325 Brand new CEO
Natalie’s phone chimed just as Devonte’s hand ventured into her panties. She had to stop him.
“I hate to stop right now but that’s my reminder to get going. I don’t want to keep Aunt Lucy waiting.” She kissed his lips to placate him.
He groaned in frustration because he knew exactly what she meant. Lucy could be friendly and all but only if her time was respected. She detested tardiness and would rage if they were even a few minutes late. So, since they were not caught up in something they couldn’t stop—yet, he let go of her begrudgingly.
“Okay, but you have to make it up to me tonight.”
“I’ll spend the whole night making it up.” She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, then decided to go with the black gown. Devonte wasn’t of much help anyway. She could change into all the gowns in her closet, displaying them to him, and he would find all of them perfect. His exact words would be “You could be wearing a gunny sack and I’d still think you look awesome, babe.”
When she had slipped it on, she needed help with the zipper and nearly got lured into bed with him by the mere touch of his fingers against her skin.
Heavens, this man was charming as hell and they had been together for all these years.
“Let’s get going,” She slipped her shoes on and grabbed his hand, dashing out before she found an excuse for her absence and pushed him down onto the bed instead.
Their car was waiting, so they jumped right in, racing against time.
.....
“It’s a good thing there isn’t much traffic on this side of the city.” She sighed in relief. At this hour, they would arrive an hour later if they were in the north of Imperium.
She smoothed imaginary wrinkles on her dress and peeked up at him.
Having learned the telltale signs of her nervousness, he smiled. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“Yes.” She took in a deep breath.
“Well, my parents asked for us to join them for dinner tomorrow.”
He quirked a brow. “Are you three in the talking stage now?”
She shrugged. “Not that I know of. But to be fair, they have been reaching out.” She gripped the skirt of her gown, feeling the need to explain. After all, they were the worst when it came to her relationship with Devonte and had been cruel in their attempts to match her up with someone else.
“It’s not that I care so much about their opinion. They already showed me that their pride matters more than what makes me happy. It’s just that I don’t want them trying to pull us apart, that’s all.”
“I know, my love.” He raised her chin with his thumb. “No matter what happens, I’m not as insecure as I was before.”
She hummed in amusement at that. The only reason for his insecurity in the past was Desmond. He didn’t seem to care which man got close to her but whenever Desmond came into the picture, he would cause an argument about where her heart was.
“Is it because Desmond is getting married and you finally believe he wants nothing to do with me beyond friendship?” She teased.
“Because I’m the only man you care about. I finally see that.” He pecked her lips. “But yes, that too.”
She shook her head. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“You’re crazy.” He retorted.
“So, are you coming with me for dinner?” She confirmed, since he had not given a definite answer.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Oh, I would love one more thing.” She slid her hand down his chest discreetly. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do much in the car, since the banquet hall was only a short ride away.
“What is it?” He held her hand and guided it below his belt, pressing it against his hardness.
“Wait. Are you still…” She was puzzled. Or was it a new boner? She couldn’t tell with him. In fact, she didn’t think there was any single time when the two of them were alone in an enclosed space and he was not hard. “I’ll take care of you later,” she whispered, but it was directed below his waist, making him chuckle.
“You were going to say something?” He reminded her before she made him lose control with her teasing.
“Oh yes. I’m in the wedding party and Zaria didn’t give me a partner. She said she wanted me to choose my own partner. Oh, and by the way, she would love it if that partner were her favorite movie star. Just saying—her words.” She laughed. “So, on behalf of two of your biggest fans, I would like to ask you to be my partner at the wedding.”
“Yes.” He pressed another kiss on her lips and she was overjoyed. Something in her snapped—it was as though he had said yes to being her husband instead of just a partner at her cousin’s wedding—and she couldn’t stop smiling.
_____
The banquet was a bigger blast than Lucy thought it would be.
When she announced that Twilight was launching a new subsidiary in partnership with Natalie, the cheers of excitement were through the roof. Everyone wanted to download it and it hadn’t even gone live yet.
As soon as Lucy’s announcement was made, Natalie was surrounded by tens of Lucy’s partners.
“Miss Sparks, I have heard so much about you.” A portly middle-aged man pushed through the crowd to her to shake her hand. “I have to admit, your photographs do you no justice and neither does every tabloid about you. You are smarter than they say.”
Her lips twitched. This man had hurled the most insults when her family dragged her into the family business years ago. At the time, she was only fresh from university and didn’t have much experience running a company but it was her family business and it was partly her responsibility to keep it on its feet. However, he had mocked her in every conference, every banquet and every single place they bumped into each other. Yet here he was now, praising her now that she was associated with the woman everyone was looking up to.
On the outside, she kept a smile. “Is that so?”
“Yes. You and my son have a lot in common. You could have made a good match but since you belong to another now, how about you become business partners? You can learn a lot from each other.”
She maintained her smile. “No need. I’m learning from the best.”
“What?” He sounded shocked.
“Lucy Roatta. Heard of her?” She widened her smile to annoy him and started to walk off, only to be stopped by the mention of what was apparently what he truly wanted. “I have something that might interest Lucy. I’m aware she appreciates good talent and that’s exactly what my company offers. Can you be a doll and pass the word to her? I’ll mail my proposal tomorrow morning.”
She pretended to think about it for ages before she shrugged. “No.”
“Why not?” He tried to keep his annoyance to himself in vain.
She simply laughed it off. “Lucy hates men who look down on women for any reason. I mean, that should be obvious.”
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