Page 113 of Irresistibly Wild

No matter what store I visited, the staff followed this protocol.

There was nowhere Travis’s influence couldn’t reach, no manager or brand that didn’t owe him a favor or desire a chance to earn some of his money.

Slipping inside the fitting room, I tried on a set of lacy black lingerie and a matching cover. As I was checking out the side view, stiletto footsteps clacked nearer and nearer.

“Mrs. Carter?” The manager knocked on the door.

“Yes, Miss Turner?”

“Another security guard has arrived,” she said. “He claims that his name is Benny and he’s here at the request of Mr. Carter. Can I let him inside the store?”

Oh my god!

“Yes. You can let him inside.”

“Thank you, Miss. I’ll be out here when you need me.”

I waited until I couldn’t hear her clacking stilettos and called Travis via video chat.

“Hello, my gorgeous wife,” he said, his voice far too sweet. “How are you this afternoon?”

“I’m very upset.” I waited for his face to appear, but the screen remained dark.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He paused. “Before you tell me why, you should know that I’m in the middle of an important business meeting, and although I can’t see you, you are on speaker mode.”

“I don't care.” I seethed,annoyed that he categorized grabbing a coffee with Ralph and Madeline as a ‘business meeting.' “I need to get this off my chest.”

“Should I clear the room first?”

“No, you should let your team hear how insanely psychoticyou are about your wife’s recent security precautions.”

"I don't see anything wrong with protecting the things that mean a lot to me."

"You mean, you can’t handle the mere thought of another man coming onto your wife.”

“That, too.” There was a smile in his voice. “I’ll never apologize for that."

“You weren’t like this before we went to New York.”

“You’re right.” He admitted. “I think getting a certain laundry room reminder made me realize that I need to guard what belongs to me a lot better.”

“Okay, look.” I shook my head. “It's hard to have a true video conversation when I can't see you, and you can’t see me. Turn on your camera."

“As you wish.” He appeared onscreen, and I immediately realized that he wasn’t lying about his business meeting.

My jaw dropped as I saw a group of suits seated around a conference table.

Travis blinked slowly, parting his lips as he took in the sight of my lingerie.

“Miss Carter,” the fitting room attendant slid an arm through my door, showing off a dark lace bustier. “I wasn’t able to find the matching thong for this one, but I can have someone from our other location bring it over ASAP if you’re willing to wait. Just let me know.”

“I…” My cheeks burned as Travis’s business partners stared at me.

“Can you all excuse me and my wife, please?” Travis recovered, smirking. “She clearly intended for our conversation to be private.”

They shuffled out of the room, and Travis leaned back in his chair.

“Thank you for saving me from a boring session I should’ve cancelled,” he said. “What were you saying about the permanentsecurity precautions?”

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