“Oh, I know.” She said hurriedly. “Which is why I am. I have something for you- all of you. She pulled out the box of almond cookies that had barely fit into her briefcase and handed it to Jackson.
“Thank you.” He smiled.
“No problem. It’s just a little thank you gift. And here,” She added, handed him a stack of envelopes. “Give these out too, please.”
He looked through the stack of envelopes and looked bewildered. Each envelope was made of thick linen paper and was hand addressed to every member of the team. Well, almost everyone. And each envelope contained a hand-written invitation to dinner on Friday.
“I thought it would be good if we all got to know each other. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other for a while and I want to be comfortable with each and every one of you.”
She flashed Jackson a devilish smirk and he instantly understood. He roared with laughter. He laughed so hard he began to wheeze. He doubled over and laughed until he was wiping tears from his eyes. Parker stood there looking stricken.
“Oh, man.” Jackson said when he could breathe again. “He is going to lose his shit.”
“Good.” She said smugly, spinning on her heel. Parker hurried to catch up, completely gobsmacked.
Once they were in the car, his confusion apparently outweighed his caution.
“What the hell was that about?” He asked.
Alexandra laughed.
“Nice to finally meet you, Parker.”
Alexandra gave him a brief rundown of what was happening and he listened in horrified silence.
“He really is going to lose his shit.” He muttered as he walked her to her door.
“That’s the plan.”
Parker gave her a bemused expression and shook his head.
“You’re playing with fire, girly. Be prepared to get burned.”
✽✽✽
Cookies?! She’d brought them cookies. Jackson was “lovely,” and now she’d brought them cookies.
What the hell is she up to?
Connor wanted nothing more than to march over to her brownstone and ask her just that. No matter what her explanation, he also wanted to give her a thorough reminder that he’d been there first. Unfortunately his entire week had been a disaster and he was still catching up with the clients he’d cancelled meetings with on Monday.
Connor growled in frustration. He ran a hand through his already bedraggled hair and cursed under his breath. What was the point of being your own fecking boss if you were still chained to a desk?
Someone knocked on his door and he sighed.
“Yeah.”
The door popped open and Parker leaned in. Connor quirked an eyebrow and looked at the clock. Didn’t seem like he’d hung around long. Parker was reliable that way. Loyal. Not like Jackson.
“She’s in for the night.” Parker reported. “I’m taking off, unless you need anything else from me tonight.”
“Not unless you have some clue what the hell is goin’ on around here.” Connor replied.
A corner of Parker’s mouth quirked up for a second. To anyone who didn’t know Parker, it would have seemed like a twitch. For Parker, it was practically a grin.
Before Connor could interrogate him, Jackson stopped in the hallway outside his open door and tapped Parker on the shoulder.
“Don’t forget this.” Jackson said. He was speaking to Parker since he was handing him a cream colored envelope, but his eyes- and his smirk- were directed at Connor. Parked frowned and his eyes darted to Connor before taking the envelope.
“Something you’d like to share with the class?” Connor pinned Jackson with a scowl. Jackson’s answering grin was practically gleeful as he stepped around Parker and handed Connor an envelope. He noticed it was addressed to Jackson. He opened the envelope and surveyed the contents. He felt a pounding beginning in his head as he handed the invitation back to Jackson.
“How many?”
“One for each of us… except you, boss.” Jackson replied, still grinning like a madman.
“Didn’t I fire you yesterday?”
“You tried.” Jackson shrugged.
“Get out, before I try harder.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
He picked up his phone.
CM:I have rehired, and re-fired Jackson. In fact I sacked the lot of them.
He waited. A moment passed. Then two.
AH:Good! That means they’ll all be free Friday. How thoughtful.
Connor, despite his persistent irritation, couldn’t help smiling. My she was sassy. Infuriating. Feisty. Beautiful.
But you do realize, this means war.
CM:Yes.
CM:Of course that means I’m the only one left on your detail. See you Friday.
Check.
AH:But I’ll be at home. I won’t need a detail.
CM:Oh, no. I know precisely how dangerous your dinner guests can be. I wouldn’t feel safe leaving you alone with them.
CM:See you Friday. ;)
And mate.
Thursday was as busy as the rest of his week had been. Halfway through he decided he needed several more people on his staff, including one who could help him with more of the logistics and security consultation part of the business. It was doing his head in.
Friday wasn’t much better. His schedule was lighter, but the seconds seemed to drag on. His normally unflappable facade was straining under the pressure of all this waiting. After his last client meeting of the day, he cut out early.
After two hours at the gym, his mood hadn’t improved much, but at least he now had less waiting to do. He went home and showered. He changed and headed to the offices of Langston, Buchanan & Hughes. He just had one stop to make on the way.
✽✽✽
“So what’s the occasion?”
“Nothing special. I felt like cooking.” Alexandra lied. She’d begun this plan, and she intended to go through with it, but she’d realized almost immediately that it might be a bit uncomfortable having dinner with six large, and if they followed the pattern, criminally gorgeous men she barely knew, or had never met. So she’d been trying to even the field, as it were. Janie was on board, and now she was trying to convince her sister Amanda to come along.
“Ah, one of your culinary explosions. I bet you’ve baked cookies in the last week, too, haven’t you?” Amanda teased.
“Guilty.”
“Chocolate chip?”
“Of course.” Alexandra sighed.
“And what’s on the menu for tonight?” Amanda wheedled.
“I’m making my paiella.” Alexandra grinned. Amanda loved her paella. It was her ace in the hole.
“You’re ruthless.” Amanda laughed. Suddenly she stopped. “You’re not inviting mom or dad, right?”
“Nope. But, I have invited some new… friends. Of the male variety..”
“Dude, you had me at paella. What do I bring?”
“Yourself, and maybe a bottle of wine. You know I’m terrible with that.”
“Okay.” Amanda agreed. “See you at seven.”
“Love you.”
“Love you.”
Alexandra glanced at the clock. It was 5:30 and she was more than ready for the weekend. She wasn’t sure if Connor was serious about his threat to crash the party, but she hoped he was. For one, she had missed him this week. She felt stupid since they’d only known eachother a week, but it had been a very interesting week.
And, she didn’t really know any of these guys. She felt pretty comfortable with Jackson, and even Parker had seemed to warm to her a little bit. And she’d gone out of her way to be extra nice to Sam yesterday to make up for being so grumpy on Monday morning. But she hadn’t met the others.
This, in retrospect, was a very stupid plan. She didn’t know what had possessed her.
Yes, you do. You saw a glimmer of jealousy and you wanted more.
No, she was doing this to show him that he had no right to essentially call “dibs” on her like she was
the last slice of pizza. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t actually interested in any of them. It was about the principle.
Either way, she supposed it was time to find out. She texted Jackson, who’d dropped her off this morning, to let him know she’d be ready in half an hour. Janie was just getting ready to head out.
“You promise you’re coming, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Janie gave her suggestive grin. “Free food, free booze and a side of hot guys? Yes, please.”
“Dinner’s at 7:00. Don’t be late!” She pointed at her sternly as she went for the elevator. Janie offered her a saucy salute and Alexandra laughed.
The ride to the lobby seemed to take forever, and she wasn’t sure she could blame the strange flutter in her stomach to the motion of the elevator. She took a deep breath as the car slowed, determined to temper her reaction, whether it was disappointment or excitement.
It turned out to be the latter. The doors opened with a ding, and there he was. He was leaning against the opposite wall, long legs crossed at the ankle. He was absolute male perfection. He wore dark washed jeans, tight in all the best places, and a fitted black pinstripe shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal a simple white undershirt. His sleeves were rolled up over his muscular forearms.
A black overcoat was draped over one arm. His hair looked damp, as if he’d just showered, and his face was freshly shaven. Just looking at him, her mouth went dry. Heat swept over not only her face, but every inch of her skin. She had to resist the urge to grab his shirt front and drag him into the elevator. She had a perfectly private office with a lock on the door and...
Connor glanced up and their eyes met. Those star sapphire eyes made her breath hitch- dark but lit with fire. She had gotten familiar with many of his looks- amused, aroused, concerned, serious. This one was new. He gave her a slow, mischievous grin, but his eyes looked positively… feral. Like a wild animal. Definitely predatory. Not just hungry or passionate but also completely and utterly focused. On her.
He looked at her like she was the only person in the room and he was quickly calculating the distance between them. She had the intense urge to run. Toward him. Removing clothes as she went.
She schooled her features, which consisted first and foremost of snapping her mouth shut. She took three strides toward him, praying she didn’t trip, and stopped in front of him.
“Where’s Jackson?” She asked, licking her dry lips. His eyes tracked the motion and the fire in his eyes banked higher. He pushed off the wall with his shoulder and rose to his full height. He stepped closer until inches separated them and she was looking up at him.
“If ye keep this up, you’re goin’ to hurt my feelin’s.” He said in a low teasing voice.
“You’re a big boy. I’m sure you’ll survive.” She replied with a wry smile. He nodded and his smile quirked up on side. He leaned in until she could feel his breath on her neck.
“I am a verra big boy.”
Before she could reply, he stepped back and shrugged on his coat. “Car’s this way.” To her surprise, he took her hand, threading his fingers through hers, and led her outside.
The ride home was filled with a tense, heavily charged silence. Alexandra was at a loss as to where to go from here.
Bed. Or the foyer. Hell, just ask him to pull over.
She took the opportunity to study him. The sun was setting as they headed uptown, and his profile was outlined by the fading rays of sun. He was bathed in an amber glow that made his eyes seem impossibly blue and highlighted the strong features of his face.
He was so striking. She could hardly believe that anyone so handsome existed, never mind that he seemed to have at least some interest in her. She knew she wasn’t unattractive. But she’d never been a spectacular beauty. Her hair was brown, and she’d never had the desire to take on the upkeep that came with changing that. She liked it. It was her, even if it was plain.
She tried to keep in shape, but she liked to cook, and eat. She had hips and her stomach wasn’t a washboard. Her thighs didn’t have a gap and you couldn’t see her ribs or her hip bones. Her breasts had always been too large to have ever been perky. Mostly, she was fine with that, she didn’t hate her body. But it wasn’t going to win any competitions either.
Her face was nothing remarkable either. It was more round than oval. Her eyes weren’t cartoonishly large, and she was developing a permanent wrinkle between her brows, formed by repeatedly making the same expression every time she thought “What the Fuck?” Which happened a lot.
And, to top it off, as her sister had pointed out more than once, she suffered from “resting bitch face.” People constantly asked her what was wrong when nothing was wrong. Until they asked her and refused to believe there was nothing wrong. That pissed her off.
“What’s wrong?” Connor asked.
“Nothing.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s just how my face looks.”
“No, I don’t mean the RBF, I mean you’re staring at me.”
She hadn’t realized that he’d noticed… or that he knew about resting bitch face.
“What can I say, I’m trying to restore your wounded ego.”
“Well in tha’ case, I can give ye a few ideas.” He drawled.
“Annnd… we’re done.”
He chuckled, and looked at her again, brows drawn together. “Seriously, though. You alright? You looked…”
“Annoyed?”
“No, I’m familiar with annoyed. You looked… sad maybe. Confused?”
She didn’t want to tell him that she’d been contemplating how out of her league she thought he was, so she did what she usually did. Deflected with humor and just enough of the truth.
“If you must know,” She rolled her eyes. “I was contemplating how utterly unfair it is that you could be so handsome. I mean I assumed that every time I see one of those Calvin Klein ads with a ridiculously handsome model that it was all smoke and mirrors. Photoshop. But here you are, in all your masculine glory.”
He looked at her with bemused astonishment, and more than a little carnality, and she was pleased with herself. Apparently he’d expected her to be snarky or combative. Okay, maybe she’d still be a little bit snarky but there was no reason denying that she found him attractive. She’d made that pretty obvious a few days ago.
“You always surprise me.” He said with a shake of his head and that sexy crooked grin.
“I try.” She replied with a wry smile.
She had just enough time when they got back to her brownstone to throw together the ingredients she’d prepped the evening before and set it to simmer. She didn’t trust herself to be in the same room with Connor for more than a few minutes without losing her head, so she quickly dashed upstairs to change.
“Amanda will be here any minute. Send her up when she gets here, will you?” She tossed over her shoulder.
✽✽✽
The woman was going to kill him. He didn’t know if he was coming or going. She was clearly attracted to him, and willing to admit it, but she’d done nothing but intentionally aggravate him all week long. Flirting with Jackson, inviting everyone to dinner except him.
“Where’s Jackson?” For fuck’s sake.
She drove him crazy. That sexy pencil skirt she wore. And those fuck me heels. He’d seen the way she looked at him like he was her favorite dessert. And then she’d had that blank mask in place. It made him want to kiss her, strip her down and fuck her right there in the lobby just to see the fire in her eyes. To get behind that wall she put up.
He’d seen her-- really seen her-- and he wanted more. The sexy temptress he’d seen come out at drinks. The scared, hurt woman who had panic attacks because of some past pain. The breathless, shy girl who blushed at him. The sassy, strong, funny, snarky lawyer who could hold her own in an argument.
She was complicated and so, so alive beneath that indifferent facade. He knew it was a form of self-preservation. He was no stranger to that. Everyone had their ways of hiding th
eir pain and their fear. What he couldn’t understand was why she tried to hide everything, including her joy.
When they were alone, she seemed to be more at ease. More herself. He liked that, probably more than he should. He wanted her to keep feeling that way. He wanted her to trust him with more than just her bodily safety. Before he could contemplate why, the doorbell rang
He checked the window to see a young woman with a duffle bag and a large white cake box in her hands. He assessed quickly, feeling uneasy at all the possible places she could be hiding a weapon, but took a deep breath and opened the door.
She looked stunned for a moment and then she smiled, and he could see the resemblance. She, too, looked like their father, except where Richard Hughes and Alexandra both had hazel eyes and brown hair, the woman in front of him had bright blue eyes and her hair was honey blonde.
“Amanda?” He asked. “I’m Connor.”
“Hey.” She said simply.
“Need help?”
“Yeah, can you take this to the kitchen?” She handed him the white box. The top was clear and he could see a variety of pastries arranged inside.
“No problem.” He stepped aside as she entered and he closed and locked the door behind her. “You planning to stay over?” He asked, looking at the gym bag on her shoulder. She quirked an eyebrow and gave him a once over.
“Are you?” She asked with a grin. He chuckled.
“I haven’t been asked.” Yet. She nodded, satisfied with his answer.
“Me either.” She said, repositioning the bag on her shoulder. “I just left work and didn’t have a chance to change. She gestured at the white jacket she wore on top of black pants and sensible black sneakers.
“You a chef?” He asked.
“Pastry.” She nodded. “I’m afraid Lex got all the skill with real food.” She shrugged.
“Hey, pastry is real food.” Connor said solemnly. Amanda snorted.
“Tell that to my boss. Speaking of Alexandra…”
“Upstairs.” He motioned with his head. She muttered a thanks and headed upstairs, taking them two at a time.
He put the box on the kitchen counter and his mouth watered at the scent of whatever Alexandra had on the stove. The pot was enormous, enough to feed an army. Or, Sam, Jackson and Parker.
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