“No,” the man said quickly. “No, of course not.”
“Then let’s continue.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jesse lean down a little, peering at the screen like he was genuinely curious about the discussion. He even gave them a small wave and I kicked him lightly under the desk, but he didn’t move and I fought the urge to smile.
The truth was that no one messed with Jesse Westwood’s wife. Part of that was because of him. His name and his presence, but the other part was something he’d recently taken upon himself to point out to me.
Repeatedly.
A lot of people wouldn’t mess with me simply because I was good at what I did. While I was honestly still trying to actuallyget myself to believe that, he sure made it easier to hold my chin up high.
When the final points had been wrapped, I nodded. “Send the revised draft within the hour. If it’s acceptable, we’ll execute before end of day. If not, we’ll revisit after I’m back.”
“When will that be?” one of them asked.
“Six weeks.” There was a flicker of surprise on their faces, but I just sent them a serene smile. “Do try not to miss me too much. We’ll talk soon, gentlemen.”
The call ended and I turned to look up at my gorgeous, impatient husband. “Did you really have to do all that?”
Jesse grinned. “It got the job done, didn’t it? No one wasted our time by arguing about anything.”
“Do you think you’re funny?” I asked. “They might not have argued, but I’d rather have had them argue now than try to find a way to weasel out of those clauses later.”
“I am funny,” he said without skipping a beat. “Shamelessly so. It’s why you married me.”
“You waved at them.”
He shrugged a shoulder and pumped his eyebrows at me. “What? I know all of those guys. I’ve seen two of them naked in the locker room at the country club. And they looked tense.”
I scoffed, grabbing my phone. “Never make me picture those old bull frogs naked.”
“My apologies,” he said with a chuckle.
I shot him a look, but he just grinned in response, as impossible as ever and yet, fortunately, entirely mine. I stood and smoothed my blazer, mentally already starting to run through my checklist. My bag was already packed, my desk cleared, and my out-of-office scheduled.
“The jet is ready,” he said like he could read my mind. “We’re wheels up in an hour.”
“Right.” I inhaled a deep breath.
We were heading away for our honeymoon on a private jet and yacht. It was all still extremely surreal, especially since everything had been moving so fast. Getting away with Jesse for six weeks would give us a chance to slow down and focus on each other.
We were on our way to Miami first. Jesse was going to show me his old stomping grounds for a day or two before we took off for island-hopping and open water. We were finally going on our grand adventure. Excitement wound through me so tight, my heart skipped a few times. I glanced at my phone, cringed, then looked back up at him. “I just have one more call and then?—”
“No, you don’t.”
I frowned. “Yes, I do.”
He stepped in closer, bracing his hands on either side of my chair and effectively boxing me in until I sat back down. “No, you don’t. You’re all mine for the next six weeks.”
My pulse stuttered. “That’s not how this works.”
“It is now.”
“One more meeting.” I tilted my head as I looked up at him. “That’s it. Just one and it’ll be quick.”
“No.”
“You’re trying to kidnap me from my job.”
