“How was work?” he asked when he flopped into a booth in the back.
I took my seat more eloquently. “Good. I’m just getting ramped up.”
“Oh?” He looked confused. “New job?”
I nodded. “I’ve been there for two weeks.”
“Wow. So, really new.” He sounded as though that was a problem.
Will picked up a menu for himself from the small holder on the table. He didn’t offer me one, so I reached for one after, although I already knew what I wanted.
“So, what is it that you do?” he inquired as his eyes scanned the menu.
I spoke to my menu as well. “I’m a secretary.” I already knew he was going to be disappointed by that.
“But your outfit…”
I glanced down at myself. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with my outfit. I was wearing a long-sleeve black silk blouse and a black skirt, which rested just above my knees. My heels were red because I’d wanted a splash of color. More than once I’d noticed my new bosses eyeing my shoes. I was pretty sure they liked them.
I lifted my gaze back to his. “Is there something wrong with my outfit?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s just…”
Lifting one eyebrow, I waited for him to continue.
“I just thought you…”
“I what?”
“You had a higher-level position.”
I smiled to myself and dropped my eyes to the menu. Apparently being a secretary was beneath this guy. Lord only knew what he’d think if I told him I had worked at various retailers in the past few years. The guy would probably have a coronary if he knew I’d worked at Hooters. Totally beneath him.
Now, it wasn’t as though I hadn’t known that Will was shallow. However, I had grossly underestimated how much.
“So, what is it that you do?” I already knew, but I figured what the hell. Might as well have a little fun.
“I’m a lawyer.”
“Oh, really?” I pretended to be intrigued by the notion. “They make good money, huh?”
His eyes narrowed. It was what he’d expected me to say, obviously. As a secretary, I couldn’t possibly make enough to support myself, nor could I enjoy being financially independent without raking in the dough. That was exactly the way this guy would think.
The waitress walked up and we both placed our orders. He went first, ordering a BLT while I opted for a salad. Water for both. Fast and easy.
“And you say you’ve only been with… What company did you say you worked for?” he probed.
I smiled. “I didn’t, but it’s a PR firm downtown.”
That seemed to pique his interest. “Which one?”
I rattled off the name as though it didn’t really matter.
Will leaned back and regarded me for a moment. I had no idea what he knew about the company, nor did I really care. I knew there’d been something I wasn’t attracted to about him, and within the first few minutes of our dinner conversation, he had reminded me of what that was.
I wasn’t good enough for this guy. Not working as a secretary. Had I mentioned my accounting degree, he might’ve shown a little interest, but the truth was, I didn’t want him to. I had given in because he wouldn’t let it go and now at least he would turn his attention elsewhere.
“So, what type of law do you practice?” I asked because the silence was getting to be too much.
“Family law.”
“Oh, well, that must be fun.”
“I enjoy it. I’ll soon make junior partner, so I’m well on my way.”
To what, I had no freaking clue. Again…I didn’t care either.
Fortunately for both of us, our food was delivered and it gave each of us a valid excuse to ignore the other.
This was the very reason I hated dating. Rarely did I find a man who intrigued me enough to make it past a first date. Perhaps that made me the shallow one, but I needed some sort of stimulating conversation or, at the very least, some sort of physical attraction. I found neither with Will.
My mind drifted back to my four bosses. Now, those were men who could easily hold my interest for a night. Or a week. It was rare that a man could walk around and radiate sex appeal without even trying; however, the four of them did it effortlessly. And when they spoke… Those men were the types who spoke when they had something to say and they did it very well. People listened.
I thought about Landon and Langston. About how this dinner would’ve been very different had they been here. For one, they wouldn’t have looked down on me because I was a secretary. In the two weeks I’d been there, they hadn’t treated me any differently than they did each other. Or Jordan, for that matter. We worked there, they worked there, and we coexisted nicely.
While I picked at my salad, I noticed Will was checking his phone. He had done it several times in the past few minutes. It was beyond obvious that he was ready to bolt. Then again, so was I. The only reason I was still there was because I would likely see him at the yoga studio and I didn’t want things to be awkward between us.
I probably should’ve told Kristen about my date. No doubt she would’ve called me just to give me an out. But I’d been hopeful that this would at least be enjoyable. Unfortunately, along with being shallow, the man was a shitty conversationalist.
Suddenly, Will punched a button on his phone and held it up to his ear. I chuckled to myself. There was no one on the other end of that call, but apparently, not only did he think I was beneath him, he also thought I was stupid.
“Yes, this is Will. Did you need something?”
He paused, as though someone was talking. The screen had already gone dark against his ear, but he clearly didn’t notice.
For effect, he glanced at his watch. “Sure. I could…” He paused again, his eyes darting to me briefly. He tried to pull off an apologetic look, but it merely made him look like the douchebag he was. “Yeah. I can be back at the office in ten minutes. Does that work?” He paused. “Absolutely. I’m on my way.”
I waited patiently until he put an end to his fake phone call.
“Oh, shucks,” I said diligently. “You have to go? That’s such a shame.”
“Yeah, well…when work calls…”
“Oh, I know. Well, I don’t know. I’m just a secretary, but I get it.”
He offered a polite smile, then reached for his wallet.
“Oh, no,” I snapped, holding up my hand. “I’ve got it. After all, I’m sticking around for some pie.” Might as well make the best of it, right?
“Okay, then,” he said warily.
Right. Like I bought the fact that he was saddened not to have to pay for dinner.
“I’ll see you around,” I told him, returning my attention to my salad.
Considering it was far more interesting than he was.
•
The following morning, Jordan and I penciled in lunch so we could dish about my shitty date. I was looking forward to having someone to talk to about it. It was a funny story, at least to me.
I spent the morning doing my usual, continuing to learn my way around the office, getting to know a few of the team members by interacting with them via email, and spending a lot of time by myself.
It was shortly before one when Landon’s door opened and he stepped out.
Smiling up at him, I offered a pleasant, “Good afternoon.”
The heat of his gaze warmed me as he approached my desk, propping himself on the edge. It was such a flirty thing to do, but I thought nothing of it.
“So…how was the date last night?”
I felt my cheeks heat, remembering the conversation I’d had with Jordan in the elevator.
“It was wonderful,” I said, making sure he heard my sarcasm. “We talked and talked and…” I shook my head. “Wait. No. We didn’t talk.” I grinned wide. “But he did fake a phone call to get out of it. And since he thought I was beneath him because I’m just a lowly secretary while he’s going to potentially make junior partner at his law firm,
I offered to pay for dinner. He let me. So, I enjoyed a piece of chocolate pie by myself. All in all, it was great.”
Landon laughed. “You paid for dinner?”
“I did. I insisted. And by insist, I mean, I said I’d get it and he said okay. Luckily for me, we went to a cute little diner, so I tipped more than the meal cost.”
“You spend a lot of time paying for dinner?” he asked and I understood the fishing expedition for what it was.
“No. I don’t date usually. But Will was pretty persistent. Apparently, my wardrobe made him believe I had more money than I do. He’s very superficial,” I said sweetly. “Which, now that I think about it, is probably why he’s still single.”
“That or he’s letting his dates pay for their own meals.”
“True.”
Langston’s door opened, then Justin’s. Landon got to his feet, obviously prepared to head out to lunch. Ben’s door then opened, too. They all started toward the front, but Landon turned around to face me.
“One of these days a real man will take you out to dinner.” He flashed a sexy grin. “And I assure you, I won’t let you pay.”
With that, he spun around and left.
My eyes were wide as I stared at the empty hallway, replaying his comment over and over and over in my head.
Had he said what I thought he’d said?
I won’t let you pay.
Yes, yes he had.
Swoon!
Ten
ANOTHER WEEK HAD PASSED AND I felt as though I was making significant progress in learning my new role within the company. I was able to answer questions now without always having to seek input from one of my bosses. It made me feel good. More so when one of them acknowledged me, which they did often. Usually with a flirty smile.
And now that it was closing in on one o’clock, I was getting ready to head out for the weekend. I liked the leaving-early-on-Friday thing. It made for a longer weekend, which I was no longer dreading since I’d been introduced to the world of fictional romantic BDSM, thanks to Langston’s authors. It was a world unlike anything I’d ever known existed. I’d fallen head over heels for the Dominants and submissives who fell in love in a rather unique, albeit complicated, way. In fact, I looked forward to reading every day, something I hadn’t done in quite some time.
However, I didn’t have the opportunity to read at work, so I did my best not to think about it. But when it was only a few minutes from time to leave, I got myself prepared to be immersed into that sexy new world.
Langston’s door opened and I glanced up to see him walking toward me. He was a few minutes early for their daily one o’clock lunch.
“We’d very much like you to join us for lunch today,” he said, his tone dark and rich and oh-so-sexy.
It wasn’t phrased as a question, but then again, nothing he said usually was. The man was very direct, and usually ridiculously blunt.
Landon’s door opened before I could answer Langston. He moved toward me. A second later, both men stood in front of my desk, peering down at me.
“You can leave directly after,” Landon added, as though he’d been there when Langston asked the question.
I wondered if these two had that twin thing. The whole mind-reading thing that some of them did, knowing what the other was thinking before they said it. Or even what the other was feeling when they weren’t together.
Ben’s and Justin’s doors then opened. Justin glanced over at me, his blond eyebrow lifting slightly, as though he, too, was waiting for my response.
“I’d love to join you,” I told them as I grabbed my purse from the bottom drawer and then got to my feet.
“I’m going to ask Jordan to join us,” Ben said before heading down the hallway.
I briefly wondered if this was something they did often. I felt a little better knowing Jordan would be going with us. Although I liked my bosses, I was still rather nervous around them. I figured that was due to their hotness factor.
Both Landon and Langston waited for me to walk past them before they fell into step, each one putting a hand at the small of my back. I felt as though I was being ushered out of the building. Although, the feeling wasn’t unpleasant by any means.
When we reached the elevators, Jordan was standing there, talking animatedly with Ben. Justin’s gaze cut over to me and I saw a small smile on his lips.
“Is this something you do often?” I asked Langston directly, trying to hide the fact that I was on the verge of freaking out.
Sure, I understood that it was just lunch, a regular meal that normal people had every day. But with my bosses? Definitely nerve-racking.
The elevator arrived and I was steered inside.
“Every couple of months,” Langston admitted as we all turned to face the elevator doors.
That made me curious. If the previous secretaries hadn’t lasted that long, had they ever taken them out to lunch? I’d have to remember to ask Jordan about it.
The ride down was relatively quiet except for the normal sounds of the elevator. I could hear my heart beating rapidly, knew my breaths probably were a little too rushed. I couldn’t help it; I was edgy.
When we stepped out onto the main floor, Landon and Langston were replaced by Ben and Justin behind me. They took up the same position, guiding me with their hands as we all headed toward the front doors. My heels clicked loudly, but it was an unexpectedly sexy sound being that I was the only female surrounded by these uber-hot men.
I was surprised when there wasn’t a vehicle out front to pick us up.
“It’s a short walk,” Ben said softly. “Just about a block.”
I nodded, silently wishing I had worn more comfortable shoes. The heels I had on were the tallest that I owned, but I had tons of practice, so it wasn’t that I was uncomfortable walking in them. It was merely the fact that they weren’t made to carry me long distances.
We arrived at a steakhouse around the corner, a fancy little place with white linen tablecloths and crystal vases full of decorative flowers on every table.
Jordan got the door, holding it open while my four bosses allowed me to walk inside first. Landon moved toward the hostess, giving her his name. Apparently, they had reservations. And based on the warm smile on the woman’s face, they weren’t strangers to this place.
The next fifteen minutes or so were the most uncomfortable while we all ordered drinks and then figured out what to eat. My four bosses ordered Glenlivet, a single malt scotch that I knew wasn’t cheap. Not wanting to be completely left out, I ordered red wine and Jordan opted for sweet tea. When the waitress finally got our food order down, I was already on my second glass as we were left to our own devices.
“So, I hear you’ve been reading some of Langston’s authors,” Landon prompted, his eyes fixed on my face.
I felt heat rush up my neck. I took another gulp of wine, then nodded. “I have.”
“And what do you think?” I could tell he was genuinely curious, as were the rest of them.
I opted to go for honest. “It’s interesting. I didn’t even know stuff like that existed.”
No one said anything, so I wondered if maybe it didn’t really exist. Perhaps it was truly fictional. I mean, I had read The Hunger Games and I knew that wasn’t real.
“Which book did you read?” Ben inquired.
“His Name Is Sir.” I watched him to see what his response was. He didn’t give anything away.
“You started her out slow,” Justin said, chuckling.
Slow? They considered a woman being spanked in a dungeon slow? Or was he being facetious?
I focused on repositioning my napkin in my lap. Being that I was seated between Landon and Langston while directly across from Ben, I wasn’t in a position to talk to Jordan, who was the only real friend I had at the table. Which had me wondering whether they’d done that on purpose.
“I’ll get her worked up to the more intense stuff soon enough,” Langston said, giving me a sideways smirk.
I wa
nted to tell him I was already progressing, but I kept that tidbit to myself.
“It’s officially been three weeks,” Justin stated, his voice drawing my attention to him.
I smiled. “It has been.”
“And you haven’t run screaming from the building,” Ben noted with a smirk, obviously sensing my discomfort.
“Not yet,” I teased, dropping my gaze to the table.
Landon laughed. “I promise, it’ll only get better from here.”
I was pretty sure there was an innuendo in that statement. My eyes darted over to Jordan as though he might be able to save me. Unfortunately, he was chuckling and his expression gave nothing away. Something told me they’d all set me up here.
Thank God for the wine. A little liquid courage was just what the doctor ordered.
I figured I had two choices. One, I could sit around and blush like a schoolgirl and make this rare occasion weird for everyone. Or two, I could participate in my own special way and let them know that I wasn’t intimidated.
Granted, I was intimidated. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t play with the big dogs.
“Do you have big plans for her one-month mark?” Jordan asked.
He had a knowing smile on his face and it was then I realized there was some sort of inside joke that I wasn’t privy to. I waited, but no one said anything. However, Landon did chuckle, which told me all I needed to know.
Then the table fell silent once more and I felt the tension rising. I had to do something to get these guys talking. Fortunately, our salads arrived a few minutes later. I wasn’t all that hungry, but the third glass of wine was definitely going a long way to ease some of my tension.
“Well, since you managed to get me here,” I told them, keeping a smile firmly in place as I set my fork down, “maybe now would be a good time to play a game.”
“A game?” Langston leaned back and regarded me coolly.
“Yes.” I made eye contact with each of them. “A way to get to know each other?”
“What did you have in mind?” Justin seemed oddly curious.
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