“So, what was so important that you have to leave me?” I ask as we walk across the airport. “You promised.”

“That I’d never leave you unless it was necessary,” he answers. “I left because of you.”

He makes no sense.

I don’t ask anything until we board the private jet and are in our seats. “Explain yourself, Archer. I’m taking a leap of faith here, but you have to give me a little more than business.”

“It’s a long story,” he says, and then his hot mouth is on mine.

This fiery, intense kiss is making me dizzy. His hands move along my body.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure to secure your—”

“No,” I whimper in disappointment, but then I remember he owes me an explanation.

“You can wait until we reach the thirty-thousand-feet altitude mark, can’t you, Princess?” he murmurs near my ear, raising goosebumps all the way down my spine.

“Here,” he says, placing a fleece blanket on top of me. “It’s the only way I can warm you up until we can move around.”

“Well, we have time for your explanation. I want every detail, Miller Archer.”

“That’s going to take longer than ten minutes.”

“Start, or there won’t be any sex, Hannibal.”

When the plane begins to take off, he takes my hand and mumbles, “It’s okay, Clarice, I’m with you.”

Miller

I tell her the entire story from beginning to end while we take off.

“Devon and I spent the past week traveling between New York and London,” I say, as I’m almost done with the tale. “Edith was ready to sell, but Shelby was trying to wait for more offers.”

“Did you have to pay a lot?” she asks curiously.

I shake my head. “I spoke with some friends of mine. By the end of Tuesday, everyone knew I’d be buying it, no one made an offer. I paid less than the asking price.”

Claire takes my hand and squeezes it. “Thank you for that. So, when did this negotiation end?”

“Only a couple of hours ago,” I confess. “I barely made it to the airport.”

“I just don’t get it. You bought the company.”

“You said it yourself; someone has to take care of the employees. If anyone else had merged with them, they would’ve fired them.”

“So,” she asks cautiously, “what are we going to do?”

“That’s for you to figure out.” I pull out the documents from my jacket. “It’s your company.”

She blinks a couple of times. “You’re not serious.”

“Blend is yours as soon as you sign these papers.”

“I prefer if we merge.” She gives me a mischievous grin. “You know, make you my bitch and all that shit.”

“We can do that. We can use both floors for the company.”