by Amy Brent
“Are you sure that you can handle this position?” Cheryl asked. “It’s been a long time since Mr. Crayton has hired a personal assistant. He likes everything a certain way.”
I set the items down on my desk with a smile. “I’ll be fine. I’ve worked with CEOs my whole life. I know how to handle it.”
Cheryl looked dubious as she opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short when the phone on her desk started to ring. She left to answer it while I took a seat at my desk to wait for my computer to arrive next.
Ding. Ding.
I picked up the iPhone in surprise. My stomach fluttered when I read Cole’s text.
Settled in just fine out there?
I texted back quickly. Just fine, thank you. Anything that you’d like me to do for you?
His response came back a minute later.
Nothing at the moment. Thank you.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from smiling. I could get used to having a daily interaction with Cole. There was no doubt about that.
Chapter 5
Cole
I had no idea how the fuck I was going to survive with Violet as my personal assistant. My cock was sore from constant arousal no matter what I did. Nothing relieved the tension I felt. It didn’t help either that Violet seemed to be always bending down to pick up things or sending me these flame-eyed looks that sent my heart into damn near overdrive. I was hanging on by my fingernails at this point with my self-control nearly battered beyond repair.
I wanted to bend that sexy ass over the edge of my desk, lift those tight skirts up over her hips, and just slam myself into the sweetness I knew waited there. I wanted to pound myself hard into her. Hard.
Shifting in irritation from another hard erection, I watched the morning traffic in Manhattan blur. Central Park had been a bit chillier when I had gone for my usual morning run, with the summer air starting to fade. I had hoped getting out into the cold air would help with the day ahead, but my thoughts had already ruined that idea.
My driver waited patiently at the steering wheel, sipping his coffee, as the traffic light above remained red. Mine sat between my thighs while I dug through the inside of my blazer pocket for my vibrating phone. I glanced down at the caller ID. Apprehension filled me when I recognized Alan’s number.
“Hello,” I said cautiously.
“Don’t sound too happy to hear from me,” Alan said wryly. “How is Violet doing? I haven’t heard her from her besides an email.”
“She’s doing fine. I placed her as my personal assistant. So far, she seems to be thriving in the position. I have a job meeting today with some Japanese investors that she’ll be helping me prepare for this morning.”
“I’m glad she is getting some job experience. I still don’t agree with her doing this, but whatever makes my free-spirited daughter happy, I suppose. She insisted on renting this apartment outside of Manhattan that I didn’t approve of either.”
I frowned as the building of Crayton, Inc. came into view. “She didn’t want to stay in Manhattan?”
“No. She wanted to be away from Manhattan.” Alan chuckled into the phone. “She knew that I would have people watching her that I knew if she stayed.”
“It doesn’t surprise me. Violet’s a smart woman.”
“My little girl is smart,” Alan agreed with a sigh. “Too damn smart for her own good. At least I know that you’re keeping an eye on her.”
Hot shame filled me. Yeah, I was watching her. I was also fantasizing about bending her over my desk to fuck her wildly.
“Of course,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “You’re my best friend. I want to make sure that she’s protected. Romances are forbidden in my office anyway.”
“That’s a good office rule. People do their jobs that way.”
“Exactly.”
My driver pulled up to the curb of Crayton, Inc. I grabbed my briefcase from the floorboards, nodding to my driver as I slid out the door to walk up to the lobby.
“I have to get going, Alan. I’ll call you later. We need to do our Poker night.”
“Next week,” he said. “I’ll be in the city visiting Violet then. I’ll call you.”
Violet’s desk was empty when I arrived at the top floor, but her purse and work phone were on her chair.
“Where’s Ms. Summers?” I asked Cheryl, who was typing away on her computer.
Cheryl barely spared me a glance. “I believe she’s getting some coffee from the break room. Her presentation and notes are in your office.”
“Thank you.”
I found Violet’s notes placed in the center of my desk, ready for my approval. A flash drive sat next to the notes. I could smell the faint scent of vanilla and cinnamon lingering in the air. Not willing to get distracted before this meeting, I slid out of my blazer to hang it in the closet. I sat down at my desk to go over Violet’s notes but stopped short when I caught a glimpse of Violet through the open door bending over to adjust the strap of her heel.
Her perky ass strained against the tight fabric of her black pencil skirt. I could only imagine how taut the flesh would feel if my hands ever found their way there. She turned to address someone out of sight, still fiddling with a small strap around the back of her heel. This time, it gave me a perfect view of luscious breasts wanting to spill out from the top of her bra and blouse.
Fuck. I went hard again. So much for not getting distracted.
I watched as Violet fiddled around with the heel strap before straightening up to smooth out any wrinkles in her skirt. She walked out of sight again, but I could hear her voice chatting away with another employee.
Having Violet as my personal assistant had also caused quite a stir with other employees. I caught many lingering stares in Violet’s direction numerous times, but they all looked away when I glared at them. My employees knew how I felt about sexual and romantic relationships with co-workers. I made it a rule because that shit complicated the work environment. I learned that the hard way going through a divorce with Stephanie who used to be a permanent fixture in Crayton, Inc. Now, she was a malicious ghost in the background that took a portion of my income every single month.
I shook those thoughts away as I glanced over the notes and slide presentation that Violet had prepared. I noted that Alan would be pleased to know that his daughter had absorbed his business practices over the years. She was smart. Too smart for her own good.
“What do you think?” Violet asked as she entered my office. She carried two cups of steaming coffee and set one down in front of me. “The investors, from what I researched, are disciplined in their practices…”
One of Violet’s fingers toyed absently with the buttons of her blouse. My mouth went dry as lust barreled through me. I wanted to rip those buttons free of the fabric and suck at the tender skin hidden behind them.
“Cole?”
I cleared my throat when I realized that Violet was staring at me in confusion, a frown tugging at her lips.
“Mr. Crayton,” I corrected, a bit harsher than I intended. “Your presentation is good. Thank you for getting this all prepared for me.”
“Of course. That’s my job, right? To help you with whatever you need.”
I groaned inwardly at that undertone. I had to be imagining it. There was no way that Violet, innocent Violet, who went to private schools and barely interacted with other people, knew how to be subtle when it came to seduction. It just wasn’t possible. This was all in my head.
“Right. Let’s get to the conference room to get ready for this.”
Violet followed behind me while Cheryl prepared the conference room with snacks, water, and coffee. The investors showed up dressed in nice suits, fake smiles plastered all over their faces. They were like me. They were interested only in making money, even if we didn’t personally like each other.
I talked for thirty minutes with the translator whispering in the background to them. I answered the occasional question when asked, but I found m
y eyes lingering on Violet as she took notes in the corner.
“Ms. Summers.” She looked up at me in surprise. “Would you please explain your slides to these gentlemen?”
The investors glanced at their translator in confusion. I took a seat at the front of the table while Violet stared at me from across it with a horrified expression. I nodded at her in encouragement as she slowly got to her feet. She knew this was a test. I could see that determined glint enter her eyes as she took a position at the front of the conference room.
For the next twenty-minutes, I studied Violet’s curves while she talked about the various slides. I knew the investors weren’t buying it from their distant looks, but I didn’t care. They would be back next year wanting to make a deal. I wanted to see what Violet could do under pressure. And I was pleased with the confident results.
The translator informed us both politely that they weren’t interested in listening to an intern give a spiel. They rose from the table a second later to walk out of the conference room like I’d expected them to do.
“They didn’t like my presentation?” Violet asked, crestfallen. “I spent the past two days going over this with you. How could they not buy it?”
“They have different standards,” I replied, rising from my chair. “They don’t like listening to an assistant. It’s not how their culture works.”
“Then, why did you put me up here? I just lost you money.”
“They’ll be back,” I said. “I’ve dealt with this investor group numerous times. They are playing hard to get. I wanted to see how you commanded a room.”
Violet trailed her fingers over the conference table as the projector above her turned off. I turned the lights back on a second later. I couldn’t afford the temptation of being alone with Violet in the dark.
“How did I do?” she asked curiously.
“Very good,” I said. “You had complete control.”
She made a face. “Not really if I didn’t convince them.”
I didn’t know how to tell her that not all deals were simple. They never happened overnight, and if they didn’t happen, you had to keep going for the sake of your business. I never dwelled on the deals that never went through.
“Hey,” I said and reached forward to place a hand on her warm shoulder. “Don’t let things like this get you down. It happens. You can’t let every little thing get to you.”
I could feel delicate skin beneath the fabric of her blouse. Sparks of electricity went up my arm when Violet glanced at my hand resting on her shoulder. I jerked my hand back before she could say anything else.
“We need to get back to work,” I managed to say before leaving a startled Violet in the conference room.
My mood didn’t ease up either when Cheryl stepped into my path with an apologetic grimace.
“What is it now?”
“It’s Stephanie,” she said, quietly. “I’ve been trying to get her to call back later, but she says she needs to speak with you.”
“Great,” I snapped, running a hand through my hair. “What does she want?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t explain to me what she needed done. I figured it was better to have me deal with her than Violet.”
I offered a tight-lipped smile in appreciation at Cheryl’s gesture. The last thing I needed to hear about was the young personal assistant at my side. Not that it fucking mattered in my eyes. Stephanie found pleasure in whoever dared to dip between her legs.
“What is it?” I asked after I closed my office door to pick up the phone. “I told you that the company phone is not how to get ahold of me.”
“It’s nice to talk to you too, Cole,” Stephanie said. “I just figured this would be the fastest way to get ahold of you. I’m tired of dealing with lawyers. Aren’t you?”
The jovial tone of her voice caught my attention instantly. I reached up to adjust the knot of my tie in aggravation, loosening it.
“What do you want?” I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance. “I’m busy here. Just say what you want and get it over with.”
“Fine,” Stephanie said flatly. Her cheerful attitude disappeared instantly. “There is art here at the house that you left behind. I’m having it appraised because I want to get rid of it.”
I rolled my eyes. Go figure it was about money. It also happened to be the artwork that she had insisted on keeping through the divorce. Saving myself an even worse headache, I rubbed my eyes tiredly.
“I’ll pay whatever you want for it,” I said. “I’ll have someone stop by the house tomorrow with a check.”
“Pleasure doing business with you,” Stephanie said and laughed into the phone. “Don’t sound so stern, Cole. You’ll give yourself a heart attack by being so serious.”
She hung up before I could think of a reply. I slammed the phone down onto the receiver and stalked over to the windows that looked down on Manhattan. Rage simmered in my veins as I gazed out across the skyline, trying to calm the storm brewing inside of me. However, that storm took an entirely different course when Violet stepped into my office after knocking and shut the door.
Chapter 6
Violet
Something was bothering Cole. I could see it on his face throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon. A dark shadow fell across his eyes, and he appeared to be brooding over something.
And no one, including me, was excluded from his foul mood.
“Don’t take it personally,” Cheryl told me when I stepped out of his office, blinking back hot tears. “It has nothing to do with today, or even you. It’s his ex-wife.”
I dabbed the tears out of my eyes in embarrassment. “You mean Stephanie, right?”
“Yes,” Cheryl said. Irritation flickered to life in her eyes. “The woman is going to kill him happily one of these days from all the stress she puts him through. Don’t even bother dealing with her if she calls. Send her straight to me.”
“I’m not afraid of her if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said.
I had met Stephanie only once in passing. My mom had been her frenemy from the start. The woman was gorgeous, but having a harder time trying to keep herself youthful in appearance. She had wrinkles around her eyes. She had to dye her hair constantly to keep it gray free. And from what I gathered, she was a gold-digger who gladly tapped into the well of Cole’s bank account. And heart.
My fingers curled into fists at the thought of her gladly playing on Cole’s emotions. Their divorce had been nasty from what my father told me. They’d fought through lawyers viciously before Cole surrendered out of exasperation and frustration, just to end the war. It had played hard on Cole’s health for a few months too. It still was, judging from the dark mood radiating from inside of Crayton, Inc.
“I forget that you are close to Cole,” Cheryl said, shaking her head as she pulled her computer keyboard toward her. “I forget that you are family friends. You know how Stephanie is.”
I nodded as I took a seat at my own desk as well. “Desperate to stay young and attractive, but she needs Cole’s money to do it.”
“That’s the unfortunate truth.”
The rest of Friday afternoon ticked by slowly with Cole refusing to come out of his office. The only thing he did was text out orders to Cheryl and me. Every once in a while, I watched Line 3, his private land line, flicker on for periods at a time. No one called for him, and it spared me the trouble of going in there to face him until he cooled down from his bad mood.
I couldn’t help the concern I felt, though, when everyone in Crayton, Inc. clocked out for the weekend at 5:00 pm. There was no sight of Cole, and his phone line remained open. I pulled out my phone to text him.
Is everything okay?
“Happy Friday afternoon, fellow intern.”
I looked up to see Michael approaching me with a grin. His tie was already loose, draped around his neck casually.
“What are your plans for tonight?” he asked. “Maybe we could get a few drinks this weekend. I know a co
uple of great places we could go.”
“Not this weekend,” I said and offered an apologetic smile when he looked disappointed. “I have plans already. Maybe another time?”
Michael shoved his hands into his pant pockets. “Yeah, I suppose. Text me if your plans change. We could get dinner too.”
I glanced down at my phone as Michael joined the group of people waiting for him at the elevators. Nothing. Cole was always glued to his phone. He usually texted and emailed back within a minute.
I waited until the floor was motionless and quiet before I got up from my desk. Sucking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I pushed the door to Cole’s office open. The smell of whiskey reached my nose.
Cole was standing motionlessly in front of the windows that overlooked the entire city of Manhattan. His suit jacket was tossed carelessly on the small leather couch that overlooked the windows as well. He cradled a full glass of whiskey in one hand while the other one was busily scrolling through what appeared to be an email.
“You shouldn’t be here still,” Cole spoke, not even glancing over at me. “It’s Friday afternoon. You should be out of the door already like everyone else.”
The tension radiated off him in waves. I couldn’t walk out of his office without making sure that he was all right. I cared too much about Cole to just shrug it off. I wasn’t just an employee either.
I closed his office door behind me. That earned Cole’s attention as he turned to look at me with a dark frown.
“I was worried about you,” I explained, approaching him cautiously. “You always text back with something. I didn’t see you all afternoon either.”
“I had things to do,” he said coolly. “Private things that needed to be taken care of.”
“Oh, right.”
I twisted my hands together, unsure of how to proceed. Cole never acted distant around me. It was hard to decipher if he wanted me to leave or if he wanted me to stay.
“I wanted to apologize again for today,” I started, breaking the silence between us. “I should’ve pitched differently. I really thought my presentation would’ve won that group over after everything I read about them.”
