DON’T STOP (Lila and Darrell) novel Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Norman

I knew what was coming.

I’d known before the ink dried on the bid. Before the press got the specs. Before anyone at White Industries had even exhaled.

Twelve percent. That was all it took. In this economy with inflation squeezing every boardroom, every quarterly projection. very carefully worded shareholder promise, twelve per cent wasn’t just a number. It was a sledgehammer. And I had swung t with both hands.

All I had to do now was wait.

f they came, it meant they’d accepted mine. Simple as that. No response meant they were still scrambling, still trying to ind a counter that didn’t exist. But if they walked through that door, and I had a feeling they would, then it was already over. The California Renewable Energy Initiative would belong to White Industries before lunch.

leaned back in my chair, fingers loosely laced together, eyes on the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Fifty- hird floor. The skyline stretched out below like something I owned, which, increasingly, wasn’t far from the truth.

The silence in the office was comfortable. I’d learned to like silence. It usually meant I was winning.

The telephone rang.

grabbed it before the second ring even finished.

Hello?”

Sir?” Evelyn’s voice. It was soft and careful. She always sounded like she was choosing her words around me, which was mart of her.

exhaled. “Go straight to the point.”

A beat. Then— “They’ve confirmed, sir. The committee selected White Industries. Wright Dynamics has been notified.” Sje >aused, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “They’ll be here in twenty minutes for the preliminary meeting The contract will be signed today.”

The corner of my mouth pulled up before I could stop it.

‘Good,” I said.

I set the phone back down without another word.

Solved

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I reached for the bottle of water on my desk, leaned all the way back, and took a slow, unhurried sip. The city glittere beyond the glass. Twenty minutes. The committee had chosen, the terms were set, and somewhere across town, an entity war room full of very stressed people were probably losing their minds right now.

I almost felt bad.

Felt bad? I must be crazy.

I set the bottle down and straightened my cufflinks.

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Woy should have been faster. Ex-wife. The thought came with something I didn’t bother examining too closely not quite sättsfaction, not quite hunger Something in between. Something than had no business showing up in a boardroom and absolutely no business being attached to Daisy Wright’s name

But it was there anyway. And it’s happening in freaking twenty minutes.

I stood, buttoned my jacket, and walked to the window.

Let her come. Soon enough. I went back to my seat.

The door opened without a knock – Evelyn never knocked, which I’d stopped minding

She slipped in quietly, a slim folder tucked under her arm, heels clicking softly against the marble floor. Her skirt was short today. I noticed. I always noticed with Evelyn – she had a way of making sure of it.

The revised terms from legal,” she said, setting the folder on the edge of my desk, leaning slightly as she did. They want your signature before the meeting.”

I didn’t look at the folder.

I looked at her.

She straightened, and something shifted in her expression – that flicker she got when she realized ray attention had move away from business entirely. Her lips parted slightly.

pushed my chair back just enough.

‘Come here.”

She came without hesitation. She always did.

I reached out, fingers curling lightly around her wrist, and guided her down onto my lap in one easy motion. She settled against me, folder forgotten, one hand resting on my chest. She smelt like expensive perfume and something warmer underneath it.

I brushed her hair back from her neck and lowered my head.

She exhaled softly and unsteadily as my lips found the curve of her neck. Slow. Unhurried. I felt her fingers curi into y apel, her breath catching in that way that meant she’d already forgotter whatever she’d come in here for Good had nineteen minutes and nothing pressing until they arrived.

My hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer, and she turned her face toward mune

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The kiss was warm. Her fingers slid up to my jaw, mine pressed into the small of her back, and for a few minutes the other was very, very quiet.

Then she gasped.

Not the good kind though.

She pulled back, her eyes wide, suddenly remembering herself. 1-1 have something to finish before they arrive” She was already shifting off my lap, smoothing her skirt, reaching for the folder with hands that weren’t quite steady. The amended clause on the licensing terms, I still need to-

I caught her wrist lightly

She stilled turning to face me.

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3:44 am PPC

Chapter 92.

Hooked up at her unhurried, and said one word.

“Tonight?”

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The professionalism she’d scrambled to pull back together softened all at once. A Now smile broke across her face- the one, not the secretary one.

She nodded.

Then she turned and walked out, the door clicking shut behind her, and I leaned back in my chair with the ghost of a smi

The committee filed out quietly, the way people do when they know they’ve just witnessed something decisive Handshak brief nods, the soft shuffling of folders and briefcases. The door clicked shut behind the last of them.

I stood at the head of the conference table and looked down at the signed contract.

Clean. Final. Mine.

A quiet satisfaction settled over me – the particular kind that only came after a long game played well. The California Renewable Energy Initiative. Two hundred million dollars. White Industries, stamped and sealed on every page

I exhaled slowly through my nose.

That’s how it’s done.

I turned. Evelyn was already watching me from across the room, her smile small and knowing, the folder clasped in front her like she’d been waiting patiently this whole time – which she had. She was good at that.

Congratulations, sir,” she said.

Something sparked in me immediately. Maybe it was time not to be a playboy anymore. Maybe it was high time not to be fucking single.

I crossed the room in four strides.

She barely had time to react before I grabbed her, hands around her waist, and lifted her clean off the ground

“Sir-!” She gasped, the folder tumbling from her grip, and then the gasp dissolved into laughter – bright, usguarded. completely unlike her office voice. Her hands flew to my shoulders to steady herself, eyes wide with surprise and something softer underneath it.

I looked up at her.

“Evelyn.”

She blinked, still catching her breath. “Yes?”

I held her there, suspended, the city sprawling gold and silver behind the glass walls of the conference room

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