Page 82 of Shark’s Pride

We sat quietly for a minute before Grant shot to his feet. “Coffee refill?”

“Thanks,” I murmured, passing off my mug to him as my phone vibrated atop my desk. It was a text message from building security, letting me know Elijah had finally arrived.

“Speak of the devil,” I said while tapping out a quick thanks to the guard.

“Elijah’s here?”

I dipped a cursory nod. “Wonder why he’s so late. Bastard better not have been bothering Abbigail.”

“Wouldn’t she already be at work?” Grant posited.

“And that would that stop him why?” I rebutted. “You know how our buddy can be once he’s on the trail of something—or someone—interesting to him.”

“Hmmm.” Grant cracked a knowing grin. “Almost worse than you, my friend.”

“‘Almost’ being the operative word.”

Before Grant could get in a responding quip, our conversation was interrupted by Terryn’s telltale knock. After Grant crossed to the door and opened for her, the woman barreled right past my COO.

“Is Mr. Shark okay?” she damn near demanded, rushing in. Elijah followed about four feet behind. “Oh, there you are,” she exclaimed, looking relieved when she saw me in my usual spot behind the monitors on my desk.

“Here I am.” We stared at one another for a few awkward moments before I raised an expectant brow.

“Oh!” she said as if she’d been lost in thought. “Ummm…Mr. Banks is here to see you. Do you want me to order some breakfast? I didn’t realize you had a full conference this morning. Your schedule only shows your appointment with Jacob Cole in an hour.”

Christ, she was acting cagier than usual—and that was saying something.

“These two can fend for themselves.” I motioned at Grant and Elijah. “They aren’t staying. Just let me know when Mr. Cole arrives.”

Grant and Elijah stood motionless, watching the exchange between my assistant and me. After I finished speaking, you could have heard a pin drop in the room.

“Terryn?”

She jerked again when I called her name. Her ensuing smile was more awkward-meets-uncomfortable than before. “Yes, Mr. Shark?”

She leaned her hip on my desk, definitely going for a come-hither vixen vibe with her reply. Problem was, the gesture was beyond inappropriate. I couldn’t just toss it off as her misguided helpfulness. I pointedly looked to where her body rested on the furniture and then slowly raised my eyes until they were level with hers and directed through gritted teeth, “That will be all.”

For. The. Love. Of. Christ.

I had no idea what sort of game she was playing, but it needed to stop.

The woman was odd. She always had been. But ever since the phone-stalking incident, she waffled between overly subservient, coquettish, and skittish. She was never just a normal human doing her prescribed job. There was always some bizarre behavior or comment hanging in a gray area of possible misunderstanding.

Elijah followed her to the door as she scurried out, ensuring it was closed entirely behind her. He even engaged the lock for good measure. After spinning on the heel of his expensive Prada loafer—the man had a shoe habit to rival many ladies in this town—he strode over to the opposite wall of windows. “I will never tire of this view. What will you do with this property when the Edge is built? Sell it to me?”

“Dream on.” I steepled my fingers but shot him a cocky smirk. “I might consider leasing to you, though. My other tenants say I make an excellent landlord.”

Normally I’d milk such a moment awhile longer, but I felt lighter already just having these two guys parked in the same room with me. It felt fucking terrific, actually. I’d trust either of these two with my life and had literally done so on more than a few occasions. They knew all my secrets. Where all the proverbial bodies were buried. If I ever needed to dial a lifeline, it would be Grant’s or Elijah’s numbers on my speed button.

“So…Banks…”

“What?”

I indulged one more short grin at his sour grimace. “Grant tells me he has a new toy you may be interested in playing with.”

Grant spun and shot me an incredulous look. “Really? You just word vomit like that?”

“What?” I spread my arms, not feigning my confusion. “You said yourself that he would like her.”