A Billionaire's Mistake

32|Water

Chapter Thirty-Two: Water

Lincoln

Two weeks later, Archer still hasn't found time to look into Sienna's sealed file with her ex. I wish I had asked her his name, but now, if I brought it up randomly, it'd be too suspicious. Since Reed doesn't know his name, I'll have to figure out a different way to get it and speed this process up, putting all of my law enforcement schooling to good use.

Letting out a sigh and resting back further into my chair, I pull up my email and send one to my security team to get any updates on Sienna's ex and see if they've noticed anything out of the ordinary when Margo knocks on the door. I wave her in.

"Sienna will be here at three to go over the status of the renovations and dive into the launch event details," she says.

I narrow my eyes. "Here?" Sienna never wants to meet here. She's never met here.

"I'm your best friend, Linc, I have to get to know her at some point, you know? I just told her to meet here instead because it would work best for your schedule, which technically isn't a lie. You do have a meeting with Brock at four."

Fucking hell. I know how Sienna is about going to new places, and especially now that I'm aware of her past with her ex, I'm more protective over her than I've ever been with anyone.

"I didn't reach back out to her when she confirmed to see who all she was bringing with her, so you might want to ask." Her eyes dart to my computer, sharing a pleading look with me to give in, and suddenly, that's when everything starts to click together.

"Anyone you're expecting to see?" I ask teasingly.

She forms her lips into a thin line and rolls her eyes. "No, I just want to make sure I have enough chairs set up in the boardroom. That's all."

I'm still grinning at her, clearly not believing that bullshit excuse, and finally Margo huffs out a sigh and grips the handle of the door. "Whatever," she grumbles, "forget I said anything."

"Her name is Riley, and she doesn't work for Sienna's company. She owns a flower shop with her best friend on the upper East side right down the street from our favorite sub shop, thus the reason she brought the arrangement here for me to send to Sienna," I tell her. "All you had to do was ask."

"I wasn't—" Margo stops herself when I'm still smiling, and when she realizes she's lost this battle, she sighs again and mutters, thank you before stalking back to her desk. I hope she seeks Riley out. I'm not sure how Riley feels, but Margo felt the connection important enough to ask me about seeing her again, and in Margo's world, having her be interested in someone is like the universe tilting upside down. I've never seen it happen.

Sienna meeting Margo makes me a nervous fucking wreck. They're both strong-willed, independent women who don't take shit from anyone. Plus, Margo hasn't met a woman that I've dated because I haven't dated before. Sure, she's met flings that I found at bars and took home for the night, but I never introduced them to her as someone important to me, because they weren't. And their meeting at my office for the first time is the wrong impression. I wanted it to be more special than this I guess, and I didn't want to have the stares of my entire office watching our every move. If they find out we're together, I'm sure they'd all have the same reaction that Margo did. This is too important of a contract for me to be sticking my dick into.

It's happening whether I like it or not, so as long as I'm on my best behavior, everything should be fine. I can keep my hands off of her for an hour or two. I think.

Opening up my email, I send a new one to Sienna.

To: sstone@stonemedia.com

Subject: Easing Fears