by Kitty French
“Do you know why I called you in for interview?” he asked, eventually.
Sophie stalled. “My CV?”
He nodded. “You sealed it with a kiss. I wanted to see the lips that made that mark.”
His answer knocked the breath clean out of her lungs and sent hot prickles shooting up her neck. This was beginning to feel less like an interview and more like someone coming on to her in a bar, and that hadn’t happened to her in some considerable time.
“You blush too easily, Ms. Black.” He twirled a pen in his fingers. “Trust me, that’s not a good thing in this industry.”
His mouth twisted to one side, that assessing look still in his eyes. “This isn’t an industry for shy girls.” He leaned forwards on his elbows and steepled his fingers. “Are you a shy girl, Sophie?”
Jeez this was ridiculous. Sophie couldn’t tell if he was making fun of her, and a fair part of her brain was shouting at her to hightail it out of the building back to the safety of her ordinary, mundane life. But something held her in her chair, and that same something gave her the boldness to meet his challenging look and answer his question.
“No, Mr. Knight. I’m not especially shy.”
“It’s Lucien.”
Lucien. Crap. Even his name was sexy.
“Okay Sophie. Here’s the deal. I need someone who can do all the usual PA stuff. You already know what that is so I won’t bore you with a list, but it includes making a decent cup of coffee. Is that a problem for you?”
Sophie shook her head and laughed, almost giddy with relief. Emboldened, she replied, “That’s a little chauvinistic of you, Mr. Knight.”
“Lucien.”
“Okay, well… for the record, yes. I make a mean cup of coffee, Lucien.” Sophie tasted his name for the first time and felt as if she’d said something far dirtier.
“I’ll need you to accompany me to meetings, exhibitions, the odd commercial trip. I keep odd hours. Will that bother you?”
He was all business now, and the look on his face brooked no argument. Sophie frowned. Her first thought was for Dan, but then didn’t he give exactly the same service to his boss without a thought for her?
“Not a problem,” she said smoothly.
“So far, so good.” He nodded in approval, and scrubbed a hand over his chin for a few seconds as he studied her.
“I don’t know, Sophie. You tick all the boxes, and yet…”
“Yet what?” Sophie asked. His hesitation chased away any attempt to stay businesslike. Besides, he’d already veered so far away from businesslike that it seemed unlikely to worry him.
He cocked his head to one side. ‘How can I put this delicately?” He licked his lips. “You look too… innocent.”
Sophie shook her head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
He threw his hands out to the sides. “This is the sex industry. Sophie. You’d be a long way from typing up building quotes here. One day you might be working on a report comparing sex toys. The next you might be ordering new cages for one of the clubs. I need someone who can do all of that without turning a hair.” Sophie knew that the telltale colour was back in her cheeks. “Someone who won’t blush at the mere mention of a vibrator,” he added, to illustrate his point.
“I can do all that,” Sophie insisted, feeling far from certain that she could.
Lucien gave her an assessing look and opened the desk drawer.
He placed an object down on the desk between them. “What’s that?” he asked. Sophie looked down and felt heat slap her cheeks again.
“Mr. Knight…” He raised an eyebrow. “Lucien… I…”
“You what, Sophie? You don’t know what it is, or you’re too prudish to say it?” He picked up the blue jelly silicone ring and held it out to her. Sophie looked at him, and his eyes told her that this was the acid test. Fail it, and she was out the door. She took it from him, and swallowed hard at the feel of the small, stretchy ring in her hands. She looked him squarely in the eye.
“Fine. It’s a cock ring.”
“Good girl,” he grinned. “And what does it do?”
Sophie swallowed again and looked down. She had no intimate knowledge to draw on here.
“It… umm…”
“Wrong answer, Sophie.” He frowned. “Try again.”
Sophie squirmed in her chair. “I’m not totally sure, but I think it would probably make a man last longer?”
Lucien’s mouth twisted to the side. “Not totally sure, huh? Am I to draw from that that you have no direct experience of sex toys?”
“Mr. Knight...” Sophie gasped. “I really don’t think that’s an appropriate question for any job interview.” She bristled, partly with indignation and partly because he was bang on the money.
“Maybe not, but you don’t want this job if you’re in any way prudish.”
“I am not prudish. For God’s sake, I’m no blushing virgin, I’m a married woman.”
For a second, Lucien looked genuinely taken aback and his eyes flickered to her left hand. “You’re married?”
“Is that against the law in this industry too?”
“No, no.” His whole demeanour had changed unreadably. “Tell me, what does your husband think of you applying for this job?”
Sophie faltered and her gaze slid away from his. “He’s fine with it.”
Lucien let out a low whistle. “He doesn’t know, does he?”
“Yes. Sort of.” She glanced down at her wedding ring. “He knows I have an interview, just not what it’s for, exactly.”
“And would he mind, do you think? I’d mind if you were my wife.” Lucien’s blue eyes locked on Sophie’s as his words did thrilling things to her insides. If only Dan were as territorial.
“He won’t mind,” she said quietly. “He’s pretty busy with his own work. If I’m happy, I’m sure he’ll be happy.”
“And are you happy, Sophie?”
She wasn’t sure what he meant by the question, and it unnerved her. Were her marital problems written all over her face? Or was he simply asking if his abrasive, unique interview style bothered her? Either way, there was only one possible acceptable reply.
“Yes, I think I am.”
Lucien nodded and drummed his fingers on the desk.
“Good.” His smile didn’t quite touch his eyes. “Thanks for coming in, Sophie. I’ll be in touch.” He pushed his chair backwards.
Sophie stared at him, surprised. That was it? He’d finished?
She got the distinct feeling that he’d decided she was a bad bet, and because it was unlikely she would ever see him again, she threw caution to the wind.
“You’ve decided I’m unsuitable.”
He leaned back in his chair with a frank expression on his face. “I don’t think this job is for you.” He shrugged. “You’re too vanilla.”
“Vanilla?” She couldn’t keep the note of frustration from her voice. “What does that even mean?”
He shook his head with a small laugh. “Exactly.” He leaned forward and sighed. “Look, Sophie. You seem like a nice girl. But I don’t need a nice girl for this job. I need someone free of inhibitions. Someone who knows their dildos from their anal beads. Someone who won’t stumble like a schoolgirl if they need to say a rude word.”
Sophie squared her shoulders. “You underestimate me, Lucien. I could do this job. I’m damn good, and I’m a fast learner.” She held his blue gaze and willed him to believe her. It had suddenly become crucial to her that he didn’t write her off as a prude, because it endorsed all of her negative feelings about her relationship with Dan. Was she really the little mouse they both seemed to take her for?
“Okay.” Lucien folded his arms across his chest, and Sophie’s eyes were drawn to the way his shirt defined his biceps.
“Say clitoris, Sophie.”
Sophie’s mouth fell open in shock. Hearing Lucien Knight unexpectedly say the word clitoris made the bottom drop out of her stomach. No way was she going to say it back just to
amuse him.
“Well, that’s certainly a question that didn’t feature on any of the job websites I studied,” she quipped to cover her embarrassment.
“You’re right.” He nodded in acceptance and worked the knot on his tie open. Was he hot? She was definitely feeling the heat in here. He tapped his pen on the desk. “Fair enough, don’t say clitoris.” She sighed with relief. “Say masturbation instead.”
Sophie couldn’t take anymore. Lucien Knight was too much. Too sexual, too arrogant, too male. Even though he was fully clothed, sex oozed from every pore of the man in a way Sophie had never encountered before. He made her think of Viking warriors, and right now she felt like a damsel in serious distress. Lucien Knight was right. She wasn’t equipped for the candid conversations he required. She couldn’t be as brazen as he needed her to be. She got to her feet.
“You know what, Mr. Knight? You’re probably right. I’m not cut out for this.” She swung her bag over her shoulder and ignored the spark of amusement in his eyes. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”
Lucien got to his feet too and crossed to open the door. “On the contrary, Sophie. It’s been my pleasure.”
He’d placed himself between Sophie and the exit, leaving her no choice but to brush close to him as she left. He was a good head and shoulders taller than she was even in her high heels, and she caught the scent of him as she drew level. Delicious. He smelled of warm spice and citrus, and something else. Something dark and sexy, so uniquely Lucien Knight that it kicked her senses into overdrive. She wanted to leave, and yet at the same time she wanted him to say something to stop her.
She turned to him, and found him leaning on the doorjamb with a lazy smile on his face.
“Goodbye, Mr. Knight.”
“Ms. Black.” He inclined his head, but made no further move, leaving her no option but to walk away.
Except for one.
Sophie turned away, and then swung back around and said something that she never imagined she’d say as part of a job interview.
“Clitoris.” She took pleasure in watching the predatory spark re-ignite in his cool blue eyes, and she licked her lips before she spoke again. “Masturbation.”
Sophie met his gaze head on, dizzy with exhilaration.
“Cock rings. Anal beads. Vibrators, dildos and…” she cast around desperately in her limited imagination for a big finish, “and blow up dolls!”
The amused heat in Lucien eyes scorched her. In that moment she wasn’t ordinary Sophie Black, builder’s PA and invisible wife. She was sexy and sophisticated Ms. Black, able to stop Viking sex-gods in their tracks with just a few little words. She noticed the way Lucien’s throat worked as he swallowed before he spoke.
“You start in the morning. Nine o’ clock sharp. Don’t be late, Ms. Black.”
Later that evening, curled up on the sofa eating Chinese from plates balanced on their knees, Kara stared at Sophie, agog. “You aren’t actually going to take the job though, right?”
Sophie tucked her feet underneath her and nodded. “Kara, I am. I have to.” She took a sip of her wine and searched for the words to explain her feelings. “If I don’t, then I’m accepting that this is as exciting as my life is ever going to get.” She gestured round her lounge. “A dead-end job, a husband who’s barely here and doesn’t notice me when he is…”
“Soph, if you’ve got problems with Dan, this job is only going to make them a million times worse, you know?”
“It won’t. Maybe I’ll learn stuff to spice things up for us.”
“Can’t you just talk to him?”
“Kara, I’m not taking this job because of what’s going on with me and Dan. I’m taking it because for a while back there today I glimpsed a different version of myself, and I liked her better.”
Kara shook her head and laughed in resignation. “You’d better hang onto those other clothes then. Something tells me you’re going to need them.”
Sophie locked all the doors and went to bed with her mobile in her hand to call Dan. She listened to the clicks as it made the long distance connection, and it rang out once or twice before it diverted to his answer phone. She glanced at her watch. It was just after ten thirty for her, so a little after midnight for him. Who was he with that he should need to reject her call at that time? He wasn’t due to start his meetings until tomorrow. Sophie sighed and slid into bed, her mobile still clutched in her hand in case he called back.
He didn’t.
CHAPTER THREE
At eight fifty the next morning, Sophie passed through the black, gleaming doors of Knight Inc. with her heart in her mouth.
Poor old Derek had never sounded so lost for words as when she’d called him last night out of the blue to resign, and thankfully he’d been too flustered to argue with her request to use holiday days owed in lieu of the company’s one week notice policy.
Her old boss was a letch of the highest order; Sophie pitied the next girl who would have to put up with his wandering hands.
Was her new boss a letch? Lucien Knight loomed large in her mind, a bronzed, muscled warrior with sparkling blue eyes and a killer way with words. No. He wasn’t a letch. His job just demanded that the usual veil of decency be removed. Even though Sophie had only met Lucien once, she already sensed she could trust him not to cross the line. Derek hadn’t been able to keep his grubby old hands off her, but Sophie felt pretty certain that Lucien Knight wouldn’t lay an untoward finger on her.
Unless he thought she wanted him to.
Sophie shook her head to dislodge the unbidden thought, and stepped out of the elevator onto the plush carpet of the top floor.
The same immaculate woman as yesterday inhabited reception, but her smile was a fraction warmer today as Sophie approached the desk.
“Mr. Knight is expecting you, Sophie. Welcome aboard.”
Sophie smiled, disconcerted that the woman knew her name already. “Thank you.” The receptionist tapped the keyboard and made no move to get up. “Shall I just go on through?”
In answer the woman nodded and extended an arm behind her towards the corridor.
That was that, then. She was now officially an employee at Knight Inc.
Nerves swirled low in Sophie’s stomach as she approached Lucien’s door at the end of the swathe of carpet. Yesterday already felt as if she’d dreamed it – things like that didn’t happen in real life, did they? In books maybe, or films, but not to ordinary girls leading ordinary lives. Except it had happened, and as Sophie tapped twice on Lucien’s door, she felt like anything but an ordinary girl.
“Come in.” His quiet command filtered through the door, and she turned the handle and stepped inside.
“Sophie.” A lazy smile crossed his mouth when he looked up. “You came.”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Did you expect me not to?”
He shrugged. “How could you resist?”
Sophie smiled despite her nerves. She couldn’t help it. Lucien Knight was just about the most self-assured - no, in fact, cocky - man she’d ever met.
“This way.” Lucien stood and opened a door to a second room to one side of his desk. Sophie hadn’t noticed the doorway until now, and she crossed behind his desk to stand alongside him. The adjoining office was smaller, with the same lush decoration and picture window views of London as Lucien enjoyed.
“You should find everything you need in here. Claire has left detailed guidance notes.”
“Claire?” Sophie’s interest was piqued.
“My previous PA. She had to leave a couple of weeks earlier than planned, but you should find everything in order.”
Sophie wasn’t brave enough to ask why Claire had needed to make a speedy exit. Maybe she’d fallen for her boss…
“Why don’t you take a little time to get acquainted with things? And I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Lucien left Sophie’s door open and sat down at his desk. Despite what he’d just said to the contrary, he’d have p
ut down good money that Sophie Black wouldn’t turn up this morning. She’d surprised him again, just as she had when she’d turned back yesterday and said things that clearly made her uncomfortable. He sensed the spunky girl lurking beneath her good girl demeanour, and he was looking forward to helping her find her way out. He looked up as she appeared in the doorway.
“Coffee, Mr. Knight?” There was a gleam in her eye that could almost be deemed mischievous.
“Why, thank you, Sophie. I’d like that very much. Espresso, if you can work that infernal machine out.”
She disappeared again, and he could hear the clank of the high-tech coffee machine in her office that he’d never bothered to get to grips with. A few minutes later she placed a steaming cup down on the desk next to him.
“I wasn’t sure if you took sugar,” she said, a sachet in her hand in readiness.
“No, thank you. That’s perfect.”
She inclined her head, and sunlight bounced off the clip that held her hair up. Lucien’s fingers itched to reach out and remove it, to let her blonde hair fall around her face. How long was it, he wondered? Shoulder length? Long enough to cover her breasts? He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable.
He picked up the cup and watched her retreat into her office. He had much to learn about Sophie Black, but two things were already apparent. The girl had a fabulous backside, and she could indeed make a mean cup of coffee.
Sophie sat down at the large, unfamiliar desk and touched a key on the computer keyboard. The screen instantly lit up, the Knight Inc. logo emblazoned across it.
Claire had indeed been very thorough with her handover notes, Sophie found everything listed from computer passwords to intricate details of how to manage Lucien’s diary. The thought of being in charge of the movements of the six foot sex god sitting outside her door set off the nerves in her stomach again, so she entered the computer passwords and opened up the email programme. It seemed as good a place to start as any.