Chapter 39
KAT
Anew email flashes up.
JLockwood
My heart rate picks up, and a tingling starts in my stomach and chest. It’s been over two weeks since we returned. Over two weeks since Jaxson and I were together in the same space. Over two weeks since he reawakened my body.
Tomorrow, we’ll come face-to-face in front of a boardroom full of my colleagues.
I inhale, exhale, repeating the process until I steady my breathing.
You’ve got this!
I can almost hear Dad’s voice in my ear.
After my conversation with Pen, I’ve thrown myself into work. With Christmas on the horizon, it’s been the perfect distraction. Work has been crazy. I’ve barely come up for air, especially after a week away.
I click on the email.
Kat,
I have attached my proposal. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve couriered over printouts for you to distribute.
Jaxson Lockwood
(CEO/Owner Lockwood Architects)
No niceties.
No, how’ve you been?
But what did I expect? I made my position perfectly clear. All he’s doing is honouring my wishes.
I can do professional too. It is, after all, what I’m best at, what I asked for.
I open the attachment and read through his proposal. It’s good. Everything we discussed has been included, priced up, with some additional nice-to-haves. He really has gone above and beyond.
Did I expect anything else?
This is Jaxson after all. It’s clear to see where his passion lies. I’m just glad our little slip-up in the Maldives hasn’t jeopardised this.
Remember. Jaxson Lockwood is a win for the FHG, for this project.
There’s no doubt, Jaxson Lockwood is a passionate man.
I suck in a breath as memories of him bringing me to orgasm over and over again flood my brain.
How he played my body like a finely tuned instrument.
I can still recall the feel of his cock deep inside me, sliding in and out, him coming hard, the look of ecstasy on his face.
Of him holding me in his arms as we fell asleep.
A rush of desire has my pussy contracting, a throbbing need awakening deep within my core.
Get a grip, Kathryn Frazer! You’re in control here, not your base desires!
I pick up the phone.
“Kat,” Caleb answers.
“Hey, little bro. Have you had a chance to go through Jaxson’s proposal?”
“I have. It looks good. I think the board is going to be happy with it.”
He’s not wrong. That both excites and disappoints me.
“Me too. It finally looks like we may be able to move on it.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow for the presentation,” he says.
“See you tomorrow.”
I toss and turn all night. By the time my alarm clock goes off, I’ve already been awake for three hours.
Shit!
I get dressed.
Come on, Kat, you’ve got this. You’ve been facing Jaxson Lockwood for the past sixteen years. What’s one more day?
The only thing is, you hadn’t been naked and felt his body moving in and against yours in all that time, his lips sucking and nibbling!
My cheeks heat at the thoughts, moisture pooling between my thighs.
I’ve found myself in a permanent state of arousal since arriving back.
If it only takes a memory to do this to me, how am I going to withstand a two-hour, face-to-face meeting?
I make it into the office. Michael is ready.
He distributed Jaxson’s presentation yesterday after they arrived, giving everyone a chance to read the proposal and come up with questions.
“Mr Lockwood has arrived with your brother,” he says.
“Thank you, Michael.”
He hovers by the door.
“Is there anything else?”
He looks uncomfortable. “There’s been an incident at the New York hotel with several of the hotel guests. Police are involved.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking off the layers of exhaustion. “Who’s dealing with it?”
“Marco,” Michael says.
“Walk and talk,” I say, grabbing my annotated copy of the proposal from my desk and making my way to the door.
Michael jumps into step next to me.
“Apparently, the police raided one of the suites after some of the guests complained.”
I stop, almost causing Michael to careen into me. “Er. It was being used to film a porn movie,” he says, with a grimace.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second before opening them and turning to face him.
His cheeks are flushed.
“It’s not the first time,” I say. “I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Which is true. One of my first jobs after joining Dad at the office was dealing with a porn scandal.
“Tell Marco to speak to Darren in Chicago. They had something similar last year. Make sure public relations has been informed in case there’s any fallout.”
Michael scribbles down some notes.
“Anything else I should know about?”
Michael proceeds to list off a host of other incidents, including deaths, births, and celebrity scandals, that have occurred over the past twenty-four hours at various Frazer Hotels. A headache begins to form behind my eyes. My break, although a working one, seems like a lifetime ago.
I fire off a list of instructions as we head to the boardroom, and Michael takes copious notes.
I think back to what Jax said about taking a step back. Not everything needs to come through me.
I stop and give Michael a list of the teams who should be involved in addressing these issues. We begin walking again, and by the time I’m done, we’ve arrived at the door to the boardroom.
“Give them a couple of hours and follow up. Any issues, let me know,” I say. “Anything else?”
“I think that’s it,” he says. “I’ll get on it now.”
I nod, inhaling deeply as I grip the door handle.
Pushing it open, I step inside. The rest of the board is already in place.
“Mr Lockwood,” I say, stepping forward and holding out a hand to Jax.
“Ms Frazer.”
Our hands touch, and it’s like a shot of electricity zings up my arm and into my chest. My heart rate picks up, and I pray the warmth I can feel in my cheeks doesn’t show.
Jax shakes my hand briefly before letting it go almost instantly.
“Shall we begin? I know you’re a busy man.”
Jax inclines his head in acknowledgement as I take my seat.
He begins the presentation. His rich, deep tone has the board hanging off every word. My mind wanders to that same voice whispering how good it felt to be buried deep in my pussy, how my body was weeping for his.
The room goes silent. I look up to find everyone’s eyes on me.
“Thank you, Mr Lockwood. I know Michael distributed your proposal yesterday. Does anyone have any questions?”
I sit back as the questions flow. Some directed at Jaxson, others directed at me. We work in tandem answering them all.
“I never thought I’d say this, but Kat, I think we’re onto something,” Sadie says. “This is impressive.”
I bite the inside of my mouth to stop myself from making a scathing reply. The bitch has been against this project from the beginning. Now she’s suddenly all for it? It’s only when I see the look she’s shooting Jaxson that I realise why. My blood begins to boil.
I grip my pendant and slide it up and down my chain, only stopping when I notice Jax’s eyes on the movement.
“Great job,” Douglas and Lewis say together, the other board members following suit.
A few more questions are thrown around before I draw the meeting to a close.
“Thank you, everyone. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I’ll schedule another meeting to discuss the finer points at the end of the week. If we’re all in agreement, it will be full steam ahead in the New Year.”
Caleb joins me as the other members of the board filter out.
“That went well.”
“It did,” I say, watching over his shoulder as Sadie sashays up to Jax, leaning her hip seductively against the boardroom table.
Could she be any more obvious?
Caleb follows my gaze.
“Jax has another fan,” he chuckles under his breath.
“Unprofessional,” I hiss.
“Only in your world, sis. To the rest of us mere mortals, sex and relationships are par for the course.”
“Jaxson is an external consultant. He’ll be working closely with us on this project.”
Jaxson laughs at something Sadie says, and my hackles rise.
Caleb grips my forearm as I take a step forward.
“Whatever is going on, now is not the time,” he hisses against my ear.
He doesn’t continue, his warning clear.
I’m the one being unprofessional.
I meet Caleb’s questioning gaze.
“It’s nothing,” I say. “A bad night’s sleep, and a host of other issues that require my attention.”
There’s a knock on the boardroom door. Michael appears, his body practically vibrating.
Here we go.
“Speaking of,” I say to Caleb. “I better go. Can you thank Jaxson for me, tell him I’ll be in touch.”
I turn and leave without waiting for an answer or offering a backward glance.
Caleb’s words stick in my mind.
Another fan?
What did he mean?