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Chapter 10 : Maintaining Professionalism
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 11 : One Eventful Night
The bar Andre chose turned out to be one of those slick-but-still-homey sorts of places that Raven didn’t think still existed in the financial district. With a worn wooden bar and scuffed floors, it had the sense of someplace people had been coming to drink and unwind after high-pressure days in high-stakes businesses. There was a sense of comfort here, of settled energy. Raven felt herself exhaling deeply, letting the tension of the day out of her body.It had been a long time since she’d been in a space like this: where pints were being poured and conversations were climbing to a shouting pitch. There was a football game on the big TV above the bar, and people kept cheering wildly after each play.Andre ordered cosmos for all three of them and raised them in a cheers. “Happy after-hours!”“Cheers!” Raven and Sharon chorused, laughing.The radio was playing a vapid pop song, and the bartender slid a cup of pretzels toward the three of them. Besides, Raven had hours to kill bef
Empire of Dominance Chapter 12 : Contrasting Partners
The next morning, Raven gulped down painkillers and a strong cup of coffee before heading into work. The day was a thin, hazy kind of summer heat that felt as if it clung to her skin as she walked. She cursed the heat and the early hour for the weight of the hangover pounding in her head. That was partly what the painkillers were for. The rest of the reason was the deep, distracting ache on her inner thighs where she knew bruises were forming.It wasn’t the first time, and it wasn’t necessarily the discomfort she was trying to dull. No, it was the fact that each step she took, the soreness reminded her of the sweet, brutal pain of the night before, as Kade bent her over the back of the sofa and tore every thought from her head with each ramming thrust.Andre and Sharon were at the elevator as usual. Sharon had a very welcome cup of coffee in hand that Raven accepted gratefully.“Bless you,” she said, sipping at it greedily.“Careful, it’s hot,” Sharon cautioned.“As hot as th
Empire of Dominance Chapter 13 : Falling for You
On Monday morning, along with a folder with the day’s assignment, Megan delivered Raven a summons.“Mr. Sinclair would like to see you upstairs, at your earliest convenience.”Raven could translate that into plain English: right away. Kade didn’t give a shit about anyone’s convenience, including hers.She resisted the urge to crack a joke during the awkwardly silent elevator ride with Megan to the C-suite. Megan didn’t seem the type for casual office humor.But there was something in how Megan looked at her, as the secretary took her place behind her desk and watched Raven head for the CEO’s door, that gave Raven pause. Behind her iron facade, Megan’s face gave just a hint of… What? Nervousness? Concern? She couldn’t read Megan at all, as usual. She was probably just imagining things.Stepping into the office, though, Raven felt the atmosphere change in a heartbeat. Kade was standing in front of his desk, arms folded, his cold, handsome face set in an expression of unmistaka
Empire of Dominance Chapter 14 : Assets
The long, dark limo glided up in front of her, and Raven swore silently to herself. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind who this would be. He’d been sitting here, watching, waiting for her to be on her own. He’d definitely seen the kiss—the warm, tender kiss she could still taste lingering on her lips.The bottle of wine she’d split with Brandon was making her head fuzzier than it should be at this moment. She should be walking away, pretending she somehow didn’t see the massive limo in front of her. Instead, she stood rooted, hoping against hope her rideshare would magically materialise and whisk her away before…The back door of the limo opened. Inside the cool blue glow of the running lights illuminated the coldly beautiful face of her CEO.Kade Sinclair had that same, icy anger in his eyes that she’d seen that morning. That had cornered her against the door, thrilled her as she knew she should be resisting…“Get in,” he said sharply. A command with the weight of glaci
Empire of Dominance Chapter 15 : King of the Castle
Raven was shocked at herself. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she knew what she’d just said, and she knew it was true. She imagined herself at graduation, getting her diploma, suddenly being able to see all those months down the line when she’d be sitting in this limo, with her shirt torn open, with the kind of bargain she was agreeing to fresh on her lips. An “asset.” College Raven would know what that meant, just as well as the Raven of the present moment. Coldly defined, laid out in the open. She was confused. With the situation, with herself, with this enigma of a man in front of her.The man who was still talking to her, saying these vastly important things she’d forgotten to listen to.She tuned back in with an effort, dragging her mind back into gear.“As long as you retain your value for me, in both categories—as an analyst and as a lover—you will have whatever you want. As long as, per your conditions, those two categories don’t impact each other.”“W
Empire of Dominance Chapter 16 : Only a Little While
Kade’s POV Kade Sinclair sat at his desk as the day was winding to an end and the sunset majestically shone outside his massive office window. He watched each small light flick on along the city’s long avenues, in the office buildings and the apartments and the townhouses. All of it was part of the vast mechanism of the machine, and he knew every beating inch of it, especially the pieces in the light and the darkness, too.His city. His power. Rivals had come and gone, challenged and fallen. They would keep coming and keep falling. And he would still be here.In part, he knew this, thanks to the papers on his desk now in front of him. They were Raven’s findings from the previous Monday, just before the debacle in the limo. The night everything had nearly gone to pieces.Kade ran his eyes over the data again and again. He knew she knew what she’d uncovered, that she didn’t have to spell it out. But he also couldn’t admit that she was running circles around him, numbers-wise
Empire of Dominance Chapter 17 : Not On Your Life
Raven’s POV Raven couldn’t wait until bright and early to look inside the folder. She ordered a car to drive her home, conscious of mitigating any risks of walking openly or riding the subway. Risk? What was she thinking? She was slipping into Kade’s paranoia. She shook her head.Getting into the file would be good for another reason. She’d barely managed to say no tonight. Even though she knew it was the right choice, her body was still buzzing in the aftermath. She held her key steady with an effort as she opened the door to her apartment.She stood shivering out the last of the tremulous, dangerous energy in the dark quiet of her apartment. She gathered herself with an effort, letting the air conditioning chill her skin.But right now, she could still be in that office, getting wrecked on the carpet of Kade’s office, testing the limits of pleasure all over again…She shook her head, hard.“Get it together, girl,” she whispered.Kade was not a good man. He wasn’t ki
Empire of Dominance Chapter 18 : What If?
Raven had been in the office a full two hours before Andre and Sharon arrived the next day.She waved at her coworkers as they stepped out of the elevator.“Morning!”“Morning,” Sharon said, a bit more slowly. “…How long have you been here?”“Not long,” Raven lied, smiling.“Weren’t you here early yesterday too…?”“Not that early.”Andre put her coffee on her desk in front of her, and Raven leaned forward as if to take it—but also to cover the content of the folder in front of her with her arm.“Hey, don’t take this the wrong way, honey,” said Andre gently. “But you look like a candle burning at both ends. The bags under your eyes would put a raccoon to shame.”Raven forced a laugh. “Yikes. Is there a right way to take that?”“We’re worried.” Sharon was blunt and warm at once, and Raven wondered what she’d done to deserve such a generous and open woman as her friend. “You’re working yourself too hard, Raven.”Privately, Raven agreed. Getting into the office so ear
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