The Guy Next Door (Forbidden Love Book 1)

by Kelly Myers

  I suppressed a chuckle. Nepotism was lodged firmly up capitalism’s ass. Hell, it was why I had this job, and I knew it. “Then you had better not tell anyone how you know me.”

  “Don’t be crude, Zack. Nepotism has nothing to do with us. We aren’t related, and I’m not fucking you.”

  I stayed in the conference room and stared at the walls after Uncle George left. George Fredrickson had stepped in as a father figure after the car crash that claimed my parents’ lives. I clearly remembered the many times he told both Paris and me, we could rely on him. That our father had asked him to be our godfather, and he wasn’t going to walk away when we needed him most.

  I slipped my phone from my pocket.

  “Dial Paris Noble,” I directed voice command.

  “Dialing,” the computerized voice replied.

  “Zack!” Paris answered with much enthusiasm. “Please tell me you aren’t mad at me about last week. How was your date?”

  “Did you tell Uncle George about that?” I asked.

  “I might have. He wanted to know how the event went. I always talk to him about those things. Good networking.”

  I ran my hand back over my head.

  “Did he seem okay to you? I just had a presentation, and afterward, he seemed off,” I told her.

  “He’s old. Maybe he’s getting senile. What’d he say?” she asked.

  “Well, he doesn’t like large breasts. That’s something I didn’t need to know,” I chuckled.

  “Speaking of, how did the date go?”

  “You know it’s not nice to play your games with unsuspecting victims,” I commented.

  “Zacky?” I could hear the enthusiasm melt from her voice. The lower lip quiver would be next, then tears.

  “Hey, I’m not mad. But next time, remember it’s not just me you’re messing with. Love you.”

  “Love you more!” she yelled as she ended the call.

  She was right, Uncle George was probably just showing signs of his age. He’d been old my entire life.

  I needed to leave soon if I wanted to have the light on my ride. Thoughts of Crystal kept me distracted the entire commute home.

  “Impressive work today,” I said catching her outside on her patio.

  I felt her smile in my gut.

  “You think? I have this boss who I’ve been trying to impress,” she practically giggled.

  “Well, if he likes smart women, I’m sure you impressed the pants off him.”

  She leaned over the shrub that separated her space from the public walk. With obvious movements, she tried to look at my legs. She shrugged and sighed. Uncle George did not know what he was missing by not appreciating large breasts.

  “I guess I wasn’t that impressive.” She bit her lower lip.

  The sight of her teeth biting into that plump bit of flesh went straight to my cock. It throbbed wanting those teeth, that mouth. I stepped half over, half through the shrub that blockaded my own patio.

  “Zack,” she laughed. “What are you doing?”

  I had more finesse stepping over the plants on her side. I stepped up to her and placed my hand on her hips.

  “You’re more than impressive,” I said as I took my opportunity to kiss her again.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and made a low moan as she pressed her softness against me. She tasted sweet and delectable. Our lips caressed and played touch me, touch me not. My tongue traced the seam of her mouth, and she opened for me.

  I moved my hand from her hip and slid it up her side. She was warm and supple. She writhed so nicely in my arms. My hand cupped the side of her breast.

  She jumped like I was a fire that burned.

  “We can’t… I can’t,” she stammered.

  I reached out for her.

  She stepped farther away, wrapping her arms around herself.

  “You like me, I like you. Why not?” I demanded.

  “If we get caught, I’d lose my job. You might lose yours.”

  “I’m the fucking CEO, no one is going to lose their job,” I growled.

  “Really? Cause isn’t no dating your policy? Especially with subordinates? I don’t want people to think I got the job cause I’m screwing you.”

  “You aren’t…” I stopped talking.

  I threw my hands up. “You’re right, you’re right. Are we allowed to be friends? After all, we are neighbors.”

  “Yes, of course,” but her smile told me she also wanted more.

  7

  Crystal

  “Give me a minute?” Zack’s deep voice made my insides quiver every time I knocked on his office door. I had to remind myself that I did not have a crush on him because that would be irresponsible.

  He focused on his laptop.

  I focused on his face. He was as good as bosses got, giving me the autonomy to keep the programmers on task. Of course, I also kept him appraised of every step along the way. If he had a question, I had an answer. I looked away quickly as he stood. He didn’t need to know that even though we agreed to be platonic, I longed for him.

  He stepped toward the door and gestured that I should proceed him out. “What have you got for me today?” he asked.

  Twice a week I presented the HCC mobile app updates. Zack liked to be seen as approachable. He would take several strolls through the offices every day. But he wasn’t just checking up on people, he multitasked. As we strolled through the cubicle maze, I kept him abreast of where the programmers were, when to expect final user interface design, how soon the operating system team was going to need input from our group so they could roll out the needed updates that would integrate the mobile app with the existing system. It was a giant moving puzzle, and my job was to keep it moving.

  “How’s the schedule with Allison out?” Zack asked, handing one report back to me.

  “We were doing great. But now that Tony’s out with ankle surgery, we’re slipping. It’s not anything that I don’t think we can make up for next week. Here’s the latest user interface design.” I handed him a printout of the proposed design. “Check out this controller.” I handed him another page with an image of a groovy round, sound wave looking graphic.

  “The design is fun, but I doubt it’s functional. Look, they indicate a dual-directional rotation. But this control is for multiple linear processes.” He handed it back with a shake of his head.

  By the time we reached the app team’s cubicles, we were done.

  “Thanks, Zack,” I said as I forced myself to ignore him and slide back into my chair. I expected him to saunter off the way he did. This time he leaned on the opening of my cubicle.

  “Did I miss something?” I asked.

  “No,” he smirked, before pushing away. “I’ll see you later.”

  I smiled. Later. After that second kiss, we learned it was safer if we each stayed on our own patios. We could chat, and we started eating our dinners together. I liked him. I liked him better than what was healthy for this working relationship. Him saying ‘see you later,’ meant he liked me too.

  “Do you like Greek food?” Zack asked that evening from his patio.

  “Yeah, is that what you’re having?”

  “It’s what I want, but the delivery fee costs the same as a meal.”

  “So, order ahead, and freeze what you don’t eat tonight,” I suggested.

  “Smart woman, I bet they love you at work,” he teased. “I wonder, if you haven’t already started cooking, would you like to order Greek with me?”

  “That smacks of fraternization, Mr. Noble. And they tolerate me at work,” I replied.

  “So that’s a yes then?”

  He read the restaurant menu to me. We agreed that he should order a lamb dish for tonight and something called moussaka to put in his freezer. I was less adventurous and stuck with a gyro pita sandwich and some fried zucchini.

  “This doesn’t count as a date,” I said as he handed me the to-go containers with my order.

  “No date, just friends sharing a
meal on our patios,” he confirmed.

  Between progress report strolls and evening meals with my friend, I probably got to see more of him than if we were dating. This way was better. Less stress. At least that’s what I kept telling myself every evening after work as I washed my face, touched up my makeup, and made sure I looked relaxed before heading outside to see him.

  Sooner than expected Tony returned to work with a big boot and a scooter.

  “Hey Tony, I’m headed over to the break room. Need me to grab an ice pack or anything for you?” I asked as I paused by his cube.

  “Sounds like I arrived just in time,” Charline said.

  “Hi wifey,” I said turning to her. I ignored the grumbling I heard coming from the other side of Greg’s wall.

  “Wifey?” Tony asked with a smirk. He took the offered ice pack from Charline.

  “She’s my work wife. Don’t be jealous, Sugar, it won’t cut into our strictly corporate compatible non-dating relationship,” Charline laughed.

  “We aren’t dating, Charline,” Tony said in his very dry, straightforward way. I could never quite tell if he was being dead-pan, or if he just maybe didn’t quite understand her humor.

  “I’ve noticed,” Charline said.

  “My god, are you people serious? Get a room, and get out!” Greg yelled.

  Charline rolled her eyes at us and left.

  “You good?” I asked Tony. He looked a little perplexed by Charline’s whirlwind presence.

  Charline could have that effect on people.

  I decided I really needed to have a chat with Greg before I headed off to the break room. Even with Tony back, and mostly functional, we still needed to make up for lost time. I tapped on the entrance to his cubicle.

  “Hi Greg, have a minute?”

  He swiveled in his chair to glare at me. “Pond,” he said my name loud enough, and then followed it with a throat-clearing that sounded like ‘scum.’

  “Really? Is that necessary every time? This isn’t middle school,” I said. I had other things to discuss with him, but I was getting tired of his attitude.

  “Gonna tell your boyfriend?” he sneered at me.

  I blinked a few times and pasted a fake smile on my face. I was not going to get angry. At least, I was going to try my best. The man actively hated me.

  “I’ve got a little tally sheet in my cube. I add a tick every time you say my name that way. I will take it to HR, about a hostile work environment. So, give it a rest already, would you?”

  He huffed at me and crossed his arms. “Did you come here for a reason, or are you wasting my time. Gonna put me in a time-out cause I interrupted playtime? I’ve got real work to get done here, Crystal. I don’t have time for hanging around and gabbing.”

  Well, he certainly thought he put me in my place. I wasn’t going to inform him of the finer aspects of being friendly with your coworkers, or taking a break every now and then.

  “I’m here to talk about that work you’ve got. Between Allison missing a week at the same time Tony was out, we fell behind schedule,” I started.

  “That’s my problem, how? I did everything on my task list. Us being behind is not on me.”

  I shrugged. “No, it’s not. But with Tony back, we aren’t catching up as fast as I had hoped to stay on schedule. I was hoping I could get you to step up and give us an extra push to get back on track.”

  “Give it to Allison, not my job.” He spun away from me.

  “It actually is your job. With Tony’s physical therapy schedule, the extra time falls in your lap. I’m not asking you for a whole lot of extra effort here Greg. As it is, you do the bare minimum of your programming requirements a day.”

  “Like you know anything about programming.” He kept his back to me.

  “I have a degree in computer programming, so yeah, I know something about it. This project needs an extra push, and Tony isn’t in any shape to do it. Allison’s portion of the work is complete and not as advanced as what you are working on. You’re the next senior programmer after Tony.”

  Faster than I expected, he spun his chair and took a step at me. I retreated a few steps. He was tall and skinny. That move was a threat, even though he was hardly intimidating.

  I took a step forward and shoved my finger into the space between us.

  “How dare you attempt to come at me, Greg. Sit your ass down and listen up. It is literally my job to tell you when you need to step up to the plate and take some responsibility. I’ve put up with your petty bullshit since we were both in solar. Be grateful you have a job, I know I am. If you ‘pond scum’ me one more time I will go straight to HR, and to Zack Noble, because I have friends in high places, and I will show you who’s the scum around here. I would rather not dangle the sword of Damocles over your head with threats, but cross me again, and I will.”

  He sat with a thud and stared at me wide-eyed. It felt like I crossed the line of appropriate office behavior, but I was done with him.

  “I came here to give you the opportunity to be hero-of-the-week and to step up with a few extra hours of work. Instead of asking how you can help out, you argue with me. So now I’m not asking. This product needs four to six extra hours of your time. Figure out how to make it happen.”

  I spun on my heel and stormed off to the restroom. I thought I saw Zack out of the corner of my eye as I rushed away. I was going to be sick. Once in the stall, I started to hyperventilate. I refused to cry, and I was an angry crier. Greg was going to get me fired. I just knew it.

  8

  Zack

  Crystal’s voice dropped low and aggressive. She did not get shrill when angry. Greg towered over her, but she did not back down. Fierce.

  Suddenly, I wanted her with every fiber of my being. Watching her stand up for herself against Greg sent me over the edge. I started to follow her and then realized my intentions as my cock grew heavy in my pants. I needed to burn off this growing demand my body had for her. I needed to get out of there before I threw her over a desk and fucked her in front of everyone.

  “I’m out,” I announced to Lisa, as I stormed back into my office. “If there are any emergencies that will need my attention, leave a message.”

  I immediately stormed back out. I felt caged, needing to be out of there, away from Crystal and be somewhere where it was safe. Not sure if it was for her safety or mine. At least I had the sense of mind to grab my helmet. Beyond that, I didn’t bother. I just left.

  Once on my bike, I needed to eat up miles. Wind in my face, leg muscles burning, I rode. I headed toward the water and hit the trails. Without worrying about traffic I could ride until my dick went numb, and my brain could only think of breathing and pushing harder, going farther.

  I didn’t immediately recognize my surroundings when I finally stopped. I was somewhere mid-bay. How far had I gone? Was that the Dumbarton Bridge? In my rush to leave, I hadn’t made sure I had adequate water. Fuck me. My tongue felt sticky with thirst. I got off the bike to stretch.

  The GPS on my phone put me north of the bridge. I didn’t remember riding that part of the trail, but I had. I hadn’t ridden that hard in a long time. Good. The pain in my muscles would be a welcome relief to the pain in my balls, and ache in my chest I felt when Crystal smiled.

  My clothes were ruined from sweat by the time I made it back to my apartment. I rolled past Crystal less than a block from home. The timing couldn’t have been better. I had my bike hanging on its rack, downed one large bottle of water, and was working on another as I leaned against my open door waiting for her.

  “Did you have a hard commute?” she asked.

  “I took the long way home, through Redwood City.”

  “Zack, that’s way out of the way. Are you okay?”

  The stab in my gut from her look nailed me in place. Concern. I suppressed the groan that wanted out of my throat as she licked her lower lip. She continued to open her apartment door. I didn’t want her to leave.

  “I have to talk to you about
work.”

  She stopped. I couldn’t see her face, but her hand started shaking. It was my turn to ask if she was okay. When she looked at me, she was pale.

  “If it’s bad, would you mind saving it for the office?”

  I could hear the hitch in her voice. I closed my eyes. Stupid, asshole. She thought I was going to fire her, again. Pushing sweat back through my hair, I shook my head. I wanted to reach out to her but she wouldn’t want all this sweat touching her.

  “No, no, nothing bad. You are gainfully employed. It’s just something that’s not exactly appropriate for the office.”

  She took air into her lungs, expanding that glorious chest of hers. “Oh, good. You want to do this now, out here?”

  I looked around, and then down at myself. I needed to get clean, and change. “No, I need to have a shower so I can think clearly.”

  “Do you have plans for dinner? I can cook, and you can tell me while we eat. I can meet you on the patio—”

  “This should be discussed with some privacy,” I cut her off.

  “Well, you want to come over?”

  She flashed those long lashes at me. The logical answer was no. “Give me thirty minutes.”

  “Take your time.” She smiled.

  “It’s a date,” I said.

  She blushed before stepping into her apartment.

  I stared at her door. What was I doing?

  Whatever it was, a cold shower was not the answer. It quelled precisely nothing. That woman had my libido roaring loud and hungry. The grumble in my gut had nothing to do with food, and everything to do with the way she looked when she answered the door thirty minutes later.

  Crystal let out a small yawn as she opened the door. Slightly flush with a soft smile and hooded eyes, I knew she would look like that after she had been well-loved.

  “I can’t be boring you already.”

  She was already messing with the fight for blood between my dick and my brain.

  “Sorry, today was intense, and I’m a bit worn out.”

  “You’re tired and you still offered to cook?” I asked as I held up two beers. “I didn’t have any wine. Will this work?”