Chapter 11

Max

“Yes, Mother. I know which roses to get for a date. I’m not an idiot.”

“Don’t be like that, Maximilian. You know very well I worry about these things. Constance would be a very smart match, and I don’t want you screwing things up by bringing her yellow roses like a cretin.”

I rolled my eyes and crumpled another piece of scrap paper on my desk, tossing it across the room to the waiting recycling bin. It bounced off the side and went tumbling across the floor. Damnit.

“I have to go, Mother. I’m very busy.” I started crumpling another piece of paper.

She sighed, “Yes, I suppose you are. I’ll see you at the dinner tomorrow. Remember to look sharp!”

I mumbled reassurances to her and hung up the phone, throwing the paper toward the basket. This time, it was a perfect shot.

Emma must have noticed that I was off the phone now, as she knocked on my door a second later. I perked up and called for her to enter.

She looked particularly pretty today. Her long brown hair was tied back from her face, but with a couple strands left down to frame her apple cheeks. She was wearing a plain black dress, but the fit of it more than made up for the lack of embellishments. I admired how it tucked in at her waist and curved with the swell of her hips, cinching back in to hug her toned thighs.

Emma didn’t notice me checking her out. She was already walking across the room, her face focused on the paperwork in her hands. She was talking too, but I’d zoned out the moment I saw her.

“Sorry?” I said. “Could you repeat that?”

Emma looked up when she reached the desk and passed me the papers. “Accounting sent these over. They need your approval so they can submit the financials for the quarter.”

“Ah, right.” I smiled. “Thank you.”

Emma nodded and turned. Before she could reach the door, she bent and picked up the paper ball from the ground and tossed it toward the bin. It went straight in, and I saw a victorious smirk on her lips before she turned and continued out the way she came.

A week ago, there would have been a little more back and forth between us. She’d barely talked to me since Monday, and I couldn’t help but wonder if getting her those pretzels had been a mistake. She said she liked them, though, right? Why would she be mad that I bought her pretzels?

It wasn’t the pretzels though. It couldn’t have been. So that left only one other option—she was upset at me for Friday night. That didn’t make sense either. We were having fun, a great time, and even though things had gotten a bit sexual for a while, neither of us actually did anything worth being upset over. We were having fun. Or at least I thought we were having fun.

This was vexing me far more than I would have expected. On top of that, I was pissed off that Paulina had backed me into a corner with the charity dinner. I was expected to go, and since I was already going, there was no reason I couldn’t bring a woman of my mother’s choosing as a date. It wasn’t like I had anyone else to go with.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, wishing I could take Emma instead. Though sober reflection the morning after our nightclub encounter reminded me that aggressively coming on to my employee could wind up earning me a lawsuit. Although, I still hadn’t given up on the idea of pursuing her.

No, it was more her cold attitude over the past week that had put the brakes on that plan. I’d begun to think that I’d been misinterpreting something from her. It was driving me mad. She was all I could think about, which made the prospect of taking another woman to the stupid thing tomorrow even more unappealing.

Fuck it.

Fuck. It.

I sat forward and jammed my finger down on the intercom. “Emma, can you come in for a second?”

“Of course,” she said back.

I stood up and straightened my tie, walking around the desk to lean on the other side of it. I was going to sort this out once and for all. And I was going to ask her to come to the dinner with me. I didn’t want to go with Constance. I wanted to go with Emma. And I was too old and too fucking successful to not do what I wanted to do.

Emma looked surprised when she entered my office a moment later. I watched her eyes dip to my forearms, where my shirt was rolled to my elbows and my biceps strained against the cotton. A faint blush stained her cheeks. She could pretend to be as cold as she wanted, but her body would always betray her.

“Close the door,” I instructed.

Emma did, but walked only a couple steps further into the room. “What can I help you with?”

Her big golden eyes widened when I pushed off the desk and started walking toward her. She held her ground, even when I got close enough to smell the sweetness of her perfume.

“Do you have plans tomorrow, Emma?”

She swallowed. “Nope. Why? Do you need me to work?”

“I want you to come to the charity dinner with me.”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t respond right away. When the eyebrows came back down, they furrowed in a way that made it clear she’d misunderstood my invitation.

“Did Constance cancel on you?” she asked. “I could always call Paulina and arrange another date. Whatever you need.”

“This isn’t about what I need.” I smirked. “This is about what I want, Emma, and what I want is for you to be my date to dinner tomorrow.”

She ran her tongue over her lips and I watched, cock twitching. Her mouth was so plump, so perfect. I wanted to lean down and suck her lower lip between my teeth.

She caught me looking, and the flash of desire in her eyes ignited something in me. Whatever had been her issue this week, she wanted me, probably just as much as I wanted her. And I would make it clear to her that if she came to this party with me, she could have everything she wanted. And more.

“What happened to Constance?” Emma asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing happened to Constance. She’s a nice girl, I’m sure, but she doesn’t suit my needs.”

“Your needs?” Emma scoffed. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

The fact that she was back to being more casual was encouraging. And enticing.

“Maybe ‘needs’ isn’t the right word.” I thrust my hands in my pockets, which naturally curved my body around hers. “I think the word I’m looking for is desires.”

Emma’s breath caught in her throat. “Desires?” she repeated hoarsely.

The air between us was electric. I felt such an intense desire that I thought about scrapping the whole seduction plan and just tossing her onto my desk right now. I wouldn’t care if the whole office heard her moans. I just wanted to bury my cock in her and show her what she did to me every fucking day.

“I desire somebody who I enjoy talking to,” I said, stressing the word desire. “Someone who interests me.” I reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face, more because it was killing me that I wasn’t touching her than anything else. She shivered.

Emma cleared her throat. “I think that I...” She paused, seeming to bolster her strength. “I think that I could fulfill those desires for you.”

Oh, could she ever.

My cock strained against the zipper of my pants, and I knew if she looked down she’d notice. I half wanted her to.

“That’s good to hear.” I quirked the corners of my mouth, staring down at her. “You’ve been an excellent employee so far, but I can’t wait to put your other skills to the test.”

“My other skills?”

I paused, letting the innuendo sink in before I answered. “Your social intercourse skills.”

“Right.” She licked her lips again, and I nearly groaned with the effort not to lick them myself next. “I won’t disappoint you.”

“I doubt you could if you wanted to.”

Emma sucked in a breath, and it occurred to me that she’d forgotten to breath. The fact that I’d affected her so heavily only made my arousal stronger.

“I should get back to work,” she said.

“Of course,” I grinned. “I hope I’m not working you too hard.”

She smiled brightly. “Not at all.”

“Good,” I said. “Because I’m going to be working you very hard tomorrow.”

Emma’s mouth dropped open. She slammed it closed a second later, then turned on her heel and headed for the door with a face as red as a raspberry. I watched her go, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

She stopped in the doorway, hand grazing the wooden frame like she needed something to hang onto. “I look forward to it.”

It was only after Emma closed the door behind her that I realized my cock was so hard it hurt. I couldn’t risk getting off here, so I’d have to wait until later to act on my arousal. It occurred to me that today was the last day I’d have of imagining Emma naked, without actually knowing what she looked like naked.

Tomorrow she would be mine. And once she was, I’d make certain that I knew every nook and cranny of her body so that I’d have it burned into my memory forever.