27. Grayson
CHAPTER 27
Grayson
“Mr. Ross, there’s someone here to see you.”
I swivel my chair toward the conference room door where my executive assistant Andrea is poking her head in. I smile. Andrea knows better than to interrupt me during this meeting unless it’s really important.
Since I’ve been gone for several weeks, this meeting is really big.
But this interruption is important. Caroline and Evelyn are here. And I can’t deny the way my heart trips, knowing they’re in the office.
Andrea suggested they come in for lunch and I readily agreed.
So readily that she gave me a knowing smirk.
The funny thing is, typically I would have called her on that smirk. I would have denied that I was eager to see them.
But I am eager to see them.
I’m eager to show them off.
Why would I deny that?
And yes, I’m even willing to admit that it’s them— not just my adorable baby girl who is officially mine and who Andrea cannot wait to see again, but the gorgeous woman who has traveled to New York with me.
Caroline hasn’t asked if she is my employee on this trip. I would happily pay her for her time with Evelyn, but I am aware that makes things a little weird between us, considering I referred to her as my girlfriend to Andrea without even thinking.
I can’t have sex with her while we’re in New York because I promised Cas and James, but she is definitely here as more than a nanny.
“Okay, everyone, that wraps it up.” I close the folder in front of me and push back from the table.
“Wait, we haven’t finished the agenda,” Felicity protests from next to me on my right-hand side.
“The rest can be an email,” I say. I almost laugh. I like in-person meetings better than emails and everyone in here knows that. At least when I’m leading the meeting. I actually hate sitting through meetings when other people are in charge. I have never uttered the words that I just did before in my life.
Everyone around the table takes note of that. But no one else is smiling. They’re looking at me as if concerned for my mental health.
“I have a lunch date,” I tell them. “I don’t want to keep my girlfriend and daughter waiting.”
I see Felicity hesitate in gathering her papers.
I’m not stupid. I am very aware of the fact that Felicity would like something romantic to happen between the two of us.
I am also aware of the fact that, on paper, Felicity probably seems like a great match for me.
However, not only do I never date or fuck employees—and I do not want to lose her as an employee—I am not attracted to Felicity.
She is objectively an attractive woman, but she doesn’t do it for me.
I haven’t thought about it in any more depth than that. And now that I’ve met Caroline, I simply know that Felicity isn’t Caroline. There was no instant chemistry, connection, or desire to know her better.
I don’t need to understand it any further than that.
I stand and start for the door.
“Can I walk with you to your office?” Felicity asks. “I have a couple of questions about the project in Nashville.”
“Of course.”
Felicity is very good at her job. I will always be available to my vice presidents when they need to discuss business matters with me.
I open the conference room door and stand to the side, waiting for her to step out into the hallway in front of me.
She passes very close to me, the sleeve of her white silk button-down blouse brushing against my stomach.
I fall into step next to her.
“The office has been very different without you here,” Felicity says. “We’ve missed you.”
“That’s nice to hear. I’d like to think that I add something when I’m here. But everything has been running very well without me physically in the office. That pleases me.”
It’s true. It’s nice to be back. This is my comfort zone and I’ve fallen back into my habits here easily. But…
I’m not sure it’s completely my comfort zone anymore.
I’m noticing stupid things like my dress shoes pinch a little and the air feels a little stale inside the building and I’m missing the smell of baby shampoo.
“Nashville has run into a couple of snags. They’re a little behind on their timeline. I think you and I should go for a site visit. I think it would help them if you were in the office. Show them that you’re invested in what they’re doing.”
“Isn’t my name on the company and CEO as my title a pretty good indication that I’m invested in this project?” I ask dryly.
She smiles. “I mean emotionally invested. That you’re involved in the details. That it’s not just a line item for you. It will motivate them.”
I wouldn’t say it’s just a line item, but I also wouldn’t say I’m emotionally invested. The Nashville project is business. It’s how I make money. It’s part of my company. It’s not my life. “And what would you be there for, then?” I ask.
This whole being a cheerleader and motivating people is literally Felicity’s job.
I know exactly what she’s thinking she’d be there for—to warm the other side of my hotel bed.
That’s not going to happen.
“I’m a great motivator,” she says, beaming up at me. “You know that. I can talk anyone into anything.”
Almost anyone.
“Then you don’t need me along,” I say, stopping outside my office door. It’s shut but not latched and I can hear Caroline talking to Evelyn through the crack.
“Your daddy’s desk is so big, isn’t it? He does such important work there.” She pauses. “Or maybe he’s trying to compensate for something.” She chuckles softly. “Though I guess I know he’s not compensating for that .”
I want to laugh. And I should scold her for talking about things like that with my daughter.
But I should be focusing on what my junior vice president is telling me.
“They’ll appreciate it,” Felicity says, ending her mini-monologue about why I should go to Nashville.
“I don’t think so,” I tell her simply. I don’t need to give her reasons. I’m the boss.
“Grayson,” she says, reaching out and putting her hand on my forearm.
She, wisely, only calls me Grayson when it’s just the two of us speaking privately, but I’d really rather she continue to call me Mr. Ross.
“I just think if you’d spend a few days there with me, it would not only be good for the local office, but it will give me a chance to really show you what I can do. We’ve never done a site visit together and I’m really eager to show you all of my ideas about how we can move forward.”
Uh, huh?
“Felicity, I?—”
The door beside us suddenly swings open, and Caroline and Evelyn are there, smiling brightly.
Well, Caroline is smiling. Evelyn is scowling. At Felicity.
“Hi!” Caroline greets. “I heard your voice.” She looks from me to Felicity. “Hi, I’m Caroline. I'm Grayson's girlfriend.” She extends the hand not holding Evelyn.
She looks amazing.
And as opposite of Felicity as she possibly could.
Felicity is a blonde who wears pencil skirts, blouses, and high heels—like the navy blue and white she has on today—gets French manicures, and her hair is always sleek and perfect.
The gorgeous redhead holding my daughter is in jeans, a bright yellow V-neck T-shirt, and canvas sneakers. Her hair is loose and looks like she’s recently pulled her fingers through it. She’s got little or maybe no makeup on. And she’s stunning. She’s clearly not trying to impress anyone. She’s confident in who she is and, I hope, how I feel about her regardless of how she dresses or does her hair.
Caroline goes on. “I just wanted to pop my head out and let you know that Nashville isn’t going to work for us.”
Felicity looks a little surprised. I’m surprised, but amused. I decide to let Caroline take the lead here.
“Traveling a lot with Evelyn isn’t really a good plan. We want her to get used to flying, of course. But it’s better for us to go back-and-forth between New York and Honeysuckle Harbor, where Grayson has apartments and she can feel more settled.”
Felicity nods. “Of course. Don’t feel that you have to come along. Grayson and I can handle the trip without you.”
Caroline gives her a cool smile. “I don’t feel that I have to come along. But I know Grayson would want me to be there. Evelyn too. He prefers spending time with us over anything else. If we’re not there, I know he won’t want to be gone. And he certainly won’t be at his best.” She looks up at me and smiles, moving closer and leaning into my arm. I move that arm so it’s wrapped around her, my hand resting on her hip. “He’ll be distracted and crabby without us.” She smiles at Felicity again. “But it’s so wonderful that Grayson is so good at hiring excellent people. So that you can handle this trip on your own.”
Felicity’s eyes narrow slightly, but her smile stays in place. “Well, Grayson and I can discuss it further later.”
I decide this is the perfect opportunity to make things very clear to Felicity, thanks to Caroline.
“There’s nothing further to discuss, Felicity,” I say. “It’s exactly as Caroline said. I will only be making trips that one or both of my girls can accompany me on. I am certain you can handle Nashville without me.”
Before Felicity can respond, Caroline raises her voice slightly. “Andrea, we’re ready for you to take Evelyn for a few minutes.”
Andrea suddenly appears with us and reaches for my baby girl. “Wonderful. Come here, sweet thing,” she says to Evelyn.
To my surprise, Evelyn goes to her easily with a smile.
“We’ll just be a little bit,” Caroline tells Andrea. “We’ll come find you when…we’re done.”
That pause makes my eyebrows arch.
“Of course,” Andrea says. “Take your time.” She gives us a smile, then turns and heads toward her desk with Evelyn.
Caroline looks up at me, loops her arms through mine, and turns, tugging me through my office door. “Nice to meet you, Felicity,” she says.
It occurs to me that I did not introduce the two of them.
Caroline shuts the door on Felicity before my junior VP can say a word.
Then Caroline locks my door with an audible click.
She pulls me away from the door toward my desk.
“What was that?” I ask with a grin.
“Just establishing some boundaries,” Caroline says.
“You mean staking your claim?”
She smiles and lifts a shoulder. “Andrea filled me in on the fact that Felicity has a hard time getting the message that you’re not interested. I thought I might as well help you out while I was here. Do you think I made that clear enough that you’re not available?”
“I do.” I fucking love that she did that. Not because I needed the help but because she was willing to be that help.
“I hope that all her fantasies about you and your desk are completely ruined by thoughts of what I’m doing to you on it right now.”
“You’re not doing anything to be on it right now,” I point out, my hands settling on her hips and walking her backward toward the desk. “But we could easily rectify that.”
She gives me a playful smile. “Well, I suppose that depends if I’m here this weekend as your nanny or your friend with benefits.”
She’s definitely not here as my nanny and she’s so much more than my friend with benefits, but we’re not ready for that conversation and the guys and I agreed not to spook her.
Still, I say, “Definitely not the nanny.” I lift my hands and cup her face. “You’re really hot when you’re jealous.”
She scoffs. “I’m not jealous. I know you don’t have feelings for Felicity. She’s totally not your type.”
I laugh. “Actually, she’s very much my type. Until I met you.”
“Then why haven’t you fucked her?”
“She works for me. I don’t fuck my employees. As you know. Personally.”
Caroline studies me. “I think it’s more than that.”
I run my thumbs along her jaw bone on either side. She’s right, but I’m curious if she knows why exactly. How well does Caroline Bell know me? “What do you think it is?”
“I think you liked women like Felicity before because they liked the Grayson Ross you were before. You like that side of yourself. The take-charge CEO, who always makes the right decision and is perfect, put together, organized and on top of things. You liked that they liked that side of you.” She pauses. “But you like me because I like the side of you that you had forgotten. Or maybe you didn’t even really know him. The Honeysuckle Harbor side, the in-over-his-head dad. The one who doesn’t always have the answers. The one who maybe messes up a little bit sometimes. The one who needs help, but who has finally learned how to ask for it. The one who is a little more laid-back, who smiles more easily, who likes to have a beer on the beach, who has friends and family and roots.” She reaches up and plays with the knot on my necktie. “And as absolutely hot as you are in this suit, I know and very much like the Grayson Ross who wears blue jeans and T-shirts with baby spit up on them, and who sometimes forgets to brush his hair, and who spills baby food on his couch, and gets baby poop down the front of him, and will still smile and hold his baby daughter with hearts in his eyes.”
I stare down at her, my heart pounding in my chest.
I would never have articulated all of that in that way, but she’s exactly right.
Caroline is my type because she really knows me . The Grayson Ross who does business in this office and conducts meetings in that conference room down the hall is certainly part of me, but he’s not the real me.
I didn’t know the real me until Evelyn came into my life and I went back to Honeysuckle Harbor.
Not only is that the real me, but I really like that Grayson.
So of course I love the woman who likes that side of me. The woman who’s helped me find and appreciate that side of me.
Felicity would be horrified if she saw the way I spend most of my mornings, or if I ever answered my door in a T-shirt with baby food stains, or if she walked into my apartment after Evelyn had a diaper explosion.
“Am I close?” Caroline asks.
And if I’m not mistaken, there’s a little bit of hope and maybe a tiny bit of fear in her eyes.
Is she worried that I’ll say no? Does she want me to like her for all of those reasons? Does she want to be right about all of this?
And if so, what does that mean?
Well, I guess we’re going to find out.
“One hundred percent,” I say.
Her smile is bright, and she says simply, “Thank God.”
Then I have to kiss her.
I lower my head and seal my mouth over hers.
The kiss turns hot quickly, and I pick her up and put her on the edge of my desk, stepping between her knees. She opens her legs for me and her hands go to my waist, her fingers tucking into my belt loops, holding me close.
I slide my hands from her hips up under the hem of her shirt, dragging my fingertips over her bare skin up to her breasts. I cup them, running my thumbs over the stiff nipples, eliciting a moan.
I pull the cups down so that I can palm her bare breasts and pluck at her nipples. I’m still obsessed with her tits and assume I always will be.
Needing to see and taste them, I quickly strip her shirt off over her head and toss it toward my office door. I stare down at her while playing with her pretty nipples, watching her chest move up and down as she breathes hard. I dip my knees and take one nipple in my mouth, swirling around the tip with my tongue, then sucking hard.
“Grayson!” she gasps.
“God, I love hearing my name on your lips,” I say roughly against her breast.
“Fuck me on your desk,” she pleads. “I want you to think of me every time you’re in here.”
“Yes,” I say, my cock hardening. I want that too. I want her bent over, spread open, taking my cock so that I can think about it every single time I sit down for a conference call.
I want to fuck her here before Cas has a chance to fuck her on his desk.
I want…
Fuck .
Cas.
James.
Our foursome.
She reaches up and starts undoing my tie and I jerk back, sucking in air.
I stare down at her, then close my eyes with a groan. She’s so fucking hot and I want her so much and I’m half in love with her and she’s half-naked on my desk.
Goddammit.
I run a hand over my face. “Fuck, Caroline.”
She reaches for me, pulling me close by my belt loops. “Yes,” she says. “Do that. Fuck Caroline.”
But I shake my head and step back. “I can’t. Sweetheart, fuck. I want to. So much. But I can’t.”
She frowns. “What do you mean, you can’t?” She glances toward the door. “I’m pretty sure Andrea knows what we’re doing. She’ll keep Evelyn. It won’t take that long.” She gives me a mischievous smile.
“No. I really can’t.”
She blows out a breath. “Grayson, please . I know the whole accidental pregnancy thing is scary, but I promise we can?—”
“I promised the guys.”
She stops. Then frowns again. “The guys? Do you mean James and Cas?”
I nod. “Yes. The only guys I’m discussing sex with you with.”
“Well, that’s good. But what do you mean, you promised the guys?”
“I told them we wouldn’t have sex without them.”
She sits up a little straighter and pulls her bra up over her breasts.
“Oh.” That seems to sink in. “You all discussed…rules? Like you all decided, this would just always be a foursome. Never just you and me?”
“Yes. Just like they won’t be having sex with you without me.”
She seems to think that over for a moment, then shakes her head. “Well, I appreciate that we are committing to this and that we’re communicating and establishing boundaries but, I don’t really love that you all are having that conversation without me.”
Yeah, that’s fair. “You’re right. We should’ve included you. You just weren’t there. And we were discussing things, including this trip. This conversation just happened right before we left for New York.”
She scoots off the desk and goes to retrieve her shirt, pulling it on and smoothing the front, then running her fingers through her hair. “Okay. But going forward, nobody makes rules about sex without everyone there.”
“That seems like a good rule.” I smile. “That we just made without them.”
She finally smiles. “Right. Okay, but seriously, we need to talk when we get back.”
“Okay.”
She seems to still be thinking things over. “So the rule is, it’s the four of us or nothing?”
“Yes.”
“Does that include oral and hands and fingers? Just no cocks? Or is it everything?”
I groan. “Honey, you're killing me. Even hearing you talk about it all makes me hard.”
She lifts a brow. “I don’t care. You helped get us to this state, knowing that you were going to pull back.”
I nod. “Fine. We didn’t discuss specifics. We just said no sex.”
She puts a hand on her hip. “But you and I aren’t having pussy-cock sex, anyway.”
My cock reacts to her saying those words like I’m a horny thirteen-year-old. I have to adjust myself and I give her a stern look.
She doesn’t care. “So really what you mean is no orgasms without the other two present,” she says.
“I suppose so, yes.”
“Does that include phone sex? Like what if we called them and included them? Or we could get on a video call with them. They could have sex at the same time. Would that count?”
I actually growl now. That would be really hot. “We didn’t discuss specifics, Caroline.“
“So we could do that. Torture them a little for having the conversation without me.”
I grin in spite of the fact that my dick is hard enough to drive nails. “You have a bit of a mean streak.”
“I know. You should warn the others.”
I laugh. “Noted. But, this phone sex plan. What if they refuse? We get all worked up and ready to do a show for them and they say no?”
“Then I would do a show for all of you. Just me and my vibrator. Torture all of you for coming up with this idea without including me. Because I would have thought of all of these contingencies and we’d be clear about tonight.”
I’m picturing her on my bed back at the apartment already. Fuck. We could do that. James and Cas would not end that phone call.
I clear my throat, trying to sound firm yet hoping she pushes that idea. “We need to discuss this stuff when we’re all together.”
She sighs. “You’re right. So, what are we doing about sleeping arrangements tonight?”
“I really want you in my bed,” I tell her honestly. “Can we sleep together? Hold each other without it being too torturous?”
She studies me, her expression softening. “Yes. I mean, it might be a little torturous, but I would like to sleep with you, too.”
“We’ll make it through,” I say with a wink.
She laughs lightly.
“What?” I ask.
“I’m just thinking, after I leave, I am so calling you all, and using my vibrator on a video call. And I am guessing that, even if we haven’t discussed it ahead of time or if it breaks some rule you all set, you’re all going to answer the call.”
See? She knows us well.
I narrow my eyes. “We are going to discuss this mean streak of yours when we get home to Honeysuckle Harbor,” I promise her.
She suddenly gives me a soft smile that is full of affection. “I love that you call Honeysuckle Harbor home,” she says. “I’m glad that’s home now and New York is just a place for business trips.”
And fuck, just like that my heart squeezes hard.
I have a lot of difficult decisions to make, and they’re all pressing in on me at once.
Like where am I going to live and raise Evelyn? What am I going to do about future trips with her and my need to have a nanny along when Caroline isn’t here?
And what am I going to do about the fact that I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with this gorgeous, amazing woman who swept into my life, made it so much better, and who doesn’t want to be tied down?