But as I work throughout the day, my thoughts keep straying to the curvy brunette. I keep wondering what she’s doing and where she is in her orientation. I’ve been keeping an eye on my outer office, but I’ve only seen a couple glimpses of her.
I’m so distracted that I don’t get nearly enough done. And I’m still thinking about her long after the sun is set. Finally, I give in, and I pull up the email that I got from HR with her résumé.
Pretty standard. A handful of office jobs here and there. All good recommendations, and good grades in college. But she doesn’t have a business degree like so many of my employees and former assistants have had. She has a degree in acting.
Brooke Stewart is certainly beautiful enough to be an actress. That’s for sure.
I shouldn’t google her, but I do. She’s the first result, and the website I click on has her gorgeous eyes staring out at me from the screen. Even the photo feels like her eyes are punching me in the gut. In a good way. In a dangerous way.
She has a bunch of headshots and a bio that sums up what was on her résumé. It’s not a super complicated website, just somewhere for casting directors to touch base if they see her and want to find out a little more. Smart.
The last thing I click on is a link her reels. In L.A., you see a lot of them. You have friends who are actors, and they ask you to watch them. So I’ve seen my share. There are a few videos on the page.
And the minute that I click play, I’m sucked in. She has an honesty and a vibrancy that pours through the screen. The first reel is her smiling and laughing. Some kind of party scene. I’m not really paying attention to the words—just to her. She’s so fucking beautiful that I can’t look away.
The second reel is more dramatic. She’s emotional and tears stream out of her eyes. I tune into her voice then. A rich alto that’s talking about heartbreak and how she can’t do this anymore. I have no context for the words that she’s saying, but I want to make her feel better. Pull her into my arms and fix it.
One thing is for sure, Brooke Stewart is a damn good actress.
The final reel is a little different. Brooke is wearing darker make-up and a silky red shirt that clings to her curves and shows everything. It drops low and reveals enough cleavage that I want to see more.
This scene is clearly a seduction. She’s looking at the camera and flirting. Smiling and looking away and back again, glancing up from under her lashes. I have a flash of her on her knees, looking up at me with those same eyes, and I can hardly breathe.
Fuck.
I’m going to have to get myself under control before tomorrow when she’s here and I have to see her. Heat is building in my skin, and my cock is rock fucking hard. What is it about her? I’ve never encountered a woman that’s gotten under my skin so quickly before.
The video ends, and I stare at the frozen image of her for long seconds before I shove myself up out of my chair. I need a drink. A cold fucking drink.
A cold shower would be better, but I shouldn’t go home yet. I really should keep working. Thinking about Brooke won’t help, and neither will the drink, probably, but I’ll give it a go.
I pour myself a finger of whiskey and look out over the city. It’s bright and alive. This is one of my favorite views, looking out over the sprawling, glittering wasteland.
There’s a bump and a soft curse from the outer office. It startles me for a moment. Everyone should have gone home by now, and I thought I was alone. At least I hope I am, because I don’t love the idea of someone hearing me watch the acting reels of my new secretary.
Setting the glass on my desk, I head to the doorway and freeze.
The very woman that’s stuck in my thoughts is in front of me, organizing some papers at the desk. She doesn’t know that I’m here. Yet. She picks up the stack of papers, and in seconds, she’ll see me.
“Working late?”
Brooke lets out a little shriek, and the papers go flying, followed by her. It makes me smile. So far, I’ve had two encounters with this woman and both times she’s somehow ended up on the floor.
She looks up at me where she’s on her knees, and the sight steals my breath and makes me harder than I already am. Because whatever I imagined, seeing the real thing is way fucking better.
“Sorry,” I say. “Seems like you can’t stay on your feet around me.”
Is that a blush on her cheeks?
“I was just catching up. Staying a little late since I was late this morning. I didn’t know that you were still here.”
“Working late myself,” I say.
I feel myself smiling, slipping into a manner I don’t use with secretaries. Behavior that is one hundred percent not professional. And right now, when I’m aching in my pants and have spent the whole damn day thinking about her, I can’t bring myself to care.
And though I should be moving to help her up, I’m fixated on the sight of her at my feet. I need to move. Because if she looks at me right now, there’s every chance in the world that she’ll see how she’s affecting me.
“Do you work late often?”
I shrug and finally reach down to help her up. Her skin is so soft on mine, I want to find out if her skin is that soft all over her body. “I try not to, but sometimes I can get…distracted. And that means I have to stay later to make up for it.”
She swallows as she puts the papers on her desk, glancing at me. I can see echoes of that video that I just watched. The seductress. “Were you distracted today?”
I nod, sliding my hands into my pockets. “I was. In fact, it’s been all day, since I got bumped into in the lobby by a beautiful woman.”
She’s truly blushing now, fingers fidgeting, but she also takes a small step toward me. “I really am sorry about that. I should have been paying more attention.”
Right now, I make the decision that I don’t care about anything else. There’s something singing in the chemistry between us. I swear that I can feel her body on mine even though we’re not touching. I’ve never felt anything like it, and I’m not letting it go.
I step into her space and hear the tiny gasp of breath. Fuck, it’s sexy, and I’m wondering if she’ll make the same sound when I’m pushing into her with my cock. I’m so much taller than her, she has to look up to meet my eyes. “Let me be clear. I’m not complaining about you running into me. I’d be perfectly happy for you to do it again, if you like.”
Her chest rises and falls, drawing my attention to the skin I can see disappearing in her shirt. Brooke licks her lips, and I’m not even sure that she’s aware of it. “I’ll keep that in mind. Is there any time in particular that you’d like me to run into you? Sir?”
The last word is tacked on in a breathless rush. Making it exactly clear where she stands. Fuck, I don’t know what it is about that, but I can barely see straight because there’s so much blood flowing south.
“I googled you,” I say. “In my distraction.”
She smiles, looking up at me with amusement and surprise. It’s like she’s suddenly more comfortable now that we both know what this is. “Oh? And what did you find?”
“I found your videos. You’re very good.”
A soft laugh. “My auditions would say otherwise.”