A comfortable silence fell between them. Archer found himself wishing he could see her face, read her expression. Phone calls maintained another kind of barrier, one he was growing increasingly tired of.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said finally, his voice dropping lower.
“About?”
“Us. Where this is heading.” He took a deep breath. “Are you on birth control?”
The question hung in the air for a moment. “Yes,” she answered. “Have been for years. Why?”
“I’m getting tested this afternoon,” he told her. “Full panel. I’d like you to as well, if you’re comfortable with that.”
“Oh,” she said, understanding immediately. “Because you want..."
“I want nothing between us when we finally make love,” he confirmed. “If that’s what you want too.”
Her breath caught audibly. “Yes. I want that. I’ll see when I can get tested.”
“Good.” The single word came out rougher than he’d intended, his body already responding to the anticipation of being with her completely, without barriers.
“Archer?” Her voice had grown soft, intimate.
“Yes?”
“I can’t stop thinking about you. About your hands, your mouth... that tongue piercing.”
He smiled, remembering her reaction when she’d discovered it. “I gathered you liked that particular feature.”
“God, yes,” she admitted with a breathless laugh. “It was... unexpected. In the best possible way. Thursday suddenly feels very far away.”
Archer glanced at his watch. 6:17 AM. He needed to finish his workout, shower and be in the office by 7:30 for the first of his back-to-back meetings. The acquisition of Vertex Creative had entered a critical phase, with competing bids coming in from other interested parties. Maintaining his lead position would require his full attention today.
“It’ll be worth the wait,” he assured her. “I should let you get ready for work.”
“And you’ve got... what? Security consulting to do today?”
Archer winced at the half-truth he’d established. “Something like that. Meetings all day.”
“Well, don’t work too hard, Mr. Security Consultant,” she teased. “Save some energy for Thursday.”
“I’ll be counting the hours,” he said, meaning it more sincerely than she could know.
After they hung up, Archer sat motionless on the weight bench, his morning workout forgotten. The growing intensity of his feelings for Morgan was becoming impossible to ignore—or to compartmentalize like everything else in his life.
The boardroom at Sullivan Enterprises fell silent as Archer concluded his presentation on the Vertex Creative acquisition. The projections were compelling—absorbing the marketing firm would allow them to bring creative services in-house, streamlining the process for a few of their different companies and adding a profitable new division.
“Questions?” Archer asked, surveying the assembled executives.
Marcus Donovan, his CFO, cleared his throat. “The financials are concerning. There are several irregularities that our team flagged during due diligence.”
“Specifics?” Archer prompted, though he already knew the answer. He’d reviewed the forensic accounting report three times.
“It appears someone, potentially middle management, has been systematically embezzling funds.” Marcus tapped his tablet, sending documents to the main display. “A pattern of falsified expenses, double-billing clients, and ghost vendor accounts. All originating from the creative department under this man, Richard Jenkins. Seems better to pass this company over to keep our name out of it.”
Archer stiffened at the name, though he kept his expression neutral. Richard—Morgan’s boss. The one she’d mentioned having problems with.
“How much are we talking about?” asked Victoria Barrett, head of legal.
“Approximately $450,000 over the past two years,” Marcus replied. “Not enough to significantly impact the company’s valuation, but certainly a red flag about their internal controls.”
