We rode back to headquarters discussing how the rest of the day was going to pan out. I tried prying some information out of Chace regarding him and Isabella, but he remained tight-lipped. As we stopped at Glenda’s desk to retrieve messages before our meeting, our attention was diverted to a woman walking out of Grayson’s office.

Her designer heels made her at least 5’10, and the V-neck dress she wore, which barely held her breasts in, matched the blood-red lipstick she wore perfectly. She spotted Chace and strolled over as if she was on a runway. She looked me up and down as if I was no more than trash before placing her hand on Chace’s chest and purring.

“It’s been a while.”

Chace took a half step in front of me, as if blocking me from view. Grayson came walking out of the office, his hair a mess and collar mussed. It didn’t take much to put together what had been going on here. He stopped at Glenda’s desk.

“Please have security escort Mrs. Stewart out of the building.”

She withdrew her hand from Chace and turned, a scowl creasing her brow. “Is that necessary, Grayson?”

He looked past her and made immediate eye contact with me. He glanced at Chace, almost as if he were silently pleading.

Chace lightly grabbed my arm. “You have that meeting.”

I pulled my arm away. “He means well, right?”

The blonde stood there and watched us back and forth before widening her grin. “Wait, is this her?”

“I would choose your next words wisely, Ashley,” Grayson said through gritted teeth.

Just then, the elevator dinged and security entered. I wasn’t going to wait around for the drama and strolled right past all of them to the conference room.

Sitting there, I willed myself not to cry. I felt like such a damn fool. I didn’t know how much time went by before someone else came in, and I realized I had a job to do.

Right before our meeting was to start, Grayson walked in. I immediately diverted my eyes, and noticed how everyone sat straighter in their chairs, as I willed mine to swallow me whole. He stood directly behind me. That masculine scent overpowered everything as he leaned over.

“Ms. Ross, may I have a moment of your time?”

Keeping my eyes on the doodle I was drawing, I answered, “No.”

He paused. “I’m sorry?”

I cleared my throat, and I glanced across the table at Edith, who only gawked at someone saying no to the CEO of the company. “I said no, Mr. Mandrake. No, you may not have a moment of my time. You may, however, request to schedule a moment of my time, and I’ll be sure to pencil you in at my earliest convenience.”

Holy shit! Did that just come out of my mouth? Okay, keep it together. You are officially speaking out of anger. Hold your ground. I dared a glance around the room. All eyes were on us. Well, this was embarrassing. I looked back up at Grayson, and his eyes were dark and smoldering. They narrowed at me, and I thought I saw a hint of a smile, but I was pretty sure that was wishful thinking on my part.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, his eyes never leaving mine. “On second thought, I think I’ll stay for the meeting after all.” Of course, the chair next to me was free. He slid in closer than one needed to, not respecting boundaries at all. I tried turning my chair in the opposite direction, but a firm grip on my thigh stopped me instantly.

Pursing my lips, I turned toward the beginning of the presentation as much as I could, or as much as Grayson would allow me. Just when I thought there was a possibility this might go well, the lights dimmed. Grayson’s ironclad grip started traveling up my thigh. I made a mental note to start wearing pants. I tried everything to get my chair to move without causing a distraction. His fingertips grazed the outer edge of my panties. He wouldn’t dare do this here. I was torn between trying to be pissed at him and trying to keep myself from being turned on.

As I attempted to shut my legs again, I swore I heard him smirk.

Hooking a leg around my ankle, he pried my legs apart before pushing the lace of my panties aside and lightly grazing over my clit. I jumped immediately upon contact.

So he was going to do this here. I was trying to retain my composure, and just when I thought I had it under control, he slipped two fingers past my folds, and I suddenly gripped the table. In the distance, I heard my name being called.

I glanced at the front of the room where Edith stood with Kevin, looking my way. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” My voice came out higher than I intended.

Edith started speaking again, but I didn’t hear a word that came out of her mouth the moment Grayson’s thumb started circling my clit. I was focusing hard on trying to keep my breathing under control.

All of a sudden, Grayson started contributing to the conversation while continuing his agonizing torture, while I sat there and bit my bottom lip to prevent myself from moaning. Every time a question was directed toward me, Grayson intercepted and I would nod in agreement. I was so close, and he knew just what to do.

“Well, I think this should call for an early dismissal for the day if everyone agrees, and if everyone is satisfied with this proposal?” Grayson flicked my clit and pleasure shot through me as I tried to stay as still as possible. He looked around the room as everyone nodded in response to the early dismissal. “Ms. Ross, for clarification, were you satisfied?”

That bastard. I nodded, since that’s all I could do. Everyone started to clear out of the room, but I just sat there.

When I finally got up and headed for the door, he grabbed my arm.

“I’m pissed at you. You had no right to do that.” I tried jerking my arm away, but he gripped it harder

He cocked his head. “Is that so?”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, I’m not kidding you right now.” He thrust me against the wall, his erection digging into me, and I found myself grinding into him. “You refused me, and in your defiant attitude, said you would pencil me in. Not only did you manage to piss me the fuck off, but you made me so fucking hard, I was prepared to throw you over this damn table and fuck you in front of everyone. So now we’re going to talk my way. I think it’s time I introduced you to orgasm denial. I’m going to fuck you, redden your ass, and then fuck you again, and maybe then we can talk.”

I opened my mouth to talk.

“Don’t say a word. I don’t want to hear a fucking word out of your mouth.” He dragged me out of the conference room.

As pissed as I was, I was unbelievably turned on.