by Amy Brent
I shook those thoughts away as I glanced over the notes and slide presentation that Violet had prepared. I noted that Alan would be pleased to know that his daughter had absorbed his business practices over the years. She was smart. Too smart for her own good.
“What do you think?” Violet asked as she entered my office. She carried two cups of steaming coffee and set one down in front of me. “The investors, from what I researched, are disciplined in their practices…”
One of Violet’s fingers toyed absently with the buttons of her blouse. My mouth went dry as lust barreled through me. I wanted to rip those buttons free of the fabric and suck at the tender skin hidden behind them.
“Cole?”
I cleared my throat when I realized that Violet was staring at me in confusion, a frown tugging at her lips.
“Mr. Crayton,” I corrected, a bit harsher than I intended. “Your presentation is good. Thank you for getting this all prepared for me.”
“Of course. That’s my job, right? To help you with whatever you need.”
I groaned inwardly at that undertone. I had to be imagining it. There was no way that Violet, innocent Violet, who went to private schools and barely interacted with other people, knew how to be subtle when it came to seduction. It just wasn’t possible. This was all in my head.
“Right. Let’s get to the conference room to get ready for this.”
Violet followed behind me while Cheryl prepared the conference room with snacks, water, and coffee. The investors showed up dressed in nice suits, fake smiles plastered all over their faces. They were like me. They were interested only in making money, even if we didn’t personally like each other.
I talked for thirty minutes with the translator whispering in the background to them. I answered the occasional question when asked, but I found my eyes lingering on Violet as she took notes in the corner.
“Ms. Summers.” She looked up at me in surprise. “Would you please explain your slides to these gentlemen?”
The investors glanced at their translator in confusion. I took a seat at the front of the table while Violet stared at me from across it with a horrified expression. I nodded at her in encouragement as she slowly got to her feet. She knew this was a test. I could see that determined glint enter her eyes as she took a position at the front of the conference room.
For the next twenty-minutes, I studied Violet’s curves while she talked about the various slides. I knew the investors weren’t buying it from their distant looks, but I didn’t care. They would be back next year wanting to make a deal. I wanted to see what Violet could do under pressure. And I was pleased with the confident results.
The translator informed us both politely that they weren’t interested in listening to an intern give a spiel. They rose from the table a second later to walk out of the conference room like I’d expected them to do.
“They didn’t like my presentation?” Violet asked, crestfallen. “I spent the past two days going over this with you. How could they not buy it?”
“They have different standards,” I replied, rising from my chair. “They don’t like listening to an assistant. It’s not how their culture works.”
“Then, why did you put me up here? I just lost you money.”
“They’ll be back,” I said. “I’ve dealt with this investor group numerous times. They are playing hard to get. I wanted to see how you commanded a room.”
Violet trailed her fingers over the conference table as the projector above her turned off. I turned the lights back on a second later. I couldn’t afford the temptation of being alone with Violet in the dark.
“How did I do?” she asked curiously.
“Very good,” I said. “You had complete control.”
She made a face. “Not really if I didn’t convince them.”
I didn’t know how to tell her that not all deals were simple. They never happened overnight, and if they didn’t happen, you had to keep going for the sake of your business. I never dwelled on the deals that never went through.
“Hey,” I said and reached forward to place a hand on her warm shoulder. “Don’t let things like this get you down. It happens. You can’t let every little thing get to you.”
I could feel delicate skin beneath the fabric of her blouse. Sparks of electricity went up my arm when Violet glanced at my hand resting on her shoulder. I jerked my hand back before she could say anything else.
“We need to get back to work,” I managed to say before leaving a startled Violet in the conference room.
My mood didn’t ease up either when Cheryl stepped into my path with an apologetic grimace.
“What is it now?”
“It’s Stephanie,” she said, quietly. “I’ve been trying to get her to call back later, but she says she needs to speak with you.”
“Great,” I snapped, running a hand through my hair. “What does she want?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t explain to me what she needed done. I figured it was better to have me deal with her than Violet.”
I offered a tight-lipped smile in appreciation at Cheryl’s gesture. The last thing I needed to hear about was the young personal assistant at my side. Not that it fucking mattered in my eyes. Stephanie found pleasure in whoever dared to dip between her legs.
“What is it?” I asked after I closed my office door to pick up the phone. “I told you that the company phone is not how to get ahold of me.”
“It’s nice to talk to you too, Cole,” Stephanie said. “I just figured this would be the fastest way to get ahold of you. I’m tired of dealing with lawyers. Aren’t you?”
The jovial tone of her voice caught my attention instantly. I reached up to adjust the knot of my tie in aggravation, loosening it.
“What do you want?” I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance. “I’m busy here. Just say what you want and get it over with.”
“Fine,” Stephanie said flatly. Her cheerful attitude disappeared instantly. “There is art here at the house that you left behind. I’m having it appraised because I want to get rid of it.”
I rolled my eyes. Go figure it was about money. It also happened to be the artwork that she had insisted on keeping through the divorce. Saving myself an even worse headache, I rubbed my eyes tiredly.
“I’ll pay whatever you want for it,” I said. “I’ll have someone stop by the house tomorrow with a check.”
“Pleasure doing business with you,” Stephanie said and laughed into the phone. “Don’t sound so stern, Cole. You’ll give yourself a heart attack by being so serious.”
She hung up before I could think of a reply. I slammed the phone down onto the receiver and stalked over to the windows that looked down on Manhattan. Rage simmered in my veins as I gazed out across the skyline, trying to calm the storm brewing inside of me. However, that storm took an entirely different course when Violet stepped into my office after knocking and shut the door.
Chapter 6
Violet
Something was bothering Cole. I could see it on his face throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon. A dark shadow fell across his eyes, and he appeared to be brooding over something.
And no one, including me, was excluded from his foul mood.
“Don’t take it personally,” Cheryl told me when I stepped out of his office, blinking back hot tears. “It has nothing to do with today, or even you. It’s his ex-wife.”
I dabbed the tears out of my eyes in embarrassment. “You mean Stephanie, right?”
“Yes,” Cheryl said. Irritation flickered to life in her eyes. “The woman is going to kill him happily one of these days from all the stress she puts him through. Don’t even bother dealing with her if she calls. Send her straight to me.”
“I’m not afraid of her if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said.
I had met Stephanie only once in passing. My mom had been her frenemy from the start. The woman was gorgeous, but having a harder time trying to keep herself youthful in appearance.
She had wrinkles around her eyes. She had to dye her hair constantly to keep it gray free. And from what I gathered, she was a gold-digger who gladly tapped into the well of Cole’s bank account. And heart.
My fingers curled into fists at the thought of her gladly playing on Cole’s emotions. Their divorce had been nasty from what my father told me. They’d fought through lawyers viciously before Cole surrendered out of exasperation and frustration, just to end the war. It had played hard on Cole’s health for a few months too. It still was, judging from the dark mood radiating from inside of Crayton, Inc.
“I forget that you are close to Cole,” Cheryl said, shaking her head as she pulled her computer keyboard toward her. “I forget that you are family friends. You know how Stephanie is.”
I nodded as I took a seat at my own desk as well. “Desperate to stay young and attractive, but she needs Cole’s money to do it.”
“That’s the unfortunate truth.”
The rest of Friday afternoon ticked by slowly with Cole refusing to come out of his office. The only thing he did was text out orders to Cheryl and me. Every once in a while, I watched Line 3, his private land line, flicker on for periods at a time. No one called for him, and it spared me the trouble of going in there to face him until he cooled down from his bad mood.
I couldn’t help the concern I felt, though, when everyone in Crayton, Inc. clocked out for the weekend at 5:00 pm. There was no sight of Cole, and his phone line remained open. I pulled out my phone to text him.
Is everything okay?
“Happy Friday afternoon, fellow intern.”
I looked up to see Michael approaching me with a grin. His tie was already loose, draped around his neck casually.
“What are your plans for tonight?” he asked. “Maybe we could get a few drinks this weekend. I know a couple of great places we could go.”
“Not this weekend,” I said and offered an apologetic smile when he looked disappointed. “I have plans already. Maybe another time?”
Michael shoved his hands into his pant pockets. “Yeah, I suppose. Text me if your plans change. We could get dinner too.”
I glanced down at my phone as Michael joined the group of people waiting for him at the elevators. Nothing. Cole was always glued to his phone. He usually texted and emailed back within a minute.
I waited until the floor was motionless and quiet before I got up from my desk. Sucking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I pushed the door to Cole’s office open. The smell of whiskey reached my nose.
Cole was standing motionlessly in front of the windows that overlooked the entire city of Manhattan. His suit jacket was tossed carelessly on the small leather couch that overlooked the windows as well. He cradled a full glass of whiskey in one hand while the other one was busily scrolling through what appeared to be an email.
“You shouldn’t be here still,” Cole spoke, not even glancing over at me. “It’s Friday afternoon. You should be out of the door already like everyone else.”
The tension radiated off him in waves. I couldn’t walk out of his office without making sure that he was all right. I cared too much about Cole to just shrug it off. I wasn’t just an employee either.
I closed his office door behind me. That earned Cole’s attention as he turned to look at me with a dark frown.
“I was worried about you,” I explained, approaching him cautiously. “You always text back with something. I didn’t see you all afternoon either.”
“I had things to do,” he said coolly. “Private things that needed to be taken care of.”
“Oh, right.”
I twisted my hands together, unsure of how to proceed. Cole never acted distant around me. It was hard to decipher if he wanted me to leave or if he wanted me to stay.
“I wanted to apologize again for today,” I started, breaking the silence between us. “I should’ve pitched differently. I really thought my presentation would’ve won that group over after everything I read about them.”
Cole tipped his glass back to empty out the last bit of alcohol. He wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist as he sighed.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Failure is a part of being in a business. Don’t let it get to you too much.”
“But, still I--”
“I appreciate you being here, Violet,” Cole interrupted, looking at me sternly. “You did a great job. You are doing a great job here at Crayton, Inc. Everything is organized. I’m getting my messages, and you’re sending out messages when I ask. I can’t complain when this deal wasn’t that important to my business today. It’s not a loss.”
He walked over to the small wooden cabinet in the corner of the office. I watched as he poured himself another drink. He appreciated me being here. That eased a bit of the knot my stomach was in all afternoon.
“Thank you,” I said. “I enjoy working here with you.”
Cole didn’t reply as he took another sip of whiskey. I watched the muscles in his back shift as he walked to the windows. Everything about Cole screamed authority and obedience, but there was a shadow lingering over him.
We were alone for the first time. Utterly alone too. I imagined that a cleaning crew would come through soon, but the entire top floor was motionless. Everyone had left to kick off their weekend.
Temptation pulsated through me.
“Still,” I started, taking a step closer to him, “whatever you need, I’ll do it. Anything that you need, I’ll give to you.”
Cole’s head swung around to fix me with a darkened gaze. He got the message. It was clearly received judging from the way Cole’s jaw worked furiously.
“Violet--” He stopped, shaking his head at me. His face was carefully guarded as he gestured for me to sit on the edge of the couch.
I took a seat on the edge, relishing the cool leather against the back of my thighs. Cole perched himself easily on the arm of the matching leather chair. He looked irresistible with one leg crossed over his knee, and a drink in one hand.
“I really do enjoy working with you, Violet,” he said. “You are a hard worker like I knew you would be because your father is a hard worker. He raised you to be successful and you’re going to be, but you need to understand something. Your father and I have been close friends for a very long time, and while I appreciate these advances--”
A coldness settled in my stomach when I realized where the extent of this conversation was leading to. I held up a hand to stop him before he could continue.
“I realize what you’re trying to do, but you need to understand something too,” I said with more calm and confidence than I felt. “I’ve wanted you for a very long time. Since I was fifteen years old.” His eyes visibly widened at that. “It’s been that long, and while I appreciate the fact that you want to respect my father, I’m also an adult. I’m twenty-two. There’s no reason for us to resist. We can explore this side of things, the side you and I both want.”
Cole’s eyes darkened into something entirely different. I watched the conflict rage there as he weighed out my words, but felt myself sink back on the couch in disappointment when I saw that damn guard of his come shooting straight up.
“You’re a young and beautiful woman,” he said quietly. “I’d be foolish to tell you that I’m not interested or haven’t thought about it, but I’m older than you. I won’t cross this line, Violet. I would never forgive myself for disrespecting your family. It’s not going to happen between us.”
I gritted my teeth in aggravation while I watched that same conflict rage on again in his eyes. He was tempted, on the border of caving in. I could see it in the way that he held himself. His muscles were coiled and ready for action. He just needed an encouraging push to understand that I could handle this even if I were nervous about it too.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied tersely. “I’m sure, Violet. That’s my answer. Now, please--”
I got up to my feet, reaching for the buttons of my blouse. “Because I reall
y don’t believe your answer. I don’t think you want me to walk away right now.”
Cole threatened to burn holes into me as his eyes followed the path of my fingers and buttons. My heart was racing again. Sweat pooled in my palms while the heat in my legs threatened to consume me. One more push. Before I could part the fabric, Cole stood up abruptly to straighten his tie in aggravation.
“Stop,” he said, flatly. “I appreciate it, but I am your boss. This sort of thing could land me in court.”
“I wouldn’t say anything,” I insisted, hands frozen at the buttons of my blouse. “Cole, I--”
“No. It’s not going to happen, Violet. Get out of my office before someone gets the wrong idea about what’s going on here.”
Tears blurred my sight as Cole strode over the office door. He opened it and looked over at me expectantly. Coldness radiated off him in waves. I fumbled with the buttons of my blouse before clutching my phone tightly to my chest. I could barely contain the tumult of emotions when Cole slammed the door shut behind me and locked it a second later.
I didn’t understand. He wanted me. I knew that he did because I could see the interest in his eyes. He wanted me. He had thought about it for some time too. Gathering my purse from my desk, I hurried across the office to the elevators before anybody could see me. The lobby was also quiet, much to my relief and I darted out into the evening air. My legs felt cold against the warmth that greeted me.
