Chapter 19
CAIN
The email I received just before nine in the evening a couple of days ago was surprising to say the least. Sutton’s message was brief, professional, and something I hadn’t been expecting.
Cain,
Since you wanted to have a video conference on Thursday, I thought it would be a better idea for us to meet in person.
That would also give me an opportunity to see Ashcroft Group’s headquarters.
As the new head of Prescott Vantage, I believe getting a glimpse of the parent company’s operations would be beneficial.
Sutton Prescott
No pleasantries. No small talk. Just a direct request to meet with me and to tour our offices.
I leaned back in my chair and studied the Manhattan skyline through my windows.
I’d given her “space” after I flew her back to D.C.
after the gala. I was still tracking her, but I’d backed off to calm her nervous system down a bit before suggesting to Nancy that we should have a video conference call.
I didn’t expect her to make such a bold move, but I was also content with being pleasantly surprised by this new development.
The idea that she would willingly come to me was intriguing to say the least. But I knew the idea didn’t come out of thin air.
And given what I knew about the timing of her message to me, I figured it had something to do with her best friend who was visiting her at the time she sent the message.
What were they talking about that got her to send me that email?
I pulled up her schedule on my monitor. Outside of when she left to get home in time to hang out with Cassandra “Cassie” Perry, she’d been working late hours since returning from New York.
And by late, I mean later than usual, even by her standards.
But nothing was shouting at me the reason why she’d reached out to me.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t get to the bottom of it. I just wanted to give her the ability to think she would achieve her goal before I trapped her.
I replied to her email almost immediately:
Sutton, I look forward to showing you around Ashcroft Group’s headquarters. I’ll have Nancy arrange everything for Thursday. I can send the jet to bring you to NYC.
Cain
Almost immediately, I received a response:
That won’t be necessary. I’ve already booked my ticket. I’ll be arriving Thursday morning and can be at your office by 11 a.m.
I was completely and utterly intrigued that she’d already made arrangements, which meant this wasn’t a spontaneous decision. She’d been planning this, perhaps even before she sent the initial email. Sutton was making a move and I found myself eager to see what game she thought she was playing.
It would be harder for me to push back on my jet being what brought her here, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have eyes on her anyway. I typed back:
11 a.m. works perfectly. I’ll clear my schedule.
And now I was sitting here on Thursday waiting to be alerted about her arrival.
Sure, there were plenty of things I could be doing right now while I waited, but everything paled in comparison to just sitting here and waiting for her as I examined every way this could go.
Not to mention why she decided to come all of this way today.
I opened up the file I had on her and stared at some of the photos Declan and his associates had taken to check out for the fifty millionth time while I passed the time until her arrival.
My office phone rang and I saw Nancy’s name flash on the screen. I knew it was go time before I answered. “Hi, Nancy.”
“Mr. Ashcroft, Ms. Prescott has arrived,” Nancy announced.
“Send her in,” I replied, straightening my tie.
I stood and buttoned my suit jacket, positioning myself by the window.
I heard the door open behind me, but I didn’t turn around immediately.
Let her take in the view, the office, the power dynamic.
I counted three seconds before I pivoted to face her.
Sutton stood just inside my office, wearing a brown suit that hid her figure much to my dismay; however, it brought out the color of her eyes more. I watched as she took my office in and I assumed she was analyzing the setup in front of her and making an assessment.
“Sutton,” I said, moving forward to greet her. “Welcome to Ashcroft Group’s headquarters.”
“Cain,” she replied as she extended her hand.
I took it and it was as if the memory of me fucking her against the wall once again took center stage. I wondered if she was thinking of it too.
“I hope your train ride was comfortable,” I said, releasing her hand after holding it longer than necessary.
“It was fine.” Her tone gave nothing away. “Thank you for accommodating my request on such short notice.”
“Of course. I’m always happy to see you.” I gestured toward the sitting area of my office. “Coffee? Water?”
“Coffee, you know how I like it,” she said as she moved toward one of the chairs I’d indicated.
Her comment sounded like a slight dig, but I didn’t let on that I took it as such. I walked over to my personal coffee machine. “Black, no sugar. Then we can start the tour.”
“Why am I not surprised that you’re giving the tour yourself?”
“I wouldn’t waste my time delegating something this important,” I replied as I turned to hand her some coffee that Nancy freshly brewed about fifteen minutes ago. “The head of Prescott Vantage deserves the CEO’s personal attention.”
Her eyes were darting around my office before her gaze locked with mine. What was she looking for? “I’d like to see as much as you’re willing to show. And maybe while we’re walking around we can talk about whatever the subject of the video conference was going to be?”
“Of course,” I replied smoothly. “We have nothing to hide and not to mention you’re now an employee of Ashcroft Group.”
Her gaze narrowed after my comment, but I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. “You didn’t need to say that when it’s something obvious that we both know.”
I couldn’t help but smirk at the tone her voice took. “Since we are talking about things that are obvious, let me address the elephant in the room. Why did you actually come here, Sutton?”
“To have a tour of Ashcroft Group’s headquarters. What’s so hard to believe about that?”
“You’re bold, but I don’t think bold enough to demand a tour without a reason behind it,” I replied, watching her closely for any reaction. “And you rejected my offer of the jet, which suggests you wanted to control your arrival and departure. So I’m curious about what is actually motivating you.”
She took a sip of her coffee, using the moment to gather her thoughts. I could see the cogs turning in her head and that she was deciding how much to reveal.
“Can’t professional curiosity be enough?” she said. “I’m now running a subsidiary of your company. Understanding how the parent organization operates seems like basic due diligence.”
“Professional curiosity,” I repeated. “That’s what we’re calling it?”
Sutton’s eyes didn’t waver from mine. “Call it whatever you want. I’m here now.”
“Indeed you are,” I said, setting my own coffee down. I took a step toward her and then another until I was standing in front of her chair looking down at her. “And I’m delighted to show you around. Shall we begin?”
Given I was so close to her, she had no choice but to touch me as she rose to her full height where she still needed to look up at me. We studied one another for several seconds as if we were sizing each other up.
When she trembled slightly while staring me down, I knew she was more affected than she was letting on.
And that made me even more intrigued to see how far she would let me take this.
Because the last thing on my mind at this point was a tour of the headquarters.
I mentally mapped how I was going to get her out of the suit that I swore she purposely wore to hide her curves in the most efficient way possible.
“Back up, Cain.”
“But I don’t want to.” I ran the back of my hand along her jawline and smirked when she shivered slightly. I gave her an opportunity to put some distance between us, but she didn’t take the offer.
“We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s a terrible idea.”
“Probably.” I slid my hand around to the small of her back, pulling her fully against me. “Do you care that it is a ‘terrible idea’?”
She looked up at me then, and what I saw in her eyes set everything in me ablaze. It wasn’t fear or uncertainty. It was hunger, the same thing I felt every time I looked at her was reflected back to me in her gaze.
“No,” she whispered. “I really don’t.”
That was the only answer I needed. My mouth found hers and her response was immediate. She kissed me back with the same intensity that I gave her and I groaned when her hands began grabbing me through my clothes.
I walked her backward until her hips hit the edge of my desk. She gasped against my mouth, and I swallowed the sound, choosing to deepen our kiss as I pressed my body against hers.
“Cain,” she said quickly but sounding out of breath as I moved my mouth to her neck. My teeth grazed the skin just below her ear as her hands moved from my shirt to my shoulders.
“You came to my office,” I murmured against her throat, my hands moving to the buttons of her suit jacket. “Did you think this wouldn’t happen, especially after the last time you were in New York?”
She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she pulled at my tie, loosening it quickly before working on my shirt buttons. I shrugged out of my jacket and let it fall to the floor, not giving a fuck where it landed.
I did the same with her jacket, knocking it off her shoulders and tossing it aside.
Beneath it, she wore a white silk blouse that was slightly translucent.
I could see the outline of her bra through the fabric.
I knew it was black lace and just the thought of seeing it in a few seconds made my cock harder than it already was.
“This,” I said, my fingers finding the buttons of her blouse, “has been distracting me since you walked in here.”
“You couldn’t even see it until just now,” she pointed out.
“I knew it was there.” I opened each button with deliberate slowness, watching her face as I revealed more skin. “I’m not surprised to see you wear something sexier under these suits you wear. There’s just one thing missing.”
She raised an eyebrow as I undid the last button of her shirt and spread the fabric apart to expose the exquisite picture beneath. Although I wanted to continue touching her, there was one more task I needed to complete before I did so.
I reached into the pocket of my button-down shirt and produced a thin box that I handed to Sutton. “This is for you.”
The puzzlement on her face would have been hilarious if I hadn’t been turned on and ready to fuck her right now. But I held it together as she opened the box and saw the gift I’d bought for her personally.
Inside was a white gold heart tag toggle necklace that was thick enough to resemble a collar. I’d had it especially made for her on short notice for reasons I didn’t feel the need to express yet, but I was determined to get her to wear it. “I thought this would be perfect.”
Sutton stared at the necklace, her expression shifting from confusion to something I couldn’t name. I watched her fingers hover over it without touching, as if it might burn her.
“Is this a collar?” she said quietly.
“It’s a necklace,” I corrected, though we both knew what it represented.
“Same difference in this context.” Her eyes met mine. “This is highly inappropriate for you to give me.”
I leaned closer until my lips nearly brushed her ear and I felt her shiver. Good. “We can talk about it later.”
I took the necklace from the box and gestured for her to turn around.
When she did, I brushed her auburn hair to the side, exposing the back of her neck to me.
The toggle clasp gleamed in the light filtering through my office windows.
I fastened the necklace around her throat, letting my fingers linger on her skin because she let me.
The white gold rested perfectly against her collarbone, exactly as I’d thought it would. “Beautiful.”
She turned to face me, one hand rising to touch the metal at her throat. For a moment, I thought she might tear it off, but instead, her fingers traced it as if she was weighing how it felt under her touch.
To distract her from asking more questions, I traced the edge of the black lace with my fingertip, letting it rest against the swell of her breast for several seconds before sliding it down to her waist. Her skin was warm and I was impressed that she held perfectly still.
That had to change because I wanted her withering under my touch.
The suit pants presented a brief obstacle, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.
I unbuttoned them and gently ran a finger along the waistband of the pants, touching both the fabric as well as her stomach.
I smirked when I felt her stomach grow tense under my finger, but I couldn’t keep playing this little game I started so I worked her pants down her body until I too was kneeling in front of her.
I gently picked up each leg in order to remove the pants from her body, leaving her in nothing but her black lace bra, and what I now knew was a matching black thong and high heels. Being able to see her in broad daylight versus seeing only a glimpse in a dark alleyway didn’t do her justice.
She looked like a work of art, but I was prepared to make a new masterpiece when I fucking destroyed her.