And I want Sloane.
More importantly, she’s confirmed that she wants me.
This is hardly over.
Chapter Fifty-Three Sloane
I thought coming to Magnus’s office Monday would be awkward, but he’s dropped me right back into work mode. It’s been enough for me to lower my defenses over the course of the morning and operate with the ease of being once again in the environment where I thrive.
It’s almost as though Saturday night didn’t even happen.
A part of me is slightly disappointed, yes, but at least Magnus seems to respect where I’m coming from.
“Tod Wheelhouse isn’t a good choice for CEO of Holt Cloth & Fabric. He was let go from his last company for showing a loss in the last three quarters, Magnus,” I protest.
“Because he spent that money revamping the retirement scheme to give more matching contributions to employees. It’s a plan that would have paid off in the long run in terms of retention and hiring talent.”
“Shareholders don’t care about the long term; all that matters is the next quarter. You of all people should know that.”
“Fortunately, Holt isn’t publicly traded.”
“But the employees you’ve been so generous with in terms of stock and profit-sharing may be more interested in…I don’t know, profit.”
Magnus smirks at me. “I wouldn’t have taken you for such a mercenary.”
“And I wouldn’t have taken you for Santa Claus.”
“I suppose people can surprise you.”
“Yes, I suppose they can,” I retort.
We stare at each other like two duelers whose guns are drawn, and we’re just waiting for the signal to fire. It could go either way, this sparring of ours. Will we fight? Kiss and make up? Storm off to cool down?
We end up laughing.
It erases the last bit of tension between us. This is how it should be. All that fantasizing and swooning from Saturday was…reckless. Something I shouldn’t let myself succumb to again, at least not until the coast is clear. It’s too bad we make such a good team, business-wise. It seems almost natural that it would carry over to other areas.
I rapidly snuff that thought out.
“What ever happened to the client being right?” Magnus asks, one eyebrow raised.
“What ever happened to listening to your counsel?” I retort, raising an eyebrow of my own.
“And if I play the boss card?”
“Are you my boss?”
Magnus stares at me, his expression suddenly unreadable. But those eyes! I knew that first day I’d have to pay attention to those above all else, and right now, they dance with an emerald gleam that has me feeling like Dorothy fainting in a field of poppies.
Dangerous.
“I think of you as my perfect match, Sloane.”
Now, it hits me. This entire morning has just been him playing shark, specifically the mako. Lowering my defenses with legal work, long enough to make the first strike as he catches me off guard.
And it worked.
My heart beats just as fast as it did at the gala on Saturday while we were dancing, even more so during the fireworks afterward. My words in the hallway after the event, and even the thoughts I’ve had all morning and, frankly, every waking hour yesterday were just a defense for how I really feel.
“Well, I…I don’t know what to say to that, Magnus,” I say slowly.
Stupidly!
Why am I still so reluctant to just open my damn heart up, expose my most vulnerable part even a little as Magnus has just done? Why am I reluctant to trust him completely?
Because I’m still too cautious.
Because I’m still too good.
Because I’m still a damn guppy at heart.
“I’ll work up an offer for Tod Wheelhouse,” I say briskly. “It’ll be ready for you tomorrow.”
I see it in his eyes as the light fades in them.
“Very well, then,” Magnus says, reverting to a more distant version of himself.
Suddenly, I want to take it back.
My own clichéd statement in the elevator the night of the gala comes back to bite me in the ass.
He’s letting me go.
And now, I want nothing more than to be with him.
My head spins with the realization of it. I want to rewind five minutes and force my lips to utter something different. Without even realizing it, I’ve met the only man I could imagine spending the rest of my life with. He’s terrifying in the most exciting way, but he has his soft side, the side that would protect his woman at all costs, even as he made sure she stood at his level.
I’m in love with him.
I open my mouth to blurt it all out, but before any words can form, Magnus has moved on.
“I need you to send a message to Gabriel Fouché.”
The name is enough to snap me out of my wild fit of passion and straighten up in my chair.
“What?”
Magnus stares at me, this time with an utter lack of emotion. “It’s time to give him what he wants. So that you can safely return to New York.”
I sense the disdain in his voice. It all but throws it in my face how disappointed he is in me. I’m still too stunned to challenge it.
“How is it you’re to get in touch with him?” He asks, looking at me with hard eyes that show no hint of that sincerity they just held.
“He…” I shake my head to collect myself, then focus on Magnus. “He gave me an email address to send any information, using a specific email account he gave to me.”
Magnus nods, as though that makes sense. “I’ll need you to give me both as well as any passwords.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask, feeling my heartbeat accelerate.
“Something to make sure you’re safe.”
“Is it illegal?”
He gives me a cynical smile. “That’s a rather ironic question, isn’t it. The whole reason you’re here is to obtain insider information.”
“I just want to know what I’m setting myself up for. It is still my life on the line,” I retort.
“Trust me, neither Jan nor Gabriel will have reason to be suspicious about what you tell him. Even if they are, nothing will happen
