“So you’re not going to give me any advice?” She bites the inside of her cheeks, waiting for my reply.
I point at myself. “Do I look like the kind of guy to give good advice?”
She smiles. “Good point.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“What? You were looking for something else, weren’t you?”
“Well, you didn’t have to agree with it,” I say.
She grabs the pillow from her chair and throws it at me. “Asshole.”
I laugh, deflecting it by grabbing it midair. “That’s Mr. Asshole to you.” I throw the pillow on the floor.
“Yeah, right. Like we haven’t already gotten way past the point of no return.”
“No, that would be anal sex … so I guess you’re right. We have gone past the point of no return.”
She grins, a little too deviously, and I decide there and then it’s been way too long since I last fucked her ass, and I’m going to fuck it into oblivion the next time I get the chance.
But first, we have to deal with the matter at hand. I turn my head toward the paper again and swallow away the lump in my throat. “If I want to stay your boss, I gotta do something about this first, though. It’s not looking good.”
“Can’t you sue them?”
“No, because it’s actually the truth. I do collect panties.”
“But if there’s false information in there, you could, right?” she asks.
“Maybe, but that won’t solve the problem of my reputation being damaged forever.”
She grabs the paper. “Let me see.” Her eyes scan the words I’m too afraid to even read.
“What does it say?” I ask.
Lesley clears her throat. “It’s not looking good.”
I entwine my fingers as I lean on the desk with my elbows, staring ahead. “Give it to me straight.”
“All right. It says you’re a filthy panty hoarder. She says you had like thousands of them.”
“Lie,” I reply.
She continues. “Most of them were dirty. Yada, yada. You sniffed them while at work.”
“Lie,” I say. “Again.”
She briefly glances at me before continuing. “She says you intimidated her and demanded she gave you her panties or else she’d get fired.”
“Lies.” My fist slams onto the desk, momentarily scaring Lesley.
“Should I continue?” she asks.
I nod, rubbing my chin with annoyance. “Yes. I have to know what it says.”
“You sure? Because you seem upset.”
“Yes, goddammit!” I growl.
She sucks in a breath and arches back, and I regret yelling at her like that immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“It’s okay,” she mutters, still apprehensive. “Just don’t yell at me, okay?”
“I won’t. I apologize,” I say, gazing straight into her eyes. “Please continue.”
She nods and then opens her mouth again. “She says you also stole one of her panties from her.”
“What? How?” I cringe. “Like I’d ever just go into an employee’s home and steal their panties. Who in their right mind would believe this crap?”
“Apparently a lot of people since it’s even on the news,” she mutters, which makes me grind my teeth.
“Doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“I know that.” She cocks her head. “TJ …”
“Do you?” I ask, looking up at her. “Because everyone already thinks I’m the liar. Not her. She’s the innocent victim, right?”
She places the newspaper down on the desk and steps closer, despite me snarling at her. She should go before I do more damage. I might ruin her career too before it’s even started.
Instead, she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.
The warmth of her embrace overwhelms me to the point that I lose myself in her. I don’t know how she does it. How she’s so empathetic when there’s nothing in it for her.
“We’ll get through this,” she whispers.
“I know,” I say, my fingers scrunching up her shirt to hold her closer.
“I can help.”
“How?” I ask. “No one can. It’s all lies, but I can’t prove a thing. I know she’s their prime source, but I can’t do a damn thing. No one will believe me. I’m just the perpetrator in this story.”
“You’re the victim, and I will prove it.” She grabs my shoulders and pushes back so she can look at me. And god, the way she does it makes me feel so weak and strong at the same time.
But this is not her fight.
I grab her face and let my thumb graze across her lips, thinking how I should’ve kissed her more. I’m worried … worried that I might not just lose my job, my business … but my relationship too. Whatever we had might be crushed under the weight of the media pressing down on us and continuously harassing us. It’s just not worth it.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt by this,” I say. She might not realize it, but it’s true. I care too much about her to make her go through the media frenzy. To make her watch my downfall. To witness the destruction. And to be in the center of it all.
“Maybe you should just—”
She presses a finger to my lips. “Don’t you say a word, Teddy Junior Morrows.”
My eyes turn into slits. “Who said you could use that name?”
“No one,” she says with a smirk. “But I will not let you ruin what we have just because of a news article. I’ve already gotten past the fact you’re a perverted man, so I can get past the fact people know.”
Her rant is actually quite cute. Especially when she’s all up in my face like that with her sass. Makes me wanna do other things … things I should not be thinking about right now.
“And I know what you’re thinking, but don’t get it into your head that we’re going to bounce around the room right now.”
“Bounce?” I chuckle. “You’ve got a colorful vocabulary.”
“You haven’t heard the half of it yet,” she boasts. “But I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while they rip you to shreds. Nuh-uh. If you wanna take it and let them walk all over you, be my guest, but I’m going to fix this shit right now.”
“I’m not letting them walk all over me. I was thinking of waiting until it blows over.” That’s a lie, but I don’t want her to know I feel defeated.
“Good for you.” She sticks up her thumbs. “But I’m not going to let some jealous bitch ruin your reputation.”
“What are you going to do about it?” I raise a brow. “Throw a tantrum like you’re doing now?”
She picks up the pillow from the floor and throws it at me again. “Asshole.”
I laugh. “What? You know I like it when you’re all sass.”
“All sass and no play,” she growls. “This bitch means business.”
“If you keep that up, I might have to call security,” I jest.
“Try me.” She puts up her fists. “I’ll beat the shit out of each one of them if that means I’ll get my way.”
“And what is your way exactly?” I ask, cocking my head.
“Getting that bitch who slandered you to admit she lied, get it on tape, and throw it out into the world.”
“So that’s your plan?”
“Yup,” she says, and she grabs the paper off the desk and rolls it up to stuff it into her bag. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“I never said I wanted to,” I say, leaning back in my chair.
“Oh, so that’s what CEOs do all day? Lean back and let everyone else do the work for them?”
“Got that right … and you know what else? You’ll make a damn fine CEO yourself one day.”
Her cheeks turn red, and I smile with delight.
“Thanks,” she says. “But before I start my own business, I gotta save yours.”
“Hey, I’m not forcing you to do anything. You know I’d prefer it if you didn’t, right? This could get me into real
trouble.”
“I know you don’t, and I won’t, I promise,” she says, kissing me on the forehead. “But I gotta try.”
Before she can turn around, I grab her face and pull her in for a kiss. “You know I love it when you’re feisty like this,” I whisper against her lips.
A dirty grin spreads across her lips. “You should see me when I meet that girl …”
“Please don’t punch her in the face,” I joke, which makes her chuckle.
“No, I won’t. I’ll just give her a good kick in the pussy.”
“Don’t,” I say, pushing my forehead against hers so she can’t look away. “I mean it. If you can’t behave, you stay here.”
“Right … because you think I can’t handle myself.”
“No, because I don’t want you to get into trouble. I’m not doing this the wrong way.”
“There is no right way.”
“It must be legal, Lesley,” I hiss.
“I know, I know.” She sighs. “I just want to help.”
“I know you do,” I reply. “But help can also do a lot of damage.”
“I’m not going to make it any worse, I promise.”
“If people find out that you work for me, and that we’re a couple, and you visited her … we could be in real trouble.”
“A couple?” she repeats. “God, that sounds so weird when you say it like that.”
“Really?” My eyebrows rise. “That’s the part you focused on?”
“It’s called selective listening. You should try it sometime.”
“Oh, I do it all the time … but I only listen to your oh’s and ah’s. They remind me of something else.”
She smiles like a little vixen, pressing her juicy tits against my chest, and it makes me wanna grab them. “Is that all you ever think about?”
I purse my lips to stop myself from grinning like a motherfucker. “Pretty much.”
She bursts into laughter. “God, you’re such a horny bastard.”
“But I’m your horny bastard.” I grab her hand and kiss the top, but my tongue can’t help but dip out to lick it up all the way to the tip of her finger, after which I suck it off in my mouth.
“Seriously?” she mumbles.
“You know you like it,” I taunt, bringing her finger down my chest and making a sizzling sound. “Ooooh.”
She laughs. “You’re too funny sometimes.”
“I know, babe,” I say. “It’s what breaks the tension.”
“What tension? I didn’t know there was any,” she retorts, and she backs away just in time before I got one of the most massive boners ever.
Goddamn, she’s so fucking sexy up close.
“I’m gonna go gather some intel,” she says, winking as she walks backward.
“Don’t be too obvious,” I say. “People are gonna notice.”
“I’ll be as sneaky as a rat,” she says, tiptoeing to the door like she’s already started her mission impossible. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
I smile, watching her open the door. “I do expect you to do the rest of your work, you know.” I check my watch for emphasis. “The work never ends.”
“I know, I know! I’ll do it all and then some,” she yells before closing the door and leaving me alone.
It only dawns on me when she’s gone that I haven’t got the slightest clue what she’s going to do, and that it scares the living shit out of me. I don’t want this to get any worse than it already is. But can it? Because I know that once the other board members see this newspaper, I’m done for. And no amount of truth searching or begging from either me or Lesley is going to fix it.
I let her go because she wanted to. Because I could see she wished to help me.
To make her feel good.
To give her the idea there’s still hope.
But I’m guilty. This stupid heart of mine just can’t let go, even when I know it’s a lost cause.
Chapter 27
Lesley
While TJ calls his brother back and tries to put his mother at ease, I’m busy figuring out how I’m going to turn this bad news around. On my way out, I stop by Gillian’s desk and ask her for the address of TJ’s previous intern. She reluctantly hands it over after I tell her I plan to trick her into telling the truth. She’s wary, and I get it, but I’m not like that girl. I care too much about TJ to let this get him down. And I guess she sees that in me too because she actually gives me the details, writing them down on a flimsy piece of paper.
“Don’t disappoint him, please,” Gillian asks. “He’s been through too much.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
“You sure?” She raises her brows at me.
I place my hand on the desk. “I know about his filthy secret. I’m still here.” I wriggle my eyebrows. “Enough proof?”
She purses her lips, carefully examining me before nodding. “I believe you.”
“Finally.”
“Like you don’t know why I had to treat you the way I did.”
“Uh-huh … You’re sure good at your job. That I gotta give you,” I muse, and I sashay away.
“Thanks, I guess,” she says. “But don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because you won him over.”
“I don’t expect you to,” I say as I briefly glance over my shoulder. “Besides, I like the challenge.”
I walk down the stairs with the note tucked firmly into my pocket and stop by the doggy daycare to grab Pepper before I go outside. We go back to my place where I can scheme. I need to think this through before I go in for the attack. Just because I know where that woman lives doesn’t mean I can just go over there and demand she tell the truth.
No, I gotta play it smart. Make her confess her lies without her seeing through mine.
And there’s only one way to go about that.
I have to pretend I’m one of his victims too.
What if he stole my panties? What if he came onto me and then pretended he didn’t care? That’ll surely hit the mark with her. It’ll remind her of the time he rejected her, and pissing her off is exactly what I need to do to get her to speak about it. All I have to do is capture it on my voice recorder, which every girl has on her phone nowadays. Oh, what a convenience.
I need to write this shit down before I forget. I need to know exactly what I’m going to say and do to trigger her response. However, the moment I grab my pen and paper, my phone rings.
“Hello?” I say.
“Are you doing it yet?” It’s TJ, and he sounds frantic.
“No, I’m still planning my attack.”
“Please don’t make a spectacle out of it.”
“I won’t, I promise. I got it covered.”
“You don’t know how she’s going to react. If she knows who you are, she could make it even worse by talking to the press about you … about us.”
“No, I won’t tell her we’re together. Or that I’m working for you.”
“What if she already knows?” he whispers. “Maybe she’s got someone on the inside.”
“What, like a spy?” I chuckle. “You’re overreacting, TJ. Just let me do my thing. It’ll be fine, I promise. Just stay calm and do your thing.”
“I’m not fucking calm,” he growls.
“Obviously.” I roll my eyes.
“I can’t help it. Everyone in the goddamn office is reading that goddamn newspaper. I’m watching them; I can see their reactions. And they’re all looking at me!”
“Then go home. Lay low for a while.”
“And then what? The longer I wait, the worse it gets. Before you know it, the press will be at my door, and then I’ll have no way out. They might even go through my trash,” he mumbles. “Fuck! I dumped some of those panties from my collection in there.”
“It’s still in there?”
“How should I know? I don’t keep track of when the trash guys come.”
I shake my head. “All right. We’ll figure this out. Just go home. Let me handle this.”
>
“Fine, but I’m not going to relax. I’m going to take my laptop and type out a response. I can’t just sit on this. I have to come out with my version of the story before the damage is irreparable.”
“Do what you have to, but I’m not stopping until I’ve got what I want, which is her lying ass on tape.”
He sighs. “Good luck. And be careful, okay?”
“I will,” I say. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Good.” He doesn’t even say bye before hanging up; that’s how nervous he is.
I sigh and put the phone down, thinking about my plan of attack.
I really have to do this quickly and efficiently. The longer I wait, the more paranoid TJ becomes, and I don’t want to lose him too on top of everything else. He’ll get out of this; I’ll make sure of it.
However, if I go today, it’ll be too suspicious. No, I have to wait until I, the victim, have read the newspaper and decided I wanted to share my story with the girl who brought out this news. I’ll tell her I found out her address from the newspaper she gave the story to and quickly gloss it over, so she won’t even think twice about it.
I’ve got it all covered. And I’m definitely going to nail this bitch.
***
The next day, when I take Pepper for a walk, I immediately go to the woman’s home and ring the doorbell. My heart is pounding because I know what I’m doing is dangerous and reckless, but I don’t care. I have to make this all go away. For TJ’s sake and for the sake of my own job.
I hold the newspaper and Pepper’s leash tight as I hear someone walk to the door. The moment she appears in view, I just want to smack her on the head with the newspaper … and then maybe drag her outside for another punching match.
But I can’t do that. It’ll only get me into trouble and won’t get TJ out of it. Besides, Pepper would probably run away if I just started punching chicks out of nowhere.
Stay professional, Lesley. You can do this.
“Hi,” I say.
Could that have come out any sillier? Probably not.
“Uh … hi,” she says tentatively, and she gazes down at Pepper, cringing like she hates dogs. I used to have that look too, but now I just feel embarrassed for her.
Bad Boss (Unprofessional Bad Boys Book 2) Page 18
