Chapter 34: Taming Mr. Walker: Chapter 34

Danny

“Send them in.” Laura, our Head of Product, nods to Tracey.

We are sitting in the twentieth-floor boardroom waiting for Charlie and one of the designers to pitch their ideas for the next generation of Dunley products.

I tap my fingers against the desk, and Karl raises his eyebrows at me to stop.

I keep on tapping.

Tracey comes back into the room flagged by Charlie, and a Ken Doll look alike with white teeth. Joel, I think.

My entire body hardens in response. She is wearing a tight royal-blue dress that accentuates the blue/green of her eyes.

Dear God, she’s breathtaking.

I fold my arms across my chest and try to hide how unhinged I am by her presence.

Her eyes flit to everyone in the room but me as they introduce themselves.

“Mr. Walker,” Ken Doll addresses me excitedly. “It’s such an honour to have you listen to our pitch today.”

“I always take an interest in the new features being pitched,” I reply dryly, ignoring him and staring at Charlie.

She has her back to me now, fumbling with cables between the laptop and the screen. I see her hands tremble and realise that she’s nervous.

“Can we get someone to help with this set-up?” I ask, irritated. “I have thirty minutes here, counting down.”

She turns, her eyes widening in horror as Ken Doll snaps to attention and helps her. He leans over her to take the cable and puts his hand on her lower back, murmuring something in her ear. She gives him a soft smile, and jealousy surges through me.

Way too fucking over-familiar, boy. Get your greedy little mitts off her.

I let out a heavy sigh as Karl flashes me a warning look to behave.

Charlie clears her throat and straightens her dress with long, nervous strokes. “I’ll explain first our approach for developing the roadmap. We conducted user research with ten of our existing customers and some larger companies that don’t use the software. We analysed the customer satisfaction results over this past five years but also, importantly, we devised a vision for the direction of the product that tells us where we want this product to be in five years’ time.”

Karl gives her a big thumbs-up, and she flashes a full-voltage smile back at him.

I shift my glare to Karl. Is every man in this bloody room under her spell?

She flounders a little, I suspect from the low growl that involuntarily erupts from my throat.

“This is what we propose for year one for a minimum viable product.” She talks through the visual with pride in her voice. Given her experience, it’s a big role for her. Karl said she’s been working long hours and weekends.

It looks like it has paid off; the ideas and strategy are concise, achievable, and innovative.

“Good,” I reply as she finishes, and her gaze finds mine for the first time, causing her cheeks to flush.

She looks like someone just walked over her grave.

“So next … Here are … These are the features,” she stumbles through her words, flipping to the next slide.

I know my eyes devouring her are putting her off, but I can’t wrench my gaze away.

Her face flushes scarlet as the team drills her, dissecting every detail of her pitch.

They’re ruthless, I’ll give them that. Even as she reels in shock at some of the abrasive comments, she attempts to hold her own in an inexperienced yet determined manner.

I get a vision of her on the boardroom desk, dress bunched around her waist, legs wide and her soft pink flesh wet and ready for my tongue, begging me to fill her.

I miss those moans.

My cock twitches in response.

Down, boy.

“Danny, you’re very quiet. Do you have any questions?” Laura raises a brow at me.

I hesitate, bringing myself back to the presentation. “Your ideas are good, solid. But your delivery needs work. The pitch was choppy, rough, and immature.”

Charlie physically flinches, taking a step backwards.

“It’s got promise,” I add, levelling my tone. “You’ve got the go-ahead to continue. Laura will guide you with the next steps to proceed to alpha.”

“Thank you.” She nods awkwardly. “Mr. Walker.”

So I’m Mr. Walker now.

“That’s all the time Mr. Walker has,” Laura says. She turns to me. “Danny, you have a call with Senator Williams now.”

Fuck Senator fucking Williams.

I watch Charlie and Joel packing up their equipment, and I hear her giggle softly at him as he says something. He leans over and rubs her arm.

My hands ball into fists. This Joel guy is fucking pissing me off. Just how close did they get working on this pitch?

We pile out of the room into the hallway, Charlie and Ken Doll turning left while I turn right with the rest of the team to head to the elevator.

Laura talks to me about the NextGen launch of one of our crypto products, but I’m too rattled to focus.

“Charlie.” I turn around and call her back.

Everyone stops walking, waiting for me to speak.

“It’s OK.” I wave a hand to dismiss them. “I’d like a moment with Charlie.”

Her eyes widen, but she nods and stops walking.

I pace towards her until we’re a metre apart.

Ken Doll remains by her side like a lap dog. Who does this guy think he’s up against?

“Alone.” I glare at him.

“I’m the designer, sir. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

The guy has guts, I’ll give him that.

My eyes narrow on him. “Did you not hear me?”

“Of course, sir.” He looks upset but reluctantly scuttles down the hall.

I turn my attention to the breathtaking creature destroying my sleep. Her eyes reluctantly lock onto mine.

“Danny,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

My cock twinges as those big green eyes stare up at me.

I want to sweep her up in my arms and never let her go.

Focus, Walker.

“How are you?” I ask softly. “Is the apartment OK?”

“It’s beautiful.” Her face lights up as she speaks, and I resist the urge to take her cheeks in my hands. “I love the high ceilings and the exposed brick. The gym, the wide street lined with trees, the coffee shops nearby … it’s amazing.”

“Glad you approve.”

She launches into a nervous chatter. “When I was asked if I wanted a company apartment, I never in a million years thought I would be staying in this luxury. Every day I come home, I still can’t believe there is a doorman to open the door for me. I feel like I’m in a movie. I can’t believe employees get to stay there for free.”

“They don’t,” I admit, trying to keep my gaze from dropping down to the V line in her dress. “The apartment is my personal one, not the company’s.”

She twirls her hair around her fingers, something I recognise as her nervous twitch. “I … I never realised it was yours,” she stammers. “That makes sense why it’s so nice. I inconvenienced you. I would never have said yes if I realised that.”

“You could never inconvenience me, Charlie.” I frown, holding her gaze. “Besides, Karl’s place is big enough for ten people.”

“How is Jackie?” The words tumble out of her mouth.

I give her a double-take. “Did Karl tell you?”

“Yes,” she says with a brittle smile.

“It wasn’t planned, obviously, but out of mistakes come good things. We’re excited. It’ll be the first Walker baby in the family.”

She jolts backwards with such force I step towards her and grab her wrist.

“Are you OK?”

“She’s pregnant?” she chokes out.

“Yes. I thought you knew that.”

She bites her lip and looks to the floor. “I thought it was just sex.”

“That’s generally how you make a baby.” I smile dryly.

“I have to go, Danny.” She tugs her wrist out of my grasp.

“Just a minute.” I raise my voice. “Are you dating that guy with the teeth?”

A flicker of a smile passes across her face. “All the guys I date have teeth. I have some standards.”

“You know who I mean,” I growl. “Ken Doll.”

Damn, that was unprofessional. He’s a member of my staff, for Christ’s sake.

“You mean Joe?” she asks, taken aback. “No, of course, I’m not dating Joe.”

Good. Then that son of a bitch better back off before I reassign him to a different department.

“But I am dating,” she adds, staring at my feet. “I’m really happy. Maybe I should stay in New York. Nothing is keeping me in London.”

My jaw clenches. “I guess not. Perhaps you should move to the New York office then. I’m sure the team could facilitate that.”

When she looks up, I think I see the start of tears pooling in her eyes.

“Bye, Danny, take care of yourself.”

I watch her walk away, and something inside me breaks into a thousand tiny pieces.