Filthy Boss

by Amy Brent

  Reed

  He was still smiling as he watched the streets fly by. She was a beauty that one. All curves and hips, which he liked. He considered himself a connoisseur of women in many ways. There wasn’t a size or type he didn’t love to sample from time to time. It was a luxury he afforded himself, to the chagrin of his mother of course.

  He was young still, 30 was nothing really. She was pushing him more and more to settle down but he was nowhere near ready for all of that. He was an uncle to his nephews, and that was plenty enough to keep him busy. No, the only woman he had enough time for these days was business, and that occupied most of his time. He glanced at his watch and frowned. He seemed to be late to everything lately, not quite able to do as much as he wanted. Wanted was a strong word really. He loved running the family business, loved being in charge. It had gotten him out of more than one dilemma, but he really wanted to get back out on the field, play some golf and work towards the Pro Am like he used to. It seemed those days were falling further and further behind him now.

  He smiled to himself thinking about what she had said. Something important had kept him from getting there… In this case it had been a brunette named Nicole, and a lack of sleep. The prim and proper Miss Sinclair would have much to say if she knew the truth. He was still smiling when the car stopped out front of the high rise to the offices he now controlled. He gave a half smile to the ladies working the front office and watched as each of them blushed in return. Though he felt sure he could have his pick of any of them, he kept his private life far away from business. That is except for Lydia.

  Even now he could hear her talking from her office as he moved down the hall and to his own. Whatever had set her off this time, he would be sure to know shortly. He watched her walk the long hall towards his office and thought long and hard about the mess they had made together over the years. Watching her walk reminded him exactly how he had been sucked in in the first place. She was perfect, at least on the surface. Her hair was red and was always pulled back to highlight the sharp angles of her face. Her body, though too slim for his tastes, was petite and nice. He had started working here after his father’s death 6 years ago, and she had helped him through it, in more ways than one. Over time it was obvious that it was a mutual entertainment for them both, neither wanted anything more than a physical release, and a string business partnership. Now, she was more often than not, always upset about one thing or another. She was also a good reminder as to why he hadn’t settled down yet.

  He toyed with the card in his hand, smiling once more as he thought about Miss Sinclair. He had no doubt she was able to hold her own, most likely she was married, though he saw no ring. His thoughts were distracted as Lydia burst into his office.

  “I can’t keep working like this Reed, this place is falling apart and I can’t hold it together much longer.” She crossed her arms, her face flushed as she tapped one of her heeled toes on the soft carpet lining his office floor.

  “Lydia, must everything be so dramatic?” He sighed not once looking up at her as he asked.

  “You know your attitude is part of the problem Reed.” She stopped her foot and this time he had no choice but to respond.

  “What’s wrong now?” He glanced up, giving her some of his attention, though he was equally ignoring her.

  “The staff, in a nutshell. These idiots are nothing more than go to people who can’t even get coffee done correctly. On top of that the McNeal account is missing and I need an assistant who actually shows up for work!”

  He knew by the way she ran everything together, there was definitely some issues that needed to be addressed. He rubbed his eyes for a second and soon looked up at her once more.

  “Ok Lydia, details. One thing at a time.”

  Within the hour he had been informed of every single infraction committed on the property, some of which seemed not worth mentioning. Just watching her get it all out seemed to help eliminate the menace of her tone. Soon, once he had addressed everything he found her smiling at him with the age old smile welcoming him to do far more than just talk to her. She stood, smoothing down her dress as she walked towards the door of his office.

  “Come visit me tonight Reed, I think we both need a little release.” She walked out the door, not waiting on a response.

  Some part of him reacted to her, he knew it was a real option, she never offered if she didn’t mean it. The other part of him knew to stay away. Getting tangled up in Lydia wouldn’t go well, not really. As the day went on he did his best to focus on work, and not think about Lydia’s offer. He grabbed his jacket at the end of the day and took the long strides towards the elevator, glancing around the now empty office. He knew it was going to be a long night.

  She was waiting for him, almost as if she knew he would come. Her red hair now hung freely and he roughly pulled her into his arms. There was nothing sweet about his embrace, instead he was searching and demanding. She knew the way he thought, and she met him one stride at a time until they both were free of their clothing and on her bed.

  He was once more struck by how put together she was. It was as if there wasn’t an inch of body fat on her, and though it left him wanting more he pushed on – kissing her body, teasing her nipples, pinching them one at a time, taking them hungrily into his mouth as his hands found her opening and then biting her neck, just the way she liked it! He worked her with his fingers first, and then his mouth and then his hardness pressed inside. He was rough and fast. She wanted it like that too. They knew each other’s bodies and needs so well.

  An hour later they both lounged on the pillows, taking long deep breaths hoping to recover from the experience. There was no emotion between them aside from the release of tension. He watched her get dressed.

  “Thanks Reed, I really needed that.”

  She slipped back into her clothes and he stood to do the same. She let her gaze linger on him a moment, and he felt her look shift, but only for a second.

  “As always, you are welcome. I needed that as much as you did.” He gave her a half smile as he slipped on his jacket.

  He made his way to the door, knowing she would tell him to see himself out. He smiled as she yelled from her room.

  “I’ll see you at work Monday.”

  He made his way out to his car, slipping into the soft leather seat of his car. Lydia was a force to be reckoned with in business, and she also knew her way around the bedroom. Something had been different tonight, the way she had looked at him. He hoped she wasn’t developing any feelings…He frowned at the idea, knowing full well he wasn’t the type to settle down, not even close. He knew coming here would be a mistake, and yet somehow he didn’t care. He was just selfish sometimes, there wasn’t much else that could be said about it.

  He made his way home, finally ready for a shower and some time to relax. He felt the crumple of something in his pocket and pulled out a folded card, one from earlier today. He smiled as he folded it back up, slipping it into his pocket. Ah, yes Miss Sinclair. Tomorrow was as good a day as any to start playing the game with her. She would be a fun adventure; he knew it the moment he saw her.

  Tempest

  There was nothing really that she could do. She looked up at her boss, who was giving her the most obvious of smiles.

  “He is a jackass, and you all know it.” She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him. “Charlie if you knew that, why did you even send me in there to deal with him?”

  Charlie glanced at Miranda Blankenship, her boss, and the two shared a knowing glance.

  “I know he seems that way Temp, but he is a huge win for us if we can lock him in.”

  Tempest shifted in her seat. Of all the people she didn’t want to deal with on a Saturday it was Reed Hoelshing. Somehow, someway he had pulled enough strings to manage to get her to have a meeting with him in his office. She still remembered how he looked at her and made her feel. He was no doubt a bad boy and used to getting his own way. She certainly hated feeding into his ego
by meeting him on one of her few days off.

  “He is just another potential client; I don’t see how it’s such a big deal?” She frowned.

  Charlie took off his glasses and leaned on the table. “Hoelshing is not just some company Temp, he is a massive branch of networking. There is the office here and the one in China he has been building for a while now. We’re talking over 5K employees and potential for twice that. Right off the bat we are making money, and then of course your commission would be, well substantial.”

  She chewed on her lower lip, everything he said made sense, there was no doubt in her mind that she needed to make this happen, but at the same time she needed to not be a push over. Her commission would be enough to get her mother in a home that was much nicer than the place she was in now, that was for sure. That alone was enough to make her stand and grab her bag.

  “Fine I’ll go, and I’ll even be nice to him.” She rolled her eyes as the glee was obvious on their faces.

  She pulled into the lot of Hoelshing and took a deep breath for a moment before going up. This was for her mother, and if she could just focus in that she would be fine. She glanced in the mirror at her reflection, nothing the tiny smattering of freckles on her caramel colored skin. It as something she had inherited from her mother.

  It had only been a year now, since things had taken such a turn. Her mother had been full of life and happiness and then one-day dementia had started to corrupt her mind. Now, there was a 50% chance she would know who Tempest was at all. She was an only child, and it was her job to make sure her mother was taken care of. Her father had been gone a long time, leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. Her mother had worked her fingers to the bone to make sure Tempest had everything she needed to get through the hardest years of her life to date. She owed her mother the same thing.

  Initially she had taken on her mother’s care on her own, which had been too much. She had done her best to juggle work, school and her mother’s care, but when her mother had left the house one day and Tempest had gone to find her, she had known it was too much for her to do alone anymore.

  She found the best place she could afford, although it was over an hour away. It was a quaint little place with only 10 others who resided there, all of which had dementia as well. They were a tight nit group, but they were losing their funding in the next few months, and everyone would have to move. It wasn’t fair, and sadly the only other options were either too run down and unsafe, or were substantially more expensive than this one. She took one last deep breath and stood, grabbing her bag with her to take inside. The building was a massive piece of art, with everything from paintings on one level, to twisted metal art formations in the lobby. It was more to take in than anyone could do at one time, and she wished that she had more time to explore her surroundings.

  She made her way over to the desk and the tiny blonde behind it. She was perky and beautiful, which came as no surprise to Tempest, considering the type of man Reed Hoelshing was. Part of her hated to pigeon hole him into the stereotype, but the facts were all there. She had done a little digging and found out more about him than he would probably like to know.

  “I am meeting Mr. Hoelshing.”

  “Really? On a Saturday? Wow that’s a first.” She gave Tempest an impish grin and buzzed upstairs to let them know. Soon she cradled the phone back down and gave Tempest a warm smile.

  “Head up the elevator to the 14th floor, turn right and his suites are there.”

  Tempest returned the smile, feeling as though the girl was being genuine in her efforts. The building was relatively empty, no doubt most employees were at home enjoying their weekend. She found her way up the massive glass elevator and soon the doors opened to a large suite. She glanced around, noting that no one was there. Hesitantly she walked out onto the hard floors, her heels clicking with each step until she heard him.

  “Ah so they did send you.”

  She turned to see him closer than she thought possible. He gleamed down at her with a wicked smile, and she felt the heat rush up into her face once more. There was no doubt she hated herself for even reacting to him at all.

  “Yes, it appears they really wanted to please you Mr. Hoelshing.”

  He chuckled. “They aren’t the ones to do that Miss Sinclair, and please call me Reed, Mr. Hoelshing makes me feel old, and think of my father none of which I care to feel at the moment.”

  He spun on one heel and moved towards his office, and she followed along behind him. It was magnificent how the room seemed to almost spill out into the vast expanse of sky blue. The floors came to an abrupt end at the glass windows that looked out over the city below. She couldn’t help but stare.

  “It’s quite breathtaking isn’t it, I love it in here, just looking out. I feel like I can almost fly somehow.” He smiled and she glanced up to catch his eye, noting something sinister there.

  “Yes, it’s beautiful that I will say.” He gestured for her to have a seat and she did so, pulling her information out of her bag. “So. Mr. Ho..er..Reed, what made you give us a call?”

  I didn’t call an “us” I just called for you. He knew better than to deliver her that bit of information, so he chose a different approach. “I am interested in what you can do for me.”

  She felt the air thicken, as if he meant something entirely different than business, but she brushed it off knowing full well she wasn’t his type. “What kind of help do you need exactly?”

  He chuckled once more. “Oh my dear don’t even let me get started on answering that question.”

  She frowned slightly, unamused by his antics. He was a spoiled brat, and she didn’t want to deal with it any more than she had to. She chose to wait for him to continue, rather than say anything else he could turn into ammunition.

  “Well I’ll be honest we have some major issues going on, and I need it dealt with.”

  She felt his sincerity and she took the binder he handed to her. She did her best to glance over the information and carefully assess what he needed. There were misprinted labels and poorly organized records for the employees, as well as some things that didn’t seem to make any sense at all.

  “I think you will need a lot of my help Reed, this is a mess.”

  “I am well aware Miss. Sinclair, that’s why I need you.”

  “Tempest, please. Well we are the best team for the job, we have a lot of other big investment clients and I think you will be happy with the numbers we have generated from that partnership. She handed him a folder with the information and she waited, giving him a moment to read it over. It gave her an opportunity to look at him closely once more. He was undeniable handsome, rakish in his own way. He had a way of looking at you that would turn the normal woman to putty in his hands, which he likely used on women often enough. He furrowed his brow slightly as he looked over the documents and arched a brow on page two. He took care of his business and she knew he wanted it to succeed.

  He glanced up, catching her eye and she swallowed hard, glancing away but not before she saw him smile.

  “Impressive, for such a small company. I know your fairly new but your numbers are promising.”

  “Thank you, we work hard.”

  “The thing is I want something a little bigger. I want to go back to playing golf professionally. It’s a part of who I am, in my blood so to speak.” He smiled at her, letting his eyes caress her face. “I need a company that will run almost every facet of the business so that I can get back into what I am really good at.”

  She frowned. “I am confused, I thought you were interested in HR help and development?”

  “Oh I am, but I want you to run the place in my absence. It won’t be all the time, but the majority for sure, especially during the tour. I know it’s not your typical thing to do, but I know the best person to keep an eye on things is the person in charge of the people, that’s why I want you.”

  He accentuated the last part of the sentence, his eyes once more looking over her frame quic
kly, but not before she caught it. She took the envelope her offered her and glanced over the figures inside. The amount of money he was willing to pay was double what they had projected for income off of this one company. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea of not.

  “I know you are over thinking it, just by the look on your face. Trust me, it’s not as bad as you may think. I just need a day to day operations manager. Like I said I will be in and out and its just for a year. After that I’ll come back full time. At the moment I am just feeling the need to get back out to my sport, before I lose myself in a jumble of paperwork.”

  She felt his sincerity, and she also knew he was downplaying how much of a responsibility this really was. She slid the paperwork back in the envelope, before she looked up at him.

  “I will certainly take this to my team, and see what they think.”

  He leaned forward in his chair once more, a smile on his face. “Oh that’s fine, I don’t mind them handling the HR part of this but I want you to be in charge of the whole thing.”

  “Me, why me?” She waited.

  “Well for starters, you graduated at the top of your class, you have a head for business and you work hard. Plus, I trust you… call it gut intuition.”

  She stood then, and waited as he walked towards her. He was taller than she remembered last time she saw him, the clear blue of his eyes had never changed. He handed her a pen. She wasn’t sure what to feel about the whole thing but she didn’t take it.

  “Well, you’ve certainly done your research. I’ll need a few days to look over everything, can I do that?” She felt the heat of him as he moved closer to her.