Page 77 of Silk Shadow

He cringed. That wasn’t the worst of it. He could not afford to lose this job.

Izzy pursed her lips. “You’re not going to start calling me ma’am again, are you?”

He gave a sad smile. “Not unless you want me to.”

“I think we’re way past that.”

He remembered gasping her name only last night, as he came inside her, right after she’d screamed his. They’d held each other for a long time, way into the early hours, each trying to make the moment last as long as possible.

“For what it’s worth, I had a great time,” he told her.

Her eyes gleamed softly, and for a moment the Izzy he knew intimately was back. “So did I.”

Viper let her get settled and checked out the security in her apartment. The windows were all double-glazed and soundproof. You could fire a gun in here and it wouldn't be heard outside the apartment. He was almost done when a telephone rang.

"That’s my landline," she muttered before answering it. She paused, listened, and then said, "Hello, Robert.”

Viper stood still. What did that idiot want now? He pretended to inspect the lock on the balcony door as he listened.

"I'm exhausted. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

It was a high-grade quality security locking mechanism. Not unbreachable if you knew what you were doing but would stump most common burglars.

He felt Izzy's eyes on him. "Okay, see you then."

She hung up.

Viper turned and raised an eyebrow.

"I have to go into the office first thing tomorrow morning," she said. "Jackson Ferris, who runs the mine in Mexico, is in D.C. Robert wants him to brief the board on the latest attack on Montezuma."

He could tell by the determined jut of her chin that this wasn't debatable. She'd get no argument from him. The sooner they got back to her normal routine, the better.

"What time do you want to leave?"

“Around nine o’clock."

He nodded. “I’ll be here.”

She hesitated. “You’re not staying over?”

“I don’t think that’s part of the job.”

“I didn’t mean with me. I just meant here.” He could tell she didn’t want to be alone, but how would he explain to his boss that he’d stayed over? No one would believe it was in the spare room. It would be as damning as if he’d been in her bed.

“I can’t, Izzy. I’m sorry.”

She bit her lip. “I understand.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me if you need anything?”

But she’d turned and walked into the bathroom, leaving him to see himself out.

CHAPTER 32

Viper followed Izzy into the towering skyscraper that housed the D.C. offices for Omega Enterprises. The company took up the top five floors. In the reception area, he saw a board listing departments like Internal Audit, Facilities Engineering, Functional Materials, Environmental & Safety, Resource Development, and an entire floor for human resources, administration, accounting, finance, planning, and public relations.

The size of the organization hit him hard. This was what Izzy was in charge of? Holy shit.

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