Chapter 15

Grant

I was floored by Crissy’s request. We still had to talk about what was happening between us, and since she was dressed a bit more conservatively today, I figured she was nervous about addressing the topic. I had tried to keep things all business this morning so she wouldn’t make up some excuse to go home early, but this was something I could work with. We needed to talk about our encounters, yes, but this was much more important. I couldn’t let this opportunity go. She was finally getting serious about the business world, and she thirsted for knowledge that would actually help her get to where she wanted to go. I had been trying to get her to this place since her first day here.

And she’d finally gotten there.

“You’re incredibly intelligent, Miss Marks,” I said, “but your motivation is lacking. I’m more than willing to serve as your mentor and teach you what I know, but it comes with a price.”

“And what price is that?” she asked.

“Hard work. Dedication. Possibly longer evenings. But if you’re willing to listen, take instruction, and open your mind’s eye to the details of things, then one day, I know you’ll be running your own company.”

“So, you’ll do it?” she asked. “You’ll teach me.”

“The offer’s on the table, yes.”

“Then I accept your offer, Mr. Jacobs. I accept your offer to teach me everything you know.”

A broad smile slowly trickled across my cheeks. Everything I knew? That would take years, no doubt. Much of what she was asking for came from experience. Things I learned when attempting to climb the ladders of other companies. Crissy most certainly had the drive and the ability to manipulate, but what I wasn’t sure of was her ability to take criticism.

“Everything I know, huh?” I asked, grinning.

A flush trickled across Crissy’s cheeks before she giggled and shook her head. She crossed her legs before relaxing into the chair, and it was the first time all day I’d actually seen her rested in my presence. Her hands settled into her lap as her lips slowly curled up into a playful little smirk, then her eyes connected back with mine as her giggling silenced.

“I see what you did there,” she said. “You sure you’ve got something to teach in that area as well?”

My eyebrows hiked up on my forehead. Something to teach? Was she serious? Her innocent smile slowly faded into a devilish grin that matched my wolfish smile. Slowly but surely, the Crissy I had been playing games with last week was rearing her head. But the way she had her shoulders rolled back portrayed a confidence she didn’t quite have up until this point.

“Maybe I should be the one giving lessons, hmm?” she asked.

“I’m not sure that’s a door you wish to open, Miss Marks,” I said.

“Is that because you have nothing to bring to the table after this weekend? Or because you’re frightened of the knowledge I could teach you in a specific area of your life? I hear powerful men like yourself aren’t very adept at taking instruction.”

Her voice was light against my ears, but the flame dancing behind her eyes was anything but. Her flames were licking out toward me, attempting to pull me into her circle of heat. While her body portrayed an air of confidence, I could see her picking at the sides of her nails. A nervous habit for a young woman venturing around in unfamiliar territory.

So, I decided to accept her brave little challenge.

“Challenge accepted, Miss Marks,” I said. “Should you yearn for your first lesson, it can be tonight.”

“Oh, really?” she asked. “And where is this lesson being taught?”

“Swine and Swank. Are you familiar with the restaurant?”

For a split second, she simply stared at me. I knew I’d surprised her with the restaurant, but I saw that her chest wasn’t moving. Did it really only take a fancy restaurant to stun this young woman into silence? Because if that was all it took…

“I’m very familiar with it, yes,” she said.

“Wonderful. Meet me there at seven, and wear whatever makes you feel beautiful. But forget your panties at home.”

“What?” she asked.

“Do not bother with your panties. Am I clear?”

Her eyes studied me for a little while before I watched her swallow. I could tell she was definitely out of her element, but with every positive answer that flowed forth from her lips, we were pushed to the edge of this little game. She was approaching the darkness inside me that hadn’t been directed toward someone in years. She was approaching the edge of a dense, dark forest filled with secrets and desires and lustful ambitions.

And I could see her nipples hardening against her blouse.

“Crystal,” she said.

“Should you choose not to obey these orders, then you’ve failed your first test,” I said.

“Understood, Mr. Jacobs,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go type up those minutes from the meeting. Would you care for an emailed copy?”

I studied her for a second as she rose from her chair. In that moment, I realized we weren’t going to have that promised conversation. Instead, what had happened was she had given me her green light. She had told me that this was something she wanted, something she wanted to be taught. She wanted my professional knowledge, as well as my sexual thirst, and I wasn’t going to waste a second of restraint once I had her luscious body at my command.

“Type them up, print them out, then file a copy away on your computer as well as in the paper files,” I said. “That’ll be enough.”

“Anything else?” she asked.

“That’ll be all,” I said. “Until tonight.”

Her eyes connected heavily with mine before she turned and started for the door. My cock was throbbing at the dinner to come, but I also admired her newfound thirst for work. I watched her sit at her desk and type up the minutes, not once looking at her phone. I watched it light up several times on her desk, vibrating a noise that buzzed all the way into my office. I watched her wrap her fingers around it and shove it into a drawer, her eyes never glancing over it before she got back to work.

Maybe Crissy was actually serious in learning more about how the business world worked.

I leaned back in my chair and turned it toward the window. We really did need to have that conversation I was promised, but there would be plenty of time to address that at dinner. Her defenses would already be down with the lack of panties, and I bet I could find us a nice red wine to help her loosen up a bit. The thought of her bare pussy underneath that long table cloth tonight ached my growing cock, and that was when I knew exactly where I wanted to take this dinner.

I reached over and grabbed the phone from my desk before I dialed the restaurant. I told them of my plans to come with a dashing date around seven this evening. Then I asked them for a private dining area, as well as a special menu. I had the hostess run down their list of red wines before settling on a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. I looked up at Crissy, who was still clacking away at her keys, and for a split second, I didn’t see her as the delectable dessert I’d have with my dinner tonight. I saw a young woman who was finally reining her act in. Something none of us thought we’d ever see. I saw a concentration behind her eyes and a slight furrow in her brow that was oddly reminiscent of myself when I was in my twenties, and for a second, I simply took the time to stare.

To study her.

To learn more about her.

She’d had a reaction to the idea of Swine and Swank that most people didn’t have. It was almost as if she was shocked I would be taking her somewhere like that, and I wanted to ask her about it. I wanted to ask her why she didn’t feel she was worthy of a restaurant like that. Maybe she’d been there and had a bad encounter, or maybe she never thought someone would be willing to take a woman like her to a restaurant like that.

Either way, she deserved a fabulous evening before she learned her first lesson in a subject she didn’t think I could teach.

“Mr. Jacobs?” the woman on the phone asked.

“Yes. Yes, I’m here.”

“We have everything reserved. Are there any food allergies for the party, and do you want the fireplace in the private room lit?”

“There aren’t any food allergies, and a roaring fire would be lovely,” I said.

“We will see you both at seven, Mr. Jacobs. We are looking forward to it. I’ll tell the chef to personally concoct a menu for you.”

“Give the chef my regards and love,” I said.