Page 116 of Inflame

The glow of her skin as I pumped into her from behind.

I start the engine and drive to the corner coffee shop outside of Hoffman Headquarters to pick up a blueberry muffin and a cold brew coffee. I badge in through security and head up to Graham’s floor to meet him in his office.

“Wasn’t expecting you here yet,” I mutter, looking at my brother sitting behind his polished desk.

When we first joined forces, I never thought he would ever be the type of businessman that he is today. However, with his money sense and skill set, I really shouldn’t be surprised.

“Had to get away from all this wedding planning craziness. Angie needs the space from me, because I’m always trying to fix everything so she can stop worrying. But right now, she just needs someone who is there to listen and not swoop in and throw around money.”

I nod and sit in the chair in front of his desk. “Things should basically all be planned by now. Getting close to the date and all. Right?”

“You would think. But then something will go wrong every couple of days. Anything from a miscommunication with dress alterations to a linen order not arriving when it said it would. I am about to call up the wedding planner and forbid her from relaying these types of details to her. Angie is going to crack, and this is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Mine too.”

“You could always involve Mom more,” I suggest.

“She would love that. But you know how Mom is. Angie wants simple but elegant, not over-the-top and expensive.”

“I’m sure things will smooth out.”

“They better,” he sighs. “Now, back to business. I saw your proposed plans that you faxed to me, and I have a bit of concern over your expected staff reduction projections. That’s a hell of a lot of severance packages I’ll be paying out, not to mention disgruntled reviews.”

I nod. “I can see why it looks alarming, but in this area you want quality over quantity. Plus, the breaches in your security are hard to pinpoint if you have too many access points and rotation of staff in the high-privacy areas. It would be like having a very secure password and passing it out to three people instead of ten.”

Graham leans back in his leather chair and strums his fingers on the top of his desk. “I trust you implicitly on this matter. Should we warn any of them with a notice as per the contract?”

“No,” I state bluntly. “We need to avoid any internal backlash prior to the departures. I want to do the firing all at once so there is no time to cause any damage or allow time for counterattacks in retaliation.”

“It sounds like you are expecting a war.”

I swallow hard and loosen the top button on my shirt. Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe I am just angry over Claire walking out on me this morning. I have not heard from her. Not a text. Not a phone call. Nothing.

“Want to watch a little experiment?” I ask, rubbing a hand over my chin.

“What did you have in mind?”

“It is a watch and see type of adventure,” I explain. I dial in Tyler’s number and tell him, “Now is a good time.”

Graham sits up in his seat. “What’s going on?”

I pop open my phone and access the security cameras from the lobby, tilting my screen over so we can both watch the display.

“How did you gain access to the live footage on your phone?”

I chuckle. “This is why you need me here, right? To seal up every crack you have in your security and give you the most current features.” I point to the screen. “And this will be a good test to see how easily someone can access your building.”

“What are you—”

Graham halts his words as a beautiful brunette enters the screen and starts a conversation with one of the workers. Her hands are animated and she is maintaining a smile the whole time.

“I hired an actress to pretend she is the planner for your wedding. She just needs to drop off a portfolio on your desk.”

Graham glues his eyes to the screen and watches as the woman gets granted access to the elevators, completely avoiding the metal detectors and the bag search.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he utters, his facial expression turning to a grimace.

“Even I’m surprised at how easy it was. Let’s see how far she can get through the building, shall we?”

Graham closes his eyes and rubs at the tension building between his eyebrows. “I hired people to worry about this kind of shit. I don’t have time for it with everything else on my plate. Do what you can to fix this and any other issues. Keep me informed on the things that I really need to know. Otherwise, shield me from this type of drama.”

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