by Chiah Wilder
The rays of the early morning sun filtered through my eyelids and woke me up. The sunlight flooded in, and I cursed for having forgotten to close the shutters the night before. I pulled myself up and wished I could cut off my throbbing hungover head. Glancing at the clock radio on my nightstand, I resisted the urge to snuggle under the comfy blanket and close my eyes.
I couldn’t afford to be late, especially with a new boss taking over the helm at Velocity, the prestigious advertising and marketing firm I’d worked at for the past five years since I got out of college. Mr. Linder, the CEO, was stepping down on doctor’s orders, and a new CEO was taking the helm.
Gulping a cup of black coffee, I hoped it’d give me the energy surge I needed to get through the day. I had to be on my toes today since the new CEO would want to meet with all the department heads. Normally, I was one of the team players, not the head honcho, but since Lindsey had to take medical leave, I’d been put in charge of the department. At first it’d freaked me out, but after I proved that I knew what I was doing, I began to relax and enjoy myself. The project we’d been working on was a new cell phone, and we were gearing up to launch it in the next few weeks.
I didn’t have time to walk the three blocks to the parking garage to get my car, so I hopped on the trolleybus and leaned my head against the cool glass window, watching commuters, storefronts, and buildings blur by. I’d definitely be mainlining coffee and water just to stay awake. I checked my tote to make sure I had enough aspirin to get me through the day.
Velocity was in the financial district, so the bus ride wasn’t that far from my apartment. I totally lucked out with my one-bedroom. Once I graduated from college, I swore I wouldn’t have any roommates, but living in a city that has the highest rent prices in the world, I ended up sharing a two-bedroom with five women for the first three years of working at Velocity. Thanks to my pay increases and rent control, I snagged a sweet deal on a one-bedroom in lower Nob Hill. My building didn’t have a doorman, the laundry room was in the basement and looked like it belonged in a horror movie, and my place was a little bigger than a postage stamp, but I loved it. And it was all mine.
The trolleybus jerked to a stop, and I jumped off and walked the short block to the tall building whose floor-to-ceiling windows glistened in the sun. Velocity occupied the top five floors of the skyscraper. Glancing at the enormous brass wall clock in the lobby, I noticed I had a few minutes to spare. I was dying for a double espresso, so I rushed over to the Brewing Cup kiosk and placed my order.
The first sip was pure heaven. I slung my tote on my shoulder, spun around, and bam! I slammed into someone, and hot espresso spilled over both of us.
“Crap! Why the hell were you standing so close behind me?” I was beyond mad, and I had not only burned my hand and chest but also ruined a beautiful silk blouse that cost me way too much money even on sale.
“Why the hell don’t you look before you dash?” a deep voice laced with irritation said.
I froze to the spot, not even wiping the coffee off my hand as it dripped to the floor. The blood rushed to my ears. No way. It’s not possible. A lot of men have deep voices. But not that voice. I slid my eyes up and met the steely gaze of Mr. Asshole. What was the chance of that? This day was quickly turning out to be one of my worst ones.
Exasperated, I grabbed a stack of napkins off the counter and tried in vain to salvage my new blouse. “Protocol is that you stand a few feet away from the person ahead of you in line. You don’t stand on top of them. You made me ruin my blouse.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I made you? I’d say your awkwardness is the culprit.” Blowing out an exaggerated sigh, I threw my cup of coffee in the trash can. “Let me buy you another one.”
“No. I have to go.” I ran my eyes over his navy-blue suit and didn’t see any remnants of my coffee. I shook my head and turned to leave when he caught me by the elbow. A tingle shot through my arm. What was it with him? The few times we’d inadvertently touched, my body did weird stuff. Okay, he was good-looking, and the way his gray eyes resembled storms gathering over the Pacific was totally sexy, but this was Mr. Asshole. And I had to keep reminding myself of that.
“You’re pretty cute when you’re mad. I noticed it last night.”
“And you’re still a jerk. I guess some things never change.” I pulled away from him and rushed over to catch the elevator before it closed. Staring at my refection in the gold-toned door, I looked a mess. The dark stain covered most of the front and sleeve of my blouse. This is going to be a long day.
“Don’t ask,” I said as I made my way to my office, Sofie following me in. Even the awesome view of the bay—I totally lucked out in getting this office—didn’t do squat to alleviate my mood.
Pointing to my ruined top, she said, “Isn’t that the overpriced blouse you just bought a few days ago?” I groaned and nodded. “Wow, what happened?”
“A jerk happened. He was standing so close to me that when I turned to leave, I slammed into him. Who stands that close?”
“Was he at least cute? Remember Maya in Accounting? That’s how she met her husband last year. She bumped into him at Brewing Cup.”
“Believe me, there’s no way I’d ever hook up with this guy. He’s a total womanizer, and he’s so full of himself. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women. And the smartass look on his face is infuriating.”
“You got all that just from bumping into him? He must’ve been drool-worthy.”
“It’s a long story,” I said as I rummaged through my desk, trying to find a file.
“I wish I had an extra blouse I could loan you.”
“It’ll be all right. I don’t have any meetings today.”
Before Sofie could reply, our senior vice president, Mr. Barnaby’s, voice crackled over the intercom. “All department heads please come to the conference room on the forty-second floor.”
My stomach sank and the throbbing headache I’d had since I woke up pounded relentlessly against my temples. With the whole coffee incident, I forgot that the new CEO took the helm today, and I was going to meet him with coffee covering my blouse. Can this day get any worse?
I rode the elevator up the three flights and went into the conference room. It was full, so I leaned against the windowsill and glanced down at the ropes of cars and people on California Street.
“I’m not an expert in many of the aspects of Velocity, so I hope you will be open to me when I ask questions….”
That voice again. It can’t be. No. I averted my gaze from the street scene to the front of the room, where Mr. Jerkface stood tall and confident in his navy-blue suit that didn’t show a drop of coffee. I slinked down, hoping he wouldn’t see me amid the sea of people, but he did. His eyes locked on me and I felt pulled into their depths. For less than a second, the room was quiet, and then he continued with his speech.
My cheeks burned and I folded my arms over my chest.
My new boss was Trace Prescott, the man I chewed out the night before and spilled coffee on that morning.
The day definitely got a whole lot worse.
Chapter Two
Trace
I had to admit I loved the shocked and then embarrassed expression on her face when she realized I was her new boss. When I first noticed her, I’d been floored that the woman who had reamed me out the night before worked for Velocity. She was the same woman who had been bent over the bar in that perfect dress with her gorgeous ass in the air. The one I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off all night long. Damn. This could be very interesting. I didn’t let on that I was taken aback; what fun would there be in that?
After my motivational speech, she tried to slip out of the conference room, but I wasn’t having any of that. “The woman in the coffee-stained blouse. Come over here.” I chuckled softly when she froze in her tracks with her head down. All eyes went to her, and her face flushed the cutest shade of pink.
I went over and closed the door, then gestured for her to sit down. I’d be lying
if I didn’t say I was enjoying the awkwardness of the situation immensely. Echoes of her rant the night before rattled through my mind as I watched her sit down and twirl a strand of hair around her finger.
“I had no idea you were going to be the new CEO,” she said, breaking the silence between us.
“Apparently. I hardly think you would’ve behaved the way you did last night and this morning if you did.”
She grimaced and wrapped the tendril tighter. “I guess I was out of line last night, but in my defense, I was—”
“Vindicating your friend. Do you always go around screaming at strangers?”
She raised her chin and defiance shone in her eyes. “No. And you weren’t a stranger. You dated a good friend of mine.”
“Kelsey, right?” She nodded. “I hope you’re not as impulsive with your work at Velocity as you are outside of work.”
“What does that mean?” The defiance was still there, and it was beginning to turn me way the hell on. Whoa… I can’t go there.
“It means that you need to gather all the facts and not assume you know them. Anyway, we’ll forget about everything that’s happened. I don’t even know your name.”
“Cierra Duncan.”
“Which department do you run?”
“Advertising. I’ve been in charge of the launch for Vibra. I’m actually taking Lindsey Chamberlain’s place while she’s out on medical leave. I’ve worked for the company five years, and Lindsey’s a great boss. When she gets back, which should be in a couple of weeks or so, she’ll be back in charge. I’ll be working as her assistant, the job I’ve had for over a year.”
I suspected I was making Cierra nervous by the way she rambled on, but I liked watching her squirm, redness slowly creeping up her neck to her face. There was something about her that piqued my interest. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I had to admit that, as she read me the riot act at the club, I couldn’t help but admire her spunk.
“Is there anything else?”
Her voice brought me back and I shook my head. “I’ll be touching base with you regarding the launch. I was reading up on Vibra before I took the helm, and I’m interested to see what you and your team have done with the mobile phone. There will be meetings you’ll need to attend. My secretary will send you a calendar.”
She nodded, then moved toward the door. I intercepted her and leaned in close. “Just so you know, you did look killer in your black dress last night.” She grabbed the door knob just when I did. A flicker of a spark passed from her hand to mine. I was ready to brush it off as nothing, but the way Cierra gasped and withdrew her hand told me she’d felt it too. Our gazes locked for a second, and then I opened the door and grinned at her. A tight smile graced her lips and she hurried off toward the elevator. I watched her ass wiggle away, then reminded myself that appreciative little glances may land me in a lawsuit if I wasn’t careful. As I went to my office, I decided that working at Velocity may not be as dreary as I thought it would be.
I didn’t want to be CEO, but my grandfather stepped down after he had his second heart attack. It wasn’t his idea, but my mom, grandmother, and his doctor all ganged up on him, so I was the one elected to take his place. He’d been grooming me for this ever since I turned eighteen, but I was too busy having the time of my life for the past ten years.
After his first heart attack a couple years ago, I decided that I better learn the ins and outs of the business. I cut back my partying to only three times a week, but I couldn’t cut out the women, and that’s what the tabloids loved. Of course, what I did and said were always taken out of context, but I had a reputation as being a major player. Justified? Probably, but I always tried to make the women feel special for the time they were with me.
My grandmother and mom were always on my case about settling down, and at thirty-one, I guess I should’ve been thinking more seriously about it, but it didn’t appeal to me. Or maybe no one woman appealed to me enough to make a lifelong commitment. I wasn’t sure. Of course, there were plenty of women vying to win the coveted role of Mrs. Trace Prescott. The money I made with the gaming app I developed while in grad school along with my family’s wealth certainly made me a “catch,” but I didn’t want to be caught.
“Come in,” I said in response to a soft knock on the office door.
A tall, pretty blonde sashayed into the room carrying several files. “Mr. Prescott, these need your signature.” She leaned over the desk more than she needed to, giving me a decent glimpse of her cleavage. Pulling away, she licked her lower lip, then smiled as she waited for my signatures.
“I’ll review the paperwork and let you know when I’ve signed it, Ms. Pierce.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I watched her ass move from side to side as she walked out of the room, and my mind flitted back to the night before and Cierra’s ass in her tight dress. I wondered what my employee was up to at that moment, and then I heard the words of my grandfather loud in my head. “Keep your pants zipped at the company. There is a strong no-fraternization policy, and for good reasons. Mixing work and romance never turns out. You have plenty of women to choose from outside of work. Just make sure you don’t screw this up. I won’t be tolerant if you do.”
Even though Thomas Linder was no longer at the head of Velocity, he was still very much in charge, maintaining the controlling interest in the firm. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him. He was my idol, my mentor, and he’d been like a father to me ever since my dad had died when I was eight years old. Sometimes I barely remembered my dad; I had to flip through photo albums to refresh my memory of how he looked. After he’d died, Mom moved us to live with her parents.
Why the hell am I thinking about all this? I supposed it was because I didn’t want to fuck up something that meant the world to my grandfather. He’d built this company from the ground up, and he’d always lived and breathed it. I knew it had eaten him up inside to step down, but he had confidence in me, and I couldn’t blow this because of a chick. I had to behave.
When I’d seen Kelsey at Beta the night before, I’d almost left. The woman was the worst mistake I’d made all year. When I first met her at the charity event, she seemed nice enough, and she was my type: blonde, big tits, and sort of ditzy. I thought we’d have a good time for a bit before we moved on. Only problem was she didn’t want to move on. She wanted to wear a band on her left finger. When I told her I wasn’t ready to settle down, she spent the better part of two weeks trying to convince me I was. I was ready to either buy her a gag or walk away when she met my good buddy Jason.
Jason and I had met back in college and we’d become fast friends. His family wealth made mine look like I was barely making ends meet. When Kelsey met Jason, I swear I could see the dollar signs light up in her eyes. I’d caught on that she was materialistic, but the way she’d gushed over him was ridiculous.
A few weeks after they met, I came home early from a ski trip to Aspen and thought I’d go over and surprise Kelsey with a bouquet of flowers and a gold bracelet I’d picked up for her. I let myself in with a key she’d given me after our third date, and was headed to her bedroom when I heard her moaning for someone who wasn’t me. When I burst through the door, Jason’s face fell along with Kelsey’s. I can’t say I was surprised, but I didn’t expect that one of my best friends would do that shit to me. I threw the flowers on the floor, stormed out, and donated the bracelet to a charity for its fundraiser. I was done. When Jason tried to call, I blocked him, and when Kelsey tried to explain, I told her we were finished.
And then I saw her at the club. The fact that she was alone meant Jason had probably moved on. I didn’t care about that, but I did care that she fed a bunch of bullshit to Cierra. From the things she said to me, Kelsey must’ve told her that I was the one who did the cheating. I doubted Cierra would believe me over her good friend, so this was going to be an uphill climb for sure. No, wait. There isn’t going to be any uphill climb. Cierra Duncan is an employee.
A damn sexy, intriguing one, but an employee of Velocity nonetheless. Anyway, Cierra was friends with Kelsey, which meant she was probably a gold digger too.
Focus. I grabbed the first file off the pile Ms. Pierce had put on my desk and opened it. Leaning back in the chair, I began to read the contract, concentrating on the words and not on the cute woman two floors below.
I wasn’t getting off to a great start.
Chapter Three
Cierra
I plopped down in my desk chair and stared out the window. How the hell had this happened? I had no idea Trace Prescott was Thomas Linder’s grandson. Kelsey never mentioned it to me, and I’d never really read any of the articles in the tabloids. I’d just see him and a pretty woman splattered on the front pages when I’d stop at my favorite newsstand down the hill from my apartment. I was one of the dying breed who actually loved the smell of ink on paper and having a newspaper to read while I drank coffee in the mornings.
Coffee. I wanted to erase the last twenty-four hours from my life. Once again, my fiery Irish temper got me into trouble with him this morning when I slammed into him. I groaned while images of receiving my walking papers danced in my head. I loved my job, and I’d gotten used to the more-than-comfortable salary it paid. Pressing my fingertips into my temples, I tried to calm down. I had a habit of jumping to conclusions and sometimes assuming things I didn’t really know about. My brain whirred; he hadn’t acted like he was going to fire me. As a matter of fact, he’d told me it was forgotten and we’d start with a clean slate. I had to quit obsessing over what happened. Trace Prescott was now my boss, and anything that came before had to be forgotten.
