Assessing the Risks (Fantasies, Inc. #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Lucas

I leaned against the desk in Reception and grinned at Jessica, one of the receptionists at Fantasies, Inc.

“How are you today?” Her blonde hair was bundled up, her blue eyes bright and alert.

I liked talking with her and thought of her as a friend.

We’d gone out a couple of times, but that was it.

She was fun to be around, but I wasn’t looking for a relationship.

“I’m good. So nice of you to ask.” Jessica placed her hand on my arm, and her smile turned sultry. I stared at her hand and barely suppressed a shiver of repulsion.

Oh, hell no. I didn’t mind a little light flirting.

Touching was another thing. She didn’t have the right even if we’d gone out months ago.

She was an employee, and I was a department manager.

Not that there were any rules against us having a relationship since we didn’t directly work together, but after a couple of dates, I realized she wasn’t my type.

I straightened and slipped away from her.

Her smile faded a bit, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Has a Valerie Ray checked in yet?” It was better to stick to business.

Jessica looked at the list in front of her. “Not yet. Do you want me to call you when she arrives?”

“I’ll wait.” I stepped away from the reception desk, moved to the wall, and leaned against it, my gaze on the double glass doors.

The lobby was nicely decorated in neutral shades with sofas and chairs arranged in groupings around low tables. There were a few people waiting. I turned my head to glance behind the reception desk and saw the paneled wall with the company name and logo in brushed steel mounted at its center.

The logo made me smile. The doors opened, but it wasn’t Valerie.

Five years had passed since I last saw Valerie.

My gut tightened. Our breakup wasn’t one of mutual agreement, and it happened before I came to work at Fantasies, Inc.

Valerie was the woman I never forgot. She’d always held a piece of my heart.

Even though I’d thought about her over the years, something always held me back from contacting her.

The object of my thoughts waltzed through the door, and my breath whooshed out of me. Valerie had always been sexy, but now… I took a deep breath. Her long brown hair was pulled back with clips, but it still cascaded around her shoulders.

It might have been five years, but that didn’t stop my body from reacting to her, remembering how her hair felt between my fingers, against my skin, falling around her face as we made love.

I shook my head to get rid of the sensual thoughts and focused on the woman herself. The black slacks and solid dark blouse made her look too thin. Had she not been eating properly? I remembered how often I had to remind her to eat, and it looked like food was still the last thing on her mind.

What was I thinking? I took a deep breath as she walked with purpose across the tiled lobby floor to the reception desk. She hadn’t seen me yet. Interesting, since I wasn’t hiding. Did she not realize she was coming to work for me? I kept my gaze on her.

“Hi. I’m Valerie Ray,” she told Jessica. Her voice was as soft and sweet as I remembered it. “I’m supposed to meet with someone from the finance department. I wasn’t given a name.”

I wondered why she hadn’t been given my name, and if she had, would she have shown up? Probably so. Valerie was a professional.

Jessica glanced at me. “Yes, Ms. Ray. Mr. Bryer is here to escort you.” Jessica’s voice was professional, but I caught the icy tone as she gestured toward me.

Was Jessica jealous of Valerie? She shouldn’t be.

Jessica and I weren’t dating anymore, and as far as I was concerned, there was nothing between us.

Valerie turned. Her eyes widened, and her shoulders straightened, surprise written on her features.

“Hello, Ms. Ray.” I kept my tone professional. No sense in giving Jessica anything to gossip about.

“Mr. Bryer.”

While her greeting was professional, there was a distinct coolness to it. Maybe I deserved it for the way I left her five years ago.

Jessica’s gaze bounced between us.

“I’m glad you made it on short notice.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice; my boss told me on Friday to report here today, but didn’t give me any details.”

“I’m sorry. I’d been in discussion with him for the past two weeks.” Why had her boss not told her about the job? That was a mystery for later. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you up to HR so we can get all the paperwork out of the way.” I gestured for Valerie to precede me to the elevators.

She nodded and walked away, her back straight as the line on a spreadsheet.

How long before she gave me an earful for past indiscretions?

She could be outspoken when she wanted to.

Thankfully, there were others waiting for the elevator, so if she was going to bring anything up it would have to wait.

“Fourteen?” Ben from the IT department asked, holding his key card out.

“Seventeen, please.”

Ben nodded.

“All going well in IT now?” There had been a massive breech into FI’s systems, and we all remained on alert. Thank goodness, the hackers had been caught.

“All good. Emma is a godsend. I’m so glad she came to work for us.”

“She’s good.” Emma had been instrumental in catching those trying to sabotage the company and IT. The elevator pinged.

“My floor. Have a good day.” Ben exited.

Valerie stayed silent until we reached the HR floor. “This is us.” I held the door open as she stepped out. I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the way she moved. Be professional.

“Big building,” Valerie commented.

“There are other companies in Seattle that are much bigger than ours.” While we owned several buildings, we weren’t the biggest organization in the area. Did that concern her? Why was I worried?

“But none of the companies do what you do?”

I glanced at her. “So you researched us?” Jessica was smart. I suspected she did, and if so, she knew exactly what Fantasies, Inc. did and what she was getting into. Over the years, so much of what we did here made me think of her. Of us. Together. Stop. This isn’t the time or place.

“I research all the companies I’m assigned to.”

“Then you know what we do.” I wanted to rub my hands together. Her knowing what the company was about opened so many possibilities.

Hold up. No jumping the gun. Just because my libido woke up hard the instant I saw her doesn’t mean leaping without looking.

“Yes.”

Yet she didn’t seem to know I was the head of Finance. I opened my mouth to ask her about that as Sarah, the HR executive assistant, looked up as we approached. “Hi, Sarah. This is Valerie Ray, our new contractor. Miles is expecting us.”

“Go on in and welcome to Fantasies, Inc., Ms. Ray.”

“Thank you.”

I knocked on Miles’ door, opened it, and gestured for Valerie to enter. She hesitated for a moment, then moved into the room. Miles stood next to his desk, waiting for us. “Ms. Ray, welcome.” He held out his hand.

“Valerie, please.” Miles held her hand longer than I felt was necessary, and I found myself wanting to snatch Valerie’s hand from his. Where the hell was this jealousy coming from? It was just Miles’ natural friendliness. Besides, it had been years since Valerie and I were together.

“Miles. Go ahead and take a seat.” Miles gestured to the small round conference table in his office. Valerie glanced around Miles’ office before she took her seat.

“Do you need anything before we start? Coffee, water, something else?” Miles asked.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Valerie said.

Her body was stiff, and she kept giving me side glances. I took the seat next to her; Miles sat to her right, then kicked off the conversation.

“To start off, HR at Smith, Rogers, and Associates emailed me your signed contract. But there is other paperwork we need to go over.”

“Before we get into that, I do have a question,” Valerie said. Miles nodded. “In the contract, it said while I’m working here, I’m an independent contractor to Fantasies, Inc.”

“That is correct. As agreed, your employer is aware you are contracted to us, and they’ve granted you leave for the duration of your contract with us.

You will continue to accrue vacation time with your employer, and they will maintain your health and all savings benefits while you’re on contract to us.

We pay you directly, and while you keep your benefits through your employer, you are responsible for state and federal taxes. ”

Valerie tilted her head. “I’ve never been employed this way before.”

Her question was valid; the arrangement was somewhat unusual, but not unheard of, especially when dealing with product research and development.

“Due to the nature of our business, we prefer it this way. Your employer is being compensated as well.”

Valerie nodded and sat back in her chair.

It irked me a little bit that Miles could make her relax, even though I was glad to see the tension ease.

She carried tension in her shoulders and neck.

I’d given her massages almost daily when we were together, and those massages always led to other activities.

I shook my head to clear the sensual thoughts.

Miles opened a file. “Here is an NDA for you to sign.”

“NDA? This is different. You do know I’m bound by client accountant confidentiality?”

“Yes, but we need something a little more robust,” I said.

“Lucas is right,” Miles chimed in. “We have to cover all our bases due to the nature of our business.”

“True. I understood that this might be your standard operating procedure.” Valerie picked up the NDA and began reading.

Did she really understand? The Valerie I knew wouldn’t question things like a simple NDA. I shifted in my seat, closer to her.

Miles glared at me. Was my interest in Valerie showing on my face? I didn’t think so, but I shifted back. I was going to be Valerie’s boss. Miles giving me the HR stare made me wonder what he was picking up on.

I mouthed. I’ll behave. Before glancing at Valerie, who was concentrating so hard on the NDA that she hadn’t noticed the exchange between me and Miles. Her forehead wrinkled as she read. I wanted to soothe the furrow away with a kiss.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

After a few more minutes, she signed the NDA and handed it back to Miles.

“Thank you.” Miles slipped it in the folder, then pulled out two key cards. “Purple keycard is for the garage next door to park in if you need to. Any space available works. Blue keycard is for the elevators and to pay for anything you get at Daily Perks or the café.”

“I take it whatever food or drink I get is deducted from my pay.” Valerie took the keycards and the red lanyard with little devil’s horns imprinted all along it.

“No. It’s one of the benefits of working for us,” Miles said.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Not for Valerie. Lucas, hang back for a minute.” Miles stood, and I followed suit before Valerie rose.

“If you don’t mind giving us a minute,” I said before stepping back to allow her to leave the table.

“Okay,” she responded before walking over to the door.

Making my way to where Miles stood by the windows, we kept our voices low so Valerie didn’t hear us. “What do you need?” I barely managed to stuff my impatience down.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Asher. While she’s under contract, you have to follow the rules. No harassment. No relationship without consent. And keep it out of the office.”

My eyebrows rose. “What makes you think I would harass Valerie.”

Miles laughed. “I see that gleam in your eye. Don’t make me write you up.”

“I won’t,” I said with a hint of laughter. “I promise.” I would never do anything that Valerie didn’t want. That wasn’t who I was. And Valerie? I had a feeling she wouldn’t tolerate it either. Not anymore.