‘Okay... Okay, keep it in, but clear me for the remainder.’
She nodded and tapped away, freeing him to head to his office and deal with his blunder in private.
Two weeks and he hadn’t been able to concentrate properly. Two weeks since Zara had come into his life and every waking moment had become about her. Property viewing taking over half his schedule, although fucking was the predominant use of that time. Every viewing, it didn’t matter how many times they’d been at it, they’d screw. There was just something that came over her when she got all enthused about some little feature, regardless of how small, and he would crack, unable to keep his hands off her.
And as far as the houses went, truth was he’d seen plenty that he liked already and was willing to offer on. What he wasn’t ready for was the end of their working relationship. Without property viewings, their relationship didn’t exist. No relationship meant the end to their sex life and the idea left him cold.
He wasn’t bored, he wasn’t sated, if anything his need had got stronger, his desire to be with her an uncontrollable force that had him doing crazy-ass things like almost shafting his next big takeover.
He raked his fingers through his hair and dropped into his seat, his head arching over its back as he tried to make sense of it. And promptly gave up. Going deep was never his thing. He didn’t dwell on the peculiarities of emotion; it was a wasted effort. He only acted on them. And acting on this right now meant keeping her very much tied to him for as long as he desired.
He took out his mobile and dialled her number.
She answered in two and he smiled.
She’d been waiting for him.
‘That was quick.’
‘I was sending someone a message when it rang.’
‘Oh, yeah.’
Her laugh rippled down the phone, teasing a smile from his own lips. God, she made him feel light.
Light? What the fuck did that even mean?
‘So, a bit of bad news,’ he said—and it was; he didn’t want to delay seeing her another second. ‘I can’t do all day Friday. I have a meeting first thing that can’t be moved.’
‘Oh.’ Her disappointment nagged at him down the phone, mirroring his own, and then she was back to being all professional. ‘Well, it’s no problem. I can reschedule for another day.’
‘Can you just push it to midday? I’ll be done by then.’
‘Leave it with me. I’ll rethink the viewings, stick to the city and that way we can still get two in.’
He grinned. ‘I like your thinking. And why don’t I take you to dinner in the evening to apologise for messing you around.’
‘Dinner?’ He heard her breath rush and his own surprise sparked—an evening dinner? A date? It was hardly inside the perimeter of what they’d shared so far. But it would spark interest. Press interest at that.
‘Sure, why not?’ he said. If she was happy to risk it, he sure was.
Only, she hadn’t answered; in fact he wasn’t even sure she was still there. ‘Zara?’
‘You mean, like the dinner we were supposed to have that first night?’
He laughed. She was right—they’d never left her office, so caught up in one another as they’d been then. And still were. More so even. And what was that about? ‘Yes, an actual dinner out this time, or we could stay in, again?’
It was her turn to laugh. ‘I’d love to, but I can’t.’
His gut sank and he straightened against it, his hand taking up the soft basketball he kept by his desk, squeezing it as he asked levelly, ‘Can’t?’
‘I’m busy.’
Busy—doing what?
He wanted to press, but really what business was it of his?
‘Okay,’ he said, and an awkward silence extended. If not for the subtle sound of her breathing he’d think she was no longer there.