Page 160 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

ERIC

M onday night, I’d told Xavier he had a problem.

“Someone’s trying to frame you. It’s been going on for a few months.

I’m trying to find out who’s behind it, but the trail is convoluted.

There are a series of shell companies, half of them headquartered in the Caymans, and finding out what’s going on will neither be easy nor quick. ”

Xavier had absorbed that in silence.

“This is a big deal, Xavier. This could blow up in your face. Any idea who might have a grudge against you?”

“There’s a long list of people,” he’d said wryly. “But people with the skill and the resources to pull this off? I don’t know, Eric. Nothing’s jumping out at me. I’ll think about it.”

He had seemed distracted, and I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out why. “Is Layla okay?”

He’d looked up. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s always Layla.”

He’d smiled at that, a sad smile. Then he’d changed the subject. “You’re going to need help,” he’d said. “You already have your hands full here with the mess Pierre left. I’ll call Adrian and Brody. They have some financial analysts on their team. They might be able to help.”

Tuesday morning, I’d arrived early at work once again.

Dixie was already there, of course, her blue Beetle parked in the usual spot in the far corner, under a leafy tree to protect it from the sunlight.

You told her you’d keep her posted, my conscience reminded me.

She was the one who spotted the suspicious transactions.

You wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without her.

I’d wanted to walk down to her office. Linger there, ask her what she was working on.

But I’d been only too aware of my feelings.

Saturday night, when Dixie started to walk up to that guy, a sharp shard of jealousy had pierced me.

Pick me, I’d wanted to say. Kiss me. Tell me what you need, and I will give it to you.

I’m insane. This lust is a major problem. This is Cici all over again. I’m barreling full speed into another train wreck, and I don’t have enough sense to get off before the crash.

I’d called Dixie instead, and I’d briefed her on what I’d found. She’d been concerned, and she’d promised to keep digging.

And that was that. Or it should have been, but of course, it’s not possible to avoid Dixie.

We work together, after all. We’re on the same floor.

Our offices are a few doors apart. I run into her in the kitchen multiple times during the week, and every time, I have to fight to keep my voice calm and controlled.

Yesterday, I’d walked into the copy room, and she’d been on her hands and knees, fixing a paper jam, and I’d stared at her tight ass, my brain going straight to the gutter, and I had to turn around and leave before my erection gave me away.

Fucking chemistry.

The week speeds by. I’m swamped. Apart from cleaning up the various messes Pierre left, I also have to work closely with John Stone, and that’s trying my patience.

Stone thinks he’s God’s gift to numbers, and he bristles at my questions, viewing them as an affront to his credibility.

It’s exhausting navigating around his ego.

This is why I prefer to work alone; I don’t have to put up with people. Xavier owes me.

My temper is on the verge of fraying by the time Friday afternoon rolls around.

I haven’t been able to figure out who’s trying to frame Xavier, I’ve spent most of the week putting out one ridiculous fire after another, and Kevin Hughes has sent me three emails bitching about Legal holding up his contracts.

“You look like a ray of sunshine,” Xavier greets me as I walk into the conference room for the weekly senior team huddle. I’m early, and he’s even earlier; he’s the only one there.

“Go away.”

He gives me a rueful grin. “I really am sorry,” he says. “I screwed up. I shouldn’t have waited so long to fire Pierre. How bad is it?”

I make a valiant attempt to look for the silver lining.

“If it wasn’t for XPM, it would be fine,” I tell him.

“People might grumble about how Pierre did things differently, but they’ll soon get used to my style, and in any case, I’m not here to win friends and influence people.

But the XPM thing—” John Stone walks into the room, and I shut up.

Until I know otherwise, everyone is a suspect.

Except Dixie. Why is that, do you think?

Stupid inner voice. Dixie isn’t under suspicion because these fraudulent transactions started before she joined Leforte.

And there’s no other reason? None at all?

The rest of the team files in. Kevin Hughes is here in person, as I suspected he’d be. “Ah, Xavier, you’re here,” he says, looking relieved to see my friend at the huddle. “I need your help. My contracts are stuck, and Legal refuses to get on board.”

Dixie walks in just then, and she hears Kevin’s last sentence.

Her shoulders stiffen, and her face wipes clean of expression.

Wordlessly, she takes a seat next to Hira, the head of HR.

She sat there last week as well. Hira must be a friend.

She’s dressed less formally than usual—it’s Casual Friday—she’s wearing an olive-green dress, and her hair is down, hanging in loose waves around her face.

Hira says something to her, and she smiles, her face lighting up.

Stop staring at her, Kane.

Xavier’s watching me, his eyebrow raised. Crap. I let my gaze wander around the room, hoping that’ll throw him off the scent.

When everyone gets here, Xavier clears his throat. The side conversations die down. “Shall we get going? Let’s go around the room. What have you been working on, what’s going well, what’s going badly, and what do you need from me?”

The team makes its reports. Kevin Choi, the head of IT, updates us on corporate security.

“We conducted a review this week in six of the subsidiaries,” he says.

“We found one hundred and thirteen unlocked laptops. Twenty-seven of them had the laptop password written on a post-it note on the lid. We need to update our training—we haven’t had a security workshop in two years, and it shows. ”

Ouch.

Xavier clears the workshop. Stone goes next.

His long, rambling update is heavy on self-congratulation and light on detail.

Tanya, the head of Marketing, talks about a corporate-wide branding initiative.

I give the team an update on the projects I’m working on.

Dixie is professional and to the point, as is Hira. Finally, it’s Kevin’s turn.

“I have a problem,” he says ponderously.

“As you know, Zephyrus is growing by twenty percent year over year. We’re moving quickly and aggressively; we have to.

” He gives Dixie a sullen glare. “We’ve been in talks to buy Scotfield, one of our biggest competitors in Europe.

Unfortunately, Legal won’t approve the deal.

If it were up to Ms. Ketcham, we wouldn’t take any risks. ”

Dixie compresses her lips.

He thinks she doesn’t take risks? Hughes has no idea. I think about her at Club M on Saturday, her dress hugging her body, her lips soft and kissable, admittedly outside her comfort zone but sticking with it anyway.

It’s easy to categorize Dixie as rigid or as a prude—I’d done it myself the first time we met. But the more time I spend around her, the more I realize that’s not quite it. Dixie is complicated. She doesn’t fit neatly in a box. She defies expectations.

Kevin is in full swing now. “Ever since Ms. Ketcham stepped into her role, Legal is too cautious, too risk-averse, too rigid. She doesn’t understand how the world works. Pierre would have approved this deal.”

Okay, that’s quite enough of that. Hughes is being seriously unprofessional.

I lean forward. “Pierre Valade is no longer with Leforte Enterprises. He is not in charge of Mergers I am. I don’t care how Pierre used to do things.

Zephyrus shouldn’t have been negotiating this deal; my department should have been involved right from the start. ”

John opens his mouth to say something, and I shake my head sharply.

Stay out of this, Stone. “I’ve read Ms. Ketcham’s summary of the risks involved.

I agree with her analysis. Leforte is a multi-billion-dollar business.

We don't do anything stupid. We don’t skirt any ethical lines.

We have rules and procedures designed to protect the business, and I intend to ensure we follow them. ”

Dixie gives me a thoughtful look. I’d give anything to know what she’s thinking, but she’s good at keeping a poker face.

Stone glares at me. “I’ve run the numbers myself,” he blusters. “The risk is vastly exaggerated.” He turns to Xavier. “What do you think?”

Does he think my friend is going to overrule me? This is going to be fun.

Xavier frowns. “Dixie is the General Counsel,” he says. “Eric heads up Mergers & Acquisitions. If neither of them thinks this deal should go through, then I defer to their expertise.”

The meeting breaks up shortly after that. Elisa deliberately schedules the huddles for Friday afternoon—that way, everyone is motivated to be brief and get through things quickly.

Xavier follows me to my office. “What?” I ask once he’s shut the door. “You think I was too harsh on Hughes?”

“No, and even if I do, it doesn’t matter. I meant what I said. I trust your judgment.” He leans forward. “Any word from Lockhart & Payne?”

Ah, he’s worried about XPM. As am I. “Nothing yet. Brody called me yesterday. He asked if he could rope in one of Caleb’s people. I said yes.”

“I saw your email. Have you thought about getting Dixie involved? She knows Leforte, and she’s more than capable of doing the work.”

Working at close quarters with Dixie. I’ve been doing my best to avoid it. “I’ll think about it.”

He looks like he wants to say something else, but he lets it go. Instead, he glances at the clock on my wall. “It’s almost five. Come on, it’s time for Happy Hour. Whatever is on your desk will keep until Monday.”

“It really won’t.”

“Yes, it will,” he insists. “You need to pace yourself. I don’t want you to burn out either. Besides, I talked to Hunter last night, and I convinced him to join us.”

“You did?” I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to talk to Hunter since Saturday, and I feel like shit about it.

Hunter is a really good friend, and he’s going through some hard times now.

He probably came to the club looking to scene with someone, and because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, I’d ruined it for him.

“It took some persuasion, but I prevailed.” Xavier looks smug. “Shut down your laptop, Eric. El Trompo has the best margaritas in town.”

“Okay, fine.”

I tell myself I’m going because I want to catch up with Hunter. But if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, it’s not just because of him.

If Xavier’s getting the entire team out, Dixie will be there.