Claire agreed. “Locke wouldn’t have it any other way. When it comes to cars and business, Miss Troy, he’s an expert. Now, when it comes to people… well, as you said, his bedside manner needs some work.”
“Some work?” Carl chimed in again. “Jesus, Claire. The man never smiles. In the years I’ve known him, I’ve never once seen him smile. Not even when we grossed our first million within the first two weeks that Locke Enterprises was established.”
“I’m hitting the ground running, and I already have an itinerary full of press for him in the next week. Beginning tomorrow, his days and nights will be jam-packed with editorial interviews, photoshoots, live interviews, dinners, luncheons, and those are just to name a few. I have one week to make the world fall in love with Mr. Locke.”
“The media doesn’t even address him by that name. They’ve branded him as the Alpha CEO. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a family man to me.”
I was about to open my mouth to respond to Carl when I felt him…
The double glass doors opened, and the atmosphere instantly changed. It didn’t surprise me, he always had the ability to govern a room, even way before his net worth was 3.2 billion.
Without taking a look around, Mr. Locke merely announced, “I have no interest in becoming a family man, Carl.”
The man walked into the boardroom exuding dominance, heading straight for his seat at the head of the table. Parallel to me. His confident stride was as demanding as his reputation. No longer the man I remembered, he’d come a long way from a Texas junkyard, wearing grease-smeared jeans, to now dressed in custom three-piece suits that were worth thousands.
Once he was sitting down in his black leather chair, he leaned forward with his elbows on the table, and without so much as a “good morning” to his colleagues and staff, he simply got down to business, locking eyes with Claire then Carl.
Although, she was the first to speak to him. “We called this board meeting on your behalf.”
“What exactly are we discussing on my behalf, Claire?”
“Before we get into that…” She smiled, nodding over to me. “I’d like to introduce you to the woman who is about to change your life.”
Locke’s inquisitive stare followed her gaze until his eyes landed right on me. For the first time in over ten years, I looked into his icy, bright, blue eyes.
And felt absolutely nothing.
Chapter TWO
—Julian—
I was a man who prided himself on control, and for a brief moment, it felt like I didn’t have any. My mind suddenly raged war with itself thinking about the last time I saw her bright green eyes connecting with mine. It didn’t help that the aloof expression on her face was consuming and punishing me all at the same time.
It wasn’t until she greeted, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Locke,” that I mocked in a condescending tone, “Nice to meet me? It’s Mr. Locke, is it?”
She nodded, her composure steady and unwavering, but it didn’t matter how poised she appeared sitting there staring only at me, I knew what was beneath her designer dress and fuck-me heels.
Is she even wearing a bra?
As if reading my mind, she casually leaned forward emphasizing her chest to show me she was indeed not wearing a damn thing underneath her dress, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. She’d always been a beautiful girl, but now—as a woman—there was this alluring confidence and sexy demeanor that wasn’t there when I’d left her.
She’d grown up and come into her own skin, only triggering the memory of her body naked beneath mine and making my cock twitch at the thought.
“Julian, Miss Troy is—”
“I know who Autumn is, Claire.”
“Oh… I wasn’t aware you knew who she was. Then you’ve heard of her?”
“You could say that.”
Autumn didn’t show any emotion over my presence or response. She was too busy portraying a woman I no longer recognized.
Coldly replying, “I would prefer you address me as Miss. Troy, Mr. Locke. You have to earn the right to call me by my first name.”
I leaned back in my chair, narrowing my captivated stare at her. “Is that right?”
The sudden tension in the boardroom was so fucking thick you could choke on it.
“I’m not your friend, Mr. Locke, and if this relationship is going to work between us, then you’re going to have to treat me like the professional I am.”
She was right.
We weren’t friends.
We were so much more than that.
She could pretend all she wanted, but I knew what she felt like riding me. The way she screamed my name when she wanted more, and the tiny purrs she’d make right before she’d come on my cock.
“Relationships aren’t really my thing,” I reminded her. Watching and gauging her reaction, I added, “But you already knew that.”