Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“I’ll be sure to tell her you like it.”
Lavender laughs. “Please do, but do it after you focus on the task at hand.”
I wave her away, and sigh when she closes my office door. I know Lavender is right. I may not like how she goes about being right, but she has a point because I haven’t been giving work as much attention as it deserves, especially at this critical business juncture.
Why should I when I have the amazing Pepper to talk to?
Yet, the situation drives me crazy because for almost two weeks, I haven’t had a chance to see Pepper in person. It fucking sucks. I’m usually working, and then when I’m not, Pepper has a shift at the coffee shop or she’s catching up with friends.
I’m not trying to commandeer all of Pepper’s time, but still. This is getting ridic. I want her to have a social life, obviously, but can’t she make some time for me? And why does she have to take so many shifts at the coffee shop? I know her parents give her grief at home but recently, it seems as if our schedules never match.
Fuck. I’d give anything to kiss Pepper right now. I want to pull her in my arms and hold her tight. I want to come home and find her waiting for me, those lush curves shielded only by lacy lingerie. Yet, none of these things are possible. Why not? I’m a fucking CEO for crying out loud! Women throw themselves at me, and yet I find myself unable to spend time with the woman I crave because of scheduling differences. It’s a fucking travesty.
At that moment, Lavender knocks and enters again, without waiting for me to invite her in. Fortunately, my desk covers my hard-on. My assistant does not need to see the embarrassing incident in my pants right now.
“You’re thinking about her again!” she exclaims. I’m not a man to blush, but I can feel my cheeks blazing.
“I can’t help it.”
“God, you’re like a teenager. You do realize you’re forty years old, don’t you?”
I sigh. “I am quite aware of my age, Lavender.”
“How old is Pepper?”
“She’s younger. About your age.”
“Nice. But I’m still worried because I’ve never seen you like this. How long have you been seeing her again?”
I shrug, still grimacing a bit from the ache in my crotch.
“A few months now. Since the start of the Corinthian Fair.”
Lavender lets out a slow whistle, looking impressed.
“That’s quite a while for you. Have you told her you love her yet?”
“Is it that obvious?”
Lavender rolls her eyes. “Considering we’ve been talking about her for like fifteen minutes, yeah, I’d say it’s obvious. You normally only talk about work for this long.”
I frown.
“It’s inappropriate to talk with you about personal matters.”
She shrugs. “No offense, Mr. Masters, but I know you better than you know yourself. I take care of your calendar, remember?”
I do remember, which is why I’ve never put Pepper into my integrated calendar. Knowing Lavender, she’d probably send some flowers and jewelry to my girlfriend in my name. Or book her spa treatments. Or buy her lingerie. My assistant’s right - she does know far too much about me.
But back to the notion of love.
“That’s true. But since you’re psychic, I bet you already know about my surprise. I’m going to tell Pepper that I love her, but it has to be in-person. Things are so hectic right now that I haven’t seen her in a few weeks actually.”
Lavender smiles. “Well, at least I know you’re taking your work seriously. Which, by the way, is why I’m here.”
Lavender nudges a file that she placed on my desk.
“What is this?”
“It’s the final contract for the merger. Legal already went over it and said it looks good. All it needs is your signature now.”
My heart races. This is what I’ve been working on for years. Keystone is the second largest agricultural food company in the United States and when we sign this contract, essentially buying out our top competitor, we’ll take over the number one spot.
“Is everything ready for the announcement party next week?”
Lavender nods. “It’s going to be spectacular. How you have managed to keep this out of the press is beyond me. I’m impressed.”
“I’m an excellent keeper of secrets. But seriously, it helps that only seven people in this company know the merger’s even happening. Even fewer at Derek Foods know.”
Lavender whistles.
“Amazing. Now look over that paperwork, and I’ll be back in twenty minutes with a notary to make things official. We should have had this done a couple weeks ago.”
I cringe at the dig although my assistant’s right. Lavender isn’t going to let me slide for the time off I’ve taken, however well deserved. I admit the distractions have me a little behind, but I don’t regret any of it. What’s the point in running a giant company if I can’t have the most amazing woman in the world standing beside me?