“Someone must really want us to open a Christmas gift.”
He places the box between us, ripping the bow off. Inside sits another gold box. Both of us look at each other before we open the lid and see the pearl paper. My eyes read over it until they open wide with shock.
“What is it?”
“O.M.G,” I yell, jumping off the couch. “Eric’s getting married!”
NOAH
My finger’s drum tap against the large woodgrain table as the presentation plays on the large screen.
The 3D impressions of the refurbishments to one of the largest hotels we’re trying to turnover is causing my mind to run at full speed. Projections, timeframes, campaigning—the list goes on.
“State-of-the-art amenities, a world-class health center, luxury dining—everything we need to stay competitive in the hotel industry,” Cruz, our head project manager, concludes.
Distracted by the opulence of this thirty-million-dollar project, I haven’t feasted my eyes on Kate sitting diagonally across the table. When it comes to meetings, I always try my best to ignore her, with reason.
The woman knows how to dress. Who would have thought her corporate attire would be such a fucking turn-on every goddamn day. The white dress she’s wearing today with the gold pumps is doing nothing to curb my hard-on. I’m confident, no wait, sure, I’ve fucked her before in this dress because it did the exact same thing to me the first time she wore it.
Shit, the stir in my pants is uncomfortable, causing me to shift my legs. This is why you need to ignore her. Your dick is out of fucking control.
As Cruz shifts his presentation to a less appealing subject, boredom seeps in with my mind drifting to Kate.
It’s been six months since the day Kate moved here, and six months in which my life changed forever.
There is never a dull moment in our lives. Our jobs, demanding with many challenges, had me traveling interstate more than I cared to admit. According to Charlie and her ever-so unwanted opinion of my life, I had turned into Lex. It came with a lecture, of course, on work-life balance and being present for my family.
Kate, equally as dedicated to her work, rose to my defense each time. She understands exactly the kind of job we do and the responsibilities of being on the executive team. One thing I have learned working beside her—she is incredibly hard-working and an absolute shark in the boardroom. Men are intimidated by her, and although I will tease her after hours about her aggressive nature, I don’t blame her one bit. In our industry, you need to play the right cards in order to win the deal.
No one messes with her.
But sitting across from me, her face is anything but aggressive, more troubled by something else demanding her attention. Her fingers are typing rapidly on her phone, brow creasing and lips tight. Fuck, those lips look amazing wrapped against my cock.
I check the time on my watch, noting we’ve gone over and use this as an excuse to wrap up Cruz since the bastard can talk for hours.
“We need to wind this up. I’ve got another meeting. I’d like to see more accurate numbers we anticipate for these improvements, and Chris, can we get approval times, too? Any changes this grand will need to be submitted for development approval.”
I wait to see if Kate wants to add anything, clearing my throat to catch her attention.
She lifts her head, sliding her phone away while narrowing her eyes.
“This needs to meet our deadline. We want this completed by next summer to capitalize on people vacationing. Projections people, get it to us by next Monday.” Rising from her chair, she grabs her phone and notes, leaving the room abruptly without another word nor a glance my way.
Chris pulls me aside, asking me to take a look at a few things this afternoon. As soon as I’m done, I walk toward Kate’s office to see her standing beside the large glass window, texting furiously.
I don’t knock, closing the door behind me. Leaning against the wall, I keep my distance to remain professional in the workplace, an arduous task when the woman you love is only a few feet away, and you haven’t seen her in three days due to traveling.
“You’re quiet. What’s wrong?”
Kate tilts her head sideways, appearing dazed until she focuses on my face.
“Noah,” she softens, the tone already warning me to pay attention because it doesn’t sound promising. “I just… something has come up. It’s about this weekend.”
Fuck my life, not this again.
This weekend is Eric and Tristan’s bachelor weekend. Apparently, just one night isn’t good enough, so they scheduled a whole weekend of partying—a penthouse suite at one of the hotels we’ve acquired, including the nightclub reserved only for their guests. Vegas brings back memories of my boys, Benny and Tom, and me in our single days with pool parties while drunk on Alizé. It feels like a whole other lifetime ago.
And perhaps, with age, my partying days seem less important. I would rather spend the entire weekend in bed, devouring my woman because that always has a happy ending.