Office Intrigue (Office Intrigue Duet Book 1)

by Nicole Edwards

  Fifty

  “I’VE GOT A MEETING THIS MORNIN’.”

  I heard the words being whispered in my ear but it took a moment to realize where I was and whose resonant voice was pulling me out of a deep sleep.

  “Good morning, Master.” It wasn’t easy to force my eyes open, but I managed, smiling up at him. It should be a damn crime to look that good first thing in the morning.

  “Good mornin’, pet.” He brushed my hair back from my face.

  “What time is it?”

  “Six o’clock.”

  I lazily stretched, loving the soreness I felt after an incredible night spent with—

  I jerked to a sitting position.

  “Did you say six?” Yep, that was my voice sounding slightly shrill.

  I started to dart off the bed but didn’t get far before Master pulled me back to him, his big arm curling around my waist and tugging me backward.

  It was too late to hide the panic. “I have to get ready. I have to be at work at seven thirty.”

  “You’ve got plenty of time. Remember? No commute.”

  Right. No commute. I was at his apartment, which would save me at least thirty minutes. I had a little time.

  I sighed, relaxing into the pillow as I stared up at the most handsome man on the face of the planet. Well, except for maybe Landon, who happened to be my master’s identical twin. I secretly wished that Landon had been there last night. Although, I wasn’t going to share that detail with anyone.

  “Which means I’ve got plenty of time to take you before you have to get in the shower.”

  I moaned softly as he shifted me onto my stomach. While his lips trailed over my shoulder, his hand snaked between my thighs. I opened my legs, urging him closer. When his fingers teased my entrance, I sighed again. This was one hell of a way to be woken up.

  “You’re already wet for me,” he groaned against my ear.

  “Always.”

  Master moved over me, positioning himself between my legs before pulling my hips back. Within seconds he was plunging deep inside me. My pussy tightened, clamping down on his cock, which had him groaning again. I loved that sound. Knowing that I could give this man pleasure was euphoric in its own right.

  “Remember, you have to get to work, pet. So don’t hold back.” Master retreated slowly. “I’m certainly not going to.”

  He drove his hips forward, sliding in as deep as possible. He didn’t stop, fucking me hard, pushing me closer and closer to the headboard with the strength of his thrusts. It didn’t take long before I was flying high, riding the waves of my orgasm.

  “That’s a good girl,” he praised seconds before he roared his release.

  •

  “So what put that huge grin on your pretty face? I must know.”

  A heated blush infused my face when I stepped off the elevator to find Jordan sitting at his desk, his eyes glued to me.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I teased.

  “Did you have a late night?”

  I frowned. “Of course not. And I slept like a baby.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie. I did sleep like a baby with Master in bed with me. It didn’t even bother me that we had remained in the guest room rather than him taking me to his bed. Although, I did wonder why he’d done that. Part of me thought he’d done it in an effort to keep his distance. To make it less intimate than if we’d been in his bed, maybe. The other part of me didn’t want to think about that too hard because it kind of hurt.

  “I just bet you did.” Jordan chuckled again. “So, you want to go to lunch today?”

  “Absolutely.” I needed some Jordan time. It had been far too long since I’d spent any real time with a true friend.

  That reminded me, I needed to call Kristen. She had left me two messages and if I didn’t call her back she was going to freak out. Since I had no one else to talk to about all that was going on, Kristen would be the one who would listen and not judge me for this…unconventional life I was living. At least I hoped she wouldn’t. The thought of her turning on me was what kept me not sharing all the new details of my life.

  Still, I would send her a text to let her know I was busy. That should pacify her for a little while and maybe I’d be ready to share all the juicy details with her by the weekend.

  Until then, I would get to spend time with my newest friend.

  “Perfect. Meet you back here at one,” Jordan said, reaching for the phone.

  I smiled, then headed to my desk. I started a pot of coffee, then skimmed the calendar for the day. I noticed that Justin had canceled an out-of-town trip, which I took to mean he would be in the office. The calendar was actually free for the most part, aside from one conference call Ben had at three.

  Once I’d familiarized myself with the plan for the day, I skimmed my email. The first thing that caught my attention was a meeting request from Landon. He instructed me to schedule it for eleven thirty and to invite Ben, Justin, and Master.

  I quickly added it to the calendar and sent the invite just as Master and Justin were walking in at the same time. They must’ve received the meeting notification on their phones because they both checked them simultaneously.

  Justin stopped outside his office door, his gaze sliding my way. “What’s this meeting for?”

  “Landon didn’t say. Just that I needed to schedule it for eleven thirty.”

  Justin shot a questionable look at Master before they both disappeared into their respective offices. I instantly got to my feet, offering each of them coffee. Surprisingly, Master declined and asked me to shut his door.

  When I delivered Justin’s coffee to him, his eyes tracked me. I felt a blush heat my cheeks, but I wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was because I’d spent the night with Master last night.

  “Have a seat, Luci,” Justin stated—more of a command than a request—before I could slip out of the room.

  “Yes, sir.”

  I eased into the chair across from him.

  “How’re things going with you?”

  “Very well.”

  “I heard you attended a party with Langston last night. Did you enjoy yourself?”

  I wouldn’t go so far as to say I enjoyed the party. It was an experience, sure. However, I kept those thoughts to myself. I wanted to talk to Master at length about what had happened, how things had transpired, and what his expectations were from here on out. It felt wrong to share any of my feelings with someone else first.

  “I did,” I said confidently. “It was…interesting.”

  “I can only imagine. TJ Arlington is an interesting man.”

  I nodded.

  Justin continued to watch me, as though he expected me to say something.

  “Luci, are things progressing the way you expected them to?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Here in the office. Based on our…arrangement.”

  That was a difficult question to answer. I didn’t want to lie to Justin, but I also didn’t know how to answer it.

  “I’m not sure I had any expectations.”

  He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t buying what I was selling.

  “Do you have any questions for me?”

  I had plenty of questions, and being that Justin was a Dom, I could probably get all the answers I wanted. Only, I didn’t think that was the right way to go about it. I just wasn’t sure what Master expected from me, and honestly, I was scared to ask, not sure I was ready to hear the answer.

  “If you’re not happy, Luci…”

  I sat up straight. “I’m happy, sir. Very happy.”

  “No regrets?”

  I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”

  He smiled for the first time since I’d stepped into the office. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

  I waited for him to say something more, but he didn’t. Finally, I got to my feet. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  His dark blue eyes flashed with heat and I fel
t a chill dance down my spine.

  “I’m good for now. Thanks.”

  I nodded, then returned to my desk feeling even more disoriented than I had that morning.

  Something was happening, but I wasn’t sure what it was.

  •

  By the time one o’clock rolled around, I was starving.

  I was also greatly concerned about what was going on.

  All four of my bosses had been in the back conference room since eleven thirty. They’d had Jordan order in lunch and specifically asked that he deliver it to them. They informed me that they did not want to be bothered for anything else.

  My desk phone rang right at one.

  “Hello?”

  “Come on, hot stuff. Let’s go grab some lunch.”

  I glanced at the hallway. “I’m…not so sure that’s a good idea right now.”

  “It’s a perfect idea. They’re in a meeting and they won’t come out until they’re ready. In the meantime, you and I are going to have a sandwich and gossip like we’d planned.”

  I sighed. I knew Jordan was right. And it wouldn’t do any good for me to sit there and wait. I would only drive myself crazy if I did.

  “Okay,” I reluctantly agreed. “I’m on my way.”

  After grabbing my purse, I went straight for the lobby, fully expecting one of my bosses to stop me, to tell me what was going on. Unfortunately, the hallway behind me remained silent.

  Jordan was waiting for me by the elevator. When I approached, he took my arm.

  “The frowny thing… It does nothing for you.”

  I rolled my eyes and smiled.

  “That’s better.”

  It took all of ten minutes to get downstairs, order, pay and find an empty table. The place was practically empty. I figured that had a lot to do with Christmas being right around the corner. If I had to guess, a lot of people took the week off. Unfortunately, our office would be shutting down starting tomorrow. I didn’t particularly want the time off, because I had absolutely nothing to do, but it wasn’t like I could ask them to work on a holiday.

  “All right, Luci. I’ve been waiting weeks to hear what’s going on with you. It’s time you spill the beans.”

  I looked at my friend, a little taken aback by such a dominant statement coming from him.

  He chuckled, then added, “Please.”

  God, what I wouldn’t give to tell him everything that was happening. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I knew that our arrangement wasn’t something my bosses would want me sharing with anyone. However, this was Jordan. He was my friend. Then again, he worked for them. If he disagreed with anyone’s actions, he could possibly sue them, right?

  It was too much pressure. I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to. I couldn’t imagine anyone would understand.

  On top of that, I was so confused. After spending last night with Master, I didn’t even know what I expected anymore. The things he’d said…telling me that he knew I would belong to him…Was that real? Or had he merely said what he thought I wanted to hear? I was desperate to get someone’s take on it, but I knew it wasn’t my place to say anything.

  “Okay,” Jordan said with a huff. “Since you’re not going to tell me, I’ll just start guessing. You can blink once if I’m right, twice if I’m wrong.”

  I laughed.

  Jordan took a bite of his sandwich and appeared to be thinking about his first question. I, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how much I wanted to tell him. Well, more like how much I was willing to tell him. I wanted to tell him everything. Hell, I just needed to get it off my chest.

  “First, let me sum up what I do know,” Jordan said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “All right.”

  “You’ve been working here for what? Two and a half months? Which is longer than any secretary they’ve had in the past year and a half. I heard rumors that they lay out the requirements of the position after two weeks.”

  “One month in my case,” I informed him.

  His smile widened. “Okay, so they laid out the requirements at the one-month point. And you stuck around, even though the requirements aren’t…traditional?”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “You’re smoking-hot, and I’ve seen the big boys look at you like they want to eat you up.”

  I hadn’t realized that, but I allowed Jordan to continue.

  “Plus, I did catch on to the little game you were playing during the quarterly meeting. Every so often you would disappear. And coincidentally, so would one of the bosses.”

  Oh, shit. I didn’t realize anyone had picked up on that.

  “Oh, don’t look so worried. I don’t think anyone else noticed.”

  I hoped not.

  “So, along with all that, you’ve captured the attention of four yummy men.” He winked. “During the time you’ve been here, I’ve heard at least three of them talk about you in a very positive manner. Then there was the sex toy client who came to do a demonstration. I happen to know you were in that demonstration because I tried to call your desk during that time and you didn’t answer.”

  I blushed as the memory of that day flooded back.

  “Yep, and the pink in your cheeks confirms it.” Jordan chuckled. “Then, this morning, you showed up looking a little starry-eyed after spending the night with one of the bosses.”

  My eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

  His smirk was mischievous. “The elevator came down from the forty-fourth floor.”

  Oh, my God.

  Jordan held up his hand, obviously noticing the panic-stricken look that had taken over my face.

  “Don’t worry, kiddo. I’m not going to say anything. I’m your friend.” His expression turned serious. “And believe it or not, I really am your friend. I like you, Luci. I want to be here if you want to talk. I get it if there’re details you don’t want to share, but I want you to know I’ll listen. I talk to Dale about you all the time and let’s just say, if you were a dude, he’d be ten shades of green right about now.”

  I exhaled slowly. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do, Jordan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean…whatever’s going on…it didn’t start out this way and I’m not sure which direction it’s going to go.”

  His forehead creased. “Since that’s super vague, I’m going to ask you…which way do you want it to go?”

  I shrugged.

  And that was the biggest problem of all.

  I was fairly certain I was falling in love with Master. And Landon.

  Yep, that was right. I was falling in love with two of my bosses.

  However, anytime I thought about Ben or Justin, my heart sank when I even considered not being able to spend time with them. Something was changing, taking our original arrangement off course, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I was ready to veer in that direction. Maybe that made me selfish, or perhaps simply crazy, but I couldn’t change how I felt.

  Jordan’s hand covered mine. “I truly believe that everything works out the way it’s supposed to, Luci. So, why don’t you sit back, take a breath, and let the cards fall where they may.”

  My eyes met his and I took a deep breath. I couldn’t stop the smile. “When did you get to be so philosophical?”

  “I’m the whole package, kiddo. Don’t you know?” He said it without arrogance, which was one of the things I loved about Jordan.

  “So, when you’re ready to share all the dirty deets, I’m here. Until then, I’m going to keep sitting at my desk, wondering what sexy deliciousness is taking place behind those doors.”

  I huffed out a laugh.

  It was all I could do to keep the tears from falling.

  Fifty-One

  WHEN I GOT BACK TO the office, I found that my bosses were no longer in their meeting; however, they were all four out of the office and it was driving me crazy not to know what was going on. Knowing that answers weren’t going to be forthcoming, I focused my attention on work.


  At three o’clock, I looked up when I heard the sound of footsteps coming toward me. I noticed that Justin was carrying several bags, as was Ben. They stopped in front of my desk and placed their loot on top.

  “What is this?” I noticed tinsel and Christmas lights peeking out of one of the bags and excitement stirred inside me.

  “We’re decorating for Christmas,” Ben informed me.

  I glanced around the space unnecessarily. They all knew what I knew. “But we don’t have a tree.”

  Justin’s smile was wicked.

  About that time, Landon and Langston came in, both carrying a bag, but these were far more discreet than the shopping bags Ben and Justin had been carrying. I was anxious to know what they had, where they’d gotten it from, and more importantly, what they intended to do with them.

  Ben began emptying the bags onto my desk, whistling a Christmas tune while he worked. He had to know that I was fascinated by the possibilities, but he gave nothing away.

  “Strip,” Master instructed, nodding toward me before heading to his office right behind Landon.

  While Ben tossed approving glances my way, I hurried to remove my clothing before sitting back down at my desk. Master and Landon disappeared into their offices momentarily, then returned. They had removed their suit jackets, and Justin was doing the same.

  “You ready for this, sweet girl?”

  I met Landon’s heated gaze and smiled. “I don’t even know what this is, but sure. I’m ready.”

  Justin disappeared only to return with a small step stool in his hand, which he carried over to the wall.

  Landon held out his hand for me and I got to my feet, stepping around my desk into the middle of the area. Landon teased me with subtle brushes of his fingers over my naked skin while Justin brought various items over and handed them to Ben.

  I’d never realized until then how incredibly vulnerable I felt when I was the only naked one in the room. All four of my bosses were dressed and I was not. Somehow, they’d easily made that a rule that I tended to follow without question.

  “We figured we could all use some Christmas spirit, so we decided we’d decorate you today.”

  “Me?” Yep. I giggled, feeling giddy at the prospect. My nipples pebbled as the warmth of Landon’s knuckles grazed them.