The Beauty and the CEO

“You’re cute,” Zoe said drily.

“And even cuter in person,” Will added. “Speaking of which, when do I get to see you?”

“You’re seeing me now.” Zoe laughed and blew him a kiss.

“I meant naked in my bed.”

A pretty shade of red brushed across her cheeks. Someone near her laughed. A flutter shook his heart with the idea of her on the Fisher Island Ferry, heading toward his home on the barrier island neighborhood. She was close. “Where are you?” he asked, looking at the images behind her. She must have been sitting with her back against a wall.

“I’m not alone but I was heading toward your place.”

Knowing she was this close, he felt excitement flush him. The hands on the grandfather clock in his office slowly ticked away toward five, but since it was Friday, why the hell not kick the weekend off early? Half the support staff had left already, including Will’s secretary. So keeping up with everyone else, Will pulled his briefcase out from under his desk. This weekend they were going to have time together. Will had made arrangements to have everything they needed at the tips of their fingers in his home. He toyed with the idea of having a personal masseuse but broke the pencil in his hand in half at the idea of someone else touching her body.

“Give me forty-five minutes and be naked when I get there.”

“Will—” Zoe pleaded.

Not wanting to hear a protest, Will slid his finger to the red icon and disconnected the line just in time. The door to his office pushed open without a knock. Donovan and Marcus entered.

“Hey, little brother,” Marcus said, taking a seat. “Zoe must be in town.”

Since the pageant, there had been no way to keep his relationship with Zoe quiet. Eva and Dana were already hounding him about when to have a wedding and whether he and Zoe wanted it in spring or summer. In his last email from Dana, she’d wanted permission to contact Jamerica Baldwin, Zoe’s mother. It wasn’t quite permission but more of a reminder that Dana still had modeling contacts she could use to get in touch with her. Right now, Will found the way his sisters teased him amusing. Nothing was set in stone. Will hadn’t even broached the idea of marriage with Zoe. Hell, compared with the intimate time at Magnolia Palace, the two of them barely spent any time together.

“What makes you think Zoe’s in town?” Will asked.

Donovan snorted and elbowed Marcus in the ribs. He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet on Will’s desk. “You’re about to pack up and leave for the day.”

“It’s so cute,” Marcus mocked. He lifted his fingers in the air and pretended to pinch Will’s cheeks from across the room. “Don, you remember a few months ago when Will burned the midnight oil every night?”

“Is there something the two of you wanted?” Will asked. He kicked his briefcase back under his desk.

“We don’t want to alarm you,” said Donovan, “but the board just called an emergency meeting.”

Will swore under his breath. “What now?”

“I couldn’t get anything out of Charles or Brandon,” Marcus began, “but Dixon’s secretary has been pulling the data for the online work from Titus.”

The online magazine was Titus’s field. The new CDD of Ravens Cosmetics had sunk a lot of money into technology for people to order their cosmetics and products via their website. Because Titus held a tech degree, Will trusted him to sweeten the site.

“And you know this how?” Will asked with a slow drawl. What ran through his mind was a potential lawsuit. They were beginning to run out of single women working at Ravens.

As usual, Marcus smiled smugly and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head over that. Your big brother is handling things.”

Will decided to ignore the mental list of corporate crimes sounding off in his head with the illegal implications of what Marcus said. The last thing they needed was a lawsuit. “I’ll buy you a drink for taking one for the team.”

“No worries. It was actually my pleasure.” Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “She was pretty hot and flexible. I think she only missed the Olympics in Brazil due to a hurt back. But her back is fine now,” Marcus concluded with a sheepish wink.