Authors: Claire Adams
"Right,"
she snorted. "By someone like me? I have no children, and for that matter,
neither do you!"
"It doesn't
matter, Sloan!" I said a little too loudly, making her chuckle as she
shushed me. "What matters is that we work together to complete this damn
contract so that I can get my life back and you can regain your reputation!"
"Do you
really think this could work?" she asked as she returned her hand to my
thigh. "Could we work together?"
"Only if you
stop putting your hands on me," I said giving her a warning look before I
signaled the server to come take our orders.
Sloan backed off,
but only a little, and I knew that she and I were going to be walking a fine
line if we worked together. She would be pushing boundaries, and I would have
to constantly reinforce them. It wouldn't be easy, but I knew that if I were
going to get the hell away from Baby Steps and my family, I was going to have
to man up and deal with the temptations that Sloan presented.
The irony was that
here I was on a date with a gorgeous woman who obviously wanted to end up in my
bed, and all I could think about was the way that Leah had felt in my arms.
I shook my head
and muttered, "You're going soft, old fella" before ordering another
drink and turning my attention back to the woman who was going to help me get
my life back.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
"
Well
good morning, darlin'," Norma drawled as
I entered her domain and looked around. In the days after Bernard had died,
Norma had draped the office in black bunting and mourned openly. It was
disconcerting, but she explained that her Southern roots run deep and that a
proper period of mourning was essential to completing the rituals surrounding
someone's death. Having come from an Irish Catholic family, I understood the
process of mourning all too well, but I still thought it was a little over the
top.
"Good morning,
Norma," I said as cheerfully as possible. "The office looks
different. What did you do to it?"
"I pulled
down all the decorations, sweetie," she smiled as she finished storing the
last of the black bunting in a box that she covered and then ran a strip of
packaging tape around before sliding it into the storage space in the corner.
"It's time to stop crying and start looking forward again! We've got a lot
of work to do, and very little time to do it, darlin'!"
"You're a
piece of work, Norma," I said, shaking my head as I walked to the area
where each of the mailboxes for the team leaders was kept. I checked mine and
found that there was a brand new stack of orders in my box. "Where did
these come from?"
"Where did
what come from, sugar?" she asked as she worked on opening a tall stack of
envelopes. She'd pick one up, slip the letter opener in one side and slice the
envelope open before pulling out the contents and stapling the envelope to the
innards. She worked quickly and efficiently, and in the few minutes that I was
in her office, she must have sorted thirty pieces of mail.
"Where did
this stack of orders come from?" I asked as I flipped through the papers.
None of the names on the top of the sheets looked familiar, and I wondered if
my mail hadn't gotten mixed up with someone else's.
"I don't
know. I didn't put them there," Norma said as she looked over her shoulder
toward Jack's office. "He did."
"This makes
no sense," I said as I walked toward Jack's door, knocked lightly, and
then before Norma could stop me, opened the door. "Jack, I … oh, I'm
sorry, I didn't know you were busy."
"It's okay,
Leah," Jack said as he looked up at me and then back at the icy blonde who
was leaning over his shoulder looking at something on the computer screen.
"This is Sloan Morgan. Sloan, this is Leah Walsh. She runs the warehouse
operations with incredible efficiency, and she's also got a mean skull."
"I see,"
the woman said as she straightened up and walked toward me with her hand out.
"It's nice to meet you, Leah."
"It's nice to
meet you, too, Ms. Morgan," I said as I took her hand. She was wearing
what looked like a designer dress that fit her perfectly, and I suddenly felt
very out of place in my much more casual scoop neck t-shirt, cotton skirt with
leggings, and work boots. I'd found that working in a skirt made the warehouse
guys treat me more like their boss than their sister, but it wasn't conducive
to all the bending and climbing, so I'd put together a mishmash of clothing
that seemed to signal my supervisory status while still being practical.
"Please, call
me Sloan," she said smiling. Her eyes were blue, like mine, but she had a
layer of chilly reserve in them.
"All right,
Sloan," I said hesitating a little before turning to the matter at hand.
"I've got a whole batch of new customers I've never seen before. Do you
know where these came from and how do you want me to deal with them?"
"Ah,
yes," Jack said as he ran his hand through his already messy hair. He
looked rugged and wild, and I had a hard time meeting his gaze as I listened to
him discuss the way that business was going to change. "So, we're going to
solicit more online business via omni-channel marketing. That way we'll be able
to target the market most apt to use, and reuse, our services. What do you
think, Leah?"
"Huh? Oh,
right, that sounds like a good plan to me," I said. "But the problem
is going to be that we don't have enough warehouse workers to meet the demand
if it increases substantially."
"We're going
to work on that next," Jack said as he looked at Sloan. "I should
have a plan for you by next week. It might mean increasing hours or hiring
temps to fill the gaps."
"Very
well," I said as I turned to leave. I knew that whatever he was going to
propose was probably going to go for efficiency rather than preservation of the
company traditions or ethos. I also knew that temps in the warehouse would not
be taken kindly to. However, I bit my tongue and decided to wait to hear what
the final plan would be before I protested.
"It's nice to
have met you, Leah," Sloan said. I nodded and waved without turning
around.
"How'd it go,
sugar?" Norma called as I rushed past her desk. "Stop and talk to me
sometime, why don't ya?"
"Okay, it
went okay," I said as I swiftly moved toward the door, avoiding all the
questions that hung in the air between us. I didn't want to talk about our bet,
not after having been blindsided by Jack and Sloan.
I marched back to
the warehouse, feeling uneasy. I didn't like the fact that Jack unnerved me
this much, but aside from quitting my job, which I would not do, I couldn't see
how I was going to be able to avoid dealing with him. So, once I was done
scolding myself for being so weak-willed, I set my jaw, squared my shoulders,
and told myself that there was no way on Earth that Jack Yates was going to
throw me for a loop.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
"
She's
cute," Sloan said after Leah
had left my office. "Young, but really cute."
"She's a good
warehouse manager," I shrugged. "Hadn't noticed much else. I'm trying
to run a business, Sloan."
"Mmm-hmm,"
she said as she leaned down over the back of my chair and rested her hand on my
shoulder, pointing out some notable figures on the screen in front of me.
"Sloan,"
I warned. "Knock it off."
"What?"
she said as she leaned in close enough that I could feel her breath on my
cheek. The sensation sent my body into overdrive.
"Back
up," I growled as I shoved my chair back forcing her to step out of the
way. I stood up and turned to look at her, noting that Leah had closed the door
behind her. I moved toward it to open it thinking it would provide me with some
security. As I did, I said, "You have to stop taunting me, Sloan."
"I'm not
taunting you at all," she said, intercepting me and moving close enough to
rest her palms on my chest. "We're both grownups, and I know you. I know
what you want, and what you like. Why don't you let me give it to you?"
"Why are you
doing this?" I asked as I took a step back. She followed. Her hands
slipped lower to my waist as she spoke, "Jack, I know it's been a tough
week. You're like a caged tiger. Let me help you work out some of the tension,
hmm?"
"Sloan,"
I groaned as she unbuckled my belt and quickly unzipped my pants. "Stop.
Please …"
"I don't
think you really want me to," she whispered as she stretched up to bring
her lips close enough to kiss me, but held back. Her hand was inside my pants,
cupping me between my legs as I grew harder by the second. "Do you?"
"Oh
God," I groaned as she slipped her hand inside my shorts and wrapped her
fingers around my stiff shaft. She squeezed me tightly and then began slowly
stroking the entire length. I knew there was no turning back. I couldn't stop
because she wasn't going to.
She brushed her
lips across mine, and in an instant, my defenses came tumbling down as I
wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to me, delivering a brutal kiss.
If she was going to do this, then we were moving forward, no holds barred. I
felt her smile as I gave in to my animal instincts, and it only took a few
moments before we were clawing at each other like feral cats.
"You asked
for it," I growled as I pulled back from a rough kiss and pushed her dress
up around her waist.
"Mmm, I like
it rough, you know that," she grinned as she yanked my pants down and
licked her lips as she looked at what she'd unsheathed.
"Do you
now?" I said as I pushed her up against the wall and held her hands over
her head. I could see the hunger in her eyes as I ripped the small triangle of
lace off of her hips and wedged a knee between her legs to force them open.
"Oh God,
Jack, yes!" she moaned as I roughly shoved my hand between her legs and
felt how wet she was already.
I slid my fingers
through her wetness and felt her body respond to my touch. She'd let me go this
far before, and I knew how much I liked it. She'd been the one who'd taken my
virginity with her expert knowledge and taught me everything she knew about how
to give a woman pleasure, but right now I wasn't thinking about that. Right
now, I just had one thing on my mind.
"Jack, do it!
I need it!" she moaned as she pushed her hips up to meet my fingers. I
slid two inside her and felt her close around them. Warm and wet, I slid them
back and forth as she continued moaning. I knew what she wanted, and despite
the fact that it had been too long since I'd had any kind of release, I also
knew that going down this road would lead to nothing good. "More, Jack! I
need more!"
I pulled out and
knit three fingers together before slipping them back into her pulsing warmth.
I knew I'd hit the right spot when she closed her eyes and pushed her hips up
to meet my thrusts. I kissed her hard as I brought her body to a shuddering
climax, pinning her wrists tightly together as I watched her writhe and moan
under my touch.
I was so hard I
ached, but instead of relieving the need, I bit the inside of my cheek to
remind myself to keep it under control. I still didn't trust Sloan, and I knew
that if I gave in and satisfied my physical lust, it would be no time before she'd
have me wrapped around her finger, ready to do her bidding until she got bored
and moved on.
Once her breathing
slowed to a normal rhythm, Sloan tipped her chin up and studied my face.
"What about
you?" she asked with a playful grin. She pulled to free her wrists, but I
kept them pinned to the wall as I ran a hand down her body.
"Sloan, I'm
going to tell you this once, and once only," I said carefully forming my
words. "If you want to get off, I'm happy to oblige, but anything beyond
that, and I'm not playing the game."
"Why not?
Afraid?" she taunted. "Are you afraid that you'll find something you
can't live without out and screw up your plans to escape?"
"No, you've
got it all wrong," I said as I let a smile slowly spread across my lips.
"But then I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
"Listen,
Jack," she said. "If we're going to make this work, then we need to
fuel the rumor that we're a couple. It'll make us an unbeatable pair, and it'll
keep the hounds at bay, if you know what I mean."
"I know
exactly what you mean," I said pulling her dress down with one hand before
I let go of her wrists. "It's just that I don't want to play that game,
Sloan. I don't like where it leads."
"You mean you
don't like me," she pouted as she smoothed her dress and watched me stuff
my swollen shaft back into my pants and zip them up.
"I like you
fine," I said, shaking my head. "I just don't want to go down a road
that leads to me letting you in and then getting kicked to the curb."
"So, that's
it," she grinned. "You're still mad because I broke your teenage
heart!"
"I'm not mad,
Sloan," I said looking away. I wasn't mad. I had been hurt, and I didn't
want to repeat that experience knowing full well where it was likely to end up.
"I just don't want to do this the way you want to. So, the deal is that I'll
get you off any time you want, but you don't get to touch me. Got it?"
"How could a
girl turn that deal down?" she laughed as she pulled a compact out of her
purse and checked her hair before smearing on a fresh layer of lipstick.
"I'm in!"
"Good, then
we've got a deal," I said holding my hand out. Sloan took one look at it
and clasped it tightly
.
"For
now," she smiled. "It'll do for now."
I shook my head
and moved back to the computer, knowing that working with Sloan was going to be
a constant challenge.
*
Once
Sloan and I had
hashed out our individual duties, she left to pursue some new leads. My job
would be focused on marketing our services and drumming up new business via the
online offerings. Sloan would do it the old-fashioned way, by visiting clients
and forming personal relationships with them. I knew that if she walked into
any office on the planet, there would be no way she would walk out without a
modicum of business. It crossed my mind to ask her how she accomplished this,
but then I quickly decided that I didn't really want to know.
Let
the magic stay magic
, I thought to myself.
I walked out to
the outer office to speak with Norma, but she was nowhere to be found. Since
the phones weren't ringing, I shrugged and headed down to the warehouse.
The Baby Steps
warehouse was attached to the executive offices, and despite the fact that it
had turned a profit every year for the past twenty years, my father had never
once invested a dime in renovating the place.
The offices looked
like a throwback to a 1970s television set with the popcorn ceilings and the
metal desks covered in faux wood paneling. There was even avocado carpeting in
some of the offices, though most of it had been pulled up and replaced with
linoleum. I shook my head as I looked into office after office and found the
same worn set up in each of them.
"At least the
computers are somewhat new," I muttered as I walked down a fluorescent-lit
hallway, feeling vaguely like I was in some kind of low-budget horror flick.
The lights buzzed and flickered until, at the end of the hall, one of them
simply cut out and died. I swore under my breath, "We have got to fix this
shit!"
"Jack?"
Leah said as she stuck her head out of her office and gave me a quizzical look.
"What are you doing down here?"
"I finished
up with Sloan and I wanted to talk with you about some of the changes we're
thinking about implementing," I said as I looked into her eyes. The
differences between Leah and Sloan were as vast as they could be. If Sloan was
a thoroughbred racehorse—tall, lean, well kept—then Leah was the wild
pony.
Leah wasn't fashionable or
expensively groomed, but her wildness was alluring.
"I see,"
she said as she turned and headed back into her office. I smiled as I followed
her. There was something about the way that she wasn't intimidated by me, or my
position, that made her even more attractive. She sat down and motioned for me
to take a seat in one of the cracked, vinyl-coated chairs at her desk.
"So, what's the plan?"
"We want to
renovate the warehouse so that we can offer a wider range of products," I
began.
"Wait, what?
We already offer customers over twenty thousand products!" Leah exclaimed.
"How many more do you think we can offer?"
"One hundred
thousand," I said plainly.
"You have got
to be kidding me," she said as her eyes grew wide. I could see her trying
to imagine how we would fit the additional eighty thousand products into the
warehouse, and I knew that it was mind-boggling.
"We're going
to overhaul the warehouse and create room for them," I said as I pulled a
rough sketch I'd done for Sloan out of my suit pocket and smoothed it out on
the desk. "We're going to expand upward and create a multi-tiered deck
where we now have empty space. We'll create a system of lifts and stairs that
allow workers to quickly access the products, and a conveyer system that will
allow the packages to be carried to the packaging area once the workers have
loaded the order into the appropriate box."
"So, we're
going to become exploiters," Leah said. "We're going to drive our
employees to do more for less. Your father resisted this, Jack. He hated the
way big companies drove their workers into the grave by upping production until
it became impossible for anyone to actually meet the quotas. This is not how
Baby Steps operates."
"We're not
going to exploit anyone, Leah," I protested. "We're going to
streamline the warehouse and make it easier for the workers to do their jobs
without interference."
"But you're
going to expect more for less!" she cried as she shot up out of her chair
and began pacing along the side of the small room. "This is wrong, Jack!
This is not how your father ran this company! I don’t know what bone you have
to pick with him, but he ran this company fairly and was always decent to his workers.
I have a bad feeling about these improvements and what they're going to do to
the workers who've been loyal for years."
"I'm not
going to exploit people!" I yelled as I stood up. "Why do you think
that only bad things can come out of this change? Why are you such a damn
pessimist?"
"Because I've
seen what this kind of change can do to people!" she shouted at me as she
stopped pacing.
She was inches
from me in the small room, and I could hear her breathing. I wanted to reach
out and push the stray piece of hair off of her face as I looked down into her
soft-blue eyes. I could feel the need that I'd pushed aside earlier starting to
rise again as she held my gaze. The memory of her pressed against my chest at
the wake flooded my brain, and I felt myself grow instantly hard.
Neither of us
moved a muscle.
"When are you
going to start this project," Leah asked quietly. "I need to let the
workers know so they don't get spooked."
"We're going
to begin construction next week, but it won't interfere with business," I
said, picking up the drawing from the desk and holding it in front of my pants
so that my straining seams wouldn't be as obvious. “The storage platforms will
be installed above the work floor, so you all will have to wear helmets, but
other than that, the workers will be out of your way.”
"Fine, then
let me know what you need from me, and I'll do my best to keep us on track in
the warehouse," she said still holding my gaze. I couldn't look away, nor
did I want to.