Chapter Twenty-Nine
Joslyn
I’m running late for my first meeting this morning.
Some neighborhood kids were out last night after curfew, and I woke up to a complete disaster.
Upended trash cans littered my driveway, and trash was strewn all over my lawn.
Thank goodness I always park my car in the garage.
I have no desire to clean eggs and toilet paper off my pristine Camaro. That would be sacrilege.
I live in a gated community, so it has to be kids from the neighborhood.
I feel bad for getting them in trouble, but I also don’t want to be cleaning up trash again.
So, I stop by the guard’s office to file a report and send him pictures from my phone, despite my misgivings.
I smell like the inside of a trash can, but there wasn’t time to change my outfit and still get to work in time for my meeting.
The trash thing threw off my morning rhythm.
I’m grumpy and smelly but determined to speak with Damon today.
I need to be an adult and stop avoiding it.
I called our new intern, Mel, on my way into the arena to confirm our lunch meeting.
I was both shocked and thrilled when she offered to order and pick up lunch for us.
I don’t know where Jacob found her, but he can hire anyone he wants if this is the result.
Walking into the office this morning, I have even more reason to love Mel.
She presents me with not only my favorite coffee order but also a copy of my schedule for the day and a lunch menu.
I hug her. I can’t help myself. I also appreciate that she didn’t cringe from the unmistakable smell of garbage wafting off me.
Please let there be a change of clothes in my office closet.
I usually have one or two. I like to be prepared.
It’s such a change from Matilda the Hun’s usual censure, and I’m smiling all the way to my office. Thanks to Mel, I sign into my meeting right on time. I hope Jacob is paying her well because if not, he’s going to hear from me.
It’s noon before I realize it, leaving me no time to overthink my lunch date.
I look up, and there he is, standing in the doorway, beautiful blue eyes bright as he greets me.
He looks stunning as I take him in from head to toe.
The charcoal color of his suit makes his silky black hair stand out, while the icy blue of his button-up shirt highlights those mesmerizing eyes.
His perfect physique fills out what is clearly a bespoke suit.
You don’t get that kind of fit off the rack.
How is it possible for a man to be this gorgeous?
There’s just something about men in suits that makes my panties wet.
It only takes our eyes meeting for my mind to send me back to our tryst in the gym the other night.
It’s like I’m feeling him thrusting into me, fire running through my veins.
My breath quickens, and my cheeks flush with embarrassment and something more.
I’ve finished my perusal of his gorgeous body, finally moving my eyes up to his.
They darken, responding to the heat in mine.
He doesn’t even try to hide it, his gaze so hot it burns right through me.
After closing the door, he stops in front of my desk.
The sofa is our usual meeting spot, so I give him a questioning look.
He opens his mouth to speak, but then immediately shuts it.
He looks nervous, which is unlike him. He’s always so confident.
The thought that he might be as anxious as I am hits me, and I feel a bit better knowing I’m not the only one.
He moves toward me with purpose, and I’m suddenly glad he shut the door on his way in.
I’m out from behind my desk before I can think about it, his gaze pulling me like a magnet.
“See something you like, baby?” His growly voice slithers over my body, lighting it up, and all traces of nervousness have disappeared as a cocky grin forms on his face. He pulls me toward him.
I don’t have time to respond before his mouth crashes down onto mine, and I’m drowning in him.
His hand on my hip pulls me closer as his tongue darts out to tangle with mine.
I can’t remember what I wanted to talk about because all I can do is feel.
His kiss deepens, and I smooth my hands down his back to grip that fabulous ass, trying to pull him even closer.
Hockey players have the best butts. Lainy isn’t wrong about that.
His hand drifts from my hip down to pull up the fabric of my skirt until I can feel his hot caress on my thigh, and a moan escapes me even as I try to hold it back. Yes, I need more.
The loud knock at my door makes us startle apart so quickly that I can barely catch my breath.
“Fuck, Jos,” he mutters, pulling back, straightening his tie, and running his hand through his hair.
I struggle putting myself back together, as I pull my skirt down and fluff my hair. Damon shoots me a wicked smile before he wipes some lip gloss from the side of my mouth.
“Come in,” I finally manage to squeak out, as I stride back toward my desk. I need to get a grip on my libido. I’m like a sex-starved lunatic. Okay, maybe sex-starved isn’t too far off. I already know what Lainy would say about that.
Mel opens the door, carrying a bag of what I hope is our lunch.
Nothing like food to distract your hormones, and mine need a distraction badly.
She plunks it down on the coffee table, asking if we need anything else.
I let her know we’re all set, and she’s out the door before I can even thank her.
Good grief, she’s efficient. I take a deep breath to get my horny self under control before glancing at Damon.
With as much dignity as I can muster after I practically climbed him like a tree, I gesture toward the sofa.
“Maybe we should eat and talk before we get carried away?” I say with chagrin. I don’t even want to know what my face looks like. The heat on my cheeks tells me my embarrassment is not a secret.
He arches a brow, giving me his signature cocky smile.
“Probably. I did intend to talk, but you look so fucking sexy today, and well… Yeah… that happened. Sorry, Jos.” He shrugs his shoulders as if to say he couldn’t help himself.
Well, I couldn’t, either, so who am I to judge at this point?
Okay, neither of us has regrets. Good to know.
One thing that kiss did do was reinforce my desire to have this conversation.
Not the only desire you’ve got today.
Food. Focus on food.
We pull our food out of the bag and set it up to eat.
Silence fills the room as we both concentrate on sustenance.
That’s fairly typical of us, always on the run and eating quickly to get to the next item on our massive to-do list, so the silence isn’t uncomfortable.
He finishes before I do, even though he’s got twice the food.
He gets up to grab water out of my office fridge, and by the time he’s back, we’re both done eating.
“I’ll start,” I say with a smile, setting my take-out container down on the coffee table. I know guys get nervous when women say, ‘Hey, let’s talk,’ so I want to reassure him that won’t be the case here.
“Go for it. I promise to listen.” He looks at me and waits, giving me his full attention. Okay, no need for reassurance. How is this man so perfect?
“So, the other night, um, I think maybe we shouldn’t do that kind of thing anymore.
Not that it wasn’t incredible because it was…
definitely incredible… yeah.” I clear my throat.
“But the, uh… cameras are going in soon, and I’m not porn star material.
” I give him a lopsided grin, trying for humor to dispel the awkward tension. Awkward much?
“To be clear, what won’t we be doing? Exactly,” he asks carefully, looking concerned.
“Oh, yeah, I get how you would think…. Yeah, the sex at work part. The sex part was great…really great, but maybe we should talk before…um, more because… yeah.” Good Lord, if I could roll my eyes at myself, I would.
“Good to know. But the sex part was incredible, huh?” His smile is a bit cocky, but I guess that’s fair. I did say incredible. He reaches out and takes my hand, gently but firmly. “For future reference, I agree. It was better than incredible.”
“Um…okay,” It’s all I can manage to say, and my unsteady voice is breathy. I look down, trying to maintain some composure. The things this man does to me. “So, about the cameras…”
“You had the camera conversation with Eddie, too, huh?”
“Too? Uh, no, I didn’t, but I’m happy to see that you did.” I’m filled with an intense wave of relief. I was far more concerned about that than I was willing to admit.
“I was hoping to talk about what happened and what to do going forward. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the HR manual, which, by the way, is a disaster, but it doesn’t contain any fraternization language, so technically, that’s not an issue.
However, I’m not feeling great about my behavior from an ethical standpoint.
I also think we need to add something about fraternization in the new manual.
I’ll make sure Jacob talks to the new HR director.
I can’t believe it’s never been a problem before. ”
I’m skeptical because of Kurt and Tad’s behavior. It had to have been a problem at some point. Which means they probably didn’t handle it legally.
“I agree. I’d really rather that we control the narrative on the fraternization issue. What about us? Where are you at with us?” He’s so calm, that deep voice I can’t get enough of, steady and patient. It settles my nerves.