Chapter 8

Jessibelle

What. The. Fuck.

It was all I could think as I stood in the shower, warm water cascading down over my body as I tried to make sense of what had just happened with Zach at his apartment.

If you’d told me I’d coax the elusive Zach Rose out of his distant castle and convince him to come to the office, I would’ve been beyond elated. But then I had to go and sleep with him, and now I was back to figuring out why I thought that was a good idea.

He was so damn charming. That’s what it was. I’d fallen for the way he looked at me, the way he touched me. He’d probably slept with thousands of women over the years, and if there was one thing he clearly knew how to do, it was turn on the charm and have women falling at his feet. I couldn’t blame myself. It was practically his second job, after all.

I headed to work with a new sense of resolve. If I ran into him I’d keep things professional. Leave everything that had happened firmly behind us. I mean, not that he was likely to wander into the little cubicle the legal department had set up for me again. My heart sank at the thought. Maybe he’d only come in the day before with the hopes of getting me into bed. It had nothing to do with my killer negotiation skills or the plans I’d laid out for him. And I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.

I’d dated Aston for months before I even considered going to bed with him. I’d barely even met Mr. Rose and within twenty-four hours—bam! There I was with my ass in the air and my legs spread wide open ready to take him like a freight train. And that kiss! Fuck! I came so hard I saw stars.

I let out a long sigh. I couldn’t do this anymore. I hadn’t been at my job for very long, and I’d already hooked up with a client–which I was pretty sure was poor form, even if it wasn’t against the rules. I hoped he didn’t share our little sexcapade with anyone else. I needed my job—and my stepdad would kill me if he found out.

I took my seat at my desk, raked my fingers through my hair, and ignored the glances I was getting from the people around me. Yes, I looked like shit. Yes, I was hungover from a wild night. Yes, I showered and changed. No, I hadn’t slept.

Did that answer all of their questions?

I was a representative here of the company my stepfather was a partner in, and I knew I’d be hearing from him if my blasé appearance filtered back to his office. Hopefully, the fact I’d gotten Zach—Mr. Rose—off his ass and into the office would be enough to absolve me of anything too questionable.

I started coming up with a timeline for the plan I’d outlined to Mr. Rose the day before. That was the best I could do for him now, focus on my job and pretend last night never happened. Even if I couldn’t get the memory of the way he felt inside me out of my head. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, glancing around. Could people read it on my face like I had a big thought bubble floating above my head? I clenched my thighs. Every time I thought of Zach, I could feel the wetness on my silk panties. I hoped I didn’t leave a wet spot in my chair. Shit. I needed to get my mind back into my work.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I lifted my head from my computer screen but when I did, it was for a damn good reason. Mr. Rose walked through the doors, and my heart practically ground to a halt in my chest. He caught my eye and strolled with certainty over to my desk.

“Hi,” He greeted me casually, as though nothing had happened the night before. I frowned. Did I imagine it for some reason? The dinner, the drinks, the dancing, the fucking over his couch as the booze loosened my inhibitions and drove me out of my mind with desire for him?

“Hi,” I managed in return, getting to my feet. “Are you here to discuss—?”

“Yeah, I want to go over the strategy you laid out yesterday,” he nodded seriously. “I really want to lock in a timeline for this. Do you have a minute to go through it with me?”

“I sure do.” I gestured for him to head to the meeting room and glanced around at the people eyeing me from their various desks. No wonder they were looking at me with distrust. I was working for a man who could unsettle everything in this company, and I was doing it right under their noses. I felt like a traitor, but I was just doing my job, working for Mr. Rose and focusing on putting him above everything else.

“Okay, so what it is you want to go with?” He sat down opposite me in the small meeting room, and I had a flashback to the day before, when the two of us had been here, before I let him fuck my brains out. I moved back and forth in my seat, not sure what to do with the feelings that overwhelmed me. I should have just laid it out for him there and then, that nothing else was going to happen between us.

“I actually have a projected timeline here,” I replied instead, pulling out my laptop and opening it to the page I’d been on. “As you can see, we’d get things moving at some point this week and then take it from there.”

Soon enough, we were running through the nitty-gritty details of what we would need to do to get the plan into place. I should’ve run it by the guys back at the main office by now, but I also knew the plan was freaking crazy in some ways and would likely land me a slap on the wrist for coming up with something so questionable. I mean, Mr. Rose had gone along with it, but then again, he hadn’t been in his right mind for a long time. Maybe I should have taken his enthusiasm for my idea to mean I was barking up the wrong tree. I resolved to tell them as soon as this meeting was done, to make sure there were no secrets on my end. It seemed like the safest option, especially since I was so new in the business.

“You know, I’m impressed with what you’ve come up with here.” He nodded as the meeting ended. “It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I think this is going to work.”

“Well, it’ll give us a little time to come up with something more convincing.” I nodded, evading the question as best I could. “I don’t think it’s going to solve all our problems outright, but—”

“Do they know you’re giving a different plan then what they suggested?” He cocked an eyebrow, a grin curling his lips. Oh, that smile. That smile would land me in trouble sooner rather than later. I blinked and pulled myself back to reality, offering him a bland smile in return.

“No, but I’m going to them with the details of these meetings later today so we’re all on the same page,” I said. “I’m really just a representative of the firm. They just wanted me to deliver their plan to you.”

“Well, tell them you came up with a better one,” he replied, as though it were that easy. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at him. Of course, for a man like him, everything seemed simple. He always got precisely what he wanted and probably never had to give any thought to what life was like in a world where people had the power to say no to him, to throw him out on the street if he made a wrong move.

I got to my feet, even though I wanted to stay longer, and let myself enjoy his attention. Yet, I knew being in here alone with him was dangerous. After all, these walls were almost soundproof, certainly thick enough to keep any noise leaking through if the two of us could keep our moans to a minimum.

“It was good seeing you again.” I stuck my hand out in his direction. “I’ll put you in touch with the firm, and you can talk further with them about all of this.”

He took my hand, and something melted within me, the resolve I’d done such a good job building up vanished all at once. If he’d asked to take me right there, right then, at that second, I didn’t have it in me to turn him down. Our eyes met, and I drifted closer to him, edging toward him. God, what was I doing here? Before I lost my mind, I withdrew my hand, my gaze dropping, and gestured to the door.

He stepped outside the meeting room, not noticing the burst of attraction that had just knocked me off-guard, and headed toward the exit. Before he got to there, he turned and called out.

“Walk me to my car?”

Everyone’s eyes turned on me. Was he trying to get me alone? There wasn’t much I could do to turn him down without coming across as rude or unprofessional. I took a deep breath, let it out, and then nodded. During the meeting, he hadn’t seemed interested, so maybe it was my imagination running away with me.

“Of course.”

I made my way across the room to join him, and we headed down in the elevator together, side by side, not saying a word to each other. We reached the door, and I saw the same limo that had picked us up the day before waiting for him. I tried to keep my brain on the job, not letting it get distracted by the memories flooding in. He stood by the door before he mentioned our night together.

“I had a good time last night.” He raised an eyebrow, giving me a devilish smile. “You free for dinner this even—”

“—I have plans,” I blurted before he could finish. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to give him an excuse instead of just turning him down outright, but the words were out before I could stop myself. He studied my face before he finally shrugged.

“Whatever you say,” he responded, slipping into the back seat of the limo. “I’ll see you again soon, Jessi.”

“You, too,” I replied, my voice more strangled than that of the casual, unbothered lawyer and fiscal adviser I was trying to portray. I watched as he shut the door and pulled away. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back toward the sky. I needed to find some way to act like a decent human around this man, and keep the rest of the office from finding out about our fling last night.