Playing with Power - Book 5: New Adult Office Romance (2 page)

“If you want I can go grab them, maybe frame them, put them in the front hall back home?”

“Jeez, lemme thinking about that...howabout, no?” Lauren was already feeling better about it. Landon was right. Nick
was
probably just blowing off some steam and the whole thing would blow over soon. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy his company before he had to fly 3,000 miles away.

Lauren bit into his shoulder to keep from screaming his name out loud. Landon had her pressed against the wall, both arms hooked under her knees, and was pounding her hard and fast. Her screaming probably wouldn’t have alerted the rest of the apartment to their activities any more than the rhythmic thumping. She was beyond caring, however. No one had ever quite manhandled her like this before and she was loving every minute of it.

Landon growled through gritted teeth before hungrily sucking on her neck. She’d already orgasmed twice and had enough clarity to enjoy how rough and aggressive he was being. This was a side of Landon she hadn’t seen yet. It was exciting.

“Ungh, fuck...” he said with a clenched jaw. He slammed his hips against her, his muscles going rigid. She clung to his shoulders and held on as he finished inside her.

He gingerly set her down on the floor and she led him back to the bed on shaky legs. She curled up against his chest, fingers tracing the edges of his muscles as she listened to his heartbeat slow.

She giggled a little. “I guess I’ll have to remember that the next time I get an urge to flash you my panties.”

“Seriously. I don’t know where that came from. You’d think we’d be tapped out by now,” he said panting. He gave her a half squeeze with one arm while he wiped sweat from his face with the other.

Lauren paused, quickly debating whether or not she should bring it up at all.
He’s leaving tomorrow morning. You had all weekend to talk about it but you haven’t.

He nudged her and looked down, his chin pressing against his chest. “You okay there?”

She shifted onto her elbows and cocked her head. “At the risk of sounding like one of
those girls
,” she said rolling her eyes dramatically, “I think we need to talk.”

Landon’s eyebrows shifted slightly, an expression of amusement flooding his face. “You’re dumping me already? At least you waited until the end of the weekend. Just used me for the sex, huh?”

Lauren playfully slapped him. “See? That’s what I mean. Can I even dump you? Are we even in a place where dumping can happen? I hate to sound like some crazy woman demanding to know where this relationship is going but—”

He put his hand on her shoulder and pressed his lips together as if trying not to laugh. “You don’t sound like a crazy person, Wren, but you
are
moving in with me.”

“You made that offer as a business partner, not anything else. You said yourself we need to be good at wearing different hats. I guess I just need to know what this hat,” she said gesturing to their naked bodies, “says.”

“Fair point.” He cocked his head slightly and considered her. “Lauren Kemp, you’re one of the most amazing women I have ever met. You’re beautiful, intelligent, fearless. Every day I wake up excited because I know there’s a chance I’ll see you or speak to you. There’s no one else I would rather have by my side, regardless of what hat you’re wearing. So, I guess that means you’re my girlfriend? If you want to be, of course.” He flashed his most charming smile.

Lauren was speechless. She scanned his face and saw nothing but sincerity. The corners of her eyes prickled as tears welled up.
No one has every said anything like that to me before,
she thought. A couple drops loosed from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She laughed, wiping them away before he could.

“Of course I want to be,” she sniffed. “You are too smooth for your own good, you know that?” she said snuggling into him.

He dramatically exhaled. “You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that. I’ve been going around telling everyone how amazing my girlfriend Lauren is. Can you imagine how embarrassing that could’ve been if you’d said no?”

“Who’s everyone?”

“You know, parents, friends, the guy who sells me my newspaper on Sunday mornings. Pretty much anyone I can get to listen to me for more than three minutes hears how great you are. I was starting to feel like that kid who has an imaginary girlfriend from camp, but now they get to meet you.”

Landon pushed himself into a seated position, pulling the sheet around his waist. Although completely sore and spent from an entire weekend of it, Lauren felt a surge of desire to have him inside of her. She wanted to cling to the sensation as long as she could.

His expression darkened slightly. “I know I told you not to worry about those photos but, as your newly minted boyfriend,” he said waggling his eyebrows at her, “I do want you to be careful. I hate leaving you, especially with some nut job ex-boyfriend lurking around. With the office shutting down soon, maybe it’s a good idea to go stay with Ali for a little bit.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind, although, if I told her the reason why I was staying there, Nick might be the one looking over his shoulder all the time. Ali’s not someone I’d want to mess with.”

“Oh yeah?” Landon chuckled.

“She’s got this bizarre corn-fed strength from working on a farm all her life. I’ve literally seen her chuck a full-grown man out the door of the Pony.” Lauren giggled at the memory. They’d been playing pool when this strange guy put money down that he’d beat her on the next game. Ever the gambler, Ali accepted and promptly thrashed him, sinking ball after ball. When he refused to pay up, Ali scooped him up over her shoulder and dumped him outside the bar like it was nothing.

Lauren noticed the odd look Landon was giving her. “Come to think of it, maybe we should just hire her as your body guard.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’d love that.” Lauren took his hand. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be careful. I honestly don’t think Nick would hurt me.”

2.

It’d been such an amazing weekend, Lauren had nearly forgotten the ultimatum she’d given Parker the Friday before. It was only after saying goodbye to Landon and getting ready for work she remembered the shit-storm she could be walking into. Just as she was heading out the door, she double checked the audio file was saved on her computer at the MyBFC office. She wouldn’t put it past him to try destroying her phone.

As she walked to work, she smiled at the memory of Landon’s face when he’d heard the recording. Sitting in her bedroom, she played it for him just before they went out to eat. The sound was a little muffled because she’d had to shove it down her bra but their conversation had come through clear enough.

“What, are you gonna hit me? You gonna pin me up against the wall again? You’re just a sad little man. You know I’m not scared of you.”

Landon had looked at her and nodded appreciatively. She’d enjoyed watching his reactions as they listened to it, the anxiety and excitement of the moment still fresh as she relived it. When the recording ended, Landon had crossed his arms over his chest.

“What?” Lauren said suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“What what? You’re a fucking badass, I can’t believe you! What possessed you to actually record all that? I mean, it’s great you did but...holy hell, Wren.”

“I don’t know, I just figured it was a good idea. Stop looking at me like that!” The feeling was an odd combination of self-conscious pride.

“I guess I know never to cross the notorious Lauren Kemp. Good job though, seriously. What a fucking prick. I can’t wait to get this company going and destroy him.” Lauren enjoyed seeing the anger in Landon’s eyes, the feeling that he’d protect her no matter what. At the same time, she loved showing him she didn’t need much protection.

Lauren shook her head, clearing her mind of the memory. It threatened to devolve into daydreams about her boyfriend, flying away from her at that very moment.
No! Knock it off. You’ve gotta be sharp here. Parker’s like a trapped animal right now.

She climbed up the stairs from the subway, thankful for the fresh autumn air. It was just becoming her favorite time of year and with as busy as she was, she probably wasn’t going to get much of a chance to enjoy it.
I wonder if I’ll miss the seasons when I’m living out there?
Even as she consciously tried to enjoy her walk to work, she couldn’t shake the feeling she was walking into a viper’s nest. Steadying herself, she rolled her shoulders back and confidently strode into the StyleSpur office.

Faith looked up from her computer and immediately rushed over to her. A pang of guilt hit Lauren right in the stomach as she realized she hadn’t called her all weekend.
I really need to tell her about Rochelle, maybe even play her the recording.
On the other hand, Lauren was very aware how incriminating the recording was to her as well. Hopefully Parker didn’t realize she’d also recorded herself blackmailing him for a promotion.
Even if I played it for her, would it matter? I’ve told her about things like this before and she’s stayed with him throughout...

“Good morning, sweetie. Did you have a good weekend?” Faith said almost roughly guiding her away from the main room.

“Um, I guess. Can I just get a cup of—” she said as they passed the kitchen.

“No, sorry. Parker insisted I take you straight to his office the second you get in.” Lauren’s stomach dropped.
He’s got something planned.

“But really, can’t I just set my bag down—”

“Nope! In a minute.” Lauren could hear the tension in Faith’s voice. She glanced at her friend and could tell the smile was painted on. Taking a deep breath, Lauren accepted her fate and walked to Parker’s office.

“Knock, knock!” Faith said in a chipper tone as she pushed the office door open. “I have the delivery you asked for.” She winked at Lauren as Parker looked up from his desk.

“Great, thank you Faith. You can go.”

The door slowly closed, but Lauren remained standing rigidly just inside the office. She was gripping the straps of her backpack so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Apparently, my bravery is a bit weaker in the morning,
she thought bitterly.

“Please, take a seat,” Parker gestured. Lauren tentatively put her bag down and slipped into the chair. “Did you have a good weekend? Weather was great, wasn’t it?”

The whole scene was unnerving. Parker sat opposite grinning, trying his very best to seem friendly, affable.
Did he seriously just ask me how my weekend was? Has that ever happened in the history of...ever?
Everything was in such stark contrast to the last time she’d been in his office, Lauren felt a bizarre sense she’d stepped into a dream.

Parker waited a moment for her response but continued. “Mine was great but let’s get straight to business. Lauren, I want you to know how much I value your contribution to StyleSpur. This company wouldn’t be half of what it is without your hard work and dedication.” He paused again as if waiting for her to thank him. Lauren could only swallow the bile in her mouth. It was like waiting for a wild animal to charge. “So with that in mind, I’m happy to offer you the position of chief technical officer.”

Lauren blinked several times, not believing the words that just came out of his mouth. A tiny smile crept across her face as she slowly accepted the reality of the situation.

“You value my contribution to the company so that’s why you’re making me CTO of StyleSpur?”

The tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed his true feelings, but he quickly recovered. “Of course, Lauren. What other reason could there be? We would be so lucky to have you join the management team.”

Heart thumping in her chest, Lauren struggled to keep her emotions in check. After so many years of abuse, she was finally getting the upper hand on Parker Jarvis and it felt so good. She tried to remain magnanimous but couldn’t resist rubbing his nose in it just a little.

“See? Was that so difficult? I have to say, I’m glad you were able to fight against all your natural instincts and finally make a decent decision for once.”

His expression faltered and Lauren saw a flash of anger in his green eyes. The muscles in his jaw clenched and he was just about to speak when Faith poked her head in the door.

“So...”

Parker quickly recovered, the salesman smile returning swiftly to his smarmy face. “I believe Lauren was just accepting my offer, weren’t you?”

Lauren hesitated for just a moment. Some intuition was telling her there must be a trap but where? She was the one who asked for this. “Yes, I accept your offer.”

“That’s so great!” Faith exclaimed, hugging Lauren from behind. “In that case, we have a big surprise for you. Just give me one minute before you come out.” Faith left, taking all her happy effervescence with her. A heavy cloud hung over the office as she and Parker regarded one another.

“I hope we can find a way to work together,” Parker said. His eyes were cold and his lips barely moved as he spoke.

“I do too.”

He glanced over her shoulder and said, “I think they’re ready for you.”

Confused, Lauren turned to see Faith waving her over. She mumbled a thank you to Parker as she left his office and walked down the hall. She was grinning ear to ear, her long blonde ponytail swishing behind as she glanced back to the main room. She pulled Lauren into a tight hug and whispered in her ear.