Chapter 26

Jeremy

My Monday just went from decent to fucking spectacular.

Trent’s text message telling me that he was sick shouldn’t have been the best news I’ve heard all day, but it was.

Linny Faye wants a meeting with my Brand Manager and since he’s stuck flat on his back in bed, I’m stepping in.

I arranged for lunch to be delivered because I want her alone now that she’s finally dropped the façade and admitted that my cock was inside of her two months ago.

A knock on my office door draws me to my feet. I straighten my gray tie and button my navy blue suit jacket.

“Come in.”

The door swings open and Blythe steps in. “See what I did there? I knocked.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “It’s about time. What do you want?”

“You get right to the point, don’t you?”

“I pay you to get to the point, so what is it?” I roll my hand in the air to move the conversation forward.

She eyes my desk. “I ordered lunch for you and Ms. Faye. It will be delivered and served in conference room A. Your plan was to have that poor woman eat lunch at your desk, right?”

Wrong. I want to eat that woman on my desk. The catered lunch is a polite gesture. If I had my way, I would be feasting on her pussy as my main course.

I just need to remove Roland from the equation before I dive between her legs. I won’t touch a woman who is fucking another man.

That’s a hard limit for me.

“Take an extra hour for lunch today, Blythe.”

She perks one brow. “Why?”

“Because today I’m a kind son-of-a-bitch who wants his assistant to treat herself to a nice lunch.”

She glances back over her shoulder at her desk. “Something isn’t adding up here. You’re going to pack up my stuff while I’m gone, aren’t you? I’m about to get fired because of the raise I gave myself.”

What the fuck?

“How much?” I lean back against my desk.

I don’t have time for this shit right now. I should reprimand her, but whatever amount she’s banking still isn’t enough. We both know it.

“Enough,” she answers with a smile. “You still make more than me.”

“I sure as hell hope I do.” I laugh.

“Excuse me?”

Blythe turns at the sound of the feminine voice behind her. “Hello, Ms. Faye.”

“Come in, Linny. I’ve been expecting you.” I take a measured step closer to the doorway. Closer to her.

Blythe moves to the side and I get an eyeful.

Linny is dressed in a navy blue wraparound dress that hugs her curves and accentuates every part of her gorgeous body.

She turns to look at Blythe. “Will you be joining us?”

“No.” I toss back. “Blythe is leaving. It’s just you and me, Linny.”
Her chest heaves and my gaze is drawn to her nipples. They’ve furled into tight points under her dress.

“Close the door on your way out,” I call after Blythe.

She does, leaving me alone with the woman I’ve desperately wanted since she left my bed in Las Vegas.

***

Linny takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk and slides a notepad and a pen from her bag. “I thought we could start with the guest list for the launch party.”

I lower myself into the chair next to her since she’s made herself at home. “Put the notepad away.”

She shakes her head softly. “I need to take notes. I prefer writing them out by hand as opposed to saving them to a tablet. I know it’s old-fashioned, but it works best for me.”

I ignore all of that because I didn’t hear the name Roland yet. I need to hear that name one last time in the context that he’s gone to hell and won’t be coming back.

My jaw clenches. “Tell me you dumped him.”

She takes a deep breath. “Who?”
“Who the hell do you think?”

She looks at me, her eyes narrowed. “Are you asking me if I dumped Roland?”

“Yes,” I answer succinctly. “Did you dump him?”

“That’s a highly inappropriate question to ask me during a business meeting.”

I reach forward to snatch the notepad from her hands.

She gasps when I toss it onto my desk.

I watch her carefully. “Our business meeting is over.”

“I can’t do this, “ she says through a ragged breath. “We have to forget about what happened in Vegas.”

“Why?” Tension grips my shoulders. I reach back to squeeze my neck, warding off the stress headache I know is about to bear down on me.

Her hands shake. “I can’t have anything to do with you right now, West.”

“Because of Roland?” I draw his name into two long syllables. “Dump him, Linny. He’s not right for you.”

“You don’t know me.” She turns in her seat to face me. “We spoke on an airplane for a total of ten minutes and then we fucked. Once.”

Technically, she’s right, but I feel connected to her in a way that can’t be measured in minutes or seconds. It surpasses that. It makes no sense, but I know that she feels it too.

“It was special,” I say the words even though I know they sound cliché. “I told you I’ve thought about you daily since then. I wasn’t lying.”

“It’s not as simple as that.” Her hand goes to her forehead. “It’s complicated, West.”

“It’s not,” I argue. I never argue with women over this shit. If one decides she’s had enough of me, I move on. The same is true if I’m tired of a woman. I’ll say my goodbyes, wish them well, and forget about them.

That hasn’t happened yet with Linny. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since we were together in Vegas. I don’t know how to handle that.

“Dump Roland, have dinner with me and take me home with you.” I lean closer to her. “It’s as simple as that.”

She shifts in her seat, pulling back from me. “I dumped him on Saturday.”

Thank Christ.

“That doesn’t mean anything can happen between us.” She’s quick to add. “We have to forget about Vegas. This needs to be strictly professional.”

“We’re past that.” I rest my palms on my knees. “You can’t tell me that you’re not feeling the same pull to me as I am to you.”

She closes her eyes briefly, her neck craning back. “West.”

My name comes out of her soft lips like a plea, a wish, a needy request.

“Linny,” I whisper. “Just let yourself feel. We were good together that night. We can have more of that.”

“We can’t.” Her eyes fly open and lock on mine. “If I sleep with you again, I’ll lose everything.”