“What’s it say?”

  “Read it,” I hissed.

  He let out a huff but leaned forward and began scanning the words. His lips moved in silence as he read and I could feel my eye twitching at the irritating habit.

  It must have clicked half-way through because he abruptly stopped and reared back, snorting before he said, “Oh, come on! It was only a joke.”

  “Sexual harassment isn’t a joke,” I said gravely, clenching my teeth when he rolled his eyes. “This is serious. I don’t care how you and your buddies treated women in college. You won’t fucking talk to women like that here.”

  “It was just a pick-up line. You should have seen the skirt she was—”

  I slammed my fist on the desk, taking pleasure in how he jumped. “Don’t finish that sentence. I don’t care what she was wearing. You’re just lucky Karen didn’t lodge a formal complaint. If I hear one more word about you harassing anyone—and I mean anyone—you’re gone. We clear?”

  I swear the little fucker was about to argue, but then his mouth snapped shut and he nodded his assent as he rose from the chair.

  “We’re clear.”

  My eyes were narrowed into slits as I watched him leave the office. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that boy to learn when to shut his mouth.

  “I guess miracles can happen,” I said with a chuckle after the door shut. “And speaking of miracles…” I eased back into my chair and pressed the button. “Send Miss Jones in.”

  It’d been a stressful day so I knew my hair was fucked, but I ran a hand through it anyway. I stood up when a last-second idea sprang to mind and undid my suit jacket, draping it over the back of the chair and undoing the cufflinks in a hurry.

  I was just finishing rolling up the second sleeve when she walked in. She froze in the doorway and stared at me with wide eyes.

  The cocky thoughts that came to mind were silenced as I stared at her in return.

  Her dark hair was twisted up and tied in a relatively neat knot at the top of her head, giving her that librarian look that most men had fantasied about at some point in their lives. There wasn’t anything revealing about her outfit except the bit of thigh shown from the slit in her skirt, but the way everything clung to her petite frame made her all the more alluring. A mysterious present I was dying to unwrap.

  “Hi,” she said in a high, nervous voice. “Janice said you wanted to see me?”

  “Yes. Come.” I gestured toward the seat and waited for her to sink into it before I followed suit. “I like to personally deliver the first paycheck to new employees and go over any questions they may have.”

  A look of relief passed over her pretty face and I could physically feel the shift in mood. I idly wondered if she would assume she was being fired every time I called her into my office.

  The images of her bent over my desk popped into my mind unbidden and I tightly clenched my teeth together as I felt my cock hardening in my slacks. Fuck.

  “Thank you,” she said graciously as I slid the check across the desk. “I don’t have any questions, though.”

  “Really? Not one?”

  Her head slowly shook back and forth before she frowned and asked, “Should I have questions?”

  None of the others did, but I was secretly hoping to prolong this meeting as much as possible.

  “Not necessarily. Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?”

  “Not at all,” she said with a bright smile. “Fire away.”

  A hundred things I could ask rolled through my brain at once. A hundred stupid things related to the job that would inevitably lead to a long conversation, which was what I ultimately wanted.

  Instead of any of those things, what came blurting out of my mouth was, “Are you seeing someone?”

  Though I did a better job of hiding it, I was just as surprised as she was. I’d been wanting to know the answer to that since I first spotted her in the hallway by the break room, but I didn’t have any intention of asking until I got some sort of sign that she was interested. Or at least until I had made a decision to pursue her or not.

  Mallory shifted in her seat and shook her head. Her cheeks darkened with a hint of pink and I was delighted by the tiny smile I saw on her lips.

  She wasn’t uncomfortable. She was embarrassed, yes—but she was also flattered.

  I could work with that.

  “No? I find that hard to believe.”

  We were in dangerous territory and the uncertain look she directed my way told me that she knew it too, and yet she responded anyways.

  “I don’t date much to begin with and this being a new city and all...” she trailed off with a half-smile and a shrug, as if that should explain it.

  “How do you get to work?”

  Mallory was thrown, her voice faltering a little as she said, “The bus?”

  “I bet if you walked, ten men would stop you on the street to ask for your number,” I told her heatedly, smirking when her eyes widened. “The new city excuse doesn’t work for a woman as beautiful as you.”

  It might have been pushing it, but it was well worth the flabbergasted smile and red cheeks. Whether I had come to a decision or not, my attraction was definitely known now.

  I had no idea what exactly I was expecting to happen, but it certainly wasn’t for her to stumble over her words as she forced an excuse to cut out. I frowned as I stood up, nodding politely when she thanked me for her check and feeling the frown return as I watched her practically run from the office.

  That was... not the reaction I was hoping for.

  I flopped back into my seat and scrubbed my palm against my jaw, trying to figure out what the fuck I wanted from her. When I failed to figure it out by seven o’clock, I flicked the lights out and went home for another lonely weekend.

  5

  Mallory

  I was pretty sure that running from Mr. Wolfe’s office right after he called me beautiful officially made me insane.

  But what the hell was I supposed to do? I didn’t think it’d be very appropriate to ask what his weekend plans were and try to subtly insert myself into whatever he was doing. He was my boss, after all. Not a potential suitor.

  Or was he both?

  Was asking about my personal life and calling me beautiful just a pleasantry, or was he possibly interested in me as well? I spent the whole bus ride home considering the possibility. Was it really that crazy to consider? I knew I wasn’t an unattractive woman.

  I just didn’t know why a man like Mr. Wolfe would be interested in me. Surely he had a harem of glamorous women already.

  There was too much going on in my head to even fathom the idea of a shower when I first got home, so I plopped on my couch and tapped my fingernail against the screen of my cell phone.

  What I really needed was an outsider’s perspective. Since I was lacking in the friends department, I called the one person who I knew would give me an unbiased opinion.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hey, sweetie! How was your day? Did you get your first paycheck?”

  “Yeah. But I… I called because there’s a problem.”

  “With the check? I don’t think I can—”

  “It’s not the check,” I interrupted with a heavy sigh. “It’s me. I… I have a crush on my boss.”

  After she finished the initial round of scolding, Mom began to grill me for details about Mr. Wolfe. When she found the information lacking, she started questioning our interactions thus far, curious about how I managed to develop a crush on someone I hardly knew.

  I revealed enough snippets to satisfy her while also keeping some parts—like the various physical reactions I had whenever he was near—to myself.

  When she finally had a clearer picture, all she did was let out a curious hum and ask, “Do you think he might be the one?”

  I knew she didn’t mean the love of my life. She wouldn’t even ask that—it was way too soon. But she was very aware of the fact that I was waiting and looking for love, regardless of the length it may last for.

  “Maybe,” I responded.

  Part of me wished I never replied because I was gifted with a refresher course of the birds and the bees talk we had when I was a teenager. She thankfully didn’t chide me about his age—I suppose because my father was a decade older than her—but she did vaguely express concerns about what a man his age might expect.

  It was that thought that kept me up half the night. I spent my school years convinced that once I was out into the real world of adulthood, I stood a better chance of finding a man who didn’t immediately expect sex.

  But what if I was wrong all along? Were those the days that a woman could play hard to get and get away with it? Was I already too late?

  When I voiced those questions to my mom, all she answered with was a solemn, “You won’t know unless you ask, will you?”

  The swing from scolding to enabling this stupid crush threw me for a loop, leaving me more confused than ever. With a huff, I pushed my blankets off and hopped out of bed.

  If I couldn’t sleep, I was at least going to make the most of my time. With that thought in mind, I headed into the kitchen and dug out my cleaning supplies.

  By the time Monday morning rolled around my apartment was clean from top to bottom, but I still hadn’t figured out what to do about my inappropriate feelings for Mr. Wolfe. Going through the employee handbook Janice had given me hadn’t helped manners.

  Interoffice relationships weren’t forbidden in the strictest sense of the word, but they were generally discouraged. There was also a line in the rules about dating those higher in station than you, which was strongly discouraged and grounds for firing if deemed problematic.

  Considering Mr. Wolfe was at the top of the food chain and I was a lowly assistant, I was certain that pursuing him would qualify as problematic. At least if I understood the rules correctly.

  “I’ll never know if I don’t ask,” I muttered.

  “You talking to me?”

  I jerked my head to the side and apologized to the woman sitting beside me on the bus. She gave me a look like I’d lost my mind, muttering under her breath that everyone from New York was a basket case.

  I was secretly pleased to have been mistaken as a native even though I probably should have been offended.

  After spending the rest of the ride to work psyching myself up to ask Mr. Wolfe for clarification of the rules, it was devastating to discover he’d be gone most of the day with meetings outside the office. While I was dropping my lunch into the fridge, Jeremy informed me that he had already come and gone.

  It was without question the slowest work day yet. I spent the entire day distracted—screwing up simple coffee runs as I kept a watchful eye on the entrance, hoping to see his tall frame come into view. I somehow managed to get through the day without any major catastrophes like spilling coffee on another coworker.

  By the final hour of the day, I was a mess. The day was rough from start to finish—both physically and mentally draining.

  That’s when I finally saw him.

  He had come in the front and lingered at Janice’s desk, speaking softly to her while the rest of the workers buzzed around like nothing was different. I was frozen across the way, watching him with a strange pain in my chest.

  He looked exhausted. I instinctively knew that something had gone wrong and whatever kind of bad day I had was nothing in comparison to what he had gone through.

  Just as I was pushing away the urge to go speak to him for another day, he looked up and his eyes sought mine, freezing when they landed on me.

  He smiled and my heart thudded hard.

  Yes. He was the one I wanted. There was no doubt in my mind.

  The only question left was how to go about getting him. The first step was making sure it was possible, which would hopefully be easier now that he had taken the files Janice was holding out to him and making his way toward me. I met him halfway, falling in line beside him before he had a chance to come to a stop.

  “Can I speak to you privately?” I asked, darting my gaze around the area to make sure no one overheard and got the wrong idea.

  He nodded and led me to his office in silence, closing the door behind me after I brushed past him. We made eye contact again and I stared up at him admiringly.

  He really was the most handsome male I’d ever seen. I couldn’t even think of a celebrity that I found more attractive.

  “Mallory?”

  I swore he leaned toward me and I caught myself as I started to rise on my tiptoes. It took some serious force to flatten my feet and step back, creating some distance between us.

  “I-I had a question about something I saw in the handbook.”

  I didn’t miss the way his body stiffened and I had the sneaking suspicion it was because I called attention to our situation. He cleared his throat and waved to his desk, taking his seat behind it and reaching into a drawer while I sat down.

  “What’s your question regarding?” he asked as he flipped open the handbook.

  “The, uh... The part about interoffice relationships.”

  His body didn’t move, but his eyes flew up to mine. It was startling how intently he was staring at me while his hands slowly closed the book.

  His voice was low when he asked, “What’s your question?”

  “I just... I wanted some clarification on what exactly is grounds for being fired.”

  His eyes stayed locked on mine as he leaned back, the handbook forgotten. The intense expression switched rapidly to one of suspicion and I internally began to panic that I had completely misread the entire situation.

  “Mr. Wolfe?”

  “Brian,” he corrected, forcing my lips to curve into a small smile. He cleared his throat and finally looked away, staring down at his clasped hands while he explained, “I don’t forbid relationships in the office, but I do have grounds to fire anyone I feel is using emotional manipulation as a means of advancement in the company.”

  “But then how do you... I just don’t understand how that’s judged.”

  His dark blue eyes met mine again and a wry smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

  “You don’t strike me as the type to use sex to get ahead, Miss Jones. If you have an interest in someone above your station, feel free to pursue it.”

  In other words, the ball was totally in my court. I could see the double meaning in the expectant look in his eyes.

  A part of me wanted to admit the whole truth. ‘I’ve admired you and your work for years and since meeting you, I admire you for a whole new number of reasons.’ Thankfully, that little spiel didn’t come out of my mouth. It would have been embarrassing, to put it mildly.

  Not that the alternative turned out to be much better.

  “What are you doing Friday night?” I blurted out a little more forcefully than intended.

  Mr. Wolfe—Brian—showed no sign of surprise or irritation at my outburst. No. He merely grinned and the sight of it sent a surge of adrenaline racing up my spine.

  “Taking you out,” he replied confidently. “Unless you have an objection.”

  “No. I-I’d like that,” I whispered, my small smile faltering as his grin widened. “What time?”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Do you need—”

  “I have your address, remember?”

  “Oh. Right.”

  After our date was set up, he gestured to the remaining work he had to finish and dismissed me for the evening.

  Even though I had ultimately gotten what I wanted, when I glanced back at his face before closing the door to his office, I couldn’t help but feel like a little girl who’d just caught the eye of the big bad wolf.

  6

  Brian

  The rest of the week felt painfully slow. Not just because of the ridiculous workload I was saddled with, but also due to the sheer excitement of what Friday would bring.

  Even on the day itself when I ran into Mallory outside the break room and she gave me a secretive little smile, I could hardly believe it was actually happening.

  When she asked to speak to me privately on Monday, I admit I had feared the worst. Scenarios ranging from her resigning to a complaint about my nephew harassing her ran through my mind during the short walk to my office.

  Never in my wildest dreams did I expect her to ask about the office’s policy on dating coworkers and I definitely didn’t expect her to come right out and more or less ask me on a date.

  Any remaining thoughts I had about not pursuing her went flying out the window in that moment. There was absolutely no way I could ignore her invitation.

  Not with the way her pretty eyes constantly sought me out and gazed at me like I was the most important person in the room. Not with how badly I wanted to be the most important person in her life.

  It was a startling realization. Not since my early twenties had I given women much time. After working dead-end jobs for five years out of college, I became totally obsessed with the idea of building my own publishing house.

  Once the idea took formation, I became obsessed with sustaining the company’s success. It was a choice that cost me my social life, but I had no regrets.

  It did make my infatuation with Mallory feel strange though. Not entirely unfamiliar, but it’d been a long damn time since I went on a date for a reason besides sex.

  Because—let’s face it—I knew there was no chance of getting into her bed so soon. It didn’t stop me from taking a shower after work that evening, but I was well aware that a woman like Mallory needed to be courted first.

  At the risk of sounding like my grandfather, I shoved the thought away as soon as it entered my head.

  Instead, I prepared myself for the inevitable unsatisfied lust I’d surely be dealing with later that night and quickly got to work stroking my cock before the water ran cold.

  With my desire satisfied at least for the time being, I toweled off and got dressed before making my way to Mallory’s address.