Alexander

“Come in,” I barked, unused to being interrupted so often in a single week.

The door opened and I continued with my work, but when no one said anything, I glanced up to find Miss King taking my coat from the back of my office door. “What are you doing?” I couldn’t help but run my glance down her legs, up to her perfect arse. When was the last time I noticed a woman in the office? When was the last time I noticed a woman?

She didn’t turn around. Instead she just heaved as she hooked a bunch of cellophane-wrapped dry cleaning on the back of the door. “I had your shirts laundered.”

What? “How did you get them in the first place?”

“I came into your office while you were out and found them.” She turned to look at me and I avoided meeting her eyes, refocusing on my laptop. I needed to minimize this pull I felt toward her.

I should be angry. She’d been snooping, removed personal items from my office without my permission. But she’d also done me a favor. I couldn’t remember how long that bag of shirts had been there. Two, maybe three weeks? Each day when I arrived, I resolved to take them to the cleaners at lunchtime, but then I’d submerge myself in work and I’d forget all about them. She had guts to come in here and just take them, I’d give her that.

“Did you put them on my account?” I asked, keeping my gaze on the computer screen.

“I did,” she replied. “Also, I wanted to ask you, the instructions you got last month from Spencer & Associates regarding their client—”

“Dr. and Mrs. Foster.” I knew every single client I’d had since my career started. She didn’t need to remind me. “I don’t have time for this. I’m in court tomorrow.”

“I just want to know if you completed the opinion they asked you for.” I glanced up, and she was hovering by the door, her hand on the doorknob as if she were ready to duck out of the room if I threw something at her. It wasn’t like I hadn’t lobbed a book at a bothersome clerk before. She must have heard the stories, so I admired her for having the nerve to ask me questions she knew I didn’t want to answer. She risked me exploding at her, yet she still asked me. Was it guts or did she not care what I thought?

If I’d really wanted to discourage her from bothering me again I wouldn’t have said anything, but despite myself, I found I wanted her attention. “It was completed. You can bill the agreed amount.”

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows but didn’t say a word. She was silent in her victory, and I liked her more for it.

“Did you retrieve your phone from the tube station?” She’d worn her hair back today. I preferred it loose, but this way I was able to see her fine features a little more clearly. Her generous lips were free of any enhancement and naturally red, as if five minutes ago she’d been kissing someone with fervor. The curve of her neck begged to be stroked; the angle of her breasts had my mouth watering. I cleared my throat. I couldn’t say if half the staff in this place were men or women. I was always too focused on the job, which made Miss King a distraction.

She pulled in a breath and I wasn’t sure if it was because she’d seen me staring or it was a natural gesture from her. I wanted to know.

“Nope,” she replied. “It was totaled. Do you need any assistance with preparing for court?”

There was no doubt that she could help, just not in the way she thought. My heartbeat pulsed in my neck as I imagined her pulling up her skirt and leaning over my desk. Her pale skin would look magnificent against the dark mahogany of the wood. Perhaps I’d leave her like that while I worked—bent over and ready for me. Or have her sit across from me, her legs open, and underwear free. Yes, that would be of great assistance.

“Mr. Knightley?” she asked, and I had to swallow down a groan.

“No, nothing,” I said as I turned back to my computer. She slipped silently out of my office, leaving me with a hardening cock under my desk.

Fuck. Nothing ever broke my concentration, but Miss King had found a way. I was in court tomorrow and I needed to be the most focused I’d ever been. Every case this year was going to be important for me, but this had come from an American law firm that had never instructed chambers before. They’d specifically wanted me, and I wasn’t going to be anything other than my best for them. The last thing I needed was to be distracted by some pretty American who doubtless would have handed in her notice by the end of the week.