He rakes his eyes over my body. “I doubt I would never forget meeting you, sugar.”
My face flames with heat, and I simply nod, though I didn’t believe him for a minute. He’s just a player who has clearly forgotten me from that morning. What should I have expected? I am an intern -- barely a blip on his radar -- it’s natural that he doesn’t even remember talking to me.
His voice is on the gentle side when he says, “Hey, if you’ll excuse me, I do need to get past you.”
I want to sink into the concrete. I didn’t think it was possible, but my face gets even hotter, and I’m sure I’m roughly the the crimson color of the receptionist’s lipstick as I rush out of his way and toward the bus stop. I wish I didn’t approach him at all. I should’ve just walked on past, and pretended like I didn’t know him, because he clearly didn’t know me. A couple of moments of conversation are nothing to a man like that. But I’ve humiliated myself.
As I get on the bus, I take a seat midway down and pull out my phone. I felt a bit stalkery doing so, but I catch myself entering Blair Hayden’s name into the search box on Google.
I furiously blush again a moment later when I see a picture of Blair standing beside his brother, Liam. They’re wearing matching tuxedos, and of course, they have matching faces. It’s obvious they’re identical twins. I must have met up with Liam instead of Blair in the parking lot!
At least I hope that’s the case, because it would explain why he completely forgot who I am.
As I read on, most of the articles come from the society pages and gossip columns. There seems to be a never-ending list of glamorous women the brothers are photographed with, and it looks like they go through them one after another. I set aside the phone with a sigh as I stare out the window. The Hayden brothers are total players. It’s rare when the same woman is on their arm more than once, or at most, twice. No wonder they’d had the idea for Your Next Ex, since they’re clearly always on the hunt for theirs!
I also check out their company. After download the app to my phone, a sexy blonde — of course, a sexy blonde — invites me to put in my information and find my perfect match. I fill in a few of the fields, and when it figures out I’m a straight female, the next interaction is with a sexy, shirtless tanned man. He’s attractive, sure, but either one of the brothers would’ve been a more convincing model to get any woman to sign up. They could even get my great-grandmother, Eleanor at the nursing home, to sign up to find her next ex.
I close out the app before it asks for my credit card or offers matches. The last thing I’m interested in is finding a short-term fling, or one-night stand. The whole idea is nuts. I can’t imagine the kind of bravery, or stupidity, it would take to meet up with a complete stranger with the intention of having sex with them! Although, I can’t even imagine having sex with someone I knew well.
Well... maybe I can imagine it.
A brief image of Blair’s soft, full lips flashes behind my eyes, and I squirm in my seat. Okay, I can definitely imagine it, but I couldn’t ever really do it.
But back to business. The school definitely screwed up big time, matching me to this company, and if I don’t fix it now, it may not get fixed. I open my email and quickly type to request a transfer, leaving a lame explanation saying I am an incompatible match with the company. All I can do now is wait and hope someone gets back to me before I have to return to Hayden Industries again.
Chapter 4
Liam
I’m thinking about the strange encounter in the parking garage as I get in the elevator to the top floor of our building. While Blair likes to be on the ground floor, where he can mingle with the employees, or escape them quickly, I prefer the penthouse. We worked hard to get where we are, and while I appreciate the efforts of the people who work for us, I don’t want to rub shoulders with them or be their best buds. I just want to enjoy our success and put a little fear and intimidation into the people below us. Someone has to keep everything running smoothly, at least in my opinion. Blair’s different. He’s far more likely to be that approachable, friendly boss that I would -- or could -- never be. He thinks that’s what keeps employee morale high.
I’m more cynical. I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do with the big salaries and excellent perks we offer. Whether he’s right or I am, somehow we’ve managed to keep a satisfied and stable group of employees. We both rest better at night knowing we pay a fair wage for fair work, and even if our managerial styles aren’t a complete match, we’ve found our niches and we work well together.
So if I’m so content, why am I still thinking about the mousy little brunette who had approached me in the parking lot? She was certain I would remember her, but I’ve never seen her before in my life. I wouldn’t have forgotten her, as there’s something about her that held my interest. And that’s her ass, my inside voice adds.
I smash the buttons on the elevator to stop the ascent, knowing I have to find out who this librarian-type girl is. Soon I’m striding toward Blair’s office. He’s probably with our secretary, Madeleine. They both tend to work late, just as I prefer to as well. If it wasn’t for an impromptu afternoon meeting of the, shall we say, intriguing kind, I wouldn’t have left my office earlier either. I’d showered at Colleen’s place, to rid myself of her strong perfume. That’s annoying. That’ll be the last time I see her, I think. No big loss.
I knock on Blair’s door and open it without waiting for permission. Madeleine wasn’t in the exterior office, but I’m certain she’s rattling around the building somewhere. She never leaves before we do, and we rarely leave before seven at the earliest.
Blair looks up before returning his attention to whatever is spread on his desk. He looks busy, but I recognized the façade. In college when we were bored out of our minds by our classes, we perfected the art of looking studious. He made it through six months of study longer than me, but neither one of us left with a degree. None of that matters now that we have a hot start up, and a pretty vast fortune at that.
“What has you so preoccupied?”
He seems a little startled when he looks up again, but he shrugs. “Nothing.”
Taking a stab in the dark, I ask, “Is nothing about five foot three, with luscious tits and a perfect set of curves?”
He blinks and then flushes slightly. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I chuckle. “Ha, come on. You never were a good liar, Blair.”
“And you are always a huge one,” he counters with a grin.
I shrug. “I may be, shall we say, creative with the truth, but it’s never steered me wrong.” He knows as well as I do that my ‘creativity with truth’ ends at the boardroom. I might stretch the truth or plant the facts to the best angle for whoever I was handling, but I never do that my personal life. I’m always honest with my family, friends, and the women who flit in and out of my life. I’m especially blunt with the women, because the last thing I want is to give any of them an excuse or justification for doing something stupid, like falling in love with me, when all I want is the pleasure of their company before we part ways. Quick and dirty, that’s how I like it.
“That’s true. You do a fantastic job of generating interest in investments in the company.”
“And you do an excellent job with all the touchy-feely, hands-on stuff, like writing algorithms to match people with the right prospective partner.”
Blair snorts. “Are you kidding me? About the only thing matching up is sexual interests and physical traits. Hardly doing rocket science here.” He grins. “Still, we seem to be filling a need, so I guess that’s all that matters.”
“Speaking about filling a need, what about the mousy little brunette with the knockout figure?”
“She’s a new intern that stumbled into my office by accident this morning. It was nothing.”
Something about his shifty gaze tells me he’s totally underplaying the situation. “What, did she give you the full intern experience? Does she suck cock like a champ?”
Blair frowns. “You know I don’t fuck around with the employees, or the interns. And it was like a two-minute meeting. Nothing happened.”
He’s definitely not being fully honest with me, so I go in for the kill. “Did you rub one out when she left?” I’m teasing, but by the way he flushes, I know I guessed correctly. I throw back my head and laugh. “Are you serious? What are you, fifteen years old?”
The way he looks away tells me everything I need to know. “Don’t you have work you should be doing?” He grumbles, his eyes flashing.
“I’m sure I have something to keep me busy, even if it’s not the mousy intern.”
“Stop calling her that,” snaps Blair.
My eyes widen in shock. There’s a new level of seriousness in his voice. I hold up my hands. “Whoa, calm down there, bro. I didn’t mean to get you all riled up. I was just teasing you about the intern.”
“Her name is Chastity.”
I frown at his tone of voice. “You really should slow down there. You sound like you like her.” Like? He sounds practically in love. My idiotic twin. “She’s practically jailbait, don’t you think?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know how old she is, but I assume she’s gotta be an adult. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Nothing’s going to happen, but you should look at her again. I don’t think she’s mousy at all. She’s hiding something behind that plain exterior, and I think you’d see it. Just look past the glasses and the quietness.”
I almost start to tease him again, but stop before I can speak. I just grin and leave his office, but I’m left with a funny, nagging feeling.
Maybe he’s right.
There is definitely something memorable about her, or I wouldn’t have come to talk to him to find out more. I should’ve shrugged the whole thing off and moved on, but here I am, still thinking about her. Maybe she isn’t as mousy as I thought. Her figure is certainly hot and curvy, just the kind of Blair and I both like. To be honest, we like women in all sizes and shapes, but I do have a preference for the curvy kind that a man can hold onto while thrusting hard into her.
I definitely need to get my mind off her. Checking out the sexy Halloween costume contest at my favorite bar will be the perfect distraction once I finish here. The intern is definitely too young and inexperienced for me, and if Blair has any sense, he’ll stay away from her too.
Chapter 5
Chastity
Any hopes of hearing back quickly from the school have dwindled to nothing. Going to the office every day for the past few weeks and sitting there with nothing to do besides an occasional bit of filing, or entering data on an Excel sheet, seems a huge waste of my time. But in light of the letter I received in the mail yesterday when I got home from work, I’m glad I held out and showed up.
The letter told me the unwelcome news that the school would look into the situation and try to figure out how I’d ended up assigned to Hayden industries and Your Next Ex, but it had been so vague and noncommittal that I was certain it was, well, bullshit. At the bottom, the correspondence reiterated that if I wanted to complete the course, I had to attend ninety percent of the day scheduled. And, if I didn’t complete the internship, I wouldn’t be accepted back into the accounting program. Fantastic, since I have no black backup plan.
It’s been a mostly peaceful, if boring, couple of weeks working at Hayden industries, and I am a little embarrassed to admit that the only bright spots in the day are when I occasionally catch a glimpse of Blair or Liam as they go by the window at my desk. I haven’t tried to talk to either one again, especially Liam, who I never officially met to start with. I do my usual routine — hiding in the shadows and watching from afar, trying to keep from looking like I’m dying to jump their bones.
Otherwise, I am pretty much nonexistent at the company. The woman who is technically my supervisor in Accounting doesn’t even remember my name half the time. She either called me “Charity,” or “You there,” instead of Chastity. I’m basically just killing time until the semester is over. It’s just something I have to finish if I want to move onto the next step of my degree.
But, I am confused when I find my desk missing. The place where I usually park my things for another boring day of secretly texting Vicki or playing computer games, is just... gone. I look around, finally locking eyes with the lady who I think is called Linda. Or is it Lena? Since no one in the department really has introduced themselves to me, I don’t know for sure.
Swallowing the lump in my throat and ignoring the pinch of nerves in my stomach, I plaster on what I hope is not a weird-looking smile. “Hey, do you know what happened to my desk?”
She looks up from her computer screen, and almost as soon as her gaze locks with mine, she returns to her work. “I don’t know. I’m on a deadline here. Sorry.”
Nodding my head, I turn to look around the room in search of a familiar face. I’m not even expecting friendly. But, that’s what I get when I see Madeleine standing in the doorway, smiling at me.
“Hi,” I say, shocked.
“Hello, Chastity. I’m here to take you to your new assignment.”
I frown. “But I’m an accounting major, so isn’t my internship with accounting?”
“Not anymore. Andrea tells me your talents are wasted here.”
Andrea is my direct supervisor, the one who can barely remember my name, so I highly doubt she said anything of the sort. More confused than ever, I shrug. “What’s my new assignment?”
“You’re shadowing Liam Hayden today. Come with me.”
A flutter of nerves, more intense than ever, in my stomach. For a moment, I think I might puke. “What am I supposed to do with Liam Hayden?” I refuse to allow any thoughts of what I’d like to do with him to form in my mind.
“Whatever Liam says, I suppose.” The thought scares me and gives me a shiver of delight at the same time. Madeleine beckons and I have no choice but to follow. I fall into step behind her, and she leads me to the elevator. She presses the top floor, which I’ve never visited. I’m more nervous than anything when the elevator seem to skyrocket up the shaft, bringing me to the Hayden brother that much faster.
Why the CEO would want an intern to shadow him, I have no clue. I should probably be grateful for the opportunity, but I’m more concerned with holding back the urge to puke from stress as I follow Madeleine out of the elevator and down the hallway.
There’s a stream of sunlight coming in through the office windows. It’s similar in size to Blair’s, but differently decorated. Blair has a couple of nature for photographs up on the wall, kind of like a token to making people comfortable. Liam hasn’t bothered with such niceties. Instead, awards decorate the shelf behind him, and his pictures are of artistically rendered naked women and modern photographs.
He nods to Madeleine, and she nods at me in turn before stepping out of the office. And then it’s just the two of us. I stand frozen like a deer in headlights as he approaches. I’m telling my feet that I should cross room to meet him halfway, to at least give the appearance of being confident, or even just make him think I’m not a stuttering fool. Instead, I breathlessly stand there and wait.
He moves with the grace of a jungle cat, all clean edges and sharp curves, much like the sports car I saw him driving a couple of weeks ago. It’s like he’s stalking his prey as he approaches. Instead of feeling the urge to flee, I find myself wanting to move toward him, wondering what it would be like to be caught by such a fierce predator -- to surrender to him.
He stops a shade closer than would be professionally polite, and his fingers hold onto mine a moment longer than necessary -- once I finally remember to hold out my hand to shake his. When he finally lets go, I can still feel the touch of his hand on mine, and I curl my fingers against my thigh and press deeply into my flesh, doing anything I can to focus on his words instead of the incredibly dangerous fantasies flaring to life behind my eyes.
“Thank you for joining me today, Chastity.”
I tremble slightly before getting
myself under control. “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Hayden.” I actually manage to complete and full sentence. Of course, I’d been staring at his chin at the time instead of his eyes. That helps.
“I hadn’t planned to invite you to shadow me. I’ve been trying not to think about you at all.”
“But, why?”
His grin doesn’t look happy. “Do the words forbidden fruit mean anything to you, Chastity?”
I deliberately shy away. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do for you, Mr. Hayden.”
“Call me Liam.” He moves closer a step closer, and his hands settled on my upper arm. “You’re just supposed to follow me.”
I look up at him, my cheeks flushed with heat. “I’m certain you have a lot to teach me, Liam.” His name feels strange on my tongue, since I haven’t ever dared to say it aloud. I’ve been doing my best not to think about him or Blair for the past two weeks, despite trying to catch a glimpse of him each time I ventured from accounting. Or a glimpse of Blair. Or... both.
He chuckles, and his hand moves from my shoulder to mid back as he sweeps me forward to fall in step beside him. “Yes, I’m certain I could teach you all kinds of things. Where should we begin?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, sir. I’ve never done this before.” On one level, we’re talking about business, but I am convinced that there’s another, hidden meaning. My nipples tighten, and I shiver.
His knowing gaze drops briefly to my chest, and I’m certain my nipples must be hard enough to give me away. I wish I’d worn the jacket I borrowed from my mother that morning, instead of this silky white blouse.
“Are you cold, Chastity?”
I tip my chin, trying to meet his gaze bravely. “Yes.” It emerges as a squeak.
He grins, and it’s obvious he knows I’m lying. My attempted flirting may have fizzled, but he’s still clearly reading the signals I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be sending.
Twin Bosses' Intern for Christmas Page 2