“No, it’ll still be clean and simple, but more . . .” She pauses, eyeing me, and I can feel her relax viscerally. “Look, I’m going to ditch the professional speech and tell you straight out, ‘kay?” I spread my hands, open to an unfiltered version of Violet. “You have impeccable taste. Each piece is top-notch and gorgeous, but the fact that you keep your office like the rich boy’s version of a bachelor pad, i.e. transient and empty, tells everyone from your Dad to the board that you’re not all in. They see you as temporary because you’re telling them you’re not putting down roots.”

Well, fuck. Guess the gloves are off. And ouch.

I look around my office, the one I’ve worked in for years and that feels like a symbol that I’ve made it. But I can see her point. I could move out of here in one truckload, a small truckload at that. And that’s if I was taking the furniture with me. Realistically, I could walk out today and never return. There’s not a single picture, no artwork other than the generic modern art canvases that are unemotional filler. Hell, I don’t even have a plant for Kaede to water.

“And you think putting a couch and some pillows is going to solve that?” I ask, my lip curling with recognition that she’s right.

She nods. “Yes. A couch, some pictures, some trinkets, some personality. Partner that with settling down with a wife, and you’re a whole new Ross Andrews, aren’t ya?”

Archie clears his throat, garnering my attention, and I realize he’s enjoying watching Violet take me down a notch or two. “This is the part where you say ‘yes, ma’am’ and let her do her thing, man.”

I cut my eyes back to Violet. “Yes, ma’am.” There must be a god somewhere with a soft spot for me because I’m saved from her gloating by a beep from my computer.

“You have a call? Need us to step out?” Archie says as Violet and I eye each other.

“Meeting,” I correct. I stand up, going around my desk, and offer Violet my hand. She slips hers into mine and I pull her to stand with me. Her eyes search mine, looking for what, I’m not sure.

I don’t think about what I’m doing. I just press my lips to hers and she gasps. I take advantage and sip at her deeply. She pushes against my chest, but it’s a split second too late and I know, could feel, that she sank into me for a moment. “Have at my office. Have at the penthouse. Show me what you can do.”

I stride toward the door, but she calls my name and I stop, wondering if she’s going to filet me for taking liberties. The anticipation has me on edge, a sensation I like where she’s concerned. “What’s your favorite color?” she asks, but I can see her lips twitching, and I wonder what she was going to say.

“Violet. My favorite color is violet.”

Just outside, I can hear Archie’s voice carry. “I’ve never been that close to actual porn before. You two were this close to combustion, and you know I was keeping my mouth shut so maybe you’d forget I was here and just go on and get underneath that man. Fuck, Vi.”

I smile to myself, walking away before I hear her answer, not sure if I want to hear the protests I know she’ll throw out.

*

The meeting takes place in the big conference room, Dad sitting at the head of the table. He’s looking pretty good for a workday, all smiles and congeniality, until I come in and his face immediately goes to stone. Paul Washington, the head of the R&D department, says something and catches his attention, pulling his assessing glare from me.

The meeting’s just like normal, everyone basically saying that their divisions are clicking along and no major updates from Friday’s email dumps.

Dad asks a few questions, pointedly avoiding me until the end. “Okay, if there’s nothing else—”

“I have something,” I reply, sticking my hand up and rising. I glance around the table, meeting each member’s eyes like my dad taught me to, and then settle on Courtney, who sits to Dad’s right, taking notes. “Courtney, could you bring the guest from my office, please?”

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. “Ross?” I give her a nod, letting her know that I have a plan and know exactly what I’m doing. She shakes her head but does as I request, heading down to fetch Violet.

The rest of the board members look at me in confusion. But they’re the ones who started this, either by pressuring my father to get me in line or by going along with him. At this point, it doesn’t matter which came first, the chicken or the egg, because the scheme’s hatched and has a life of its own. My life with Violet.

“I’m sure you’ve all read the papers, heard the rumors, and seen the scandals,” I start, stepping back and starting to circle the room. “Some of them are true, and some of them aren’t.”

I reach the end of the table, opposite Dad and nearest to the door, and stop to turn and face the room. “But I understand your concerns. Each and every one of us is a representative of this company, twenty-four seven, in the office, in public, and even in the privacy of our own homes.”

I let that sink in because while I might be a bit too loose around town, all of us have things we’d prefer to not have splashed across the society pages of the paper. And if these people are going to judge me, threaten me, I feel quite all right returning the favor. I am giving in to their ultimatum in some ways, but it’s on my own terms, at least. Some of them wouldn’t be able to say the same if their dirty little secrets were to be exposed as liabilities for the company.