RISK(39)

"Your father can say what he wants, but I set that rule." Gretel snatches the mascara from Ellie's palm. "Mommy will buy you this, princess, and anything else you want."

Ellie's jaw drops as Gretel grabs Leila's hand and they walk away.

"That woman makes me crazy," she whispers as she watches Leila's face light up at the lipstick counter. "What lesson is she teaching her daughter?"

"One she'll hopefully regret one day." I exhale roughly. "I'm sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in the middle of something."

"No problem." She looks toward the entrance of the store, her eyes tracking a customer who just walked in. "I get it. You're a busy man."

"We need to talk, Ellie." I take a deep breath, trying to steady my voice." I have a meeting soon. Can you come up to my office at two?"

Her eyes drop to the plain white watch on her left wrist. "Is it business or personal?"

"You work for Crew," I point out. "It's about last night."

She looks at my hands, her teeth scraping at her bottom lip. "I'd like to talk about that too."

"I'll see you at two o'clock sharp." That's only four hours from now. Four f*cking hours for me to figure out how to tell this gorgeous woman that I'm not the man she thinks I am.

"I might be a little late." Her gaze drifts to where a group of customers has gathered around a perfume display. "I'm having lunch with Liam at one fifteen, but I'll be sure to come up to your office as soon as I'm done. I need to get back to work now."

She tosses me a look, but unlike Gretel's there is no ambiguity in Ellie's hidden message. It clearly says your loss, jerk. Your f*cking loss is Wolf's gain.

Well, shit.

***

"Ellie Madden wants to talk to you," Eda announces as she blocks my path when I step off the elevator and approach my office door.

"I just spoke to her."

"In the last ten minutes?" She eyes me carefully. "She's called twice since I've been in, Mr. Black. It's obvious that she has an issue she wants to discuss with you."

The issue is why I was such a raging * to her after we f*cked. I got a business call last night when I was with her, then a personal call and before I could stop the runaway train of fate, Ellie was on her way out the door.

I didn't need to hear from Eda that Ellie was trying to hunt me down this morning. The one missed call to my cell from her less than an hour ago and her body language downstairs inside the store said it all. Eyes in every direction but at my face, her hands fisted at her side, her stance wide. She looked like a kickboxer ready to hit the ring.

I was tempted to shield my balls with my hand to keep them intact if she decided to unleash a roundhouse kick. The woman can drop me to my knees in an instant. No violence needed. A taste of her lips and a second inside her tight body is all it will take. The body I want again, and again. The body that belongs to the woman I wish I could spend all day talking to. The same woman who is having lunch with Liam Wolf and probably dinner with River Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Surname-Is.

"What are you thinking about?" Eda nudges her glasses back up her nose.

"Clowns."

"Cute clowns or scary clowns?" She furrows her brow.

I enter my office with Eda right on my heel. "Neither."

"Clowns are one or the other, sir."

Is she seriously schooling me on clowns right now? "These two clowns don't fall into either category."

"Are they circus clowns or the kind of clowns that you can outsource to attend a party or whatnot?"

I had no f*cking idea that Eda knew so much useless information about clowns. "I'd like to outsource them both to a raft in the middle of the ocean."

"I know a guy." She finally pulls the pencil from behind her ear and taps it against her chin. "I know a guy who could take care of that for you."

"Take care of that for me?" I unbutton my suit jacket as I take a seat behind my desk. "Are you suggesting what I think you are, Eda?"

"If the clowns you've met don't fit the bill, I know someone with floppy shoes and a red nose. He's great with kids and adults. His rates are reasonable too."

"I'll keep that in mind." My gaze moves to the corner of my desk and a small ceramic elephant. A gift I'd purchased more than a month ago, but always forget here in my office. I scoop it into my palm. "I'm not in need of a clown right now, but thank you."

"Anytime." She takes a step closer to my desk. "She likes you. You know that, right?"

"Who?"

"Ellie Madden."

My head pops up at the mention of Ellie's name. "Why would you say that?"

Her lips curve up into a smile. "I have four daughters, Mr. Black. I know when a young woman is sweet on a man. I heard it in her voice when she called."

"You think she's sweet on me?" I cock a brow.

"Almost as sweet as you are on her, sir. Almost."

It's something. I want more, everything, all of Ellie, but for now, I'll settle for it.





Chapter 26


Ellie




"You followed me to lunch," I accuse as Nolan shuts the door of his office. This time he sent his assistant on a mission to find the marketing notes for an online campaign for a skin care product that launched last year. She eagerly took on the challenge, telling him she'd be back in ten minutes. He told her if she did that she'd need to find a new job.