Page 59 of Crave Me

He laughs and nuzzles my neck. I wish he didn’t feel so good there, he does. “How much did your marketing reps make? The ones you let go last week?”

“They were young, new, and inexperienced so only about a hundred thousand each.”

I nod. “Okay. So how about we replace them with old and not so new, experienced people who won’t need as much.”

He shakes his head. “They were two people. You’re talking about hiring what? Twenty reps alone?”

“You’re not hiring,” I tell him, grinning back at him when he cocks an eyebrow. “You’re paying them by the sale, just like they would make at the dealership. Ten grand in their pockets for each sale they make. You teach them everything they need to know about Mechanicus Whatever-icus, pay them for their travel, lodging, and food, and you’ll make close to ten times as much with the first good faith check the buyers drop.” By now I’m really smiling. “A hundred times as much over the next few years, from that one sale.”

His hand, the one that’s been tracing invisible circles into my upper thigh stills. “Ten thousand dollars isn’t a lot compared to what they’ll bring the company.”

He’s not shooting me down, he’s thinking out loud and coming to terms with the cost versus the revenue. That doesn’t stop me from going full speed ahead. “I’m not talking salary. I’m talking sales bonus. A week to train. A week to sell. And you get ten grand. That’s two-hundred and sixty thousand dollars a year, selling one product every two weeks—which is more than they would make selling cars, and a shit ton more for you.”

“And I don’t have to pay them insurance or benefits,” he adds.

“Not unless you choose to hire them. And in a few months, you won’t need to train them so intensively. They’ll have all the basics down, and still be selling like they’re on fire.” I smirk. “This company pays too many people who don’t do squat a ridiculous amount of money, and doesn’t reward those giving it their all.”

“Wren, this sounds good in theory. But while they have extensive sales experience, they’re unfamiliar with robotics, let alone nanotechnology of this caliber. Despite their strengths, a week isn’t enough time to learn all the tech we’ve developed and need to sell.”

“No, but it’s enough for twenty people to learn one product each. Yeah, that one product is complex, but so are the car engines we’ve familiarized ourselves with. And they’re not haggling on price or contracts like we had to, you have your legal team for that. Clifton and Anne, and your senior staff, can teach them what each product does and oversee their pitches via conference calls while my reps work their magic.”

“All right, that’s a solid plan for my sales department. What about the administrative staff?”

“I’ll take care of the administrative staff. I can fire, hire, and reward. If you trust me, I can do that for you—”

His mouth crashes into mine and his fingers dig through my hair. That crisp shirt he’s wearing doesn’t stand a chance when I yank him closer, his sweet taste making me ache for more.

Jolts of heat burn their way through my core, adding an extra sizzle to our already burning kiss. “Bloody hell,” he rasps, his voice tortured as he buries his mouth against my neck.

My nipples tighten to stiff points, straining and begging to for his teeth to scrape along sensitive buds. But as ready as I am to continue, he doesn’t appear ready to carry things through.

He pulls away slowly, his head falling against the headrest. “I’m sorry,” he gasps. “I know I promised to behave like a gentleman.”

Some kind of sound, maybe a squeak, escapes my throat before I manage any semblance of words. This is a man who knows how to curl my damn toes. “I’ll let it go this time,” I say, prying my fingers lose from his collar.

He laughs as I fall against his chest. “I like you here,” he says, his hand returning to my ass.

“With your hand on my right butt cheek?”

“That, too,” he says quieting. “But I meant having you close.

His lips feather over mine. “My favorite time of day, is any time I get to see you.”

“That’s my favorite part, too,” I admit, wishing I could say it better.

I close my eyes and rest against him, enjoying the feel of him.

We have a lot to do, but neither of us move for few long blissful minutes. “Are you sure you can do what you’re taking on?” he finally asks. “It’s not easy to let people go.”

“It’s not,” I agree. What I don’t say is that I’m willing to do a lot more for his company, and even more for him.

“All right,” he says, switching back to big badass boss mode. “Cancel my next meeting, get the directors of HR, Sales, and Finance in here, and I’ll make it happen. How soon can your former coworkers start?”

“They’ll be here at eight-thirty tomorrow morning.”

I don’t have to look up to know he’s smiling. “When did you phone them?”

“Two days ago,” I admit. “After I worked out a plan, reserved the conference room downstairs, and had Clifton and Anne’s secretaries free up their schedules.”

He laughs. “How did you know I’d say yes?”

I ease away enough to see his face. “I didn’t,” I admit. “I only knew you’d listen.”

His features split with surprise and what looks like the start of grin. Genuine feelings from a genuine man capable of stirring far too many good feels. I rise and walk out. I don’t know what’s happening between us.

All I know is that I’m ready for more.

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