Chapter 16
Christian
Three weeks of watching her, including several additional days since spending time with her.
Three weeks of depraved thoughts and a burning need that was very much unlike me.
Worse since allowing myself to taste her.
One night had altered my way of thinking and it continued to baffle me.
I’d spent hours in my home gym, even more behind an easel pretending to be a great artist. The canvas had called to me, the subject matter perfection, but I’d been lost in thoughts instead of in the paint.
Something needed to give and only one thing could cure that.
More intimate time. What I had in mind would break down another wall of her defenses.
In my mind, it was obvious Covington’s plan was to win the bidding war in Paris. That would ding our reputation. However, I had a feeling they had their sights set on something much bigger.
The conversations with the investors in Hong Kong were in the preliminary stages at this point, no contracts drawn up.
We’d be going out on a limb in building a resort-style hotel from the ground up.
The investment was significant. Given the time and effort already involved, we’d spent millions.
If we went through the hassles only to be tossed from the project after we’d laid the groundwork, our reputation would be in the toilet.
Yet there was no indication that’s what was happening.
Which left me on edge and angry most of the time.
I forced my attention to return to the financials sent to me late last night. It was after ten and I’d yet to sign off on them. Why? Because I continued to think about my plans for the evening.
For her.
Because she’d trusted me to share one of her secret joys.
Not being tied and flogged or primal hunting in the woods.
Something much more mundane and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I was eager to enjoy spending time with her in a way I’d never done with a woman before.
Dates had always been a means to an end. Spending money on a nice dinner, even taking the family jet to another city had become pedestrian but expected.
She’d crawled under my skin. Enough so I’d made a quick and potentially frivolous decision that had yet to reach the employees. What the fuck was wrong with me? Maybe I needed to think along the lines of Sebastian and settle down.
As of late, the business at hand hadn’t managed to hold my interest. Which was why I shifted to the internet, pulling up the password-protected application I’d installed on my personal office laptop.
Whereas I normally spent twelve plus hours a day ensuring every aspect of business on every continent was running smoothly, in the last two weeks, I’d become increasingly bored, turning to watching her instead.
I’d followed her twice, but honestly, the appeal of physically stalking her no longer held the same interest either.
Plus, there was no need, especially since she spent so much time on her computer.
While I completely understood an entrepreneurial spirit, she was struggling.
Yes, she was extremely creative, her graphic design skills exemplary, but she could work in the marketing department of several hospitality companies and hotel chains and command mid-level six figures.
Every day she was gaining momentum, which also meant every day I wanted to draw her deeper into my world.
The idiocy of feeling as if she was slipping away haunted my nights as much as being determined to possess her fueled my days.
If I wasn’t careful, I’d lose all sense of control. That wasn’t acceptable.
Whatever had soured her on her former profession had also given her a distinct drive. At least the number of followers had grown steadily, but at the rate she was going, she’d run through her savings account in less than a year.
I’d toyed with asking her to work with me, but what fun would that be?
Besides, that would break one of few rules I’d laid out for myself.
Although the fact she’d been close to George Covington presented an opportunity that my younger self would have required to happen and he would have crushed her small business, ensuring she had no choice but to accept my offer.
Was I actually going to use the company rules as an excuse to feed my conscience? No involvement with employees no matter how far down on the food chain they were. Too complicated. Too messy.
Christ. Was I becoming soft?
I already knew she was working on building her company even as I debated crushing it.
I’d gotten notification of movement by six-thirty that morning.
Other than getting coffee and some fruit for breakfast, she’d been behind her computer the entire time.
Yes, I’d indulged in watching her more than once.
Which was what I was doing right now. With the warm weather lingering, she’d pulled on shorts and a tee shirt, her hair in a high ponytail. I’d had one too many visions of using it as a leash when I fucked her over my desk.
The more I watched her, the angrier I became. Whoever had hurt her before deserved to pay a hefty price. And I wasn’t talking about George Covington, even though the more I thought about the situation with Paris, the more I craved shattering any peace in his retirement.
Since cloning her computer, I’d learned a great deal about the romance industry, including that the profession was as cutthroat as mine.
I’d had no idea which was something Xander had told me and I hadn’t believed.
I’d watched her work through several issues in dealing with to setting up a few additional business accounts.
She certainly didn’t let anyone get the better of her.
Perhaps with the exception of a few jerks she’d had to deal with. There were always nasty people on the internet and it was sheer joy in watching how she handled them.
The light rap on the door indicated my assistant was right on time, as she usually was.
“Come.”
She appeared perplexed as to why I’d have her call a courier service. “Express Couriers just arrived.”
I reached into my drawer, pulling out the note I’d written. “You have her address?”
“Absolutely.” With her wry smile, it was apparent I wasn’t as adept at hiding my interests as I’d once been.
Just then the partially open door was pushed in, my brother Kingston walking in.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, brother?” I asked the question just before sealing the note and handing it to Jessica. “Please see that this is delivered early afternoon.”
“Yes, sir. Would you like anything to accompany the note?” Jessica had already clued into the fact my behavior was somewhat unusual since returning from San Diego.
Kingston appeared amused as he moved to one of the two chairs opposite my desk, making himself comfortable. If he weren’t my flesh and blood, I would call him an enemy, but given he was, he was my vice president and highly qualified for the job.
That didn’t mean we typically got along, unusually not, but we were in control of a massive empire and as such, we played nice. A long time ago we had been close, but my father had chosen to make everything within our family a competition.
There were times I missed his friendship. But not today.
I glanced at Kingston before answering.
“Please, don’t allow me to interrupt,” he said.
“You usually do,” I said, glaring at him. Somehow, he always managed to drop by my office at the worst time. “A single rose. Sterling silver in color.”
Jessica’s face brightened. “Yes, sir.” She headed to the door.
“Jessica, are the arrangements made for tonight?”
“They are. Whenever you’re ready, sir. You have several employees at your disposal. Don’t worry. Everything is under control.” A slight smile curled on her upper lip, but she’d never utter a word about her suspicions. Perhaps I didn’t pay her enough.
“Thank you and ensure they’re paid very well.
” After minimizing the application, I leaned back in my chair, cupping my face with both hands.
The last few days of business had been grueling and it was time for a break.
I dropped my hands, noticing he’d followed her with his eyes. “No touching. She’s an employee.”
“She’s your employee, not mine.”
“And she has a boyfriend.”
“Since when does something in your life as mundane as a woman being involved with another man ever bother you?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “I thought you were headed to Paris to keep on eye on a potentially explosive situation.”
“The meeting was postponed at the last minute.”
Now I sat up in my seat. “Why?” My anger was evident in my deep growl.
“Because the current owner of the illustrious hotel you’re so interested in purchasing had a death in the family.
He’ll be out of the country for maybe a week.
I don’t think it had anything to do with Covington interfering, unless of course they caused the man’s death.
Which is something I wouldn’t put past you. ”
“What would you have preferred I do with Brandon after discovering his betrayal?” My brother wasn’t as interested in handling difficulties in the manner our father had done.
Kingston shook his head, indicating his distaste. “I’m assuming you’re not worried parts of him will be found?”
“Give me a break.”
“Look, what Brandon did was reprehensible, but we can’t leave bodies strewn from one side of the country to the other.”
“If necessary, we will.” There’d been something standing in our way from day one of trying to obtain the property in Paris.
“No, you will,” he countered. “Well, I thought I’d bring you the news in person. At least it gives me more time to learn more about the new vice president of marketing at Covington Enterprises.”
“Which is?”
“Some guy by the name of Carrington Jacobs. From what I’ve been able to ascertain, he’s a low-level player. My guess is he’ll become a part of the future discussions.”
His name didn’t ring a bell.
“Check his financials. See if he has anything to do with Southshore Limited. Plus, I want some pressure put on Covington.”
“What kind of pressure?”