I loved the way she screamed my name when we fucked...

“Are we boring you, Mr. Dalton?” The lead board member, Nathaniel, interrupted my thoughts. “I’m scared to ask whether you’ve been paying attention to anything we’ve said.”

“You should be,” I said. “I’ll look at my brother’s notes later to see if anything new was said today.”

“Ugh...” He groaned. “Plenty of new things were said, but we’re making sure that we are all on the same page in regards to the global initiative. You know, that initiative we hope to launch as soon as possible as long as our beloved CEO can make a needed turn around with his public image.”

“Your beloved CEO refuses to make any promises.”

His face reddened and he looked as if he was going to launch into one of his usual, “You are so damn impossible” tirades, but my brother held up his hand.

“I’ll be happy to let you all know that Ryan is meeting with a brand new public relations firm today,” he said. “He’s assured me that they seem like a perfect fit for him.”

“Like that means anything.” Nathan mumbled. “Same shit, different day. They’ll quit like all the others, and my money is on two weeks. Max.”

There were murmurs of agreement around the table, and Leo shot me a “Please don’t fuck this up” look.

Thankfully, he steered the subject toward our goals for the rest of the year and brought the meeting to a much needed close minutes later. As the board members filed out of the room, he motioned for me to stay behind.

When the last of the members was gone, he let out a breath and loosened his tie. “What’s the name of this new firm you’ve hired?”

“Penelope Lauren and Associates.”

“Hmmm. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.” He pulled out his phone and tapped his screen a few times. Then he rolled his eyes and let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Ryan, this firm isn’t even in the mid-level class of PR firms, and they have a staff of five. Well, six if you include the founding partner.”

“I’m very impressed with your reading abilities. Please read me some more.”

“It takes ten people to handle the logistics of a single month for you,” he said. “Twenty when you start talking aboutmultiple conferences and travel plans. So, please don’t tell me that this is the only firm you could get on the phone.”

I didn’t answer. We both knew that was the case.

“What about Drew & Associates?” he asked. “I found them yesterday and they’re almost a first tier firm that seems to be doing pretty well.” He grabbed a pen and scribbled a few words on the back of a business card. “Whenever this Lauren & Associates firm realizes they can’t handle you, which will probably be minutes after meeting you, give this Drew firm a call.”

“Good to know you have good faith in my decision-making skills.”

“I only have faith in your business decisions, not your personal or publicist ones. Speaking of which, where were you Sunday night? I didn’t see you at the Oasis ribbon cutting ceremony.”

I smiled, but I didn’t answer.

“Ryan,” he repeated, looking confused. “Where were you Sunday?”

“You told me to stop telling you about my sex life months ago. I’m remaining silent because I’m honoring that request.”

“Jesus Christ...” He held up his hands in a mock surrender and headed toward the door. “You’re lucky I’m your brother and CFO.”

“I’m well aware.” I tucked the Drew & Associates card into my pocket and headed to the elevator, taking it straight to the top floor.

“Good morning, Mr. Dalton!” Linda greeted me as soon as I walked by her desk. “Your eleven o’clock just made it through security downstairs. Should I have her wait a bit when she arrives to our floor or send her right in?”

“You can send her right in,” I said. “Did the interns set up the coffee bar and contract tools like I asked?”

“They did, sir.”

“Good. Thank you.” I let myself into my office with my keycard and looked around, making sure everything was exactly how I preferred it. Then I realized, once again, that my office alone was twice the size of Penelope’s entire firm.

I wasn’t sure why I appreciated the fact that her staff didn’t immediately start giving me a rehearsed pitch like the other firms, but I found that quite refreshing. Not only that, but not a single one of them sent me a string of follow up emails with that annoyingly familiar and overused, “So glad you came to see us today!” subject line.

I walked over to my windows and pressed a button—forcing the curtains to draw open and expose a gray and rainy view of Manhattan below. I pushed the coffee cart over to my desk and picked up two cups for me and Penelope.

As I was setting out the sugars, Linda’s voice came over my speakers.

“Miss Lauren has arrived to the floor,” she said. “I’m sending her in now.”

“Thank you, Linda.”

The door opened seconds later and Penelope stepped inside wearing a light beige dress that made me completely forget what the hell we were supposed to be talking about. Her full lips were painted in the same ruby red lipstick she was wearing when we first met and they perfectly matched the apple colored heels she was wearing.

I could literally stare at you all day...

“Good morning, Mr. Dalton.” She walked over to me and extended her hand.

“Good morning, Miss Lauren.” I shook her hand and resisted the urge to pull her closer to me and initiate a much needed round two. “You can have a seat now.”

“You have to let go of my hand first.”

I let it go and waited for her to sit down before doing the same. I watched as she pulled a few colored folders from her briefcase and set them on my desk. She bit her bottom lip and mumbled a few words to herself before looking up at me.

“Would you like some coffee before we begin?” I asked.

“No, not at all. I don’t plan to be here that long.”

“Excuse me?” I raised my eyebrow. “Did you need more time to read over my terms?”

“No, I read them all just fine.” She slid the yellow folder to me. “Here’s the non-disclosure agreement you asked me to sign, so no worries. If another firm calls to ask me about you, I won’t dare tell the truth or let them know that you’re practically a borderline psycho.”