by Rita Sawyer
“I wanted to get it done so I'd be able focus on my job and your clients tomorrow.” Why she felt the need to explain it to him was beyond her comprehension.
She turned her back on him and walked to her desk. As far she was concerned, she didn’t have any reason to stick around. She grabbed her coat and shoved her arms roughly into the sleeves. Ignoring the sounds she heard coming from behind her she headed for the door.
“You’re leaving?” His deep voice rang out as she reached for the door.
Her instincts told her to ignore him and leave, but thanks to the manners her mother drilled into her, she couldn’t. “I was just shutting everything down for the evening when you came in. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Wait! If you wouldn’t mind I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes.” He closed half of the six-foot distance in two strides.
“Can it wait ‘til tomorrow? I’m really tired and all I want to do right now is go home and take a long soak in a hot bubble bath.” From the way the muscle ticked in his jaw, she knew what his answer was going to be.
“I really think this is something we should take care of right now.” Dexter extended his arm towards his office, and normally she would have followed, but officially she was off the clock so she was going to do something she never did.
Refuse.
“Look, Mr. Chapman…”
He cut her off and said, “I’ve repeatedly asked you to call me Dexter.”
“It’s unprofessional for an assistant to call her boss by his first name.” She was afraid if she said it out loud it would have the breathless sound she couldn’t seem to get rid of.
“We’re all alone no one will hear you but me.” He was right and that scared her almost as much as it excited her.
“You’re right. We are alone, and due to the current circumstances, I think it would be best if we handled whatever it is you want to talk about tomorrow.”
“Or since you’ve already had dinner, so have I by the way, we could go for coffee and discuss it.”
Patsy wondered if he would agree if she offered to make coffee for him so they could stay and talk there. Not that she was going to. She was going home and that was all there was to it.
~* * *~
Dexter knew from the stiff way she was holding herself he was fighting a losing battle. He realized too late he hadn’t told her what a great job she’d done with his office. The tree and other decorations were amazing, but the best part was that she had moved his desk. She may not have even realized what she’d done yet. From where she put it he would be able to look up any time he wanted and see what she was doing. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid him anymore.
He didn’t want to be too aggressive with her, but it was her fault he was pushing things. If she hadn’t mentioned taking a damned bubble bath, he would have been able to give up easier. The instant barrage of images had him hard in seconds. Patsy, lying in the tub, a thin coating of bubbles keeping him from seeing too much. His lust would drive him crazy if he let it, but he couldn’t just let her walk away now.
Besides, this apology was burning a huge hole in his stomach. He needed to get it out of the way so they could get past it. How else was he going to be able to explain the reason he was such an ass was because he wanted her so fucking bad he was close to losing control. Something he prided himself on never doing.
“Sorry, but I try not to drink coffee after four o’clock so I can get a good night’s sleep.” At least one of them was, he thought, wishing he was sleeping with her.
“Ice cream then.” She looked like she was thinking it over, or counting to ten to keep from telling him off.
“Mr. Chapman, I really would prefer if we waited and discussed this in the morning.”
It was a downer, but if she had said yes, he’d probably have found a way to screw it up. “Fine, I’ll see you in the morning.” He watched her walk away, his gut tightening with each step she took.
He stood there staring into the empty hallway long after she was gone. His refusal to believe there was going to come a day when she would leave for the last time was inspiring him to get creative. They were going to meet tomorrow all right, but not the way she thought. He sat down and booted up her computer, and pulled up his schedule. As he suspected, due to it being Friday he had nothing until eleven. He normally used that time to go over the week’s meeting just to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks, but tomorrow was going to be different.
He shut the computer back down and went into his office. If he hurried, he could pull this off without a hitch. He picked up the remote and pressed the button. The tree lit up. Dozens of colorful lights glowed and blinked for his entertainment. A more amazing sight he hadn’t seen in a long, long time. If he had to guess he’d say she spent at least a few hours making everything look perfect. It was only fair he spend the next few hours doing something for her. Besides, it would be worth the trouble if it got them on the right track.
Plying her with pastries was underhanded, but he was willing to play dirty if he had to. He wasn’t sure what her favorites were so he decided to get a variety of sweet confections. Fruit and cheese Danishes, sweet sticky cinnamon rolls, and a few other treats. He made calls and arranged to pick everything up early the next morning. Then he sat there staring at the tree wondering what she’d look like wearing nothing but the shiny blue garland wrapped around her body.
8 Ways Onto The Naughty List
Chapter Six
Patsy looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. She tugged at the lapels of her black jacket but it was no use. What was once loose and comfortable was now form fitting. It didn’t look bad, but it wasn’t what she considered appropriate work attire. The jacket was too tight and the skirt, which normally reached her knees, was a good two inches above. Even if she had time to change, which she didn’t, she would have to wear pants and that would mean she’d have to change her shirt and jacket. And the jackets she usually wore with her slacks were at the cleaners. So this was it as good as it got for today. She turned and walked away, refusing to give into her neurotic tendencies and change.
She grabbed her bag and left her apartment for her twenty minute drive to the office. It gave her plenty of time to dwell on things and though it was her fault, it felt better to blame Dexter. Last night was a perfect example. She had gotten so wrapped up in decorating Dexter’s office she’d totally forgotten she needed to stop be the dry cleaners and grocery store on her way home. She was so tired by the time she got home she barely had enough energy to put the food away before crawling into bed. She didn’t even bother to hang her clothes in the closet she just draped them over the back of one of her kitchen chairs. If she had taken the time to hang them in the closet, she would have noticed that the dry cleaner had shrunk her suit.
She pulled into the parking garage and headed for her assigned space. As she rounded the bend, she spotted his SUV already parked a few feet away. Her heart began to race and she glanced at the clock just to make sure she wasn’t late. He never came in this early without a reason. Something must be wrong. The second her car was to a full stop, she shut it off and climbed out, rushing for the elevator. She groaned as she slid to a stop and rushed back, opened the door, and grabbed her bag. While she stood there waiting for the elevator she thought about taking the stairs, but knew she would be exhausted by the fourth floor so she waited.
Why was it whenever she was in a rush the elevator seemed to move extra slow? She told herself there was probably a very good explanation for Dexter’s being in hours before she expected him. It didn’t really matter why he was there since it was his office. When she put a little thought into it, she figured out why it bothered her. Deep down she was a woman who liked everything calm and in order. Change wasn’t hard for her to accept as long as the decision to make the changes was hers. Even then, she’d plan things out to make sure no one was inconvenienced in any way. Maybe he wasn’t even here.
He could be upstairs having a meeti
ng with his brother in-law. She really didn’t think Kale would leave his wife and daughter this early in the morning unless something was wrong. The doors opened and she rushed into the hall. She was met by the cheery melody of a Christmas carol. The radio had been off when she left last night, so Dexter must have turned it on. The ding and dong of the bells was so familiar, but she had no idea which one it was. As she wracked her brain trying to figure it out she walked into the office looking for anything out of place.
Everything was in its place, including his coat hanging by the door, and other than the music playing it was quiet. She walked over and peeked into Dexter’s office. Empty. She exhaled loudly, some of the stiffness eased from her shoulders. Things had been stressful enough around there before she told him she was quitting, now the second she stepped off the elevator every muscle in her body tightened in anticipation of what might happen next. Nothing today. Today was going to be an ordinary day. She was going to do her job, go home, and for once in the past five months she was not going to think about Dexter Chapman.
First things first, she was going to make his coffee and print out his schedule. She was going to be ready the second he walked through that door. As her hand closed around the doorknob the door swung open and she was yanked into the room. Her squeal of surprise mixed with his rumble of laughter filled the air. Patsy could barely hear the music over the pounding of her heart. Holding her hand to her chest, her gaze darted between Dexter and the table.
On the normally barren table sat two plates, a pitcher of orange juice, and a small tray of breakfast treats. Dexter stood there wearing a strange smile, which should have tipped her off that he was up to something. Being a little thrown already, she missed the sign and nervously began running through her head for the client with whom he was having a breakfast meeting. As far as she knew, his schedule was clear, so he must have arranged something and forgotten to tell her. Still, it was weird for him to entertain clients in the kitchen. Normally he used the small conference room next to his office. Whoever it was, the person was definitely a female. If it were a man, he would have gone with something more manly like donuts or bagels.
“Good morning. I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, confirming her suspicions that the person he was meeting was female, but she was shocked that the woman was her.
With another guy she would have thought this might have been a try at seduction or that he was buttering her up before asking her for a favor. Dexter wasn’t like that. If he wanted her to do something, he just told her to do it. As for seduction, she knew that was the furthest thing in his mind when it came to her. He motioned to a chair and she sat down curious to see where he was going with this.
“I thought we could eat while we talk. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got a little of everything.” Patsy watched him pick up a sweet roll and put it on his plate.
He lifted his fingers to his lips and licked off the creamy sugar coating. He may not be going for seduction, but it was working anyway. She had to look away so she focused on the dish of treats. She chose what looked like a raspberry Danish with icing drizzled on it. Dexter poured them each a glass of juice then leaned back in his chair. She copied his movements and waited for him to speak.
He picked up a small box of the chair next to him and held it out to her. “Before we get started, Jared sent this down for you. He said it’s a thank you for all the help you gave Marcy.”
Was it wishful thinking or did he not sound happy about it? She eyed the box for a few seconds before reaching for it. It was about the length of her hand and maybe three inches high. The little girl in her wanted to lift it to her ear and shake it to see if she could guess what it was, but the weary woman she’d become wasn’t so sure she wanted to know. She ran her finger along the shimmering red ribbon. Dexter tapped his fingers on the table waiting for her to open it.
Patsy didn’t want to prolong their meeting so she put the box down next to her plate. “I’ll open it later.”
“Don’t wait on my account.” The Danish she’d lifted to her mouth hovered inches away as his biting tone cut into her.
Stunned, pissed, and even a little hurt that he would use that tone with her, she let the sweet fall onto her plate and scooped up the box. Not wanting to punish herself just because he was a clueless jerk, Patsy took a deep breath as she tightened the reins on her anger. She gently pulled the silk like ribbon and the bow easily came undone. It fell onto the table beside her plate as she flipped the box over, looking for a seam to peel the paper off with causing too much damage. After she carefully, and maybe a bit too slowly, removed the red and green paper she laid it on the table beside the ribbon. The brown cardboard box had no writing on it all to tell her where it came from or what it might be.
She lifted the cover and found a small handwritten note in the box.
I hope your bonehead boss wakes up and sees what’s in front of him before it’s too late. If so, you’ll both get to enjoy this.
Luckily Dexter couldn’t see inside the box from where he was sitting, but there was no hiding the blush she felt spread across her cheeks. She lifted the letter, pressing it against the cover and choked on her gasp. The unmistakable hot pink gift card from one of the country’s most elegant and erotic lingerie stores laid there on a bed of gold tissue paper. She’d had friends who paid a good chunk of their paycheck on silly little, and sometime smaller, things from that store. Patsy loved her silky, sexy undergarments and sleep wear, which she’d love to model for Dexter. Her body hummed at the thought, but she just couldn’t picture paying those outrageous prices.
She closed the box and tucked it on her lap under the table as if that would keep Dexter from caring about it. Not that it mattered if he knew what it was or not, because she wasn’t keeping it. She’d take a few minutes at lunchtime and go up and thank Jared, but explain why she couldn’t accept it. It was way too expensive, and unnecessary. Helping out in the other offices if they needed her was part of her job anyway, so there was actually no reason for him to give her anything.
“If you’re ready, can we move on?” The tip of his head gave him that arrogant sexy look that practically made women drool.
His bad attitude gave her hope that maybe he’d come around and was finally seeing things her way. “Sorry, please go ahead.”
“I’ve been thinking about our conversation about you wanting to leave.” This is it. He’s going to let me go. She took a bite of her Danish to hide her smile, waiting for him to continue.
If Dexter didn’t make her finish the day, she could run up and return the gift card before she left, because once she did, she wasn’t coming back. She’d keep in touch with Marcy since they’d become such good friends, but they’d have to get together away from here. She sure as hell wasn’t going to subject herself to the tortured of seeing him.
He cleared his throat before speaking. “I want you to know I have taken everything you do around here into consideration in making this decision.”
Wait a second. That didn’t sound like a beginning to ‘you’re fired’. He leaned over, grabbed a thick blue folder off the counter and laid it on top of the ribbon and wrapping paper next to her plate. She stared at it, wondering if she even wanted to know what was in it. When she looked over at him, he was eating his roll as if nothing important was happening between them. Maybe he just needed her to sign something to get out of her contract without any legal issues.
Sensing he wasn't going to tell her what was in it she flipped the cover of the folder open. “As you can see I've been very liberal with the offer.”
She gasped, looking at the figure he'd written on the forms. There had to be a mistake. He could afford to pay her the ridiculous amount, but why would he? Surely the other partners hadn't signed off on this. He was already paying her above what any other secretary she knew earned, which was why she had tortured herself daily by subjecting herself to his presence. Of course, he didn't mean to go around looking all sexy and untouchable.
; Now he wanted to almost double her salary. It struck her that he thought this all came down to money. He was not only blind and oblivious to how she felt, but he thought she was shallow. That really stung.
“Mr. Chapman.” He cocked his head and gave her the look he always did right before he insisted she call him Dexter so she rushed on before he could say it. “I really think you're misunderstanding things. Money isn't the issue. I'm ready for a change in my life. One I don’t think I can accomplish while working here.”
“If you tell me what kind of change, I'm sure we can work something out.” Yeah right, as if she was going to say ‘jeez, Dexter, the change I'd like to see most around here is you naked.’
“I really don't think so.” She closed the folder and slid it back over to him.
His hand latched onto hers holding it down on the folder. “Patsy, I don't want to have to deal with another woman trying to live up to your standards. You run this office with a scary efficiency, and you take care of me too. I really don't want to lose you.”
Patsy tried not to focus on the heat seeping from his palm to her hand. She was glad he had finally admitted how much he needed her around here, but it wasn't enough. Not anymore. She wanted him to look at her as more than an efficiency expert. She was a woman, and she wanted him to see her as one. To be aware of how much she wanted him. Since he never would and even if he did, the sentiment would be returned, it didn't really matter what she wanted.
“I'm sorry, sir, but my mind is made up. I was actually hoping you reconsidered and were willing to let me out of my contract early.”
~* * *~
Dexter's hand flew off hers as he got to his feet and began pacing the tiny kitchen. This wasn't going the way he expected. That was an offer no assistant should have been able to refuse. He planned to ease her into the offer, but the second she stepped into the room, all his carefully laid out plans had evaporated. It was the second time in a week she’d managed to make it happen.