by Melody Anne
Chapter Four
Jasmine rushed in the door of the school gym. She hadn’t even had time to run home and change. Her son was in the fourth grade and very proud to be on the wrestling team. He had a match that started twenty minutes ago and she was praying she hadn’t missed it. She hated missing any events in his life.
She ran through the doors and found where the kids were sitting. She walked over to him and wanted to give him a kiss but knew that would embarrass him in front of all his friends.
“I didn’t miss you wresting, did I?” she asked with concern.
“No Mom, I’m up next,” he said with a shrug. He was trying to act like it didn’t matter but she could see the relief in his eyes she was there.
“Good. I’m sorry I got here so late but there was some extra work to be done at the office,” she explained.
“It’s okay, Mom,” he told her in his far too understanding voice. He was such a good boy. She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. She walked over to the bleachers and sat down. When it was her son’s turn to wrestle, she cheered him on and clapped the loudest in the crowd when he won.
He ran up to her and gave her a rare public hug afterwards, forgetting for a minute he was too old to give his mother public affection.
“I’m so proud of you,” she exclaimed to her son.
“Thanks Mom, I have to go back over with the team now,” he said, as he practically danced back over towards his teammates. She’d love to go back to being a kid, carefree and excited so easily. Her stomach clenched as she thought about the excitement that rushed through her body when Derek had stood so close to her.
She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She was with her son now and wouldn’t think of Derek. She had to put up with him in the office but he wasn’t allowed to invade her private time. She sighed, as she realized how hard it was going to be to keep the man out of her thoughts when she had to work with him all day.
Age had been far too good to the man. His boyish muscles had matured and when he'd taken off his suit jacket, exposing his wide shoulders and large biceps, she had to fight drooling. She'd once known his body as intimately as she knew her own and she missed the feel of his hands on her. She hadn’t had any man’s hands on her in far too long.
Maybe it was time to start dating again. She’d been asked out by Jacob’s wrestling coach and put him off. Maybe she should just accept the invitation. She’d think about it and not do something rash because her hormones were in an uproar.
The match ended shortly and she and Jacob headed to the car. “How would you like to go to dinner tonight?” she asked him.
“Yes! Can we have pizza?” he pleaded with her. The kid could eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she let him.
“That sounds perfect,” she replied and headed to the local parlor. She gave him a bunch of quarters for video games and then sat watching him from the table. They soon ate and then headed home. Both were exhausted from their busy day and quickly went to bed.
The next morning, Jasmine rode the elevator up to her floor, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She was hoping Derek would have other things to do that day and not want to spend the entire time with her in the office again. She didn’t know how many days in a row she could stand being with him all day long, before she exploded.
The man smelled far too good for a stuffy executive and when she was with him, she couldn’t get the images of herself wrapped in his arms, out of her head. She had to remind herself not only had he walked away from her, after stealing her innocence but then he had come back to take over her father’s company as well. He was heartless and she’d be much better off remembering that.
She could in no way allow him to know about her son. He cared only for himself and anything he deemed his, he’d take mercilessly.
She sat down at her desk and no more than five minutes later, her buzzer was ringing. She picked up, already knowing who was on the other line. “When did you get in, I have been trying to get ahold of you for an hour,” Derek’s voice snapped over the line.
“I got here a few minutes ago and I’m twenty minutes early, as it is,” she said with frustration.
“Get over here, we need to go through the rest of the files,” he commanded and then hung up.
She wearily got to her feet and walked to his office. The secretary wasn’t even there and she had passed many empty offices along the way. He really was changing everything about the building. All those familiar faces were going to be gone. She didn’t particularly like any of the people who were getting fired but it was still nice to have familiar faces around her. There was some comfort in it.
Jasmine walked in the door and Derek had to make sure his features remained void. She was stunning in her green skirt suit. It matched her eyes to perfection. She once again had her hair up in the unflattering bun, which he wanted to yank out, but her face was stunning. She wore hardly any make-up, being she was one of the few women who simply didn’t need it.
She sat down at the table and he sat next to her. Her light scent drifted over to him and he could feel his pulse start to race and his pants start to get far too tight. He’d have to take her far sooner than he planned just to get her out of his system. Then he could get his libido back to normal.
He knew he was affecting her just as much as she was affecting him. He could see her chest rising faster as her breathing deepened. He could even see her pulse speed up through the delicate skin of her neck. He was going to test his limits of control that day.
He scooted far closer to her than was needed. He could see she wanted to move away but her stubborn attitude refused to allow her to show any weakness. Their shoulders were brushing together as he leaned in to look at the file she currently had opened in front of her.
“So what have you been doing the last ten years?” he asked her. For once in his life he had zero interest in the business in front of him that needed to be done.
“That’s none of your business, it has nothing to do with my job,” she snapped and tried to pull his attention back to the file. “This is Anthony, he works in accounting. I have spoken to him on a few occasions and even went to my father because it looked to me like he was into some unethical business practices but my father said it was fine. I would personally not trust him,” she finished, as she pushed the folder closer to him.
Bringing up her father was as good as throwing cold water in his face. His libido was put on hold as he took the file. He looked through the exceptionally detailed folder and then added the man to the fire pile. They continued to go through the files one by one and they mostly agreed on who deserved a chance to stay but every once in a while they came to an impasse.
She would argue for some person to stay but she’d lose. Once he set his mind on something, it was difficult to change it.
She pulled forward another file and made her case for the man to stay employed. He looked through and decided to let him go. He tossed the file into the termination pile and she snatched it back out. “I really think you need to interview Henry. He’s a good man and does exceptional work. You don’t even know him, so you can give him the courtesy of at least speaking with him, before you end his employment,” she demanded.
Derek raised his eyes at her outburst. She’d argued for a few people but hadn’t been so emphatic about it. He wondered who this Henry was and if he was possibly her reason for having to leave yesterday. He moved him over to the interview pile, just because he wanted to see who the competition was.
“Thank you,” she said although it came out through clenched teeth and didn’t sound like a ‘thank you’ at all. It sounded more like she wanted to call him a few names.
“I need some lunch, let’s go out,” he said, suddenly needing to get out of the offices for a while.
“I will eat in,” she said, completely shutting him down. He didn’t like to be refused, which she was better off learning now.
“It will be a business lunch so you’ll
accompany me,” he demanded. He grabbed his jacket and walked to the door, holding it open for her to exit. If looks could kill, he would’ve been melted right on the spot.
She jerkily got up and followed him out. He could practically see the steam rising from her ears. He was amused by her attitude and surprised by that amusement. He wasn’t used to being so openly disobeyed but he liked that she was unafraid to challenge him.
He drove them to a diner he enjoyed several times a week. The staff knew him well and led them to a private table in the back of the restaurant. He liked the place for its privacy when he needed to talk to a client, or take a date out. He used it for many different purposes. He was a person that didn’t mess with a good thing once he found it.
Jasmine narrowed her eyes further as she looked around at the intimate restaurant. It was the middle of the afternoon and there were candles burning on the tables. She glared some more at his back as she followed him to the table in the corner.
If he really thought he was going to try to seduce her, he had another thing coming. The hostess sat them down and then asked what they would like to drink. He ordered an iced tea. Normally Jasmine didn’t drink alcohol, especially in the middle of her work day but she had the feeling she was going to need a glass, if she was going to make it through the rest of the day without snapping at him.
“I’ll take a glass of red wine,” she said with a smile. He raised his brows at her but didn’t say anything. She was testing her limits. Let’s see if he’d fire her for having a glass of wine at a lunch he’d forced her to accompany him on.
Their appetizers came out and Jasmine found she was starving. The food was excellent and it disappeared quickly. Derek chuckled as she looked at his plate. She always had enjoyed good foods, good wine and great sex. His groin tightened once again.
The rest of their meal came out and they ate comfortably. She let her defenses down and chatted with him as the wine loosened her tongue and the food sated her stomach.
She excused herself to go to the restroom and was adjusting her hair when Amy approached her from behind. The woman didn’t look happy at all.
“I see you’re getting very cozy with the boss,” the woman snarled. Jasmine had no idea she’d been fired. She just now realized she hadn’t seen her in the offices all morning.
“It’s a business lunch, not that it’s any of your business,” Jasmine said and then made to go around her.
“It looked a lot cozier than a business lunch. I wouldn’t get too comfortable with him if I were you. He likes to add notches to his bed post but he gets bored quickly and then tosses you out even faster,” Amy said with anger.
Jasmine stared at her as she realized what the woman was saying. She was one of his cast offs. She was horrified to have her thoughts turned into reality.
“I see the light is dawning. Yes, we’ve been intimate a long time. I’m actually expecting him to propose marriage at any moment but it seems he wants to sow some more oats before settling down,” Amy said with a smug look on her face.
“How could you want to be with a man who won’t be faithful to you?” Amy asked.
“He can have his flings now, because once he puts that ring on my finger, he will be mine and will no longer have any desire to find whores,” she said as if she really didn’t care and then looked at Jasmine, implying she was one of those whores. She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Jasmine staring after her.
Jasmine took a few more minutes, before finally walking back to the table. Derek was looking at her with curiosity. She realized she’d been gone for a while. She didn’t say anything to him, she just gathered her jacket and started heading for the door. She didn’t offer to cover her portion of lunch. He’d insisted she come with him, so he could pay for the overpriced meal.
Derek paid for their lunch and then met her out at the front curb. He couldn’t figure out what had changed from the time she’d left the table, to the time she came back from the bathroom. She’d been starting to relax around him before she’d left.
He was actually glad she was back on guard. It was too easy to forget who she was when she was being charming.
They rode silently back to the office and the elevator was filled with tension as the numbers slowly crawled up to the top floor. He heard her actually let out a sigh of relief when the doors opened. She jumped out like the hounds of hell were after her. He enjoyed the sway of her hips as he followed her along the hallway to his office.
The room was unusually warm and his mouth started watering when she slipped her jacket off, revealing a silky tank style blouse. It dipped in the front, to show a small amount of cleavage, increasing his desire to see more. It hugged her generous curves and showed her small waist off to perfection. Without the suit jacket on, he could see the curve of her hips, which the skirt enhanced. She’d grown curvier with age and now had a woman’s body, instead of the slim figure of a teenager.
His mouth went dry, as he fought not to grab ahold of her and feel how those curves fit within his hands. Her breasts used to fit perfectly in his hands. He could tell now they would spill out of his palms. His pants were once again far too tight. He quickly sat down, so she wouldn’t see his reaction to her.
She picked up another file, getting right back to work. “I need a break from looking at those folders. Let’s go ahead and do some interviews,” he told her. “Move over here to my desk and grab a notebook. I want you to jot some things down. We will start with your good friend, Henry,” he said with a grimace. He wanted to interview the man and then throw him out on his butt.
“That’s fine with me, after all, you’re the boss,” she said with a bit too much sugar dripping from her tone. He narrowed his eyes as he looked her over. He didn’t like being mocked; he was really tempted to show her a lesson or two about messing with him.
He called Henry and told him to report to the office immediately. Jasmine glared at him as he hung up. “You really don’t have to be so rude all of the time,” she mumbled. He let it go because there was a knock at the door. The man was quick, maybe because he wasn’t doing any work.
“Hello Mr. Titan, I’m Henry Andrews,” the man said, as he walked forward, with his hand out. Derek shook it and then narrowed his eyes. The man was in his late thirties and what women would consider good looking. His job was slipping through his fingers and the poor guy had no clue.
“Jasmine, I was wondering where you have been?” he said when he spotted her. He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. Derek was starting to see red again. He could care less what the guy had to say, he was going to be fired. It took all his strength not to physically throw the man out and tell him never to step foot on the premises again. He had to do things correctly though, or his legal department would be all over him.
“As you know Henry, we’re cutting many of the employees here. There’s always a lot of turnover when a company is taken over. You have a few minutes to tell me what it is you do here and defend your job,” Derek said in his coldest voice.
He could feel Jasmine glaring holes through him. He knew he was being even more cruel than normal but he instantly disliked the man.
“What Derek meant to say is we’re reviewing all the files of the employees and know you’re a valuable member of the team. Can you talk about your work?” she said, far nicer than he had.
Derek wanted to shout at her, that wasn’t what I meant at all but then he’d sound like a child throwing a tantrum. He sat down in his chair and pointed his cold eyes directly at Henry, who was either clueless to his aggression, or just pretending not to notice.
Henry started talking about his position in the Marketing department. He listed his projects and the various things he currently had in the works. He laid out things he had wanted to implement for months but had been ignored. Derek was getting in a worse mood, when he found that the man really knew what he was talking about and would actually make a strong asset to the company.
He placed his portfolio on the desk
and Derek glanced through the organized notes. David had been holding Henry back and he figured the only reason Henry had stuck around was to be near Jasmine, because his talents were being wasted. As much as he wanted to throw the man out, he needed to have a cool head first.
He’d never once let a woman get between him and the bottom line and Henry could definitely help add to the bottom line. He never showed the man any of the thoughts going through his mind but he stood up to thank him for coming in and then sent him away. “We will let you know our decision by tomorrow,” he said, reverting to the corporation we, instead of I.
As soon as Henry left the room, Jasmine turned on him. She stalked towards him and there was fire in her eyes. He was unbelievably aroused by the picture she made. “How dare you act like a horses ass, you pompous, corporate drone!” she shouted at him.
She was less than a foot away, as she stared him down, with anger pouring off of her. He’d seen her angry before but he expected steam to start coming out of her ears at any moment. His own anger was rising to the surface. How dare she talk to him like that?
He pressed the button down on his phone. “I want zero interruptions into this room. I don’t care if the place is on fire,” he growled into the intercom.
“Yes sir,” came the reply and then the connection went dead.
He started stalking towards her. She seemed to realize her predicament, because she began to retreat fast. Her temper evaporated, as her eyes rounded. He must have looked a little more frightening than he thought but his cool had left and his anger was boiling over.
She was the one who left him because he was poor. She was the one who thought she was still miss high and mighty. She kept trying to rub in his face he’d been replaced by her boyfriend. He couldn’t even think, he was so mad.