Page 31 of Only for the Season

Isettle at the corner table in the bakery with my laptop. Since it’s not open today, Parker said I could work here.

Anything’s better than sitting in the loft trying to figure out where I went wrong with this app. I had such big hopes forSynq.The whole company ofApparoodoes. And they’re all looking at me – waiting for me to pull it off, like I always do. Or always have done in the past.

This time is different. Every time I open my laptop, my chest tightens. My fingers hesitate. What if I can’t figure out this problem? What if this is the moment I drop the ball and everything falls apart?

I scowl when my telephone rings. I should have left it upstairs except the other board members freak out if they can’t reach me. Except Eli. He knows I don’t answer the phone when I’m in the zone.

Too bad I haven’t been in the zone for months now.

My scowl deepens when I notice who it is. Miranda. Miranda is Eli’s secretary, but she uses every excuse she can to contact me.

“What?” I bark into the phone.

“Jeremy.” She giggles in that high-pitched fake way women do when they want something from you.

The sound isn’t similar to the way Parker giggles. Happiness practically bursts from her when she giggles. Especially when she’s giggling because I have blue frosting on my shoes. The shoes are now ruined. Worth it.

“What do you want?” I growl. I have zero patience for Miranda. She’s hit on every member of the board atApparoo.If Eli was in the office more often, she’d have been fired by now.

“Everyone’s wondering when you’ll be in the office again.” Instead of giggling, this time she uses a breathy voice. It doesn’t sound any more real than her laughter. I really should insist Eli fire her. It’s time.

I am sick and tired of women who will do anything in their power to ‘catch’ a rich husband. I’m not a fish. I’m not a thing you catch and play with. I’m a human being.

“I’ll be in the office when I’m in the office.”

“No fair.” Now she’s pouting. I know her well enough to imagine her lower lip jutting out in an attempt to be sexy. It’s not. “We miss you.”

“Miranda,” I growl. “I don’t have time for this.”

“I know. I know. You’re a busy man. You should make time for fun.”

I made time for fun this morning. Parker was panicking about finishing the gingerbread house before the deadline. And I actually had fun helping her. It was inspiring watching her creation come to life. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a mermaid or a pirate on a gingerbread house before but it worked.

She’s amazing. And sexy. If Parker was the one on the phone trying so obviously to seduce me, I wouldn’t hesitate. But the baker hates me. Ever since she found out I’m a billionaire, she’s made it perfectly obvious what she thinks of me and my money.

I wonder why she has an issue with money. I wonder how her skin feels. How would she react if I pulled her into my arms and kissed her?

My cock grows and hardens. It wants to know how it feels when buried deep inside her. The feeling is mutual.

“Jeremy!” Miranda shouts and my cock immediately deflates. It has no interest in a gold digger. “Are you listening to me?”

“No.”

“Don’t be rude.”

“I’m being honest. I told you I don’t have time for you. If you don’t have any real business with me, I’m hanging up.”

“The technical team wants the specs.”

“The specs for what?”

“They said you’d know.”

“Did they ask you to contact me?” I can’t imagine anyone from the technical team asking Miranda to reach out to me. She doesn’t deign to speak to them.

“Well, no, but I heard them talking.”

“You heard them talking?” The technical team is on a different floor from the executives. The floor has the best security money can buy. No one is stealing an idea fromApparoo.Not if I can help it.