by Ramona Gray
“Christ, is it cold out tonight.”
“Yeah. How was the first day?” He opened the bag of salad mix and poured it into a bowl.
“It was good.” Jackson loosened his tie. “How was your day?”
“Slow.” He opened the oven door and checked the steaks.
“Smells good,” Jackson said.
“It’ll be ready in about five.”
“Yeah, okay. Ian, you all right, man?”
He turned to face his best friend. “Yeah, just tired. Tell me about your first day.”
“Not much to tell. Meetings with HR in the morning, I also met Chloe, she’s the one I’ll be working closest with. I had lunch with Amy, Mark and Luke – they own the company– and in the afternoon Chloe and I went over her marketing strategy for the new digital storefront. She’s got some good ideas.”
Ian placed the bowl of salad on the table and grabbed plates and cutlery. “So, she’s hot, huh?”
“Why do you say that?”
He grinned at Jackson. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“That look you get when you wanna fuck a woman. Fucking your co-worker is a stupid idea.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it. But, Jesus, Ian, she’s hot. In a sweet, kind of naïve sort of way. You’d like her too.”
The timer went off and Ian pulled out the steaks before setting them on the stove to rest. “If she’s sweet and naïve then she’s not the one for us. You know that.”
Jackson shrugged. “Sometimes the sweet ones have a hidden naughty side. Besides, she’s a redhead, they’re always slightly naughty, right? Ian, what’s wrong?”
Ian shook his head. “Nothing.”
Jackson studied him for a moment before standing. “I’m gonna get changed. Be back in five.”
He left the kitchen and Ian stared at the steaks. So Jackson’s new co-worker had red hair, it didn’t mean it was his one-night stand. Christ, the city was way too fucking big for those types of coincidences.
She was wearing a Dawson suit.
He transferred the steaks to plates and set them on the table. So fucking what. Half the women in the city wore Dawson suits. This Chloe wasn’t his mystery woman.
Chapter Four
“Hey, Chloe? Take a look at this, would you?” Jackson pointed to his screen.
Chloe stood and walked to his desk. She rested her hand on his desk and bent a little to stare at the screen. “Hey, that looks good.”
She tried to ignore the amazing scent of Jackson’s aftershave. It was bad enough trying to ignore how damn hot he looked every day for the last week, the fact that he smelled delicious as well, was making it pure torture.
She’d masturbated every single night this past week, a new record for her. Sometimes it was her mystery man, sometimes it was Jackson, but regardless, both fantasies never failed to get her off. Unfortunately, her need seemed to increase rather than decrease with every orgasm she gave herself. She was at the point where she was seriously considering ordering a vibrator online. She needed something, anything, to help with the ache in her pussy that never really seemed to go away.
She drew in a shaky breath, yanking her hand back when Jackson grazed it as he reached for the mouse.
“Sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay.” She chewed on her bottom lip and tried to focus on what Jackson was showing her. He’d been working on creating the new digital storefront all week, and he’d already created a template for how the front page would look.
“So, here right across the page, we can showcase the latest designs in a changing banner.” Jackson pointed to the screen. “Customers will see immediately what’s new in the Dawson Clothing world.”
“I like it,” she said. “What about the sales stuff?”
“That will go here, right below it and a bit to the right. So, still where the customer can see it, but the new stuff will catch their eye first.”
“That’s great. You’re really fast at this.” She smiled at him, her gaze dropping to his mouth when he returned her grin.
God, he had great lips. That lower one was really suckable, wasn’t it? She wondered what he’d do if she leaned forward a little and kissed him. Would that be so bad? Coworkers kissed occasionally, right?
“Chloe.” His voice was low and husky.
She moved her gaze to his, her eyes widening. Shit, was he… turned on? Did he want her like she wanted him?
“Yeah?” She whispered.
Before he could answer, there was a knock on their door. Chloe stumbled back, her cheeks flaming red, and stared guiltily at Amy standing in their doorway.
“Oh, uh, hi, Amy. Jackson and I were …” Shit, what were they doing?
“Going over a prototype of the front page of the online store,” Jackson said smoothly. “How are you, Ms. Dawson?”
“I told you to call me Amy.” Amy smiled at him. “How’s your first week?”
“Going well.”
“Good.”
Amy turned to Chloe and Chloe tried to look innocent. “What can I help you with?”
“Can I see your sketches, please?”
She gave Jackson a quick glance. “My sketches?”
Amy nodded and glanced at her watch. “I know you have them with you. Do you mind if I look at them again?”
“How do you know I have them with me?” Chloe said.
Amy laughed. “If you’re anything like me, you always have sketches with you.”
She stared expectantly at Chloe who shrugged and reached under her desk. She brought out the oversized leather bag she used as a purse and grabbed her sketch book out of it. Amy was standing beside her desk now and she took the book and set it on the desk before flipping through it. Chloe watched each of her drawings flip by, that weird excitement and nervousness crowding into her belly that always appeared when she showed someone her work.
She knew she wasn’t a great designer, but she loved doing it and to have Amy Dawson looking at her work… shit, it felt good.
“This is new from the last time I looked at your work, right?” Amy pointed to a sketch of a pair of capri pants and a crop top.
“Yes.”
Amy had been gracious enough to look at Chloe’s work about a week or two after she’d started at the company. She’d even been kind and said nice things. Chloe suspected she wasn’t being exactly truthful, but it had still given her a high that had lasted for more than two days.
“These are really good.” Jackson had rolled his chair over and was staring at the designs as Amy flipped through them.
Chloe ignored her urge to slam the sketchbook shut and stuff it back into her bag. Somehow, Jackson looking at her designs was more nerve wracking than Amy looking at them.
“Oh, um, thank you.”
“I know I’m not an expert or anything, but these look great to me,” Jackson said. “I didn’t know you were a designer as well, Chloe.”
“Oh, well technically I’m not. I do it for fun. It’s more of a hobby,” she said.
“You seem pretty damn good for it to be just a hobby,” Jackson said.
“She is.” Amy’s voice was distracted. She flipped back through the sketchbook again. “Where is that…ah, here it is.”
Chloe peered at her sketchbook. Amy had stopped at a sketch of a summer dress. It was a knee-length, sleeveless, A-line with a beaded lace bodice. It was one of Chloe’s personal favourites.
Amy tapped the dress with the tip of one blue-painted nail. “I want this.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I want this dress for my new casual line.”
Chloe stared up at her in stunned silence. She had to have heard Amy wrong. “You want…this dress for your…casual line?”
Amy nodded. “Yes, and maybe,” she flipped back to the capri pants and crop top, “these too.”
“You’re joking, right?” Chloe said.
“No.” Amy stepped back and smiled at her. “Now, most of my designers w
ork directly for Dawson Clothing, but since you’re already an employee, I think we should set you up as subcontractor with the company for your design work. Keep it separate, if you’re all right with that?”
“If I’m all right with that…”
“Yes.” Amy laughed before squeezing her arm. “Take a deep breath, Chloe.”
She took a deep breath and released it. “You seriously want that design.”
“I seriously do. I’ll have a contract drawn up and you can take a look at it. If it works for you, we’ll go from there. Sound good?”
“Uh, it sounds really good.”
“Excellent. I’ll have the contract for you to look at by Monday afternoon. Have a good weekend.”
“Th-thanks, Amy. You too.”
Amy left and Chloe, her heart skipping in weird erratic beats like a stone skipping across the surface of water, stood and paced back and forth in the office. She was a designer. She was officially a designer.
“Chloe? You okay?”
Jackson had stood up and she stopped in front of him. “I-I’m a designer. Amy Dawson wants one of my designs for her new casual line.”
“I heard.” Jackson gave her a small grin. “Congratulations.”
“I’m a designer!” Joy flooded through her and without thinking, she flung her arms around Jackson and hugged him. He returned her hug, his big hands warm on her lower back.
She grinned up at him. “This is the best day of my life.”
“Well, I’m glad I could be here for it.” His gaze dropped to her mouth again. “We should celebrate.”
She realized she was still pressed up against him. She took a step back, breaking his hold around her, and crossed her arms over her torso. “What do you mean?”
“Let me take you for dinner to celebrate,” he said. “Unless, you want to celebrate with your boyfriend?”
“I don’t – I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Then let me take you to dinner,” he said.
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Um, I’m not trying to be rude, but dating a co-worker isn’t, I mean, I don’t think…”
“It’s not a date,” Jackson said so quickly that she immediately felt stupid. “It’s just two co-workers celebrating a success. We can invite some of your other friends if you want?”
“I don’t have -”
Shit, she almost told him she didn’t have any friends. She might be a loser, but she didn’t need the tall, impossibly gorgeous man standing in front of her to know that.
“You don’t have what?”
“Nothing. I…”
She should say no. She should say no and go home and have a hot bath and… sit alone with absolutely no one to share her exciting news with. Some of the joy leaked out and she blinked rapidly to stop the hot tears that were threatening. Her parents didn’t even know she designed clothes and her grandmother…well, she could call her, and her grandmother would be genuinely happy for her. For about five minutes. Then the call would become about Lori, it always did.
“Hey, you okay?”
She stared up at Jackson. She’d only known him for a few days, but already concern was etched across his face for her. It sent a tingle of warmth through her.
God, girl, you really are pathetically lonely, aren’t you?
“Yeah, I’m okay. I would love to have a celebration dinner with you.”
“Great!” Jackson’s face broke out in a delighted smile. “I know the perfect place.”
* * *
“To Chloe,” Jackson held up his glass and Chloe followed suit, “for achieving her dreams.”
They clinked glasses and drank before Chloe smiled at him. “Well, I’m not sure if I’ve achieved them yet, but it’s a start, right?”
“It is. Have you always wanted to be a designer?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I was designing clothes for my Barbie dolls when I was a kid.”
“That’s cute.” Jackson smiled at her as the server approached.
“Ready to order?” The server was young and perky and not shy about giving Jackson an appreciative once-over.
“Ready, Chloe?” Jackson asked.
She nodded and they ordered their meals. Chloe bit back her smile and a weird tingle of jealousy when the server lingered for a bit, smiling at Jackson and making meaningless small talk. When she finally left, Jackson said, “So, why did you go into marketing instead of design?”
“Honestly? Because I couldn’t get into design school. I was rejected from every school I applied for.” She took a sip of her drink. “I needed a career, so I went to business school instead and sort of fell into the marketing thing.”
“Do you like it?”
She thought for a moment. “I don’t dislike it, and I’m good at it. But it’s not my passion, you know?”
“I get it.”
“What about you? Do you do what you love?”
He laughed. “Well, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional skateboarder and also be a Hollywood stuntman with my best friend, so, no, I guess I’m not.”
“A career in computers is probably about as far from skateboarder/stuntman as you can get.”
“True,” he said, “but I do like my work and I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping clients achieve their goals.”
“What about your best friend? Did he become a stuntman?” Chloe asked with a small smile.
“Nope, Ian’s a cop.”
“Are you still best friends?”
“We are. We live together actually.”
“Oh. So, uh, your girlfriend doesn’t mind that you have a roommate?”
He grinned at her. “No girlfriend.”
“Right.” She could feel herself blushing and took a quick sip of her wine.
Smooth, Chloe. Real smooth.
She glanced around the restaurant. “So, how are you liking the new job so far?”
“I’m really enjoying it,” Jackson said. “I know I have a tendency to talk to myself, I hope it’s not too distracting for you.”
“It isn’t,” she said. He did talk to himself a bit, but after working in cubicles for most of her career, she was a pro at blocking out any noise. His tendency to shed his suit jacket halfway through the day so she could see the way his shirt stretched across those broad shoulders, and the way his ass looked in a pair of dress pants…now those were much harder to ignore.
More heat rose to her face. “So, uh, have you always lived here?”
He nodded. “Yes. My mom moved here shortly before I was born. She’s a doctor, and she works at Mercy Hospital on the west side. My mom and Ian’s mom are best friends. Ian and I basically grew up together.”
“It’s nice that you’re still best friends,” she said. “Sometimes friends drift apart as they get older or, you know, life happens, and people get busy…”
It was Kandace she was thinking of. They’d been best friends from elementary school all the way through college and into their first jobs. She’d been there for Chloe through thick and thin, until Lori had ruined their friendship in one single night.
Her stomach clenched, and her appetite dropped away. Lori had taken away or ruined every good thing in her life, yet she still came running whenever Lori or her grandmother called. Lori’s demons weren’t hers, but she couldn’t stop the guilt, couldn’t stop from trying to fix her sister’s life.
“Chloe?”
She shook her head to clear the bad memories. She wouldn’t think about Lori tonight. Tonight, she would celebrate the fact that Amy Dawson wanted her designs, and enjoy dinner with a very sexy man who she wanted to do very bad things with. The fact that she absolutely could not do those very bad things with him was worth remembering, but a little fantasy didn’t hurt.
“Sorry. You were talking about your best friend?”
“He’s a good guy. He’ll probably drop by the office at some point and you’ll get to meet him. Anyway, this night is about you and your new career as a designer.”
The serve
r returned with their food and Chloe put her napkin in her lap as Jackson did the same. The server left, and Chloe ate a forkful of pasta. “I don’t know if it’s a new career, but it sure feels good. This is delicious, by the way.”
“I’m glad you like it. Do you want more wine?” Jackson had ordered a bottle and she put her hand over the top of her glass.
“No thanks. I don’t – I’m not much of a drinker.”
“All right.” He poured himself half a glass before taking a bite of food. “So, what do you like to do for fun?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know. I like to design, obviously. I’m a big fan of the food network.”
Jackson laughed. “Oh man, you really do need to meet Ian. He does all of the cooking and I swear to God, the food network plays 24/7 at our house.”
“I’m not great at cooking, but I like to watch the food shows and pretend,” Chloe said with a grin.
“Nothing wrong with that. You said your parents lived in Iowa, right? Do you have any other family here in the city?”
She fidgeted with her fork. “Uh, my grandmother and older sister live here.”
“Are you close with them?”
“Yes.” She decided he didn’t need to know that she didn’t want to be close to them.
“That’s nice. I’m an only child and I always wanted a sibling. Ian is like a brother to me but it’s not the same, you know?”
“Siblings aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.”
Shit, even she could hear the bitterness in her voice.
She gave Jackson an awkward smile as he studied her thoughtfully. “No, I suppose not.”
Anxious to steer the conversation away from her family, she said, “So, does anyone ever call you Jack?”
He burst out laughing. “Only Ian when he’s trying to bust my balls or get under my mother’s skin. She loathes it when someone calls me Jack. So, it makes perfect sense that she called me Jackson, right?”
She laughed. “Perfect sense. What do you like to do for fun?”
“I’m pretty low key. I like to work out, go to movies, and I’m in a chess club.”
