For the first time in my life, I’ve met my match. Still standing in the exact spot I have been for what feels like the better part of an hour, Sasha has me stumped. I tried to get to her, to rattle her, but she’s so strong and determined, and fuckin’ knows her shit. She is the best architect I’ve ever met. It’s obvious TIC handpicked her, just like they did me.

My phone rings, pulling me out of my Sasha daydream. I hit ignore on Dex’s phone call; he’s the reason I was late to the meeting in the first place. Well . . . I was here but had to step out to calm his ass down. Apparently, my cousin woke up in pain and rather than dialing 911, the dumb fucker called me—repeatedly until I answered.

As the meeting comes to an end I step outside and call Dex, “She okay?” I ask the instant he answers.

“Yeah,” he says, “the doctors said her pelvis is tilting to prepare for labor and it’s causing nerve pain."

“Damn, is the baby all right?”

“Yeah, healthy and good.”

“That’s great. What about her pain?”

“They said she has to push through it. She’s gonna start physical therapy tomorrow, so hopefully, that’ll help a little as well.”

As Dex and I talk, the meeting begins to disperse. The others who are part of the project start to filter out of the room, and I know I need to get off the phone so I can catch Sasha. “Good, thanks for keeping me updated.”

“For sure.”

“I hate to run, but I gotta go. I’ll text you in a bit?”

We hang up, and right as I put my phone into my coat pocket, out walks Sasha. She looks as gorgeous as ever, even with her wrinkled clothes and messy hair. My eyes scan up and down her body.

The second she spots me, I keep my stare and can tell she’s trying to avoid me. She starts up a conversation with some old fart, whom I’m sure she doesn’t even know his name. I stand there and watch her doing a very terrible job at evading me and can’t help but smirk.

My driver pulls up and parks in front of the building. I glance at him over my shoulder and know she will ride back with me. Somehow she keeps the conversation going and I finally walk over, interrupting her little chat with gramps, “You wanna ride?” I ask her.

“No, thanks. I’ll catch a cab.”

“Really? We’re going to the same place.”

“I know,” she responds casually crossing her arms over her perky tits.

The old man walks off, and I tell her, “Weren’t you the one just talking about being green with this build? Wouldn’t riding back to the hotel together be the right thing to do? I mean, for the environment and all.”

She rolls her eyes and says to me, “After the way you just called me out in there, I’d rather walk than catch a ride with you.”

I glance down at her shoes. “There’s no way you’d make it a block in those heels. Come on.” But she doesn’t budge, so I politely ask, “Will you please ride back with me, Sasha?”

She huffs and gives me a good eye roll acting like a precocious child.

“Fine!” Her nipples are so hard, just like they’ve been the entire morning. For some reason, she didn’t deem it necessary to wear a bra to present in front of a bunch of men. This had my cock throbbing, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one either. Even now, my eyes fight to stay on hers. It’s part of the reason why I called her out like I did. I needed to do something other than visualizing her naked while I stuffed her full of my cock. I smile, happy that she’s agreed to ride with me. No matter how unwilling she seems, I’m still holding out hope that she’ll give in to me.

“Come on, get in,” I tell her as I open the rear door, “you need to get back to the hotel and iron that shirt before anyone else sees you dressed like that.”

“You’re such an asshole, you know that?”

“I know,” I tell her waiting for her to get in the car, but she won't. She’s a mere few inches from me, her scent consuming me. The closeness and her holding her ground, staring at me like she is, has me balling my fists to keep control. “Get in,” I growl and step even closer. Without another word, she listens to me, for the first time ever and sits in the back seat. Once she is situated inside, her long legs, long hair, and those motherfucking nipples, all have my body coursing with adrenaline. I’m tempted to hit the roof and send my driver off with her, but fuck, who am I kidding? I close the door and walk around, not sure how I’m going to get through this car ride.

As I take a seat next to her, I pull out my cell phone and decide I’ll just ignore her. She already hates me. Plus that line I keep drawn between business and pleasure just popped back in my head.