Unprofessional Bad Boys - Boxed Set (Contemporary Romance)

by Clarissa Wild

  That, and the fact I can’t get his weird dance out of my head.

  Somehow, it just breaks all the expectations I had coming into this interview. It’s like I’m desperately trying to keep this image of a boring firm run by an old, bearded man who can barely fit into his pants intact.

  And then there’s him … TJ Morrows.

  Charming, hilarious, and hot as hell.

  And he runs this company.

  There must be a catch because this can’t be all there is. Right?

  “So an internship at Morrows, is it?” He sits back in his chair and fastens the lower buttons of his suit jacket. “I’ve read your resumé; it’s quite impressive.”

  “Thank you,” I say, trying not to smile too hard. “I try my best to make a good impression.”

  “You have.” There it is again. That million-dollar smile that’s probably ruined more than a handful of girls.

  I can’t be the next.

  “So was there any particular reason you applied with us? I couldn’t find much about your background or the reasoning behind your application, so I figured I’d ask,” he says.

  “Well, I’m just very interested in how you run things here. You’re doing so well in the market right now. Your company knows exactly how to give the customer what it wants, and I’m intrigued to learn more. I want to be just as good, but I also want to be an asset to this company,” I say, swallowing.

  Obviously, half of that was horseshit. I have no clue what they’re doing, and how they’re doing it. I applied to like fifty companies, and this is one of five that actually replied. I just know that, with my drive and ambition, I’m a good fit anywhere.

  “Right …” he mumbles, checking over the resumé on his desk with just his eyes while his body remains rigid like a rock. Only when he takes a breath does his suit … and the muscles underneath it … move. And for some reason, I can’t help but bite my lip at the sight.

  Too bad he catches me right in the act.

  I stop immediately and cover my mouth with my hand, coughing. “Sorry, itchy throat.”

  “Hmm …” he hums. I wonder what it means. “So tell me what your background is.”

  “Well, I’m a college grad. Studied marketing and business. I’ve got a passion for running a company.”

  “Really, do you now?” he muses, holding my resumé like it’s some kind of rap sheet, looking back and forth between it and me.

  “Yes, I want to start my own company one day, and to do that, I need some experience. And I’m highly interested in learning under your wing.”

  “Under my wing …” he repeats, cocking his head while reading the paper.

  “I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Whatever you need, I’m your girl. You won’t find anyone more dedicated to work than I am, Mr. Morrows.”

  His lip twitches and he looks up at me with a glare. Shit, did I say something bad?

  “Call me TJ.”

  Strange. He doesn’t want me to call him by his surname? Okay. I wonder why, but I’m cool with it.

  “Well, TJ, I think I can be a great asset to your company,” I say.

  However, he’s not budging from his spot. In fact, he seems uncomfortably indecisive. Which is confusing because he seemed so enthusiastic when I came in. I wonder what changed. Was it something I said? Or am I just not convincing enough?

  He rubs his lips together and looks at his laptop for a moment, then back at me, and then back at the laptop. What is he looking at? My resumé? But it’s in his hands.

  “Is there anything else you’d like to know?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation going.

  “Well …” He sighs, and he looks me up and down again before staring at his laptop again. He lowers his eyes and mumbles, “Right.”

  “What?”

  “Look, Lesley.” He cocks his head. “Can I call you Lesley?”

  “Yeah.” I frown, wondering where this is going.

  “I don’t think this is going to work out, to be honest.”

  Shit. “Was it something I said or put in my resumé? Because I can tell you, hands down, I’ll be a thousand times better than what you think I’ll be.”

  He chuckles. “I like your confidence, Lesley. But this just won’t work. I’m sorry.”

  I sigh a little. “Could you tell me why?”

  His lips part, but after staring at his laptop again, nothing leaves his mouth. It’s like he’s drawing blanks and just trying to make something up. That, or he just found the juiciest gossip there is to find about me, which would surprise me. I hardly do anything remotely interesting enough to warrant gossip.

  Then again … these office types know just how to dig deep enough to get all the juicy details you don’t want out there. Maybe he looked at my Facebook profile and decided I wasn’t it. I probably should set it to private now that I think about it.

  “I just don’t think we’d be a good fit. Nothing personal,” he says, slamming his lips together like he wants to say more but won’t allow himself to.

  God … and to think this interview started out so well. Who’d have thought he’d suddenly make a U-turn. Not me. Must be something on his mind.

  I take a deep breath and grab my bag. “All right.” I get up and hold out my hand, shaking his with pride even though I feel defeated. “I’m sorry I couldn’t persuade you. Thank you for your time.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find the perfect internship,” he says, holding my hand a little longer than I’d anticipated.

  Before I leave, I turn and look at him again. He’s still staring at his laptop, but when his eyes finally meet mine, I feel like there’s more to this story than he’s letting on. They betray something in him … A weakness I can’t put my finger on.

  And it played a part in this conversation.

  “You’ll regret this,” I muse, giving him the cutest smile I can muster.

  But right as I walk out the door, his voice rings in my ears. “I know I will.”

  Chapter 3

  TJ

  Minutes later, Beau, one of my employees, barges right into my office. “What just happened?” He closes the door and folds his arm.

  “What?” I shrug.

  “That girl.” He cocks his head. “You let her walk out of here?”

  “Yeah?” I don’t really know what else to say.

  I can hardly explain it.

  Like … hey, I liked her application, but I can’t accept it because she sent me her dirty panties?

  That’s some conversation starter, all right.

  After sleeping with a potential intern, sniffing her panties is the second stupidest thing to do, and it’s totally not acceptable when it comes to hiring people. I can’t mix work with my private life. It’s just not okay.

  I frown, sighing out loud.

  “Why? You were excited about her coming here to apply all day long. And now you suddenly back down?”

  “It’s none of your business,” I reply. “Were you snooping on me?”

  “Honey,” he says, snorting. “Do you see that glass over there?” He points at the two windows near the edge of the door. “I can see you from my desk, you know.”

  “Oh, right, I forgot. You read lips like a pro.” I roll my eyes. Like he ever lets me forget. He’s always up in my business, listening to conversations and butting in where he shouldn’t be. That’s Beau. But at least he always has the best insight into things, and I really can’t do without his advice.

  He’s like my personal psyche or something. Except he’s just an employee doing his work. And trying to do other people’s work for them.

  “What are you hiding?” he asks.

  “Nothing,” I say, closing my eyes. “Look, I just need some time to think about it, okay?”

  “Damn right, you do,” he says, snapping his fingers. “Boy, what’s wrong with you? She sounded perfect for the job.”

  He sits down in the chair in front of me and grabs one of my pencils, twirling it around in his fingers. “You know th
at, and you know you need someone too.”

  “I got you, Beau. What else could I need?” I muse jokingly.

  He sticks the pencil into the automatic sharpener and starts toying with it. “You know as damn well as I do that I’m too busy to be your assistant.”

  “I could give you a bigger salary,” I say.

  “TJ …” He raises his brow. “Don’t go there now. We already talked about this.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I lean back in my chair. “You’re way too good to be working under my rule.”

  He sniggers. “Exactly. Plus, my strength lies in design. Not marketing.” He points the half-shaved-down pencil at me and says, “And that’s exactly what her forte is.”

  “I can’t hire her, all right?”

  “Why not? What’s wrong with her?”

  “Uh …” Now that I think about it, I can’t really name anything.

  Except for the fact that …

  “She never even talked about our company and what we do. I don’t think she knows. She hardly seemed like she did her research.”

  “So? Who cares. I’ve seen her resumé.”

  “You’re snooping in my laptop too, now?” I raise a brow.

  “No, pfft,” he says, blowing off some steam. “Of course not, silly. You just looked at it while you were in the cafeteria, and I happened to walk by at the time.”

  “Right …” I smash my lips together and roll my eyes again.

  “The point is,” he says, placing his hand on the table, “she has the drive. She wants to learn and succeed. Someone like that is invaluable. With her kind of passion and fire, can’t you imagine all the things she could do for this company? Bring it new life. Maybe even give you that spark you need too.” He winks.

  “Spark? What are you talking about?”

  “You know as well as I do you’ve been in a slump lately. It’s all because of that—”

  I raise my hand. “Don’t say it.”

  “Right. Still sensitive, I see.” He places the pencil on the table and leans back. “Look, TJ. If you actually have to think hard to come up with reasons not to hire her, then that means she’s a good fit. You’re just holding yourself back.”

  “It’s not as easy as you think it is,” I say, biting my lip in annoyance with myself.

  “That’s your opinion. I think you should take a leap of faith every now and again. She seemed desperate to work here. Willing to do anything.”

  I sigh out loud and push back my chair as I get up. “All right, all right … I’ll hire her.”

  A smile appears on his face. “Good for you.”

  “Really?” This guy … sometimes I really wanna fire him for being so obnoxious, but I also know I can’t do without him. Besides, what’s Morrows without Beau? He’s part of the heart of the company, and I’m part of the brains. Or at least, that’s what I’m supposed to be.

  “I’m glad you changed your mind. Maybe it will do the company good. You never know.”

  “Or I’ll ruin it forever,” I say, laughing a little, but it dies out pretty quickly.

  “Well, I gotta get back to that new design I was working on. Will you come check it out when you’ve got some free time?”

  “Sure,” I say, throwing up my stress ball.

  He nods and, before leaving the room, says in the most annoying voice he can muster, “Bye, TJ!”

  I groan and rub my forehead. Guess there was no way around it.

  I knew saying no to her would be tough, but I never imagined it would be this hard.

  I didn’t want to either even though she probably thinks I did. Seeing her face the moment she realized I said no broke me a little. I wanted nothing more than to give her what she wanted. After all, she gave me her damn panties, so I should return the favor, right?

  Except if anyone found out I bought her panties, I’d be ruined.

  No, worse, the company would be buried under the scandal.

  And now, despite saying no to her face, I promised Beau I’d hire her.

  Oh, boy. What have I gotten myself into now?

  Lesley

  I’m busy selling my panties to a new customer when an email pings in my inbox from TJ Morrows himself. Frowning, I open it and read it.

  From: TJMorrows@Morrows.com

  To: LesleyFischer@Gmail.com

  Subject: Application – Internship

  Hello Lesley,

  I hope you’re doing well. I have to apologize for my rash decision yesterday. I don’t know what came over me, and I regret the decision of not hiring you. I wanted to let you know we’d still love to have you if you’ll accept the offer. I think you’ll be a great asset to the company.

  I’ve attached the contract and payment details. If you accept, please sign them, and I’ll see you as soon as you can come to my office. Make sure to bring the contract.

  Best regards,

  TJ Morrows

  My jaw slowly drops. “Motherfucker.”

  One day.

  One fucking day passed, and he already reverses his decision.

  I slam the laptop shut, fuming. Did that fucker really just dismiss me and then just invite me back in like he never said no in the first place? Who does he think he is?

  Still, I can’t help myself from opening the laptop again and peeking at the contract and payment details. Holy shit. The amount of money has got my attention.

  But why did he wait this long?

  And why make a U-turn?

  Someone must have changed his mind. That, or he finally wised up.

  I know I didn’t exactly show a lot of interest in his company’s history and what they do, but I know I can be an asset. He just had to give me a chance, which he didn’t … but now does? I’m so confused.

  He must have turned me away for a reason, and I wanna know why before I say yes to something.

  So I print out the contract and sign it, ready to tackle this new job.

  Chapter 4

  Lesley

  The moment Gillian sees me walk up to her desk, she starts to protest, standing up from her chair like she’s got something to say about me being here.

  “I’ve signed the contract,” I say, showing it to her.

  Right before she snatches it, I pull back and tuck it in my bag. I’m not letting her get her greedy hands on it. Before you know it, she’ll have shredded the papers. No way will I let that happen after all the effort I put into landing this job.

  “He hired you?”

  “That’s a surprise?” I muse, raising a brow.

  “No … but he sent you away.”

  “And then he sent me the contract by email,” I reply. “I just wanted you to tell him that I’m here. You know, so I don’t have to barge into his office again.” I give her my familiar bitchy smile, which makes her squint.

  She doesn’t reply. Instead, she sits down with a sour pout on her face as she types away on her keyboard as a keyboard warrior would. I snigger to myself as I watch her rage silently.

  “Your appointment is in five minutes from now. You can sit down there,” she says, pointing at a couch in the corner. “Mr. Morrows will come and get you when he’s ready.”

  “Thanks,” I say, turning and strutting away.

  I sit down and almost drown in the super soft couch, struggling to sit upright. Gillian watches me from her corner, judging me with an evil smirk on her face as if she deliberately made me go here just to see me fall for the trap.

  Damn her.

  It won’t let this imaginary fight get to me, though. This is just a pissing contest, and I’m too much of an adult to participate. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

  I don’t know why she doesn’t like me. Maybe she’s jealous and wants my job. Or maybe she likes TJ a little too much, and she’s protective of him. Or maybe my imagination is running loose again.

  I should stop filling things in for people. Whatever is going on with her has nothing to do with me.

  A door suddenly opens, and handsome TJ ste
ps out into the hallway, greeting me with that heartthrob smile that I still can’t handle.

  “Lesley, come in,” he says, holding his door open.

  I pat down my soft orange dress and run my fingers through my hair to make myself look presentable again before I get up and walk toward him.

  We shake hands. “So glad you decided to come.”

  Come.

  Why do I imagine the most inappropriate, scandalous sex when he says that word?

  It’s not a dirty word, yet my mind can’t help but go there.

  I clear my throat and walk past him into the office, sitting down on the same chair while he closes the door and pushes a button to rolls down the blinds. I frown.

  “Yeah, sorry. My employees have a habit of snooping.”

  I giggle. “Why is that not surprising?”

  “I guess we like things a little out of the ordinary here.”

  “I can tell,” I muse, crossing my legs as he sits down behind his desk and settles in. “So… you decided you wanted me after all?”

  His eyes suddenly meet mine, and he stammers, “What?”

  “You sent me the contract,” I say.

  “Oh … right.” He smiles.

  “What, did you forget or something? If it was a mistake, I could go again; it’s no problem.” I’m tempted to see how far he’d go now, seeing as he made me leave last time. It’d be nice to watch him beg. Oh, yes. That would definitely do the trick.

  I mean, I could still walk out of here and leave him high and dry. His loss, not mine. Maybe I should make him suffer for making me suffer. Or is that taking things a little too far?

  Perhaps. But I like being the conniving bitch every once in a while.

  “Well, let’s get down to business,” he says, clearing his throat. “I’m glad you decided to accept my offer.”

  “Except you said you didn’t want me at first. Why the change of heart?” Honestly, at this point, I don’t really care if this sassy remark means he’ll kick me out again. I want him to feel it the way I felt it.