Page 29 of Remembering Passion

At the sight of the table—at the entire office—I realized nothing had changed. Clenching my teeth, I closed my eyes.

His deep voice penetrated my thoughts. “If you’re thinking about what we did on that table, so am I.”

I opened my eyes. “I’m not.”

I was.

“I suppose we could sit over there” —he pointed toward a sofa and chairs— “but if you recall, there isn’t a surface in this room where you didn’t come.” His smile shone. “I have particularly fond memories of my desk chair. For the record, I told the cleaning crew I spilled something.” His lips quirked. “I wouldn’t allow them to clean it. Seeing the stain on the leather reminds me of you.”

“Damien.” My voice was now raised. “Stop.”

His smile quirked. “Oh, Ms. Crystal. May I take that to mean you’re not interested in small talk?”

“I’m not interested in this meeting—at all.”

He pulled out one of the leather chairs from around the conference table. “Please.” The spicy aroma of his cologne infiltrated my thinking.

Fucking gentleman.

Setting my satchel on the floor and hanging my purse from the back of the chair, I took the seat. “May we get this over with?”

Damien took the seat at the head of the table, the one to my side. Unbuttoning his suit coat, he leaned back. “Ella, you can be upset with me, but you have to admit, our idea will benefit Beta Kappa Phi.”

“Upset?” I slapped my hand on the shiny table. “Damien, I told you…I asked you not to call me.”

“I didn’t.” He reached for the phone in his breast pocket and lifted it my direction. “You may check, but the last call I made to you was Saturday night, or was it Sunday morning?”

Damien

Gabriella’s pink lips opened and shut.

I was fucking enjoying every second of her discomfort and planned to revel in it for a moment. “Since reminiscing is forbidden, let’s jump into business. What did Ms. Barns tell you?”

“I don’t remember. It all went fuzzy after she said that you called her, and she told me about this meeting.” Ella pushed her chair back and stood.

She was a vision—beautiful, smart, and so full of life. My eyes followed her every step, drinking in her straight posture, soft curves, the way her skirt accentuated her waist and the neckline of her blouse dipped low enough to see the top of her round globes. Although her clothes were professional and nonrevealing, as I imagined Ella without attire my circulation readjusted its flow.

After the way things progressed on Saturday night, I couldn’t walk away. I’d done that two years ago when she first left. I wasn’t going to let her walk out this time, not without a fight. The two of us belonged together in every sense of the word. Saturday night was the best fucking sex I’d had since…her. There was no way she didn’t agree. Six orgasms said she did. Her abrupt change of heart wasn’t because we weren’t good together.

Maybe it was because we were.

I cocked my head. “I didn’t call you,” I repeated. “That’s what you asked.”

She turned toward me, a pink hue moving up her neck to her cheeks. “No, you called my boss. You threw money at her and made yourself sound altruistic in the process.” She spoke and paced, spoke and paced. It was like watching a tennis match. “Millie said something about a coalition. Did you make this whole thing up, or did you and Mr. Sherman actually concoct it together?”

I smirked at the animated way she was speaking. “I would have Johnathon bring you a cup of coffee, but you seem to have too much energy.”

Ella spun toward me, her blue eyes blazing.

I lifted my hands. “No, your energy level is fine. However, if you want to burn some of it off, I can come up with a few options.” I lifted my hand palm up. “This table?”

Her arms flew out and then down, slapping her thighs with her palms. “I can’t work with you.”

“You can. It’s the only condition Van and I put on this venture.”

“I’m not doing that again.”

“There isn’t an again, Ella. We didn’t work together before,” I explained. “You worked for me. This will be different. You will continue to work for Beta Kappa Phi.” I shrugged. “It will just be here.”