Those Three Words: A Single Dad, Billionaire Boss Romance(9)

I round the corner just as Phil is exiting the elevator with some of my bags.

“Oh, thank you, sir. Let me,” I say, reaching to grab them, but he refuses.

“Not at all, miss; it’s my job.”

I follow him as he walks the bags into my room.

“I can grab the others, honestly.” I feel bad. I’ve never once had someone wait on me hand and foot. Hell, I’ve always been too poor to even use a valet or a bellhop at a hotel.

“Not necessary, ma’am.”

“Margot,” I say, reaching my hand out toward him. He smiles and shakes it.

“Phil.” He turns and leaves, assuring me he’ll be right back with the rest of my belongings.

I spend the next hour unpacking what little items I have and filling out the paperwork Miss Perry mentioned before I grab my phone and FaceTime Shelly.

“Holy shit, this looks like that place from that movie you love, Pride and Prejudice!”

“Uh, you mean the classic novel?” I laugh and Shelly rolls her eyes.

“Seriously, what does this guy do for work again?” I pan around the parlor before flipping the camera back to me.

“And now for my favorite part,” I say as I walk into the bedroom and flip the camera back so she can see the open French doors and balcony.

“Does he need a dog? I can bark. Seriously, that place looks unreal!”

“I know and check out this bathroom!” I spin around and run into the bathroom that is also bigger than my entire studio apartment.

The floor and walls are all a gorgeous marble. The dual sinks and massive window-sized mirror hanging above them are simple but elegant. The stand-alone soaker tub looks like you could sink the Titanic in it.

“You need to invite me over,” she says as I back up to get the entire bedroom into the camera shot. “Whoa, you could have an orgy with like ten people in that bed.”

I laugh as I take one more step backward and slam into something warm and hard. I drop the phone and stumble to pick it up, turning around to see Mr. Hayes standing in the doorway to my bedroom.

“Oh,” I yelp as I fumble with the phone. I can hear Shelly asking me what the hell is going on. “I’ll call you back,” I say quickly before hanging up.

“Mr. Hayes, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I can feel heat creeping up my cheeks and I don’t understand why I’m such a bumbling mess every time I see this man.

“No apologies necessary. I know I’m encroaching on your private space. I can assure you I don’t and won’t make a habit of invading your quarters, but I simply wanted to stop in and officially welcome you.”

He stands with his hands in the pockets of his gray dress pants, causing them to be pulled taut across his crotch.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look! I repeat the phrase over and over in my head.

He has a matching vest that’s fitted over his baby-blue dress shirt that has two buttons undone. I see a hint of dark hair at the base of his throat, peppering his tanned skin. I swallow, my mouth feeling like I just chewed on a cotton ball.

“Thank you. It was no intrusion at all. This is your house, after all. I, uh, I filled out most of the paperwork for Miss Perry and I was about to finish that up.”

He nods his head as he glances briefly around the room before settling his gaze back on me. His dark eyes focus on mine, and uneasy, I can’t help but look away. I glance back in time to see his eyes drop down to my bare feet before slowly making their way up my body and my belly flip-flops.

Suddenly, I feel completely vulnerable. I curl my toes into the carpet, wishing I could disappear. Something about the way Graham Hayes looks at me without saying a word is scarier than standing naked in the middle of Times Square.

“Well, I’ll leave you to finish your tasks then,” he says as he turns to walk back to the parlor door.

I can’t help it; my eyes drop down and take in his magnificent ass. He’s got the perfect amount of perky projection—not that I’m an expert on the subject of the male form. God knows my experience ranges from a fumbling virgin freshman year of college to an entitled two-hump-chump that never got me over the finish line… not even once. Suddenly the desire to fall to my knees and bite it erupts in me, and I blush in embarrassment.

I bet Mr. Graham Hayes knows exactly how to make a woman tremble under his touch.

“Oh, and Miss Silver.” He turns back to face me, slowly pulling his hand out of his pocket and rubbing his chin with an almost undetectable wink. “Let’s keep the orgies to a minimum.”





4





GRAHAM





I shut the door softly behind me as I exit Margot’s quarters.

I had to bite my cheek to keep from chuckling at the way her eyes bugged out of her head when I mentioned orgies. Technically, she mentioned them first.

I had to stop myself from reaching out a hand to steady her when she ran into me. Clumsy little thing. But memories from the way her soft skin felt in my hand the night we first met came flooding back to me.

Only one woman over the years ever had such an impact on me with such a minor touch and that was my late wife, Meredith.

The two women are nothing alike as far as I can tell. Meredith was outspoken and driven, I guess what you’d call an alpha female. She wasn’t meek or timid in the slightest. She could command a room with just her presence. She was my equal and I was drawn to that.