Chapter Two
Brick
From my window, the people below looked like ants. Little working ants, running down and across the streets, struggling to get from one place to another. Little angry ants, since it was New York City. Cars honked and brakes squealed as the traffic slowly crept across the four lanes. I watched them grimly. These days, the scenes below were my only form of entertainment.
My bed had been empty for far too long.
With the recent buyout of JVW Bank, I’d been busier than ever. Meeting after meeting, plane rides and board rooms. State hopping and press releases. The opportunities were certainly there to relieve some stress. I was one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, which always seemed a little laughable to me. I was definitely a bachelor, but an eligible one? That implied a wish to marry, which I didn’t have, but women always seemed to think that they could change that. There was more than just lust in the eyes of the women around me. I was a catch. As the CEO of The Bank of Manhattan, I had money and prestige, the sort of face that made most women steal second, third, and fourth looks, and a reputation to make women melt in bed.
The problem wasn’t the lack of women. It was the type of women that I attracted. The women in my industry left me cold. Scheming and deceitful, they were hungry for power, and most weren’t above fucking or marrying their way to the top.
They wanted control, and that wasn’t something that I planned on giving up. I liked my women nice and submissive. They did what they were told, and when I was done with them, they didn’t dare argue.
Sighing, I returned my attentions back to my office. It took up almost the entire top floor of the building. Glass incased two sides, and it was decorated in white and mahogany. I liked things clean and uncluttered. There were two couches, that I sometimes used for napping, and a coffee table facing a television. Four matching white leather chairs faced my large desk. There was a fake potted plant in the corner because I didn’t want to hire anyone to keep a real one alive. No personal photos. I never did understand the point of those. My awards and proof of my accomplishments lined my walls instead. They were the real motivation that I needed. Not some picture of a family that I didn’t give a shit about.
“Sir? Mr. Langston? Did you hear me?”
I returned my focus back to the scrawny guy sweating profusely in the chair across from my desk. Next to him, my good friend and business associate, Jim Rollins, smirked. “Brick? Care to share what’s on your mind?”
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. “What did you say?” What was this kid’s name again? Mark something or other. He was the nephew of a friend of mine, and while he was great with numbers, he was horrible with people.
Leaning over, he pushed a piece of paper closer to me. “These are the changes that we wanted to roll out for the former JVW Bank members as we ease them into our normal fees.”
“Fine. I’ll look it over. Anything else?”
Mark shook his head emphatically. “No, sir. Mr. Langston. I won’t take up any more of your time. Thank you.”
Jim’s smile only widened as Mark hastily stood and practically raced out of the office before I even had a chance to dismiss him. “Are they getting younger, weaker, or both?” he laughed. “Or perhaps you’re cracking the whip, literally?”
I ignored the remark. Although Jim and I had been friends for a long time, he always got a kick out of baiting me. “Have you seen this?” I growled, picking up the report and scanning it. My mind was occupied—and not with business.
“I did, and it’s fair, but I know you’ll want to scrutinize it. You’re a control freak, Brick. If you’d just delegate some of the responsibilities, you wouldn’t work nearly as much and you could have more time for pleasure.”
“I’m protective of my company,” I snapped. “And I delegate plenty. I’m about to delegate your ass down to the mailroom.”
Unfazed, he chuckled before studying me closely. “You dazed off there for a bit. That’s not like you. Regretting taking my advice last week?”
“The Sugar Daddy cruise?” I curled my lip in disgust. “That’s the start to all of my nightmares. A woman who thinks I’m going to take care of her for the rest of her life. Please tell me that you haven’t actually experience one of these.”
“How do you think my daughter was born?
Little Gemma. My goddaughter and the apple of my eye. Jim wasn’t sure who the mother was. He came home to his condo one night three years ago and found the girl wrapped in blankets and waiting for him. The note simply read I can’t. After a DNA test proved that the child was his, he took the bright girl in, and the rest was history. For all of Jim’s female bashing, Gemma was the love of his life. She had her father wrapped around her little finger, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The first time that I held her, I fell in love as well.
Not that I ever wanted one of my own. I considered Gemma mine, and that was good enough for me.
“All I want is something simple and uncomplicated. Someone to do what I want and then go away before finding another woman to do the same.”
Jim shrugged. “I don’t know, Brick. I think that takes too much work. What you need is one woman to do everything that you want. Be anything that you want in bed and then not bother you when you don’t need her. Unfortunately, it’s all about women’s rights these days.”
“Money goes a long way,” I said with a shrug. “Right woman, right conditions, I can make her do whatever I want and then pay her to keep quiet. Someone simple, sweet, and innocent. No manipulations or devious schemes. No lies or games.”
“Good luck finding one of those,” Jim snorted.
“What about that red head that you dated last year? The one with the impossibly long legs and the mouth made for sucking—”
“No,” Jim cut me off. “Believe me, she had the temper to go with that red hair. Why are you asking for sloppy seconds?”
“Not sloppy seconds.” I grinned. “I consider it looking for someone who comes with a recommendation. Besides, it’s not like I plan on keeping them around long enough for them to get emotional.”
Just then, the door opened, and my assistant walked in. The pretty brunette took one look at Jim and rolled her eyes. It had been obvious for some time that something had happened between the two of them, but neither of them would acknowledge it. Their frosty attitude towards one another was getting on my last nerve.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Jim said. “I apologize for taking up any of your precious time.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of interrupting you,” Julia said as she batted her eyelashes. Buttoning his jacket, Jim just shook his head and exited the office.
“When I hired you, I assumed that you were a smart woman. Fucking Jim Rollins isn’t exactly smart,” I sighed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been the best assistant that I’ve ever had, so I have no plans to fire you,” I said mildly. “Jim has been working with me for years, and he’s one of my closest friends. I suggest you two get over your differences and find a way to work together.”
“We work perfectly fine,” she said breezily. “By making sure that we’re not in the same room for too long.” Tossing a pile of folders on my desk, she sat down in a white leather chair and crossed her legs.
Watching her expectantly, I cocked my head. “Why is there a mountain of paperwork on my desk?”
“Because you’ve ignored the last two emails that I sent you with the same information. I figured that you couldn’t ignore them if they were right in front of you.”
“What are they?”
“Personnel files for the interns who will be working for you this summer. They start Monday morning, and it would be nice if you knew their names.”
Summer interns? My spirits immediately lifted. Young, nubile, lovely young women eager to please. What were the chances that there was one in there who would fit my needs perfectly. Nice and submissive, willing to let me fuck her anyway that I wanted.
“Down boy,” Julia snapped with a frown. “Keep your cock in check, or have you forgotten the intern fiasco three years ago?”
I waved my hands impatiently. “The girl was eighteen, so her father’s threats to sue were ridiculous. Besides, we paid her, and we haven’t heard a peep since, have we?”
“The girl’s name was Michelle,” Julia said in disgust. “And that’s not the fucking point. This company buy-out has gotten us a lot of press, and you are front and center. This is not the time for you to do something scandalous. The interns are off limits. Find another way to feed your appetites.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a prude?” I asked, pulling the first folder to me and opening it. The girl was a pretty blonde, but those bold red lips and that smoky eye already put me off. Too much contouring. That hard-edged gleam was already evident in her eyes.
“Trust me, there isn’t a man who’s left my bed who would call me that,” she said with a smile as she stood up. “Review your interns and let me know where you want them to be placed. If you don’t, I’ll place them, and you won’t be happy.”
“I’m rarely happy with the choices you make that directly affect me.” I grunted. “Sometimes I think that you have it out for me. Sometimes I think that you forget I can fire you with the snap of my fingers.”
“Nobody else would put up with you.” She sighed. “Sometimes I’m not sure why I put up with you. I’ll be back after lunch. Don’t forget your conference call with the San Francisco branch at two, and don’t call them jackasses this time. I’ll be in tomorrow morning a little early because I’m leaving right after lunch, and I won’t be back until Monday.”
“I’m paying them. I can call them whatever I want.” I was speaking to an empty room. Julia sailed out, and the door closed behind her. “What the hell do you mean that you won’t be back until Monday? Who the fuck is going to input all that paperwork?”
Annoyed, I leaned back in the chair. Julia reminded me of why someone submissive was needed in my life. There were far too many people trying to take control away from me. I’ve had to fight for every single success in my life. Unlike a lot of these young assholes that worked for me and got their jobs through family connections, I fought tooth and nail to get here. There was no daddy or uncle bailing me out when I got into trouble. There was no mother fighting my battles and letting me drift through life with a silver spoon in my mouth.
My life had been nothing before, and now I have everything. There was no way in hell that I was going to give an ounce of my control to anyone. Ever.
So where was I going to find a bed-warmer who would bend to my will and not get mouthy in the process? Obedient, but not some lapdog. Beautiful, but without artifice. The girl next door, and yet so much more?