Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2) (7 page)

“I think it’s time for you to embrace the suck, and move forward. You can do whatever you want; the whole world is open to you.”

“I do not want to embrace the suck, I’m not a SEAL. The only thing I embrace is a new pair of shoes, my friends and family. I do not embrace the suck, whatever that means. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she let out a big breath.
 

He took her hand and kissed her head. “One day at a time, let’s just do this one day at a time. It might be easier for you to handle if you think of it that way.”

“All right, one day at a time. I can do that.”

He gently placed his hand on her face and turned her towards him, “I’m here, so let me carry the weight for a while.”

Tipping her head up, she kissed him lightly and nodded her head. “I’m going to allow you to use your very impressive muscles and shoulder this burden for a while. Thank you.”

He kissed her back and let the feelings he was developing for her pour into his kiss. He felt her lean into him.
That’s it baby, lean in, I got you.

She pulled back before she lost her resolve. “I’m going to call Mom and figure out when I can meet with Bob.”
 

He nodded, sat up and adjusted himself.
I need this woman to let me in.
She went and got her phone and must have reached her because she began a very animated conversation in Italian. He hadn’t studied the language in over ten years and was only able to catch a couple of phrases. He decided to work on his computer and wait for her to finish.

She came back into the dining room about an hour later, sat down and looked shocked. “Are you all right baby? Is everything ok with your Mom?”

“You’re not going to believe this - Bob is selling his company!”
 

“He was diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s about six months ago. Apparently the doctors feel he has many years before it becomes completely debilitating. He started with medication and has experienced some improvements, so he decide this was the right time to sell. The sale is almost complete. Jackson is going to lose his mind… he always said his Father was going to leave the business to him.”
 

“I wonder if he knows.”

“Mom says Bob has kept the deal quiet, because there is a confidentiality clause in the sale.”
 

“He apparently doesn’t trust his son with the information, which suggests Bob’s relationship with Jackson is not good at all.”

“Mom invited us over for dinner tonight. She told me I could talk to Bob then and she wants to meet you. She’s been very worried and wants to meet the person who is protecting me. I didn’t tell her everything, because I did not want her to freak out. She would’ve insisted that I move to Italy and then would have enlisted certain family members to protect me.”

“I would love to meet your Mom. It will give me an idea what my wife is going to look like in thirty years.”

“Ha, Ha, very funny.”

The thing was, he wasn’t joking. “What else do you need to do today? Can you work out of my office today?”

“I think so, but I’m not sure what I need to do. My head is spinning with this information about the sale. Mom swore me to secrecy, so I don’t want to do anything to tip anyone off. I have to decide what to work on, and be careful not to tip my hand.”

“Let’s go then, and you can figure it out on the way.” They gathered their things and headed out to the ASI offices.

CHAPTER FIVE

He walked back into his office after finishing the meeting in the conference room. He smiled at the woman sitting on the couch and admired how pretty she looked. They acquired a new client that was going to be hugely profitable for the company. The business was at the point of needing a COO and he had a good idea of who he wanted to hire. Sitting on his couch was his future wife and COO. “Hi sweetheart, how are you doing?”

She looked up and felt her tummy swoop as she caught his smile. He was starting to have that effect on her regularly now and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. In or out. Stay or go. Resist or not.
 

“I’m fine, how was your meeting? Did you land the big fish?”

“I did! We officially have too much business and too few resources. I want you to come work for the company, I need your help.”

“I have not officially quit my current job. I can’t think about anything new yet. I will run an operational analysis and give you my suggestions, but I can’t come work for you.”

You will be working with me, not for me. I don’t believe in prenuptial agreements, so you’re going to own part of the business anyway. I think you’re still going to want a salary. But either way is fine with me.”

“I think before we get married, we should go out on a couple of dates. I like to date… before I get married. I know it sounds a little crazy, but that’s just me. Also I have to sleep with you, and see if we are compatible. I don’t want to have bad sex for the next fifty years.”
 

“OK. Dates and sex and then we get married. Perfect.”

“You understand that I am being ironic…. right?”

“You can think that, but I know you’re warming to the idea.”

 
“Max we’ve known each other for three days and you’re coming on a little strong. Is this what you usually do?”

“No, this is the first time I’ve felt this way. I saw you and that was it. The more time I spend with you, the surer I am. I’m hungry for you, there’s no shame in that.” He leaned over and kissed her hard. “Can we consider dinner at your Mom’s a date? Then we can go home and have sex.”

“As romantic as that sounds, I’m going to go with a no. A date is where you plan something fun to do and then you ask me if I’m available. Then you wear something nice, pick me up and we go out. We can make out on the first date, and I may let you feel me up. It all depends on how much fun I have on the date.”

“Can I take you to the firing range for a date this afternoon? You said you wanted a gun. This would be me giving you something you want. I will even buy you lunch after and then we can make out.”

She studied him, “I’m not usually available on such short notice. But given the circumstances, I will make an exception. Men usually have to call me several days ahead, but since we’re living together, I will go with you today.”
 

“Thank you sweetheart, I appreciate it.”

She nodded her head, and gave him a smile worthy of a queen. She decided she was going to play hard to get for as long as she could. Otherwise she was going to find herself married by next week. Why was this the second time that thought popped into her head?
 

“I have about an hour of work to finish, then I can go. Does that work for you?”

“Yes, I’m at a standstill right now. After I give my notice to Bob tonight, I can move forward on some final projects. I’m planning on staying for two weeks and then I will be done.”

“Then you can come here and work. We can share this office and make out whenever we want.”

“If … I decide to consult for your company, I will need my own office. There will be no making out during office hours.”

“Fine, as long as I can have lunch with you every day.”

“I’m not going to eat with you every day.
 

“Why not?”

“Because, I will need a break from you. You may not be aware of this, but you’re overwhelming and take up a lot of space.” She watched his face fall - maybe she shouldn’t have been that honest. “I like you Max, but you’re a big man with a lot of intensity, and it’s going to take me a while to get used to that.”

“Those are all things that have served me well my whole life. I don’t know how much I am going to change.”

“I don’t want you to change, I just need to get used to it. It’s daunting to be on the receiving end of your focus. I feel like I’m a mission to you and I bet you’ve never failed a mission.”

“That’s true. I will try and dial it down a little. I can be laid back and relaxed - just you wait and see.”

“Thank you. Finish up and then we can go to the gun range and you can show me how to shoot.” He leaned down, gently laid his hand on her cheek and dropped his lips to hers and proceeded to kiss the hell out of her.
Maybe they could do a little kissing during the day.

***

They laid on the couch after they got home from dinner at her Mom’s house. “I had fun tonight, Bob seems to be holding it together.” He shifted a little and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You can see the love that they have for one another. He’s a lucky man. I understand why he sold now, he wanted to make the deal before he felt compromised. Jackson is going to lose his mind, so we’re going to have to keep a close eye on him.”

“I had no idea that Jackson battled drug addiction. By the time I met him, he had his act together. Well… as much as a sociopath can have their act together.” She rested her hand on his chest and felt the massive wall of muscle under his shirt. “I didn’t realize he was using again. I wonder how Bob found out?”
 

“He told me that he has had someone keep an eye out for him for the last two years. He suspected that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd and was afraid that he was going to give into his addiction again.” He felt her hand slip under his shirt as she ran her hand over his chest. He tried not to react because he didn’t want her to stop. He wondered how conscious she was of what she was doing. “He told me that he was always worried about his son and he wanted to do everything he could to help him remain sober. He also realized that it was ultimately up to him.”

She felt his hand slip under her t shirt and he kept it right under the swell of her breast.
I guess that’s fair – I have my hand under his shirt.
“I always thought he suffered from narcissism, but I think it’s more. Jackson isn’t able to feel remorse for his actions or have any guilt. Despite all of that, I always thought he was the heir apparent, but evidently his Dad had other ideas.”

“It’s interesting that the forensic accountants found out about Jackson’s shenanigans so quickly. I always thought that took some time.”

“Not if you’re good. Birdie would have spotted it right away. She’s an accounting savant - it’s as though the numbers talk to her. She sometimes is the only one who can hear them. That’s why she’s in such high demand.”

“My friend Mark is a lucky man, he found the love of his life who is also a financial genius. I know he’s going to be happy to hand that over to her.”

“I can’t believe it happened so quickly for them. I’ve seen her take longer deciding on a new set of dishes. I wonder what he did to make her fall in love with him. Maybe he put a spell on her.”
 

“It’s probably the same spell that you put on me - one look and that was all it took for me.” He grabbed her hand and smiled, “Since we had our date earlier, can we make out now?”

“I guess…. sure.”

“Don’t sound so enthusiastic. I thought you liked the gun range?”

“I thought I would like shooting more. I hoped it would give me a feeling of power and control. It just felt loud and scary. Do you think that’s typical?”

“Guns may not be your thing. I thought when you kept your eyes open, you did well.”

“That’s the thing - I have no feel for it. I’m going to keep at it though. I want to be able to defend myself even if it kills me. My goal is to keep my eyes open for at least half the time when we go again.”

“I think that’s probably a good idea. Having your eyes open definitely helps.”

“I think you liked it because you were feeling me up half the time. Don’t think I didn’t notice where your hands were. I didn’t see any of the other teachers touching their students like that.”

“I have to take it where I can get it. I’m crazy for you and I’m not keeping my hands off. My hands are going to stay on you as much as I can get away with.”

“Thanks for the heads up. At least you behaved at dinner - I’m thankful for that.”
 

He looked down at his phone and read a text. “Looks like an email was sent to you from one of our suspects. I thought maybe we would go a day without it. I think the change in your routine and behavior has him agitated, which is good because he will do something stupid. Then we can catch him. I look forward to having a chat with him and discussing his behavior.”

Does your chat involve you using your fists?”

“Sometimes I talk with my hands. I like to make sure that my message is received.”

“Remember that we’re not at war. We have to follow the law and get this guy put away.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I will take care of it.”

“That’s what I am afraid of. I don’t want you to go to jail before I have a chance to sleep with you. I have a feeling you’re going to be amazing.”

“Well we had better start tonight. God knows what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

“I think I would like to know you for more than three days, so lets’ just see how it goes.”

“I’ll wait for however long it takes….as long as it’s soon.”

***

He sat at the table of computers and tried to figure out what went wrong. Why hadn’t she shown up for work today? It probably had something to do with the big man who was with her yesterday. He had to get her away from him but wasn’t sure how. Maybe Jackson would help him. He tried to locate her car again and couldn’t. The tracking device he installed kept giving him mixed signals, it would put her at three different locations at the same time. Maybe the big man found it and took it out. He needed her to come back to the office, so he could put another one in her car. He had to be able to keep track of her - that was the only way that he could keep control.
I’m glad I went to that gun show last weekend, I think the things I bought are going to help me convince her to stay with me.
He tried to access the camera again and all he could see was static, maybe he could call her and tell her he needed to update her software. She would definitely come in for that and then he would have a chance with her again. He hoped the email he sent her made his message clear. She had to start following his directions, otherwise he was going to be forced to do something drastic.