Page 36 of A Man of Power

I glare at her, but it’s a farce. I can’t be mad at this woman. “I think I can manage,” I grit out as I leave the room, the sound of her giggles following me like a soothing cloud of joy around my bitterness.

I lean against my island, waiting for the coffee. A minute later, I hear the soft pitter-patter of Alexis’s feet. “Do you think it’s like one of those secret society things?” she asks, her eyes wide with conspiracy.

I want to tell her that her notion is ridiculous. I want to, but I can’t. I weigh my words carefully. “I’m not sure it’s a secret society, Alexis, if you found it online.”

She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. “You know what I mean. Like, what if there is some secret pact. When I was in college, I was in a sorority; we did some crazy shit.”

I give her a pointed look. “Yeah, I get it.”

She throws her hands up in the air. “See, exactly.”

I put a hand to my forehead. “Alexis, aside from being friends, I don’t think that the fraternity angle is going to produce much here.” Lies. I’m straight-up lying now. It totally might. I need to call Conner and Aiden about this development.

“But…” She trails off and frowns. “What if there’s more to it than a friendship? I mean, I wouldn’t go into business with Erin or Whitney, especially not Whitney, she’s terrible at business stuff. She just lives off a trust fund.”

I hand her a coffee. “OK, go research. See what you find. But if you don’t come up with anything by tomorrow, we’re going to have to let this go. Right now, there’s no reason to not take their money and there’s nothing strange going on with the merger.”

Alexis nods and drinks her coffee. “Maybe. I’ll be in your office,” she says as she turns and heads back down the hall.

I stand there in the kitchen watching her hips sway as she walks away. I pull out my phone and send Conner and Aiden a voice text.

“We need to talk.”

Conner replies first. “I’ll be home in a bit.”

“I am…indisposed at the moment, but I’ll come over later.”

Conner replies with several laughing emojis. Jackass. I head back to my office. I was ready to let this all go until she mentioned the fraternity. Now, my intuition is telling me that something else is going on. Maybe it’s fine, but maybe it’s not. Regardless, they need to know about this fraternity thing.

Chapter16

Alexis

I openone eye as I wake. Confusion sets in. I’m not at home. I’m…holy fucking shit! I sit up quickly. I’m in Sebastian’s bed. I look down. I’m wearing one of his shirts. Slowly, my brain starts to awaken. I fell asleep researching at his desk last night. I vaguely remember him carrying me upstairs.

What time is it? There’s not a single clock in his room. It’s like a casino in Las Vegas. One could spend hours in here and have no idea how much time had passed. My cheeks heat with that notion.

The door creaks open. He’s there, ruffled hair and a day’s worth of hair growth producing the sexiest shadow along his cheeks and jawline. He wears nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants. I lick my lips as my eyes study the outline of his cock against those sweatpants.

“Eyes up here, little dove,” he states with a smirk as he walks in and hands me a mug of coffee. He pushes my hair away from my face as he sits down next to me. “You fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

I fold my legs underneath me and take a long sip of the coffee. For someone who seems above making coffee, he’s either quite adept at it or he has a very expensive coffee maker that works utter magic. I’m going with the latter of the two.

I moan my appreciation as the hot liquid slides down my throat. His eyes darken as he watches me. “Careful, or we won’t make the subcommittee hearing today.”

My eyes widen as I remember that today’s the hearing.

He grins. “Don’t worry. It’s early. I set an alarm on my phone.”

I feel my shoulders relax. “I need to go to my apartment to get some clothes.”

He nods. “Let me grab a shower, and we’ll swing by your place on the way to the office.”

I sigh as he stands. I’m surprised when he holds his hand out to me. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

I take his hand without much thought. I set my coffee down on a coaster and follow him into his bathroom. We undress as he turns on his ridiculously complicated shower. This time, he’s all business. Although his eyes seem to be memorizing every inch of me as he washes each part, leisurely and carefully.

“I didn’t find anything else,” I admit while he guides me under the shower spray to rinse off.

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