“So,” Jett said, pushing a sheet of paper across the couch table toward me. He was fully dressed now in black slacks and a pale blue shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders. Unfortunately, his fully clothed status did nothing to diminish his sex appeal.
I narrowed my gaze as I tried to scan the paper without looking too obvious. He pressed his palm on top of it, obscuring my vision. “It’s sort of a CSACA.”
I peered up at him. “A what?”
“I don’t fuck my staff, Brooke. I know better than that.” He drew a sharp breath and held it for a moment before he let it out slowly and shook his head, as though irritated with whatever he was about to say. “And yet here I am, almost taking you on that bedroom floor. Apparently there’s something about you that makes me want to rip off your clothes, and I know you feel the same way about me. If we’re to work together, we need to sort this out once and for all.”
Boy, was I cheap. What gave me away? My wet panties, or the labored breathing every time he so much as gazed at me? I heaved a silent sigh. Had my attraction to him been so obvious? And more importantly, was I really so delusional to think I could hide it?
Yeah, I was.
“I’m not really sure where this is going,” I said more to myself than to him.
“By agreeing to an arrangement, there’ll never be a misunderstanding as to what’s happening between us and where we’re standing.” His gaze plunged into me with an intensity that frightened me. I just stared at him, lost in his eyes. The guy was not only stunning, he also seemed to know what he was talking about. You can’t keep your head screwed on while lusting after the boss. And we both needed a clear head if we wanted to get this job done.
“I agree. What sort of arrangement do you propose? Working in different rooms? Communicating via email and text messages?”
“Not quite, Brooke.” His lips curled into a wicked smile. “Since we’re adults and this goes way beyond the usual sexual attraction, it’s about time we gave each other what we so desperately crave.”
My jaw dropped and my cheeks flamed up. Was it the kind of proposition I thought it was? He couldn’t be serious, and yet I knew from his no-nonsense expression that he was. “Pardon me?” He must have noticed my shocked expression because he remained silent for a moment, giving me time to process his words. I released a hissing breath I didn’t know I had been holding. While my brain was still protesting, my abdomen did tiny somersaults at the prospect of getting down and dirty with the guy. What would be the harm in following Sylvie’s advice and giving in to my own needs for once? I was single and had nothing to lose.
Apart from your job and heart.
No, my heart wouldn’t be in it. Just sex. And lots of it, or as much as it’d take to get bored and move on.
“Why did you hire me?” The question burning in my mind for the last forty-eight hours finally snaked its way out of my throat.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, Brooke,” Jett said calmly. “James wants out of the business. For weeks he and I had been talking about signing Sunrise Properties over to our company. The contract we drafted included a clause that I take a look at what James called the ‘brightest star’ in the real estate business. He arranged a meeting at The Black Rose so we could discuss a position best suited to your qualifications and goals.”
I leaned back, surprised. My boss went behind my back and got me an unofficial interview to not only help me keep my job, but get a promotion. I felt a strong and overwhelming gratitude toward him and made a mental note to send him a thank-you gift basket as soon as possible.
“He asked me to talk about the company’s portfolio and pitch ideas for a future collaboration.” It only now occurred to me just how unlikely and far-fetched it all sounded. Mayfield Properties was huge, with the kind of contracts James could only dream about. No company owner would send an employee to meet with a Fortune 100 company director and risk messing up the chance of a lifetime.
Jett nodded. “Only I arrived late, which made you angry, and you stormed out on me.” He smiled at whatever memory crossed his mind. Actually, that wasn’t the whole truth. I stormed out on him because he was irresistibly sexy and touched me in a way that made me feel all sorts of emotions I didn’t want to feel.
I interlaced my fingers in my lap, mortified. Yep, I had behaved like a real bitch in front of my future employer. Why he still took me on board was beyond me. Oh wait, we sort of had sex after that; so there was my answer.
“Did you employ me because we spent the night together?” I blurted out.
Amusement glittered in his eyes, but he shook his head slowly. “No, I hired you because you were brutally honest, just like now. You weren’t prepared to suck up and take crap from anyone. That trait’s hard to find. Besides, you came highly recommended. Sunrise Properties might not play in the big league, but James managed to survive years of recession and sell out big, which can only mean one thing: he knows how to pick his employees.”
I bit my lip as I thought back to my former job. Not only had James decided to sell the company, he also made sure his employees wouldn’t face unemployment. I made a mental note to send him a big fat thank-you card, together with a huge bottle of his favorite champagne. I figured I owed him that much.
“Thank you for listening to him.” Let’s face it, there was nothing on my resume that could possibly impress Jett Mayfield. That he took a chance on me based on my boss’s recommendation showed me that maybe Jett wasn’t the cold-hearted business shark I made him out to be. His company was overly successful and didn’t have the best reputation in the States, but his employees—or what I had seen of them so far—seemed to like working for him. I flashed him a hesitant smile. His beautiful lips curled into the most stunning grin I had ever seen. My chest tightened, and a warm feeling rushed through me.
He leaned forward and brushed his thumb against my lower lip as he whispered, “I hired you for your attitude, and so far I’m pretty happy with my decision. But I’m not sure I can work with you until I’ve fucked this attraction out of my system.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Seeing him with his shirt off, dressed only in his underwear, I wasn’t so sure I could work with him until he had been inside of me. Every part of me wanted and demanded him, requested that his mouth kiss me and his fingers touch my body to ease the throbbing need inside of me.
I peered into his heated green eyes. The passion I saw in them burned through me like a wildfire. Holy shit, he meant every word of it, which scared the crap out of me because I knew he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. Somewhere at the back of my mind it occurred to me every lawyer would have a feast filing for sexual harassment. But, hell, he could harass me all he wanted.
Get a grip, Stewart. Switch your mind on for a change.
Every rulebook argues against getting involved with a coworker, and particularly against enjoying a fling with the boss because it tends to backfire. I thought back to Sylvie and how she got herself unemployed. What would keep Jett from firing me once we were done?
“So you’re telling me you’ll sack me unless I have sex with you.”
He cringed, hesitating. “That wasn’t what I meant, Brooke. I wouldn’t sack you, but we both would have a hard time doing our job.”
I cleared my throat to get rid of my fear of making a wrong decision. For some reason I believed he wouldn’t sack me, but there were a million other reasons why getting involved wasn’t advisable. What if he was married? I wasn’t a home wrecker. “I’m not sure sex is such a good idea.”
His brows shot up. “Why not?”
“Because—” I brushed my hair out of my face as I considered my words. In the end I decided to be frank. “You could be married.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh.” My heart did a somersault. I could barely keep myself from smiling like an idiot.
“No girlfriend either,” Jett whispered, staring at me with those green, sinful eyes that made me want to peel off his clothes to see what sin tasted like. “Look, Brooke. After we work this out of our system, we’ll both be able to focus on the goals of this company without any distractions.”
He made it sound like a business plan, clear and straightforward. It wasn’t the most romantic agreement, but it was the most reasonable move given the circumstances.
“So, what are you saying?” I said, my voice hoarse. “Just sex? No feelings involved? No expectations?”
“No strings attached.” Staring at me, he reached out his hand. “You can end it any time. No hard feelings when it’s over. I suggest you first take a look at the details. If everything’s to your liking, sign it.”
“You won’t sack me once it’s over?”
He shook his head and pointed to the paper. “You have my promise. Everything’s specified in there, including that your job’s secure.”
I hesitated, thinking back to Sylvie’s advise to start taking risks and finally have some fun. Jett wanted me, I wanted him. No harm in having a little fun on the side.
His glorious lips curled up into a wicked grin, turning him from hot to downright perfect like a sex god, and in that instant I made up my mind.
“Okay.” With a deep breath, I placed my hand into his and let his warm fingers caress my skin. My heart fluttered all the way down from my chest into parts I never knew could pulsate like this. It was beyond unsettling and…hot.
“Great. Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off to look through the CSACA? I doubt we’d get much work done anyway.” A soft smile lit up his eyes as he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then turned away and left for his office, leaving me alone to face an array of emotions.
What are you doing?
My stomach was in nervous knots as I raced down the stairs to my office and closed the door behind me. Pressing my back against the cold wall, I peered at the neat stack of folders on my desk. I should be doing my job, but all I could think of was Jett and the many ways I would love to get intimate with him. A no strings arrangement might just be what we both needed, what would make us both happy in more than one way.