Page 29 of Selfish Suit

“Isn’t it inspiring that Mr. Sutton is self-made?” Tracey beams as we set up the conference room for pitch rehearsal. “Like, can you imagine having his background and then building a company that’s worth over a billion dollars?”

“I thought he was a trust fund baby…”

“He was definitely not.” She scoffs. “Haven’t you looked at his bio at all?”

“No.” I reposition the projector screen. “But whenever I’m not doing a million things with two hands or anticipating his next meal order, I’ll be sure to use my limited free time for that.”

“Well, I know his biography like the back of my hand. I’ve even met with the author who’s working on?—”

She looks at me like she’s waiting for me to say,Okay, tell me, but I just hold out my hand for the extension cord.

“You could probably learn a lot from him,” she continues. She makes it perfectly clear why she’s his right hand and number one fan. “What other CEO in Manhattan would give you an hour a day to go apartment hunting with his top assistant? That’s true character right there.”

“Could we please talk about something else? Anything else?”

“Um… want to discuss what amenities you want in your new apartment?”

“Sure,” I say, grateful for anything but more Dominic chatter. “I would really like a soaker tub, if possible. I know those are hard to?—”

“Mr. Sutton did a campaign for Kohler Soaker Tubs, and they designed all the ones in his condo here for free,” she interrupts. “They also vowed to do any new ones in any property he buys. Would you like to hear how that came about?”

Kill me now.

THE CEO

DOMINIC

“You all cannot be fucking serious…” Braxton stands at the front of the boardroom table, glaring at the team. “If I were Skittles, I’d walk right out within the first fifteen minutes of listening to this dreck.”

“Sir, you haven’t even given us fifteen minutes,” Marcus says. “It’s literally been five.”

“Well, it feels like an hour.” He presses a hand against his forehead. “Skip to the mock commercials, preferably with a bit more enthusiasm and less crap.”

I lean back in my chair, grateful that he’s saying all the words coming to my mind. Well, the words regarding work and not Ivy.

She’s sitting across from me, crossing and recrossing her legs, and I’m trying not to stare.

“Okay, let’s bring customers back and show them there are more ways to taste the rainbowww!” The presentation begins, and I swear this is not what we discussed the other day. It’s nothing like what Ivy suggested—he hasn’t incorporated any of her brilliant notes—and I can see Braxton’s eyes about to pop out of his skull.

“Okay, enough.” I hold up a hand. “Let’s take the rest of the day off and reconvene tomorrow morning. I’ll send emails this evening. You’re all dismissed.”

Everyone scuttles out of the room—including Ivy—and Braxton walks over to the window.

“Thank you for finally saying something,” he says. “Has Miss Locke’s pussy got your tongue?”

“What?” I arch a brow. “That’s a highly inappropriate thing to say to me.”

“You’ve never been this quiet on a pitch polish day,” he says. “You’re over there smiling like the team isn’t serving up turds on a pee platter.”

“You really need to work on your metaphors... I was in deep thought.”

“About what?”

“Am I really that selfish?”

“Stop bullshitting me, Dominic.”

“It’s a genuine question.”

---