Chapter 31 #2
“Excellent. By the end of the day, please send me the projects you're managing that present the highest credibility risk.”
Everyone quickly left.
I waited a few seconds before asking, “Aren’t the projects that pose the biggest risks the ones tied to the Stonestocks in some way?”
“Yes. I’ll send you that list so you can start reviewing. We’ll compare it to their lists tomorrow.”
“Want to make bets on whose project lists don’t match yours?” I asked as I started for the door.
“I doubt I’d win if I had to bet against your picks.”
His list was open on my monitor a few minutes later. The Riverfront and Southside projects were at the top, calling to me. Using the clubhouse as inspiration, I opened up my last proposal for the Southside project and started revising.
I didn’t realize how long I’d been working on it until Bomir waved a sandwich in front of my face. He pulled it back, though, when I tried to take it.
“Mr. Steele wants you to eat in his office,” he said.
I made a face and side-eyed my open proposal.
“You’ve been playing with the same piece for the last fifteen minutes. You need a break. Go.”
With a playful groan, I took my lunch and went into Konni’s office. He was at his desk, but leaned back, waiting for me.
His very relaxed pose reminded me of what he’d said about suppressing his urge to touch me at work. I shut the door. He subtly tensed, but I couldn’t pinpoint how. He hadn’t actually moved. Maybe it was the intensity in his eyes as he tracked my progress to his sofa.
“I agree with your list,” I said, sitting. “Especially the Riverfront and Southside projects. Have you heard from any of the project managers yet?”
“Two have already sent their lists. They are almost identical to mine, each with a different small business they’re worried about.”
“Oh? In what way?”
“That they weren’t getting the attention they deserved because of our push to take care of the projects with the bigger budgets or social influences.”
“Which shows they care about their client list,” I said, unwrapping my sandwich. “That’s good. Maybe we can arrange a client appreciation dinner for those clients and talk about whatever needs to be addressed in person.”
He stood smoothly as I took a bite of my sandwich.
“I like that idea.” He sat next to me, angling himself so his knee touched my leg.
I hid my grin with a sip of the iced tea he had waiting for me.
“It pays to be nice sometimes,” I said. “It’ll balance the scales when you have to be less nice, like with Pennly.
“I reviewed the project status. The PM’s last note said they won’t sign if I remain a Steele employee.
I’m guessing Pennly’s new investor is connected to Lianna in some way and won’t back down even if she’s out of the picture.
So, let’s help Pennly get rid of that investor by finding one that doesn’t have outrageous conditions. ”
Konni nodded thoughtfully, staring at my mouth as I took another bite. Was he actually hearing me, or was he thinking of the things we’d done last night? With the way he was staring at me, my thoughts wanted to go in that direction too.
“Know anyone?” I asked after I swallowed. “If not, I can bring it up to Wrenly. Based on the location, design, and business plan, it wouldn’t be a losing investment.”
“Actually, we both know a better, more interested candidate.”
“We do?”
“Your mom. Securing the funds under her name will land us a major contract right after Lianna's resignation—something shareholders and the press can't ignore. As compensation, she gets a lifetime share of the resort's profits.”
My mark warmed considerably when I realized that he knew Mom well enough to understand she wouldn’t want a handout and how to spin it so she’d accept.
“You know she’ll use those profits to return your investment, right?”
“Good. That means she won’t be able to move out for a while.”
I wasn’t so sure Mom would rush to move out even if she had the money. Not when we still didn’t know who’d been sabotaging our lives for the last decade.
That thought sparked another selling point.
If her attacker found out about the investment, they might rush to make another move before she could profit. And we needed them to make that move before we announced my connection to Konni.
The idea that they might quietly retreat because of the Steele name made me angry. How would Mom ever recover without answers? Names?
“I’ll call her after this. Are you okay with me sending the email to Pennly if she agrees?”
Konni’s slow smile distracted me from the conversation and my sandwich.
“I’m okay with everything you do, Sophia.”
“What if I want to tease you so much over lunch that you can’t think of anything else but me for the rest of the day?”
“I’m already there,” he said.
“Not yet, but if you ask me nicely, I’ll ensure you’re painfully aware of how distracted you are until it’s time to take me home so I can finish what I start.”
Bright gold flecks exploded into existence around his suddenly elongated pupils.
The bulge in his pants was already noticeably impressive.
“Yes.” The word was once again a drawn-out hiss.
“That’s not asking me nicely.”
“Please make me painfully distracted for the rest of the day.”
His knee rubbed against my leg, and I fought not to grin. Playing with fire had never been so tempting.
“One rule: no touching me. I can only touch you.”
He froze, and his gaze darted to his knee. It took three full seconds for it to move away.
Blatantly dropping my gaze to his pants, I slowly ate the rest of my sandwich, well aware of the fantasy my actions were building in his mind based on the twitches there.
Once the last bite was in my mouth, Konni let out a pained breath, and his head dropped back onto the couch, proof that anticipation could be more potent than the touch itself.
“Since we have a plan for the Riverfront project, we should talk about the Southside build.” I straddled his lap. “You gave the marketing department two extra weeks to come up with something better than my design. We should meet tomorrow to see what they have. Don’t you agree?”
I leaned into him, chest to chest, and rubbed my cheek against his. The volume of his sudden rumbling made me glad I’d closed the door.
“Konni? Did you hear me?” I asked, rubbing my chest against his.
“Yes.” The exhale behind the sound teased my ear.
“I’ll check your calendar.”
I added my hips into the mix. Undulating cheek, torso, and hips in a way that kept contact and pressure, took concentration and faith…that there were no cameras to capture the moment.
No matter how loud it made him purr, I knew I looked like I was using him like a giant napkin. But if my man wanted rubbing, I’d give it to him in a way that would make him crave more.
He started trembling.
At first, I thought it was his purr, but a significant twitch below indicated it was more than that.
His restraint was breaking.
I bit his earlobe firmly. If he were human, he probably would have bled or at least flinched in pain. Not Konni. He groaned, grabbed my hips, and ground into me.
I pulled back from him.
He definitely looked like a dragon on the edge, but he hadn’t sprouted horns. It didn’t disappoint me, but it did give me something to look forward to later.
“There’s a penalty for breaking the no-touching rule,” I said.
He swallowed hard. “What?”
“Lunch is over early, and I open the door again.”
The rapid shift of emotions in his expression was endearing and tempted me to take pity on us both. But I knew the power of anticipation.
“Once you let go of my hips, I’ll leave and do all the work things we talked about. And no matter what you’re doing, you’re going to think about my mouth and how good I feel against you. Tonight, after we have a very nice dinner with our moms, I’m going to take you upstairs and—”
I never felt him move us. I was just suddenly pulled under his weight as he kissed me savagely. Then, just as quickly, he was gone. I heard his chair creak as I lay staring up at the ceiling, catching my breath.
When I sat up, I primly smoothed a hand over my hair, straightened my top, and walked out the door.
After Mom agreed to our plan, I sent an email to Pennly, scheduled a marketing team meeting, and sent a detailed “meeting agenda” to Konni, outlining exactly what I planned to do to him after dinner.
The audible thump from his office helped me focus on the Southside project for the rest of the afternoon.