Page 16 of Reckless King

I’m not sure I could even explain it to myself. But maybe she can help me make sense of it. And decide what I should do with the card that’s doing its best to burn a hole in my hand. “I’ll tell you about it on the way home.”

CHAPTER NINE

TATE

Istride into Cole’s office and settle into one of the two deep leather chairs in front of his desk. “I’ve got the latest Genesis-1 numbers.”

“Good,” he says, looking up from his computer. “Roman should be here in a moment.”

This is our regular Monday morning update meeting. Typically, we hold it in Roman’s office, but since he’s having some upgrades made to his IT system, Cole volunteered to host.

I hum to myself as I tap my fingers on the arm of the chair and take in the New York cityscape outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

When I glance back over at Cole, his dark brows are arched high. “You’re in a good mood this morning.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m always in a good mood.”

“Hmm.” His blue eyes narrow.

Luckily, he’s distracted from probing further when Roman enters.

My eldest brother sits down in the chair next to me, braces his elbows on his knees and leans forward. “So, what are thenumbers telling us?” There’s no preamble. As always, he gets straight down to business.

“We’re on track,” I tell him. “Almost fifty percent of apartments have been sold already.”

“What about the penthouses?”

“One sold, with strong interest in a second. I think it will go through.”

Cole taps his pen on the desk, a frown on his face. “It would be good if we can get two or even three sold before we break ground. We can hold off on the last one to capitalize on the higher market value when construction is almost complete. But having a minimum of two confirmed sales will provide the proof of concept we need.”

I nod. Ideally, we’ll have investors clamoring to jump on board when we eventually take the concept for Genesis-1 global. We have a chance to corner a niche in a growing international market, particularly in Europe, where high-rises are traditionally renter dominated. If we make an early move, the King Group can establish itself as leaders in the luxury high-rise sector. Our UK office is about to wrap up a feasibility study for construction of a Genesis-1 in London.

“The team’s working on it. We’re already looking at expanding our usual marketing channels.”

“Good.” Roman still has his elbows planted on his knees, his focus fixed on the carpet in front of him. “Will you have an updated phased marketing plan available soon?”

“By the end of the week.”

He grunts his acknowledgment, and we move on to other issues, including a minor change to the construction timeframe due to a hold-up with one of our planning permissions.

As we talk, I’m mostly on autopilot, thinking about what Cole said when I walked in. He’s right. I am in a good mood. Have been since Friday night. And if asked why, I don’t know if I couldexplain it. Having an unexpected taste of a beautiful woman, then walking away with blue fucking balls, isn’t something I ever thought would put a smile on my face. But witnessing her come apart on my lap like that, all wide-eyed behind her mask, plump lips parted as she made those sexy little gasps and whimpers, had been incredibly satisfying.

Fuck. Even now, the memory has my dick swelling in my pants—not a reaction that typically happens when I’m sitting in my brother’s office. As soon as she walked away that night, I found Matt, the bar manager, and gave him her bracelet number. All it took was a couple of taps on the screen of his tablet, and the concierge was alerted to her change in status. Considering I wasn’t even planning to be with anyone at the club that night, I’m far more invested in seeing her again than I should be. I refuse to spend too long second-guessing myself though. One more night with her, just to have my fill, and I’ll walk away like I always do. Then she’ll have her membership, and she can do whatever she wants—withwhoevershe wants—for a whole year.

“Are you even listening?” Roman asks.

No. But I give him a lazy smile. “Of course. You were telling me what an amazing job I’m doing.”

Behind his desk, Cole snorts. “Something like that.” He tilts his head, a crease forming between his brows as he scrutinizes me. “What’s going on with you?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. There’s nothing going on with me.” Cole’s right. I’m distracted, and that’s not good for any of us right now.

Leaning forward in my seat, I mimic Roman and brace my elbows on my knees. “I’m here. Let’s get this done.”

With one more skeptical look, Cole taps on his computer and focuses on the screen. “Right, let’s talk amenities.”

By the timewe wrap up an hour later, it’s past lunchtime. I could get my PA, Sophie, to order in or pick something up. But since I have a rare break between meetings, now seems like as good a time as any to catch up with my college buddy.

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