Chapter 40

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Alex

WILLIAM DIED ONE WEEK before Thanksgiving, and I was pretty sure he left this world a happy man, thanks to Rose. Rose and I attended the small service Audra had put together, and she couldn’t express her gratitude enough over the part we played in reuniting the two of them. Little did she know, but in a way, William had played a part in bringing Rose and me together as well. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve never seen that kind and caring side to Rose and would probably still be hating on her for thinking she was someone she wasn’t. I would always be grateful to William for bringing her into my life in a way I had never imagined.

My parents had just left after spending Thanksgiving in New York. It was nice to see them, but I was happy to have my place back to myself. Rose had gone to California to spend the holiday with her parents and had just gotten back into New York the night prior, so for the first time ever, I was looking forward to Monday morning. I never realized how long five days was until actually spending the last five without her.

“Hey there!” She poked her head into my office, and I couldn’t contain my smile.

I stood up and checked her out from head to toe. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes, even for just getting in at 2:00 a.m. and only managing four hours’ sleep. She still looked gorgeous. She took a few more steps in as I inched closer, reaching behind her and slamming my office door closed. Taking her in my arms, I planted a kiss on her lips to make up for the past five days.

“I’ll take that as you missed me?” She grinned, taking my face in her hands and smiling up at me.

Lowering my head to hers, I couldn’t resist tasting her lips once again. Her hands moved up my back, and I knew I had to pull it together fast before we started something we wouldn’t be able to finish here. “I think we better save this for later.”

“Are you having a problem there, Mr. Andrews?” She smirked, no doubt feeling the problem down below pressing into her.

“Just a little.”

“I say it’s a lot more than little.” She giggled. “Maybe we should take care of that.”

I laughed it off then became more serious when she began to undo my belt buckle. I was dying to have sex with her…but at work and in my office? What the hell was I thinking? How could I even second-guess it? If she was willing, then I was certainly able. “We gotta be quick. I’ve got a meeting at nine.”

“I can be quick, and by the looks or should I say…feel of this”—she pressed herself into my erection—“I think you can be quick too.”

I reached over and locked the door, deciding to throw caution to the wind and put myself out of the sexual misery I was in.

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“With time to spare.” Rose giggled as she fixed my tie.

“You surprise me more and more every day.”

She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “What can I say, I missed you too.” She stood on her tippy toes and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

“Shit,” I muttered when I heard the knock on my door.

“Alex?” my uncle called, turning the locked door handle.

Rose calmly opened the door with a huge grin on her face. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even realize that was locked. I just needed to talk to Alex in private about some drama I had going on back home.”

I looked down at the floor and grinned. She sounded so convincing. My uncle was the one who seemed a little flustered.

“Rose, I thought you weren’t coming back until Wednesday.”

“Nope, Monday. You’re probably getting me confused with Lucy. She’s out until Wednesday.”

“What’s up, Uncle Henry?” I interrupted.

“Oh…umm.” He looked at Rose, still frazzled. “I wanted you to meet an old acquaintance of mine. He and his son are here from London, and they’re interested in possibly doing something similar to our magazine in the UK. They had a few questions, and I thought maybe you’d be best to answer them.”

I looked down at my watch. “Umm…yeah, sure. It’s gotta be quick, though, I’m supposed to be heading out for a meeting in a few.”

“You know what? We can always reschedule another day.” My uncle seemed all too happy to do so, hastily turning around to make an exit.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got about ten minutes,” I said.

“Okay, they’re in my office,” my uncle advised.

“Rose, can you do me a huge favor and see if Marisa has the mockup I need to bring to this meeting?” I asked.

“Sure. No problem!” She darted off.

“Wait…Rose!” my uncle shouted, but she was already out of earshot.

“Everything okay, Uncle Henry?” I asked. He was so on edge, definitely not his usual self this morning.

“What?” He snapped out of it a bit. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Okay, can we get moving then? I really need to get going soon,” I asked as he stood in place staring blankly ahead.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

I followed behind him and entered his office to find an older man around my uncle’s age and a younger one who I’d judge to be about my age.

“Alex, this is Phillip York and his son, Collin.”

They both stood up and greeted me with a handshake while I tried to figure out which of them was smugger—father or son?

“So, you’re the Marine your uncle Henry has bragged about all these years?” the older man asked in a thick British accent.

I stared at him blankly, already disliking him a little for bringing up a subject I didn’t care to discuss with anyone, much less a stranger. “My uncle was telling me you had some questions about the magazine.” I got right to the topic at hand.

“Oh, yes. Like your uncle, I like to think I’m a pretty shrewd businessman, and I’m looking to expand that business by branching off into the magazine industry. Of course, ours will be mainly online. But seeing how this is such a success in the States, I wanted to get a feel for how it’s run, and your uncle tells me you’re the guy to talk to.”

“To be honest, I couldn’t tell you much about the online version of it.”

“Are you not business partners with your uncle?” the younger guy piped up.

I gazed at my uncle. This was his company, and I never let my uncle or any of the employees think otherwise, regardless if my father owned half of it and put me in charge of his half. “No, this is my uncle’s magazine.”

The two men looked at each other in confusion.

“I don’t get it, Henry, when I asked about buying into the company, you said your nephew is part owner,” the older man remarked.

“My father owns half the business, which is set up in my name. As far as I’m concerned, this was my uncle’s business. He built it from the ground up, so he makes all the decisions…and as far as I know, he’s not interested in having anyone buying into his business,” I intervened.

“Well, lad, I think you may want to rethink that decision you’re making on your uncle’s part. This could be a very successful merger,” the older Mr. York remarked as an arrogant grin spread across his son’s face.

“If my uncle has no interest, then neither do I. Now will that be all? I have a meeting I need to be at.”

“If you’re really serious about not partnering up with us, then I’d love to set up a time where we can bounce some ideas off you for setting up our business. We’ll be in the States into the New Year. We have some other mergers to look into and my wife wants to spend Christmas here. Surely, we’d be able to set something up between now and then,” Mr. York replied.

“I told you, I don’t really get involved in the online version of the magazine—”

“Excuse me.” I turned my head in Rose’s direction as she stood in the doorway with the mockup I’d requested in her hand.

“Actually, this is the girl you want to speak with about the online edition,” I continued.

My uncle shifted in his chair and nervously raked his hand through his hair. I caught his gaze and creased my eyebrows, wondering what the heck was going on with him and why he seemed so freaked out by Rose’s presence. He dropped his gaze to his desk and cleared his throat.

“Maybe another time,” my uncle finally spoke. “My nephew has to be at a meeting now, and I have my morning meeting with my staff.” What the hell was his deal? Was he not even going to introduce them to Rose?

The two men stood up at the sight of Rose, the younger one pissing me off big-time, not concealing the fact he was checking her out as he eyed her up and down.

“This is Rose,” I introduced. “She’s in charge of the online version of the magazine.”

“Rose, it’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’m Phillip York.” The older man gently shook her hand while his son stood behind him like a horny teenager, hoping to get laid for the first time.

“And you as well.” Rose smiled.

“Rose, do you mind heading into the conference room and starting the morning meeting for me?” My uncle hastily stood up, bordering on downright rude.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Rose seemed to be taken just as off guard by his abrupt behavior as I was.

Rose started to make her exit when the son stopped her. “Oh, wait, Rose. I’m Collin York. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

How I wanted to wipe that slimy grin off his face with the meeting of my fist. I stiffened my posture, inching closer to Rose right before he went in for the attack.

“Oh, hello. Nice to meet you as well,” Rose replied, rather coolly.

His face dropped, and his arrogant demeanor faded away ever so slightly over her chilly reception.

“Here you go, Alex.” She handed me the mockup and gave me a knowing smile. “I’ll head in and start the meeting for you now, Mr. Andrews. It was really nice to have met you both.”

“Thank you, Rose,” my uncle muttered, barely able to look at her.

“I really need to get going as well,” I said.

“Please take my business card.” The older Mr. York said. “In case your uncle changes his mind. My cell number is on here. I’d love to chat about the possibilities.”

I reluctantly took the card from his hand, without any intentions of getting in touch with him. Giving them both a curt nod, I headed out of my uncle’s office.

“Rose!” I called just as she was about to head into the conference room.

“What’s up?” she asked.

I pulled her into the copy room when she came closer and pressed my lips against hers.

“What was that all about?” She laughed.

“Just in case you were getting any ideas about Mr. British in there.”

She laughed. “Now, Alex, you should know I don’t go after the ones with manners. I find the ones who act like a total dick to me when we first meet to be the sexiest.”

“Good to know.” I grinned and watched her walk away until she disappeared into the conference room. Jealously wasn’t normally my thing, but Rose brought out things inside of me I never knew existed, and the way that guy was eyeing her up in there made my blood boil in a way it never had before.