Page 31 of Tainted Love

‘Erm, sorry, sir.’ Sue clears her throat in the doorway. ‘I’ll close this for you.’

‘Do so,’ he says, turning my chin back to face him, his complete attention focused on only me. ‘I wish I could take you home to my bed right now.’

Closing my eyes, I try to push those thoughts away. ‘Me too but we’ve got work to do.’

He bites the tip of my nose. ‘We have.’

We settle onto the two leather sofas in his office and a blushing Sue brings through coffee, setting out the pot and two saucers on the table between us. I offer her an apologetic smile, both because she walked into our embarrassing PDA moment, and because I remember she has a crush on my man.

After a chat through the background information onBlack Diamonds,Gregory fills me in on what Tim and Jean-Paul have pulled together for Constant Sources. Gregory doesn’t want to keepBlack Diamondsavailable for gaming; he wants to buy it and take it off the market to stop it from putting a dent in the profits ofhisgame,Jail Run. Tim, Jean-Paul and Williams have all looked over the finances.Black Diamondsis still in its infancy but if it continues on the current projections, it could take 50 per cent ofJail Run’s profit in twelve months.

‘Is it so similar to your game that there could be an intellectual property claim?’

He twists one side of his mouth and shifts his head. ‘Not similar enough. It’s a popular concept. It’s just a case of having the best.’ He leans back into his sofa, spreading an arm across the back of the leather seat. ‘It’s pretty amazing though, what this kid’s done. I mean, he’s nineteen and from what I can tell from digging, this is his first venture.’

‘Very entrepreneurial.’

‘Indeed, but I wonder whether he’s just the face of the game, to give it a story. The way he’s got the game on the market and selling, it’s like he’s had support from someone experienced.’

‘Or a case of first time lucky.’

‘Possibly.’ He glances at his Omega. ‘Right. It’s five to seven. They’ll be here any minute. Let’s get this done, then I can take you home and fuck you until you scream my name into tomorrow.’

I gasp, then he winks at me and I laugh, hard. ‘I’m going to call your bluff on that, Mr Ryans.’

‘I sincerely hope you do.’

Sue’s voice comes over the intercom on Gregory’s desk. ‘Your 7p.m. has arrived, sir.’

‘Showtime, lady.’ He stands and fastens one button of his blazer then lifts his head and corrects his silk tie.

‘I like you in a three piece,’ I confess, straightening my dress.

‘I like you naked.’

Despite myself, I smirk. ‘Gregory, that’s not professional.’

‘Apologies, Legal Counsel. I also like you in that tight little black dress. I like thinking about how I can take you out of it.’

‘Game face, Ryans.’

‘Sorry.’ His lips straighten.

‘Better. Now, before we go in there, I want to know your tactics.’

‘Don’t worry about my tactics, Scarlett; this is what I do.’

‘I do worry, Gregory. This product might be selling now but as far as I can tell, there’s no registered intellectual property in the game. If you intend to buy it and take it off the market, there’s not much protecting you. If someone brings a replica to market, you could be right back to where you are now.’

‘All right, all right. I get it. I’m going in at five hundred thousand.’

I contemplate that figure.Seems reasonable.‘And your upper limit?’

He leans his head to one side with a look that tells me I’m not going to find out the answer to that question. He holds open the door to the office for me. ‘You’ll know if I reach it.’

I grit my teeth. ‘Good to know we’re a team here.’

We make our way to the boardroom on twenty-seven. ‘This one is bigger and more intimidating,’ Gregory explains.