Maybe Yes (12 page)

“Here’s your coffee,” Tony says, entering the office with a coffee in each hand and sugar packets tucked under his arm.
 

I notice a small coffee stain on his shirt.
God, the man can’t even get coffee without making a mess.
 

“Thanks,” I say.
 

I get out of the chair to allow Tony to have his seat back. I take one of the cups and add a sugar packet to it before drinking it. My eyes dart to Tony as I watch him stare at the screen.
 

“Holy shit!” Tony says. More coffee spills onto his lap from him being startled by the numbers on the screen. He covers his mouth when he realizes he swore in front of me. “I’m sorry, miss. I just…this is just…how did you do this?” Tony points to the screen.
 

“It’s okay, Tony. I just rearranged one little thing really. You did most of the work,” I say.
 

“I need to get this to Mr. Browne right away.” He hits Print, and the paper begins shooting out of the printer next to the computer. He grabs the paper and moves quickly to the doorway. He pauses at the doorway and turns to me. “Come on, Ms. Felton. You need to take some of the credit with me.”
 

I shake my head. “No, I really didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t have been able to figure out on your own.”
 

Tony shakes his head. “I’ve been working on this all week. I never would have reached this conclusion without you. Plus, you should meet Mr. Browne. Word is, he is in the running to take over your father’s position.”
 

I blush when he speaks about Killian. “We’ve already met.”
 

A wicked smile forms on Tony’s face as his eyebrows rise deliberately. “Ah, Mr. Browne is a very good-looking man.”
 

I stare at Tony in disbelief. He did not just accuse me of being attracted to Killian. “I am not attracted to him,” I say, answering a question that was never asked. “I’m just not a big fan of Killian. He’s cocky and self-centered and…”
 

“You don’t have to convince me of those things, Ms. Felton.”
 

Great, now, we are back to Ms. Felton.
 

“I have worked for Mr. Browne for the past three years. He is all of those things, but he is also a good man. Give him a chance before you dismiss him.”
 

I swallow hard and nod even though I don’t agree with him. I don’t want to give Killian a chance. I already did, and instead of being honest with me, he played with my emotions just because he could. A man like that doesn’t deserve second chances.
 

I just don’t know why all the men in my life keep pushing me to be with Killian. My father has, too, even in death. My grandfather has also, and now, so has Tony.
Don’t they trust me to find my own man? To find someone better than Killian?
 

Tony moves his head to the side, indicating for me to follow him, so I do.
 

I bite my lip as I watch Tony knock on Killian’s door.
Please don’t be here
.
 

“Come in,” Killian shouts from inside.
 

Tony gives me a knowing smile before he pushes the door open and enters Killian’s larger office. I enter slowly behind Tony, keeping my eyes down. Maybe Killian won’t notice I’m here if I don’t say anything and don’t look at him.
 

“I have those numbers for you,” Tony says.
 

“Thank you,” Killian says. “I…” He pauses.
 

I know he’s spotted me. I let my eyes drift up, and there he is, staring at me with the same intense eyes. He’s wearing another dark suit. Another grim frown covers his face.
 

I try to move. I try to say something to make this less awkward. I can’t though. It’s like his eyes have captured me and glued me in place. I lose all my thoughts when I see him, except for how it felt to have his lips pressed against mine. I think about how it warmed me to see him smiling just at me and no one else, something I realize he rarely does. I think about how it felt when his tongue finally touched me
there
, and I already feel desire forming deep in my belly from just thinking about it.
 

I blush. That’s when I notice Killian’s own reactions change. It’s just slightly, just in a way I notice, but it’s not enough for Tony to notice. Killian’s eyes change from intense glaring to intense lust, and his lip curls up slightly into the tiniest of smiles at my reaction. He knows. He knows what dirty thoughts I’m thinking about, making me blush more.
 

Tony chuckles and shakes his head as he looks from me to Killian.
 

Killian glares at Tony. “What’s so funny?”
 

“Nothing. Nothing’s funny. I just think Robert is smiling down right now, seeing the two of you together.”
 

“There is nothing going on,” Killian and I both say in unison.
 

This makes Tony chuckle again. “Not yet.” He winks at me. He takes a step closer to Killian. “Anyway, I have another call I need to get to. Have a look at the numbers. I think we finally have the data you need to present tomorrow to get the expansion you and Robert wanted.”
 

I watch as Tony leaves, leaving me alone with Killian. I turn to leave as well.
 

“Wait…” Killian says.
 

I don’t know why, but I wait. When I turn back to him, his mouth has dropped open slightly as he stares at the papers in his hand.
 

“These numbers…they actually work,” Killian says. He runs his hand through his hair. “How did he do it?” he asks himself. Forgetting I’m there, he begins typing on the computer again. “This is genius.”
 

I smile.
Good for Tony
. I take another step, but the heel of my shoe clicks along the floor, bringing Killian’s attention back to me.
 

Killian stands then and walks until he is blocking my exit. “How did he do this?” He holds up the papers.
 

I try to scrunch my face in a quizzical look, like I have no idea why Tony wouldn’t be competent at his job. But like I’ve said before, I make a terrible actress, a terrible liar. I shrug and look down, avoiding Killian’s eye contact.
 

His hand lifts my chin until I’m staring back at him as he furrows his eyebrows, searching my face for the answer.
 

“Who did this?” he says slowly while holding the papers up.
 

“Tony,” I say quietly.
 

He shakes his head. “Tony sucks at numbers. He couldn’t have done this, not even by accident.” He moves his body closer to mine so that we are almost touching. “Who did this?”
 

“I don’t know.” My voice is shaky.
 

I don’t know why he cares who did it. Killian moves closer, and I take a step back, unable to hold my ground any longer, but he grabs my elbow, holding me in place and keeping our bodies pressed together. I can feel his body breathing slow and easy against my chest, compared with my fast, quick breaths. I even think I feel his heart beating in his chest in a perfect, steady rhythm, unlike my now erratic heartbeat. He’s not affected by my body, like I am by his. It disappoints me.
 

He raises his eyebrows at me. His lips graze mine, and I stop breathing.
 

“Who did this?”
 

I close my eyes. “Me.”
 

I feel him suck in a breath. It wasn’t what he had expected. When I finally open my eyes, he’s gone. He’s back at his desk, looking everything over again, like he must have missed a mistake. If I created this, it must be wrong.

“What are you doing?” I ask when I have caught my breath again.
 

“How did you know how to do this?”
 

I roll my eyes. I hate that he just answered my question with another question.
 

“It’s not that hard. I just took the data that Tony had and started over. When it was organized, it was obvious to see the trends over the last six months. But based on the numbers, you should add a thousand rooms to the expansion, not five hundred. It’s a waste of money to do such a small expansion. You’ll reach positive cash flow faster with one thousand. It’s sustainable in the long-term, too, even without the holiday spikes. And one good holiday season would more than triple sales with the additional guests staying in the hotel. So, the casino expansion looks spot-on with the data.”
 

Killian is frowning at me. I nervously run my hand through my hair as I bite my lip. I should have kept my mouth shut. He thinks I’m wrong. He thinks I’m an idiot.
 

“What was your major in college?”
 

I narrow my eyes. “You already know the answer to that.”
 

He raises his eyebrows though, waiting for me to answer.
 

“Theater,” I say.
 

He nods. “You didn’t take any business classes on the side? You didn’t minor in anything?”
 

“I minored in French, but I didn’t take any business classes.”
 

Killian cocks his head to the side, trying to decide if I’m lying. I’m not.
 

“What jobs have you done, other than modeling?”
 

I have no idea where he is going with this. “I’ve only ever modeled.”
 

“I don’t know how you did this.” He shakes head before running his hand through his locks. “I spent all morning working on the numbers. I knew whatever Tony gave me would be useless.”
 

I sigh. I wish I had known that before. I wouldn’t have worked so hard to try to save his ass.
 

“But I never came up with these numbers. I never came up with anything half as good as this.”
 

I smile.
 

“You’re a walking contradiction, princess.”
 

My face falls. “Don’t call me that.”
 

He stands and walks over to me. “I can’t stop, princess. That’s what you are. It feels weird to call you anything else.”
 

I glare at him, but I’m not really angry, so I know it doesn’t come across as the angry girl I want to be.
 

“I want you,” he says when his body is close to me again.

I quizzically look up at him. “You want to marry me?”
 

He laughs. “No, I want to fuck you.”
 

I stare at him, wide-eyed. I don’t move as his lips come down on mine, showing me just how much he wants to fuck me. His hands find the nape of my neck, firmly holding me against him. I moan as his tongue sweeps between my lips, easily parting them. I feel his hard erection pushing against my belly.
 

Does he expect me to fuck him right here in his office?
 

Killian pulls away, but I don’t open my eyes. I’m still lost in that kiss. When I open my eyes, I’ll realize this is all a dream. He’s just toying with my emotions again. He doesn’t really care about me. He might want to fuck me, but only so he can destroy me.
 

“You’re not ready yet.”
 

“Ready for what?”
 

“For me to fuck you. I told you, when I fuck you, it will be because you want me as much as I want you, not because you’re running. You’re not there yet, but you will be.”
 

I shake my head. “You’re wrong. What makes you think I will sleep with you? I don’t even like you.”
 

He smirks. “You’re a terrible liar, princess. Plus, if you are talking to Tony about me, that’s a good sign.”
 

“Tony needs to mind his own business.”
 

He turns away from me to walk back to his desk. “You need to stay out of the business. Go home to your comfy house and modeling career before you get hurt.”
 

“What is that supposed to mean? I am capable of running this company, if that’s what I decide I want. I just showed that I could make decisions and run numbers. I just need a chance.”
 

He sits in his chair and just stares at me for several minutes. I don’t know why I bother with trying to convince him that I can do this.
 

“Okay,” he says.
 

“What?”
 

“Okay, if you think you can do this, then prove it. There is a meeting tomorrow afternoon to present the data and to give my recommendation for the expansion. You can present in my place. And if you convince everyone that you are right, then I’ll stop hounding you about giving up. I’ll even help you get up to speed on everything with the company.”
 

I suspiciously eye him. “And what if I don’t?”
 

He smiles widely now. I’m afraid he’s going to tell me that I’ll have to stop trying to be CEO, that I’ll have to give up. I’m not sure I can.
 

“Then, you go on a date with me.”
 

I relax. I can handle that. “Deal.”
 

“Good. I’ll send you my notes for the meeting.”
 

“Thanks,” I say before turning to leave. But before I do, I have one more question for him, one that’s been gnawing at me. “Why haven’t you fired Tony yet?”
 

He looks up at me, like I’m crazy.
 

“We both know he is terrible at his job. So, why haven’t you fired him?”

“Because I respect his loyalty. That man would take a bullet for this company. I know I’m going to have to work harder to do things, like create graphs that he should be doing, but that’s okay. He cares, and he is a hard worker. He would never jump ship to a competitor’s company. We need more people like that around here.”
 

His words shock me. I thought Killian was ruthless. I thought he would have fired Tony the second my father died since the decision was now up to him. I was wrong. It makes me wonder what else I’m wrong about when it comes to Killian. Too bad I don’t have time to find out.