by Ramona Gray
“More than ready,” she sighed and returned the book she was holding into the cardboard box. Edward had left an hour ago, gruffly informing her that he and Melissa were going for an early lunch to go over the details of the Johnson case. She followed Olivia out of Edward’s office and grabbed her purse.
“I was thinking sushi for lunch,” Olivia said. “Yay or nay?”
“Definite yay,” Kate replied. “And it’s my turn to buy.”
* * *
“So tell me why, after pining for cute Josh from the bus for weeks, you’re not looking so thrilled at going out with him?” Olivia asked before popping the avocado roll into her mouth.
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked. “I’m happy about it.”
“Sure you are,” Olivia said. “What are you planning on wearing?”
“Well, depending on what restaurant he suggests, I was thinking of that cute blue dress I wore to Arwin’s wedding last year.”
“Eh,” Olivia said.
“What?” Kate asked indignantly. “You told me I looked cute in that dress.”
“Yeah, I lied. I mean, you looked cute, but too cute. Like little girl cute. I think you want to go for a more grown-up look with Josh,” Olivia said.
“What do you suggest then, oh wise one?” Kate asked.
“What about that sexy green dress you wore last year to Julian and Liz’s party?”
“I wore that dress to their Halloween party. It was my ‘vampire hooker’ dress, remember?”
Olivia laughed. “Of course I remember. And as long as you don’t pair the dress with the fishnet stockings, stiletto heels and fake fangs, no one will know it was your vampire hooker dress.”
“I don’t know,” Kate replied doubtfully. “It’s shorter then what I would normally wear plus it’s pretty low cut.”
“I remember,” Olivia said. “Make sure you wear the push up bra with it. The spectacular view of the girls will leave Josh drooling.”
“I’ll think about it,” Kate laughed.
* * *
Kate stood and placed her hands on the small of her back, grimacing slightly she stretched. It had taken another hour and a half but she was finally finished filling the bookshelf with the various law books in Edward’s collection. She stretched again, arching her back, and relished the feel of her spine stretching.
From his position at the doorway Edward watched as Kate stretched, his eyes drawn to the prominent curve of her breasts as she placed her hands in the small of her back and rubbed gently. She had put her long hair up, twisting it at the back and somehow managing to keep the mass of hair up with nothing more than one of his pencils from his desk.
How did she do that, he wondered to himself. A few stray tendrils of hair had fallen from the twist and curled against her cheeks. She looked warm and flushed and he was struck with the sudden urge to cross the room and place a path of soft kisses across the nape of her neck. Instead he cleared his throat and walked towards his desk. Kate jumped before turning and smiling politely at him.
“How was your lunch meeting, Mr. Turner?”
“Fine thank you, Ms. Jones,” he replied. “I need you to type up the notes from my meeting with Melissa, photocopy the sections I’ve marked in these two files and arrange a meeting with Mr. Johnson for Friday afternoon. We’ll probably need about two hours of time so if you can book off the time in my calendar, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course,” Kate replied. She took the notes and the file folders from him and headed toward the door.
Edward stared at her retreating ass before dropping into his chair and staring moodily out the window.
* * *
“So, you guys hear the latest office rumour?” Rose asked.
It was Friday afternoon and Kate and Olivia had joined Rose for her daily lunch walk.
“No, what is it?” Olivia asked.
“Melissa and Mr. Turner are having sex,” Rose said gleefully.
Kate stumbled and nearly fell. Olivia grabbed her arm and kept her upright as Kate stared blankly at Rose. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope,” Rose replied. “You’ve both seen how much time they’ve been spending together, and Sheila says she saw Melissa practically sitting in Mr. Turner’s lap in his office when she came back from the court run yesterday afternoon.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean they’re sleeping together. Melissa is a flirt.”
“Yeah, but Sheila said that Mr. Turner wasn’t exactly pushing her away.”
Kate’s stomach twisted weirdly. Over the last two days, Edward and Melissa had been spending plenty of time in his office with Melissa divulging the details of the Johnson case to Edward.
“They’re working on the Johnson case together,” Kate said. “I highly doubt that Mr. Turner would be stupid enough to jeopardize his partnership with the firm by sleeping with Melissa. He’s been here less than a week for God’s sake.”
Rose shrugged. “I’m just telling you what the latest rumour is.”
“Ridiculous,” Olivia snorted. “Seriously, the employees in our damn office are so desperate for scandal that they make up shit all the time.”
She glanced at Kate as they turned the corner and started toward the office. “Are you excited about your date tonight?”
“Ooh, you have a date? Who with?” Rose asked.
“His name is Josh and I met him on the train,” Kate said.
“I want all the date details first thing Monday, especially the dirty ones,” Rose demanded as she opened the door to the building and Kate and Olivia followed her into the lobby.
Kate grinned at her. “A lady never kisses and tells, Rose.”
“Tease,” Rose said before stepping into the elevator. “You know I live vicariously through you single girls. The last time my Bob and I did anything dirty was when we participated in the ‘Mud, Sweat and Tears’ competition last year.”
* * *
Kate picked up her phone, “Hey, Rose, what’s up?”
“Mr. Johnson is here for his meeting with Mr. Turner,” Rose replied.
“Thank you, I’ll be right out.” She stopped briefly at the door to Edward’s office where he and Melissa were reviewing a file on his desk. “Mr. Johnson is here. Should I show him to your office?”
Edward looked up briefly. “Yes, please.”
Kate headed towards reception. She smiled at the short, balding man who was standing next to the reception desk chatting with Rose. “Hello, Mr. Johnson.”
“Katie!” He exclaimed delightedly. “It’s fantastic to see you again, my dear.”
He clasped her hand warmly and stood on his tip-toes to kiss her lightly on the cheek. “You’re looking as lovely as ever.”
“Thank you, Mr. Johnson,” Kate said.
“Now, Katie, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Alfred?”
She took his offered arm and they walked toward Edward’s office. “Can I get you a coffee, Alfred?”
“No thanks, my dear. I’m afraid at my age, coffee this late in the afternoon will keep me awake most of the night,” he replied.
They had reached Edward’s office and Kate knocked lightly and led Alfred into the room.
“Edward Turner, this is Alfred Johnson, one of our favourite clients. Alfred, this is Edward, our new partner, and of course you know Melissa Saunders.”
“Nice to meet you, Turner,” Alfred said in a booming voice as he shook Edward’s hand. “I’ve heard good things about you. Melissa, it’s good to see you again.”
“Alfred,” Melissa nodded to him, “please have a seat”.
Kate squeezed Alfred’s arm before walking towards the door.
“A pleasure as always, Katie,” Alfred called after her. Edward’s stomach twisted when Kate turned and favoured him with a heart-stopping smile.
It was ridiculous to be jealous of the old man, he thought but it didn’t stop the jealousy twisting through his stomach. Pushing the image of Kate’s smile out of his he
ad he sat down and focused on the task at hand.
* * *
“Okay, Chicken, be honest with me. Do I look like a hooker?”
Kate turned from the full-length mirror and faced Chicken who was currently trying to shred the window blinds. When Chicken declined to answer, she turned and faced herself in the mirror once again. She thought she looked okay, she had chosen to wear her hair up in a French twist with a few tendrils framing her face. She had applied a little more make-up then she normally wore and she thought the combination of smoky grey eye shadow and the lip gloss with just a hint of red in it was a nice look for her. She had followed Olivia’s advice and worn her black push-up bra under the infamous green dress. She’d gone one step further and paired the bra with a black thong and a matching garter belt and stockings. Black modest heels had completed the outfit.
“Not that I’m planning on doing anything,” she assured Chicken. “But a girl likes to look her best under her clothes too.”
She felt very feminine and more than a little daring as she did a small turn in front of the mirror. The green dress had a tight plunging neckline that combined with the push-up bra showed off a generous amount of cleavage. She worried that it was both too tight and short but after trying a few test sittings, decided that she could live with the length the dress rode up when she sat down.
“I’m not showing off my hooch so I think we’re good, Chicken.”
Having given up on her burning quest to destroy the blinds, Chicken yawned in her general direction before jumping off the bed and leaving the room.
Kate checked her cell phone. She still had nearly two hours until her date and she thought briefly about driving over to Olivia’s house and seeing what she thought of her outfit. If she stuck around at home, she’d just end up covered in Chicken’s fur. The phone beside her bed rang and Kate rolled her eyes. The only person who ever called her on her landline was Olivia and she picked it up with a small grin.
“Yes, Olivia, I’m wearing the push-up bra and yes, the girls look fantastic in it.”
There was a moment of stunned silence and then a thoroughly masculine voice said, “Ms. Jones?”
Her mouth dropped open in dismay and she cursed inwardly before saying, “Yes?”
“This is Edward Turner. Have I caught you at a bad time?”
“Um, no. Of course not. What can I do for you, Mr. Turner?” Kate said as she closed her eyes and prayed for the floor to swallow her whole.
After another brief moment of silence, Edward said, “I’m sorry to call you at home, but I have a bit of an emergency situation. Alfred just left my office and we have some urgent papers that need to be filed tomorrow morning. I could really use some help with making the corrections to them.”
“You’re filing on Saturday?” Kate asked.
“Yes, I realize it’s unusual but the whole situation is a bit unusual. Could I ask you to come in this evening or do you have other plans?”
Kate thought fast. It was six thirty, and if she left for the office now she could probably have the typing done by seven thirty and still catch the train to the restaurant for eight. “I have plans for eight but I could stop by the office right now. Do you think I’d be finished by seven-thirty?”
“Absolutely,” Edward replied.
“I’ll see you in about half an hour then,” Kate said and hung up the phone. She took a moment to take one last look in the mirror, smoothing the dress down over her hips, and then left the bedroom.
* * *
Kate let herself into the office but didn’t bother to turn on the lights in reception. She hurried to her desk, switched on the small lamp on her desk, dropped her purse and her jacket on her chair and headed into Edward’s office.
“Hi,” she said as she walked into the room. He had the overhead lights off, the room was lit only by the lamp on his desk, and his tie and suit jacket were lying across the couch. His sleeves were rolled up on his forearms and he had unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. She stared at the hint of dark hair visible on his chest. He looked up at her, his expression hidden in shadows. He didn’t say anything and after a moment of silence, Kate cleared her throat nervously and looked around the room
“Where’s Melissa?”
“She took Alfred out for dinner,” Edward replied in a low and weirdly strangled voice.
“Are you okay, Mr. Turner?” Kate asked.
“Fine,” he replied abruptly. “The typing is on your desk.”
He looked down at his computer, clearly dismissing her. Kate’s temper flared but she bit her tongue and left the room. She waited impatiently for her laptop to turn on, steaming inwardly at Edward’s rude behaviour.
Edward took a deep steadying breath as he looked at the darkening sky outside the large window in his office. He felt like he’d been punched in the stomach when he’d looked up and seen Kate standing in his office, a goddess in green. The dress she was wearing hugged every curve, the low neckline showed off the creamy swells of her breasts and the short hemline revealed a heart-stopping amount of thigh clad in black nylon. His body had reacted with an immediate erection and it had taken everything he had not to walk across the office and pull Kate against him, to force her to feel how much he wanted her. Obviously her plans for tonight were a date and, as another twinge of jealousy ripped through him, he cursed under his breath and pounded angrily at his keyboard.
When Kate returned half an hour later and dropped the papers on the desk in front of him, he stared grimly at his screen. If he looked at her again, he’d try and fuck her senseless.
“If you take a look at this, I’ll stick around for a few minutes longer and make any changes needed,” she said.
“Thank you, Ms. Jones,” he replied tersely.
Kate stared silently at Edward. His eyes were glued to his computer screen and his hands were clenched together in a tight fist.
She turned and wasn’t able to stop from muttering an extremely childish but oddly satisfying, “asshole” under her breath before starting toward the door.
She had barely taken a few steps when her arm was seized and she was turned around so roughly that she stumbled in her high heels. She would have fallen if Edward hadn’t caught her around the waist.
“What - ” she breathed before Edward lowered his head to hers and captured her mouth in a hard punishing kiss. She gasped and he thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, stroking her tongue with rough urgency. She put her hands up against his chest, meaning to push him away but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his firm body. She could feel his erection pushing against her hip and she moaned into his mouth when he slid one hand down to her ass and squeezed gently, forcing her tighter against his body.
She clung to his neck and returned his kiss, sucking his lower lip into her mouth and forcing a low groan from his throat. Edward cupped the back of her neck and tugged her head back. He pressed feather-soft kisses down her neck and she moaned lightly when he traced her collarbone with his tongue. She was light-headed and she clung desperately to Edward’s broad shoulders as he kissed his way back up her neck, stopping to nuzzle lightly at her earlobe. He ran his hand up her ribs and cupped her left breast. She cried out and arched her back, moaning when he ran his thumb over her nipple. It hardened immediately under his touch and with a small groan he lifted her and sat her on his desk. He pushed her legs apart impatiently and, grasping a nylon-clad thigh in each hand, pulled her up against his erection. She could feel his hard cock directly against her pussy, separated only by his clothing and the thin material of her panties, and she moaned loudly when he slid his hands under her dress and traced the lace top of her stockings with the tips of his fingers. Before she could stop him, his hands had moved to her hair and he deftly plucked out the hair pins.
“Wait,” she murmured as her carefully constructed French twist fell apart. He ignored her and continued to remove the hair pins.
“I want your hair down,” he whispered. He finished removi
ng the pins and ran his fingers through her hair. Pulling gently on it, he forced her face upward so he could capture her mouth again but she turned her head so that his mouth grazed across her cheek.
Trying hard to hang onto the last remnants of her sanity she gasped, “Mr. Turner, please. I – we need to stop.”
“Edward,” he growled.
“What?”
“Say my name.” He nipped lightly at her lower lip. “Say Edward.”
“Edward,” she whispered obediently.
His hand tightened on her thigh as he muttered, “Kate.”
The sound of her name coming from his lips sent a shiver down her spine, thoughts of stopping fled her mind and she pulled his head towards her so she could place soft kisses along the line of his jaw. He groaned into her ear and reached around to the back of her dress. Quickly he unzipped it and yanked it down her body, pulling her arms free of the sleeves and letting it pool around her waist. She reached up and undid the buttons on his shirt, anxious to feel his skin against hers.
She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he shrugged out of it, letting it fall to the floor. She leaned back and admired his broad chest. His biceps rippled when she traced her fingers over his upper arms and she studied the dark hair on his chest before lowering her gaze. She could see the outline of his erection against his pants but when she slowly reached out to grasp him, he took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on the palm. He pulled her against him, wrapping her thighs around his waist, and kissed her repeatedly. She shivered when he lowered his mouth and kissed the top of her breast and then cried out when he traced the hard outline of her nipple through the lacy material of her bra with his tongue. He teased her nipple through the material, nipping at it lightly with his teeth and then sucking long and hard on the lace-covered tip.
“Edward!” She moaned. She wanted desperately to feel his warm mouth directly on her sensitive nipples and she pressed eagerly against him as he kissed her again. He trailed his fingers along her spine, making her squirm, and then reached for the clasps of her bra.