* * *
Not giving two shits that my boots and the rest of me were filthy, I opened the massive front doors of the Resort’s reception and walked inside. I didn’t stop walking until I was right underneath one of the big AC vents and the deliciously cold air was pumping right at my face.
As glad as I was to be out of the office and working on things I actually liked, like the resort’s maintenance and the training of our horses, I couldn’t deny that not having air-conditioning in the barn when the weather was this hot was a bitch. With a sigh of relief, I removed my hat and wiped my hand across my sweaty forehead as I filled my lungs with the cold air.
My breaths weren’t just meant to refresh my overheated body, they were also intended to calm my mind and prepare me to venture into Chloe’s office.
It had been two weeks since I laid eyes on her in my kitchen, and I was still unable to shake my desire. Making her mine was all I thought about when I was alone in the shower or buried inside a random woman from the bar. The situation was annoying as fuck—or better yet, as not fucking—and what made it a lot worse was the low-cut dresses she often wore to work.
For that reason, I spent all day making damn sure I was as far away from her as possible—as I did most days. However, as her boss, and despite my personal reservations, it was still my job to check on her and see if she was settling in okay.
With a long exhale, I started moving toward the back of the room. As usual, the door to her office was wide open. Chloe was a big fan of open doors and first names, a personal approach to administering a business that made her very popular with clients and employees – and also sidetracking the hell out of me.
I peeked inside her office and frowned. “You okay?”
Chloe lifted her head up from the desk to look at me. Her arms were still stretched across the table, and her body draped over the surface in a way that squished her tits into a cleavage so magnificent my cock instantly came to life.
Just as my mind started conjuring images of her in that same position while I fucked her from behind, Chloe exhaled and said, “Nope.”
That single word cleared all inappropriate thoughts from my mind and made my eyes bounce from those gorgeous pale mounds on her chest to her face. With my eyes locked on hers, I approached her desk.
“You’ve got dirt on your forehead,” she informed me casually once I was standing right in front of her.
For some reason, the comment made me chuckle and relax. If she was making jokes, things couldn’t be that bad. I sat on the couch facing her and raised a brow.
“You’ve got a bright red spot on yours,” I retorted in the same tone and smirked as her hand instantly rose to touch her forehead.
“So, tell me. What’s up?”
My voice made it clear that I wasn’t asking, I was commanding her to answer. Like a good girl, Chloe pulled herself to a sitting position and obeyed. Her immediate compliance pleased me in a way that went far beyond professional.
“Alice Bernstein,” she muttered, and I needed no further explanation.
Alice was a prominent wedding planner who was overseeing a big society wedding that would take place at Blackwater in a few months. She was also a major ball-busting, entitled, pushy bitch and the reason why my last administrator quit her job.
“What did she ask for this time?”
A heavy sigh passed through Chloe’s lush lips, and my attention was instantly drawn to them. My tongue glided across my lips in a desperate need to taste her. Frustrated by my inability to control myself around her, I ran a hand through my hair and ordered my mind to focus on her words and not her looks.
“She wants to change the date of the wedding to two weeks from now.”
“What the fuck?” I asked outraged and with wide eyes. Like most society weddings, this one had all kinds of extravagant crap planned, and though I didn’t know all the details, I knew we had already hired over a dozen companies to help with the event. The logistics of changing everything would be a shit show.
“That’s crazy. We won’t have the time to change everything.”
“That’s exactly what I told Alice,” Chloe assured me. “But she’s relentless and insisted. A lot. Apparently, the bride got herself knocked up, and they want to get hitched before she outgrows her Vera Wang.”
“And?” I asked with anxiety in my voice.
Although Chloe had proven herself extremely competent over the past two weeks, I had my doubts if she’d be able to work this clusterfuck of a situation out in a way that didn’t hurt our image. As annoying as Alice was, the ranch made a lot of money with the events we hosted and pissing off someone as influential as her, wasn’t something we could afford.
“Well, things didn’t start off great,” Chloe began in a tired and weary tone that made me lock my jaw and take deep breaths to control my temper. Clearly flustered by my reaction, she quickly continued, “At first, I told her that their request was unacceptable. She yelled, bitched and whined for two exhausting hours until I told her I would see what I could do and call her back.”
With increased worry, I raised a brow and asked, “And you didn’t come look for me…why?”
As if my question was absurd, Chloe narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Because you hired me to handle this stuff, Conner.”
The defiance in her tone and expression made my body come alive. My cock twitched, my hands itched, and my heart pounded. It took all my strength and concentration not to close the door and teach her what happens to sexy little smart assed girls like her.
“And, did you handle it?” I inquired with a raised a brow.
With an almost cocky grin, she said, “I’m still waiting on the confirmation from the butterfly guy and on our chef to stop whining about having to prepare an ice-cream cake in the middle of summer, but I have almost everything handled. I had to do some planning gymnastics and give some of the wedding guest more expensive rooms to be able to fit everybody and keep all the bookings we already have for that week, but it worked, and we’ll be at full capacity which is great. And, as an added bonus, I convinced Alice to pay us fifteen percent extra as a rush fee, and to handle all the rescheduling fees from the vendors.”
For a few seconds, I just stared at Chloe in complete awe and admiration. It had been a while since a woman had extracted those feelings from me while still wearing her clothes, and even longer since I felt like I had an actual partner running my business. It was refreshing, and a particular kind of sexy that added a whole new layer to the attraction I felt for Chloe.
My lengthy silence made the excitement in her face fall a bit. “I don’t see how I might have fucked things up, but if you don’t say something, I’m gonna start thinking I did.”
I brought my right hand to cover my lips so she wouldn’t see the smile there. Holding her gorgeous green eyes in mine, I said, “I was just wondering how in hell you ended up not okay and draped over the desk after dominating the day like that.”
An adorable smile formed on Chloe’s lips at my words and, unable to help myself, I added, “You’ve been here for just two weeks, and I’m already thinkin’ about how to keep you here forever.”
With a deep breath, Chloe looked at me from under her lashes and shrugged. “The desk thing was a combination of Alice-induced exhaustion, a desperate need for alcohol, and no booze in this office. As for how to keep me forever, a drink would be an excellent place to start.”
Even a blind person could see that we were flirting, which wasn’t something I did. Ever. I seduced, insinuated, and fucked, but I never flirted. The fact that I was doing it now—with Chloe Jones, nonetheless—should have been my clue to get up, go away and find the closest available pussy. One that did not belong to my best friend’s daughter.
That would have been the smart and safe choice to make. However, safe and smart had never really been my thing. I was a lot more interested in wild and fun, and after two weeks of cold showers and self-control, I was ready to let go.
I pressed my forearms over the table and leaned forward. The sweet scent of roses that emanated from her filled my lungs and made me wonder if she smelled like that all over. The mere thought made my cock pulse with desire and my lips curl in a sexy smirk.
“That can be arranged, but not here,” I told her plainly. “We’ve got strict rules about drinking on the job, after all,” I added as I watched her face fall to a disappointed frown.
“But if you still want that drink later tonight, I’ll be waiting at Rusty’s Bar with an open tab at eight.”
Before she had a chance to say anything that would bring my brain back to the head above my shoulders and make me regret this, I got up and left the office. Once again, I started to think about how incredibly fucked I was, but this time I just didn’t care.