Page 50 of Takeover
"Christ, Atticus, are you going to follow me around and make sure I eat?"
"If I have to."I sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to me as I lifted the silver plate covers.Scents from the rich stew wafted into the room, and I could see her nose twitch.Just knowing that she considered gummy bears an acceptable meal irritated me.Why wasn't she taking better care of herself?"You're going to eat.Then you're going to put away the laptop and get ready for bed."
She squared her shoulders."I'm still not?—"
I put up a hand."Yes, I know.You're still not sleeping with me.Got it.Noted.And maybe you'll remember that I promised I wouldn’t touch you until you begged me to.Your only job is to sleep there."
She pushed to her feet and came to join me on the couch.When I handed her a spoon, she took it reluctantly."Only because I'm being forced to sleep there."
"Do you have to sleep there?Yes.Am I going to make you do anything you don't want to do?No.Except for the eating thing.So tuck in."
I didn't start to eat until I watched her spoon the first bite of stew into her mouth.And when she gave a delicate moan and her stomach grumbled, I nodded appreciatively and started to eat as well."See?Not so bad, is it?"I asked.
She rolled her eyes."Fine, it's delicious.But still, I'm not done working for the night, so I'm not going to bed yet."
"I'll give you a couple of hours.But you're not going to be of help to your team if you run ragged and don't feed yourself anything better than gummy bears."
She opened her mouth to argue, but instead, I tore off a piece of the dinner roll and shoved it in her mouth before she could talk.
She made this adorable little growling sound at the back of her throat, but then she moaned.Fuck, I was hard.There was something about feeding the woman that oddly also made me want to fuck her.Jesus, I needed help.
"What would the world think if they saw you feeding me?"she mumbled around the bite of bread.
I shrugged."If I concerned myself with the opinions of others, I'd never get anything done."
She ate three more bites hurriedly."Can we be done now so I can finish?"
"With the pace you keep, you're burning yourself out.Take it from someone who knows."
She grinned at me and then took one of the rolls back to the desk."Question for you."
"What's that?"
"Does anyone ever insist thatyou'regoing to burn out?"
I wet my mouth before answering."Sometimes.Mostly Micah, but yes."
"But do most people ask you that?Or is the assumption that you should work hard?"
I pressed my lips together."What are you getting at?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
I shook my head."No, I don't."
"What I mean is, you're a man.Nobody questions how much you work.Matter of fact, people question your commitment if you don't work hard.But as a woman, I'm not supposed to work like that.But if I don't, they question my work ethic.I just care about my job, and about my team, and?—"
"You think you have something to prove?"
"Don't I?"
"You tell me."
She swallowed hard."For years, I have worked to make this company something I could be proud of.Something my father could be proud of.I don't know, to honor my mother's legacy or something.Everything she gave up so my father could build Becks.I have my team, the software, the job.It's all I have."
"I doubt that.You have a sister you clearly love."
She coughed a laugh."Morgan, yeah.You're probably wishing you’d taken the other sister now, aren't you?"
