Jess had been attracted to him from the moment she laid eyes on him, but she wasn’t one to mess around at work. Work was to be kept completely separate from her outside social life, which she didn’t really have time for. Her family kept wondering when she was going to meet the right guy and settle down, but for now she was having too much fun winning at work. She had the occasional male visitor who would keep her company when she was in the mood, but they also knew enough to go away when they were no longer needed. That was the way she liked things. Relationships had always been too complicated to deal with. As far as she was concerned it was too much risk, for too little reward.
She had known Alex had a thing for her from pretty much the first week she had worked at the firm. He had allowed his gaze to linger too long and inappropriately at her chest and her ass on more than one occasion. She had been flattered and took the whole thing in stride. She knew there were jittery women who would have been flabbergasted and reported such a thing, but Jess enjoyed the attention. Her hard work and determination had catapulted her to where she was and it would take her even higher one day, but using what the Good Lord gave you was just icing on the cake.
Alex had been married at the time, but he had recently gone through a messy divorce. Rumor had it that it was because he was messing around with someone else, which Jess knew to be much more than just a rumor. Alex was not only a cad, he was a shameless one and he didn’t try to hide his personal life from anyone. But being the brilliant attorney that he was, there was no chance in hell his ex-wife could lay her hands on any more of his money then he had decided was fair. That was too bad, because the man was loaded.
Jess knocked on the door to his office, waited for his response, and entered with a laid back smile on her face. She was instantly distracted by the look in his eyes and his chiseled good looks. The man was sexy beyond belief. It even rattled her sometimes and she never got rattled by anything. She prided herself on being in total control at all times, but something happened when she looked into his eyes that left her feeling vulnerable and open to suggestion. She had often dreamed of making love to Alex, but she would never have allowed herself to be the one to initiate an over the line move like that. If you did that then you automatically relinquished control to the other person. That was never going to happen to Jess.
“Jess, have a seat,” Alex said. His voice was smooth as silk and it sent shivers down her spine. She wasn’t sure if it was attraction or fear. They often felt similar when you were in a room with Alex Mathers.
“Thanks,” she said taking a seat across from him.
He didn’t speak for a few moments. He just smiled and looked at her, as if sizing her up for something. She tried to remain poised and continue to keep his gaze and not lose the power struggle that was in place. She couldn’t take it any longer and dropped her gaze for a second. When she quickly glanced back up Alex’s smile widened.
“So, you’ve had quite the day,” Alex said.
“Yeah, it turned out pretty well for us.”
“Not just for us, but for you as well. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what a huge win that was today.”
“No, you don’t. I’m just glad that the cards went our way.”
“We definitely had the right person for the job,” Alex said.
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the opportunity.”
“We’ve been working together four years and I’ve asked you repeatedly not to call me sir. Plain old Alex will do just fine.”
“I’m sorry, Alex.” She had always felt pretty odd about calling a boss by their first name. She thought she was getting better with it, but apparently it still needed some more work.
“When I first approached the senior associates and Dean about putting you on the case, I was given many strange looks. It is an unusual thing to put a fourth year on one of the biggest cases the firm has ever had, but I had faith in you.”
“Thanks, Alex. I had wondered why I was given the opportunity, but I’m more than grateful for it.”
“I see something very special in you Jess. You remind me of myself when I started out at Davis and Reilly before Dean and I ventured into business together. I love to see ambition and I love to see talent mixed in with it. I find it exciting, fun, and dare I say — sexy.”
Jess felt herself blush a bit when he said the word “sexy”. She wasn’t entirely sure why. It had to be the animal magnetism the man projected behind every movement and every gesture.
“Well, I guess that is one way to put it,” Jess said.
Alex smiled that bulletproof flag of confidence.
“So, what are you doing tonight to celebrate?” Alex asked.
Jess had to stop and think for a moment. She had not made any plans, actually. She figured she should probably do something, but she had work to do — as always — and she was looking forward to unwinding at the end of the day with a few drinks and some Chinese takeout. This was pretty much what she did after every day. She was starting to realize that she had no social life, whatsoever, sometimes.
“No plans really. I have a lot of work to do getting ready for that Jones case.”
“Oh, yeah. That looks like a fun one. I swear I love what we do because of all of the entertaining things we get to learn about; what people do to each other. It never ceases to amaze me and I’ve been doing this a while.”
Jess laughed.
“I guess that’s true. We do keep ourselves entertained,” Jess said.
“Well, I think you can take one night off and have a little fun. In fact, as your boss I demand it,” Alex said.
“Ok, I’ll do that.”
“To make sure you follow my orders, I’m taking you out tonight.”
Jess swallowed hard. She tried not to let the surprise show on her face or in her voice, but she was suddenly extremely nervous. Alex had just asked her out. "Asked" being a loose term here, but he was setting up a date between the two of them.
Jess had thought about this on more than one occasion and she’d had fun with the harmless flirtation that had gone on between them for a long time, but she had never seriously thought it would end up as anything other than that. Now here he was asking her out. She was finding it hard not to blush like a schoolgirl as she continued to stare into his eyes, but she kept her stronghold on her emotions just as she always did. She prided herself on being a closed book with a lock on it; no one could read her poker face. It had taken years of careful structuring to master the ability to turn that on at will.
“Ok, I guess if it’s an order then I have to follow it,” Jess joked back.
Alex continued to smile at her and lock her into a power struggle of eye contact. His eyes were magnetic and they tended to hypnotize you if you stared into them too long.
“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven. Have you been to Spagno’s?”
“I have not been there, but I have heard great things.”
“It’s amazing. It is by far the best Italian food on this side of the city.”
“That sounds great. So, I’ll see you then?” Jess said.
She got up to leave and Alex quickly came out from behind his desk to walk her to the door. Right before she opened the door Alex grabbed her arm gently and pulled her towards him. Her first instinct was to recoil in shock but she didn’t. This was happening and she decided she was perfectly ok with it.
Alex pulled her close and kissed her on the lips. It was just a slow peck really, but it broke the ice on their current relationship status and definitely ushered in the arrival of a new path for them to follow, together.
Jess smiled at him, letting her gaze linger on him a bit longer as she stepped out into the hallway. She felt like she needed a cigarette right then, and she wished she had not quit three years ago. But it was going to take more than a kiss from the invincible and perfect Alex Mathers for her to break her nicotine recovery.
She discovered that she was smiling from ear to ear and she could not stop. It was like a floodgate of
endorphins had opened up inside of her body and she felt like she was literally glowing. Other’s smiled at her as she walked down the hall as if they thought she was smiling at them, but she barely even looked at them as she made her way back to her desk.
She turned on the small stereo she kept in her office and sat back to enjoy the moment. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.
Chapter Two
“Hey, Jess!”
Jess was almost to her car when she heard a loud voice not far from her. The voice sounded familiar, and as she turned her head she smiled at the image of Dean Clark walking towards her in the lot, the sun wrapping around his body creating an image of a Golden God, almost. And she knew that Dean would never disagree with that image.
Dean was not someone with a small ego. He had a very high opinion of himself, but he did not openly display this to most people with the bravado that someone like Alex did. They were both hardworking, highly competitive alpha males, but Dean seemed to enjoy the more laid back and stoic approach to domination.
He was a brilliant attorney and a great man to work for, as long as you busted your ass with as much determination and vigor as Jess did. If you weren’t prepared to give your soul to the company then you were not going to last long at Mathers and Clark. Jess had seen many associates fall by the wayside because they wanted to spend evenings and weekends with their families. Well, that sort of crap was just not going to cut it around here and Dean and Alex both warned associates about this on day one. Most thought they were kind of kidding; they weren’t. By the time you figured that out you were being shown the door.
“How’s it going Dean?” Jess asked.
Dean continued to slowly stroll towards her. He was not a man who ever got in a hurry. Everything revolved around him and he approached the world with a cool and calculating manner. Jess admired him in a lot of ways. She loved the contrast between Dean and Alex. Where Alex was rather flashy and glib, Dean was more reserved and when he did speak everyone hung on every word.
And Dean was sexy as hell.
He was tall and broad shouldered, with sandy blonde hair that was neatly cropped in a hip, but still conservative, short cut. His suits were perfectly tailored to fit his ripped and muscular physique. Even working over a hundred hours a week was not enough to deter Dean from engaging in two hour workouts every morning. Jess wished she had the same kind of dedication to her body and health as she did to her job. She would be a lot fitter, but she was still very happy with her curvy body. No man had ever complained.
“So, how does it feel to be a rock star?” Dean asked.
“Oh, I’d hardly call myself a rock star.”
“You hit it out of the park. I love the fake modesty, but no one’s around. You can admit you are without a doubt a total badass.”
Jess smiled at the compliment.
“Well, yeah I guess I am.”
“That’s right. We are both really proud of how well you are doing,” Dean said.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“What are you doing tonight? Surely you got plans to paint the town red?”
“Not exactly…”
“What? It’s Friday night and you are coming off of the biggest win the firm might see all year.”
“Well, I do have some plans.”
Dean suddenly seemed slightly disappointed.
“Oh, well that’s great.”
“Yeah, Alex is actually taking me to dinner to celebrate.”
“Oh, Alex is? Well, I hope you guys have fun.”
“I’m sure we will.”
“Well, since I’m too late for tonight, let me take you out tomorrow night.”
“I really should get some work done,” Jess said.
“Now you are starting to sound like me. You are much too young to be sounding like me,” Dean said, even though he was only thirty-seven and looked thirty.
“Well, you don’t get to be a rock star by accident,” Jess replied.
Dean laughed heartily. He had an amazingly infectious laugh. It took up the entire space all around you. It was the typical laugh of a relaxed, confident alpha male. It inspired and comforted all the while it instilled a bit of fear in you.
“That is true, but I’m taking you out tomorrow night anyway. I’ll accept no excuses,” Dean said.
Jess smiled. She was wondering what had aligned in the cosmos to conspire to put this thing together. First Alex, and now Dean was asking her out. Was it all because of the case? She knew that Alex and Dean, either one, could take their pick of women in the world, but she was starting to get the picture that beauty was not nearly enough to keep guys like them interested. They needed a challenge. They needed a strong and successful woman. It kind of made sense when you really thought about it; they were the cream of the crop when it came to men and they expected nothing less from the women in their lives. She was suddenly feeling even more privileged knowing that she had passed a series of tests to live up to their ridiculously high standards. She knew that on some level she should be appalled at the shallow behavior, but she felt great about it. It was an odd confidence boost and she found herself intrigued by how this sort of thing could play out. Could she really date them both? And for how long? Was she getting ahead of herself a bit? It was just a dinner date with each of them. Who knew if anything better than that would happen.
“Ok, it’s a date.” Jess said.
“I’ll pencil you in my appointment book,” Dean said. He mocked as if he was writing in a book in the palm of his hand.
Jess laughed at the cheese of the joke. Only a guy like Dean could pull off something that lame, but he made it look cute and suave. He had a sweet way about him.
“That’s great. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dean.”
Jess tasted the pasta and felt her entire mouth tingle with pleasure. It was truly the most amazing thing she had ever placed between her lips, and she felt as if her entire mouth was coming alive with flavor and pleasure. She took her time with the food, really enjoying the flavor and allowing it to build up inside of her senses.
Alex glanced across the table at her with a smirk. He was enjoying her reaction as he took a mouthful of his Chicken Marsala. It was a bit distracting but she tried to pay him no heed.
The restaurant was fantastic and she wondered why she had never been there before, but then again Jess did not date a lot. There was too much work to be focusing on. Even right then she was having a bit of difficulty relaxing enough to ignore the mountains of work that she had to do to get ready for Monday. She knew that Alex and Dean both enjoyed the night life and they were often running around town. It seemed they both had the energy of ten men, because with as much as they worked and as hard as they played you had to wonder when they found time to sleep. Jess was fairly certain that they both often came into the office without sleeping the night before. She would have dropped dead after a few days of that.
“So, what brought you to the practice of law?” Alex asked.
Jess paused a few moments before answering. It was kind of a strange question to be asked by your boss four years after you started working. She believed he had asked her that question when she was hired, but she did not remember the answer she had given him then. It was hard to know if he was just making conversation, or if he remembered what she had said before and was trying to see if her answer had changed at all since then.
“I have always loved the environment. I love the legal system and I fully believe it works when it is worked right. People like to blame the system for failing, but I believe people fail the system. Sorry, not trying to wax all intellectual and poetic-like,” Jess said.
Alex seemed pleased with her answer. He took a sip of his Merlot, and leaned back in his chair.
“That’s a great answer and I have to agree completely. So, do you see yourself sticking with us in the long term? I’m sure you will be partner one day at the rate you are going. You have started down a beautiful path.”
“I would love t
hat. I enjoy where I’m at and I believe in what we stand for as a firm and the mission statement we are trying to accomplish and hold up.”
“Wow, you are just full of great words tonight,” Alex said. He poured more wine into her cup and his own.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Jess joked.
“No, I am getting you drunk.”
Jess laughed. She loved the way he just assumed that the world would bend to his will, but he did it with such class and grace that it was utterly charming.
“Oh, really? Why would you want me drunk?” Jess asked. She was hoping to make him squirm by forcing him to answer an awkward question.
“Because it’s hard to celebrate properly without some liquid fun,” Alex said.
Jess found herself blushing and reaching for the wine glass.
“So, what are your thoughts on the Jones case?” Jess asked.
Alex smiled. “No.”
“No?”
“No. We are not talking about a case tonight. You are celebrating and enjoying yourself. Tonight is all about having a good time.”
“Well, I have a good time when I talk about work,” Jess said.
“You have to get out more. If you don’t stop and take some time for yourself then you will wake up one day to find that your life has passed you by.”
Jess paused a moment and gave some thought to what he was saying. She realized that he was right, but she was still young. She knew that what she wanted to do was climb the ladder of success in her chosen field. She was willing to do what she had to in order to make that happen. She wondered right then if that was really why she had accepted dinner invitations from both partners of the firm.
“This coming from the man who doesn’t sleep,” Jess said.
“Hey, I never said it was easy. If you spend too much time with your eyes closed then life will also pass you by,” he joked.
“I agree,” Jess said finishing off the wine.
“So, how about you? What made you want to be a lawyer?” Jess asked.
“I love power and money and it seemed like an easy way to achieve both. Plus I love to win. It is the ultimate power game, isn’t it?”
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