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What was I thinking?None of this was any of my business.Sofia was overall a happy, healthy kid.I hadn’t seen anything that would make me think otherwise.

“Let’s wash up real quick,” I suggested.“So we can be ready for dinner.”

She scrambled, jumping up and heading straight for her bathroom.I sat back on my heels with a weary sigh.I loved the kid.She was terrific, but she was just about as exhausting as her father.

It was like the man heard me thinking about him.I turned, gasping in surprise, when he cleared his throat rather loudly in the doorway.He hadn’t showered yet unless he changed right back into his work clothes afterward.“Sorry to startle you,” he said.“But I didn’t want to interrupt that beautiful moment.”

Sarcastic prick.“It’s all right,” I told him.His brows drew together when I smiled, then stood.“She got a little distracted, but we’re back on track.”

“That was a nice trick you pulled.”

“I’m sorry?”I asked.The man spoke in riddles.

“Listen.”All at once, he narrowed his eyes, and the effect sent a chill down my spine.“I don’t appreciate being talked to like I’m a toddler.”

“I don’t understand?—”

“Why don’t you take some time and let me know how you’re feeling?” He rolled his eyes and scoffed.His imitation of me was laughable, but this wasn’t the time.“Is that your way of placating both of us?”

Whoops.So I used a little bit of child psychology on him.It wasn’t like I wanted to make a fool out of him or anything.“Mr.Knight, please?—”

He was determined not to let me get an entire sentence out.“I talk to you like you’re an adult.You talk to me like I’m an adult.Got it?Or do I need to take time to express myself more clearly?”

This wasn’t a matter of him being grumpy or feeling like he didn’t have control.He was bound and determined to be mean.

I wasn’t a child.

I knew how the world worked.But that didn’t keep my heart from aching just a little when he turned away without another word and walked down the hall.

5

TRAVIS

After concluding the conference call with my Board of Directors, I said, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.I’m looking forward to meeting face-to-face next month.”

Next month?More like a couple of weeks.Next monthmade it sound like there was time to prepare for this.Not that I needed the time.This was something I’d been working on for months, almost a year.The expansion was necessary if I wanted the company to grow, which was my ultimate goal.Knight Shipping Services would be the biggest shipping company in the world.

Bigger than anything Dad was ever able to build.

I closed my eyes, leaning back in my chair, willing myself to be careful.I didn’t want to think about it that way.Though not so deep down inside, that was exactly what I wanted more than anything—to bury him and his piddling company.To be bigger than anything my old man ever dreamed of.

One of the things about running my own personal empire was the hours it chewed up.By the time the call ended, it was well past nine o’clock.That was the only time my assistant could make work.I looked around my home office, taking in the mementos of my journey so far.Photos of my first ships, the trips I had taken to new ports where my shipments would be delivered.I had seen the world and learned a hell of a lot about it in those early days, but nowhere near as much as I had learned about the process of doing business in it.Those were lessons I’d started earlier, during my days in China.Working some shitty grunt job at a desk across from Spencer’s, the two rich boys earning their stripes.

And it had backfired spectacularly in my father’s face.

I reflected on that as I left the room, moving slowly through the quiet house.Sofia must have gone to bed while I was on that call.I would have to check on her once I went upstairs to bed.At the moment, I was too keyed up to think about it.Instead, I went to the kitchen, pulling a bottle of chardonnay from the wine refrigerator.The bulk of my collection sat in a climate-controlled room at the far end of the house, but I liked to keep a few bottles handy for everyday use.

I was halfway through uncorking when a sound at the back door made me spin on my heel with the corkscrew held up like a weapon.What the hell did I expect to do with it?The door opened, and in came Penny, who stopped short with her eyes wide when she spotted me holding the corkscrew aloft.

“I was just throwing a bag in the trash can outside,” she explained, almost guilty.

At the moment, the only thing she was guilty of was uncoiling a curious sense of hunger in my gut.It was the most unexpected thing.Sure, I had checked her out before now, admiring her firm body in the rare moments when her old lady clothes revealed a little of what was underneath.

But right now?There was no question.She wore a pair of thin, soft shorts and a matching tank top with spaghetti straps that barely covered her waist.A pair of perky tits were on display now, tipped with pert nipples.The hair she usually pulled back or wore in pigtails was now loose, swinging around her face when she turned around to make sure she had locked the door behind her.

All right, so her clothes were printed with tiny hearts, but I could overlook that in light of what mattered more—long, slim legs and a tiny waist that flared into full hips.

I was no better than a lecherous old man drooling over the sweet young thing who crossed his path.She was only eight years younger, but it felt like a lifetime in experience.Somehow, reminding myself of that did nothing to cool my sudden interest.“Cecilia could’ve gotten that in the morning,” I reminded her, referring to the housekeeper who came in four days a week.