The Unblocked Collection (51 page)

There would be no relaxing tonight.

FRANKIE

WITH A NOTARY
standing at my side, I laid the contract on my father’s desk. It was signed in all the places that required my signature, initialed at the bottom of each page and notarized, as he’d requested. My attorney had defined each of the obligatory terms that had been set for me, including the leasing and commercial divisions that I would acquire if I grew the residential sector and continued to maintain my responsibilities. It stated my pay increase as division CEO, and the salary that would be paid out to my father. There would be no buy-out; he would continue to receive a substantial income until he died, or for as long as the company was an active business.

Brea would be my assistant for the next few months, supporting me in my new role, while simultaneously hiring and training three new assistants who would take her place. Then she would move to the leasing division, a promotion I had alerted her to this morning. It was a division that had interested her from the moment she started working for me. When we had discussed a promotion in the past, she’d been very clear that it was where she wanted to be placed. And so, she would. Once she was comfortable with all facets of operations, she would manage the entire branch. She would still report to me, and to my father until he retired. Eventually, the leasing agents and account managers would report directly to her. She deserved the promotion, and she was more than ready for it.

 My father leafed through the contract to make sure I had followed his instructions, I assumed. Then he flipped to the final sheets where the appendices were listed. “Do you have any last minute questions?” he asked.

“None.”

He was silent while he read my additions. “These all look fine to me.” He wrote his initials next to mine at the bottom of each sheet. The notary witnessed our signatures on the final page and stamped it. The sheets were placed in an envelope, picked up by my father’s assistant who would forward them to his attorney where it would all be processed and recorded. It all felt very formal, and my father had insisted we keep it that way.

When we were finally alone, he held his hand out for me to shake. “Congratulations, Frankie.”

Even though I knew how he was, I still thought the gesture was cold; an embrace would have been much more fitting for the moment. But I said nothing. I simply smiled, took his hand, and shook it. “Thank you.” I was so relieved the paperwork was complete. “I hope this means you’ll be relaxing a lot more?”

“That’s my plan. Although I still have two divisions to oversee, and a new division head to train so I won’t be doing that much relaxing.”

“Brea won’t require much training. She’s a fast learner, and she’s already familiar with many of the responsibilities. It should be a smooth transition.”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed a foot over his knee. “I was talking about you.” I wasn’t anticipating that response. “But yes, I expect that both of you will handle the workload and transition just fine.”

I sighed and glanced around the room, appreciating the size of his office, the amount of natural light that poured in. It was situated on the corner of the building with two full walls of windows. I wouldn’t take over his office even when the other divisions were turned over to me; it didn’t feel right. Even though I intended on running things my way, there would always be a place for him within this company. Keeping a space for him ensured that.

“I won’t disappoint you,” I said, meeting his stare again.

“Has Mr. Block signed off on the first two offers?”

I laughed inwardly and nodded. For once, I wished he would at least acknowledge one of my comments. “He’s dropping off the paperwork in a few hours.”

“He’s not sending it over by messenger?”

“I know you’ve wanted to meet him, so I asked him to come in.”

It may have seemed like a giant step to bring both my worlds together. But in my mind, it was just another client meeting. When my father met Derek, he wouldn’t know he was also meeting the man I was dating. That introduction wasn’t something I was ready for, especially considering that Derek and I were still working together.

“I’m looking forward to it.” He turned to his computer, signaling that our conversation was over.

I stood from my chair and walked to the door. “I’ll send him in once he arrives.”

When I returned to my office, I sent Derek a text:

Me:
My father plans on meeting you today. Don’t forget.

Derek:
Before or after I lock you in your office and eat your pussy on top of your desk?

A thin layer of sweat grew over my skin as I thought about Derek’s mouth on me, his beard brushing across my inner thighs, his tongue finding its way inside me. A few days ago, I’d given Derek a blowjob just minutes before I’d gone into my father’s office. The guilt had been too much and I’d almost ruined my relationship with him. I couldn’t let that happen again.

Me:
You’ll meet him before you touch me.

Derek:
I’ll see you and your pussy very soon.

***

I was finishing up an email when I felt Derek in the doorway of my office. It was more than just hearing his boots on the floor; I felt his gaze, his eyes swallowing me. And my body acknowledged all of it—my skin tingled; my breath hitched in the back of my throat. He made me wish I was standing naked before him so he could do anything he wanted to me.

“Hi,” I said, smiling at him. I folded my hands over the top of my desk so I wouldn’t fidget. His presence didn’t make me nervous, it made me feel as if I weren’t in control of my body.

He leaned into the doorway with his feet and arms crossed, the papers in his hand tucked under his elbow. “Frankie…”

“Why are you so far away?”

He looked behind him, then back at me. “I’m just admiring what’s mine,” he said in a tone that was demanding and extremely cold.

His
.

After our weekend together, his words were neither surprising nor frightening. It was what I wanted, and I would take as much as he would give me. It had been a full day since he’d dropped me off at my condo. I’d thought about him from the moment I had watched him drive away. My bed felt empty without him in it, as did my body. I craved his touch and his presence.

Find a balance
, I reminded myself.

I moved over to him, keeping a bit of distance in case anyone was watching us from the other side of the door. “I’ll take those.” He placed the papers in my hand and I reviewed them quickly to make sure his signature was in all the right places. “It looks perfect.” He didn’t respond. I knew by the way his boot was tapping the floor, by the bleakness that was now in his eyes, that something was really bothering him. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Only a few hours earlier, we were flirting via text. What had changed since then?

His gaze didn’t warm at all. “We’ll talk later.”

“Let’s reschedule, my father will understand—”

“No.” His tone softened a little, though I wasn’t sure if it was for his sake or mine. “I want to meet him. We’ll talk afterward.”

“Then let’s get this over with.” It was honestly how I felt. The meeting with my father had become so insignificant in comparison to whatever was going on with Derek.

He moved aside as I passed, his fingers grazing my waist. The sensation shot down my navel and went straight to my folds. Goose bumps rose over my skin.

Trying to ignore what he had stirred, I carried the papers over to Brea’s desk. “Here’s the signed offers,” I said to her.

“I’ll email them to the buyer’s attorney.”

“Thank you.” I glanced over my shoulder at Derek. “Follow me.”

I heard him say good-bye to Brea before he caught up to me in the hallway. “He’s been anxious to meet you,” I told him.

“Because I’m seeing his daughter, or because I’ve become a top client?”

We’d never discussed how much I told my father—or how little.

“He doesn’t know about us.” I paused, making sure no one was around to hear us. “Until I knew for sure what was happening between us, it didn’t feel right to tell him.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself.”

“I don’t?”

I couldn’t have disagreed more. Our relationship had deepened. It wasn’t right to keep it from my father.

“Nah. You didn’t tell him, and that’s fine.”

That didn’t seem right…

But I suddenly found myself outside the door to his office and there was no more time to discuss this. Before I knocked, my hand rested flat against the wooden door. I took a deep breath and looked at Derek. The first time Reed had introduced himself to my father, he’d been wearing a suit that cost as much as my mortgage, and shoes that had probably been buffed that morning. Derek wore jeans, boots and a red flannel—a uniform that had become sexier than any suit Reed owned. But I felt a distance between us and I didn’t like it. And I didn’t like that he had shut down rather than telling me what was wrong.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

He nodded. “After you.”

DEREK

“FRANKIE,” MR. JORDAN SAID
as she stood in the doorway. I waited several paces behind her. “I hope you have Mr. Block with you?”

“I do.” She moved inside, and I followed.

“Mr. Block,” he said, walking around his desk to stand before me. He wasn’t as tall as me, but he was clean-shaven and sterile looking, with a stare just like his daughter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I gripped his hand, surprised by his handshake: firm and extremely controlled, the perfect picture of professionalism. With an influence like this, there was no wonder why my pink ivory was so proper and refined. “Derek, please.” We locked eyes. “And the pleasure is mine, Mr. Jordan.”

“Call me Garrett.”

He released my hand and returned to his chair as I did a quick scan of the room. The areas of his building I had seen so far were outfitted in custom furnishings and luxury fixtures, and his office was no exception. The décor was ultra-contemporary, with cold tones and almost piercing blasts of color, similar to his dark suit and the bright orange in his tie. It was clear that he liked luxury—to be surrounded by it, to be dressed in it.

He didn’t see that when he looked at me. But I didn’t need a fancy office or a suit to know what I had or what I was worth. I had everything I needed.

That included Frankie.

I just fucking hoped she wouldn’t be taken away from me.

I hadn’t replied to Reed’s first text message; I hadn’t thought I needed to. Frankie would make her choice and I was obviously it. But based on his second text, which had come just minutes before I’d arrived at Frankie’s office, it sounded like Reed had done a little more digging:
If you think ignoring me will make me go away, you’re wrong. I go after what’s mine and I don’t fight fair. Randy told me you don’t either. Or maybe your sister told. It looks like she’s the one doing your dirty work, you fucking coward. I’ll see you on the other side of this game…and she will be mine.

He had no idea what he was talking about. No one was doing my dirty work for me—Randy wouldn’t have told him that and neither would Hayden. Reed had a bunch of miscellaneous pieces and he didn’t know how to put them together.

I didn’t want to bring Frankie into this. I sure as hell didn’t want to rehash the past and speak about those moments. Moments that were filled with the most intolerable pain. But I couldn’t avoid it any longer. She needed to hear it all from me, not from him.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Derek?” Garrett said, bringing me back to the present.

Frankie waited for me to pick a chair, so I took the far one, and she slid in after me. “Derek dropped off the purchase agreement and Brea is processing it now. I anticipate a quick closing, and with the brokers’ open scheduled in just a few weeks and our international ads dropping next Monday, I expect many more offers to follow.”