Chase licked his lips. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then leapt out of his chair. Before I could ask him what was the matter, his arms were around me and his mouth pressed against mine, capturing my lips in a kiss that said what words could not. Comfort. Passion. Understanding. I felt them all and more in the beauty of his simple gesture. I moaned softly as his tongue slipped between my lips, sparring and playing with the hidden corners of my mouth. As a thrill of lust squirmed between my legs, I felt myself surrender, letting myself turn to putty in his hands.
When he broke the kiss, I was breathless. I stared for long moments until a tinkling of applause came from the booth behind us.
“Nicely done, dude.” A yuppie couple gave us a toast with their water glasses.
“Chastity,” Chase whispered in a grave tone as he cradled my face in his large palms. Then, he took my hand in his and lifted my fingers to his mouth for a kiss. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, do you understand that? You are perfect, exactly the way you are. Something bad happened. It doesn’t define you.”
I shivered. “I don’t–”
“Say it,” Chase growled. “Tell me you know how wonderful you are. I want to hear positive words drip from your perfect lips.”
I swallowed. My heart raced in my chest, like a bird trying to free itself from a cage. I wanted to fly. “There’s nothing wrong with me,” I whispered.
Chase kissed my fingers again. “That’s a good start,” he murmured. “That’s a very good start.”
Chapter Twelve
Chastity
My first morning at Banks Realty, I was a nervous wreck. I’d woken up before my alarm had gone off and gotten dressed in my most responsible-looking ensemble, to quote Clueless. Unlike Cher, I couldn’t afford Fred Segal, I didn’t have a cool computerized closet and tons of designer duds, but I felt like I looked alright. In my black pencil skirt and cream blouse, I at least looked professional.
The subway was a total nightmare. All of my classes at Hunter and my work at the phone sex office had started mercifully later in the morning, and I’d never had to deal with the rush hour crush. By the time I arrived at the offices in Manhattan, I was feeling like I wanted to crawl under a rock, or at the very least, go back to bed for the rest of the week. I steeled my resolve and slipped through the revolving glass door.
The inside of the Banks offices awed me. I’d guessed as much – even the floor rented by the phone sex company was posh. But the actual Banks Realty offices were incredible: steel and glass and chrome and leather, as far as the eye could see. And expensive, mahogany executive desks placed in every office.
An unsmiling older woman showed me to my cubicle. Obviously, interns didn’t have offices. But I did have a pretty nice desk with two monitors, a box of tissues, and luxury-brand toiletries in the desk drawers. Crabtree & Evelyn hand salve? Yes, please! I’d have to find the stash so I could snag some for a future date. In spite of my new big-time salary, I had no idea if this would last, and poor had been my modus operandi for so long, I couldn’t shake it.
Angela darted up to me after I’d only been there for ten minutes. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a bun, and she wore a sexy, body-skimming sweater with skinny slacks.
“Hey, new bestie!” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a side-hug. “I’m so stoked you started work today. Oh my god, I was just going nuts. Most of the other interns are male nerds. Gamers.” She leaned close, and I could smell the peppermint gum on her breath. “This place is sooooo stuffy,” she whispered in my ear. “Seriously, everyone’s so boring.”
I giggled nervously. I knew someone who could never be called boring. Not in a million years. While I hadn’t exactly learned what I’d be doing, something told me that gossiping with another intern couldn’t be what Chase had hired me for. After all, I was going to make bank working here. And I seriously doubted that chatting with Angela was on my action list for the day.
“So,” Angela said. “This is your desk.” She burst out laughing again. “And, um, you’ll want to log into your email.” She leaned over me, leaving a cloud of Prada Candy in her wake as she typed a password into the keyboard. “The first thing interns get is a list of instructions for their day. We report to the executive assistants. Each director and above has their own.”
“Oh, wow, thanks,” I replied. I felt a twinge of guilt for my earlier dismissive thoughts toward her. Angela was really being helpful. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long, about two weeks,” Angela replied. She’d opened my email in a few quick clicks of the mouse. “So, you’re going to follow that list of instructions there, and then go ahead and change all of your passwords to something personal. The default password here is ‘baboon.’ But I don’t think you’ll need that for anything else.” She smiled at me. “And always, always check out your Outlook calendar, like, multiple times in the day.” She rolled her eyes. “Some of those big headed execs will schedule stuff at the drop of a hat, and you’re always expected to stay on top of meetings and errands.”
I furrowed my brows. “Like what?”
Angela sighed. “Like, they’ll schedule a lunch meeting in the big conference room, and tag you. And when you’re tagged for a meeting, that means you order lunch, make sure the room is cleaned, and set up cups, ice, water, and napkins for everyone. Come on,” she added, tugging at my sleeve. “I’ll show you where everything is.”
“Wow,” I said. “You’re good.”
Angela grinned. “And we have a price scale for catering too. If they’re just a small client, order Italian from Dominic’s down the street. But if it’s someone spending a lot of money and time to come here, it’s a much bigger deal.” My eyes must have widened because she burst out laughing again. “Don’t worry, Chastity,” Angela said sweetly. “You’ll get the hang of it all. Banks Realty basically uses their interns as admin assistants, and we all take care of each other. I can cover for you, if you ever need anything, like if you’re too busy to prep a conference room.”
“Thanks,” I said, nodding and smiling at her. “I appreciate that, really.”
“Well, I’ve got to run,” Angela said. “But we’ll talk later! Ciao!” She leaned in and gave me an air kiss on both cheeks. Before I could reply, she darted off.
I flopped down in my chair and spun around in a lazy circle. I hadn’t even been there an hour, and already, my head was spinning. I clicked on my email and began to read, groaning when I realized I had over thirty HR related “orientation” emails to sift through. A bunch of legal bullshit. Same as I’d dealt with when I’d been hired by the phone sex company.
Three hours had passed before I looked at the clock. My stomach grumbled, and I groaned inwardly when I realized I’d forgotten to ask Angela about lunch break protocol. Just as I was searching her name in the email database, my desk phone rang.
Nervously, I picked it up. “Hello, this is Chastity.”
There was an asthmatic wheeze on the other end. “Hello, Ms. Sexe? Mr. Bradenton wants to see you in his office,” an older woman said in a bored tone.
“Um, what about?” I blushed and then realized I had no right to ask the question. I was here to work, and if Chase wanted to see me, he wanted to see me.
“I don’t know,” she replied, sounding indignant. “I’m just his assistant, and you’re not on his official calendar. It’s on the top floor of the building. He requested you come as soon as possible.”
My heart started to thump as I remembered our passionate kiss from a few days before. Was he going to reprimand me for something? Had I already screwed up, and I didn’t even know it?
“Miss? Can you be up here in a few minutes, or are you in the middle of something important?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, blushing at how flustered I felt by the simple request. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’ll be there right away.”
After I hung up the phone, I dug through my purse until I found my compact mirror. I critiqued my
reflection in the cheap glass covered with a film of pressed powder. Not great, I thought as soon as I saw my flushed, sticky-looking cheeks and fly-away hair. I slicked some lipstick on my lips and pouted. A little better, I decided, slipping the compact back inside my purse. But if he’s going to fire me, I guess it doesn’t matter what I look like. Damn. Will I ever stop feeling worthless around this man?
My mind wandered back to my childhood. Trash littered the floor of our tenement apartment in the projects. Nothing worked. No air conditioning. No heat. My mother lying unconscious with a needle in her arm.
Lifeless.
I shook my head and steeled my resolve, wondering if I could get my job back at the phone sex company once Chase let me go. My legs wobbled like jelly as they carried me toward the bank of elevators. The employees of Banks Realty looked more like supermodels than business professionals. I blushed when a gorgeous redheaded girl in a dynamic silk cocktail dress swished past me, carrying a salad inside a clear plastic box that probably cost twenty dollars and contained fewer than five hundred calories.
“You put lipstick on.”
I spun around to see Angela trotting toward me. She smirked. “Someone wants to impress the unimpressionable Chase Bradenton. He won’t even look at you, Chastity. I’ve been working here for two weeks, and he’s never even noticed me.”
And what you don’t know, Angela, won’t hurt you.
“Uh, yeah,” I said and blushed again. “I, um, seem to have a lunch meeting. I’m not sure why. I haven’t been here long enough to be able to add value to any current projects.”
Angela made a salacious face. “Oh? On your first day?” She raised her eyebrows and wiggled them up and down. “Mr. Bradenton? Watch yourself, girlfriend. His reputation proceeds him. His bite is worse than his bark. Don’t destroy your chances of a killer career in the old NYC.”
My blush deepened. I already knew all about Chase’s magnetic allure. I had to resist. “Hmm,” I admitted. “I’ll take that under advisement. Right now, I don’t want to do anything to rock the boat. I need this gig. School’s expensive even with financial aid and a roommate.”
“But lunch with Mr. Bradenton? God, that is so exciting!” Angela flopped dramatically against the wall, throwing her arms out to the side. She looked like she was preparing for a crucifixion. Something I hoped wasn’t awaiting me on the executive floor. Probably more like having my heart nailed to the cross. A group of passing executives stared, their eyes glued to Angela’s perky breasts on prominent display through the open buttons of her shirt. “I wish I had been invited to lunch!”
“Heh, it’s probably nothing,” I said in a rush, wanting to get rid of her and her nosiness. I wasn’t used to being around anyone with such a flair for the dramatics in public, especially a prominent place of business – even Trina toned her personality down when we were outside of the apartment. “I mean, I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He just invited me up for a quick meeting or something, that’s all.”
Angela pointed toward the ceiling with a gasp of excitement. “Up? Like…upstairs?” She shook her head. “Like…the executive floor?”
I nodded. “Yep,” I said. “I should be going, actually. He just called me a few minutes ago. Said it was important.”
“I am so jealous,” Angela complained. She winked at me. “Have fun on your lunch break, Chastity. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Her voice floated around me in the corridor, making me blush as another group of executives passed by. Attracting attention wasn’t something I relished. Their heads swiveled toward me, staring at me. I could practically read their minds: “Who in the hell does this lowly intern think she is?”
Interns should be seen and not heard.
I rushed past Angela, grateful when I heard the ding of the elevator and the sliding of the shiny metal doors. I punched the button and took a bunch of deep breaths to calm my raging blood. Upstairs, on the top floor of the building, I glanced around at the lush surroundings. Marble, chrome, live floral arrangements bigger than my torso. Every available surface had high-end finishes. And the artwork…shit. It would have made the Met bow down. Now, which office was Chase’s? I couldn’t read the brass nameplates from my vantage point and didn’t want to appear stupid looking to the personal assistants by wandering around like a lost puppy. There were eight offices, all with windows. Four corners. Maybe Grantham, Nolan, Charlie…and Chase?
I inhaled a deep breath and glanced at the assistants. Judging from her voice and name, I didn’t peg Myrna for a young piece of eye-candy. I found a woman in her mid-fifties with coke-bottle glasses and just a touch of grey in her auburn hair. Yup. Myrna. It had to be. I approached, and she glanced up at me in surprise.
“Ms. Sexe?”
“Yes. Are you Myrna?”
“I am. Mr. Bradenton is waiting for you inside.” When she noticed my blank look, she pointed a tapered finger at the corner office nearest to her desk. “Right in there, please.”
I slid through the heavy, mahogany door that probably cost more than my first year’s salary, wiping my moist palms on my pencil skirt. I could feel him before I saw him. God. Before I could stop it, my heart hammered against my rib cage with such force I feared he could hear it. My body hummed. My panties dampened. My eyes lifted.
I fell.
“Hi, Chastity.”
Chase’s voice sliced through the sexual tension.
I blushed bright pink as I stood there trying not to shake. His back was to me, and he sat in a plush leather chair, staring out at the Manhattan skyline. The day had dawned clear, and the view from my own vantage point was magnificent. My mind wandered. I wondered if he’d been in that very spot the day I told him my pussy was wet for him. Just like right now. Had he touched himself that day? Did he want me with the same ferocity as I wanted him?
“Hi,” I said, surprised that my voice even croaked out at all. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course everything’s okay. It’s your first day on the job, and I thought you might be lonely and in need of some company.” Chase jerked his head to the right. “Come have lunch with me,” he offered with a wink, pointing to a veritable buffet of scrumptiousness with a flourish. “I thought you might like all of this.”
I gasped when I saw that a table had been set up in front of his desk with all of my favorite staples from Katz’s. The heavenly smell of corned beef hung in the air, and I started to drool just from the sight of so much hearty food. I loved to eat, and it seemed that Chase loved to feed me. Thank God he didn’t expect me to eat plain lettuce like that ugly salad I’d just seen in the hands of a beautiful woman.
“Wow,” I said. “Is all of this…for me?”
“Everything in this office is for you.” Chase grinned, and I blushed again. I might never get used to his blatant innuendos. “Did I do well?”
I burst out laughing. There had to be at least ten pounds of food on the table. “This is incredible,” I admitted. “What the hell, you think I’m going to eat twenty sandwiches? I may be a little fluffy, but even I can’t eat that much food. Even if it is from my favorite deli.”
Chase shrugged. “I thought I made it clear to you already. I like a girl with an appetite,” he said. “For everything.”
He winked at me and my stomach swooped. I was hungry, but I had no idea how I’d manage to eat something in front of Chase without the butterflies swarming my stomach pushing it back up. At least, not when all I could think about were his words. His mindless flirtations that meant nothing to him but everything to me.
Chase walked over and closed the heavy door, locking it. He pulled me into his arms. “I haven’t seen you all day,” he purred into my ear. “I grossly underestimated the depth of my desire for you when I concocted this little internship plan. It would seem it’s backfired on me because I haven’t been able to work all day. I don’t like having you at arms-length, two lonely floors below me. My mind just keeps drifting to images of you…filing.”
My heart melted in
to a gooey puddle as Chase leaned down to nibble my neck. The scent of Gucci cologne washed over me. Gucci Guilty. And I was, damn it. Because I couldn’t stay away from this man. He intoxicated me. He ruined me. Just like some kind of poisonous sexual napalm. I closed my eyes and moaned softly as Chase licked my sensitive skin.
“I thought you brought me up here for lunch,” I whispered in a futile attempt at distraction. I tried to pull away, to put space between us but my muscles wouldn’t move. “If you keep on doing this, I won’t be able to eat.”
Chase ran his warm hands along the sensitive flesh of my inner arms, and my nipples puckered into tight nubs of yearning.
“Well, I didn’t tell you it was free,” he whispered throatily into my ear. “My dad always advised that the only free cheese is in the mousetrap.”
Chase nibbled my earlobe, running his tongue over my skin until I twisted against his body. If he would just let his hand drift lower. Lower. It might be able to assuage the eternal ache between my legs.
“Mmm…”
“I want you to work for it,” he added. His voice was like wet velvet in my ear. “I want to hear Chastity Sexe again – that girl from the phone line. Telling me everything she’s going to do to me. More importantly, everything she’s doing to herself.”
I blushed. “That wasn’t the real me. It’s easy to be provocative when you’re behind an anonymous phone line.”
Chase nodded. “That may be true.” His smile turned devilish when he spun me to face him. He slid his hands along my jaw and rubbed my lower lip with his thumb. Sweet, delicious friction overwhelmed me. “But I know Bunny lives somewhere deep inside Chastity. Tell me what you’d do to me if we were all alone right now. Use your imagination.”
I hissed in a ragged breath, ripe with shock. And something else. Something deeper. “We’re alone. The door’s locked.”
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