Brazen

Those legs.

Long and tone.

I’ve been fantasizing about them being wrapped around me since I left Noah on the porch.

I shouldn’t have made the comment about her dress, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been staring at the door, waiting to see if she’ll arrive for her first day of work, baring her legs as I asked. Light from the sun slices into my office, and the roar of early morning traffic fills my space as the glass door opens.

I like what I see. Even though I shouldn’t.

Fuck, I’m a lucky man. She listens better than I hoped. My eyes go straight to those athletic legs as she enters the room. I fight to keep from gawking too long, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

“Noah.” Possessiveness shoots throughout me as I say her name.

“Brazen.” My name on her lips has me craving to hear her scream it when she’s driven by untamed lust.

“You look great.” I can’t help myself. “I like the dress.”

Her cheeks turn a rosy shade as she absentmindedly touches the hem of her outfit before she speaks, “Thank you.”

I can’t decide whether I’m brilliant for hiring a hot assistant or completely brain dead. Yesterday, I was pulled to her by the way she couldn’t take her eyes off me as she sat on the porch swing. A pull that had me crossing the damn street to introduce myself and then demanding I offer her this job. I might not be certain this decision is one of my better or worse, but one thing is definite: My business partner won’t be happy about this. Especially after I admit to calling and excusing the assistant that was already lined up to start today.

I shouldn’t be interested in Noah, but I can’t help that I am.

She holds all my attention. Every. Single. Bit.

Dark blonde hair the color of sand covers her shoulders. Green eyes that remind me of kiwis take me in. Her slender form is rigidly straight, but her smile is bright and full of innocence. A girl like her is liable to cause me trouble. She’s too young. Way too fucking angelic, and, damn, is she beautiful.

At another time, if things were different and I didn’t have so much going on, I would pursue her relentlessly. I would make her mine, but that isn’t in the cards right now. Facts are facts. She came into my life at a bad time. Noah is a distraction that I can’t afford.

My focus is on my career. I’m building a business, one that’s been my dream for as long as I can remember. After that, my priority is on one person and one person only. There is no room in my life for anything else because my best friend needs me more than anyone could. I need to keep things with Noah professional. I’m a flirt by nature, but I can’t take it past that.

That last thought has me mentally kicking myself for even suggesting she wear a dress. Now, if I tell her not to, I’ll look like an idiot.

I’ll just have to look but not touch.

Fantasize but not act.

Crave but not conquer.

“Ready to get started?” I stand and show Noah to her workspace within our relatively small office.

“No time like the present.” She follows me to her desk that sits across from mine.

I pull out her chair for her. This gesture is part of values that were instilled in me since I could walk. My mom raised me to treat women a certain type of way. Anything less, and she’d probably beat me with the end of a broom.

Noah smooths the back of her dress before she sits down. I lean into her space. A mixture of freshly baked cake and the crisp smell of fresh laundry hits my senses.

“You’ll be handling all the paperwork, so you’ll need to learn our filing system. You wouldn’t think a job where someone works with his hands would have so much pencil-pushing, but it does. There are a lot of contracts and permits that are essential to keeping us moving.” Earlier, I brought out some of the normal forms we see on a day-to-day basis, and I shuffle through them to give her an example of what she’ll be working with.

“What happens if something falls through on the clerical side?” She meticulously studies the papers laid out in front of her.

“Accidents happen, but let’s try to not let something like that fall through. When we don’t have the right permits, then everything shuts down, and in this business, that’s bad. The longer the house sits in my name, the less money there is to be made.”

When she doesn’t respond, I keep going. There is still a lot more that she’ll be handling in her role as an assistant.

“You’ll need to keep a detailed calendar that tracks our due dates for submitting permits and invoices, and I’ll need you to stay on top of deliveries—when we ordered them and when they are supposed to be delivered. I need you to be so on top of it that I won’t need to worry about anything on that side of the business.”

Noah is cute, which might be a huge part of why I gave her this job, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to hold her to the highest standard. This isn’t only my livelihood. It’s my passion.

“I’m organized, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Good. Maybe hiring the girl I’m pining for won’t be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

“The paperwork and everything that goes with it is the most important part of the job, but you’ll also be doing some basic secretarial type stuff, such as answering the phone, taking messages, visiting job sites, running to the bank, and overseeing supplies and deliveries.”

I watch while she takes notes as I speak and chews on her lip when she starts to struggle with getting each and every one of my words. Her leg bounces beneath the desk.

“Don’t worry; you’ll get it.” I try to boost her confidence.

“I’m a quick learner, and I want to do well here. That was just a lot of instructions at once. I’ll handle it though. I don’t want to let you down because it was so nice of you to give me this chance.” Her words are rushed but genuine.

“I have no doubts, you’ll do great, Noah.” I lightly touch her wrist.

“Thank you.” She casually pulls her hand away and rests them both in her lap.

Noah smiles sweetly as she hangs on my every word, as if I have all the answers.

There is so much trust written all over her face as she gazes at me.

The way she looks at me when I compliment or reassure her has me doubting my resolve to stay professional. Her eyes brim with pride as I encourage her, and it fills me with a need to do that for her always. I step back from crowding the desk when the overwhelming desire for Noah gets to be too much.

“Ahem.”

I jump at the sound behind me.

Shit! When did she get here?

I turn to find narrowed eyes looking my way.

My business partner isn’t happy, which I knew was coming.

“Brazen, can I speak to you for a minute? In the back … now.” She doesn’t wait for a response from me but goes into the kitchen part of the office. It’s the only area with a door.

“I’ll be right back.”

Noah nods as she watches the doorway my partner just stormed through.

The second I close the door behind me, Sunday’s anger wraps around me, but there is something else behind her anger, something I can’t put my finger on.

“Who is that?” She points toward the wall, indicating the girl on the other side of it.

“Our new assistant.” I leave off the part where I’m thinking the answer to her question is obvious. It’s too early in the morning to egg on Sunday. Plus, I think I’ve done enough.

“What happened to the assistant we hired and agreed on together?” She throws her arms up in the air, exasperated with me.

“Funniest thing. He called late last night and said he was taking a different job.” I shrug after my blatant lie.

“That’s bullshit. Is this girl qualified? Can she handle the job?”

Surely, Noah can hear Sunday’s raised voice. These walls aren’t that thick.

“It’ll all work out, Sun,” I promise her.

“It had better.” She taps her foot and crosses her arms.

Suddenly, Sunday’s emotions switch from annoyance to knowing. Her voice softens and compassion runs through her as her posture relaxes. “Do you know how long I was behind you before you noticed? I saw you with her, Braze.”

Sunday has been my best friend since I dumped sand over her head in the sandbox. She cried, and I never wanted to hear her make those sad wails again. As a little boy, I was devastated that I’d caused her so much distress, so the next day, I brought her flowers that I’d asked my mom to take me to get and gave her a handwritten apology card. We’ve been inseparable ever since, and Sunday knows me better than I know myself. I see where her question is leading, but this time, she’s wrong.

“Don’t overthink this, Sunday. The girl needed a job. She needed it more than the little twerp we hired last week. I gave her a job. Yes, she’s hot, but there isn’t some hidden meaning here besides the fact that I thought she’d be nice to look at while I work.”

“Not everyone needs you to save them.” She rolls her eyes in annoyance. “It’s time for you to quit only focusing on work and open your heart back up. There is room in your life for both.”

“So … you’re telling me to sleep with her?”

Her eyes narrow. “No. That isn’t what I’m saying, and you know it. I’m saying that you need to stop focusing so much on what other people need and start focusing on yourself. That girl is the first girl you’ve even blinked at in almost a year.”

“Listen, she needed a job, so I gave her one. I’m not trying to find a damn relationship. Besides, only one person actually needs me right now.”

Her frustration with me grows to an ultimate level. “I saw the way you were looking at her while you went over things I’ve been handling for years. You never would have given up your precious building time had the other assistant been here today. I stood back and watched while the two of you were so consumed with one another that neither of you noticed anyone else had come into the room. Be in denial all you want, but don’t try to make me look like I’m the crazy one here. You and that girl could probably end up together if you would just let down your stupid, thick walls.”

My best friend has clearly lost her mind. If I were honest with myself though, I’d admit that I hadn’t noticed her come in and that I might actually agree with her. It’s a good thing I’m not being honest with myself at the moment.

“I need to get to the job site. Are you going to be good to help her for the rest of the day?” I attempt to shrug off my annoyance but fail miserably. It seeps out in my every word.

“Yeah, Brazen, I’m good. I’d be even better if you pulled your head out of your ass. Work on that.”

I leave Sunday in the kitchen and ditch the office altogether without a word to Noah. Her head lifts as I fly by, but I need to put some distance between me and what Sunday just said.

I slam my truck door harder than necessary. I power down the music in frustration. It might not be professional, but in the silence of my vehicle, wanting to learn everything I can about my new assistant is what consumes my thoughts. The way she hummed while I went over instructions and how cute it was that she clicked her pen when she was deep in thought.

This working relationship is going to be much more difficult than I thought, which is something I already knew. It just took me until now to admit it to myself.