Chapter 90

NATHAN

I must have managed to fall asleep an hour after she left. It was still seven in the morning, and after a grueling workout and a shower, I got dressed for work. I'm still mad at her, and it won't help me in the team meeting today. My phone rings on the bedside table.
Great! Stephan!

"Yes?"

"In a good mood as always, Ryan?"

"Do you have something important to tell me? Or are you just going to annoy me as usual?"

"You owe me some information. You didn't tell me about the pursuit trip with poor Kate."

"Everything's fine."

"Just that? Does it mean you managed to convince her to come back?"

"Let's just say yes."

"I want you to tell me that in person. How about grabbing a coffee?"

"I don't know."

"I'll meet you at the office. I really wanted to see Kate anyway." I roll my eyes before hearing his laughter. "See you soon, Nat."



Stephan is leaning over the reception counter. He's shamelessly flirting with Ana. When I approach, I see her silly smile vanish.

"Little brother!" He turns around when he sees me, with his usual devilish smile on his face.

"Could you leave my employees alone?" I head towards the elevator. Stephan follows me.

"What happened? You said she came back."

"Yes."

"Then why do you have that expression?" The doors close.

"She's driving me crazy."

"In a bad way?"

"I think so. Or maybe not."

"What did she do?"

"She's teasing me."

"The kind of teasing that leads to a good fuck?"

"I don't like the idea of letting her have control over my mood."

"You mean control over your dick?"

"I don't want it to interfere with business."

"Don't you think it's better for her to have control over the fuck than to have no fuck at all?" It wasn't such bad logic.

"I don't know how to handle this."

"You should be happy that she's back. How did she react when you told her you were in love?"

"I don't think she believes it."

"As expected. I wouldn't believe it, either. But then, why did she come back?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I promised to do things her way."

"You're screwed."

The doors open on my floor. Kate is on the phone. She hangs up when she notices our presence. I see a big smile appear on her lips.

"Kate!" Stephan passes by me, heading towards her desk. She stands up. Damn it! What the hell is she wearing?

My eyes travel from the bare skin on her sternum, where there's a discreet neckline in her wine-colored dress, which looks more like a coat, down to the curve of her waist and hips, where it's tied with a knot, and finally to the damn pantyhose on her long, toned legs. The second thing I try to figure out is what she's wearing underneath. Damn it. I swallow hard as Stephan greets her with a kiss on the cheek and an almost embrace.

"Good morning, Mr. Ryan," she turns her attention to me.

"Good morning, Collins," I say curtly, feeling even more irritated. Her smile grows. "Have you prepared the meeting room?"

"Almost, just need to distribute some papers."

"Then what are you doing here?" Her eyebrows almost arch in a challenge, but she insists on smiling.

"Okay, I'm going downstairs."

"Great." I walk to my office.

Stephan enters seconds later.

"You're right. This doesn't help with business." He points at Kate outside.

"She knows I have a team meeting today, and it's going to last forever."

"Good luck," he whistles.

"Eight hours." Eight hours, I repeat in my head, trying to somehow make it seem less time.

"Eight hours?"

"Of work."

"You guys can't sneak off to the bathroom for a quickie?"

"We have a rule. A damn rule she imposed."

"Not having sex during work?" I nod. "She knows how to play."

"I can't stand the idea of not being able to do anything about it."

"You can play her game, right? Or just relax."

"It's hard to relax when you have a problem in your pants."

"Try to see the bright side, Nat." What's that? He sits on the sofa. "Changing the subject, Niels said you would think about Friday."

"I thought you were going to tell me what the bright side was, and no, I don't plan on going out."

"What's up, Nat?" Nothing else matters to me if Kate isn't involved. My world seems to revolve around her now. What the hell happened to me? "It's just to relax. You need it, don't you?"

"I have other ideas for relaxation in mind."

"Seems like I lost my brother to a beautiful pair of legs."

"It's not just the legs." He laughs.

"At least she improved your mood, partially. But maybe you'll change your mind when you find out that Ben is coming on Thursday."

"Ben?" Ben was my best friend. It's been about a year since I last saw him. He went to Tokyo for work, because of a new project.

I wonder if he had fun in that place. It's hard to imagine him staying home on a Friday or the weekend. Even during the week, he used to go out for drinks after work. I miss that son of a bitch.

"Yeah. I got the news last night."

"He didn't tell me."

"He said he called you a few times." Maybe it was during my rage attack because of Kate.

"Alright. I guess I don't have an excuse then."

"Great. I'll find a place for us to go."

"Can't we just go to any bar?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Okay. You can choose. Just... no strippers."

He gets up and heads for the exit. "Try to relax, okay?"

"Leave Ana alone." He smiles before walking through the door.
I must have another ten minutes before the meeting. Before I have to be in a room with Kate and have to control myself from fucking her on the table, with more than ten people watching.





She is leaning over the conference room table, organizing some papers. I clear my throat, startling her a little, and she turns to face me.

"Everything alright here?"

"Yes." Her smile appears within seconds. She's driving me crazy. "And how about you?" I approach the windows, ignoring her. "Hmm. I just saw your brother leaving. He said you seemed... nervous. I thought, after all this time, you would have lost your nervousness about the meetings."

Of course, Stephan had to comment on my state. Son of a bitch.

"They're always a challenge." With you here. I omit the last part, trying to focus on the buildings outside, holding myself back from telling her to stop unless she wants people to find me fucking her on the table.

I feel her touch on my shoulder, and my muscles tense. I gaze at her over my shoulder. So close, I can feel her breasts pressing against my back. Dirty play.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Her touch instantly awakens my arousal. Using all my self-control, I step away. To my relief, an intern enters the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Ryan," she says. I nod, sensing her nervousness. I've spent so much time with Kate that I had forgotten my effect on women.

Next to the girl, Kate continues to smile. She clears her throat.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Lily."

"Your last name, dear?" I can even imagine what she's thinking. Don't get nervous, he's just a big jerk, darling.

"Jones."

"Miss Jones, I'm Katherine. You can sit in the designated seat with your name."

"Did I arrive too early?"

"No, just a few minutes. Kate trying to be kind is almost funny." I clear my throat and see the girl's shoulders tense in front of me.

Kate smiles at her before leading her to her seat. The next person to enter through the door is Niels. He smiles at me, and I notice his smile widening when his eyes meet Kate's. Great.

I really hope I don't witness any flirting during the next three hours. She would love to torment me with that little game.

Then Julie enters the room with some interns. I try to listen to what Niels and Kate are talking about, but the interns are talking loudly enough to interfere. Stepping back a bit, I see Kate approaching Julie enthusiastically. I didn't know they got along so well.

"Nathan?" I turn to face Paul Stone, the best Chief Financial Officer I've ever worked with.

"I thought you weren't coming."

"I managed to find a way. Can we start now?"

"I don't think so." I catch Kate looking at me, she smiles and goes back to talking to Julie. I've never wanted to be alone with her so much.

"New intern?"

"Huh?"

"The girl you're ogling."

"Not exactly. She's my new assistant."

"Really? I heard Niels mention something about her being very attractive. It seems he wasn't lying."

"You know the rules. Besides, I think she has a boyfriend." You're terrible at trying to keep your friends away from her. "But that's none of our business." He looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You created those rules. But people don't work at your company a hundred percent of the time. Don't forget that." What was he trying to insinuate?