Graham quirked an eyebrow, his lip hinting at amusement, then turned to his employee with his business mask on. “Ms. Venedetta doesn’t need an appointment.” He looked to me and back to his receptionist. “Ever.”
He took my elbow and steered me down the hall he had just come from. The woman sitting at the desk outside of his office stood as we approached. “Cancel my 9AM call, Rebecca.”
“It’s Eliza.”
“Whatever.”
He shut the door behind us and no sooner than it closed, I was up against it, and Graham sealed his mouth over mine. The brown paper bag carrying the bagels dropped to the floor, my fingers needing to thread into his hair. He kissed me long and hard, his tongue doing that aggressive dance with mine while his hard body crushed me against the door. The desperation of his need turned me on instantly. Reaching down, he lifted one of my legs, allowing him to press deeper into me in just the right place. Oh, God.
“Graham.”
He groaned.
“Graham.”
My hand holding the coffee was starting to shake.
“I’m going to drop the coffees.”
“So drop them.” He mumbled against my lips and then his tongue was back searching.
“Graham,” I chuckled into our joined mouths.
He hissed out a frustrated breath. “I need you.”
“Can you let me put down the coffees and maybe take a look around your office before you maul me?”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Considering that sounds like the answer will be no if it’s a question, I’m telling you.”
He groaned but stepped back.
“I love the glasses, by the way. Not sure if I told you that the other night when you wore them to Tig’s.”
“I’ll throw away my contacts.”
I walked to his desk, getting my first look around his office as I set down the coffees. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Manhattan skyline on two sides of his corner office. There was a large mahogany desk positioned at an angle that faced one glass wall. Not one, but two sleek computers were positioned next to each other on his desk. The top of the desk had various case files strewn about, and piles of documents were flipped open in mid-review.
“Your office is beautiful. But it looks like you’re busy. I won’t stay long. I just came to drop off a bagel and coffee.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” I got my first full look at him. He was still gorgeous, but he looked tired and stressed. “You look exhausted.”
“I’ll survive.” He motioned to a seating area. “Come. Sit. Have breakfast with me. I actually haven’t eaten anything since last night.” The other side of the office had a long leather couch with two wingback chairs across from it and a glass coffee table separating the seating. Graham sat, and I pulled out the bagels and unwrapped them.
“I got you what I like since I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
“I’ll eat whatever you feed me.”
“In that case…”
A dirty grin crossed his face. “Don’t think I won’t hold you down on this couch and feast on you until my entire staff knows you’re a religious girl.”
I shoved my bagel into my mouth to stop myself from daring him. The minute it took to chew and swallow also let me get my libido somewhat under control. “So…were you able to ward off the bad guys?”
“I am one of the bad guys, Soraya.”
“You know what I mean. To stop people from taking advantage.”
“Yes. And no. It’s complicated. In our business, there are many layers of ownership. I’m working through those layers now. But it seems Liam had established a poison pill to deter a takeover from an unwanted party. That poison allows existing shareholders to purchase additional shares at a discounted price, which would dilute the value of shares and make the acquisition less attractive to prospective takeovers.”
“So, he had an escape plan.”
“Exactly. And it would have worked well had he granted those rights to a corporation that was trustworthy.”
“I take it he didn’t.”
Graham shook his head. “No.”
“Sounds complicated and messy.”
“It is.”
“How are you handling the non-business stuff?”
“The non-business stuff?”
“You lost a friend.”
“An ex-friend.”
I nodded. “An ex-friend. But he must have been someone you cared about for a period of your life since you started your business together.”
“At one point. Yes. But as you know, things changed.”
“I saw on the news this morning that it was a heart attack.”
“Happened in the car. He swerved off the road and hit a tree. Was dead by the time the police arrived. Luckily, no one else was in the car. Genevieve said he was supposed to have had their daughter in the car, but she wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home. Otherwise…”
He saw the look on my face.
“I spoke to her this morning. She called for help with the business issues, but I was already working on it.”
“I didn’t realize you were friendly.”
“We aren’t. It was a business call. She knew I would help, and there would be a benefit for both of us to stop others from devaluing the company.”