The Satin Sash

He was more than a little cranky.

And damned fucking tired of looking at the food tray.

Slicking back a few damp strands from his forehead, he crossed the room and wrenched the door open, pushing the wheeled cart out into the hallway. No cold burger and fries for him, thank you.

He popped a pumpernickel roll into his mouth before abandoning the cart when a flutter of white caught his attention. He straightened, swallowed back the lump of bread, and stared at the door.

Covering the PRIVACY PLEASE sign Heath left out permanently, a long envelope dangled from the doorknob, the logo at its center unmistakable.

RS CORPORATION. His heart began to pound. His stomach moved and not from hunger.

Wrap it around my door....

In slow motion, as though the thing were a viper—as though he would find that shimmering red sash inside it—he reached out and yanked it from the door.Tearing it open, he found a note carrying Grey’s unmistakable sloppy handwriting, the only thing that wasn’t perfect about the man.

Dinner.

A barely legible restaurant address followed, and underneath it, four words. Boldly underlined.

My office first. Monday.

Heath chuckled. “Ahh, Grey, you’ve got your balls in a knot, haven’t you?”

He shoved the note back into the envelope and strolled into the room, fisting his hand around his towel to keep his boner from causing it to unravel.

He snatched up his cell phone. Heath had very little use for gadgets, but when business called, business called. In this case it wasn’t business, but pleasure.

Ahh yes. Pleasure.

Pleasure with Toni.

Falling back on the bed, he texted a short message. Just four words. Four little words that any second now would pop up in Grey’s cell phone.

I want the sash.

Chapter Three

“. . . Yes, Mr. Hawkins, I will deliver before Thursday so you can make a prompt decision. . . .” Puttering around the bathroom in her bathrobe,Toni tucked the phone to her ear and frowned at her reflection.

Setting aside the towel she’d been drying her hair with while Mr. Hawkins repeated his wish list for her upcoming design, she braced a hand on the sink and leaned closer to the mirror. A red oval colored a patch of skin between her neck and shoulder. It was sensitive to the touch, triggering a not-unpleasant burn. A warm, delicious pleasure washed through her as she realized how it got there. Grey.

“Elegant and bold. Make it clear we’re taking on the world. I’m counting on you to deliver,” Mr. Hawkins was saying.

She brushed her damp hair, shifting the phone to the opposite ear. “And deliver I will, Mr. Hawkins,” she assured. “I’m certain you’ll be extremely pleased with it. I’m mixing gold, black, and a deep royal blue, and playing with a combination of fonts that will absolutely delight and shock you. Oh, and a very catchy slogan I’m working on.” If my lover can get his hands off me, that is . . . and if I can concentrate enough rather than think of him, his friend, and the possibility of fucking both of them....

“Good. Good,” she listened to him say. “And I hear you have a shot at Viscevis. That true?”

Viscevis.

Her stomach gripped. She set down the brush, admitting, “It’s true.”

She still could not comprehend how that happened. A multimillion-dollar merger, where the merging companies wanted to combine their existing logos into a new one.

A task Toni continued to find daunting. A task she secretly suspected should be handled by a large firm, someone with more experience. A task that might just be a wee bit too much for her.

One existing logo was sharp and elaborate; the other heavy and solid. Combining them in a harmonious fashion seemed impossible, and yet she desperately wanted to land Viscevis.

Your work has heart, Miss Kearny. I like that....