by S. Layne
Her last one simply states: I’m worried. We’re doing dinner tonight. No excuses.
Which is just fantastic.
I don’t know what to say to her, but I know I can only put her off for so long.
Reaching my desk, I immediately see the darkened office behind me. I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I see the desk completely cleaned off.
All of Anne’s personal items are gone and the vast and open room behind me that overlooks Lake Michigan seems cold and bare.
Anne is gone.
At some point, I think I was hoping that this was a horrible dream. That I would show up at work today and everything would return to normal. That last week hadn’t happened. That my nights with Liam didn’t exist and my boss didn’t leave me to deal with him.
It’s only six thirty in the morning—way too early for anyone else to arrive in the building, much less our upper offices—so I’m not surprised to find Liam’s new, future office dark, but it still gives me hope.
Maybe he just won’t show.
I scoff.
“Of course he will.”
Regardless of the choices I still have to make, while I’m here, I have a job to do and I imagine—based on Anne’s last conversation—there are appointments that will now need to be cancelled or rescheduled.
I get to that first when I sink into the chair at my desk. It’s in front of Liam’s office and I can sit and work while keeping my back to it.
I plan on never turning around.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle seeing him at the sleek, silver-and-glass desk, ruling a small empire I helped create.
He’s certain to consume the space, his power and confidence sparking and igniting every corner.
I might burn alive if I ever step inside.
Closing my eyes, I shake my head and push away the nervousness inside of me.
While I’m here, I still have a job to do.
It’s with that thought that I turn on my computer and reach for the phone. Messages are blinking like wildfires, and as my computer boots up, I press the button to begin listening to them.
I’m ten messages in, my fingers cramping from overuse, when Anne’s voice comes through the line.
“Okay, so I have no idea what happened at the conference yesterday, and I know you won’t get this until Monday, but I wish you would answer my phone calls. You looked terrified, and I’m worried.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “As your boss, still, for one last day, I have a list of things I need you to take care of…”
I roll my eyes at Anne. I won’t stay mad at her, but I also don’t plan on apologizing. Technically, I no longer owe her an explanation—and she wouldn’t get an honest one, anyway. As I listen to her rattle off the final preparations that need to be made before Liam officially takes over when he arrives, I smirk when I realize I was right about canceling her future appointments.
By the time she’s done, I have pulled up my Outlook calendar that’s synced with Anne’s, and I quickly begin getting to work emailing investors and marketers, canceling what I can and knowing I have to wait for the others until I can get ahold of Liam’s calendar.
The whole thing feels surreal as I begin going through my email, deleting most of the junk. Then I check Anne’s, surprised to find it’s not closed out yet but thankful all the same. I check to make sure all of her contacts are synced with mine in case there’s someone I need from hers before I close it out and our Human Resources department clears access to her accounts.
Slowly, I push in my keyboard tray and prop my elbows on my desk. Dropping my head into my hands, I allow the reality of this entire situation to sink into me.
I’m able to fight off more tears. I’m so sick of crying.
When I pull my head up, I’m shocked to see it’s already seven thirty. Workers and other assistants will be arriving any minute, most likely shocked by the announcement of Anne leaving.
Needing coffee to handle all the inquiries I will receive today, I make my way to the kitchen at the back of the office near the restrooms.
While the Keurig heats a carafe of water, I roll my shoulders, easing the tension that’s knotted in my upper back.
My eyes stay focused on the dripping of the coffee filling my mug. It takes every instinct I have to not allow my mind to wander to the weekend or the future.
I’ll lose it again.
And I have to be strong. Any minute, I’ll see Liam.
The mere thought of his name has me heaving a frustrated sigh at my own stupidity.
“Oh my word, Laurie. Have you seen the hottie out in Anne’s office?”
My world tilts and tips on its axis. Blue eyes like the lake? Sex hair you want to grab onto? Abs that ripple when he spills his cum inside you? Yeah…
I’ve seen him.
I reach for my mug and turn, taking a sip, hoping like hell it hides my blushing cheeks.
“Is he?” I quirk a brow and press the edge of my favorite red mug to my lips. “I didn’t notice.” Inside I’m shaking, but I can’t let Sheila know this. She’s a piranha—the head of our gossip community.
She shares everything willingly and quickly, and if she doesn’t have a story of the day, she makes one up.
She’s the last person I will speak to about Liam.
Her mouth falls in obvious wonder. “How did you not notice this? Didn’t you meet him Friday?” She waves a hand in the air, silencing me before I can speak. Not that I was going to. “Of course, you’re married. You don’t notice prime grade available men anymore.”
Needles shred my throat. “I’m married, Sheila. Not dead.”
Her lips twitch. “Then you did notice.”
I roll my eyes and walk past her, exiting the kitchen as quickly as my feet can carry me. I learned early that it’s best not to feed Sheila’s attention-seeking beast.
“You have to introduce me.”
I wave a hand in the air, keeping my back to her. “Meeting’s at ten, I believe.”
She races behind me, catching me and gripping my elbow.
I jerk back and look down at her hand on mine. “Sheila?”
I don’t know what look I give her when I meet her eyes, but she releases me immediately.
Her green eyes twinkle like a thousand Christmas lights. “I’m serious. He’s sexy as hell. If you don’t hit that, please…put me first in line.”
Hit that. I did. Repeatedly. The memory of my dream flashes in my head, scalding my brain. I take another sip of my coffee and hope I don’t spill all over my light pink blouse. And yeah, I wore it because it makes my boobs look big and my waist tiny.
A psychologist would have a field day with me right now: pushing one man out of my house, trying to erase thoughts of another, all while dressing my best for him.
“I’ll take that into consideration when I’m setting up his social calendar.”
With a quick nod, her smile grows wide. “Excellent.”
I imagine pouring my coffee over her head, but in reality, Sheila is harmless. At thirty, she’s never been married but she dates men who are bad for her and only keeps them around long enough to figure it out—even though it’s obvious from the beginning.
Her most recent boyfriend lasted three weeks and managed to clean out her savings.
So…yeah…not introducing her to Liam so she can rub against him and offer him favors beneath his desk while my back is turned to him.
But she is gorgeous—tall and thin, but curvy in all the right places with blonde curls that bounce when she walks. She’s also the general assistant for all upper-level employees.
She’ll see Liam all the time.
Fighting down a possessive urge to rip out her blonde curls—because Liam isn’t and never will be mine—I watch her ass shake in a tight skirt that’s way too short for being office appropriate, and head back to my desk.
It’s time to greet my new boss.
“God,” I mutter to myself. “How did I find myself here?�
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I breathe a quick sigh of relief when I reach my desk. My feet trudged along the carpet on the short walk as if I was walking to my execution, but I’m able to exhale a breath when I see the office empty.
I know he’s here.
I can practically sense his presence.
And clearly, Sheila has seen him.
But I’m thankful for a few more minutes that allow me to pretend meeting him will mean nothing to me.
If I have any desire to save my job, I have to pull it off.
“Good morning, Laurie.”
And just like that, my courage and confidence dissipate into thin air.
Setting down my coffee mug, I squeeze my eyes closed and open them slowly before turning around.
My eyes stop first on his buttoned suit coat—a vest is buttoned underneath—and then I take in the light gray dress shirt and red tie.
Power tie.
Everyone knows a red tie means power.
Liam could be naked and still be sending out the same powerful and confident pheromones that make me want to sink to my knees, undo his belt, and wrap my lips around his cock in the middle of our office.
Damn.
So much for acting like he means nothing.
I lick my lips when I meet his eyes.
I can’t help it. My attraction to him is magnetic—pulling me to my doom.
“Good morning,” I finally croak. Reaching to my desk, I grab my coffee mug and take a large sip to wet my throat.
He doesn’t remove his eyes from me once, and I can’t look directly into his bright blues.
I see no expression on his face that I can place—nothing that gauges where we’re at or what he expects from me.
His eyes dip down and I watch as he slowly trails them the length of my body before quickly meeting my eyes.
His lips twitch slightly and he clears his throat. “You’re here.”
“I am.”
“You know,” he says, leaning forward slightly. His hand is on my desk and I take a step away. “This will only affect us if you let it.”
I flinch as if he’s slapped me. His voice is cold. Completely detached.
He sounds nothing like the man who murmured ‘wild one’ in my ear. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about those two words. I’ve never been wild. But with him, he lit something inside of me and it just happened.
And I liked it.
But he said ‘you,’ not ‘we’—like he’s already closed the chapter to last weekend and shoved the book on a high shelf to collect dust.
I would quit now if I didn’t need a job.
Closing myself down, I blink away the pain from his comment. I wish I could be so callous.
“Fine, you’re right,” I lie. “Chicago meant nothing. Is there anything I can get for you? Coffee?”
I watch him grimace at my own feigned coldness.
I have to press my hand to my desk to prevent reaching out and apologizing.
God, he’s turned me into an idiot.
He pulls himself together quicker than I do, and when he looks at me, his eyes have narrowed and the blue gone arctic.
“My office. Five minutes. Bring your calendar so we can update it and then we’ll discuss this morning’s meeting.”
“Very well, Mr. Parker.” I smile politely.
A muscle jumps in his jaw. “And yes. Coffee. Black, please, Laurie.” He pushes off my desk and heads to his office.
“Will do, Mr. Parker.”
Once he’s gone, my shoulders slump forward. My hands hold me up and curl around the edge of the desk in front of me, and I release a breath so long and deep that my lungs burn.
“Yes, sir.” I slide my finger across the calendar on my iPad, and with my stylus, I make a note to reschedule an appointment for Liam with our development team for two o’clock.
He wants me there, of course.
He wants me at every appointment with him for the next two weeks, claiming my expertise and knowledge is valuable.
I’ve spent the last thirty minutes answering every question and every request, and making sure it ends with a ‘sir’ or ‘Mr. Parker.’
I tell myself it’s to put the distance I need between us.
In reality, I’m being a sarcastic shit. He knows it. I know it.
Unfortunately, it’s the only way I can deal with him right now.
Perhaps at some point it will get easier, but for now, my sass is all I have as a weapon and self-defense mechanism.
If he doesn’t like it, he can fire me.
“Laurie.”
Just my name falling from his lips—that have been on the most intimate parts of my body—has me shivering. I press my legs together to soothe the ache.
“Hmmm?” I push a chunk of hair behind my ear and meet his gaze.
It’s cool. Calm and collected. The light from the overhead lights bounces off his blues and they look like they’re sparkling.
I can’t look away.
His hands are clasped together on his desk, and he looks impressive in his three-piece suit. It looks exactly like the one I peeled off him in the hotel room, fumbling with the buttons.
I lick my lips, remembering.
“I’ll need your decision by the end of the day.”
I jerk my head back and bring my gaze from the buttons on his suit to his eyes.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “Pardon me?”
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. It only increases the warmth that’s making me ache where my thighs meet.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
I grin inside but keep my face perfectly blanked. Knowing I’m affecting him too, even if it is pissing me off, makes the warmth spread to my belly.
God, I need a drink. A stiff one.
“What decision?” I ask, ignoring his statement and the way his gaze burns my skin.
“Are you staying or quitting?” His hand goes back to his hair and he sinks back into his chair with a heavy sigh. “You’re important to this company, and Anne wouldn’t have insisted I keep you on as my assistant if you weren’t good. I know you are, but if you’re not going to be able to handle working together, I also need to know. This is my company and it will succeed.”
I blink, taking in his words, and I get what he’s saying. If only it wasn’t so hard. Standing up, I push my skirt down with one hand and notice that his eyes follow my movement.
His cheeks flush and I scoff.
“Right, because this is so easy.” I turn to walk away, stopping at the door to his office before I look back. “I’ll let you know by the end of the day, Mr. Parker.”
“Liam.” He corrects me.
Like hell I’ll call him that name. I still remember screaming it as he brought me to orgasm. Multiple times. “If you want me to remain professional, you’ll allow me this concession.”
My voice is cold as ice and his lips twist, but he only nods before I return to my desk.
But I can still feel him as if he’s standing behind me, brushing his fingers down the length of my neck, pushing my hair out of the way before he sinks his lips and teeth to my skin.
Watching Liam conduct his first meeting, I could do nothing except sit back, my eyes open wide with awe at how he was able to instantly take command of not only the room, but the loyalty in his new employees.
His speech was not only inspiring but impeccably delivered, and even though I was sitting in the front row, right where he wanted me to be, behind me I could feel people’s emotions shift from shock to apprehension to acceptance, and then, by the time he was done speaking…full belief in Liam’s power to take ParaMed to the next level.
Even I left inspired. Hopeful.
The conflicting emotions only swirled in my stomach as the day progressed until a headache began thumping against my temples and a knot tied in my stomach.
Tightness has grown in my chest, watching him work.
His warm, silky voice is different from the tone I heard last week or this mor
ning in his office, and I recognize his ability to put on a mask when he’s in front of a crowd.
The man’s incredible.
Yet every time he licks his lips or uses a finger to turn a page in his notes, my emotions flip…remembering.
By the time the day is done, though, I have become a fellow believer in Liam’s promises to take this company to the next level.
He seems to believe in the Cell product as much, if not more, than Anne did when she first came up with the idea and prototype.
And it’s because of that, that I find myself knocking on the side of his doorframe after everyone else has left for the day.
“Hey,” I say when he looks up. “You busy?”
His eyes widen with surprise at my casual and softer demeanor. All day long, I’ve stood or sat next to him and kept my eyes tight and my expression cooled. My back is stiff from sitting so ramrod straight.
Today would be the first day my mother would have never had to remind me not to slouch.
Liam pushes a stack of papers to the side and waves his hand, gesturing for me to take a seat. “Come in.”
Licking my lips, I walk toward the chair…the few feet feeling like the length of a soccer field. Clumsily, I sit down, cross my legs, and brush the hem of my skirt down.
I raise my eyes to find him following my movements and I look away.
“This isn’t easy for me,” I state, uncertain why I feel the need to be somewhat honest with this man. “I’ve been with two men in my entire life.”
His brows shoot up in shock and he opens his mouth to speak.
I raise my hand to stop him.
“Stop.” I shake my head. “Whatever it is you’re going to say, I don’t want to hear it.”
My eyes squeeze shut. I’m being snappy and I don’t like the tone in my voice.
“My point,” I say when I’ve regained control, “is that you can close the chapter to last week. You can brush it off as meaningless, it’s just going to take me more time to get there. So I’m asking that while I work through that, you allow me the time until I can shelve it as well.”
“This weekend wasn’t meaningless. It was exquisite.”
