Page 6 of Accidental Theirs (Alpha Billionaire Daddies #6)

Chapter Six

DAMIEN

The Monday after the office get-together, everyone looks tired and slightly hungover. It seems like I’m not the only one that tied one on.

It makes me feel better that I’m not the only idiot here, but at the same time, I wish my whole office wasn’t in such a shitty mood.

Even Olivia seems snappy when I ask her how her morning is.

She just grumbles something and walks away with her coffee, brandishing it like a shield.

I shrug and go back to my work, and at lunch, I end up getting half my meatball sub on my white shirt.

I groan, standing up and unbuttoning it, tossing it in the wastebasket. That sauce will never come out, even at the dry cleaner.

A knock surprises me, and before I can call out to wait a moment, Olivia comes in, shutting the door behind her.

She whirls around to look at me and freezes, her eyes skating across my chest .

I hold up my hands to shield myself, my cheeks burning hot.

“Oh, shit.” She turns around, and I can see the blush creeping up her neck. “I’m sorry. What... What are you doing in here naked?”

I bark out a laugh. “Shirtless isn’t exactly naked, Olivia.”

“Well, what are you doing shirtless ?”

“I spilled my lunch all over my shirt. Stop clutching your pearls, grandma. I have another one.” I pull on a T-shirt I have in my gym bag, and she turns around, clearing her throat.

“What size is that, extra small?” she asks dryly, and I snort out a laugh.

“You want to stop talking about my body and tell me what you need?”

She runs a hand through her hair, and it gets stuck halfway. She seems annoyed, shaking it out.

“I wanted to talk to you about Titan. About this merger.”

I sigh heavily. “Olivia, we’ve been over this.”

“I don’t want to do it.”

I sigh.

This is the fifth time we’ve had this conversation.

“And I’m telling you, we don’t have much of a choice. Your mother took a lot of risks before the end of her life, and we lost money.”

“Not that much money, right? We can last a bit longer on savings...”

We can’t. We don’t have any savings.

But I don’t want to stress her out.

“Not comfortably. Not without laying off employees or cutting salaries. Do you want to be the one to tell the receptionist we can’t afford her?”

“No! Brenda’s mean .”

I laugh and step closer to her, coming around my desk to face her. I brace myself with my hands behind me, looking at her.

“We need this merger, Olivia. Sebastian runs a tight ship over there. It’s going to be all right.”

“But what if it’s not? What if this is a big mistake?”

“It’s not a mistake.” I lean in closer. “When have I ever led you wrong?”

She bites her lip, a sexy habit she has that makes my heart race. “You haven’t.”

“Damn straight. And I won’t. You may be the owner, but I’m the CEO, and I know what I’m doing. Okay?”

She smiles. “Yes, sir.” She gives me a sloppy salute, then she pauses. “Listen, Ford is coming by today?—”

I groan. “Not Ford.”

It’s not that I don’t like Ford Carter. Quite the opposite, we’re friends outside of work.

But he doesn’t take anything seriously, including work. He’s a barely-there board member, but when he comes into the office, he wants to nitpick everything, and it drives me crazy.

“I told him not to touch anything,” she says, deadpan, as if Ford is six years old instead of nearly thirty.

I can’t help but chuckle. “Fine. Now, tell me. How did your night end up?”

She stares at me blankly.

“You know. The other night? The party?”

“Oh. Oh . Not great. Ran into my ex and went home early.”

I wince. “So, you didn’t get to know the gossip about Sebastian?”

I’m asking because I’m curious. Not because I’m jealous that she was flirting with him. Or because I secretly want to have dinner with her.

She shakes her head. “He really doesn’t want to talk about it. Just makes me more curious. I’m going to find out, though.”

“I bet you will.”

She frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Just that you have your womanly charms. He’s not immune to them.”

“Are you suggesting I flirt with Sebastian to find out about his marriage?” Her eyes are wide, and I swallow hard.

“No! I mean, no. Of course not. I’m just saying that was what you appeared to be doing the other night.”

“Oh, so you’re accusing me?—”

“I’m not accusing you of anything! I was just... making an observation.”

“Well, I wasn’t flirting.” She huffs, and I spread my hands.

“Fair enough.”

“I wouldn’t flirt with the CEO of Titan. Or any CEOs.”

My heart falls just a bit.

Of course, she wouldn’t. She’s professional. Which means that she and I would never flirt.

Even though it felt like that’s what we were doing the other night.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m seeing things I want to see, not what’s actually there.

“I’m not accusing you?—”

She tilts her head. “Aren’t you?”

I draw in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry if it seems that way. It was not my intention.”

Even I can hear the flatness in my own voice, and she frowns, stepping closer to me.

God, why does she wear such short skirts? Is it just because her legs are so long? Maybe on a less leggy woman, it’d be less enticing, but it’s all I can do to keep my eyes on her face as she steps ever closer .

“What’s going on with you?” It’s barely a whisper, and my eyes widen as I look down at her.

My shoulders stiffen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Of course, I’ve been too obvious. I’ve had a crush on her for what seems like forever, but I’ve never been this obsessed ... not until the other night.

It’s like she opened some sort of door and forgot to close it behind her. Like everything in me wants her now, instead of some locked-away part.

Fuck.

The vanilla and cocoa scent of her body wash or shampoo washes over me, making my head light on my shoulders.

“Something’s wrong.” She takes one more step until I’m backed up against the desk, bracing on with my hands behind me.

She cups my cheek, and I have to fight not to turn into her touch.

I shake my head without pulling away.

“Everything’s fine.”

“Fine, huh?”

I lick my lips as her tongue swipes over hers, unable to help myself.

I nod tightly. “Fine.”

“Would it be fine if I kissed you right now?”

My heart races. “Would it be fine with you?”

“I asked you first.” Her voice has dropped to a low murmur, and her gaze is on my mouth instead of my eyes.

“Yes,” I breathe, and it’s barely out of my mouth before she crashes her lips on mine, hot, hungry, almost feral, our teeth nearly gnashing together.

I moan into her mouth, grabbing the back of her head, my thigh socketing between her legs as if it’s meant to be there .

I almost expect her to pull away, tell me this is too much, that I’m taking things too far, but instead, she moves her mouth to my neck, kissing me there while I pant, trying to keep from bursting in my slacks.

I know she can tell how hard I am, how I’m tenting my expensive suit pants, but she still doesn’t pull away, in fact, wantonly rocking her hips against my thigh.

“Olivia,” I whisper, and it seems to break some kind of spell.

Her pale green eyes widen so far it's nearly alarming, and she backs away, shaking her head, curls falling from the bun on the top of her head.

“What am I doing?” Her eyes dart from side to side as she rubs a hand across her face. “I’m sorry, Damien. Forgive me.”

I frown. “Forgive me?”

She waves a hand at me dismissively. “You’re forgiven.”

My jaw tightens.

She’s not listening. Because I’m not sorry. I’m not asking for forgiveness. In fact, I want to ask her on a date, but she’s already adjusting her clothes and rubbing at her mouth, where her lipstick is smeared.

She rushes out of my office, and I stand there for a long moment, putting my hand to my mouth like her kiss is something sacred.

It sure felt like it.

Now I just have to hope that wasn’t a one-time thing. Because that one kiss wasn’t enough.

No. It has only made me hungrier for her.