Dirty Boss (An Office Romance) (The Maxwell Family)

by Alycia Taylor

  “You have alcohol in your office?” she asked.

  I chuckled. “I sure do. Do you like brandy?”

  “Not really. But right now I’d probably drink anything. Yeah, a drink sounds great,” she said and walked over to my office.

  “Oh, oops,” she said and quickly ran out. I wondered what she was doing but then laughed when I saw her walk back to the door, knock, and then walk in.

  “I wonder when we’ll start getting sick of that joke?” I asked.

  “Hopefully never.”

  I handed her a glass of brandy and laughed when she took a sip and winced.

  “Really don’t like it, huh?”

  “It’s both awful and wonderful at the same time,” she said.

  “Yeah, that about sums it up. I used to drink it simply because it made me feel good after a few glasses. But I soon started to develop a taste for it too.”

  “I’d prefer it mixed into a milkshake.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I said and laughed. “So, is it bad that we’re both working hard on a Friday night? I mean, are we really the only people here without lives?”

  Reagan sighed. “Looks like it. To be honest, if I wasn’t working in the office right now, I’d probably just be working at home. Oh no, that sounds even worse. I didn’t realize my social life was so lacking.”

  “I must say, I’m surprised.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “Well, you’re beautiful, for one,” I said and smiled as I saw a blush creep up her face. “And you’re very easy to be around. I can’t imagine why someone like you doesn’t have a big circle of friends.”

  “My best friend is Dana, but she spends most of her time at the café. They’re open every day until late, and she’s pretty much always there. That’s her life, and she loves it. The staff is like family to her. And, well, I guess I have other friends, but they’re more like acquaintances. And my clubbing days are definitely long gone.”

  I laughed as I thought about Kason. “You won’t believe this but Kason asked me to go clubbing with him this weekend.”

  She groaned. “Don’t tell me you said yes.”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course I said yes.”

  She looked horrified, and I tried not to laugh. “What? But you can’t, Josh. I know you want to go out and have fun, and I totally get that. But can’t you at least wait until all this is over? I really don’t want you to be in the limelight again. You know the media can . . . wait, you’re joking, right?”

  I chuckled. “I’m joking.”

  “Bastard.”

  “You really think I’d do something like that?”

  “I have no idea. I haven’t actually been working here all that long, you know. I don’t really know you at all. I mean, it wouldn’t be all that unusual for you to want to go out a bit.”

  “True. Although the last time I went to a club, it didn’t end up too well.”

  “Oh no, what happened?” she asked.

  I poured us both some more of the brandy, surprised to see that she had already finished the first glass I had given her. For someone that didn’t like the stuff she sure was drinking it fast.

  “I took her home, that’s what happened.”

  “So? What’s wrong with that? You must’ve liked her if you asked her home.”

  “I did. In the club. When it was dark and when I couldn’t hear a thing. When we got back to my place, I realized that the two of us had nothing in common. There was literally no conversation between the two of us.”

  “Did you at least sleep with her?” Reagan asked.

  I raised my eyebrows. This was getting personal. I shook my head. “No. What do you take me for?”

  “What? You took her home, but you didn’t sleep with her? What did you do?”

  I laughed. “We just sat around making small talk. Then we tried kissing, and we clashed teeth just like teenagers. It was awful. Then she took off her top, and I tried to take off her bra, and I couldn’t do it, and the whole thing was just so incredibly unromantic that we gave up and she went home. Reagan, are you laughing at me?”

  “No!” Reagan insisted, but I could see tears falling down her face as she tried desperately not to let out a laugh. But she couldn’t help it, and the laugh escaped her.

  “Oh, is that how it’s going to be. Okay then, you tell me about one of your bad dating experiences so that we’re at least even.”

  “Oh dear, where to begin,” she started.

  “Ha! I bet you don’t even have any.”

  “Are you kidding me? I have more bad experiences than good ones. Well, I’ll just tell you about the most recent guy. Jack. Wait, I need just a little bit more brandy for this story.”

  I laughed and poured us both a bit more. “I thought you hated this stuff,” I said to her.

  “So did I,” she said and took another sip. She took her jacket off and fanned her face. “It’s warming me up, that’s for sure,” she said, and I tried not to stare at her blouse, which showed a clear outline of her bra. I took another sip of my brandy to get my mind off her body.

  “Go on then, tell me all about this Jack. And let me know if you need me to beat him up for you.”

  She giggled. “Jack Earl Winter Frank Junior was the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.”

  “Wait! Did you just make that up or were those really all his names?”

  “Those were really all his names. No jokes. I mean, fair play, that part was not his fault. His parents gave him those names. But he loved telling people about them. He thought it made him seem important. Anyway, he asked me out, and I said no. So he asked me out again, and I said no. This went on for such a long time that I decided to say yes just to shut him up. A mutual friend told me that he wasn’t such a bad guy, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. We went on the date, and it really did go a lot better than I had envisioned. A lot of that might have been because I’d had a lot of wine that night, but he really didn’t annoy me like I thought he would. Until he followed me back home.”

  “He followed you?” I said, horrified by the idea of some weirdo following her back to her house.

  She chuckled. “Well, no, I mean, I told him he could come. As I said, we were getting along fine. When we got back to my place, we started kissing, and soon enough we found ourselves in bed together. And then, just before we were about to do the deed, he told me that he would like me to say his full name during sex.”

  I started laughing. This story couldn’t be real. “I don’t believe this.”

  “Better believe it. And I’m sorry, but no matter how good the sex might’ve been, there was no way I was going to shout out Jack Earl Winter Frank Junior in the middle of it.”

  “So what happened?”

  “I kicked Jack Earl Winter Frank Junior right out the door. And that was the end of that. And the end of my dating experience for a while. I far prefer working late to going out with guys like that.”

  I smiled. “It’s nice having you here, Reagan. You’ve definitely made my late night working experience a lot better. That was quite possibly the best story that I’ve ever heard in my whole life. I will never forget that story.”

  “And sadly, neither will I,” she said and giggled. “But I’m glad it happened now just so that you could get a bit of comic relief today.”

  Comic relief was not the only sort of relief I wanted out of her. The brandy was making me feel a lot more loose and lot more interested in talking about what had happened.

  “Uh, Reagan, you haven’t told anyone about what happened between us, have you?” I asked.

  “Are you crazy? Of course not. Why? Have you?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I haven’t said anything. This campaign is too important to me, and I know that the job is important to you too. I don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

  “Neither do I,” she said.

  “So, what happens between us stays between us,” I said and looked at her.

  S
he smiled. “I’m not going to say a word.”

  “I have just one problem, though,” I said and walked over to her.

  “What’s that?” she asked, looking up at me. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack on the spot. I had been wrong about Reagan only looking sexy in that dress she wore to the gala. Reagan was sexy no matter what she wore.

  “I’m not sure that I can stand to only do that once. Let’s just say, hypothetically, of course, that we do it all again. Would you tell anyone about it? Or would it stay between us?”

  She licked her lips. “Hypothetically speaking, if we were to do that again, it would most definitely stay between us.” She uncrossed her legs again, and I groaned out loud.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Reagan

  I would love to blame what was happening on the brandy, but I was almost certain that I would’ve given in to Josh’s advances with or without the liquid encouragement. How could I not? Josh was still the sexiest man that I had ever met. The fact that he was as hard-working as me helped to elevate that sexiness even more. He was, without a doubt, everything that I had ever wanted in a man. How could I not want to have sex with him again? I hadn’t realized just how tense I had been all week trying to ignore the obvious attraction between the two of us. But looking up at him now, his tie to the side, his eyes glossy from the alcohol, I knew that I wanted him all over again.

  I opened my legs. I was wearing a pencil skirt, which was making my art of seduction a bit more difficult. I stood up, unzipped my skirt, and stepped out of it. I then undid my blouse and threw it to the side. Josh was leaning against the desk, watching me. His eyes didn’t leave me once, and when I walked toward him, he picked me up and put me down on the desk. I sat on a pile of papers, and we both chuckled. He cleared the pile away and leaned in to me to kiss me.

  I pulled off his tie and slowly began to unbutton his shirt. I ran my hands over his bare chest and smiled at how perfect he was. He kissed me again, his hands trailing up my leg. He pulled my panties down and leaned down to lick me. I held onto his desk, grasping at the edge so that I didn’t fall off. The feeling of his tongue inside my folds made me moan. The office was quiet, and the sound reverberated in the room. But I couldn’t help myself. At that moment, the only thing I could think about was the feeling of his tongue in me, sending shockwaves along my sensitive nerve endings. I wanted more. His mouth was not enough. I pulled him away and told him to take the rest of his clothes off. When he pulled down his pants, I saw that he was already hard and ready for me.

  “More,” I whispered and held on tight again as he pushed himself inside me. I moaned even louder this time and called out for him to go deeper. Deeper. Deeper.

  He obliged, thrusting hard so he could fulfill my request, panting as he pushed himself further and further into my depths. I came in trembling ecstasy, and the moment he saw what effect he had on me, I felt him come too. He pushed and groaned, and held on tight as he allowed himself to fully immerse himself inside me. He didn’t pull out immediately. He stayed there, holding on to me, and kissing me. Neither one of us wanted to let each other go.

  I wasn’t sure how long we would’ve stayed like that if it wasn’t for the sound of the cleaning lady coming from down the hall. She always walked around with her music on, and from the sound of it, she wasn’t all that far away. Josh pulled out of me and scrambled for his clothes. He threw whatever of mine he could find at me at the same time, and I quickly got dressed. We got dressed in record time and sat down with pen and paper in our hands. When the cleaning lady eventually walked by us, she simply nodded and smiled and told us that we work too hard.

  My face was red, but the cleaning lady thankfully didn’t stay to chat. I looked at Josh and sighed.

  “That was too close. I’m sorry,” I said. What was I thinking?

  “Don’t be sorry. It was just as much my idea as it was yours. In fact, it was probably more my idea. I got . . . I got lost in the moment. It’s hard not to with you,” he said, and I thought it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever told me.

  “Well, for what it’s worth, that was an amazing stress reliever.”

  “Better than Jack Earl Winter Frank Junior?” he asked.

  I chuckled. “Oh, much better. Ah, Josh. What are we going to do? We shouldn’t have done this. I really don’t want to get you into trouble. I’m supposed to be making sure that you get the votes.”

  He sighed. “I know. I couldn’t help it. And . . . well, I really like you, Reagan.”

  I smiled. “I like you too, Josh.”

  “You don’t think I’m too cocky?” he grinned.

  “Oh, you’re still cocky, all right. But it doesn’t make me like you any less. You’re a lot more than that too.”

  “Oh yeah? How so?”

  “I’m not going to tell you. Because it’s just going to make you cockier.”

  He laughed. “Dammit. I need to find out. I would actually love to take you out on a real date.”

  “You would?”

  “Of course I would. There’s no teeth clenching with you. And there’s no awkward conversation.”

  “But . . . we can’t.”

  “You’re right,” he said. “We can’t. So, how about we wait until the election is over?”

  I smiled. The thought of a date with Josh once the election was over sounded like the best idea I had ever heard. I could wait until then.

  I nodded. “I’d love that, Josh,” I said, and I suddenly felt shy around him. “And I better go. I’m not going to get any more done after what we just did. And especially not after all that brandy. I think I need to get straight into bed.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he said. “Come on; I’ll walk you out.”

  We walked back to the car, waving goodbye to the cleaning lady who barely seemed to take any notice of us. Josh walked me to my car first, which was nice of him. He looked around, making sure that there was nobody in sight, and then bent down to give me a small kiss.

  “Good night, beautiful girl.”

  “Good night, cocky boy.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Josh

  Kason had been wrong about me not needing a woman. I needed Reagan. I’d never been with a woman that I wanted and needed as much as her. Even though it didn’t say all that much about me, she was the first woman that I had ever been with that was equal parts beautiful and smart. I’d been with a lot of beautiful women, but I’d never been with anyone that could hold down a conversation with me for too long. I chose those women because they were easier to walk away from. I could spin them lies and tell them why it didn’t work out, and still walk away as the better man. I had never been with a woman that had left me wanting more, that had left me thinking about her when she was not around. I’d slept with Reagan twice now, and both times had been incredible. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to look at my office in the same way.

  It was early Monday morning, too early for the rest of the staff to be in, but I was certain that Reagan would be there. I imagined her sitting at her desk, her head down as she furiously scribbled notes. I couldn’t wait to see her again. We were going to have to keep things quiet, and professional, and wait until the campaign was over to be with one another again. But there was something about the secrecy that appealed to me, and it was nice to have something on my mind other than work for a change.

  I walked straight to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee before heading into the office. I was sure that Reagan had been too busy to even make herself one, so I decided to make her one too. A quick coffee and maybe even a small peck on the lips before anyone else walked in.

  I walked over to my office, two cups in hand, and almost stumbled when I saw that Reagan was not alone. She was sitting in my office with Ralph, and they both looked up at me in surprise when I walked in with two cups.

  “Morning, early birds,” I said casually.

  “Two coffees?” Ralph asked.

 
; “Yeah. It’s going to be a busy day, and I figured I might as well just make two cups. Save time and all that. I need the caffeine,” I glanced quickly at Reagan so that she would see that the coffee was really meant for her. Judging by the hint of a smile playing on her face, I think she understood.

  “Not for me? You knew we were meeting this morning before the crowd got in,” Ralph said. I had forgotten that I was supposed to meet with Ralph that morning.

  I laughed. “Just kidding. Of course this cup is for you. Reagan do you want one too?”

  “No thank you. I’ll get one later,” she said.

  Ralph took the cup and frowned when he took the sip. “No sugar?”

  “Sorry. Where’s my head? I made yours the same as mine,” I said. I was starting to feel flustered about the whole coffee situation.

  Ralph didn’t seem to notice. He shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I have been meaning to try drinking this stuff without sugar for a long time now, and I keep caving in. Maybe I’ll start today.” He took a sip and grimaced. “I have no idea how you do this. Do you take sugar?” he asked Reagan.

  “No way. I want my coffee to taste like coffee.”

  “Here, take this one. I’ve already had a cup this morning, anyway. Thanks, though, Josh. That was nice of you.”

  I watched as Reagan took the coffee. She shot me a small smile, and I felt glad that the coffee had finally gone into the right hands.

  “Right, are you ready to get started on the meeting?” I said.

  “Yes, today is a big day. Today is the day you’re going to speak at the women's activist group. If anything, today might be the hardest day yet. I’m not so sure you have their vote and it’s always the worst to speak at an event where people are against you. But, you’ve been doing so well so I’d say just carry on in the same vein and you should be fine.”

  “Great. Do you have the details?”

  “Yes, you’re leaving in an hour, and it takes about forty minutes to get there. I’ve hired a limo to get you, and Reagan will be coming with you.”

  “She will?” I asked.