Page 61 of Crave Me

She pretends to be offended when I throw my head back, laughing, but ends up laughing just as hard.

“Hey, I can do a lot of things, but English accents aren’t one of them.” She tugs my sleeve. “My point is you really lost it. I thought you were going to throw me over your shoulder or some shit.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” I say, flashing what I hope is an innocent smile. “Unless you want me to.”

She laughs. “I shouldn’t say this, but it’s nice to know that you care.” Her tongue slides along her incisor. “About me and my assets.”

“I do,” I confess, reaching for her hand. “More than you realize.”

Her playful demeanor leaves her, replaced with soft beauty that warms my chest. “You make it so easy to like you,” she says.

“I can say the same about you,” I tell her quietly. “That, and that I like you more with each moment that passes.”

She seems to think beyond what I say. My thumb carefully strokes the back of her hand as I realize how tired she seems. “It’s late. Let me walk you out.”

She knows I’m not asking. Every night I escort her to her vehicle, relishing any time we can spend alone. We see a great deal of each other, now that we work together, and often eat lunch and dinner in my office. But our intimate moments are limited, and our conversations usually revolve around business or “Evan Almighty taking Over the World,” as she describes it. With everything we’re implementing, I’m hoping that will change and I can devote more time to our relationship.

Her fingers thread through mine, our steps as we walk down the hall of cubicles are the only audible sound. I nod to the security guard stationed near the elevator. “Good evening, Mr. Jonah,” he says.

“Good evening,” I respond.

The corners of his mouth lift when he focuses on my lovely companion. “Night, Wren.”

“See ya, Mikey,” she calls. Unlike me, who can barely keep track of my immediate staff, she’s already familiarized herself with the majority of my employees and made quite the impression.

“Oh, hey Wren. Did you hear?” he asks. “The 76ers are up by ten.”

“Of course they are, Mikey, because the Celtics suck and my boys are making sure they know it.”

He laughs as I simply shake my head, wondering how she keeps up with it all. The elevator doors open, the tech in my watch in tune with the sensor fixed to the arch, summoning the elevator whenever I near.

“Alfred, parking level,” I say, leading Wren inside.

“Parking level initiated,” Alfred announces.

Wren leans her head against my shoulder when the doors close. I slip my arm around her waist. “By the way, California Medical emailed me a few moments ago.”

She lifts her head. “And?”

“They don’t want Eldar Mechanicus.”

“For fuck’s sake, why—”

“They want the entire line of Mechanicus,” I tell her smiling.

Her initial frustration is quickly replaced by shock followed by elation. She throws her arms around me. “Evan!”

I pull her against me. “I believe the CEO’s exact words were, ‘your representative Penny killed it.’ He was leaving for the day, but he’s calling tomorrow to finalize the deal with me and my legal team.”

“I knew that kid had it in her,” she says, jabbing me in the chest. “Holy shit, that’s sixty-grand to her for a week’s work—which means she just passed Oscar in sales!”

“And brought in six hundred thousand for the company in good faith deposits.” Her eyes widen when she realizes what this means. That doesn’t stop me from telling her. “We’re looking at six-hundred million over the next ten years with this hospital alone, more if they extend it to their network of clinics and doctors.”

“You’re doing it, Evan,” she says. “You’re saving the company.”

I lean in for a celebratory kiss, but she steps away when the elevator door opens. Lionel, one of the key members of my legal and contracts team steps on, the exhaustion in his posture doing little to squelch his enthusiasm. “I just saw your email. Well done, Evan.”

I shake his hand, smiling, then promptly return it hold Wren’s. She tries to keep a respectable distance in front of my staff, initially shying away from any show of affection. I don’t want to pretend that there’s nothing between us, nor deny what she means to me. I told her as much and prove it every time I walk her out.

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