Page 17 of The Tycoon (The Douglas Brothers #1)

sutton

Well. This will be interesting.

Glancing at Dolly from the corners of my eyes, I drink in her simmering frustration. I know that she’s upset that I’ve effectively ended our conversation. She wants to push back about the nonexistent flirtation, but she respects our symbiotic relationship enough not to. She really is amazing.

It’s not that I don’t want her to speak her mind.

On the contrary, I’m proud of the growth I’ve seen over her in the past five days.

I relish in the fact that her confidence is growing, that she’s becoming a bolder woman.

I don’t want her to be my doormat for the rest of her life; that’s not the kind of caretaker I am.

However, there is a time and place for everything.

Now is not the time, nor is this the place. She will simply have to stew.

I could tell her right now that Savannah is a lesbian to ease her worry, but that’s not my truth to tell.

Yes, Dolly is my lover and my future wife, but there are boundaries I must respect.

My assistant only came out to her family six months ago, and I promised to give her privacy in the matter.

She’s working through a life’s worth of trauma over having to hide who she is.

As her friend, I don’t want to add any more hardship.

Besides, if I was being honest, I am loving the flash of jealousy behind Dolly’s sky-blue eyes.

Does that make me an asshole? Maybe. Do I care? Not really.

Giving Dolly a reassuring wink, I turn my attention to the elevator doors.

As they open, I hear her take a sharp breath.

She’s readying herself over nothing, I am going to make this interaction as quick and painless as possible.

Then, I will have her take her frustration out on me before we go to sleep. It’s a win-win in my book.

“Hello, Savannah,” I say, keeping my voice as calm and even as possible.

Crossing the threshold into the foyer, my assistant gives me a million-dollar smile. Dragging a tiny black wagon behind her, she dances her warm brown eyes from me to Dolly.

“Hey, boss!” she replies cheerfully before bowing her head in Dolly’s direction. “Miss Dixon, it’s good to see you again. How did the swimsuit work out?”

I turn my head to look at my Princess. Despite the sweet smile on her beautiful face, her stiff posture is fraught with tension. She’s trying so hard to not let her annoyance show. It makes me beam just a little bit with pride.

“I, uh, I loved it! Thank you for picking it up for me,” she replies.

“Oh, good! Yeah, when Sutton told me that you were a gorgeous blonde with these ginormous blue eyes, and that your favorite color was pink, I knew exactly which bikini you had to have. Gucci has come out with some really hot swimsuits this year, but that one’s probably my favorite.

” she pauses for a moment, her gaze languidly travels up and down.

“I’m sure it looked amazing on you, you totally have the curves for it. ”

Dropping her eyes, Dolly nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She gives a tiny giggle, clearly disarmed by the compliment.

“Thank you, that’s…that’s really nice of you to say.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Savannah moves the wagon full of goodies to her side.

“Well, it’s the truth. You’ll have to send a picture next time so I can show the salesgirl that I was right to get the pink one and not the black one.

I’m still trying to work on Sutton, though.

I’ve been telling him forever that he would look so insanely delicious in the new logo swim brief they just came out with.

I mean, with that body? It’s a shame that he refuses to wear anything but the American style swim trunks.

How boring, right? I mean, he still looks hot in the trunks but he would be a fucking god in those Euro style swim briefs! ”

Whipping her head towards me, Dolly shoots phantom daggers my way.

“Yeah, he would look like a fucking god in those Euro style swim briefs,” she replies, her voice taking a slightly icy tone.

Meeting her angry eyes, I press my lips together to stop myself from chuckling. My beautiful Princess is pissed. I don’t want to make light of her emotions but damn, she is so adorable right now. It makes me want to tame her envy right here. My assistant be damned.

Not seeming to pick up on Dolly’s annoyance, Savannah nods her head. She moves her eyes up and down my body much as she did with Dolly. If I didn’t know with absolute certainty that I was not her cup of tea, I would bet my bottom dollar that she wanted to get into my pants.

“See, Sutton? You should listen to us! It really is a shame to hide those thighs of yours. I swear to God you could be one of those guys on TikTok that can crack a watermelon between them. I can already see those legs of yours just dripping in sweet, sticky watermelon juice.”

Roughly grabbing my arm, Dolly presses her womanly body against me. Holding onto me tightly, she squares her shoulders and puffs her chest in an act of dominance that is too cute for words.

“Well, I will be the only watermelon his thighs crack open,” she says haughtily.

Turning my attention from my jealous kitten to my assistant, I try as hard as I can to keep a straight face.

I truly believe that this is a first for her, I doubt she has ever staked her claim on another man like this.

I can tell by her slight tremble that she is completely out of her comfort zone.

I should be upset with her for behaving this way in front of my employee, but I am too turned on to care.

Nodding her head, Savannah gives me a cheeky look.

She opens her mouth to respond with what I’m sure is something kinky, but I stop her with a tiny shake of my head.

It’s going to take time for my Princess to warm up to my assistant.

Perhaps I will ask her for permission to tell Dolly about her sexuality, it would probably make things a little easier.

“Alright, well then,” she begins, handing me over the handle to the black canvas wagon. “It’s getting late, I should let you two lovebirds get back to uh, cracking those watermelons. Here is your dinner and all those packages that arrived at the office.”

Taking in a breath, my eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise.

“Oh? They arrived, already? You are a miracle worker, Savannah, thank you.”

Turning to hit the elevator call button, she huffs a tiny laugh.

“Yeah, you can thank me by giving me a little bonus in my next paycheck,” she teases as the doors to the lift open.

“I had a hell of a time getting…well, I’ll tell you after.

Yeah. I have some stories, don’t let me forget to tell you.

Have a good night, you two! I’ll talk to you in the morning, Sutton. ”

“Sounds good, Savannah. Drive safe,” I say, nudging Dolly with a little flick of my shoulder.

Clearing her throat, she follows my nonverbal command. Watching Savannah enter the elevator, she keeps a forced smile on her face.

“Uh, yes, please drive safe Savannah,” she says, her voice only slightly warmer. “It was nice seeing you, again.”

“You too, Miss Dixon! I’m sure I’ll see you soon. I’m always around. I swear, Sutton can’t wipe his own butt without me. Anyways, enjoy that juice,” she says suggestively just as the doors close shut.

Waiting until I hear the elevator descend, I fully turn to look at my jealous lover. Arching a brow, I click the tongue against the roof of my mouth in disapproval. I try to hide the humor on my face, but it somehow cracks through.

“Dolly, Dolly, Dolly…you were quite rude to my assistant. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Blinking at me, her mouth falls open. I watch her bristle for a moment before she pouts her pink lips in defeat.

“I'm sorry, Sir…I know I was. But she said some really, really flirty things and I didn’t appreciate them at all!” she replies, her voice lifting with every word.

“I mean, she was talking about your thighs and how hot you would look in one of those itty-bitty banana hammocks! I mean, come on! If the roles were reversed, I highly doubt you would have been as diplomatic as I was!”

Touche.

Pausing for a long moment, I keep my body language and expression as neutral as possible.

Of course she’s right, I would not have been.

I would have thrown her assistant against the wall, much like I did with her roommate.

Who, by the way, we haven’t been able to locate since our little scuffle.

But that’s another worry for another day.

“You’re right,” I finally say, reaching for her and pulling her against my bare torso. “I’m sorry, Princess. I should have said something because I knew it made you uncomfortable. I allowed my own desires to get the better of me, and that was wrong.”

Snuggling against my chest, her eyes pull upwards to meet mine.

“Your own desires?” she asks softly.

Nodding my head, I lean down to brush my lips over her forehead. I squeeze her a little tighter, wanting to give her as much physical reassurance as I can.

“Mmhm, your jealousy turned me on.”

“It did?” she asks.

Letting out a sigh, I sway her gently as I move my weight from one foot to another.

I’m starting to feel guilty and terrible, they’re odd sensations that I’m not used to.

This woman is stirring things within me that I didn’t know I was capable of experiencing.

It’s both exciting and terrifying, to say the least.

“It really did. Normally I’m the jealous one. But watching you assert yourself, making sure that Savannah knew that I was yours? God, that was something else. But it caused you anxiety and made you upset. I promise you, I will have a talk with Savannah, and I will be better next time.”

She stiffens in my arms, I hear her suck in a breath. I don’t think she was expecting me to say that. After a moment, she curls her lips into a warm smile.

“I…thank you, Sir.”