“Fuck!” Bryant and Mitch replied in unison as their fists connected to the elevator metal walls.
“Are you insane? You barely know me.” Jenny unfolded from the couch where they were sitting and paced the thick carpet in front of it.
Mitch followed her brisk movements, surprised at that enraged response to their job offer. He didn’t expect it, especially not after their conversation in the elevator climbing to their suite. Then, it clicked.
“This isn’t a pity offer,” he assured her.
Jenny scoffed before crossing her arms under her breasts and coming to stand in front of them. Mitch forced his eyes up and found an emotion akin to disdain in her eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to act like an ogre drooling over you, but your breasts held my eyes hostage.” His mix of lame apology and appalling humor did nothing to improve her disposition. “Please sit down.” He patted the cushion between him and Bryant where she had sat until her jitters got her up. When she plopped down, he continued. “I get where you’re coming from. You’re right to be skittish. You don’t know us.”
“That’s not it. I don’t want to be your charity project.”
Mitch’s heart shrank at the hurtful pride in her voice.
“Hey, I promise we’re not being altruistic,” Bryant said. “We’re not offering this position out of pity or because of what happened downstairs. We did a lot of digging after that night at Club Desire. We wanted you in our lives, so we sniffed about for a way to assure you’d stay. We discovered you hold an MBA and have experience managing people. Not to mention your natural talent to boss people around. Even playing the sub that night, you wrestled for control. Plus, Ann Cohen made us swear we’d hire local people for the resort.”
Jenny shook her head as he spoke, but a reluctant smile curved her lips up. Mitch’s heart flipped. A small victory was better than nothing.
“We talked to a few members of Club Desire that we knew,” he confessed. “They had only good things to say about you. When a Hollywood star of Clara Hervaux’s caliber told us you cracked the whip like nobody else, we had to believe her. I mean, the woman is famous for being a control freak, right?”
“I don’t know, guys. This is moving too fast. Just the other day, you were my new clients at the club. I confess I felt things I had never felt before. Damn, I even confided in you about my mom’s health issues. That was totally inappropriate. Still, I felt so comfortable with you. But I try to be realistic about stuff, so I didn’t entertain false hopes. Then, you asked me out for lunch today. It sounded great, so I said yes. Socializing isn’t against the club’s policies. Next thing I know, you’re banging me in a public restroom and saying you’re falling for me. Then, I found out a colleague can make me lose my job, only to have you offer me a dream job half an hour later. Talk about a roller-coaster ride. I’m dizzy just thinking about it all. How do you expect me to feel? I mean, you’ve turned my world upside down. And to top it off, you mentioned a third partner just now. What if he’s not on board with this idea? General manager is a huge responsibility. He might have someone he trusts in mind for that position. I don’t know what to say, what to think.”
“Breathe, honeybun. Just remember to breathe.” Mitch trapped her hand in his.
She sighed so loudly, looked so lost, he wanted to tug her under his chin, cuddle her small body, and never let her go.
They were trying to lure her in, not scare her off, so he snuffed the impulse.
Barely.
He pulled her onto his lap and framed her face in his hands. A vein beat like a wild drum in her neck under his palms. He smoothed her cheeks with his thumbs and gazed into her blue stare. “Our job offer, and our feelings for you, may sound crazy, but I swear we’re not impulsive. We wouldn’t have achieved our level of business success, if we acted without planning. You’re the best candidate for the job, hands down.”
She blinked a couple of times.
“I second every word Mitch said, including the bit about falling for you. I would’ve done anything to keep you in our lives. It just so happened that we had this position to offer. If we didn’t, we would’ve found something else.”
As he spoke, Bryant combed her hair with his fingers, and Jenny stretched her neck until she rested her head on his shoulder. Mitch felt her tremble in his lap as Bryant closed his lips on the exposed skin of her neck.
Damn, he wanted to do that, but he controlled himself. Encircling her tiny waist with his large hands, he lifted her with ease and transferred her to Bryant’s lap.
“I guess I owe you.”
Bryant grinned like a kid on Christmas morning and kissed Mitch’s cheek before covering Jenny’s mouth in a hungry kiss. She moaned and moved to straddle Bryant. As his hands squeezed her round butt, Mitch felt his cock react. Since that first night, he had been fantasizing about fucking Jenny’s perfect ass.
He scooted to the end of the couch to escape temptation and welcomed the buzz of his phone in his pocket. He could use the distraction, especially as Bryant pulled the oversized top off Jenny and threw it on the floor. He dragged his eyes from her lace-covered breasts to the screen to read Derrick’s text message.
I’m arriving in the morning. No need to pick me up at the airport. I’ll meet you at your hotel. Make sure Jenny Taylor has time to see me tomorrow. I’ve got to head back on the following day.
Checking the calendar, Mitch grinned.
Serendipity was a beautiful thing. He wholeheartedly believed the universe sent out signals.
And that was a fucking huge one.
It seemed that he and Bryant would have to keep Jenny busy until the next morning. Derrick would arrive on February 14th of all dates.
If they had planned it, things wouldn’t have worked out that well.
He texted back: We’ll make sure you have an unforgettable Valentine’s.
With his gaze glued to Jenny’s thighs as she rode Bryant’s cock, Mitch palmed his erection. He unzipped his pants, when the phone pinged with Derrick’s reply.
I don’t do fucking Valentine’s. This is a business meeting.
Jenny’s back bowed, Bryant’s hands squeezed her ass, pushing her down, and the three moaned. Mitch dropped the phone on the cushion, kneeling behind Jenny. He cupped her chin and tilted her head up. As Bryant latched his mouth on her breast, Mitch sank his tongue inside her mouth, drinking her moans of ecstasy. Her fingers enclosed his erection and he groaned.
It wasn’t until much later that Mitch texted Derrick back.
Yeah, right.
5
The Not-a-date Date
As the limousine driver wove through traffic, Derrick peered out the window, impressed by the blend of old and modern buildings. New Orleans never ceased to dazzle him. The round roof of the Superdome passed by, followed by the glass façades of the high-rises in the business district.
Bryant and Mitch had behaved like two fucking teens when they last spoke. Derrick trusted his friends’ business acumen, but he had doubts about their assessment of Jenny Taylor. It was a good thing Derrick didn’t believe in voodoo or he would think the woman had cast a spell on his friends.
New Orleans had a reputation for that kind of nonsense. He hadn’t expected to find anything about Club Desire on the internet when he researched it. However, he found countless articles featuring the building that housed the club, most about haunted spots in the French Quarter. Good thing he didn’t believe in ghosts.
When the driver pulled up in front of the hotel, Derrick didn’t wait for her to open his door. He climbed out of the stretched limo and stooped through the passenger seat as she rolled down the glass. “I’ll text you if I need you. I expect that won’t be until tomorrow.”
“Very well, sir.” The stunning redhead dipped her head and pressed a button on the armrest to roll up the glass.
Striding through the hotel lobby, Derrick wondered if he had grown immune to the allure of stunning women. That thought had plagued him of late. Even his car servi
ce hired the most beautiful women, yet he felt nothing.
He had dated more than his fair share of top models and actresses, but he could honestly say he didn’t value beauty over brains or personality. The moment he sensed a woman didn’t have a real interest in reading, or had a mean streak, he ran for the hills, never to come back.
It would take a lot for him to be as impressed with that Jenny Taylor person. She would have to be a remarkable woman in more senses than the physical one. Mitch and Bryant had promised she was the whole package, but how could they tell? They barely knew her. And Derrick feared they had been using the wrong head to do the thinking.
He would have to be the judge of her qualifications. He would be a damn harsh judge. The future of his family business depended on the success of Sexy & Sinful Spa & Resort. He wouldn’t allow his friends’ dicks to dictate who to hire as general manager for the hotel. Failure wasn’t an option for their joint venture.
It just was not.
More to the point, he didn’t deal well with losing. He had had little practice and had no intention of changing that. Losing to sleazy Mark Jenkins and his buddies at F&G was out of the question.
His gloomy thoughts and sour mood prevented Derrick from admiring the sophisticated interior design of the hotel. If he were to be honest, he had no idea how he had climbed to Mitch and Bryant’s suite. A self-deprecating smile curled up his lips when he heard heavy footsteps that not even the thick carpet muffled. He might have been in a bad shape, but someone else wasn’t much better for it.
A disheveled Mitch stood in the doorframe, and Derrick recovered his sense of humor. “Rough night, huh?”
His friend mumbled something and dragged his feet back toward the living room, his dirty-blond hair forming a curious-looking spiky crown.
“Man, tell me you caught the license plates of the semi that hit you,” Derrick taunted and burst out laughing when he spotted Bryant passed out on the couch. “Both of you.”
“Nope, no truck. Just this birdlike woman called Jenny. I don’t know where she’s got the energy,” Mitch whispered as he ambled to one of the two doors leading out of the living room to the right.
Another similar door to the left remained closed. Derrick assumed those led to bedrooms. He expected his friend had gone to wake up the candidate for the manager position. To his surprise, Mitch returned holding his cell phone.
He collapsed on an armchair as Bryant came to and sat upright, acknowledging Derrick with a silent nod.
“Hasn’t Jenny returned yet?” Bryant asked Mitch.
Derrick knitted his eyebrows at that piece of information. It wasn’t yet seven o’clock. Where the hell had the woman gone so early in the morning?
As if reading his thoughts, Mitch shrugged. “I’m telling you she’s a dynamo. She was up before six to go jogging. Then, she’s taking her mom to a doctor’s appointment.”
Disappointment churned in his stomach. Derrick had hoped to meet with the woman and get things over and done with quickly. On the other hand, that offered him a chance to get the story straight from Mitch and Bryant.
“I’ll be blatant with you. Are you using your brains or your cocks here? I’ve got too much at stake in the resort. I can’t afford a slip-up. Fuck, not even a hiccup. Those vultures will swoop in and take Welch Inc. from me in a heartbeat if they smell trouble.”
Two pairs of eyes zeroed in on him, baby-blue and brown, equally shocked.
Bryant spoke first. “We enjoy sex as much as the next guy, but we don’t conduct business with our dicks.”
“Said the guy who distributes erotic material.” Derrick couldn’t keep a lid on it.
“Fuck off.” Mitch’s thunderous laughter indicated he saw Derrick’s point. “You’ve never doubted us. Why now?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen either of you so infatuated. I’m having trouble processing.”
Bryant and Mitch exchanged a glance before the blond replied, “That’s the thing. We aren’t only attracted to Jenny, we’re head over heels in love with her.”
If a brick wall had collapsed on top of Derrick, he wouldn’t have been as stunned.
“Speechless Derrick is a first,” Bryant taunted. “I kind of like him.”
“I understand impulsive, B. I get that. But you’re the sensible one, Mitch?”
“Love is not something one plans. It happens. I couldn’t explain it myself, if I had to. I only know Jenny owns my heart.”
Bryant nodded as he unfolded from the couch, scratching his messy hair. “Mitch nailed it. That’s how I feel. We scared the heck out of her last night throwing the L word at her. She said it was too soon, but I disagree. Mitch and I both disagree. We’ll convince her to give us a chance.”
Brain freeze. Derrick didn’t trust his hearing. “What did you just say? You both love her, but aren’t competing for her?”
“You’re so outdated, D,” Mitch teased. “Why choose when one can have both?”
“Or more.” Bryant winked at Derrick before disappearing behind door number two.
“I’m having an Alice in Wonderland moment.”
“My point exactly. That’s so yesterday. Think Snow White living with seven men.”
They shared a bout of laughter.
Mitch pointed to the closed door to the left. “Make yourself at home. There’s another bedroom through that door. B and I will show you around the French Quarter before we meet Jenny for lunch.”
A little over an hour into their lunch appointment, Derrick had revisited his high school years. The stars in his eyes reminded him of those days. He hated to admit Bryant and Mitch were right. Jenny’s allure resulted from more than the sum of the parts. The heart-shaped face framed by dark hair beamed with beauty, her blue eyes sparkled with joy, and her dimpled smile hinted at innocence. Not to mention a body made for sinning, with curves in all the right places. All of which paled in comparison to her quick brain and smart quips.
“I mean, what did they expect, right? Exiting the European Union will set in motion an endless domino effect. Everyone will be affected. It’s like a house of cards.” She argued foreign politics with the same passion she had applied when gutting the powerful figures recently involved in sex scandals just moments ago.
Derrick couldn’t get enough of Jenny Taylor. His meticulously laid plans to focus on business circled the drain. He wanted Jenny’s moans filling his ears as his cock filled her tight body. And he wanted it now, so badly it hurt.
Glancing at his friends, he bet they agreed. He focused again on the petite woman, who kept the three CEOs spellbound, and a pang hit his stomach like a heavyweight’s punch. Realization took his breath away. He had never excelled at sharing. Could he learn to do that now?
Mitch’s eyes bore into his as if reaching for his soul. The man had an uncanny talent for that, but Derrick had never been on the receiving end of that probe.
A wide smile lightened up Mitch’s baby-blues. “Been there. You can do it.”
“Am I that transparent?”
“He’s that good.” Bryant chuckled and waved at their server. “I say we head back to the hotel. Today is Valentine’s, and we haven’t had any romance yet.”
Derrick’s eyes took in Jenny’s reaction and he groaned. “You blushed. You fucking blushed.” His cock stood to attention as the rosy color spread on Jenny’s smooth cheeks.
Bryant signed the check and left a generous tip before standing up.
“She’s killing you, isn’t she?” Mitch whispered in Derrick’s ear as he unfolded from the seat and stretched his hand to Jenny.
She gracefully accepted it, and they intertwined their fingers. Bryant’s fingers cupped her nape and they stepped outside the restaurant. The rich scents and musical notes of the French Quarter wrapped around Derrick like a warm shawl on a winter night, almost as enticing as the trio strolling ahead of him.
The sense of harmony, unity even, that he got from observing them throughout lunch struck him as remarkable. That level
of intimacy and companionship took time to build. Yet they had achieved it in a matter of days.
Fighting a bitter sting of envy, Derrick decided that whatever it was they shared, he wanted to try it. He had searched for something like that his whole life. Maybe it was the French Quarter, a place where time and space lost meaning, where inhibitions got checked at the door. Maybe it was because it was goddamn Valentine’s Day. Whatever the reason, he had to have Jenny.
Even if only once. One sultry night, no inhibitions, no regrets.
Even if only for this one Valentine’s Day.
It had become an annoying habit for Derrick to navigate the hotel in a trance. He had no fucking idea how he ended up in the elevator staring down into Jenny’s upturned face. The way she swept her pink tongue along her full lower lip made his cock twitch. He groaned.
Mitch nudged his left rib with a pointy elbow. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”
What indeed?
He glanced about himself, unsure how to proceed.
“Self-conscious much?” Bryant teased. “I recall one drunk night in college. You weren’t that shy.”
The tip of Derrick’s ears burnt. “Never shared another woman since.”
A chime announced they had reached their floor. Jenny laced her arm through his as they got out of the metal box.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be gentle.” The vixen’s hoarse whisper did funny things to his insides.
His blood rushed down to his groin, making it hard to walk. Her chuckles didn’t ease his discomfort, and neither did the delicate hand that cupped his erection. Before he knew it, Derrick found himself on the couch with Jenny kneeling on the floor between his legs. Bryant and Mitch had disappeared, so the tense muscles on his shoulders relaxed.
She unzipped him and sheathed his cock with her mouth. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as Jenny licked and grazed her teeth along his length. She opened his shirt and raked her nails up his chest. When she pinched his nipples, he hissed. But the dazzling sensations gave way to new waves of pleasure as she hummed around his cock.
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 77