Business and Pleasure (17 page)

We both start laughing. I cannot help but
love this man. From this moment on, my heart belongs to him.

“I love you, Elizabeth. If you need a few
days, that’s fine, but like I said, I want you to stay in touch,
and if you go anywhere, I want you to take Bryan with you.
Okay?”

“Yes, dear.”

I give him a wink as he stands and crosses
the room to his walk-in closet. When he comes back, he has my
laptop in hand.

“Here’s your computer. Go back to work
tomorrow. And be safe.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

He places my laptop in its bag, and then
strips off his clothes.

“Now, before you leave me tomorrow, I am
going to take care of you in my own way.”

My breath catches in my throat as he climbs
on top of me, and for the next several hours, he drives me crazy
with desire.

Chapter Ten

I don’t believe I have ever been so happy to
be back at work, sitting at my desk with my laptop that Alex
finally handed over after holding it hostage and wearing my
favorite dark blue Armani pant suit. Only one thing seems off
today, and that’s Natalie. So far, she’s come in twice to check
with me about my schedule, and to see if I’m really staying. She
acts as if she hopes I’ll feel ill and leave, or something, which
doesn’t make sense. Maybe I’m reading too much into her behavior. I
mean, I was away from the office for a few days, and that’s not
like me at all. Everyone keeps staring, mainly at my arm. No one
can believe Bob would do something like this. I totally understand
how they feel. A few weeks ago, I would have never thought he could
do something like this, either. But now, I realize he’s a
completely different man than the one we all knew. He was always an
ass, but no one ever thought he was dangerous or evil, and we sure
as hell didn’t think he was a murderer. None of what’s happened
lately makes a lot of sense. All this, just because he wanted
control of Hamilton, but why? Why would Bob want this little
publishing house? And what did he think he’d accomplish by joining
Neo Corp?

Round and round my thoughts swirl, until I
shake my head in exasperation.

“Knock it off, Elizabeth. You have work to
do.” I need to focus.

Yes, I’m happy to be back at work, but
having Bryan sitting right outside my door is a little odd. I’d
invite him to sit in the office with me, but then I’d feel
obligated to talk to him and would never get any work done.
Besides, Natalie is out there; hopefully, she’s keeping him
company—in between her strange visits to see how I’m feeling every
thirty minutes or so.

A quiet knock on my door interrupts my
thoughts. Speaking of strange visits…

“Yes, Natalie, come on in.”

“Ms. Hamilton? Would you like a latte?” she
asks, peering around the half-open door.

I know she means well, but I can’t work with
her coming in and out constantly. I’m tempted to tell her no, and
to ask her to please, please stop checking up on me, but then
again, a latte sure does sound good right now.

“Yes, actually, I think I would. Thank
you.”

She nods. “You’re welcome, Ms.
Hamilton.”

“But Natalie? You don’t have to keep
checking on me. I’m fine, my arm is fine, and I’m really busy. Keep
Bryan company, won’t you?” There…maybe she’ll take the
not-so-subtle hint and leave me alone for a few hours.

“Yes, Ms. Hamilton.”

She eases the door closed, as I return my
attention to the manuscript I pulled up when I arrived this
morning, but a moment later, my computer dings, announcing the
arrival of yet another email. My irritation at the interruption
vanishes immediately when I see Alex is named as the sender. Heart
racing, I open the email.

Good morning, Ms. Hamilton.

I hope you slept well and are enjoying your
first day back at work. I still don’t like it, but I respect your
wishes. Have you thought anymore about our arrangement? I’m not
trying to push you; I’m just excited. I know you’re going to say
yes…I just have to wait on you to decide to tell me.

Have a beautiful day, my love.

~Alex

I am never going to get any work done today,
am I? I decide to send him a quick response, and then I can
hopefully get to work.

Good morning, Mr. Preston.

I did sleep very well, thanks to you, and
I’ve been enjoying my first couple hours back in the office. I
haven’t had a chance to really think about your proposal; I’ve been
too busy today. You think you know me so well, but I can be full of
surprises. Just give me a couple days. I’ve never lived with a man
before, so I really need to put some thought into this… I promise
I’ll let you know as soon as I decide, so please don’t push me.

You have a wonderful day, as well.

~Elizabeth

I almost forgot about his whole ‘let’s live
together’ thing. What is he thinking? Is he doing this because he
really wants to live with me, or he is afraid to leave me alone,
and this is some kind of control thing? The thought of seeing him
every morning and every night
does
set off butterflies in my
stomach. I can think of worse people to wake up to every morning,
that’s for sure.

Here I go again…allowing my thoughts to get
the best of me. I need to focus on my damn work. I return my
attention to the manuscript, but the computer dings again—another
email—at the same time someone knocks on my door.

That’s it. I give up… I flop back in my
chair, defeated by the constant interruptions.

“Yes,” I say softly, uncaring if I’m
heard.

Natalie walks in with the latte. “Sorry to
disturb you, Ms. Hamilton. Here’s your coffee.”

“It’s okay. I’m just trying to work, and I
keep getting distracted. But thank you for the latte.”

She nods again, and then walks back out,
leaving me alone once again. But for how long? I stare out through
the glass side panels that flank my office door, and watch as
Natalie takes a seat behind her desk and start up a conversation
with Bryan. Good. At least I don’t have to feel guilty over leaving
Alex’s security guy out there by himself. Speaking of Alex…

I turn my attention to the latest email.

Elizabeth,

I know you haven’t had enough time yet.
That’s okay. Take as much time as you need…as long as you end up
saying yes.

I know we will be
great together. I can fall asleep with you in my arms every night
and wake up to look into your beautiful eyes every morning. I can’t
help but feel excited about the idea. Now, get back to work, and
we’ll talk later. Give Becca my best tonight when you see
her.

With all my love.

~Mr. Slightly Pushy

He’s right, of course; I
want
to say
yes. I just don’t know if I should say yes
right
now
.
What if we’re rushing things? Either way, I don’t have time to
think about this. I
have
to get to work, and I’m having a
hard enough time concentrating with my arm still being sore. I had
to take the sling off, because there was no way I could type while
I had it on, but now I’m paying for not having the added support I
need.

With a sigh, I decide I’ll just do as much
as I can, and when I start hurting too much, I’ll head home.
Hopefully, there won’t be many more interruptions between now and
then.

*****

I actually manage to work for the remainder
of the day, with only a few emails and texts from Alex to break my
concentration. He seems so worried and genuinely concerned, I can’t
get angry with him. And honestly? I have to admit I kind of like
all the attention.

My phone vibrates its way across the
desktop, telling me I just received another text. This time,
though, it’s from Becca.

Are you on your way home
?

I glance at my wristwatch, and my eyes
widen. Wow, its four o’clock already. I suppose I should wrap
things up for the day. And now that I think about it, I
am
ready for a relaxing night at home. I send her a quick reply.

Yes. About to walk out the door. See you
soon
.

I put the sling back on my arm, gather up my
purse and laptop bag, and head out. As I enter the reception area,
I find Bryan and Natalie still sitting together, talking away like
they’re best friends. The minute Natalie sees me, she leaps to her
feet.

“Are you leaving for the day, Ms.
Hamilton?”

Bryan’s expression is bleak, almost as if
he’s disappointed at the prospect of us leaving.

“Yes, Natalie, I am. Have a nice
evening.”

“You too. Oh, by the way, isn’t Becca’s
graduation coming up?”

Oh, shit. I completely forgot. Becca’s
graduation is this Thursday evening. She and I will have to
celebrate.

“As a matter of fact, it is. Thanks for
reminding me. With everything going on lately, I totally forgot.
Some sister I am, huh? I’m lucky to have you around to help me keep
things straight.”

“No problem. Just doing my job. See you
tomorrow.” Natalie smiles and nods at both Bryan and me.

Bryan’s answering smile is a little shy, and
I wonder if maybe the man is falling for my assistant.

“I’ll lead the way,” he says, “and make sure
the coast is clear.”

I follow him out to his Mercedes ML420,
which, of course, is black with darkly tinted windows. He checks
inside the vehicle, then takes my laptop bag and purse and helps me
climb inside. Personally, I feel like he’s taking this whole
bodyguard thing a bit too far. I mean, what are the chances of
finding Bob hiding out in Bryan’s car? The man is an ass, but he
isn’t stupid.

As we pull out of the parking garage and
head toward my apartment, a sense of peace comes over me. I miss my
sister, and I definitely miss being able to relax. I love staying
at Alex’s place, but it’s not the same, because it’s not
mine
. Not yet, anyway. If Alex has his way, I’ll be moved in
by the weekend. I still wonder what he’s thinking. Maybe I can talk
it over with Becca and see what she thinks.

Before I know it, we’re pulling up at my
building. As he’d done during the ride home, Bryan remains silent.
Did he talk himself out with Natalie, or is he just thinking? Or,
maybe this is how he is with all the people he’s assigned to
protect—the strong, silent type. Seems a little strange that he’d
gab up a storm with my assistant, but hardly say two words to me
the entire time we’re alone together. Maybe he doesn’t like me? I
decide to wait and see how he acts around Becca. Then again, even
if he’s talkative with her, I still won’t know why he treats me
differently, and call me anal, but this is a puzzle I’ll need to
resolve, at some point, anyway.

When we arrive at my apartment, Bryan goes
inside before me. He probably wants a chance to scope out the place
before I enter, but I’m not waiting around out in the hallway.
Instead, I walk in right behind him and plop down on the couch,
while he does his little search of the place. I’m sure my lack of
care ticks him off, but I’m tired. Exhausted, actually. I close my
eyes, and I’m just drifting off, when the sound of Becca screaming
bloody murder breaks the silence. I leap to my feet and run toward
her room, and as I near the doorway, Bryan comes rushing out,
nearly bowling me over.
What the
…? I take a moment to glance
at his retreating back, but Becca’s still screaming, so I turn and
step inside her room.

Holy
shit
. For a moment, I’m
not sure I can trust my eyes. Is that really my little sister,
kneeling on the bed, obviously naked behind that comforter she’s
holding up in front of her? And even more unbelievable, is there
really a strange man standing just inside Becca’s walk-in closet,
his back toward me as he frantically struggles to pull up his
boxers? I blink a few times, but the scene before me doesn’t change
in any substantial way…although, the man does manage to pull up his
underwear and cover his ass.

“What the hell is going on?” Becca wraps the
comforter around herself and climbs off the bed. The look on her
face speaks volumes, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so angry.
“Who is that ogre of a macho man contestant that just walked into
my room without bothering to knock or even announce himself?
Seriously, Lizzy…what the hell!”

I cough lightly to cover for my laughter,
but my sister knows me too well.

“This is
not
funny, Lizzy! Do you see
me smiling, here? No, you don’t.”

“I’m sorry, Becca. Alex was worried about me
going back to work and wanted his security guard to watch over me
today. Let’s just say Bryan is very good at his job. I’m sure he
didn’t even think about you being home, and I forgot to tell him.”
I hurry to explain, hoping to defuse the situation and dampen
Becca’s anger. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her again and
spending some time with her, and I hate to start off with her being
so angry with me.

“What do you mean,
you went back to
work
?”

I look toward the man as he steps out of the
closet, finally disclosing his identity, and my heart skips a beat.
Oh my God
!

“Mark?” I fight to wrap my mind around the
fact I practically just caught my little sister having sex with
Mark, of all people. “What’s going on?”

He slips his t-shirt on over his head, and
then walks toward me, his hands up before him in a placating
gesture, as if he expects I might hit him or something. As if. I’m
just confused, that’s all. Confused, and wanting someone—him or
her—to explain. They’re lovers, obviously, but for how long? And is
there more to it than sex? Are they in love with one another? And
if they are, do I care?

“We’ll talk about this in a minute, but what
do you mean, you went back to work? Don’t you know how dangerous it
is for you to be out and about right now? What if Bob were to show
up at your office and start blowing people away? It happens, you
know.”