Chloe is already at her desk when I arrive. She beat me to the office to get more work done. She wants to get the interview with Dex, Oz, and me out ASAP to stem the tide of public opinion about Checkmate. She’s talking on the phone and frowning.
Leticia falls in beside me and walks with me to my office. “Chloe’s boss is kind of an asshat. Adam Richards needs to get a clue.”
True. “What makes you say that?” I stroll into my office and take a seat behind my desk. I take a long pull of the piping hot coffee I got on the corner on my way in. I’d texted Chloe from the coffee shop to see if I could get her anything. She turned me down for the same reason she refused a ride to work.
That strong, independent streak is starting to show in bed as much as it shows at work. It also made an appearance last night on the kitchen table, when she rode me like a cowgirl while gripping her headboard, and when she licked some of the dessert we ordered off my boys.
“He sent her flowers again this morning.” Leticia taps her iPad and points the screen at me. A large bouquet of white Casa Blanca lilies stares back at me, this one with a box of chocolates attached.
I don’t bother to ask how she knew the flowers were from Adam Richards. Leticia knows everything that goes on at Checkmate. It’s her superpower.
“I took a picture of this one before Chloe had me throw it out. Doesn’t he know it’s an inappropriate display in the workplace? She’s obviously not interested, so why does he keep bothering her?”
That fucker.
But warmth spreads through my chest and seeps into my limbs. “She had you throw them out again?”
“Yes.” Leticia raises a brow. “But I kept the chocolates. No woman with a conscience can let a perfectly good box of Belgian chocolates go to waste.” She turns a knowing look on me. “Besides, Chloe’s obviously involved with someone else so I didn’t think she’d mind if I snagged the chocolates.”
Damn. Leticia knows. I’ve tried to play it cool at the office, but her laser-sharp eyes can probably penetrate walls.
“Seriously, she should find another firm to work for. The guy is walking the line of sexual harassment.”
Something bites at my gut. I’ve got the same control over Chloe that Adam does. The difference is I’m not misusing it. Chloe can walk away from our personal relationship at any time with no consequences to our professional relationship except for having to watch me mope around the office like an abandoned puppy dog because I’ve lost her. The pathetic sad-sack wailing she’d hear coming from my office might be a bit of a problem too. Beyond that, she’s still golden if she doesn’t want to see me anymore.
Leticia hands me a stack of messages. “Kind of puts her in a rough spot professionally, don’t you think?”
I snatch the messages from my busybody assistant. “You’re right; he’s an asshat. I’m sure whoever Chloe is involved with now isn’t like that.”
Leticia gives me a sweet smile. “I’m sure he’s not.”
Chloe knocks on the door.
“I was just leaving.” Leticia prances out and leaves us alone.
“Morning.” Heat is already pumping through my veins at the sight of her. She’s wearing a clingy red knit dress that covers her from neck to knee, but reveals every curve that I’ve had the privilege of exploring. My mouth starts to water.
“Morning.” She gives me a coy smile, and tries to hand me an envelope across the desk.
“Huh-uh.” I crook my finger. “Come around to my side.”
She blushes furiously, and glances over her shoulder.
“I won’t touch you,” I promise. “But I want you on this side of the desk.”
She pulls a ruby red lip between her teeth and glances out through the glass walls of my office front. Everyone is busy working, just like us. She walks around and faces me.
“Show me how I was leaning against my desk in your fantasy.”
Her eyes fly wider, but a naughty smile settles onto her plump lips. She turns her ass to the edge of my desk and assumes the position. She lays her things down and grips the edge of my desk with both hands. Then she widens her stance. Slowly. Each of her movements measured.
I’m utterly mesmerized. Seriously, no one could possibly know what we’re talking about right now with us acting so professional and all. They also couldn’t know how much I want to do to her exactly what she did to me in her fantasy.
My gaze roams over her. The red dress, matching red shoes, and scarlet lips make my throat close. Her dark hair is down and frames her face in long, loose waves. She’s positively delicious-looking. I lick my lips, certain my morning appetite is apparent, because the same passionate look flares to life in her eyes. I fan the burning embers by slowly swiveling my chair to look out the window at the Manhattan skyline.
“Nice view.” My voice is low and hungry. Usually is, when I’m with her.
I’m nearly two feet from Chloe but the heat building within her radiates off her in waves. It reaches for me, wraps around me snug and tight like her pussy does around my cock, and it makes me want to stay just like this all day.
“Beautiful view,” she agrees. Burning desire makes her eyes flare to that deep purple I find so fascinating and exquisite.
“So what is it you want to give me?” I ask in a tone that makes it clear I’m not talking about whatever was in her hand when she walked in here a moment ago. I raise my coffee cup to my lips and savor the dark roast while I wait for her professional answer.
“Besides the best blow job you’ve ever had?”
I sputter and cough coffee down my shirt. “Holy shit, Chloe. You never stop surprising me.” Everything we say and do is like foreplay. I’ve never experienced this kind of connection with another woman.
“You started it,” she says with a smile of victory. “Now can we be serious for a minute?”
I grab a napkin from a drawer and dab the coffee from my shirt. “You win. What’s up?”
She snatches up the envelope she’d put on my desk and hands it to me.
I open it and my jaw drops. It’s two tickets to see my favorite jazz musician next week. I have all of his albums. These aren’t just any tickets, either. They’re front-row seats. I’ve tried for months to find decent tickets without luck. This must’ve cost her a fortune.
“Chloe, you shouldn’t have.” I shake my head and reach out to take her hand. She pulls out of reach, and glances over her shoulder. I lean forward, the friction of my jeans against the leather chair squeaking. “You shouldn’t have spent this much money on me.”
“I wanted to. The look on your face right now is worth it.”
My pulse picks up speed, my heart thudding against my chest. Maybe this is more than just great sex to her. More than animal attraction. Would she make such a grand gesture for someone who was just a good lay for her? Everything in me says no, she’s not that type. That fucking rocks. Because maybe she wants to keep our relationship going after our week is up.
“Dinner first?” I ask.
She squirms. “Actually, I can’t go. You can take someone else. It’s a gift, Leo. No strings attached.”
Well, shit. The no strings attached part sucks, because it sounds like she’s saying our arrangement will be over soon.
“You can’t go, or you don’t want to go?” I try to keep the disappointment from my voice. Doubt I’m successful, because she looks even more uncomfortable.
“I…” She laces her fingers and one thumb rubs against the other. “I have another commitment I can’t get out of. It came up this morning unexpectedly.” She gives me a bright smile and pushes off of my desk. “I’m sure you’ve got lots of, um, friends you can invite.”
Swear to God, I think I’ve been hit by a train. I can’t breathe.
Leticia sticks her head in. “Hey. Bad news. Another video popped up on the internet. I’m getting it ready in the conference room now, and I already let Dex and Oz know.”
“I need to call in to the office.” Chloe bolts for the door and
is gone before I can even think this through.
“I’ll be right there.” I walk out of my office right behind Leticia. She turns right toward the conference room, and I turn left toward Chloe’s office. She’s all but told me to ask another woman out on a date, and I’m not ready to let it go.
Maybe Adam Richards isn’t the only asshat in Chloe’s life.
When I walk into her office, I can hear Adam yelling through the cellphone at her ear. The rest of her team is scattering like scared flies as she shoos them out of her office. I don’t budge. I do own the damn place. Adam Richards can bite me.
I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t typically have an ego about my muscled build, especially since I’ll always be a chess geek at heart, but right about now I’m really glad I put my time in at the gym. I can’t hear exactly what he’s saying to Chloe, but by the look on her beautiful face, I want to snap him in half like a twig.
“I don’t have control over Checkmate’s security, Adam, but yes, I should’ve been prepared for another damaging video,” Chloe says. More yelling streams into her ear. “Yes, I could’ve suggested the studios tighten their security as part of my campaign pitch, but I didn’t.”
What the hell? He’s blaming her for our lax security?
“Let me watch the video first, and I’ll be in touch.” She ends the call and looks at me. “Shall we go see how badly I’ve fucked up this time?” She shakes her head and huffs in disbelief. “Instead of working around the clock to make more progress for Checkmate, I’ve been caught up in being with you. You’d think I’d learn. I mean, I’m not nearly as smart as you, Leo, but I’m not stupid either.” She paces the length of the room. “I made the mistake of getting involved once with my boss, and if that wasn’t enough of a lesson learned the hard way, I go and make another mammoth mistake by getting involved with you.”
This woman that I’ve fallen for thinks I’m nothing more than a big-ass mistake.
“Is that what I am to you, Chloe? A mistake?” Obviously, since she just gave me the brush-off with the tickets. Amazing how she made dumping me seem like a gift. She really is damn good at spinning negative shit into something that smells as good as fresh flowers.
She’s pacing and doesn’t answer my question.
“I should’ve taken care of the security issues. This isn’t your fault.” I try to reassure her, because it’s true. I’ve been so caught up in her, so absorbed in her, that I’ve thought of little else and left my company exposed in the worst way.
“Isn’t it?” Her voice is several decibels higher than usual and fueled by emotion. “Instead of doing my job, I’ve been fucking the client.”
Leticia hurries in. “We’re all in the conference room.” She looks from me to Chloe and gives us a sympathetic look I’d expect from a mother. “And we can hear you.”
I let my head drop forward.
Chloe pinches the bridge of her nose.
Goddammit. Now I’ve got way more than a PR problem on my hands. In less than a minute, I’ve got to walk into a conference room and face the disappointment and betrayal from my two partners. Two guys who would take a bullet for me.
Until now.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When I walk into the conference room behind Chloe, my head is still spinning full-circle on my fucking neck from her telling me I’m a mistake. To make this morning even more peachy, my two partners damn near have icicles shooting from their eyes. Oddly, I notice how cold the room is. Maintenance must’ve forgotten to turn on the heat, because the air is as chilly as my partners’ stares.
Oz and Dex obviously think I have betrayed the pact we wrote in blood when we first started. In a way, I have. I need to fix this. Not only did I show someone what goes on behind the wizard’s curtain, but I showed a girl I wanted to fuck. Am now fucking. Or was fucking. Who knows which it is anymore.
Precisely why my head is spinning, and I might start puking green.
My actions look self-serving.
Only that wasn’t my plan. Not really. I believe in Chloe as a professional. That’s why I took her to a Checkmate studio. At least that was the main reason. And yes, because I wanted to impress her, to get to know her… the girl I planned to hire as my public relations rep in the midst of the biggest PR crisis that’s ever rained down on Checkmate, which is accusing our company of taking advantage of women.
Shit.
I am an asshat. The world’s biggest.
“Let me explain,” I say to Dex and Oz.
“Let’s look at the video first,” Oz says, his tone icy.
Leticia checks her iPad. “Protestors are gathering outside of the building.”
I scrub a hand over my jaw. Dex and Oz shoot each other a look, then swivel toward the television.
This one is the Fifth Avenue anchor store, and Gerard is the life-stylist on camera.
He’s going to throw such a diva tantrum when he finds out he’s been duped.
The video has obviously been edited to sound even more disparaging toward women, gays, minorities. Anything and everything to make Checkmate look bad. They might as well throw in something bizarre and inhumane, like animal sacrifice, because that’s about the only thing not included in the video.
Just as Gerard says something about a particular jacket that would be sure to reel in a lady like a helpless fish on a hook—something extremely sexist that Gerard wouldn’t normally say—he steps to the side and we get a glimpse of the client’s reflection. His face is obscured, but he’s got a tattoo over his ribcage.
I don’t miss the sharp intake of air from Chloe. Her hands fly to her mouth.
“What? What is it?” I ask Chloe, and Leticia takes that as a cue to pause the video.
“I’ll get Gerard on the phone.” Leticia is actually handling this better than the three of us who are supposed to be in charge. She scurries out of the room.
Chloe turns a dazed look on me. “I think I know who the client is.”
All eyes shift to her.
“The tattoo.” Her eyes squeeze shut. “I think it’s Adam.”
“Adam Richards?” Oz and Dex both blurt at once.
Chloe nods.
I blow out a heavy breath and close my eyes for a beat. Of course. I should’ve expected something like this. Adam wanted Chloe gone, but he couldn’t justify firing her after landing Checkmate as a client. So he set her up to fail. He thinks he can kick her to the curb and still keep our account because no one will know it’s him in the video.
I never trusted the SOB as far as I can see without my glasses, but I didn’t see this coming. I’ve been too caught up in Chloe. The fantasy. The reality. Like I’m caught between two dimensions and can’t figure out which one I belong in anymore.
A high IQ does no good if you aren’t thinking with the right head.
Dex runs his fingers through his hair. Oz cusses. Both of them turn scalding looks on me.
“Look—” I start to defend myself.
“No, you look, Leo.” Oz is the first to start blasting me with both barrels. “We told you this was a bad idea. You went behind our backs anyway and took her to the studio. You brought her and her firm into our house and let them burn it down.”
“I’m sorry. I fucked up.” It’s all I can think to say in this moment, because I’ve let down my two best friends, my partners, and jeopardized all that we’ve worked for.
I look at Chloe and the shimmering wetness in her eyes tells me I’ve screwed up again. What I’ve just said makes it sound like I think she’s part of my fuck-up, and she’s not. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I want to tell her that.
Only now isn’t exactly the best time, with my two buddies staring both of us down.
“It goes without saying that Simmons & Richards is fired,” Oz says.
He’s right of course. But all I can think of is the crippling blow this will deal to Chloe’s career. “Wait.” I hold up a hand to see if I can reason with my partners. Maybe there is anot
her solution. Adam should be the one getting fired, not Chloe. But who is going to fire themselves from their own company? And there is no solid proof that the man in the video is really Adam, because his face is blurred out with special effects.
“This is my fault,” Chloe says, still looking at me. The wetness in her eyes thickens, then she looks at Dex and Oz. “Please don’t blame Leo. This is a personal vendetta against me. I knew Adam was vindictive and wanted to fire me, but I had no idea he’d try to ruin one of the biggest accounts at his own firm to do it.” Her bottom lip quivers, and she heads for the door. “I’ll clear my things out,” she says over a shoulder.
Neither Dex or Oz argue.
I’m about to go after her, when Leticia hurries back in. She punches a button on the conference room phone. “Gerard?” she says to the phone.
“I’m here.” His voice streams into the room.
“What the fuck, Gerard?” Dex half yells at the phone.
“What are you so pissy about, Dexter? I exposed the guy, didn’t I?” Gerard huffs.
We all fall into a puzzled silence while we huddle around the phone.
Gerard gives us a dramatic sigh like he’s about to school three children. “When he started asking me suspicious questions, I gave him a really juicy answer so he would keep recording. You know,” he says with superior sass, “the recording device wasn’t obvious, but it had to be his glasses. A total high-tech gadget, because he was stripped down to his skivvies.”
“Get to the point,” I growl, wondering how much a one-way ticket to West Virginia costs.
“Oh, all right,” Gerard says. “My hooked fish answer was total bullshit of course, but I knew it would keep him from turning off his camera, and while I was answering, I moved a little to one side so he’d catch his own reflection in the mirror. His tattoo was very distinct. I figured he’d have to make a choice—scrap the video completely, or leave a shot of himself in it. Surely someone out there can identify that tattoo. Maybe we should offer a reward?”
No need. Chloe’s reward is to get screwed, and not in a good way.
ForePlay: A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 1 (The Checkmate Inc. Series) Page 16