Chapter 39
Noah
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t plan on ambushing Bea in the elevator. When I saw her this morning at her desk, looking so sexy and almost mine, I forgot last evening’s turmoil and made a decision. If I’m going to go down in flames, it might as well be in a blaze of glory.
Now I’m sitting in a room with three contractors saying words like phased sequencing and contingency allowances, and all I can hear is the memory of Bea’s little sound when I lifted her.
I’m nodding at a Gantt chart while replaying the way her fingers fisted my jacket like she couldn’t decide if she was pulling me closer or saving us both.
“Mr. King?” the project manager prompts.
“Approved,” I say automatically. It’s either a brilliant move or I just greenlit setting a pile of cash on fire. I don’t even know why I’m doing this alone since Ezra is the one responsible for budgeting.
I wrap the meeting fifteen minutes early and ride the elevator back to my floor.
Bea’s at her desk, head bent, posture perfect, typing like she’s filing the serial numbers off a weapon.
My weapon. As I step into the bullpen, she doesn’t look up.
Her mouth is a rigid line, her cheeks faintly flushed, and her pen is jumping between her fingers like it wants to be my rib cage.
I stop at her desk. “Summary in an hour?”
She slides me a neat packet without missing a keystroke. “Already on your desk, Mr. King.”
The Mr. is a slap and a dare. My mouth curves. “You missed a page,” I say without even looking.
“No, I didn’t.”
I know she didn’t. I’ve learned to know that Beatrice Wrong thrives on perfection, but I want to get a rise out of her. With a short nod, I disappear into my office where I pull up my email and type an invite to Bea.
Subject line: Contract Terms
Location: My office
Time: Ten minutes from now
.
I add a single period in the description because I want to watch her try to decide what that dot means.
Her reply is instant.
Accepted.
I should be the adult. I should lay out boundaries, timelines, and professional contingencies. For her sake more than mine. I should not be excited. I’m all of those shoulds and none of them at once.