8 Ways Onto The Naughty List

by Rita Sawyer

  Her leg, which he was seeing more of right now than he had in two years, was enough to make his jaw drop. The knee-high boots weren’t exactly fuck me shoes, but they were damn close. And the sexy blouse had that please touch me quality. He’d been mistaken yesterday when he thought her outfit was too much for him to deal with, because this outfit knocked the wind right out of him.

  He almost wished he wasn’t seeing this right now he thought as she dropped to her knees and reached under the couch in the waiting area. The black material of her skirt shifted so high on her thighs it was a few measly inches from her ass, which moved from side to side in the air as she wiggled further under the couch. His mind took her position to a dangerous place. He had to yank his hand off the door and force himself to take a step back. If he thought she had the slightest inkling about the feelings he had for her he would have thought this was all a ploy to see how long he could hold out. He looked down at his shaking hands and admitted, to himself at least, that it wasn't going to take much more before he cracked.

  None of that mattered right now. The only thing that did was finding out why the hell she was dressed hot enough to tempt a saint. Maybe she had a lunch date or something? Dexter couldn't ignore the surge of jealousy that roared through his entire body. He'd just have to make sure there was a reason for her, no them, to work together straight through lunch. Patsy got off her knees and walked back to her desk, laughing into the phone. When he finally felt ready to take a chance on his being able to hold it together long enough to get into his office and close the door, he opened the outer door and walked in.

  “Mace, Dexter has already said he's not willing to let me go, telling him I want to work for Jared isn't going to change his mind.” Though she was laughing, he didn’t think she was joking.

  It never entered his mind that he should hold his tongue and keeping walking. Instead he came to a dead stop and said, “You’re damn right he won’t.”

  Patsy dropped the pens and phone to the desk as she turned to face him. “Mr. Chapman…I was um…just a second.” She picked up the phone, fumbling with it a bit before she got it to her ear. “Marcy, I’ll call you back. Sorry about that, I was trying to calm Marcy down and she asked if we could switch places.”

  “Who else have you told about quitting?” It really shouldn’t matter, but knowing other people knew there was something going on between them bothered him.

  She hung up the phone and grasped onto the back of the chair her fingers digging into the material. “No one. Well…I…see Marcy was really upset about the episode in Jared’s office Friday, so I took her out and we had a few drinks. And well, I accidentally let it slip, but she doesn’t know why I want to leave.”

  “Neither do I, so I guess that makes two of us. You want to try and explain it to me again?” She lowered her gaze to the floor and gave her head an almost imperceptible shake.

  He wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Didn’t she know that not coming right out and telling him why she wanted to leave so badly only made him more determined to discover what the big secret was? Determination could be a powerful motivator in some people. Thankfully, he was one of them. It may take him some time to decide on the best course of action, but once his mind was set on an objective he didn’t quit until he accomplished it. In this case, he had two objectives. The first would be finding out what she was hiding from him. The second was convincing her she was dead wrong. Today was going to be his day.

  He took his coat off and tossed it onto the couch keeping his eyes locked on her. “Okay, we’ll talk about something else, like how festive you look today.”

  She didn’t so much as blush as he stared at her breasts, but who could blame him. It was one of those shirts designed to make people, well men, look. He waited for her to say something. It wasn’t that he wanted to fight, he just wanted to talk. If that talking came in the form of her yelling or screaming at him then he’d take it like a man. Shit, maybe he needed to feed her a few drinks, and he’d be able to get her to tell him the real reason why she wanted to leave him. Not him, but the job. No matter how many times he told himself that it didn’t change anything.

  Keeping his tone even and trying to look unaffected, he said, “So is this going to be your new look, or is it just a holiday thing?”

  He fought not to laugh when her eyes narrowed and her mouth tightened, making little lines appear around her lips, but he did smile. “Hey, I’m not complaining I was just curious.”

  He cocked his head a bit to the side, daring her to respond, but before she could the phone rang. Without taking her eyes off him, she reached down and picked up the receiver.

  “TRS Financial...” Her face instantly morphed into a smile as she listened to whoever was on the other end.

  “Oh yes, Ms. Humvanbolt, he’s available. It’ll take me just a moment to transfer you over.” Again she managed to reach down and put the call on hold without taking her now sparkling eyes off his. “Ms. Humvanbolt needs to speak with you immediately.”

  Her cheery tone and smile clearly said she scored a direct hit and knew it. He nodded his defeat and headed for his office. He turned back and wasn’t surprised to see her hanging up his coat. As if she felt his gaze on her, she turned and looked at him over her shoulder. Being caught dragging his attention off her ass made him feel like some kind of pervert. She didn’t move away and neither did he, though he didn’t think he could have if he wanted to. They stood there staring at each other ignoring the insistent beeping coming from his phone.

  Suddenly Marcy raced in and grabbed Patsy by the arm and dragged her into the kitchen. The spell broken, he retreated into his office, closing the door a little harder than necessary, but damn if it didn’t make him feel marginally better. Not as good as not answering this call would make him feel he thought as he lifted the receiver to his ear. He closed his eyes and dropped his head to the back of the chair.

  “Good morning, LeAnn, sorry for the delay, I was just coming in when you called.” He tried to focus on what she was saying, instead of wondering what Patsy and Marcy were talking about in the other room.

  8 Ways Onto The Naughty List

  Chapter Eight

  Dexter's clients had been either running early or taking longer than they normally did, and Patsy was trying to decide whether or not it was a good thing. One the positive side, it delayed them from talking about the strange moment that had passed between them, but she knew from the look he gave her every time he met a client at his door he was just biding his time. On the negative side, they'd been so busy they hadn't even had time for lunch yet. Her stomach let out a loud growl, letting her know it wasn't happy. She bent over, opened her bottom drawer and pulled out a candy bar, hoping it would hold her over until they got to take a break.

  She peeled back the wrapper and took a bite of the crispy chocolate and peanut butter bar. The sweet concoction hit her tongue, and she moaned, unfortunately the door behind her opened and closed at the same moment. Hoping it was Marcy coming down for a quick visit she turned and nearly choked as she gasped, almost swallowing the barely chewed candy. A fine example of the male species had just entered. He was tall, easily six feet, and she could see the outline of the muscles under the expensive suit he wore. His short dark hair begged to be toyed with, and his green eyes shone like multifaceted emeralds. She took a deep breath, trying to gather her wits as she watched him saunter over to her desk.

  “Hi. I'm Evan Massey. I have an appointment with Mr. Chapman.” The deep timber of his voice had Patsy's toes curling in her shoes.

  “He's finishing up with another client. You can have a seat over there.” She pointed at the couch with her forgotten candy bar.

  Mr. Massey looked at her hand and his mouth slowly curved into a smile. Patsy let out a mortified groan and quickly rewrapped the bar and tossed it in the rubbish bin beside her desk. She forced herself not to check out his ass as he walked over to the couch.

  “So,” he said taking a seat facing
her, “I take it you're the amazing Patsy I've heard so much about.”

  It could have been a ploy of some kind, but none the less, it got her attention. “You've heard of me?”

  He leaned back into the cushions and nodded. “Dexter has mentioned you quite a bit. He swears he couldn't function without you here. We both agree someone needs to be the one pulling the strings.”

  As far as she knew, Dexter didn't usually mention her other than to instruct clients to call her to set up appointments. Until recently, he'd never led her to believe she was important around the office either. So hearing that he gave her such praise to someone else made her regret, for just a minute, that she was leaving. She figured this extremely handsome man must be on friendly terms with Dexter for him to talk about her or the way the office ran.

  “You know, Mr. Massey, I wasn't able to find your file, what kind of business is it you do?”

  He laughed, slapping his knee, and Patsy wondered what he found so funny about her question. “I'm not surprised Dex hasn't mentioned it. He probably thought it would offend you.” His cryptic reply only made her want to know more, which he probably knew since he winked at her.

  She tipped her head wondering if this was Mr. Massey's attempt at flirting, there was only one way to find out. “Really?”

  “I guess there's no harm in telling you, since everyone will know soon enough.” He got up and carried one of the chairs from the waiting area to her desk. “You see…”

  Shit, maybe it was something illegal, or worse. Kale and Jared had some clients who preferred everything be kept classified. Dexter had never put any restrictions on her, but she'd known there may come a time. Maybe this was it and he'd just forgotten to tell her.

  “Wait!” She held up her hand to stop him. “Don't tell me any secrets.”

  He chuckled and gave his head a shake. “You know, he failed to mention that you could teach my girls a few things about how to look sexy, yet act classy.”

  She blushed at the compliment, but knew it would be best to steer him back onto a more neutral path until she learned a little more about him. Besides, she got the feeling this guy was way out of her league.

  “Your girls?” From the tone of his voice, she didn't think he meant he had children.

  He propped his elbow on the desk and leaned toward her his green eyes drawing her in. “See, that's the thing, they were my grandfather's girls, but I inherited them when he passed away six months ago.”

  “You inherited them?” She couldn't help wondering if this was this was guy for real.

  He nodded, and with a flash of a smile, he launched into an explanation. “Yup. My grandfather left me his entire estate, which included a gentleman's club and eleven beautiful, but not too bright, young women.”

  She found herself leaning forward like they were sharing an intimate little chat. “You sound like you were surprised.”

  “I was, and the rest of my family will be too when they find out. You see, my grandfather was a very private man. He purposefully kept this venture to himself, but he thought it would be funny to pass it onto me since my mother will probably be apoplectic when she finds out.” The ease and deep rumble of his chuckle had her laughing too.

  She didn't know why she felt so comfortable she asked, “I take it they didn't get along?”

  “Actually, I think he really loved her more than he showed. He just wanted her to loosen up and have some fun. That's why he was always on me about giving her a few grandchildren.” He left himself open for the question, and she wasn't about to let him off the hook.

  “And have you?” She tried not to laugh at the look of pure outrage on his face, but couldn't.

  “No, I haven't. You know, Dexter also didn't mention that you have a mean streak.” His playful teasing came so naturally she was almost frightened.

  She was enjoying herself more than she had in months so she gave him a guilty smile and said, “Sorry, it tends to come out when I least expect it. Now tell me more about your girls.”

  “Actually you've probably met a few of them since Dexter had them come to do paperwork since the clubs records were such a disaster.” The second he said it she knew exactly which women he was talking about.

  The way they'd hung on Dexter's every word she’d assumed the relationships were personal. He'd let her believe it too. She'd never seen files on them either. She should have thought it was weird at the time, but she'd been so jealous it had slipped right by her.

  Afraid she might let it slip that she’d thought those women were Dexter's romantic conquest she decided to play dumb. “You know, I don't seem to remember them.”

  “Really?” She nodded and his eyes went wide as he stared at her incredulously.

  ~* * *~

  Dexter opened the door for Mr. and Mrs. Oakley. The old woman smiled up at her husband as he ushered her through. Dexter was amazed by the love he saw in the older couple. They'd been married for fifty-two years, had eight children, and eleven grandchildren, but they acted like newlyweds. In his line of business, he didn’t meet many people whose love was the kind that passed the test of time. Usually he was helping people restructure their finances after a divorce or losing someone.

  As the couple walked past, he turned to Patsy’s desk to let her know he was ready for the next client. Instead of standing there with the next file for him, she was sitting at her desk talking to his college buddy Evan. They were both totally so engrossed in their conversation that obviously neither of them heard the door open, or the Oakleys leave. Dexter felt a surge of jealousy at the way Patsy was staring into Evan's eyes. Eyes way too many woman had described as hypnotic. What really irked him was he'd seen that smile Evan was wearing before.

  It was clear to him that Evan wanted her.

  Dexter would be damned if he'd give the bastard the chance to sweep her off her feet and away from him. He may be one of his best friends, and he'd probably give him a kidney if he could, but he wasn't giving him a clear field to go after her. Damn it. She was his. She may not know it yet, but that's the way it was going to be. He may as well let them both know right now.

  “Since when do you entertain clients at your desk?” Both of their heads turned to him, their mouths hanging open in shock.

  Smart man he was, Evan snapped his mouth shut and lunged to his feet. “We were just talking.”

  Dexter looked over at Patsy, who just smiled up at him. “Evan and I were getting to know each other. Maybe if all your clients were as interesting and handsome, I'd invite them to sit at my desk.”

  He watched Evan turn and smile at her, obviously happy with her compliment before turning back to him. The smile fell away, but the desire was still burning in his eyes. It seemed like they were going to have to have a long talk about boundaries. He knew once they did, Evan wouldn't cross them. This whole incident was his fault since he didn't tell Evan she was off limits in the first place. No woman had ever come between them in the past, and he hoped Patsy wouldn't now.

  “I didn't…” Dexter cut Evan off with a slight shake of his head.

  Seeing that Evan was ready to argue with him, he ground out, “Go wait for me in my office, and close the door.”

  Evan frowned as he closed the distance between them. He lowered his voice so Patsy couldn't hear and said, “But…it wasn't her fault.”

  “I'll deal with Patsy. Just go.” Dexter looked at the floor and waited until he heard the door click before he chanced looking at her.

  Patsy didn't look afraid. If anything, she looked like she was ready to throw something at him. Whatever she and Evan had talked about obviously wasn't going to help him win her over. He needed to make sure she understood Evan was out of her league. Dexter wanted to nip her attraction in the bud, before it had a chance to grow.

  “Look, I know Evan can come on a bit strong, and with you dressed like that, who could blame him for trying. The thing is, unless you're interested in a quick fling, it's not a good idea to encourage him.” He hadn't meant for i
t to sound like Evan's flirting was her fault, but he was afraid it did.

  She got to her feet so fast the chair flew backwards as she stood. She was beyond mad. He should have waited and talked to her after he'd had a chance to calm down. Now he'd done it again. After that look she gave him this morning, he'd felt like something had shifted between them. He was beginning to wonder if he was ever going be able to read her right.

  “So you think I'm only good enough for a quick fling.” She jammed her hands on her hips and stared at him, demanding an answer.

  “No, damn it!” He advanced on her, stopping just a few inches away. “I…”

  “You know what, I just don’t care.” She paused and rubbed her forehead. “Mr. Chapman, I seemed to have developed a major headache. I'll be taking the rest of the afternoon off.”

  “Patsy, please, just give me a minute.” He pleaded as she grabbed her purse from under her desk.

  “For what, so you can insult me again. You know, my stomach isn't feeling all that well either.” She yanked her coat from the rack.

  “Damn it!” He followed her to the elevator. “I was trying to say he wasn't good enough for you.”

  The door slid open and she moved to step in, but he grabbed her by the arms. “Let. Me. Go.”

  “No! I've had enough of us dancing around each other. We need to talk and we need to do it now.” He tightened his hands as she tried to pull away.

  “You have a client waiting, and I really don’t feel well. We can talk in the morning.” Her eyes filled with tears, and he instantly let her go.

  “If it helps, I didn’t mean to hurt you, and I’m sorry.” He stepped out of the way, letting the doors close between them.

  “You know, my friend, I never thought I’d say this, but you are an ass,” Evan said from behind him and all he could do was nod.

  8 Ways Onto The Naughty List

  Chapter Nine

  This was it. Today she was handing him her formal resignation. No more discussions or attempts at getting her to change her mind. He needed to face the fact she was leaving. She hoped seeing it in black and white would make it more real for him. She knew after yesterday there was no other choice. In her wildest dreams, he had come around to see how much he desired her, but she knew in reality he was never going to change.