Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Everything rides on the success of this branch. I refuse to go back to London with my tail tucked between my legs.
I have the means to begin my own company, but it would take years to build up the reputation that my father and I have worked for decades to build at Cavendish Corporation.
Diosa is the key to securing my future here, and I need Raven to help solidify that future.
Her ideas are what will keep the account for us because I know others are poaching. Diosa signed a contract, but their attorneys made sure to add a clause that it was all pending approval of the campaign.
Things have been done so ass-backward with this account. Typically, the pitch would’ve been made and the campaign finalized before the contracts were signed, but the launch of their new products changed their timetable and forced them to find their marketing team, and for us to have to scramble.
Raven practically ran from my office last night, and I’m petrified. What if she quits and leaves us with no project for the Diosa team? She’s here today, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t already started looking elsewhere.
I need to make amends, and I do it the way all men do when they’ve messed up well and good.
I send her flowers.
Searching through the website, I find exactly what I’m looking for. The largest bouquet of hydrangeas and pale pink roses.
I fill out everything, leaving the card short and simple.
I’m sorry. Can we start over?
No signature. I don’t need anyone in the office to know who sent them. Only Raven.
They’ll be delivered after lunch today, and hopefully, she’ll know I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable. She’ll see that I’m not a bad guy. That I want her to stay.
At least I hope so.
My door flies open, catching me off guard.
A livid Raven storms in, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Mister? What were you thinking?” she practically screeches.
I’m not sure what she’s talking about, and she must realize it because her eyes narrow.
“Ugh. Why do you think I’d storm in here? The insanely large floral arrangement you sent me a clue?”
My head tilts to the side, wondering why flowers would cause this reaction. It’s completely opposite of what I was aiming for.
“Are they ugly? They didn’t look ugly on the website. Why don’t you like them?”
“My God, you are obtuse. It’s not the actual flowers, Charles. You sent them to the office where everyone can see them. It’s completely humiliating.”
Every time she says my name, another piece of my resolve snaps. It does things to me I don’t even understand.
A lazy smile spreads across my face. “Getting flowers is humiliating?”
“When they’re from you,” she snaps. “What if someone found out? What would they say?”
I scoff. “I don’t give a damn what anyone says. I owe you an apology. It’s nobody’s bloody business.”
Her arms cross over her chest, and my eyes roam over her.
I grin, standing from behind my desk and walking toward her.
For every step forward I take, she takes a step back.
“I didn’t sign my name to the card. Nobody will know they’re from me,” I insist.
“That’s not the point, Charles. We said we’d forget about it. This isn’t forgetting.” She sounds tired, and I hope my actions aren’t the cause.
Of course they are, dickhead.
“Did you get any sleep last night?”
Her eyes close. “It’s completely obvious I didn’t sleep. Why are you asking questions you know the answer to?”
“I didn’t either,” I admit, and her eyes crack open.
“You didn’t?” she says, peering up at me with wide cornflower eyes.
I shake my head back and forth slowly, taking the last couple of steps until we’re almost chest to chest.
“You haunted me all night.”
She swallows, eyes hooding. “Charles.” My name slips from her lips on a moan, and something in me snaps.
Fuck it then.
I pull her against me. “Tell me you want this, Raven.”
“You can’t keep doing this yo-yo game with me. I . . . We . . .”
I take a step back, and she grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling me forward once more. “I know we shouldn’t, but I don’t want to stop this. Let’s start over again.”
Before either of us can change our minds, my hands grip her thighs as I lift her. She squeals, but I silence her by crashing my lips to hers.
She doesn’t resist, meeting me halfway and wrapping her legs around my waist while I carry her backward toward my desk.
The office is empty. Everyone left within the last hour.
There’s nobody to stop this. Nobody to interrupt.
I sit her on the desk, pressing my mouth to her throat. “Tell me you want this as much as I do, love.”
Her breathing is heavy, and her pulse races under my lips.
“I do. I need you. If you stop this time, I’ll combust.”