“Aren’t you coming to bed?”

Marcus turned his head slightly, eye still fixated on the computer screen.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he promised, barely noticing as Tavia slunk to his side, her pale, white hands reaching to massage his shoulders.

“You are so tense,” she murmured, working at the knots in his neck as he continued to scroll through the documents Rodney Henderson had emailed two hours earlier.

“Go back to bed,” Marcus ordered. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

“But baby—”

He whipped his head around and gazed at her, his blue eyes piercing into hers. “Why are you arguing with me?” he snarled. “I’m in the middle of something here and I don’t want you breathing down my neck.”

Hurt covered her pale face, and Marcus almost apologized, but he caught himself. She knew better than to be reading over his shoulder when trade secrets were at risk. He shouldn’t even be looking at those documents here.

None of what he was reading made a great deal of sense, and he wondered if he was tired or if he was growing stupid in his old age.

You’re hundreds of years old. Maybe it’s time to retire, he thought wryly, sitting back to rub his eyes.

“Tavia?” he called.

Instantly, she reappeared. “Yes, hon?”

“Make me a triple espresso,” he told her, and she nodded eagerly.

“Of course.” As she sashayed to the kitchen, Marcus found himself staring after her, a too-short robe barely covering her full rear. They had made love earlier, but his mind had not been in it, and he wasn’t even certain she had climaxed. He wasn’t convinced he had, either.

Under normal circumstances, he would be appalled to have left his lover unfulfilled, but he found he didn’t care as much as he should have. He realized he was getting bored with Tavia.

It wasn’t surprising. She had been with him for four years, and while she was a pleasant girl with a very capable mouth, nothing was remarkable about her. Still, there was no reason to dismiss her—not yet. Once upon a time, he had found something appealing about the thin redhead, and she had been a good companion. She wasn’t too old, and she played well with the others.

Women like her were becoming harder and harder to find.

His mind flittered to Lisanne and he shook his head. Why couldn’t they simply enjoy the life he offered them? Most women would kill to be in their positions. No, Tavia gave him no problems. She was a fine pastime, even if she was slightly dull and needed encouragement in the bedroom.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Tavia purred from the kitchen, purposely allowing her robe to fall open, exposing her nude frame underneath.

Marcus asked the question even before he noticed it had popped into his head.

“How is Addison working out?”

Tavia’s strawberry blonde hair fell forward to cover her profile as she dug through a drawer for a spoon. “She seems lovely,” the receptionist answered. “Eager and sweet.”

Marcus nodded, turning his attention back to the screen.

“She is sweet,” he agreed, his tired eyes examining the words again. I’ll have to email this to Melissa, he thought, shaking his head. She would be able to make sense of the details that evaded him. She was good at that kind of thing.

Melissa held a master’s degree from Columbia in Business Administration, and over the years, she had proven herself invaluable to him. Of all the mistresses Marcus had known, she was the one who knew the most about him, and at first that had alarmed him. There were things that needed to stay hidden at all costs, but that was why the women had their own apartments and never came to his home.

Except for Addison, though that had been a necessary exception. If Georges had not almost run her over with the limo…

Over time, however, Marcus saw how necessary it was to have an ally, and Melissa had earned his trust. Still, he did not invite her to his personal home, but he did allow her more personal information than anyone.

The distance between him and his family sometimes proved disheartening. It was not as if Marcus was estranged from his brothers. He simply did not see them with the frequency he had in previous centuries. They had grown apart since the time they had spent in Misty Woods, ruling under King Rui.

The closest thing he had to friends were the women, each one of them unique in their own way and attractive to him for different reasons.

If Marcus had believed in such a thing, he would say that he loved them, but he knew that love was only a mishmash of chemical imbalances that resulted in foolishness. He had always been of sound mind and would not fall victim to such treachery.

Even so, he had a certain affection for the women.

Tavia placed the espresso before him on the table and went to sit on his lap, but Marcus shifted so that she was unable to do so.

“I am just emailing Melissa and then I will come to bed,” he assured her. “Go and keep my side warm.”

She nodded and retreated to the bedroom as Marcus forwarded the account information to his assistant and took a long sip of the freshly-brewed coffee. He rose, stretching, his mind still in a flurry. He supposed he could try for round two, though he didn’t think he had it in him. Would it technically be round one?

But as he entered the darkened bedroom, he saw Tavia sprawled naked on her back, waiting to be taken, and he was again struck by the same thought he’d had earlier.

“Coming to bed?” she breathed sensuously, her green eyes wide with hope. She was lackluster, for certain, but in that light, she looked remarkably like Addison, and Addison was anything but tiresome. If he could convince himself that this was Addison instead of Tavia, perhaps…

Marcus felt a tug in his boxers, and he smiled broadly. “I am.”

Tatiana Dupris entered Marcus’ office without knocking, Erica hot on her heels. He glanced up at her in surprise as Erica breathlessly tried to apologize for the untimely arrival.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Williams, she—”

“Marcus, we need to talk,” Tatiana said flatly, cutting off the receptionist. “Alone.” She looked pointedly at Melissa and Addison, her dark eyes constricting.

“We’re busy,” Marcus replied evenly, turning his gaze back to his computer, but the CFO did not move.

“It’s important,” she said from between clenched teeth.

“I told you, I am making the necessary cuts. There is no need for theatrics, Tatiana.”

“This is not about that.”

Marcus eyed her through his peripheral vision, reading something he had never seen on her face. It wasn’t simply another budget exasperation. Something else was on her mind.

He glanced at Melissa and Addy, nodding. They rose from their respective desks in unison and sauntered out of the office, Melissa casting Tatiana a long look before she followed her co-worker out into the hallway. Erica stood looking uncomfortable, but Marcus waved her off as well.

When the door closed in Erica’s wake, Tatiana’s saturnine eyebrows raised as her steel blue eyes met his unwavering gaze.

“Who’s the new one?” she demanded. “I thought we agreed that you didn’t need any more assistants or secretaries or concubines or… whatever the hell it is you call them.”

Marcus grunted. “What do you want, Tatiana? I’m up to my ears trying to understand the Lingergram account. This doesn’t make any sense.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, too. There’s a discrepancy in the numbers.”

“The numbers?” Marcus repeated. “I’m talking about the wording of this contract. It says we own the company, but they still control their own board. If we have absorbed the company, how do they have a board?”

“That’s why you have a floor full of lawyer’s downstairs, Marcus,” she answered. “Let them sort that out. This is something else.”

He squinted at her balefully. “I know you always believe your job is the most important, Tatiana, but—”

“There’s money missing from the takeover.”

Marcus froze and stared at her. “What do you mean there’s money missing? How much?”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

He sat back in his chair, making a steeple of his fingers, and began to laugh.

“Ten grand?” he echoed. “Are you kidding me? This is the cause of your melodrama?”

Tatiana’s face scrunched into a scowl. “It’s not much, but it’s still unaccounted for, and I want to know where it is!” she snapped.

Marcus rolled his eyes.

“You a fully competent team of accountants, Tatiana,” he replied. “That’s what they’re there for. Why are you even bringing this to me?”

Her mouth became a line of anger. “Because you’re the CEO,” she snarled, “and I thought you might be interested in knowing what is happening in your office.”

“For ten grand? I just made ten grand in the amount of time you’ve been standing in my office!” he snapped.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Tatiana spat, spinning to leave him alone. “No wonder you surround yourself with whores. You’re as empty as all of them.”

Fury flooded Marcus, but he remained in his spot impassively. “I have whores and you have numbers. I have a feeling I’m a little bit warmer at night than you are.”

Tatiana didn’t respond, her heels clicking down the hall like a ricochet of bullets.

She’s lonely and pathetic, and taking it out on me, Marcus though, willing himself to be calm. Screw her. I’ve got more important matters to worry about than Tatiana’s hard-on for accounting.

If he hadn’t been so angry, he would’ve realized he actually appreciated the gesture. Catching such a miniscule discrepancy in a multi-billion-dollar, multinational company was not an easy feat.

The sound of heels again made him raise his head, and Marcus watched as Melissa and Addison walked back into the office.

“What was that about?” Melissa asked, but he shook his head.

“Nothing,” he said, glancing at Addison, who immediately took her seat and returned to her computer. “Did you get the contract I sent you last night?” he asked Melissa. “The Lingergram account?”

She creased her brow and nodded. “I did, and you’re right. It’s weird. I think that they’re trying to pull a fast—”

“Addison,” Marcus interrupted, “can you get me a triple espresso?” He looked at Melissa warningly, and she immediately closed her mouth. Addison rose and left the office again without a word.

“Sorry,” Melissa said. “I thought you trusted her with this, since she is working so closely.”

Marcus slightly narrowed his eyes. Did she sound resentful? It didn’t matter; he didn’t have time for that. The company always came first.

“You believe that they are trying to maintain control somehow?”

“I do,” she responded. “But I can’t understand how they did it. Our lawyers have combed through it over and over. I mean, I suppose it could be an honest mistake…”

Marcus could tell she believed no such thing.

“I’ll have an outside party look it over,” he sighed. “But it’s too late. The money is in escrow.”

“Let me handle it,” Melissa said, and Marcus eyed her gratefully as Addison returned with his drink in hand.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling at her.

Addison offered him a short curve of her lips, which did not quite reach a smile. A pang of uneasiness struck him as she returned to her chair. Why did she seem to be so uncomfortable? Was she hiding something from him so he wouldn’t worry?

She’s fine, he told himself. I’ll go to her tonight. She is probably still overwhelmed by the change. I’ll see if I can help her along with the transition.