Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(6)
“Yes ma’am.”
“Also get in touch with Raquel; she needs to schedule a press release for the new paranormal series.”
“Mr. Raine’s assistant notified me that he would be joining us for today’s staff meeting,” Raina said, carefully assessing my reaction.
“No problem Raina. Thank you for the heads up,” I replied, as I continued looking through the many memorandums on my desk.
I wasn’t at all surprised by this news. Sure I was affected by it as indicated by my quickening heart rate but I’d expected he’d pop in from time to time, as a means to torture me if nothing else. He had the upper hand for now, but I was quickly moving toward a remedy for that. Although I would have preferred to maintain my position at RPH, it was best if I moved on. However, if I wanted to obtain a similar position in this industry, I knew it would be impossible if he were against it, therefore plan B. I’d been quietly seeking other opportunities and if that failed, I had been in contact with my investment banker and instructed him to take a few risks which were paying off handsomely. At this rate, I could retire very comfortably, not that I wanted to do that but it was comforting to know that I didn’t need RPH.
“Can you get the latest sales figures from accounting for me also? Adam was supposed to have gotten those to me yesterday.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“That will be all for now Raina,” I said, looking up from my desk.
“I’ll get started as soon as I return with your tea,” she said.
“Thank you Raina.”
A few minutes later, Raina entered with my tea. “I’ll get Chase on the phone for you now Miss Cason,” Raina stated, as she left my office.
Chase was one of our most successful authors and for some unknown reason; the publicity department had been unable to secure a date to launch his book tour. Raina connected me with Chase; it was a very brief conversation. After a quick reminder of his contract and a subtle threat to pull his next book, Chase eagerly agreed to the date that was initially suggested.
Raina quickly confirmed the release of the paranormal series with Raquel as I opened the email from Adam, which contained our latest numbers. Not that I had expected a decline due to the change in our hierarchy but I wanted to be aware of any area of possible concern.
I jotted down a few questionable figures that required Adam’s elaboration before grabbing my tablet and heading across the hall to the conference room.
I wasn’t expecting Aiden to have already arrived, therefore I was taken aback to see him standing near the front of the room in conversation with a sharply dressed dark-haired woman.
I stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn’t like I didn’t know he would be here … but knowing I would see him and actually seeing him were two entirely different things. I could feel the quickening thump in my chest and the butterflies! Fuck, they were fluttering so fast that I inadvertently placed my palm on my stomach in an attempt to banish them. I appraised his magnificent frame from head to toe; he was as provocative and breathtaking as I remembered. He looked up and stopped mid-conversation when his eyes found mine. For a small moment, everyone else disappeared. I swallowed the lump of trepidation and took a few seemingly involuntary steps forward. I stopped short when he began walking towards me. He moved with a leopard-like grace. Lacquered and emblazoned by the Raine name, he radiated dominance and privilege with each step. The power and control he exuded was practically immobilizing.
“Good morning Miss Cason,” he said, as he stopped in front of me.
His standing only a few inches away elicited feelings for which I was utterly unprepared. The feelings of betrayal, confusion and hurt all quickly migrated to the background, only allowing the desire I’d always felt to spring forward.
“Good morning Aiden,” I replied. I was sure it was more appropriate to refer to him as Mr. Raine but I wasn’t going to do that, at least not at this moment.
Those eyes! I was at a momentary loss as I stared into them; they were brimmed with vigor, sparkling like two green jewels atop a bed of snow. His cheekbones appeared chiseled by a master craftsman; sculpted and pared to perfection. My heart hurt just looking at him. My memories of him were flawed; they didn’t capture the gloriousness of this man. The memories of our closeness, of his voice, of his touch, of the precious gifts that were his kisses, of his hard deep plunges inside me … it was all suffocating.
He must have sensed my temporary loss of speech.
“I’m sure Raina alerted you to my arrival.”
“Yes, of course,” I replied.
I tried not to gape at him but f*ck it was like asking me not to breathe. His demeanor was just as appealing as it had always been but I couldn’t allow that to draw me in any further. I wouldn’t do that to myself. I needed to keep my glances brief. I didn’t want to remember any more and I didn’t want to get pulled back into the maelstrom of emotions and yearning which were destined to appear if I continued to appreciate him the way I desperately wanted to.
“It’s so good to see you,” he said, his eyes focused on my mouth.
He was too close. I needed to move. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to grab a seat. I’m sure I’m about to be amazed by your brilliance and I want to get a good seat.”
My satire didn’t go undetected; he smiled but I couldn’t return the exchange. I stepped past him and walked toward the table. I took a seat near the front of the room, leaving the chair at the head of the table for Aiden.