Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“That’s really not necessary,” Parker said stiffly. “We have a great team here. We can handle it.”
“We’re not criticizing your team in any way,” I said, doing my best to placate him. “But GalvaTech’s growth has been gradual until now. This launch is going to accelerate things quickly. If the operational stress is too high and isn’t managed carefully, the company can become financially unstable and I can help make sure that doesn’t happen.
“This condition is non-negotiable,” Simon added, his tone leaving no room for argument.
A muscle ticked in Parker’s jaw, but he gave a short nod, backing down.
“We agree to those terms,” Samuel said, his tone brisk, as though he wanted to keep the meeting from derailing.
At the same time, Parker muttered under his breath, “She’s not going to like this.”
I opened my mouth to ask who she was, but the question died in my throat when a flicker of movement outside the conference room grabbed my attention. My focus shifted to the woman walking by and every muscle in my body tensed with shock as I took in the familiar, dark, silky brown hair. The strikingly poised and feminine profile. The same graceful stride I remembered from that night two weeks ago.
My heartbeat stumbled, then found a harder rhythm as I watched Morgan approach. She was wearing a dress, just like the night I met her, but this time it was conservative enough for the boardroom. No sexy cleavage on display, no glittery sash, no trace of the flirtatious woman I had met at the bar. Regardless, there was no disguising her killer hourglass figure.
I hadn’t meant for that night with her to be anything more than a distraction, a few hours of sexy fun to silence the noise in my head after walking out of Noah’s wedding reception. Instead, she’d gotten under my skin in ways that no woman had in years. For the past two weeks, she had randomly popped into my mind and I’d wondered what I had missed out on by leaving before she woke up. I’d even questioned if she and that night had been as mind-blowing as I remembered. Seeing her again, feeling that same visceral pull, I knew that it had been.
That night had been real. The chemistry, the conversation, all of it had been honest and unfiltered. The kind of connection that had the ability to sneak up on you and tear down walls you swore were impenetrable. She’d made me feel something again, and that unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.
I’d watched her sleep afterward, her expression soft, her hand resting against my chest like she belonged there, and that’s when I panicked and freaked the fuck out.
I didn’t do emotional entanglements anymore. Not after Ivy, who I’d given my trust and my damn heart, only to watch her walk away with someone else. Losing her hadn’t just gutted me. It had convinced me that wanting anything deeper than temporary pleasure was a mistake I couldn’t afford to make twice.
So, before morning came, I did what I’d taught myself to do best—I walked away. Before she could mean anything more.
But now, watching Morgan glide toward the conference room in that sleek black dress, my chest felt tight with something uncomfortably close to regret. I’d told myself ghosting her had been self-preservation. Looking at her now, I knew it hadn’t been anything but cowardice.
She hadn’t noticed me yet, even though she’d almost reached the doorway, and I braced myself for a reunion neither of us had ever expected.
CHAPTER SIX
Morgan
I walked into the conference room prepared to meet our potential new investors and came to an abrupt halt a few steps inside. Liam sat at the table with my father and stepbrother, staring right back at me with a look of clear surprise on his handsome face.
Shock rippled through me, knocking the air from my lungs. The sight of him brought that night back to me in a rush. The heat of his body. The intimacy that came after. And then, waking up alone in that hotel bed, humiliation twisting in my gut when I realized he’d ghosted me at some point during the night.
Since then, I’d told myself that it didn’t matter, but that was a lie because I’d felt something real… and I’d let myself believe he had, too. It was a painful reminder that took me back to college, and to James. How I’d stupidly confused sex for something more.
Back then, the rejection had blindsided and crushed me. I thought I’d grown up, that I was smarter now, more careful, that I’d never let myself mistake chemistry for anything more ever again. Yet here I was, years later, realizing I’d made the same error in judgement with Liam. Only this time it cut deeper, because after years of protecting my heart and pushing men away, claiming I wanted fireworks, I’d let my guard down. For one reckless night, I’d allowed myself to feel something like hope.