Page 58 of Crave Me

He stills beneath me, lifting his head. “What?”

“A team of specialists you might say.” I cup his neck so my fingers and thumb work both sides.

“And who might these specialists be?”

“Most are car reps. Some worked in finance and even fewer worked desk jobs. But we need more support staff so I made a few calls.”

“Car reps?” he repeats.

I’m not sure if he’s fixated on those two words or if he thinks I’m screwing with him. “I’ll show you what I mean.” I scoot around him and pull up my proposal on his workstation, a mammoth piece of machinery with multiple screens that lifts up from the front of his desk with a verbal command.

The first picture that appears is Oscar’s. Not the ray of sunshine he was expecting.

“Isn’t this the man who was rude to your friend?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s a total asshole, but he’s smart and an animal when it comes to sales. It’s the reason we’re always neck and neck in revenue.” I scroll down, showing him a picture of each rep, followed by their level of experience. It puts a face to a name and makes it more personal. Not that Evan seems blown away.

“Wren, there’s over thirty people here. I can’t hire thirty people.”

He pushes away from the desk and rubs his face. It’s something he does when he’s close to his limit.

I plop onto his lap, shocking us both. But I hate seeing him like this and want to feel close to him. A man so consumed with running an empire can become lost and isolate himself from the rest of the world. He needs reminding I’m on his side, and that he’s not alone.

His hand slides along my hip and onto my ass. I smile. Maybe he needs to feel close to me, too. “Hear me out, okay?”

“All right,” he answers.

I have a lot to say, but don’t say it right away, taking a moment to play with the hair curling along the edges of his ears. He didn’t shave today, and if it wasn’t for the dress shirt, he’d resemble a sexy construction worker ready to pound nails. But he did wear the shirt, reminding me that this is business and not play. Damn, no matter how much I want to play. Hard to be a good girl when all I crave is time with him in bed.

“Your marketing team isn’t hungry enough. Most are burnt out or just here for the paycheck. These guys,” I say, jerking my head in the direction of the screen. “Are out of work. They’re not just hungry, they’re starving.”

“I can’t pay them,” he says. “My recent dismissals have allowed me to save some money, but not enough to hire all these people. It’s only enough to keep those I have.”

“How bad is it?” I ask, seeing beyond the specks of gold in his irises to the worry lurking beneath.

“Bad enough that I’ve given up my salary to keep us afloat.”

“Jesus, Evan,” I say straightening. “All this work, and you’re not even getting paid for it?”

“No.”

His fingers skim along my backside. It’s not sexual, at least that’s not how I take it. He’s taking comfort in my presence, just like I’m doing in his.

“I believe in this company,” he says. “And I’ll sacrifice whatever it takes to save it.”

“But don’t you have bills that extend past what you’re shelling out here?”

“I do,” he admits. “But I should have enough in savings and stocks to cover it.”

“Should?” I ask.

He doesn’t want to tell me. But I’m starting to think I’m the only one Evan confides in. “I may have to deplete my savings in the coming months if things don’t change. It’s either that or file for bankruptcy, and I refuse to go that route.”

I kiss the spot between his ear and his cheek. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself around him most of the time, and even less now. “Then let me help you.”

“Wren, I can’t ask you to give up your salary.”

“Good, cause I wasn’t offering,” I admit.