Office Intrigue (Office Intrigue Duet Book 1)

by Nicole Edwards

Great.

  “Look,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. The truth is, Landon and Langston are into something that sweet little girls like you know nothing about. I’m close to them and I know things you don’t.”

  Yeah. I could almost guarantee that wasn’t the case.

  “And tonight, I fully intend to see how far they’re willing to go.”

  My eyes snapped over to her face. “What does that mean?”

  “God, you’re so naïve. I still have no idea where they found you.” She turned to face the bar. “Those two require an experienced woman, honey. Not one who’s still wearing training wheels.”

  “Who wears training wheels?” I asked, unable to hide the sarcasm from my tone.

  “It’s just best you understand now. Sure, my colleagues might pretend you deserve the praise for managing the office and keeping those men in line, but we all know better. It doesn’t take much to answer phones and fill in calendars. Once they’ve sampled the goodies, they’ll boot you to the curb.”

  “I thought you said they weren’t interested,” I countered. “Why would they sample anything?”

  A hand landed on my shoulder and I shifted to see who it was. Another warm body moved behind me and I realized the objects of this woman’s affections were standing right behind me and she had absolutely no idea.

  “Just like the others, you’ll figure it out soon enough. Those two are interested in someone who’s got more to offer.” Misty took a sip of her drink, staring down at the bar. “Not a lowly secretary.”

  If she would’ve looked up even a fraction of an inch, she would’ve seen Landon and Langston standing there.

  “I haven’t been able to spend enough time with them, but they know what I want. The same thing they do. And this time I fully intend to show them everything I can offer. See, I’m not the type who’ll try to come between them. I actually prefer the two of them at the same—”

  Landon cleared his throat.

  As if in slow motion, Misty’s head swung around, her eyes landing on the two men standing behind me. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

  “We didn’t mean to interrupt,” Landon said, his hand still on my shoulder.

  “Oh, you weren’t,” I assured him. “Misty was just telling me about—”

  “You liar!” she yelled before I could even get the words out. Her eyes flew up to Landon. “She was sitting here telling me about how she’s been screwing you behind Langston’s back. I was just warning—”

  Landon held his hand up. “We’ve been standing here, Misty.”

  Surprisingly, the woman shut her mouth.

  “First thing tomorrow,” Langston said, his words directed at her, “we’d like to see you in the office. Seven o’clock. Do not be late.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she insisted.

  “We didn’t say you did.”

  No, they hadn’t. That was her guilt talking.

  Landon took my hand and helped me up from the stool. “I think it’s time to call it a night. We’ll drive you home.”

  It took everything in me not to look back at Misty. I had a feeling her tongue was now on the floor.

  And yes, I felt a little vindication.

  Forty-Four

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I ARRIVED at the office at eight o’clock per my bosses’ instruction. Apparently, they were planning to speak to Misty and wanted to do it in private. Since the first of the sessions would not start until noon today, I would have a little time to catch up on the work I’d put off this week.

  Unfortunately, when I arrived, I noticed there were people in the conference room. I couldn’t see through the opaque glass, but I figured Misty was probably in there.

  Somehow, I managed to keep my feet moving as I headed to my desk. I was surprised to find Ben in his office.

  “Good morning,” I greeted as I set my purse down. “Would you like me to make you some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good.” He crooked his finger at me, silently requesting me to come into his office.

  I did.

  “Is something wrong?”

  He shook his head. “Close the door.”

  He was acting a little strange, but I closed the door anyway. Before I could turn around, Ben was invading my personal space, pressing me up against the door.

  I smiled up at him. “Well, good morning to you.”

  His answering smile was sexy. “Although your meetings are going well, they’re driving me crazy,” he said softly, cupping my face. “I’m not getting nearly enough Luci time.”

  I laughed at his admission. Truth was, I knew exactly how he felt. The meetings were going well and I enjoyed getting to know the people who worked so hard to make the company what it was, but I did enjoy the day-to-day routine we’d established.

  “It’s almost over. Only today and half of tomorrow.”

  He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine. His breath smelled like mint and my mouth suddenly watered to taste him.

  “I’m counting down the minutes,” he said before gently pressing his lips to mine.

  I slid my hands into his jacket, wrapping around his waist and kissing him back. It was sweet, but the underlying tension was palpable. We were both holding back.

  “By the way, Master Chaos was rather impressed,” Ben said when he pulled back. “Said it was quite a treat to watch you come.”

  I felt my cheeks heat from the memory of having an unknown man watch me pleasure myself.

  “I enjoyed the task,” I admitted.

  “Next time, I’ll be there to watch for myself.”

  I sure hoped so.

  Ben took a deep breath, then stepped back. I was forced to let him go.

  “I should pretend to work,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Pretend?”

  “Yeah. I’m too curious as to what the outcome will be from the meeting taking place.”

  “Are Landon and Langston meeting with Misty?”

  Ben nodded. “Mr. Parker’s in there, too. You know, in case they needed backup. Someone to dig her claws out of their chests.”

  I couldn’t help myself, I blurted the question before I realized I was going to. “Why do you refer to Justin as Mr. Parker when he’s not around?”

  Smiling, Ben took another step back.

  “I mean, you could simply refer to him as Justin unless you’re with him, right?”

  Ben pushed his hands into his pockets and regarded me for a few seconds. “I could, sure. However, he means something to me. And when I think about him using the honorific we agreed upon, it makes me feel closer to him.”

  “I understand that.” And I really did. “That’s the way I feel when I think about Langston. The fact that he asked me to call him Master… It feels like there’s a connection.”

  Ben’s smile was sad, but his words didn’t align to his facial reaction. “Then you do understand. And that’s why I do it.”

  “Do you always call him Mr. Parker? Or is there something you call him when you’re alone with him?”

  “When we’re alone, he asks that I call him Master. But it took us some time to build up to that.”

  It sounded as though he was knocking the fact that Langston had asked me to refer to him as Master. During the conference, I’d been careful to think of him as Langston so that I didn’t accidentally say something that would give me away. However, I did like calling him Master.

  Not wanting to consider what Ben’s response had actually meant, I decided it was time to make my exit. “Well, I should get back to it,” I said, my tone too high-pitched to be genuine. “I’ll let you get back to…pretending.”

  “Luci?”

  I could tell he wanted to explain, but truthfully, I didn’t want to know.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” I replied, then slipped out the door.

  •

  That day’s sessions consisted of several vendors coming in to show off their goods. Thi
ngs that they wanted the managers to use for their business. There were quite a few technology clients giving away some cool stuff, too. And they’d drawn a lot of attention. I had worked closely with each of my bosses to determine who they wanted there based on the direction they saw things going and it seemed we’d made the right choices.

  The response was overwhelming and I found myself wandering around for a little while, watching as everyone grabbed their free gifts and got more information on the products they were curious about.

  That was when I got my daily text message.

  Landon: Good afternoon, sweet girl. As I watch you walking the halls, I can’t help but be intrigued by your sweet mouth. It makes me think of that first night when you so kindly wrapped my cock between those luscious lips. In fact, it makes me want to feel them again.

  Holy moly. The man had a way with words.

  Landon: With that said, the last of the roundtable sessions starts in twenty minutes. It could last ten minutes, it could last two hours. Regardless, I want you beneath the table when I arrive. I will be sure to take the last chair on the left (your left, when you are beneath the table, facing the chairs). Lucky for you, the tablecloth will provide you with cover. Do you understand?

  Luci: Yes, sir.

  Landon: Good. Once all four of us are seated, you are to unbutton my slacks and free my cock. For the entirety of the session, I want you to use those pretty lips and that curious little tongue to please me. There are two rules: 1. You cannot let anyone know you’re there. 2. You are not permitted to make me come.

  Crap.

  There wasn’t much time before that session started and if I wasn’t to allow anyone to know I was there, that meant I had to be beneath that table before anyone arrived in the room.

  Clutching my phone in my hand, I hurried to the room, eager for my assignment.

  •

  I had absolutely no idea how long the session had been underway, but I eventually figured out that Landon was purposely keeping it going. I found it amusing. At first. However, my jaw did eventually start to hurt and since I couldn’t move so much as a muscle without risking giving myself away, my legs were starting to cramp.

  Still, I focused all my attention on him, laving his thick erection with my lips and tongue, working him over good. Every now and then, his hand would slip beneath the table and he would caress my head, urging me to continue.

  I feared that he was going to grab my head and force his cock into my throat. If he did that, it was possible that I would gag and the whole room would know what was taking place right under their noses. So, I lived with that constant fear trickling in my veins as I continued to pleasure him.

  A whimper nearly escaped at one point as my legs cramped up painfully. I squeezed Landon’s thigh gently, hoping he would understand.

  He must’ve realized my intent because another fifteen minutes or so passed and then the session wrapped up. While everyone was leaving, Landon remained where he was, as did my other bosses. Since Landon’s instruction had been that no one could know I was there, I assumed that also meant them, so I didn’t dare move.

  After a few minutes, Justin and Ben left and I heard the door close behind them.

  The conversation resumed and I realized one of the managers was still in the room, speaking to two of my bosses. Another few minutes passed before Master’s legs disappeared from beneath the table and I heard the door open and close again.

  “Come on out here, sweet girl,” Landon said, moving his chair back.

  I crawled out from beneath the table, my legs aching from the prolonged position.

  He helped me to my feet, then pressed his lips to mine, kissing me roughly as he twined his fist in my hair.

  “That is the sweetest mouth I’ve ever known,” he growled, the vibrations of his words reverberating against my breasts because of the closeness of our bodies.

  “Now I think it’s only fair for me to return the favor.”

  That time I did whimper.

  My ass met the edge of the table and Landon picked me up and set me on it, forcing me backward before he pulled the chair back to the table and took a seat. He massaged my thighs and knees for several minutes before his mouth descended between my legs, his tongue rasping against my clit.

  “Mmm. Are you wet from sucking my dick?”

  “Yes, sir,” I moaned. It was true.

  “That pleases me.”

  I would do anything to please this man.

  “Now I want you to come all over my face, sweet girl.”

  It didn’t take long for me to do just that.

  Forty-Five

  BY THURSDAY MORNING, I WAS eager for the quarterly meeting to wind down. Sure, I’d had a good time throughout, but it was hard work keeping up with all the managers as well as anticipating the sexy requests from my bosses.

  Thankfully, today was the last day and we were all meeting in the office for the official closing ceremony. Not that it was a ceremony, but it sounded good.

  I purposely arrived at seven so that I could get a few things taken care of, including verifying all the flights for the managers I had yet to check on. Plus, I had put together a packet for the managers to take back with them, which had the information on what had taken place as well as the vendors who had attended for those who needed the details.

  When I arrived, I was surprised to see Justin was already in the office.

  “Would you like me to start some coffee?” I asked when he peeked out his door.

  “That would be great, princess,” he said before going back to typing away on his laptop.

  I got the coffee started, and while it brewed, I started down the list of managers, checking them off as I confirmed their flights. I also scheduled for a shuttle to arrive at the office to take them to the airport at noon. I figured it would be easier than each of them trying to catch a cab on their own.

  As I was delivering Justin his coffee, his phone rang.

  “Yeah?”

  Whoever it was, he didn’t sound pleased to hear from them.

  His eyes shot up to me and I could tell he wanted privacy for his call so I hurried out of the room and closed the door behind me. Before I could get two feet away, I heard him raise his voice, his tone reflecting his unhappiness.

  I would hate to be whoever was on the other end of that call.

  Rather than wait around to see what happened, I went to the front in time to catch Jordan coming off the elevator. He was once again wearing a suit and I grinned.

  “Just so you know,” he said, walking toward me, “I only dress like this for you.”

  “I’m honored. But you look amazing. I’m sure your man would be quite pleased to see you like this from time to time.”

  Jordan chuckled. “My man is pleased because I say he has to be.”

  I didn’t even bother trying to decipher his cryptic message.

  “When does everyone arrive?” he asked as he unlocked his desk drawer.

  “The caterers should be here by eight and the managers will be here at nine.”

  “So, how do you think it’s been so far?” he asked, perching on the edge of his desk.

  I shrugged. “I’d like to say it’s been successful. There have been very few issues.” At least that I knew of.

  “I agree.” His grinned widened. “And only one manager was fired.”

  My eyes widened as I stared at him in shock. “Someone got fired?”

  He shook his head slightly as though he couldn’t believe I didn’t know. “Yeah. Misty? Remember the meeting they had?”

  “Oh, my God. Why’d they fire her?”

  “Because she was harassing you,” he said with a silent but implied duh.

  “She was drinking,” I countered. “I don’t think she deserved to be fired for that.”

  “Trust me, it wasn’t because she was drinking. As it turns out, she was actually the reason for a couple of your predecessors to quit.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Ap
parently, she was vying for Landon’s and Langston’s attention, so she was sabotaging the secretaries. I think they figured it out once they overheard her conversation with you.”

  “Holy shit.” That was…surprising. I mean, sure, Misty wasn’t a very likable woman and, yeah, I knew she’d been belittling me, but I hadn’t been bothered by it. Well, other than wanting to get away from the hate she spewed. But to fire her? Wow.

  “Honestly, I think they were relieved that they finally had a valid reason to let her go. Plus, one of her direct reports will be stepping up to take her position. The guy’s been working circles around her and they’ve been wanting to promote him.”

  Part of me wondered how Jordan knew all of this when I didn’t. Then again, he’d been around longer, so he had probably established a good rapport with most of the managers. Which meant they likely shared information with him.

  The elevator dinged and we both turned to see who had arrived.

  “Good morning, Mr. Snowden,” I greeted Ben when he stepped off the elevator.

  His eyes swung from me to Jordan, then back. He didn’t look happy. I wondered if it had to do with the phone call Justin had taken. Not that I got to find out, because he nodded his head briefly before disappearing down the hall.

  “Well, we better get the conference room ready. They’ll be here before you know it,” Jordan suggested.

  Yep. They would. So we got to work.

  •

  By the time noon hit, I was exhausted. Both physically and mentally. It had been a fantastic few days, but I was desperate to get back to a normal routine.

  With so much going on that morning, there was one thing that didn’t happen.

  No text.

  Based on the way it had played out, the text should’ve come from Justin, but it never came. It wasn’t until everyone was out the door and I was back at my desk that I realized he had left for the day. No note, no email. Nothing.

  Justin had simply vanished.

  In an attempt to mind my own business, I got to work, checking emails and answering the few calls that came in. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me and I knocked on Ben’s door.

  “Come in!”

  I opened the door slowly and peeked inside. He was sitting at his desk.