The Deal

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Not at all. I’ll help you.”

  “Me too,” Summer added. “This is going to be one hell of a fun time for you.”

  “So, you think I can do it? I mean, working and all? I’ve never even had a job,” I said as we made our way into the club to find Amy and Rebecca.

  “Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t want to have to work, but you can do it,” Summer said. “What exactly will you be doing? Like filing papers and answering phones or something? You can do that.”

  “I’m going to be his personal assistant.”

  “Ooooh girl, this is getting good. You’ll have so much access to the man that he won’t be able to refuse you.”

  “I know, but I’m not sure I can keep that kind of confidence up around him. It was an act. I was playing. He actually terrifies me and makes me really nervous.”

  “Do you want to be a virgin forever?” Patrick practically screamed as we stood in the club.

  The people in our vicinity looked at me, and one guy even winked.

  “Patrick, you don’t need to tell the world.”

  “Why not? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Actually, you should be proud of it. You’re not easy like so many other girls,” he said as he dramatically looked at our other friends. “At least you’re waiting for a guy you actually care about.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “But, nothing!” Patrick exclaimed. “This is you growing up. We are going to get you a kick ass wardrobe, and you are going to be the best damn assistant this guy has ever had.”

  “I doubt that since I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “You got a job?” Amy asked as she stumbled up behind me.

  “Yep, she’s going to be the personal assistant for that super-hot neighbor of hers,” Patrick said. “And she’s moving in with me.”

  “Oh, my father said he would pay the rent for our place for a few months to make things a little easier on us,” I said as we all gathered around.

  The club was packed, but the crowd was a mix of older businessmen and late twenty—something women who were after them. It wasn’t the hip place it used to be, and hardly anyone was out dancing on the dance floor.

  “Drinks are on me then,” Patrick exclaimed. “That’s awesome.”

  Patrick got us a round of drinks, and we all made our way onto the dance floor to celebrate. We had our little corner of the floor all to ourselves, and it actually ended up being a pretty fun night. We laughed, danced, and talked until the late hours of the morning and didn’t have to worry about a crowded dance floor.

  “Maybe we should come here more often.” I laughed as we waited for our Uber. “At least we got to hear ourselves when we talked.”

  “And the guys pretty much left us alone, so that was fun,” Summer said.

  “I thought you guys wanted men to hit on you?” Patrick asked a little confused.

  “No, we like to hang out with each other. It’s not always about the guys,” Amy said as she let her head rest on my shoulder.

  “Yeah, sometimes it’s just about friends,” I said.

  “I’m going to pick you up tomorrow, and we can go shopping for business clothes,” Summer suggested. “You need to be sexy but professional. It’s a hard balance.”

  “Okay, thanks, because I have no idea what to buy.”

  “Neither does Summer,” Rebecca laughed. “I’m coming with you two. There’s no way I’m letting Summer pick your work clothes.”

  “Deal,” I said as we pulled away from the club. “I’ll need all the help I can get.”

  Chapter 5

  Jason

  “How you feeling?” Kevin asked as we ran into each other in the parking lot.

  “Oh, you mean after my weekend on the water or how am I feeling about the devastatingly hot neighbor girl coming to torture me today?” I asked.

  Kevin laughed. “I was thinking about your weekend sailing, but maybe we should talk about Anna starting today.”

  “Seriously, I’m not going to talk to her or interact with her at all. I’m going to keep my head down and get a shit ton of work done. That’s my only option.”

  “Hell, if the side effect of having this hot girl around is that you’ll do more work… I’m game,” he said with a laugh.

  “I know you think this is funny because you’re married, and there’s no temptation for you, but it’s not funny. Young girls like her get obsessive, and then work is going to be terrible, and things with her father will be even worse. This has disaster written all over it.”

  “I’m sure you’re just exaggerating. It will be fine.”

  “Wait and see. I don’t think you understand what we are dealing with.”

  “Come on,” Kevin said as we made our way up to the office. “She is barely an adult. How hard could it be to say no to… shit is that her?”

  We had just made it into the building as a red convertible drove past and into the parking lot. Anna had on a black suit, and her blonde hair was expertly pulled up into some sort of elaborate hairstyle.

  “That’s her,” I managed to say as we both watched her climb out of her car and adjust her skirt.

  “Damn dude, you’re screwed.” Kevin laughed and hit me on the back. “She looks dangerous.”

  “Shit is exactly what I was telling you.”

  “I thought you were talking about some young teenager, not a full—grown woman. That girl is going to be trouble.”

  We stayed in the lobby, and both stared at Anna as she smoothed out her skirt and buttoned up her blazer. She looked professional and perfectly dressed for an office setting, yet every curve of her body was teasing me as she started her walk into the building.

  “Let’s get upstairs before she sees us ogling her like a piece of meat,” I suggested and hurried to the elevator.

  “Dude, you are so screwed.” Kevin laughed as he slugged me in the arm. “You aren’t going to last a week with that girl around. Maybe I should start doing all the work with Edward, you know, just in case he ends up hating you.”

  “No, stop it. I’m going to be just fine. I’m staying away from her, and that’s the end of it.”

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  I didn’t believe a word that was coming out of my mouth, but I sure was going to do my best to keep things professional in the office. I hurried into my office and shut the door while I waited for the secretary to buzz me and let me know that Anna had arrived.

  I grabbed some water out of my small fridge and tried to calm my racing heart. She looked good. Damn good. The Anna I was used to seeing was always wearing club gear, workout gear, or a swimsuit. I’d never really seen her wearing normal clothing and certainly not business clothes. She looked all grown up.

  My phone buzzed. “Ms. Anna Cook is here to see you.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right out.”

  “I already sent her your direction,” Zelda said and then hung up.

  I didn’t want to be alone in my office with Anna, especially after our last encounter on the trampoline. Anna had a way of getting what she wanted, and if she wanted me, I doubted I’d be able to resist.

  I threw open my door in an effort to catch her in the sitting area outside my office, but instead, I was face to face with Anna. Her aqua blue eyes dazzled as she smiled at me, and I couldn’t help smiling back.

  “Well, hello there, stranger,” she said and stuck her hand out to shake mine. “I’m Anna Cook, your new personal assistant.”

  “Hi Anna, it’s nice to see you again.”

  “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really appreciate it, and I won’t let you down.”

  “Okay, great. I’m glad I could help.”

  “I’m going to be applying to college soon, and I’d like to get some business experience under my belt.”

  “Ah, okay, that makes sense. Do you know what you’ll be majoring in?”

  “Right now, I like the idea of getting an MBA, but who knows, ma
ybe I’ll really hate it here and decide against the whole college thing.” She laughed. Her laugh was soft, and yet it radiated through my body. Her head tilted up slightly, and I took a quick glance at how her silk pink blouse fit her body like perfection. I only looked for a moment before her eyes caught me, and I quickly looked away.

  “That sounds like a good plan,” I mumbled. “Okay, well you can sit at this desk here, and I’ll have Zelda show you around the office. She’s the secretary for the floor and does most of the office work, but I’ll have some specific projects I’ll need you to do. Are you familiar with Microsoft Office?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is how you reach me, and then this button calls Zelda,” I pressed the button to ring Zelda even though she was only on the other side of the hallway. “Zelda, can you take Anna around the office and give her a quick tour?”

  “No, sorry, I’m helping Kevin with a project right now.”

  “Oh, okay. I can do it,” I said reluctantly. “I’ll just give you a quick run through for now.”

  “Sounds good,” Anna said. “Can I leave my bag here?”

  She had a small pink bag in her hand, much smaller than the bags of other women who came into the office. All the other women carried huge satchels that seemed to have everything in them from tennis shoes to curling irons.

  “Yes, it should be safe under your desk.”

  I stepped toward the middle of the hallway to give Anna some room to put her bag down. I wasn’t at all prepared for the jolt of excitement that shot through my body as she leaned over and her ass pressed toward me. Even fully clothed, I could still see the perfection of her body and instantly longed to have my hands wrapped around her and grabbing that incredible ass of hers.

  As she stood back up, I quickly looked away and then started walking down the hallway for her to catch up with me. I was going to have to stay a step ahead just to ensure I could focus and wouldn’t be distracted watching the sway of her hips as she walked.

  “So, tell me a little more about what you’ll be needing from me? Am I your secretary or assistant or what will you call me?” Anna asked as we approached the small meeting room at the west end of the floor.

  “I consider you my assistant, but if you prefer to be called something else, I’m open.”

  “Hmm, I’m fine with assistant,” she said as she smiled, and her eyes moved down my body and quickly away.

  “This is our small conference room. I meet with Kevin and some of our other staff in here. Sometimes we meet in the big conference room even when there aren’t many of us, though.”

  “Okay, this is a nice table,” she said and pressed her full body weight on it.

  I couldn’t help it, my body got hard as she leaned slightly over the table. She could have innocently been commenting on the table, but all I could think about was how delightful her body would look bent over that wood table as I took her from behind.

  We quickly moved out of that room and toured the rest of the offices and break room on that side of the floor. I introduced her to the other employees that worked with us and made sure I stayed at least one step ahead of her to prevent my bodily reactions to her ass.

  “Kevin, this is Anna, my new assistant,” I said as I opened the door to his office and found him sitting at his desk with glasses on.

  Kevin didn’t even wear glasses, but he had them on, and his hair was all messed up. He barely looked up at us and waved while mumbling something and then putting his head back down to work.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Anna said as she strolled right into his office and put her hand out to shake his.”

  Anna had done something similar with each of the people I’d introduced her to, but as she approached Kevin, I saw panic wash over his face. His eyes latched onto her breasts, and he stared at her blankly as she held her hand out. Finally, he shook her hand and then went back to work without saying another word.

  “Sorry, he’s not all that friendly,” I said as Anna came out of the room, and I shrugged my shoulder at Kevin. He clearly had been trying to avoid having to talk with Anna, and it was really funny to watch.

  As we approached the final room on the far end of the floor, I almost didn’t take her in there. I knew she was going to love the conference room just as much as I did. The long wooden table was amazing, and something to admire. “That’s the large conference room, nothing too exciting in there,” I said as I opened the door and then tried to quickly close it.

  “Oh, my gosh that table is amazing,” Anna said as she pushed past me and touched the table. “Hmmm, this wood, it’s so smooth. Have you ever felt this wood?”

  “Yeah, it’s really nice. I love it,” I said. I stood in the doorway and did my best not to look at Anna as she admired the wood, but it was utterly impossible. She leaned over the table and let her hands glide outward and then back toward her as they caressed the shiny, hard table. She was letting out soft moans of delight as her fingers moved down the table, and I could hardly stand it another second.

  My primal instincts took over, and I took a few steps toward Anna, leaned next to her and let my hands glide up and back on the table. “Yeah, it’s amazing wood.”

  “It’s so smooth. I love that feeling under my fingers, don’t you?” she said as she turned around and we were face to face.

  The conference room door had closed behind me, and every part of my body wanted to throw Anna onto the table and just take her right then and there. That was what she wanted. That was why she had asked to be my assistant. I could give her exactly what she wanted at that moment even though that was a bad idea. “Anna,” I said softly as I moved a few inches closer.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said and took a step back. “I’m going to be professional here. I understand you went out on a limb to hire me, and I appreciate it. I promise I’ll behave.”

  I laughed out loud at the notion that Anna could behave herself. It wasn’t as if she had ever been a bad person; she was a wonderful girl, and her naughtiness was endearing and seemed more like part of her personality than something she was doing maliciously. “Well, since you brought it up,” I said as I smiled at her. “We do need to keep things professional while we are working together. And maybe no more wet trampoline time?”

  “Oh, of course. I’ve actually moved out and into my own place, so I won’t even be around the house much anymore.”

  “You moved out?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a place with a friend. You know, it’s time to move on with life.”

  “That’s got to be exciting.”

  “It is, and terrifying.” She laughed. “But there’s a lot of change going on all at once.”

  “I hope you will like it here; I think now that we have some ground rules, things will be great. I already know we get along,” I said as we made our way back toward my office. “And you know me and my family well, so I’d feel comfortable with you helping with Clyde if there was an emergency.”

  “Oh, yes, please let me help with that cutie. I can’t even handle his smile. You know he’s going to be a lot of trouble when he gets older. Like when he becomes a teenager, girls are going to be after him like crazy.”

  I couldn’t imagine Clyde as a teenager. My sweet little five—year—old was still so innocent and adorable. But the truth was, the next ten years were going to fly by, and he’d be a full—fledged teenager, and I wouldn’t be that cool dad anymore. Instead, I’d be the guy he makes fun of with his friends when I can’t figure out some new technology gadget. “That will be wild. I can’t even imagine it.”

  “Okay, so what would you like me to take care of today? Do you have dry cleaning? Word processing? I’m ready, so give me what you’ve got.”

  “Actually, this is going to sound like a totally horrible task, but I desperately need it done,” I said as I winced at the idea of asking her to do it.

  “What is it? Anything, I’m game.”

  “So, you know we are wo
rking with your father’s company, and I have this huge file that shows all their previous projects, the budgets, and the final costs. I really need them organized so we can analyze everything better.”

  “I’m on it. Do I have an official email? Send it to me, and I’ll get started.”

  “I’ll get an email going for you today, but for now, I can give you the disc with the files on it. Actually, there are ten disks total.”

  “Wow, okay, so do you want me to make you a spreadsheet?”

  “That would be great. The files came over as scanned copies of their bids. I’d love to have that information transferred into a working spreadsheet. That would be amazing.”

  “Then consider it done,” Anna said as she walked with me into my office, and I grabbed her the stack of disks.

  “It might take you a few weeks, and that’s fine. I’ll probably have other jobs I’ll need help with, and you can just work on this in the background.”

  “I’ll get to it,” she said and quickly turned toward the door. “Thanks again for the job. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  As she took a seat at her new desk, I felt relief that we had straightened things out between us. She was on the same page as me about keeping things professional. It was such a huge weight off my shoulders. I was still going to be thinking about her and that day on her trampoline, but I was pretty sure I could behave myself if she behaved herself.

  ***

  Our first week together had gone off amazingly well. Anna was working diligently on the file I’d asked her to put together, and I was avoiding looking at her ass as much as humanly possible. I was extremely grateful that she was dressing modestly and hadn’t been flirting with me too much, but I still went home at night with dirty thoughts of Anna filling my mind.

  As Friday rolled around, I had to meet with Anna’s father, Edward about a pretty delicate topic, and I knew he wasn’t going to be happy about it. Kevin and I had gone through the preliminary numbers, and we were going to have to let about a half dozen people go from Cook, Sparser, and Conner Buildings. They were redundant midlevel employees and really served no purpose that the higher-level managers couldn’t take care of.