Hard to Resist

by Lauren Landish

  It’s a new department, and I can appoint whoever the hell I want to that position. And I’m choosing her. Whether he likes it or not.

  Charlotte makes her way over to me and takes a seat, putting her hands in her lap and looking everywhere but at me. She’s nervous. I fucking love it. I love that I’m getting to her.

  Everyone files out and as Trent exits, I call out to him, “Please close the door behind you, Trent.” He's the last one to leave.

  His eyes dart from me to Charlotte with a slight unspoken question, but he doesn’t object.

  The door closes with a loud click, leaving us alone.

  I’m sure the only thing on her mind is our night together and the way she left me.

  I imagine she’s rethinking that decision to sneak out and leave me with only a sticky note. If she thought she could get away that easily, she knows better now.

  I shift forward in my seat so I can take off my suit jacket and ask her, “I need to know when you’ll have a sales pitch ready.”

  She blinks a few times with her lips parted in shock.

  I resist the urge to show her how much I’m enjoying this and instead set my jacket gently on the table. I rest my elbow on the table and place my head in my hand, looking at her beautiful blue eyes and waiting for a response.

  After a moment she clears her throat. “I’ll need a few days to go through all of the products and the ideal placements.” Her voice is strained, and she shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

  She hesitantly parts those lush lips and I know she wants to ask about that night, but she doesn’t. Her cheeks burn a bright red as I stare at her with a blank face waiting for more. Her breathing picks up a bit and she refuses to look me in the eyes. A sadness crosses her face that has me questioning this game I’m playing. Maybe she thinks I don’t remember.

  There’s no way that I could ever forget that night. But she doesn’t know that.

  “Sorry,” she says and pulls at the hem of her skirt, not looking at me, “I’m just a little…”

  She breathes in deep.

  I sit upright and lean forward, close enough to touch her, but I don’t. “A little what, Rose?” A knowing look flashes in her eyes at my pet name for her. I arch a brow and wait, but she just stares at me like a deer in headlights.

  “I asked you a question; when will you have the sales pitch?”

  She clears her throat and squares her shoulders, seeming to right herself. All trace of emotion gone, now that she knows what I’m doing.

  “I’ll need at least this workweek. I can have something to you by Monday for the first one, but nothing will be finalized until I can arrange meetings with our business partners.” For the first time today, a smile grows on my face.

  “Your presentation skills are excellent.” I look past her, remembering her presentation at the conference. She’s amazing at what she does. And she’s youthful, and a beautiful woman at that. It’s going to be hard for them to tell her no. “You were meant to lead the sales department. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

  A small, sweet smile plays at her lips although it doesn’t get rid of the apprehension in her expression. “Thank you, Mr. Parker,” she answers respectfully and looks to the door.

  “Thank you, Miss Harrison, that’s all.”

  She looks flushed and parts her lips, but doesn’t say anything.

  “Are you alright?” I ask her.

  She gives me a smile and nods, holding the folders she came in with close to her chest.

  “I’m fine, thank you.” Her response is short and expected.

  “I’ll see you on Friday at the next meeting.” She purses her lips and looks at the door and then back at me. My heart pounds in my chest. I can tell she’s debating on saying something. She doesn’t though. She opens her mouth once, but slams it shut and stands up, smoothing her skirt quickly and then takes a single step to move around me.

  I make my move then. My hand reaches out and brushes against her thigh, skimming up her skirt slightly.

  She gasps slightly and wavers on her heels.

  “One more thing,” I say as I turn her to face me, putting my other hand on the back of her knee.

  “The note you left… I’m choosing to ignore it.” Her breath hitches, and her sweet lips part for a moment before she moves out of my grasp and takes a step back.

  “I don’t think we should do this,” she says slowly, her eyes staying trained on mine. She sounds unsure, because she is.

  “I think we should,” I say as I stand in front of her.

  Her breathing comes in heavy pants. I stand and take a step toward her as she takes a small step back. “I still want you.”

  I splay my hand on her back and walk her to the door, but I don’t open it. She moves to leave, but I put my hand on the door and stand behind her.

  “I thought it was over in Vegas,” she says softly. She looks at the door and then at me. “I can’t-”

  “You can.” I cut her off. “This is just me and you.”

  Her eyes search my face as I speak. “There’s work, and then there’s this.” I lean in and plant a soft kiss on her lips. Hers are hard at first, but they quickly mold to mine. Yes! My hardened dick strains against my zipper. I should take her against the wall right now. But I can’t. Not yet. She’s hesitant, and I can’t push just yet.

  I kiss her deeply and with a passion that echoes what we had that night together. Her back arches slowly and her hands slowly slip up my shirt, letting her fingers trail along my hard chest.

  I pull her hips toward me so she can feel how hard I am for her. I want her, and I need her to know that. She lets out a small moan. I lean forward, breaking our kiss and whisper in the crook of her neck, “My sweet Rose, it’s not over until I say it’s over.”

  Chapter 15

  Charlotte

  “I’m worried about you, Charlotte,” Hastings tells me in a hushed voice. He takes off his reading glasses and sets them on his desk, looking at me as though he feels sorry for me.

  I knew this was coming when I walked in here this morning. He was too busy to meet with me yesterday by the time I left the meeting with Logan. So now I’m sitting in his office trying hard not to be offended, while also trying to project the confidence that I can do this. “I think that Logan is doing you a disservice, putting that much on your plate so soon.”

  “I’ll be okay,” I say confidently, flashing an easy smile. Though I’m trying to seem upbeat, I’m not at all. If the shock and self-consciousness about all this shit with the buyout and Logan weren’t enough, I got into a nasty fight with Ian last night. He showed up without warning on my doorstep, demanding that I let him in. I shoved his box out there for him to take, but that’s not what he wanted. He was looking to actually stay over.

  I told him that he no longer lived with me, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He tried to push his way in, but I slammed the door in his face. He has a key, which sucks. But I had a bolt. So he was fucked. Last night, anyway, since today’s a different story and in the pit of my stomach I know this is going to be an issue. I called the landlord and asked him to change the locks. I’m just praying they get it done in time before that asshole locks me out.

  I spent the rest of the night laying in bed, hating Ian and this shit position I’m in. The only other thing I could concentrate on was how Logan wanted me yesterday. All I could do was think about how hot Logan looked in the boardroom, how sexy he made me feel. I am shocked at the sudden turn of events with him taking over the company and naming me head sales rep, but I'm convinced he's up to something.

  He’s the cat, and I’m the mouse.

  I don’t care what Logan’s plans are, I think to myself angrily. I’ll show him that I’m not some toy to be played with on a whim. Yesterday I was caught off guard and shocked. Today’s a new day.

  Thinking about the way Logan looked at me yesterday in the boardroom causes my blood to heat with desire. It pisses me off that I’m turned on by a man who
’s toying with me. What's worse is that my job is at stake. My heart clenches, but rather than be worried and upset, I hold onto the anger. Without realizing it, I find myself scowling at Hastings in irritation.

  Hastings frowns at me, his bushy eyebrows drawing together. “You’re glaring at me, Charlotte, did I offend you?”

  “Oh, no, Mr. Hastings,” I say, quickly morphing my scowl into a smile. “I’m just thinking about how I’m going to go about preparing for a successful launch with the resources I have at my disposal.”

  Goddamnit, Logan.

  Before Hastings can respond, there’s a knock at the door. I turn to see Eva poking her head in the doorway. She looks the consummate professional today with her hair in an elegant French twist and dressed in a crisp white pantsuit that makes me want to go shopping. “Is it alright if I come in?” she asks sweetly.

  Hastings nods, “I think we’re done here?” he says although he’s asking me. I nod with a tight smile.

  Eva walks in with a bright smile. “Good morning, Mr. Hastings. You’re looking mighty handsome today.”

  Mr. Hastings chuckles, his cheeks turning a rosy red, and waves his hand dismissively. “Oh stop it, Eva. How are you enjoying the merger?”

  “It’s going better than I expected,” Eva replies, giving me a smile. “It doesn’t hurt when you have such an awesome boss to help smooth things out with the new one.” She bats her eyelashes, and Mr. Hastings turns redder.

  I shake my head. Eva must want something from Hastings, and knowing her, she's most likely going to get it.

  The two talk about business matters for a moment. Specifically, the new building, commuting, and Hastings gives her a bullet list of things to do to get everything up and running smoothly. Meanwhile, all I can think about is how I’m going to handle Logan. I have no fucking clue. As I come to that conclusion, Eva turns her gaze on me. “Ready for lunch?”

  “What’s on your mind, girlie?” Eva asks as she dips a salty french fry in a pile of ketchup. “I can tell something’s been bothering you.”

  For lunch, we’ve settled on an upscale cafe down the street from our new workplace. We’re seated in the middle of the cafe in a small two-person booth. Between the two of us we're enjoying two big burgers, fries, a vanilla shake and a diet Coke. It’s a pretty swanky restaurant, with gleaming marble floors, gold-plated trim and crown molding. I love the burgundy and white color scheme, and the ambience is relaxed.

  Too bad I’m a swirling canopy of emotions and can’t calm down and enjoy it.

  Should I tell her? I wonder. And would she even believe me?

  I grip onto my diet Coke with both hands, debating inwardly. It could look very bad if I told Eva that I slept with Logan in a moment of weakness. I like to think that she’d understand, but I’m not sure I want to risk it.

  Don’t, I decide finally. No matter how much I trust her, there’s no telling what could happen if word got out that I slept with the boss.

  When it comes down to it, I don’t want Eva to think less of me. She’s been a good friend, my only friend really, and I would hate to lose her at a time where I'm going through so much in my life.

  “Nothing,” I say with a sigh, “it’s just this merger is proving to be stressful. The extra commute time, being handed all this responsibility right off the bat. And my breakup with Ian.”

  Eva frowns at me and washes down her fry with a slurp of her vanilla milkshake. “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I don’t know why Logan is putting so much pressure on you.” She pauses to dip another fry in ketchup. “Did Ian come get his stuff?”

  I nod and then scowl at my untouched burger. I’m such a bundle of nerves that I can’t even think about eating. “Ummm,” I say, “we kind of got into a fight.”

  “Kind of?” Eva sits back against the booth. “You’re broken up; what’s there to fight about?”

  “Yeah. He wanted back in, but I wouldn’t let him. I mean, can you believe this guy? He thinks he should be able to stay in our apartment after what he did? I ended up throwing all his stuff outside. We started yelling at each other, cursing each other out. Girl, it was awful.”

  “Well, at least you got to tell that douche how you really felt.”

  “That’s the thing. I’m mad that I did it. It didn’t change anything. He’s not going to say sorry or beg me to take him back. All it did was show how much I still cared.”

  Just thinking about the previous night makes me angrier. I still can’t believe Ian hasn’t had the decency to tell me sorry or begged for my forgiveness. After he got caught cheating, his personality took a 180 degree turn. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I’d been sleeping with a stranger the whole time I was with him. And to think that he should be allowed to sleep under the same roof with me after what he did? The nerve of that prick!

  Eva reaches across the table and puts a hand on my arm concernedly. “Charlotte, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re only human. It’s only natural to have those emotions.”

  I sniffle, staring at my burger. “You’re right, Eva. I need to stop thinking about it. I wish he’d just move the fuck on so I can let him go live his happily ever after with Sarah.”

  I give them two months, I think to myself, before they’re at each others throats and Ian is cheating on her with a new whore. The nasty thought only makes me want to cry. What if it was really me, and not him? What if they do get their happily ever after? I shove down the thought and stuff another fry into my mouth before I cry any more over that asshole.

  Eva smiles at me and takes a sip of her vanilla shake. “That’s the spirit. Fuck Ian! You’ll find your own happily ever after with some sex god that’s better in bed than Ian. You’ll see.”

  I almost choke on how ironic her words are, though I think a fairytale ending with Logan has zero chance of happening. “I wish.”

  Eva sets down her shake and fans herself with both hands. “Oh, oh! Speaking of happily ever afters and sex gods, did you see how hot Logan looked in the boardroom yesterday? My God, that man is pure sex on legs!”

  “He’s alright,” I lie, trying to keep my thoughts G-rated. Eva needs to stop bringing up how hot Logan is, especially when it’s hard enough to get the man out of my mind. “Nothing you can’t see in any GQ magazine.”

  Eva gives me a look. “What? You’re crazy. On a scale of one to ten, that man is a hundred! Shit, if I weren’t in a relationship with Kevin…” Eva makes a sound and shakes her head.

  I don’t know how I feel with Eva going crazy over Logan. On one hand, she’s in a happy relationship and I know that she’s just joking around, but on the other, I want to tell her about my predicament so she’ll stop bringing him up. I know it's not like he's mine or anything, but I don't like her talking about him like that.

  When I don’t reply right away, Eva frowns. “Look, if you’re so worried about commuting, why don’t you sign up for the temporary housing the company’s offered? It'll help until you can find a place nearby to move to.”

  I pick up a fry and take a small bite. It’s extra salty, like how I feel inside. After a few halfhearted nibbles, I put it down. It’s all my stomach can handle right now. “I thought about it, but I don’t know,” I say. If I take the housing offer it'll only be one more thing that Logan has over me, and I don’t know if I can abide by that.

  Eva takes another sip of her shake, this time nearly draining it to the bottom. “Well you better decide before you end up knee-deep in work and don’t have time to get it done. You can’t fail your startup because you’re overworked and tired from working long hours and then having to commute long distances.”

  I have to agree with Eva, and it makes me more upset at Logan.

  This is a game for him. I don’t want to play a game.

  This is my life. I start to get choked up, and I try to ignore it. I wish I wasn’t so emotional. I wish I could just be rational about all this, but how can I be?

  I’m worried this could all be a play on his part so he can humiliate me for leav
ing him in Vegas. His endgame could be to set me up to fail, so he can fire me and make sure I never work in sales again.

  At the thought, anger and desperation mix and churn in my stomach, and a surge of anxiety rolls through me. I need to stop being scared and confront him like an adult. If Logan’s plan is to humiliate me, there’s nothing I can do about it but prove to him that I can handle whatever the fuck he throws my way. Just because he’s my boss now doesn’t mean I have to let him treat me this way.

  Well, I think to myself as I signal the waiter for a to-go box so I can put my untouched food away for later, if he wants me to play games, fuck it. I’ll play.

  Chapter 16

  Logan

  “Mr. Parker?” Charlotte asks with an even voice and the door cracked. “You wanted to see me?” She doesn’t leave the doorway though, and it forces my lips into a straight line.

  I tap my knuckles on the desk and stare pointedly at the door. “Close it.” My voice is low and she stares back at me with her chest rising and falling.

  My command seems to trigger something in her. There’s an obvious shift in her demeanor. Her eyes narrow at me but she closes it, kicking it shut with her heel and making her way toward me.

  “Logan,” she says in a harsh voice. She looks pissed as hell and for some reason it turns me the fuck on. My cock twitches in my two thousand dollar slacks, and my heart races in my chest. This isn’t why I called her in here. I don’t know what’s gotten into her, but I need to fix this.

  “If I’m going to lose my job over this, so be it, but I am not some office slut.” She spits out the last part with venom. Is that what she thinks? Fuck! This was supposed to be enjoyable for her, and just as much as it is for me. I feel like an asshole. I should have explained things better to her.

  “I am not some-”