“Looks like you’re on desk duty,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. I’d met kids like Zachary before—unusually bright, but with little experience. They always compensated for it by being shitty little snots, much as I’d known he would be from the beginning.
“Yeah,” was all I said as the elevator ascended, and we stood there in silence until the door opened. I prepared myself to see Louis—it had been tense between us last night, thick with chemistry, something I knew was bad news for this job. I would just have to fight it, never be alone with him again, and pretend it wasn’t happening. I took a deep breath as I followed Zachary into Louis’s office. Louis raised his eyebrows when he saw me on my crutches. He stared at me for a moment.
“What happened, Ms. Eaves?” he asked.
“I fell down the stairs,” I said to him, playing along, relieved we weren’t going to tell Zachary what had happened the night before. It would be humiliating if the kid knew what I’d done, how much of a fool I’d already been in front of our boss.
“I see,” said Louis, a sparkle in his eye. I’d questioned whether or not the spark between us had been real or just my drunken imagination, but now I could tell it wasn’t something created by alcohol. “We can have you filing today. Doing something simple.”
“I can get around on the crutches,” I insisted.
He shook his head. “Can’t let you do that. We’re liable if something happens to you. No running around until you’ve got a doctor’s approval to be on your feet.”
I grumbled but accepted his words. Zachary gave me a satisfied smirk that I wanted to slap right off.
“Mr. Badger, you can report to Jeremiah’s office. He requested to work with you personally.”
“Thank you, sir,” he said in a snide voice before he walked away.
Louis gave me a stern look. “What did I tell you about coming into work today?” he asked.
“Are you going to fire me, boss?” I asked, unable to look away from him.
He laughed. “Not yet. Not if you behave.”
“So you’re making me do office work?”
“Yes,” he said and stood up. He showed me to a small office down the hall from him, empty save for a desk and a computer.
“I’ll have Sissy bring you the files,” he said to me. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like shit,” I told him.
He raised his eyebrow at me. “Now you’re at work,” he said in a voice that was stern, though his eyes were playful. “Better watch the language.”
“I’ll do my best, boss,” I said, and for a moment we only looked at each other as he stood in the doorway. “Thank you for last night,” I finally said to him in a quiet voice. “I really am sorry. I—I don’t usually act that way. I never get drunk like that.”
“I believe you,” he said with a grin. “I’ll send Sissy in with some work.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said to him, and he shook his head before he shut the door behind him. I relaxed a little once he was gone—I felt wound up when he was around, like my body was electric.
Sissy brought the documents in later, and I set about the task of alphabetizing the files, putting them in order and then entering the information into a database. It was tedious work—something that would have normally gone to an intern, someone unpaid who didn’t work here. It was almost humiliating to be relegated to the tiny office while the other two were no doubt out getting a feel for the place and the work environment.
A few hours passed, my mind numb, and I found myself almost falling asleep at the desk. The monotony, combined with the headache and the fact that I was running on four hours of sleep, was nearly knocking me off my feet. I found myself closing my eyes, trying to get some relief from the way they were burning from looking at the screen.
The door opened then and I looked up to see Xavier standing in the doorway, looking at me with one eyebrow raised. Unlike Louis, there was no trace of a smile on his lips. He looked irritated and annoyed.
“What are you doing? Sleeping?” he asked.
“No,” I said hotly. “I was just…” I cut myself off, not knowing what to say. “What do you want, Mr. Kyle?” I asked him. “I have a lot of files to get through.”
“The partners have decided that you’re working with me,” he said, and his tone was almost grim. “I’m supposed to show you the ropes.”
“Oh,” I said, knowing I would eventually be assigned to one of them. I’d been hoping it would be Louis, who was the most amicable of the three. “Well, Louis told me to work in here for the day. I fell down the stairs yesterday and twisted my ankle.”
“You fell down the stairs,” he said in a bland voice. “I see.”
“Yeah,” I said. “So I can’t do much.”
“You will come work in my office,” he said, that tone of command in his voice again. For some reason, it made me feel warm all over, a heat spreading through my hips that I didn’t want or need.
“Okay,” was all I said to him, deciding to pick my battles. I needed to be careful with him after what had happened on the first day we’d met, but it was hard when he seemed so able to get under my skin within minutes of being around him. I got up and got my crutches, following him through the hall and into his office. It was bigger than Louis’s, and grander, and I rolled my eyes just looking around.
“Do you disapprove?” he asked, and my expression changed to embarrassment. I hadn’t realized that he’d been watching my face.
“It’s very you,” I said.
He raised his brows but said nothing, going around to sit at his massive desk. I sat across from him, and though he was a few feet away, it still felt like he was close to me, almost like I could feel the heat of his skin. His gaze was deep and penetrating, disconcerting, but I forced myself not to look away.
“You don’t want to work with me,” I said.
“I think that you will be an asset to this firm, Ms. Eaves,” he said after a moment. “But I find you impertinent and rude.”
“I don’t like you very much, either,” I said to him honestly. For a moment, I thought I saw his lips twitch into a hint of a smile as his eyes flashed. I could tell he didn’t like being challenged, but I wasn’t going to be walked all over or talked down to by anybody.
“It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ve worked with people I didn’t get along with before. That’s what it’s like to work a job like this.”
“Why am I not surprised that you’ve had this problem in the past? Do you like anybody?”
He gave me a calm, even look. “There’s a case that I’m working on. It might be a good one to start you off with.”
“What kind of case?” I asked, growing excited. I found myself sitting up in my chair. I hadn’t come here to flirt with one boss and to argue with the other—I came here to work, to help people.
“It’s a custody case,” he said and grimaced. “A woman who was a victim of domestic violence is being sued for custody by the children’s father. He’s much wealthier, well-connected. I’ve taken the case pro-bono.”
I cringed just thinking about it, having heard the story over and over again, even in my own life.
“What can I do to help?”
“Right now, I need you to go through and highlight her testimony. We want to emphasize any instances of physical abuse in particular.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
“Good.”
I steadily held his gaze, feeling some ache in my body that came from my core. I looked down and away from him, at the folder instead. I could still feel his eyes on me for a moment, watching me work as I went through and highlighted all of the horrific things this woman had been through. It made me nauseous to know that this was happening—I only hoped that we could manage to help her keep her children safe. The more I learned about the case, the angrier I got, and I could tell that I was growing noticeably tense.
“You can’t let it get to you,” Xavier said. “Not like that.”
<
br /> “I’m fine,” I said, though reading the words brought back some of my worst memories, memories of being at home while my father abused my mother and my oldest brother.
“Look at me,” he said. I looked up to see that his face was serious, though his eyes were gentler than normal. “If you let it upset you, you’ll never get through this,” he said. “It’s the hardest part of the job.”
“For you?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said, and I knew he wasn’t lying. He seemed like a hard man, but he was doing good work. I had to remember that whenever he irritated me.
“Are you surprised?” he asked.
“Yes,” I told him. “You’re not exactly friendly.”
“Being friendly and compassionate are not the same thing, Ms. Eaves,” he said. “And you haven’t given me any reason or desire to treat you as a friend.”
I shrugged, not knowing what else to say, and couldn’t help but enjoy the look of annoyance that passed over his face. He glanced at the clock.
“It’s time for you to go home,” he said.
“Oh.” The time had passed before I knew it, though earlier it had been dragging by. I stood up, grabbing my things and my crutches.
“Do you need help?” he asked when I winced in pain. I hadn’t taken anything for my ankle all day and it had been throbbing under the desk, but I hadn’t wanted to complain or go home in order to go to the doctor.
“No,” I told him, but he had already lifted my bag and was carrying it as he followed me to the elevator.
“Thanks,” I said as he got in with me. He didn’t say anything or look at me, but silently followed me out to a cab, putting my things in beside me.
“Goodnight, Mr. Kyle,” I said to him.
He shut the door behind me without a word.
5
Xavier
I was tense when I got to work that morning and found Victoria already working in my office, sitting at my desk across from my chair and diligently highlighting the files.
“Good morning,” I said to her as I went around to sit at my desk. Again, I found myself staring at her, unable to look away from that gorgeous face. She really was beautiful, hard to take my eyes off, and it seemed like she felt the same way about me. I felt the same stirring in my body as I had the day before, even when we’d been talking about how much we disliked each other. For some reason, it made my desire for her even stronger, something that irritated me deeply.
“Good morning,” she said. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I said to her, then paused. “How are you? Do you have a doctor’s appointment?”
“No,” she said.
“You need to go to the doctor,” I told her. “You should actually go home right now.”
“What?” she asked, disbelief on her face. “I’m already working.”
“You need to see a doctor,” I repeated. “We can’t be liable for whatever happens to you here. Go home, Ms. Eaves.”
She glared at me and didn’t stand up, instead going back to working on the files. I stared at her incredulously—I’d never met anyone like her, so defiant, so unwilling to bend. And yet she was diligent and, looking through the notes she’d made the day before, I’d already noticed she had a keen eye for what was important, the things that stood out and might help the case.
“Ms. Eaves,” I said to her stiffly. “You cannot seriously just sit here.”
“No?” she asked, glancing up at me with an innocent look on her face which turned into a playful, sly smile. “What are you going to do about it?”
I took a deep breath. I didn’t like that challenging look in her eyes, and yet it was driving me crazy. I found myself getting up and going to her, pulling out her chair to turn it toward me. I felt compelled to get close to her, to assert myself, to make her bend to me. It was infinitely frustrating to have someone who didn’t do what I said—I was used to getting what I wanted, to commanding respect.
“Oh,” she said as I leaned into her, putting my hands on either arm of her chair. I could smell her shampoo, floral and earthy, sense the way she was trembling being so close to me.
“Why are you like this?” I asked her, frustrated beyond anything I’d ever felt before. “Why won’t you just do what I say?”
“I don’t do what anybody says.”
“I am your employer,” I said, exasperated, my eyes on her lips. They looked so pouty and full, ripe as any fruit.
“That doesn’t mean that you can treat me like an intern,” she said. “I wasn’t hired to be your puppet, Xavier.”
“Mr. Kyle,” I corrected.
She smiled. “Mr. Kyle,” she said in a voice that made my cock go hard, a voice that compelled me forward to take her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss. She paused for a moment before responding to me, her tongue slipping into my mouth, giving in to the tension that had built with our closeness. I found my hand wrapped around the back of her neck, holding her close as our mouths moved together, devouring her completely. My mind was empty and yet filled with her, the way she smelled and the way she pissed me off while making me want her at the same time.
The door opened then, but for a brief moment, it didn’t matter. I continued to kiss her, tasting her in slow, luxurious strokes of the tongue until she pulled apart, breaking the spell between us.
“I, uh—”
“What is it, Louis?” I asked, wiping the lipstick off my mouth as I stood up. He was staring at both of us for a moment without speaking, and I wondered what the hell he was thinking. I knew that no matter what it was, there was no way it was good.
“I was just going to ask Victoria about her ankle,” Louis said. “Should I—should I come back later?”
“No,” I said, my voice gruff. I’d snapped to my senses the moment he’d opened the door, and now I only felt shame and annoyance for what I’d done.
“I’m about to go to the doctor,” Victoria said, standing up, avoiding Louis’s gaze. I could tell how embarrassed she was and felt guilty for it; it had been my doing, me who kissed her. She picked up her crutches and made her way to the door, glancing back at me before she left.
“I’ll be in tomorrow,” she said. “Goodbye, Louis.”
“Bye,” Louis said, and when she left he glared at me. He shut the door behind him, sighing deeply.
“What the fuck?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my jaw tight. “I have no idea.”
“What do you mean?” Louis asked. “What the hell happened?”
“We were arguing,” I told him.
“And then you were making out?”
“I really—I have no idea what happened,” I said to him. “I lost it, Louis. Completely.”
He took a deep breath. “I know the feeling. I do. But she’s an employee, Xavier.”
“I know,” I said, rubbing my hand over my mouth.
“Do you want to get rid of her?” Louis asked. “We can find her a new position somewhere else, at another firm. It wouldn’t be hard.”
“No,” I said, knowing that wouldn’t be fair to Victoria, knowing how badly she’d wanted this job. It wasn’t her fault at all that I’d completely lost my mind for a moment. “No, she can stay. It won’t happen again. It was nothing. I’m just—so fucked up since Tracy died.”
“I know,” Louis said, sympathy in his voice. From anyone else, I would have hated it, but Louis was like my brother and I knew he had loved Tracy as well. “You just can’t get involved with her.”
“I don’t want to get involved with her,” I insisted. “I don’t even like her.”
He chuckled. “You looked like you liked her plenty. And she looked the same.”
“That doesn’t help,” I grumbled.
He grinned at me, shaking his head. “You’re in trouble,” he said.
“Don’t tell Jeremiah,” I said.
“I never tell Jeremiah anything,” Louis scoffed. It went quiet for a moment as I turned the kiss over and over in my head, reliving it, closing my
eyes. I hadn’t felt anything like the rush I’d got just touching her skin, tasting her mouth, since long before Tracy had died.
“Don’t think about Tracy,” Louis said, studying my face. “Don’t think about her, Xavier. You don’t owe anything to her memory. You don’t have to feel guilty for this.”
“Eight months. Not even a year and I’m already kissing another woman. An employee.”
“You’re stressed. She’s—she’s goddamn gorgeous. I understand.”
“It’s not going to happen again,” I told him.
“Will you tell me if it does?” Louis asked.
I stared at him, unsure of what the answer was, mostly because I didn’t want to admit that I was considering whether or not it would happen again, as if doing so would even be an option.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Xavier…” he said, but I put my hand up to cut him off.
“I think I want to go home for the day,” I said. “Is that cool?”
“Give yourself a break,” he said, nodding. “Really, Xavier. Tracy—”
“I don’t want to talk about Tracy right now,” I said, a little sharper than I’d intended.
He nodded, not looking put off by my tone.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me tonight if you need to,” Louis said, always a mother hen. I nodded, and he left. Then I spent a few moments alone in my office trying to collect myself, trying to keep the guilt from swallowing me whole.
6
Louis
I was still filled with surprise about what I’d seen the day before. I’d felt some tension with Victoria myself, but had never expected to see her locked together with Xavier, who’d had no interest in dating or even seeing women since his wife had died. It had surprised me as well that catching them had sent a small stab of jealousy into my stomach, though it was the last thing I wanted to feel when it came to anything involving my best friend.
The next morning, I was at the office before everyone showed up. I looked up when the door to the lobby opened and saw Victoria through the glass of my office. She met my eye and blushed deeply, taking off her coat and hanging it up. I noticed that she was wearing a cast, though still using her crutches. I waved her in. She gave me a shy look when she opened the door.
Two Dirty Bosses Page 3
