Chapter 27
Zeke: His birthday isn’t for two weeks.
Chloe: He’s adamant it’s tomorrow.
Zeke: In his head, everything that isn’t today is tomorrow.
Chloe: Right. Are you mad at me?
Zeke: No.
Chloe: That sounds like you’re mad at me.
Zeke: I’m not mad.
Chloe: I’ll pretend to believe you. Back to the gift, any ideas?
Zeke: Not a dog collar.
Chloe: Damn, better cancel that order from Paws, Tails, and Beyond.
CHLOE
“Say something.” I’m sitting in a downtown bistro, clenching my fingers around my glass of frozen margarita so hard they’ve gone numb. It’s lunchtime, so I’m limited to two drinks. But right now, I want to jump behind the bar and guzzle this stuff directly from the slushy machine.
“I’m just…that’s a lot to process.” Casey huffs, her hazel eyes wide.
“Yup.” I nod, sucking in enough tequila and lime slush through my straw to be dicing with brain freeze.
“So let me get this straight, you’re fake engaged to our boss for money. Your ex is the CEO of one of our biggest competitors. You slept with aforementioned boss, and he’s told you he wants it to happen again.”
I tip my head from side to side as I mentally bounce through the order of those statements. “Yes, that is correct.”
She gapes at me for a second before turning her full attention to her glass of wine and downing it in one go with a wince, signaling to the waitress for a refill.
“And you like him,” she rasps when she turns her attention back to me.
I do my best impression of a goldfish for a few moments.
She raises her golden brows at me, waiting for me to regain my motor function.
I can admit to myself in private that I like Zeke more than I should.
But to say it out loud? That makes it feel all the more real.
“Yes,” I hiss, snapping my jaw together with a click.
“Oh boy.”
“I’m screwed, right?” I groan, burying my head in my hand briefly. The cool band of my engagement ring burns against my cheek, taunting me.
“Was it good?” Her brown eyes sparkle and she grins as she swipes up the fresh glass of Chardonnay that has been plunked down on the table by the returning waitress.
Heat floods my cheeks as I remember every wicked moment of burning pleasure at his hands, his tongue, his—nope, not appropriate thoughts for such a public setting. Squirming in my chair slightly, I let out a deep gust of air. “So good that I think he may have ruined sex for me with any other man.”
“Wow. Go Guerra.” She snickers, taking a measured sip of her drink. “You know, I always wondered what he would be like in bed. When I thought you were actually engaged, it wasn’t appropriate to ask. But now I know you’re not, I want all the sordid details.”
I snort, using my straw to push the sad piece of mint around the top of my iced drink as she grins. “I’ll give them to you if you can find me a solution to the predicament I’m in,” I promise glumly.
She scoffs and then places her hand over mine, halting my anxious fiddling. “I don’t mean to sound insensitive, Chloe. But you’ve got a hot, eligible, rich man who sounds like he’s pretty awesome in bed, wanting to give you screaming orgasms. There are worse problems to have.”
I roll my lips into my mouth and nod reluctantly. She’s right of course. But… “I don’t know how to be with him in that way without getting emotionally involved. He isn’t the settling down type.”
Casey makes a contemplative noise, smacking her lips as she sweeps her long, honey blonde hair over her shoulder. “So, you need to set some boundaries, none of the mushy crap. But trust me honey, as a single mom who hasn’t had sex in over a year—take the orgasms while they’re there.”
***
My fingers whizz over the keyboard at lightning speed.
I’m tucked away in a spare meeting room so that I can concentrate on coding a particularly tricky recall function in our latest software rollout for an overseas client.
A new email pings into my inbox and I pause to check it.
It’s a message from one of the off-site implementation consultants that we work alongside, urgently asking me to call them.
Frowning, I slip my phone from my pocket and punch in the number.
It rings out after a few seconds, but the email warned me they were in a patchy signal area, so I resolve to try again shortly.
Sighing, I turn back to my coding system and begin to type again.
“What are you doing right now?” My eyes bounce up to the open doorway at the familiar deep, husky voice. Zeke is standing there, looking edible in a sharp, charcoal designer suit. His tanned skin contrasts marvelously with the crisp white collar of his shirt.
I force my eyes back down to my screen. “Just adding ‘taking your bareback virginity’ to my resume,” I throw back without pausing my tapping fingers.
When he doesn’t reply, I stop, looking up at him.
His brows are raised, and a small smirk plays on his decadent mouth.
Clear irises swirl with heat as his gaze tumbles to the front of my mint green blouse.
It’s modest enough, with a sweetheart neckline, but it feels like he sees right through it. My nipples harden traitorously.
“What can I do for you, boss man?” It’s rare for him to show his face down here, so he must have come down for a reason.
“Can I see you in my office? What I'd like to discuss requires privacy.” My eyes narrow a fraction and slide across to the glass walls boxing me in. The rest of the floor works quietly in the background, but I see more than a couple of eyes quickly dart away when I land on them.
“Business or pleasure?”
“Business, but I’m open to both.” When I look back, he’s grinning now, dazzling me with a full display of perfect white teeth.
Ignoring the squirm in my stomach at the unspoken promise, I stand, closing the lid of my laptop with a soft snap.
He leads me across the open plan floor, heading for the elevators on the east side of the building.
As soon as the doors hiss shut, the air between us crackles with electricity.
He’s leaning casually against the back rail, with his hands in his pockets and one ankle crossed over the other, close enough that I get a hit of his mouth-watering cologne.
Boundaries or screaming orgasms? Boundaries or screaming orgasms?
When we reach the top floor, I let out a long breath from a tight chest, flashing Jacob a forced smile as we walk past the large white desk outside Zeke’s office doors.
“Hold my calls, I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Yes, Mr. Guerra,” Jacob replies quickly, just as the phone on his desk begins to ring shrilly.
Zeke opens his office door and steps aside, gesturing me in before him.
Avoiding his piercing gaze, I slide into the large, plush room and walk over to one of the cream leather seats in front of his desk.
Zeke strides around it and pauses to slide off his suit jacket before lowering himself into his large, black seat.
The leather groans softly as he leans back, using his forefinger and thumb to adjust his cufflinks.
“I need to ask you some questions about Anthony Sweeney,” he says evenly, his deep brown eyes landing on me.
My heart lurches, and I get a tight fizzling feeling in my chest. Fuck.
He knows. Swallowing roughly, I curl my fingers into a fist, so tight my nails slice into my palms. “When you worked at X-tech, did you ever hear of a Project Renoir?”
Biting down on the inside of my cheek to hide the riptide of relief washing over me, I blink. If he knew about my being involved with Anthony, he would have led with that. No, this was about business. “No,” I say truthfully, crossing one leg carefully over the other and smoothing my skirt.
Zeke sucks air in through his teeth contemplatively, leaning his head back against the headrest of his chair. “Anything about developing a line of AI software designed to navigate military aircraft?”
Frowning, I clasp my hands together over my knee. “No, what is this about?”
“You’re sure?” he presses, one dark lock sliding over his tawny forehead as he dips his head slightly.
“Yes, I think I would remember, considering it’s one of Guerra Enterprises’ biggest contracts.” Tilting my head to the side, I watch sharp, veiled eyes as they weigh my response. I can almost hear the cogs turning in that astute brain of his. “Why do you ask?”
He waves a large hand casually, causing his bicep to strain invitingly against the white fabric of his shirt. “Just a rumor I’m hoping to verify.”
Pushing away the small voice that tells me it would be too coincidental if Anthony came after our biggest client so soon after we announced our engagement, I bite my tongue, wondering how much I should say.
I want to warn Zeke, but I also don’t want to show my hand that I have too much information.
Information a deputy development manager shouldn’t be privy to.
“I’m not sure to what extent you know Anthony Sweeney, but…” I clear my throat, using the second to choose my words carefully. “There were whispers while I was there that he doesn’t play by the rules. That once he sets his sights on something, he will destroy anything in his path to get it.”
The corner of Zeke’s lip curls up, stretching his scar. “Yes, I’m aware.”
Okay, good. In that case, my obligations are fulfilled. I’ve told him what I know and he’s been warned. The knot in my stomach loosens a few inches. “Is that all?”
“Unless there is anything else you would like to discuss?” Zeke’s voice is a low, rumbling baritone as his gaze heats, falling to my lips.