Why her?

I’m tempted to respond with a flippant “why not?” but I’m trying to get her to take my offer. It’s probably not a good idea to provoke her.

But that’s such a stupid question.

She’s the obvious choice. She’s beautiful, intelligent, ambitious, and capable. Any guy would be lucky to have a son or daughter with those traits.

And of course it doesn’t hurt that she’s also sinfully sexy.

From the first day I saw her sitting at the desk in front of my office, I’ve fantasized about dragging her in here like a caveman and fucking her against my desk. I imagine her blouse undone and her skirt hiked up to show the juncture of her creamy thighs, where my engorged cock slides into her.

But there’s no need to get too chatty. At least not now.

A business negotiation is like a poker game. The less she knows about me, the stronger my position. I like to play my cards close to my chest.

“Well?” Kat asks, her red, full lips parted as she waits for my answer.

I have to stop myself from reaching out and claiming those lips for myself. That can wait.

“I have my reasons,” I say.

I need her to know that even though we’ll be having sex, we’ll still be an employer and an employee. I’m still her boss. I’m still in charge. She doesn’t get to call the shots.

“And you’re not going to share those reasons with me?” she asks. Small lines have appeared on the bridge of her nose, between her big, green eyes. But her little frown only makes her appear more delightful.

Delightful?

Ugh. What the fuck am I using a word like that for? It must be because I’ve just read some parts of her romance novel.

“No, kitten,” I say. “This is like a job interview. I’m offering you a position. You can take it or leave it.”

“I usually get to ask some questions at the end of an interview.”

“You do, and I reserve the right to choose what to disclose. Let’s just say that you have the kind of… genetic makeup that I’m looking for.”

“Healthy, twenties, fertile…” she lists off.

I laugh. “More like smart, sassy, pretty face…”

“I had no idea parents wanted ‘sassy’ kids these days,” she says.

“I do,” I answer honestly.

“Why do you want a kid in the first place?” Kat studies me with suspicion in her almond-shaped green eyes.

“Why does anyone want a kid?” I ask.

“To take care of them when they’re old and broke,” she answers quickly. “But you will never become poor—not even if you buy a new car every week. I’ve seen your financial statements.”

I chuckle. “You’re sharp, too, kitten. Someone with your brains and a good Ivy League education—in finance, of course—would go on to take on the world.”

“Ah, so you want someone to keep your empire going after you’re gone,” Kat says.

“Something like that.”

If that answer satisfies your curiosity, kitten, that will do.

Her red lips twist as she bites the inside of her cheek.

“That’s a bad habit,” I point out.

“I know,” she says absently.

“What are your considerations?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says. “My brain is just going ‘this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy…’ on repeat right now.”

I can’t help but laugh at her honesty. Even though she usually keeps things professional, it seems like she’s finally loosening up. I say, “It’s obviously not so crazy you wouldn’t consider it, or you would’ve walked out of my office.”

“I guess…” she says softly.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a taste of what’s to come. I’ll give you until the end of the week to decide. Meanwhile, you don’t have to come in to work and you’ll get $5,000 in the bank today. That way, you can see what it’s like to have all the time you need to write and not have to worry about money while you’re doing it. Today's Tuesday,” Heath says as he glances at his calendar, “so you have three days to decide.”

“And that’s… That doesn’t count as my agreement to take your offer, I assume.” She has a long way to go, but Kat has a natural instinct for negotiations. I’m sure that’ll serve her well when the time comes for her to sign a publishing deal.

“Not at all,” I say. “Just take the rest of the week off and get an extra $5,000 in the process. No strings attached.”

“I’d be stupid not to take it,” she admits.

“You’d be stupid not to take it.” I give her a cordial smile.

I’ve got this. The first step to winning a negotiation is getting your opponent to agree with you. Now that we’ve reached one agreement, it’ll be easier for her to say “yes” to my other, bigger offer.

It’s also a good idea to be generous. Research shows that the idea of reciprocity is sound. If you do someone a favor, they’ll like you and they’ll want to do something nice for you, too.

This means I can essentially buy goodwill. And with the amount of resources at my fingertips, there’s no end to the favors I can do for Kat.

“I’ll give you my answer before the end of the week,” Kat says as she gets up from her chair and starts to make her way to the door.

Not so fast, kitten.

I catch up to her and corner her against the wall. “Didn’t you forget something?”

Kat leans her head back and looks up at me. There’s apprehension in her eyes—I’ll admit this is a highly unusual situation and she has good reason to worry. But there’s something else, too, deep in those moss-colored eyes, so deep most people would miss it.

Lust. Wild, uncontrollable lust. The kind that has been suppressed for so long it would incinerate everything within her reach once it’s let out.

And I can see from the way she gazes at me that she already expects me to be the one to take her inner slut out to play. I can’t wait.

“What is it?” Kat asks. Her lips part, letting her breaths out in shallow little pants.

“I told you I was going to give you a taste of what’s to come.” I put my palms up against the wall, caging her in.

Kat says nothing. She only glances at my hands on either side of her head and swallows as she directs her gaze back to me.

She wants this. I bet it’s not just her face that’s filling with blood. I can almost make out her nipples as the hard little peaks poke through her thin white blouse.

The corners of my lips tug up. “I wasn’t done showing you the benefits of this arrangement.”  

I grab her hair in my fist. I swear her eyelids flutter shut and, in a split second, as soon as she opens them again, the hidden lust from before roars to the surface. She just opens up for me—eager, yielding, submissive.

Fuck.

I crush her lips with mine, and I feel her body melt under my touch. She’d spread her toned legs faster than hot butter if I were to take here right here, right now.

But I have to be patient. She might run away if I get too hasty.

This is a game. And I have to play my cards right.

Once, I made the mistake of letting my dick do the thinking for me. But guess what, kitten? I’m in full control now—of both my own desires, and of your delicious little body.

I can’t wait to have more than just a taste. But today’s not the day.

When I pull away and let her go, Kat drifts down the wall for a second before she regains her balance.

That’s right. I bet your legs feel weak now.

She stares at me, wide-eyed and alarmed, as if she has just realized what’s happened.

But she doesn’t waste much time staying confused. She smooths out her blouse and pencil skirt, as well as her hair, which is put up into a neat bun as usual. And my prim-and-proper assistant is back.

Interesting.

“Like I said, I’ll, uh, get in touch before Friday.” She gives me a quick glance, as if afraid of what those pretty eyes would reveal if she lingered.

And then she’s gone.

But only for the week.

I know she’ll be back. And when she comes back, it’ll be as the future mother of my child.