Seven

Ellie had to force the grin off her face as Riley stopped by her door. He leaned against the frame, his gorgeous body encased in a designer suit.

Was there anything sexier than a man in a tailored suit?

Oh, yes. That man naked.

“Good morning, Ms. Stratton¸” he said in a deep voice.

A week and a half into her relationship with Riley Lang and all he had to do was turn on that deep voice of his to get her motor running. Sleeping with him every night was having an effect on her.

Not sleeping. Making love. Every night. Some mornings. A couple of times in the afternoon in her office or his.

“Good morning, Mr. Lang.” She was fairly certain she was blushing.

He stepped inside and shut the door. “I’m sorry I missed you this morning.”

The man practically lived at her place since the night they’d first gotten together. With the single exception of the fact that he wouldn’t sleep with her. He made love to her over and over again, and then he held her until she fell asleep. She never woke up next to him. A few mornings, he’d made it back to her place before she woke up and then he greeted her with coffee, and once had made her superlate for work, but he slept at his place.

“How did your meeting go?” She tried to put on her business face. It was hard to remember to be Ellie Stratton, future CEO with a plan, when she was around Riley. It was more fun to be goofy Ellie.

And yet she liked working with him. She liked knowing he was across the hall and would be there, waiting with advice or a kiss if she needed one. And when she got tense, the man knew how to make her relax. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had a real partner.

She needed one since things had gotten very tense around Steven.

He closed the door behind him and strode over to her desk, his face going grim. “You’re not going to like this.”

Her stomach dropped a little. His meeting this morning had to do with her accounting issues. He’d hired a forensic accountant with his own money. She would pay him back, but she couldn’t have gossip about a serious cash problem with the company, so they’d decided to keep it quiet.

Four days before, she’d met with the reporter Kyle had introduced her to. Something about the man had made her uncomfortable. Especially his lines of questioning about her father and his business practices. He’d basically insinuated that Phillip Stratton had been a thief. He’d accused her father of stealing intellectual property and then asked her if she intended to do the same when she was CEO.

She’d ended the interview early. She had very little hope the man would write anything positive about her.

“Give me the bad news.” It felt like she was in a vise and it was slowly closing around her.

Or she was the frog in the pot. Not thrown in, but placed gently and allowed to get used to the water as the heat turned on. It would be boiling before she knew it was time to jump out.

Was Steven moving her into position? Was this some kind of game she hadn’t realized she was playing?

Riley passed her a folder. “Someone has systematically stolen over ten million dollars from the company in the past ten years. It all comes out as R&D expenditures, but Phoebe ensures me she’s tried to match them to receipts and they don’t exist.”

This was bad. She took a deep breath and opened the file. “We don’t always have receipts.”

“You haven’t lost ten million dollars’ worth of receipts, Ellie.” Riley moved around her desk, getting into her space. “Also, Phoebe found an issue with the purchase of a group of hard drives. The dates claim the company purchased them for over fifty thousand dollars. At the time of purchase, they were out-of-date and not worth more than two grand for the lot.”

And no one had caught it until now? How was that possible? “Who signed the orders?”

“The paperwork is gone.”

Naturally. “I need to talk to the head of accounting.”

Riley shook his head. “Baby, you hired her a year ago and she recently went on maternity leave. She’s the one who sent this to you. The man who would have had actual knowledge retired and I can’t get hold of him. I have to assume he was in on the game or very bad at his job.”

“He was hired by my father.” She hadn’t talked to Riley about her father and she felt guilty about that. He’d been open and honest with her and she’d held back.

Because he worked for Drew Lawless, and she wasn’t ready to look him in the eye and admit what she knew.

“Do you think your father had something to do with this?” Riley asked.

“I don’t know.” At least that wasn’t a lie. “But some of this money went missing after he got sick. Damn. At least a million of it has been in the last six months. That’s what tipped off Debra. Did your accountant look at any recent books?”

“I didn’t want to pull them in case the gossip started.” His hand went to her hair. “It’s going to be all right, Ellie. I have an idea where I would like to look. Every bit of that money went into a set of three accounts Phoebe was able to find. They look like holding companies for the manufacturers the checks were written to.”

“And we’re sure these aren’t real companies?” Maybe there was a mistake.

“They’ve got LLCs, but I sent someone to the addresses listed. Two were actually shipping centers and one is a PO box. I’m getting everything ready to legally demand the records for who opened those boxes.”

She closed her eyes in frustration. He was unfortunately right, but that knowledge would come at a cost. “The minute we get legal, the press will find out.”

“Ellie, baby, you know who I think this is.”

She did. He’d been working on her for a week with this particular conspiracy theory. “You think it’s Steven. You think he’s been stealing from the company for years. It couldn’t be my father. Not the last two years.”

“Yes, I think it’s Castalano. I’ve looked into his other business deals and he’s got a very shady reputation.”

So had her father, but then business could get messy. There weren’t a lot of CEOs out there who were known for their moral and upright standing. They got where they were by being ruthless. “What did you dig up?”

“Did you know he formed a company twenty years ago with your father, Patricia Cain, and a man named Bill Hatchard?”

Her stomach turned at the thought. She knew it all too well. “It was my father’s first business. He’d worked his way up the ladder, but he’d never really had anything of his own. They designed a code that allowed more data to be pushed through a stream. It was how he made the money he and Steven based StratCast on. They paid off Patricia Cain and she started her lifestyle website.”

Patricia Cain was the authority on everything from cooking to decorating to manners these days. She had a popular television show called Patricia’s Paradise. She was beloved as a matron of good taste and domesticity.

Ellie’s father had called her the most hateful bitch he’d ever met, with the exception of one.

She’d never known the name of the nastier lady, but she’d met Patricia and couldn’t believe there was anyone worse than that woman.

She’d never met Bill Hatchard. Her father had told her he was nothing but a drunk with some cash they’d needed.

“There are some people out there who think he stole that code, Ellie,” he whispered.

She knew the truth. “I’ve heard the rumors. Do you think Steven knew about it?”

It was something she wondered more and more lately. Her father had been very intent on confessing his own sins but hadn’t talked about the others.

“I do.” He stared right at her. “Ellie, I want to talk to you about something.”

Before she could reply, the door to her office flew open and Lily was standing there. “Ellie, I think there’s something you should see.”

Her assistant’s eyes were wide and she bit her lower lip.

“What’s going on?”

Lily stepped in with the paper in her hands. “This was just delivered.”

It was a copy of the Business Daily Journal with the important story below the fold but on the front page.

STRATCAST IN DEEP TROUBLE

She gasped as she read through the relevant points. “How do they know this? He’s reporting that our coolant system is a complete bust, putting us behind two of our competitors in the race. That’s not true.”

Riley looked over her shoulder. “What data are they citing?”

Her hands clenched into fists as she read the article. “They apparently have the reports from the miscalibrated tests. How did those get out?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Is that the worst of it?” Riley already had his phone in hand.

“No.” She forced back tears because the humiliation was quite piercing. “They’re reporting that I’ve had numerous affairs with coworkers, starting back when I was an intern all the way through you. I apparently let men influence me on a regular basis.”

“I will sue the holy hell out of that rag.” Riley’s jaw had tightened.

“What they say about me is meaningless. We have to get those reports fixed, Riley. They can affect the stock.” Even if she got the real reports out there, it likely wouldn’t stop a sell-off.

“I have some contacts. I’ll fix this.” Riley looked down at her and if they’d been alone, she would have walked into his arms.

But they weren’t and she had a job to do. She nodded his way. “I’ll make some calls, too.”

He strode out, leaving the door open behind him.

At least she wasn’t in this alone.

“Is there anything I can do?” Lily asked.

“You can tell me what the gossip around the building sounds like.” She’d been avoiding it for a week and a half. Hell, she’d been avoiding everything, especially Steven Castalano. Lily knew all the gossip. She was the fount from which information flowed. Long ago they’d decided to work the grapevine this way. Lily made friends with everyone, even talked to them about the boss sometimes. In return, they felt comfortable around Lily and told her what was going on.

Ellie didn’t care if someone didn’t like her, but she needed to know if someone was coming after her. Lily could provide that information.

“You want the skinny on you or Steven?” Lily asked.

“Both.”

“There are rumors that Steven’s sick, but I don’t know how much of that I believe. I think he’s playing it up to get sympathy.”

“Is he getting it?”

“Oh, yes. He’s definitely got the upper management in his pocket. They think you’re trying to take advantage of a sick old man. Blue collar doesn’t trust him as far as they can throw him. He’s burned them too many times. He and your dad. In the sections where you’ve worked—R&D, marketing, and HR—they’re solidly in your corner.”

“And the ones I didn’t intern in?”

“They wonder if you’re not a lot like your father,” Lily said gravely.

She shouldn’t be surprised. Her dad had been a dick to work for. “All right. All I can do is prove that I’m not. I won’t get a chance to do that until I’m CEO.”

“Some people think that’s not going to happen. There are betting pools and right now you’re losing.”

“Who’s winning?” Did she want to know the answer to that question?

“Outside management.”

Then Steven really had been talking. He was using the employees to send her a message. He could be the one to put the crown on her head or to take it away altogether.

He’d called and given her a new deadline. He’d told her she had to get him the money by midnight tonight or he would pull his support.

He would do that anyway if the stock price suddenly fell.

He might try to put the blame on her. Even the rumor that she attempted to sway stock prices to devalue the company before a buyout would ruin her. And possibly get her into legal trouble.

If this was a game Steven was playing, what did he expect to get out of it? Money?

“How about the gossip concerning my personal life? I’m sure there’s some of that.” She needed to know everything. It was becoming clear to her that there was a puzzle laid out in front of her and she didn’t have all the pieces.

Lily frowned. “It’s not good. Don’t get me wrong. The regular workers adore you. They don’t give a crap that you’re sleeping with your lawyer.”

So they hadn’t been discreet enough. “All right. What is management saying about me and Riley?”

“It’s only a couple of people, but they’re old-school.”

“So they’re Steven’s cronies?”

Lily nodded. “Yes. There’s been talk of changing StratCast policy since the new boss . . .”

“Go ahead and complete the sentence.” She braced herself for what she knew was coming.

Lily winced. “Can’t keep her legs closed.”

That was a kick to the gut.

Lily moved in, her palms flat on the desk. “They are hypocrites, Ellie. I happen to know two of those assholes have had affairs with their secretaries. I’m sure there’s a lot more. There are rumors that you’ve slept with Kyle.”

“Okay, that might be the worst thing that’s happened to me today.” The idea that anyone thought she’d slept with Kyle made her sick to her stomach. “Any others lining up to pin a scarlet letter to my chest?”

They were hypocrites and she wasn’t about to answer those charges. Still, it let her know where her board would likely be.

“There’s some talk that you brought Darvisch on board with a little extra on the side.”

“Of course.” Darvisch was the brilliant coder she’d hired. Naturally she’d screwed him to bring him on board. “I must have a magical vagina. Really, I missed my calling. I should have gone into prostitution. Is there anything relevant I should know? Some other piece of gossip that doesn’t involve me screwing multiple men?”

“That’s where they hit us, isn’t it?” Lily slumped back into the seat in front of Ellie’s desk. “They go straight for the sex organs. We can’t possibly have a brain because we have breasts.”

She felt a bitter smile cross her face. “Funny, no one accused me of harlotry back when I wore those buttoned-up suits.”

“Yes, they did.” Lily sighed. “I never told you, but there were always rumors about you and the nerds.”

It was going to be that kind of day. “Nice.”

Lily was quiet for a moment before leaning forward. “Are you sure you know Riley?”

“What does that mean?”

Lily’s mouth firmed to a stubborn line, and for a second Ellie thought she might shake it off. Instead, she stood up. “It means I think he’s lying to you. I think he’s been doing it from the day he walked in here.”

“Why would he lie? And about what?” She’d gotten the feeling Lily didn’t like Riley, but she had no idea why. There was a wariness that rolled off Lily when Riley was around. It was one more worrisome thing she’d ignored in favor of reveling in her relationship with him.

“I don’t know, but he’s doing something. He had those accounting files before you asked him to look at them. It’s why I asked Kyle to talk to Debra. I wanted to know if he’d requested the file and given a reason.”

“How do you know he had the accounting files?”

“I broke into his office and found them,” she said, seemingly unrepentant.

Ellie stared at her, her jaw agape. “You broke in? You can’t do that. Lily, I know you have some out-of-the-box methods of keeping me informed, but I can’t have that. The man is negotiating the contracts for my buyout. It makes sense he might want to see the accounting files. He has the right. Hell, he has the responsibility.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Lily replied stubbornly. “You’re wrong about that. You’re trying to excuse the behavior. The accounting had already been done. It means nothing to the buyout unless you’re going to change your mind. It doesn’t affect the price. The only thing that affects the buyout price is the stock price.”

She was right about that, but Riley could have had other reasons. He was a thorough man. “If you had questions, you should have come to me.”

“There’s more. He’s shady, Ellie. He’s been down at R&D late at night. After even you’ve gone home. What would he be doing there? No one was working that night.”

She could come up with a hundred reasons. Maybe he got lost. He was new at the company. Maybe he liked to walk around after he ate dinner. She often did that when she worked late. She stretched her legs. Maybe he was looking for someone.

Was she looking for excuses?

“I’ll talk to him about it.” It was really the only thing to do.

“Or you can let me talk to security. It takes a badge to get into R&D.”

“He has upper-level clearance.”

Lily sighed. “Then I can know what his movements have been. Security wouldn’t send us routine reports, but they will have on file what parts of the building he’s been in.”

It seemed wrong not to trust the man she was sleeping with. “I’ll talk to him first.”

“And tip him off?”

“You’re being paranoid.” And very likely she was, too. Steven wanted his money. The buyout couldn’t happen until the board meeting, but he wanted the cash now, so he was applying pressure. She could handle it. So what if someone called her a whore? She couldn’t stop them. It was something every woman who ran a company had to deal with. Her life would be picked apart and found wanting, and she had to toughen up or get out of the game.

“Please let me talk to security,” Lily begged.

“I’m going to ask you a stupid question. Why do you need my permission now? You certainly didn’t when you broke into Riley’s office.”

“You care about him. I care about you. I don’t want you to hate me at the end of this, but my every instinct tells me he’s bad news. I broke into his office because I needed some proof. Now I don’t want to strain our friendship by moving on without you. If you tell me no, I’ll stop.”

“No.” She was going to be an adult about this and ask him.

Lily nodded. “All right, but I want you to know that when all this falls down around you, I’m going to be by your side. I’m going to be your friend. I won’t tell you I told you so.”

She turned and walked out.

Ellie stared down at the paper and told herself Lily was wrong.

She had to be.

—

Something was going really fucking wrong. Riley paced as he listened to the phone ring. Three, four times, and then an electronic voice explained the caller he was attempting to contact was not available.

He damn near threw the phone to the ground.

Bran. Bran would pick up. He pressed the button to get his younger brother on the line and was immediately rewarded.

“Hey, you need to stay calm.”

Really? “What the fuck is going on and why am I out of the loop? I want to know why Drew used those reports without telling me. Those were our insurance policy if we couldn’t get the goods on Castalano.”

If they couldn’t find a way to imprison the asshole for the money they were sure he’d embezzled, they’d use their doomsday option. They’d tank StratCast and force the bastard to retire with nothing. Or he’d stay at the company and they’d have another shot at him.

But this wasn’t supposed to happen. His gut knotted when he remembered the look in Ellie’s eyes as she’d read that article. If he could call it that. It was a smear piece, meant to knock her down. He didn’t care if Drew had hired the shithead. He was going to make that ass pay.

“The buyout is taking place in a couple of weeks. We’re out of time if we want to force the stock down.” There was a pause and he was certain Bran was talking to someone. Likely Hatch or Drew, the coward who didn’t have the balls to have this discussion himself.

“Put him on the phone.” Riley bit every word out like it was a bullet.

“Drew’s not here. He’s out with Case, checking on something. That accounting chick called, and Case and Drew left like someplace was on fire. I don’t even know what the hell is going on. Hang on. Mia’s here.”

Mia’s voice came over the line. “Riley? I think something’s going on and so does Case. I tracked Castalano myself the other day. He’s been going to doctors’ offices, but I don’t think he’s sick. He was seeing a dermatologist.”

“Skin cancer?”

“I don’t think so. I think he’s planning some work. I talked to the receptionist, and she said he was looking for a good plastic surgeon.”

Shit. He was planning on running. “He’s going to take off with whatever he can get his hands on.”

“I think Case is trying to get eyes on the man right now,” Mia said.

“Why did he need Drew to do that?” It was inconvenient since he really wanted to yell at his brother right this instant. He could have done a lot without throwing Ellie under the bus like that.

“I don’t know,” Mia admitted, exasperation in her voice. “I’m upset, too. I’ve been trying to get that dick reporter I hired on the phone ever since the paper came out. That is not the story I paid him to report. He was supposed to talk about the coolant system failing the trials and nothing else. That was all we needed for the stock to dive. Then Ellie could have proven the system is still working a few weeks from now, and Castalano would get nothing but a trip to a well-deserved prison cell. He’s still embezzling from the company.”

“I’ve given you enough time to prove it. There shouldn’t have been a need for this.” It had been his only frustration for the past week and a half.

“Apparently the shell companies were hard to track down and now we have to find actual proof. That’s what Case and Drew are doing. They said there was some more paperwork somewhere and they found the last company. I don’t know. Case’s phone is going to voice mail. Hang tight. It’s going to be fine. I’m sorry Ellie has to go through this, but once we have the proof that Castalano’s been skimming, the company will be hers, free and clear. Well, not free, but cheaper than she thought. This is going to be a good thing, Riley.”

Because according to the partnership agreement she signed when she came into her father’s stock, if either party was found no longer able to do their duties, the stock would be purchased within the month by the reliable partner. If no partner could be found, it was bought by the company and absorbed.

Ellie had the money ready to go. Despite the news story, she would be the only real choice to keep the company afloat. After she proved that her cornerstone project was running smoothly, she would be settled in as the chief executive and life would go on.

She didn’t have to know. She never had to find out the part he’d played.

He had to weather this storm with her, and then he could quietly resign from 4L and be with her. He would be out of the revenge business. He’d have done his part and Patricia Cain could rot for all he cared.

Ellie mattered. Being with Ellie was more meaningful than anything else he could do.

For a second he was transported back, the memory of his father so fresh and keen in his mind it felt like reality. He’d been eight or nine and rushing into his father’s office with a completed report he’d been assigned at school. He’d shoved it at his father, proud as he could be. His father had hauled him onto his lap. Though he’d tried to explain that he was too old for hugs and kisses, his dad never let up. And honestly, he’d still liked it. He wished his mom hadn’t listened.

“What do you want to be when you grow up? That was your report?” his father had asked.

“Like you. I want to write codes and be smart.”

His father had put a hand on his head. “Wrong answer, son. There’s only one answer to that question, and I’m going to tell you what it is. This is the secret to life, Riley. When someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up, you tell them this.”

He leaned in, ready to hear this magical secret. “What?”

“Happy. You want to be happy.” His father had kissed his forehead and started a tickle war.

He wanted to be happy with Ellie. For the first time in his life he understood what his father would have wanted for him. For them all.

Happiness.

“Mia, I don’t want Ellie to find out why I was really here.”

There was a pause on the line. “That could be hard. How are you going to explain Drew?”

He would work through it. “I’ll tell her I don’t normally talk about the fact that my brother is one of the world’s most successful software executives. She’s only met him once. I can easily explain that away. I’m going to stay here with her and get StratCast on its feet again.”

“I’m happy to hear that. I like her, Riley. Drew might be a harder sell.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Bran’s voice suddenly came over the line. “I’ll handle big brother. He’ll come around. I’m glad you’re going to help her. It didn’t feel right hurting that lady.”

Bran was ever the gentleman. Even when it came to revenge.

There was a knock on his door. He glanced out. Ellie was standing there. “I’ve got to go. Call me when you know something. We have to take Castalano down and then make this right for Ellie.”

“Will do,” Mia replied, and he could practically hear her smiling.

His siblings were going to give him hell. He would never hear the end of it, and that was all right.

He was going to marry Ellie. Not tomorrow. He would have to work her gently toward it, but he would get a ring on that woman’s finger eventually.

She would never know how they’d started out. He would leave her the illusion that it had all been smooth sailing from the moment he saw her.

He hung up the phone and went to open the door. As she walked in, he closed the blinds and locked the door behind her.

He’d made the decision to be an optimist. “Are you all right?”

She turned and gave him a tight smile. “I think so. I did a turn around the building. Everyone’s on edge. Apparently the stock is already taking a hit. I’ve got PR working on a statement.”

“I can have someone from the Times here in an hour.” Mia had a vast network of resources that didn’t include the motherfucker he was going to beat half to death. He hadn’t gotten to the portion of the talk where he explained to Mia that whoever she’d hired to write that story should go into hiding.

Ellie nodded. “That’s good.”

She looked so tense. He couldn’t blame her, but he also couldn’t let her stand there looking so damn alone in the world. He reached out and pulled her close. “Baby, this is going to be all right.”

“There’s going to be talk that I did this myself. That I did this in order to buy Steven’s stock cheap.”

He put a hand in her hair, stroking her. “We’ll get through it. If we need to hold off on the buyout, we’ll do it.”

As long as Castalano didn’t get his hands on the money, it was all right. The longer the man was deprived of funds, the more mistakes he would make. They would catch him. He would be destitute or in jail and that would be justice. It would have to do because he was out.

She was stiff in his arms. “I don’t think Steven is going to let us hold out.”

“He has to. He won’t want to take the offer as it is. He’ll need to wait until the stock stabilizes, and then we can move forward exactly like before.” With the exception of the fact that the bastard needed the cash and he would take it from the company, and Riley intended to be right there to catch him.

“Riley, I have to ask you something.”

“Anything.” He would get her through the next few weeks. He would stay right by her side. He would do whatever Drew needed as long as it didn’t harm Ellie again. She’d been through enough.

“Did you request files from accounting?”

He went still. Why was she asking that? There was no way she could know he’d gotten those files weeks ago. And yet he had the sudden instinct that this would be a good time to tell some partial truth. He hadn’t exactly requested them. He’d liberated the fuckers. “Of course I did. Is there a problem? I’m trying to learn every part of this company. I’m not effective if I’m in the dark. I got those files back when I first joined the company. Not that I understood everything, as obviously proven since I had to hire a forensic accountant. What’s going on?”

She looked up at him. “Is there any reason you would go to R&D late at night?”

Shit and shit. “I’ve gone looking for you a couple of times when you weren’t in your office. I got lost once and found myself there. Usually some of the guys are down there. I thought they could help me out, but it was empty.”

It was time for a little acting. He hated it, but if he was going to save this, he needed to figure out what was going on. He pulled away, staring down at her. “What’s with the third degree, Ellie?”

She seemed uncertain for a moment. “Everything is happening so fast. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I feel like it’s something I don’t understand. I feel like some trap is closing around me.”

“And you think I’m doing this?” He feigned indignation. “You think I’m trying to do . . . what? What am I trying to do to you?”

She looked away but not before he saw a sheen of tears in her eyes. Damn it. This wasn’t what he wanted.

“I don’t know.”

He moved in behind her. “Ellie, this isn’t the time to fight. Baby, I’m trying to figure out what’s happening. I’m trying to find a solution. Please don’t fight me, too. I know this is difficult. It’s not going the way you thought it would, but you have to put your faith in someone. I want that person to be me.”

Her hands came up, cupping his face, and she looked deeply into his eyes. “You mean that, don’t you? You want to help me.”

No lies here. Not even a tiny fib. “Yes. I told you. I’m crazy about you. There’s nothing I want to do more than help you. I fully intend to plant my fist in that reporter’s face. Or my loafer up his ass. Whichever comes first.”

She sighed and moved into his arms. “I don’t know what to do.”

At least she was clinging to him. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I know I should be strong, but I hate the fact that everyone out there is speculating about us. They all think I’m some kind of a slut.”

He felt his whole body stiffen. “The first person who says anything like that around me will get fired, and I will personally walk their asses out and ensure they never work again.”

She sniffled. “You can’t do that. I wish it was different. I’m not going to let it stop me, but I hate the fact that they’re talking about us.”

“We could stop a lot of the talk.”

“I don’t see how.”

“We could get married.” Yeah, he’d planned on waiting to say those words.

She stepped back. “What?”

He put a hand up. “I’m just saying, they would stop talking about us if we were boring married people.”

“We’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”

“People have married in less.” He wasn’t sure why he was pushing it. “It would change the story. Turn something negative into a positive.”

“Riley, we can’t get married for positive press.”

“Then we should do it for the sex.”

She rolled her eyes, but she had that half smile that told him she was amused. “We do fine with that on our own. Stop teasing me. We need to go to PR and see what they’ve come up with.”

She was still so tense, so wound up. He wanted to help her forget for a few moments. Selfishly, he needed to be close to her. Those questions she’d asked scared the shit out of him. Where had they come from?

How did she know about the accounting files he’d pulled? About his late-night trip to R&D?

He slid his hand around hers. It was time to pull her close again, to reinforce the bond he’d been strengthening with her.

“Ellie, let me kiss you.” When he kissed her he could forget about everything. When they were intimate, there was no deeper play, no con going on. There was only him and her, and it felt better than anything had in his life.

Happy. He felt happy when she was close.

She softened, moving into the cradle of his arms. “I’m sorry about the interrogation. It’s been a stressful day.”

He kissed her lightly. “I know. It’s going to get worse, but I’m here with you. Anything you need from me, you ask.”

“Kiss me again.” Her eyes took on that dreamy look he loved. She looked at him like he was some kind of magician performing acts of wonder.

She was the amazing one. If she had any idea how much she’d changed his life . . .

He leaned over, brushing against her lips. There was time to show her how he felt. He couldn’t say it. He might never be able to say it, but he could show her how much she meant to him.

He held her still for his kiss, his tongue sliding and playing with hers. His body heated.

She pulled away slightly, her eyes glazed over. “Riley, we don’t have time for this.”

Didn’t they? “Just for a second.”

He kissed her again, his hands sinking into her hair. She’d worn it partially up, but he could thread his fingers through the length at the back. The kiss went a little wild as she rubbed her body against his and her hands started to explore.

She wasn’t shy with him anymore. She touched him when she wanted, where she wanted. He loved it. His body was her playground and the thought of having a few moments with her made his cock hard.

She backed up, pulling him with her. “Be quick. We really do need to get down to PR, but now I won’t be able to think about anything except you.”

“Same here, baby.” He tugged up her skirt as they backed toward his desk. It was the perfect height.

He wouldn’t think about anything else until he’d had her again. She clouded his brain with lust, but it was a sweet feeling. The lust he’d felt before had been about getting off, a pure physical need. It meant something different with Ellie. It was communication and connection with her.

Everything meant more with her.

He felt the warmth of her skin under his palms and wished they had the time to get naked.

She shook her head as though she could read his thoughts. “Quickie now. Naked time later. Later on, we can go back to my place and I swear we’ll get undressed and not see clothes again until tomorrow. This is just a taste. I’m going to need a full four-course meal tonight, mister.”

He hooked his thumbs under her undies and dragged them down her legs, kneeling down to help her out of them. He leaned in close so he could smell her arousal. It was the sweetest scent in the world to him. “I am ready, willing, and able to take care of your every need.”

She smiled down at him as she slid her skirt up and hopped on his desk. Her legs spread, giving him a place. “I know you do, Counselor. You’re very adept at your job.”

A thrill went through him. He wanted to chase her around his desk and play boss and secretary. He was a little afraid he would end up being the secretary in that scenario. His girl had backbone and liked to be in charge. He loved the push and pull of their relationship.

When he stood, she was right there, her hands coming out to find the buckle of his belt.

“How do you do this to me?” She unbuttoned his slacks and slid her hand under the waistband of his boxers. “I should be in my office dealing with a hundred and one problems.”

He let his slacks slide to the floor as she gripped his cock. “The other problems will wait. I have an issue that requires your full attention, Madam Executive. Only you can solve this particular problem.”

She licked her lips as she looked down at the cock in her hand. “I better be the only one.”

She was teasing, but he needed her to understand. He caught her face and forced her to look up at him.

“You’re the only one, Ellie. The only one I want. I worry I won’t ever want anyone the way I want you.”

Her lips curled up. “That’s good because I only want you, too. Take me so I can think again.”

He moved into the cradle of her thighs, shoving his boxers down. She wasn’t joking about wanting him. The minute his cock touched her pussy he could tell she was wet and ready to take him. Her response to him always blew his damn mind, and the fact that he could fuck her without anything between them had become his reason for living. She couldn’t think? The minute she entered a room his eyes were on her, his mind running through all the ways he could get his hands on her. He wanted her sitting in his lap during meetings or holding his hand. Anything to touch her, to know she was with him.

He’d become obsessed.

He lined his cock up and pressed in.

“I love the way that feels.” She leaned back, giving him a better angle of entry. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

He gripped her hips and let her heat suffuse him. He was the one who couldn’t get used to it. Her legs wrapped around him. “I love fucking you on my desk. It makes working the rest of the afternoon so much more enjoyable.”

She sighed and bit her bottom lip. “Why?”

“Because I’ll be able to smell you all damn afternoon and think about you like this.”

A chuckle came from the back of her throat, a deeply sexy sound. “Dear God, we won’t be having any meetings in here for the rest of the day. It would start more talk.”

He thrust in hard and fast. It didn’t take much to get him going. Her pussy was so tight around him, her body clinging to his. “Let them talk. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is this.”

He leaned over and kissed her, his cock doing its work. He could feel her nails biting into him through the thin material of his shirt. He loved how crazy she went when they fucked.

Made love.

Stupid phrase, but he was making love to her. He wouldn’t make it into something less. She was the one, and he was going to do his best to make sure she was always satisfied.

Her head fell back and she held on as she came. He fucked her hard, letting go of everything except the feel of her clamping down on him. He groaned as the pleasure took him, jetting into her, giving her everything he had.

He drew her close as he came down from the high.

“Maybe I won’t be screaming at our PR people,” she said with a lazy smile.

They would both be in infinitely better moods now. “I’ll go down with you. I’m going to be by your side all day. Let them talk. Let them know we’re a team and they can’t bust us up.”

She nodded, holding on to him a little tighter. “I’m going to have to go through the rest of the day commando-style. I can’t put those things back on. Thank God we have private bathrooms. Kiss me so I can go clean up.”

He pressed a sweet kiss to her and stepped back. He was sure he looked like an idiot with his pants around his ankles, but he couldn’t work up the will to care. He watched her walk into his private bathroom, already plotting how and when he could have her again.

He straightened up, his brain still pleasantly fuzzy when he heard the knock on the door.

That sobered him up. He straightened out his clothes, hoping he wasn’t too wrinkled, and managed to buckle his belt. He grabbed Ellie’s undies and shoved them in his pants pocket before glancing around. Everything looked in order.

He opened the door.

Lily was standing there, a frown on her face.

“You and Ellie are needed in the boardroom. Castalano called an emergency meeting.” She leaned in. “I swear to God I will rip your balls off if you’ve gotten her in some kind of trouble.”

He forced himself to breathe because he had the sudden thought that they were all in trouble.