Page 67 of Dangerous Temptation
‘You’re one to talk.’ She arched her neck, but just before her eyes closed she saw something.
‘Wait.’
She grabbed the computer and raised the screen so she could see it better.
A random click had landed her on another story related to him, only this one was about business.
Wolfe Pack’s stock was down twenty per cent.
‘Your company,’ she murmured as she scanned the article.
He stretched out beside her, propping himself up on an elbow. ‘The stock has taken a beating.’
But not because he’d been released from prison. She frowned as she came to the writer’s conclusion. Investors were nervous because he hadn’t returned to day-to-day activities. He was the mastermind who powered the company. Without him, people were worried about innovation and sustainability.
‘They want you back at work.’
‘I am at work. I’ve been teleconferencing with my people every day. Outsiders just don’t know that.’
‘Should they?’
He ran his fingertip down her arm, giving her shivers. ‘It’s my company.’
‘You did go public.’
‘Because the SEC made me.’
She was seeing some of the stubbornness that had gotten him where he was today. Top of the world and on the wrong side of a federal jury.
‘Is there a way you could appease them?’ She couldn’t help but think of all the people who’d lost money investing with Wolfe Financial due to fraudulent reporting. Wolfe Pack, on the contrary, was a healthy company whose stock price was suffering not from market pressures but because of speculation.
She knew, because she’d run the numbers.
He’d told her he’d made his money honestly. From what she could deduce, he was telling the truth. That company was clean.
She grimaced as a possible solution came to mind. ‘Much as it pains me, could you do an interview or something?’
His expression turned turbulent. ‘I’m not letting those mongrels inside the gate.’
‘No, no. Not the paparazzi. I was thinking of a business reporter. Surely you know a respectable one.’ She thought of all the beautiful women in the photos and had to steel her resolve. ‘Are you friendly with any of them?’
He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her chin. ‘They’re all cut from the same cloth, baby. The interview would start out fine, but eventually the questions would drift towards the scandal and my stay at Otisville.’
He practically spit out the last words, and she laid her hand on his chest. He was stretched out casually beside her, but his muscles were clenched.
‘I’m sorry I mentioned it.’ She hadn’t meant to upset him. ‘You run your company the way you think best.’
He sighed. ‘Actually, my COO wants me to come in, even if it’s just for show.’
Come in? As in to the city?
‘He thinks that alone would settle some rumours.’
Wind rattled the windows, and a chill washed through her.
Return to the real world? She hadn’t considered that as an option. Not this early.
Which really wasn’t so early after all. It had been weeks.
