Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 645

DOMINIC

I sat at the head of the boardroom table with a pen rolling between my fingers, and I wasn't seeing a single man in that room.

My mind was still at lunch. Still on the way Celeste had looked at me across the table, that smile she got when she was about to ask for something she thought I'd refuse. She'd leaned in, all mischief, and told me she wanted me to come back to Helix with her, sit in her office, and just let her look at me. She said staring at me would be enough motivation to get through her whole day.

I'd almost said yes. I would have canceled every meeting on my calendar for that woman, and I'd told myself that was exactly why I needed to go back to work. One of us had to keep their head.

I looked up.

Seven men sat around the table, watching me. Some wore surprise on their faces, some barely hidden curiosity. My assistant stepped closer and cleared his throat. "Sir, whenever you're ready, we can begin."

I set the pen down. "We'll have this meeting tomorrow."

"Sir?"

"Tomorrow." I stood up. "I have somewhere I need to be."

I left them sitting there and walked out, and I could feel their stares on my back. My assistant caught up with me in the hallway and asked if something was wrong, if the meeting was a problem, and I just told him I had somewhere else I wanted to be. That was the whole truth.

Twenty minutes later I was pulling into the Helix parking lot.

Celeste had told me she had a mountain of work. Pat's early pregnancy was making her sleepy all the time, so Celeste was carrying twice the load, working twice as hard so Pat could rest before our wedding and honeymoon. Which meant she wouldn't stay long at her mother's. Which meant if I showed up at her office now, I'd be exactly where she'd wanted me to be when she walked back in.

The lobby went quiet when I walked through. Not out of fear. Out of recognition. Everyone knew who I was. The engagement had been streamed live to half the world, and I'd seen the way they'd all looked at Celeste afterward, like she'd walked out of a fairy tale.

The receptionist stood up the moment she saw me. "Mr. Ford. Welcome. Miss Adams isn't here right now."

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