Her breath catches and her mouth drops open. The sound already has me hard. Yes, I’m definitely going to be thinking about her later.

I lean down and kiss her on the top of the head. It’s a chaste gesture compared to what I want to do to her.

“Goodnight, Chloe.”

I leave her there on the sofa, pleased that it takes her a good ten seconds to call out goodnight behind me.

* * *

I’m in a meeting with Carl when Bea buzzes to tell me that Chloe is here. My day has been insane, moving from meeting to meeting, business lunch to conference calls, but any spare second I’ve had to myself, I’ve thought about Chloe. The silver lining to Fred and Frankie not being able to make the trip to the Hamptons was getting to hang out with Chloe, just us. Now, we understand each other better. I’ve made my intentions clear that I want her, but I’m waiting for her to be more comfortable with a physical relationship.

Chloe walks through the door of my office, her hair piled high on her head, a bright blue skirt that sways around her legs when she walks and a delicate blouse pulled snug against her breasts. A breakfast meeting had me out the door early, and I find myself annoyed that this is the first time I’m seeing her today.

Carl stands.

“Chloe, nice to see you,” he says.

“Carl.” She nods and I immediately pick up on her curt tone.

Carl shoots me a look.

“We’ll finish this discussion later,” I tell him.

He nods and gathers his things. In typical Carl fashion, he mouths something behind her back as he leaves. I think it was ‘you’re fucked.’ He thinks things between Chloe and me are still tense because I haven’t told him otherwise.

“Hi,” I say, moving toward Chloe. I’m aware that she’s usually the one making an effort while I hold back, but I want to change that. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“I just came from Frankie’s.” She sniffs like she’s about to cry.

My gaze drops to her hands, where they’re covered in black leather.

“Are you wearing gloves? In July? I thought you were getting your nails done?”

“Yes, I did. It was awful. My nails are awful. I came here because I don’t know what to do,” she cries.

I don’t like seeing Chloe upset, but my chest swells with pleasure that she’s seeking me out.

“They can’t be that bad.” I hold one arm and pull off the glove. Oh shit.