Chapter 4

Ava

I sat in the meeting, staring down at my file, so I wouldn’t be caught gazing at Tanner like a love-sick school girl. He was looking so amazing in his black Armani suit, black button-up, and his teal tie, and my eyes didn’t want to leave his bulging biceps straining the fabric of the suit. He stood at the front of the room talking about the first stages of the merger and how most of it was very behind the scenes.

Our change manager was there to discuss how things would be handled on the employee front. I wasn’t going to be dealing with the employees as much because my job was to handle the merger’s financial customers. Good thing the topic wasn’t so pertinent to me. It was hard to think about anything with the electric pulses going through my stomach every time Tanner looked over at me. His eyes pierced mine, and I instantly felt like I couldn’t breathe. This was not what I’d expected when I took his offer to work here. It was seriously distracting.

I still didn’t understand how things were feeling between us. It was a continuous stream of thought that had started my first day and had not dulled one bit. My mind would start with simple thoughts about how enticing he looked or how his confidence was sexy. Those thoughts would slowly shift to dirtier things, like imagining what he looked like naked or what his cock was like. Then, without warning, those thoughts would evolve into full-on pornos in my mind where I was the star, and he was giving it to me so good and hard. I always had a vivid imagination, but at that point, I wished I didn’t. I couldn’t shake the sex from my mind, and I was constantly crossing my legs, feeling the pool of juices in my panties.

I bit my lip and looked down at my files, trying to hide the serious blush on my cheeks as I imagined us lying across the huge mahogany table we were sitting around. I could see the web cameras picking up our images and displaying our writhing bodies on the screens above our heads. It would be so freaking erotic but, at the same time, so damn dangerous. I was pretty sure that was one of the things that made me want to do it, the fact that it was so taboo. Just the idea that I was working for the man behind everyone’s back was exciting, and I tried to tame that and remember I was lying to my whole family, and that shouldn’t be exciting. I was pretty much grasping at everything I could to not be attracted to this man. I mean, he was way too old for me. Wait, that was definitely a turn on and not a negative.

“Ava,” Tanner said.

“Yes,” I said, snapping my head back into reality and blushing. Everyone at the table was looking at me expectantly.

“Why don’t you come up, introduce yourself, and talk to us about some of your ideas for pushing our new financial divisions to the next level during the merger?”

“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath and walking to the front. I knew this was coming. He had told me ahead of time, but I was never quite ready for public speaking.

Everyone’s gaze was one me, all looking unsure of whether they should prejudge the fact that I was young, judge me for being the only woman in the room, or stare at my tits. It was a mixed crowd, and Tanner was teetering between respect and tits. I straightened out my skirt and walked to the front of the room, taking in a deep breath. Every time I looked over at him, I felt heat creeping up the back of my neck. I wanted so badly for him to be suffering the same affliction I was suffering, but at the same time, I was hoping he wasn’t, so I could keep myself in check.

“Thank you,” I said to Tanner before turning toward all the faces. “My name is Ava, and I’m going to be assisting in the financial changeover on the client end of the spectrum. I got together with our CFO recently, and we discussed the questions the clients will probably have, especially in the beginning. I have come up with a fact template that will post to all representatives, starting today, and will help them begin to ease their client’s concerns. I also believe full candor is a must when it comes to working with people’s money, so we want to let the clients know what we are doing at every step. I have created a template for that as well, and it will not only be emailed but physically mailed as well to make sure our clients are fully understanding what we are doing at every turn. That being said, all managers in all departments will receive a copy of those letters before they are sent out, and they will be in charge of training their teams on what to say, what answers to provide, and how to calm the client by not addressing their fears so much as letting them know how this change will positively affect their money. We don’t want people running just because they aren’t educated on what is going on. Any questions?”

“Yes,” Tanner said, watching my blushed cheeks. “Will we be providing fact lists with every single letter?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding my head. “Every letter will come with a cheat sheet, if you will, an answer to what we believe will be the most asked questions, so we are able to tackle these issues head-on. My door will always be open to anyone, and I’m willing to answer any questions you or our clients have.”

“Thank you, Ava,” Tanner said.

I nodded my head and walked back to my seat, smiling at the applause from the men. I could tell they were surprised by my knowledge and intelligence, and that was the kind of response I wanted. I was never the girl okay with being quiet and submissive, and I knew I was just as smart, if not smarter, than most of the men in that room, except maybe Tanner. When the meeting was over, I shook the other gentlemen’s hands and collected my stuff, trying not to notice that Tanner and I were the last people in the room.

“You okay?”

“Mhmm,” I said, trying not to blush again.

“Ava,” he said, walking over and putting his hand on my arm. “What is it? You were distracted the whole time, though I’m probably the only one who noticed.”

“Nothing,” I said blushing, standing and staring him in the face. “I mean it’s something, but it’s my problem, and I’ll deal with it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

I put the rest of my files in my bag and tried to ignore the fact that he was staring at me, a small smirk on his face. I put my bag over my shoulder and pushed in my chair, looking up with beet red cheeks. I turned and walked toward the door, trying to get myself together.

“Ava,” he called out. “It’s because of our attraction, isn’t it?”

I stopped and snapped my head back toward him and saw that he was now blushing slightly, too. I closed the door to the meeting room and sighed, taking my bag back off my shoulder and walking to the table. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the table. I shook my head holding onto the back of the chair, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. It was undoubtedly a tricky one, but I was glad that he noticed and kind of turned on that he felt the same way and had the guts to admit to it.

“What the hell are we going to do about this?” I asked the question, not sure if he even had an answer.

“I don’t know,” he said calmly. “I suppose we should work on our professional relationship and try to push this aside. I’ve learned through the years that crushes like these tend to fizzle out over time, especially once you start working with someone every day.”

“Really?” I didn’t want it to, but I had to at least act the part. “It’s kind of distracting, and I’m dedicated to this job. I don’t want it to interfere. I’ve known you a long time, Tanner.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he chuckled. “I’ve known you since you were in diapers. If you think it's awkward for you, think about how conflicted by it I am.”

“Okay,” I said taking a deep breath. “Then we will focus on our professional relationship right now, pushing the other stuff aside until it just goes away.”

“Perfect,” he said, walking toward the door. “Oh, do you want to come out to Driscoll’s on Friday for dinner?”

I scrunched my eyebrows and turned toward him with a confused face. We had literally just decided to work on our professional relationship and let the other side fizzle out, and he followed it up with dinner requests. He looked at me and chuckled, shaking his head when he saw my reaction.

“No, no,” he said. “Everyone from today’s meeting will be there. It’s a work dinner, an appreciation for the constant hard work. I didn’t want to ask you in front of everyone in case you had other plans. I always hated being put on the spot by my boss in front of the executives.”

“You had another job before the company?”

“Sure, but it was for my father,” he explained. “Which was why he thought it was okay to put me on the spot.”

“Oh,” I said. “Okay, work dinner on Friday. I will be there, absolutely.”

“Great.” He smiled as he walked from the room.

I waited until he turned the corner, and I let out a deep breath, grabbing onto the chair and shaking my head. How absolutely horrifying was that? He not only noticed my distraction but was meeting me right there, almost joking like I was a child with a crush. I froze again at the sound of his voice and turned around.

“And Ava?”

“Yes,” I said with blushed cheeks.

“You look amazing today.” He tapped the doorframe and bit his bottom lip before he walked away again.

All I could do was smile at him before collapsing into the roller chair in front of me after he had left. This man was going to be the death of me, I could feel it. Now, I was starting to understand what my father meant when he used to talk about Tanner to my mother. He was arrogant and sure of himself, something that would normally hinder someone, but it really worked for him. Not only was I freaking hooked and ready to jump in bed with him, but our clients loved how honest, upfront, and no bullshit he was, even if it was born from arrogance. His cockiness was sexy in a way that I had never thought of before, and immediately, visions of him controlling every part of me flooded back into my mind.

I really needed to get it together. I couldn’t be sitting in the conference room dreaming of fucking my boss when I had so much work to get done. This was insane. I had never had this issue before, not even in college when I had a serious crush on one of my professors. I took in a deep breath and pulled myself from the chair, grabbed my bag, and headed for the lounge where I poured a cup of coffee and headed back to my desk. I was ridiculously relieved when I walked by and saw that Tanner had closed his office door. The temptation to flirt was too great when I could see him from my desk.

Hell, the temptation was too great when I was in the same city as him.