I sense Cate’s presence the moment I step into the hallway, and I purposefully linger over telling one of my assistants where, specifically, I want her to display my family photos behind my desk. Let her see me. Let her get the full effect.

When I turn to face her, I see that she’s frozen in mid-step, her cheeks a vibrant shade of pink and her mouth half open in an expression that’s so inviting it takes every ounce of self-control I have in my body not to close the gap between us and take her face in my hands and…

“Mr. Hunter, when the movers get back up here, where do you want them to put the sofa?”

“By the windows, with the two chairs.”

By the time I look up from speaking to the assistant, Cate’s gone. Fleeing down the hall, probably. I wish I’d had the chance to watch her leave. I have plans for her, though, so I’m sure I’ll get another opportunity.

It’s early for me to be here, but I wanted to get all the setup started before Sarzó tried to stand in my way. Since the woman isn’t due to be in until 8:30, I’ve left plenty of time.

At 8:35 exactly, I leave my office suite and make my way down the hall to the twin suite at the opposite end.

The doors to Sarzó’s inner office are open, and Cate stands near the desk, notepad in hand, listening to her boss reel off a list of tasks for her to complete. Her face is completely neutral, even though Sarzó’s tone would have sent me over the edge a long time ago. Both women look up as I cross the carpeted floor and drop into the seat opposite Sarzó. “Hello, Ms. Sarzó. Cate.”

They haven’t taken their eyes off of me. A mild, detached confusion shows on both of their face, but bright red color comes to Cate’s cheeks.

“So, Mr. Hunter.” The editor-in-chief interrupts the silence, and I get the impression that Cate is the one who usually handles things like social conventions. Leave it to Sarzó to outsource that, too. “I see you’ve moved in down the hall.”

“Exactly as I detailed in my email. I thought we could take a few minutes this morning to discuss my role here at Basiqué.”

Sarzó lets out a laugh that walks the line between indulgent and irritated. “I read your messages carefully, Mr. Hunter, but I don’t see how you could become any more involved with Basiqué than you already are.”

Which is to say, not involved, aside from my money.

I flash her a smile that Sarzó can’t help but react to, even if it’s only to stiffen her back. “That’s exactly what I came here to clarify.”

“Should I step out?” Cate’s voice is even, but I can tell she’s struggling not to let her emotions show on her face. The fact that we’re so close to one another, the smooth scent of her in the air, has my cock rock-hard. There’s no way she can ignore the unspoken heat between us.

Sarzó waves the suggestion away. “No, Catherine. Mr. Hunter won’t be staying long.”

This woman is something else.

“You’re right. It’s a very busy morning, so I’ll get to the point. Last night, I made the executive decision to close Williams-Martin’s other print properties and focus all the resources on Basiqué.” Cate’s mouth falls open, but she stifles her gasp. “Despite the niche appeal of some of those publications, I’m not interested in keeping them running for the sake of sponsoring pet projects. I’m interested in making a profit. That’s why I’m going to be taking a more hands-on supervisory role.”

Sarzó leans forward and takes in a sharp breath, but I cut her off. “Of course, I’ll do my best not to interfere with your editorial decisions. But I will need daily updates on how this operation is being run.”

“Is this in lieu of the agreement we made on Monday?” Sarzó’s words are clipped, tight.

“No. You’ll still have two issues to prove to me that this is a worthwhile investment on my part. However, I will be monitoring the situation closely. That’s where Ms. Schaffer will come in.”

“Catherine?” Sarzó cocks her head to the side as if she’s hearing the name for the first time.

“Yes. I’d like you to make her available to me periodically throughout the day so that she can keep me apprised.”

“Absolutely not.” Sarzó’s tone is so firm that it takes me off-guard.

“Excuse me?”

“Catherine is not a common secretary. She manages all of my affairs. She doesn’t have time to be reporting back to you during the workday.”

I don’t let the flash of anger that spikes up in my chest show on my face. I own Sarzó’s magazine, and she thinks she can disregard my requests? It’s unbelievable on several levels. Maybe she’s more of an opponent than I’d thought.

Through all this, Cate has made no move to interrupt the conversation and interject with her own ideas. The way she stands, so perfectly still, so at attention, begs me to strip her clothes off and bend her over my bed, see how still she can stay while I fuck her, tease her, punish her…

“I’ll defer to your experience on this, Ms. Sarzó. Would you be open to a compromise? I’d like to be kept informed of the daily goings-on here. Could you spare Ms. Schaffer perhaps once a day, around 5:00? That should be sufficient time.”

Sarzó leans back in her seat and removes her reading glasses. Not once does she look at Cate to gauge her reaction. Cate’s feelings are entirely irrelevant in this exchange. It’s impossible to know what the editor is thinking, but my guess is, she’s weighing the cost of allowing Cate to meet with me once a day against the benefit of being on my good side, now that I’m paying her salary.

“Very well. But you should be aware that Catherine will not be available to you for more than thirty minutes. Our workday doesn’t end at 5:00. It ends when I say it ends.”

“Perfect.” I rise from the chair and extend my hand first to Sarzó, then to Cate. When our skin touches it’s like a bolt of lightning, a surge of electricity, and for an instant the entire office disappears around me. All I see is her face, her full lips, her gorgeous eyes.

Snap out of it.

Not a second too soon, I drop her hand and nod my goodbyes.

I’m not even to the door when Sarzó starts listing off more things for Cate to do.

I’m starting to see why Cate is so uptight about her work. It must demand everything she has to give.

Don’t worry, I think to myself. She’ll have more to give. For you.