by Jamie Knight
My fingers curled into a fist. I so wanted to punch his perfect nose and watch as blood spurted down his shirt, but I held back. Attacking my superior a month into a new job with a new company wouldn’t go down well with HR. Even if the creep deserved it.
“You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you, Simon?”
He didn’t reply because his attention was somewhere else entirely. I followed his line of sight.
I should have known. His beady eyes were making laser beams at my boobs.
Perhaps wearing a low-cut dress that showed off my cleavage was a mistake, but I’d wanted to look good, and my red bandage dress always gave me a confidence boost. Plus, it complimented my new mystic star charm necklace.
The seven points of the gold star were supposed to bring wealth, happiness, love, luck, wisdom, respect, and glory. But, so far, none of them had brought me any of those things. Perhaps it needed a day or two to blend with my energy.
I glanced at the clock above the gallery entrance, hoping that it was almost time to leave.
Jesus fucking Christ.
How could 30 minutes feel like 30 years?
Simon quirked an eyebrow.
“You have to be somewhere else?”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom and then it’s time for me to leave. I promised my dad I’d check in on my grandma. She’s not feeling great, and, well, it’s getting late.”
Every word I’d just said was a total lie. My dad died when I was five, and my grandma passed away a few years back, but Simon didn’t know that. Nor would he ever find out, since I never planned to see him socially again.
Without waiting for a reply, I made my way to the back of the gallery and walked down a low-lit hallway filled with ladders, loose electrical wires, and blank canvases.
I wasn’t really going to the restroom; I was looking for the back door so I could make my escape unseen.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
I quickened my pace.
The exit must be around here somewhere.
The footsteps drew closer.
“Our night isn’t over yet, babe. Not by a long shot.”
Shit.
Simon.
From behind, he cuffed my wrist with his hand in a possessive gesture that said mine.
Then he spun me around to face him.
“Get your fucking hands off me, babe.”
I attempted to shake myself free, but his grip was a powerful one.
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Your boss; that’s who the hell I think I am, and I’m not ready for tonight to end, not at all. You really going to ditch me for dear ol’ granny?”
I dug the nails of my free hand into the back of his hand and smiled sweetly.
“Let me go right now. If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone at work exactly what and who you are.”
A hurricane of rage beat against my chest. I ached to kick him in the balls, but I was afraid of the rumors he’d spread about me at work if I let my inner hulk escape.
Anger twisted his face, and he spat out, “Fucking tease.”
I jerked back at the gassy stench wafting from his mouth. This guy obviously didn’t believe in brushing his teeth before he went on a date.
“Charming,” I said, with a tilt of my head and a twist of my lips. “I think it’s time I went home. Name calling is something best left on the playground, don’t you think?”
He released my wrist, but before I could make my escape, he wrapped a hand around my bicep and, digging his fingers into my skin, he pushed me against a wall.
“You little slut,” he hissed in a whisper. “You’ve been flirting with me since day one. Coming into my office with your short little skirts. Licking your lips. Giggling.”
I flattened my back against the wall.
“You have me confused with someone else. I didn’t do any of those things. For starters, I don’t giggle. And I’d hardly call knee length skirts short.”
He pressed his crotch to my hip and the head of what felt like a toothpick sized dick nudged against me.
“If you want to keep your job, you’ll do exactly as I say when I say it. I’m not going home tonight without you sucking my cock and then swallowing my cum. Is that clear?”
“Let me go.”
Fear trickled down my spine, and I glanced around for possible escape routes.
“I’ll scream my head off.”
Not only was he an arrogant, self-conceited fucktard, but he also obviously didn’t understand the meaning of “no” and “not interested”.
“No, you won’t.”
I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could make a sound, he cupped his clammy palm around the lower half of my face.
I struggled to free myself from his grip, but it was no use. He was too strong and much too overpowering.
He lowered his head until our eyes met. They were cold and filled with malice.
No way was I getting out of this without getting hurt.
“I’m going to remove my hand, and if you even make a squeak, I’ll make your life hell. Understand?”
I nodded.
“Good girl.”
He moved his hand from my mouth and then brushed the tip of a calloused finger down my cheek.
Uncontrollable shivers shook my body.
Tears burned my eyes, but I wouldn’t cry— I wouldn’t.
No way in hell would I give him the satisfaction.
“I’ve got something in my pocket that’ll loosen you up. Make you pliable if you get my meaning.”
“Let me go,” I said, through clenched teeth.
I reached up and grasped my mystic star necklace. If ever there was a time that I needed it to work, now was that time.
He pressed his thigh between my legs and wedged me against the wall. I felt powerless and helpless, but I hoped I wasn’t letting my emotions show. I didn’t want to give this asshole the satisfaction of knowing how much he was scaring me.
“You’re not going anywhere. Fucking me is a rite of passage for all of you brand new little number-crunching bitches. If you don’t do what I want, don’t bother coming into the office on Monday.”
“Fuck you? Ha! Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged.”
My fight or flight instinct kicked in, and adrenaline surged through my bloodstream. I slammed my forehead against his nose and heard a satisfying crack.
My skull hitting his face pushed me off balance. Dizziness at the force of the blow washed over me, but I steadied myself.
Falling to the floor would give him the upper hand. I was determined to do everything in my power to save myself.
My heart was beating faster than ever before.
Blood streamed from his nose.
He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.
“Cunt. You’ll pay for that.”
“I don’t know what kind of cunts you usually deal with, but this cunt isn’t someone you can push around. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. Ever.”
Just as I raised my leg to bring the heel of my shoe down on his foot, an ominously low voice said, “Let go of her before I break every bone in your puny body.”
It worked.
I didn’t know who it was, but someone was here to help me.
Thank goodness for my mystic star charm necklace.
Finally my luck was changing.
Chapter Two
Reese
Shock flooded Simon’s eyes, and he turned his head toward the voice.
“M-Mr. McKenzie.”
Body-shaking relief sluiced over me, and I clutched my pendant as if to let it know how grateful I was for it. I could have fought off Simon eventually, but God knows how he would have spun it. Plus, he would have made my life at work hell.
All six feet, four inches of Kane McKenzie— the CEO of McKenzie Technologies— strode towards us. Even though he owned the investment firm I now worked for, I’d never met him in the flesh. Fe
w employees had.
My cubicle was located on the fifth floor while his office was in the penthouse. Two vastly different ecosystems.
The flinty hardness in his chocolate brown eyes showed how enraged he was. Fuck. I knew it— I knew that agreeing to go anywhere with Simon was a colossal mistake. A mistake that would most likely cost me my job.
Using the sleeve of his shirt, Simon attempted to stem the blood trickling from his nose as he glanced from me to Kane.
“I didn’t realize you’d be here, Mr. McKenzie. You’re an art lover, too?”
“If you’d have done your homework, you would’ve found out that I’m a patron of this gallery.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s so.”
I didn’t think Simon realized he was still holding onto my biceps, because his grip got stronger and tighter. If he didn’t let go soon, he’d leave deep finger-shaped bruises on my skin.
A few strands of charcoal hair fell over Kane’s forehead. Irritated, he shoved them back, and his scowl deepened.
Dressed in a bright white button-down shirt and a pair of tailored black pants, Kane was every woman’s wet dream and, right now, he was Simon’s worst nightmare.
Considering the situation that I was in, thinking about Kane McKenzie’s hotness was wrong on every level, but my hormones seemed to be in free fall mode. He was like my knight in shining armor— almost.
His full lips narrowed to a white slash of fury, and I wanted to cry and beg him not to fire me. I wanted to explain to him that none of this was my fault.
Kane stepped forward and lowered his mouth to Simon’s ear. Simon was still so close to me— uncomfortably close to me— that I could hear what Kane said even though it was uttered in a stern whisper.
“If you don’t let her go within the next second, I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands and make sure your body is never found.”
Visibly shocked, Simon released his grip on me.
I reached up and rubbed my hand against the smarting sting of his fingers.
“I-it was a misunderstanding,” Simon stammered.
His eyes found mine and the warning they held was clear.
“Tell him it was a misunderstanding. A mix-up. You wanted to fulfill a fantasy.”
“Fantasy? Are you for fucking real?”
I huffed out a disbelieving laugh and crossed my arms.
“And the only mix up I’m aware of was you confusing no with yes.”
The man who’d bragged non-stop about his awesomeness for the past thirty minutes was now a sniveling, cowering schoolboy.
Good.
Kane’s lips stretched into a sneered smile.
“There are no three strikes and you’re out policy with me, Simon. Sexual harassment won’t be tolerated at McKenzie Technologies. Your career is finished. Get the fuck out of my sight.”
“B-but—”
Simon’s eyes went wide and his face paled as he stuttered.
“Now,” Kane growled. “And if I hear one whisper about any of this from anyone in the office or elsewhere, I’ll find you and have your sorry ass thrown in jail for the rest of your miserable life. You’re lucky I haven’t called the police.”
Simon whimpered like a wounded dog, but with no more hesitation, he scurried away. I couldn’t help but feel vindicated and just a little bit smug.
That’d teach him to fuck with me.
But now I had to deal with Mr. McKenzie and saving my job. I swallowed nervously and reached up to grab my star pendant again.
“Thank you, Sir.”
Kane’s eyes bore into mine. It was as if he was trying to read me, decipher me. There was a silent, almost intimidating, power surrounding him. A power I liked a lot.
“Don’t call me Sir unless I instruct you to do so. Understand?” he ordered.
The rumble in his voice sent shivers down to the ends of my now curled toes.
“Yes, Sir. I mean, Mr. McKenzie.”
“If you want to press charges against that bastard, I’ll corroborate your side of events.”
He crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest as he looked at me.
I tried to look away from his gaze but couldn’t; his brown eyes held mine.
“Thanks. I’ll think it over. I’m not sure if I want to go down that route.”
Finally looking away from me, he strode from the hallway, and I followed, watching the way his taut butt moved with every step.
What the actual fuck was wrong with me?
I’d just escaped the clutches of a lunatic and now wasn’t the time to go all gooey-eyed over someone I’d just met. Someone whose name was on my pay check.
I tried to reason with myself. I was only crushing on him so hard because he’d sort of rescued me— I didn’t need rescuing, but having him chase Simon away was helpful. I figured I was probably suffering from some type of misplaced hero worship, where the rescuee falls for the rescuer. Or at least, that was what I tried to tell myself.
As we entered the art gallery proper, I expected Kane to mingle with the other art lovers and make small chit-chat, but he didn’t. Instead, he positioned himself at the end of a makeshift bar and glowered at anyone who came near him. He didn’t act as if he was a patron of the art gallery.
As I watched him, I felt like I didn’t want our interaction to end just yet. Since he’d just semi-rescued me from what could have been a night from hell, I would offer to buy him a drink. After all, it was the polite thing to do.
Taking a deep, centering breath, I weaved my way through the other guests and over to the bar.
“Can I buy you a drink as a thank you?”
He didn’t look at me as he nodded towards the glass of whiskey sitting in front of him.
“It’s an open bar. Free drinks all night.”
I felt my shoulders drop.
“Oh, okay.”
Well, that was dumb.
He made no other attempt to talk to me or even to acknowledge my presence, and I was left standing there nervously, smoothing my hair and thinking. He obviously didn’t realize I worked for him. How could he? He employed thousands of people worldwide, but since this was my first time meeting him, I wouldn’t allow the opportunity to go to waste.
I was as ambitious as everyone else at McKenzie Technologies, and I would make sure he knew who I was. I’d be dumb to pass this opportunity up because, believe me, every other woman in the accounts department would stab me with the heels of their overpriced pumps to get one-on-one time with the big boss.
“Mind if I join you?”
I didn’t wait for him to say yes or no before I slid onto the seat beside him.
I gave him my best flirtatious smile, and said, “Thanks for your help, Mr. McKenzie. Before you arrived, I was seconds away from stabbing his foot with the heel of my shoe. After that, I planned to knee him in the nuts.”
“Is that so?”
Kane gave a disbelieving laugh and signaled for the bartender to bring another glass. Once the glass was in front of me, Kane grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar and poured me a generous helping.
“I take it you didn’t read the employee manual that states no office relationships, Ms. Peterson? That means no dating any co-worker… or boss… in case you didn’t realize that.”
He raised a charcoal colored eyebrow as he looked at me.
“You know who I am?”
Fuck.
My surprise caused my hand to shake and the amber liquor in my glass slopped to one side. I caught my shaking hand before I made a mess, raised the glass to my lips and took a sip.
“I’m aware of everything about everyone involved with my business. I didn’t get to where I am while being the type of guy who would miss much. If you plan on dating men like Simon, you should learn how to take care of yourself better.”
Kane watched my every move intently.
“Next time you might not be so lucky.”
My skin prickled, and I rolled back my shoulders.
“I can and do take care of myself, thank you. I just wasn’t expecting him to be such a creep, and besides, it wasn’t a date. He wore me down until I said I’d accompany him. It was stupid… He’s my boss. Or he was, until you fired him.”
I didn’t add that I’d said yes because I was as horny as hell and Simon had caught me at a weak moment.
Kane gave me a sideways glance, and I wasn’t sure if I saw laughter or loathing in his eyes.
“Do you always do what your superiors tell you to do? If someone orders you to do something, even though you might not agree with the request, do you do it anyway?”
From the deep timbre in his voice, I got the feeling he wasn’t asking about my work ethic.
My breath caught a little.
“Not always, no. I’ve learned that in some situations it’s best to defer to experience.”
I looked up at him, trying to read his face.
He pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. Since I wasn’t an expert at reading body language, I didn’t know if that meant he was interested in what I had said or if he was bored. With the way the night was unfolding, I figured it was probably bored.
I sighed to myself and looked down at the bar. Attempting to strike up a conversation with the CEO of a billion-dollar company was beyond dumb. Not only was he my boss, but he was also almost forty— eleven years older than me. I knew his age because when his company had acquired the one I had worked at previously, I had looked him up online. In his eyes, I was probably just an annoying employee who’d needed rescuing from a sleazy man.
Older guys weren’t my thing, or at least, until now, they hadn’t been. But everything about him screamed knowledge and confidence. In bed, he was probably magnificent and would put the past fumbles I’d had to shame.
I gave myself an inward eye roll.
Jesus.
I shouldn’t be sitting here at a bar with my boss imagining him throwing me on the bar and burying his head between my thighs. Especially after what had happened with Simon. And yet, here I was imagining precisely that.
I couldn’t help it. Kane’s musky cologne alone left my nipples harder than concrete. The scent drifting from his neck wasn’t doing anything to stop tingles shooting up and down my spine. Before I did something stupid like begging him to take me to bed, I needed to get my rambunctious hormones under control.