Page 5 of Emergence and Ascendance

"Yeah, just finalizing some deals."

"That's vague as fuck."

"Which was intentional as fuck."

He chuckled. "Aight, I'll see you in a few days."

After ending the call, I scrolled to my sister's contact and pressed dial. As expected, it went straight to voicemail after four rings.

"Jona, I'm calling, again." I kept my voice even but I was fucking annoyed. "It's been two weeks. Whatever's going on, we need to talk about it. Call me back."

This was getting out of control. I understood her need for independence but the silence and distance she created with me and Cress was getting out of hand.

If Jona didn't get her shit together soon I was going to track her down or shut off her access so she had no choice but to answer my calls. Unfortunately, right now my focus was on getting this waterfront deal finalized. I couldn't afford any complications, but as soon as my phone vibrated with a text, I felt the bullshit surfacing. I opened the thread from my assistant and got annoyed.

Trinity: Mr. Scot Whitney has just outbid us on the riverfront project.

I frowned. Scot Whitney. Who the fuck was that? The name Scot wasn't familiar but Whitney was. The Whitney family was a major national developer but the only people I was familiar with who were associated with the brand were Gerald and Alexander Whitney. I also had no knowledge of Whitney operations moving into small markets before now. The waterfront project would be lucrative but was small compared to what Whitney usually invested in.

Me: Send me everything we have on Whitney and his development company.

Know your competition. It was a lesson my father had drilled into me since childhood but I learned to take it further. Know your enemies, your allies, and especially those who could be either.

My phone vibrated again with a text from Werner this time. My jaw tightened as I read it.

Werner: Potential bidding war could be happening.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled. This shit couldn't be happening. Not with my waterfront project. Instead of responding via text, I called him back.

"Find everything you can on any recent inquiries about properties surrounding the McKenzie land and have it to me before the end of the day."

I ended the call and massaged my temple. Whoever the fuck this Scot Whitney was had just made this personal, whether he knew it or not.

Needing a distraction, I pulled up the schedule for Erogenous and decided to spend a few hours releasing some tension there.

"On the bench," I demanded as I unbuttoned my shirt then shrugged out of it.

I turned my back to place it on the chair in the corner but heard her moving behind me. When I had eyes on her again, she was on the bench with her chest lowered across the top padded section while her knees pressed into the lower extension, spreading her wide enough to be fully exposed. She arched her back and pushed her hips upward, giving me an amazing view of what she was offering.

I walked over and lightly brushed my hand over the curves of her ass, noticing the way her body trembled from the contact and anticipation.

"Do I need to restrain you or can you hold still?"

"Restrain me, please, Sir."

She kept her head down when she spoke, so she didn't see the smile that crossed my face. My palms skimmed the back of her thighs then over her ass before I reached for the leather restraints and secured them one by one, first across the small of her back, then over her calves before I moved in front of her and strapped each wrist to the leather padding where they rested. She was now completely at my mercy.

And I was ready to play…

While she was completely naked, the only thing I had removed was my shirt. But now that I had her ready, I took my time removing the rest of my clothes. By the time I was completely naked and next to her again, I could see random shivers pushing through her body.

I lifted my hand and let my fingers move down her spine. She sighed in contentment. "Restraints feel okay?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Tell me immediately if they become uncomfortable."

"Okay."

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