Chapter 22
Bonnie
All eyes turned to us.
To me, Genie, Jessie, and the line of women behind us who looked like they’d rather chew glass than be facing the wall of suits. Yet they’d showed up.
At the closest end of the table stood Douglas Tucker. His smug smile vanished the second he recognised me. Then Genie and the rest of the girls.
For a moment, his brain clearly stalled.
Genie broke the silence. “Evening, Dougie.”
Her voice carried easily across the room. Every head swivelled back to him.
Tucker’s face flushed a blotchy red. “What the hell is this?” he barked.
Genie crossed her arms. “You remember me, right? I ran the service for your party.”
“Security!” Tucker snapped.
“No one’s coming,” Elijah said calmly from the head of the table.
That voice. Completely certain. Oh God, I loved him.
Tucker looked from Elijah to the women behind me. Understanding dawned slowly. “Oh,” he sneered. “I see what this is.”
Genie lifted a brow. “I don’t think you do.”
Tucker scoffed, “Some kind of stunt. You girls got bored shaking your tits for tips so now you’re trying to blackmail someone?”
Several people at the table stiffened.
Genie’s eyes went flat. “Want to try that again?”
Tucker laughed. “I know exactly what kind of business you run.”
“Yeah,” Genie shot back. “A legal one.”
“You’re escorts.”
“We’re waitresses.”
“Same difference.”
Genie’s mouth curved in a dangerous smirk. “Funny. My girls don’t usually leave events with bruises.”
A collective murmur rippled through the room.
Tucker’s smile faltered. “Maybe they should stop throwing themselves at men if they don’t want attention.”
Behind me, one of the women stepped forward. Susie. Petite. Blonde. Usually quiet. Not tonight. “You grabbed my ass when I walked past you with drinks.”
Tucker snorted. “That’s hardly—”
“And when I asked you to stop,” Susie continued, voice steady, “you told me to stop being such a prick tease.”
Another woman stepped forward. “You cornered me near the bar. Put your grubby hand inside my bikini top.”
“And you told me to smile when serving you,” someone else added. “You said I should take it as a compliment.”
“You tried to follow me into the bathroom.”
“You told your friends they could watch.”
The accusations piled up. One after another.
Tucker’s confidence shrank visibly with every accusation.
“This is ridiculous,” he snapped. “These women are entertainers. They signed up for—”
“For waitressing,” Genie cut in sharply. “Clothed, nude, or in between, none deserved you.”
Jessie stepped forward, pale, but her voice didn’t shake. “You grabbed my wrist when I tried to leave.” She lifted her arm to display a yellowing bruise wrapped around her wrist.
Tucker’s mouth opened then closed.
Across the table, a woman in a dark suit slowly stood. Older. Grey hair. Sharp eyes. Police commissioner, according to the badge pinned to her lapel.
Oh dammmn.
The commissioner glanced at Jessie’s wrist then studied Tucker with quiet interest. “Mr Tucker,” she said calmly.
Tucker flushed purple. “You can’t possibly be taking this seriously.”
“Deadwater Constabulary take allegations of assault very seriously.”
“These are lies from worthless bitches.”
The people in suits all took in a shocked breath. We didn’t, too used to the reality of men like this.
“Perhaps we should discuss them at the station.”
The colour drained from Tucker’s face. “This is outrageous.”
“Shall we?” The commissioner gestured towards the door.
Tucker looked around the room. No one moved to help him. Not a single one of his powerful friends. His jaw clenched. “You’re making a mistake. All because you,” he jabbed a finger at Elijah, “are pussy-whipped by one of these sluts.”
I burst out with a laugh, and he shot me a poisonous glare as he pushed past.
When the door slammed behind him, the tension shattered. People began chattering immediately about how they’d never work with him again. Chairs scraped and phones appeared in hands. The carefully assembled circle of powerful business figures dissolved into small clusters of whispered conversation.
Meanwhile, I had exactly one thing on my mind.
I climbed onto the conference table and ignored the gasps to stalk the length of the polished wood. Straight towards Elijah.
Still seated at the head, he didn’t move, just watched me come for him. Those dark eyes held a heat that made my pulse jump.
Half the room stopped talking, but all followed my progress with open fascination.
I reached the man I loved. “You set him up,” I said.
Elijah’s mouth curved slightly. “I held him accountable.”
I crossed my arms. “You could’ve warned me.”
“It isn’t the responsibility of women to manage men. Besides, you wouldn’t have enjoyed the surprise.”
Fair.
I knelt on the shiny table, the last of my anger evaporating. Then I grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him.
Hard.
A shocked ripple spread through the room.
Someone coughed.
“Good God,” another person muttered.
Elijah’s hands landed on my waist instantly, steadying me.
His mouth answered mine without hesitation, and our kiss deepened. The sort that made it very clear exactly how we felt about each other. And what was about to happen.
Around us people moved again. This time, leaving. Apparently, no one wanted to sit through whatever came next. Good, because I wasn’t stopping for anything, even to answer Genie’s, “Get in there, girl.”
By the time I finally pulled back, the conference room had emptied and the door was closed. Elijah gave a hungry growl and ran his hands up my legs.
“Lie back.”
I obeyed, and he pushed my dress up my thighs, finding the edge of my underwear. He stripped them off me, and without pause, buried his face between my legs. This, I adored His clever tongue. The way he knew how to play me, having had so much practice on our tropical island.
He devoured me, and I didn’t hide my moans of desire, uncaring if anyone else in the building heard. In fact, I wanted them to know exactly what was happening. He was mine, and I claimed him loudly.
He built me up so high then sent me soaring, a final lash of his tongue sending me crashing into pleasure. Then Elijah shoved down his smart trousers, climbed onto the table, and thrust into me. We rolled on the polished surface where only minutes ago, Tucker had been handed his ass.
I knelt, dress rucked around my waist, and rode him.
Triumph smacked another orgasm into me when he groaned and clutched my thighs, coming inside me hard.
I draped on him, breathing heavy but so, so satisfied.
“I love you,” I said.
“Oh fuck, that was my line.” Still inside me, Elijah sat up and kissed me thoroughly. “Baby. I’m so gone for you.”
We hugged, hearts thumping together, holding each other tight.
When we cooled, Elijah brushed a strand of hair from my cheek.
“You do realise,” he said softly, “this is the most unusual board meeting I’ve ever hosted.”
I smiled. Because ruining Douglas Tucker’s day? That had been satisfying. But screwing Elijah Westwood on top of a boardroom table? That was the real highlight.
At last, I was ready to give him my whole heart, just as he’d given me a gift this afternoon. It was precious, and careful, and the opposite to the fire I typically led with, but when he held me close, I knew I was right. And the game had given me everything I’d dreamed of.