Perfect Partner

by Kate Stone

  “I don’t have a title for you yet, but I want you to be my second in command,” he answered.

  “I don’t know anything about marketing. I’m just good at processing paperwork.”

  “But you know how to get things done. You know how to hold people accountable. You’ve been an inspiration to me, and I want to share that with everyone at the office. I think with you by my side, we can continue to succeed and grow, as both a company and a couple.”

  “Okay,” I answered hesitantly.

  He seemed so confident now, coming to me with the same determination he showed at work. There was no doubt in his voice. He’d made up his mind, and this was what we were going to do, at least as far as he was concerned. I couldn’t have turned him down if I wanted.

  “It’s settled then. Now, I need to prepare a statement to make to the press tomorrow, and a statement internally for the company.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  “I could help,” I offered.

  “Would you?” he asked, “I need your help with this.”

  “Of course. We’re a team,” I told him, but in all honesty, it was the kind of thing he would have asked me to help him with anyway, if we’d been at the office.

  About that time, my phone went off. I looked down to see who was calling. Ivy. Her name came up on the screen, plain as day, and Owen saw it.

  “What’s she calling about? Probably trying to find out where I am, I guess?” He threw it out there like a question.

  “I guess.” I shrugged, pretending not to know, but I knew exactly why she was calling me.

  She knew he was there. She’d probably seen him come in. She still wanted to use me as a spy. She’d called a few times early on, when I first started working at OBM, checking up on him, asking how things were going between us. She’d done her best to push me in his path, to make sure he noticed me. Little did she know, she didn’t have to try that hard. I saw the way he looked at me the first time he saw me. He had definitely noticed me.

  I didn’t answer, didn’t want to answer. Everything she’d told me about him had been a lie. She’d merely been trying to set me up so that he would take the fall. All along, her goal had been to get him out of her way. It was currently backfiring.

  I was right where I wanted to be, with a man who made my heart flutter, a man who looked at me with appreciation and adoration, my lover. I would do anything he wanted or needed me to do. I leaned into the table. He leaned forward, and we kissed again.

  This time, we didn’t let go. He put a hand behind my head to hold us together over the table. I wanted more. I felt my desire for him growing more intense, hotter, wetter. I had to have him again. I couldn’t get enough of this man, and his visit proved to me that he felt the same way.

  My eyes closed, I imagined him taking me right there on the kitchen table, throwing me down on my back and ripping off my clothes, telling me again how he wanted to claim me as his own, and then doing it. I was his, hopelessly, helplessly. There was no denying it any longer, and if he were to be believed, there was no longer any reason to deny it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN - Owen

  “Good morning. I’m glad everyone could make it to the meeting. I know we don’t normally do this sort of thing, but I felt it was necessary, considering what’s been going on.” I stood up in front of the heads of each department in our conference room. We almost never used it, because I typically met with each department individually periodically throughout the week. Formal meetings like this really weren’t my thing.

  Jesse sat in the front row of seats, directly in front of me, facing me. She was my backup, my muse. We had prepared the statements I would make today together, though we both agreed it would be best if I did all the talking. I didn’t think the company was quite ready for me to shake things up that much by introducing her as a new vice president or giving her some fancy title after being with the company for such a short period. I could see from the faces staring back at me that some of my employees were still uncomfortable with what I was doing. I wasn’t afraid to let any of them go, but out of respect for them, out of respect for Jesse, I didn’t want to make things harder than they had to be. She was still my assistant, though she would be doing the job of a vice president of operations.

  “I guess first I need to address the allegations that were made about a week ago against me regarding my assistant, Jesse Morgan.” I gestured to her in case anyone didn’t realize she was there while a certain someone else wasn’t.

  There was some uncomfortable shifting in seats. A few awkward coughs let me know I was on to something by hitting that particular topic. Regardless of how anyone felt, though, I knew it was important to address what was happening. It needed to be done so I could pursue a future with the amazing woman sitting in front of me.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Ivy came through the door, interrupting the meeting. The air in the room grew immediately thick and tense. I had unofficially let her go the other day in my office, but nothing had been filed with the HR department yet. Now that she presented herself in front of the rest of the company, I could fire her again and let everyone know why. She eyed Jesse, sitting down front, and started towards the back of the room.

  “Actually, Ivy, come back up here,” I said. “I’ll make this brief, and you can go on about your day. You don’t have to stay for the whole thing.”

  “Is that so?” From the look on her face, I could tell she knew exactly what I was about to do. Hell, everyone probably did.

  “That’s right. Everybody, I owe Ivy my undying gratitude.”

  Oh yeah, that shocked them all. They knew Ivy was on her way out.

  “See, Ivy hired my new assistant, not me. Ivy saw that I needed someone to help take the load off, to help buy me more time to do CEO-type stuff. I still haven’t figured out what that stuff is, but I’m sure you’ve all appreciated being left alone to do your work, except maybe when Jesse needs something from you.”

  The room laughed. There were some claps. The tension began to ease.

  “Ivy might not have realized what she was really doing. I mean, she knew what she wanted to do, which I believe was to remove me from the daily routines of doing business so she could run things the way she wanted to without my interference, and the numbers show how that’s been going of course. But she also gave me time to sit back and catch my breath, time away from the desk, away from the office, and I gotta say, guys, it was the best thing that’s happened since I started this company. As you see, it opened my eyes to what I’d been ignoring.”

  I held my arms out to my sides so they could see what I wore. Normally, I wore tailored suits to work, believing I had to look as successful as I was or wanted to be. For the meeting, and from then on, however, I wore loafers, blue jeans, and a t-shirt with a blazer over it. I wasn’t meeting with clients, only with my employees, and wearing the clothes I typically wore away from work allowed me to feel more comfortable.

  “I had been ignoring myself and my personal life. So, thank you, Ivy, for creating an opportunity for me to notice that.”

  I led the room in a weak, sarcastic round of applause. I was surprised everyone else went along with me. Ivy looked confused, angry, and a little scared of what was coming next. Rightfully so.

  “Now, I can’t let Ivy take all the credit here. It was Jesse who really made me see what I was missing out on.” I gestured for her to stand up. She did. “She quickly showed me that I had been ignoring my heart. Everyone knows the story. I started this company because I was hungry, and I’ve continued pushing its growth to make sure none of us have to know that kind of hunger again. But in doing so, I had cost myself the chance to love, and the moment Jesse walked into my life, the moment I met her in the lobby, she opened my eyes to that. I saw that she was someone I could love.”

  I laughed nervously, watching all the made-up faces and pretentiously styled outfits shift awkwardly in their seats.

  “I don’t know who here believes in love at first sigh
t. I sure as hell didn’t, but now I do, because that is what happened. Yes, I made some questionable decisions, but Ivy flat out lied to the press. If the story that has been sold to the press was true, can you tell me, by a show of hands, how many of you I’ve tried to take out or date?”

  I waited. No one raised a hand – that was because I hadn’t tried to date anyone from work before. They all looked at each other and grumbled.

  “Exactly,” I added.

  “If you’re going to let me go, just go ahead and do it,” Ivy chimed in.

  “Ivy, you hired Jesse to undermine me, and when you couldn’t because of the job she was doing, you decided to frame me. You personally followed us and took those pictures. First, to the dinner meeting with Mr. Ogawa, despite the fact he hadn’t heard from us to schedule dinner and wasn’t even in the country at the time. Then, when we went to lunch and back to my place. You leaked those pictures to the press, and I have to address that this afternoon with them. You wanted me out of the way so that you could take over, and it didn’t work. I’m sorry, Ivy, but I must demand that you step down from your position immediately.”

  “Fine, whatever. You can have your company, and you can fail miserably because you can’t keep it in your pants.” Then, addressing the room, she added, “If I were you, any or all of you, I would be looking for a new job. You won’t have one in a year.”

  She stormed out of the room, throwing the door open so wide it hit the wall. The rest of the room erupted in cheers. Everyone was glad to see her go, not just me. She knew she was getting fired. I wasn’t sure why she even showed up, unless she thought she could make a scene of it and somehow keep her job or cost me the company.

  “Before I end this meeting, I want to apologize. I never meant to do anything to jeopardize what we do here. That was never my intention. OBM has been my life since the day I started the company, so it only makes sense that our relationship would get tangled up in work. If you have any problems with clients because of what has happened, please direct them to one of us. We will be more than happy to handle it for you. I will be making a statement later today to the press that should help ease things a little as well. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and without further ado, I’ll let you all get back to work.”

  “That was wonderful, baby,” Jesse said as she got up from her seat and threw her arms around my neck. While the department heads filed out of the room, we embraced. We kissed. We melted together. Her touch energized me and gave me the confidence I needed in order to address my harshest critics that afternoon. In the meantime, I took her by the hand and pulled her into my office.

  “I need a few minutes alone with you,” I said in a rushed whisper as I closed and locked my office door. We could still hear the sounds of my other employees returning to their desks, to their tasks, and getting on with the business of making the internet work for our clients.

  CHAPTER EIGHT - Jesse

  As soon as Owen locked the door to his office, he had me on his desk, my legs parted and pulled up on either side of his hips. The clutter – paperweights, a cup of pens, his stapler, a box of paper clips, and a few other items – clattered to the floor as he shoved it out of the way with my ass. I’d worn a suit with a skirt, something conservative, clashing with his casual, almost beachy look, but it gave him easy access to me. In a matter of seconds, I could feel his fingers pulling my panties to the side and running along my wet lips.

  “Please,” I found myself begging breathlessly into his ear, gripping his shoulders, holding him close to me as if I were afraid I’d fall off the desk if I let go of him.

  It all happened so fast my head was spinning. My heart pounded in my chest. My desire throbbed around his fingers as they entered me. My thighs quivered with intense longing. I leaned my head back, gasping as he ran the tip of his tumbh across my clit, my body trembling with pleasure.

  I heard his belt flop open, the buckle clanging against itself, followed by his zipper sliding down, opening his pants, and the sound of fabric sliding down to the floor. A moment later, his fingers slid out from between my lips, wet, running up to part the tender folds over my clit. It only took a moment before he pressed the tip of his head against me, but it felt like an eternity passed between us. Would he ever enter me?

  Then, with one hand holding his thick, engorged cock between my legs and the other cupping the back of my neck, he thrust himself into me, filling me with his desire. I took him deep inside, my legs wrapping around him, pulling him into me, accepting all of him. I let go of his shoulders and leaned back, placing my hands on the desk to hold myself up. He released my neck and let his hand run down the front of my suit, caressing the curves and lines of my body. For the first time, I wasn’t ashamed not to have a perfect figure. I wanted him to enjoy me, every inch of me, as I enjoyed listening to him moan, relished in the way he touched me even as he unbuttoned my top, revealing the bra holding my breasts captive, the one I’d picked out just for him, with the hook in the front.

  He unhooked me, setting me free, free to be taken in his hands. His firm hands rubbed against the smooth skin of my breasts, his fingers paying particularly close attention to their tightening, hardening peaks. I gasped as he put his lips to my tender, sensitive nipples. Oh, how his touch thrilled me. He touched me like no other man, even if he did some of the same things other lovers had done before. When Owen Brooks ran his tongue around my nipple, it was electric. I felt it throughout my body. When he stroked me with his shaft, it was heaven, and he was taking me there, taking me on his desk in front of a window overlooking the city.

  I let my hands slide out behind me, shoving more of the desk clutter onto the floor as I lay back, spreading my body out before him. He looked me over with hunger in his eyes. He wanted every ounce of me.

  “I’m all yours, baby,” I told him. “Do with me what you will.”

  He grinned as he ran his hands down my sides to my hips, gripping me, pulling me to him as he thrust himself deeper into me. He grunted with each stroke. I could feel him getting close, growing harder, thicker, longer inside me, filling me.

  Then, he pulled back, and I knew he was about to finish on my skin again, but he didn’t. He flipped me over on his desk, bending me over in front of him, exposing me to him from behind. He smacked my ass and repositioned himself at my lips, pushing slightly at my opening.

  “Oh god,” I breathed in ecstasy. “Please, Owen, please.”

  He didn’t say anything behind me, only chuckled. I could hear the grin on his face in the way he laughed, in the way he pushed into me, driving himself slowly in, inch by delicious inch. He pulled back slowly before driving himself deep into me again, this time harder. He pounded me from behind. I couldn’t help but cry out – so much for being quiet in his office, I’d even forgotten that there might have been other people around. My fingers reached for the edge of the desk, wrapping around it.

  His shaft ran thrust in and out, sending me over the edge into pure ecstasy. My orgasm came quickly with trembling legs, shaky breath, and toes curling in my shoes. Blinding waves of pleasure roared through my body, crashing against him, as I couldn’t help but roll my hips back against his.

  “Yeah, there you go,” he whispered, coaxing me. “That’s good. Yeah.”

  He felt like he could erupt at any moment. I didn’t know how he hadn’t already given himself to me, but his hands quickly moved. One took his manhood while the other pressed down on my lower back, like he was trying to hold me in place as he pulled out. I heard him stroking himself, heard the movement of his hand along the flesh of his shaft, heard myself on him, his skin wet from being inside me. Then, I heard him grunt and groan as his hot seed splashed on my back, just above my ass.

  “No,” I said, turning around quickly. I took him in my hand and wrapped my lips around him. I wanted to taste him as he finished. He put a hand behind my head to guide me as I drank every warm, salty drop of him. My own flavor coated him, adding depth to his flavor. We tasted good togeth
er.

  “Oh, yes, baby,” Owen breathed. He held my head still as he pushed himself along my tongue to the back of my mouth, hitting the opening of my throat and tickling my gag reflex. I fought the urge, forcing my throat open wider to accept him. He grunted again as he finished and released his hold on the back of my head.

  “Feel better, baby?” I asked as I leaned back.

  “I do,” he admitted with a satisfied smile. “How about you?”

  “It’s always good with you,” I answered. “Is it going to get better every time?”

  “We can try. I’ll certainly do what I can.”

  He stepped around the desk and pulled open one of his drawers, producing a towel. I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow, then glanced back down at the towel. He held like he’d just pulled his from his linen closet at home.

  “You do this often in here?” I asked.

  “Ha! No. I was pretty sure we’d need one today. It’s always good to have a towel,” he told me. “Here, let me get you.”

  I leaned forward, and he wiped my back, drying away the droplets of himself. Then, he reached around between my legs and wiped me off, drying me. Of course, he saved himself for last, wrapping the towel around himself and wiping me off him. I honestly couldn’t say I’d ever been wiped clean by anyone, not like that.

  “So, what now?” I asked a few minutes later, both of us dressed and leaning back against his desk.

  “Now I make a statement to the press, let them know what happened.”

  That wasn’t exactly what I meant. Guys! They’re all the same when it comes to work, but I felt like I understood Owen better. If he didn’t want me involved, he wouldn’t have been talking about it. For him, work was personal. He couldn’t separate his personal life from work because he’d poured so much of himself into the company.

  “What about your clients?” I asked, not wanting to create any friction. He would eventually bring the conversation back to me, to us. “Didn’t you say you lost a few when the news broke?”