by Bianca Cole
“Can you look at this for me?” he asks, pointing at his computer.
I draw in a deep breath and walk toward him, aware of the way he scans my body up and down, returning his eyes to my face. It makes me so hot that I’m not sure I can resist straddling him right here and now.
We’ve kept it professional since that night to my disappointment, but he’s not exactly subtle with his glances. I grab my reading glasses out of my pocket and put them on. Then I glance over his shoulder at the screen.
“Another expense sheet from the construction company?” I ask, shifting closer to the computer and grabbing the calculator from his desk.
“Yeah, I’m not the best with numbers, but I’ve got a feeling that this is worse than we thought.” I can sense his eyes on me. Those beautiful, striking blue eyes that steal my breath from my lungs and make my pussy ache with need.
I type into the calculator, running the number through twice before taking a step back. He’s right. The embezzlement total is closer to the tune of half a million dollars. The blood drains from my face. “Bryson, this is terrible,” I say, swallowing hard.
He stands from his chair and grabs my hands in his. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to abandon me.”
I swallow, enjoying his rough hands on me. My whole body heats, and I want him to fuck me right here. I pull my hands from his and shake my head. “Of course not, I told you I’m in, and I am, but this is not good. Do you think we need to draw a line and call the feds in?”
The blood drains from his face. “We can’t… I’d lose my position.”
I draw in a deep breath, gazing into his eyes, which fill with panic. If there is one thing I’ve learned over these past four days, it’s that Bryson is desperate to impress his father. It’s kind of sweet that he cares so much. “We’re talking about half a million dollars of money embezzled. Do you know how serious that is?”
He nods and rubs his face in his hands. His shoulders hunch over, and his whole demeanor seems defeated.
I run my hand along his muscular arm, trying not to think about how good he looked naked the other night. “You need to go home and get some sleep, Bryson.”
He gazes up at me and shakes his head. “I’m not leaving this building until I’ve fixed this.”
It has been becoming more and more difficult with each day I spend near Bryson to resist him. I thought maybe a passion-filled night would have quenched my desire for him. Instead, I want him more. My nights fill with ridiculous sexual fantasies of us, but it can’t happen again. He’s my boss. It was a one-time thing.
A cough startles us apart. Charlotte is standing in the doorway, holding some files in her hand. “I’ve got the documents you requested, sir,” she says.
Bryson walks towards her and takes the file. “Thanks, Charlotte.”
She smiles at him and bats her eyelashes in a way that makes a silly jealousy rise inside of me. I want everyone to know Bryson is mine, which is ridiculous. Bryson is my boss.
“Can I get you anything else, sir?”
“No, that is everything. Thank you, Charlotte.”
She nods and shoots me a dirty look before walking away and shutting the door behind her.
I’d expected Bryson to flirt heavily with female staff, given the rumors I’d heard about him. Still, since we started working together, I’d barely seen him bat an eyelid at the beautiful women who come in here to bring him papers to sign or coffee. Perhaps, that is all they were, rumors.
Deep down, I hope so. It’s silly, but I want Bryson all to myself. We’ve fucked twice now, and he’s all I want. He may be my boss, but my feelings towards him have only gotten stronger the more I get to know him. Something tells me the longer this goes on, the harder it will be to resist having sex with him again.
“Tessa, I wanted to go over these documents together.” He holds up the file. “These are documents related to the construction company in question.”
I nod and step back toward his desk, where he has pulled up another chair, which I sink into and cross one leg over my other. It’s torture having to be so close to him all the time, and I’m not sure how long I’m going to be able to keep control of my urges.
Bryson’s arm touches mine as he leans toward me and passes the paper into my hands, his fingers brushing against mine, sending lighting right to my core. Our eyes meet, and I see that hot, fierce look in his eyes that makes my thighs quiver. I glance down at the paper to break the tension, focusing on the words, despite the heat traveling through my body.
“What is it?” I ask, skimming through the wording.
Bryson leans over me and points to a clause in the paperwork. “From what I can tell, it’s an order for the setup of the health and wellness account, and a man called Henry Rickshaw signed it.” His brow furrows as he turns his attention to another document. “According to the records, he doesn’t even exist. So, it’s a dead-end, but someone must have signed this.”
I sigh. “How are we supposed to find someone that doesn’t exist?”
He gazes at me. “I don’t know.” His shoulders dip. “I was hoping you may have had an idea.”
“I could try a background search for anyone with the same name,” I suggest, shrugging. “I may be able to cross-reference it with anyone who lived in Wynton or who may have involvement.”
Bryson smiles his heart-fluttering smile at me. “Perfect, I knew you’d have some idea what to do.” The tension between us becomes palpable as we stare at each other for a few beats. Heat is burning through me like wildfire at being so close to this man. His face turns serious and shifts closer to me. I’m almost sure he’s about to kiss me again, which I want more than anything. But, I resist.
I cough and avert my gaze to the file. “I’ll do that now, sir,” I say, reaching for the file, but he doesn’t remove his hand.
“Tessa…” his voice is husky as he says my name. It sends a thrill through me. “Thank you,” he says, clearing his throat and moving his hand.
I frown. “For what?”
He shakes his head. “For all of this, for being here and helping me out.”
He is different than I expected. After he was such an asshole to me on our telephone interview over two years ago when I applied, I assumed he was an arrogant prick. Perhaps he was having a bad day. “Your welcome,” I say, grabbing the paper and moving away from him. Thankful to put some much-needed distance between us before I do something I regret—again.
14
Bryson
The tapping of Tessa’s fingers moving across the keyboard echoes through my office. I’m watching her from my desk, unable to think of anything else.
It’s been two weeks since we fucked five times in one night. I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want her. Pure, primal possessive feelings have been ruling me since the day we met. It’s taking every ounce of restraint not to grab her and take her right here on my desk.
It has also been two weeks since we started investigating, and we’ve got no closer finding the people involved in this. Whoever’s behind this is smart, very smart. It’s becoming difficult to concentrate around the beautiful accounting analyst who I keep catching staring at me.
I wonder if she wants to repeat that night again as much as I do.
“How are you getting on?” she asks, meeting my gaze.
My cock swells and thickens in my pants as she bites her bottom lip.
“The same old shit. Maybe we should grab some lunch and get out of here for an hour. It’s no good being cooped up in this office for hours on end.” I hook my finger under the knot of my tie and loosen it before unbuttoning the first few buttons on my shirt. When I glance up at Tessa, she is staring at me through hooded eyes, the desire unmissable.
“Is that a good idea?”
I can’t understand why she would think having lunch is a bad idea unless she is referring to the last time we were in a restaurant together.
My brow raises. “We’ve got to eat, and taking breaks is importa
nt for both our health and sanity.” I stand, grabbing my jacket off the back of my desk chair and shrugging it over my shoulders.
When I turn around, she is staring at me, as if she doesn’t realize I’m waiting for her to get ready to leave. “We haven’t got time to be taking breaks,” She says, breaking eye contact and glancing down at her desk.
“Tessa.” My voice has changed now from soft to commanding. “I will not ask you again. Get your jacket and let’s go.” At the end of the day, I’m her boss, and I’m telling her we’re going for lunch.
She trembles in her chair before standing and grabbing her jacket off the back of my office door. I’m already stepping toward her, closing the gap between us, as she shrugs her coat over her shoulder and then turns to me.
She jumps at how close I am, and her cheeks turn even redder. I smile at the effect I have on her. “Ready?”
She swallows hard. “M-My bag,” she nods toward the handbag slung over the back of her chair.
I walk back to retrieve it, grabbing it and returning to her side. As I hand it to her, I brush my fingers against hers. Anytime I find a moment to get my skin touching hers, I do. All I want is to feel her curvy, hot body pressed against me again, totally fucking naked.
I’m a lover for torture, inviting this woman who drives me wild to join me for lunch. My cock is throbbing in my pants, as I follow her out into the corridor, watching her hips and ass sway as she walks in her mid-height heels. All I can picture is how good her ass looks naked.
She is right. This is a bad idea. I can’t find it in me to give a shit. I’ve endured two weeks of pure torture around this woman and a shit load of hard work. We both deserve a short break, even if I can’t stop thinking about fucking her again.
As we enter the elevator, I can’t help myself and rest my hand on the small of Tessa’s back. She freezes next to me and glances my way, but she doesn’t say anything as another woman steps into the elevator with us. It moves downward, and I keep my hand on her back, resisting the urge to inch lower to her tight ass.
The elevator stops on the fourth floor, and the lady steps out.
Once the doors close, Tessa steps away from me and glares at me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, I only had my hand on your back.”
She shakes her head. “Bryson, it’s not professional for you to touch me in that way. You agreed that one night was a one-time thing.”
I hold my hands up. “You’re acting like I tried to stick my cock up your ass.”
She turns even redder. “It’s also not professional to speak to me like that.” Her voice is small and fragile.
“Okay, sorry. I’ll keep it professional,” I say, as a ding rings out between us and the elevator doors open to the lobby.
She marches out and away from me, giving me a perfect view of that ass. I’m not sure she realizes what she does to me, but I need to keep control before I piss her off, and she decides this isn’t worth the hassle anymore.
I follow her out into the fresh spring air and take in a deep breath. She’s standing on the side, tapping her foot on the sidewalk.
“Tom is waiting for us over there,” I say, pointing at the limo parked on the other side of the street.
She nods and heads across the street, not looking. My heart races as I rush into a sprint after her and grab her hand, pulling her back onto the pavement and out of the way of the bus barreling right toward her. She’s in my arms in the nick of time as the bus charges past us.
Her eyes are wide, and her breathing is labored.
“Tessa, what the hell are you thinking?” I ask, glancing down at her in shock. She almost died in front of my eyes, and I’ve never been so scared.
She shakes her head. “I-I wasn’t.”
Tom turns the limo around and pulls across the street, rolling the window down. “I’m sorry, sir. I tried to park closer, but there was no space when I arrived.”
I nod. “Don’t worry, Tom.” I grab Tessa’s shaking hand and help her into the limo.
She in a state of shock and is silent for a good few minutes as the limo pulls away toward the diner. “You saved my life,” she says, finally.
“Thank God. You were almost hit by a bus.” My stomach is a mess of nerves as I stare at her. Without even thinking, I place my hand on her knee, as a comforting move rather than anything else.
Her eyes widen as she looks down, but she doesn’t move away. Her whole body is shaking beneath my palm.
“Come here,” I say, placing my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my chest.
She sobs, clearly in shock. I’m still reeling from it. The moment I saw her stepping out and the bus hurtling toward her, it was as though time slowed down.
I hold her in my arms for the entire ride to the diner, feeling so protective over her. I want to wrap her up in cotton wool after what just happened. How could she be so careless?
She hasn’t said another word as we pull up in front of the diner I often have lunch at.
“Are you okay?” I pull back to look into her tear-stained face.
She nods. “Yeah, it was such a shock. I still can’t believe I almost got hit by a bus.”
I wipe away her tears and grab her hand. “Come on. You need something to eat,” I say, getting out of the limo and helping her out.
I don’t let go of her hand, and she lets me hold it as we head into the dinner. Only once we are sat opposite each other, safely in the booth, do I let go.
She gives me a weak smile and gazes down at the menu in front of her.
I can’t seem to bring myself to take my eyes off of her. It’s as though I’m scared she’ll disappear if I do. How can I keep going on like this when she is all I want? Usually, when I’ve had sex with a woman, she loses her appeal—not Tessa, though. I want her more than before.
“What are you going to have?” I ask, studying her.
She shrugs. “I’ve never been here before, what’s good?”
“The bacon cheeseburger is good,” I reply, smiling at her. It’s crazy how happy I am when I’m around this woman.
“Then that’s what I’ll have, and a chocolate milkshake.”
“Great choice, I’ll have the same,” I say, as I gesture for the waitress, Cindy. She takes our order, and a tense silence settles between us.
“Sir, can I ask you a question?”
“You just did, but you can ask me anything.”
She looks a little uncertain before opening her mouth. “Why do you want to be CEO of the company when you don’t have an affinity with numbers?”
The question stings a little. Sure, I’m pretty shit at math, and that seems like an important skill for a CEO of a huge financial company, but I love to lead. “Running a company isn’t all about the numbers. That’s what the accounting staff are for.” I run a hand through my hair. “I like to lead. It’s what I’m good at,” I say, trying not to let her read how much her question hurt me.
“Sorry, Bryson, it’s just something that has been on my mind.”
I nod and smile. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Tessa. Why do I need to be good at numbers when I’ve got you by my side?”
She shrugs, reddening a little.
“Seriously, you’re the most intelligent person I know, Tessa. I’m lucky to have you working for Stafford Financial.”
I want to tell her I’m lucky to see her beautiful face every day. That I wish I woke up next to her lying beside me in my bed every single day, but I remember her warning about being professional and rein it in. The longer we spend time together, the harder it is to keep things professional.
15
Tessa
“At last, you’re back,” Bryson says, as I step into the office two minutes late from my break. I stepped out to grab a coffee as it was six o’clock in the evening.
I glance down at my watch to make sure I’m not that late. “Sir, I’m sorry I ran a few minutes behind.”
He shakes his head. “I think I’ve fou
nd something significant.”
My heart skips a beat. “Really?”
He nods and gestures for me to come over to his desk. I put my reading glasses on and read through an email between Mrs. Davis and a generic admin email address. It has some rather incriminating evidence that Mrs. Davis has something to do with this, although we still don’t know who set it all up. No doubt, the person behind the admin address.
“Bryson, this is great.”
It has been four weeks since we started investigating, and I was almost ready to throw in the towel and call the feds. The investigation into the embezzlement scheme is proving more difficult than either of us imagined, but this is the first step toward learning the truth.
Not to mention, it’s been pure torture working with this man every day. All I can think about is how much I want him to fuck me again. Let’s say, my dildo has been getting a lot of action in the past four weeks.
“Who do you think is behind this admin email address?” I ask.
Bryson sighs. “I tried to find out who set it up, but there are no logs on the address creation or which computer was used. At least we have one culprit tied to the scheme.” He gazes into my eyes and steals the breath from my lungs for a moment, making me heat.
He can make my heart rate speed up with one look. All this time spent around him is making it far more difficult to control my urges.
Every night he appears in my warped sex dreams after that night of passion and hotter sex than I’ve ever experienced. Ever since he saved my life, it has gotten worse.
He’s always touching my arm or taking my hand in his, and it’s getting more and more difficult not to jump him.
“I’ll try to do more digging on this.” I move away, breaking the tension. “I’m good with computers.”
It’s something I noticed with Bryson. He doesn’t have an affinity with computers or numbers. I wonder whether he enjoys working at the company. Surely, he would be better suited to something he naturally excels.
