The mental image I’d conjured up of her on her knees in my shower suddenly shifted and Jeremy was standing in my place while he tried to fuck her throat like she was nothing but a hole. I physically shuddered, but he was too busy stuffing his face to notice.

  Once I got my physical reaction under control, I forced myself to ask the question I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “Why’d you break up?”

  He paused mid-chew and grinned again. “Why? You interested?”

  I scowled. “No. I want to make sure there isn’t going to be any issues between you two.”

  At least her hushed conversation with her mother suddenly made sense. Working with an ex was a perfectly valid complaint.

  “Good. Trust me—it’s not even worth the effort. She’s got a massive stick up her ass.”

  My eye twitched as I resisted the urge to ask what the fuck that meant. Thankfully, I didn’t need to vocalize it.

  Jeremy leaned forward and rested his elbow on my desk, dropping his voice as he said, “Seriously. I took her on four dates and got nothing. Nada. Not even a kiss. She had this reputation around campus for being a virgin, but damn. None of us guys were ever able to do anything to pry open those legs and believe me, we fucking tried.”

  He snorted and leaned back in the chair while the information slowly sunk in.

  Jeremy never touched her. If what he was saying was true, no one had.

  Damn it all, the image of her blowing me shifted into her spread out on my bed while I taught her everything there was to know about pleasure. I’d take my time in getting her ready—make her moan and beg and weep—before finally sliding my cock in.

  “Yo. You okay?”

  Snapping back to reality, I cursed the fact that I was hard as a rock and sitting only a few feet from my nephew. That’s not a position any man should have to be in.

  “I’m fine. I just have a lot to do today. Head back to the break room and we’ll catch up later.”

  He shrugged one shoulder and gathered his stuff. At least the boy could take a fucking hint. I was almost certain I’d have to throw his ass out.

  “Catch you later, boss.”

  I grumbled in reply, not moving until the door clicked shut behind him. Only then did I push my chair away from the desk and spin around, taking a long, slow breath as I stared out my window at the city.

  The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen was working in my office. That was bad enough. But knowing she was untouched? I absent-mindedly ran my hand over my cock, pondering whether I had enough time to both eat and jerk off before I had to get back to work. Just as I was beginning to ease down my zipper, the intercom buzzed and I bit back a curse.

  “Guess I don’t have time for either,” I muttered to myself before pressing the button. “Send them in.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I tried to imagine the words in Mallory’s voice, but I couldn’t manage to do it. At least not yet. I’d need to talk to her more first. With that thought in mind, I jammed the button with my thumb one more time.

  “Janice?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll be in meetings for the rest of the day, but don’t let Miss Jones leave before I get a chance to talk to her. I’ll pay her overtime if she has to wait long.”

  There was a long pause before her voice confirmed, “Will do.”

  “Thank you.”

  It wasn’t until halfway through my next meeting that I realized she’d likely be waiting for me long after the work day was done, leaving us completely alone in the office.

  My cock throbbed at the mere thought.

  3

  Mallory

  I was pretty sure my first day would go down in the books as the most awkward first day ever.

  Between finding out that I’d be working with Jeremy, the awkward way I’d met my new boss, and the whole coffee mishap I had with an older gentleman named Dale who worked in accounting—I was a ball of nervous energy when the day came to a close.

  So when Janice told me I needed to stay to have a word with the boss, I was damn sure I was being fired. Another record for the books. Quickest job lost in history.

  It took every ounce of my concentration not to chew on my nails while I waited. I stole glances at the clock every now and then, watching as an hour and a half went by without so much as a sign of Mr. Wolfe.

  Just as I was considering fetching my phone to let my mother know I was fine, the sound of a door opening hit my ears. I strained to listen and heard Mr. Wolfe’s smoky voice light with laughter as he wished another man a good evening. A pair of footsteps moved away while the other set came toward me.

  The moment he came into view, the lingering irritation I felt at being asked to stay so late evaporated. He looked exhausted.

  Even in his worn-down state, he was the most attractive man I’d ever laid eyes on. In fact, the five o’clock shadow that was covering his strong jaw somehow made him even more handsome.

  “I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Jones. Come with me.”

  I rose from the chair and followed him down the corridor, noting how different it looked when it wasn’t packed with other employees. He held open the door to his office and gestured for me to go inside. I took the seat across his desk and folded my hands between my knees, biting my lip while I waited for him to sit.

  As soon as he hit the chair, I opened my mouth and exclaimed, “I’m so sorry!”

  Both eyebrows raised high in what was either alarm or surprise—I honestly couldn’t tell which. But my panic at the thought of losing my job wouldn’t allow me to shut up, so I continued.

  “I’m so, so sorry. I apologized to Dale so many times. I’ll—I’ll pay for his pants, I swear! Take it out of my paycheck or I can buy him new ones or-or... I don’t know. What’s the best dry cleaner around here? Please don’t fire me!”

  I took a breath after I finished, watching with horror as his brow furrowed with confusion. I blinked multiple times as he slowly shook his head.

  “Am I... I’m not being fired?”

  His lips twitched as his head continued its slow, side to side motion.

  “No one told you about Dale, did they?”

  Now, he was outright smiling. He shook his head again and made a gesture that was an obvious request for more information.

  “He asked more for coffee and I... I tripped when I brought it to him.”

  Mr. Wolfe chuckled. “And I’m guessing based upon your pants comment that it went to his lap?”

  “It wasn’t my fault! There are boxes all over his office and I tripped on one. I swear it was an accident.”

  “I have no doubt. Serves him right. Maybe now he’ll have the presence of mind to keep his office a little cleaner.”

  Something softened in his gaze and it simultaneously put me at ease and made the back of my neck tingle. I shifted in my seat, uncertain of why I was here if it wasn’t to be fired. After a seemingly endless stretch of silence, I cleared my throat.

  “Mr. Wolfe?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why am I here?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded. “I mean—I don’t mind, I just—”

  “No, no. It’s a valid question. Sorry for zoning out on you. I’m just tired.” He leaned back and toyed with a pen lying idly on his desk, his eyes glued to it as he asked, “With the exception of the pants incident, how did your first day go?”

  “It was fine. It’s a little overwhelming, but I—”

  “Why did you come to New York? You’re from Arizona, are you not?”

  The rapid-fire questioning wasn’t doing anything to ease my nerves, nor was the heated look in his eyes when they finally came back up to meet mine.

  “I visited the city a few times as a kid and loved it. I figured I’d give living here a shot.”

  “Still, it’s a pretty far distance. You didn’t have any other reason?”

  He was fishing for something, I was sure of that. I just wasn’t sure if there was something specific he wanted to know, or if he merely wanted the truth. Considering that was all I could really give him, I opted to come clean.

  “I wanted a fresh start.”

  He nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer. I had no idea why until he said, “A fresh start would be pretty difficult to have while working with an ex.”

  It was like my heart stopped beating. My brain summoned up images of Jeremy lying to my new boss about our history. Or even worse—telling the truth.

  After a rough swallow, I steeled myself and tried to put on my most professional voice as I said, “I don’t know what Jeremy told you, but in my experience, two people have to actually date before they can break up and call each other an ex.”

  He let out a burst of surprised laughter and shook his head, leaning forward again to rest his forearms on the desk. I idly wondered what his arms looked like under his suit jacket.

  “You weren’t together?”

  “No.”

  “Jeremy claims he took you on four dates.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider being asked to watch a guy play football or being dragged along to a keg party a date,” I said dryly.

  He laughed and I tried not to let it show, but that kind of specific information reinforced my theory that Jeremy blabbed about my reputation to Mr. Wolfe. I was mortified by the thought that this gorgeous man knew I was a virgin.

  “So, there won’t be any problems between you two?” he asked after he got his laughter under control.

  “Not from my end, no.”

  “Good to hear.”

  Mr. Wolfe was grinning at me like the cat who caught the canary and I wondered what exactly I said had made him so pleased. The grin was infectious though and I soon felt myself smiling right along with him. We stayed that way for a long moment before his slowly melted away.

  “I’d like to apologize one more time for keeping you so late. I don’t know if Janice told you, but I’ll be paying you overtime for staying.”

  “Oh. Thank you,” I replied, tickled at the thought. Hello, cab money.

  “You’re very welcome. Did you have any questions you’d like to ask? Since we’re here.”

  “Nothing comes to mind,” I said slowly as I studied him.

  If I didn’t know better, I would have said he looked… disappointed. It almost seemed like he wanted me to have questions for him. Like he wanted a reason for us to stay longer.

  “I do have one question, actually. But I don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask.”

  His eyes widened and I swore the irises got darker as he slowly stated, “You can ask me anything.”

  That was definitely not my imagination. The words had clearly been spoken and loaded with so much innuendo that even I could pick up on it. The intensity of his gaze combined with the words completely threw me off, my question forgotten.

  “Mallory?”

  “Yes?” I responded in a daze, fascinated by the way his lips moved when they formed my name.

  “Your inappropriate question?”

  “I had a...” I trailed off as it came back to me, but I could already feel my cheeks burning with an embarrassed blush. Mr. Wolfe was grinning at me again and I knew he could tell I had been staring at his lips. “I just was thinking that you don’t look old enough to have a nephew Jeremy’s age.”

  His eyebrows raised. “That isn’t a question, Miss Jones.”

  The truth was, I was too embarrassed to voice the question after being caught blatantly staring at his lips. It wasn’t until I heard his soft laugh that I looked up and saw his expression.

  “You’re teasing me.”

  “I am,” Mr. Wolfe confirmed. “Jeremy’s mother is my older sister. I’m thirty-nine.”

  I was doing the math in my head immediately. Seventeen years between us. Maybe sixteen depending on the exact date since my twenty-third birthday was just around the corner.

  His throat abruptly cleared and I realized he was waiting for a response.

  “I’m sorry, I spaced out. It’s shock. I would never have guessed it from looking at you.”

  “No? What would you have guessed?”

  He leaned back against his chair, his hands folded behind his head. I couldn’t help but watch his biceps bulge from the movement and soon my eyes were drawn to where his suit coat opened wider to reveal his dress shirt.

  Never—not once in my entire life—had I so thoroughly been put off guard by a man. He was easily the most handsome man I’d ever seen, but what was most mesmerizing about him was something I couldn’t put a name to. Something internal.

  “Thirty-two,” I managed to choke out. “No older.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  “You’re not upset that I didn’t go younger?”

  “Nope. I was pretty awkward in my twenties.”

  Him? Awkward? I nearly snorted before I said, “I don’t believe that.”

  “Oh, believe it. I think there are still pictures lying around somewhere if you really need proof.”

  “I would love to see that,” I replied with a soft laugh.

  Something shifted in the air and his open expression closed off, a frown displaying the lines on his forehead. I wanted to take back whatever I said to ruin the moment, but it was obvious that Mr. Wolfe was done.

  “You should head home. I’ve kept you long enough.”

  “O-Okay,” I said, bending to the side and reaching for my bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He nodded in return before spinning his chair around. His solemn expression was the last I saw of him and it stuck with me for the rest of the night.

  4

  Brian

  From that point on, I mentally played out what it’d be like to fire her at least once a day. Sometimes more. Never less.

  Today, I began with one of my favorite scenarios. The one where she, just like the last assistants, had barged into my office demanding a raise. Only instead of taking a perverse pleasure in the act of firing her, I took my pleasure by bending her over my desk and hiking up her pencil skirt. I’d start with a spanking until she pleaded for something else—until she begged for more. Only then would I pop her sweet cherry.

  It might have been cliché, but damn if it didn’t get my motor running.

  There was a moment of desperation where I entertained the idea of picking up a woman just to satisfy my urges for the time being, but the thought of touching anyone else held no appeal. So I took the matter into my own hands.

  Literally. Two weeks of seeing her at least once a day had greatly expanded my spank bank material.

  The reality of the situation was a hell of a lot different than my fantasies.

  I still hadn’t decided whether or not I wanted to break my own rules by attempting to go after her. I knew which course my body wanted to take—hell, I’d had more inappropriately timed boners in the past two weeks than in the past two years—but I wasn’t the kind of man who got blinded by lust.

  My brain was the one in charge of my decisions. It just still hadn’t chosen which path to take.

  So I spent two weeks avoiding her as much as possible, which seemed to only make it harder to think of anything else. Jeremy’s constant presence didn’t make it any easier. Since learning the truth about their history together, I felt odd stabs of possessiveness every time he came around.

  I shoved that thought to the side as I glared at the clock, willing the hands to move faster. Much as I dreaded the final hour of the day, I was also looking forward to it.

  This afternoon, I’d be meeting with all four of the new assistants to give them their first paychecks personally, as well as go over the reports Janice made regarding their performance. It’d be the first time I spoke with Mallory alone since our meeting in my office on her first day.

  Janice said nothing when I specifically requested Mallory be the last meeting of the day, but I didn’t miss the way one eyebrow arched. Try as I might to hide it, my interest in the girl was obvious to anyone who cared enough to really look. I’d gotten quite a few raised eyebrows from some of the older employees who caught me either staring at Mallory or looking for her.

  The only people who seemed totally oblivious were Jeremy and Mallory herself. The latter could be chalked up to naivety. The former was sheer stupidity.

  “Speaking of stupidity,” I muttered to myself as I stretched across the desk. “Send Jeremy in.”

  Luckily, none of the new assistants had any serious problems during their first two weeks—my dumbass nephew included. They were handling it as well as anyone else we had hired.

  Janice maintained that Mallory was a ‘shining star’ as she liked to put it. It took me less than a week of hearing that comment before pulling her application again and going over it a little more thoroughly.

  Her degree put her above the qualification of a swing. In an even creepier move that I wouldn’t admit to anyone, I even contacted some of her old professors. She wanted to become an editor and every person I spoke to was convinced that she could—and eventually would—be damn good at it.

  If she was planning to do it here, a relationship with me would be impossible. There was no way I could give her a promotion that large without accusations flying about my reasoning for doing so. Not if we were together.

  The direness of the thought was interrupted when Jeremy came strutting in with his usual level of overconfidence. Janice assured me that he was doing fine and pulling his weight, but I had no intention of letting him leave here with that damn smirk.

  He still didn’t know his place.

  When he dropped into the seat and gave me an expectant look, I pushed his check across the desk. Before he could reach out to grab it, I dropped a copy of my employee handbook on top.

  “Do you recognize that?”

  “The handbook? Yeah, Janice gave me one when I came in for the interview.”

  “Did you read it?”

  The half-shrug I got in return was enough of an answer. With an overdramatic eye roll, I stood up and flipped it to the relevant page.

  “Read this,” I ordered, my finger resting on the paragraph.