Page 123 of Time Stops With You

I open the door. Suddenly, Nardi’s in front of me. Hand extended, she pushes the door shut.

I immediately lean toward her, ready to continue kissing.

But when she reaches up, it’s her thumb—not her lips—that swipe my mouth.

Shocked, I stare at her.

Nardi shows me the lipstick stain she cleaned from my face. “You don’t want your visitor asking questions.”

“I’ll tell him the truth.”

“Do it and I’ll kill you.” She turns away.

Amused, I force myself to slip out of the room.

Just before I open the door to the conference room, I adjust my pants and swipe my tongue across my mouth.

I was right.

Nardi’s cooking was amazing, but nothing beats the taste of Nardi herself.

“When were you going to tell me that Cullen Tech was being sued?” Sullivan asks calmly.

The adrenaline from kissing Nardi is still lingering, and that makes it difficult to focus. “How long have you known?”

“Long enough that I couldn’t wait any longer for you to tell me.”

I run a hand over my beanie. “We’re handling it. We have our lawyers working around the clock.”

“My lawyers are better.”

“We can compare sizes after this crisis.”

Sullivan freezes and looks at me with incredulous eyes. “Was that… a joke?”

Technically, it was sarcasm.

Sullivan narrows his eyes.

“Are you here to inspect the company or me?” I grip the back of a chair and take a seat.

“Youarethe company,” Sullivan says. “The leader is the one who points people in the direction they need to go. Anything goes wrong, it’s his fault.”

“And anything goes right, it’s the team’s hard work?”

“Exactly.”

I smirk.

Sullivan smiles too.

I relax in my chair, at ease.

When Cullen Tech was ready for its first round of investment, I met with an exhausting number of CEOs. There were plenty of leaner, light-on-their-feet companies that wanted a piece of my technology.

Though I’d heard about Sullivan’s company, it wasn’t on my list of partnerships. I knew there would be board meetings, red tape, and a lot less flexibility with a billion-dollar big brother looking over my shoulder.

Then I met Sullivan in person and I was impressed.

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