Tonight, she’d expected he’d be there. How could he not be? He was like family. What she hadn’t anticipated was her gut-wrenching reaction. Her body shook and her heart palpitated. Crockett Wilde was the one man, the only man, who could evoke such intense passion. Buried deep beneath her frustration and anger laid her true feelings. She loved him. No one measured up. No one mattered. Only Crockett.
Steeling her spine, she glanced around her brother’s spacious office. Deep breaths and a Mitus determination helped steady her. Colton’s quiet workspace was the perfect man-cave. Mahogany-paneled walls made the large room both stately and cozy. The only item on his massive antique desk was a framed picture of him and Brigit. True love. Inwardly, she sighed. Maybe Colton had broken their curse. Mituses weren’t lucky in love.
Lack of sleep from her marathon tryst with Hunter, along with her work challenges and her mom’s health issues, had left her frazzled. Adding Crockett into the mix was too much. Suddenly, she was struck by the strangest thought. I’ve seen him since I’ve been back. No—that’s ridiculous.
A few moments passed. She composed herself enough to leave the sanctuary of her brother’s office and headed for the door. Colton’s voice, followed by Crockett’s unforgettable and way too sexy laugh, sent her flying behind the door of Brigit’s office, which was an offshoot of Colton’s. No way could she face Crockett again.
Like a child playing hide-and-seek, she peeked through the opening of the door hinge.
“I keep my best bourbon in here.” Colton opened his credenza, pulled out a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle and poured two glasses.
After tapping Colton’s glass, Crockett tossed back a mouthful of bourbon. “Congratulations on your engagement.”
“I want you to be my best man.”
Alexandra could not take her eyes off Crockett. His grin made her heart pound faster. He’s more gorgeous than I remember.
“I’d be honored.” Crockett leaned against the furniture. “Set a date?”
“We’re working on that.”
“By the way, thanks for the membership to Incognito.”
Alexandra’s mouth dropped open. Incognito?
“I haven’t been to that club in years, but I thought that would be the right place for you,” Colton said, relaxing on the arm of the sofa. “How’d it go?”
A shiver ran through her. Colton was a member?
“Having sex with a masked stranger isn’t my thing, but I figured, why the hell not? Swanky club. Membership must have been costly.”
“You needed a break from work.”
“Well, I’m hooked now.”
Colton laughed. “No wonder you look so good. You’re finally getting laid.”
Crockett’s smile shot Alexandra’s heart into her throat and the haunting feeling she’d seen Crockett came racing back.
“You’re an idiot, you know that.”
“How many partners?” Colton asked before sipping his drink.
“Just the one. She’s so damned hot. I know these are casual hookups, but there’s something about her—”
“Don’t get attached. She’s there to screw a stranger.”
“I can’t stop thinking about her.” Crockett tossed back the whiskey.
Oh. My. God. No. No. No Way. She knew exactly how he felt. It can’t be. But there had to be more than one tall, well-built man with short, dark hair and glacial blue eyes at Incognito. Not electric blue eyes. Not his eyes.
Reality punched her in the gut and she couldn’t catch her breath. She’d been with him until the club closed at three that morning. They couldn’t get enough of each other and she hadn’t been able to shake him from her thoughts all day.
“Your connection could be married with children for all you know,” Colton said.
Nope, not married. No children.
“For the time being, my mystery woman is my escape.”
Oh, Crockett, if you only knew.
“Glad you’re having fun.” Colton poured more liquor into their glasses. “While I’m thinking about it, can you check in on Alexandra for me after the holidays? I’ll be at the Francesco Company for the rollout of Crockett Boxes.”
“Whatever you need, but I’m not sure she’ll welcome my company.”
“Ancient history.” Colton stashed the bottle in his credenza.
“She looks phenomenal.”
Heat bloomed in her chest. Right back atcha.
“Fortunately, her Goth Girl days are behind her.” Colton stifled a chuckle.
Oh, be quiet, Colton!
“Alexandra Mitus will always be my Goth Girl,” Crockett said before they left.
As soon as her brother closed his office door, Alexandra crumpled onto Brigit’s sofa. Hunter from Incognito was Crockett Wilde. Her Crockett. No, he’s not mine. She hugged herself, but couldn’t stop trembling. When the room started to close in, she folded over so blood would rush to her head. Breathe. Deeply. She hadn’t passed out in years.
After crushing on Crockett all through high school, they’d spent an amazing, inseparable summer together. But when she’d told him she didn’t want to go to USC, he’d sent her packing. Over the years, she’d tried to forget him, but she couldn’t. She hadn’t just given him her virginity; she’d given him her heart.
She’d been back less than a freakin’ month and yet somehow she’d found him and fucked him. I really need to broaden my taste in men. Surely there was someone else in the DC metro area worthy of a romp between the sheets. But she’d had her fun with him. Never again.
The lightheadedness passed. She pushed off the sofa, tugged on her crimson cocktail dress, then marched out to find her mom. Determined to stay clear of Crockett, she mingled with Colton’s staff, all the while keeping him in her sights. He never approached her nor did he glance her way.
Below the simmering exasperation, her heart felt heavy. Why was he ignoring her, especially after telling Colton she looked phenomenal? And why in the hell was she giving him a second thought? The last thing she needed was for him to figure out she was his kink partner.
Toward the end of the scrumptious five-course dinner, Colton stood and announced his engagement. After a round of applause, he added that his closest friend and one-time business partner had agreed to be his best man.
“Let’s have a toast,” someone called out.
After kissing Brigit, Colton tossed his best man a nod. “Crockett, the floor is yours.”
With champagne flute in hand, he rose. “Colt, Brigit, I speak for everyone,” Crockett began. “We wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness. You’re a lucky man to have found such an amazing woman who not only puts up with you, but makes you a better person.”
As laughter filled the room, he shifted his attention down the table and cemented his gaze on Alexandra. Their fiery connection sent her blood coursing at a frenetic pace.
While staring into her eyes, he raised his glass. “Here’s to your forever love.” As guests sipped their bubbly, Crockett flashed her a sinfully sexy grin.
And she melted. Flat-out melted.
8
Bait and Switch
The New Year brought Alexandra’s first day at the new job. While she waited in reception, butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
A pretty olive-skinned woman with a super large baby-bump waddled over. “Alexandra Reed?”
“Yes.” Alexandra collected her laptop satchel and rose from the sofa.
“Welcome. I’m Sapphire, one of the news reporters. Max asked me to help you get situated.”
As Sapphire escorted her down the hallway, Alexandra caught a glimpse of the newsroom, abuzz with activity. Her first-day jitters settled down as she spied a handful of reporters at their desks, banging out stories on their laptops or talking on the phones.
Sapphire veered into the conference room and eased into a chair. “Max wanted to welcome you himself, but he’s out of the office until later this afternoon. ”
Alexandra sat across from her and the two
chatted about their broadcasting careers.
“Once we’re done here, I’ll introduce you to the team and take you on a tour,” said Sapphire. “After lunch, you can join me for an off-site interview.”
“What’s your beat?”
“Human interest with a focus on neighborhood communities. Because we inundate our viewing audience with political stories, they embrace the features. My stories air during the midday broadcast. On occasion, Max runs them during prime time. He can spot a ratings magnet.”
Doubtful.
“Anyway,” Sapphire continued, running a soothing hand over her large belly, “Max wants you to take over my assignment while I’m on maternity leave.”
What happened to the White House gig or hosting the news magazine show?
Sapphire continued, “Just so there’s no confusion, I work for the station’s cable outlet.”
Oh, no. Her gut churned. This job was like her first gig after college. Her smile waned as she struggled to hide her disappointment. “I see.”
“Max wants you to work with Stacy. She’s been slated for our news magazine show, still in development.”
Alexandra’s eyebrows shot up. That sounded promising. “Is she the producer?”
“No, the show’s host. Max wants you to mentor her since you hosted LA After Dark.”
That son of a bitch! Her blood pressure spiked. Max had dangled her the show, then pulled a bait and switch. Per usual, he was sticking it to her. But what choice did she have? She needed to keep her hand in the game while dealing with her mom’s health.
Covering local news on a cable station was one thing; mentoring a newbie would require extra time outside of normal working hours—time she’d earmarked to spend with her mom.
“Max said you’d be a terrific coach.” Sapphire leaned forward. “Stacy’s pretty green.”
With the message delivered, the coworker introduced her around the office. They grabbed a quick lunch, headed to the Metro, and boarded the train.
Alexandra was determined to move past the disappointment and focus on the job at hand. “Who are you interviewing?”
“I’ve been working on a piece for our annual contest,” Sapphire explained. “We pick a topic—this year it’s technology—and turn to our viewers for nominations. Not only is it our biggest ratings draw, the community loves the local angle. We whittled down the several hundred nominees to twenty. Then, our viewers vote and the top three are featured in a special program. This one’s called DC’s Brightest Tech Star. I’ve interviewed the third-place winner. We’re meeting with the second tech genius today. The gentleman who won first place has been ignoring me, but I’m persistent.” Sapphire waggled her brows.
The two women exited the train station, headed into the office building and completed their interview with the least-talkative person Alexandra had ever met.
Later that afternoon, while Alexandra sat with Sapphire at her desk, Max entered the newsroom with a busty redhead. Though he shot Alexandra a cool glance, he headed straight for his office and shut the door. The young woman bounced over and dropped her handbag on the desk next to Sapphire’s.
“I’m Stacy B-L-U-N-K. Pronounced like the wine. Blanc. Max said I need a mentor.” She rolled her eyes. “I hear you’re it.”
Gritting her teeth, Alexandra extended her hand.
“Shaking is for old people. I’m a fist-bumper.”
Oh, great. Alexandra dropped her hand.
After providing her entire journalism history—which took all of thirty seconds—Stacy explained that Max had personally selected her for the fast track. She was slated for the next available on-air position, even if the meteorologist slot opened up before the news magazine show aired.
Up until that moment, Alexandra had been under the guise that meteorologists were trained professionals who could speak proficiently about the plethora of weather systems. Welcome back to Max’s fucked-up world where his dick reigns supreme.
Though Alexandra envied Stacy’s position, she didn’t envy Stacy. She lacked the critical experience needed to survive in the cutthroat world of broadcast news. Given Stacy’s inflated ego, Alexandra got the impression she didn’t want help. She wanted camera time.
Stacy trotted off and Sapphire pushed slowly out of the chair. “I need a quick bio break.”
When she returned, she grabbed her cell. While waiting for the person to answer, she whispered to Alexandra, “My water broke.” Sapphire spoke softly into the phone, then hung up. “My husband will be here shortly.”
“You’re so calm. What can I do?”
“Finish my tech story.” Sapphire handed her a folder.
Alexandra helped Sapphire with her coat. Five minutes later, Sapphire’s husband arrived and they left.
After grabbing a cup of stale coffee from the break room, Alexandra settled into Sapphire’s chair. She opened the folder, read her notes and preliminary news copy. Scanning the page marked Competition Winner, her eyes popped wide.
The winner of DC’s Brightest Tech Star was the thirty-three-year-old founder and CEO of Wilde Innovations—Crockett Wilde.
9
Rogue Bird
Crockett skimmed the in-house report, smacked his laptop shut, and shoved out of his chair. After spending the holiday week with his parents and extended family in Texas, he was ready to jump back into the fray, head first.
What he hadn’t expected was a shit-ton of problems right out of the gate. This is the biggest load of crap.
Crockett had anticipated a few viable conclusions as to why Moth hadn’t flown during Round One of the FBI Demo, but the results staring back at him catapulted his frustration to a whole new level. The extensive testing led all three of his teams—Hardware and Software Engineering along with Quality Assurance—to conclude that Moth failed due to human error. In this particular case, they cited him as the individual responsible for the error. No fucking way.
Like a pilot completing his pre-flight checklist, Crockett always performed the same exact series of tasks to ensure each demo went off without a hitch. Over the years, he’d honed that list and could recite it in his sleep. Turning on a goddamn surveillance device was at the top. Jesus, this pisses me off.
Muscles running the length of his shoulders felt like stone and he rubbed the back of his neck. No relief.
Decker tapped on his open office door, strolled in, and set down the cardboard tray of coffees. “Happy New Year. How was your holiday?”
Forcing down the surmounting anger, Crockett lifted out a coffee and sipped. A thick sugary taste coated his tongue and he fought the urge to spit out the hot drink.
“Dude, that’s mine.” Decker tugged out a different cup and handed it to Crockett.
How Decker could drink that syrupy crap was beyond him. “How was your time off?”
“I worked some,” Decker said.
“Me, too. I hope we were in the minority. I close Wilde so employees can take a break from work.”
“Work is my chill. Plus, I was the fun uncle for my eight nieces and nephews. After five days of chaos, I was ready to roll out.”
“Don’t like kids?”
His upper lip twisted into a grimace. “They’re okay. You?”
“I teach eighteen of ‘em. I love the little squirts.”
Decker gulped a hearty sip. “Did you see QA’s assessment of Moth?”
Crockett’s pleasant expression plunged like an anchor off the side of a vessel. “I read the report.”
“I was hoping you hadn’t, yet.”
“The results are dead wrong.”
“Moth checked out. So did the software. I spoke with Larry myself.”
“Is he in yet?”
“No idea.”
“Let’s go pay our QA Director a visit.” Crockett was halfway to Larry Berry’s office before Decker caught up with him.
Effective December first, Larry Berry ran Wilde’s Quality Assurance Division. Over the past five years, Larry had made steady career progress.
He’d started as a QA Analyst, then got bumped to manager. Though Larry had the personality of a bucket of fucking hair, Crockett promoted him because he got the job done.
After the debacle with his former QA Director, Ruth Lizzard, Crockett welcomed the man with zero personality. While Ruth had been his sharpest director, she’d also caused him more disruption than all his other employees combined. So, in October, he’d terminated her for her continued sexual improprieties and sexual harassment.
The thought of her left a nasty taste, which he swallowed down with the robust espresso. He and Decker walked into Larry’s office to find him hunched over his phone, typing a text.
“Larry, we need to discuss your report on Moth,” Decker said.
Ignoring them, Larry continued texting.
“Larry.” Crockett’s firm tone made his director jump.
Larry set his phone face down on his desk. “Happy New Year. What brings you by?”
Crossing his arms, Crockett said, “Moth’s failure.”
“Everything checked out,” Larry said while smoothing his thick moustache.
Up went Crockett’s eyebrows. “It’s inaccurate.”
“What Crockett means,” Decker interjected, “is that we need to review your analysis.”
Larry shot Crockett a cool smile. “No problem.” He shifted his attention to his computer. Several clicks later, he said, “You’ve got it. Let me know what questions you have. My results are final.”
“Based on what?”
After glancing at Decker, Larry turned his full attention on Crockett. “We found no problems with the software. The hardware checked out.” He shrugged. “It was a one-off. Happens to everyone.”
THE WILDE TOUCH: Book Two of The Touch Series Page 8
