Taking Control (Kerr Chronicles #2)(14)
Author: Jen Frederick

“Your powers of observation are legendary.” I sigh but willingly go along. There’s no need to fight with Louis. I’ve come to a decision about him.

“It’s part of why you pay me so much. Come on, old man, I’ll buy you lunch and you can explain why you’re wearing that loud monstrosity of a suit.” Louis stands at the office door and pushes it open.

Heaving to my feet, I finger the lapel. “Tiny picked it out.”

He rolls his eyes. “She is overtaking your life.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” My phone dings and I see it’s a text from Tiny. It’s a small series of pictures. Tiny is dyslexic, so when she texts it’s usually emojis. I refuse to feel weird about that, given it’s the best way for us to communicate. The image of a bicycle, water, and sun next to a sandwich appear to be telling me that she wants to go the beach this weekend and bike around and then eat. I’ll look forward to it. Clicking on the emoji icon for my phone, I search for one that says yes. I settle for the thumbs up.

“You’re worse than a preteen,” Louis says impatiently.

“Louis, if I wanted your opinion I’d ask for it.” Sticking my phone into my breast pocket, I exit the office. Louis is on my heels. Pausing at Rose’s desk, I say, “We’re off to lunch, but we’ll be back for the SunCorp presentation.”

We cab it to Morimoto’s for lunch since I’ve sent Steve to sit outside Jake Tanner’s office and make sure no one harms Tiny. I wonder if she’s figured out that he’s been reassigned to bodyguard duties. I’m guessing no because she hasn’t said anything about him to me and she’s not the type to accept being followed without some discussion.

When she’s not so raw from her mother’s death and she’s more settled in what she wants to do with her future, we can talk about the safety measures I’d like her to take. For now, I want to keep the lifestyle changes from scaring her off, but if she’s going to be with me she’s going to have to accept that power and a lot of money attracts a lot of desperate people.

Steve’s a bit disturbed because he doesn’t like the subterfuge, but he’s keeping quiet for now because discretion is part of what I pay him for.

After ordering, my mind wanders to Tiny again. Steve should deliver her some lunch. Feeding that woman is my new obsession. Along with f**king her, of course. I text Jake.

Are you feeding my woman?

If I say yes, will you view it as an act of aggression and threaten to kill me?

Not today. I’m more concerned that she’s eating. She wouldn’t leave her desk.

I’m pretty sure she hates this job even though she’s doing fine.

Is it her dyslexia?

No it’s that she has a desk. I have men like that. Hate desks. Can’t work behind them.

Keep your men away from her.

Wait, is it your name on the door here? I thought it was mine. It’s cute you think you can order me around.

The only thing I’d like to order is lunch for Tiny. If it’s too much of a burden for you, then I’ll have Steve do it.

It pains me that you’d use a prime machine like Steve to run errands. She’s already had lunch with her friend, but I can get your six-figure bodyguard to buy her a sandwich from ‘wichcraft so stop texting me and go buy some company and harass those employees rather than mine.

“In my fantasies you’re currently texting Kaga, asking his advice on SunCorp,” Louis interrupts.

I text Thanks to Jake and then slip my phone into my pocket.

“Your fantasy life sucks then.” I take a sip of Perrier and pick up my chopsticks.

“Don’t you feel like you’ve been drifting these past couple of months?”

Deliberately, I place my utensils back on the table and fold my hands together. Piercing Louis with a look, I ask, “Are you bored, Louis? Because if you’re bored and don’t like the pace of our acquisitions, I am happy to write out a letter of recommendation that you can use to shop for your next job.”

My threat has its intended effect. He clears his throat after a minute. “So it’s like that,” he says with disappointment.

“It’s like that,” I say softly.

“Then no, I’m happy with whatever pace you set.” He gives me a tight smile.

“Great. You and Anna should have dinner with us some night. Let me know when you’re free.”

“Thanks.”

The rest of lunch is spent in silence, but I do text Kaga on the cab ride back, not to pacify Louis but because the chase has always excited me.

The meeting with SunCorp goes long, and it’s not until six that we manage to shunt everyone out of the office. Kaga had left a message with Rose halfway through that he’d heard good things about SunCorp and that the management team was enlightened. I did like them and thought that the investment might make sense, which was why our meeting ran over.

In the washroom attached to my office, I quickly wipe off the residue of the day. I don’t have the time to take a shower even though the attached bathroom contains one. Having a bathroom wasn’t a luxury but a necessity. There were weeks that I would sleep in the office, trying to establish myself, trying to absorb reams of data so I could best decide which investment was the best one.

I’ve been overclocking my engine for years, and Louis has been with me for the past five. It wasn’t unusual for us to work on deals for seventy-two hours at a time, only allowing a few power naps to make sure we weren’t so tired that we’d miss something important. And then there were the week-long regulatory meetings when we actually were in the process of acquiring, not just investing. I shouldn’t have been so hard on him. Ever since I met Tiny, my entire schedule has been off. Acquisitions aren’t as exciting as they once were.

I hunger for something different now, more physical, more personal. The more time I spend away from her, the more I realize how none of this is very important. Not whether SunCorp can accelerate the harnessing of solar energy and increase stored wattage power and definitely not whether that military tech firm can create an invisible cloak. None of it compares to her.

I’d probably enjoy myself more if I was sitting in the corner of Jake’s front office watching her than enduring any of these meetings. Although I’m not sure how long I’d last before I’d have her bent over the desk.

The mere thought of her ass-up, her thighs wet with arousal and her tits pressed against the wood desk, makes my pants uncomfortably tight. I decide not to relieve myself. I’ll be home soon.