Off the Cuff

by K. I. Lynn

  Determination settled inside me. I was hell bent on seeing just how far I could push her, how hot for me I could get her. Would she get so worked up she’d make the first move?

  I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. My southern head was trying to take over, and I needed to straighten myself out and focus on my job. I knew nothing about Roe Pierce, and she knew nothing about me, but still, I found my mind wandering throughout the day. It was ending very differently than it began.

  Unlike the temp who fled my presence just after lunch on Friday, Roe fought back. I was being an asshole and I knew it, owned it, and she just threw more kindling on the fire.

  The day before when she’d spilled coffee on me, I’d tried all night long to get that expression of hers out of my mind. She had seemed so shy and timid as she apologized, and that, for some reason, made me angry. Not so much the stain or the heat of the liquid, but the bumbling idiot routine.

  But that look. That simmering anger after I insulted her had ignited something in me. Woke me up from a haze that covered my mind.

  And then she went for round two.

  Now, every second she was near, I wanted to strip her clothes off and fill her with my cock. Make that smart mouth moan. Fuck this frustration into her.

  Then do it again.

  She intrigued me, and I knew we were putting on quite the show for the cubes that were near.

  I’d made her get copies, coffee, my lunch, answer my calls—just to watch her hips or feel that glare as she stared me down. What confused and amazed me the most was the efficiency in which she completed each task. A position she knew nothing about, and yet she took it in stride, despite her anger.

  Except for the phone, which she seemed to take great pleasure in using to annoy the fuck out of me.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt more alive. We weren’t talking like she was an employee and I was an executive. No, our conversations were filled with anger and sexual tension. Definitely not workplace appropriate, but I didn’t give a crap that neither of us was being professional.

  There was something about her, an excitement that filled me. It wasn’t until today that I realized how blasé my life had become.

  I enjoyed my worked, thrived on it. Nothing spurred me on like attacking until I had my way. But Roe was a person, not a company. A very beautiful, very sexy woman who had my interest from the second our eyes met.

  My senses were so acutely aware of her that I found it hard to concentrate on anything. Or rather, my dick was acutely aware. It took some time for me to calm down, and when I finally got back into focus, the phone rang.

  Then it rang again. I expected her to pick it up, but it rang a third time. I clenched my jaw and looked up to the doorway to find her sitting at her desk. It rang a fourth time, and I called out to her. She turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

  “Get the phone,” I growled out when it rang for a fifth time.

  She continued to stare at me, and it rang a sixth time before she slowly picked up the receiver as a seventh ring began.

  “Thane Carthwright’s office,” she said with little intonation.

  I flexed my fingers, the frustration rippling through me.

  Her attitude needed a serious adjustment. I knew she was doing it just to fuck with me. She was a quick learner, it seemed, and she’d figured out one of my pet peeves early on.

  She hung the receiver up, and I waited. A minute passed, my anger climbing with each second.

  I’m going to spank the shit out of her.

  “Who was it?” I called out, my irritation leaking out in my tone.

  “There was nobody there.”

  For fuck’s sake, I actually felt the vein on my forehead throb. “Because you let it ring so many times!”

  “Oops.”

  Cheeky.

  She was going to test my patience. She was also going to test my strength of will to not fuck every ounce of my growing frustration and agitation into her sexy-as-fuck body.

  That was all I could even think about.

  By four-thirty, she was done. Which was surprisingly longer than I anticipated.

  That night I stroked my dick to fantasies of her, coming more than once.

  Our first day together was a spectacular explosion, and I awoke excited for day two. To see how she’d push back, how she’d test me, and how sexy she was doing anything and everything.

  Neither of us were acting like civil adults should in the workplace, and I couldn’t care less because it had been years since I was that excited to go to work. To have those light brown and green eyes stare me down, or have her quick wit strike, or to stand next to her and take in just how tiny she was and fantasize about how easy it would be to pick her up and all the fun that would entail.

  Only one day had passed with her in the position of my assistant, and already I’d spent more time imagining the numerous positions in which I was going to fuck her. Company policy dictated there would be no fraternization between an employee and their superior, but technically she didn’t work for me.

  It was a temporary fill. I was just borrowing her for a short time while she still maintained her position in the marketing department. A simple technicality, yet one I fully intended to exploit.

  One day in her presence and I knew, I knew, there was no way I would work with her for the next nine weeks without taking her.

  Every cell in my body vibrated when she was near. Anticipation of her sheer force of will amped me up. I couldn’t remember the last time I was so excited to see someone.

  That alone made my dick hard, but nowhere near as hard as when we went at it with words. Her defiance should have angered me, but instead it was a flame of desire licking at me.

  That wasn’t my intent when I brought her in. Anger had fueled me when I made that decision, and desire drove me now. I had no idea what I was getting into, and after our first day in close confines I had a better picture, but with her beauty and brains I knew it was just the tip of the iceberg.

  Roe Pierce was a firecracker in a tiny package that drove me wild. The hazel of her eyes drew me in, her flawless, tan skin, her round face with full cupid bow lips. There was nothing about her that I found unappealing.

  Hell, it was like she’d walked right out of one of my fantasies. One I was desperate to make come to life. At least then I could be rid of my stupid obsession with her body.

  As I looped my tie, I found my energy level skyrocketing, the minutes before I saw her again winding down.

  “Come on, Kinsey,” I whined as I held the spoonful of yogurt in front of her lips. We’d been in a standoff for five minutes, and I was already running five minutes behind schedule.

  Her face scrunched up and she turned away, her little brow furrowed as she pushed at the spoon.

  I heaved a sigh and licked the yogurt off the spoon before taking another large bite and tossing the container into the trash, then turned to spill some cereal onto her tray. “Happy now?”

  She reached out a chubby little fist and squealed while her uncoordinated fingers grabbed as many little O’s as they could.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said before stepping into the bathroom. It wasn’t like she understood me anyway, but she was someone to talk to, even if she didn’t talk back.

  In the bathroom, I kept a watchful ear on the sounds coming from the other room while I whipped on some mascara and eyeliner. A peek out, and I found her happily chasing O’s around the plastic tray of her high chair before I dipped back into the bathroom to spin my hair up into a loose bun.

  It was my default setting lately. I missed the days of being able to style my hair.

  Thirty minutes later, I said goodbye at her daycare with a kiss and a promise to see her later. She waved and gave me that sweet, happy smile I loved seeing every day.

  Thirty minutes after that, I was getting off the elevator and turning right. Then I was turning around and going left.

  All the calm of my morning routine was knocked out o
f me by that one twist of my foot on the carpet. With each step, my anger at the situation increased.

  It was completely absurd. There was no way Carthwright should have been able to do what he did, and I would have hoped if it hadn’t been for the Worthington takeover, Matt would have told him to go pound sand.

  Then I remembered I was talking about Matt. Great guy, but men like Carthwright ate men like Matt Rolland for lunch.

  My boss was a fantastic manager and great with the entire department, but he was a marketing guy. Carthwright was like James—a shark.

  When I entered the area outside of his office, I received a few glances of pity from the nearby cubes. The door to his office was open and I blew out a calming breath, calling on all the positive energy I could draw in.

  I would not slap him today.

  Nor would I punch him.

  Or kick.

  Or lick.

  Or fuc—

  Roe! I yelled at myself.

  My visions of kicking the shit out of him morphed into other ways to expel the energy buzzing below the surface every time he was close to me. I knew I was flawed—that I wasn’t the type of woman that men sought out for the long haul. I didn’t expect Thane to treat me any differently. Realistically I wasn’t even remotely interested in a relationship—but sex with Thane? That thought had merit.

  “You left early yesterday. I wasn’t sure I’d see you today,” he said from behind me.

  I gave a small start before turning toward him and rolling my eyes. “Do you really think you’re so scary that I’d quit? Because trust me, the whole stuck-up, cocky, asshole routine just makes me want to bite back.”

  His lip quirked. “I’ll keep that under advisement. Now tell me why you left early.”

  “Because I leave at four thirty every day.”

  “From today on, you stay until five.”

  “That’s nice if you think so,” I scoffed. “But it won’t change the fact that I will be gone at four thirty.” I held up my hand to stop his rebuttal. “It’s in my contract. Eight to four thirty with a half-hour lunch break. Trying to change that or going to Matt will only result in wasted time and energy.”

  The way his eyes narrowed at me lit up every nerve. I liked telling him he couldn’t do something. It excited me to see how he’d react.

  “What makes you so special?” he asked. The twitch in his jaw confirmed his annoyance.

  “That’s between me and HR.”

  He blew out a breath, knowing there was no way past that. My situation was cleared through Matt, and Human Resources agreed.

  I wasn’t the only one who had to pick up a child from daycare, but my arrangement held some restrictions. Due to my sudden thrust into parenthood, finding an affordable daycare on short notice was difficult. We were on the waitlist for some others, but low on the list. Thanks to the area I lived in, I was competing against people who out-earned me, pushing them to the top of the list.

  Stacia ran a small daycare, just a few kids, but there were restrictions, the biggest being all children had to be picked up no later than five thirty. While it was nice that she was only a few blocks from home, that meant she was half an hour from work. I tried to leave at my normal five and get there on time, but after the first week of arriving late, once as late as six, I knew I needed to alter my work schedule.

  Thankfully, I worked for a company that was willing to facilitate. Hopefully it wouldn’t be needed for too much longer, but as long as I got my forty in at the office, all was good. I often spent another ten at home throughout the week.

  “I sent you a file. I need fifty copies, all stapled. But before you do that, I need coffee. Black, splash of cream. Remember it. Every day when you arrive, you will get me one.”

  I wanted to retort with the fact that he was perfectly capable of getting his own damn coffee but bit my tongue. It would only be a shitty start to the day.

  Instead, when I entered the break room, I saw the remainder of the day before’s leftover pot sitting on the back burner. I poured some of it into a cup, topped it with some from the freshly made pot, slipped in a cream packet, and set it on his desk with a fake smile.

  “Thane Carthwright’s office,” I said an hour later into the stupid headset I was wearing.

  Most of my job was between me and the computer and my coworkers. Never did I ever want to be an assistant or even consider being one. I wasn’t made to be subservient in that way.

  “Roe, what are you doing?” a voice called, pulling me from my dual task of working Carthwright’s schedule and organizing instructions on one of my latent projects so that I could pass it off.

  I glared up at the Donovan Trading and Investment king, James Donovan, himself. “I’m being punished by the devil.”

  “The devil?” His brown eyes widened and he quirked his blond brow. James Donovan was definitely a contender with Carthwright for hottest person in the office. Strong jaw, calculating gaze, and he always looked like he walked out of a fashion catalog.

  Unfortunately for me, James lost points because he was a friend, and Carthwright gained points because he was so dangerously sexy.

  It shocked me that Carthwright hadn’t cleared his master plan with James first. His surprise alone led me to believe he wouldn’t have approved. I could work with that.

  “Roe!” Carthwright called out, and my head jerked and I pushed my jaw forward.

  I snapped my head toward the opening to his office. “What do you want?”

  “You really want to use that tone with me?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I shot back.

  “Should I come by later?” James asked as he looked from me to the open door.

  I leaned forward, my eyes locked on his. “Get him to release me from this hell, and I will watch Bailey and Oliver all weekend long so you and Lizzie can have a sex-filled vacation with no interruptions.”

  I could see the gears working in his head as he thought about my offer. I knew how to manipulate the man.

  Why didn’t I think of it yesterday?

  James walked through my door after spending more time talking to Roe than I liked. She’d probably been bad-mouthing me, but I’d been working for James longer than she had.

  He shut the door and closed the distance between us. “I’ve just been made a lucrative offer, so tell me why she should stay here, waiting on you?” he said as he sat in one of the armchairs across from my desk.

  Lucrative? What the hell did that mean?

  Honestly, I was surprised he seemed to even care.

  “Because the temp agency sends over crap assistants, and there are still two months until Crystal returns.”

  His dark eyes narrowed on me, which was something I wasn’t used to. “Roe works in Marketing, and her talents are best focused there.”

  “She pissed me off.”

  James studied me. “It’s obvious she did more than that.”

  Was it that obvious? “She reminds me of a cute little hissing kitten. So small, but so fierce.”

  A throaty laugh left him, and he glanced back to the door. “I wouldn’t let her hear that. You’ve got her riled up.”

  “At least I’m not the only one,” I grumbled and shifted in my chair.

  James’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I see now,” he said with a knowing grin.

  “See what?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t mess with Roe. If you’re interested in her, there are better avenues with fewer claw marks to be had.”

  He was right about the claw marks, but I was enjoying her swats. “It’s been a while since I had a good sparring partner.”

  “I don’t think she sees this as fun and games like you do.” He cracked his knuckles, a long-standing bad habit.

  “You know I like a challenge.”

  He shook his head. “Challenge or not, Roe isn’t a game. And she doesn’t have the time or patience for them.”

  It was my turn to scrutinize him. “You seem to know a lot about her.”

  “Be
cause she’s my friend,” he answered.

  Shit. “Your friend? How?”

  “About three years ago, when Bailey was barely a year old she got a high fever and we took her to the emergency room. While there, Lizzie started to freak out, and suddenly Roe was beside her, calming her. You know Lizzie. Roe was her new best friend after that.”

  Of course. James’s wife was a social butterfly, making friends wherever she went. Someone who helped her would gain that friendship in an instant. “That fits with her personality.”

  “I’m surprised you got Matt to agree to this trade,” he said.

  “I threw my weight around and used it.”

  “That’s a bit of abuse of your power.”

  “It’s temporary.”

  “Still…”

  “Are you pissed at me for it?” I asked.

  He tilted his head as he considered my question. “No. Curious, though.”

  “About?”

  “How this will play out. Just do one thing for me.” He stood and adjusted his tie.

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t piss her off so badly she quits.” With a wave, he was gone and I was left thinking about his parting words.

  Her quitting was something I definitely didn’t want.

  Besides her obstin ance and refusal to answer the phone correctly just to piss me off, she was actually doing a really good job. The coffee always tasted like shit, but in two days she’d cleaned up my schedule, completed tasks with proficiency, and already had my work life running smoother than it had in weeks. What could she accomplish in a week?

  Whatever I threw at her, no matter her dislike of me, she completed the task perfectly.

  In all honesty, it was nice. Temps had been fucking things up for weeks, and in a few short days she had fixed everything except her attitude. But I was enjoying that.

  When I arrived at the office after lunch, the desk outside my door was empty. For a moment I stood next to it and pondered whether she’d quit when she breezed past me and set a bag on her desk.

  “Roe,” I said in greeting.

  Her fingers clenched into a fist and she blew out a hard breath before turning to face me.