“And what happens if the baby’s already here?”
“Then you’re officially on paternity leave, and it’s my problem.”
Ramon sighed and smoothed a crease on the knee of his pants. “I’m going to have to run this by Maya. You may be the boss in here, but she’s the one who writes the checks in bed.”
“And thank god for it.” Jeremy smiled. “She’s the best person for the job. Can you give her a call and then book the tickets?”
Ramon groaned. “You’re too used to getting what you want.”
Jeremy grinned at his friend. “It’s what makes me so charming.”
“It’s what makes you such a smart-ass, you mean.” Ramon rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you know if I do this I’m going to need some more details about the trip.”
“As soon as I wrap my head around it, you’ll be the first to know.”
Ramon dismissed himself and ambled toward the hall, but Jeremy stopped him in the doorway. “Wait.” He’d called Ramon into his office for a reason, but now that he was here Jeremy had another use for him. “About Vanessa.” His impulse was to fire her, to let her walk that luscious ass out of his building so he wouldn’t be tempted to break his rules. It wasn’t her fault, really, but the end result was the same. He had let his control slip once. If he kept Vanessa around, he would do it again. Already he had visions of bending her over his desk and sliding his cock into her just to see how tight she could fit around him.
Ramon raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Jeremy needed to play this right, to walk the line between showing professional interest and his personal inclination toward being an ass. “How is she doing?”
“Other than the fact that you just scared the shit out of her?” Ramon shrugged. “There’s still time left in the day, but she’s on track to beat out Julie and Sean for the highest bookings of the day.”
Dammit. So she was good for his business, too. Jeremy admitted defeat on this one—he’d keep her around for now. But there was no doubt she’d be bad for his focus.
“Is her background in adult products?”
Ramon shook his head. “I don’t think so. She’s been temping for the last year or so. Mostly answering phones.”
“Is she familiar with the inventory? If she’s helping on the Yessir account, she needs to be damn near perfect.”
“She’s getting there. I can have Julie suggest a few more search terms for her to look up for research.”
It was a funny dance they did in this business. Jeremy needed his employees to be immersed in the industry to know how to differentiate their products when they spoke with customers, but suggesting specific sites or search terms to them could be dangerous. Not enough research and you wouldn’t know the difference between a butt plug and anal beads, but too much and you bordered on images that were potentially uncomfortable for employees.
In fact, the very nature of the business was one of Jeremy’s main challenges starting X Enterprises—traditional advertising methods wouldn’t accept ads with any remotely adult content, not to mention automated fucking machines and vibrators. Luckily, having top-quality products went far in getting great press and word of mouth recommendations.
Jeremy leaned back in his chair. Which kind of images would turn Vanessa on the most? Would they be the videos of oral sex? Or maybe something darker?
Dammit. He was doing it again—letting himself get distracted. Even the idea of Vanessa was causing problems for him. What was he going to do about her?
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and waved Ramon out of the office.
Chapter 5
Vanessa was just about to hit the call button for the elevator when Jeremy strode up next to her and Ramon. Her body prickled with awareness, and when she reached for the button her hand shook ever so slightly.
Jeremy spoke to Ramon as if she wasn’t even there, ignoring her like he had for the past week. “Headed to lunch?”
Ramon nodded. “That’s the plan. I was actually about to take Vanessa out so she could collect her prize for winning our sales competition.” He’d surprised Vanessa by springing the award lunch on her today, but she was happy to save her salad for tomorrow. Victory lunches always tasted the best.
For the first time in days, Jeremy turned his attention to her. “Is that so?” He studied her, his face ever so slightly amused, and she fought the urge to squirm. So what if her body still lit up around him? So what if he wore a slim-cut navy suit that made his eyes seem even more blue? Being an asshole was a total deal breaker. And she didn’t know what to call slamming the door in her face other than a dick move.
Ramon nodded. “You’ve got a hell of a salesperson here, Jer.”
Jeremy considered her with a quiet glance. “In that case, do you mind if I join you for lunch?”
She drew in a quick breath. Seriously? He wanted to join them for lunch? For the last few days Jeremy had barely looked at her, and even when she’d spoken up in the morning production meetings, the heat of his gaze felt like a judgment. He clearly hated her—hell, the door in the face trick had proved that. So why was he suddenly changing his tune?
Ramon shrugged. “It’s Vanessa’s lunch, so it’s up to her if you can crash.”
Oh god. Her face flamed. Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Ramon.
Jeremy’s eyes stayed on her face. “So what’ll it be?” He pitched his voice into a Tommy Wiseau accent. “Two’s great, but three is a crowd?”
Holy shit. She couldn’t stop her grin. “Are you quoting The Room at me?”
Jeremy smirked as the elevator doors opened to admit them. “You know The Room?”
“It’s only the best worst movie ever.”
This time Jeremy actually smiled. The effect was striking—his blue eyes danced and his whole face softened into an expression way more friendly than she’d ever seen on him. Maybe he wasn’t so terrible after all. She reserved the right to withhold judgment until she learned more.
“Okay, yeah.” She stepped into the elevator. “Let’s go get some food.”
The Veggie Grill a few blocks from the office may not have been what Jeremy was expecting, but he didn’t complain as the three of them settled around a wood-topped table to dig into a delicious lunch. Somehow Jeremy ended up across from Vanessa, and she froze when Jeremy’s knees bumped hers under the tiny table. He made no effort to move his leg away, and she glanced at him quickly. Jeremy’s eyes were already trained on her face, the intensity back in his gaze and his head tilted like he was trying to figure her out. Did he know that his heat on her body made it hard to concentrate? Or did he just think she was the table leg? She didn’t know which option she preferred. Somehow, despite his asshattery, she wanted him to like her. Even if that was strictly against the rules. The people-pleaser in her was too persistent sometimes.
She tore her eyes from Jeremy and turned to Ramon. No matter how tempting it was to ogle the sexy man across from her, to push him and demand answers for his hot-and-cold behavior, she was on fragile ground. Better to keep the conversation neutral. Ramon, at least, she could handle.
“So how long have you been with the company?” she asked him.
Ramon laughed and looked at Jeremy. “How long has it been now, boss?”
“Coming on eight years.” Jeremy leaned back in his chair, his face proud.
She did the quick math. “So you were here at the start?”
Ramon smiled. “Someone’s been doing her homework. And yes, I’m one of the original employees. Back before this company was an idea in Jeremy’s pretty little head, I was the teacher for one of his college classes.”
“TA,” Jeremy corrected with a smile. “For Entrepreneurship and Innovation, if I remember correctly.”
Ramon grimaced. “Man, you can’t let a guy have any credit.” She suddenly realized they weren’t just coworkers, but friends. It made her like both of them even more. “Okay,” Ramon continued, “I was the TA, not the professor. Anyway, around the time of that c
lass, Jeremy told me about his idea for X Enterprises. I told him to call me when the doors opened.”
“And here we are.” Ramon’s phone buzzed before Jeremy could say more.
“Gotta get that,” Ramon apologized. “Baby watch.”
Ramon stepped away from the table, leaving her and Jeremy alone. The silence hung between them, and there was only so much food she could shove in her face before things got awkward. She still didn’t know how to act around Jeremy, so she forced a smile.
“Remind me again what school you went to?” College should be a neutral topic.
“University of Washington.”
Her smile turned genuine. “I went there too.” It wasn’t surprising that they’d all gone to the same school given that they all lived in Seattle. But it was nice to have some common ground.
Jeremy dragged a french fry through a pool of ketchup on his plate. “Does that make you a big Huskies fan? Are you going to show up in purple and gold on game days?”
She shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint. I know it’s not the popular opinion, but games weren’t really my thing.”
Jeremy leaned forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Want to know a secret?”
Yes.
She couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. She wanted to know all Jeremy’s secrets, to figure him out. If she could, maybe she’d understand why her body kept responding to him like he was her exact favorite kind of catnip. Was it the crisp suits that made her so breathless, his air of confident command? Was it the way his eyes felt like a match against her skin? Or was it his smile, which could be at once kind and hypnotic?
She had never felt more drawn to a person, especially in moments like right now when Jeremy lifted the facade and let her in. How could a person with such a mesmerizing smile be the same type of person who’d slam a door in your face?
She rested her elbows on the table and nodded her approval, basking in the warmth of Jeremy’s gaze. Who knew how long it would last?
“I never actually attended a game either,” Jeremy admitted. “The tailgates, however, were another matter.”
She laughed, and a rush of heat filled her chest. Was he flirting with her? She looked up into his grin, and her breath caught. It was entirely possible he was.
She pressed a napkin to her lips to hide the way her smile grew wider. What the hell was going on? Just when she’d thought Jeremy hated her, he’d gone and turned the tables. She wasn’t going to be able to keep up.
Vanessa sank into her desk chair, still reeling from lunch. She needed a minute to process the way Jeremy’s frosty exterior had peeled back the slightest bit to reveal someone who could be actually kind of charming. He seemed more human out of the office, like a regular person who just happened to run a multi-million dollar company.
Oh, who was she kidding?
He was still a sex god.
She clicked open her email and the small burst of relief she’d carried from earlier fizzled out. She read the angry message twice just to be sure she’d understood correctly, and both times sucked just as bad.
Shit. This was not good.
“Hey, Ramon? Can you help me out with something?” The tiniest hint of panic shaded her voice, and she cringed.
Ramon looked up from his own desk and strolled in her direction. “How can I help?”
She shifted in her seat, her cheeks burning. “I may have made a small error, and I need to know how to fix it.” Ramon nodded in kind concern, and she continued. “SexBuzz Incorporated asked me to quote the gold-plated couple’s vibrator, but I accidentally attached the pricing for some silicone butt plugs. Super different price breaks. So now the buyer thinks I’m giving him the deal of the century when it was actually a mistake. What do I do?”
Ramon opened his mouth to speak, but a rough voice cut him off. “What’s going on here?”
Vanessa froze, her skin prickling. Of course Jeremy had to walk by at the one moment she’d messed up. He was going to go back to hating her again. What could she say to change that?
Ramon offered a level response, saving her. “Not a big deal. We were just about to send an email correction to SexBuzz and drop them a fresh catalog of our inventory while we did it.”
“I see.” The warmth she’d imagined from this afternoon was gone, replaced by a look of frustration. Jeremy’s jaw was set tight, his eyes dark as he glanced from her to Ramon. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and nodded curtly. “You better get on that,” he warned. Before she or Ramon could react, Jeremy turned his solid body and walked away.
Chapter 6
Oh shit.
What was Jeremy going to do?
For the last week, he’d avoided Vanessa, certain that if he could just stay away, he could keep her out of his mind. It hadn’t been easy, but each time she spoke up to make another sharp, witty comment in the morning meetings he’d forced a look of indifference on his face. He’d pretended he didn’t care when he really wanted to know more about her. But it wasn’t working. At lunch today he’d slipped up, teasing her ever so slightly, letting himself fall into easy conversation with her. He’d liked it too much. And that was entirely the problem.
He looked over the edge of his computer and caught sight of Vanessa. She leaned over her desk, her face pulled tight, her modest dress doing way more for his imagination than she’d probably intended. Vanessa was biting her lip again, a crease between her eyes, and he wanted to go to her, to comfort her. To let her soften against him.
But he couldn’t.
He dropped into his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. He had retreated to the safety of his office to stew things over, and as he sat there, shoulders rigid, he kept coming back to the same conclusion. He’d put off the inevitable for a week because Ramon was right—Vanessa really was good for the company. He’d almost wished she was too perfect to have given him the leverage he needed. But this tiny crack with the SexBuzz account was an excuse to let her go. Now that she’d made the mistake, she couldn’t hold it against him when he did what he needed to do. And he needed to fire her.
It wasn’t that he wanted to cause her pain, it was that he needed to protect himself. Even that one innocent lunch had been enough to reaffirm his initial impression of her—Vanessa was funny, sweet, and sexy. Hell, she was intoxicating. He was going to keep fucking up if he let her stay. And nothing—not even some delectable pussy—was going to stand in the way of nailing this deal with Piers.
Really, he was protecting himself from himself.
It just felt like shit.
Jeremy got his HR Director on the line. “Meredith, can you come to my office? Bring Vanessa’s file.”
Maybe he should have walked to HR, but he felt half-paralyzed, like even strolling down the hall past Vanessa’s desk was going to weaken his resolve. And he needed to be strong.
Meredith appeared in his doorway, a manila folder in her grasp. Her glasses were shoved up into her graying French twist, her mouth pursed with uncertainty. “You rang?”
He motioned for her to shut the door behind herself. “Tell me how much we’re paying Vanessa.” He nodded as he absorbed Meredith’s response, his mind whirling to come up with some reasonable way he could talk himself out of this shitty situation. “And how long will Ramon’s paternity leave be?”
“Twelve weeks. Unless he decides to come back early.”
He nodded again. He could write this off as a way to save money short-term. “Let’s let Vanessa go and put a little of that payroll back into our pockets. You can spread the West Coast accounts over Julie and Sean.”
Meredith’s eyes widened. “You want me to let her go?”
Ah, fuck. “Yes. That’s what I said.” Screw the AVN Awards. He was going to win Asshole of the Year, no contest.
“But why? Julie and Sean are already spread pretty thin. You don’t need to run so lean.” Meredith was good at her job, and Jeremy valued her opinion, but that didn’t mean he had to agree.
He glared a
t her. “Are you my numbers guy?”
Spots of color appeared on her cheeks. “No. But I thought we were growing.”
“We are.”
“So if you want to grow competitively, you can afford a temp for a few weeks.” Meredith pushed further in a last-ditch effort to help her employees. He had to admire her for the effort, even if it wasn’t going to change his mind. “You’re going to burn everyone out.”
Jeremy smoothed his tie against his shirt. “Why don’t you bring in a boxed lunch for the team tomorrow. Help soften the blow.”
Ramon was going to kill him. Hell, if she wasn’t so PC, Meredith would probably kill him too. She certainly looked like she wanted to. And he didn’t blame her.
Meredith pressed her lips into a thin line and gave him a curt nod. “I’m assuming your decision is effective immediately?”
His throat went dry. Was he really going to do this?
He was.
He could get plenty of ass, but he only had one chance to nail this deal. He wanted it so badly he could taste the ink on the bills. And he needed to be at the top of his game to make it happen.
For his sake, Vanessa had to go.
“Start the paperwork. Bring me whatever I need to sign.”
Chapter 7
“I’m sure you can understand, this was a difficult decision. But as you know, this was a temporary position, and we no longer have an open requirement.”
Vanessa blinked at Meredith, trying to understand her. Separately, sure, the words made sense. But together? No.
Her stomach sank as she watched Meredith’s expression shift from pure business to concern. She was pretty sure Meredith was trying to fire her. Just two weeks ago Meredith had handed her the X Enterprises sexual harassment policy to sign, and now she was handing Vanessa her metaphoric hat and coat and kicking her to the curb.
His Distraction Page 3