Never Again

by Lilliana Anderson

  “Of course it can get depressing, but the trick is to focus on the cases you win. We can’t clean up all the horror that’s out there, but at least we make a difference. You’ve been working this job long enough to know that, Cora.”

  “I know. I guess it’s just different now that I don’t get to take part in the justice side of things. I’m only seeing the beginning of the process.”

  As we moved up the line, our coffees were waiting when we reached the front without us having to order. We were regular customers and Olivia has a flirt-relationship going on with the barista, so he liked to impress.

  “Thank you, Antonio,” she sing-songed, running her tongue along her top teeth as she handed him ten dollars and told him to keep the change. I handed over the exact amount.

  “You know, you could be a little more gracious like your friend there,” Antonio said.

  “My friend isn’t paying rent and a mortgage and makes about four times what I do,” I retorted, taking my coffee with pursed lips.

  Antonio held up his hands. “I meant no disrespect.”

  “Hmm.”

  With a shake of my head, I caught up with Olivia. “What was that about?” she asked.

  “Nothing. I just thought I had the wrong order,” I told her, not wanting to ruin her morning flirt-fest with my mini-altercation.

  “That’s strange. He’s normally so good.”

  After walking the short distance to the OPP, we went our separate ways once inside, and the moment I walked into my office, Nick came sauntering in, his thumbs twiddling as he waited for me to notice him. I really wanted to ignore him until he went away, but I wasn’t that mean. I just made him wait until I’d put my handbag in my bottom drawer and logged into the computer system.

  “Is there something I can help you with, Nick?”

  He jumped like he was about to run a race and sat in the ugly blue chair on the visitor’s side of my desk. “I need to ask for something.”

  “Go ahead.”

  There was sweat beading on his top lip. “I…I need some time off.”

  Sighing, I started sifting through the mountain of files in my tray. “This isn’t a matter for me, Nick. You apply for leave with HR like everyone else.”

  “I know that, I do. I just…I want to make sure it’s OK with you first.”

  Stopping what I was doing, I looked at him carefully and laced my fingers together. “Nick, you are one of the select few graduates accepted from all over the state to be a part of the traineeship program here. It’s an honour to represent the Crown, am I right?”

  “Ah, yes.” He nodded emphatically.

  “That being said, you’ve been here for little more than a month. If your time off is for anything other than a family death or some sort of unforeseen emergency, I will hold it against you in your performance review, and take your lack of dedication into consideration when handing out cases. If you want time off for something frivolous, I suggest you wait until you’ve accrued holidays as per company policy.”

  He chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. “I’ll wait then,” he said finally, getting up to leave.

  “Good choice.” I smiled. Nick, like most of the juniors in my team, had decided it was a good idea to friend request me on Facebook. Because of that, I already knew he wanted time off for a music festival; the social network loved to notify you of every event your friends showed an interest in. Besides my professional reasons for keeping a vague profile, it was one of the primary reasons I kept most of my information and activity to myself.

  As he stood to leave, I picked up three of the files from the pile on my desk. “Before you go, Nick. Here are two assaults and an arson for you to work on. I want a summary and presentment on my desk by midday.”

  “Midday?” He gulped, taking the files.

  “Is that a problem?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then off you go.” I shooed him with my hand.

  With the folders clutched to his chest, he practically scurried from my office. With a sigh, I took a mouthful of my coffee, smiling to myself over the interaction while sifting through the remaining files.

  “Huh. Who knew?”

  That voice. It was the voice of my dreams.

  When I looked up, I was met with the greenest eyes I’d ever seen, coupled with a dimpled smirk.

  Coffee shot everywhere. “What…wh…what are you doing here?” I gasped, grabbing tissues and trying to clean up the mess I made while trying to wrap my head around the fact that Green-eyes was standing right in front of me, in my office, wearing a stunning fucking suit that I envisioned ripping off his body and throwing to the floor. My God, he was even more gorgeous in the daytime than he was at night.

  Stepping toward me, those dimples cracking his cheeks while he chuckled at my reaction and helped me dry off the files on my desk.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here either.”

  Collecting all the wet tissues, I threw them in my waste paper basket and held it up so he could do the same. “I don’t understand,” I said, patting at my chin to make sure I didn’t have any coffee dribbling down.

  “Ah, I see you two have met.” Adrian Sharp, Director of Prosecutions and my boss, entered my office with a broad smile on his face.

  “What? When?” I was immediately defensive. Did he know I slept with Green-eyes and this was some insane joke? I didn’t think I had that kind of relationship with my boss.

  “Not really,” Green-eyes said. “I kind of startled her when I walked in and we’ve been cleaning up the coffee spray instead of introducing ourselves.” He looked at me, his eyes darkening as they dropped to graze over my body, the knowledge of what I look like naked clearly at the forefront of his mind. “I’m Brandon Sharp, your intern.” He held out his hand to shake mine and I took it, feeling glad I was sitting down because my knees were suddenly very weak. It wasn’t just that he was in my office and my body was reacting to him, it was the fact that he just said the word ‘intern’ coupled with the surname ‘Sharp’.

  “You’re, um, related?” I forced out, clearing my throat as I extricated my hand from Green-eye’s, I mean, Brandon’s searing grip. My hand tingled from the ghost of his touch.

  The director grinned broadly. “Brandon is my son.” He clapped Brandon on the shoulder.

  “Your son.” My voice squeaked and my eyes went wide while I forced a smile, trying not to look at Brandon as I felt his gaze burning into me. I slept with my boss’s son. Oh God, I’m fired. I’m so incredibly fired.

  “That’s right. But I don’t expect you to give him any preferential treatment. He can be the department lackey just like any other intern would. He’s third year at ACU, so he’ll juggle study with his responsibilities here. Feel free to use him in any way you see fit.”

  “Oh, she already has,” Brandon put in, a wicked glint in his eyes.

  I choked on my own spit, coughing and spluttering, almost dying, because the man I’d fucked, the man I’d done things to that would make a prostitute blush—the man I thought I’d never see again—is my boss’s goddamn son who is still at university. To make matter’s worse, the only son I was aware of the director having was only nineteen. Nineteen. I was the worst kind of cougar, a predator even. He was barely an adult.

  It was getting hot. I couldn’t breathe and started waving my hands at my face while pulling at my collar.

  “Get Cora some water,” the director instructed his son. His son! Oh God, I wanted to die. My life was so, so over. “Are you all right?”

  He peered into my face, a worried expression on his, and I nodded, the absence of Brandon in the room giving me enough space to calm down. “I think,” I said hoarsely. “I just need some air. My coffee went down the wrong way.”

  “Of course,” he said, stepping out of my way as I stood and walked to the exit doors as fast as I could without running. When I burst out into the street, I gulped in air, running my hands through my hair as I started walking. It didn’t matter w
hat direction I was going in, just so long as it was away from that office and the glaring indiscretion in the shape of the hottest nineteen-year-old on the planet.

  “Cora.” A voice called after me. Brandon’s.

  I picked up my step. “No, no, no. This is not happening to me.”

  He caught up rather quickly, not surprising since he was about six four, and I was only five seven.

  “That arse,” he said when he fell into step beside me. “I don’t mind chasing after it, but I’d rather if you stopped and actually spoke to me.”

  I ducked down a side street and stopped against a wall covered in graffiti. “This is a nightmare,” I moaned, leaning my head back against the multi-coloured brick.

  He stopped only a few inches from me. “Really? Because I think this is a dream come true.” I could feel the heat of his body. “You left without a goodbye, or even giving me your name. I wasn’t done with you yet.” He reached forward with one finger and somehow managed to pop two buttons on my blouse, exposing my cleavage.

  I gasped and he growled. I was freaked out and turned on all at the same time.

  “You’re my boss’s son.”

  He moved closer. “So?”

  “You’re my intern.”

  Closer again. “And?”

  “And you’re only nineteen.”

  “Twenty, actually. I just had my birthday. You want to know what my favourite present was?” He placed his whole hand against my chest, just above my breasts. Heat seared through me as he dragged his fingers down my skin then hooked the centre of my bra, pulling until my body slammed up against his. I whimpered at the contact, my hands grabbing on the lapel of his jacket as he leaned his head down and brushed his nose against my skin. “A lacy pair of black panties.”

  I was melting. The heat of him too much, the closeness of him more than I could stand. I could barely hold my own weight. “This is highly inappropriate.”

  “Why?” he rumbled in my ear.

  “Because you’re so young, and because I’m now your boss.”

  “That just makes it more exciting.” He ran his lips along my jaw, and I swear I almost came. I could barely breathe I was so turned on.

  Then his large hands moved to cup either side of my face, holding me steady as he brushed his mouth against mine, teasing me. My body wanted him to kiss me more than anything in this world, wanted to find somewhere quiet and pick up right where we left off, naked and shaking. But I knew that logically it was the worst possible choice. He was too young. I was getting a divorce. I was his boss. There were more reasons to stop this than there were to give in. So, summoning all of my strength, I flattened my palms against his impossibly hard chest and pushed. “Stop.”

  He pulled back immediately, looked at me and grinned, his eyes moving between my mouth and my eyes. “Are you sure?” He let his right hand slide down my neck, his fingers brushing along my breasts.

  I gulped, struggling against desire and the right thing to do. “No! I mean, yes, I’m sure. This is my livelihood we’re talking about. I can’t lose my job. I’m already one more incident away from dismissal.”

  He straightened his back, his fingers still on my skin, tracing their way to my cleavage.

  “I mean it, Brandon,” I said, my voice sounding more resolute than I felt.

  “I know,” he replied, his voice soft and intimate as he re-clasped the buttons on my blouse. “We should get back.”

  He stepped away, giving me the much-needed space I required to breathe in oxygen over his heady scent. “Thank you.” I released a breath and straightened my blouse, running my hands through my hair in an attempt to neaten up.

  Then, squaring my shoulders, I looked straight into those captivating eyes. “What happened between us can never happen again.”

  He nodded.

  “OK.” I was glad we’d cleared that up. Honestly, it had felt a little too easy, but I was relieved somewhat because I really wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep saying no while he touched me like that.

  “Do you think you can wait ten minutes?” I asked. “I’ll go first and you can come back in after.”

  “They know I came out after you.”

  “I don’t care. I just need a minute to myself to wrap my head around this.”

  He nodded his understanding. Satisfied, I turned away before stopping and turning back. “Are you seriously only twenty?” I asked, squinting my eyes and turning my head from side to side, studying his face.

  “We hooked up the day it happened.”

  I shook my head. “I could have sworn you were older.”

  “Why does it matter?” he asked with a shrug.

  “Because it does,” I returned before I walked away, my head throbbing. How the hell was I supposed to work with a man—well, boy—who I not only had outrageous sex with a week ago, but also masturbated to the night before? God, he was so amazing in bed, and he smelled soooo good. No, don’t think that. He’s off limits. I shook the thoughts away as best I could. I felt like a letch. He was only twenty—nineteen the day before I met him—and he was my boss’s kid. Fuck my fucking life. Can’t anything go right?

  10

  “Anything you need, boss?” Brandon poked his head through my door, leaning his tall, broad body against the frame.

  I felt like sighing when I looked at him. The day had been torture. My nerve endings felt like live wires sparking aggressively from fighting to act normal when my attraction was so intense. I even had brief moments where I thought quitting my job would be a wonderful idea.

  Instead, I smiled. “It’s late. You should go home.”

  He entered my office, taking the seat opposite me and crossing his legs, ankle to knee. He obviously wasn’t a good listener. “My father always taught me to be in the office before the boss and not leave until after.”

  “That’s probably good advice for when you aren’t also studying.”

  “I’ve been doing some uni work at my desk.” He grinned. We were having a normal conversation, but the way his eyes kept straying from my face made his mere presence feel intimate.

  Sitting back in my chair, I closed the file in front of me. “Probably not something you should be telling your boss.”

  He shrugged. “If I do my work and only do uni stuff in between, is it that much of a problem?”

  “Considering the internship is unpaid; no, it’s fine. Why are you doing it, anyway? Third year is stressful enough without adding something like this to it.”

  “I’m being slapped on the wrists by my father.”

  My brow lifted. “Care to elaborate?”

  He worked his jaw from side to side then sat up a little more before he spoke. “I was up in Brisbane going to QUT.”

  “Queensland University of Technology? That’s impressive. They have one of the best law schools in the country.”

  He nodded. “It’s also Brisbane, or Bris-Vegas as they like to call it. There’s a lot to do up there, and well, Dad decided I was having a little too much fun. Since he’s in control of the money I get for education and living expenses, he hauled me back down here. Now I’m going to a Catholic University and working here whenever I’m not. It’s his way of trying to rein me in. Possibly a little too late at this stage of my life.” He met my eyes and smiled.

  “That’s a pretty strong reaction. What did you do?”

  “Let’s just say I got in some trouble and he had to bail me out.”

  “I see. He used his connections to help you and now you’re beholden?”

  “I’ve been beholden since I took my first breath,” he muttered.

  “You don’t get along?”

  “Only when I’m falling in line.”

  “And do you fall out of line often?” I had to imagine that the answer to that was a definite yes.

  “What do you think?” There was something about the way he was looking at me, something about the way he smiled that told me he wasn’t just talking about going against his father’s wishes. I fel
t…undressed by him.

  Taking a sobering breath, I had to look away for a moment to clear my head. I needed to address what had happened—was happening—between us and put the issue to rest.

  “Listen, Brandon, about today. I’m sorry about the way I reacted when I saw you. I just wasn’t expecting the guy, I…you know…” Putting it into words was proving more difficult than I’d thought.

  “Fucked and dumped?” he offered, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

  “Yes, well, no…I mean…I suppose it seemed a lot like that. It’s just…if I had known who you were and exactly how young you are, I never would have done…everything we did. I was in a messed-up headspace that night, but I’m supposed to be the more mature of us both. I should have known better.”

  “Because you’re older than me?”

  “Well, yes. Almost a whole decade older than you.”

  “That doesn’t make you more mature, Cora.”

  “Well, I’ve had a lot more life experience that you.”

  “Felt like we were pretty well matched when we got back to my hotel room.” He did? Wow. He tilted his head to the side and regarded me. “How old did you think I was anyway?”

  “Maybe twenty-five.”

  “So, five years is acceptable, but ten isn’t?”

  “Yes,” I blurted, wishing I hadn’t brought this up. “You’re so young. I feel like I’ve done something terribly wrong.”

  His mouth kicked up at the side. “Where I was standing, you did everything right.” He was talking about me like I was some sort of goddess in the sack. Secretly, I was loving the compliments. Jack had never been especially complimentary. “Well, except taking off while I slept. That was a pretty douche move. Oh, and stealing my cologne.” He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking like he was trying to figure me out. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because you smell really good,” I responded immediately. Then I pressed my lips together to make myself shut up. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere along the lines I had intended.

  He chuckled. “I’ll be sure to get some more so I can wear that scent every day.”

  “Please don’t,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

  He released his breath, a quick burst that would have made a ‘huh’ sound had he given it voice. “Glad I’m not the only one.”