She wrinkled her nose at me. “I think you’re getting spoiled. You might have to work for it tonight to convince me.”
“Maybe I’ll finally follow through on that threat to tie you up.”
She turned around, fully naked now. “Or maybe I’ll walk around here and torment you for a while and not give in.”
“Not give in? That never happens.” I ran my eyes over her from head to toe. She was gorgeous…her body curving in all the right places. Delectable, smooth skin. Even her nipples were perky, all ready for my tongue to taste them. Perfect.
“Come here.” I relished the feel of the blood pressure rising in my veins. Though I’d never in a million years admit it to her, I loved when she teased like this.
She mock-frowned. “That wasn’t very convincing.”
“Come here, you tease. I’ll make you feel good.”
“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to inflame your desires. It was completely accidental.” Her eyes gleamed with amusement.
“You inflame my desires just by breathing,” I said.
She crawled across the bed toward me, shoulders flexing like a cat’s. But I was the one who sprang without warning, flipping her onto her back and pinning her down. “Surprise. Desires inflamed beyond control.”
“I guess we’ll have to do something about that. Even though you don’t deserve the bonus.”
“I told you, this one is the regular.”
She grimaced at me. “You always were a cheater.” Then she grabbed my head and pulled it down in a fierce kiss. And we were lost in each other. And yeah, my original question about the news at dinner had been completely derailed. I’m a guy, after all. Where sex with a beautiful woman was involved, I was easily diverted.
Then I tried again a while later—afterward—as I cradled her naked body against mine. She pressed her back to my chest. “Okay, that part about making me feel good. That was completely accurate.” She sighed.
I kissed her neck, basking in my own afterglow. “Good.”
She laid her head down, using my bicep as her pillow. “I’m gonna fall asleep in ten seconds flat.”
“Before you do…”
“Mmm?”
“Just want to make sure you’re okay with your mom’s news at dinner. You haven’t said anything about it.”
She was quiet for some time—enough that I almost thought she wouldn’t answer. I was debating whether to ask her again when, finally, she took a deep breath and rolled over to face me.
“I don’t know what to think about all that. It kind of…came out of nowhere.”
I reached up and pushed a strand of long, dark hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Well, you should think about it—about reading that letter, anyway. There’s no harm in that, is there?”
“Sometimes, there is harm in knowledge.” She took in a deep breath and then let it go. “For example, I was always comfortable with the formless idea that my father is an asshole. But to hear that he blew my mother off—when I was sick. Really sick. That’s…the reality of it.”
“But it’s not your father. It’s your brother.”
“Who’s to say he isn’t a chip off the old block?”
I shrugged. “That’s a chance you have to take, but your mom seemed to like him a lot.”
She expelled a breath that was almost a light laugh. “My mom…I’m not sure I trust her judgment in this matter.”
“What?” I asked, puzzled. “You’re still judging her based on a mistake she made twenty-five years ago?”
She shook her head. “No, no. I don’t mean that. I mean her own guilt might be driving her to accept him when he’s not a nice person. I think she feels guilty that I grew up without a family. She wants me to have one so badly that she’d recommend this guy. He is, after all, half of him.”
“But so are you.”
She made a face at me. “You’re only talking honestly because you already got sex tonight. No need to butter me up anymore.”
I kissed her nose. “I think it might be good for you to read the letter. I don’t think there could be harm in that. I’ll read it first to screen it if you want.”
She reached out and traced an idle doodle with her index finger across my chest. It tickled. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”
I kissed her again. “Okay. Don’t forget we have that meeting with the wedding planner tomorrow.”
“Sure…she’s coming to your office?”
“Yeah. I had a full schedule, so that was the only way we could fit it in, over lunch.”
She nodded. “I’m falling asleep now. You better be doing the same, or I’m gonna turn into a nagging wife before my time.”
I smiled. “Damn, I don’t want that. I’ll read, then. Go to sleep.”
Once she was out—and I checked thoroughly—I got up to go work in my office until the small hours of the morning, ensuring I left Kim’s big envelope on the middle of Emilia’s desk.
I’d been doing that lately, happy with the stealth factor that evaded Emilia’s concerns.
Tonight, I was up for hours, continuing my research on how to fight this prenup. I learned that the board could not legally coerce me to sign the contract or require my spouse to sign. That was the good news. The law was on my side.
The bad news? They were perfectly within their power to follow through on their threat to have me removed as CEO of the company for breach of fiduciary duty, if it came to that.
I began building a list of legal references and lawyers to consult. I was going to do this. For her. For us both.
But that involved being up late at night, composing emails, researching and reading legal documents, and verifying legal restrictions. It was exhausting, but it was working. I was managing those feelings of helplessness and rage for the most part.
And I was planning to execute my next move all while running a company, planning a wedding, and fending off a persistent board of directors. No big deal.
***
“Adam.” A shout echoed across the floor of the R&D warehouse days later as I sat huddled with several devs and art team leaders in a pick-up scrum meeting.
I knew the voice. Ignoring it, I kept talking. “Because we’re way off our sprint goals—”