The other man’s face pales, and as all the people around them begin to argue across the table, there’s a strange moment where Crawford and Barnes make eye contact.
I don’t know anything about private equity or mergers, but it seems to me that it’s theotherpeople in the room who are the problem. If Crawford could just sit down with Barnes and talk this out man-to-man, I think they’d get along better.
The meeting dissolves into chaos. No one is ranting and raving, but multiple discussions are taking place at once. Kendrick is the most vocal and explosive, whereas Crawford and Vanessa Dickinson speak in measured, soft tones to Barnes and his people.
Still, the meeting ends on a negative note when Crawford rises, offering his hand to Barnes, who takes one look at it and scoffs, then walks out of the room.
As I file out after them, Crawford is surrounded by people, and the huddle of senior execs all make their way to his office. As the last of them walks inside, the door slams shut, and I let out a relieved breath to have a few minutes to myself.
I sit down at my desk, just as Kaitlin runs in, eyes wild as she comes to sit beside me.
“I’m so sorry, I had to take my son to hospital,” she whispers urgently. “I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be at the meeting. Did it go okay?”
“It’s all good. I’ll send you my notes, and we can work on the report together. Is your son okay?” I ask.
“He is for now. They’ve given him some new medication. He’s too small to be diagnosed with asthma, and he gets these chest issues that can come on real quick. I couldn’t leave him.”
“Of course you couldn’t, and don’t worry about it. It was all fine in the end, except that I’ve written War and Peace for you to read through,” I say apologetically, and Kaitlin grins.
“That’s better than bullet points, thank you. I owe you so many favors after everything you’ve helped out with. Beatrice chewed me out for being late today, too, as if I could help it.”
“Is she always like this?” I ask.
Kaitlin’s lips thin. “She didn’t use to be. I don’t think working for Crawford agrees with her. He’s very reactive, changing his schedule at the drop of a hat. I think she’d feel more settled with someone else, but she’s stuck here and taking it out on everybody around her.”
“Seems fair,” I say dryly, and Kaitlin snorts.
“Thank you, Amelia. I mean it.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll email everything to you, and if it doesn’t make sense, just ask. It’s always good to have someone available as a backup if you’re ever called away again, so it’s useful for me to understand this stuff. I don’t mind helping.”
The door to Crawford’s office opens, and all of the execs file out, several of them talking together animatedly about Barnes’s behavior. Kaitlin sidles away back to her desk, and I’m about to return to my work when Crawford appears in the doorway.
“I need to see you in my office. I have some additional points to run by you.”
The look in his eyes is angry and heated, and I know as soon as the door is closed, there won’t be any ‘work’ getting done. He’s pent up and in need of release.
He turns around and walks back inside, and I rise from my desk, walking to where he’s standing by the door.
“Do you have anything pressing to do in the next half hour?” he asks me as he closes the door. I shake my head as his arm snakes around my waist.
“Okay, good. This could take a while,” and then he presses his hard cock against my leg and begins to pull me to the couch.
Chapter 17
Lucas
“Pretty heavy traffic tonight, sir. You want me to put on some Taylor Swift to calm you down?”
“Melvin, if you put Taylor Swift on in this car, I will fire you,” I say as my sadistic driver chuckles to himself and raises the privacy screen.
After a few minutes, Moby begins playing over the speakers, and I let out a soft sigh, stretching out my legs as far as they’ll go.
It’s been a frustrating day, on the heels of a long week, and my anger hasn’t subsided since the meeting with Barnes this morning. I’m struggling to relax.
In some ways, I’m surprised Barnes isn’t backing down; in another, it’s depressingly predictable. I left the meeting convinced it was all a lost cause and that I should drop the deal completely. But Vanessa persuaded me to stick with it while we continue negotiations.
I scratch my jaw, thinking back to the tension in the room. It hadn’t exactly helped having Amelia behind me, either. I thought it wouldn’t make any difference, but I was conscious of her the whole time. I found myself lost in memories of tying her to my chair and fucking her senseless the night before.
