Last Name - Dr. Rebecca Sharp Page 0,35

office, whatever he’d been focusing on was forgotten as soon as I walked in the room.

It would’ve been better to leave the door open, but the feral desire in his eyes had me pushing it shut behind me, afraid an open door wouldn’t be able to stop the truth from slipping from his mouth.

“Hi.” I folded my arms across my chest, trying to shield myself from the way his desire tugged insistently at mine. “How’s it going?”

It wasn’t the best greeting, but I needed to stop the level of need in the room from rising before it drowned us both.

One eyebrow rose before he sighed and answered honestly, “It’s going. There’s a lot involved… a lot to be done when taking over another business…”

“More so when it’s done in a rush in order to save your brother’s wedding?” I couldn’t stop the question from popping out like a flower whose time it was to bloom.

The corner of his jaw ticked. “I assume Suzanne told you.”

“Was it supposed to be a secret?”

He closed the folder in his hands, setting it methodically on his desk before taking a step toward me—one of those slow ones like a hunter stalking its prey.

I gulped.

I’d entered the lion’s den. I knew the risks.

“I didn’t want it known,” he confirmed, stopping a few inches in front of me.

“Why?” I scanned his expression. “She said you saved this place from going under. Don’t you want everyone to know that? Don’t you want everyone to know you saved their jobs—their livelihood—rather than being painted as just one more big corporation looking to take over a small business and make a quick buck?”

That wasn’t quite the truth…

Now that the staff had all met James—and been treated to weeks of free coffee—the worried grumblings about this being a power play and rich man’s attempt to get richer had all but died.

“Is that what they think?” he asked.

I hesitated and then answered, “No.”

“Is that what you think?”

His gaze deepened as it bored into mine.

“No.” The word took on a thready texture this time. “But why would you risk it?”

A hint of a smile pulled at the right corner of his lip, teasing me with that smile that elevated my body temperature and turned my insides to mush.

“Because character comes from action, not words,” he finally answered, inching closer to me. “And I rather believe who I am by the things I do rather than try to prove it to them.”

I drank in the sincerity of his expression—and realized there was more to it than that.

“You were protecting someone,” I murmured, my eyes narrowing on his. “Just like when you saved your family’s business…” His eyes flashed, and I knew I’d struck a chord. “Who is it?”

He sighed. “The older couple who owned it,” he began. “They hadn’t managed it well for a long time. Well, that’s not quite true. They were distracted for a long time and hired a manager who didn’t manage it well. But the reason it got so bad so quickly was because, near the end, they were siphoning out extra funds.”

Anger sparked in my chest. “And you’re trying to protect them? People who took more for themselves and would’ve cost the rest of us our jobs?”

“They took more because their son is dying of cancer,” he said with the lowest voice. “He’s undergoing expensive experimental treatment, but even with that, they don’t expect him to survive the year.”

My hand flew to my mouth.

“They needed more money for his treatment.” James cleared his throat. “It doesn’t justify how they went about it, but it also doesn’t make them horrible people. Just human and hurting.”

“Oh, God…”

“But no, I wasn’t protecting them,” he replied to my original question. “I just saw no reason to drag their reputation through the mud and open them up to possible legal complications when they’re about to lose their only child.”

I nodded, swallowing over the giant lump in my throat. My fingers flew over my cheek to swipe a stray tear that leaked free.

“Carrie,” James’ low rasp pulled my gaze back up to him. I drew a stuttered breath as his thumb brushed across my other cheek, capturing a drop of wetness I hadn’t felt break free. “Why are you here?”

Because I want you. I want this. I want us.

Panic seized my chest at the unbidden thoughts.

“I wanted to check on where our… situation… stood,” I stammered thickly, watching the way his eyes glinted.

“Well, our situation is pretty straightforward.” My lips parted. “I want you.