Sensual Games (Elite Heirs of Manhattan #5)

1. Lucian

1

LUCIAN

A one-night stand had come back to haunt me.

Of all days.

Here I was, on the verge of taking my so-called rightful position in my family’s media empire, and a woman, who I would’ve been glad to see again under other circumstances, happened to be someone with her sights on my job.

While I wasn’t exactly thrilled over the idea of taking a leadership position in the family company, I didn’t want to fuck things up on the first day my entire team assembled, either. It was bad enough I had to deal with being my father’s only child. “ The Diamond name is a legacy. It is your responsibility to carry the family name. ”

Lucky me.

Granted, it was a good name, a respected one. I could’ve done a lot worse.

Today was supposed to be the first step in proving to the great Connor Diamond I had what it took to carry on in his footsteps one day. Most men his age would have been interested in retiring, at least partly, but he was as hands-on as ever and had led the way during the acquisition of a failing media company. One of those old, barely limping behemoths left behind in the wake of social media, digital imprints, and lessening subscriptions as more and more information became easily accessible online. They weren’t willing to pivot or weren’t able to. Either way, the result was the same, leading us to this moment. It was hardly the first time Dad had absorbed another company into ours, extending its reach, extending his influence and power.

But it was the first time I played a part, so naturally, a one-night stand had to show herself at this pivotal moment in my so-called career.

Not only a one-night stand. That alone, I could have handled. It was the fact we’d be working together. That was Dad’s code for I don’t want you fucking things up on your own . For twenty-five years, he had looked over my shoulder, always waiting for me to make a wrong move and tarnish his precious reputation. The stakes were higher now, with me sitting at the helm of the company’s digital division. Not that I had the first clue what it meant to run a division or be the vice president of anything, which he knew damn well. I still couldn’t understand why he had named me for the position with no experience to my name beyond a few summers interning with the company and nothing much else in between.

As far as he was concerned, all I needed was somebody to watch over me and make sure I didn’t blow up anything. No one had to say it out loud. I knew the way the man’s mind worked.

I should have known this was all too good to be true. I hadn’t asked for the job, and I didn’t want it. That didn’t mean my pride could handle a babysitter.

Especially not a babysitter I had fucked for hours until we were both drenched in sweat and exhausted to the point of passing out in a tangle of arms and legs on a half-striped bed. We hadn’t exactly been careful to keep the room in one piece. It was the kind of night I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

Did that mean I had to remember every damn time I came to work? Talk about a productivity killer. At the moment, she was looking at me from the corner of her eye, seated at the end of the first row of chairs assembled in our conference room for this welcome meeting. Dad sat to my left, and somehow, he managed to make it look like he was paying attention to the orientation video playing on the screen in front of us. I had watched it a few times during its development and knew we were coming to the end, meaning it would soon be time for me to deliver my prepared address.

My attention shifted to my right, and her head snapped around until she was facing forward. Good thing she chose this profession instead of acting, considering she was shit at acting like my gaze didn’t shake her up. She had recognized me right away, though who could blame her after I’d given her an unforgettable night?

“Right here.” I swept the dresser free of cologne and the other toiletries I’d left out while getting ready for the wedding. Bottles and tubes hit the floor while I lifted her and placed her on the surface, tearing off my tie and jacket as she worked my shirt buttons. She looked up at me, and the animal hunger blazing behind her gray eyes left me claiming her mouth, thrusting my tongue inside while I stripped off everything to feel more of her touch.

I was no stranger to getting caught up in lust after finding somebody I clicked with, but this? This was downright baffling. Not that I wanted to think about it at the moment, especially with most of the blood in my brain having traveled south to harden my cock.

She leaned against me while opening my shirt, her mouth trailing across my chest and turning my blood to fire. I reached behind her to slide the zipper of her dress down to her waist. The creamy tits I’d admired for hours while we flirted during the reception were barely encased in lace, the material soft under my palms when I fondled her, burying my face between them, growling as I tasted and plundered.

“Oh, yes, please…” Her sweet, helpless whimpers were music to my ears— what man alive didn’t want to hear a woman like her falling apart because of them? Satisfaction swelled in me, demanded more. More touch, more taste, more everything.

Dad’s elbow to my side startled me out of my memory. The presentation was over, and somebody had flipped on the lights. It was my turn to get up and do a little dance for my father’s approval.

Thankfully, there was a podium to stand behind and a folder full of notes I could hold in front of me to hide the semi that started to grow, thanks to poor timing. What was I supposed to do? I’d been completely blindsided by the memories.

I wasn’t asking for this. I didn’t want her here, now.

The entire point of a one-night stand was for it to last one night.

“Good morning.” I offered a brief smile I hoped would cover up any awkwardness I was fighting to contain. Was it enough? My father peered up at me, wearing the sort of expression he saved for private, one-on-one moments. Do not fuck this up. Do not make me regret giving you this chance. He may as well have been holding up a sign with those words printed across the front, along with a few other unflattering additions. Yet, to an outsider, he was a respected businessman and philanthropist who had done a lot of good with his power and influence.

Determination injected energy into my voice. “As you heard in the presentation, which just wrapped up, we do take the concept of family seriously here.” Pitiful, corporate bullshit. Family. No matter how many times I told Dad to stop harping on the concept, trying to help him understand people didn’t buy that pandering bullshit anymore, he refused to listen. It was one of the only areas where he had insisted on getting his way during my speech.

“We understand there might be growing pains. We are here for you, day or night, and hope you will feel comfortable sharing any concerns with us. We respect the corporate culture you left and don’t expect a simple, overnight transition. These things take time, and I know you’ll find everyone here is reasonable, understanding, and more than willing to work together for the greater good. The way any family does.”

God, I wanted to gag. Why not have me up here in a pair of tap shoes while we were at it so I could add a little entertainment? I caught more than a few people rolling their eyes as I droned on, and I couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t their fault they were able to see through this ridiculous farce.

That almost platinum hair kept catching the light overhead, drawing my attention time and again. She sat upright, hands folded in her lap, her eyes trained squarely on me. “So big… so good…” I ground my molars, tearing my gaze from her when Dad softly cleared his throat. Whether he did it because he noticed me losing track of my thoughts or not, I had no idea.

“After final remarks offered by our CEO, you will be directed to your new workstations throughout the building, on your division’s respective floors,” I continued, deliberately looking anywhere but at her. Did she know who I was at the wedding? Was she on to me all the time? Was our night together her way of scoring points? Fucking me in hopes of getting a head start on the new job?

A sour taste filled my mouth and left me reaching for the bottle of water on the podium, taking a sip in hopes of washing the bitterness away.

“And please remember,” I concluded, practically racing for the finish line in hopes of putting an end to all of this. “My door is always open. I look forward to my first meeting with the new digital team early next week. For now, get your feet wet, orient yourselves, and don’t forget to ask questions whenever they come up. We are here to help you make this transition as smooth and painless as possible. Thank you all very much for being here with us, and I look forward to working with all of you.”

They were smart enough to offer polite applause before I nodded to Dad. “Now, a few words from our CEO. Be careful,” I warned, dropping my voice to something barely above a whisper. “You better sit up straight and be on your best behavior, but then that’s probably the command only reserved for me when I was getting yelled at back in the day.” Laughter filled the room while Dad shook his head and wagged a finger at me. “If I were you, I would be on the safe side,” I finished, and a fresh wave of laughter resulted when I stepped aside to let Dad take my place.

We exchanged a glance, and then I returned to my seat. I set it up. All you have to do is bring it home.

Now that the part I had dreaded most was over—my first time being paraded around like this, forced to play happy boss in front of a bunch of strangers—I could sit back in my chair and, once again, go over the situation I had found myself in.

But instead of thinking about what Ivy’s presence meant for my job security, where did my mind go? Right back to my hotel room, around the time I pulled her off the dresser and fell onto the bed with her underneath me.

I couldn’t keep my hands off her, touching everything I could reach while tasting every inch of her skin. There was something wild, almost unhinged, about it, a sense of complete abandon. Everybody knew women tended to get horny as hell at weddings—at least, that was the way I’d always found it. This was on another level. Every touch, every high-pitched whimper and deep, throaty moan was a challenge. Could I make her do it again? And would she do it louder this time?

“As my son told you,” Dad offered, nodding toward me. “Family is something we focus on here. And please, don’t get me wrong,” he continued with a soft chuckle. “I’m not trying to blow smoke up anyone’s rear. There’s no such thing as a complete work-life balance. I know that too well, myself. Sometimes, life takes precedence, while other times, we make sacrifices to advance ourselves professionally. I don’t expect anyone to walk in here every day and be able to completely disconnect from the life they left outside these doors. It’s impossible. And it’s unfair to demand that. But don’t get me wrong. We do work hard…”

This would be challenging enough to pay attention to if I wasn’t out of my mind trying to focus on anything but this insane twist of fate, if it was indeed a twist and not something Ivy had orchestrated. I knew I had to be stronger than this, but nothing could stop me from sliding a glance her way, gauging her reaction. She may as well have been some lovesick kid, hanging onto Dad’s every word as she gazed up at him.

Damn, she was gorgeous. Not that I could forget, but remembering something and seeing it in front of me were two different things. Her delicate features were perfectly balanced, but it was the eyes that drew me in. They had from the first second I had spotted her sitting at the bar in the clubhouse dining room, where some of the guests had spilled over to take a break from the music and dancing. The second those orbs had landed on me, shining and sharp, I was a fish on a hook. All she had to do was reel me in, and an inviting smile had done that.

Looking back, I cringed at myself. Had I really made it that easy for her? How was I supposed to know we would meet again and under these circumstances?

But she had to know. The takeover hadn’t exactly happened overnight. There had already been rumblings in the air. I was one of the groomsmen, for fuck’s sake. My name was in the program everybody received before the wedding. She had to know who I was by the time I’d introduced myself.

I thought I had picked her up and seduced her, but now I was seeing everything clearly. It had been the other way around. She had used me. She thought she could take my job. A job I hadn’t wanted when I woke up that morning but was now the most important thing in my world.

She wanted to play games? That was fine with me. Nobody tried to take what was mine and got away with it. And she was about to find that out.

Dad clapped his hands together briskly, snapping me to attention. “Now, as Lucian explained, you’ll all be gathered together and taken to your new workstations. When you reach them, you’ll find copies of the employee handbook, along with welcome packages we assembled for each of you. Again, I look forward to working with you, and we hope you can be as happy and as fulfilled here as you were before Diamond Media and Jones Media joined forces. Thank you all very much.”

He headed straight for me, and I stood, aware of the icy blonde watching us. “Well, this is it,” Dad murmured. “Tomorrow, you’ll be working one-on-one with Ivy, showing her the ropes. She’ll take on a managerial role, a step down from her prior title but with better compensation.”

“What a shame I had no idea I had to do any of that,” I muttered, offering a tight smile to some rando who caught my eye as he walked past. Somebody sucking up, trying to get me to remember their face. Like that would help them if they couldn’t hack moving up to the big leagues.

“If that was an oversight, it was on your part.” Dad’s narrowed eyes found me and locked on. All I could do was withstand the weight of his disappointment. “I sent you the list of new employees and their past positions. Since when can you not add two and two together?”

This motherfucker . My blood was boiling, and I wanted nothing more than to throw his bullshit job in his face, along with the thinly veiled contempt he’d always held for me. It was a shame he had only been granted one child, and that child happened to be me. Someone he couldn’t trust to work on their own. Somebody he had to assign a handler to.

“It’s fine,” I assured him, fighting to maintain composure if only to defy his expectations. “We can talk about the strategy I’ve come up with during our breakfast meeting on Wednesday.” Two days from now, I would more than likely have a better idea of what I was dealing with when it came to her.

“Fair enough.” He turned away, all smiles for a pair of older women who obviously couldn’t resist his charm. Women never could, especially the ones closer to his age.

I was not in the mood to charm anyone, especially not when I found Ivy lingering in the doorway, staring my way, one eyebrow arched. More like Poison Ivy. Nice to look at, dangerous as all fuck to touch.

She was not going to take this from me. I would see to it she regretted ever thinking she could. I might have let my dick do the thinking for me once, but I wouldn’t make that mistake again.