The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) by Piper Sheldon (e book reader android txt) 📕

She handed it to me, her lips trying to hide her smile as she rolled her eyes at me. “And one of these.” She slid a chocolate masterpiece over on a napkin. “You’re wrong, by the way. You’ve never had a doughnut like this. Just try a bite.”

I was tempted to force her to feed it to me, but quickly shut that down. I definitely would not ask Skip to do that. I took a bite and moaned. Three bites later it was gone.

“Fuck me, that was good.” I licked the remaining frosting from my fingers.

When I glanced back to her, she looked away, her cheeks blushing. Maybe because she seemed to work extra hard to get me to come out of my cranky shell or maybe because watching her blush was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen, it wasn’t long before I was back to my normal cherry spirits.

“I do love hole foods,” I said.

She blinked at me and I pointed to the center of the doughnut. “Hole foods, get it.”

She rolled her eyes but laughed. “See, these are magic.”

“I think it’s the company,” I said.

“You shouldn’t say stuff like that.” But this time when she said it there was no fight to her words.

I shrugged. If that’s what it took to get a smile. I would break all the rules.

We spent the rest of the morning working through the itinerary for MooreTek. The team-building activities Outside the Box specialized in fit easily into what she had already arranged. Seeing her so focused and in her element of control shouldn’t add fuel to my inappropriate-thoughts fire, but since I’m a selfish bastard, I might as well own it.

As the minutes passed, she slipped out of her heels and tucked her feet under her. The black pantyhose became sheer when she folded her legs, and her skirt rode up. I loved the glimpse of thigh her new position afforded me. Soon after, she shrugged out of her blazer. When she took out her hair to redo the twisty thing, I almost lost my mind.

Unaware of the direction my thoughts had taken, she fluffed her hair, the sweet scent of her shampoo wafting over me. “Yeah, that’s a great idea. You could take them to do the rope thing, and then that night I’ll coordinate a special dinner.”

I only half listened as she spoke. Her arms lifted above her head as she expertly re-twisted her hair, recreating her earlier updo.

“Good, hey?” I said.

How did she learn to do that? How could she make it look so perfect without a mirror? With arms lifted, her shirt rose and a glimpse of a tattoo revealed itself on her waist. I swallowed and wished my gaze alone could move her shirt aside.

“Sanders?” she said my name like this wasn’t the first time she’d tried to get me to answer. “Yo, Colonel!” She shoved my chair with her pantyhose foot.

“Yup?”

“Are you listening?”

“Of course,” I said, forcing my focus back to her face. Roxy glared at me adorably.

“It has to be next week or nothing. This is a big deal.”

“Okay.” I smiled at her.

She sat back in the conference chair and stretched her arms over her head. “Don’t you want to write anything down? We made a lot of plans.”

“Roxy. Trust me. Remember?”

She sighed. Her thumbnail picked at the grain of the conference table.

“Vincent emailed me.” She kept her features straight but she messed with her fringe. “He said MooreTek’s CEO is bringing her think-tank. They’re counting on us to inspire some brilliant breakthrough.”

“Eesh. No pressure.”

“This is what I’m saying. I trust you, Sanders. But I really want to make sure you understand how huge this is for the Lodge.”

People sometimes underestimated me because of my easygoing personality. I was used to that. I repeated back the itinerary of the next week hour by hour. Her eyebrows inched up as I spoke, and by the time I was done, she was almost smiling.

“I’ll also write it down, if that would make you feel better,” I added softly. “I’m taking this as serious as you, okay?”

She let out a breath that puffed out her lips. “Okay,” she said.

“Don’t worry, Roxxo. I know you may not buy into all this new-age stuff, but I’ve worked with some of the biggest companies in the country. There’s truly something to be said for learning to pull back your mask and show some vulnerability with your work mates. I’ve seen billionaires in tears who come up with their most innovative ideas from that rawness. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t really believe in it.”

“I trust you,” she said.

We held each other’s gaze and I could almost feel her opening up to me. Like a tight new bud of spring just barely starting to bloom. I would be gentle and patient. I would not crush her. I could be the sunshine that coaxes her to reveal herself.

Around noon my stomach growled loudly enough for her to hear.

I put a hand on my middle. “Shush, you.”

She looked up from her notebook. “I think we’re good for the day. Why don’t you go get lunch. I just have a few more notes to take.”

I stood and stretched, arms high until my back popped. When I looked back at her, she was chewing on her lip and looking at the little bit of skin revealed. She looked away, quickly pretending to take a note on a yellow-lined notebook. I took a steadying breath and straightened my shirt.

“Good idea. Need anything?” I asked.

She stayed focused on her paper, chewing the end of her pen. Did she understand that everything she did was so sexy? From this angle her cleavage was fully on display. A little flick of color flashed beneath her bra strap, stretching almost to her collarbone. What I wouldn’t give to discover where that tattoo went. I needed hours to explore.

I must have gone noticeably still and quiet because she looked up. She pulled her shirt closed