The Billionaire Bargain #3(11)

I surged upward, grabbing at his collar as I kissed him. I devoured his mouth as if he were going to war, as if he were water in the desert, as if he were the antidote to poison and fear and despair. And he kissed me back as if he were starving for the taste of me, biting my lips possessively, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, claiming me—

Suddenly he pulled away and slapped another button, and the elevator was moving again.

I staggered, dizzy with the loss of him holding me upright, wondering what kind of tension was filling the elevator now. Was that—? Did he—? Should I—? And then we came to a halt, the elevator chiming as the doors slid open.

Grant smirked, as if he had just scored a point in a game he didn’t quite know how to win. He smoothed down his tie and tweaked his cuffs back into place as he stepped toward the doors. “I guess I’ve still got it, Lacey?” he asked, almost as if he wasn’t sure.

My brain struggled to recover from its lust-fueled short circuit, but before I could come up with an appropriate verbal reply, the doors started closing.

Grant’s face went stony again, and he backed out into the hall. “Well. Good to know.”

And then he turned and walked away, was gone before I could even respond.

The elevator continued on its way, and I stared out the window. Grief and anger battled inside me like wolves, but I felt something else win: determination.

I had lost Grant, but I still had Devlin Media Corp.

And I would do whatever I had to do to protect it.





SIX


Determination was well and good, but with all the emotions swirling around my head like autumn leaves, I didn’t have a clue where to start.

…that is, I didn’t have a clue where to start until I saw Portia trying to sneak out of the building.

See, people like Portia usually walk around like they own the place, striding directly wherever they want to go, eyes forward and chin thrust high like a warning to get the hell out of their way or they’ll mow you down.

But Portia was moving through the lobby…slowly. Positively dawdling at she stopped to gaze at the artwork, or flash a smile at an incoming employee—a few, probably those who knew her, actually stumbled in shock at the sight.

I’d been unable to shake the feeling that she was up to something before, and now that I was seeing this blatant telegraphing of ‘look at me, harmless and innocent, just stepping out of the office for no sinister purpose, I swear,’ my suspicions were cemented.

I dashed over to Kate, who was pretending to shuffle appointments but was really adding the final touches to a naughty nightie on an artist’s program. I grabbed her arm. “Hit Save and take a break, Katie, we have work to do.”

“I already took my break—” Kate protested, even as she frantically hit the Save button and closed the program.

“I’ll talk to your manager and have her sign off on another one, she owes me a favor, come on!” Portia was already out the door, and if she made it out of sight before we left—

Kate scribbled a note as I pulled her away from the desk, miming to her co-receptionist Kari to cover her.

“What the hell?” she asked as soon as we were out of the lobby and out of the earshot of anyone from work. “I mean, I like extra breaks, who doesn’t like extra breaks, they’re great and of course I’m always here to help you with anything you need, but Lacey, I am wearing heels, can we please slow down—”

“Not until she slows down,” I said, picking up my own pace as our quarry turned a corner and briefly disappeared behind the awning of an upscale jewelry boutique.

“Who?”

“Come on!”

We dashed around the corner, and I groaned. She was already a block ahead of us, and a huge group of tourists were in the way. Granted, they were blocking her view of us as well, but if she spotted us through the crowd she could lose us in a flash.

Kate craned her neck to see who I was trying to catch up to. “Portia? Why are we—”

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed, pulling her behind the cart of a very confused hot dog vendor, just in time to avoid Portia’s gaze as her head snapped backwards, owl-like, to scan the area behind her. “And I don’t know why. Not exactly. Not yet. But I will.”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Kate said with an amount of sarcasm so great that new scientific instruments would have to be invented to measure it. “And when, exactly, are you expecting to get this info? Is it going to be before she catches us and fires me? I’m really hoping it’s before she catches us and fires me. You see, I have this hobby of eating, and my day job allows me to do that.”

“She’s up to something,” I insisted. “I know it.”

Keeping one eye on Portia and one hand on Kate’s arm, I pulled her along and quickly and quietly filled her in on Portia’s behavior during today’s meeting.

“And then I came downstairs and saw her pulling that sweet innocent Disney Princess bullshit like she was just casually wandering out the lobby looking for a f*cking bluebird to sing with or something. Would Portia ever pull an act like that if she didn’t have something to hide?”

“A falcon or a vulture does seem more her style for a duet bird,” Kate said, and raised her hands defensively at my glare. “I’m agreeing with you! Just give me a second; I didn’t get out of bed this morning thinking I’d be in a Cagney and Lacey act!”