Trevor turns to face the doors, straightening his already perfect tie, and silence falls over the elevator. When it dings on his floor, he leans over and says, “Don’t forget about my offer,” then walks off.
“What offer is he talking about?” Mr. Kyle asks from behind me. I can hear the aggravation in his voice.
“I’m not sure,” I say, refusing to turn around and look at him.
“Miss Burns …”
The elevator comes to a stop on our floor, and I get off, knowing that he has to go up to his penthouse to get ready. For a second, I wonder why he stayed here overnight. I saw him at the restaurant last night on the other side of town. It was much closer to his house. But instead of asking and making him think I care, I stay silent.
I’m the first one here, so I take my time turning on all the lights and then his computer, followed by mine. I start a pot of coffee since I didn’t grab him any tea this morning. I didn’t even think he would be here this early, considering when he calls me in early, he usually shows up later. And then I drop off the donuts in the conference room for his clients today.
I walk into my office with my cup of coffee and see a manila envelope on it. I take a sip and then put my coffee down before I open it. I look down into it and see little square pieces of paper that look like photos. I dump it upside down and shake it. Four pictures fall on my desk, and my breath catches in my throat when I see what they are.
“What the …?”
I pick the first one up and see it’s me at the restaurant last night. I’m standing in the hallway in front of my boss, and he’s holding my phone. Another one is of my back against the wall, and he’s pushed up against me. The third is his lips down by my ear. My eyes are closed, and you can clearly see the way my body leans into his. The last one looks like he’s kissing me, but it’s just the angle. ’Cause I know that didn’t happen.
Angry tears start to sting my eyes at the thought of him doing this to me, and my hands begin to shake with anger. He’s gone too far this time! I won’t stand back and let someone bully me like he is. My job be damned.
I storm off the elevator and pound my fist on his apartment door. It swings open seconds later, and my knees threaten to buckle when I see him standing there with just a towel wrapped around his narrow hips and nothing else. His hair is damp but slicked back as if he just ran his hand through it. Water runs down over his hard chest and defined abs. The towel sits low, and I fist my hands down by my side to keep from tugging the fabric free.
He looks even better soaking wet. As if that was possible.
“Miss Burns, just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demands.
My jaw tightens at his voice. The same one that makes me want to throw coffee on him at times. The one that makes my skin crawl. I could stare at him all day, but as soon as he bosses me around, I want to kick him in the balls. My eyes snap up to his. “Do you want me to quit?” I demand.
“What?”
“Do you really think you can blackmail me?” I snap, stepping into his penthouse, forcing him take a step back. Those angry tears are back and blurring my vision. His eyes widen in shock that I stepped into his space. He opens his mouth, but I continue. “I have done everything you have ordered me to do, but that’s still not good enough for you,” I shout, a tear falling free and running down my face. He watches it as if he’s never seen one before. Confused and at a loss for words. “So you think it’s okay to toy with me. Like I’m one of those other women you play with.” That gets a reaction. His eyes narrow, glaring down at me. I wipe a fresh tear away from my face. I’m so mad at myself for letting this man get to me this way. “I will have you know that I don’t care how powerful you think you are, you will not bully me into submitting to you,” I snap.
He crosses his arms over his sculpted chest, and I love how smooth it is. My hands itch to run over it. God, I’m so pathetic. “Are you done?” he asks. His voice no longer holds any surprise, just annoyance.
“No!” I shout and then take a deep breath. He stands there as water continues to roll down his body in waves, and my heart beat pounds in my chest. I open my mouth a few times, but nothing comes out. Instead, I bow my chest out and say, “Yes.”
“Would you care to explain what you’re talking about in a calm manner?” he asks with sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Oh, you son of a …” He arches a brow, daring me to finish that statement, but I don’t. Instead, I rip open the envelope and shake out the pictures into my other hand. I shove them into his hard and wet chest. And as if being around him makes me think slower than usual, I realize I had interrupted his shower. As I look closer, I can still see suds on him. I inhale, and the scent of his soap makes my mouth water and pussy wet.
“What’s this?” he asks, removing them from my hand before they can fall to the floor. I watch his eyes look them over, and his jaw tightens. “Where did you get these?” he growls.
I give a rough laugh. “Don’t play stupid …”
He steps up to me, and the look of fury in his blue eyes causes me to stop talking. His chest is pressed up against mine, and I can feel the wetness seep into my dress. “Where the fuck did you get these?” he roars.
I swallow nervously as if I’ve done something wrong. “You left them on my desk.”
“Why the fuck would I leave these on your desk?” he shouts, holding them up before throwing them to the floor.
I take another step back. Maybe I was wrong. “I … uh …”
He follows me as his eyes bore into mine. I’ve never seen him look so pissed in the three months I’ve worked for him. And believe me when I say he hates me. “Miss Burns?” he snaps, and I jump.
“I thought you wanted me to quit so you were blackmailing me about last night,” I say, and my heart pounds in my chest at the explanation.
He stands to his full height and pulls his shoulders back. “If I wanted to fire you, I would, Miss Burns,” he says flatly. Then he spins around, giving me his back. He lifts his hands, running both through his wet hair, and I wish I could admire the way his muscles ripple and how the tight towel pulls against his perfect ass, but I can’t. My mind races a hundred different ways that have to do with those pictures scattered on his floor.
“I’m …”
He spins around, and my words cut off as his eyes drill into mine. “Get out,” he orders, and like his good little slave, I do as he says. Turning around, I run back to the elevator, listening to the door slam shut behind me.
AIDEN
I’ve been tense all day. And in a fucking bad mood. Those pictures she showed me left a foul taste in my mouth. And no matter how hard I try to talk to her, she’s only ignored me ever since she stormed out of my penthouse. She sees me in the hall and runs the opposite direction. After the way I advanced on her at the restaurant last night, I’ve given her space and not pushed her to face me.
I lean back in my chair as my brother sits across from me, examining the pictures. “Who all has seen them?”
“Just you and her,” I answer.
He tosses them onto my desk and sighs. “Why were you this close to her in the first place?”
My brows draw together. “Are you accusing me of something?”
He nods. “I sure as hell am. Look how close you are to her. I can see it all over your face and the way you have your hand in her hair. You were coming onto her. Do you have something going on?”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
I run a hand down my unshaven face. “Maybe you were the one who took them,” I say defensively. “You were there with Dad and me.”
He snorts “Please, like I have time to get involved with one of your whore—”
“Watch it!” I warn, interrupting him.
He lets out a long breath. “I really like Hadley. And it pisses me off that you would think I would even consider doing something like that to her. It wasn’t me. You can even ask Dad. I never left the table, and you couldn’t
see you two from where we were sitting.”
He’s right. “Then who could have taken them?” I ask out loud.
“Maybe her date,” he offers.
“Maybe. But I just don’t see that. You didn’t see the guy. I can’t see him getting up, taking a pic of us, and then going back to his date with her. He would have run out crying like a pussy.”
The thought of anyone watching her makes my blood boil. I’m so possessive of her already, and I haven’t even had her.
“You need to fire her,” he suggests.
“You need to stay out of my business.” I growl. He’s telling the truth, but I can’t do that now. That was my plan just yesterday but now? Now I can’t, knowing someone took pictures of us together. What if these got out?
“Look.” He sighs. “You’ve never been this type of guy …”
“I know!”
“You need to let her go. Save you both the torment. You being a shitty boss …” He shrugs. “Although that part’s not new, the whole I wanna screw my employee is. And that can be very bad.”
“You think I don’t already know that?” I snap.
“Then what are you waiting for?” he asks, sitting back in his chair as if the decision to let her go is that simple. If I fire her, I’ll never see her again. I’ll never see that perfect round ass walk out of my office. Or those big tits hidden behind her tight fitted shirts. Or see that smile she gives everyone in the office but me. He points at the pictures. “Maybe those have nothing to do with her. Maybe they have everything to do with you,” he offers. “Lord knows you have a lot of enemies in this town along with a long list of fucks. You let her go, and maybe the pictures will stop coming.” He places his arms out wide as if he is God and had just answered a prayer.
I just keep thinking it will get easier. But each day gets harder. I open my mouth to speak when I hear her over my intercom. “Mr. Kyle, your three o’clock is here.” Her voice is brusquer than usual due to our fight in my penthouse earlier, and I don’t blame her. She looked terrified, and she was crying. Fuck, I didn’t know what to do with her. I don’t do well with women who cry. And then she became angry. Anger I can deal with. I stepped into her, and she backed down in no time. She’s afraid of me, and a big part of me liked it. Had me hard behind the towel. I wanted to rip it off, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her off to my room. Where I took my anger and frustration out on her.
The fact that those pictures turned up is bad. Very bad. I don’t like knowing that someone is watching her. Capturing her. How many more pictures has this person taken of her? And what does he plan on doing with them?
“Mr. Kyle?” she snaps when I don’t answer her, and the sound of her voice still has my cock hardening on its own. Fuck, I’ve got to do something.
I look up at my brother who stares at me with a smirk on his face. “Fuck you,” I spit out as I stand.
He chuckles. “I get laid just fine …”
I walk out of my office and slam the door on him. I shrug my suit jacket over my shoulders as I make my way down the hallway to the conference room. I push the door open, and she is already in the room. A woman who looks around fifty sits with her shoulders back and her fake tits pressed out into the air. She looks over her shoulder at me and stands. “Mr. Kyle.” She reaches out her right hand. “Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice.”
I nod. “Of course.”
I gesture for her to sit, and she does, but she keeps her eyes on me while I take the seat at the head of the table.
“May I get you something to drink, ma’am?” Miss Burns asks her with that fake smile on her gorgeous face.
“Yes, please. I’ll take a coffee. Black,” she tells her and then turns toward me. She slides a thick manila envelope over to me. “I have everything over the past five years in here.” She tells me, patting it with her left hand. “Even bank statements and property listings.” She gives me a sly smile as her eyes move from my eyes to my lips. But I find myself looking past her to Hadley. She stands over by the countertop, turning the Keurig on. She then reaches up to open the white cabinet. The motion makes her white dress ride up as she stands on her tiptoes, her slit giving me a sneak peek of her inner thigh. Fuck me, I see the black lace at the top of her thigh from her thigh highs. My pants get tighter as I imagine her keeping them on while I spread her legs for me.
She finds what she was looking for and returns to her heels before shutting the cabinet softly. Then she goes about making the coffee.
“You said that your retainer was five thousand?” the woman asks, getting my attention.
I nod. “Yes, ma’am,” I say, reaching up and grabbing the collar of my black shirt. It’s getting hot in here. “You said your husband is out on bond?”
“No! That is my next stop.”
Hadley turns and walks over to the table, placing her coffee on the table. I refrain from looking up at her. Instead, I look at her tits since they’re eye level with me, and that was a very bad idea. Thoughts of tossing her onto this conference table fill my mind. The sound of her voice filling the room instead of this woman’s whiny one takes over, and I find myself fisting my hands down on the conference table.
“Everything okay, Mr. Kyle?” she asks, not sounding a bit concerned. But then she places her hand on my shoulder.
The single touch has me jumping, and it causes coffee to spill onto the table. Shit! “I’ll get that.” She grabs some napkins from the middle of the table and starts to clean it up.
“I got it,” I growl, yanking them from her. “We’re good here, Miss Burns.”
“But …”
I look up at her, eyes hard and jaw tight. She returns the look easily. Just fucking leave! “We’re good here,” I say tightly.
She gives me a fuck you look as she squares her shoulders and walks out. Fuck, I have to fire her tonight! I can’t do this to myself anymore.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HADLEY
“WHO DO YOU THINK TOOK THEM?” Andrea asks as I talk to her on speaker through my office phone.
“At first, I thought it was Mr. Kyle trying to get me to quit, but now I’m not so sure.”
“It seems really creepy.”
“It does,” I agree. “But I’m not that concerned about them.”
“You should be.”
“I mean, I was at first, but now that I know they’re not from him, I’m not.”
“Do you believe him that easily? Just because he said it wasn’t him doesn’t mean they’re not.”
I go to speak, but my door opens, and Mr. Jackass himself comes barging in. I can’t help but give him a go to hell look. It’s better than falling to my knees asking him to show me what I saw earlier today. I need to have some dignity.
“Cancel whatever plans you have tonight. We’re working late,” he demands.
“We?” I ask. Usually when he gives me shit to do, he leaves while I get stuck here. Same as when I come in early.
“Do you have a problem with that?” he snaps, blue eyes narrowing on me.
I bite the inside of my cheek and then give him a fake smile. “No, sir.”
Then just as quickly as he stormed in, he exits, slamming the door behind him.
“God, he’s such a fucking cunt,” she growls.
_____________
Once again, I find myself in the conference room with a fresh cup of coffee in front of me. Mr. Kyle sits at the other end of the long table. His jacket is off and over the chair next to him. His shirt sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms as he rubs his unshaven chin while his blue eyes scan the documents in his right hand. He hasn’t spoken to me since he barged into my office earlier today and ordered me to work late. And once again, I didn’t mind. The man is confusing as fuck! He’s always been a dick, but after the way he was to me last night at the restaurant, I think he is upping his game to full-on asshole. And I want him to know that I can play it just as well as he can.
We’ve been sitting here like this for over
two hours—in dead silence. And it’s giving me a headache. I remove my glasses and place them on the table. My head falls forward, and I rub my eyes the best I can without smearing my makeup. Letting out a long breath, I pick up my glasses and place them back on. The moment I do, I see his blue eyes across the conference table, glaring at me.
“Are you bored, Miss Burns?” His voice is rougher than usual, like it was last night, and I hold back a shiver.
“No. Just tired,” I say honestly. The day has been long, and of course, he picks today to make me stay late. And even though I told Andrea the pictures didn’t bother me, I still wanna know who took them.
“Perhaps you should go to bed earlier,” he suggests.
“I get plenty of sleep,” I snap, and he rubs his finger over his lips, attempting to hide his smile. He fails.
Then the smile disappears, and his eyes narrow. “Then maybe you should revaluate how you spend your evenings,” he says with a hint of anger.
I bite my tongue. He’s talking about my dinner date last night. He has to be. I open my mouth to tell him that what I do is none of his business but shut it.
“What?” he asks, sitting up in his chair.
“Nothing.” I shake my head to myself.
He folds his hands and leans over the table. “Go ahead and say it.”
I look up at him, and his blue eyes have their usual disapproving look. And I let out a huff. “Maybe instead of telling me what to do, you should take your own advice.”
His brows lift in amusement. “And what would that be?”
I huff. “I’m not playing this game with you.”
He chuckles, and the noise makes wetness pool between my legs. He’s so fucking irritating. “Which game would that be, Miss Burns?” He doesn’t let me answer. “The one where you pretend you don’t want to sleep with me?”
I gasp. Half surprised and half embarrassed. My cheeks flush.
He did not just say that.
He leans over the table, his eyes lighting up with mischief. “I’d be more than willing to share my bed with you.” His voice drops to that seductive tone I’ve heard him use on other women, and I hate that it works. “Or this table would do too.”
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