Kayla and John mumbled their greeting and Reid continued on in the direction of his office.
Damn it.
“Miss Mitchell?” he said, turning around.
I damn near broke my neck turning around to look at him. “Yes?”
His eyes darkened a bit as he looked at me. “How are you this morning?”
Sore and over-sexed. Wanting more right now, thank you very much, Professor.
“I’m okay.” My voice was small with three other sets of eyes staring between us like it was a damn tennis match.
“Did...Brittney here, tell you I would like to meet with you today?” The look on his face was intimate as well as his tone. He was talking as if we were the only ones in the room and his give-a-damn's busted.
“Yes, she did,” I said, casting a quick glance at Brittney. The girl was watching our exchange with great interest, fawning after Reid like a cat that wanted to pounce. He was already ten years my senior. This young girl was at least five years younger than me. There was no way he would want her…could he?
Get your head together, Addison. The man said he wanted you.
“Are you free now?” Reid asked, breaking into the haze of doubt forming in my overactive brain. At this moment, he was only looking at me; not Brittney, not Kayla, not even John.
I offered a light smile thinking there was even the slightest possibility this gorgeous man could only have eyes for me. “I haven’t started my day yet, so, yes.”
“Great. If you could follow me then,” he said, turning and walking toward his office.
I turned and looked at the others. Kayla raised her shoulders in a ‘who knows, but good luck’ gesture.
He opened his office door allowing me to enter first My back to him, I looked out of the window on the opposite wall until I heard the soft click and lock of the door behind me.
My eyes closed as I immediately felt his warmth at my back and his hot mouth at the nape of my neck. “You look good enough to eat, Addison,” he growled against my ear before nipping at the sensitive lobe.
Butterflies took flight inside as I turned in his arms placing a hand at his chest. He circled me into his arms drawing me close. “I didn’t think you were going to speak to me when you came from Joe’s office.”
“I can’t help it; you leave me speechless the moment I see you. I needed a moment.” I felt the heat rising to my cheeks at his words. “I want to kiss you right now…” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip.
“What’s stopping you?” My words were just a breath before his mouth found mine with a hungered urgency. It had only been a few hours since we warmed his sheets, but I missed this like it had been ages. I swayed in front of him feeling his erection harden against my middle through his dress pants. I moaned as his tongue explored my mouth. I’d promised myself I would not fall into the temptation of Reid Matheson at work or school but that was thrown right out the window the minute he put his abled hands and mouth on me.
I placed a hand on his hard chest trying to push him away. He refused to let go. His lips parted only centimeters from mine. He mumbled, “What’s wrong?”
“We can’t do this...”
“You’re right, we shouldn’t, not here.” He moved back slowly from me running a hand over the back of his head and neck.
“No, Reid. We should be smart about this. Last night was… beyond…” I couldn’t find the adjectives to explain just how much last night meant to me.
Reid stepped in, finishing my sentence. “Last night was mind-blowing, Addison. I haven't been with anyone like that in ages. The way we connect, the way we move together, the way you feel against me….how I feel when I'm inside of you.” I could see the annoyance registering on his handsome face. “What about any of that would make you say we shouldn't do this?”
“I didn’t say we shouldn’t. We just need to be smart about it. Besides, this undeniable heat we have when we’re together; what could we have while I’m still your student, and I now report to you at work. That is an HR nightmare in and of itself. Arlene is already waiting for us to slip up. Though, hot kisses behind closed, locked doors and secret late night rendezvous in law libraries is the thing wet dreams are made of, we need to watch it.
“I’m not—” I stopped him by holding a finger to his lips.
“You don’t have to finish that statement. You know anything we could have would be difficult with her around, especially in this office.” I tried to move around him, but he snagged my wrist pulling me right back to him. His other arm moved around my waist locking me against him like a steel trap. I stopped trying to fight how good his body felt against me. If this were any other circumstance, I would let myself be taken by this man. But there were so many factors. Maybe in a few months we’d be in different spot…
“Come to the fundraiser with me,” he murmured in my ear.
“How would that look, me coming with you to the party? Arlene, Joe, the client…they’d all have some serious questions. People from the school will be there. They’re bound to wonder why you are with a student so close to graduation.”
“I don’t give a damn,” he growled, moving a hand to the front of my business suit cupping my breast through the fabric.
“You may not, but I care. This looks like I’m trying to sleep my way to the top… Reid, stop. We are not having sex in here.” I denied him as he tried to work my buttons free.
“You want sex in the lobby, then?” he teased. His mouth moved over my neck as his hand finished with the buttons of my jacket. He then pushed my chemise up and out of his way focusing on the front clasp of my lacy bra.
“I really should leave before someone walks in,” I gasped as he pinched an erect nipple through lace.
“We’ve been through this before. They would knock first, and I locked the door. ” He continued caressing me.
“How awkward would it be having to delay opening that door because I’m getting redressed?” “You’re right...very awkward.” He agreed but it didn’t stop his hand from moving over the swell of my breast. “I’ll risk it though, “ he said, before his hand slipped into my bra finding my hardened nipple. My eyes snapped closed, and I bit my bottom lip to quiet a moan. “Reid.” His name was a mere sigh on my lips as he kissed it away and backed me to the couch on the far side of his office. The leather felt cool against my stocking-covered legs as the hem of my skirt raised to my thighs. The weight of his body pushed me down onto the couch as he kissed me softly, letting his tongue mingle and caress mine. His fingers continued tweaking my taut nipple. “You feel so good, Addison.” He moved his body up and over me and I hung onto his muscled arms. “I could make love to you right here, right now, if you’d let me.”
My eyes popped open and I ran my gaze over his handsome features. His eyes were closed as he kissed me again. I ran a hand down his stubbled face with high cheekbones and a hard-set jaw. He opened his smoky eyes to examine me. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“We can’t…” The words caught in my throat. I didn’t know he considered what we were doing as making love. I know he said he wanted me, but in the back of my mind, it was just a lust thing. I cleared my throat. “We can’t make love in here, Reid,” I said, softly testing the waters with the term.
I saw the realization light in his eyes and the shift in his weight was slight, but I felt the loss of him atop me immediately, and I missed it.
He closed his eyes again, shaking his head as if coming out of a trance. “When you’re right, you’re right.” He chuckled softly. “ I don’t know what came over me.” He stood and held out a hand to me helping me from the couch. I stood in the middle of the office floor adjusting my bra and fixing my skirt and suit jacket.
The look on his face was apologetic. “I’m sorry about that.”
I smiled. “It wasn’t so bad.” I winked.
He mirrored my grin, taking my hand. “I’m glad one of us had the good sense to stop things before they got out of hand. Maybe we should just spend the rest of the m
orning going over the logistics of the merger and the fundraiser…in our own offices. We can discuss our game plan after we go over the details.” He walked to his door and unlocked it before walking back to his desk. I noticed he was extra careful not to walk near me.
“Damn it. I forgot the files in Joe’s office this morning,” he said, turning on his heels back toward the door.
“I can get them from Joe,” I offered.
“It’s okay. I have to tell him something anyway. I’ll bring them by your office.” He opened the door, leaving me standing in the middle of the office space like he hadn’t just tried to rip the clothes from my body. I know I’d asked him to stop, but I didn’t realize he’d go the extreme opposite in a matter of seconds. “Like night and day,” I mumbled, leaving his office.
Chapter 15
Reid
I paced the floor in Joe's office as he sat behind his large oak desk with hands steepled in front of his mouth staring at me. “Are you going to talk or just wear a hole in the carpet?” he finally asked.
“She's not doing it. She's not the one stealing the money from the firm; I know it.” I shook my head, stopping dead in my tracks and staring down at my good friend.
“Well, you told me that about two weeks ago, and you still haven't shown me any proof your little girlfriend is innocent, Reid. Yet, I'm still bleeding money.” Joe glared at me.
“It's Arlene. I'm sure of it. You have to look again,” I said, pointing at the files and financials laying on his desk. He’d showed me this morning he was in fact losing money, and not just chump change, it was small amounts from various accounts equallying a significant amount. It appeared to all be missing from accounts and cases Arlene and Addison had worked on together.
“You don't think I know it's Arlene, Reid? My wife is a money-hungry witch who will sleep with anything and anyone to get what she wants.”
I flinched at the last comment. Not many knew Arlene and Joe were married. Hell, I didn’t even know until just a while ago. Neither of them said anything. Imagine my surprise when she told me, while she was still lying in my bed.
I couldn’t kick her out of my place fast enough.
I knew they were fooling around at one point back in law school, but not enough romps in the hay could make me put a ring on that finger.
I wouldn't be the one to tell him Arlene and I had hooked up a few times after they were supposedly married.
That would break up a friendship with a man I've known for years, as well as leave Addison vulnerable to whatever punishment Joe wanted to dish out as revenge.
I needed to find out who was helping Arlene steal this money. I needed to do it and get her out of this firm to protect Addison at any cost.
“Addison wouldn't do that; she's on the up-and-up and she cares about this job. She talks about it all the time. I see it in her work...I just see it in her. She's not that person, Joe.”
“Look at my face, Matheson.” He pointed at his clean-shaven mug. “This is me, not caring. Christ, man, you talk as if you have a real thing for this chick. Are you banging the paralegal, Reid?”
“Watch yourself, man,” I warned, turning on Joe.
His face lit up like the Fourth of July. “Well, I'll be damned. You are tapping that! She is a real looker. She’s gotta nice little body under those business suits she wears. That red cocktail dress she had on the other night, God almighty—”
“Shut the fuck up, Joe,” I growled.
“Oh shit, you really have feelings for this one? She must be really good in bed. Tell me, what’s that mouth do?” He winked.
Without a second thought, I closed the distance between me and Joe with just a few steps. I reached across his desk grabbing for his tie and yanked him up from the chair so we were face-to-face. “Say one more word about her, Joe, and I will knock you the fuck out. Do not disrespect her.”
Joe put his hands up in the air in surrender. “Easy there, guy. Didn't realize you were feeling this way about someone, let alone one of the paralegals at my firm. You are supposed to be working with her on this merger. I hope there won’t be any conflicts of interest.” Joe shrugged from my grasp. I let him go as he adjusted his tie and shirt. “Don't let whatever Nirvana is hiding between that little thing’s legs keep you from the bottom line. In case you forgot, that is my money! I hired you to help me out, Reid. Not for you to go after yet another notch in your damn belt.”
“She is not just a notch…” I felt my temperature go up to Level Inferno. Joe was a good friend, but he was acting like a spoiled ass, dick head. I was not above knocking him right in his pretty boy mouth.
He was one to talk about notches in the belt when the whole reason he was in this screwed up farce of a marriage is because he somehow tripped and fell between Arlene’s legs.
I stood my ground, changing the subject off me and Addison and back to the subject at hand. “She's not the one helping Arlene steal money from you. Find another scapegoat.” I turned from him, but he called out.
“Then find out who the hell it is. I want that person and my lying, cheating wife out on their asses by the end of this quarter.”
“Trust me, I want her gone just as much as you do,” I mumbled.
Joe raised a brow. “Oh, yeah? Why is that?”
Shit, I’d said too much.
“She asked me about me and Addison. She saw me talking to her at the cocktail party.” It wasn’t a complete untruth. “I don’t need her making waves for me at the university or here.”
Joe burst out laughing. “No one told you to screw one of your students, Reid. You should have thought about that before you stuck it in.”
“You’re one to talk,” I scoffed.
Joe nodded. “Touché, but it seems we both have even more of a vested interest in getting Arlene disbarred and out of our lives for good.”
“Sooner rather than later,” I agreed. He held out the folder I came back to his office for in the first place. I snagged it and looked down at the contents and back at Joe. “I’ll tell you one thing for certain, once this is over, I do not want to come back for any other projects. Find another consultant.”
The sound of Joe’s laughter was my parting gift as I left his office, shutting the door behind me.
I ran into John Huber, Joe’s paralegal and my law student, as I was leaving.
“Oh, hey, Professor.” The poor guy looked uncomfortable in my presence every time I saw him. I wasn’t exactly sure why. He was a great student in class. I wouldn’t have recommended him to Joe if I thought different.
“That’s not necessary, John. I'm just Reid here. Will you be in class tonight?” I asked, trying for light conversation.
“Yes, I have my paper to turn in and everything,” the younger man answered.
“Good, good. See you tonight, then.” I tried to walk past the young man but he stopped me.
“Is Joe in there?” he asked.
“Yes, that is why I was in there…” Why would I be in Joe’s office if he wasn’t in there?”
He nodded and walked past me, bumping shoulders with me. Since I had him by a few inches, it was more like his shoulder bumped me mid-bicep. He turned and looked me in the eye. “Oh, sorry, my bad.”
I looked down where he’d nudged me. That was not an accident. There was clearly enough room for us to pass. This guy did this on purpose. I never had any run-ins with John before; never really said more than two sentences to him in or out of class. He would hand in assignments, usually sit in the back of the classroom and just look; never really interacted with any of the others…except Addison. I’d seen them studying together in the law library more than once.
I had a good chance to really look at him now, and I saw a glint in his eyes I hadn't noticed or maybe I wasn’t paying him any mind before.
Something was off about him. I walked away not acknowledging his nudge or his weak ass apology.
I made a mental note to ask Addison more about John Huber. Bu,t for now, we needed to figure out
what was going on with this merger and where all the firm’s money was going.
Chapter 16
Addison
“Where were you yesterday?” Arlene breezed into my office, as she always did, with no preamble, demanding answers to questions that made no sense.
“I’m sorry?” I asked, closing out of my email screen. Reid had sent me a message telling me he missed me when I left this morning. He was doing this because he knew it distracted me. I wasn’t gonna sext in the DM with my professor/supervisor/lover whatever the hell he was, at nine o’clock in the damn morning; especially with Arlene so near. She’d have a freaking fit, and I didn’t want awaken the inner witch all before coffee.
She took a seat on the opposite side of my desk, something she rarely did. She’d much rather stand, hovering over me while she made her demands known.
She leveled her eyes on me with a condescending glare, something she did more times often than not.
“Where. Were. You. Yesterday.” She broke each word out. If she could have clapped in between, I’m sure she would, but I’ve seen this woman in action, rhythm was not her thing.
This was also a question I did not want to answer because I didn’t know what she knew. She wasn’t here yesterday afternoon, so how in the world did she know I wasn’t either? I had to feel this one out before I gave away my business.
“I was here…yesterday. You saw me before you left.”
Good save. I had been here. In the morning at least. So it wasn’t a complete lie.
“I know you were here before I left, Addison. Do you take me for a fool?” She narrowed her evil eyes at me.
Don’t answer that. I self-scolded. Nothing but a trap. What I wanted to say was, ‘Yep, a straight up fool. Oh, and a professional bitch. A bitchy fool.’
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