by Chiah Wilder
After everyone was seated, I cleared my throat and darted my gaze among the twelve employees. “It’s great to see all of you again.” A couple of the men stared at me stoically, but all the women watched me intently, a couple of them pushing back in their chairs and crossing their legs in a way I knew was meant to grab my attention. I smiled. The women were accepting my position just fine, but I had to win the guys over if I wanted to implement some new procedures and ideas.
Unlike the other women around the table, Cierra kept her gaze fixed on the arms of my chair. I wasn’t sure if she was still embarrassed by the night at the club, fighting the spark I was sure she felt between us, or just plain old pissed at me for doing whatever it was Kelsey told her I did. The crazy thing was that the more she refused to look at me, the more it drew my attention to her.
“Okay, let’s get started,” I said as I picked up my cup of coffee. After taking a sip, I said, “Cierra?” Her head jerked up and pink streaks colored her cheeks. Pink is definitely her color. She didn’t hide her discomfort very well. And the childish part of me was loving it. “Catch me up on everything I need to know about the upcoming Vibra launch.”
She pulled out a notebook and began to tell me all about it in general terms. As she got more into it, she relaxed, and I could see the illumination in her face as she spoke about the new phone we were premiering. She knew her stuff, and I was impressed by how articulate and passionate she was about it, but she left out the specifics of the project.
When she paused, a stout man of about forty sighed loudly. “Do you have anything to add, Doug?” I asked, glancing down at my cheat sheet with everyone’s name on it from when we first entered the room.
“It’s just this whole changing of the guard has taken a lot of us by surprise. We’re wondering why we weren’t let in on it. Why was it such a big secret?”
I saw a few nods of agreement with Doug Raley, head of Market Research. Vibra was one of our biggest accounts, and it was earned by hard work, dedication, and sheer tenacity. I understood why some of the employees felt slighted or abandoned by my grandfather basically walking out more than halfway through the project, but they were stuck with me now and they would have to get used to it.
“Mr. Linder didn’t want to step down. As a matter of fact, he fought it like hell until a conspiracy of doctors and family members grounded him.” Several of the people chuckled. “I’m not new to the business world. Some of you may think you have an idea of who I am by the gossip magazines, but I’m not that guy. I successfully invented a gaming app several years ago. I had to work hard as hell to get it off the ground, and I did. Believe me, I’m pretty well-versed in marketing and social media buzz, so not all of this is new to me.” I glanced over at Cierra to find she was studying me carefully.
“We just felt slighted, that’s all,” Doug said as he leaned back in his chair.
“I understand. The last thing my grandfather would want is all of you feeling any bitterness toward him. If he had it his way, he’d be sitting here addressing you. The important thing is for us to work together to make Vibra one of the biggest hits in cell phones. You all have as much control over this project as you’ve ever had. We’re a team.”
After my response, the ice was broken, and the hour and a half I allocated for the meeting turned into the entire morning. It was invigorating, and I was blown away by the enthusiasm and loyalty the department heads had for Vibra and for the agency; it was a remarkable ode to my grandfather.
At the end of the meeting, as everyone was filing out, I stopped Cierra before she could leave. Clutching her binder, she glanced at the doorway and her retreating coworkers. “I want you to know that you should feel free to speak your mind. I gathered you were holding back some of the specifics of the project, and that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I also heard that you didn’t agree with some of the ideas for the launch. I’d like to know what those are. I know we didn’t meet under optimum circumstances, but that doesn’t mean you have to stress about me firing you for speaking your mind.”
“I don’t hold back, trust me,” she said, an eyebrow cocked. “It’s just that we’ve had the marketing plan in place for months, and I really don’t think we need to go over it again when you’re probably well-acquainted with everything we want to do.”
“Right.” I nodded. She still clutched her binder, but her knuckles weren’t as white now. I blinked, forcing myself to break her gaze while I struggled to think of something intelligent to say. “But I could use someone to go over the specifics with me. You know, dates, times, publications. I still don’t know the details, and the report in the file that landed on my desk was a little vague.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “I’ll send some stuff up—”
“I’d prefer to go over it in person.” Cierra’s eyes widened. “I find details stick in my head better when I actually talk about them instead of just reading another report,” I said quickly.
“Sure… okay. I can come up later today, if that works?”
“Sounds good.” I tried to keep my face neutral and not let my eyes stray down her body the way I really wanted to.
“See you,” she blurted as she headed out of the conference room. I leaned against the doorway and watched as her sweet ass swayed oh so nicely in her tight skirt. What was it about Cierra that drew me in? She wasn’t the usual type of woman I was attracted to. For one thing, she was smart. It wasn’t that I dated women without a brain, but I tended to go for those who were passionate about getting a manicure, not launching a new cell phone.
I shook my head. Cierra definitely intrigued me. I wished I could say it was because it was taboo, or because she talked back to me, or the way her tight ass looked in that skirt, but it wasn’t. It was a heady combination of all of it, one that stirred something in my brain and left me on edge and hungry for more.
I was meeting a buddy of mine for lunch, so I ran my hands through my hair and grabbed my jacket. With the image of Cierra’s ass burned into my brain, I walked out of the building into the cool, salty air.
Chapter Five
Cierra
I took a deep breath, lifted my knuckles, and then dropped them again. Was there any way I could get out of this and not have it be blindingly obvious? Any way I could avoid walking into that office and being alone with Trace Prescott?
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him; if anything, that meeting I had just come out of a few hours before had underlined the fact that he was committed to making this company even better than it had been under his grandfather. Yet I cringed at the thought of being alone with him. My head told me he was off-limits for dozens of reasons, but my body betrayed me time and time again. I couldn’t jeopardize my career by having a fling with my boss. And then there was Kelsey and all the guilt I had rattling around in my mind whenever my heart fluttered when I thought about him, which happened more times than I cared to admit.
You’re being childish. You didn’t even act this way in high school. It was true. I didn’t date much, and when I finally had a boyfriend, it hadn’t seemed like such a big deal. I’d see the way the other girls went on about their guys, but I’d never felt that way about Brendan. He’d been more like a good friend I hung out with and kissed. I guess he finally caught on because he dumped me a week before our senior prom. He’d ended up taking Jules, his new girlfriend of a week, and I’d stayed home, sorry that I’d blown my babysitting money on a new dress. My parents had been more upset about what Brendan had done to me than I had.
“I thought Mr. Prescott was in his office,” his secretary said to me.
I smiled weakly. This is ridiculous. I forced my hand back up and rapped on the thick wood door. I had to stop this nonsense and get back to being the professional woman I was. He was just another boss. I had to keep reminding myself that.
“Come in!” he called from inside the office, and I opened the door. He glanced up as I entered.
“Cierra, hi,” he greeted me, then nodded to the cha
ir opposite his desk. “Take a seat.”
I perched on the edge of the chair, glancing around the enormous office. I’d always wondered what it looked like. When Mr. Linder ran the show, I’d never made it up there, so it was a little intimidating to be in the office surrounded by a gorgeous view of the cityscape on one side and the sparkling bay on the other. I sank into the buttery-soft leather chair.
“I’ll just be a sec,” he said as he tapped the keyboard.
I watched him, cursing the fact that Lindsey was out on sick leave and I had to go over everything with him. It would’ve been a damn sight easier to keep him at arm’s length if I didn’t have to be alone in his office with him like this, looking at the way his hands danced over the keyboard and wondering if they’d be just as deft on me. Damn the fact that Kelsey had been crude enough to tell me a little about their sex life when they’d been together—specifically how good he’d been and how many times he’d made her come in a single session. Maybe she was exaggerating. Or maybe she wasn’t.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
His voice pulled my thoughts from the gutter at once. I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat. “What do you mean?”
A genuine smile spread over his face, warming me in places it had no business going to. “You had such a faraway look in your eyes.”
Ignoring his comment, I asked, “So, what do you want to know about the launch?” I knew I should’ve gone over all the details, but I’d let my nerves get the better of me. And the fact that I couldn’t take my eyes off the way his stubble played in the light pouring in through the window next to me didn’t help.
“We need to go over the specific timeline and strategy for the launch,” he said as he pulled out the folder my department had sent up the day before. “This is good, but I want to go more for a social media route than a traditional publishing one. I get where you’re coming from with that approach, but I just think we’re going to reach more people if we incorporate social media in a bigger way.”
“Okay.” I grabbed the pen that I had tucked into my bun, flipped open the file, and made a couple of notes. He laughed, and I lifted my head to see what he had found so amusing.
“What is it?”
He gestured to the pen. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do that before.” There was a flash of amusement in his look that I couldn’t help but meet with a smile. “It’s handy. I should get me one of those.”
“What, a pen or a bun?”
“Both,” he replied, cocking an eyebrow. “Though I might need a little guidance on getting it right.”
I stared at him. He was gorgeous when he smiled. Fluttering tingles shivered through me.
Leaning forward, he clasped his hands on the desk in front of him and my gaze drifted down to his long fingers. There was a moment of silence as I tried to think of something to say, something that wouldn’t overstep the line between boss and employee, but something to keep this flirtatious vibe going. I should’ve stepped back from it and kept it neutral and professional, but damn, he was far too tempting and my body was sizzling all over. And in my defense, he started the flirting. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
I finished making the notes, pretending that was why I had fallen silent, and then turned my attention back to him.
“Okay, so what do you want to add to the strategy?” I asked, hoping if I kept things business-focused we could pretend that little moment hadn’t just happened.
He launched into his ideas for the marketing campaign for the new cell phone and I had to admit, I was impressed. And on top of that, there was just something good about him. Charming wasn’t a word I used very often—when I did, it was usually a coded term to describe the sleazy dudes who wouldn’t leave me and my girlfriends alone at clubs—but it fit him so well. He was an asshole to Kels. He’s your boss. No fraternization, remember? “I know,” I muttered under my breath.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
With heated cheeks, I waved my hand. “Nothing.” Good going. Great comeback. “Go on with what you were saying.”
For the next couple of hours, we spoke about social media launch strategy versus traditional publications in a way that stimulated my intellect. As I watched his eyes light up and his head bob in agreement with the things I was saying, I could understand why women were crazy about him. I know that sounded a bit insane, but so many guys were in the habit of zoning out when women talked, as though they were just waiting for them to get to the part where they sucked their dicks. Trace seemed genuinely interested.
If Kels were here, she’d roll her eyes and say, “He’s just doing his job. You’re making it into more than it is. Anyway, he was an asshole to me. You really need to get laid, Cierra.”
And I did need to get rid of all the sexual tension I’d been feeling since I first laid eyes on Trace at Beta.
I glanced at the clock: four thirty. I couldn’t believe how late it was. It seemed like I’d just arrived. Talking with Trace had been easy and invigorating. He really listened to what I was saying, and it wasn’t just because it was his job. Doug Raley never listened to me, and that’s why we went round and round before he’d finally do what I asked him to in the first place. And it wasn’t just because I wasn’t the official head of the event department. Lindsey always complained that Doug and Tim in Account Planning looked through her when she talked.
Trace’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn, I didn’t realize how long I’d kept you in here.”
“I should probably get all this sent along to Lindsey,” I said as I stood up.
Immediately rising to his feet, he smiled. “Thanks for talking all this through with me. I appreciate it. I’ll e-mail you if I need to follow up on anything else.”
“Of course, anything you want,” I replied, then quickly corrected myself. “Need. Anything you need.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” he said in a low voice.
“See you later.” I stepped under his arm and out the door, doing my best not to inhale the clean, spicy scent of his aftershave. It didn’t work. I closed my eyes for a split second and my head filled with images of waking up next to him, the smell of him layered on the sheets around us as he reached over to pull me closer—
And then I was out from under him, ducking my head and marching off back to the elevator without looking back. Inside the elevator, I chastised myself for falling for his charms. The same ones that ensnared women like Kelsey. I’d been gullible, falling under his spell when all he was doing was his job. I made a big deal about it, thinking he was somehow different from other men. Oh, he was good. He’d probably had years of experience in beguiling women. Well, I’d just have to make sure I didn’t fall into his net. Yeah, he might be good in the office, but that was it. I didn’t need to think about where else he might turn out to be good. In fact, it was best if I kept intrusive little thoughts like that firmly out of my head, unless I wanted to wind up in trouble with my job and my best friend.
I marched back down to my desk and planted myself behind my computer, booting it up and starting an e-mail to Lindsey. As I typed, I did my best to push the thought of him out of my mind once and for all, but he was still there, nagging away at the back of my head. Back and forth my mind went: Is Trace a decent guy, or is he an insensitive womanizer? Am I judging him solely based on what Kels told me about him, or am I trying to be objective? The thoughts shuttled through my brain like a frenzied ping-pong match, and a major headache threatened to attack.
Finishing the e-mail, I checked the time and hooked my bag over my shoulder. I needed to get out of the office, sit in a long bath, and do anything I could to get my mind off the man a couple of floors above me.
Chapter Six
Trace
“So, tell me about your first week.”
“You know I’m meant to give you a break from work,” I teased my grandfather, but the way he cocked his eyebrow at me and glanced over my shoulder to make sure my grandmother wasn’t around to hear him
told me he didn’t intend to quietly retire.
“I want to find out how you’re doing at the helm. That’s allowed, isn’t it?
“And that’s all this is, right? You’re not trying to make sure that I’m running the business in a way you approve of?”
“Trust me, I’d find out if you weren’t.” He brought the brandy snifter to his lips. The minute I’d come into the study, he’d cajoled me into giving him the drink. I caved in like I always did when I was around him.
I put my brandy on the table and pursed my lips. Feigning a stern voice, I asked, “You’re still in touch with people who work at the office?”
Not fazed, he waved a hand. “Of course I am. I worked with some of those people for years. I’m not just going to walk away from them because I’m not there anymore.”
“And you’re confident that they’d report back to you if I was doing something you wouldn’t approve of?” I chided him. He glanced away from me, and I knew at once that I’d caught him out.
“It’s not that I don’t think you’ll do a good job. The advertising and marketing world is ever-changing and can be daunting for a newcomer. I know some of the people were angry at my sudden departure, but it couldn’t be helped. I didn’t want them to judge you before they gave you a chance.”
“Doug Raley’s not too happy. He made that clear at one of the meetings the other day.”
“Doug’s a good guy, but he’s a bully. He’s got some great ideas, but he needs to be reminded that the agency runs on team effort, not just on what he wants. I figured he’d be upset when he found out I’d stepped down. He’ll come around.”
I leaned over and patted my grandfather’s veiny hand. “I’ll take care of business, and when I run into a snag, you’re the first one I’ll call. Velocity is you, and that’s never gonna change.”
