Take It

by Francesca Penn

  “Wait. How bad of a mood?”

  Lena shrugged. “The worst any of us has ever seen. We all avoided her when we could. The few extra hours this morning were much needed.” Lena looked over her shoulder at Kalilah joking with some of the team members. “Thank you, sir.”

  Nick shrugged. “I’m not special--any tech guy could do.”

  “Not true,” Lena disagreed. “You fix her technical issues.”

  Nick laughed. “Yes, I’m really good at fixing technical issues; it’s what I do.” Lena giggled.

  It wasn’t until after the meeting started when Nick fully realized that Lena was not talking about his job title. Fear turned in his gut. If his dad found out, that could be the end of one or both of their careers. Nick surveyed the room. Who else knew? Kalilah would never forgive him if his selfish desires got her fired. They would have to be discreet when they got back to Houston. He just needed a little more time to come up with a plan.

  Chapter 23

  K alilah’s sigh filled her office. At this rate, she would never get any work done. She wondered for the one hundredth time that day why Nick had to be the VP occupying the only office in her direct line of vision. She knew she could activate her privacy glass, but she liked seeing the outside world. Unfortunately, the immediate view into the “outside world” was the inside of Nick’s office. She’d never guessed returning to work after having sex with him would be so difficult. Every time she caught a glimpse of him moving, she would get distracted by a sex memory, and thanks to San Francisco, she had a lot.

  They’d created reasons to have sex. They had “we’re supposed to be in a meeting” sex, “I wonder if we can fit in this broom closet” sex, “we almost got caught” sex, “we finished the project” sex, and “we might as well pretend we’re on vacation” sex. That was to name a few; he was insatiable, and she found herself being just as bad. They were freaking rabbits right now. She’d also learned that every time Nick started a sentence with “I’ve been reading…” she was about to discover a different and intense way to get off.

  She was already in deep and had accepted her fate. From the moment he grabbed his bag in San Francisco and tried the get his own room, she caught a glimpse of what it would be like to watch him leave. She knew that she was completely and undeniably in love with him. The damage was already done, so she vowed to have as much time with him as possible before he got bored and moved onto someone new.

  There were plenty of times when she’d almost told him, but the sentiment would get caught in her chest. He tried to “make love” again their last night in San Francisco; this time she got on top, switched to the reverse cowgirl position and quickly put an end to that. This was becoming a problem. She was becoming more and more drawn to him while he seemed aloof and relaxed.

  Even now, Nick was being professional and typing away on his computer, and she was reliving “let’s get one in before work” sex. He looked damn good in taupe slacks and a white button up shirt with the top unbuttoned and no tie. The sleeves were cuffed at his elbows and she could see his forearms muscles working as he typed. It was obvious that she needed to request a transfer before her sex-addled brain got her fired. She was about to activate her glass when the messenger on her computer dinged.

  Nick: You’re staring.

  Kalilah: No, I’m not.

  Nick looked up from his computer and smiled at her.

  Nick: Stop lying to yourself.

  Kalilah: As if.

  Nick: So, you are part of the Clueless movie now? I have a question.

  Kalilah: Yes?

  Nick: Are you wet for me right now?

  Kalilah gasped and gave him an evil glare through the glass. Nick laughed.

  Kalilah: Isn’t that an inappropriate topic for the company messenger?

  Nick: Baby, who do you think is responsible for backing up and monitoring the messages?

  Kalilah: Either way…

  Nick: You want me to come over and test the sound proofing in your office?

  Kalilah: You better not.

  Nick: Do you want to go out to lunch today?

  Kalilah: Sure, what would you like to eat?

  Nick: You.

  She’d walked right into that one. Kalilah’s body responded instantly and the look he was giving her could tell the whole office what he was thinking if they walked by and saw him.

  Kalilah: Nick!

  Nick: Is that a no?

  Kalilah: Get you mind out of the gutter!

  Nick: You’d probably concentrate better after getting off...IJS

  Kalilah rolled her eyes and activated her privacy glass. And her computer pinged again.

  Nick: Is that a yes?

  Kalilah: Bye, Nick. I’m closing messenger.

  Kalilah logged off before he could get her any more hot and bothered than she already was. She took a sip of her water and tried to calm her hormones; they should be tired. Kalilah got about twenty minutes of work done before Lena buzzed her.

  “Yes, Lena?”

  “Mr. Sinclair said you two have a meeting in ten minutes.”

  Kalilah looked at her calendar confused. “Lena, when did Andrew say that?”

  Lena sounded amused when she answered. “Nicholas Sinclair said you are supposed to be in his office in ten minutes. It’s on your calendar. He wanted to know if you can just come over now.”

  Damn. She’d forgotten about that and didn’t remember what the meeting was about. Her attempt to stay away from him at work was officially thwarted.

  “Fine. On my way,” she said and grabbed her notepad, pen, and iPad.

  She deactivated the privacy feature so people would know she wasn’t in her office and headed towards Nick’s office. Lena was smirking at her like there was an inside joke. Kalilah returned the smile although she wasn’t quite sure why they were smiling. His privacy glass was activated, and his door was open. He looked up when she walked in.

  “Close the door.” His voice was far too husky for a mid-Monday morning meeting. Her mind screamed “No!” but her foot kicked it closed.

  “What’s the meeting about, Nick? It’s been on my calendar for a week; I just don’t know why.” She placed her belongings on his desk and looked around.

  Nick smiled. He moved from his chair and stood closer to her, slightly blocking her from her items. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she was suddenly suspicious.

  “I had some ideas I wanted to run by you.”

  “Is that so?” she asked, taking a retreating step towards the door. The gleam in his eyes confirmed her suspicion; she’d been trapped.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve been reading…”

  She tried to make it to the door, but he beat her to it. She panicked like one of those idiots in a horror movie and ran in the wrong direction. Thinking fast, she decided she could lock herself in his restroom until they got a handle on their hormones.

  She told him previously that they were not to partake in such activities at work, especially since he’d once pushed her in the broom closet after kissing her because his father was approaching. He didn’t want to be seen with her at work at all, yet she was trapped in his office. She made it to the restroom door, but the bastard locked it. She was now pressed up against the door with him behind her.

  “I can’t help but notice you’re wearing the dress you wore the day I confronted you for stalking me.” His lips were right next to her ear. The heat of Nick’s mouth next to her sensitive flesh caused light ripples of pleasure to flow through her body. His hands massaged her breasts through the thin fabric. Kalilah ached for him. She took a deep breath and tried to regain control.

  “Nick…”

  He unclasped the front closure of her bra. Her breasts spilled out. Nick murmured his satisfaction. Kalilah’s exposed nipples pressed against the cool metal of the door. She stifled a moan.

  “You know, I’d wondered if you wore panties underneath.” His hands found the band of her underwear. “Now, I know.” He hooked
his thumb in the band and started to push them down. “But, these don’t work for my fantasy,” he rasped before sucking on her neck. A moan pushed its way out of her mouth before she could stop it. All her nerves were alive, her body was a conduit for pleasure seeking release from the ache only Nick could create.

  Being trapped between his heat on her back and the coolness of the door against her breasts was creating a heady combination.

  “We can’t…” she pleaded.

  Her panties pooled at her ankles. She tried to move, but he was too solid.

  “We will.”

  The sound of his zipper solidified his statement. His head pressed against her opening. “Tell me you want it.”

  He rubbed himself against her when she didn’t respond. His hand cupped her front, adding pressure to her aroused clit. She tried not to moan again.

  “Now, baby! Tell me you want me.”

  “I want you.”

  She whispered. More than he’d ever know. He pushed inside her body, she moaned helplessly. Her emotions were raw, and the coolness rubbing against her sensitive nipples with each thrust was unlike any sensation she’d ever felt.

  He increased the pace and pressure. He was moaning her name as his fingers dug into her hips.

  “I will never get tired of fucking you.”

  Nick groaned. His lips grazed the back of her neck. Kalilah whimpered helplessly.

  “I knew you’d love it.” He said against her neck. “Tell me you love it.” Her orgasm was building, and she couldn’t take much more. “Come on. Tell me you love it.”

  “I love…” She was almost over the edge.

  “I want to hear it,” he insisted.

  “I love...” He bit her in the place where her shoulder and neck met and sent her over the edge; he followed. “Ohhh,” she moaned. “I fucking love…” She bit her lip when she realized that she’d almost said you.

  She pushed away from his door. He was a little weak from his orgasm. She pulled her panties up and grabbed her stuff. She bolted before he could stop her.

  Kalilah closed his door to ensure his privacy and mouthed a silent thank you to the universe when no one was in the hall. Her ever-watchful assistant had gone to lunch. She locked her door and hurried to her bathroom.

  Kalilah did her best to make sure she didn’t look freshly fucked and left. This was too intense, and she needed to get away. She shot Andrew and Lena a text from the car and went home.

  She took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. She already knew she loved Nick; knowing that didn’t bother her. This time, she’d almost told him. The last thing she needed was to see those gray eyes looking at her with pity. She had one job to do; he didn’t ask for her love. By the time she made it home, she had a new plan. She would not avoid Nick, but she would put an end to the sex.

  Nick adjusted the bowtie for his tuxedo for what felt like the one hundredth time that night. He’d never attended Sinclair Enterprise’s Annual Charity Gala and didn’t know what to expect. He knew it was time for his parents to rub elbows with the other elites to raise money for whichever cause they had picked for the year.

  This year was dedicated to public education. His mother’s goal was to raise enough money for the less privileged school districts to purchase new equipment and fund some of their struggling programs. As with any party, his mother went over and beyond and thought of all of the intricate details.

  The grand ballroom was simple and elegant. She’d chosen navy blue as the base color with white accents. The room was filled with multiple types of fragrant white flowers encase in brilliant, silver vases. A string quartet provided background music that still allowed people to mingle and have conversations without raising their voices. Impeccably dressed servers floated around with trays laden with hors d’oeuvres and flutes of champagne.

  Some people gathered on the balcony to have conversations while looking out into the illuminated garden. It was almost romantic. He wondered if his mom would plan his wedding. Wedding? Nick sighed and fought the urge to survey the room for the 1000th time. Kalilah wasn’t there. He hadn’t had any alone time with her since the Monday morning sex in his office. They had talked on the phone periodically throughout the week, but he hadn’t really seen her since Monday.

  On the bright side, she wasn’t hiding from him. She answered every call and text from him like she usually did, but things weren’t the same. It wasn’t the lack of sex, although his body did ache for her. It was how she spoke, reserved and cautious. She hadn’t made a joke or sarcastic remark all week. Everything was off, and he couldn’t quite place it.

  He needed to see her and talk to her. He decided on the drive over that nothing would keep him from her, his father’s policy included. Restless, Nick moved from his table and wandered around the ballroom. He sipped his drink and decided to get some fresh air to calm his harried nerves.

  “Nick, darling, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Shit. Nick recognized Laurel’s irritating voice from anywhere. He slowly turned to his right to face her. She looked good on paper: five-ten, model thin, creamy skin, and thick wavy brown hair that fell to the middle of her back. Most guys thought wow; he did at first, but now all he thought was meh.

  Her parents were friends with his, and they all thought it would be cute to fix up their children. He went on the blind date in mid-January at the insistence of his mother, not really expecting happily ever after. His assumption was confirmed when she hardly spoke to him and sent texts for the rest of the night.

  To this day, she still didn’t know that he had heard her talking on the phone while he was waiting for the valet. She’d told whomever she was talking to that she didn’t care about his net worth; there wasn’t enough money in the world for her to attach herself to a nerd. Then, she called him a boring loser. He’d invited her to the Gala, something he’d never planned on ever attending, just to see if she would say it to his face. She had smiled like the coward she was and said, “Sure.” Sure? Fat chance in hell. He hadn’t seen or thought about her until he ran into her at his birthday party.

  “Laurel? How may I help you?” She smiled at him like he was silly.

  “You asked me to be your date, remember?” Nick’s irritation spiked; he didn’t have time for this. The filter that he’d spent months crafting for Kalilah broke.

  “What the hell? We both know you never had any intention on being my date when I asked you.” She looked at him with mock surprise. “I heard you. You know, I’m too big of a nerd and loser – that my net worth didn’t matter.”

  Laurel eyes grew big with genuine surprise, but she recovered quickly. She got closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I realized at your birthday party that I was wrong. We can work fine.”

  She placed a stiff kiss on his cheek. Nick laughed. Kalilah liked the old him and embraced the new him, and that is one of the many reasons he loved her. She saw him, even when he was disheveled, and was willing to sleep with him anyway. No pretenses, she just accepted him.

  “Laurel. Sweetheart, enjoy the party, mingle and meet an eligible bachelor. I’m off the market.”

  He moved her arm and stepped out of her space. He was feeling pretty good about himself until he saw Kalilah’s retreating form. Shit. He pushed through the crowd, but by the time he made it outside, she was gone.

  Nick stared at the empty chair across from him and suppressed a sigh. He had yet to hear anything anyone said during the management meeting. He rubbed his chest to try the ease the deep ache, but knew it was impossible. She was gone. It had been five days since he’d seen or heard from her, and the pain was almost unbearable.

  His workouts with Natalia were the only time he could ease the pain. He would push his body to the brink of exhaustion. At least his aching muscles and burning lungs could make him feel something, anything different. Saturday night replayed in his head on repeat forever taunting him and robbing his sleep.

  He’d left t
he Gala to find Kalilah and explain, but she was nowhere to be found. Dejected, he returned home and was treated to more heartache. His hope spiked when he saw the bejeweled case of her iPhone sitting on his kitchen counter. He looked around for her until he realized he was alone. Only then did he notice that the house keys he’d given her were next to the cellphone along with a two-word note: Mission Complete.

  A pain unlike anything he had ever felt in his life ripped through his body with such force, he had to sit down. She had left him. This time, he remembered to save the number of her Android to his phone. Shaky fingers dialed her number; each ring sounded louder and more annoying than the previous.

  “Hello?” It was soft and barely above a whisper, would he have missed it if he hadn’t been listening intently.

  “Kalilah? Where are you? We need to ta…”

  “There is nothing to talk about Nick,” she cut him off. She didn’t sound like herself. She wasn’t angry. Kalilah sounded…tired? “My job is done. You are a confident man and a capable lover. The woman you choose will be very happy.”

  Her job? For the second time in his adult life, he felt a tear slide down his cheek.

  “Kalilah, you don’t understand…”

  “I do, Nick. I’m setting you free. My mission is complete. Goodbye, Nick.” The line disconnected along with a part of his soul.

  Nick wasn’t sure how long he sat on his kitchen floor, but it was long enough for his body to become stiff and the coldness of the tile to seep through his clothes, chilling him to the bone. He mustered enough energy to rip off his tux and fall into bed where he stayed until Monday.

  Nick didn’t notice that his dad had ended the meeting until the other VPs left the room. The only reason he continued to show up was the hope that she would be at work. Now that it was Thursday, the little ray of hope he’d held onto dimmed considerably. He closed his empty notebook and willed himself to stand. He let out a long sigh and put his notebook in his case.