Tell Me Something (The Something Series Book 1)

by Bondurant, Aubrey

  “So, what is the business in Hong Kong?” I inquired, watching him study some charts and grids on his laptop.

  “You really want to know?”

  “I don’t ever ask a question for the sake of asking it. If I ask, it means I want to know.”

  Having his words used back on him garnered a smile. “All right, I’m looking at the prospect of purchasing a small advertising business there. Right now I don’t have anything in the Asia Pacific region, and I’m thinking of expansion by acquisition. I’ll go over their financials and strategy most of the day. The cocktail party in the evening is an attempt to wine and dine me.”

  He probably got a lot of that with people trying to court his money. “So they want to be bought, I take it?”

  “Very much so. They’ve lost their competitive edge when their chief rival went global two years ago while they stayed only in the local market. They need new leadership which the owner seems to be agreeable to.”

  The fact that he shared these details with me, meant a lot. “How do they feel about American ownership specifically, though? Any ill will?”

  “Culturally, there may be. I guess we’ll see, but unless you can understand Chinese, I doubt very much we’ll know either way.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal I had taken eight years of Cantonese, but figured it might be better to surprise him with that information later.

  After finishing a movie, I then enjoyed a nice dinner. Josh was still working, barely touching his meal. Anyone who ever thought that he lived off of his father’s inherited business obviously had never seen the man work.

  Once the flight attendant took my tray, I got up and went to the lavatory. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and brushed my hair back in a ponytail. Happy that I had brought a change of comfy clothes, I quickly dressed into yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Ready for sleep, I walked back to my seat.

  Josh glanced over and then did a double take, groaning.

  I smiled. “What?”

  “You look about fifteen years old with your pony tail and outfit.”

  Quirking an indignant brow, I leaned over and whispered, “I can assure you I’m all grown up.” His eyes darkened and I was satisfied that I had gotten my point across. Gathering my blankets, I was unprepared for the honey voice.

  “Haylee…”

  God, what that voice did to me. I knew he suspected as much when he met my gaze and then motioned me closer.

  “You do know that when you whisper things like that to me that I imagine doing some very naughty things to you,” he murmured.

  It was my turn to suck in my breath. Then I smiled, returning the sexy sentiment. “I can assure you that I’m imagining all of those things right now.”

  I got the desired effect when his breath came out strained. “Sweet dreams, Haylee.”

  Snuggling down, I wished that we could break the wall between us so that I could cuddle up with him. I was exhausted from a long day but thankful for first class as I drifted to sleep.

  ***

  As I woke up, I stretched and then glanced at my watch. Three more hours to go, but that meant I had gotten a good seven hours of sleep. Josh looked immaculate without a hair out of place and was reading his paper. Perhaps he hadn’t slept at all. I headed to the lavatory and made myself presentable, then returned to my seat. Smiling at the flight attendant, I requested a Diet Coke and some hot tea with my breakfast.

  Josh gave me a dubious look.

  “Yes, double caffeine, and once I finish, why don’t we go over anything you need me to do as far as logistics are concerned for this trip and London in a couple of weeks.”

  He gave me a nod and I realized he was probably chomping at the bit to get me back into admin role so he could get some things off his plate.

  We spent the remaining flight time going over details, including his trip to London in a couple weeks and a charity golf tournament scheduled for Miami in a month. I took careful notes until they announced the plane was descending, and we both put away our laptops.

  “We will be expedited through customs as they’ll give us passes to the first class line. Then we’ll grab our bags and head to the arrivals lounge.”

  I wasn’t used to international travel and appreciated that he was letting me know the events. “So, business dress to the hotel, then we’ll go to the office for a full day. Then back to the hotel about six o’clock with a scheduled pickup at seven in order to go to the reception. I’ll have the concierge press out your tux.”

  Agreeing, he then took me off guard. “Does it bother you to do these things for me?”

  I had no idea where this was coming from and matched his low tone so that no one could overhear us. “It’s my job, so of course it doesn’t.”

  He weighed this, but didn’t let it go. “Yes, but it doesn’t feel strange given the other part? You don’t resent it?”

  Turning to face him, I was frank. “It never crossed my mind. I’d feel worse if you felt like I was incapable but you kept me around because of the other. If anything, I want to make sure I’m doing the job that you’re paying me for and doing it well. It might sound cheesy, but I value your respect above the other.”

  He held my gaze for the longest time and then was solemn in his reply. “Sometimes I think you hold me in higher regard than I probably deserve.”

  “Sometimes we all need someone who does.”

  I watched him process that and turned my attention to gathering up my things to get ready for landing.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Upon arrival, we cruised through the express customs line. I felt a little bit scruffy and ready for a shower. The arrivals lounge was impressive I noted, when we both walked in and made our way to our private suites.

  “Take your time; we aren’t in a hurry,” Josh impressed.

  Taking advantage of his offer, I washed my hair and took my time to blow-dry it straight. I turned on some tunes from my phone and was bopping to Ed Sheeran when the knock came at the door.

  Considering I was merely in my towel, I hoped it wasn’t someone wanting to use the room. I was surprised to see Josh outside the door, completely dressed in suit and tie.

  “Oh shit, did I lose track of time?”

  Smiling, he moved me back into the room. “No, we have time.”

  “Ohhh…” was all that I managed.

  Backing me into the chair, he captured my mouth. His kiss was sensual with soft lips as he made short work of ridding me of my towel.

  His mouth moved down to my breasts paying special attention to my nipples.

  Moaning with pleasure, I murmured, “Once again, you are fully dressed, and I am not.”

  He nipped at my waist. “This is how I like you, Haylee. Remember, my way,” he murmured, making his way back up to my face. He worked my aroused flesh with his fingers while devouring my mouth. “That’s it, I want you to come while I watch your eyes, Haylee.”

  Hearing my name again was about to send me over the edge as his lips glided down my neck sending shivers down my spine.

  “I can feel it building, let it go.” His thumb found a rhythm, circling my clitoris, and I felt my body start to convulse. His voice was low and demanding. “Look at me.”

  My eyes flashed open and I felt the intensity of his eyes watching mine while the orgasm ripped through me.

  He kissed me deeply stroking my tongue with his and then dove for my wet center.

  I hadn’t even caught my breath. “Jesus, Josh, I can’t, oh…” I felt his tongue lapping at the wetness running down my thighs and his fingers spreading it over my tender lips.

  “You taste like peaches, Haylee,” he groaned and then focused in on my swollen nub, teasing it back to engorgement. He sucked and tongued my clit with such precision and perfect pressure that I was sure I would go insane.

  “Oh god.” I surrendered fully to his erotic assault and let myself ride yet another explosion.

  I was putty, completely and totally unable to speak or move.
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  Josh got up and went to stand in front of my mirror and pulled out his toothbrush. He acted like it was an everyday habit to devour a woman and then simply brush his teeth.

  “You all right?” he questioned, giving me a smug look.

  “I’m sorry, Haylee can’t come to the phone at the moment. She is passed out from unbelievable orgasms and unable to walk for at least the next hour or so. Please leave a message and I will return your call after the sexual euphoria has passed.”

  He chuckled, looking quite pleased with himself, and watched me fumble with the towel. “Hmm, only an hour. I may need to work on that, then.”

  I shot him an incredulous look. “Oh, no, you don’t. As much as I loved that, I swear if I don’t get to see you naked this next time I’m going to die from curiosity, not to mention sexual selfishness.”

  He cocked a brow. “I get pleasure from giving you pleasure.”

  It felt as if he was holding something back, but now wasn’t the time to push so I smiled instead. “I’m a lucky girl, then.”

  That seemed to satisfy him as he continued to watch me. “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”

  I moved towards him, and leaned into his relaxed frame. “Are you going to watch?”

  His eyes danced with mischief and then turned serious. “Perhaps when we have more time. I’ll meet you out in the lounge.”

  I couldn’t resist one more kiss and cupped his face, bringing his lips down to meet mine.

  “What was that for?” he asked, a bit taken back.

  “Because I won’t get to do it again for the rest of the day.”

  He brushed my cheek with his hand and gave me another kiss before leaving.

  ***

  I chose to wear my Tahari black dress that dipped below the knee with a little flair and the matching jacket with white piping. Classic and professional, I thought, looking at my reflection.

  When I met Josh in the lounge he was back in business mode, and it was hard to believe that mere minutes ago he had been ravaging me fully. I received a quick glance, and we made our way out to the waiting car.

  The Four Seasons checked us in quickly and I gave Josh’s tuxedo to the concierge to press before we went upstairs to our individual rooms. Mine was the on the fourth floor and his was on the tenth in a suite. We agreed to meet in the lobby in ten minutes to make our way into the office.

  The office building of the company Josh was looking to acquire was tall, like most of the buildings in Hong Kong. We were immediately greeted and shown to the thirty-second floor. The CEO of Windom Advertising came out to greet Josh, who introduced me to him.

  “Ken, this is Haylee, my assistant.”

  “So nice to meet you, Haylee. First time to Hong Kong?”

  “Yes it is, nice to meet you too,” I said smiling.

  He turned introducing me to his assistant, Ana, who seemed very friendly and overly helpful to Josh.

  “Mr. Singer, if you need anything, anything at all, please let me know.”

  She was a small woman, probably in her late twenties. When she briefly lapsed into her native language, I tried to keep my features neutral.

  “Haylee, Ana will get you set up down the hall. We have a space for you to make calls or set up your computer. Maybe you can join us on a tour of the office later this afternoon following lunch,” Ken offered.

  I gave my thanks and, with one last look at Josh, followed Ana through the office.

  “Have you worked for Mr. Singer long?” Ana inquired sweetly taking me down the hall.

  “Only a few weeks,” I admitted.

  “Well, if you need anything, my extension is 5004. Dial 9 to get out for external calls.”

  “Great thanks. What time is lunch? Do you need help with setup?”

  She waved me off. “No, my dear, we have it under control. Matter of fact, you’ll be on your own, I’m afraid. You might try the sandwich shop downstairs.”

  In the US it was customary to order extra for the assistants even if they weren’t eating with the executives, but perhaps it was different here. “All right, thanks. Uh, where is the ladies room and the kitchen?”

  She looked put out to extend our time together, but her manners must have kicked in. “Of course, let me show you.” She led me down the corridor and to the right, where I could see a number of desks, and finally into a large kitchen. “Water, coffee, sodas are here. And the ladies room is located beyond and to the left.”

  Another woman came in and was introduced to me as Patty. She smiled and then spoke with Ana in Cantonese, in which conversation Ana explained who I was.

  It took everything in my being not to react to Ana’s next words as she told Patty that I didn’t seem too bright, but it was obvious in looking at me that intelligence wasn’t why I’d been hired.

  Patty shook her head a little and then smiled at me. “It was nice to meet you.” Well, at least Patty hadn’t bitten back.

  “Anything else, or can I get back to work now?” Ana questioned with enough false sweetness to vaguely disguise the passive aggressive comment.

  “No, thank you, Ana. You’ve been most helpful.” Grabbing a Diet Coke from the refrigerator she’d shown me, I tried not to let my thoughts wander toward a fantasy of pitching it down the hallway at her head.

  The rest of the morning was spent catching up on email and I called Nigel to coordinate Josh’s schedule for the next couple of weeks. I hesitated but then thought, what the hell, and I asked him. “How are things on the personal front?”

  He sighed heavily. “Did Josh tell you what was going on?”

  “No, not at all and I would never ask him, but from what you’ve alluded to, it’s health-related and obviously not yours. As someone who has been through it with both my parents having had cancer, I want you to know that I’m here for you, Nigel.”

  That seemed to break down his last defense. I heard his unsteady breath. “It’s stage three colon cancer. My partner, David, has been going through radiation and chemo. We had to take a break because of the radiation burns, but he started back up this week. Surgery to remove the tumor is set tentatively for right before Christmas if we stay on course, followed by more chemo.”

  Sighing, I thought of all the things well-meaning people had said to me that hadn’t helped. I decided to give support rather than mere sympathy. “Stage three and operable are the most positive things you said in that sentence. It might not seem that way, but that means it is beatable. I will definitely be thinking of you both.”

  “Thank you. It means a lot, and I know you’re right. I need to keep thinking positive. How is Hong Kong?”

  “It’s all right. I think that Josh is going to be held up in meetings all day, and then we have a cocktail party tonight.”

  “Traveling overnight and then hitting the ground running is no fun,” he sympathized. “I don’t know how Josh does it so well.”

  “I don’t know, either. At least I got some sleep on the plane, but I don’t think he even closed his eyes once.” It was a little unnerving now that I thought about it that Josh had been awake before I went to sleep and also when I woke up. I hadn’t once had a glimpse of the man sleeping.

  “He’s an insomniac but one who seems to do fine with it. Merely a couple hours a night, and he seems as fresh as anyone else who requires eight.”

  After I filed this information away, I finished up Josh’s schedule and then let Nigel get on with his evening as it was late his time. I settled in going through emails and travel itineraries for the next few hours.

  I was so engrossed in my tasks that it took my stomach growling to remind me it was well past lunch time. Making my way down the hall, I passed Ana’s desk. I managed to restrain my temper when I realized she and the receptionist had obviously taken lunch for themselves from the catering order but hadn’t asked me.

  “I’m going to get a sandwich if Mr. Singer is looking for me.”

  “I’m sure he’ll get what he needs from me, but I’ll pass on the messa
ge if he asks.” Then in Cantonese, she spoke to the receptionist. “What a stupid twit. Clearly he is only keeping her around for one purpose.”

  The girl laughed and spoke back to her in their language. “She’s not even that skinny. Big butt.”

  Smiling tightly, I took some satisfaction from the fact they didn’t know I’d understood what they were saying. “Well, then. Be back shortly.”

  Big butt? I didn’t have a big butt. I just didn’t have an Asian butt, which happened to go with all one hundred pounds of either of them.

  ***

  By four o’clock I was feeling the effects of jetlag and having slept on the plane.

  Josh poked his head in to my office space and gave me a small smile. “You look tired.”

  “You don’t look tired in the least, which kind of makes me jealous.”

  “Are you ready to take off for the hotel? We finished up early. Figured we’d have more time to get ready for the cocktail thing. Besides, I have a call with the Sydney office in an hour.”

  His schedule didn’t have any mention of a call with Sydney. “Is this something I should have on your calendar?”

  He shrugged. “I just added it. I figured I’d use it to get us out of here early.”

  Smiling, I shut down my computer. I was happy to make my way back to the hotel as it would give me more time to get ready for this evening.

  When we got to the hotel lobby, Josh turned to study me. “You are welcome to skip tonight if you’d like to crash.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Really? I would if I could. All of the ass-kissing gets tiresome.”

  Rolling my eyes, I decided it was time to fess up about being able to understand Cantonese. “I have something I need to tell you before the party if you have a few minutes.”

  He cocked his brow, looking mildly curious. “Why don’t you get dressed and meet me up at my room about five-thirty? We can discuss it then.”

  As I got off the elevator on my floor, I turned and suddenly had to ask. “Do you think my ass is big?”

  He seemed to lose the ability to form words. “I, uh, why on earth are you asking me this?”