Five | Ethan
Five
Ethan
“Hey, Brent,” I answered my phone, holding it between my ear and shoulder as I climbed out of the car. I gathered my things and gave a quick nod to my driver before he sped off, and I made my way toward the office. “I meant to call you yesterday, but the day got away from me. We hired a new attorney to help with some of my clients, and it took longer than expected to get her set up.”
I walked briskly through the main lobby as I headed toward the private elevator in the back. Brent was quiet on the other line, which made me wonder if the call had been disconnected or if he was silent because he was pissed that I hadn’t gotten back to him yesterday regarding the Watson Investments deal we had been discussing. I knew it was a high priority for him and that he was the last client that I needed to piss off right now. Or ever.
“I’ve been looking at every angle, and I agree that it’s best not to present this as a hostile takeover— “
“Cody’s dead,” he interrupted. I stopped in my tracks and ran a hand through my hair. Surely, I had misheard him.
“What?”
“Dead. Died of a heart attack.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. The elevator dinged beside me as the doors opened.
“Wow,” I muttered, unsure of what to say. I knew that Brent and Cody had a rocky past from what he had told me, but I didn’t know how this news was affecting him. While he acted cold and calculated when it came to business, the deal with Cody was more than that. It had been personal at one point in his life. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me too,” he sighed. I could hear the stress in his voice, the worry about what to do. “As you can imagine, this drastically changes my position with purchasing Watson Investments. On top of that, there’s already a buzz about other potential takeovers.”
“I’ll start working on this and see what I can find out before we make a move. I’ll get in touch as soon as I can with a plan.”
My mind was racing with what the next steps should be as we hung up. I’d spent the morning in my office with the door closed, making calls and doing research. It turned out that Cody was more competent than I’d thought and had created an escape plan to prevent an unwanted takeover. The poison pill that he set up to allow existing shareholders to purchase additional shares at a lower price to devalue the company and make it less desirable to potential takeovers. There were several layers of ownership, and it was going to take some time to get through them all. I had to find the right person that I could talk some sense into and make this deal go the way we needed.
By noon, I had talked with a handful of people. My head was throbbing, but I had figured out a way to temporarily freeze any movement. My plan, while it would take more time than I had, was to use a white knight defense. I had spoken to the two shareholders who held the largest percentages of the company and explained what was going to happen if the company Cody had been working with took over, or worse—if another company was willing to attempt a hostile takeover. Just because Cody’s Poison Pill defense had diluted the value of the shares didn’t mean that the company was safe. There were plenty of greedy people in Manhattan who could care less how much money they spent to get a company that they wanted.
The white knight defense was our best option at this point, which meant that I needed to sit down and discuss with Brent what he needed to do. I sent Brent a quick text with the update and told him to stop by my office when he had a chance. I turned my attention to my email and started responding to the new ones that had come in late yesterday and were marked as urgent. I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn’t see Eva walk into my office until she was standing right in front of me.
I was surprised to see that her hair was down, with long, soft waves framing her face. Her black hair made her eyes look even darker. Red lipstick was the only pop of color, and it pulled my eyes directly to her lips. I found myself staring a little longer than I should have when she cleared her throat to get my attention.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. I leaned back and ran a hand down the side of my jaw, giving her my full attention. “What can I do for you?”
“Regina suggested that I come over to see if there’s anything I can help you with.”
I opened my mouth to speak, to thank her for the offer before explaining that there was no way that I could stop what I was doing to delegate anything to her at this point. My Tuesday was acting like the worst Monday, and I simply didn’t have the time or effort to give anything else my attention, including her. She held up her hand and stopped me.
“She said that you would have an excuse about how you’re too busy to stop and let anyone help you and asked that I remind you that I was hired to work under you to assist with your workload.”
She pulled her fire-red lips into a thin line and waited as she shifted her weight. Her arms were folded across her chest, which, of course, only drew my attention to her breasts.
“Well, Regina is right— I don’t have time to stop. I’m glad she’s well aware of it. I’m also fully aware that you were hired to work under me. I plan to implement that as soon as I’m able to.”
The words rushed out of my lips faster than common sense could happen. I swallowed hard as I watched her reaction. The sudden lick of her lips before her eyes causally traveled down my body. There was no way that she hadn’t heard the not-so-subtle meaning laced in my words. She blew out a slow breath and pulled her shoulders back before cocking her head to the side to look at me.
“I understand that you’re busy and that you feel like the task of training me would be far too tedious for you right now. However, I have worked in corporate law for over ten years and can guarantee you that I am fully capable of handling anything you give me. Rest assured, if I have a question, I will ask you before I proceed.”
I felt the frustration and tension start to drain from my body. She was right, and I knew it. I had been so focused on staying on track to make sure nothing fell in between the cracks that I hadn’t even given her the chance to show me what she could or couldn’t do. I wasn’t treating her fairly, and I felt like a dick about it.
“Fine,” I said and shrugged my shoulders. “I’m working on a case for a client and need to have documentation outlining white knight defense. That’s where—”
“A company that is being threatened with a hostile takeover seeks a friendlier firm to purchase a controlling interest before the hostile bidder can move in. The white knight tends to pay a premium above the acquirer’s offer and may decide to restructure the company after the acquisition is complete in a goodwill manner to support the target company’s management.” She gave me a smug smile after finishing my sentence for me.
“Impressive,” I replied as I nodded appreciatively.
“Brent Wallace will be by sometime today to discuss a possible takeover, and I would like to talk to him about the white knight approach. He’s a brilliant businessman; however, he will want to take the information with him and run the numbers on his own. I would appreciate it if you could work on gathering the information that he will need before he gets here.”
“I’m on it.” Her smile briefly crossed her lips before it disappeared as she walked out of my office and closed the door.
The day sped by at an annoyingly fast pace. I remembered Kate coming in to bring me the lunch I had requested and mentioning something about someone not feeling well, but I hadn’t been able to pull my attention away from the files that I had been working on to truly listen. My neck was stiff and achy as I rolled it around on my shoulders, hoping to alleviate some of the pain.
When I looked out the window behind me, the sun had already gone down, the glowing lights of skyscrapers illuminating the Manhattan skyline. I pushed away from my desk and stood up, allowing the blood to flow through my body after having been sedentary for so long this afternoon.
The clock on the wall showed it was after seven. I was surprised that I hadn’t seen Brent after he had responded to my text and confirmed he would swing by to get the papers I was having Eva put together for him. I looked through the narrow window next to the door and saw that her office light was still on. It was only her second or third day—who could keep them straight at this point—so I couldn’t imagine that she had work that was keeping her here late. Had she been waiting around for me?
I opened my office door and walked across the hallway, knocking lightly on hers, even though it was open. Kate was already gone for the day, which meant that Eva and I were likely the only ones still here.
“Late night?” I asked curiously when she looked up at me and smiled. She pushed a stack of files to the side and folded her hands in front of her on the desk.
“I was helping Kate with a project and didn’t want to leave until I was finished.”
“Is she already gone?” I pointed in the direction of Kate’s desk with my finger. It was possible that she was still here if Eva was working on something for her, which also led to some increased irritation that she was assigning tasks to Eva without consulting me. Kate was Eva’s assistant. Not the other way around.
“She left a few hours ago,” she said casually before turning to the side and picking up the stack of files from her desk. “I told her that I would help her get these finished before the end of the day.”
“Are those the minutes from the board meeting?” I nodded to the printed pages sitting on top of her pile that had been stapled in the top left corner.
“I believe so.” She raised her head, extending her neck to get a look at the papers I was referring to.
“Okay.” I breathed out heavily, my irritation mounting as I crossed the room to stand in front of her desk. “Why are you doing Kate’s job?”
I raised my eyebrows along with my voice. I knew Kate was young, but she had worked with me long enough to know better than to pawn her work off on someone else.
“I’m not doing her job ,” she said defensively. “I’m helping out a coworker who had to leave work early because she was incredibly ill. It’s the nice thing to do, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
I closed my eyes for a quick second, feeling more frustrated that I hadn’t stopped to listen to Kate when she had popped into my office earlier.
“I had no idea that she wasn’t feeling well. Did she say how long she would be out?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“At least the remainder of the week. I spoke with Regina before I took over doing the notes from the board meeting, just so you know. Kate didn’t ask me to do her job.” She stood up and grabbed the stack from the desk.
I nodded and stepped to the side as she pushed past me, her arms full. There were more than just the board meeting minutes in the pile, though I had no idea what else she had been working on.
“Want some help with those?” I asked, walking beside her as I tried to reach over and take a few things from the top to help her.
“I’ve got it. Thank you,” she replied as she subtly pulled away.
I followed her around to each office as she placed a copy of the minutes on the desks and then proceeded to work her way down to the file room. The door was closed and locked, which meant that whether she wanted it or not, she would need my help. I leaned against the wall by the door and watched as she carefully tried to balance the stack of files in one arm, raising her leg slightly to try to help balance them. Her right arm fumbled around the hem of her shirt as she struggled to find her badge to swipe to open the door.
After a few minutes of persistently trying, she blew out a breath of frustration, pushing a stray piece of hair off her face. She watched me from the corner of her eye, her irritation starting to match what I was feeling a few minutes ago.
“Ready for some help?” I asked, pushing off the wall next to her.
Her eyes narrowed as she stepped back and moved out of the way while I pulled my badge out of my pocket and scanned it. The lock clicked, and I pushed the door open, making sure she was out of the way before letting it close. She made her way over to the table in the middle of the room and set the files down, the loud thunk echoing through the small room. Out of all the rooms on this floor, I hated this one the most because it was small, cramped, and had zero windows, which made me feel claustrophobic.
“Thank you,” she muttered under her breath, reaching down to rub the red spot on her wrist where the weight of the files had dug into her skin. “I’ve got it from here.”
“You’re welcome,” I answered with equal parts sincerity and sarcasm. “You don’t need to file these. Leave them for Natasha. She’ll be in on Friday.”
“Who’s Natasha?”
“Garrett’s daughter. She comes to help out on Fridays and does the filing for us.”
“Garrett, your brother?” She tilted her head to the side, her face marred with confusion.
“The one and only.”
“So... wouldn’t that make her... your niece?”
“Well, yeah, technically it does,” I said with a laugh.
I was so used to referring to Garrett in business settings that I often removed the fact that we were related when I talked about him or his family. She gave me an odd look before turning to walk out the door. Her hand reached for the handle at the same time mine did, the heat from our exchange spreading through my body. She looked up at me, her eyes darkening as our hands continued to touch. Her lips slightly parted, the moisture from her tongue glistening over them as she licked them.
The electricity continued to course through us, from her body into mine. I growled as I reached out and grabbed her, turning her back to the door as I pressed my body against hers. Slowly, I ran my hand up the back of her neck and gently tugged on her hair, pulling her head back as my lips found hers.
I intended to kiss her softly.
No, take that back. I had no intention of kissing her.
My plan was to forget that we had mind-blowing sex in the linen closet of a nightclub and move on. Be professional. But every time my body got within inches of hers, I felt this pull that I couldn’t walk away from. My mouth crashed down onto hers, satisfied when I felt her lips part to invite me in. Her breathing was ragged as her hands pulled at my shirt, untucking it from my slacks.
We shouldn’t be doing this .
I tried to remind myself of all the reasons why this was a bad idea as her fingers quickly worked the buttons on her shirt before tossing it to the side. Her hand slid down and grabbed my dick, my erection pushing against her.
Before I could think straight and put an end to it, I had her bent over the table with her pants and panties on the floor behind us. In record time, I had my dick sheathed in a condom and was plowing into her while she moaned against the stack of files that she had just brought in.
I wanted to take my time and devour every inch of her body, but as her pussy clenched tighter around my cock, I could tell that she wanted this as badly as I did. The way she lifted her ass and met me, thrust for thrust, confirmed that she needed it. I dug my fingers into her hips, pulling her back onto my cock as I fucked her deeper, watching as her tanned ass bounced in front of me.
She turned and looked at me over her shoulder, a look of lust on her face as my name rolled off her lips in a sexy moan. We locked eyes, and she held my gaze as I climaxed, my orgasm jolting through me. Knowing that she hadn’t come yet, I slowly pulled out and turned her around to face me.
“Sit,” I whispered, leaning in close to her ear while my tongue ran up the side of her neck. Her chest rose and fell heavily as her breathing got more ragged. I leaned forward and pulled the lace of her bra down with my teeth, freeing her nipples before running my tongue along them. My hand skimmed along her thigh before dipping in between and finding the wet warmth of her pussy. I slid a finger inside of her, using my hand to push her thighs further apart to allow me access as I lowered my head and pulled a hardened nipple into my mouth.
I sucked hard, flicking it with my tongue as my fingers fucked her. The way her body responded so quickly to my touch had my dick starting to get hard again. I leaned over and gave the other nipple a turn as my fingers worked their way up to her clit. I could feel her body stiffen as it reacted to the pressure that was starting to build. Her back arched, pushing her breasts further into my face as I growled and started sucking the other nipple again. I could tell that this was about to send her over the edge, and while I still wanted to taste her and devour her as she came on my face, I didn’t want to ruin the pace we had when she was so close to orgasm.
I rubbed her clit harder, her chest heaving in my face as her nails scratched down my back. She tried to stifle her moan, her head tilting back as her orgasm started. Her pussy clenched around my fingers as she squirmed around me, riding the wave of pleasure while grinding against my hand. A few seconds later, she leaned forward and opened her eyes, a look of satisfaction spreading across her face.
“That was fucking incredible,” I said as my eyes roamed her body, taking in every tiny detail, like the cute little mole she had right underneath her left breast.
“You’re telling me,” she teased while pulling her bra up and adjusting the straps. She glanced down and located the rest of her clothes. I stepped to the side and turned away as I worked to clean myself up and get dressed.
“I guess we better leave before someone walks in and finds us here.”
I was just about to assure her that we didn’t have to worry about that since everyone else had already left, then I remembered that I was still waiting for Brent to show up. This was the last thing that I needed to explain to him.
“Yeah, I’m still waiting on Brent Wallace to come by, so I’d better get back to my office before he shows up.”
I opened the door and waited for her to go through before closing it behind us and making sure it was locked. She looked over her shoulder as she stopped and waited for me to walk beside her.
“Brent’s already been by,” she said, clearly confused as to why I was still waiting.
I stopped walking, my head whipping to the side to stare at her.
“Excuse me? When did he come by?” My forehead creased as I scowled.
“This afternoon, after Kate left. I offered to come get you, but he insisted that he was in a hurry and was only stopping by to pick up the items you had left for him.”
I felt like the blood was pulsing through my head, the sheer throb of it threatening to make it explode. I ran a hand down the scruff of my jawline and looked away.
“And?” I was trying my best not to take my frustration out on her.
“I gave him the documents that we had discussed earlier.” She swallowed hard, the color draining from her face as she watched my reaction.
“Son of a bitch!” I growled as I turned and headed straight for my office, leaving her behind in the empty silence of the hallway. I slammed my door and paced back and forth as I tried to figure out how to fix the mess that she had just created.