Lexi gives Asher a small wave and exits my office. Asher watches her leave, his eye homing in on her round ass, while I watch him. My fists clench again, my nails digging into my palms.
Once she is entirely out of range, I wait for it in 3… 2… 1…
Asher spins around and slams his hands to my desk. “Holy shit, you did find her. You even hired her? Damn, that must be some magical pussy that you gave her a job, and a director job at that.”
I slump down in my chair. “Asher, it’s not like that.”
“Oh? Because it sure as hell looks like that to me.”
“Will you keep your voice down?” My voice is harsh. The last thing I need is a rumor going around the office about not only myself but Lexi. I rise again from my chair and shut the door before strolling over to the bar set up in the corner of the office.
Yes, I know it’s only 11:15 in the morning, but if I’m going to explain this, especially to my arrogant younger brother, I’m going to need something more substantial than coffee.
I pour two small tumblers, each with a splash of whiskey that was given to me as a present by the previous owner at the official sale of the company.
“You know I will never deny a drink at any hour,” Asher says as he accepts the glass. “But for you to drink during the middle of a workday, I’d say you better start spilling.”
I lean against my desk, crossing my ankles and staring at the amber liquid. I swirl it around for a moment before I take a swig and enjoy the smooth, crisp liquid as it goes down my throat. This woman is my undoing, leading me to drink in the middle of the workday.
“Yes, Lexi is the girl from the club. No, I didn’t hire her; she already worked here.”
“I knew it!” Asher shouts with a giant smile on his face. “You got all defensive around her. I thought you were about to pounce. You’re quite the caveman, Ben.” Asher smirks before taking another drink.
“It’s a fucking mess.” I set the glass down on my desk and scrape my hands over my face, exhaling loudly. “I spent all weekend thinking about her only to come in Monday morning and learn that the woman stuck in my brain is none other than my employee. And someone that I have to work with regularly getting ready for the big Best Of event this company puts on.”
“You didn’t google her?”
I’m shocked by his question. “Why the hell would I google her?”
“I don’t know; maybe you googled the employees when you took over the company? I always google women before I go on a date. I don’t see why it would be any different here?” He googles women before he goes out with them? Yeah, I know. Pot, meet kettle since I did, in fact, google Lex, but at least that was after the fact and not before.
I shake my head. “Wow. You are…” I don’t even know how to react or respond to him right now. “Anyways, no, I did not google my employees, or dates I go on for that matter.”
He raises his eyebrows in question. “You go on dates?” I flip him off, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing. “So you wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, and then she was gone.” I take another sip. Does he have to be so crude? “So, what next? You find out when you show up at work and then fuck each other’s brains out on the conference table? Ooo, or on your desk?” He cringes. “Ew, gross, I touched that earlier; I sure hope you sanitized.”
I groan. “No, I mean, yes, I mean no. We found out on Monday morning when I walked into the conference room, and bam, there she is, but we managed to get through the meeting. Then afterward, we both agreed what happened was a mistake and we needed to keep it strictly professional.”
Asher stares at me, trying to read me, cocking his head side to side. He smirks. “Right, professional. So then you haven’t made any additional passes at her, then.”
I nod.
“You won’t mind if I do, then? That is one sweet piece of ass.”
I rise and slam my glass down on the desk. “The fuck you will,” I growl.
He smirks and stands, setting his empty glass next to mine. “Right, strictly professional. Keep telling yourself that.” He playfully smacks my cheek. “Good luck with that. I gotta go or I’ll be late for lunch.” And with that remark, he exits my office, shutting the door behind him.
Where the hell did that come from? Was I territorial over a one-night stand, a woman I can never have? Lexi was never mine to begin with.
I press the intercom to my secretary. “Yes, Mr. Harrington.”
“Did Miss Baker stop by and decide on lunch?”
“Yes sir, she picked the Corner Bistro.”
Fuck, of course. Did she know that I’ve been frequenting that place for lunch lately, or is it just a coincidence? When it comes to Alexis Baker, I’m not sure there is such a thing as coincidence anymore.
“Wonderful, Taylor. Order whatever she wants and my usual. Can you have it in her office by—” I glance down at the time. “—12:15?”
“Of course, right away, sir.”
I hang up and get back to work. I compose my thoughts and get a handle on myself before enclosing myself in Lexi’s office with her. I can do this. She’s just a woman—a beautiful woman that I can’t fucking get out of my head. Even my brother doesn’t have faith in me that I can keep this strictly professional. It’s time I prove him and myself wrong.
I kick my heels off under the conference table and move my neck side to side. A loud crack brings slight relief. As much as I am slumped over on my computer, I’m surprised I don’t resemble Quasimodo more.
A slight smile forms on my lips, picturing me like that. Real attractive, Lex.
“You doing okay over there?” The deep timbre of Ben’s voice whips my head in the direction of the conference room door, where he stands perched against the frame. I’m thankful to be already sitting, otherwise, I may have embarrassed the hell out of myself because I’m pretty sure my legs would have given right out from under me.
This man screams sexy, dominant, and confident without even opening his mouth.
He pushes off the frame, closing the distance between us.
“We can just call it a night and go over this later if you need to.”
I shake my head. “Oh no, I’m fine. I want to get these winners finalized so I can start generating the letters to notify them next week.” Ben is definitely realizing it is more than just picking winners out of a hat. I’m not sure people actually understand the number of long hours and hard work it takes to put on such a successful event. Even the smallest details need to be perfect.
He claps his hands together. “Well, then let’s get started.”
Ben pulls out the black conference chair a few away from me and loosens his tie.
“I hope you don’t mind working in here. It’s just easier to spread all the paperwork out to keep it organized.” This will be the fourth Best Of party that I’ve helped plan and the second one entirely on my own. Over the years, I’ve found a particular way to do things, especially when it comes to this party, which has been dubbed “my baby.”
“That’s fine. This is your project. I’m just here to nod my head, sign my name, and look pretty, I suppose.” He gives me a smile that could easily be part of a Colgate commercial. “And I hope you don’t mind”—he bounces my words back at me—“but I ordered us some food, assuming that once we start, there won’t be any stopping us.”