by E. Walsh
Jack let out a shuddering breath and pressed a kiss to her forehead. For the first time in a very long time, he felt truly at peace, especially with this woman in his arms.
39. Working Overtime
By: Steamy Reads
Working Overtime
© Steamy Reads, 2016 – All rights reserved
Published by Steamy Reads4U
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
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Warning
This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.
If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.
* * *
Chapter One
Monday morning…
Noah Monroe lumbered into the office with three days worth of stubble on his face and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes. His shoulders were hunched and his movements slow, as if he were dragging what was left of his weekend hangover behind him like a ball and chain.
Emma Crane looked up from her desk across from Noah’s with a pleasant smile on her face. She squinted against the early morning sunshine beaming through the office’s floor to ceiling windows.
The fact that Noah was wearing dark shades told her that he’d had his usual weekend of bars, booze, and broads. Outside, she was smiling. Inside, she was wondering if Noah would ever grow up.
“Morning,” Emma said in her usual cheery voice.
Emma always seemed cheery, Noah thought, even first thing on a Monday morning. It could be annoying, depending on how much sleep he had gotten the night before, which usually wasn’t much.
“Morning,” Noah drawled, trying to match Emma’s tone, but failing miserably. “How was your weekend?”
“Good, just not long enough,” Emma said, watching Noah put his briefcase on the floor as he sank into the desk chair. He ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair and sighed.
For the past three months, they’d been sharing the single office on the third floor while their normal workspaces were being redecorated, thanks to the owner’s decision to finally give the old place a much needed facelift.
The rest of their colleagues were similarly displaced and dispersed on this and other floors throughout the building.
Emma had to admit that while the sun pouring through the windows could be quite blinding, especially after a weekend spent socializing over many, many bottles of wine, she actually preferred working here with Noah than her normal office downstairs.
“And how was your weekend?” Emma asked as Noah groaned and began firing up his laptop.
Noah made a face, “Ugh. I had to drive two and half hours to the valley for a friend’s wedding, and then, because the hotel was all booked up, I had to drive all the way back home after the reception. I didn’t get home until two in the morning on Sunday. ”
“That’s rough… but the wedding was nice, surely? Weddings are usually nice,” Emma said, giving Noah a smile. “Don’t you think?”
“No, they’re not,” Noah scowled at the thought as his fingers glided swiftly across the keyboard. “A wedding is an archaic, patriarchal ceremony that symbolizes a man’s ownership over a woman. They’re expensive, overly commercialized and unnecessarily complicated. The next time I get an invite to one, I’m sending a fruit basket and calling it a day.”
“Wow, how do you really feel?” Emma asked, tongue in cheek. “But you’ll miss all that lovely free food!”
Noah gave an amused chuckle, “Oh yeah, what would I do without another overcooked piece of chicken and gummy cheese cake in my life? Spare me.”
Emma watched Noah’s expression carefully as she said, “So, I guess you’re the kind of guy who’s more likely to elope?”
Emma phrased her personal questions carefully around Noah. While they’d slipped into a quick and comfortable office-based companionship in the time they’d been sharing their intimate working space, Emma didn’t want to overstep her bounds, especially with a colleague -- especially with this colleague.
“Naw,” Noah leaned back in his chair and began scratching his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll have a huge wedding because that’s probably what my lovely, overly-spoiled bride to be will want. It is a big day for women after all.”
“So you’d let her go all out even if you don’t want to?”
Noah raised an eyebrow and gave a rueful smile. “Why not let her enjoy herself. Most women dream of their wedding day, don’t they?”
Emma blushed as a smile made its way to her lips, “True, but I would’ve thought you’d try to talk her out of it or something.”
Noah blinked at her, as if she’d asked a stupid question. “Would you want the big fancy-schmancy, expensive wedding?”
“No, I guess not. But I’m not planning on having a wedding just out of spite,” Emma said. “I don’t need the government’s permission to be with the man I love, so screw it. Then again, I’ll probably never get married.”
“Why do you say that?” Noah asked as he stared at her from over his laptop.
Emma shrugged. “Do you know how hard it is to find Mr. Right?”
“I do,” Noah said with a wry smile. “Because he’s always off having wild sex with Miss Right.”
“Well, it’s even harder because I’m a hopeless romantic.”
Noah made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, “You’ll find the right guy some day, I’m sure. Though I hope you know he’ll have to go through me first.”
Noah winked playfully at Emma before turning his eyes to the computer screen.
Emma briefly entertained the thought of a guy trying to get past Noah, and Noah confessing his feelings for her and taking her away, so they could have the night of their life. She’d done so in her mind many times. The sex, she thought, the sex could be amazing…
Noah stood suddenly and began stretching his long limbs. His muscular body pushed against the material of his shirt.
He said, “I’m going to go get some coffee. You want a cup?”
Emma stared at him a beat too long before nodding her head and offering a weak smile, “Sure.”
Emma turned to her computer and rested her fingers on the keys. She could smell whatever aftershave Noah was using, and she inhaled deeply. The aroma made her sigh.
When Noah came back, carrying two steaming cups of coffee, he set a cup in front of Emma and retreated to his side of the desk.
He pulled the laptop in front of him and went to work, all talk about Mr. Right long forgotten.
Emma tried to work, but occasionally her eyes would drift to the other side of the desk, though she tried hard to keep them glued to her laptop screen.
Noah had shaggy brown hair that was just a little past his ears and it always looked like he needed a haircut, but she caught herself fantasizing about what it would be like to run her fingers through it.
He had green eyes the color of emeralds that almost constantly sparkled with a mischievous glint, and she pictured having those eyes peruse every inch of her body.
“You need something, Em?” Noah asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows.
Emma had been caught staring. Again.
She shook her head, as if coming out of
a dream, and smiled. “No, just thinking about how badly you need a haircut.”
* * *
Chapter Two
After an hour of comparative silence, Noah looked up from his laptop with a deep frown on his handsome face.
“Did you see this email that just came through? The meeting with Donavan’s Department Store has been rescheduled.”
“Oh, thank god,” Emma said, sighing in relief. “I still haven’t gotten around to updating their marketing reports for April. I’m so far behind!” Emma leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head, ready to take a break.
It was late afternoon and they were both just about ready to go home for the evening.
Emma couldn’t wait to get a glass of wine, run a hot bath, light a few candles, and fantasize about the sun glistening off Noah’s brown hair…
“No, Emma, it hasn’t been pushed back,” Noah said, sounding panicked. “It’s been moved up. It’s happening tomorrow morning at ten o’clock… Oh, holy shit! We’re not ready!”
“What?” Emma nearly fell out of her chair. She tipped forward and caught herself on the toes of her sneakers. She leaned into the desk and looked at Noah who was staring at the screen while muttering underneath his breath at the screen.
“Shit, what are we going to do? They might just kill us, you know.”
“They won’t kill us,” Emma said seriously. “They’ll just fire us. That’s all.”
Emma realized too late that her humor was unappreciated.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Emma said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “We can do this. I mean, we have…” She looked at her watch and did the math in her head. “Eighteen hours! That’s an amazing amount of time!
“We have our work cut out for us, Em. We don’t even have the reports compiled yet.” Noah said. Frustration and anger were seeping into his voice. Emma was always the calmer one of the team.
“Come on,” Emma said with a devilish grin on her face. “We’re practically married already since we’re sharing a desk! Let’s spend the night together and finish this up!”
Emma wondered if she sounded too eager, but she couldn’t change the words now that they’d escaped her lips.
She covered most of her innuendo and suggestive comments with humor.
Maybe she should tone it down… just a little.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Noah said, squaring his shoulders and giving her a nod. Emma watched him massage his temples. Emma wanted to give him a full body massage to ease away the tension.
Noah put on a brave game face, “We can do this. Of course we can. We just have to roll up our sleeves and get it done.”
Emma tried not to gawk as Noah literally rolled up his sleeves, revealing his hairless tanned arms. His muscles flexed as he reached up and undid his tie. He unbuttoned the first two buttons revealing a shock of dark chest hair.
“Shall I make another pot of coffee?” Emma asked, trying to sound casual and nonchalant.
Noah shook his head as he began opening and closing drawers. “I’d rather have a beer.”
Emma laughed, but Noah didn’t. Emma said, “A beer, seriously? Weren’t you just fretting that we couldn’t get everything done in time for the meeting?”
“Fine, work first,” Noah scratched his head. “Then, if we’re done in time, we can celebrate with a beer… one beer… two at the most.”
Noah flashed a toothy grin that suddenly made Emma more determined than ever to get their work done quickly.
“Alright, then,” she said with nod. “The quicker we’re done, the more we can drink.”
“It’s a deal,” Noah said, already turning back to his computer. “Let’s get to work!”
* * *
Chapter Three
They quickly drew up a plan of attack. They divided the sales and marketing reports between them and went to work gathering and compiling the data for Donovan’s twelve department stores over the last six months.
It was tedious, meticulous work, but Emma lined up a playlist on her phone of loud, upbeat rock music to help them power through the tedium of the tasks at hand.
A couple of frenetic hours later, they stood over Emma’s laptop, consolidating and reviewing the data month by month.
“Do you think we should extrapolate on the summary a little more?” Noah asked as he raked his hands through his hair, making it even messier than usual.
“I think you should stop using big words like extrapolate,” Emma said with a tired smile. “Anyway, I don’t think that’s necessary, I think the data speaks for itself.”
Noah nodded as his eyes flitted over the screen, “Okay, maybe just add an annotation there…” He pointed at a place on the screen.
Emma moved the mouse pointer to a line of numbers. “Here?”
“No… beneath the graph… on the other side…. Here, I’ll show you.” Noah didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned over Emma to reach the mouse and keyboard. His firm shoulder brushed against Emma’s bare arm as he typed on the keyboard.
“There,” Noah said with a final click of the mouse. He stood up, not noticing that a trail of goose bumps erupted all over Emma’s arm. They quickly scrolled through the remainder of their work, and once satisfied, agreed to call it a night.
Noah first pumped the air as he went to his desk to shut down the laptop. “Okay, just transfer those files to the server and boom.”
“We should double-check everything first thing in the morning,” Emma said, knowing how nerdy she sounded, but also knowing that they’d both feel more secure about the meeting if they went in prepared. “You know, just so we can check it with a pair of fresh eyes.”
“Two pairs of fresh eyes,” Noah replied as he began closing his briefcase.
“Yes, two pair. So….” Emma started, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. She had been looking forward to spending a little more time with Noah over a drink while they’d worked, but now that the moment was finally here, she didn’t know how to broach the subject again without making the invitation feel brash and forced.
Noah was, after all, her coworker, and Emma didn’t want to accidentally take a step over the work-life boundary and make things weird between them.
The space they shared was very small. It would only get smaller if the room filled with tension.
“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Emma said, just as her screen went black. It’s for the best, she told herself.
Better to call it a night, get some rest and show up refreshed and ready to review the presentation first thing.
Emma felt incredibly responsible and proud of the maturity of her decision, even as another part of her body wailed in disappointment at her cowardice.
“I thought we were going to grab a beer?” Noah rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at her. “That was pretty much all that was keeping me going through the last hour.”
Emma felt her mouth open and close a few times, wordlessly, like a fish out of water, before she finally mustered a response.
“Sure! I mean, you know, I didn’t know if you thought it was too late or whatever. I’d love a beer, I mean, if you want.”
She was stammering like a fool. She gritted her teeth into a smile.
Noah just smiled and held the door open for her. “Let’s go then. I know just the place a couple of blocks away. It’s a bit of a dive, but they have cold beer and free peanuts, all you an eat.”
Noah gave her a wink that could have been taken as innocent or devious.
Perhaps the night was not ending, after all. Perhaps it was just beginning.
* * *
Chapter Four
Noah hadn’t exaggerated about the little dive bar. It had a dilapidated, lived-in ambience, and cheap beer specials that attracted burly men in trucker caps and hipster students in messy man-buns.
The music seemed to be a hybrid of 1980’s hair-band rock and popular country and western ballads, but it was hard to make out any one melody over the steady roar of t
alking, cheering and laughter.
Emma was surprised that Noah had picked it. It seemed completely incongruous with the polished, pretty boy who wore tailored shirts and drank fat-free lattes from expensive coffee shops.
But as soon as he stepped through the door, he looked right at home.
The pretty, young bartender clearly recognized him and waved him through a wall of tipsy customers waiting to be served.
Emma followed closely at his heels, and tried not to gasp as Noah grabbed her by the hand to weave through the crowd.
“Noah!” the bartender cooed. She gave Emma the once over, then smiled at Noah. “What’ll it be?”
“Just a couple of Heinekens for me and my girl.”
Emma suppressed a smug smile at Noah calling her ‘his girl’.
“No tequila tonight?”
Noah cocked an eyebrow and looked at Emma, a challenging gleam in his eye. Emma shrugged hard, the thin bones of her shoulders poking up through her shirt and making her feel even more childish in comparison to the bartender, whose breasts were practically spilling out over the top of her low cut blouse. Emma finally nodded, and Noah grinned before nodding at Lacy who flounced off to get their drinks.
Shots appeared, along with wedges of lime and a salt shaker. They washed the foul tasting spirit back with a mouthful of beer and went to find a table upstairs.
It was hotter up here, Emma noticed, trying to pick a booth close to an open window for the breeze.
There was just one other couple in the upstairs area, and they were sitting in one another’s laps, making out too furiously to even notice Emma and Noah.
Noah removed his jacket at sat down at a table that was so small their knees touched beneath it. He looked so laid back and attractive, thought Emma, as she sipped her beer self-consciously.
She knew she wasn’t a bad looking girl herself. She had baby-soft, light blonde hair that she kept in a shaggy pixie cut, out of sheer practicality.