I almost went crazy as I sat at my desk, wringing my hands, obsessing about what was going on up in the boardroom.Not least of all because I wondered if anybody noticed a stain on the plush carpet, or if they could detect the lingering scent of sex in the air.“Oh God,” I whispered to myself, and put my head in my hands.Emails went unanswered. I let calls go straight to voicemail.I was a nervous wreck.I played out a dozen scenarios in my head, all of them different in the particulars, but all boiling down to the same inescapable outcome:Connor letting them know that the buyoff was off.Would he tell them that the Teramore job was fake, designed to test the exec comp division?Would he repeat the lie that Klaus had shown him all the files on Friday night?And if he did, what could Klaus do but sit there and take it? Especially after he had lied right to the face of the CEO?And if Klaus sat there, the scapegoat for the failure… just how mad was he going to be when he came out of t

Johnny was piiiiiissed.I couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, but whatever it was, he said it loudly enough for Connor to make a face and hold the cell phone away from his ear.It sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher’s wah-wah-wah-WAAAH crossed with a fire-and-brimstone preacher.Connor let him vent for a few seconds, then said, “I’m getting on 10 East… you can find me, I’ll be the maroon Lamborghini Aventador.”More wah-wah-wah-WAAAAH.“Yes, fine, okay, I’ll drive under the speed limit so you can get to me… jeez, man, I don’t know who’s worse, you or Lily.”Things quieted down on the other end as Johnny asked something in a lower tone of voice.Connor smiled. “Because she’s with me.”Silence. Then Johnny said something else, and Connor pulled the cell away from his ear and hit a button for speakerphone.“Lily?”I smiled. “Hi, Johnny.”“You made him call me, didn’t you?”“Yes.”“Thank you. At least SOMEBODY’S brain is working right.”“Hey,” Connor warned.“Where’d you get th

I awoke with no idea of where I was or what time it was.I opened my eyes halfway. I was on the edge of the bed, facing outwards. Dim shapes of furniture lined the room, but I couldn’t see a clock or a window or anything that might tell me whether it was day or night.As I lay there in a muddled haze of brain fog, I replayed the last events I could remember, though they were like images from a fading dream: Connor carrying me into the room……slowly undressing me……me pulling off his underwear…At that particular memory, something inside me woke up a little bit more.I turned over in the bed.There he was a few feet away, lying on his back, one arm sprawled above his head, eyes closed and lips slightly parted.Perfection.I began to remember everything: the screaming match with Klaus… finding out my car had been towed… bursting into tears in the parking deck… Connor driving up… his impassioned speech… me crying in the car… his kissing my hand… the conversation with Johnny over the pho

Sebastian came through with the reservation – which meant the start of the next round of negotiations.“Will you at least put on the bulletproof vest?” Johnny asked.“No,” Connor said as he popped a piece of cheese in his mouth and took a sip of the white wine that room service had brought.“Fine – I just won’t drive you, then.”“Fine. I’ll just take the Lamborghini, then.”As they quarreled, I wandered the main room of the penthouse. It wasn’t the Dubai, but it was pretty damn nice. The ceiling towered thirty feet overhead, and a curving staircase made of pounded bronze connected the first floor with the second. Luxurious couches were scattered throughout the room. The marble flooring – dark green swirled and speckled with white – reflected back the dim lighting from far overhead, with the occasional rug thrown in here and there. There was a flat-screen TV on the wall that was as big as a car, a full bar made of the same speckled marble, and a kitchen and dining area down a hallway t

The dinner eased by in a sumptuous parade of dishes, things I’d never tasted – or even seen – before. I’m more of an onion rings kind of a girl than an haute cuisine chick, but I was so dazzled by the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that I completely surrendered.If that sounds naughty… it kind of was. In a culinary way, anyhow. There was a strawberry soup to start, both spicy and sweet. Foie gras, which is definitely not my favorite food in the world – but the shavings of truffle scattered across the top quickly became my favorite (at least for the next fifteen minutes). A carpaccio of a delicate fish, followed by scallops served on half a scallop shell. A truffle tart with smoked bacon. A cheese soufflé. Abalone and leeks in a ginger broth. Roasted lobster with lemongrass. Grilled seabass with spinach. A tiny veal chop flavored with pesto. Three or four desserts, including a chocolate mousse with a Fuji apple compote. (I was in heaven with the chocolate.) Not only was the food