“Same,” he sighed. “Look at us, a couple of workaholics falling in love.”
“So you do admit that we’re in love!” I pointed at him, and he smiled a cheesy smile. Clearly, the wine kicked in and I felt pretty nice myself as I downed the last bit in my glass. Colt pulled out his phone and hit a few buttons before music erupted from the speakers around the house.
Sounds of 80’s rock ballads blasted through his speakers and I could help but laugh as he mimicked the moves of people who were probably too old to perform those moves again. He swayed, played an air guitar and finally made his way over to me, where he sang love songs until I joined him in the chaos of this moment. We fell asleep to the sweet tunes of rock bands like the Foreigners, telling us that they’ve been ‘waiting for a girl like you’.
I woke up to the sound of my phone screeching at an unholy hour. It took a while for me to remember where I was. The scent of coffee dragged me out of bed and into the bathroom. By the time I cracked my eyes open and peered over the ledge, Colt was moving around his kitchen with an abundance of energy I didn’t appreciate. Clearly, he was a morning person.
A quick brush of my teeth and washing sleep off my face brought me into the kitchen where he hummed the same songs we’d fallen asleep to. How had I gotten so lucky to smash an inside out cupcake against this guy?
His bold blue eyes popped against the light grey suit he wore, tailored to perfection, showing off that frame I didn’t get a chance to take advantage of because the wine had me in a chokehold.
“Mr. Warner, you look dapper and perky,” I chuckled as he handed me a cup of coffee.
“It’s not as good as Cocoa Caffeine, but it gets the job done. It looks like I’m not the only one who’s perky. Here I thought I was the only one who woke up hard in this house.” He picked me up and placed me on the countertop. That devilish smirk of his was dangerous as he dipped and stole a kiss off my hardened nipple. I moaned as his tongue circled around it before he sucked it hard, massaged it gently, and nipped it before releasing it back to me.
“That is not fair! You cannot wake me up like that and then head off to work,” I moved to run my hand down his chest when he backed away.
He moved in closer, teasing me, taunting me, kissed me silly and backed off, “I can’t have you devour my soul this morning, Miss Wilkins. I have consultants to review and you happen to be one of them.”
“Excuse me?” I asked. Playful energy vanished. I didn’t fuck around when it came to my business.
“You came up on a list of independents Tipping Point consultants okayed to do an audit.”
“Poppy Andrews?” I asked with my face twisted in irritation.
“Yeah! You up for the gig?” he asked me.
“Eh, I am not sure I would be. Either way, the Wilhelm Institute has me booked into Spring of next year. Besides, I hate Poppy.”
“Hate? Such a strong word.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, and it’s well earned. She set me up and I don’t like being set up.”
“Like on a date?”
“No,” I laughed. “Like her company was into some funny shit and she wanted me to sign all kinds of non-disclosures which isn’t foreign in our business, but she wanted me to delay some of my reports to the SEC and that’s not how I get down. I do my job legally and professionally. Any time someone asks me about delaying findings or my reports to a government watchdog, it’s time for me to break out.”
“You’re covered for that though, right?”
“Of course! I had Dylan’s lawyer help me draft my contracts. If there’s even a thought of perceived impropriety, unethical behavior, or crimes being committed, I’m obligated to cancel the contract and contact the authorities if necessary.”
“So, I can tell Chelsea we’re definitely not using you?”
“Definitely not, besides, it’s a conflict of interest since our relationship isn’t exactly a secret.”
“That it isn’t. I’d be the stupidest man alive if I didn’t shout it from the rooftops how much I loved you.”
Chapter 22
Colt
Days turned into weeks as we entered November with Nina still staying with me and the Tipping Point deal still lingering in the air.
Chelsea waltzed into my office without knocking, and that bothered me. She’d been doing a lot of things that bothered me as of late. She let herself get too comfortable around me, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“Morning, Mr. Warner,” she said in an odd attempt to sound seductive, or perhaps it was to sound like Nina? If that was the case, this was getting weird.
“Yeah, Chelsea?” I tried to shove the thought out of my head. She wasn’t being weird. I was overthinking her behavior.
