I gulped. Oh yes. I was following along. I was suddenly a starving person given their first morsel of food in months. I was hungry for more. “You’re coming back with them?”

“I’m coming straight to you.”

Desire lit inside of me. The flame grew to a fire. “Hurry.”

“I am.” The raw need in his voice had me breathing hard. “Are you still angry with me?”

I grimaced. “I was never angry at you, not really.”

“Good.”

I glanced at Mike, who was studying his window with an intensity that told me he was very aware, and uncomfortably so, of our intimate conversation. I lowered my voice, “I have some things to tell you when you get here.”

He hesitated on his end before he said, his voice husky as well, “As do I.”

My heart picked up. My hand grew sweaty around the phone. “Okay then.”

He chuckled. “Okay then.”

“Did you get me kicked off the account?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it wasn’t safe for you. I didn’t want you in New York, not right now. You’re safer there and in my home. And it wasn’t ethical. Noah shouldn’t have put you on that team in the first place. He knew I was on the board. He knew about my relationship with you. He was trying to manipulate me.”

I was confused, again. “What are you talking about? He didn’t think you were going to approve the product?”

“No. My previous associates have another product that would be its competitor.”

“But you did approve it?”

“Of course I did.”

My head was swimming. “This makes no sense to me.”

He chuckled again. “This is my excuse to step away from the other product.”

My chest felt constricted. “They’ll let you…step away?”

“Yes, they will. I have done very well for those associates. They’ve known about my wish for independence and with a venture I insured for them over this past week, I have fulfilled any obligations they might’ve had for me to the family.”

“Are you saying…” No, it couldn’t be. People didn’t walk away from that life.

“Yes, Emma. I’m free now.”

I couldn’t talk. My chest was heaving. My eyes were watering and I gripped onto that phone like my life depended on it.

“Emma.”

“Yes?” I wrung out.

His voice dropped even more. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes,” I breathed out. “That’s a very good thing.”

“Good.” His voice broke for a beat. “We’re almost there. I’ll be home soon.”

I couldn’t say anything. I should’ve said good bye or safe travels, something, but the magnitude of what he had just told me hit me like a truck. I was bowled over at what that meant for both of us.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It was five hours later when I got his text. Something came up. I’m sorry. Will meet you at Octave tonight. The men are notified. They will drive you there at ten.

I didn’t text him back. Maybe I should’ve, but my entire body was humming. I had been waiting for him and now this. It wasn’t long after that when I got a text from Theresa. Meet you at Octave! So excited!

I spent the next hour choosing what I was going to wear. I was going for Theresa and because Noah had promoted me and, as tingles raced through me, because I was excited to see Carter, even if it was later than he told me and not where we’d be alone. So as I headed downstairs, I ignored the shocked looks on the guys and even the raised eyebrow as Mike scooted beside me. I didn’t want to admit that I was dressing for somebody, certainly not for Carter, but I was. My tan dress fit like a second skin. The fact that it resembled a corset was an added bonus.

As I walked into Octave and saw the reactions, I knew the dress had been perfect. However, when we neared the door to Carter’s private office, I stopped walking. A fresh batch of shivers raced up and down my spine, but not the good kind. Scott Graham was approaching from the opposite end. As he stopped outside the door, he looked up and his eyes trailed up and down my body. His lips pursed together in a wolf whistle, but two of the guards stepped in front of me, blocking his view.

“Mr. Graham,” Mike spoke up. He didn’t move, nor did Lawrence—whose name I recently learned. Thomas also sidled closer to me. Scott tried to look around them, but this last maneuver put an entire human wall between us.

I had never been more grateful for those guys.

“Hi, guys. You’re going to see the boss?”

Thomas pressed his ear and said something. I couldn’t hear, but it wasn’t long until I heard another voice speak up, loudly with authority, “Mr. Graham, Mr. Reed kindly requests that you leave his guests alone for the evening.”

“What? But—”

“You’ve been relieved of your duty for the evening.”

“What’s going on here, Gene?” His voice rose in anger. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Actually,” Gene spoke again, harshly now. “I can. You’ve got the night off, Scott. I suggest you go on your own two legs.”

There was silence, and as it stretched onto another minute, the guys stiffened around me. The air grew thick with tension, but then a bitter laugh came from the night manager. “Fine. I’ll go, but I’ll be speaking with Carter himself about this tomorrow.”

“He’s expecting your phone call tonight.”

The guys waited another minute before they parted before me. Scott Graham was gone and so was the mysterious Gene. I felt like I could breathe easier again and drew in a deep breath when Mike opened the door and disappeared inside. Three guards from behind me followed him inside. It wasn’t long before some signal was given to the guards beside me and Thomas nodded towards me. “You may go in, Emma.”

I gave him a gracious smile. “Thank you, Thomas.”

When I went in, I was taken aback. It was large and grandiose with its own dance floor that extended out like a deck to an apartment. There were couches on one side, a table set on the other, and a bar—Carter’s office could’ve been its own apartment. When I looked to the side, I saw four doors and wondered if they were all bedrooms.

The other places that we had used didn’t come close to this. The place was extravagant for a nightclub office. I thought I met Carter in his private box before, but now I wondered if he had a few of them.