The Arrangement Duet Box Set

by Madison Quinn

  “No, it is not. She has been dealing with the press since our love life became a public issue. And before you say anything else, this is not the first time she has come face to face with the press while out on her own.”

  “Yes, but this is the first time she has chosen to respond to the press. Doing so without guidance could have caused more trouble—”

  “I’m sorry, I thought we already covered the fact that my wife didn’t do anything wrong? You would have preferred her to say no comment, which would have looked as if she wasn’t defending her husband or didn’t care about how her husband’s image. Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Yes… no… er—”

  “You’ve just proven what I’ve suspected for several months now. You don’t have a fucking clue how to do your job,” I press the intercom button. “Melody get me security.”

  “Yes, Mr. Parker.”

  “Ms. Murphy, security will escort you back to your office, you have fifteen minutes to clear your office and leave PFS—”

  “Sir?”

  “Your fired, Ms. Murphy.”

  “But—”

  “Mr. Parker?” Carter opens the door.

  “Carter, please have Brian take Ms. Murphy back to her office and see that he escorts her from the building, collecting all PFS property before she leaves.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Mr. Parker?” Melody interrupts me just as I’m sitting back down.

  “What?” I snap. I know it’s not Melody’s fault, but I’m so frustrated with Ms. Murphy’s behavior that I can’t control my anger.

  “Your twelve o’clock is here,” she says.

  “Send them in,” I run my hands through my hair in frustration. I’ve had no time to prepare for my next meeting, which I despise, and Melody knows that. She always leaves me at least ten minutes to review materials before certain meetings, this next one being one of them. Yet, thanks to Ms. Murphy’s stupidity, I have had no time to review my notes on the new client that Alex wanted to meet about. I’m busy skimming my notes in the file, trying to get up to speed so I don’t waste Alex’s time. I don’t look up when I hear the door shut. It’s only when he doesn’t say anything for several minutes, which is very unlike Alex, that I look up. Normally he barrels into my office talking a mile a minute without giving me a chance to catch up.

  “Kenzie?” I can’t hide my surprise when I look up to find the last person I expected sitting across from me.

  “I brought you lunch,” she lifts a bag from the floor which is only when I realize that my office smells absolutely delicious from whatever she brought.

  “Fuck, I wish I could sit with you but I’m expecting Alex—”

  “Actually, you’re not. Melody just put it in your schedule to hold the spot—”

  “She did? You—”

  “When I mentioned to Hunter this morning that I wanted to come earlier than my meeting today to have lunch with you, he contacted Carter, who worked with Melody, to get me a spot on your schedule. It sounded like you had a… busy morning, so if you have other things that you would rather—“

  “No! You just surprised me, that’s all. I’d love to have lunch with you,” I walk around my desk and grab her hand pulling her close to me, kissing her soft lips.

  “You were gone when I woke up this morning,” she says.

  “I had a really early meeting this morning, I didn’t want to wake you,” although, it was incredibly tempting to do so.

  I woke up this morning with my arms wrapped around Kenzie’s warm body; she had gone to bed before me last night as my conference call ran much later than I expected. When it finally finished, I found her sound asleep in my bed, wearing another one of my T-shirts. The moment I slid into bed, I reached for her and she immediately melted into me. When my alarm went off this morning we were still in the same position as we had been when I came to bed, only the shirt she was wearing had slid up revealing the thong she was wearing underneath. I was so tempted to wake her up by teasing her senseless, but I knew that I didn’t have to the time. The meeting I had this morning was important and not something I could be late for. So, instead of spending the morning buried deep inside of her, I came into the office to review spreadsheets.

  I wasn’t expecting to see Kenzie until later tonight, much later, since unlike yesterday my last meeting today is in person at PFS, so I can’t leave and finish the day from home. But to my surprise, she’s standing in front of me looking absolutely incredible. She’s wearing a simple dark blue dress with a matching blazer, making her look as if she works here, rather than being here as a visitor. Somehow no matter what she’s wearing she always manages to look incredibly sexy.

  “I made grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch,” she gestures to the bag still sitting on the floor.

  “You didn’t have to do that but thank you. We can eat at the table over there,” I chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?” she asks.

  “You realize you’ve been in my office twice now, and both times you’ve brought food with you?”

  “I guess you’re right. I hadn’t realized that.”

  Things were so different the last time she was here: she had brought muffins and cookies in the day after her apartment had been broken into. We only had a few minutes in between meetings to spend together, but I remember being just as surprised then, as I was today when Kenzie showed up unexpectedly. That day was also the first time we were truly alone with each other. It’s hard to believe how much has changed since that day—how much our arrangement has changed.

  “How was your morning?” I ask her.

  “Good. I had breakfast with Julie, and then spent some more time going through everything that Ginny had given me yesterday. I’m using your laptop much more than I had expected I would—”

  “Your laptop,” I correct her.

  “Your laptop,” she argues. “I’m only borrowing it, just like the phone.”

  “They’re yours, Kenzie—”

  “They’re on loan to me,” she interrupts. “However, I am finding it to be extremely useful right now since Ginny had everything tracked by hand. I’ve already begun a simple spreadsheet to keep track of all her vendors and their current costs. Since all the food is made at the bakery, I think I want to see if we can find any of the ingredients at a lower cost somewhere. I mean, really flour and eggs are flour and eggs, no matter where you buy them, right?”

  “I would assume so, but clearly I’m the last person to ask about eggs, seeing as though I couldn’t even make scrambled ones the other day.”

  “Good point,” she giggles. “How was your morning? Your last meeting sounded… rough.”

  “That’s an understatement,” I chuckle. “It’s been very busy, and really up until that meeting, was going well.”

  “Did you fire her?”

  “I did. She was a member of my PR team, and I’ve been questioning her advice for some time now. The meeting today was just the last straw—I had to let her go.”

  “Is it hard?”

  “Is what hard?”

  “Firing someone? I’ve never done that before…”

  “The first time you do it, it’ll be hard. You’ll put off doing it, keeping the person around much longer than you should because you want to keep giving them chances that they don’t deserve. But eventually, you will do it. It’ll be hard and you’ll probably feel bad afterwards, but then once you get past it, you will realize it was something you should have done a long time ago. I think after that it gets a little easier.”

  “I’m not going to look forward to that part of owning the bakery.”

  “It was probably one of the hardest things I did when I first started PFS, but it’s a part of business. It’s important not to befriend your employees: it makes firing them, or even disciplining them, much more difficult. That’s probably going to be hard for you though seeing that you were their peer, whereas I hired everyone for PFS from the beginning.”

  “I really w
asn’t friends with anyone, though, I mean I didn’t hang out with anyone outside of work. We would chat of course, but it was never more than just passing time.”

  “Good, try to keep it that way. Many young managers make the mistake of hanging out with their employees outside of work, thinking that if they are liked by their employees, they will do a better job. Part of that is true: you don’t want your employees to hate you, but at the same time, you don’t want such a casual relationship with them that they think they can take advantage of you.”

  “Good point.”

  “Don’t be surprised if you receive some push back from a few of your employees. I think it’s going to be hard for some of them to look at you as their boss. Be firm in the decisions you make; if you’re uncertain about any decisions, hold off on implementing them until you are sure. I swear some employees can smell uncertainty.”

  “Thank you, I really appreciate all your advice, it’s very helpful.”

  “If I ever overstep, just tell me. I’m so used being the one in charge of implementing changes and putting in new processes when we sign a new client, that I might forget and get a little too involved in the bakery.”

  “I think I’d be more lost if you weren’t involved.”

  “Mr. Parker, your one o’clock is here,” Melody alerts me. I’m not sure how an entire hour as passed—it feels like we just sat down to eat.

  “I should go, I’m sure Mr. Donnelly is waiting for me as well,” Kenzie begins clearing off the table and I quickly grab the garbage can next to my desk.

  “Melody reserved the board room just next to my office for your meeting.”

  “Thank you for letting me take some of his time, I’m sure he is very busy with projections for you.”

  “It’s nothing, he’s glad to help however he can.”

  She picks up the files and her laptop, I only now realize she had placed on the chair when she walked in and gives me a quick kiss before turning to walk out of my office. With my hand on her back, I escort her to the board room where Mr. Donnelly is already waiting for her. I introduce them quickly and he immediately begins showing Kenzie all the information we currently have from the purchase of the bakery. Although, this was not a new client taken on by PFS, I still had several of my departments involved in the purchase. His opinion was key in my decision to purchase Sweet Dreams for Kenzie. I wasn’t going to set her up to fail.

  “Hunter, my office. Melody, give me two more minutes,” I request.

  “Mr. Parker,” Hunter closes the door behind him.

  “I want you to run to Neiman’s and get Kenzie a bag before her meeting is finished.”

  “A bag, sir?”

  “For her laptop, and all the other stuff, she brought today. Something classy but functional.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll go right now.”

  “Very good.”

  My next meeting takes longer than I expected, but thankfully Melody was able to rearrange my afternoon a bit so I have a break in my schedule to prepare before my last meeting of the day. After checking through emails and returning a few phone calls, I gather up the documents I need Melody to prepare for the meeting and bring them out to her. On my way back, I realize that the board room door is still open, and when I hear Kenzie’s voice, I’m surprised to learn that she is still here. I had assumed she had left long ago.

  “Thank you again for your time today, Mr. Donnelly I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem, Mrs. Parker, I’m glad I could help.”

  Just as I approach the doorway, I watch Kenzie bend over the chair next to gather up her files and papers that are sitting there. Mr. Donnelly comes around the table just in time to see her bent over the chair and he stops dead in his tracks, his eyes obviously glued to her ass. My hands clench in anger when I see him blatantly staring at her; I silently count to ten willing myself not to punch his lights out.

  “Excuse me,” I enter the room and watch the color leave his face at the realization that he has been caught. “Kenzie, can I see you for a moment?”

  “Sure, just let me—”

  “It can wait,” I interrupt, grabbing her hand to lead her back to my office. I glare at Donnelly as he skirts past us hurrying to the elevator, no doubt afraid that if he waits another moment he’s going to get fired or get his ass kicked.

  “Nicholas—”

  My lips are on hers before the door even closes behind us; I back Kenzie up until she is against the door just as it clicks shut. When she gasps in surprise, I take full advantage and slip my tongue into her mouth, tasting every inch of her. Her hands fist my hair and she moans when I reach around and grab her ass pulling her against me. With my lips never leaving hers, I pull the blazer off of her, quickly tossing it onto the floor somewhere behind me. Pushing her dress up, I groan when my fingers find her damp thong. Her hands are between us, unbuttoning my pants, freeing my dick from the tight confides of my underwear.

  “Oh!”

  Kenzie gasps in surprise when I lift her up and carrying her away from the door. Her legs wrap around my waist, her dress now pushed up to her hips. Her thong is the only thing stopping me from thrusting into her right now, that and the fact that I’m not wearing a condom.

  Finally reaching my desk, I set her down on a pile of papers without giving a shit what they are, and grab a condom from my wallet. I quickly pull at her thong until I feel it rip, quickly tossing it to the floor. She moans against my lips when I slide my fingers through her slit. I quickly tear open the condom, cover myself and thrust into Kenzie.

  “You’re mine,” I growl in her ear, holding her against me, desperately needing to sink further into even her.

  “Hmmmm…” she pushes right back against me.

  “Tell me… tell me you’re mine,” I mean it to come out strong and demanding, but instead it comes out more like a plea.

  “Yes... I’m yours, Nicholas,” she pants and wraps her arms around my neck.

  I don’t know what comes over me, but I thrust hard and fast into her, as I suck and bite at her neck. Her legs grip me tightly, never letting me pull out far from her before I plunge back inside of her warmth. I lose track of the number of times she comes, my name is all but a whisper on her lips after the third time. I’ve been holding myself back, not wanting this moment to end, but when she takes my ear in her teeth and bites down I lose any sense of control I had.

  “Mine,” I growl and thrust hard into her one final time.

  “Yes,” she moans as my own release triggers another one for her.

  Her head falls onto my shoulders, her body going limp against mine. Gently lifting her off the desk, I carry her over to the small sofa against the windows. I sit us down, with her straddling my legs, our connection still intact. My heart is pounding, and my breathing is still erratic, but Kenzie’s fingers teasing my hair grounds me and brings me back to reality. It’s only then do I realize that we are both still partially dressed and that I just fucked her on my desk… SHIT!

  “Kenzie… Fuck… I’m sorry.”

  “You’re apologizing?” she leans back so she can look at me and fuck if my dick doesn’t twitch as I slip deeper into her.

  “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Shouldn’t have done what exactly?”

  “Done that,” I gesture to my desk, confused as to why she isn’t getting what I’m referring to. “I shouldn’t have fucked you—”

  “Okay, then,” before I can stop her, she climbs off of my lap, pulls her dress down and goes in search of her blazer.

  “Fuck, Kenzie… that’s not what I meant,” my mind is still very much on what just happened, so it takes longer than it should for me to realize she thinks I’m saying we shouldn’t have had sex in the first place.

  “It’s fine,” she picks up her blazer and leaves my office before I can find my pants to go after her.

  FUCK FUCK FUCK

  If I didn’t still have employees in the building, I would run after her right now,
dick hanging out and all. Knowing that Melody wouldn’t appreciate seeing that much of me, I quickly toss the condom into the garbage can and throw on my pants. It takes me longer than I would like to put myself back together and by the time I open the door there is no sign of Kenzie anywhere to be seen.

  “Mr. Parker, everyone has arrived and is waiting in the board room for you.”

  “Thank you,” I look over the elevator willing it to open with Kenzie waiting for me.

  “Mrs. Parker just left with Mr. Hunter, sir,” Melody says.

  “Thank you, Melody.”

  Returning to my office, I throw my phone against the wall, watching it come apart before it hits the floor. I fucking suck at relationships—this is the exact reason I tried so hard to fight my attraction to Kenzie. I knew that I would fuck this up.

  Chapter 26

  Nicholas

  “Parker, we need to get started,” Alex simply shakes his head looking at the pieces of my phone lying on the floor.

  “Start without me—”

  “We can’t. You know as well as I do they won’t sign without you. Whatever is going on needs to wait. If you aren’t in the meeting, they’re going to walk and we’re going to lose all the work we’ve put into this contract for the last year. We need this—”

  “Fine,” I grumble, reluctantly agreeing with him. “Melody, I need a new phone.”

  “Yes, sir, I’ll have one to you in the next few minutes.”

  “Ladies, gentleman,” I address the many people around the board room, focusing on this deal and trying to forget how badly I just fucked things up with Kenzie. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

  While Alex is reviewing the information he put together, Melody quietly walks in and hands me a new phone completely linked with my email, contacts and calendars. Even though I hadn’t expected Kenzie to have texted me, I’m still disappointed when I don’t see one from her. I wish like hell she didn’t leave my office so quickly and gave me a chance to explain. I can only imagine what she thought I meant—I still can’t believe I told her I shouldn’t have fucked her. Of all the ways I could have worded what I meant, I had to pick the worst way possible.