Chapter 19

Barrett

“Hear me out before you knock me out,” Adam said as he burst into my office the following Monday morning.

I glared at him, already feeling the relaxation from spending the weekend with Demi seeping out of my body. “Whatever it is, the answer is no if that’s how you start.”

“Okay, fine,” he said, his tone light and joking. “Good morning, Barrett. How was your weekend?”

“That’s not what I meant, asshole.”

I dragged a hand through my hair and finally tore my eyes from the latest sales figures on my computer screen. As I was expecting, there was a mischievous but determined gleam in his eyes. I knew it well. It was the one that always accompanied particularly crazy or bad ideas.

Usually, I loved that look. I was the first to say, “That sounds like a terrible idea. What time and where?” But this time, I had a bad feeling in my gut about it.

“Spit it out, Adam.”

“Well, you know how we’ve been talking about shaking things up a little?” Adam asked, clearing his throat. The distance he kept between us, instead of sinking into my visitor’s chair or couch like he always did, was my second clue that I wasn’t going to like whatever plan he was cooking up.

“We did that when we hired Demi to be the new face of the company,” I told him, my eyes narrowing at him.

“That’s exactly it,” Adam said, carefully surveying my expression. “We’ve hired her. But she hasn’t done anything significantly out of Stefan’s comfort zone yet. I came up with a plan for Demi and Stefan that will boost our sales through the roof.”

My fists clenched on my desk as I braced myself for the uncomfortable conversation that was sure to be coming soon. “Yeah? What is it?”

“A sexy photo shoot with Demi naked on the cover,” Adam said quickly, then grinned proudly. “There wouldn’t be a single copy of the magazine not sold.”

I answered without hesitation, shooting him down with zero need to think about it. “We’re not doing that.”

“Come on, Hart,” Adam argued. “It’ll be a great boost for us.”

“Our sales are doing fine,” I insisted firmly. “We don’t need a boost right now.”

Demi wasn’t going to be naked on anything but me, even if I wasn’t going to admit that to Adam. I knew exactly how foolish it would sound in an industry that prided itself on pushing the envelope.

Hell, I’d built the company on that very concept but I wasn’t buying into it. Not with this.

“Aren’t you one who always says we should take every leg up we can get?” Adam asked, his eyes narrowing as he gave me a suspicious once over.

“Yes, but it’s not the right time for this one,” I argued. “Demi has just started out. We don’t need something drastic with her yet. Why do it?”

“Knock knock,” Demi called softly from the doorway. “How is it that your assistant never stops me from interrupting meetings between you two?”

“Because they’re not meetings,” I told her, waving her inside. “Adam’s just talking shit.”

Adam spun around on the couch to face her. “I wasn’t talking shit. I was pitching a brilliant idea to boost our sales, and Hart over here doesn’t think you have the lady balls to do it.”

“That’s not what I said in the slightest.” My fingernails dug into my palms from how tightly my fists were clenched, and my teeth grinded against one another. “Fuck you, Adam.”

“Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly what he said,” Adam conceded under my withering glare. “But I still think it’s a great idea, and he won’t even consider it.”

Demi’s expression became curious, her eyes alternating between mine and Adam’s as her hands went to her hips. “Out with it then. What’s going on here?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about ways to boost our sales and—”

“Adam,” I warned him.

“No, I want to hear what this idea is. I’m assuming it has something to do with me, so I think I should at least get to hear what it’s all about.” Demi’s brilliant eyes met mine as we locked in a silent battle of wills.

“Fine,” I snapped. “You’re going to hate his idea anyway.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” she answered calmly, turning her eyes back to Adam. “Let me have it.”

“A sexy photo shoot with you naked on the cover,” Adam declared as if he were giving her the winning lottery numbers.

I watched Demi carefully, gauging her reaction as best as I could without sweeping her into my arms and looking deep into her expressive eyes. Her skin paled, and her hands twitched slightly when she was hit with the force of what he was suggesting.

“See what I mean?” I smirked at Adam. “She hates it.”

“I don’t hate it,” Demi objected. “I… uh… I’m just surprised, I guess.”

“It’ll be done artfully,” Adam said, using her shock as the opportunity that he needed to convince her. “It won’t be like porn or anything. We’ll get Stefan to send you all the proofs, and you can have a say in the final product.”

“No,” I interjected. “She doesn’t need a say in anything because it’s not happening.”

Adam opened his mouth, presumably to continue trying to convince her but he snapped it shut as soon as he saw my thunderous expression. I wasn’t taking any more of his shit on this, and it was spelled out very clearly in the look I was giving him.

“Why?” Demi asked in a slightly shaky voice.

“It’s not a good idea for the face of the agency, especially not the brand-new face of the agency. So, no, we’re not doing it.” My tone brooked no argument, and both Demi and Adam could tell.

“I’ll just leave you guys to it, then.” Adam sighed, shoving his hands through his blond hair and giving me another look before shutting the office door with a loud click behind him.

Demi moved toward me like we were opposite poles of a magnet without a choice in the matter. Her small hands rested on my chest as those cobalt eyes burned into me. Not bothering to hold myself back, I leaned down and kissed her possessively. Marking every nook and cranny of her mouth as mine because in that moment, for the first time in my life, I desperately wanted a woman to be.

She tasted heavenly, like mint and chocolate and mine.

Damnit, why can’t I get that damned word, that feeling, out of my mind? The kiss broke when a frustrated growl reverberated from my chest. I ripped my body away from hers, shoved my hands into my hair, and walked over to the window, turning my back on her.

“Hey, what’s going on, Barrett?” Demi’s scent drifted to my nostrils as her thin arms came around my waist. Her breasts pressed into my back as she leaned her cheek between my shoulder blades.

“Nothing,” I told her, bringing my hands to where hers were hooked together over my stomach, stroking the soft skin there.

“Isn’t it usually the woman who says nothing when there’s clearly something wrong?” she asked, her tone light but I heard the underlying worry.

My shoulders relaxed, both from the feel of her against me and the fact that she just seemed to have that effect on me when I was riled up. “I guess. I just, I really don’t think you should even consider doing this shoot.”

“Why, because you don’t want other people to see me naked?” she teased softly, tightening her arms around my waist.

“No,” I lied. “I just want to keep the images associated with the face of my agency classy.”

“So, nudes aren’t classy?” Demi asked, pressing kisses onto my back.

My skin burned where her lips pressed down, even though there were at least three layers of clothing between my back and her lips.

“They can be, I guess,” I admitted. “But it’s a fine line, Demi, one I don’t want you or this agency to fall foul of.” It was as much as I was ready to admit out loud. Besides, I’d told her that I was refusing that she do the shoot in order to protect her, too, not just the agency.

“So, it has nothing to do with you being uncomfortable with my being naked for millions of people to see?” Her voice betrayed a knowledge that there was more to it than I was letting on.

“Nope, but it won’t be good for your career if that’s what you’re associated with—”

She cut me off by sliding around me so that her back was against the window as she peered up at me with a shy little smile.

“If you don’t want me to do it, then I won’t do it, Barrett,” she told me, her eyes churning with a passion so alive that it threatened to swallow me whole. “That’s all there is to it. You only have to say so.”

“Fine, then I’m saying so,” I mumbled, transfixed by her.

“It’s a done deal, then. I won’t do it.” She smiled. “See? It can be easy if you just communicate with me.”

I sighed but I couldn’t help returning her smile as my hands went to her hips and I drew her roughly against me. “Have I told you lately that you’re really something different, Demi Fowler?”

“You know.” She pressed a finger to her mouth and pretended to think. “It’s been a while, actually.”

“In that case, you’re really something different, Demi Fowler,” I said, then claimed her mouth again as one word repeated like a mantra in my mind.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

For the rest of the day, I was plagued by thoughts of her. The shy little smile on her lips, the way they felt when they pressed against mine, and her perfect little sighs. The way she sounded, screaming my name as she came. It was more than sex, though.

I replayed every moment we’d ever had together. The way she’d turned me down originally, the quiet strength when she came over to the booth the next day and asked flat out if the job was still available, her laughter as I’d regaled her with the Adventures of Barrett and Nancie. On and on it went.

By the time I went to bed that night, I strongly suspected that I might have fallen for her. Hard.