Most days, I could ignore them and answer when I had a spare minute. I excelled at prioritizing. Some days, like today, I fantasized about closing all my accounts until my electronics were blissfully quiet. But then those people would come hunting for me and I’d rather keep people out of my office so I could get shit done.

Thanks, Grams. As the board president of King Oil, Grams got what Grams wanted, and she was every inch the micromanager, from her brilliantly bleached teeth to her thousand-dollar alligator-skin boots. She expected Dad and me to run the company the same way. The inner office, as we called it, had one assistant who didn’t have time for more than fielding phone calls and scheduling meetings. There was Kendall, but she was Dad’s executive assistant. She took the burden off him more than me. She could do half my job with her eyes closed, but I wouldn’t wish this schedule on my worst enemy, much less my dad’s second wife, the woman who’d turned him back into the dad I’d grown up with. The dad before Mama died.

Another ping.

There was a knock at the door. Phillip opened it and popped his head in. “Kate’s here to see you.”

Kate could walk in whenever she wanted, but she wouldn’t. My wife was too respectful of my job. She was a damn saint for putting up with my hours.

“Let her in.” I leaned back in my chair, easing the pressure between my shoulder blades. Anticipation crawled in my gut. I put my elbow on the armrest and leaned my chin on my hand.

Kate slipped in, giving Phillip a flash of a smile. Phillip closed the door behind her. My tension vanished at the sight of her, and the way her hips swayed made me want to say fuck this job and carry her out.

She wore simple black trousers and a loose-fitting knitted sweater. The deep blue enhanced the amber color in her hazel eyes. Her light brown hair brushed her shoulders and I restrained myself from yanking her over the desk and onto my lap to bury my hands in the soft strands of her hair. To capture that gasp that left her every time I kissed her full lips.

I changed position before I could tent my trousers like an unprofessional jackass. I could have all the fantasies I wanted of spreading my wife over my desk and losing myself in her soft body, but I’d never indulge. This job was too important. Too many people counted on me.

She took a seat, sitting like a timid mouse. I was watching her like a hawk, but I couldn’t help it. I always left in the morning when she was still asleep, and many times she was already asleep by the time I got home.