Page 17 of One Week With You
Alan laughed awkwardly. “Yes, of course. You’re right. Some of us got married at twenty-one, that’s all. I can’t imagine waiting as long as you.”
My jaw tightened and I knew I wasn’t the only one tired of this conversation. Talia had gone rigid by my side, her smile no longer meeting her eyes. I linked our hands, weaving our fingers together.
“I think life would be pretty boring if we all ran at the same pace, don’t you think?”
“Yes, well,” Alan stuttered, finally realising he’d put his foot in his mouth. “Perhaps I’ll get Henry to give me that tour now.”
“Perhaps you should,” I said.
Talia waited until he was out of hearing distance. “Well, that went well,” she said. “Dickhead.”
I huffed out a laugh.
“Are you sure you want to do business with him?”
I glanced back at Alan talking to Henry at the bar and grimaced. Right then, I wasn’t sure at all.
* * *
Dinner was the usual gourmet cuisine followed by a speech I was forced to choke out every year. One of the worst things about being CEO was the public speaking. I’d rather eat my own foot. I held up my glass in thanks to the round of applause and made my way back to Talia seated at our table, still savouring her chocolate dessert even though dinner ended a while ago. I felt like the luckiest guy alive to be the recipient of that smile.
The music switched to something slower, smoother, meant for not much more than swaying. I couldn’t take my eyes off Talia’s face as she watched the couples partner off, moving in their own worlds.
“Would you like to dance?” I found myself asking.
What the fuck?
She looked like she’d had the same thought. “I… I didn’t know you could dance.”
“I’m not sure I can,” I admitted with a wince. “Wing it with me?”
“The best kind of dancing if you ask me,” she said with a laugh, sliding her hand into my own. “Let’s go.”
I led her to the dance floor, rolling my eyes and shouting, “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” at the whoops and cheers from my employees at the shocking sight.Shitheads. I stifled a grin at Talia’s giggly gasp of delight as I spun her out before twirling her back into my arms. She wasn’t expecting the manoeuvre and collided with my body with a breathy, “Oh!” that went straight to my cock. My mind jumped to all the other ways I could draw that sound from her, maybe something that would have her neck thrown back in ecstasy, clutching at my hair. I’d run my tongue down that arch too because Talia’s neck was prime for my mouth, my hands, a necklace of diamonds and definitely pearls…
Fuck.I needed to control myself. Concentrate on something – anything else. A few of my employees watched at the edges of the dance floor and even over by the tables, and it must’ve been weird for them to see me with a woman, and definitely dancing with one. I’d only ever come to these events alone. Now, I’d turned something that shouldn’t be a big deal into a mystery to solve, a spectacle to witness.
But it felt like a big deal with her in my arms. The generous swell of her breasts and the soft slope of her lower belly pressed up close, all made a million times worse by the scent of her perfume. She’d intoxicate even the sternest of men.
Even me.
There was a hesitance in the way Talia reached for my shoulders, as if she knew the touch was dangerous to my sanity. She drew in a breath when my hands settled right where I’d longed to touch all evening, that mesmerising curve of her hip where it melted into her waist.
“So,” she said when we started to move, swaying back and forth. I could sway as much as the next guy. “What are the chances Alan might sell?”
“Slim.” I was even more convinced since his continued dismissal over dinner. Every time I’d broached the subject, he’d changed it. “I told Henry this was a waste of time, but he never listens to me.”
“Strange, considering you’re the CEO.”
“You think?” I shook my head, frustrated. “He was so far up my dad’s ass, sometimes I think he’s got shit in his eyes. I don’t think he has any faith in me.”
“But it’s been, what? Five years since you took over?”
“Almost six.”
“Well, speaking as someone who has been replaced at work, Henry needs to realise there are plenty more CFO’s in the sea, so to speak.”
I chuckled. “At this rate, I’ll retire before Henry does. I swear he comes with the building.”
