It was an especially busy day at the office. Some of the biggest investors were attending the meeting we had set up. If we could secure a new round of funding, it meant that the company’s future would be secure. Mick and I and the rest of the team had been working on the investment pitches for the past month.
I saw Ivy that morning when I walked into the office. She was standing by the water cooler, speaking to Mick. She had a portfolio open in her hands, and I could guess they were talking about work. But when she saw me, she looked away and kept her head down.
I didn’t miss the extra effort she’d put in to make a good impression on our potential investors. She was wearing a pair of sleek navy pants and a white silk blouse. She’d tied her hair up in a smooth bun, somehow pinning her unruly curls away from her face. I couldn’t help but admire her, even though it was just a moment’s glance. Just because I wanted to avoid her and be rid of my feelings for her didn’t mean that they actually went away.
We prepared the boardroom the whole morning, and when the investors finally started to arrive, Mick and I showed them to the room. The long table had been set up with jugs of water, glasses, a cheese and Danish platter, and pots of coffee.
As the men started taking their places, I realized that Ivy would once again be the only girl in the building. She wasn’t invited to the meeting since she was only an intern. Mick, Jacob, and a few other guys were there with me, though. After a round of formal introductions, I began with the pitch.
I had an hour-long presentation to get through. We had charts and data up on a projector screen as I flipped through my slides. The purpose of this pitch was to ensure that the investors found our company attractive. I needed to sell myself and my company and the work we were doing here. We’d already been surviving on two years’ investments and we’d tripled our profits. I wanted them to see that we could grow even more – that we would become unstoppable if we got more. I was ambitious, passionate, and driven. I wasn’t about to stop now.
I was feeling good about myself and the pitch once I was done. A few of the men around the table had interrupted me to ask questions and I’d answered them confidently.
I sat down at the end of the table, picking up my glass of water. The men obviously needed some time to think before they came back to us with more questions and opinions.
There was a buzz in the boardroom. Across the table, I looked at Mick, who smiled at me confidently. We had every reason to feel confident about ourselves.
“So, Simon, I have a question for you.”
The man who spoke up now was Ronald Knightly. He was a big-time investor from New York, our top priority on the list. We knew that if we could get Knightly on board and investing in us, the others would follow suit. He had a good nose for successful businesses in the tech industry and everyone else would take his opinion to be the gospel truth.
“Of course, Ronald. Shoot,” I said, standing up again to face the boardroom.
“I’m not sure if the numbers here are adding up,” he said and flipped through the pages of the portfolio before him. Another buzz ensued and the others started flipping through their pages too.
“I don’t exactly understand,” I remarked, exchanging looks with Mick, who was now beginning to look nervous.
“I mean that your pitch is impressive and you’re a hard sell. It would be silly of me to not invest in you and I would have . . . at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, Simon, your numbers for the next five years’ projections just don’t add up.”
I could feel a lump in my throat. What was going on? I hadn’t bothered to go through every number and calculation in the portfolio myself because I trusted that Mick would have done it. That was what he was in charge of.
“If you give me a moment here, Ronald, I’ll just look at the numbers myself and get back to you,” I told him and reached for the nearest portfolio.
“You mean you don’t know what I’m talking about?” Ronald asked, a laugh in his voice. I felt like a fool standing there, trying to up-sell my company. I should never have trusted someone else to get the job done.
“Sorry, that’s my fault,” Mick interrupted, standing up.
“So, you can explain this mix-up to me?” Ronald asked.
Mick looked at me nervously. I thought he was going to burst into tears. “Not me personally, no. But I can bring in someone else from the team who can,” he replied.
“Go on, Mick,” I said, trying to keep my voice under control. I was ready to punch my fist into the wall at that point.
It was only after Mick ran out of the room that I realized who he was going to bring in.
Chapter 22 - Ivy
I was waiting in the cafeteria with a handful of the other guys who were not invited to the big boardroom meeting with the investors. I was in the middle of opening a packet of chips when Mick ran into the room, flushed and looking like he was about to have a heart attack.
“Ivy! Come with me. Now!” he yelled.
I stood up and ran out with him, trying to keep up with his steady pace. “What’s going on, Mick?” I asked before he stopped for a second, to give me the briefest of explanations.
“Ronald Knightly. You know Ronald Knightly. I’ve been gushing about him since you arrived. He found a problem with the projections.”
Mick was walking again, and I followed.
“A problem with the projections?” I asked.
“Yeah, someone made a mistake. I thought I double-checked everything, but clearly I didn’t pay enough attention. You’ll have to step in for me, Ivy,” he said, stopping at the door. His voice was hushed, and I could feel panic overtaking my body.
“You want me to step in for you?” I asked in horror.
Mick gulped. “You’ve been working on the projection numbers for days now, Ivy. You know that section inside out. I won’t be able to fix the problem, but you can. Shit. I’m so screwed!”
I tried to catch my breath. I’d never been a part of this kind of meeting before. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was supposed to do.
“I’m just an intern, Mick!” I argued.
“They don’t know that. You can do it, Ivy. We really need your help. If you can’t convince Knightly that our projections are fair, he’s not going to invest. I’m so fucking screwed. Simon is going to fire my ass!” Mick looked like he was going to get sick, so I patted his back.
“Okay, just breathe. I’ll do my best,” I assured him.
He nodded at me. I could see the sweat trickling down his temples.
Then we were in the room.
The first feeling I got when I stepped in was an utter shock. It was a room full of serious-looking suited-up men who seemed to be all set to rip me apart. There, on the far side, was Simon. He was sitting there with a straight face, his eyes narrowed and focused on me. I could sense that he wasn’t pleased about Mick bringing me into his boardroom. We hadn’t spoken in four days and I knew he had no intention to change that.
My cheeks were ruddy and I was feeling hot, but despite my discomfort, I walked to the front of the room. Everyone’s eyes were on me.
“Mr. Knightly, this is Ivy Soleman. She will be able to assist you with your query,” Mick said.
I could feel Simon’s eyes on me. I knew he was seething with anger. If things were as serious as Mick claimed they were, then Simon knew that the fate of the company’s investments was in my hands. That was not the kind of situation Simon wanted to find himself in.
I walked over to Ronald Knightly, who flipped open his portfolio and pointed to the figures he was talking about. “There’s something not right about that. I’m sure you can see that, Ms. Soleman,” he said.
I looked at the numbers in question, and within moments, I realized what the problem was. This was exactly what I’d been working on since the first day I got to this office. Someone had made a few major typographical errors while typing out the text of this portfolio.
“Of course, Mr. Knightly. There’s just been a slight oversi
ght on our part. I can clarify that for you right away,” I replied.
I tried to keep the smile on my face while I spoke to him, explaining the situation to him. The numbers all started making sense once I’d clarified what the typos were. At the end of my explanation, Mr. Knightly was nodding his head. He understood.
“Thank you for that, Ms. Soleman. I’m sure Simon knows just how lucky he is to have you on his team,” he said. We shook hands and then I walked out of the room.
I couldn’t help but smile as I walked out, trying my best not to look back at Simon.
Outside, the others were waiting to hear what happened. I explained the situation to them and they were all passing me high-fives like I’d done something to save the day.
I couldn’t wait for Simon to come out of the boardroom. I wanted to see the expression on his face. I hoped that I had finally managed to redeem myself in his eyes. Would he be able to forgive me?
I’d spent the past four days, daydreaming about how differently our date could have gone if only I’d been more attentive to him. I didn’t blame him for hating me. I knew I deserved it.
My life was a mess. Marco texted me every day and his messages got even more threatening. I’d stopped replying, but I knew that he was becoming increasingly aggressive. I wasn’t sure what to do. I could have moved out of the apartment, gone somewhere else . . . but I was sure that he’d find me there too.
Since the cops weren’t going to do anything about it, my only option was to wait and see what would happen. My only hope was that if and when Marco presented himself to me, I’d be able to defend myself.
The meeting with the investors went on for another hour, and we waited in the cafeteria to hear the news. It was Mick and Jacob who came running in after the men had left. Simon had gone to see them off to their cars.
“We got it. We got the investment from Knightly and a few others. More money than we were asking for!” Jacob shouted and the others cheered.
Mick came over to give me a hug.
“Thank you for your help, Ivy. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
***
Simon called me to his office when we were all getting ready to leave. I wasn’t expecting him to. I didn’t think he would want to see me again, even though I had done something to help the company.
I knocked on his door and entered, to see him put down the phone.
“Ivy, come in,” he said, in a quiet, firm voice.
I walked closer to his desk but didn’t sit down since he didn’t ask me to.
“Good job today,” he said and weaved his fingers together on his desk. He was staring at me with his usual intense green glare. I was already in a trance. I wanted to fall on my knees and beg for his forgiveness . . . if I thought it would help.
“Thank you. I was just doing my job,” I said and Simon grunted a response.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about Mick, though,” he continued and I gulped.
“It really wasn’t his fault. Someone else made a few typos in the document.”
“But Mick should have been able to take the lead in the meeting. He should have known what to do. He shouldn’t have had to go out and get the intern to fill in!” He was growling now, and I looked down at my feet. “What?” he snapped.
“I just think you should cut your employees some slack,” I murmured.
Simon leaped up from his chair and charged towards me. “So, you think I’m some kind of monster boss?”
“That is not what I said,” I murmured again. He’d come up close to me, towering over me. I had to crane my neck back to look up at him.
“How do you think I got this company to its current position? By cutting my employees some slack?”
“There is more to this life than ambition,” I replied, meeting his eyes bravely.
“Oh, yeah? Like what? Chasing after someone who will never be yours?”
As soon as the words left Simon’s mouth, I knew he was talking about me. Was it possible that he did actually have feelings for me? That I wasn’t just imagining this?
“Simon, I’m sorry . . . You didn’t let me explain,” I whispered.
“Does it matter, Ivy?” he asked. His voice had become heavy.
“Maybe it does. I don’t know. I think we need to be honest with each other, Simon,” I said.
He shook his head. “Honesty will get us nowhere. It’ll end up hurting us. Let’s just leave it at that,” he added.
A sob escaped my lips and I made to turn away, but he’d grabbed my hand. When I felt his touch, those sparks of electricity ran down my spine again.
“Simon . . . ” I whispered his name.
He pulled me to him, and I was kissing him before either of us could stop the other.
His arms were wound around my waist and I was pressing up against him. It didn’t seem to matter who else was in the building. Chad or Mick or one of the other guys could have just walked in, but neither of us cared.
He kissed me fiercely and I kissed him back. I didn’t think it would happen again, but for some reason, it seemed like we couldn’t get enough of each other.
He pulled my blouse out from my pants and I slipped off his jacket. We were panting, staring at each other with lust-laden eyes. He undid my pants while I undid his shirt. Once again, my hands were on his bare, rough torso. I weaved my fingers into the dusting of dark hair on his chest. I was wet already, just like that growing bulge in his pants.
“Get on the desk. On your knees. Now!” Simon commanded.
Gasping and turned on, I rushed to the desk and got on my hands and knees. My butt was sticking out towards him.
I could hear the clinking of his belt coming off. The swoosh of his pants sliding down. I couldn’t see him because I was facing the wall, but I knew he was standing behind me, naked.
“Fuck, Ivy. You’re so perfect!” he growled before his hand slapped my butt. I winced and moaned with pleasure and pain. I rolled my hips, thrusting my butt out towards him again. He spanked me once more and I bit down on my lip.
From behind me, Simon found the wet juicy folds of my pussy. He was stroking his cock with one hand while he rubbed my swollen clit with the other. I moaned and rolled my hips, trying to seduce him into thrusting himself into me. I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Do you want it, Ivy?” I heard him groan.
I looked over my shoulder. I wanted him to look at me while I said the words.
“I want you, Simon,” I said as clearly and firmly as I could.
He moved closer to the desk and lifted one foot up, gripping the edge of the desk with it. His cock was poised directly above my butt . . . threateningly. I was salivating just at the image of how powerful he looked like that. Every muscle of his body was on display. My pussy throbbed and quaked for him.
Simon caught my butt with both hands and drove his cock into my pussy in one quick motion.
I cried out, trying to muffle my voice with my hand. He clutched me tight as he started pounding me. His cock filled me to the brim. I was full of him. This time, the size of him didn’t cause me any pain . . . My pussy was prepared for him.
With every stroke he made, I could feel myself being pushed closer and closer to the edge. I was going to come sooner than before. I whispered his name as he continued to thrust. Then he pulled me backward, wrapping his arms around my breasts and holding me to himself. I leaned back on him, my back on his chest while he slowed his motions, slowly pushing his cock in me until I knew I was going to explode.
“Come for me, Ivy,” he murmured in my ear. My hair was all over his face. I could feel his cock throbbing inside me . . . and I came. It felt like a gush of release.
Simon jerked and groaned, and then he came too. We were moving together, coming together. I could feel every inch of myself surrendering to his power and control. He sucked on my earlobe, groaning as he came inside me. My toes curled and I clutched his arms, digging my nails into his skin as I came, too.
Was this what I was fated to have? Stolen moments in secret with the man I loved? Always just a weakness for him, never good enough to be the real deal?
Simon released me and slipped his throbbing cock out of me. I gasped from the emptiness, falling forward on his desk again. I hadn’t realized there were bits of paper sticking to my thighs and knees. I peeled them off now while I heard him panting behind me.
“What now?” I asked before I turned to him.
“What do you mean?” he said.
I was tired of this game. I knew I wanted him. I had made it very obvious to him what I wanted. I wanted a chance to explain the Marco situation to him, too, but he didn’t seem to care. He’d made his decision already . . . that we weren’t going to be together.
I heard him sigh. When I turned I saw that he was already putting on his clothes.
“Nothing, Ivy. We slipped up again. Nothing else has changed,” he said.
I swung my legs off the edge of the desk and hopped off. My breasts bounced and I saw him gaze at them. “Then I’m going to have to leave your company and Palo Alto,” I told him.
Simon stared at me. “You don’t have to do that, Ivy,” he said.
“Yes, I’m going to have to do that.”
I’d made up my mind. I couldn’t do this anymore. I didn’t belong here. As long as I stayed here, I would forever be miserable and heartbroken.
“What about the internship?” he asked.
I was putting on my clothes. I took my time to answer him.
“What about it? The only reason I’m here is that you owe your sister a favor. It’s time I go back to where I belong.”
My Bossy Protector: A Best Friend’s Brother Romance Page 7
