“Do you need anything?” she asked.
“No. I’m going to go up to my office for a bit and want to remain undisturbed. If anyone asks, you never saw me.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks, Berta.”
“Of course, Mr. Jensen,” she replied.
She went right back to her computer, not even acknowledging Adriana. It could be considered rude, but Adriana had an idea that it might be more about being well trained in minding her own business and not addressing guests unless asked to do so. Oddly enough, she found the power he exuded in this brief encounter a bit on the erotic side. They stepped into the elevator, and he pushed the button for the nineteenth floor.
“Nineteenth? They wouldn’t give you the penthouse office?”
“No. It’s otherwise occupied,” he told her just as the elevator dinged for their floor.
“That was fast,” she remarked.
“Private elevator. It only stops on the floors I take it to.”
“So this is how the other half lives,” she joked.
“Those rich bastards,” he muttered with a wink.
They stepped off the elevator and into a large glass box with marble columns and a large fountain in the center. To one side was an over-sized oak bankers’ desk. It had a black leather top and was worn on the corners as if it had been moved a number of times and suffered slight damage in the process. It was completely out of place in the otherwise clean, modern style of the office.
“Your office takes up the entire floor?” she asked, looking around her at the broad expanse of space.
“Yes.”
“A bit much, don’t you think?”
“Probably, but it came this way.”
“Including that desk?” she asked as they walked toward it.
“Yes. Do you like it?”
“It’s a lovely antique, but it looks like it was teleported here from another dimension.”
“It sort of was. It was my father’s desk. I had it moved here when we bought the building.”
“So, there is nothing in this building but your company?”
“Almost. We own the building, but we do lease space to a few associated companies.”
“Ah, I see. That’s why the top floor is occupied,” she replied, not waiting for an answer before continuing on to her next thought. “So, what are we doing here?”
“I want you to look at the original books for the construction company with me. Perhaps something will stand out to you that was lost on me, give us some clue as to why the Black Talons want it so badly.”
“You really know how to show a girl a good time,” she teased.
“Don’t I?” he said, kissing her softly.
Even after having spent the last few days with him and their tryst at his house, she still felt a fire ignite each time he touched her. She craved him like water on a summer day. The longer the kiss lingered, the less she wanted to help him with whatever was going on, though. Instead, she had a few ideas about the top of his enormous desk that involved nudity and naughtiness. Judging from the bulge pressing against her hip, he was having some thoughts of his own.
Pulling away, he took a deep breath and a step back, not bothering to hide his rather obvious erection. Instead, he walked over and retrieved a chair for her to sit down beside him before fishing out some files from the lower drawer of the desk. She was surprised to find that it was not a very massive file at all.
“That’s all you have? Weren’t they in business for years?”
“Yes, but they went bankrupt, and all of their records were seized by the IRS prior to that.”
“Wouldn’t they have found evidence if there was any wrongdoing involved?”
“It depends on how good they were at cooking the books. There is also the chance that they cut some sort of deal.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because the owners, Art Turner and Connor Hood, disappeared after the bankruptcy, even before the place was sold at auction.”
“Disappeared or were dealt with?” Adrian asked.
“Well, I used to think they just decided to move on somewhere, retired with whatever dignity they had left. Now, I wonder if someone did something dire to them. I mean, if the Black Talons are threatening me, there’s a good chance they dealt with whoever crossed them before me.”
“What would happen if something happened to you? I mean, what would happen to the company?”
“It would go into trust with the corporation. The board of directors would take control of it.”
“Would they sell it?”
“Probably. It isn’t the sort of thing we usually take into our fold.”
“Why did you buy it then?”
“Honestly? It was sort of a pet project for me. I’m the head of this large corporation and I don’t really do anything beyond turn up at events to promote what a huge asset we are to the city. All the people on the floors below this one run this company. I’m just a figurehead, in reality. I bought the construction company so that I could be more hands-on with it.”