful morning surf. When his phone buzzed, he’d considered not answering, but with the samples on the way, he’d wanted to make sure they’d arrived. Instead of discussing the specimens, Raine had called to discuss her latest breakup and her need for him to check out a malfunction in her favorite dive equipment.

At the time, Chase hadn’t given much thought to the conversation until he’d discovered Penny had gone missing. After several attempts to contact her on her phone, he’d called the concierge to see if she’d arranged for a spa appointment or excursion. When he learned she’d left for the airport, it only took seconds of shock to put the pieces together. He surmised that she’d overheard his phone call, and assumed he was still seeing Raine.

His first instinct had been to hop a plane to New York City, but he soon grew angry that she’d thought so little of him not to even give him a chance to explain. After returning home, he immediately missed her infectious laugh, the warmth of her in his arms. He considered that his experiment had not failed. He’d tested Penny all right. Indeed, she was adventurous like he’d expected. But so much more than that, she’d woven the threads of her being into his heart. On their last night on the island, he’d known on the dance floor he couldn’t let her go, and two weeks later, not a damn thing had changed.

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Chase suspected she’d be pissed when she found out what he’d done. He tapped his pen on Evan’s desk, silently rehearsing his argument. A knock alerted him to Evan’s presence. He stood in the doorway wearing a broad grin on his face.

“It’s done. She’s here.” Evan approached and handed Chase an iPad.

“Excellent.” His eyes fell to the screen, his heart pounding as he caught sight of her fidgeting with her phone. “You put her in my office?”

“Yeah, you know Garrett’s going to kick both our asses for this. Already have two text messages from him.”

Garrett Emerson, CEO of Emerson Industries, was a friend, but he wasn’t at all happy that they’d let Penny onto the executive office floor without a valid appointment. The fact that she’d been allowed to stay led him to believe that Garrett wasn’t as angry as they’d initially thought. Although Garrett was traveling, he could have put an end to it at any point with one call to security.

“What did you tell him?” Chase chucked.

“What do you think? I told him that you roped me into this half-assed plan to get your girlfriend to move to California.”

“Hey, for the record, I did text him and I asked if I could borrow his nameplate from his office”

“And?”

“He had a few choice words for me. But, I guess the good news is that he didn’t say no. So we’re on.”

“Why not just go to New York and get her?” Evan asked.

“Because I want her to see what it’s like out here, where I work, my home. If I went all the way to New York, there’s a chance she’d have me booted from her office or apartment before I had a chance to talk to her. She’s pissed at me.” He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m still a little pissed at her, too. The bottom line is that she played it her way on the island and now, I’m playing it mine. No, this is how it’s going to have to be.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her anything. She’s supposed to be meeting with the CEO to discuss her new client,” he explained. The head of Emerson’s legal department, Ryder Tremblay, had contacted Penny’s employer, specifically requesting her assistance on an unnamed project.

“Good luck, man.” Evan shrugged and shook his head at his friend.

“Thanks, but I don’t intend to fail,” Chase responded, shoving out of his chair.

As he strode down the hallway toward his office, he knew he’d be in deep shit with Garrett if this didn’t turn out well. But as he glanced to the tablet and caught sight of Penny, he could have cared less about the consequences. What he’d felt for her on vacation had been as real as the floor underneath his feet, and within hours, she’d be his.