Guarding His Heart

by J. S. Cooper

“You can have the real thing you know.” I sat back and smiled at her. Her expression changed from one of defiance to confusion.

  “What real thing?”

  “My lips against yours.”

  “Huh?” I saw her fingers smoothing down her skirt as she stared at me.

  “You drank from my cup, I’m assuming because you wanted my lips to touch yours, in whatever way that they could.” I winked at her and waved my hand. “If you want to come over here, I can let you see what it feels like to have your lips pressed against mine properly. That way the lipstick will be on my lips and not on my cup.”

  “I don’t want to kiss you.” She blushed and I could see that I’d broken her composure.

  “Are you sure about that? Maybe you’re feeling mad at me because you need a good kissing.” I stood up. “Maybe once we get that out of the way, you’ll be feeling better.”

  “I don’t think that will help.” She shook her head and took a step back. “And I think it’s rude of you to suggest it.”

  “As rude as you drinking from my coffee?” I stopped in front of her and grinned. “I think you’ll find my lips are a lot sweeter than coffee, but I suppose that depends if you like it sweet or bitter.”

  “I don’t like it either way.” She frowned. “You’re so inappropriate.”

  “Pot, pot.” I shouted out. “Kettle’s calling, will you answer?”

  “Funny,” She smiled reluctantly. “I don’t answer to pot, but I don’t mind calling you kettle.”

  “You can call me anything you want in the bedroom.”

  “You’re so immature. I can’t believe you got this job over me.”

  “Oh boy. Have you been speaking to Lucky?” I gasped. “What did she tell you about me?”

  “Who’s Lucky?” She sounded annoyed. “Let me guess, some ex you slept with and then ditched.”

  “Not quite.” I laughed. “Lucky’s my best friends’ wife. And I’m pretty certain she thinks I’m a little immature as well.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.” She rolled her eyes. “And just in case you didn’t know. I wouldn’t make moves on your friends’ wife, that’s kind of a dick move. Just in case you were thinking of doing something like that.”

  “Why would I go for her, when I have you at my beck and call?” I grinned and walked towards her. She kept stepping back until she was against the door. I stopped in front of her and placed my hands above her shoulders and leaned in. “I don’t mess with married women.” I moved my face closer to hers and whispered, so that she could feel my breath on her lips. “I prefer to have fun with smart-mouthed assistants that like to role-play and talkback.”

  “I’m not going to have any fun with you.” She whispered back and I moved back and laughed.

  “So you admit you’re smart-mouthed, like to role-play and like to talkback?”

  “I admit I’m smart, yes.” She made a face at me and pushed past me. “Now are we going to work or do you want to sit around and play games all day? I mean I know you’re the boss's son, but I would assume you need to actually get something done, right?”

  “Very funny.” I turned around and walked back to my desk. She was correct of course. There was a lot of work to do and I had to start somewhere. “We have a business trip next week. We’ll be flying to New York.”

  “We?” She frowned and I could see her nibbling her lower lip. I moved my eyes away from her mouth as she was starting to turn me on.

  “Yes, we. You’re my assistant, right?”

  “Yeah, but assistants don’t normally—”

  “Stop right there.” I brushed my hands. “I don’t care what normally happens.”

  “I’m not a normal type of guy.”

  “That I knew.” Her eyes looked me over from head to toe and she smirked at me as her eyes met mine again. I smiled inwardly at her little digs. Did she really think she was getting the better of me?

  “I’m glad you knew that.” I smiled softly. “That will make life easier for the both of us. I’ve got a meeting with my dad in half an hour. When I’m gone, I want you to go through the Martin Corp files. We’re meeting with the CEO Rob Martin next week. I want you find out everything there is to know about Martin Corp.” I frowned as I noticed she wasn’t writing anything down. “Are you getting all of this?”

  “Rob Martin has been the CEO of Martin Corp for three years. He took over the company from his father. His father took it over from his father. They are all undergraduates of Harvard and they all went to Yale Law School. Martin Corp had a net loss of $500 million last year and they sold five TV stations they owned in the Midwest.” She paused and looked at me. “Rob doesn’t want to sell the family company, but they are looking at a net loss of another $300 million this year and they have seen shares drop by 75%. Investors and shareholders are leaving in flocks and if something doesn’t change they will have to liquidate and disband. He wants a partner to keep them in business. Partners want to get rid of the Martin name.” She stopped and looked up at me. “Shall I continue?”

  “You know your stuff.” I nodded slowly, impressed at her business acumen.

  “That’s why I was nearly hired for your job.” She said dryly.

  “Touché.” I bit my lower lip. “Well if you play your hands right, you might still get a chance to advance.”

  “Uh huh.” She mumbled and I could tell she wanted to say something else.

  “What is it?” I asked her softly. “I can tell that you’re dying to say something else.”

  “I don’t care about advancing if it means I have to sleep with the bosses son.”

  “Sleeping with me wouldn’t get you an advancement.” I smiled. “It might get you a couple of days in late to work, but that’s about it.”

  “Ooh, now the option looks so much more attractive.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Though, I wouldn’t advise you sleep with me.” I grinned. “I wouldn’t want things to be awkward between us when I stopped sleeping with you.”

  “When you stopped sleeping with me?” Her jaw dropped. “Really?”

  “Really?” I grinned. “I’m not the sort of guy that has relationships and you seem like the clingy type. Things could get awkward if we had sex. I wouldn’t want you trying to poison me.”

  “You’d be so lucky.” She shook her head furiously. I watched her slinky long hair covering her face and imagined it trailing along my chest as she bent down to suck me.

  “I think I would.” I mumbled to myself and sat down. Maybe I needed to stop with the game. It was fun, but I didn’t want to start turning myself on. I didn’t want it to get to the point where I was no longer teasing her. Teasing was fun. And bedding her would be even more fun, but I knew sex with my assistant would be the worst thing I could do. And I wasn’t lying when I said that I thought things would be terribly awkward once our weekend of fun was done. Hannah, for all her bravado, seemed the sort of girl to take things very personally. There was no way I wanted to hit it and quit it with a girl that worked for me. That just equaled trouble.

  “What else did you need me to do for you, Mr. Maxwell?” Hannah’s voice was prim and proper as she put her hair up in a bun. She looked like a sexy librarian with the hair up, but I didn’t tell her that the look turned me on even more than her hair being down did. When it was up, I could imagine being the one to pull out the pins and turn her from dowdy to sexy.

  “I want you to figure out Rob Martin’s likes and dislikes. Find out what’s going on in his personal life. Find out if it’s always been his goal to take-over the company or if he’s doing it out of a sense of duty.” I paused as I watched her scribbling quickly in her notepad. “I want to know what he does in his spare time. I want to know which companies he cares about the most. I want to know the breakdown in revenue for each region and for each company. I want to know if he’s going to be willing to sell Martin Corp for $500 Million and walk away from the company.”

  “You’re going to make a bid.” Her eyes narrowed as she
stared at me. “I thought...”

  “I know what you thought.” I grinned. “You thought I didn’t know anything. You think I took this job knowing nothing. I might be the boss’s son. And I might have taken the job you’re also qualified for, but I do know my shit, Hannah Will. My dad’s a successful businessman. Trust me, he never would have hired me if I didn’t know my shit.” I watched Hannah’s shoulders deflate slightly as she realized that I wasn’t a complete dumbass. I’m sure she realized now that as chagrined as she had been, she couldn’t say that someone not as qualified as her had taken the job. I knew my shit. I’d grown up with a dad obsessed with business. I’d been reading the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal since I was a kid. Yeah, I preferred surfing and I liked playing my guitar, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know my bonds from my stocks. That didn’t mean I didn’t look at the Nasdaq and the Dow every morning with my coffee. I didn’t want to pull rank on Hannah and I truly liked her, but she had to realize and remember who was boss. At the end of the day, I needed her to do a job and I needed her to respect me.

  “Yes Sir.” She nodded her head. “Is there anything else you need from me before the meeting?”

  “I need your cellphone number and personal email address.”

  “My personal email address?” She frowned. “Why not my business email address?”

  “Because everything I have to say can’t be viewed by HR.” I winked at her and watched as she left the room in a huff and a small smile. Just because it would be unprofessional to sleep with her didn’t mean I couldn’t still flirt. I’d try to not let it get out of hand, but she was going to make it very difficult for me to keep my hands to myself, if she kept giving me those ‘I want you to fuck me eyes’.

  Chapter Four

  Hannah

  “Are you ready for our trip tomorrow?” Leo walked up next to my desk and nearly made me jump out of my seat.

  “Don’t scare me like that.” I glared at him, looking so calm and relaxed. It was so unfair that he could look so cool, calm and collected while I was pretty sure I looked a frazzled mess every time he was around. I was annoyed at my body for betraying me every time he was near. I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but every time I saw him, he looked hotter and hotter.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He rubbed my shoulder briefly and my body nearly went into convulsions.

  “Did you need anything in particular, Leo?” I’d quickly gotten into the habit of calling him Leo instead of Mr. Maxwell. I’d felt like a fool addressing him so formally in front of the other members of staff.

  “I’d ask you for a coffee, but I know that’s not your strong point.”

  “I can get you a coffee if you want.” I stood up and grabbed my bag, eager to be away from him. “What do you want?”

  “I’d take a cafe latte with one sugar, if you’re going and you promise not to drink from it first.”

  “I won’t drink from it.” I promised, still feeling embarrassed at how badly I’d behaved the first day I’d gotten him coffee. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah, why don’t you dress up as a nurse this time?” He winked at me. “I’ve always had a thing for nurses.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You know - last time you were a waitress, this time you can wear a nurse’s outfit. Keep things spicy.” He laughed as I glared at him and quickly left the office.

  “I should put on a nurse’s outfit.” I muttered to myself as I walked into the elevator. “That would show him.” I pressed the ground floor button and grinned to myself as I thought about him. He’d be shocked if I showed up in the outfit. He thought he was making me uncomfortable by calling my bluff, but I’d show him. I’d show up in the sexiest nurse’s outfit I could find and have him so turned on, he wouldn’t even be able to work. Then I thought about all the other people in office. If they saw me in a nurse’s outfit, I’d be out on my ear. There was no way I’d get a promotion then.

  I exited the elevator feeling peeved. Then it hit me. I’d take a nurse’s outfit with me to New York and show up in his room on the last night and tease him with it. I grinned again. He wouldn’t know what to do or say then. I’d have the upper hand. I’d show him that his silly little comments weren’t getting the better of me. I’d turn the tables on him. I pulled my phone out and quickly called Lisa.

  “Hey, what’s up?” She asked me sounding surprisingly happy for a work day.

  “Why are you answering the phone?” I asked suspiciously. “I thought you couldn’t take calls while you were on the floor?”

  “Why are you calling me if you thought I couldn’t answer?”

  “I was going to leave you a voicemail.” I said and then continued. “You are at work right.”

  Silence filled the other side of the phone.

  “Lisa?” I said her name accusingly.

  “I took a sick day.” She responded finally. “It’s not a crime.”

  “You don’t sound sick.”

  “I’m not sick.” She giggled. “Only dumb people use sick days when they’re actually sick. I just needed the day off. My boss is riding my ass and I needed some free time.”

  “Lisa!” I sighed. “You can’t just call in sick when you’re not sick. What happens when you really get sick and then you have no time off left to take?”

  “Don’t know and don’t care.” She said in a blasé tone. “Anyways, what do you want? I’m watching Maury and I have a feeling this guy is not the baby daddy and shit is going to go down.”

  “Really Lisa?” I sighed. “You took the day off to watch Maury?”

  “No, not just to watch Maury. I’m going to do my nails and I’m meeting J-Lo for lunch.”

  “What?” I shrieked. “How are you meeting J-Lo for lunch?”

  “Oops, I meant J-Ho.” She giggled. “You remember Jennifer right, my friend that works at Macy’s and hooks me up with discounts.”

  “Yeah.” I was starting to get annoyed. “Anyway, I need you to do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “I need you to pick me up a sexy nurse’s outfit at Hot Topic.”

  “Sexy nurse-what?” She shrieked. “Hold on a second.”

  “Fine.” I walked into the coffee shop and ordered two lattes. I waited for Lisa to come back to the phone impatiently. “Lisa.” I whispered loudly into the phone, feeling annoyed to be kept waiting.

  “Sorry, sorry.” She came back to the phone a minute later. “He wasn’t the daddy, but guess what?”

  “Lisa, I do not have time—”

  “His uncle was the daddy.” She shrieked. “But guess what? He was sleeping with the uncle’s wife, so the uncle’s child was really his. Can you believe that?”

  “What are you talking about, Lisa?”

  “So the main guy, I think his name was Jim, or maybe it was Bob, let’s just call him redneck number one.”

  “That’s so offensive to rednecks.” I sighed.

  “Are you a redneck? Do you care?”

  “Lisa,” I started again. “I’m about to go back into the—”

  “So redneck number one was dating trashy girl number one. Trashy girl number one had a baby, but redneck number one didn’t think it looked like him. So he went on Maury. Turns out trashy had an affair with redneck number two, who is redneck number one’s uncle. And redneck number two is married to trashy girl number two and she had an affair with redneck number one in the back of the trailer while trashy girl number one was sleeping.”

  “Lisa.” I groaned.

  “Get it now?”

  “Lisa, I do not care about rednecks or trashy girls or trailers. Just go and get me my outfit, okay? I need to dress up like a slutty nurse tomorrow.” I shouted into the phone and heard the lady next to me gasp as she listened to my words. I groaned and walked back into the office. No wonder I hadn’t gotten the job. I was a crazy person surrounded by crazy people. As I rode back up to the office with the coffees, I wondered if wearing the nurse’s outfit was a good idea after all.
Maybe I was playing into his hands. Maybe that was exactly what Leo wanted.

  “Don’t worry, Hannah.” She giggled. “I’ll get you the sluttiest outfit I can find. Are you going to tell me why?”

  “Not now. Bye.” I sang into the phone and hung up quickly. I didn’t want to talk to Lisa and have her filling my head with even crazier situations. Lisa loved drama and she loved crazy. She’d have me convinced that some stupid idea was great and I’d be in way over my head. And I didn’t need that at all. I was practically in over my head as it was already.

  ***

  “You look happy.” Leo looked at me from his computer as I entered his office with the coffee. “Why do you look so happy? What did you do?”

  “Nothing.” I put the coffee down on the desk. “Trust me.”

  “Hmm, I don’t know. When a beautiful girl tells me to trust her, I tend to think something else is going on.”

  “A beautiful girl?” I repeated feeling ridiculously happy and annoyed at the same time.

  “Do you prefer the term gorgeous?” He picked up the coffee tentatively. “I’m not going to die of cyanide poisoning if I sip this am I?”

  “Who’s to know?” I responded tartly, with my hand on my hip.

  “I wouldn’t put it past you, Pussy Galore.”

  “What?” My jaw dropped.

  “Haven’t you seen James Bond?” He laughed and took a sip. “Well, it’s warm at least.”

  “I should have spiked it.” I hissed as I turned around and marched out of the office. Pussy Galore indeed. Who did he think I was? I sat down at my desk with my face burning and quickly typed into google to see if he was telling the truth. There was indeed a character from James Bond called Pussy Galore. I had no idea how it had made it through the censors.

  “Hannah.” Leo buzzed me on the intercom.

  “Yes, Leo.” I sighed as I answered.

  “Thanks for the coffee.” He said smugly. “It doesn’t taste like I’ve been poisoned.”

  “Yay, I fooled you then.” I said lightly and he laughed, a deep husky sound.

  “Yes, you did. By the way, you can leave early today. We’ve got a busy next couple of days and I’m sure there might be some things you need to do.”