Boss (2 page)

“Not sure how that’s possible when we’re locked out of the Wi-Fi.”

“For Christ’s sake, Nathan. You won’t die without your phone. Have you always been such a bore? I used to enjoy hanging out with you.” She frowned. “At least I think I did. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.”

Sometime during the evening, she’d ditched her shoes. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she’d woven some small white flowers through the strands.

She’d chosen an interesting outfit, a short leather skirt and a black corset.
Of course.
“Dressed to spite me?”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Get it through your thick skull. Not everything is about you.”

This was an old argument. He and Erin saw financials differently. She insisted he was overly cautious, to the point of being out of step and stuffy. He didn’t mind the accusation. When his father had died, Connor had inherited a company headed toward disaster. Nathan had seen how close the Donovans were to losing the hard-fought legacy that had been handed down through the generations. When he’d been appointed CFO, he’d vowed to be a good steward so that future Donovans would have something to be proud of.

Erin preferred to live for the moment, determined to do what good she could for the world. She was a dreamer. He was a planner. And when she’d approached him to invest in her friend’s corset store, he’d refused.

Undaunted, she’d used money from her own trust fund to help her friend.

“So, do you like it?” she asked, interrupting his musings.

“Like what?”

“The outfit.” She spun. “I’m modeling it.”

“You’re what?”

“Helping visibility of the shop by showing how versatile the piece is. It can be worn anywhere, even a fancy event. Corsets are not just for the bedroom.”

“They should be.” Or a BDSM club, which was where he preferred them. He loved lacing a submissive into one, cinching it tight so he could enjoy looking at her cleavage.

Erin smacked his arm.

“And the necklace…? Are you also modeling it?”

“Oh, this?” She touched the exquisite—and if he didn’t miss his guess, fucking expensive—teardrop pendant. “No. This was retail therapy.”

“Was there a reason you dropped money on an extravagant piece of jewelry?” She’d inherited a treasure trove full of stuff from their great-grandmother. Surely she could have just reset some of those stones.

“I bought it right after Connor’s wedding reception,” she answered vaguely.

Before he could ask anything else, she took a sip of wine. “This is good,” she said approvingly before taking a second, longer drink. “So, why didn’t you bring a date? That would have helped.”

He regarded her. “To this command performance?”

She shrugged. “I know what you mean.”

Since all of the family members had arrived Friday and planned to stay until Sunday, he’d nixed the idea of bringing a woman he barely knew to meet the family, endure endless questions and share his space.

There was little room in his life for a relationship, and he was fine with that. He adored the subs at Deviation, the city’s intriguing new BDSM club. An occasional visit satisfied his primal needs. And after a few hours, he went home, even more focused on business. Scenes didn’t just soothe his savageness, they energized him.

Glass in hand, he walked over to where his half-brother Cade stood talking to his mother, Stormy.

Although Nathan was a little surprised she’d accepted the invitation, he was pleased to see her. To his knowledge, it was the first Donovan event she’d ever attended.

“Stormy.” He shook her hand.

“Nathan. Always a pleasure.”

The woman was tall, willowy and dressed exactly the way he’d expected. Convention be damned. Her slim-cut jeans were tucked inside boots she’d likely hand-tooled herself. Her white T-shirt was form-fitting, and she wore a brown leather vest over it. She had a quick smile, a firm grip and a direct gaze. He could see why his father, Jeffrey, had fallen in love with her, even though he had been expected to marry Nathan’s mother.

The Running Wind Ranch wouldn’t have been what it was without Stormy’s guidance. And Cade, the oldest Donovan brother, did a damn fine job of running the ranch. It had been Stormy who’d fought for her illegitimate son’s inheritance and who’d instilled a love of the land in his soul. Though Nathan had little interest in that part of the business, Cade’s intelligence and hard work had made it a financial success. And that, Nathan appreciated.

“Well, look who’s here,” Cade interrupted with a long, slow whistle.

Nathan glanced over his shoulder and saw Julien Bonds just inside the French doors. “I didn’t know he was expected.” A group of people moved in around him, blocking him from general view and the always-prying eye of cell phone cameras.

“Connor insisted on sending Bonds an invite,” Cade replied. “No one really thought he’d show, but Sofia reserved a guest house for him, just in case. I imagine he took a helicopter from Houston.” He shrugged. “I still want to see his prissy ass on a horse.”

“I’ll give him lessons,” Stormy volunteered.

She’d spent years wrangling and was an accomplished horsewoman. If Nathan remembered correctly, she’d been the one who had taught his father to ride. That was probably the summer they’d fallen in love. “I want to ask him about a few of the watch’s features,” Nathan said.

“Watch? You have a Bonds watch?” Cade demanded.

Nathan flashed his wrist.

“Fuck,” Cade said. “How the hell did you rate?”

“I indicated an interest in investing. He turned me down. Says he won’t go public and let some board of directors interfere with his creative ideas.” The man was on track to having one of the largest privately held firms on the planet. “As a consolation prize, he sent it to me for beta testing.”

“And?”

“It’s astounding. But…”

“But?”

“Quirky.”

Cade frowned.

“Plays theme music when it’s turned on. And the hologram—”

“It has a hologram?”

“Of Bonds himself. Greets you personally and suggests ways for you to improve your life.” The ego was astounding. Last week, Bonds had recommended Nathan go to bed slightly earlier and sleep longer, saying his life expectancy would increase if he enjoyed more REM sleep. Bonds had added that Nathan would be twice as effective if he slept twenty percent longer, which was a good investment of his time, according to the genius.

After that, Nathan had taken the fucking thing off almost every night when he got home from the office. Problem was, it was so useful that he missed it. “Who’s that with him?”

“Meredith Wolsey.” Cade took a drink of beer. “Heard he brought her to Connor’s reception.”

“What? Bonds was there?”

Cade nodded. “They stayed on the patio. Only a handful of people saw them. I wasn’t one of them, either. I heard about it from Sofia.”

“Sneaky bastard.”

Erin, a determined frown buried between her eyebrows, descended on their small group. “Dance with me.” Erin grabbed Nathan’s wrist and dragged him toward the front of the tent.

“I was just going to say hello to Julien and Meredith. Go with me? It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him, hasn’t it? Not since that night in—”

“Nathan, please,” she said.

“Can’t it wait?” He scowled.

Generally Erin was a great hostess, and he’d bet she’d chatted with everyone in attendance. But the way she pleaded and looked at him, eyes beseeching, he had no choice. She’d always been a pest, the little sister who could get her big brothers to do almost anything she wanted. After the death of their father, something that had devastated her and sent her to her room for weeks, she’d become even more indulged.

Cade shrugged as if to say
better you than me
.

“Now. Excuse us,” she said to Stormy and Cade.

Nathan put down his wine, and she was already tugging on him. “Stop dragging me,” he told her.

Her grip was desperate and her nails were digging into him. Despite the fact that he hated to dance, he went with her.

“Lead on,” he said.

On the floor, to the beat of the music, he led her into a two-step. “What’s the panic?”

“No panic.” She gave him a huge, sunny smile.

If he hadn’t noticed the way she glanced to the back of the room, at Julien and Meredith and their sudden mob of people, he might have believed she just wanted to dance. After all, she’d put her four-inch heels back on.

She lapsed into silence, and he let her, since that suited him, as well.

At the end of the number, she thanked him then excused herself before heading toward their mother, who was seated at a table with a few of her friends and his aunt, Kathryn…as far away from Stormy as possible.

When he reached Julien and Meredith, the enthusiastic greeting party had thinned, and they were standing with Cade.

Cade introduced Nathan to Meredith, an attorney he’d hired from a prestigious firm in Northern California. Julien’s hand rested on the small of her back, which Nathan recognized as a move of easy intimacy. To his eye, they were much more than professional associates. And since he suspected Bonds at least dabbled in BDSM, there might be some possessiveness there too.

They made a striking couple—Bonds with his tight, slim-fitting jeans, dress shirt, leather jacket, narrow tie and trademark hideous tennis shoes, and Meredith with her open-back black gown. As dark-haired as he was, she was his blonde counterpart. A recent celebrity magazine had called them the newest power couple.

“What do you think of my masterpiece?” Julien asked as they shook hands.

“It’s…” How did he tell the creator what he thought of the watch?

“You love it, don’t you? I still have a few things to work out with the hologram.”

“About that—”

“The tone of my voice isn’t quite right when I give the daily update.” He shook his head. “My engineers haven’t done the synthesizing correctly.”

“It’s supposed to do that?” he asked incredulously. “Tell me I need more sleep?”

Julien scowled. “Of course it is. That’s why people will buy it.”

“I see.” He actually thought some people wanted him to boss them around? Nathan wondered whether the man was certifiable or a genius.

“Overall?” Julien persisted.

“It’s fucking indispensable.”

Julien’s mercurial frown vanished and a slow smile spread across his mouth. “Indispensable,” he repeated. “Yes.” Then he touched the screen of his own device. His image popped up. “Use the word indispensable in the marketing materials.”

Julien’s image bowed toward him. “Yes, genius.”

The voice, the tone, was dead on.

Obviously the engineers had heard that term plenty.

Julien brushed the sapphire-glass surface and the hologram vanished. “Where were we? I wanted to congratulate the Colonel.”

Cade pointed out the table.

Before walking away, Julien said, “I’ll upload the latest software update to you next week.”

“You mean I need to download it?”

“No. It will happen automatically.”

“How intrusive is this thing?”

“Check your heart rate when you see a beautiful woman and ask me then.” Julien nodded politely before walking away.

“I think he wants to rule the world,” Sofia said, joining them. “I caught the end bit.”

“Rule it?” Nathan asked. “Dominate it is more like it.”

Cade shrugged.

The band segued into an up-tempo song and announced yet another line dance.

“Show me how it’s done, Mr. Donovan,” Sofia said. “The only reason I accepted this job was to see you line dance. Remember?”

Proving how besotted he was, Cade tipped his hat. “Anything for my lady.”

With that, as if there were no one else on the planet but the two of them, they headed toward the dance floor.

Nathan resumed his favorite position, an arm propped on one of the bar-height conversation tables.

A tall brunette wearing a sequined dress so tight it should have been impossible for her to move sashayed past him. She caught his eye and smiled. Everything about her was perfect—hair, makeup, shape.

She stopped long enough to accept a glass of wine and to look back at him, being sure he noted her interest.

Rather than engage, he checked his watch. And his heart rate.

Clearly Julien was wrong about the watch. It didn’t show any reaction to the bombshell who was telegraphing her availability.

He looked back up to note that she’d moved on to someone considerably more appreciative.

Which left him free to peruse his own thoughts. There was little Nathan enjoyed more than the strategy. Except the chase.

Chapter One

Juggling two venti mochas with extra whipped cream, her electronic card key, a purse and a bag stuffed with her workout gear, Kelsey Lane exited the elevator and strode toward the set of double doors at the end of the hallway. Since it wasn’t even seven o’clock, she had almost the whole building to herself, something she liked, especially on Monday mornings.

This early, if she drove, she typically didn’t have to fight traffic on Houston’s busy roads. If she rode the train, she could always find a seat. Regardless, she liked to get a jump on the week, organizing and preparing before the phone started to ring.

The lights were on in the office, so she tested the handle, hoping the cleaning crew was still there and that the suite was unlocked. Thankfully it was. “Good morning!” she called out so she didn’t startle anyone.

With her foot, she shoved the door closed behind her.

She moved through to her desk and put down the drinks and keys before dropping her purse and bag on the carpeted floor. Then she turned to open the blinds so that she could see the upcoming sunrise reflect off the nearby skyscrapers. This had to be one of the biggest perks of her job. A spectacular view of Houston, from forty stories up.

As she turned, she noticed a potted yellow hibiscus in the corner. It hadn’t been there when she’d left on Friday evening. While it was beautiful, it wasn’t something that Samuel Newman would have brought in.

“Hello.”

Startled by the very masculine, very sexy bass that sounded nothing like her boss’s voice, Kelsey glanced up.