Chapter 16
MR. NOBLE WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU
Isla
“Does she look suspicious to you?” Declan leaned on the kitchen counter eyeing the new nanny on the other side of the apartment.
“Joey seems to like her.” I squeezed his arm to reassure him. Sarah was Mary Poppins material. “She has a master’s degree in child psychology. She’s perfect. One question, though.” I walked around him to stand between him and Sarah, then whispered, “She’s British. Why?”
“I thought a British nanny would be more appropriate.”
“What’s wrong with American nannies?”
“Absolutely nothing.” He reached for my waist and nuzzled my neck.
I melted into him. “Don’t change the subject. You’re going to make us late.” I pushed him away from me. Still feeling a bit dizzy, I turned around in place looking for my computer bag.
“We have plenty of time. Tommy will be here shortly. Besides, you can’t be late if you’re with me.” He wrapped his arms around me, cocking his head to look me in the eyes. The implication of his words hit me like a bucket of ice water. “What?” He smiled at me.
“Omigod.” I placed a hand on my forehead.
“It’s going to look really bad when people find out that not only have I been promoted from admin to lead programmer, I’m also dating the big boss.
They’re going to think I slept my way in.
” Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
I negotiated my way to a promotion when Declan needed a nanny.
Then I slept with the big boss. Shit. That wasn’t a good look, either.
“When you say it like that, it makes it sound like I’m going around handing out promotions in exchange for sex.” He rubbed the back of his neck, wincing. “Nicolas won’t care, but the board of directors are a bunch of judgmental assholes. They’re not going to be happy.”
“Which will make Nicolas’s life extra difficult.” I braced a hip on the counter. “Maybe if he hadn’t meddled, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“I quite like that he meddled.” His gaze shifted to a giggling Joey, then back to me.
“Me too.” I bit my lower lip. “Louisa and I started talking.”
“Really? Good for you.” He stepped closer, genuinely happy I had conquered my fear.
“The Nicolas I knew never would’ve bothered with such nonsense.” He chuckled. “That old chap is truly in love.”
“He is. But we can’t tell them about us. Or anyone else for that matter. Can you promise me we’ll keep this a secret? At least until you return to the UK.”
“Is that really what you want?” He brushed the back of his fingers across my cheek.
“It is. I’d like the opportunity to prove myself first.”
“Then consider it done.” His features softened.
The look in his eyes made all my insides turn to mush.
I still wasn’t sure what it meant to give our relationship a try.
Yeah sure, the sex was out of this world.
But Declan was still Declan, the confirmed bachelor-slash-player everyone loved.
His followers and the tabloids were obsessed with him because he was resolute in his choice to never settle down.
“I phoned Casey. She already reached out to her contacts to see if they can find the bloke who managed to get a photo of us on Saturday.” He glanced over my head, then bent down to kiss me.
“Thank you.” I moaned quietly. I wanted to stay and have another round of sex, but I really did need to get to work. “If I don’t leave now, I’m going to miss the train.”
“Absolutely not.” He furrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not taking the train. It isn’t safe.”
“What do you think I was doing before you came into my life? It’s perfectly safe.”
“No.”
“You can’t just say no.”
“Yeah, I can. I’m the big boss. Remember?” He cupped my cheek and pressed his lips to mine. “You’re riding with me. Tommy can drop you off a block away. Does that suit you?”
“Fine. But only because I don’t want to get there after eight.”
“Shall we go then?” He beamed at me.
If I wasn’t feeling tingly all over, I would’ve pushed back. But who was I kidding? I would never be able to say no to this man. “Yeah, let’s go.”
He took another minute to say good-bye to Joey and then called Tommy to ask him to meet us downstairs. I took the time to give Sarah a few more pointers on nap time. A lump in my stomach churned as I walked out of the apartment. I had gotten so used to spending my days with Joey.
The minute I climbed into the back seat of Tommy’s SUV, Declan switched to his business mode, broody and demanding.
After almost a month of living in his home, I knew this wasn’t all there was to him.
He could also be funny, loving, and oh so passionate.
Five minutes in, I was already missing his lustful looks, his hands all over me, and his hard body pressed to mine.
But it wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter, either. His phone rang nonstop. As soon as he would get off a call, he’d jump on the next one. I sat on my side of the SUV and looked out the window instead, smoothing out my gray pencil skirt.
Had I worn it because I thought it made my butt look good and I was hoping it would drive Declan mad while we were at work?
Absolutely. Now I realized how childish I had been.
He was so out of my league. He knew how to compose himself and act like an adult.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about him naked.
I let out a breath and sat straighter. I could do it, too, or at least try. I could focus on work and nothing else. And truly, that would be where my head needed to be today. Even though I had kept in touch with the team remotely, I hadn’t been in the office in person. This was a big day for me.
Declan reached over and squeezed my hand. “This is you, love.”
I shot a glance over my shoulder to face him.
“Oh, right. I wasn’t paying attention.” I leaned in awkwardly to kiss him, then realized we were not supposed to do that here.
Photographers looking to make a quick buck off of his private life were everywhere.
“Oh, sorry.” I pulled back, and then the door opened.
“I’ll see you soon.” He flashed me a sexy smile.
“Yeah.” I let Tommy help me onto the curb. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He nodded and hurried back around.
I stood on the corner as the black SUV merged back into traffic, feeling much like a high-end call girl.
But I couldn’t worry about that right now.
I had a job to get to. Looking around to catch my bearings, I made a left and headed in the opposite direction Declan had gone.
No doubt he had instructed Tommy to drive around the block to give me time to walk in and settle in.
My nerves diffused some once I found my new manager, Sophia, and went through the process of meeting the three other members of the team and getting escorted to my office.
I had an office. My belly did a quick flip when I set my computer bag on the large desk.
The room had no windows and wasn’t as ornate as Declan’s corner office with a fantastic view of the city, but it was my own space.
The wide-eyed Italian girl from Bensonhurst had an office in Manhattan.
As far as dreams went, this was it for me.
I sat on my chair and fired up my laptop. Burying myself in work was the best way to stop thinking about Declan and the incredible weekend we had spent together. By the time, I glanced up it was almost lunch time.
A knock on the door, followed by Sophia’s blonde head poking through the gap, made me jump in my seat.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” She laughed softly. “We have a status meeting at noon. Declan needs a quick recap so he can present to Nicolas later.”
“Okay. I’m not ready, though.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be providing status for our team.
I just need you there for moral support and in case he has questions I don’t have the answers to.
” She peeked outside my office then shut the door.
“Seriously, don’t worry too much. I know he looks like he’s just waiting for a chance to bite your head off, but he’s more chill these days.
I think that means we’re doing something right. ”
“Thanks. That makes me feel better, I guess.” I rose to my feet and grabbed my iPad. “Lead the way.”
We were the first ones to get there, so I had a choice of seats.
I went with the first chair along the wall.
I figured that was the safest place in case I needed to make a quick escape.
My heart pumped hard as my mind conjured crazy scenarios where people found out Declan and I had wild sex in his high-rise apartment all weekend.
I definitely needed a quick getaway if that ever happened.
“Not there.” Sophia smiled at me. “Lead programmers get a seat at the table.” She gestured to the spot next to her.
“Okay. Thanks.” I removed my sweater. Suddenly the conference room temperature felt like it was ninety degrees.
“Seth.” Declan strode in and grabbed the executive chair at the head of the table. “You first. Is the additional equipment here yet?”
“Oh.” Seth shot to his feet, with his eyes wide as he shuffled through a bunch of sheets.
I glanced up at Declan because I knew he hated wasting paper like that. Sure enough, he had a deep scowl across his forehand. He sat back and slow blinked. “Do take your time.”
“I-I have it here.” He raised a finger. “Right. Um. Two weeks. It should be here in two weeks.”
“That was the status you gave last week. And the week before that.”
“Back order.”
“Call your rep and escalate. I need the equipment onsite by Wednesday.” He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” Seth nodded and quickly lowered himself down onto his seat.
Declan released a breath, scanning the room. His gaze brushed past me and settled on my manager. “Sophia?”
She rose quickly and cleared her throat. “We’re ahead of schedule still.”
“I like the sound of that.” He pushed himself up and strolled in our direction.
My heart thrashed in my ears when he stopped right behind me.
I could feel his eyes on my chest and his body heat permeating though the mesh fabric on the backrest. Was he really doing that in front of everyone?
Staring down at my cleavage while Sophia gave him a full report on what was completed last week.
I rubbed the nape of my neck where I could still feel his lips hot against my skin.
“And the update I sent on Friday. Has that been implemented?”
That was me. I had been working on that all day. Sophia turned to me. “Isla started work on it today. Isla?”
“Oh.” I shifted my weight to talk directly to Declan, but he had already returned to his seat.
He had a glass of water in his hand, which told me he hadn’t been standing right behind me after all.
He was getting himself a drink. My brain just couldn’t think right when he was near me.
“I’m halfway done. I should have it finished by the end of the day. ”
“Good. I need it done tonight. Even if you need to stay past your bedtime.”
What? My bedtime? “I will stay until it’s finished.”
“Thank you, Isla.”
My cheeks flushed because he wasn’t supposed to call me that at work. As I looked around no one seemed to care. They were too focused on their own reports. Declan moved on to the next person, firing out questions as he went.
All in all, the whole meeting was done in under fifteen minutes. Declan was really all about getting the job done. I supposed that was why people called him the fixer.
When I returned to my office with my pulse still elevated, Declan’s new admin Lisa was there waiting for me. “Mr. Noble would like to see you.”
“Did I do something?”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. He seemed in a good mood. Actually, today he’s been in a real good mood.” She leaned in and whispered. “You should be fine. Don’t be scared. His bark is bigger than his bite.”
Before I could do anything about it, an image of Declan biting the inside of my thigh while he slid his fingers inside me flashed in my head.
I blinked fast to clear it, then focused on what Lisa was saying.
Something about her leaving for lunch. And to remember to knock first before I walked into his office.
I thanked her and made my way to the other side of the building.
Seeing the empty desk outside Declan’s door brought memories that I shouldn’t consider as good or happy since they were from the one day I spent working as his admin, right before he fired me because of my escapade at a sex club. Oh, the irony.
“Come in,” he called from behind his desk. “Shut the door.”
He had a call on speakerphone. Since he was busy, I used the time to look around the place.
It looked exactly the same. And it still had the ability to instill trepidation in me.
Or maybe that was the Declan effect. He excited me, scared the hell out of me, and calmed me—all at once.
I stepped toward the window and smiled at the city below me.
“Right, mate. Good work. I’ll talk to you later.”
“See you soon,” a man with a British accent replied then hung up.
Declan got up and joined me. To my surprise, he gripped my waist and turned me to face him. In the same beat, his mouth crushed into mine. “Fuck, Isla. You were not wearing that top this morning.” He kneaded my breast and thrust his tongue past my teeth.
Omigod. I had wanted this all day. Even when I was focused on work, I had a lingering thought buried in the back of my mind of Declan doing exactly this in his office.
“I was wearing a cardigan over it.” I slid my hands inside his suit jacket. “I got hot.”
“Hmm.” He lowered his head and captured my hard nipple over the fabric of my silky top. A short second later, he stepped back. “I swear this is not why I called you in here. I actually wanted to see if you were available for lunch.”
“What? Like a date?” I glanced toward the door and then down my blouse. “What about keeping a low profile?”
“I thought about it. I don’t think it’s fair to keep our relationship a secret. What’s the point of being the boss if I can’t even be with whoever I want?”
Butterflies—like a thousand of them—fluttered in my chest and my belly. He wanted me. More than that, he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with me. I reeled it in though because I knew the tabloids would see this completely different.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But I need a little time to get used to all this. The team is going to think the worst of me when they find out I’ve been living with you all month.”
“They’re not going to find out. But if you want to keep a low profile, I can be patient. I still would like to take you out and feed you a proper meal.” He smiled at me.
In the next beat, I was saying yes to his invitation.
“I know the perfect place.”