Just thinking about it now, I almost choked on thin air as I poured the coffee, and I had to concentrate hard just to keep from spilling the hot brown liquid all over the benchtop.
No. This will be nothing like that, I resolved silently as I stirred a teaspoon of sugar into my own cup of coffee, watching the crystals disappear. Adam is insanely gorgeous, sure, and perhaps the Amy back in New York would have fallen for him. But I’m stronger now, and I’m here to do a job. Nothing more.
As I picked up a mug of coffee in each hand and began to walk gingerly back through the kitchen towards the door, I almost started to laugh. Why would he even be interested in me as anything other than his new assistant? We’re all professionals here, right? He’s just a person, for God’s sake. A person that I’m working for.
Just breathe, I reminded myself as I approached Adam’s office, the door still open as I’d left it. You’re a professional, he’s your boss, and this will NOT be another Jackson disaster.
“Coffee!” I announced brightly as I stepped through the doorway. Adam was sitting at his desk, and looked up as soon as I entered the room, a gentle smile crossing his face.
“That’s my favorite word,” he remarked. As I approached his desk, he stood up and reached for a mug - just as I was looking down at the top of his bureau for a coaster to place it on. His hand bumped the hot beverage out of my grasp and it toppled over, soaking his shirt and dripping down onto the front of his trousers.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” I blurted out as I hurriedly put my own coffee down onto the desk - without a coaster - and ran out of Adam’s office, back to the kitchen, to grab a wad of kitchen roll. As I ran back in, I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw him unbuttoning his sodden shirt. As he worked his way down, undoing each button one by one, he revealed a strong, muscular chest and incredible set of abs, and I couldn’t help imagining running my fingers down them, feeling the smooth ripple of his skin…
“May I?”
I jumped, stunned into silence, and wordlessly placed the kitchen roll into Adam’s outstretched hand, still staring. He tore off several pieces of paper towel and wiped them over his abdomen, attempting to dry himself. It was like driving past a car crash - I knew I should look away, but I couldn’t help myself from watching.
Oh god. Say something. Anything.
“Um… Can I help?”
No! Not that!
Adam chuckled at my mortified gaze, and then walked out from behind his desk. Oh my god, what is happening right now?
He walked past me and reached into the narrow coat closet just behind where I was standing. I couldn’t move. I could smell him, the alluring, minty scent of his cologne mixed with the fresh, hot coffee that had covered his skin. He pulled out a clean shirt and put it on, then buttoned it up hastily, before walking back past me towards his desk.
“It’s okay,” he said with a small grin, as he sat down into his computer chair. “I think I’m sorted. But now I really need a coffee.”
I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I’d been holding, and forced a smile back at him. “I’m on it.”
I rushed back to the kitchen for the third time in as many minutes and set about preparing a replacement coffee for Adam as I tried my best to recover from what had just happened. That body, those abs…
I sighed. Maybe before I’d seen Adam shirtless, I’d had a shot in hell at focusing on my job and working with him in proximity every day without getting caught up, but now? Now, I wasn’t so sure.
As I stirred a teaspoon of sugar into the hot liquid - I still remembered how he took his coffee, at least - I heard the tap-tap of heels entering the kitchen behind me. I turned around and was met with the smile of a short, voluptuous blonde woman maybe five or ten years older than me, dressed in a smart black pantsuit and bright pink stilettos. “Hey, honey,” she greeted me warmly.
“Hi,” I responded breathlessly, realizing I’d still been feeling slightly panicky about the prospect of returning to Adam’s office any minute. I held out my hand, shaking slightly. “I’m Amy. I started here today.”
“Amy,” she cooed as she took my hand firmly in hers, her fingernails long and painted the same shade of fuchsia as her heels. “I’m Gloria. You’re not Adam’s new girl, are you?”
I blushed and pretended to concentrate on stirring Adam’s coffee. “I guess that’s what you’d call me.”
“Oh honey,” she grinned. “You be careful, now.”
I looked at her, trying to read her face for whatever hidden meaning was behind her advice, but she just giggled and walked over to the fridge. As she grabbed a bottle of water and turned to leave, she called back after me. “Good luck today, honey!”
I rolled my eyes. I’d need all the luck I could get, if I had any hope of surviving this.
Chapter Five: Adam
The moment Amy left my office that evening, I let out a massive sigh of relief. Considering we’d spent the last eight hours together, I was proud of myself for maintaining my composure through most of it, even when I had to change my shirt in front of her barely ten minutes after meeting. I’d seen the way she watched me, and the look in her eye had almost been too much for me to ignore.
If we’d met at a bar, I wouldn’t have thought twice about buying her a drink, and the signals she’d been sending me all day told me that she wouldn’t have said no.
Her cheerfull curves would be on my mind for the rest of the evening, I was sure - I’d stolen glances at her perfect butt and long, shapely legs every time she’d walked away to grab a file out of a cupboard or make a photocopy of some document. The moment she’d dropped a folder as she left the room and bent down in the doorway to pick it up, I’d wanted to pin her against the doorframe and run my hands up and down her curves right then and there. Of course, I’d resisted.
I’d been here before - a hot new girl walking around the office always invites temptation and sooner or later, my mind will wander away- but this time, it felt different. It had taken a new kind of self-control to keep myself from making my desire known, as if there had been some kind of energy in the room between us that was trying to draw it out of me.
I’d briefly considered whether it had simply been that Amy was working for me that made her seem even more appealing. Then again, Rachel had worked for me for six years, and I’d never entertained any such thoughts about her, disregarding that she was married with children.
I’d subtly managed to slide a question about Amy’s current situation into the conversation that afternoon, in the hopes of finding out that she was married and that this information would somehow quell my urges. She’d simply brushed past it, mentioning that she’d moved here from New York alone, “for a fresh start” - and then immediately left the room in pursuit of a glass of water that I hadn’t asked for. “Still or sparkling?”, she’d asked as she rushed out, barely waiting for a response.
I’d had several meetings throughout the day, so I’d often left Amy alone in the office. She assured me that she was happy just “figuring things out”, and by the end of the day, when I returned from a sales meeting that had dragged on for an hour and a half, she seemed to have everything in order.
At three minutes past five, Amy locked up her drawers, shut down her computer and pulled her heavy black coat around her shoulders. I stood up to see her out. “Is there anything else you need from me today?” she’d asked as she buttoned up her coat, looking up at me through her thick, dark eyelashes.
I shook my head. “That’s fine,” I assured her. “You head home and enjoy your evening.”
She smiled at me as she walked out, her curls bouncing with each step. “See you tomorrow.”
I took a couple of steps towards the doorway. She’d left the door ajar, and I watched her walking down the hall towards the elevators, the hem of her skirt just visible below her coat, fixated on her strong, sexy legs. She stepped into the lift, and I returned to my desk with a long, slow exhale.
Chapter Six: Amy
; I turned the lock in my door and then leaned back against the wall, dropping my handbag at my feet. I’d survived.
Thankfully, I’d recovered after the coffee incident, and not long after I’d successfully delivered Adam’s replacement coffee, the IT guys had shown up to sort me out with a computer login, so I was soon able to start getting settled in.
Adam had been in and out of his office all day, and I hadn’t actually ended up spending much time with him. I couldn’t tell whether I was more relieved or disappointed.
Either way, it didn’t matter. I’d survived, and I was starting to believe that this wouldn’t be so tricky after all.
“Mrow!”
Minnie rushed around the corner of the bedroom doorway and came running to greet me, rubbing up against my legs, still clad in pantyhose and aching from spending the day in heels for the first time in weeks.
I slipped my heels off and flopped down onto the floor. Minnie crawled into my lap and I sat with her for a moment, tickling her chin and wondering what to do for dinner.
Eventually, I hopped back up and filled Minnie’s bowl with food, then undressed and had a nice, long, hot shower, before throwing on some comfy leggings and my favorite pink jumper. In the kitchen, I poured myself a small glass of wine and then opened the fridge to search for something to eat, but found precisely nothing. Damnit - why had I not done groceries yesterday?
Once I’d finished my wine - approximately six seconds later - I pulled on a pair of trainers and grabbed my handbag, then said a quick goodbye to Minnie, who looked on dejectedly as I headed back out. “I’ll be back in a minute,” I reassured her. “I need dinner too, you know.”
The door slammed behind me as I skipped down the stairs. I lived on the third floor, so I tended to use the stairs rather than the elevator. I considered it my contribution to the environment - saving electricity, and all that.
I walked out of the building and turned down the street, then crossing over towards the tiny, hole-in-the-wall pizza shop I’d been frequenting since I moved here. Sure, the pizza in New York was good, but this place was something else.
I ordered a Napolitano to go, and perched on a bar stool by the window as I waited, watching people pass by. It was a fairly quiet street that I lived on, but tonight it seemed to be buzzing, full of people rushing back and forth, mostly in pairs or groups. Occasionally, a person would stroll past on their own, and I’d wonder where they were going, and whether they were heading to meet someone.
That’s the hardest thing about moving to a new place like this. Everyone already has their little circles, and it’s so difficult to make friends when you’re a single, 32-year-old woman who doesn’t know a soul.
Suddenly, a face that I did know came into view, from behind a crowd of people that had been waiting to cross at a traffic light. It took me a couple of seconds to place it, but as soon as I had, I panicked.
Adam was walking right towards me.
What the hell is he doing here? Did he follow me? I felt my heart race, then gave myself a mental pinch. Get a grip - of course he didn’t follow me. He’s probably just wanting pizza too.
Oh god, he’s seen me.
I looked down at my leggings and jumper. At least I’d worn my colorfull, new trainers, rather than the ratty old ones I still kept for doing chores.
I waved as he walked into the shop, and he smiled back. “Hey, Amy he said with that deep, smooth voice that made me feel a tiny bit giddy. “I could have guessed you were a pizza person.”
I laughed, louder than I’d intended, but I couldn’t help it - coming face to face with him again made me so nervous. If it was even possible, I think he’d become even more handsome since I’d last seen him, only a couple of hours ago. “Is there anyone on this planet who isn’t a pizza person?” I asked jokingly.
He looked around, then back at me. “My father hates pizza,” he said quietly, as if he were telling me a terrible secret.
I gasped in mock horror. “That must have been so traumatic for you as a child.”
All of a sudden, a flat square box was thrust in front of my face. “Miss, your pizza is ready,” a balding, middle-aged Italian man announced with a huge grin. “Enjoy!”
“Grazie,” I thanked him, taking the pizza and then turning back to Adam. “Well, I’ve got a hot date,” I winked, tilting my head towards the box, “so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I stood up to leave, but he put his hand onto my forearm. “Let me order a pizza as well, and we can eat together? We could have pizza for one, for two,” he smiled softly.
Before I’d thought better of it, I found myself nodding.
Chapter Seven: Adam
The moment I saw Amy sitting on her own in the pizza shop, I knew there was no way I could keep walking without at least stopping in to say hi to her. What I hadn’t planned on was ordering a pizza and sitting down to dinner with her. The words had come out of my mouth before I’d even realized what I was saying.
As I returned to the table after placing my order, I tried to convince myself that this was actually a great idea. We could get to know each other in a more relaxed setting, away from the pressures of the office, and I could get over this stupid crush I seemed to have developed. Maybe we could even become friends.
“I’m sorry for this,” she giggled, gesturing at her attire - a cute, cozy-looking pink jumper with long sleeves that her fingers just peeked out of, and tight grey leggings that showed off those wonderful legs I’d been thinking about all day.
“Are you kidding? You look cute,” I blurted out, and we both blushed.
By the time my pizza arrived, we’d stopped paying attention to anything in the pizza shop beside each other.
Amy had started telling me about her life in New York, but I got the feeling she didn’t want to get into too much detail as to what had brought her here. All I knew was that she wanted a fresh start.
“I’ve been to New York a couple of times,” I mentioned when she asked if I’d ever traveled to that part of the country. “Once when I was ten, with my father on a business trip. He thought it’d be character building. The other time was a couple of years ago. My brother John married a girl from Manhattan, and I was his best man.”
“I bet you look great in a tux,” she commented.
I thought for a moment. “Actually,” I said as I pulled out my phone, “I’ll let you decide.” I swiped through my photo gallery until I found a snap of John and I at the reception. I was mid-speech, and he was standing next to me in stitches. It was one of my favorite photos.
Amy looked at it for a long moment. “Wow. I was totally right,” she said softly.
Suddenly, I forgot why I’d been hesitating.
“Amy, do you want to go for a drink?”
She grinned. “I’d love to.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Okay, perfect,” I said quickly, suddenly nervous. “I know a great little place.”
Chapter Eight: Amy
I followed Adam through a narrow doorway and into a dimly-lit bar. He ordered us each a glass of wine, and we then wove through the tables and barstools to find a small, cozy corner booth at the far end of the room. I expected him to sit opposite me, but he slid into the booth next to me. We spent the next hour talking, laughing and drinking. It wasn’t until I got up to use the restroom and found myself swaying as I walked away from the booth that I realized I’d made it through three glasses of wine since we arrived.
When I returned, Adam had moved into the corner of the booth, and as I slid in next to him I lost my balance, falling into his shoulder. He laughed and put a steady, warm hand on each of my arms, propping me upright. “Are you doing okay, Amy?”
My heart racing, I looked straight into his sparkling blue eyes. I couldn’t think straight, and right now there was only one thing I wanted to do.
“I’m doing more than okay,” I responded, without breaking eye contact. I could practically feel him breathing, the energy between us surging with each heartbeat, a
nd as he leaned closer, the world stopped spinning.
Our lips met, and immediately I felt a wave of desire flood my entire body. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wound his around my waist, pulling me closer into him. His hands made their way up into my hair, and I brought mine onto his solid, heaving chest, rising and falling with the urgency of his breath.
“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered in my ear, his words punctuated by warm kisses that made their way up and down my neck as I trembled. I moved back to the edge of the booth, then took Adam’s hand as I stood up and he followed suit. Once we were out, he grabbed my waist and kissed me again, harder this time, then tucked my hair behind my ear. “Actually, I can’t wait,” he murmured as his hands slipped down towards my butt. “I want you now.” My hand still in his, he led me through the bar and into the corridor towards the restrooms, and I felt a tremor of excitement.
We stumbled into the ladies’ room, and he pushed me gently up against the wall, his hands running all over my body, making me tingle with anticipation. He pulled my jumper up over my head, revealing a pink lacy bra, and ran his lips down across my chest, then back up to my neck. With shaking hands, I unbuttoned his shirt, then ran my fingers over his warm, smooth skin, feeling the definition of the muscles I’d practically drooled over that morning. Once I’d pulled his shirt off, I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down, teasingly brushing my fingers against his erect penis through the fabric of his briefs. He let out a tiny moan as I ran my hand lightly over him, feeling him grow in response to my touch.
Risky Business: A Steamy Alpha wealthy Boss, Passionate At First Sight (Fiery Edition Book 1) Page 2