“I’m reassigning him to the mail room!” Zeke Steele growled as he glared down at the chaos covering his desk.
“Who is going to the mail room?” Teague, one of Zeke’s younger brothers, asked as he walked into his older brother’s office without knocking.
“My assistant,” Zeke growled furiously, running a hand over his freshly shaven jaw.
Teague moved deeper into Zeke’s office and whistled as he took in the mess surrounding his oldest brother. The stacks of files, papers and…just stuff…stuff everywhere…was covering every available surface and there were even some on the floor and chairs. Zeke wasn’t a man who dealt with chaos. Ever! Teague understood his oldest brother’s fury now and refrained from chuckling. Normally, he wouldn’t hesitate to rub salt into the wound because, hell, that’s what brothers were for! But this…this was nuts!
As CEO of Steele Industries, Zeke had enormous responsibility and was used to his days being well organized. Unfortunately, his normal executive assistant was out on maternity leave. The man filling in obviously was not providing the same level of assistance that his normal assistant would. Not even close. “Is there a desk under there?” Teague teased.
Zeke’s green eyes, almost identical to Teague’s, glared at his brother from the other side of the desk. “In theory,” he snarled. Looking back down at the mess, he rubbed his forehead. “But it has been so long since I’ve seen it that I’m not completely sure anymore.”
Behind Zeke, the beauty of Seattle, Washington could be seen through the long windows of his office, all neatly planned out and running efficiently from this vantage point. But there was no efficiency when it came to his desk. Nothing! It was a mess! And it had been this way from the moment his previous assistant had gone on maternity leave. Linda had been a good assistant, always proactive and responsive. The idiot she’d trained for three weeks before her departure…was an idiot.
Teague tried to hide his amusement at his older brother’s frustration. Teague loved to tease his brother, but right now wasn’t the time. Teague suspected that Zeke’s head might explode at any moment which normally would be worth a chuckle, but….
“If you need help, I can send Marcy over to you. She can clean this mess up in a couple of days.”
Zeke’s hand rubbed over his face again. “Isn’t Marcy your supply assistant over at the work site on Queen Anne Avenue?” he asked, referring to the new office building that was now taking up an entire city block.
“Yeah. And she’s…” Teague looked around, there were even files stacked in the corner and on the bookcases over by the other wall. “Well, she’d have a heart attack about this place, and then she’d get it all straightened up.”
Zeke closed his eyes, not wanting to catalogue all of the problems in this office. “No, the Queen Anne project is a big job. You’re under-budget and ahead of schedule. I’m not slowing down that work simply because my office is in chaos.”
Teague laughed. “You don’t really understand Marcy if you’re turning down her help.” He leaned against Zeke’s desk, causing a stack of contracts to topple over. He quickly moved away, choosing the center of the room as the least likely place to avoid additional topples. “She has the site running smoothly, even has the orders ready for the next three weeks. We just let her know if anything has changed and she adjusts the orders.” Teague waited for his brother to understand, but at the blank expression on Zeke’s features, he continued, “She’s way ahead of schedule. We can spare her for a while.”
Zeke’s mind hungered for order. He debated accepting his brother’s help versus calling an agency to send someone over. Marcy knew the business though. A temporary employee would flounder for a few days, no matter how good he or she was at administrative organization.
Zeke looked across the mess at his brother, deliberating for a moment longer. “You’re sure you could spare her? Just for a few days?”
Teague shrugged. “Sure! If she’s willing to help. I won’t make her.” His eyes turned hard. “And if you do anything to hurt her feelings, I’ll kick your ass.”
Zeke laughed, relieved to have a potential solution. “Fair enough. Send her over, if she’s willing. I’ll make sure she’s compensated if she can fix this mess.”
Zeke’s phone started ringing but because there were so many files, neither of them could find his phone.
“Jeremy!” Zeke called out to the man sitting in the next office.
Jeremy immediately jumped up, eager to help. Zeke gave him points for enthusiasm, but he just wasn’t cut out for the corporate office yet. “Report to Duke down in the mail room. He’s going to put you to work.”
The man’s smile faltered, but one glance at Zeke’s desk and the man bowed his head walking out of the executive area.
Teague almost laughed at the comical exit. “The man must have seen that coming,” he said as he turned back to Zeke.
Zeke sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t give a damn about his feelings. I want my office re-organized.” He pushed a stack of files out of the way but there just wasn’t any other place to put them. He couldn’t find anything. “How soon can she get here?”
Teague chucked even as he lifted his cell phone and dialed a number. “Marcy. I have a challenge for you. Can you come over to the headquarters building?”
Marcy hung up the phone and looked around, wondering if there was anything else she needed to do here.
Nope. Orders were ready to submit for the next few weeks, she’d contacted all of the vendors to ensure that those supplies would be delivered without any delays. The contractors had all checked in with her and updated their status….
She was bored!
This job had been so exciting at first, but now…she’d gotten the construction site fixed up and it was now Organization Central.
“Okay, next challenge,” she said, grabbing her raincoat and purse.
Tommy walked into the makeshift office. “Where are you heading?” he asked.
“Teague just called me. He needs me over at the headquarters.”
Tommy’s eyes narrowed, not liking the idea of the petite, whirlwind dictator leaving this office. All of the men here were extremely protective of Marcy and watched out for her. All of them considered her to be their little sister and no one messed with their family. “What for?” he demanded, shifting his clipboard to his other hand.
Marcy pulled her coat on and smiled up at the big, gruff man. His grey hair was going everywhere this morning, as usual. He might not remember to brush his hair but Tommy was one of the best engineers on the work site. “No idea. Our boss just said he has a new challenge for me.”
Tommy laughed. “Must be something good if it has that color back in your cheeks,” he said and held the door open for her. “Be careful. It’s dangerous over at headquarters,” he teased her.
Marcy smiled but thought he was just being kind. All the men here had been extremely nice to her. All those silly rumors about how construction workers whistled and hollered at attractive females…they either weren’t true, or she wasn’t very attractive.
Most likely the second option, she thought with resigned acceptance. She was too short, too plump, and she’d never be able to carry off that long legged walk that caught men’s eyes.
And that was okay, she told herself. She had plans. She had things she needed to accomplish and she couldn’t let anything get in her way.
As soon as she started up her tiny car, her phone rang and she pressed the button on her steering wheel to answer it. “Yes, Mother,” she greeted, trying to keep her voice light and happy. It was always a challenge when her mother called though. Her mother was a bit of a worrier.
“Honey, I was just calling to see if you needed any help studying for your Civil Procedures exam?” she asked, referring to the law school class she was current taking at night.
Marcy cringed, glad that her mother couldn’t see her. “I’m fine, Mother. I studied last night and I have it all under control.”
Isadora Marshall loved the fact that her daughter was in law school. She bragged to all of her friends about Marcy’s classes, her professors, her exams…anything relating to law school. Isadora had wanted Marcy to become a lawyer ever since Marcy could remember. There had never been any question about what Marcy would do with her life; become a lawyer and go on to make the big bucks so that Isadora could then brag about Marcy’s exciting life as a lawyer.
So, Marcy worked full time as basically an administrative assistant, even though her incredibly sweet and charming boss gave her a fancy title, and she attended law school at night.
“I have to go, Mother. My boss has asked me to help out with a special project. I need to hurry.”
“Oh, don’t you get caught up in all of that mess. You have higher priorities than just answering someone’s phone, honey!”
Marcy clenched her teeth, wishing that her mother wouldn’t put down her job. She actually loved helping people. She loved organizing things so that everyone’s world, including her own, ran smoothly.
“I’m driving, Mother. I can’t talk on the phone.”
“Yes, dear. Be safe! And call me after your exam.”
“Will do, Mother.” And she pressed the button to end the call. With a sigh of relief, she pulled into traffic and joined the Seattle rush, everyone hurrying to get to the next place as fast as possible and before the next person could get to their next place.
Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the CEO’s office and gasped. It was a mess! It was an absolute mess! There were files everywhere, the phone was ringing, the computer monitor was about to topple off the edge of what might be a lovely desk but it was covered with files, papers, unopened mail, and…
It was chaos!
If there was one thing Marcy couldn’t handle, it was chaos! She needed order! She needed things to be in their place, orderly, filed away for easy access the next time it was needed.
Teague was nowhere around so she texted him. “I’m here,” was all she said.
His almost instant response was, “Can you fix it?”
Marcy looked around, not sure if he meant the chaos or something else. But knowing her boss the way she did, she guessed that it was the office mess. “Yes!” was her only response. “I’ll get right on it.”
A moment later, she put her purse behind the desk and started sorting. She had no idea what Zeke Steele was like, but she expected him to be just like her boss, since they were brothers. Teague was sweet, kind, funny, and charming. He was also gloriously handsome, tall and rugged. Unfortunately, all that handsome gorgeousness did nothing for her. She’d hoped that she could feel something for him when she’d first started her job with Steele Industries. It would make sense that she would fall in love with a man like that.
But nope. He was just…Teague.
Zeke walked into his office, ready to fire someone. He’d just left a meeting where a contractor complained about missing documents. He was so furious, knowing that those documents were somewhere in the mess of his office, either on his desk or his assistant’s, but he had absolutely no idea where they might be. There were other issues that were falling through the cracks as well. Things that couldn’t happen! Inspection requests weren’t happening, contracts weren’t being sent out so contractors weren’t showing up at work sites, slowing down progress, which would eventually mean additional costs and missed deadlines.
Something had to change! He was fully prepared to cancel his meetings for the next week so that he could personally go through all the documents on his desk, and figure out his office filing system, just so that he could know where everything was!
But when he stepped through the doorway to his office area, he came to a screeching halt. The exquisitely round bottom that greeted him fired up his imagination like nothing he’d ever experienced. He was so enthralled, he actually considered dropping the files in his hands so that he could bend down and cup the round globes. They were perfect, straining against the wool material of the slacks, making his mind go down a deliciously wicked path.
And that was all before he realized he was standing there looking at the most incredible derriere he’d ever seen.
He must have made a sound because the delectable stranger spun around…well, she “fell” around. Her body twisted and, because of her position, when she looked up at him, she sort of…toppled over.
“Oh!” She gasped and pushed herself up. Unfortunately for his already strained body, her silk blouse gaped slightly when she stood, giving him an enticing glance at the black lace of her bra underneath. His mouth watered with the idea of discovering what that black lace held. As she stood, everything about this woman screamed energy; lively, lovely, amazing, sensual energy. Even the black curls around her face, pinned on top of her head by several pencils, bounced around her.
It took him several moments to pull his eyes away from those dancing curls. Black hair, white skin, incredibly long, black lashes surrounding the bluest, clearest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. He couldn’t even say that her skin was pale. It was white. A creamy, soft, delicate white that tempted his fingers to reach out and touch her skin, to find out if she was real or a porcelain doll. And her lips, her rosebud lips, were the perfect shade of red.
It took several moments for his eyes to move away from those lips. Lips that he’d like to explore, kiss…damn, he was picturing those lips doing…ah hell.
As his eyes moved lower, his body couldn’t hold back the almost instant reaction. She was perfect! Her breasts were full and round, almost straining the burgundy silk of her blouse. Her tiny waist flared out into round, lush hips that he suspected his hands would enjoy more than anything he’d ever touch, besides those breasts.
She was like a Madonna wrapped up in the body of a sensual goddess.
And he wanted her!
“Who are you?” he asked, but even to his own ears, the question came out sounding harsh.
Marcy stared up at the giant man glaring down at her. She must have done something wrong. And if this gorgeous, intimidating, huge man would stop looking at her like he wanted to bite her, she might be able to figure out what she’d done wrong.
Goodness, he was handsome! Not in the way Teague was handsome, but she could see the family resemblance. No, this man was…different. He was…
Terrifying!
“You must be Marcy, from Teague’s site.” He moved closer and Marcy suppressed the crazy instinct to move back. She couldn’t have this man close to her. Why, she didn’t understand. All she grasped in her jumbled mind was that this man scared her. It was basic survival, she thought, bunny rabbit skittering away from the wily fox. Or wolf, was more appropriate. Foxes were cute and fuzzy.
There was nothing cute or fuzzy about this man.
He was hard. Hard jaw, hard green eyes, hard glare, hard shoulders….yep. Top to bottom, this man was granite hard and scary as all get-out.
She shivered, her fingers almost numb around the files she was holding.
“You are Marcy Marshall, correct?” He extended his hand, his sharp, green eyes narrowing on her features, and Marcy had no choice. She lifted her own fingers and almost jumped out of her skin when the heat from his hands enclosed her cold fingers.
His deep baritone voice felt like a rough caress, a caress that sent shivers of awareness spiraling throughout her body. “I’ve heard great things about you. Are you sure you can tackle this challenge?”
Marcy licked her lips. Was he the challenge? Was he asking her to tackle him?
Her eyes moved down, glancing at his lips and she unconsciously licked hers. “Um…”
“My assistant went on maternity leave three weeks ago. The man who took her place messed everything up.”
Oh! He was talking about tackling the office mess! Not him! Darn!
Wait, huh? She didn’t want to tackle this man! She had plans! She had things she needed to do! Such as law school, great lawyer, bragging rights for her mother. Her life was mapped out and it didn’t include a gorgeous, sexy giant with a voice that could send her body into sexual shock. Nope!
Her future included a nice, comfortable accountant with a white picket fence and two children, a boy and a girl, a dog and a cat. A cocker spaniel dog because they were sweet and fluffy. She had no idea on the cat. Her accountant husband would have to pick out the cat. Looking up at this man, she suspected that his choice in dogs would be…German shepherd. And he wouldn’t want a cat. She needed a cat. The picture in her mind included a cat, even though she didn’t really like cats. She had to have a cat to finish the perfect picture.
She knew what she wanted and she was going for it. This man might be eye candy, but she had goals.
Clearing her throat, she nodded with as much confidence as she could muster and pulled her hand out of his. “Yes. I can fix this. I’ve already started working on it. Just give me a few days and I’ll have things back to normal.”
Zeke nodded and had the crazy urge to shove everything off his desk and spread her out on top of it. The view from his office was great, but he suspected it would be nothing compared to the view of this woman laying across his desk, a pleading look in those crystal blue eyes, begging him to take her, to make love to her.
Forcing that image out of his mind, he glanced around at the mess his office was in and tried to stifle his anger and frustration. Looking back down at her, he also had to stifle the urge to take her into his arms and make love to her. Office protocol be damned, this woman was gorgeous!
Zeke pulled back, appalled at his thoughts. This was business. Besides, Teague would be furious if he…well, all the things going through his mind would piss off his brother. So instead of inviting this luscious lady to his bed, he focused. “Excellent,” he said and nodded once again. “I look forward to your help.”
With that, he moved into his office, trying to get his body back under control. What the hell? He was plotting to have sex with an employee? On his office desk?!
No. First of all, Marcy was a valuable employee. Secondly, Teague would kill him.
The first was important, the second, he dismissed.
Stopping just inside his office, Zeke came to a halt again. His desk was…buried. He couldn’t find anything and all the sexual tension he’d been feeling while looking down at the luscious, sensual bunny outside his office transformed into frustration at his work life.
Tamping it down with an effort of will, he dug through the papers until he could find the files he needed for his next meeting. With resignation, he walked back to the outer office, about to ask for help. Unfortunately, his dark-haired goddess was bent over the desk…and oh dear God, the ideas that popped into his mind with her in that position!
“I have a meeting in five minutes,” he told the woman who seemed to be forcing air into her lungs. And she was bent over, her butt once again drawing his eyes.
“Yes,” she gasped and spun around, her blue eyes wide as she looked up at him. He hadn’t realized how tiny she was. He was almost a foot taller than she was.
He liked tall, leggy blonds, he reminded himself. Not bouncy, buxom, full-of-energy, dark haired beauties that made his teeth ache with longing.
Nope, she was off limits.
No matter how long her lashes were!