The CEO's Little Surprise

He leaned in, nearly nuzzling her ear with his lips. Her quick intake of breath was almost as thrilling as the feel of her skin through the panels. Instead of pulling her toward him like he wanted to, he pivoted and hustled her back a step into her office.

“Tell the girls I said hi,” he murmured and let her go. Though where he found the willpower, he had no idea.

She nodded, her expression blank. He was so going to enjoy putting a few more cracks in her newly found ice-goddess exterior when they next met.

Three

Cass blew out the breath she’d been holding. Which didn’t help either her shakes or her thundering pulse.

That hadn’t gone down quite like she would have hoped. She and Gage might be equals now but that hadn’t afforded her any special magic to keep her insides under control.

But Gage had left and that seemed like a small win.

Except now she had to go into that board meeting, where Trinity had most definitely told the others who Cass was meeting with. So she would have to give them the whole story, including his ridiculous offer for the formula.

Of all the nerve. Telling her she owed him the formula because he’d given her a few pointers once upon a time. Oh, she owed him all right, but more like a fat lip. Fyra’s success had nothing to do with Gage.

Well, the broken heart he’d left her with had driven her for a long time. But she’d succeeded by her own merit, not because he’d mentored her.

If anyone decided to sell the formula, it would be because it made sound business sense. Like she’d told him. She squared her shoulders and went to her meeting in the large, sunny room at the end of the hall.

The other three women in the C-suite ringed the conference table as the governing forces of the company they’d dubbed Fyra, from the Swedish word for four. Alex Meer ran the numbers as the chief financial officer, Dr. Harper Livingston cooked up formulas in her lab as the chief science officer, Trinity Forrester convinced consumers to buy as the chief marketing officer and Cass held the reins.

All three of her friends looked up as she entered, faces bright with expectation.

“He’s gone. Let’s get started.” Cass set down her phone and tablet, then slid into her customary chair.

“Not so fast,” Trinity said succinctly. “We’ve been sitting here patiently waiting for juicy details, remember?”

They’d all been friends a long time. Juicy details meant they wanted to know how she felt about seeing Gage again. Whether she wanted to punch him or just go in the corner and cry. What was he up to and had they talked about their personal lives?

She didn’t have the luxury of burdening her friends with any of that because they were also her business partners. There was no room at this conference table for her emotional upheaval.

“He wants to buy Formula-47. Offered one hundred million,” she said bluntly. Better to get it out on the table. “I told him it wasn’t for sale. That’s the extent of it.”

Harper’s grin slipped as she wound her strawberry blond ponytail around one finger, an absent gesture that meant her brilliant mind was blazing away. “That’s hardly the extent. What’s the damage? Did he hear about my formula from the trade article?”

“No.” Cass hated to have to be the bearer of bad news, but they had to know. “His information was much more detailed. Which means the leak is worse than we thought.”

Hearing her own words echo in her head was almost as bad as a physical blow.

“What’s wrong?” Trinity asked immediately, her dark head bent at an angle as she evaluated Cass. “Did Gage get to you?”

Dang it. It had taken all of fourteen seconds for the woman who’d been Cass’s best friend since eleventh grade to clue in on the undercurrents. That man had put a hitch in her stride and it was unforgivable.

“I’m concerned about the leak. That’s it. Forget about Gage. I already have,” she lied.

Trinity’s eyes narrowed but she didn’t push, thank God. Gage’s timing was horrific. Why had he waltzed back into her life during such a huge professional catastrophe?

Alex, the consummate tomboy in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, fiddled with her ever-present pen, tapping it against the legal pad on the conference table in front of her. “A hundred million is worth considering, don’t you think?”

Instantly, Harper shook her head so hard, her ponytail flipped over her shoulder. Trinity and Cass scowled at Alex, who shrank under the heat of their gazes, but didn’t recant her traitorous statement.