Page 4 of Sucker
“Boys aren’t worth your time, angel. A real man wouldn’t just date you. He’d take one look at you and claim you as his own.”
“Are you a man who’s claiming me?” He sounds sexy. I wish I could open my eyes.
“I’m considering it.”
“Hmm, that sounds nice. I’d like to be claimed.” My voice trails off and I sink even deeper into my mind, but not before I feel a coolness on my forehead.
“Rest, angel. Rest.”
Landon
Ipress a cloth to Willa’s forehead as she mutters and drifts back to sleep. Her murmured words were so sweet that I want to lock her in this room and keep her as mine forever.Are you a man who’s claiming me?It’s probably the most innocent thing I’ve ever heard leave a woman’s lips. I felt protective of her before, but now I’m enraptured. I want to know all there is to know about her, question her endlessly about her life and who she’s become. Does she still like cherry suckers? Or, do I bring her boxes of chocolates now?
Sitting back, I fold the cloth into a small square and twist it around in my fingers, wondering what the hell I’m actually thinking here. This beautiful creature laid out in the center of my bed used to run around in tutu’s and struggle to say my name. Now, she has the body of a woman, curves I could spend days lost in. There’s a familiarity here, but not the kind there should be. It’s like mybodyneeds her. Is that fucked up?
Standing, I run a hand through my dark hair, messing up whatever style it had earlier this morning.It wasn’t supposed to go this way.
Picking up the bucket, I head into the bathroom and clean up. I try to avoid looking at myself in the mirror, but my grey eyes find their reflection and judge me for what they know is going through my mind.This is definitely fucked up.
When I learned that Willa was attempting to join the company under the guise of Juliet McCarthy, I started looking into her so I could understand her purpose. She’s studying computer science, so she’s more than qualified for the internship on her own. Why use the fake name? Was she afraid I wouldn’t hire her if I knew whose daughter she was? Possibly. It’s no secret there’s bad blood between her father and me.
James Quinn and I founded James Tech right out of college. We spent years collaborating on different programs that never really found their feet. While James grew despondent, I knuckled down and tried harder. James developed a gambling problem while I came up with the concept forThe Round Table.I had never wanted to cut him out, but when creditors started knocking onmydoor and repossessing company assets, I had no choice but to dissolve the partnership and take control of James Tech. Even then, I almost went under. James had taken money from clients I didn’t know about without delivering the software they asked for. For a year, I worked for free to honor those deals and rebuild James Tech’s reputation. And if it hadn’t been forThe Round Tabletaking off, I’d have been forced into insolvency myself. It was just dumb luck and perfect timing that pulled James Tech out of the gutter and onto the cover of Time Magazine. But if you ask James Quinn, I stole his idea and forced him out of the industry. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I did everything I could to save that man from himself, but I often wonder if I only made things worse by enabling him to continue down a destructive path. In the end, the only person I could do something productive for was his daughter. I paid for her school, her college—a full ride so she didn’t even have to work—and I made sure she got this internship—even though she’s committing fraud by doing so.And I’ll protect her from that too.
As long as I breathe, I’ll be the protector of that girl.
Images of those giant breasts and soft fleshy curves flash in my mind, making my cock ache.She’s mine.
Fuck.
My cell buzzes in my pocket, snapping me out of my thoughts before they get too impure. “Yes?” I keep my voice low as I adjust my dick and move into the living area so I don’t disturb Willa. The doctor said she’ll need rest to sleep off the effects of her concussion. He didn’t seem too concerned, but I feel the need to watch over her, anyway.
“Your twelve o’clock meeting is here, sir.”
I press my lips together. I told my assistant to cancel the rest of my day. “Were you unable to contact them?”
“I left a message. But—”
“They either didn’t get it, or chose to ignore it.”Fucking Facebook.
She sighs. “Yes. And based on his attitude, I’m thinking the latter.”
I rake my hand through my hair yet again. “All right. Give him coffee or something. I’ll be down in five minutes.”
“Thank you, sir.” She sounds relieved as we disconnect. I can only imagine the attitude he’s walked in with this time. When they started trying to buy outThe Round Table,they were sweet as pie. Years later, they’re becoming more aggressive. But I won’t be selling.The Round Tablewas developed so companies could have their own internal platform instead of mixing their business lives with their personal social media. Users interact directly with those inside their organization as though they’re all seated at the same table, hence the name. It works because everyone has a business face and a private face, and the two need to be separated.
No matter how much money this guy offers, I won’t be selling up. I’ll never sell. And I’m pissed that he’s dragging me away when my angel clearly needs me.
A discontented growl emanates from my chest as I tighten my tie and try to make some sort of style out of the mess that is my hair. I’m a workaholic, so my apartment is the top floor of James Tech. But right now, the last thing I want to do is walk out of this apartment while Willa lies in my bed.Where she belongs.The moment I entered the same room as her, I knew I had to have her. And now I’m waging a war with myself over putting even a modicum of distance between us. But I don’t have a choice, some people seem to think their business is more important than my business.
“Shit.”
Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, I scribble a note and leave it on the table for her to find if she wakes up before I’m back. I don’t want her to leave without talking to me. Actually, I don’t want her to leave full stop.
I’m losing my mind here. What is wrong with me?
Willa
When my eyes open, I don’t know where I am. I feel like I’ve been in this room before, but it’s more like a dream than a memory. And I don’t remember how I gothere,in the room.I’m in a massive bed with blue-gray sheets. Actually, everything in this room is some shade of gray. It’s sterile but manly, and it smells really good. Like fresh linen and pine.What is going on?
