Authors: Claire Adams
"My
pleasure," I nodded in an attempt to ward off the urge to pull the clip
out of her hair and run my fingers through her curls. "They'll be done
with it by Monday, so you can have the guys move your stuff over once the
furniture is in."
She nodded as she
looked around the room and smiled. As I stood still, taking pleasure in her
joy, my phone rang.
"I've got to
get back upstairs," I said after hanging up. "Can you come up after
lunch so we can talk about a few other things?"
She nodded again,
and turned and smiled at me. I'd carry it with me the rest of the afternoon.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
"
Why
did Jack come all the way downstairs to find
you?" Riley asked as we sat at my desk eating the reheated burritos I'd
packed for lunch. "Shouldn't he just have his secretary call you and tell
you whatever it is he wants you to know? That's how they do it at my
school."
"He came down
to show me my new office," I said. "He just wanted to be nice and
give me tour."
"I think he
likes you, Leah," she said before taking a bite of her burrito that was so
huge she had to chew with her mouth partly open.
"That's
disgusting, Riley," I said handing her a napkin. "Cover your mouth so
I don't have to look at your half-masticated food."
"Oooh,
masticated is a good word to add to my vocabulary list!" she cried as bits
of the half-chewed burrito fell on the napkin.
"Riley!"
I protested.
"Sorry,"
she mumbled with her hand over her mouth. "Got excited."
"You're a
piece of work, kiddo," I laughed as I took a bite of my own lunch and
chewed thoughtfully.
"I think Jack
likes you, Leah," Riley repeated once she swallowed.
"How can you
tell?" I laughed. "He's my boss. He needs to be nice to me so that I
do good work."
"No, that's
not it," she said, thoughtfully tapping the side of her soda bottle as she
tried to formulate the same thoughts I'd had but had failed to find words to
describe. "I think he likes you because he says nice things, and he wants
to hang around you."
"That seems
like it could be anybody," I pointed out. "There are tons of nice
people who say nice things and hang around."
"But they're
paid to do it," she said as she pushed the remainder of her lunch around
on her plate while she thought out loud. "He doesn't have to pretend like
he likes you. He's the boss. Plus, he's a cute boy and you're a cute girl.
That's how it always works out."
"You're
kidding me, right?" I laughed. "You're suggesting that my boss likes
me because he's nice and he's cute?"
"Yes,"
Riley said impatiently. "Seriously, Leah, what else do you want? That's
how it's supposed to work! The cute boys pick the cute girls, and they live
happily ever after. Well, unless you’re gay, then the cute boys choose the cute
boys and so on."
"I'm not sure
what fairytale land you're living in, but okay, we'll go with it," I said,
shaking my head as I chuckled. "What are you going to do after
lunch?"
"I'm going to
finish my math and spelling homework, and then Burt told me I could come watch
the guys work in the warehouse if I was quiet and didn't get in their
way," she said. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to
print out the orders, give them to Burt, and then go up to the office for a
meeting," I said as I mentally organized the tasks I needed to complete
before the meeting. "Let's work in companionable silence for a while,
shall we?"
"What's
companionable?" Riley asked, then paused and sighed heavily, "I know,
I know. Look it up."
"Good
girl!" I laughed as I cleaned up the remains of lunch and tossed
everything in the trashcan. "Now, let's work!"
*
"
Hey
, sugar!" Norma called as I
walked into the office. "How's it shaking?"
"Good,"
I laughed. "I'm here to meet with Jack about the warehouse renovations and
how we're going to keep business booming while the construction's going
on."
"He's almost
ready. Hey, where's that darlin' little girl of yours?" Norma asked as she
pulled a bag full of treats from under her desk. "I went on a little
shopping spree over lunch, and I thought she might like some of my
purchases."
"Norma,
you're going to spoil that child rotten!" I laughed as she held out the
bag. "She's finishing her homework, and then Burt's got some adventure for
her to go on."
"I'll just
wander down there a little later and see how that sweetie is doing," Norma
said as the phone rang. She turned to answer it as Jack opened his door and
motioned for me to join him.
"You wanted
to see me?" I asked.
"Let's talk
about how we're going to manage the orders that are coming in while the
construction is going on," he said as he pulled up a set of plans on his
computer and motioned for me to pull up a chair. "The way I see it, we
keep the boxes over here, and we have the warehouse crew alter their
fulfillment route according to where the construction crew is positioned each
day."
I leaned in and
looked at the plans as he clicked through each day of construction. He'd
obviously spent a lot of time planning the moves, and he knew the warehouse
almost as well as those of us who worked in it. I was impressed.
"That's a
great plan," I said and pointed to one part of the plan that I thought was
a little shaky. "But I think that if you move things over here rather than
here, we'd be more efficient and the crew would be happier."
Jack leaned in
toward me, and I suddenly realized that we were only inches away from one
another. I turned my head, and he stared at me for a fraction of a second
before leaning in. I could feel his lips almost brush mine, and I closed my
eyes in anticipation.
"Well, well,
well, isn't this just cozy!" Sloan said in an overly cheerful voice as she
walked across the office and set her purse down on Jack's desk. "You two
working everything out in the warehouse, are you?"
"Yes,"
Jack said clearing his throat and moving out of kissing range. I suddenly felt
ashamed and wondered if he did, too.
"How are you,
Leah?" Sloan asked in a voice dripping with fake interest.
"Everything working out well down there while we're setting up
construction?"
"I'm good,
thank you, yes, it's fine," I said, dropping my head and looking at the
floor. Jack didn't attempt to rescue me from Sloan's interrogation, and I
suddenly felt the need to escape. I got up and headed for the door mumbling an
excuse before I made my exit.
"Bye,
Leah!" Sloan chirped as I marched past Norma's empty desk and headed back
down to my office.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
"
Why
do you always have to be so mean?" I asked
as I stared at Slone disapprovingly.
"Why darlin',
whatever do you mean?" she replied with a fake Southern accent. "I
thought that was just manners."
"What do you
want, Sloan?" I asked as I decided to forgo the battle over manners,
knowing she would find a way to worm out of any culpability.
"I want to
talk about the plan for the warehouse and how we're going fill all of the new
orders I've gathered," she smiled as she held out the customer sheets that
she'd filled out.
"You're
generating a lot of business," I said, sifting through the new customer
orders. It was a good sign that she'd brought in so much new business in such a
short period of time, but it was also a concern because construction was going
to slow us down a bit.
"I thought
you might like that," she said as she sat down and crossed one long leg
over the other, exposing her smooth thigh and the lacy edge of the stockings
that covered it.
She added, "I've
got plenty more where those came from."
I swallowed hard
and looked away, not sure if she was talking about the orders anymore. As I
looked through them, I realized that she'd targeted some of the biggest buyers
in all of Manhattan and had brought in orders that would elevate our output by
a substantial amount.
"When are
these companies expecting delivery?" I asked as I tried to figure out how
quickly we could get the warehouse ready to start shipping.
"That's the
catch," she said as she dug in her purse. "We need to be ready to
start filling orders by next week."
"Sloan, what
the fuck!" I said a little louder than I'd intended. "You know we're
in the middle of the warehouse renovation. What in the hell possessed you to
make promises you weren't sure we could keep?"
"I knew you'd
find a way," she said as she held my gaze, daring me to disagree with her.
I shook my head and realized I was playing chicken with a woman who liked
losing even less than I did.
"You
seriously piss me off," I muttered as I reorganized the forms in my hand,
trying to figure out just how we could make this work.
"I
know," she grinned. "And it makes you want to bend me over your desk
and have your way with me, doesn't it?"
"Why do you
always revert to sex, Sloan?" I asked.
"Because
that's the glue that holds us together," she replied as she flipped open a
thick gold compact and applied a layer of fresh red lipstick. She reached out
and grabbed a sheet of paper from my desk, blotted her lips, and then shrugged,
"You want me. I like what you do when I drive you to the point that you
can't hold back. We make a good team."
"You
seriously piss me off," I grumbled.
"I know, and
you love it," she smiled as she rose up out of her chair and walked around
the desk. She sat on the edge of it before spreading her legs and giving me a
clear view of the fact that she wasn't wearing anything under her short tight skirt.
She dropped her voice and asked, "See anything you like, Jack?"
"Sloan, stop
…" I said before tearing myself away from the view she was giving me.
"Oh, c'mon,
Jack," she whispered as she shifted a little and spread her legs wider.
"You know you want it."
I could feel the
heat radiating off of her body and knew that I'd made a deal with the devil. I
pushed myself up out of my chair and stood facing her as I ran one hand up the
inside of her thighs. She smiled lazily as she spread her legs wider to give me
full access.
"Sloan,"
I leaned in and spoke quietly in her ear as I caressed her soft thigh, reaching
higher with each movement of my fingers. "I know what you want. I can
smell it, and you know what, darling?"
"Mmmm,"
she purred as she stretched against my hand. "What?"
"I'll give it
to you," I whispered as my fingers splayed her wet warmth and stroked the
soft skin that lay between her lips. She moaned softly as I slid two fingers
inside of her and flipped them up so that I was stroking both of her most
sensitive spots at once. She moved her hips forward to meet my hand as she
dropped her head backwards and closed her eyes. I concentrated on keeping the
pressure and rhythm consistent and building steadily to her climax.
When she began to
move her hips more insistently, I picked up the pace and stroked harder and
faster, feeling her wetness cover my hand. As she headed for the finale, I
could feel her gripping my fingers as I thrust up and into her harder and
harder.
"Oh God,
yes!" she moaned as she planted her palms behind her on the desk and
violently shoved her hips forward to force my hand deeper inside of her. She
whispered hoarsely, “Oh Jack, yes! That’s it! Right there!"
I felt her clench
around my fingers as she reached her orgasm, and I thrust up into her, hard,
and held my hand in place as she writhed on it. I watched her face as she
enjoyed the rippling waves of her climax, and then once she had ceased pulsing
on my hand, I withdrew it and stepped back to look at her.
"And that's
the last time we do that," I said in a tone that slammed the door shut.
"What? Jack,
no!" she protested as she stood up and made her way to the bathroom in the
corner. "Don't be a spoilsport!"
"I mean it,
Sloan," I said looking out the window. "That was the last time I'll
be your personal dildo."
"I wouldn't
count on that if I were you, Jack," she said, smiling mysteriously as she
returned to the office and grabbed her purse.
Then she turned on
her heel and marched out the door, leaving me to wonder exactly what she'd
meant by that.