Page 1 of Last Resort

CHAPTER ONE

Sutton

“Penny for your thoughts, Sutton.”

“What?” I ask my boss, distracted and more than a little tired.

Not exactly the best state to be in when trying to impress a new client, but it was definitely worth it.

Roz studies me with a quizzical expression and repeats, “I said a penny for your thoughts.”

Everything from last night flashes in my mind. Him standing between my thighs. The incredible burn the first time he pushed into me.

Tell me what you want. His words whispered into the curve of my shoulder.

The grip of his hands on my thighs.

The slide of his tongue over my skin.

The feel of his cock in me.

Drowning in pleasure like I’ve never felt before.

I give Roz what I’m certain is a deer in the headlights look as I struggle with how to answer her. “I—um—”

“Don’t be nervous.” She offers a pat on the top of my hand, mistaking my fumbling for anxiety instead of a trip down memory lane.

“I’m not.”

I am.

How do I even have the bandwidth to be nervous?

But when I look around the imposing lobby, how can I not be? I mean, we are on the top floor of a skyscraper in Manhattan waiting to meet the people who will be the judge of my skills.

Add to that, after the whirlwind of the past twenty-four hours, anxiety should be my middle name. The confrontation with my best friend, Lizzy. Roz unexpectedly selecting me to lead this project. My unanticipated breakup with Clint. My first and only one-night stand, which I’m honestly still reeling from hours after waking up in an empty bed in the hotel suite.

“You are.” She offers me a smile, her eyes studying me from behind the frames of her black glasses. “Look. I know this is last minute and you’re still trying to digest all the details I’ve thrown at you, but I have no doubt you’ll do great. And what you don’t know, just fake it till you figure it out.” She winks. “If you’re going to be thrown to the wolves, at least pretend you know how to howl. That’s how we all do it.”

“I’ll save you from me howling right now.” I chuckle and think of the client files and specs I pored over this morning as I gulped down my espresso. Let’s just hope I can remember enough of the important details to sound coherent for this meeting. At least I’ll have three days and a long plane ride to memorize the remainder of the specifics.

“You’ll do fine. Just remember the partners aren’t as intimidating as they seem at first. Plaster a smile on your lips and look at me if you need me to fill in the blanks for you.”

I assume she’s speaking of the Sharpe brothers of Sharpe International Network (or S.I.N. as the receptionist referred to it on the phone when we walked in), but Roz’s words, now that we are standing in their office, are a complete contradiction to what she said yesterday. Yesterday she claimed the partners were consummate perfectionists, demanding yet fair. Reluctantly, I nod. That’s all I can do because there’s no backing out now.

“Oh, and just a warning, the three of them are—”

“They’re ready for you now,” a smartly dressed assistant says, her heels clicking on the white marble floors as she approaches us.

“Thank you,” Roz and I both say as we stand and follow her. I study the seam of her pencil skirt in an attempt to abate the nerves rioting within me.

I can do this.

Do one thing for you, Sutton.

Lizzy’s words repeat in my head, an affirmation that I’m doing the right thing, as the assistant opens the tall door into the conference room. Roz enters first with me following behind her.

“Gentlemen,” Roz says in way of greeting as she steps to the side to give me a clear view of the room’s occupants.