Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
By the time I could take a few steps further into the room, she had reached my side. I looked over William’s desk. All his stuff was still there.
‘He hasn’t been here?’ I asked with a frown, confused to the point that I forgot I wasn’t exactly friendly with Kimberly at the moment.
She gave me a long look, head to toe. I stood straighter, ready for her nonsense. ‘He has,’ she replied at last. ‘I mean, he was here ten minutes ago when he called me in, that’s why I came.’
‘What was he gonna fill you…’
‘Meeting will start soon, Charlie. I have work to do.’
Just like that she walked past me, leaving me to close my eyes and count to ten. I released a long breath and turned around to leave, only to come face to face with Gayle as she pushed open the door.
‘What were you doing with Kimberly in here?’
‘Beats me,’ I said with a sigh, shrugging. ‘She was already in here when I…’
She raised her hand between us. ‘Doesn’t matter. Where is your phone?’
‘In my room. What’s going on?’
With two coffee cups clutched in his hands, William appeared next to Gayle. The small crease on his forehead which almost always appeared when he was thinking or distracted smoothed out the second he saw me standing at his doorway.
‘Charlie,’ he murmured, completely ignoring Gayle’s presence.
I smiled and his eyes dipped to my lips for the briefest second until Gayle reached out to grab one of his coffee cups. William turned to her, his brows knitting together as he held on to his mug.
‘Not for you, Gayle,’ he grumbled. ‘Go get your own.’
He moved towards me, standing by my side, and offered one of the two black mugs to me.
I smiled up at him. ‘Oh, thank you. Is this your first one?’ It must be if he was this grumpy.
Keeping his gaze on me, he nodded and took a sip. ‘What are we all doing here in my office? Specifically you, Gayle.’
He broke our eye contact and my heart returned to its normal state.
Gayle rolled her eyes, shaking her head. ‘Charlie, you’re gonna get a call from our dating app,’ she paused, ‘in ten. Find Rick, he was the one who helped me with the research so you’ll need him. And you…’ She turned her gaze to William, who was now standing arm in arm with me. I tried to hold back my smile, but Gayle was all too aware of our closeness. ‘You need to be in Douglas’s office in fifteen. They moved up the meeting. Did you even leave any coffee in the pot for the rest of us?’
Before William could answer, she was gone. I didn’t think he was interested in answering her anyway. He closed the door and faced me with his back to the rest of the office. Only a few steps separated us as he took another sip, eyes intently watching my every move.
I took my time, glanced down at my coffee, noticing that he had already added milk to it. I could guess that a packet of brown sugar had also been added. I blew on it a little and then tasted it. Yup. He made it just as I liked. But then again was it even a surprise?
‘I’m struggling not to touch you right now.’ His voice was the kind of low and gruff that made me feel pure happiness. ‘Or kiss you. Or hug you. Or fuck you. Or hold your hand. Struggling in general, I should say.’ He drank from his mug again.
I raised my gaze to his and realized that he was taking me in from head to toe. His eyes lingering on my skirt, or if I’d guessed right, on how it hugged my hips and waist.
‘You look beautiful, Charlie,’ he added once he was done. ‘But then again, when do you not.’
I took in his dark grey suit that fitted him perfectly.
‘The same goes for you,’ I countered.
He cocked an eyebrow. ‘I’m beautiful?’
My lips stretched into a smile. ‘Beautiful and sexy and very irresistible.’ I bit down on my lower lip. ‘And your voice…’ I closed my eyes for a minute and released a long breath as I took an involuntary step towards him, ‘your voice when we’re in bed… it’s deep and when you’re talking close to me… it’s very good.’
I opened my eyes to see his were burning, his pupils dilated. He had moved a step closer to me, his free hand clenching and unclenching constantly.
‘So you like when I talk to you,’ he muttered.
‘We could say that.’
He nodded, his eyes intent. ‘I understand.’
I bet he did. I blew out a breath and tried to ignore my body’s reaction to him by changing the subject and downing half my coffee. ‘So you were shocked that you missed me, huh?’