Page 148 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

ERIC

I t’s a beautiful summer day. The sun is out, and the rolling hills are very green. Hunter’s mother’s driveway is lined with lavender bushes, and their scent fills the air. Butterflies flit to and fro. A flock of birds attacks the fruit in a nearby cherry tree.

It’s lovely and idyllic, and I can’t appreciate any of it.

I’m feeling drained after Breanna Driesse’s funeral, and I didn’t really know her.

I can’t even imagine how Hunter is feeling.

My parents and I have a relationship that can best be described as ‘frostily polite,’ but my friend loved his mother.

I blink in the sunlight, my eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness. Nolan’s car is blocking me in. I lean against my hood and wait for him.

Xavier Leforte emerges from the house. He looks at the parking situation with a grimace and then catches sight of me. His face brightens, and his stride lengthens.

Trouble. Whenever Xavier gets that look in his eyes, you’re about to be talked into something you don’t want to do.

“Eric.”

“Xavier,” I greet the man. Up close, his face is set in lines of exhaustion. He has dark circles under his eyes. The man practically owns a country—what the hell is keeping him up at night? “You doing okay?”

“I’ve had better days.” He sags against the car. “Breanna was a friend. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“I didn’t realize you knew her.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. They’re practically neighbors, after all. No doubt they ran into each other at town council meetings or whatever people do to pass the time in these parts.

“When Lina died, Layla didn’t take it well. Obviously. Breanna talked to her. If it wasn’t for her…” His voice trails off.

Oh. Lina died more than a decade ago. Dr. Driesse and Xavier go way back. “I’m sorry,” I tell him. “Is that why you look like hell?”

“Do I?” He shrugs. “That’s part of it. I have a different problem that’s keeping me up at night, and I could use your help.”

Danger, Will Robinson. Danger.

“What’s up?”

“Pierre Valade no longer works for me.”

Pierre is Xavier’s COO. This is a major change. “Why not?”

His expression hardens. “Two reasons. First, he’s been sloppy for a very long time. We were at boarding school together. He was kind to me when I was a frightened boy. He’s been coasting on the basis of our childhood friendship.”

“He’s been sloppy for a long time, you said. What made you fire him now?”

“He endangered Layla. He processed some payments to her through one of my corporate accounts by accident. If it had happened once, I might have let it go. It happened six times.”

Xavier values friendship. He will walk across hot coals for the people in his life. He would have tolerated Valade’s sloppiness. But the instant Layla is threatened, in any shape or form, the gloves come off.

I wait for him to continue, already knowing where this conversation is going and not liking it one bit. “I want to make you a job offer.”

“Xavier, no.”

“Eric, I’m desperate. In addition to being the Chief Operating Officer, Pierre also headed up Mergers and Acquisitions. I have several deals in the pipeline that are on the verge of falling through.”

When things with Cecelia blew up in my face, Xavier had been there for me.

He’d been supportive; he helped me pick up the pieces.

He made several problems go away. When I questioned whether I should give up BDSM and reconcile myself to a lifetime of vanilla sex, Xavier had listened.

He didn’t offer his opinion—I wasn’t looking for it—but he’d talked about Layla, about the crushing aftermath of Lina’s death, and about the importance of staying true to yourself.

I owe him.

I can’t ignore his appeal. Still, I make one more attempt, because the idea of working for Xavier sounds like hell. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I’d rather stick a hot poker in my eye.

“You know I’m not cut out to be a manager.” Nolan’s finally emerged from the house, his face somber. “It isn't my thing. The work would drive me nuts.”

“I can’t handle it myself. I’m letting balls drop all over the place.”

Xavier doesn’t just spend his money on a sex club.

He’s very private about his charitable foundation, but I know for a fact that they spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

The LGS Foundation runs shelters, funds medical care for children, and so much more.

Xavier keeps his name off it—he is not interested in publicity.

But more than any billionaire that I know, and I know a few, Xavier does good things with his money.

I can’t let him fail. Damn it all to hell. I don’t want to do this, but I’m not going to turn him down. Xavier’s not the only one bound by loyalty and friendship.

“How about a compromise?” I suggest. “I get your house in order. I don’t know what kind of mess I’m dealing with, so let’s say it’ll take me anywhere from six months to a year to get things sorted.

Meanwhile, you find a permanent replacement for Pierre.

Someone who not only has the skill to do the work, but also the inclination. ”

“That sounds more than fair.” He sticks out his hand. “I can work with that. Thank you, Eric.”

I shake his hand, wondering what the hell I’ve done. “It’ll take me a couple of weeks to extricate myself from my current clients,” I warn him. “But if you send me a non-disclosure agreement to sign, I’ll look at your portfolio in my spare time.”

“Will do.” He looks like a giant weight has been lifted from his shoulders. “I do have a couple of candidates in mind, people on my leadership team. But…”

He doesn’t trust himself, I realize. Pierre Valade’s failure has shaken his confidence.

“Who’s on your short-list?”

“Dixie Ketcham is my General Counsel,” he replies. “She’s only been on my team since February, but she’s smart, and she’s conscientious. Pierre had the mindset of a day trader—chasing short-term gains at the expense of long-term stability. Dixie is unlikely to do that. Have you met her?”

“Yeah, once.” Xavier doesn’t know about the circumstances of our meeting, and I’m quite happy to leave it that way.

An image of the woman, her hazel eyes sparkling with fury, flashes into my mind. She was a tiny thing—her head barely coming up to my shoulder—and she’d been ready to take us on. I have a black belt in judo, she’d lied. Drop the knife, or you are going to be exceedingly sorry.

At the time, I’d been irritated beyond measure by the interruption and her snap judgment, but a few months after the incident, I can see the humor in the situation.

Camila was right; Dixie had been trying to help.

It was misguided, and she’d jumped to a lot of conclusions, but I can’t fault her heart.

“I have dinner with Adrian, Brody, and Fiona every month,” I continue. “They’ve mentioned her.”

That’s an understatement. They can’t stop talking about Dixie. So far, I’ve managed to avoid running into her, but it’s only a matter of time before both of us are invited to one of their movie nights, the ones they host at their Georgetown home.

Fiona and Dixie have become good friends, which irritates me no end.

I’m self-aware enough to know why. It’s because it doesn’t match my first impression of Dixie Ketcham as an uptight prude.

Fiona is in a relationship with two men and frequently plays at Club M.

Cici would have judged her for her ‘aberrant’ lifestyle, but Dixie doesn’t seem to.

Xavier’s eyes narrow. “Hmm. That’s interesting. I didn’t realize that the two of you knew each other.”

I’ve known Xavier for fifteen years—that tone is trouble. “We don’t,” I say shortly. “Like I said, we’ve met once. You think a lawyer could do the job?”

“Dixie also has an MBA,” he replies. “She doesn’t have the right experience, but I think she has the ability.

She’s extremely bright. Smart. Best of all, she’s very self-aware.

She knows her strengths and her weaknesses.

If I told her that she wasn't ready, she’d figure out why, and she would make a plan to fill the gap.

” His expression turns serious. “It’s not only about who can do the best job.

It also needs to be somebody I can trust.”

“And that’s Dixie Ketcham?” I know I sound skeptical, and it’s because I am.

“Dixie came to me very highly recommended,” Xavier says. “Adrian and Brody have nothing but good things to say about her. I can see her in the role.”

I can’t. “If you say so,” I say dubiously. The person managing Leforte needs to be innovative and flexible. The woman I met at Club M was uptight and inclined to rush to judgment. Neither of those qualities will serve her well in the role.

Still, Pierre Valade aside, Xavier is a very good judge of character, and Dixie Ketcham has been working for him since the start of the year. If he thinks she has what it takes, he’s probably not wrong. “Who’s the other candidate?”

“John Stone,” he replies. “John is the VP of Finance. John has the skill set, and he’s ambitious.”

“You don’t sound sold on Stone. Why?”

“I’m not sure,” he admits. “I can’t put my finger on it. Once you start, you can tell me what you think. When do you think that’ll be?”

I pull out my phone and check my calendar. “Three weeks.”

“Okay. I’ll have Elisa set you up with whatever you need.” He gives me a grateful smile. “Thank you, Eric. I really appreciate it.”

Nolan finishes his conversation with Annette Reeves and finally gets into his car. I loosen my tie. “No worries,” I tell Xavier. “You know I have your back.” I give him a sly grin. “I hear you’re making a lot of trips to Bangkok.”

Xavier flushes red. “Who told you that?”

“You don’t think I’m going to give up my sources, do you?” I give him an amused look. “Word gets around, Xavier. When it comes to you and Rafe and Layla, we’re a bunch of gossips, you know that.”

He avoids my gaze. “I’ll see you in the office in three weeks then?”

I laugh. “Sure, that sounds good.”

It’s a long, monotonous drive back to New York. Annoyingly, my thoughts keep returning to Dixie.

Everything about her is trouble. That sexy Southern accent, those large, expressive eyes, her curvy body, big breasts, pouty lips, and?—

Fuck.

You think I’d know better. You’d think, after the hell I went through with Cici, that I would learn my lesson.

With any luck, I don’t have to work too closely with Dixie Ketcham. Because no matter how gung-ho Xavier is about her, I want to avoid the woman.