I should walk out and leave. I could be any of those things I listed to Chelsea yesterday while we talked at the airport. Only I can’t because she was right. Plus, I’m good at this. I like doing this. I’m good with people. I like herding cats. I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I get a job done, and I like a challenge.
I should make him wait.
They want me to work for him. Deacon sounded relieved when I called yesterday. The man had me come to his house. Didn’t hesitate for a second. Didn’t tell me to give him a few days until his world got back to normal after the birth of his son. Hell, he left the hospital to meet me. All of that adds up to tell me that they want to work with me.
I watch him watching me for another few minutes, and I hate the silence between us. My anger shows my hand. It’s a confession that he affects me. Instead of reaching across his desk and wrapping my hands around his throat, I lean up and grab the contract, reading through it on my own.
He sits as still as a statue, thankfully not disrespecting me further by trying to read it to me like a toddler at bedtime. I sign it, flipping to the next page and completing the information with my hotel information so a car can pick me up in the morning. I tear off the pages with my itinerary on it and pass the completed pages back to him.
He reads over everything, making sure he has everything. He frowns when he sees what I’ve written, but he doesn’t say a word.
I stand when he does.
“Welcome to the team, Ms. Redmond.”
I stare down at the hand he’s offering me and back up at his eyes. I’ll never touch this man again.
“Good day, John.” I turn and walk out of the office, head held high. I manage to make it back to my hotel before a single tear falls. I feel like I just sold my soul to the devil.
Chapter 11
Gaige
I’m smiling when Leighton walks out of my office. She doesn’t slam the door like I expected her to. It closes softly, and I wonder what the guys are thinking as she walks past them. Like a coward, I hid out in Wren’s office when she entered, watching her on the camera.
Of course, I first watched her sitting in the waiting area, a small smile on her face as she watched Pam work with Puff Daddy, Wren’s obscene African grey parrot, shouting all the things he wanted to do to her in my ear. Now I know how Deacon feels about the things he says about Anna, only Anna is the man’s wife and Leighton is just a woman I fucked once.
I wait an ample amount of time for her to get out of the office before I stand from my desk, realizing I have to wait another minute for my erection to go down. It started the second I walked in and the scent of her perfume hit my nose. It wasn’t an overpowering scent, just the slightest hint of vanilla, but that was all it took for the memories to flood back. God, the way her hair teased her back before she turned around, the reminder of what it felt like in my fist as she bounced on my cock.
I clear my throat and crack my neck as I walk to the huge window in my office. The sight of St. Louis calms me some, at least enough to not draw attention to the front of my slacks.
“Her hair wasn’t even a mess,” Kit says with a grin when I walk into the breakroom.
“If you need some pointers,” Finnegan says.
I ignore them both as I head into Wren’s office. Chuckles follow me inside.
“Where’s my bitch at?”
My head spins on my shoulders as I glare at the bird.
“That’s taking it a little too far, Puff,” Wren chides, but there’s humor in his voice. The man loves being in the middle of everyone’s shit.
“Bring her to Daddy!” The ignorant bird spreads his wings wide, head bopping up and down.
“What else have you found?”
“Since you left my office twenty minutes ago?”
I just glare at the man. “You could take over the world in five, so don’t give me that shit.”
“I have no desire for world domination, Gaige.” He sounds bored, but I know he’s anything but.
“We have different plans!” the bird screeches. “Like Daddy’s pussy!”
Wren points to his feathered friend in agreement.
The IT guy has never been normal. He’s always had weird proclivities, but they’ve only gotten worse and more vocal since he stalked and finally started a relationship with his girlfriend Whitney. The man is a slave to his sexual desires, but I guess most men at his age are.