Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 83171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
She raises her eyebrows at me.
Man, I am going soft.
She finishes setting up while my phone buzzes. “Yes,” I say.
“Mr. Black, Skye Manning is here to see you,” says the floor receptionist.
“Oh?” There goes that flip-flop of my heart again. Damn. “Sure, send her back.”
“All right, thank you,” she says.
I turn to Claire. “There’s a young woman on her way here. It’s okay to let her come into my office.”
“Sure, no problem, Mr. B.” Claire exits.
About a moment later, a knock at my door—a harsh knock.
“Come in.”
Skye opens the door and stands before me, wearing her trademark skinny jeans, this time with a black silk camisole and patent-leather pumps.
My cock responds to her mere presence.
“Skye,” I say.
“I brought the contract.” She pulls it out of her purse. “I thought maybe we could look at it together.”
“That couldn’t have waited until tonight?”
“We didn’t make any plans, and I thought—”
“You’d interrupt me at work?”
“You’re not working. You’re eating.”
“I’m always working, Skye. Close the door, please.”
She shuts it quietly, walks forward, and hands me the contract.
“Leave it on the desk. Have you eaten?”
She sets the document on the corner of the desk. “No.”
“Would you like half of mine?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“So you want to sit here and watch me eat?”
“Well…I guess.”
I stand, gather my containers of food, and move them to the table across the room. I walk back to my desk and push the call button on my phone. “Claire, could you bring in another plate, please?”
A few seconds later, Claire knocks at the door, enters, and sets another plate and utensils on the table.
“Thanks, Claire.”
She nods and leaves the office, closing the door behind her.
“Sit down and help yourself,” I say to Skye. “They always deliver enough for two or more people.”
“I didn’t come here to—”
“Eat, Skye. You’ll need energy for what I have planned for you this afternoon.”
“I—”
“You barge into my office with a contract you could have easily emailed me, looking sexy with your red lips parted. You think I’m not going to fuck you after that?”
“I… I didn’t mean—”
“You promised me your control, Skye, yet you hold on to it in any way you can. Don’t think I don’t know why you showed up here. It was in complete defiance. I told you to email the contract, so you did what you do. You got around my instructions.”
“You told me to forward the contract, Braden. You didn’t say to email it. So I forwarded it. In person.”
“You knew exactly what I meant.”
And I did mean it. This morning, I was determined to distance myself and my growing emotions from the woman standing before me.
Now, she’s here. Looking tantalizing and making me want her.
So much for distance.
If she thinks I’m not going to fuck her after this little stunt? She can think again.
“So I got around your instructions. Just like how last night, you got around our agreement never to kick me out of your place. You said I was welcome to stay, but you made it very clear you were done with me for the evening.”
At least she’s not arguing. She knows well when to push and when not to push. Smart woman. I can’t stop my lips from trembling a bit. I almost want to chuckle, except this isn’t funny.
“I never promised to give up my control outside the bedroom, Braden.”
“That’s true,” I say, “but you’re forgetting one very important detail.”
She whips her hands to her hips. “What’s that?”
“Any place can be a bedroom.”
Chapter Forty-One
I’m busy thinking about the dozens of ways I can fuck Skye over my desk when another knock sounds on the door.
“Come in,” I say.
In walks Claire, her forehead wrinkled. “The Babbler just came out online. I’ve ordered copies but figured you’d want to see this now, so I printed it. Let me know how you want to handle it.” She hands me a paper and then leaves, closing the door.
I scan the paper. Fuck.
Braden Black Dating Kansas Native and Budding Influencer
Boston’s own billionaire Braden Black of Black, Inc. was seen nuzzling a new love interest at the recent MADD charity event. She is Skye Manning, a self-professed farm girl and aspiring photographer who works for mega-influencer Addison Ames. “She’s smitten,” a source close to Manning says. “I’ve never seen her so infatuated.”
Black, known for his womanizing ways, hasn’t dated anyone seriously since his short relationship with model Aretha Doyle ended last year. “I wish him all the best,” says Doyle. “He and I remain close friends.”
Black and Manning met at Ames’s office recently and have been inseparable since. They’ve dined together in public several times, and Black will escort her to the Boston Opera Guild Gala this Saturday evening at the Ames Hotel Downtown.
Aspiring photographer Manning is reportedly thrilled by the attention. Several of Ames’s clients have reached out to her personally, asking for Instagram posts. As she’s familiar with the business, she’s poised to become the next sweetheart of Instagram. “She’s over the moon,” the source says. “Not only is she on the arm of Braden Black, but she’s getting the attention she craves for her work.”