26. Connor
26
CONNOR
I need to research. I need to find some books, an academia article, a fucking podcast, because I have no idea how I’m meant to work with her all day and not touch her. After this morning, feeling the sexual chemistry between us, something that I never thought I would find with any woman, I now realize I’m completely smitten. Even more so than before. Yesterday in the office, she wore a long, flowing dress, and today, it’s a tighter one. Black, the fabric following her curves, finishing at that sexy length just below the knees that shows off her hourglass figure like she’s teasing me on purpose.
“So it’s model day today,” Daisy says as Dad, Victoria, and I sit around the boardroom, going over the project plan with her. If I had my way, we’d both still be in bed, naked. But with the spa project needing to be kept on track, meetings and issues to resolve, we had to peel ourselves off each other, the walk to my place the hardest one I’ve ever done.
The spa opening has been pushed out a bit, but I’m thankful. Daisy would only have another week here if we had stuck to our original schedule, and that thought leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.
“Model day?” I ask, looking around at them, wondering what I’ve missed.
“Ooooh, who's coming in?” Victoria asks, grinning.
“Again, what’s model day?” I ask again, then look at Daisy.
“I have a few locals coming in to get the staff ready and trained, as well as to trial some of the treatments to get feedback. The team put it out on social media last week, so we might get a few new people to the distillery. But we need all kinds of people to see how it all works,” she says, smiling, and I feel my brow furrow. I don’t want her touching anyone but me. I know it’s her job, but I still don’t like it.
She grins at me with that saucy smirk, the one where she looks like she knows what I’m thinking. I know she doesn’t, because if she did, she’d be flushed cherry red. I have to fist my hand under the table to prevent me from asking her to crawl on her knees to me in that fucking dress so I can peel it off her.
“Who’s coming in?” I ask her, and I see my father frown, clearly not sure why I’m so invested in the information.
“So, there’s Rochelle from the diner, and Tina, who I think is married to Tim from the toy store?” she says, unsure, but we all nod. We know Tina; she and Tim have lived in Whispers forever as well.
“Oh, and we have a small group that is going to try out the springs, some yoga, and maybe a group meditation. Which I’ll run,” Daisy says.
“Griffin’s team is working on the path, but it should be fine to use. Do you need me to go to the springs with you?” I ask, because now that I know she’s heading back to the water, I’m uneasy.
“No, I’ll be fine.” There’s a different kind of heat in her gaze now, not liking me raising the issue of her lack of swimming skills again. “Griffin is quick?” Daisy asks, surprised, moving the conversation on, while I wonder what time she’s going to be down by the water and if I can move my meetings around to go with her. Knowing she can’t swim makes panic prickle beneath my skin.
“Griffin is the best builder in the country. He has teams located everywhere and pretty much an office or supply factory in almost every state. He works quickly, does quality work, and he’s in high demand,” Dad explains.
“Wow, sounds like a busy guy,” she quips and I smile, seeing her processing the information.
“You’ll meet him soon. At the spa opening,” I tell her, looking forward to introducing her to a few people she hasn’t met yet. I make a mental note to see if Harrison might swing past, although I’m sure he’ll be too busy, considering he’s president of the country now and everything.
“Spa opening?” Daisy asks, looking blankly at all of us.
“Yeah, a party to celebrate the opening. I’m organizing it with the team. We didn’t want you thinking about organizing a party when you’re head down into getting the spa ready,” Victoria says.
“Oh, fun!” Her giddy expression makes my chest clench in a way I’m not used to feeling.
“Okay, well, that’s it for this morning. I think we have covered everything, and I see some people already arriving,” Victoria says, and we all stand, looking out at the reception area, and sure enough, both Rochelle and Tina are there already.
“Let us know what the feedback is and if there are any major adjustments we need to make,” Dad asks of Daisy.
She nods. “Of course. I’ll make note of everything.”
We watch him and Victoria walk out, going who knows where.
When they’re out of sight, she turns and looks at me. “You need to stop that,” she says, trying to act in control, when I know she’s barely hanging on herself.
“Stop what?” I ask, playing dumb, walking over to her on the other side of the table.
She rolls her eyes. “Looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” I ask with a taunting smirk as I stand tall and look down at her. There’s pure lust in my gaze as she looks back at me, and I watch her swallow, clearly affected.
“Connor,” she warns, her tone serious, yet I’m sure I could have her moaning in mere seconds.
“Daisy…” I say back to her, my hand reaching around her waist.
A sigh of exasperation leaves her lips, but she doesn’t push me away. “We can’t be like this at work. We need to be professional. What will people say?”
“I don’t care what people say. In fact, I want to take you out tonight,” I tell her, just thinking about it now.
“Out?” she asks, head tilting.
“Yeah, to the bar. We have a live band playing, so maybe I can get you to try my whiskey?” I tease, my thoughts already filthy all over again.
“If I say yes, will you stop looking at me like you’ve seen me naked?” she sasses, and I raise my eyebrows.
“Mmmmm, no. That’s a visual I’m referring to every damn minute of every day, baby girl,” I tell her, and she groans. Even though her lips curl just a tiny bit.
“Okay, I’m out of here; otherwise, I won’t be able to concentrate.”
“Before you go… here,” I say, passing her the small parcel that I’ve had on my desk.
“What is it?” She looks it over before opening the wrapping paper.
“I bought you some inflatable armbands,” I tell her quickly. My anxiety about her being at the springs today without me is already building. “I’ve only just met you. I don’t want you drowning already.”
“Water wings?” she asks, a small smile on her face, her eyes wide as she opens the parcel. “I promise you, Connor, I won’t drown.” Her tone is adamant, even as she waves one of the inflatable armbands around.
“Well, at least now I know you’ll float,” I tell her, and she rolls her eyes before grinning and walking out the door.
My eyes trail her until she’s out of sight.
* * *
I walk out of my office on my way to the spa. My meetings have finished, and I’ve been on edge all day, wondering if Daisy made it to the springs and back in one piece. I know she did. I saw them all leave, Victoria with them, so I relaxed a little, knowing that she had a lot of people with her. Plus, she had her new armbands, which I hope she wore. But I still didn’t like it.
“Oh, Connor,” our young receptionist, Stephanie, says, and I pause mid-stride as I walk past her desk. “The man was back,” she says, and I frown, trying to remember what she’s talking about. But I have so many meetings and calls that it really could be anyone.
“Man?” I question, wondering if she’s purposefully being elusive or if she’s not handling her job very well. One of the key parts of being a receptionist is taking the calls and messages, and if she can’t do that, then we may have an issue.
“The man looking for Daisy. The one who was here the other day,” she explains, and I feel my body stiffen.
“Someone was looking for me?” Daisy breezes in from the side door, smiling, clearly having a good day, while my jaw is clenched tight. She looks at me, then to Stephanie, and back again, sensing something is off.
“The man who was here the other day looking for you. He came back today.”
Daisy blinks a few times before realization comes to her face. “Oh,” is all she says, but I need more.
“What did he want?” I ask, now very invested in what she has to say.
“He wanted a treatment. He saw the social media call-out and just turned up. I explained that he needed to make an appointment,” Stephanie says, and I don’t like it.
“You call me immediately if you see him again. Interrupt me, even if I’m in a meeting,” I tell Stephanie, who looks at me, unsure.
“Connor. It’s just Soren,” Daisy says, staring at me like I’m the weird one. But in my soul, I don’t like it. If it was him, then he’s been here three times in as many weeks. Sure, they might be familiar, but I’m still not happy, because I don’t like him either.
“Call me,” I reiterate to Stephanie, and she nods. Daisy rolls her eyes at me for another time today, then starts walking down the hall to her office. When I turn on my heel and follow her, she pauses and spins around, sighing like she’s frustrated with me.
“You don’t need to worry. Soren is a friend of my mom’s. She’s known him for years,” she explains, then continues walking. I follow her down the hall, and we walk into her office. Once she puts her stuff down, one hand finds her hip, giving me her sass. I think back to her mom, Rainbow, the alternative middle-aged woman who reminded me of a witch the first time I met her. I’m not sure that she’s the best judge of character, but I try to let it go.
“At least you didn’t drown today,” I murmur, my relief about that fact relaxing me more than the words she says. And when she smiles, I’m glad my attempt to lighten the mood worked.
“Well, I didn’t wear your armbands. I would’ve looked ridiculous, but I was careful.”
My eyes thin in question, but I don’t say anything.
“Would you have come to give me mouth to mouth if I had gone under?” she teases, walking toward me, her hips swaying, and my eyes dance down her frame. I stand tall and proud, waiting, feeling fucking lucky to have her eyes firmly on me.
“You know I would’ve.” My body temperature rises just from having her near. I reach out to her, my hand sliding around her middle, like her curves were made just for me, and I pull her close, pinning her body to mine.
“Then once you came to, I would pull your swimsuit to the side and make you come so hard on my dick you wouldn’t want to go anywhere near the water without me again,” I murmur my filthy thoughts onto her lips, and her eyes widen slightly as she looks at me.
“Hmmmm, promises, promises… I need to get back to work so I can finish up on time. I have a hot date tonight.”
I almost groan as she steps away from me and circles back to her desk, leaving me hard and horny.
“Make sure you wear your dancing shoes, baby girl,” I tell her, walking backward, a few things to finish myself.
“Dancing?” she asks, looking at me quickly, surprise on her face.
“I’ll come to your place after work,” is all I tell her before I leave her office with a raging hard-on and a head full of questions. I pace back to my office, still thinking about the male visitor we had, so when I arrive at my desk, I pull up the security camera feed from the distillery. This Soren guy has me on edge. I didn’t like him when I met him, and I don’t like him now.
The footage doesn’t give me a very good angle, although I see a van, and the frame of the man who enters reception is similar to that of Soren. I lean back in my chair, wondering what the deal is between them. It could be nothing. It could be something. I will get my security team to run a background check.
At least then I’ll see if he’s hiding anything.