Chapter 24 #2
His pants vanished. When he tackled me this time, both of us in our underwear, we toppled onto the bed. The skin-to-skin rubbing was much more satisfying when we were facing each other.
He kissed me hungrily, his hands sliding over my sides.
“What am I not allowed to do?” he asked.
He chose that moment to grip my hip and shift our positions enough that he was cradled between my legs. I felt all of him, and I wanted what he had inside of me. Stat.
“What am I allowed?” he repeated, arching into me.
My brain short-circuited.
“Anything you want,” I said, almost slurring my words in my sex-starved delirium.
He growled and kissed me again. His hands roamed where they wanted, finding all the places that made me pant and beg for penetration. My underwear disappeared, replaced with his clever fingers. I whined when he explored me with one and started begging when he used two.
“That’s it, kitten. Tell me what you need,” he said.
“Dick!”
The word echoed around the room.
He chuckled.
I felt the vibration on my thighs and frowned.
The next second, his mouth was on me. Between that and his fingers, I didn’t stand a chance. I came apart so hard, I crashed.
The bed next to me was empty when I woke up the next morning, still naked. I sat up and looked around, feeling distinctly abandoned in a way I’d never felt before. Usually, I was the one who left first.
I was also annoyed. Konni hadn’t given me what I’d wanted, and damn him for having the good sense not to listen to me.
There was a time and place, and we weren’t at either for what I’d wanted.
After checking the time, I hurried through my morning routine and jogged downstairs, dressed for the office.
Mom and Konni were in the kitchen together. She was watching him as he expertly folded an omelet. Both glanced my way at my approach.
“Whatever you’re making smells good,” I said.
“Mushroom and spinach omelette. Your mom said it’s your favorite.” He slid it onto a plate and started the next one.
Mom’s gaze swept over me, worry in her expression. “Are you sure you want to go to work today?”
“If I hide, it’ll be like admitting I did something wrong,” I said.
“If you show up with Konni, it might also add fuel to the fire,” she pointed out.
I met his gaze. “What do you think?”
“You already know what I’d like to do.” He picked up the two finished plates and moved toward the dining table.
“Announce to the world that I agreed to date you?” I asked, following.
He shook his head. “Announce to the world that you’re my mate.”
“Eh, let’s stick to meeting your mom first.”
“Oh,” Mom said, looking intrigued. “We’re to that point already? Meeting the in-laws?”
“After yesterday’s media explosion, I don’t really have a choice,” I said. “Konni asked his dad for help dealing with the guy who assaulted me, and his mom saw the news.”
Mom sat across from me and accepted the plate from Konni.
“You have a choice,” he said. “If you’re not ready, I can—”
“I’m ready,” I said.
It was the truth, too. I wanted to get the meeting over with so we could figure out how to move forward.
What would he do when he found out his mom didn’t like me?
Would that be the end of our very brief relationship?
What would happen to the mark on my shoulder?
Would it fade to nothing, or would it be like he’d hinted… permanently there forever.
“Eat while it’s warm,” Konni said before moving back to the kitchen.
Mom gave me a speculative look, and I knew she was reading me.
“What are you going to do today while we’re gone?” I asked to distract her.
“Shop like I have money to burn. Konni mentioned you told people I paid for your dress. We think it’ll have attracted the attention we want.”
“So, you’re going out as bait.”
“Yes, but not alone. Konni has someone coming over to help me.”
“She’ll look like an assistant,” Konni said, bringing his plate over to join us, “but she’s a qualified bodyguard.”
“How qualified?” I asked.
“Very. I wouldn’t take a chance with your mom.”
Mom watched me, waiting for my agreement.
“Fine, but buy something for yourself. You need better daily wear if you’re going to convince people you have money.”
Mom looked at her loose-fitted shirt and lifted her arm. “I don’t have a lot of choice.”
“That’s not what someone with money would say.”
Konni hid his amusement with a bite of omelette as Mom and I playfully bickered about her wardrobe.
We’d just finished breakfast when her “helper” for the day arrived. The petite woman with a friendly smile and a bubbly personality didn’t fit the role of bodyguard at all. But I realized that was the point.
“I’ve got it from here, Ms. Elmantas,” the woman said with a smile. “I promise your mom will be safe with me.”
I waved goodbye and let Konni lead me out to the car.
“Are you nervous about going in today?” he asked as he started the engine.
“I wasn’t until you said something. Now I am. How many people in the office know, do you think?”
“About the articles or about us?” he asked.
“Both?”
He was quiet for a moment. “What are you really worried about?”
“The same stuff as before…that people will stop seeing my effort and only my association with you. That I’ll be treated differently.” The hate and the social-climbing accusations bothered me, too, but not as much as the cronyism did.
“Don’t allow it. Stand your ground. Your work speaks for itself when people are willing to listen. You’ve already proven that with the Southside project and by not only keeping the Riverfront project on track but also steering it toward an even better option than they were initially provided.
“Don’t let someone else’s beliefs about you change who you are.”
I knew he was right, but that didn’t make me any less nervous when we walked into the Steele building together thirty minutes later.
While I was right on time for my usual schedule, Konni was coming in later than normal. People paused to greet him and glanced at me. Most of them were just glances. Some of them were curious. None looked judgmental, not even when we reached the executive floor.
The Snack Pack were all at their stations waiting for our arrival.
Behind the cover of his screen, Bomir pointed emphatically at Konni’s office.
A warning.
“I’ll get your coffee ready,” I said, bailing on Konni with a quick about-face.
He sighed but didn’t try to stop me. I took my sweet time making his post-Lianna recovery brew. Thankfully, my strategy paid off, and she wasn’t in his office when I entered.
“What was this morning’s drama?” I asked, handing him his coffee.
“An extension for the Southside proposal deadline for her overworked design teams, and Pennly lost an investor he was counting on to go with the upgraded proposal on the Riverfront project.”
“She’s asking for an extension because they didn’t come up with anything better than what I’d proposed. And if the Riverfront is a sound investment, which I believe it is, Pennly will find a replacement easily enough.”
“He did. However, they won’t invest if you have anything to do with the project.”
Crossing my arms, I leaned against his desk.
“I’m betting Ms. Stonestock had some thoughts about that, which I’m not interested in hearing.
But here are my thoughts… Rather than focusing on an investor who is easily influenced by gossip news, Pennly should find one who can see the value in the proposal. ”
“We have the same thoughts. It’s like we’re meant to be.”
I snorted and straightened away from his desk. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to go see what other marketing projects I can butt into.”
He chuckled as I left.
When I wasn’t shadowing Edi, I reviewed the list of Steele’s active projects. It was impressively large and diverse, with projects that were much smaller in scale and cost than the two I’d seen. One, a little boutique caught my eye, mostly because I knew the area. It was close to our house.
I became so absorbed in reviewing the project that time slipped by unnoticed.
“Ready?” Konni asked, startling me.
Turning, I asked, “For what?” I remembered the lunch meeting with his mom at the last second.
“Yep. I was just about to leave.” I stood and patted his arm. “You’re staying here.”
He studied my determined expression. “Let’s compromise, and I’ll walk you to the car.”
Very aware of our avid audience, I agreed and ignored Bomir’s smirk as we left.
Lianna caught us by the elevators. “There’s another issue with the—”
“I’ll be back in five minutes,” Konni said. “It can wait until then.”
Her gaze met and held mine as the elevators closed.
One problem at a time, I silently told myself. First, Konni’s mom. Then Lianna.
Konni waited until we were outside to say, “What if I just rode along and stayed in the car with Harlow?”
Harlow, who had already opened the door for me, covered his mouth and cleared his throat. I was glad he found Konni funny, too.
“Why?” I asked.
“I’m worried about your safety.”
“Who don’t you trust? Me, Harlow, or your Mom?” I asked.
“That’s not—”
“Konni, stop. You’re hand-delivering me to Harlow. Harlow is going to park right in front of the cafe, open my door for me, and watch me walk inside, where your mom is probably going to be watching for me. What do you think is going to happen?”
I wasn’t downplaying his concern, but rather hoping he’d admit that he was worried his mom was going to ask me to leave him.
“Nothing,” he said finally. “You’re right. You’ll be safe.”
I saw how badly he wanted to hug me and quickly got into the car.
He stood there as Harlow shut the door, got in, and pulled out into traffic.
Shaking my head, I took a moment to send a group message.
Me: Meeting Konni’s mom. What are the chances I’m going to wake up in a ditch without my kidney?
Miranda responded with a laughing emoji. Wrenly didn’t respond before we arrived, since the cafe wasn’t far from the Steele building.
“She’s wearing a blue skirt suit,” Harlow said when he opened the door for me.
“Thanks.”
I went inside and saw Konni’s mom immediately. He had her ash blonde hair color and a lot of her beauty, but in a more masculine way.
She saw me from across the room and smiled. It looked warm, but I’d seen Lianna smile like that, too. Anything could be faked, even the confident way I walked to her table and took a seat.
“I’m surprised Konni didn’t come with you,” she said, still looking and sounding pleasant.
“I asked him not to.”
“Good. I’d hoped we could talk a bit, just the two of us.” She reached into her purse and took out a prefilled check. She set it on the table and pushed it toward me.
I glanced down to count the zeros. Seven of them.
Ten million to leave Konni?
What kind of people could write a check for ten million?
The kind I couldn’t afford to anger.
I’d known Konni had money. He was the CEO of one of the largest businesses in Motan. But this kind of money? Never.
My fingers trembled as I reached for the check.
From the start, I’d guessed how dangerous Konni would be for me. That he’d want more than I could safely give. And I’d crossed the dumb line anyway. I’d let him in. And now I was the one who would suffer.
“I’ll resign immediately. He won’t see me again.”
“What? Why?” she asked in a panic.
She caught my hand in hers, crushing the check a little.
“What did he do? It was how long it took him to deal with those articles, wasn’t it? I told his father he was taking too long.
“Please give him another chance. Not that I’m hoping those trash columns will post more nonsense. Just don’t leave him, yet. I know he can do better.”
“Um…I don’t understand,” I said, looking from her death grip on my hand to the check to her. “You don’t want me to leave?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why did you give me a check?”
She burst into laughter, and her hold eased.
“You thought I was asking you to leave him? Oh, he’s going to lose his mind when he hears this. No, you sweet girl. I’ve been waiting for a daughter-in-law for ages. This is my welcome gift.
“I know what it’s like to walk into the Steele world with nothing and feel unmatched and judged. This way, you have your own money that you can spend however you need to face the people in their circle with your head high.”
“Oh.”
She studied me for a moment, growing serious.
“Would you have really left him for that amount?”
I looked down at the check, thinking about how much that money would have transformed our lives.
“No. I mean, yes, I would have left if you’d asked me to, but I wouldn’t have cashed the check.”
“If you’re willing to leave him, why not cash it?”
“Because my feelings don’t have a price. I would have left to keep myself and my mom safe, that’s all.”
“It looks like we have a lot to talk about,” she said, releasing my hand.