I step into the conference room, glancing once over my shoulder at Emma. Her eyes are wide and she looks nervous, which is exactly why I didn’t want to tell her about this meeting.

I needed someone to explain some of the technical aspects of the Mark 2 to these businessmen, but I couldn’t invite a typical engineer. Dirk is my normal guy, but he’s been a little erratic lately, for personal reasons. I could do it myself, but these men respect a leader that delegates, so I’ve found that it goes over better when I have someone else do some of the explaining.

Emma is perfect for this. She’s smart, polite, and easy-going. I didn’t want to tell her about this ahead of time, and risk letting her ruin her own self-confidence. I can tell that she’s an incredible person, but if left to her own devices, she’ll sometimes get in her own head. I’m hoping that springing this on her will negate that trait and let her natural personality shine through.

Maybe I’m wrong, though. She looks like she’s about to pass out.

Three older Chinese men dressed in dark suits stand up. A younger assistant stands behind them, and their female translator smiles warmly as the men come around the table to greet us. They don’t need a translator, since I know they speak perfect English, but it’s all part of the game they like to play.

“Hello, gentlemen,” I say. “It’s good to see you all again.”

They each speak in Mandarin, and although mine is a little rusty, I know it’s general greetings. The translator does her job, though, and once we’re finished shaking hands, I turn to Emma.

“Emma, this is Mr. Chen, Mr. Xu, and Mr. Jian.” I indicate each man in turn. “Gentlemen, this is Emma May, a young and promising engineer in our Mark 2 division. She’ll be sitting in on the meeting, and she’ll be answering your questions later on.”

They shake her hand and she nods to each of them respectfully. When the formalities are over, we all sit down. Olivia is already at the table, and she gives me a little nod, her eyebrows raised. Clearly I forgot to tell her about Emma, which I know I’ll get shit for later on.

The meeting starts, and it goes about as expected. These men are here as ambassadors of their respective companies, each one interested in the technology we’re creating here. At least, that’s what this is on the surface.

Truthfully, I’m pretty sure these men have ties with the Chinese government. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure that’s the real situation. We’re ostensibly negotiating contracts of potential sale and manufacture through their facilities, but I know they’d need government support if that would ever actually happen.

Olivia does most of the talking, naturally. She’s the real negotiator here and knows more about the minutiae of this business than I do. I glance over at Emma and smile at her. She looks like she’s about to pass out, probably because she’s quickly realizing how important this meeting is.

“Gentlemen, we’re talking ten billion dollars over three years,” Olivia says. “These contracts will bring a lot of money and industry to your country.”

Mr. Chen says something in Mandarin, but he speaks too quickly for me to follow. “Mr. Chen is worried that your autonomous cars aren’t safe,” the translator says. “There have been reports surfacing about the Mark 1.”

Olivia glances at me and I look at Emma. “Would you like to take this one?”

For a second, I’m afraid she’s going to get up and run out of the room. She looks like a deer in headlights, ready to bolt but unable to. I’m worried that if I say something, she’ll simply sprint off.

But that look only lasts a bare moment. She quickly composes herself, smiles, and takes a breath. “Safety is a huge concern for us,” Emma says, the translator speaking softly to the men. “We’ve improved our LIDAR, radar, and camera sensors to the point where every pebble will be accounted for by the Mark 2. But most importantly, we’ve been taking the ethics of these cars seriously, and we’re working on a comprehensive ethical algorithm to help guide our cars safely through crowded, busy streets.”

I blink, completely surprised by that last part. The three men glance at each other, and Mr. Wu speaks up, not bothering with Mandarin. “What do you mean, ethical?” he asks, his English flawless and with a slight British accent.

Emma smiles at the men. “At this point, our technology is incredibly accurate and precise, but the way that we think isn’t, or at least it isn’t yet. We’re developing a whole new methodology to calculate the way cars move through streets, all with the end result of fewer accidents and fewer injuries.” She pauses a second, like a showman in his element. “Hopefully, by fewer, we’ll see absolutely none.”

The men murmur to each other and I want to laugh out loud. As far as I know, we’re not actually developing this algorithm, but it’s exactly the kind of thing Emma’s been wanting to work on since I met her originally. And now she’s using it in a meeting with incredibly important foreign businessmen, effectively holding me hostage. Now these men are going to want to learn more about this algorithm, and I’ll have to deliver.

She’s a fucking clever girl.

I should be pissed. I should be livid. We’re supposed to launch soon and now she’s forcing me to create a brand new system that I never intended on developing. But god damn it, I’m not mad at all.

In fact, I’m fucking hard.

My pulse is rocketing. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. This is the sexiest she’s ever been to me. Sure, she’s costing me time and money and making me look bad in front of Olivia, but fuck it, I don’t care at all. I find it so fucking attractive that she’s using her brain to get what she wants, and in the end, I have no doubt that my company is going to improve because of this.

Olivia quickly changes the subject, evidently as taken off guard as I was. She glances at me when she gets a chance, clearly angry, but I don’t give a shit.

I only have eyes for Emma. She looks radiant, fucking glowing. She fields a few more questions from the men with grace and ease, even at one point making the men laugh, which is rare from them in a meeting like this.

Olivia drives things for the next hour, but Emma’s the star. Soon, we finish things up, and we all shake hands again.

“Gentlemen, I think Olivia can show you down to the warehouse for a demonstration,” I say.

“Yes, of course,” Olivia says. She throws me a dirty look as she walks past. You better explain later, it says, and I just give her a grin.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” I say. “I’ll be joining you shortly.”

They all leave as a group. Emma hangs back, still in the room. I close the door, stepping back into the conference room.

“Sit down,” I say to her.

She sits. “I’m sorry,” she says right away. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

I nod, and go up to the first window. I start to twist the shade, closing it. “You should be sorry,” I say.

“Please, David, I panicked. Really, I didn’t mean to do that.”

“You understand that I’ll have to deliver now, don’t you?” I go up to the next shade and slowly close it. “They’ll expect it. They were clearly taken with the idea.”

“I’m sorry,” she says again. “It’s a good idea, though.”

I stop and look at her. “Can you make it?”

She blinks. “Excuse me?”

“Can you make the algorithm?”

She takes a breath. “With Sven’s team,” she says. “I can do it.”

“How long?”

She lets out her breath. “Six weeks.”

I snort. “You have three.”

“Fine.”

I nod and finish closing the blinds, one after the other. When I’m done, I turn to her, arms crossed.

“Stand up,” I say.

She bites her lip. “Are you going to fire me?”

“No,” I say. “I just gave you the biggest project of your life. But your career is going to depend on it now.”

She nods a little bit. “I won’t disappoint you.”

“No,” I say softly. “You won’t. Now turn around.”

She hesitates then does as I ask. I loosen my tie and slowly take it off.

“Bend over,” I say. “Palms flat on the desk.”

She watches me, her eyes wide, and does as I say. I drape my tie over a chair and slowly roll up my sleeves. When I’m done, I walk over to her and reach around her hips, finding the opening of her slacks, unbuttoning the front and unzipping her. I tug her slacks down over her hips, and I can hear her breath coming faster.

“What are you doing?” she asks me.

“Did you think you’d get away with this without any punishment at all?” I get her pants down around her ankles and guide them over one foot. I spread her legs wide and slowly stand back up, hands rubbing from her ankles up to her firm ass.

She’s wearing a blue lacy thong, and I smirk at her. “Did you expect someone to see these?” I ask, snapping the band of her panties.

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Liar.” I step back and I spank her ass.

She groans, head tossed back. “What are you doing?”

“Punishing you,” I growl. I spank her again. “You spoke out of turn and embarrassed me. I’m going to have to explain all this to Olivia, and she’s not going to be happy. The Chinese are going to expect this product, and if you fail, it’s going to be my company on the line.” I spank her ass again, harder. “You may have fucked me, Emma.”

“No,” she groans. “I didn’t fuck you. I’m going to deliver. I promise, I can do this.”

“You better,” I say, taking a handful of her hair. “And you know what?”

“What?” she breathes as I pull her panties down, sliding them over her thighs, down between her knees, pulling her hair back as I bend her over.

“I believe in you.” I slide my hand over her pussy, teasing her clit. “I really do believe in you.” I slide two fingers deep inside of her, and she lets out an incredibly satisfying moan.

“David,” she groans. “Someone might walk in here.”

“Nobody’s going to come in here,” I say, slowly sliding my fingers in and out of her little pussy. I push her forward, down onto her elbows, still bent over the conference room table. “You’re all mine, and it’s time for you to take your punishment.”

She gasps and moans as I fuck that tight pussy with my fingers. I release her hair and drop down to my knees, spreading her ass wide and licking her top to bottom, tasting every inch of her. She gasps and groans, and I slap her ass again as I tongue her pussy. She wiggles her hips against my mouth and I love her taste, her dripping little pussy like nothing I’ve ever had before. I push my tongue in deeper and want every single part of her. My cock’s so hard I can barely breathe and I want more, but this is about her, not about me.

I turn her around and hoist her up onto the desk. I spread her legs wide, feet flat on the table. I pull her panties all the way off then drop them on the floor as I spread her nice and wide.

I tease her pussy with my fingers first as she watches me, eyes wide, breathing heavy. I drop down between her thighs then and start to lick and suck her clit like a thirsty man drinking water for the first time.

She grips my hair as I tongue her clit, fingers sliding inside her slit. She groans, moving her hips, and I grab onto her legs with my free hand. Her thighs tighten around my head but I force them apart. I went her wide open for me.

I push my fingers deeper, sucking and licking her clit. “Oh fuck, aren’t you going to fuck me?” she moans.

“No,” I say back, sliding my fingers nice and deep. “I’m not going to fuck you.”

“What?” She groans, and I push her flat onto her back before sucking and licking her clit again.

I fuck her pussy faster with my fingers and lick her clit. Her moans get louder as I go faster and deeper with my fingers and I know she’s close. I know she can’t take it anymore.

“You have to fuck me,” she moans. “Oh god, you have to fuck me. I’m so close.”

“Then come for me,” I say. “Because I’m not going to fuck you.”

I don’t stop or slow down. I keep pushing her, fucking that pussy with my fingers, sucking and licking her clit. Her hands grip my hair tighter and I know she’s so close, inches away from coming. She wants my cock deep inside of her so badly it almost hurts, and that’s what I want her to feel. I want her to beg for it, and I still won’t give it to her.

She pants my name, moaning, writhing, hips moving, and she finally gets pushed over the edge. She comes with her whole body again, right up against my mouth, and I don’t slow down. I want to taste it as she comes, I love every fucking second of it. She gasps, saying my name over and over and over.

She slowly finishes. She props herself up on one elbow and looks at me as I smirk. I pick up my tie and wipe my fingers and my mouth off before tossing it onto the table beside her.

“Keep that,” I say. “Remember what happens when you disappoint me every time you look at it.”

She gapes as I smirk, grab my jacket, and leave the conference room. I shut the door behind me, my body still vibrating with a need for her, but that taste is going to have to hold me off for a little while.

I have some work to do.