Jordan, Olivia - Taletha's Salsa Sweethearts [Studio Seductions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

Studio Seductions 1

OLIVIA JORDAN

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

“How many students have we officially lost to Matt’s so-called resignation?” Morris Vetter asked, looking over Taletha Hendricks’s shoulder to the spreadsheet she was staring at. Taletha tried to ignore the sensation of his breath on her neck, the way it always gave her goose bumps.

“More people quit than I’d have liked. But it’s not like we didn’t anticipate taking an enrollment hit when I got rid of him. It was a necessary loss. You know we couldn’t keep him around”

“Yeah, I just hate that we lost anyone at all. You’ve worked so hard to keep this place running.”

“And it’s going to stay running, no matter what. Besides, it could be worse. We actually managed to retain a few of his more promising pupils when they found out that we were hiring Adam Prachett.”

“I’m so relieved that you managed to snag him. I can’t believe he was willing to come all the way out from California to work here.”

“Sometimes, people just need a change.”

The intercom buzzed. “Ms. Hendricks?” a staticky voice asked.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Prachett is here.”

“Thanks, Lynne. I’ll be right out.” She turned off the intercom and looked at Morris. “Want to go meet the new guy?”

Morris glanced at the clock. “I’d love to, but I have to teach a lesson in five minutes. I’m sure you’ll introduce me later.”

“Have a good one.”

Taletha hurried out of her office toward the front desk. She almost lost her balance when she saw the elegant, sexy dancer standing there, chatting with her administrative assistant. His black hair was accentuated with red and blond highlights, coordinating perfectly with his jade-green eyes. He wore black pants and a green silk shirt, both cut and tailored to show off his slim, well-muscled figure.

After taking a few deep breaths to compose herself, Taletha approached the front desk. “Hi, you must be Adam. I’m Taletha Hendricks.”

Adam shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You’re even lovelier in person than you sound on the phone.”

Taletha knew she couldn’t hide the fact that she was blushing, so she let the redness happen, hoping that if she played it cool, he wouldn’t really notice. “You’re too kind. Now, I know you want to get started teaching, and I already have several students who are clamoring to work with you. So let’s head over to my office and get your paperwork taken care of.”

“Who is this?” a high-pitched voice called from across the hall. “I thought I knew everybody who worked here!”

Taletha tried not to roll her eyes. Despite her petite, refined appearance, Emily Hines was brash, loud, and frequently obnoxious. Taletha tried to shrug her personality quirks off as a general lust for life that was difficult to control. Plus, Emily was one of her most popular instructors. Taletha could overlook a few annoying habits if Emily could keep bringing in the money.

But sometimes, her exuberance was just a little too much to handle. Especially when she was feigning ignorance over a new instructor with an already-established reputation, whose impending arrival Taletha had mentioned to the staff several times over the course of the past few weeks.

“Emily, this is Adam Prachett. You know, the dancer I hired to be our newest salsa instructor.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Adam said, offering his hand.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Emily cooed, bypassing the handshake and tracing her fingers up Adam’s arm. He blushed with such intensity that Taletha started turning red as well.

“Emily, may I see you in my office for a moment?”

“Oh, okay, sure.”

“Adam, I’ll have Lynne send you in when Emily and I are done talking.”

“Cool.” Adam flashed a smile that made Taletha’s knees tremble, and for a moment, she was worried she wouldn’t make it into her office without tripping.

Once they were safely enclosed in her office, Taletha took a deep breath and faced her employee. “Emily, in light of recent personnel changes we’ve had at the studio, I’d like to take a minute to remind you about proper behavior in the workplace.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’s not appropriate for you to run your hand suggestively up the new instructor’s arm. Or any instructor’s arm, for that matter.”

“It wasn’t suggestive! I was just flirting.”

“That’s the very definition of ‘suggestive.’ And flirting is never acceptable on the job. Outside of the studio, you can do whatever you want with whomever you want, but when you are at work, you will be professional at all times.”

“I don’t see the big deal with a little flirting.”

“Try to understand my perspective. I just had to let one of my best instructors go over a similar issue. And he really should have known better.”

“This is totally different. I was just flirting.”

“That was what he said, too. But most of his students didn’t actually appreciate his advances. Now, I don’t know if Adam did or not, but from the way he was blushing, you might want to make sure you didn’t make him uncomfortable.”

“Who would be uncomfortable with a little flirting?”

“Come on, Emily. Don’t tell me you’ve never gone out and been disturbed by some men’s advances.”

Emily’s gaze dropped to the ground. “I guess that’s true, yeah.”

“You’re smart. You know better than Matt did. And you’re a great instructor. I’m happy to have you as a teacher. So in the interest of being able to keep you on staff, consider this a warning. Keep all flirting out of the studio.”

Emily nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. You can go now.”

Emily left and Taletha hit the intercom. “Lynne, send Adam back, please.”

“You got it.”

When Adam came through the office door, Taletha felt herself flush again. But the heat didn’t settle in her face. Instead, it spread all the way through her body, making her heart pound and her pussy twitch. Taletha, however, refused to be anything less than a complete professional.

“Have a seat. I’m sorry about Emily. She’s a great teacher. She just sometimes goes overboard.”

“It’s fine, really.”

The office fell uncomfortably silent as Adam started filling out the stack of paperwork that Taletha placed in front of him. After a few minutes, Taletha realized she was staring at his hands, focusing on the way his fingers gripped the pen, the way his wrist moved as he wrote. She started imagining what it might feel like to have those hands on her body, tracing her curves, massaging her breasts, teasing her clit.

Taletha’s pussy gave a sharp twitch. The intense throb brought her back to reality. Intent on getting herself back under control, she turned to her computer and finished balancing her spreadsheets while Adam finished filling out the contract and tax forms. She was relieved when the phone rang, glad to have a voice to pull her away from the sexy dancer sitting across her desk.

“Rhythm and Motion Dance Studio. This is Taletha. How may I help you?”

“So you’ve hired my replacement?”

Taletha shivered as Matt Fairbanks’s voice filled her ear. “That tends to happen. When an employee leaves a place of business, the management does prefer to hire someone to fill the vacant slot.”

“You got yourselves quite a catch.”

“And how exactly are you privy to my hiring decisions?”

“The announcement is on the front page of your website.”

“Of course it is. I just didn’t expect that you’d be checking out the website of your former employer.”

Matt’s chuckle sent a small shiver down Taletha’s spine. “It never hurts to stay informed.”

“Matt, why exactly are you calling?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m packing off and heading out for Europe.”

“And why would I care?”

“I figured you might want one last chance to change your mind and take me back. Maybe you’re regretting your decision? Maybe you realized that talent like mine is irreplaceable? Maybe you regret all the nasty things you said to me in your office?”

“I wasn’t nasty to you, I don’t regret a single thing I said, and I am definitely not going to bring you back. You’re a liability. Take your irreplaceable talent over to Europe. I hope they enjoy it.”

Taletha slammed down the phone. Her hands started shaking, and she pulled them under her desk to hide the evidence of her fear.

Adam looked up. “I take it Matt Fairbanks didn’t actually resign, like you said he did.”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Mind if I ask why?”

“Matt is an excellent dancer who needs to learn not to make romantic advances on students. Need I say more?”

“Why didn’t you just fire him? Why the illusion of allowing him to resign?”

“It was going to be quieter that way. The students who had been complaining just wanted him out. He was going to make a huge stink if he was fired. The resignation was a compromise. We both got what we wanted.” Taletha smirked. “Just as long as he doesn’t expect me to give him a good reference when he starts looking for new jobs. I never agreed to that one.”

Adam chuckled. “I should hope not.”

“Anyway, it’s time for Morris and me to practice. I’ll leave you with Lynne, and she’ll show you how to set up your calendar. Then you can start booking lessons.”

“Sounds great.”

“Would you be willing to work with some of Matt’s former students? I know more than a few of them are clamoring to work with you.”

“They didn’t all defect when he left?”

“Most of them did, but we managed to keep a decent number of them enrolled. Most of the people who stayed chose to keep their business here because I hired you.”

“Well, I’d hate to disappoint on my first day at the new job. I’d be happy to work with them.”

“Great. Just head over to the desk and ask Lynne to show you around the scheduling system. Morris and I will be done at noon if you have any more questions.”

* * * *

Adam tried to pay attention to Lynne’s instructions about the computer system, but Taletha and Morris were practicing in the main studio, which was separated from the front desk by nothing but a pane of glass. He had a clear view of every step, turn, mistake, and perfect moment. He also had a perfect view of Taletha’s long legs twisting and flicking in a short practice skirt. Although he’d been surrounded by elegant, sexy dancers since he learned salsa at sixteen, he had never been so captivated by any particular pair of legs. But there was something about the particular tautness of Taletha’s thighs, the curve of her calves, the glow of the slightly bronzed skin that immediately made his cock start fluttering.

Dental work. Paying the bills. Gas stations.
Adam tried to think of the least sexy things imaginable to keep his libido down long enough to get through the work day. Or at least until he could sneak off somewhere private to masturbate.

“Adam? Adam?” Lynne snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. “Are you paying attention?”