Page 183 of Savage Suit

The feel of his big, muscular arm around me brought me comfort, and I snuggled against him before answering Soraya. “Thank you. And officially? About two hours.”

“Two hours?” Graham and Soraya echoed, each looking simultaneously amused and bewildered.

“Unofficially, we’ve been seeing each other for some weeks now,” Noah explained, before changing the subject. “How are the kids?”

“They’re great. It’s a fight to get Lorenzo to leave his room with all the toys he got on his birthday, and the kid hates school. Chloe is on track to make the honor roll again,” Graham supplied, his happiness clear. “Chloe is with Genevieve, and Lorenzo is spending Halloween with Soraya’s mom.”

“How old are your kids?” I asked, looking at Soraya. Graham was down-to-earth and easy-going, but he was also Noah’s friend, and I didn’t want to make a bad impression.

“Chloe’s ten,” Soraya answered, her contentment as obvious as her husband’s. “Genevieve is Chloe’s mother,” she added. “Lorenzo is five and the only child we share for another few months.” She placed a protective hand on her belly.

Noah looked at the pride gleaming on Graham’s face. “You two are pregnant again?”

“Yep. In about eight months, Lorenzo will have a little brother or sister,” Graham answered.

“That’s great,” Noah said with genuine enthusiasm. “I’m going to be an uncle again.”

“Congratulations,” I offered.

“Thank you,” Soraya answered, smiling at me. “Why don’t you and I go dance so these two can chat about boring business shit? It’ll be easier to gossip about them, too,” she teased, winking at Graham’s playful frown.

“Sounds great,” I said around a laugh, and removed my shoes. “I can’t wait to hear Graham’s dirt.”

“And I can’t wait to hear Noah’s. Don’t leave out any details, either,” she ordered, getting to her feet and waiting for me to do the same.

“We’re right here, you two,” Graham said.

“Yeah, at least lie to us,” Noah added.

Soraya shook her head. “You know we’re joking. We’re just going to get to know each other better.”

“A café is better than a dance floor, but have fun,” Noah called as we walked away.

I turned my head and stuck my tongue out at him, though the idea wasn’t a bad one. Perhaps Soraya and I should make a coffee date to get to know each other better. After all, she was the wife of my boyfriend’s best friend. Since I intended to be a lasting part of Noah’s life, I wanted to become closer to others he cared about.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“I’m done.” Tired, frustrated, and missing Ryan, I got to my feet, glared at the executives sitting at the table and stormed out of the conference room. We’d reached an impasse. It was almost seven on a Sunday evening, and I’d arrived for the meeting hours ago.

“Mr. Kee—” I didn’t wait to hear whatever the receptionist intended to say.

“Noah, fuck, wait,” Nicholas called, but I didn’t stop.

I’d been gone five days already and each day pissed me off a little more. Months ago, Zokale executives approached Kee-Tel with an offer, good in theory. Tina was all for the deal, convinced it was a win-win for us.

Zokale wanted to break into the overseas market. With an exclusive agreement between the two companies, we’d offer their telecom services to our customers. Tina had finally swayed me into seeing her vision. Right after my father died, I investigated expanding Kee-Tel, then decided against it. The company was profitable selling equipment. Offering services would bring in a new revenue stream and a new set of problems.

“Noah!” Nicholas yelled, hot on my heels as I stalked toward the elevator. “Where the fuck are you going?” he demanded once he caught up to me.

I punched the down button. “I’m done, Nicholas. They’re the most unreasonable motherfuckers ever. It isn’t worth my fucking time. I have amended our offers as they asked. Does it matter? Fuck no! Every day, they demand more.”

“This deal is worth a fuckton of money,” Nicholas snapped as the elevator doors opened.

“It isn’t worth the headache. Yesterday, they wanted a twenty-million-dollar guarantee and fifteen percent of the profits.” Regretfully, the elevator doors closed and left me in Nicholas’ company. “The day before, they asked for a fifty-percent profit share in smaller markets. When we arrived, they wanted inclusion in the New England market. Today, twenty million skyrocketed to seventy-five-million. New England ballooned into the entirety of our domestic clients. It isn’t happening.”

“Tina wants the deal to go through.”

“Tina isn’t here,” I reminded him. She was at home, ill. I thought my brother should’ve stayed in Manhattan to look after his wife. As usual, he disagreed, but I hadn’t made much of the matter since he seemed to accept my relationship with Ryan. “And I’d vote the deal down as would most of Kee-Tel’s shareholders.”