He raked his hand through his hair. "I don"t like it. And I don"t want you having dinner with him. I still can"t believe you did that after when happened at the bar."
"I promise I only went because my mother set it up. She wants us to ... make nice." She looked away and he was sure she was keeping something from him. "I think she wants him to take over as CEO. Officially."
What? He paused, replaying her words. When he confirmed to himself that he"d heard right, he asked, "Are you kidding me?" He could barely find the voice to protest. "Why didn"t you tell me this before?"
"Because it didn"t matter before." She walked to the window. The distance grew between them, and he hated it. Finally, she turned to him. "If I have to go to dinner with him, it"s just for show, Fabian. Just until we can announce we are together."
He stormed toward her, slowing when her eyes widened. Sometimes his pa.s.sion got the best of him. Greek genes, he surmised. "Where is Helene in all this? Why is she putting all this on you if she has no intention of appointing you CEO?" He"d love to have a few words with the infamous Mrs. Robuchon.
"Please, Fabian. Don"t ask me any questions right now. I"m trying to figure out how we"re going to work."
With her words, he took her in his arms, calming the anger that bubbled up at the new information. How could he be the cause of more strife? He simply couldn"t. But would wait until she could give him the answers he needed. "Okay ... okay." The harder she trembled, the tighter he held her. "I"ll deal with it."
"Thank you." Her words were m.u.f.fled in his chest.
"But I can"t for too long. You"re with me. I"m not going to hide it." No response hurt his ego. He needed the validation that what they had was real and would survive whatever Toni was dealing with. He wished she"d trust him with whatever ailed her. But he relented, calming the rapid beat of his heart before he changed the subject. "I have something for you." He let her go, walked to the desk where he"d dropped the manila folder and opened it. Inside were three new investments he"d acquired. Unofficially, of course. "I charmed the investments admin to give me a look at new proposals."
"She gave that to you before the execs?"
"I"m good with women." He let his Pallis side smile emerge. Toni didn"t seem quite as annoyed that time to receive it.
"Player." She laughed as she took a page in her hand. "Another biotech company."
"I only took the biotech ones." He picked up the second page in the folder. "This one is for a nerve sheath that protects the Vagus nerve during electro-stim therapy. They have FDA and EU approvals but now need capital for manufacturing. I did a quick read on user needs for this type of product, and I think this can be a good investment in conjunction with NeuRx and other neurostimulation companies we might invest in."
"Wow. You should be an exec." She continued to scan the pages. Finally, she looked up. "You"re brilliant."
His heart thumped as he put the page back in the folder. "Nah. I just understand bioengineering."
"Yeah, and obviously you"re the only one in this company that does." She shook her head. "How can we get the execs to approve NeuRx? How can we get them to hear me out? Hear us out?"
The smile came effortlessly. "Us?"
"Well, yeah." She dropped the page on the desk. "I couldn"t do this without you."
"You could." Fabian caressed her cheek because it was the only thing he wanted to do when she was looking at him that way. All the uncertainty he knew she felt about herself showed through her eyes. "And you will."
Fabian dipped his head to kiss her just as the door flew open. They both turned to face the interruption. Stephan. He glared at them as he advanced into the office.
"What"s going on in here?" he directed to Toni, another sharp glance to Fabian.
Heat rose through Fabian"s body.
"We"re discussing work." She sat in her chair. "What do you want?"
"I want to go over the NeuRx proposal."
Fabian"s ears perked up. A bad feeling came over him. Stephan had no reason to ask for the denied proposal ... unless he was thinking of claiming the updates as his own.
"My proposal?" Toni didn"t hide her panic but recovered quickly.
"Your proposals are property of RI." Stephan smirked. "I read it over the weekend."
"How the h.e.l.l did you get it?" Fabian chimed in, his voice deep and booming. Stephan obviously acquired it without Toni"s knowledge.
"You don"t have a muzzle for your a.s.sistant, Antonia?" He didn"t dare look at Fabian. a.s.s. Fabian grew hotter, knowing he needed to leave immediately if he wanted to stay out of trouble-and jail.
"That"s enough, Mr. Pallis." She turned to him, all too aware of Stephan. Her eyes widened. "You may leave now."
Stunned. He was literally stunned and hurt with her words. But he quickly reminded himself it was just for show. He nodded, not bothering to acknowledge Stephan. "Of course. I"ll be in my office if you need me."
Just before he turned the k.n.o.b to his office, Toni called to him. "Mr. Pallis..." He turned to meet her gaze, something shining in them gave him hope. "Before you go to lunch, come see me. I need to ... show you something."
He smiled. He indeed knew what that meant.
"I don"t like him in here."
"He"s my a.s.sistant, for G.o.d"s sake, Stephan." And he was so much more. Keeping that secret would probably kill her. But the more she looked at Stephan, remembering her duty to her mother, the more she thought her and Fabian"s secret may never see the light of day.
"He needs to be in a cube with the other secretaries." His darkened eyes shifted to Fabian"s office door. He approached her, leading with a frown. "Where were you the rest of the weekend? I haven"t seen or heard from you since the gala."
Having incredible s.e.x. If only she could say that to his face. "I was busy."
"I need you to be available to me at all times, Antonia. We are a couple now," he chastised her, and she was really getting tired of other people deciding her relationship status.
"No, we are not a couple," she barked with some restraint.
He c.o.c.ked his lip up into a smirk. "T.B.D., love."
Toni ignored him, and his stupid smirk. She needed him out. "Why do you want to talk about my proposal?"
"I"m going to have a meeting about it with the execs. I read the technology breakdown, and I think it was wrongfully pa.s.sed up."
Her stomach flopped. "You are not going to talk to them about it. It"s my proposal. Fabian completed that technology breakdown."
"Ah, so he"s good for something after all then."
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Indignant, Toni stood and pages from the new investments went flying about. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the raining pages as quick as she could.
"The meeting is set for Thursday afternoon. You can come if you want. It makes no difference to me." He winked and pivoted on his expensive heels toward the door. "Oh, and by the way, I"m taking you to dinner tonight."
"I can"t!" Toni"s fists balled at her sides. "I have yoga."
Stephan didn"t turn. "Cancel." Before she could protest, he was on the other side of the door, leaving her fuming.
By lunchtime, she had calmed down. A little. Not really, actually.
But her initial desire to jab a pen in Stephan"s eye had pa.s.sed. Sort of. She"d spent the better of three hours planning her next move with the executives. If Stephan pa.s.sed the updated proposal as his, he would be a shoo-in with the team in terms of becoming the official CEO. Toni just couldn"t let that happen.
"You alone?" Fabian poked his head into her office.
She smiled. One look at him and that"s all she could do. Her heart soared when he was close to her, and the b.u.t.terflies ... the b.u.t.terflies rippled her stomach. No one had made her that weak in the knees before. Not even Stephan when she was convinced she loved him back then. "Not anymore." She stood and walked over to him to kiss him. Afterward, she was breathless. Everything, all her worries, fell away.
"I could kill Stephan for talking to you like that."
She shook her head, leaning in. He smelled so good. "I just want to get out of here."
"I know of a place." Strong arms wrapped around her. "Clothes are optional."
Naked with Fabian was exactly where she wanted to be. She laughed. "Perfect."
He kissed her again, their lips opening the moment they touched. When he broke the kiss, he was breathless. "I need you in my bed. Now." He cupped her a.s.s, pressing her against his erection. She moaned with wanting him as much as she did.
Two hours later, Toni lay in Fabian"s bed, satisfied and more relaxed than she"d ever been. "You"re going to wear me out." She turned on her back.
"I"m not even finished, baby." He rolled on his side, a smile on his face.
She studied him. His eyes. His skin. His thick hair messed up from their tryst. Nothing about the way he looked at her ever suggested he was once a player. She always wanted to see him look at her that way. His lips curled up. He had no idea how lovely he looked. Not gorgeous. Or hot. Or all the things women would describe his as. Just lovely.
"What?"
Toni shook her head, a sudden knot of emotion balling in her throat. "Just ... you."
Fabian didn"t respond. Not with words. He lifted himself, moving down her body until he was between her legs, kissing her hipbones and running soft fingers over her s.e.x. She moaned as his tongue trailed down and found her c.l.i.toris, bulging with the sudden thump of desire. Out of pure wanting, her legs opened further, allowing him access. Nothing would get in their way. He licked her slow at first, awakening her sensations once again. She was sure they"d been drained temporarily, but more came, growing in intensity with each lap on her sensitive skin. She nearly burst from wanting him.
She cried out, "Fabian!"
He moaned against her. Vibrations of his voice shot through her, making her o.r.g.a.s.m fiercer. First, she saw stars, and then his handsome face stared down at her. Fabian"s mouth was on hers again. Three hours after they"d arrived at Fabian"s "sweet pad", or "love pad", as he"d referred to it in the car on the way there, they had been lying together, reveling in their love-making.
"I don"t want to go back." Toni held him close, his raw masculine scent all over her.
"Let"s ditch the rest of the day."
"Oh, G.o.d." She sat up, completely aware of time and s.p.a.ce, which she"d temporarily had no clue of with Fabian. Her work dilemma came back to her. She"d need to force the executives to meet with her somehow.
"What?" He also sat up.
"Stephan is going to talk to the execs about our proposal on Thursday. He"s going to pa.s.s off the technology breakdown as his own." She was frantic.
"What?" Fabian roared, his whole body tensed. "That son of a b.i.t.c.h."
"I can"t seem to get a meeting with all of them before Thursday." She bit her bottom lip. "I don"t know what to do."
"Talk to your mother." It was a demand.
She shook her head. That was a lost cause. "I"ve tried to talk to her. She agrees with the execs."
"But if we show her..."
Toni"s stomach twisted. All the pleasure she"d felt only moments ago was gone. She was left with the anxiety of her reality. "She won"t hear me out, Fabian. I"ve tried. Trust me."
His jaw clenched. "There has to be something we can do to stop it."
She wanted to believe it. With her whole self she did. Pushing the sheets off her legs, she stood from the bed. "We should go back."
He nodded, deep in thought. "I hope I don"t see that b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
"I hope I don"t either." But she would, though. At dinner that night. And she wasn"t going to mention it. Not then, anyway.
Chapter Twenty.
Fabian sat in his office at half past six, staring at his email inbox. Something needed to be done about Stephan and his intention to hijack the NeuRx proposal and claim the update as his own. The thought sickened Fabian.
"Hi." Toni poked her head in the office. She looked surprisingly relaxed. Like she had after he"d made her come three times that afternoon. It was a good afternoon. He would gladly do it again had they not been in the office. It had been after hours, though...
"Hi, baby-I mean Miss Robuchon." He chuckled.
Her eyes grew wide. "Fabian. I told you about that." She glanced behind her and turned back with her beautiful smile that made his knees weak. She grew serious then. "Listen ... I have to have dinner with Stephan tonight."
Fabian scarcely contained his anger at the information. "Excuse me?"
"Please, Fabian. We talked about this." She walked into his office, closing the door behind her.
Anger gripped him so tight he couldn"t look at her. To think of his girl with Stephan made him insane. A crazy person at best. "I hate this." One. Two. Three. He counted his heartbeats until he didn"t want to punch something. Fabian looked up at her, his guilt taking over at the distress on her face, sagging the edges of her eyes. He knew he was wrong. It was temporary, he had to remind himself. Again. "Okay ... I know. I"m sorry. I just hate that you have to be around him after everything he did. And continues to do."
"It"s just temporary," she said again, striding over to him. He nodded, and could only accept the kiss she planted on his lips. Just then a voice called from her office. She backed off instantly. "Oh, s.h.i.t."
Stephan opened the door. "Chop-chop, Antonia."
"So just file the rest of the correspondence before you leave. Okay?" Her voice wavered, and since her back was to Stephan, Fabian could see the desperation in her eyes.
"Anything you say, boss." It was best he looked at his computer screen while Stephan took his girlfriend away.
The silence after the click of the doork.n.o.b only increased the rage growing inside him. Without further contemplation, he placed his fingertips on the keyboard and typed like the wind.
To: Helene Robuchon([email protected]) From: Fabian Pallis() Date: Monday, July 25 RE: Important Information on NeuRx Proposal Attachment: NeuRxUpdatedbyToni.doc Dear Helene I have not been able to thank you for my employment, and I would like to take this opportunity to do so. Working with your daughter, Antonia, and with the Robuchon Investment staff has given me a foundation for working in a professional environment, which I plan to take to Pallis Engineering. That being said, I would like to discuss something critical. Antonia has re-proposed an investment deal with the NeuRx startup. The initial white paper written by RI didn"t break down the technology in an effective way. As I am a bioengineer per formal education, I looked over Antonia"s proposal and included more information that I believe should be considered and accepted by the executive team. This proposal is Antonia"s alone, and she should retain full credit. Please see the attached doc.u.ment with complete technology breakdown. If you have any questions regarding the technology, please don"t hesitate to ask. I hope you are well and look forward to your response.
Sincerely, Fabian Pallis CEO Executive a.s.sistant Robuchon Investments If they couldn"t stop Stephan"s meeting, Helene was going to know whose idea Stephan was stealing. Fabian read the email twice, and with one press of his finger, the email shot off into cybers.p.a.ce forever.