Page 10 of Infinite

“On my way up,” I voice-text into my phone. “My coffee better be waiting for me, woman.”

It’s too early in the day to be an asshole, Hale,Neesa writes back.

The grin bypasses me straight into a chuckle. Still, the moment the elevator doors part, that grin I mustered fades. I step into an open floor plan laid out with enough white and gold marble to blind a man.

A redhead with legs as long as mine appears, handing me a steaming cup right away.

“Good morning, Mr. Wilder,” Red says.

“Mornin’.” I take a sip of my coffee, moving fast. Just a splash of cream, exactly how I like it. “Are the reports on my desk?”

“Yes, sir,” she says. “Everything you need and more.”

I nod as I pass the rows of cubicles. The staff jolt to their feet, anxious to greet me and articulate their good mornings. My intern, Clark, rushes to my side. He snags the briefcase from my hand when I lift it. Like a horse at his first derby, he takes off in the direction of my corner office.

Humph. Neesa trained him well.

I take another sip of my coffee as my phone buzzes with another text.

Two FUCKING YEARS, is all it says.

Damn. Pris is raging.

Was it two years? I suppose it was. Considering months went by when I’d fall asleep working at my desk and Pris would fall asleep in another man’s bed, it doesn’t seem like that long. If I had to guess all the times we were actually together, I don’t think whatever we had lasted more than three solid months.

I shrug . . . and that’s about it.

I’m halfway through my coffee and only a third of the way through more crap reports when there’s a knock on my door.

The redhead steps in, shutting the door carefully behind her.

She leans against the heavy wood. “More coffee, Mr. Wilder?”

“Nope. I’m good.” I frown when I see Neesa’s name at the top of the next report. Well, I’ll be damned.

“Are you?” Red asks. “How good?”

She flashes me a smile most women offer only when they’re naked. Maybe that’s what she meant about having more than I’d need waiting in my office.

Here’s the thing about me. Insensitive bastard or not, I don’t fuck my employees.

“I already I told you. I don’t need more coffee,” I tilt my head toward the door. “You can go now. Next time,askfor permission before you step in here or leave through the elevator and don’t bother coming back.”

Her face turns almost the exact same shade as her hair. Red has probably never been rejected in her whole life. Well, welcome to the real world, hon.

I’m rude. I’ll admit it. Momma taught me better manners. But I don’t really care. The door cracks open and in steps my queen and goddess among mortals.

Neesa takes one look at Red and scowls, her brown eyes flashing with irritation. She throws open the door. “Coffee and reports,” Neesa tells Red flatly. “I told you not to expect anything more from him. Pull anything like this again, you’ll be searching for employment in Alaska, do you understand?”

I flip through Neesa’s report. She doesn’t need me. Neesa doesn’t need anyone and my conversation with Red is long over.

The door slams tight. “You dumped Priscilla De La Terra?” Neesa demands.

I pick up a pen, crossing out a line item that reads more like bullshit than actual fact. “You did this?” I ask, motioning to the report.

Neesa squares her shoulders and tugs the jacket of her yellow suit. “I’ve learned a thing or two working here,” she replies. “And good morning to you, too, sir.”

“That’s, ‘your highness,’ to you.” I flip a page. “It’s good. Much better than the total shit I read earlier.”

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