4
Jude
I swear, I hadn’t been so pissed off in my entire life. I’d had a lot of bad business meetings in the past, that was for sure. But that was…
I couldn’t even put it into words.
I left early for the first time in years and headed to the bar downtown where we had our own private table, closed off from everyone else. The barkeep came by, asking about Maverick since we usually came together. Although I wasn’t mad at him or anything, I hadn’t felt like waiting for him and had needed to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
We had no good lawyers, and no good applicants. Henley was pretty and all, but I wasn’t feeling her as an employee. On some level, I knew it was because of how distracted I’d be with her around.
My phone went off in the middle of my second martini, but I ignored it, knowing it was Maverick probably wanting to give me some moral speech about using people. Sighing, I finished my second drink. Mad as I was, I knew I couldn’t leave him hanging. So a little while later, I found myself heading back to the office, pretending not to notice everyone’s inquiring stares. I stopped at Maverick’s office. He was at the computer, his face screwed up and his shoulders tensed. Probably worrying himself over nothing, as usual.
“Back from your pick-me-up?” he said, sensing my presence without even looking up.
I scoffed as I made my way to his desk and perched myself on the edge of it. Glancing at his computer, I saw that he was looking at the market again, comparing it to our numbers. Annoyed, I reached over and clicked off the screen. Maverick sneered in protest, finally looking at me.
“You still obsessing over this shit?” I said, flicking the papers he’d laid out in front of him. Everything had to be so planned and organized with him. It was irritating.
“No. Just checking on things.” He arched his brow. “You wanna tell me what was up with you and that interview?”
I averted my gaze. Suddenly, everything was more interesting than this conversation. I undid my jacket and cuff links while Maverick continued staring at me.
“Nothing,” I said after a moment. “I thought she looked like a good candidate.”
“Based on what, her resume or her face?”
“Look, don’t hound me on this,” I said, although I couldn’t help cracking a smile.
“I’m not. But she was a good candidate, so I don’t know why you grilled her like that.”
I rolled my eyes. “I was just asking basic questions.”
“Not really, man. And you were making her uncomfortable. That’s not what we’re about.”
“Seriously, it isn’t that deep, man. I was just…” But my voice trailed off, unable to think up a valid excuse.
“Whatever, dude. She would have been a good choice. I can’t imagine she would want to work for us now though. Maybe—” He stopped abruptly.
When he began ignoring my stare, I gripped his shoulder. “What?” I demanded.
A hint of a smile formed on his lips. “Nothing. I just think you should have gone easier on her, that’s all.”
“I wasn’t being too hard on her,” I said, rolling my eyes. Between the two of us, Maverick was way too nice and easy on people, leaving me to look like the bad guy for being a hard ass.
He stood with a sigh. “Yes, you were. She was a good candidate, to me at least.”
I stood as well. “Yeah. Because you think everyone is a fucking angel, but they’re not. Hell, you’re the reason we’re even in this mess with Hatchett. You trusted him.” It only took a split second for me to regret the statement. I jabbed my finger at his chest, trying to lessen the sting of what I’d just said.
Maverick blinked before nodding and stepping away.
I bit my tongue for a moment, letting the thick air cool before speaking. “You know I didn’t mean that,” I said. “But Henley and her interview were nothing, so just drop it, all right?”
Maverick paced the room for a few seconds and then stopped in front of me. “Fine. Consider it dropped. But Henley may have some other qualities we could use…” He wasn’t usually the one to suggest stuff like that, but obviously, Henley was gorgeous—a fact that wasn’t lost on him. “You have to admit, she is damned sexy,” he added, confirming my thoughts.
“Yeah, I know. But she really doesn’t seem the type,” I said.
“Well, no one ever does seem the type, but we could at least suggest it…”
“How? Call her back to the office?”
Maverick stared back at me. He and I had our own way of going about things, but one of the few things we enjoyed doing together was acquiring women the same way we acquired assets. Lots of gorgeous women were eager to fall at our feet and succumb to out will, which was quite a rush. But they never ended up in our office as candidates for a job. To call it a conflict of interest would be an understatement, but in this case, Maverick didn’t seem to care. And if he didn’t care, we must have been in the clear.
“No. Something casual,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “Outside of the office. If you’re up for it.”
I nodded, thinking about Henley, her curves, sweet face, and fiery red hair. Plus, her smart mouth would prove more exciting than frustrating if she agreed to be ours. “Yeah, I’m up for it,” I said. “So what do you want to do?”
Maverick returned to his desk with a new pep in his step. “Take her to dinner.”
“Really?” I laughed. “You are such a fucking lush.”
“Yeah, perhaps.” He smiled, powering up the computer I had shut down. I sat on the edge of the desk again, watching him open his email. I’d sent him Henley’s information before the interview, so I knew he had it. We both knew she was beautiful and could be more to us than just a job, but proposing the deal to her would be difficult. I may have been hard on her, but she was still poised and sure of herself.
The other women we’d done this with before were nothing like her. They hadn’t had perfect grade point averages, dozens of internships, and credentials proving them proficient in law. The contract we used with them wasn’t even enforceable and wouldn’t hold up in any kind of court. Asking an ordinary person to sign was already a gamble, so to ask an educated person like Henley was a different story entirely.
Regardless, I wanted her. Her perfection frustrated me; women who could bring me to my knees had never been my favorite thing. During the interview, I’d wanted to make all the first moves, keeping her on the edge of her seat and keeping her at a distance. I’d so badly wished I could have hijacked the conference room and had her on the table. I knew Maverick wouldn’t have cared. Hell, he would have joined in.
I began fantasizing about muffling that smart mouth of hers as I tasted her, and then fucked her with my fingers and cock. I wanted to impale her on all my twelve inches, take her round breasts in my hands and watch them bob with all of my thrusts. I wanted to hear her scream and beg for more. And after I’d made her come three times, I dreamed of her begging to taste and suck me off until I blew my load.
Clearly, Henley was dangerous to me.
“We can take her to the usual spot and keep up appearances of a business dinner,” Maverick said, interrupting my fantasy.
I nodded, hoping she would agree to it. More than likely though, she would think she’d gotten the job and when she realized she hadn’t, I doubted she would agree to be literally fucked instead.
Damn, I’d never wanted anyone so much. If she worked with us, I would end up thinking about her nonstop. She looked like she could take me down and enjoy it. Visions floated through my mind of her sprawled across my desk, dripping in excitement. I imagined fucking her from behind while she sucked him off…
“Yeah,” I said gruffly, already praying she would say yes. Maybe she would be a good lawyer for us and hiring her would be a good idea.
But acquiring her would be an even better idea…
My fingers twitched at the thought of marking her with my lips and hands. I wanted to grip her plush hips so hard, she felt it in her blood.
“Did you send it?” I asked Maverick.
“Not yet.”
I turned to stare out the window. The afternoon sun had almost come down, turning the sky red and reminding me of Henley’s hair. I wondered if she looked the same between her legs—a real red head? There were so many fakes out there, it was hard to tell.
“Just sent it,” Maverick announced.
My chest fluttered. “Think she’ll respond?”
He shrugged. “It’s just dinner. She doesn’t know what we’re asking yet.”
“Fuck, I hope she says yes.”
Maverick smirked. “Yeah. Don’t know about the job yet, but this…”
“She’s a fucking minx. Forget the job, I just want her.”
“She responded,” Maverick said suddenly.
I looked over his shoulders and toward the computer, damn near crossing my fingers.