Office Intrigue

by Nicole Edwards

  “It’s simple, really. It’s called Never Have I Ever.”

  “And how do we play this game?” Justin queried, his eyes flashing with amusement.

  I glanced at Jordan and noticed his subtle nod. He knew how to play this game.

  “All right. We’ll play the simple version. Typically, each one of us would come up with something outrageous that we’ve never done before. Everyone holds up five fingers. If you’ve done the outrageous thing that’s mentioned, you’ll lower one finger. And so on and so forth. Since we’re playing the condensed version, the person with the most fingers still up after the questions are asked will be the winner.”

  Jordan chuckled. “I think, to make this interesting, we should let Luci ask all the questions.”

  “Me?” I frowned.

  “I think it’s safe to say you’re the one who’s done the least outrageous things.” He shrugged. “Otherwise, this could last a while.”

  I glanced from one man to the next. They all seemed to be on board with Jordan’s twist, so I figured what the hell.

  “All right.” I made eye contact with Justin. “But just to be sure, we’re off the clock, correct?”

  Landon nodded. “Correct.”

  “And you realize I’ve had three glasses of wine?”

  “Duly noted,” Langston said.

  “So, anything goes?”

  Langston’s smile was wicked. “Anything goes.”

  Taking a sip of wine, I ran through a million things I wanted to know about these men. Although I figured they’d all done some crazy things, there had to be a few they hadn’t done.

  “Okay, I’ll go easy on you the first time. Never have I ever…had sex in the office.”

  My gaze dropped to each man’s fingers and I knew I looked a little shocked when every one of them put down one finger.

  “You’ve all had sex at the office?”

  My four bosses all glanced over at Jordan.

  “What?” He shrugged and I could see his cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red.

  “I don’t even want to know,” Justin said, his attention returning to me.

  “All right, then.” This was going to be harder than I thought. I grinned as my next question came to me. “Never have I ever…had sex at the office while one of the six people at this table was present.”

  Jordan was the only person who didn’t lower a finger.

  My mouth gaped open and I stared at each man in turn.

  Admittedly, I was getting a little hot and bothered by the topic. I have no idea why, but the notion of having sex with one of my bosses in the office, while the others were there…yeah, that did it for me in major ways.

  Not that I could tell any of them that.

  I took another drink of my wine and noticed all four of my bosses were smirking at one another.

  “Fine. Never have I ever…had sex in a moving vehicle.”

  All five of them lowered a finger.

  “Holy crap.”

  Landon chuckled. “Is it just me or does it seem that our feisty little secretary has sex on the brain?”

  “That and she’s slightly prudish if she’s never done any of these things,” Jordan teased.

  Okay, that time I did blush.

  And I realized, it was probably time to call a halt to the game. Only, I couldn’t really do that because it would make me look like a chicken. Which meant I had to come up with at least two more.

  Sighing, I took another sip of my wine. At this rate, I was going to need another bottle.

  “Hmm.” I glanced at Landon, then Justin, then Ben. “I know. Never have I ever…had sex with one of the people at this table.”

  Jordan, Landon, and Langston kept their fingers up while Ben and Justin each lowered one.

  I smiled at Ben and Justin because that simple response had answered so many questions I’d had. Although, I still wasn’t certain why Ben referred to Justin as Mr. Parker. Or why Justin had said he wasn’t dating anyone.

  “One more, Luci,” Justin urged.

  “Right.” This last one was going to get me into trouble, I knew it. But I decided to ask it anyway. “Never have I ever…wanted to have sex with someone at this table.”

  And fine, that didn’t pertain to me because I certainly wanted to have sex with not one but four people at the table, but I liked the illusion it offered, although I was sure they all saw right through me.

  Four fingers lowered. Those fingers belonged to my four bosses.

  I smiled at Jordan. “Clearly you’re the winner.”

  “Clearly,” he said cheekily.

  Although I had learned a lot more about my bosses than I ever thought I’d want to know, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something significant had transpired here today.

  And I couldn’t help but wonder what it might lead to.

  Or when.

  Eleven

  ONE MONTH AND FOUR DAYS since I was hired, my routine had become ingrained in me and I found that I looked forward to getting out of bed every morning. The hardest part had been finding what I wanted to wear each day. It turned into a game almost. It seemed the more flirtatious my outfit, the more the bosses talked to me.

  Of course, that spurred me on and I did my best to keep my outfits professional yet fun. Of course, I never once gave anything away. My skirts were always a respectable length and I never revealed too much cleavage—then again, I didn’t have much to reveal in the first place. It wasn’t as though I was trying to get myself fired, but I was having a good time. I liked the flirtatiousness of my bosses. It kept things enjoyable in the office.

  Which was the very reason I went for a sassy little off-white skirt, a lightweight chocolate-brown sweater, and a pair of cowboy boots today. As November progressed, the weather was quickly turning colder, but it was one of those outfits that was good for almost any season. Paired with a suede jacket, it made the perfect fall outfit.

  I pulled my hair back away from my face—which people said made me look a lot younger than I was—curled the ends, and went very subtle with my makeup.

  The extra time I spent making my selection and putting on my face proved to be worth it when Landon and Langston arrived together that morning. Both men stopped in front of my desk and spent a good ten minutes chatting about my weekend. Well, technically, Landon chatted and Langston merely listened, but they were both present and accounted for and that was all that mattered to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to regale them with stories of debauchery and intrigue. I didn’t do anything over the weekend besides sleep in, watch Netflix, and consume two more of TJ Arlington’s wickedly delicious books.

  Now that I thought about it, perhaps that was the reason I looked forward to coming into work every morning. Although I had thought my social life was picking up, turned out I was wrong. Sure, I chatted with Kristen a few times a week, mostly after our yoga class, but she’d been extremely busy with work and I had been left to my own devices. Since I did very little in my free time, with the exception of yoga, I wasn’t around many people to make new friends. The most enjoyable days were those I spent at the office with the four men—five including Jordan—who had become pretty important to me.

  Not only had they treated me kindly, they’d also started entrusting me with more things to do. They had yet to tell me what my job requirements were—although Jordan had said they’d do that at week two, it didn’t happen—but I wasn’t sitting around waiting to be told. Every afternoon, I visited each man’s office, spoke to them for a few minutes before heading out for the day. That was the highlight of my afternoons, no doubt about it.

  And during those interactions, I’d learned a few things about each of them.

  Like Justin had originally stated, Ben was divorced. He had turned forty this year, and I’d learned that his birthday was the weekend after I’d been hired. He lived in an apartment in the building, having decided the commute was much easier when he didn’t have to go anywhere. He had a master’s degree and a highly respected
reputation within the industry, and in his spare time, he enjoyed going to a club. He hadn’t told me which one, but by the way he talked about it, I sensed that it was a place he attended frequently.

  Justin traveled a lot, and he admitted that was something that he enjoyed. Meeting new people, spending time building relationships with his employees and his clients was very important to him. He never spoke about women in his life, so I assumed he still wasn’t dating anyone. Although I was pretty sure he had something going on with Ben, but they clearly didn’t call it dating for whatever reason.

  Landon and Langston were thirty-four, but they’d been in the industry longer than Justin and Ben. Both shared an apartment within the building, but they lived on a ranch on the outskirts of town for the majority of their time. From what I could tell, they were very close, doing a lot of activities together.

  As for their personalities, they were each uniquely different. Ben was outgoing and willing to answer any question that I had. Justin was middle of the pack, I’d say. He was often serious, but not in a harsh way. And then there was Landon… He was the funny one, constantly saying something to make me laugh. The guy was smoking-hot, down-to-earth, and drew me in like a moth to a flame. I was infatuated with that man.

  Of course, his twin was just as charming.

  Langston Moore had captured my attention. He was sexy, smart, and demanding in a way that I’d never experienced before. He didn’t smile all that often, but when he did, it was truly a gift to see. In fact, I’d superimposed him as the dominating hero in the romance novels I was reading on more than one occasion.

  “We’d like to have a meeting at ten,” Justin informed me when he peeked out of his office shortly after nine. “Every Monday morning, in fact. In the back conference room.”

  I nodded.

  “If you could make sure to have coffee ready, that’d be great.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Justin’s blue eyes flared, a small smile tilting his beautiful mouth before he disappeared from his doorway.

  Wanting to ensure I got it all right, I immediately made my way up front to Jordan’s desk. “Justin said I’m to prepare for a meeting in the back conference room.” I peered over to the room I was interviewed in. “I take it he’s not talking about that one.”

  Jordan’s smile was as bright as the turquoise polo he was wearing today.

  “Nope.” He instantly shot to his feet. “I’ll show you.”

  He quickly punched something into the phone, tucked an earpiece into his ear, then grabbed my hand and led me back down the hallway. When we passed the large conference room, he waved his hand at it. “That’s the conference room they use for clients and staff meetings when they bring in their managers.”

  Made sense.

  We stepped through the glass doors, but rather than veer off to my office, Jordan kept going. That was the first time I noticed there was another door at the very end, offset in the wall, which made it blend in.

  “This is the back conference room.”

  Jordan opened the door and tugged me inside.

  Like the front conference room, one wall was completely made up of windows. And just like most of the client-facing space, whoever designed this room was clearly going for the modern flare. Although the front conference room was bright due to the lack of shades covering the windows, this one was dark, making it far more intimate. Or it was until Jordan punched a button on the wall and the shades began to lift slowly.

  “Always be sure to lift the shades unless they tell you otherwise. If they want to go through a presentation, they’ll ask to keep them closed.”

  There were no conference tables in this room. Only five large leather chairs in a circle, surrounding a round table that was only about knee high. It was a casual setting, as though they spent a lot of time chatting in here. The furniture sat on a plush, charcoal-gray rug that covered the gleaming white tile. On the wall across from the seating area was a giant flat-panel television.

  “It’s very informal in here.” Jordan motioned toward the left of the room. “The coffee bar is over there.” His hand dropped lower. “And a wine refrigerator on the floor. They like to celebrate their big deals.”

  Good to know.

  Jordan stood suddenly and held up a finger before tapping his ear. It took a second for me to realize he was greeting a caller, which meant he must have forwarded the phones to his earpiece? I wasn’t sure how all that worked.

  While he spoke coolly and professionally, I watched. Before I could ask any questions, he waved quickly, then disappeared out of the room, continuing to have a conversation with someone on the other end of the call.

  “Okay,” I said to myself as I stared around the room. “I should get the coffee ready.”

  As I did, several questions blasted me all at once and I wished Jordan was still there so I could speak them aloud.

  Would they want me to leave so they could have their meeting?

  Would they want me to stay in here? To serve coffee?

  Or would they want me to stay and take notes?

  Should I get something to write with or bring my laptop?

  Crap.

  I hadn’t the slightest clue how this could get so complicated, but it seemed I was getting flustered. Obviously more so than I thought, because the next thing I knew, Ben and Justin were stepping into the room and I’d clearly lost track of time.

  Ben made his way over to me—or rather the coffee bar—immediately. He gifted me with a sexy grin, flashing his pearly whites, before pouring a cup and adding two Sweet ’n Lows. That was how he took his coffee. No creamer.

  When he stepped back, I found myself in his way and he suddenly brushed up against me. It caused me to automatically suck in a breath. One, I didn’t expect it. Two, I didn’t realize exactly how big the man was until right then. I’d always considered him the smallest of the four, but he made me feel incredibly tiny. And three, he smelled so freaking good it was hard not to want to inhale when he was around.

  “Excuse me,” he whispered softly, his warm hand sliding down my arm.

  Was that…? Was he…?

  It felt almost too casual a move for my boss to make on me, but maybe I had imagined it. After all, I was a little light-headed from the initial physical contact.

  Justin was the next one to pass me and he, too, touched my arm. A frisson of heat speared my core as I tried to process what had just happened. Before I could get my bearings, Landon and Langston were there, practically sandwiching me between them as one got coffee, then the other. They took theirs black, so it didn’t take but a second. Still, their proximity had me trying not to breathe. Or pass out.

  When Langston’s hand brushed my hip, my eyes flew up to his face. Way up. He flashed a rare grin and a quick wink and I was suddenly confused about where I was.

  Maybe I was still at home, in my bed. This was a dream, right? Had to be. I mean, I did have a pretty nice fantasy on Saturday night that involved four sexy men and my vibrator. Well, the vibrator wasn’t in the fantasy. It was the cure for the fantasy.

  Surely that was the case. I was still asleep and that was the only reason all four of my bosses had casually touched me, inciting sparks beneath my skin.

  I subtly reached up and pinched myself.

  Ouch.

  Okay, not dreaming.

  When all four men took a seat, I turned toward the exit. Since they had a meeting, maybe I could go into the bathroom and…

  “We’d like you to stay,” Justin said, halting my progress toward the door.

  I spun around and faced them, my short skirt flaring out and a cool wash of air hitting my upper thighs. At least one, if not all of them, noticed the move and I found four pairs of eyes drifting south, then quickly back up.

  “Should I…um…get my laptop?”

  Ben shook his head. “No need. But feel free to get some coffee if you’d like.”

  I swallowed hard.

  I didn’t want coffee, but I needed a minute
to compose myself.

  So coffee it was.

  Twelve

  “EVERY MONDAY, GOING FORWARD, WE’LL have a standing meeting. You can add it to our calendars. We’ll use this time to discuss the events of the previous week, as well as what’s on the horizon,” Justin explained, speaking directly to me.

  “We’ll want you to join us,” Ben added.

  That made perfect sense, so I offered a smile with a respectful, “Yes, sir.”

  His glowing eyes darkened and I realized that anytime I said sir, these men seemed to get off on it. It made me want to use that phrase all day, every day. And I’d given that some serious thought as well. Especially after I read the book Langston had let me borrow. His Name Is Sir had been an enlightening tale of wickedly delicious sex. I’d devoured every word, finding myself far more interested in a lifestyle I knew absolutely nothing about. It had spurred me to read more, so not only had I continued to read TJ Arlington’s books, but I had discreetly found the names of other authors Langston represented and purposely sought their work on my iPad. Let’s just say, not only was I intrigued but my vibrator had gotten plenty of use these past few weeks.

  Hussy.

  “To kick the meeting off, I’d like to discuss Luci’s recent homework assignment,” Langston said, his eyes locking on my face.

  I frowned, trying to figure out what he was referring to.

  “The reading assignment?” he clarified.

  Ah. Right. We had briefly touched on it during lunch, but it didn’t surprise me that he wanted to go into depth. He had warned me ahead of time, after all.

  “Were you able to finish the book?” His tone was cool, almost aloof.

  I nodded. “Yes, sir. I did.”

  “This is TJ Arlington’s book, yes?” Justin inquired.

  “Yes,” Landon noted, his smile sexy.

  “Interesting introduction,” Justin stated.

  “Have you read any more of his work?” Ben probed, clearly as curious about my thoughts as the others.

  I felt a blush creep up my neck. “I have.”

  Ben seemed pleased by that response. “You enjoy them?”