“It’s what he hasn’t.” He threw his hands in the air. “He expects me to take over the media empire but doesn’t trust me, going behind my back or micromanaging me, so I’m second-guessing myself. I just can’t handle it.”
“Isn’t he just checking in on you?”
“No, it’s way worse than that.” Connor put his head in his hands.
“What are you going to do?” I asked, trying to wrap this up. I hadn’t seen him like this before, but now was certainly not the time to delve deep with my cock still wet from his sister’s mouth.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Hey, I know. How about after work tonight, we call the boys and get together, blow a bit of steam off?”
“Yeah, sorry man, to barge in on you,” he said, looking around then taking me in. “You all right?”
“Perfect, just busy.”
“Of course you are. Fuck, I sound like a pussy.”
“Connor, you don’t sound like a pussy. Okay, maybe a little, but shit, man, you’ve got your old man breathing down your neck. That is not an ideal situation. Pressure is a motherfucker, and you’ve got the king breathing down on you.”
I stood up. And thankfully, he followed my lead. “You, me, the boys, see you at eight at Sky Deck?”
I rounded the desk and put my hand on his shoulder, leading him toward the door.
“Done. Thanks for listening.”
“Of course.”
I opened the door and watched him walk away. Once I was sure he was gone, I shut it and locked it once more. I leaned against the back of the door and exhaled. That was way too close.
She crawled out, her eyes wide. “Barrett, that was too close,” she said, leaning against the desk.
“I was thinking the same thing.” I walked over to her and sat where Conner was just seated.
“We should just tell him, Lourde.”
“Are you serious? Didn’t you hear him? He sounded awful. I don’t know what kind of pressure Dad has him under, but adding our relationship to the mix certainly wouldn’t help right now.”
“Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
“Of course.” She walked toward me and perched her ass up on the edge of the desk, her heels brushing my Italian shoes.
My gaze fell to her lips, and she flapped the corner of her blouse. “Is it warm in here?” she asked.
“It’s about to be.”
The buzzer sounded again, and I groaned.
“Busy man.” She widened her eyes.
I cut a chaste kiss across her jaw, then moved round, pressed the flashing button. “What is it?”
“I have Sam here.”
“I don’t have a construction meeting scheduled with Sam today.”
“I know, he says it’s urgent. There’s a crane malfunction.”
“Right.” I hung up and kissed Lourde on the mouth. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
“I know you will.” She smoothed down her skirt as she stepped off the edge of the desk and walked beside me toward the door. “Later?”
“Definitely.” I squeezed her hand before letting it go and quietly unlocked the door.
“Thank you, Barrett. I’ll ensure the contractors are on it.”
She gave magnificent head and could keep a part. “Good, we want to be ahead of the game.”
She nodded, then turned, not before I noticed a slight smile pull from the corner of her lips.
“Thank you, Aimee.” Her confused look at the appearance of Lourde exiting my office was priceless.
Hiding Lourde’s arrival was easy when you sent your assistant away for lunch.
“Sam. What can I do for you?”
Sam strolled in, curiosity forming a grin on his plump cheeks. “Is Lourde Diamond working for us?”
“She’s helping Olivia now that Jessica just quit.”
I shut the door.
“Well, she’s a breath of fresh air around here,” he said.
A vein throbbed in my neck. Sam was always eyeing up the younger employees, and more than once, I had to interfere with behavior that was borderline harassment.
“We have a massive problem in Soho. The crane carrying a haul of metal beams dropped from three stories high.”
“What the fuck? Is everyone okay?”
“Paramedics have just arrived and picked up two of the crew with some collateral damage, a few broken bones, but no deaths. Luckily, no one was directly underneath.”
“Why the fuck aren’t you there? Let’s go. You can fill me in on the way,” I said, not bothering to grab my jacket and wanting to get there and work out exactly how this could happen when we run one of the tightest, safest worksites in all of Manhattan.
The fire and now this? A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach ignited.
Something wasn’t right.
* * *