Jules got up, doing a sexy little shimmy as she pulled her skirt down back to a few inches above her knees. I tried and failed not to watch her full ass as it practically fought to break free from the skirt on her way out of my office.
Goddamn, I thought. I was glad my partners weren’t in town at the moment. I needed to find a way to get myself under control with this woman before they arrived. I knew they’d all see straight through me, and they’d have a right to be pissed. I was supposed to be the one in control of this whole operation. I wasn’t the one who was supposed to get distracted or make bad decisions on account of my cock.
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy interacting with her. It was a breath of fresh air to meet someone who could almost go toe to toe with me. It made me crave the moment where I could squash that last little rebellious spark from her. I imagined how satisfying it would be to see her bend over for me, to watch the realization settle into her eyes as she understood she’d been fooling herself when she thought she could handle me.
And yet another part of me hoped she wouldn’t bend. Jules giving in and submitting would be good for the fuck of my life, but if she managed to keep that backbone of hers, she’d be far more dangerous to me. She’d be someone who would continue to command my attention. Someone I might not be able to get off my mind.
I ran both hands down my face and groaned. An email popped up. My chest clenched when I saw that it looked like she’d sent another email to the whole company. I half stood when I saw the subject line.
* * *
Subject: Mr. White’s secret plan.
* * *
Attention all employees,
Mr. White has a highly secret, highly interesting plan I’ve just been informed of. Please see me at my desk for more information. ASAP.
* * *
Yours truly,
Jules
* * *
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I shoved the door to my office open and stormed toward reception. Everybody ducked their head when they saw me, and the room fell silent. I yanked open the double doors and found Jules at her desk with a shit-eating grin on her face.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
She held up both palms like I’d just drawn a gun on her. “Probably a bad joke?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Did you notice I added a ‘1’ after everybody’s email? You’re the only person here who saw that.”
I put my hands on her desk, leaning forward. I couldn’t believe the gall of this woman. I’d just finished warning her to be careful and she thought it was a good idea to play a joke on me? I very nearly laughed, but then I steeled my nerves and clenched my jaw. “If I wanted to hire a comedian, I would’ve done that.”
Jules gulped and looked down again. “I was hoping to lighten the tension a bit.”
“Get used to the tension, Miss Adams. Learn to thrive in it, or it’ll snap you in two.”
I left her at her desk, went back to my office, then sat down with an another annoyed groan. I should’ve fired her several times by now. The fact that I hadn’t was a very, very bad sign. Sure, I could keep myself from laughing. I could even force out the words to make her think I wasn’t amused. What I couldn’t do was hide the truth from myself.
I was enjoying this. Far too much.
7
Juliette
I’d been rudely awoken by a knock at my door, told Mr. White needed me to arrive early, and whisked into a black SUV as soon as I’d managed to get halfway ready.
Adrian’s driver at least had the decency to look apologetic. His name was Harvey, and he spent the first few minutes of our ride explaining how Mr. White wasn’t so bad once you learned not to question him.
“Mr. White insisted that I get you an appropriate outfit for tonight,” Harvey said.
I leaned in and turned the air vents away from myself. It was freezing, and the air was blowing straight up my skirt. “Am I allowed to know what’s happening tonight?” I asked. I was bleary-eyed, even though I normally considered myself a morning person.
I’d had to stay up late last night finishing with my work from yesterday. Mr. White hadn’t mentioned that each author I emailed for him was going to turn into a back-and-forth communication loop. By the time I’d been leaving the office, I was entrenched in over a dozen email conversations with authors who were asking me dozens of questions I didn’t know how to answer. I’d been up late emailing Mr. White asking how to respond and getting more and more frustrated that the damn man wouldn’t just email the authors himself.
“Tonight is Coleton Day. The anniversary of the day Russ Coleton founded Coleton Enterprises. Every branch throws a little office boozer to celebrate after the workday.”
Harvey was watching me in the rearview, so I nodded. He was in his fifties with a big bear kind of vibe. He had a well-trimmed beard, but I could picture how he probably preferred to have his brown hair grown out, curly, and wild.
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“Nah. Mr. White isn’t a big fan of fun. He keeps things as formal as he’s allowed to. If it wasn’t an order straight from Mr. Coleton himself, I’m sure Mr. White would skip it. Uh,” Harvey said, crinkling his eyes at me in the rearview. “Kindly don’t mention I said that, Miss.”
I decided I liked Harvey and smiled back. “Secret’s safe with me.”
We pulled up to a little boutique shop a few minutes later. Mannequins in cute dresses were on display in the window. “So,” I said. “It’s like five in the morning. Does Mr. White know most human beings don’t wake up, let alone open their businesses this early?”
Harvey put his arm around the passenger seat and looked back toward me, grinning. “One thing you’ll want to understand about Mr. White is that he has a way of getting what he wants. Either by force of will, bribery, intimidating, or—believe it or not—smooth talking.”
I tilted my head. “Yeah. I think I’m going into the ‘believe it not’ camp on the smooth talking. Mr. White is about as smooth as sandpaper.”
Harvey nodded knowingly. “I know it seems that way, but the man is full of surprises. Anyway, he arranged to have the store open early for you.” Harvey cleared his throat, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “Mr. White asked me to let you know that he’d already selected a dress for you. They’re just going to make sure it fits and do any necessary adjustments.”
I raised my eyebrows. “He picked out a dress for me? I never told him my size.”
Harvey shrugged. “Like I said. It’s best to just go with it. But we’d better hurry, he wanted you to pick up his coffee on your way in once we’re through here.”
I shook my head and got out of the car. Of course he did.
To my annoyance, the dress he’d picked out fit me perfectly. I also went in hoping I’d hate it, but once I saw it on myself, I realized Mr. White had shockingly good taste. It was a button front dress with short, flared sleeves at shoulder height and a flattering A shape that tapered from my waist. It was simple but flattering and conservative at the same time.