Page 22 of Coldhearted King

“Miss West and Mr. Donovan are here for your meeting.”

What the hell is Paul doing with her?

“Keep them there,” I bark. I push back my chair and stride to the door, jerking it open and stepping out.

Delilah and Paul are waiting to come in. Rolls of paper fill Delilah’s hands, and her green eyes lock on mine, a hint of pink tinting her cheeks.

I shouldn’t like that I make her nervous, but I do. A little too much.

My attention shifts to Paul hovering close to her. I wonder if the man senses something. If he’s somehow picking up on the memories that ripple between Delilah and me whenever we’re in the same room together. The idea almost makes me smile.

But I don’t. “Paul, I’m sorry you wasted a trip here, but I asked to meet withonlyMiss West.”

Paul’s eyes dart between Delilah and me. Oh yeah, he senses something all right. But I doubt he knows what. Would she have told him she slept with someone while they were apart, or did she act the role of the blushing virgin the first time he sank his dick into her?

I’ve never cared about taking a woman’s virginity, but there’s something about Paul believing he’s the first man to have her that sets my teeth on edge. Some primal urge to make sure every other man knows she was mine before she was anyone else’s.

And as much as I’m disinterested in repeating our encounter, imagining Paul touching her has my back clenching with a spike of irritation.

“But as the project manager, I feel like I should—”

I pin him with my gaze. “If I wanted you here, I would have asked you to take part.”

A muscle tics in Paul’s jaw, but he knows better than to argue. He just nods and turns to Delilah. “Come by my office on your way back.”

Delilah throws him a look that I can’t interpret. Annoyance? Nervousness? I can’t tell, and that frustrates me. I’m used to being able to read people.

With one last frown in our direction, Paul moves off.

I step back and gesture for Delilah to enter my office. As she passes, her soft wildflower scent drifts to me, and all my senses go on high alert. I’m not even embarrassed about my eyes dropping to her heart-shaped ass swaying in front of me in one of those fitted skirts she likes to wear.

She stops in front of my desk as I circle it and sit down, leaning back in my chair and rubbing my chin as I watch her. She glances uncertainly at the two leather seats next to her, obviously wondering if she’s allowed to sit this time.

I raise my brows as I wait to see what she does. Without looking at me, she smooths her skirt and sits, crossing her legs.

I let my eyes linger on the exposed skin of her thighs, and when I meet her gaze, her cheeks are flushed again.

“Um,” she says. “So, would you like me to run through my thoughts on the green roof?”

I tip my chin at her. “I want to hear about feasibility.”

“Okay.” She stands and unrolls a schematic, placing it on the desk in front of me. She leans forward and my gaze is drawn to the neckline of her blouse, which is gaping just enough to show a hint of creamy cleavage.

I force my attention back to where she’s pointing out the details of her preliminary design.

Delilah’s eyes light up as she talks about the green roof, her hands making graceful movements over the plan. I’m watching her as much as listening to what she’s saying.

“Do you have an idea of what the additional costs might be?” I ask.

“I’m estimating it will be in the ballpark of an extra two hundred thousand on top of the one and a half million we’re looking at for the solar panel array. But considering the additional savings from increased energy efficiency, decreased water runoff, and that, theoretically, the green roof will also improve the solar array’s efficiency, the payback period of installing both systems is the same as installing the solar panels on their own.”

“And how long will that be?”

“Approximately eight years.”

I nod slowly, impressed with her diligence.

“Plus,” she adds, “you can use the increased LEED rating to one-up your competitors.”

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