by Tyler Grey
“Language!” I exclaimed in exasperation when he closed the door hurriedly after a car horn honked behind us. “For God’s sake! Why is my life so fucking complicated at times?”
This was typical Todd behavior. He gave enough to make it seem like he was sincere about helping, but when it came down to actually helping, he was a phantom. I seethed inwardly the entire drive to Jackson Finance.
I didn’t expect a warm reception when I entered Seth’s office to find his desk suddenly facing the opposite direction of mine. The muscles in his back stiffened when I closed the doors, but he didn’t turn to look in my direction. His fingers were angrily pounding at the keyboard in response to what I could see was an email of some sort.
Coldness radiated off of Seth in waves. This was the exact reason why I didn’t want to carry on a relationship with anyone—particularly my boss. Emotions clouded everything. The last time I had let my emotions cloud my reason, I ended up in an even shittier situation.
I settled down to work without saying a word to Seth either. I had other things to worry about in the meantime. The disclosure deadline was approaching fast. We needed to finish sorting through everything, but I doubt that Seth wanted to join me on this task. He took a couple of phone calls on his Bluetooth set over the next few hours, but still refused to utter a word in my direction.
Which was fine by me.
I didn’t want the task of filling in the silence with aimless conversation about work. We both knew what we needed to do throughout the afternoon. It required no communication between the two of us either.
After checking through a couple of emails, I pulled out my phone to pull up the only contact information I had for Todd in my phone. It was his work cell phone. The last text message I had sent was over three years ago. Anger flooded through me again while I stared down at the blank screen. I didn’t even know how to express any of it to him. For the past twelve years, I had done all the dirty work of raising a child into a decent human being. I made mistakes. I did good things most days. I was trying my damn hardest to make sure Christian had all the right tools to be a successful adult in life. Then, Todd had the balls to step in all of a sudden.
Christian told me you’ve been emailing with him. I texted quickly. I don’t appreciate you encouraging our son to keep secrets from me. You signed off your rights years ago when you left. Remember? Who gave you permission to suddenly step in to be the father that you haven’t been to our son? I’ve done all the hard work, Todd. Without your help too, I’ll add.
I didn’t expect a reply, either. Unable to stand the cold silence in the office, I rose from my desk close to noon after Seth stomped his way back into the private room attached to his office. I gathered my purse as well. It was close enough to lunch that I wanted to get some fresh air even though I had no lunch packed. I was used to our lunches these days, so I hadn’t even bothered figuring out a lunch for myself. I hurried in the direction of the elevators with my purse clutched tightly in my arms.
“Alisha?”
I groaned inwardly when I turned to find Jim hurrying up behind me with his own rain jacket draped over his arm. He offered a bright smile that I couldn’t even force myself to return.
“On your way to lunch?” He asked when I pushed the elevator button. “There’s a great sandwich place in walking distance from here. Care to join me?”
The elevator doors slid open. I glanced over my shoulder to look at Seth’s office, but his desk remained empty. I had no doubts that he was going to be furious to find that I was gone earlier than normal for lunch, but I couldn’t stand it any longer. I needed a break away from it to sort through the chaos in my head.
“Sure,” I said. “That sounds great. I’m starving.”
Jim beamed a happy grin at me on the ride down. The tiny sandwich shop was only a mile away from Jackson Finance. Jim led me to a small booth area after ordering our sandwiches. He held out his credit card before I could even pull out my purse to pay for my own meal. A bit of dread filled me at the gesture.
“So,” Jim said, unrolling his sandwich. “How is the disclosure going?”
“It’s nearly over with,” I said and forced myself to take a bite of my own sandwich. “I’m hoping by the end of next week we’ll be completely finished with it.”
“Seems like it’s been a real bitch to get through.”
“It has,” I agreed with a shrug. “It’s not a big deal though. I’m paid to help.”
Jim’s eyes darkened slightly then. He took another bite of his sandwich before setting it down back on the parchment paper.
“How is working with Mr. Jackson?” he asked pointedly. “There aren’t very many people in the company that are happy with him right now.”
“Why is that?” I asked, not that surprised. Seth was famous for being a micromanager. It didn’t settle well with anyone.
“He’s a micromanager,” Jim said. “They aren’t happy with him being a dick all the time. Which he has a tendency to be at all hours of the day. I don’t know how you’re cooped up in there with him all day long.”
I avoided Jim’s eyes because I didn’t want him to see the real reason why I wanted to get away for the afternoon. “It’s honestly not that bad. This is his company, so he’s doing what he sees as best for the company is all.”
“I suppose you’re right about that. I just don’t like how he’s kept you tucked away from everyone in the office.”
“It’s to avoid distractions,” I replied defensively. A headache began to pound in my temples then. “Honestly, Jim, I didn’t come to lunch to be pried on about Mr. Jackson. My job is already stressful enough without being questioned.”
“I just worry about you is all,” Jim said and reached across the table for my hand. “That’s all it is, Alisha. I don’t want you to get hurt by him.”
I snatched my hand away in irritation. “I’m not going to get hurt. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“I see the way that Seth looks at you,” he said in a clipped voice. “He has a reputation where women are concerned. You don’t need a man like that in your life.”
“I don’t need a man right now at all,” I said, sighing in exhaustion. I should’ve known that this lunch would turn into something like this. “I don’t need a relationship, Jim, and I don’t want one. I just don’t have the time for one.”
Disappointment filled Jim’s eyes at that. I gathered my purse from the chair next to me with tears stinging the back of my eyes. I didn’t even know why I was crying, but I wanted to go back to the privacy of Seth’s office, which was saying a lot, considering the fact that Seth was moody and distant, so it was hardly comfortable.
Chapter 15
Seth
I splashed cold water against my face to cool the frustration burning inside of me. It didn’t matter what I did at this point. The answer was no. I had to respect Alisha’s decision to keep her distance from any sort of a relationship—even if she had considered it. The next few days meant we would be in close contact with one another while we finished up this disclosure.
Every inch of my body had felt tense since our dinner date. I shrugged my shoulders to ease the tension out of the muscles there. Patting my face dry, I tossed the towel back into the hamper next to the bed before exiting the room. I stopped short in surprise to find Alisha’s desk already empty. Twenty minutes earlier than her usual lunch break.
Irritation shot through me. There were no notes around my desk to explain her reason for leaving for lunch so early. Nothing at all.
I strode over to Alisha’s desk to find her purse and phone gone. Her laptop was powered off as well. I rubbed the back of my neck in aggravation to fight off the headache I could feel brewing at the back of my head.
“Mr. Jackson?”
One of the receptionists, the young and busty curly-haired woman who directed calls and guests from the lobby, appeared in the doorway of my office. She held out a plastic bag that smelled of garlic roasted chicken
and mashed potatoes.
“This came for you,” she said with a sultry smile. “I wanted to come bring it to you personally since I knew you were having lunch alone today.”
“How did you know that?” I asked, sharply.
Her sultry smile faded a little at the question. “Because I saw Alisha Townsend leaving about five minutes ago with Jim Chambers. They left note that they would be about two hours.”
“They left a note with you?”
“With security,” she said. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Mr. Jackson. You can ask security if you want to double check my facts.”
I bit the tip of my tongue to contain my annoyance. I couldn’t even remember her name. A temp agency had hired her for the position in the lobby, but she always seemed to be popping up.
“I will check,” I said coldly. “Set the bag on my desk. Thank you.”
She didn’t bother masking her disappointment as she set the bag down on my desk. I waited until she closed my doors before I picked up the phone to call security down in the lobby.
“Ms. Townsend was with him,” they confirmed. “Mr. Chambers left word with us that they would be back in about two hours. Something about lunch in the city.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Let me know when they arrive back to the building. Please.”
“We will, Mr. Jackson.”
I slammed the phone back down in the cradle. Jealousy seared right through the core of me while I paced the space of my office. First, it was blowing off work with me for the past two days. Now, it was to go to lunch with Jim Chambers of all fucking people. The damn woman was lucky that I couldn’t fire her on the spot for being so careless with her job. Not after giving her a hefty promotion to help me through this disclosure.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I growled under my breath. “What the hell is she thinking?”
She was running away from me as far as she possibly could. She wanted distance away from the situation. I wanted an answer though. After spending so much time avoiding Jim Chambers, why did she accept the invitation now?
A part of me cautioned that worrying about this sort of thing crossed a line. We weren’t together. Alisha had turned my proposal down. I couldn’t suppress the burn of jealousy inside of me though. Jim Chambers, of all the men she could pick to go to lunch with.
The next two hours ticked by slowly as I paced my office with the bag of food cold on my desk. I took only a few calls that needed to be answered while I ignored the rest. It wasn’t until I received a text message from one of the security guards to let me know that Alisha had checked back into the building that I let out a pent-up breath of relief. Temporary relief before jealousy boiled over me when she stepped back into the office.
Alisha’s eyes flicked over to where I stood near the window. A guilty expression crossed her face as she set her purse back down on the desk. Sliding out of her sweater, Alisha set it on the back of her chair.
“It must be nice to be able to just take a two-hour lunch date,” I said cynically. “Was it at least a nice place to have lunch? I do pay Mr. Chambers quite well.”
“It was a nice place,” Alisha said. Her eyes didn’t waver away from mine. “I’m sorry that it took so long. I just figured you needed some time to yourself given what has happened between the two of us.”
“Just what has happened between the two of us?”
I tucked my hands into the pockets of my pants when they trembled from suppressed anger. I watched as Alisha’s eyes flickered nervously.
“I know that you are upset,” she said, avoiding the question. “I’m not going to play this game with you, Seth. We have a job to get done by the end of the afternoon.”
She presented me with her back to tidy up a pile of papers. I crossed the office with my hands still tucked in my pockets. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to taste those lips again, but also because I wanted to remind her of the passion she felt for me. She had kissed me back in the SUV on our dinner date. I had felt the shudders of pleasure going through her body in waves when we kissed.
I came to a stand behind her stiff back. Unable to resist, and blinded by the jealousy still searing through me, I rested my hands on her shoulders. Alisha stiffened under my touch.
“You don’t have to remind me of the deadlines we are laboring under here,” I said softly. “This disclosure is important to my business. I’m putting a lot of trust in you to help me through it all, and to get it done properly and on time.”
“I can assure you that I’m working as hard as I can to get it done. You can trust me on that.”
“How can I trust you on that?” I asked with a snide laugh. “Taking a two-hour lunch, today of all days, doesn’t raise my confidence in you to do the job.”
Alisha whirled around underneath my hands. Her eyes glittered with anger while she pushed my hands away from shoulders.
“How dare you question me!” she hissed. “I’ve been working overtime with you to do this job. I’ve sacrificed time away from my son to help you through this disclosure. If anything, I’ve been the one pushing this entire thing to an end. It’s you that is slowing us down!”
Anger shot through me at that. “I’m slowing us down? You were the one gallivanting off to lunch with your new man today. We could have used those two hours to work on this disclosure.”
“You can’t handle it without me?” Her eyebrow arched up at me with an incredulous expression. “This entire company was built upon your shoulders. Now you’re trying to tell me that for two hours today, you couldn’t handle a bit of work on your own?”
“I asked you to help me,” I replied defensively. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the boss around this building. If I assign a job to you, I expect you to do the work. Not take lunches.”
“You take personal lunches all the time. What were we going to do today when you ordered lunch?”
“That’s not my point,” I said with a dismissive tone. “I have to let my employees take scheduled lunches. Those lunches are only an hour. Not two hours.”
Alisha leveled a challenging glance at me. “So, are you going to fire me then?”
“I’m considering it,” I said slowly. “I don’t need employees sneaking off on private lunch dates with one another.”
“And what were you proposing to me Friday night then?” Alisha jammed an angry finger into my chest. “Don’t you think hooking up during work hours would take time away from this disclosure? It was your suggestion that we take advantage of our time together.”
I reached up to snatch Alisha’s wrist away from my chest. I held on firmly when she attempted to tug her hand away from mine.
“That offer still stands,” I said. “This is my business. I am the boss here. I can do whatever I please.”
Alisha snorted indelicately at that. “You sound like a typical man with tons of power and money,” she said. “All this influence in the city of Boston. You tell all your employees that they can’t hook up with one another, but here you are telling me that you don’t obey your own set of rules.”
“One of the perks of having your own business,” I said indifferently. “I don’t have to defend myself from anyone. I’ve worked hard to be where I am.”
“So have I,” Alisha said. She tugged again at the hand I still held onto. “Don’t doubt that I’ve worked hard to provide for my son.”
“I find that hard to believe when you’re sneaking off to have lunch with Mr. Chambers.”
“Unbelievable,” Alisha spat out, wrestling against my grasp. “You’re such a hypocrite. You know that? You’re acting like I owe you some loyalty. We aren’t dating. I never agreed to your proposal, so you have no right to tell me who I can and can’t have lunch with.”
“Not outside of this building,” I said calmly, despite the anger brewing inside of me. Something else sparked inside of me too. Desire. Watching Alisha make use of her backbone against me only added fuel to that fire. “I can tell you, however, who you can or can’t see while you are on
the clock. If you don’t like it, work somewhere else.”
“Maybe I will,” she said, angrily. “I can find another job without—”
“A boss who desires you?” I suggested. The color in Alisha’s face turned into a pretty shade of pink. “A boss who’d like to get to know you a bit better?”
“This is wrong. You know that it is.”
I knew that it was. The rational side of my brain cautioned that this would spell trouble for the both of us. I found my gaze settling on Alisha’s pouty lips as they parted to suck in hard breaths. Desire clouded my head. All I could do was focus on the temptation standing in front of me.
I could read the conflict of desires in Alisha’s eyes, too, while she struggled to control her own wavering emotions. She tried to step away from me, tugging at her wrist again. I refused to let go. Not just yet, anyway.
I was going to kiss her again. Fuck the consequences. It was the middle of the afternoon with everyone in the office still around. I didn’t care though.
I tugged Alisha forward until her body brushed against mine when she stumbled forward. She used her free hand to steady herself on my chest, but I didn’t give her a chance to react. I leaned down to capture her lips in a searing kiss that I poured everything into. The frustration. The tension. I kissed her long and hard until I felt a shudder go through her body. I kissed her until her own lips started to move beneath mine with a whimper of pleasure.
Chapter 16
Alisha
We had to stop. I needed to stop.
The sensation of Seth’s lips on mine again after that panty-dropping kiss on Friday did things to me that I didn’t feel proud of. It reminded me of dirty lust. It reminded me of those true crime shows on television that talked about affairs in the workplace. I had always judged both parties for being so irrational about their desires. Work was work. Sex should be taken somewhere else.
I knew how those couples felt now. The tip of Seth’s tongue slid along the seam of my lips before coaxing my mouth open for another dominating kiss that sent lust spiraling through me. I clutched the fabric of Seth’s shirt to ground myself from soaring away. Seth released my wrist to rest his hand on the curve of my lower back. A shiver went up my spine at the simple, but sensual touch of his fingers rubbing there.