“You’re right. This isn’t something I need to be dealing with right now. Excuse me,” I said, retreating quickly. I slammed the door shut behind me, letting out my first full breath in minutes.

What was this woman doing to me?

And how did I make it stop?

“There’s always a way, Roman, if you want there to be.”

My brother’s words echoed in my head as I worked.

I’d given up on actual work long ago. What I was doing could only be categorized as crazy.

But that was what Cara made me feel like.

Fucking crazy.

Life had been easy before her.

Lonely. Lifeless maybe, but easy.

I’d gone to work, put the hours in, seen results, and when I could, I’d reaped the rewards. When things had gotten rough, the rewards were few and far between, but that wasn’t a big shocker. I ran a Fortune 500 company. People like me just weren’t made for anything else.

It was what I had been raised to do after all.

My legacy.

But she made me want more.

More nights of bowling and talking over cheap salads. I wanted to spend time with her outside of this godforsaken office—without the excuse of work or job duties.

I just wanted her.

All to myself.

And, somehow, I was going to make it happen.

I’d been thinking about it for days.

It was dirty and wrong, and if she ever found out about my involvement…

But I needed to know what it felt like.

I needed my chance.

Otherwise, this obsession would eat me alive.

I was done waiting.

It was time to take.

I waited until the following week when our paths would naturally cross. Seeking Lauren out, as cunning as she was, would only put the leggy blonde on high alert that much faster.

I needed this to be casual, calm, and anything but deliberate.

Luckily, we had an upcoming acquisition, and with that came meetings. I usually loathed meetings. They were long, boring, and involved far too much talking for my taste.

But today I was actually looking forward to one because of the possibility it held.

One step closer…

I slipped into the conference room a few minutes early, something I wasn’t known for. I pulled out my laptop and pretended to be working. A complacent boss tended to cause turmoil among employees. Why isn’t he working? Doesn’t he have anything to do? Oh God… are we shutting down?

That was how rumors started.

It was also why I kept the janitorial and coffee budgets well funded. Nothing like a break in the java supply to cause mass panic regarding job retention.

“You’re here early.”

Just the voice I’d wanted to hear.