Page 135 of Savage Suit

Del winked at me. “You figure it out,” she said, then ushered Quinn and Soraya away.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

After a weekend of sulking and self-loathing, Monday’s arrival filled me with a strange sense of dread at seeing Noah again. I knew how he’d expect me to act, and I knew he’d have the barrier firmly in place. Shame morphed into apprehension and bled into anger.

When I’d informed Quinn of the kiss during our two-hour conversation on Saturday, she thought I was overreacting and recommended that I not stress. Fucking easy for her to say, I decided grouchily as I stepped off the elevator and onto the twelfth floor.

“Ms. Hagen,” Mrs. Mikes greeted. “Mr. Keegan wants to see you in his office at once. He doesn’t wish to wait until you bring your things to your office.”

Shit.

“Why?” I asked, my voice so shaky she eyed me with suspicion. I glanced at my watch. “I’m on time.”

She presented her back to me and turned to her computer before answering. “I’m not sure. He didn’t say.”

Fucking shit.

“Okay,” I muttered. My stomach knotted as I hurried to his office. The moment I knocked on his door, he bade me enter.

“Ms. Hagen, Megan is on leave and I’m unsure when she’ll return,” he said, not bothering with a proper greeting.

Simple. Brief. To the point. Just like most of our recent exchanges where zero pleasantries existed. Usually, the abruptness rolled off me. Today, it just made me feel worse.

Besides, he didn’t explain why I needed to know this information. True, I consulted Megan here and there, but we stayed away from each other as much as possible. But Noah was searching my face, his gaze touching everywhere, as if he’d never seen me before.

I wanted to escape to my office, where I’d used the money he’d given me on my first day to put my own touches. Though it was small, it had become my safe space. “Is that all?”

“For now, yes. Plan on returning to my office at noon. Over lunch, we can strategize your upcoming presentation with the Amage brothers.”

Between Noah’s kiss and Ian’s assholery, I’d pushed aside having to face that asswipe Claude again.

His gaze held mine. “Gather whatever documents you have so we can review them today. I’ll see you at noon.”

The intensity of his blue eyes captivated me. Somehow, I managed a single nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Excellent.”

“This is outstanding work, Ms. Hagen,” I said, flipping through the folder detailing her plan. Instead of having a private lunch in my office, I’d opted for another visit to Three Amigos to better focus on business.

Still, it was all I could do to keep my hands to myself. All I wanted to do was take her face between my hands and take in every detail. I wanted to kiss her gently, then fuck her hard.

She was so much more than just my girl in blue. She was Ryan.

She was mine.

“Not that I doubted you,” I said, setting the folder aside and smiling at her.

“Thank you, Mr. Keegan,” she responded, her rigid posture and the formalness of her tone irking me.

Her reserved demeanor shouldn’t have vexed me. Earlier, I’d been the same. I could attribute my attitude to lingering fury over Megan Buford.

Reid hadn’t wanted to leave Tig and Del’s party because Quinn declined his invitation to accompany us to dinner. In the end, we had gone to my brother’s house. He’d been cordial, attributable to Tina’s presence.

Once Reid let slip he’d been staying at a hotel to avoid Megan and I demanded to know if he’d discovered any role she’d played in Ryan’s humiliation, Tina told me to leave everything to her. She’d delivered. I had spent most of yesterday, enacting the same plans I’d employed to ruin the Warringtons.

Ryan shifted in her seat, and I gazed at her, remembering the softness of her lips and her body against mine.

Shit. Now wasn’t the time for this. I thought of all things pure and holy to cure my unexpected lust in such a public setting. I damned my dick for rising. Never had I been mad at my cock for functioning as it should, but there was a first time for everything.