“Earth to Tori?”

“Um?”

She blinked, finding Lexi right in front of her, one hand on her hips, and shaking her head.

Oh dear. She’d done it again.

For the last week, she’d taken to daydreaming anytime, anywhere. Which was rather inconvenient. While it hadn’t yet cost her any clients, it certainly hadn’t been kind on her panties, given the fact that what she dreamt of was a hot, kinky, sexy man with a thick, eight-inch-long dick, adorned with piercings that had been fitted with a G-spot radar.

Parker had given her the kind of treatment she was certain she’d never forget. He’d fucked her, hard and fast, all those little metal bubbles massaging her insides as he pumped in and out of her. Then, carrying her to his bed, he’d fed her strawberries and given her champagne, before making her ride him.

Then, there had been the shower. And the wall. But it was the last time that was marked in stone – and for a day, marked on her ankles, too. He’d taken red rope conveniently left in his bedside table, and tied her wrists together at the top of her head; each of her feet, he’d bound to the bed-frame.

“Are you comfortable, luv?”

He’d asked, like it was a normal question when someone had their ass in the air. She’d nodded. So, he’d fucked her like a goddamned savage, grunting, yelling until they came, and came, and came.

The entire night had been an experience she wasn’t about to forget, but the… she bit her lip, knowing there was only one word for what he’d done to her. The bondage was still fucking with her brain. And her pussy.

“Sorry, I was…” As creaming my panties wasn’t an office-appropriate term, she settled on, “thinking.”

“No worries. I have the copies of the contract you asked for. Jana is still pissed you’ve managed to pull Harris Toys.”

She smiled. “It helps to be friends with the CEO’s fiancée. Although that just bought me a way in. Carter Harris is no fool, he wouldn’t have gone with us if we hadn’t been the best option for his launch.”

But the fact remained: she was Cassandra Frank’s friend, and, therefore, everyone at the office had thought that it nullified her hard work on the project. Never mind that she’d spent the night at the office for a week straight in order to present the very best campaign to Carter and Trick, who’d listened to her presentation with narrowed eyes, not giving an inch.

“They’re just a bunch of ungrateful bastards,” Lexi said with a sunny smile, without bothering to lower her voice although she’d left Tori’s office door open. “You bringing in a multibillion dollar corporation is the reason why we all got a seriously fat bonus last quarter. They should be kissing your ass. And bringing you coffee. Talking of, I’m on my way to grab some Starbucks. Want anything?”

“Yes, please. Feel free to just inject it directly into my veins.”

Her recent promotion had come with a bunch of added responsibilities; as an account manager, she was now responsible for overseeing the work of six of her colleagues, so, as well as working on her own projects, she also studied theirs.

Thankfully, most of the staff knew what they were doing, and she wasn’t about to micromanage them. Still, she’d seen a thing or two that could use some improvement, and it looked like she was going to have to give Brenda a gentle nudge about finishing the presentation she was supposed to put together for Wyner and Burt.

So, basically, she was back to seventy-hour weeks. Coffee was vital at this point.

Lexi went on her errand, and, although she never saw her come back, she must have dropped by some time later, because Tori was sipping on the last of her caramel pecan latte when James knocked on her door.

“Do you have a second?”

Tori smiled at her godfather, who walked in her new office and closed the door behind him.

“I’ll be announcing it Monday, but I wanted you to hear it from me now,” he said, intriguing her. “I’m retiring.”

She froze, as her brain came up with a thousand dreadful possibilities.

“Are you alright? If you have some health problems, you need to tell me.”

She was firm, practically vehement, and he didn’t need to ask why.

Her father had hidden his health issues from her, so that she didn’t worry while he got his heart fixed up. Only, it hadn’t gone to plan. So he’d died alone, because god knew her mother wasn’t about to spend time in a hospital.

“I’m absolutely fine, pumpkin, I swear to you.”

James held her gaze until she nodded her head, believing him. James wasn’t one to lie to her face; he said what he thought, even when it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He’d even once told her mother that yes, her ass looked huge in her dress.

“It’s just, between what happened to William last year, and what happened to my own father just last month, I’ve realized there’s more to life, you know? Art shows, movies, restaurants, some sunny beaches with fancy cocktails. And who knows? Maybe I’ll even snag myself a woman.”

Tori didn’t tell him he could have all that right here; go on holidays, and date women in NYC. James was always parading gorgeous, sophisticated models on his arm, so he knew that.

Truth was, during all these late nights she’d spent at work, she’d seen James in his office, working. Sometimes, he was still there in the morning, with a wrinkled suit. Croft Advertising was his high-maintenance, demanding wife, and while married to her, he had no hopes of letting anything else in his life.

“So, what now? Are you,” she swallowed with difficulty, “selling out?”

“No, nothing like that. I’m bringing in Bryant as CEO.”

Tori beamed at him, knowing how much that meant to James.

He was always talking about his brother. For years, he’d attempted to lure him to NYC, and it looked like he’d finally managed.

She didn’t ask whether he was qualified for the job. Firstly, she’d heard plenty about the young lawyer who’d opened his own practice right after taking the bar, and turned it into the best firm of corporate lawyers within just half a dozen years. He’d bulldozed his way in by taking impossible cases, and winning them.

Plus, if memory served, she recalled that Bryant had interned in the UK branch of Croft Advertising as an undergrad. He’d know what to do. James wouldn’t have considered him if he didn’t.

“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”

She got up, and circled her desk to go hug James. It had been a long time since she’d seen him smile like that.

“So, when is the prodigal brother coming over?”

“Next week. He has a mess to sort out back on the other side of the pond. Five years ago, he brought in a very, very successful lawyer as a partner. She bought in with a million, cash, and Bryant gave her a twenty-five percent share. I have twenty-five percent, as I invested when he started, and he owns fifty percent.”

“So,” she guessed, “now he’s trying to get another partner in to replace him, and they want twenty-five, which would mean he wouldn’t have a majority share over his own company.” She had to frown. “Not very smart of him. He should have given her twenty-four percent, if that. Most partners get five shares or so.”

“He was young, had just passed the bar, and, at the time, he and Naomi were together, so it didn’t seem like too much of a gamble. But things have become… complicated between them. We’ve decided I’ll sell him my share, but he has to finalize everything from where he is.”

Tori nodded. “I’m just so glad for you, James. I can’t wait to meet Bryant.”