“Uh, yes, it's Miss. Um, about the portfolio. You’re going to want to do a mix of investments in small and mid caps, so you don’t put all your funds at the highest risk.”
So she was single, and it was the best thing I’d heard.
For twenty minutes she droned on about the plans, and I gave the occasional agreement and asked for elaboration a few times. I could listen to her talk about anything for hours.
“Does that sound agreeable?” she asked.
I laced my voice with extra seduction. “If you can make stocks and bonds sound this enticing then I’d hate to be on the opposite side of an argument with you. One sentence and you would have me agreeing with anything you say.”
She was silent for a few long moments, and I would’ve given anything to know the thoughts running through her mind. I finally spoke so she didn’t have to, saving her the awkwardness.
“Everything sounds great,MissLovelace.” I chuckled. “You can go ahead and get started next week.”
She cleared her throat. “Sure thing. Thank you for your time, Mr. Mitchell.”
“I’ll talk to you again soon, Raven.” I smirked and disconnected the call.
I was more playful with her than I intended, but when I heard her voice again, I couldn’t stop myself. I meant to be nothing but business. It turns out I had no self-control. Shaking my head, I shifted back to the task of talking to the ladies I had matched with on the apps. I tried to find one who I could meet that night. Raven Lovelace was far out of my reach, and I refused to embarrass myself by going after her. I had to fuck this woman out of my mind.
Chapter Five
Raven
“Raven? Raven!”
Mia snapped her fingers in my face, startling me. I glanced over at her standing beside me in the kitchen.
“Can I use the sink? I need to leave soon and you’ve been standing there staring at the wall for five minutes” she asked.
Nodding, I tapped my smart watch and saw it was already five. “I, yeah, sure. Sorry about that.” I grabbed a few paper towels to dry my mug and moved aside.
“Hey, are you doing okay? You seem…distant this week,” she asked.
I shrugged as I walked toward the door. “I’m fine,” I said over my shoulder, not caring if she heard me or not. Answers to her questions would take longer than I had, so I rushed back to my office.
At my desk with the door firmly closed, I stared unseeing at my screens. Mia wasn’t wrong. I had been distant. After my excursions into a certain male narrator’s social media on Monday, I vowed to stay off the internet the rest of the week except for work. I couldn’t afford distractions. The only thing Ihad allowed myself was an audiobook. One narrated by Zander Kane of course, but that didn’t stop me from daydreaming about his spicier content online.
When I sent the email to Ryan that morning, I was mostly motivated by wanting to hear his voice again. Over the last few days, I told myself Ryan wasn’t Zander, and my mind was playing tricks on me. It was just a coincidence, and there was no way they were the same person. After talking to him this afternoon though, I was back in the same headspace as Monday. He had to be Zander.
Since I listened to his more risqué stuff online and the rapt attention I gave to the audiobook all week, it seemed even more likely it was him. He changed his voice a bit from the first call, and it was almost like he was trying to be hot. He came across slow and sultry, igniting my body on fire.
I was so turned on after I spoke with him I almost went to the restroom and got myself off. Almost. My nipples were hard in my bra and wetness coated my thighs. He wasn’t going to have that much power over me, though. I would have some fucking self-control and do what I needed to do when I got home—even though it was wrong to get off while thinking about my client.
Sighing, I tried to focus back on work, but I was intrigued that he asked if I was married. Alarm bells should have gone off because clients never asked. It was better if people thought I was married and had a big scary man at home, purely so I didn’t have to waste my time with bullshit.
Giving up on work for the moment, I reached down to my knife where it always rested on my ankle. It made boots annoying to deal with, and I used a thigh holster on the rare occasion I wore a skirt, but I was always prepared. Twirling the knife in my agile fingers, concern for my safety usually wasn’t a thought. Especially since I had been unbothered for years andwas trained to protect myself. I was always in the business of efficiency so letting people think I was married saved the hassle.
The feelings from the garage pulled at my mind. It had felt different, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a real threat watching. I hadn’t been spooked so easily since the aftermath of the horrors I experienced at the hands of trash humans. The light streaming through the windows glinted off my blade and I wondered if I would have to use it sooner rather than later.
When I got home around seven that evening, I couldn’t help thinking back to that voice as I showered, taking extra time to pamper myself—luxuriating under the rainfall shower until it ran cold and rubbing my whole body down with soft body butter after. I even put on a calming piano playlist to soothe myself as I tried to relax.
My efforts did nothing to quench the need that Ryan’s voice on the phone caused. Between the black sheets of my bed, warmth enveloped me—thawing my bones from the persistent cold that always hardened my body.
Plucking my phone and earbuds off the nightstand, I situated myself in a comfortable position and before I knew it, Zander’s voice filled my ears. I’d listened to all his social media posts on Monday, and favorited a few so I could get back to them quickly. After clicking play, I tossed the phone on the bed and slid my free hand over my silk covered body.
Release wasn’t something I did often, and I wasn’t able to remember the last time I touched myself or used a vibrator. It had been years since I was intimate with another person and I honestly hadn’t had the desire. Starting a company and juggling life didn’t leave time to think about it.
Quickly realizing I needed more than the short social media clips, I contemplated trying to find a spicy scene from abook he’d narrated. I picked up my phone and scrolled through his profile just to make sure I listened to every video. I was about to switch to my audiobook app when I noticed a link underneath his profile photo of a microphone. I tapped on it and was brought to a list of other links. Most of them were links to his other social media accounts, but two caught my attention.
