by Cari Quinn
She skipped a glance over his broad shoulders, encased in an expensively cut suit jacket, and imagined his skin sun-browned and gleaming with sweat. Maybe he’d even worn a wife-beater, though that strained the bounds of credulity. Still, mmm. “You have the body for construction,” she said, then wanted to slap herself. Hard. Preferably across the mouth.
His smile relaxed a fraction. “The first few years I worked here, I still wasn’t focused. But eventually the store, this store, and the way it was run got its hooks into me. Working here showed me what it could be like to love your job. To live for it.” His gaze sharpened. “Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you explore all the options.”
Finally, some common ground. She smiled. “So you understand.”
He didn’t reply.
Kelly took a deep breath and her head reeled at the oversized dose of Spencer’s mountain-fresh aftershave she inhaled. God, she had to get it together. He’d made her horny for three years. She could deal.
“I didn’t mean to be rude earlier,” she said into the silence, noticing his hand had again dipped into the drawer. She itched to stand up and see what the hell he was fondling but her thin grip on her composure kept her seated. “Think I’ve had too much caffeine. I’m jittery today.”
“We’ve been busier than usual lately and nerves fray. Especially when one has multiple pursuits to occupy their time.” He didn’t give her a chance to interrupt. “The Nook’s going to have an opening in upper management soon and I’ve had my eye on you. Or I did, before today. Frankly I’m not sure you’re ready to lead this store. And I’m not willing to make a mistake.”
She jumped to her feet, indignation trumping all good sense. “Because I snapped at you that means I’m not fit for management?” Suddenly it didn’t matter if she wanted to be in management or not. How dare he act as if anyone in that store cared more than she did? “Even though I immediately apologized?”
“Your temper doesn’t seem any more under control now than it did earlier, Ms. Crossman.” He shut his drawer with a click of finality and snapped her folder shut. He might as well have stamped a big ol’ Rejected label on her forehead. “Perhaps we should discuss this another time.”
Don’t flip. Don’t flip. Don’t flip.
She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded, affixing a perfectly angelic smile to her face. If he wanted subservient, he’d get it. Whatever worked to net her the ultimate goal. Whether that was a position in management or her hands on Spencer’s cock—or both—she wasn’t sure.
Her good sense warned her to avoid both possibilities. Sometimes sense didn’t win.
“Perhaps we should. Thank you for your time.” She turned to go.
“Just a moment.”
She glanced back, hoping he’d say something worthy of her fantasies.Come sit on my lap would be a nice start.
“I’d like you to get started on that redesign of the romance section we talked about yesterday. Marcia recommends you,” he said when she didn’t respond.
“You said I could do it when I got time. With the two-day sale, I’ve barely had time to pee never mind artfully reshelve books.”
His benign expression revealed nothing. “You redesigned the café last year, did you not?”
The bright, cheery café that got raving comments from customers on a daily basis? Oh yeah, that was her work. She’d chosen everything from the glossy sepia photos for the pale green walls right down to the glass-topped tables bearing wicker baskets of Leigh’s lemon cookies. “Well, yes, but—”
“Your eye for design is well known around this store. Are you saying you’re incapable of fitting the redesign into your schedule?”
Even as she seethed at his imperious tone, she plastered on a smile. “Never said I was incapable, Spencer. Just that it will be difficult.”
“The sale’s over today. I expect you’ll be able to start the redesign tomorrow. If that’s a problem, come see me and we’ll find a way to make room in your daily duties.”
“What if I don’t want to do it?”
She knew she sounded pouty and didn’t care. She hated that he never seemed to see her as anything but another cog in the wheel. No matter how many department redesigns she executed or innovative ideas she voiced, he never saw her as anything but his goddamn day manager.
Yeah, he’d ogled her breasts for all of two seconds. He’d also given her a couple of hot looks. But then he’d gone right back to business as usual.
“I think you know the answer to that question, Ms. Crossman. And I don’t appreciate being baited.” He slipped her folder into a drawer, a succinct dismissal.
Get out of my sight.
Before the guy she’d so stupidly lusted after for years banged any more nails into her coffin of shame, she got the hell out of his office, booking down the hall so fast that she nearly ran into someone. She looked up and let out a relieved sigh as she took in her friend Caleb Parker slouching by the vending machine, hands shoved in the back pockets of his jeans. Thank God for a friendly face.
“Hey, Kel. What’s with the frown?” he asked, moving forward to tap buttons and deposit a dollar and some coins. Out came a candy bar and he flashed a grin as he tore off the wrapper. The guy could make anything sexy, including taking a giant bite of chocolate and nuts.
Cale and his best friend Tony never failed to coax a laugh out of her. She’d eaten lunch with Cale today and the entire time he’d had her in stitches. He worked third shift stock and always had some story to regale her with. His favorite brand of stories involved sex, something he’d had more than his fair share of from all accounts. He didn’t brag exactly, but he also made it pretty clear he knew what he was doing behind closed doors.
In a perfect world, she would’ve wanted him and not her boss. He was single. Hot as hell. And not for her.
“Me frown? No way.” She grinned and rapped her knuckles on the vending machine. “But I wouldn’t turn down some chocolate.”
He bought her a candy bar and cocked his head toward Spencer’s office. “Saw you go in there with the big boss man. Something up?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Sure about that?”
He’d long ago told her he suspected she had a crush on Spencer, which she’d resoundingly denied. But every now and then, he leaped back on the bandwagon.
“I’m sure.” She tucked the chocolate bar in the pocket of her cargo pants. She’d need the boost later. “Gotta get back on the floor. Thanks for the pick-me-up.”
She glanced at her watch as she headed toward the ladies’ room. One more hour and she was outta there. Her best friend, Alana MacGregor, was visiting from Virginia and wanted her to come check out a sexy new club. Though she didn’t usually go out during the week, this seemed like a good night to break routine.
She’d go hang out with Alana for a couple of hours, drink a couple fruity drinks and be in bed long before midnight. Her shift started at six and she was never late to work. She’d be there bright and early like always, but tonight she’d have a little fun.
Chapter Two
The slim woman reclines on the loveseat, her pale knees drawn up in front of her. Her jean skirt rides up high and toes with nails done in frosted pink press against the opposite arm of the loveseat. She has long, long legs, the kind a man can never forget once he’s seen them bare almost to the hip. And though her tangle of blondish-brown hair covers part of her face, there can be no denying which of his employees had her hand between her luscious thighs.
Each flick of her delicately strong fingers incites a moan. She trembles, catches herself and briefly gains control. Almost immediately she’s teetering on that razor-sharp precipice again. His name passes her lips, echoing in the silence of the office.
“Spencer.”
Spencer leaned back in his desk chair and hit pause on the video, his finger shaking. She hadn’t come yet. He refused to let himself watch that much. Not until more of the employees had left and he could be alone.
; He’d watched this video countless times. Jerked off to it almost as many, but only while in the privacy of his own home. He wasn’t bold enough to masturbate at work, even if he did have his own office.
Even if she’d masturbated in it first.
He sucked in a breath and dislodged the disc from his computer, palming it securely before slipping it into his briefcase. Tonight wasn’t the night for this. He hadn’t intended to watch it but he’d been pulled to her, drawn as always to the little glimpse she’d given him of the real woman behind the carefree tease and the workaholic manager devoted to the store.
One. She’d give him just one glimpse, after he’d neglected to lock his office on the night he’d agreed to test a new security camera system. He’d delayed making a decision on the video camera and kept it running for weeks after, just in case she returned. He’d even left his door unlocked, despite the sensitive data he normally kept under lock and key. He never took chances, even though his file cabinet locked and his computer required a password. But he’d risked a leak in the hopes of luring her back to the scene of her very sexy crime.
She hadn’t fallen for the bait. Now he’d been given new bait altogether.
He picked up the purple PDA lying in the center of his blotter. Someone had left it there, with an incriminating list on-screen once he’d awakened it from screensaver mode. Whether the culprit was the woman who’d gotten off so spectacularly on his loveseat or someone who wanted to cause her trouble, he didn’t know.
But he would find out.
The door opened and his sister strolled in, her blonde hair carefully tousled around her face. “What’s up, Spence?”
“Shut the door.”
Marcia did as he asked and turned back with a yawn. Probably keeping too many late nights, as usual. “What’s going on?”
He held up the PDA, his gaze trained on her face. Watching for any change. “Know anything about this?”
“It’s a PDA. An old one, looks like.”
“And?”
“And what? I don’t have time for your games.”
She sounded entirely too evasive for his taste. If there was trouble, Marcia Galvin Daly could often be found at the root of it. “Have you seen it before?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged and examined her manicure. Flawless as always, he had no doubt. “Could be Kelly’s.”
Spencer leaned back in his chair and tapped the thumb of his free hand on the edge of the blotter. “You’re telling me you don’t know anything about why this was on my desk.”
“Why would I?” She strolled over to the window, her manner suspiciously relaxed.
He swiveled to look at her and tried to keep his temper in check. She didn’t know of his…interest in Kelly. He’d done his best to ignore it. To pretend he didn’t pay attention every time she bent to locate a book for a customer. To deny he cared when she flirted with Cale or Tony or one of the other guys. But especially, to suppress his urge to follow her home some night and watch her go through her nightly routine. Right up to when she undressed for bed and slipped beneath the sheets, her naked, supple body brushing against cool cotton…
That was before he’d been on the receiving end of the one-two punch of her solo love session in his office and now, a list on her PDA of men she wanted to fuck. Maybe she had fucked most of them already for all he knew.
And this To Do list included his name.
At the bottom. Number ten. She’d touched herself and writhed against the damn loveseat he’d bought at Marcia’s request, in anticipation of her taking over his office. But when it came to men she found desirable, Kelly had listed him dead last.
What the hell was up with that?
Assuming she’d written the list at all. It could be a prank, some sort of weird joke. He’d heard way too much conversation in the hall outside his office today. Every time he’d gone into the store, everyone had smiled and been friendly as pie.
Even Kelly.Especially Kelly.
So was she in on the scam? Or had someone decided to create some havoc after nosing into her personal files? Who would come up with a sex list anyway?
She would.
At his silence, Marcia turned around. “What’s the big deal about Kelly’s PDA? Just give it back to her.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Rather than argue, he took another chance—he was racking them up—and handed it to her. With an eyebrow arched, she read the list and then glanced back at him. “So I’m supposed to be surprised she wants you?” She smirked. “You’re not too ugly.”
“How about that she has a list like that to begin with?”
She shrugged. “Maybe she got drunk one night and decided to get really honest.”
“You’ve been drunk plenty of times. Ever done something like that?” He shook his head and held up a hand. “Never mind. You do enough sober that I’d rather not know.”
“Low blow, little brother.” She returned Kelly’s PDA and he dropped it in his drawer. He’d seen the thing enough. Didn’t matter. The list might as well have been surgically implanted on his brain.
His brows lifted as Marcia poked at the loveseat cushions. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for the wet spot.” Grinning, she bypassed the cushions altogether and sat on the padded arm. “Since this little slice of heaven is going to be all mine soon, I’m not about to let you ruin my new furniture with your indiscretions.”
He snorted and closed one of the many files he had open on his computer. Who was he kidding? All work ceased when his blonde bombshell of a sister sashayed into the room. “No wet spot. No indiscretions. You really do have an overactive imagination. Been hanging out in the romance section again?”
“I prefer doing to reading, thank you very much.” She crossed her legs and her skirt crept toward indecency. “Normally I wouldn’t encourage you to fuck the staff, but why not go for it?”
“Since when do you care about my sex life? Or Kelly’s?”
She shrugged and dragged her fingers through her hair. “She’s a friend. Of course I care.”
“Uh huh.” Spencer wheeled his chair around to face her. “Your altruism wouldn’t have anything to do with keeping Kelly occupied and far away from Tony, would it?”
Tony Griggs was the night manager. More importantly, he was Marcia’s on-again, off-again, on-yet-again, much younger lover. The two of them regularly generated more sparks than a fireworks display. At least half those sparks were from fury, jealousy and their many ugly stepsisters.
Sort of reminded him of another couple he knew. Except fury wasn’t exactly the emotion that sprang up most often between him and Kelly. He deliberately kept things cooler than that. Most of the time they remained civil when they disagreed during staff meetings. They just saw things from opposite sides of the table. He preferred to embrace and enhance tradition. She was all about chasing the future.
Except when it came to the beat-up, antiquated PDA in his top desk drawer. Apparently she didn’t practice what she preached.
He certainly wasn’t the jealous type. Nope, he didn’t mind that she was screwing guys and keeping a written record of her conquests. Or her possible fuckees, whichever applied. Women’s lib was great. Rah-rah.
“I’m secure in my relationship.”
“Sure you are. That’s why if your skirts get any shorter you’ll be belting your underwear.”
To his surprise, his sister actually flushed. He hadn’t seen her look embarrassed since college, if not longer. “Maybe if you’d stop paying so much attention to me and Tony, you’d notice Kelly wiggling at the sight of you.”
“Wiggling.” He tapped his fingers on the blotter and contemplated the forty things left on his To Do list. He’d planned on staying late tonight to compensate for his trip to Virginia next week but he’d lost all interest in work. A rarity for him but stranger things had happened. Today’s winner had to be ranking dead last on Kelly’s sex list.
How many of those clowns h
ad she already slept with? He’d seen strange little symbols by most of the names—though not by his—but he’d hardly had time to investigate. Tomorrow, number one on his agenda was making sure his employees knew he wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense in his stores. Jokes, pranks, gossip. None of it.
Masturbating in the boss’s office, on the other hand…
He rubbed his forehead. Soon she’d discover her PDA had gone missing. If he wasn’t such a dickhead, he’d go out and hand it over first.
Dickhead was running the bases and sliding toward home.
“Earth to Spencer.” Marcia snapped her fingers. “Damn, she has you rattled.”
“I don’t get rattled.” Turning back to his computer, he shut down the P&Ls he’d been neck-deep in before he’d made the mistake of taking a lunch break. When he’d returned, a ticking time bomb had been waiting for him on his desk.
How could profit and loss statements ever compare with the sexy brunette he’d had enough trouble keeping his mind off even before he’d known his fascination wasn’t one-sided?
They couldn’t.
Apparently he wasn’t only a dickhead because he hadn’t returned her personal property, he was also an insensitive prick because first chance he got he was going to decipher Kelly’s damn code. Then again, maybe he’d rather not know.
Marcia cocked her head, narrowing her eyes. “Normally, no. But I caught you checking her out yesterday. Actually I’ve caught you checking her out a bunch of times. You’re into her too, huh?”
When he didn’t answer, she blew out a breath. “No reason not to let loose a little. Easy enough to fuck and duck when the deed’s done. She can cross another name off her list—gotta say, she’s one ballsy babe—and you’ll stop looking so damn constricted.” She grinned. “Besides, you’ll be leaving soon anyway.”
“Mind keeping your voice down?”
“About the fucking or the leaving?”
“Both.”
She shrugged. “Some of those guys are sexy, gotta admit. Kelly does have taste. But Aaron Myles? No way. He was a few years behind me in high school. He’s almost as old as you.”
