Risk (Vault 1)

His proximity and deep rumble break my concentration, and my hand jerks, splashing milk all over the counter and on his shirt. Staring wide-eyed up at him, I shriek, “Shit! Sorry!” Grabbing the tea towel, I attempt to clean as much milk off his shirt as possible.

I’m like a mad woman in my effort, and I don’t stop until every drop of milk on his shirt is dry. “It’ll probably smell. Milk is nasty like that. Do you have something you can spray your shirt with? I’ve got perfume, but I’m fairly sure you’re not going to want to smell like Flowerbomb for the rest of the day. I mean, I wouldn’t judge you or anything. It’s gotta smell better than milk.”

It’s not until I’ve asked my question that I look up at him and find him watching me with amusement. “It’ll be fine,” he says, his voice full of that amusement.

Narrowing my eyes at me, I point at his mouth and ask, “What is that?”

His lips twitch. “What?”

I jab my finger in the direction of his lips again. “That! You’re trying not to laugh at me. What did I do that was so funny?”

Finally he allows a smile to spread out across his face. “I have never met a woman quite like you, Charlize. Every minute with you is a ride I didn’t see coming.”

I pull a face. “As in a funny ride? Or a ride you can’t wait to get off because it’s too crazy?” I’m convinced he sees me as a crazy woman. How couldn’t he after every interaction we’ve had?

He bends and his lips brush my ear. “As in the kind of ride I want to experience over and over.”

His words thrill me, and I shiver with pleasure. When he pulls his face away and his eyes meet mine, I see desire there. It’s unmistakable. I’m not sure how I’ve missed it before.

A delicious tension curls itself between us while I watch him silently, trying to figure out what to say next. Trying to work out where we can go from here. Hopping on that kind of ride over and over with your boss is surely not the smartest thing to do.

Owen’s phone sounds with a text, effectively saving both of us from making a choice we might both regret later. He pulls it out of his pocket and after reading the text, mutters, “Shit.”

I frown. “Is everything okay?”

Glancing back up at me, he shakes his head. “No. Can you spare me some time so we can go over some data?”

I want to say that I’m not sure whether the excitement I feel at his question comes from my love of analysing data or from the thought of spending time with him, but I know exactly where it comes from. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with data. “Yes. Let me finish making this coffee and then I’m all yours.”

I realise that was a poor choice of words when his eyes heat with desire again. He quickly forces it away, though, and says, “Thank you.”

This is going to be a long afternoon. A good one, because how can spending an afternoon with Owen North be bad? But a long one that may end up with me throwing myself at him. I’m pretty sure that if my mother had given me a handbook for getting through life, it would have said, “Don’t fuck your boss.” She didn’t give me that handbook, though, so I’m going to blame any bad decisions I make this afternoon on her.

6

Owen

“So you don’t think the Liquid shares are worth considering?” I ask Charlize about an hour after I asked her into my office.

She doesn’t answer me, but rather takes another minute or so reading something on her laptop. She has a spreadsheet that she keys share data into. It’s unlike any I’ve seen. It’s this that she’s currently reading.

“No, you should avoid Liquid,” she finally says, glancing up at me. “I’d be more inclined to put half that cash into O’Brien’s Gas and spread the rest equally across Bliss and DAA.”

I sit back in my seat and cross my arms. “Why Bliss? They’re not even on my radar. They never have been.” I’m so damn interested to know why she recommended them. This past hour with her has been fascinating. She’s given me a tiny glimpse into how her mind works, and to say she’s smart is a fucking understatement.

Her eyes light up at my question. “Bliss is undervalued at the moment. Couple that with the knowledge they’re about to announce the acquisition of LaPorte Travel, and you want to get them on your rada

r right now.”

“How do you know they’re acquiring LaPorte? Nothing has been reported on that.” If this is true, she’s right that I need to get in on Bliss now.

She smiles and leans forward as if she’s about to share a huge secret with me. She then proceeds to lay it all out for me, connecting a lot of dots I would never have personally put together. And that’s saying something, because I make it my business to connect dots. I’ve got a hard-on just listening to her talk. And watching her up close, seeing her so animated and passionate about trading, that only gets me harder. It’s the same passion I have. I could sit here for hours discussing this with her.

When she’s finished, I lean back in my chair and throw my pen down on the table. “Did your father share his love of the stock market with you? Is that how you got into it?”

She fiddles with one of her bangles. Half her arm is covered in an assortment of them. Considering she’s also wearing two necklaces and a multitude of rings, I’m guessing she loves jewellery. “How do you know my father loves the stock market?” I detect the surprise in her voice. If she knew me well, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn that I’ve taken the time to discover everything I can about her.

I lean forward. It’s killing me to not move as close to her as possible. “I make a point to learn everything about the people I want in my life.”