by Julie Kriss
Aidan pushed his shoulder off the doorframe. “I didn’t say I’d forget. I said I wouldn’t show up. You keep me honest, it seems. Can you meet me in my office for a few minutes?”
“Of course,” I said, standing. I grabbed my notebook and pen and followed him back to his office.
When we were alone with the door closed, I felt the familiar rush of quiet excitement I always had. This was new, and probably a bad idea. I’d never felt attraction for any of my bosses before. Some of them had made passes at me, or at least made it known that they were open to the idea of sex. It was creepy, but it was part of the job. Men who were as rich and powerful as the ones I worked for saw sex as just another acquisition, something that came easy to them from anyone they chose.
If I wasn’t comfortable working for a particular man, I left. And if a man wanted to fire me for saying no, that was his problem. I knew my worth, and I wasn’t going to starve.
But I’d never worked for a man as good-looking as Aidan. Aside from that, there was a quiet zing of chemistry between us. It made me remember that I was single and not dead from the neck down. It also made me remember that I hadn’t had sex in a while. It was difficult not to notice how easily Aidan moved in his expensive suits or how good he smelled. The fact that he was single, with a mysterious reputation as a loner, only made him more attractive.
Still, I was a professional, and this was my job. A high-paying job that I was very, very good at. I could handle a sizzle of attraction without acting on it. I wasn’t about to make Aidan feel uncomfortable by fawning over him. If a man couldn’t do that to me, then I couldn’t do it to him either.
We worked well together. That was what mattered.
Still, as I sat in the chair across from his desk and crossed my legs, I felt that zing again. It made me feel feminine, which I hadn’t felt very often lately. I found my gaze lingering on one of Aidan’s gorgeous hands, and I pulled it away.
“Is everything ready for the meeting at ten?” he asked me.
Right. Wake up, Samantha. “Yes. Coffee is ordered and the room should be set up. I’ll go double-check that when I leave here.”
“The Egerton brothers,” Aidan said with a grim tone to his voice. He ran a hand through his dark hair. “I hate doing the internet startup deals.”
“But you’re going to do a deal,” I said.
“You guessed from the schedule?” He shrugged. “The metrics look good, and the profit potential is there. Though the internet deals are more Dane’s area of expertise.”
Dane Scotland, the Chicago partner, was the programming wiz. Aidan was the expert in real estate deals.
“Is there anything else on my schedule?” he asked.
I checked my phone. “No. Not that I know of.”
Aidan’s eyebrows rose. “That you know of?”
“I just mean that last night…” Shit. What an idiot. Why was I bringing up the gala last night? It had just slipped out because it was on my mind, and now I’d dug myself a hole. “Maybe I didn’t have your schedule right,” I finished lamely.
“You’re asking me about the gala last night.” Aidan leaned back in his chair.
“Not really.” And damn it, now I could feel my cheeks get hot. This never happened to me. “What I mean is, it’s none of my business. I’m only concerned in case I missed something I was supposed to know.” A lot of my bosses needed my help with attending events: making sure formalwear was acquired and cleaned, ordering drivers, sending gifts.
“And how did you know I attended?” The corner of his mouth quirked, but his gaze was calm. I’d never annoyed Aidan, and I didn’t want to start today. Especially after warning the others about it.
“I may have seen a headline somewhere by mistake.” He said nothing, so I decided to handle the situation by turning it around. “Honestly, it was an accident. I don’t Google you in my off-hours, Aidan. If you think I do, that’s your ego talking.”
He blinked, and then his expression relaxed. For a second, the Man in Black almost smiled. Then he said, “Fine, Samantha. Let’s move on.”
Three
Aidan
* * *
Samantha Riley had worked for me for three months, and I’d never seen her quite like this. She was… flustered. Actually flustered. By me.
She was right—it was my ego talking. My ego and maybe some wishful thinking. The assistant I’d had before her had been fifty-eight and a grandmother; she was tough and entirely competent, but there was no denying she looked nothing like Samantha. Definitely not.
Samantha was sitting across from me now, her legs crossed, her notebook on her thigh. She wore a dark gray pencil skirt and a light blue blouse. The skirt came exactly to her knee and the blouse covered everything it was supposed to without being dowdy. Her dark blonde—some would say dirty blonde—hair was tied up neatly off her neck. Her makeup was expert and understated, as was her jewelry. She knew exactly how to dress as the professional she was.
Except for the shoes. She was wearing low black heels—with an ankle strap. It was subtle and it was very, very sexy. Every pair of heels she wore to work had that ankle strap—the black ones, the brown ones, the ones with the open toes, the ones with the closed toes. Samantha never wore ultra-high spike heels or flats. She wore low heels, expensive and feminine. And every pair had an ankle strap.
I shouldn’t be paying so much attention to my assistant’s feet. But fuck it. I was.
Maybe it was so that I wouldn’t be tempted to pay too much attention to the rest of her. Samantha was a genuinely beautiful woman, with blue eyes offsetting her blonde hair, a small, straight nose, and her mouth… No, I definitely wasn’t looking at her mouth, the lush softness of it, the way the top lip curved just so. Her body was perfect beneath the skirt and blouse: slim waist, sleekly rounded hips, small high breasts cupped neatly in her bra. I didn’t look at those either, because when I did, I imagined what they would look like in my hands while she rode me.
I sound like a pig, but they say the average male thinks about sex every seven seconds. I was no exception.
I had control. I never let Samantha know what I was thinking. She was too important, and we worked too well together. She was very fucking good at her job—intelligent, focused, impossible to rile. A good executive assistant is worth her weight in gold, which was pretty much what I paid her. So I kept my thoughts in line, my mouth shut, and my dick down. Besides, in three months she’d never given the slightest hint that I affected her any more than the vase of palm leaves in the front lobby did.
Until now.
It had been brief, but it was there. Her cheeks had flushed and for a second she’d squirmed in her seat like a teenager. Then she was in control again. It was the gala—something about my attending it had set her off. I wondered what.
“It was an impulse, you know,” I said.
She blinked at me, back to business now. “I beg your pardon?”
“My going to the gala last night. I’d forgotten I even had the invitation. I decided to go because I was bored.”
Bored and restless, dissatisfied. But I didn’t tell her that.
“Oh.” Samantha smoothed a small lock of hair behind her ear. “I see.”
“When I go to these events, it’s free publicity for Tower VC. I found the invitation last night, and I was at loose ends. So I went.”
She nodded. “Aidan, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
I did, though. Something about the gala was still bothering her—I could see it in her expression. Instead of pressing, I decided to change the subject. I tapped my laptop awake. “So Noah wants a partner meeting?”
“Next Tuesday in Chicago.” She sounded relieved to be talking about something else. “I think I can clear off your schedule. Should I make the arrangements?”
“I suppose so.” I was surprised Noah wanted to leave the roster of actresses and models he was dating in L.A. to come to Chicago for a meeting. My old friend had slept with half the women in Ho
llywood; it would have to be important for him to take a break from womanizing. “I’ll fly in Monday, and I’ll spend an extra day. Book me back on Thursday morning, first class. And book yourself to come with me.”
Samantha had been writing in her notebook, but she went still. She looked up at me in surprise. “You want me to come?”
Very much. Shut up, brain. “Yes, I think so,” I said. “It’s the perfect chance for you to meet all of the partners in person. That is, if you’re available to take the trip?”
I was fishing. Samantha didn’t wear a wedding ring. I wanted to know if she’d say I’ll check with my boyfriend or, hell, I’ll check with my girlfriend. At this point I had no idea. And it was petty, and completely over the line, but I wanted to know.
“I can go,” Samantha said right away. “It’s no problem at all.”
Which didn’t mean she was fully single. Maybe she just really wanted to go. She straightened a little in her chair, her eyes quietly sparking with a hint of excitement. Then I remembered something that had been on her CV.
“You’re from Chicago, right?” I said.
She nodded. “I haven’t been back since I started here.”
“All right, then. Consider Wednesday a day off in Chicago to do whatever you want. That’s what I’m going to do. See friends, family, that sort of thing.” I wasn’t looking forward to visiting my mother, but it was unavoidable.
Samantha smiled. I’d never seen her smile like that—a full, open, genuine smile of happiness. “Thank you, Aidan. That’s sweet of you.”
Sweet. No one ever called me that.
But if it made her smile, I would take it.
Four
Aidan
* * *
“Dane, I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”
It was five minutes to ten, and I was on my way to the meeting with the Egerton brothers. I’d sent Dane Scotland, the Chicago partner, the briefing notes and he was trying to tell me how to handle the meeting.
“Just ask them about the API,” Dane said, his voice its usual pissed-off growl. “It doesn’t look like it’s been fully tested. I want to know the plan for that. No API means no integration and no product.”
I closed my office door behind me and walked through the open space toward the glassed-in meeting room. The phone to my ear, I glanced around for Samantha and saw her leaving her own office, heading toward the front desk. She gave me a nod and a lifted eyebrow, which meant, They’re here and I’m going to get them. Okay? I nodded at her and turned back toward the meeting room.
“I can ask them, but the answer will mostly be over my head,” I told Dane frankly. “You know how I am with web guys. These internet startups are all based in New York. I don’t know why we don’t switch offices.”
“Because I hate New York,” Dane reminded me. “It’s a city full of fakers and assholes.”
“I live here, you know.”
“You’re only there because the company sent you there.”
“Ava lives here, too.” My sister lived in Brooklyn. Since Dane and I had been friends since we were fifteen, he was well acquainted with Ava. “She actually chooses to be here.”
“Fine, then,” Dane said. “Ava’s the exception. Everyone else in New York is an asshole.”
I pulled the meeting room door closed behind me. “I’m telling you, Dane, real estate is my expertise. I should be in Chicago while you handle the New York stuff.”
“Talk to Noah and see if you can get him to trade with you. It’s time he left L.A. I think his dick is going to break if he fucks any more models.”
I sighed. Dane’s way with words was one of the reasons I hadn’t pushed him to come to New York before now. He needed a little polish first. “Noah would be useless in New York, and I’d be useless at the entertainment deals,” I said. “And Alex works best in Dallas, doing the oil and ranching deals. No, it has to be you and me trading places.”
“You’re just sick of New York and want to come back,” Dane said.
“I like New York.” Through the glass, I could see Samantha leading two men to the meeting room. She was probably what I liked most about New York, but I wasn’t about to say that. “You’re just stuck in your ways.”
“Chicago is home.”
“The women are better here.”
“That’s a fucking lie, and you know it. You’re not even dating anyone.”
“How the hell do you know about my sex life? No, scratch that. How the hell does everyone know about my sex life?”
“I don’t know about everyone, but I’ve known you since we were fifteen. The story is always the same. Women try to get into Aidan’s pants, and Aidan says no. Are you telling me it’s different in New York?”
Fuck, sometimes it was hard to work with people who knew everything about you. “Piss off, Dane,” I said. “I have to take a meeting now. The meeting you should be at.”
“Like I say, ask about the API. And don’t screw it up.” He hung up.
I sighed and dropped my phone into my pocket as Samantha opened the meeting room door. “Gentlemen, this is Aidan Winters,” she said smoothly. The brothers introduced themselves—Rob was the taller one, Jared was shorter with shaggier hair—and Samantha looked at me. “Do you have everything you need?”
Everything except you in here, sitting next to me and getting me through this damn meeting. “Yes, Samantha, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said politely, leaving and closing the door behind her.
Rob Egerton put his hands in his pockets, his grin exactly matching the shit-eating one on his brother’s face. “Samantha, huh?” he said to me. “Is she single or what?”
“Excuse me?” I said.
“She’s hot, man. Really fucking hot. I mean, that ass.”
Jared Egerton shook his head. “The Man in Black,” he said. “No wonder he’s a legend. He gets the best pussy in New York.”
I looked from one brother to the other, waiting for the shoe to drop for either of them. It didn’t.
Seriously. Why was everyone but me so direly fucking stupid?
“That’s all you have to say?” I prompted them.
“What?” Jared said. “I’m just saying I’d do her, that’s all. No big deal.”
“Okay,” I said to the Egerton brothers. “We’re done.”
“You kicked them out just like that?” Noah laughed through my speakerphone. “You’ve always been ballsy, Aidan.”
“That’s one word for it,” Alex said from Dallas.
Dane said, “What did they say?”
We were on a conference call. I was alone in my penthouse, because I’d been too fucking angry to stay in the office and keep my cool. I was sitting in my home office, my phone on my desk. I had my laptop open and was scanning through reports as we talked. “They were surprised, then they said some shit about me being an oversensitive pussy, and then something about how I would be sorry. I confess I wasn’t listening by then. And then I escorted them out.”
“Don’t mess with the Man in Black,” Alex said. “You don’t even sound angry.”
“Angry?” I raised my gaze from my laptop, thinking. “That’s an interesting thought.”
Dane groaned. “Oh, no. You’re definitely angry. Those guys are fucked.”
“I can behave,” I told him.
“They’re totally fucked,” Alex agreed.
“You’re a cold, cold bastard,” Noah said. It was early in L.A., and I heard him crunching on something, probably cereal. “You have a sliver of ice where your heart is supposed to be.”
I frowned, annoyed. “All right, let me ask officially. Does anyone have a problem with what I did today? An objection to me kicking the Egerton brothers out of the building for referring to my assistant as pussy?”
Silence.
“Speak now or shut up about it forever,” I said. “Three, two, one.”
“It’s fine, Aidan,” Dane said. “They were out of line. We don’t do busin
ess with guys like that.”
“Note to self,” Noah said. “Do not make a comment about Samantha, good or bad. No matter what. Just stay off the topic entirely.”
He was ribbing me, and I was going to argue, but I decided against it. “You know what? You’re right. No comments about Samantha. She’s off limits. I’m bringing her to Chicago, by the way. None of you even breathe in her direction.”
“Jesus, you’ve never talked about a woman like this,” Alex said. “What’s going on?”
I rolled my shoulders, feeling how tense they were. “What’s going on is that she’s brilliant, qualified, and utterly competent. I pay her an exorbitant salary, and I want to keep paying it. I don’t want to lose her. If I have to kick every creepy CEO out of the building in order to keep her, then I will. And if I have to remind my partners—repeatedly—that she’s a professional, then I’ll do that, too.”
“Okay, okay,” Noah said. “We get the idea. Competent, professional, blah blah blah. Just bring her to Chicago, man. I want to meet this paragon in person. I have a feeling that if you talk about her like this, she must be something else.”
I didn’t answer. I let them discuss what was going to happen at the meeting next week, and as I listened, I picked up my phone and opened the text app. The call kept going as I pulled up a number and wrote a message.
Rob and Jared Egerton, I wrote. Give me a report by Monday. The usual fee.
I hesitated slightly before hitting Send, but only slightly. What I was about to do was ruthless, and for a second I wondered if Samantha would approve.
Then I remembered that they’d come to a business meeting and referred to her as the best pussy in New York, and I hit Send.
The reply came back in thirty seconds. Not a problem. Done.
Don’t mess with the Man in Black, I thought, and smiled to myself as I went back to the phone call.
