Page 59 of The Probability of Us

“If I get fired, you’re to blame for killing my productivity.” I scowl as I drop into the seat beside him. “You have ruined my office for me.”

“Oh, Analise,” he purrs my name, and a chill runs down my spine. “If you believe your office is the only place I’ve ever imagined fucking you, you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.”

My heavy breaths huff out of my nose like a bull ready to charge its prey. The glass wall exposing us to the rest of the office is the only thing that stops me from climbing into his lap and letting him finish what he started in my office.

“I’d prefer to not have every place we’ve ever been ruined for me,” I say through gritted teeth.

His face lights up the way it always has when I play along. “You do know me,” he pouts.

“Well enough to know this is just as agonizing for you as it is for me.” When he’s so under my skin like he is right now, all I want to do is get under his. I lean in closer and lower my voice as I continue, “I know that all you can think about is your hand between my legs earlier. How my usual put-together appearance was unraveled by your touch as I sat on the corner of my desk with unbuttoned pants and my shirt untucked, and wild eyes that almost let you do every little thing you desired in that moment.”

“Now that’s just cruel,” he murmurs, his hand moving to my leg, just above my knee, to squeeze.

“I haven’t even begun yet.” I smirk, and run my hand up his leg to feel him through his pants.

He hisses and grabs my wrist immediately. His breathing instantly turns ragged and his eyes dance with want. “Careful,” he breathes, unable to speak louder. He’s about to snap and part of me really wants to see what happens if he does.

“I know you better than anyone on this planet ever will,” I say, holding eye-contact. “I know every little thing that gets under your skin, that turns you on, that makes you tick, because I’m fucking obsessed with every move you make. I have been studying you since the moment I met you—always with the goal of making you happier than you ever dreamed you could be. So every dirty, depraved fantasy that goes through that brilliant mind of yours . . . I intend to be the person to make every one of them a reality.”

“Holy, fuck.” His one hand grips my leg harder as the other starts shaking even as it holds mine back.

“But right now,” I add, forcing myself to continue. I want to see him snap, but it can’t be right now—there’s too much at stake. “What may end up being the most important presentation of my career is in an hour, and I need you to use all of your focus to help me make sure this proposal is bulletproof.”

He sucks in a deep breath, followed by another, and only after he’s composed himself does he look at me and nod. “Whatever you need.”

* * *

“Holy shit, is this for real?” he asks after I go through the presentation I’ve put together.

“It looks too good to be true, right?” I say. That’s been my biggest worry—that itistoo good to be true and I’ve misinterpreted something. “I want to walk you through all of my research to make sure you agree with my interpretation of everything. I want your complete agreement with everything in these slides, especially the financial projections. You are the CFO after all.”

He grins. “Still after the title, huh?”

I laugh as I pull up the research and walk him through it.

We have some really great discussions about some of the articles and their exact interpretation and application, and at the end of it all, we’re in complete agreement. My numbers, although mind-boggling, seem to be completely accurate.

“Do you want to present with me?” I ask and he shakes his head before I even finish.

“No, this was all you, Analise.” The pride in his voice, in his eyes, is breathtaking. “I don’t want to take credit for even a sentence of it. They should see how fucking brilliant you are.”

Our eyes lock and nothing else exists to me. I smile, much too friendly for a room that has a glass wall, but I can’t help it. “Looks like we’ll be able to celebrate tonight after all.”

“Good thing I already made the reservation.”

Twenty-Three

AUGUST CURRENT DAY (TUESDAY)

“In conclusion,” I say to a room of faces wearing varying levels of disbelief. “We can keep the consulting side of the business as is and still use it for your company at a net neutral cost because of the tax write off. It generates more revenue for the health plan side and maintains the value our company has worked hard to earn over the past years. All we have to do is set up a parent company that owns both entities and keeps them separate.”

The room is completely silent.

Is that a good or bad thing?

I look over at Warren and he’s sporting the largest grin I’ve ever seen. It makes me feel more confident.

“Any questions?” I add.

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