Page 48 of My Orc Billionaire
I began to laugh.
“Gods of the ancestors, it’s worse than I thought!” my assistant exclaimed, hearing my laughter. “You’re ill, aren’t you? Crap, I’ll research the closest trauma centers?—”
“I’m fine. Pineapple is fine, but I’m not craving it.” When Riven glanced over with a raised brow, I waved away her concern. “I’m just…interested in having a lazy day today.”
“What. The. Actualfuck, boss? This isnotlike you.”
I sighed dramatically. “Look, I met someone, Sylvik. I’m interested in spending the day…learning about her.”
“Her?” I heard the other male’s smile. “Praise to Malla the Beginner, youdohave a heart!”
“Screw you, Sylvik.”
“Have fun, Abydos. If you’re taking tomorrow off too, let me know before I go to sleep tonight, please.”
After I hung up, I found myself staring down at my phone. I’d known Sylvik for years, having met him in Bramblewood. He was one of the local orcs, and I’d quickly come to rely on his talents for organization, his obsession with spreadsheets, and his ability to keep me in line.
He’d devoted his life to me, and he was well-paid for it. I relied on him foreverything—not just in my business, but arranging shit for me so I wouldn’t have to go out into public. He took care of me, and clearly worried.
But all this time…had he been my friend as well?
“Everything okay?” Riven asked, heading toward me with that silver tray stacked high with the sweet roll-ups and bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs. “There’s pineapple in the smoothie.”
“Good.” I took the tray from her and bent to kiss her lips. “Everything’s amazing.” And it was. “Do you want to join me for breakfast?”
I watched her hesitate, glancing at the little table set against the bay window. The kitchen—like the dining room, the living room, my office, and my suite of rooms—was located along the cliffside of the house. I remembered the view of that thunderstorm the night we’d kissed for the same time.
“Abydos, are you sure?” she finally asked. “I’m okay eating here, honestly. You have that amazing dining room.”
“And the view is the same here,” I announced, plopping the tray down on the small table. “Eat with me.”
So she did, and the awkwardness dissipated. Riven asked me questions—first about Sylvik, then about my company in general. I found myself proudly telling her about how Vengeance, Inc. had grown from nothing to the premier lithium producer in this country, and how the shareholders—the other orcs, most of whom lived here on Eastshore—had grown rich right alongside me. I told her about the males who worked for me out in Colorado, and how they’d been interested in learning more about Eastshore, and she asked interested and insightful questions.
And after breakfast, I took her right back to bed. And after a few more orgasms, we napped—a nap! When had I last napped? In the afternoon she suggested a walk through the nature sanctuary, and I was surprised to hear myself agreeing.
By that evening, by the timeIwas helping her stir the mac and cheese with butternut squash—with a wooden spoon, not a metal one—I felt a sense of peace I hadn’t expected. Maybe it was the changing of the season, maybe it was the fresh air in the pines as we’d walked. Maybe it was the way she’d slipped her hand into mine.
I glanced at her and felt my lips curling.Peace. How was it possible things were so different now? It had only been a day.
But it was the first day of a tentative new routine. My instinct was to sweep Riven up, keep her close,take care of her. But she was strong, she was brave, and she could stand up to me in a way not even Sylvik did. I needed to tread lightly.
The morning after our reprieve, I went back to work, and so did Riven, teasing me about the grocery order she had to make. I insisted she choose a menusheliked as much as I did—no more lamb chops and plenty of cheeses—and although she’d rolled her eyes, she was grinning when she did so.
We ate together now, and somehow, the food tasted better.
Sometimes it was at the little breakfast nook in the kitchen, sometimes it was in the dining room, with us facing each other across the table, so we could both take in the view. I loved hearing her expound enthusiastically on the intricacies of the dishes she’d made, and she asked me questions about the mine, the refining plant, and the contracts I’d worked on that day.
It was…strange.
And wonderful.
Strange to open up like this, to have someone to talk to, to ask their opinions. My brothers and Tarkhan would have done this for me if they’d known anything about my companies. Sylvik and Garrak would as well,but I’d spent years holding myself apart from them, thinking we had to maintain a business relationship.
Well, Riven was still technically my employee, and look what we shared now!
She hadn’t moved in with me, and I didn’t want to risk asking her. After all, it had taken her a week before she’d even officially moved into her little apartment in the house, after that disastrous interview.
She might sleep with me, and I might fluff her favorite pillow each morning when I made the bed…but we still kept separate spaces. Sometimes I stood in my closet, choosing my suit for the day, and wondering what it would be like to see her chef’s blacks hanging up next to my things.
