Page 27 of Serenity
“About the spa. It was seamless, by the way. You give good insight. I might need you on my consulting team.”
Splendid. She was splendid for my ego.
“Is that what you were working on before I advertently disturbed you?”
Her glance at the laptop and a nod confirmed my suspicions. “But Duke, you can always disturb me.”
“Don’t tempt me, Serenity,” I warned, tucking away the invitation for a more seasoned time. “Let me see what’s gotten your nerves keyed up.”
“Um—”
Up and down, her chest fell. She licked her lips. She cleared her throat. Again, her chest rose, highlighting the Tiffany locket around her neck.
“The laptop, gorgeous,” I motioned to the device, wiping my face of Cubano crumbs.
The next half hour was spent reviewing Serenity’s proposal. Closer, she slid near me in the booth as I made changes and suggestions to her recommended strategy. Besieged by peach and hibiscus, it made control of my hands an impossible fucking task. Hooking a hand around her ankle, I slid the slingback from her foot and massaged her sole while still scrolling through the document.
No more shaking.
Briefly, Serenity’s eyes closed, and she emancipated a low, syrupy moan. Fighting to maintain focus, I trained my gaze back to the computer’s screen. The ‘investment judgment’ and ‘recommendation’ portion of her pitch could use a few tweaks as well, I noted—
Fuck, baby.
Eyes still closed, she was enjoying my impromptu massage. Giving me a glimpse of how she’d look steeped in pleasure.
Focus nigga.
Reluctantly, I stayed the course, highlighting my changes to the proposal. She needed to open her damn eyes. She needed to stop moaning like that. She needed to tilt her head upright. I needed to let her foot go. Doing so proved impossible tasks for us both.
“Don’t you have people that can look this over?” I probed, unsure why she was even bothering with a proposal. The Millers had significant wealth at their disposal, enough to allow Serenity whatever her heart desired. Enough not to need to draft a proposal for anything.
“I do. I just don’t care for their… insight.”
“Hmm.” I scratched my beard.
“They can be a bit overbearing.”
“Heard,” I spoke, knowing all too well the travails of an overbearing family structure. Freeing one foot, I grasped the other, issuing the same massage. My hands crept upward toward her ankle and calf, freeing a season of tension. The aroma of stress made its presence known, spilling from her pores as pleasure crept in slips from her lips. Overwrought and tense, Serenity wore that weight like the latest fashion. Only a skilled set of eyes could take notice.
“You should be able to sway anyone in your favor with that pitch now. Are you converting to a slide deck?”
“I am. Yeah,” she nodded, sighed, and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear.
“Good. Well…” Returning the slingback pump to its rightful place, I freed her foot with a heavy breath.
“You’re leaving.”
I had to. I had to get the fuck away from her before I took her to the bathroom, hiked up her peach dress, and bent her pretty ass over the sink.
Her face fell with the revelation.
“You have my number, Busy Bee. At any point, if you find yourself requiring yet another disturbance, I’ll make time.”
Placing a bill on the table, I rose, fighting the inclination to kiss her lips as we parted ways.
Two hours.
The most prolonged two hours of my life. Colonial Holdings, the parent company of Colonial Pipeline, served a singular purpose. We bought smaller companies and controlled ownership interests. My father stepped down from our parent company, which was launched over a decade ago by me. Gracefully and thankfully, he bowed out of his position on the board in favor of Wednesdays on the green.