by Claire Adams
"But you said you liked it!" she cried. "I keep pursuing you because you liked it!"
"No, you keep pursuing me because you know how to manipulate me," I said dryly. "And when it comes to you, unfortunately, I have little control over the physical response. You know that, and you use it to your advantage. I'm on to you, Sloan, and I'm done with this little push-pull game you play."
"Jack, I do care about you," she said, standing up and coming around the desk. "I'm not lying about that. I do find you irresistibly attractive, and I do want things with you that I've never wanted with anyone else."
"You have a funny way of showing it, Sloan," I said, grabbing her wrists and pushing them down by her sides. The intoxicating scent of her perfume permeated the room, and as she moved closer to press her body against mine, I felt my resolve lessening. She was undeniably beautiful and drove me crazy like no woman I'd ever met, but I knew that to possess her would be more than I'd ever hoped for.
"Don't you want me, Jack?" she whispered into my neck as she brushed my skin with her lips. "Don't you want to own me? Just once?"
It was the last question that brought me crashing back to reality. Just once. I could own her, but it would only be once.
"Stop it, Sloan," I ordered as I shoved her a little more roughly than I'd intended. She stumbled but caught herself on my desk. "I don't want this. I told you. We're not meant to be together. You know it. I know it. Just leave me alone."
"What about our deal?" she said coolly. "You offered to service me any time I wanted. Are you going to back out of it now?"
"Not this morning, dear, I've got a headache," I said in a flat voice. Sloan narrowed her eyes, gathered herself, walked back around the desk, and picked up her purse before crossing the room.
"I would not fuck with me if I were you," she said quietly.
"Oh, I have zero plans to do that," I said without a smile. "But then I think that's been clear from the start."
She shot me a look that was so filled with hatred I felt it run down my spine. Then she turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that two of my father's awards came crashing down off the wall.
"Jack! Are you okay, darlin’?" Norma called from the front office. She came bustling through the door looking around as she declared, "What did you do, Jack? That woman left here madder than a wet hen!"
"It's okay, Norma," I said. "Sloan and I are old friends, and we were having a disagreement about the business. It'll all be fine by tomorrow."
"I sure hope so," Norma said. "No good comes from having a woman like that mad at you! Oh, and you need to get down to the warehouse. The construction crew showed up, and Leah is wondering what on Earth she's going to do while they work on the renovation!"
"I'll go down and see her right now," I said as I gathered up the plans.
What I hadn't told Sloan, or maybe hadn't even admitted to myself was that, after kissing Leah, something had shifted. I had no idea what it meant, but I intended to find out.
*
"Who are you?" the thin girl asked as I walked into Leah's office.
"I'm Jack," I replied. "You don't look like Leah."
"Probably because I'm not," she said as she looked up from the papers spread out on the desk. She studied me. "What's your job around here?"
"I'm the guy in charge of stuff," I said. She did, in fact, look like Leah, in a family resemblance sort of way. She had short, brown hair that took off in different directions and looked like it would require some coaxing and lots of gel to lay flat. Her eyes were big and blue, and she had the same smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose as Leah. She didn't smile at me, but she did consider me carefully before nodding and returning to the work in front of her. I watched for a moment, and then asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Riley," she said as she carefully wrote something on the paper. "I'm Leah's niece."
"I see," I said, suddenly wondering where Leah was. "And what exactly are you doing here?"
"I got suspended," she said solemnly as she looked up at me. "I got in a fight with some girls who were bullying me, and I punched the biggest one. We all got suspended, so Leah said that if I'm not in school, then I need to be at work."
"I see," I nodded. "Do you regret what you did?"
"No, why would I?" she said shaking her head. "I didn't bully anyone, they did. I was just standing up for myself."
"But you punched a girl," I said, wondering why I was having this conversation with a young girl I'd never met before. "Don't you feel bad about that?"
"Look, I know you adults get all high and mighty about antiviolence stuff," she said in an exasperated tone. "But do you really have any idea what goes on in schools? I don't think so. Do I wish those girls would have left me alone? Yep. Would I take the punch back if I could? Nope. They got what they asked for, and now other kids will leave me alone, too."
"It sounds like school is pretty brutal," I said, marveling at the oddly mature way Riley had explained the problem.
"You have no idea," she sighed as she rolled her eyes. "It's murder of the soul."
"Is that right?" I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud at her dramatic assessment of the situation. "Well, you should be reassured by the fact that it won't last forever, and that someday these girls will all be parents who will be trying to save their own kids from the schoolyard bully."
"You'd think it would work that way, wouldn't you?" she said looking at me intently. "But that's just bullshit, and adults know it."
"Riley!" Leah exclaimed as she walked into the office and overheard Riley's assessment of my lack of understanding. "You cannot talk to people that way, young lady!"
"I'm sorry, Leah," she said hanging her head before mumbling. "Sorry, Jack."
"It's cool," I shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of it.
"No, it's definitely not cool," Leah said, giving me a warning look. "You cannot talk to adults that way. I will not tolerate it."
"I said I'm sorry!" Riley whined as she squirmed in her chair. Then quickly turning the conversation to a new topic, she asked, "Can I get something to eat? I'm starving!"
"There's food in the fridge out in the warehouse," Leah said. "You can get your bag and have a snack. Just don't bug the guys while they're working. And don't leave the warehouse!"
"Okay, thanks Leah!" she said as she shot out of the chair and ran down the hallway toward her waiting snack.
"Nice kid," I said smiling. "How'd you wind up with her today?"
"She's my sister's daughter," Leah said without smiling back. "Molly disappeared three years ago, so I took over while we looked for her. I guess it's just parenting by default."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea," I said, looking down at the floor and feeling embarrassed that I didn't know more about her.
"It's okay, I don't make it public knowledge usually," she shrugged before giving me a questioning look. "Was there some reason you needed to see me?"
"Norma said you wanted to know where you'd be working during the renovation," I replied as I tried hard to avoid staring at Leah's face. What I wanted more than anything was to feel her hands on my chest and her lips on mine again, but I knew we were a long way from that happening. The problem was that no matter how hard I tried to push it out of my mind, I always found myself right back at the moment when Leah's lips were pressed against mine and everything felt possible.
"So? Are you going to show me?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, come see what they're going to do today," I said shaking my head to clear the image as best I could.
I led the way to an area that the crew was quickly putting together and showed her all of the amenities they'd be installing. The new office was five times the size of the little closet she now occupied.
"Bathroom,” I said as I showed her the large room where the work crew was installing a stand up shower in addition to the usual elements. "And over here they're going to create a conference area with a big table that will seat all of the w
orkers on your team. Then over on the other side, there will be a seating area with a couch and some chairs so you can have customers here for meetings, if you want. And on the far wall will be your desk."
"You're kidding me?" she said looking around the room with wide eyes and a shocked look on her face. "All of this is mine? Why?"
"Yes, it's all yours," I nodded. "I just figured that you are here working like mad to keep the warehouse running smoothly, and you deserve to work in a space that respects your position rather than being shoved in a closet like at the DMV."
"It hasn't bothered me before," she said defensively. "Your father didn't work in a luxury office, so I didn't feel like I was entitled to anything more than he had."
"Yes, well, my father was a miser," I said, rolling my eyes much like Riley had done earlier, and when I realized it, I laughed out loud.
"It's funny?" Leah asked, eyeing my suspiciously.
"No, just something about your niece," I tried to explain, but decided to let it go. "Look, the business is doing well, and that's thanks, in large part, to the job you do down here. I just wanted you to know that you're appreciated and for you to have a place to work where you feel valued."
"Thank you, Jack," she said as her eyes swept around the room and then settled back on me. "I appreciate that."
"My pleasure," I nodded in an attempt to ward off the urge to pull the clip out of her hair and run my fingers through her curls. "They'll be done with it by Monday, so you can have the guys move your stuff over once the furniture is in."
She nodded as she looked around the room and smiled. As I stood still, taking pleasure in her joy, my phone rang.
"I've got to get back upstairs," I said after hanging up. "Can you come up after lunch so we can talk about a few other things?"
She nodded again, turned, and smiled at me. I'd carry it with me the rest of the afternoon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leah
"Why did Jack come all the way downstairs to find you?" Riley asked as we sat at my desk eating the reheated burritos I'd packed for lunch. "Shouldn't he just have his secretary call you and tell you whatever it is he wants you to know? That's how they do it at my school."
"He came down to show me my new office," I said. "He just wanted to be nice and give me tour."
"I think he likes you, Leah," she said before taking a bite of her burrito that was so huge she had to chew with her mouth partly open.
"That's disgusting, Riley," I said handing her a napkin. "Cover your mouth so I don't have to look at your half-masticated food."
"Oooh, masticated is a good word to add to my vocabulary list!" she cried as bits of the half-chewed burrito fell on the napkin.
"Riley!" I protested.
"Sorry," she mumbled with her hand over her mouth. "Got excited."
"You're a piece of work, kiddo," I laughed as I took a bite of my own lunch and chewed thoughtfully.
"I think Jack likes you, Leah," Riley repeated once she swallowed.
"How can you tell?" I laughed. "He's my boss. He needs to be nice to me so that I do good work."
"No, that's not it," she said, thoughtfully tapping the side of her soda bottle as she tried to formulate the same thoughts I'd had but had failed to find words to describe. "I think he likes you because he says nice things, and he wants to hang around you."
"That seems like it could be anybody," I pointed out. "There are tons of nice people who say nice things and hang around."
"But they're paid to do it," she said as she pushed the remainder of her lunch around on her plate while she thought out loud. "He doesn't have to pretend like he likes you. He's the boss. Plus, he's a cute boy and you're a cute girl. That's how it always works out."
"You're kidding me, right?" I laughed. "You're suggesting that my boss likes me because he's nice and he's cute?"
"Yes," Riley said impatiently. "Seriously, Leah, what else do you want? That's how it's supposed to work! The cute boys pick the cute girls, and they live happily ever after. Well, unless you’re gay, then the cute boys choose the cute boys and so on."
"I'm not sure what fairytale land you're living in, but okay, we'll go with it," I said, shaking my head as I chuckled. "What are you going to do after lunch?"
"I'm going to finish my math and spelling homework, and then Burt told me I could come watch the guys work in the warehouse if I was quiet and didn't get in their way," she said. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to print out the orders, give them to Burt, and then go up to the office for a meeting," I said as I mentally organized the tasks I needed to complete before the meeting. "Let's work in companionable silence for a while, shall we?"
"What's companionable?" Riley asked, then paused and sighed heavily, "I know, I know. Look it up."
"Good girl!" I laughed as I cleaned up the remains of lunch and tossed everything in the trashcan. "Now, let's work!"
*
"Hey, sugar!" Norma called as I walked into the office. "How's it shaking?"
"Good," I laughed. "I'm here to meet with Jack about the warehouse renovations and how we're going to keep business booming while the construction's going on."
"He's almost ready. Hey, where's that darlin' little girl of yours?" Norma asked as she pulled a bag full of treats from under her desk. "I went on a little shopping spree over lunch, and I thought she might like some of my purchases."
"Norma, you're going to spoil that child rotten!" I laughed as she held out the bag. "She's finishing her homework, and then Burt's got some adventure for her to go on."
"I'll just wander down there a little later and see how that sweetie is doing," Norma said as the phone rang. She turned to answer it as Jack opened his door and motioned for me to join him.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked.
"Let's talk about how we're going to manage the orders that are coming in while the construction is going on," he said as he pulled up a set of plans on his computer and motioned for me to pull up a chair. "The way I see it, we keep the boxes over here, and we have the warehouse crew alter their fulfillment route according to where the construction crew is positioned each day."
I leaned in and looked at the plans as he clicked through each day of construction. He'd obviously spent a lot of time planning the moves, and he knew the warehouse almost as well as those of us who worked in it. I was impressed.
"That's a great plan," I said and pointed to one part of the plan that I thought was a little shaky. "But I think that if you move things over here rather than here, we'd be more efficient and the crew would be happier."
Jack leaned in toward me, and I suddenly realized that we were only inches away from one another. I turned my head, and he stared at me for a fraction of a second before leaning in. I could feel his lips almost brush mine, and I closed my eyes in anticipation.
"Well, well, well, isn't this just cozy!" Sloan said in an overly cheerful voice as she walked across the office and set her purse down on Jack's desk. "You two working everything out in the warehouse, are you?"
"Yes," Jack said clearing his throat and moving out of kissing range. I suddenly felt ashamed and wondered if he did, too.
"How are you, Leah?" Sloan asked in a voice dripping with fake interest. "Everything working out well down there while we're setting up construction?"
"I'm good, thank you, yes, it's fine," I said, dropping my head and looking at the floor. Jack didn't attempt to rescue me from Sloan's interrogation, and I suddenly felt the need to escape. I got up and headed for the door mumbling an excuse before I made my exit.
"Bye, Leah!" Sloan chirped as I marched past Norma's empty desk and headed back down to my office.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jack
"Why do you always have to be so mean?" I asked as I stared at Sloan disapprovingly.
"Why darlin', whatever do you mean?" she replied with a fake southern accent. "I thought that was just manners."
"What do you want, Sloan?" I asked as I deci
ded to forgo the battle over manners, knowing she would find a way to worm out of any culpability.
"I want to talk about the plan for the warehouse and how we're going fill all of the new orders I've gathered," she smiled as she held out the customer sheets that she'd filled out.
"You're generating a lot of business," I said, sifting through the new customer orders. It was a good sign that she'd brought in so much new business in such a short period of time, but it was also a concern because construction was going to slow us down a bit.
"I thought you might like that," she said as she sat down and crossed one long leg over the other, exposing her smooth thigh and the lacy edge of the stockings that covered it. She added, "I've got plenty more where those came from."
I swallowed hard and looked away, not sure if she was talking about the orders anymore. As I looked through them, I realized that she'd targeted some of the biggest buyers in all of Manhattan and had brought in orders that would elevate our output by a substantial amount.
"When are these companies expecting delivery?" I asked as I tried to figure out how quickly we could get the warehouse ready to start shipping.
"That's the catch," she said as she dug in her purse. "We need to be ready to start filling orders by next week."
"Sloan, what the fuck!" I said a little louder than I'd intended. "You know we're in the middle of the warehouse renovation. What in the hell possessed you to make promises you weren't sure we could keep?"
"I knew you'd find a way," she said as she held my gaze, daring me to disagree with her. I shook my head and realized I was playing chicken with a woman who liked losing even less than I did.
"You seriously piss me off," I muttered as I reorganized the forms in my hand, trying to figure out just how we could make this work.
"I know," she grinned. "And it makes you want to bend me over your desk and have your way with me, doesn't it?"
"Why do you always revert to sex, Sloan?" I asked.