Brenda made herself a cup of coffee from one of those single serving machines. There were two of them in every McCall Holdings’ employee lounge, plus a generous supply of coffees, teas and—her favorite—hot chocolate. She didn’t know about the coffee and tea, but it made a damn good cup of hot chocolate. Sara, unfortunately, hadn’t been able to finish hers from this morning, hence having to heat it up in the microwave.
“Is that really the forecast for today?”
Sara took another sip of her drink. “Yep. Snow, snow, and more snow.”
“Well, crap.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
Brenda gave her a sly look. “Oh, are you going to miss a hot date tonight?”
It was Friday night and Sara felt a twinge of self-pity, reminding her that she was facing another weekend, alone in her apartment. She didn’t date, not much anyway. Most men found her body type—round and curvy—a turn-off. And she found most types of men—annoying and full of themselves—a turn-off. As the song said, where had all the good men gone? “No, no hot date. Just a struggle to get home this evening when all this white stuff starts pouring down.”
“What, don’t you think Mr. McCall will let you go home early when it starts to snow?”
Sara gave a short bark of laughter. “He won’t know it’s snowing until he walks outside and sees his Lexus covered in ice.”
“Well, tell him.”
“Nope, not me. I like my job too much.” Jarod McCall, CEO of McCall Holdings expected everyone to pull their weight, keep their nose to the grindstone… yada, yada, yada. He did have a few redeeming qualities, however. He paid well, gave generous bonuses, and did little extras for the staff like the coffee machines and free coffee.
Sara knew the other supervisors would release their workers early once it started to snow. That was another thing about Jarod, he gave his department heads and vice-presidents almost free reign with their personnel. But she’d told Brenda the truth. She could hit Jarod McCall square between the eyes with a snowball, and he still wouldn’t believe the weather was bad enough to let her go home early.
The women left the break room together, Brenda heading down one side of the hallway, Sara down the other. Brenda, no doubt back to a shortened day of work, thanks to the weather gods and Sara back into the wolf’s den.
Literally.
Because Jarod McCall was a wolf shifter. Handsome, intelligent, and so damn gorgeous it made Sara want to cry at night.
She felt like she’d been with McCall Holdings forever. Not in the I-hate-my-job and can’t-wait-to-get-a-new-one type of way. No, she loved it here at McCall Holdings. The moment she’d walked into the skyscraper six months ago when she’d been called in for an interview for a job in marketing, she felt like she’d come home. And that feeling centered directly on Jarod McCall.
She remembered the day she’d first seen him. She’d been sitting in the human resource office waiting for her interview. All of a sudden this giant of a man had walked by, a deep scowl on his handsome face. He’d looked like a wolf on the hunt. He’d stopped abruptly, then stalked into the room.
They’d stared at each other for several moments before the inner office door had opened, and the woman who’d taken her resume had appeared. She’d taken one look at his face and invited him into her office and shut the door behind her. He’d walked out five minutes later and five minutes after that Sara had been offered the job as executive assistant to the CEO—executive assistant to the man who had looked at her from the doorway with hungry eyes.
Sara was no fool and took the job immediately, even though it hadn’t been the one she’d applied for. Even though chills of apprehension had coursed through her body. She got those same chills every day when she walked into her office. Because Jarod McCall still looked at her with hungry eyes for one brief moment each morning. Then a shutter closed over his face, blanking out the flare of awareness, his look no longer personal but strictly business, employer to employee.
Sara readily admitted to herself that she’d developed a crush on her boss. What girl wouldn’t have? He was indeed drop dead gorgeous with a head full of dark, silky hair. Well, she assumed it was silky, but she’d never actually gotten to touch it, even though the temptation was there every time she had to stand behind his shoulder and wait for him to review the work she’d completed.
His eyes were dark. Darker than any chocolate she’d ever seen. They turned an amazing shade of amber when he was angry or excited. Or aroused. Or so she assumed since an extreme emotion would trigger the response. Not that she’d ever seen him aroused.
Her knees went weak just thinking about what his fully aroused cock would look like.
Down, Sara-girl. Seeing your boss’s private parts up-close and personal was not on the calendar any time soon.
Jarod McCall was a dynamic individual and Sara was on the shy side when it came to the opposite sex and romantic relationships. He emitted a raw kind of power that she was sure came from his animal side. She’d seen it in other shifters, but not to the degree Jarod had. Maybe because he was alpha of the McCall pack? His control was sometimes scary. She rarely saw him ruffled by anything. Whatever obstacles or crises occurred, he met them with calm self-assurance. The threat was either solved or removed from his path. Most days, she saw only a hint of his strength and power, and it was roused only when there was a need and not in anger. To her, those were traits of a good leader, a true alpha.
Dear Lord, what would it feel like to have all that power released and directed at her—in bed?
She’d had fantasies about her boss—raw, erotic fantasies that made her wish she had stock in a battery company since she went through so many, so quickly, with her vibrator. She would be dishonest if she didn’t admit she’d had secret hopes in the beginning that she might be his mate from the abrupt way she’d been hired. But as the days had turned into weeks and the weeks into months, she’d realized that wasn’t true. As far as she knew, wolves claimed their mates the moment they saw them. Or scented them. Her boss hadn’t exactly been sniffing around her.
She smiled at her own joke. Then realized her life was singularly boring. It had been ages since she’d been out on a date. Even had a girl’s night out with some of the women from work. Maybe after this storm passed, she’d see if anyone was up for some dancing and maybe some serious flirting. Her ego could stand a stroke or two. There were men out there that appreciated a curvy girl. Sara might appear mousy from the way she dressed and differed to others sometimes, but at other times, in the right circumstances, she had a wild side. Look how damn often she thought of her boss in the most carnal of ways?
It was a waste of time to keep pining for someone who was out of her reach. Sara pushed aside her romantic dreamings about her boss and called upon the stronger, more practical side of her nature. Jarod McCall wasn’t the man—or the wolf—for her.
* * *
Two hours later, Sara wanted to beat her head against one of the glass window panes in her boss’s office at his inconsiderate attitude. She’d worked for Jarod McCall for over six months, trying to soften his image in the firm, but he was still an arrogant jackass who had no consideration for anyone other than himself. Look at how often he’d insisted that she work late, never asking if she had plans for the evening. Heck, she was pretty sure he knew nothing about her life outside of these four walls. Well, maybe eight walls. He did come into her office sometimes—to give her more work.
She felt like a damn piece of office furniture at times. Taking a deep breath, she practiced the calming techniques the yoga instructor had taught her during the last free set of sessions Jarod had provided for the employees. See? That was why she was so damned confused all the time. On the one hand, he was the complete arse who didn’t take any social cues, and at others, he gave and gave to his employees, and she knew numerous charities around the city, even the world.
Right now he was just being a big, old dick head.
She’d been standing by his offi
ce windows for over a half hour, literally watching the traffic on the street in the front of the building trickle down to nothing as the snow continued to fall into the afternoon hours.
Most of the supervisors had allowed their employees to leave almost as soon as the snow had started falling. The storm system had been tracking north and was now blowing right across Chicago. But no, her boss hadn’t seen fit to let her go or leave himself. Not the head honcho. She knew she was chicken shit for not just coming out and telling him she needed to leave. That he needed to leave. She’d given hints, even visual clues. She’d deliberately waited to take off her coat after lunch until after she’d walked into his office and placed the white deli bag on the edge of his desk. Then she’d made a production of shaking off the snow from her coat and her hair right in front of him. Right in front of him!
He’d ignored her as usual. She knew she was overly sensitive to his indifference of her. She had a feeling if she stripped down naked in front of him, he’d simply order her to put her clothes back on.
She’d never be a raving beauty, she knew that and accepted it as a fact of life she’d never be able to change. But she wasn’t horrible. Her features were put together in a pleasing way, her hair was auburn brown, falling well past her shoulders when she wore it down. She knew she could do more about her looks. Her hair style for instance. It was easier, and time-saving, to simply wear it up on top of her head or at the nape of her neck. She made a mental note to have it cut as soon as the snow melted. Maybe a shorter, more sophisticated style. Maybe even some golden highlights.
And her wardrobe. Today she had dressed more for warmth than style. Boots, leggings, a thick mock turtleneck—real turtlenecks smothered the hell out of her—and a long corduroy jumper reminiscent of the style worn in the nineteen-eighties. All she knew was that it was warm even on a cold Chicago day.
When the messenger had delivered the contract Jarod was currently working on a half an hour ago, she’d shamelessly bribed the poor man with a cup of hot chocolate to comment on the weather within Jarod’s hearing. Prompting him to tell her how bad it was outside and that she should hurry home. That maneuver had failed as well.
Jarod had looked up when the man had given her an encouraging smile and bent closer to whisper she should just leave. But he hadn’t said anything, just turned his attention back to the contract he’d been reading.
While she couldn’t see the front of the building, she knew the last of her fellow coworkers were scurrying away like rats from a sinking ship. Not that she could blame them. All she wanted to do was leave the sometimes cold and sterile feeling of the office building and hurry home to her warm and inviting apartment.
Dang it. She really was pathetic. If she had a couple of hungry cats to the go home and feed, she would be well on her way to being a spinster.
“Do you have to pee, Ms. Allen?”
Her boss’s cold, dispassionate voice sounded behind her.
As his words infiltrated the fog of her thoughts, she turned around quickly. “What? What did you ask me?”
“I asked if you had to pee.” He continued to read the papers in front of him, every so often taking his pen and making great slashing marks or writing furiously.
“No, I don’t have to pee.” She shook her head in confusion. “What made you ask that?”
“You’re dancing around like my two-year-old niece when she’s waited too long to go to the bathroom.”
One wouldn’t have really thought that Jarod was a family man, Sara thought, watching the glow from the overhead lights bounce off his dark hair. But then, didn’t everyone have a family at some point in their lives? It wasn’t as if he’d been found in a cabbage patch. From the office gossip, she’d been able to piece together part of her boss’s background.
His mother and father were still living. He had two brothers, one of which actually worked as CFO of McCall Holdings. His other one, the youngest, was a member of the military. She wasn’t sure what branch just that he was with a special paranormal unit. The niece he’d referred to belonged to his only sister. Older and married with two girls and a son. Jarod always bought the children presents on their birthdays and Christmas. He wasn’t one of those bosses that made his secretary pick out the presents, although she did have to wrap and mail them when he wouldn’t be home to give them out himself.
Thankfully, he wasn’t the type of boss that made her book restaurants or send flowers to the girlfriend-of-the-month. Or, week, in Jarod’s case. No woman lasted very long, or they hadn’t during the six months she’d been here. She’d call him a player, but she really didn’t get that vibe from him. Now, his brother, the CFO…that man was a definite player.
No, Jarod just seemed to be searching for someone. Something. Maybe he was ready to settle down and produce some offspring of his own. Maybe he was searching for his mate.
She sighed in disappointment.
“Well, I don’t have to go to the bathroom.” She finally answered his question and almost immediately felt the urge to go, damn it.
“Then what’s the matter?”
Sara turned around, giving Jarod a full frontal look at his curvy secretary. Today she wore a thick corduroy jumper that had gone out of style in the late eighties if he wasn’t mistaken along with a long sleeved turtleneck. Her round legs were covered in a black material that clung to all her mouthwatering curves. The only remotely sexy thing about her outfit was the dark emerald green color of the jumper and the knee-high boots she wore. What did his brother Logan call them? Oh, yeah, fuck-me boots.
His cock stirred, not surprising him in the least. That’s all it had been doing since he’d hired her. Coming to life because of his mousy little secretary. Not the bone-thin, glamorous models and actresses and debutantes he’d been dating, one right after the other, for the past six months.
And why was he dating such women? Because he knew he’d never take them to bed. The only female he wanted in his arms was Sara.
Shifting in the leather chair, he pushed his hunger down. Now was not the time for his animal to take control. It might never be the time.
As he watched, he saw the flare of anger flash in her beautiful brown eyes. When she got her dander up, there was nothing mousy about her at all. She was fire and sass. Damn, he loved her that way.
No, not love, he thought with a silent groan. Yeah, she’d kicked in his mating instincts six months ago when she’d walked into the building, and he’d hunted her down. He’d even gone so far as to ensure he could find her—should he want to pursue the mating pull—by giving her a job at the company.
His brother Logan had laughed at his reasoning and told him straight up that shit would backfire on him. Feeling the hunger rise up inside him, he realized his brother might have been on to something.
She put her hands on her hips and faced him. The gesture pulled her jumper higher up on her thighs, revealing the luscious flesh encased in black. Leggings. That’s what they were. Something about those damn things was sexy as hell.
“The problem, Mr. McCall, is all of the other employees have left for the day. Their bosses let them go home early.”
“Why would they do that?” His brows drew together in a frown. He threw his red pen onto his desk and leaned back in his chair.
“Because it’s snowing!
“Ms. Allen, it snows in Chicago from the month of November to the month of May. Why would that suddenly be a cause for alarm?”
Sara issued a low growl and stalked over to his chair. He hated to admit that sound and the predatory glide of her body made his already interested body flare into full-fledged arousal.
Not now, he reminded his wolf. Not yet.
Before he could get his body’s response back under control, she’d grabbed his hand and was tugging at his arm, trying to lift him out of the chair. He smiled in amusement. While she might be a bigger girl with curves that went on for days—why the fuck was he more than noticing his secretary’s curves all of the sudden—there was no way
she could move him out of the chair unless he wanted to be moved. He outweighed her by far.
He allowed himself to be persuaded out of his seat and followed behind her, her small hand still encased in his. He liked the feel of that. His thoughts turned dirty quickly, and he wondered what that hand would feel like wrapped around his cock as she guided the burgeoning end into her sweet little mouth?
Before he could smack down his raging libido, she stopped her forward march. They were now standing in front of the long expanse of windows on the south side of his office. He had much more than a corner office with a window. He had a whole damn wall of them. But, what would one expect in the offices of the CEO of a multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporation?
His family’s business—well his pack’s business—had started with a little mom and pop grocery and had transformed over the years into the biggest food distribution chain in North America. And then around the world. And why not? What were werewolves supposed to do during their long life span?
Mate and have pups. His wolf was in rare form today.
“It’s more than snowing,” She snapped, waving her hand toward the solid wall of glass. “It’s a freaking blizzard.”
“There’s no need to panic, Ms. Allen.”
Jarod’s tone was more than derisive, and Sara bristled inwardly. Did the man think she was an alarmist? Or just an idiot?
He grabbed the remote lying on the table between the two big leather couches and pushed a button. A large screen television popped up from the cabinet across the room. The last time he’d watched television in his office had been when his brothers had come over to watch the Super Bowl. He’d been working late that night, but they’d insisted, bringing beer, wings, and pizza. He smiled, remembering. It had been good catching up with his brothers, especially Hunter, who the family rarely saw anymore. The channel was still tuned to Sportscenter and he quickly changed it.
Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology Page 49
