Page 45 of Open for Negotiation
Those feelings that I try so hard to push down in the office come flooding back to me when he says things like that. I never knew I needed to hear them until I heard them from his lips.
“Yeah.” I smile. “Understood.”
“So, two months from today, you’ll wake up early, have some coffee, slip into an outfit that makes you feel confident, and meet me at the studio downtown. Their hair and makeup team will handle those things, and you’ll go on air and represent Fortress with the grace and professionalism that I know you have. Deal?”
He flashes that smile I can never resist. You know the one. The one that all dangerous, hot as fuck men give to you when his teeth aren’t exposed, but the corners of his lips turn up just enough and it makes him look like the most powerful, arrogant, beautiful asshole in the world.
The kind of smile that can only belong to a man who never has to ask for something twice, who always gets what he wants.
That has me.
Hook, line, and motherfucking sinker.
“Deal, on one condition though.”
“Name it.”
“Come have dinner at my place tonight… and stay with me.”
There’s that smile again.
“Deal, baby.”
Max
“Good.” I stand up from my chair and shrug out of my suit coat. “Now that the business side of this conversation is over, come here.”
I can see her physically relax her entire body at my words. Her shoulders lower and her hands stop clenching. I hate that she’s so nervous about doing this for us, but if there is one thing I know about her, it’s that she’s sharp as a tack and charming as fuck. Not to mention stunningly beautiful. She’s exactly the person we need as the face of this project.
“God, I’ve been waiting to hear you say that since I walked in this room.” She goes from sitting in the chair to wrapped in my arms in no time at all.
“And I’ve been waiting for this.”
I gently cup her cheek in my hand, with my thumb gliding along her jawline, then resting under her chin, pushing her head back, tilting her mouth up for my taking.
“Hi,” she says softly and I respond.
“Hi.”
Our mouths fit together like they were molded by a higher being for this purpose alone. I don’t even believe in that shit, but Scarlett’s lips could make me find faith. I would worship at her feet just to have these lips on mine[k1].
She moans quietly against my mouth and I pull her tighter to me, feeling the warmth of her body from my chest to my thighs.
“Come over here,” I say when I pull away and place kisses along her cheek and neck. “Come sit with me.”
From my desk area, the windows surrounding my office aren’t visible, giving us a bit of privacy in this particular spot, but I want to sit on the large, leather sofa on the other side of the room.
For that, we will need even more privacy.
I press the button on my desk to frost the windows, then I scoop her into my arms like a bride on her wedding night.
“Oh!” she giggles and then I hear her high heels clatter to the floor, having fallen from her feet.
I cross the room and sink into the plush, leather couch, situating her across my lap so she can rest back against the arm.
“How’s your day been so far, Ms. Hale?” I push her hair from her face. I want to take in every inch of it while I have her alone.
“It’s even better now, Mr. Duke.” She leans forward and kisses the corner of my mouth. “I like this side of you.”
“Which side is that?”
“The side that just wants to spend time with me, hold me, you know? It’s nice.” She fidgets with my tie, sliding the slick between her fingers. “Not that the other stuff isn’t incredible, but this is different.”
“Scarlett, I’ve told you from the beginning. I just enjoy you. Plain and simple. The other stuff, as you put it, is just a bonus.” I get closer to whisper against her ear, “A delicious bonus.”
