Chapter 15
Fifteen
T he phone rang at her desk in legal making her jump as she replied to emails.
“Stephanie Pryor.”
“Steph, it’s Steve Cannon. Can we meet upstairs at three o’clock rather than in my office?”
“Yeah sure, where upstairs?” she asked, confused as to why they’d need a conference room.
“Conference room, twenty-third floor. It would appear some more of the big wigs have questions for us on how things are panning out and other department heads are coming too,” he explained.
“They do know that we are all of a few weeks into the deal and it is very much early days, don’t they?” She felt a little concerned now.
“Yeah of course, but I think because Brooker chose to buy legal services in, other heads of departments are getting jittery that he could negotiate similar deals with other companies including accounting.” He laughed.
“Accounting?”
“Yes, you know the sort of thing; budgets, costings, profits and losses,” he joked. “Oh and I think the head of accounting may want to get a look at his new boss.”
“Is there a new boss in accounting?” she asked curiously.
“Not yet.” He laughed again as she realised he was referring to her.
Flushing, Steph was glad to be on her own and was more than a little relieved that Jack wasn’t there. It did make her wonder whether the rumours Jack had been talking about were actually genuine though.
“Ha-ha, very funny.” She laughed back at Steve. “Three o’clock upstairs then?”
“Yup and bring your laptop with your overviews and flowcharts on,” he told her, making her feel nervous that she was expected to give them a full presentation.
Steph nervously entered the empty conference room and found a note on the huge table:
Hi Steph,
Sorry, the meeting time is now 3.15 and can you
set up your laptop before the meeting starts?
Seems that they want the full show this afternoon.
Sorry again and thanks in anticipation!
Steve.
“Great!” she said aloud to herself as she began to do battle with wires in an attempt to attach her laptop to the screen in the conference room. The screen didn’t appear to recognise it at first, making her sigh. She checked the time and as it was only a quarter to three she tried to synchronise them again. While she waited for the outcome, she bent down to plug her laptop into the mains and as she straightened she saw her flowchart on the large screen prompting her to give herself a little clap. When someone joined in the clapping from behind her Steph physically jumped.
She turned quickly on her heels and was surprised to find Jon grinning back at her.
“I thought I should show my appreciation for the view of you bending over in that dress, but it is even more worthy of applause now that I see it from the front.” He clapped again.
Staring at him she was almost rooted to the spot. “You’re supposed to be in Geneva.”
“Ah, I was, but I seem to remember a very beautiful lady asking me to rush back, so . . .” he said seriously.
“I see, although I’m not sure it was a request.” She smiled at him now hoping the confusion and angst of the night before on the phone could be put behind them.
“I think you’ll find it most definitely was, darling. I really, really am desperate to be alone with you,” he admitted.
“We are alone,” she teased.
“In a room surrounded by glass walls,” he pointed out with a wave of his hands.
“I can’t think why you’d want solid walls.” She continued to tease.
“Apart from the fact that I am desperate to hold you and to kiss you and to be completely honest if we were truly alone I would fuck you right now,” he told her darkly, making her take a sharp intake of breath which appeared to amuse him judging by his wry grin. “And God, you would seriously enjoy it.”
She wasn’t sure whether she should reply, but before she had the chance to, the conference room door opened and a procession of people in suits followed Steve in and sat around the table.
“Mr Brooker, I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us,” said Steve.
“I was done in Geneva so there was no point in hanging around.” He took his seat at the head of the table. “Right, let’s get on,” he said to unanimous nods all round.
Steph was sitting opposite Jon at the bottom of the table, next to her laptop in front of the screen.
Steve discussed the depth and breadth of the specialist legal services that Brookers now had ready access to before going on to explain that Steph was the designated liaison point from Baker, Ross and Riley. He explained that she had been an asset to them since her arrival and as well as being organised, professional and approachable, she was also very knowledgeable and had a very quick turnaround with any queries or problems. As Steve handed over to her she wondered whether Jack had contacted Brookers yet with plans for his switch of her with Martin. Standing to present her overview, projections and flow chart on the large screen, Steph was very aware of Jon watching her every move and just how tightly fitting and potentially restrictive her dress was.
She finished by taking any questions about the contract before handing back to Steve.
“So any queries about Baker, Ross and Riley go through Steph and any general legal queries can go through our own legal team, me or Steph who is based in our legal department.”
Jon interrupted at this point and said, “Although H.R. are discussing the possibility of moving Miss Pryor’s base to a more enclosed environment.”
Steve and Steph exchanged a confused look before she looked back at Jon who just smiled at her.
“If there are any department heads who are wondering if their own departments are going to be put out to tender, I can assure you that I have no plans to do so unless you suddenly decide to underperform and then you may make the decision for me.” He sounded irritated by the rumours currently circulating, like the ones Steve had told her about. “Oh, and can I have quarterly figures on my desk for Wednesday morning please, electronic or hard copies,” he added before standing to signal that the meeting was now over.
Some people were beginning to leave while others chatted to each other as Steph began to close her laptop down and disconnect it, momentarily revealing a picture of her and Lindsay in very little bikinis from their holiday to Portugal earlier in the year.
“Your partner?” asked a slightly imposing woman of about forty-five.
“No,” said Steph quickly. “My best friend, she is just back off her honeymoon so our girly holidays may have come to an end, although her husband is very understanding and laid back.”
“Too laid back,” muttered Jon as he came to a stop behind her where he was chatting to someone.
“I’m sure you’ve got other friends who are in need of holidays too,” said the woman. “If not you could always go alone. I have met my last three partners whilst away alone, assuming you’re single.”
“Maybe I should give that a try.” Steph knew that Jon was listening in from behind her. “And yes, I am single.”
The woman smiled at her. “I’m Sonia Hansen, Head of New Business in Retail.” She extended a hand to Steph.
She accepted it as they were joined by a man in his mid-thirties who was dressed in a black suit, pink shirt and black tie with large pink flowers. He stood next to them and Steph thought that he must have been no more than five feet eight as she currently stood taller than him with her shoes on.
“Hi, we haven’t been introduced. I’m Dave Madeley, Head of Accounts.” He offered her his hand too, but without the warmth of Sonia’s gesture and with far too much emphasis on his own job title.
“Nice to meet you,” said Steph, uncertain what else to say and as she tried to excuse herself from him, Jon joined them.
“Dave if I have all of the quarterly figures in on Wednesday I would like to start going over them for the remainder of the week. I’ll let you have them for the following Monday and then if we meet up on the Wednesday we can look at any issues or concerns.”
Dave nodded. “Of course. I’ll schedule it now.” He in-putted it into his phone.
“Maybe you’d like to join us, Miss Pryor?” asked Jon, “If you’re available?”
Steph was looking at Steve who had joined them now and willed him to say that she wasn’t available, which she may not be if Martin was here rather than her.
“That’s fine with me, Steph, and you’ll be in the building if there is a major incident that we can’t deal with,” he added, grinning at her obvious unease.
“That’s sorted then,” said Jon triumphantly.
“Great,” muttered Dave without an ounce of sincerity or any attempt to hide it.
“Right ladies and gentlemen, it is Friday afternoon and I don’t want to keep anyone any longer than absolutely necessary so if we’re all done,” said Jon to the remaining members of the group.
“Steph, I’ve promised the kids pizza and the pictures so I’ll see you next week. Thanks again for everything this week,” said Steve as he rushed out.
She smiled and simply replied, “No problem, have fun.”
Despite Jack’s warnings about him and Jon’s references to him being a player and his responsibility for Miss Roe’s emotional state, she did actually like Steve and he really seemed to know what he was doing, professionally.
Steph put her laptop back into her bag and threw her phones into her handbag before she noticed Sonia waving to her as she left the room leaving her alone with Jon.
“Just the two of us again, Miss Pryor.” He grinned, looking every ounce the charming predator.
“So it would seem.”
“Why did you tell Sonia you were single?”
“Because I am,” she replied flatly, hoping not to cause another dark mood to descend. She also wanted to avoid thinking of his wife, the woman who appeared to be in every way perfect to her because if she couldn’t keep her out of her head she might just say something about her. “Unless you want me to tell her that I am your current shag piece and that we are embroiled in an affair where I am totally faithful to you.” Clearly her ability to keep this calm wasn’t going to be easy.
They stared at each other before Jon spoke, his words shocking her, “When are you moving into your flat?” He undid the button on the navy blue jacket of his suit, fully revealing the pale blue shirt with white collar and cuffs.
Steph was still staring wildly as she tried to figure out why he was ignoring her reference to being his shag piece and her barbed comments about her fidelity.
“Tomorrow is the plan. All of my brothers are coming round in the morning.” With her mouth drying slightly, she watched him loosening his navy tie and undoing the top button of his shirt and thought he was probably the most attractive man she had ever met and definitely the sexiest.
She was going to need some kind of meter to keep up to speed with her own mood swings if not an intervention to temper them.
“All?” he queried to a puzzled looking Steph. “You said all of my brothers ,” he explained.
“Oh, I see.” She laughed at herself. “Five, I have five brothers and two sisters and I am the baby.”
“Bloody hell.” He laughed, shaking his head. “No telly in your house then.”
“We had a TV, but obviously my parents were more interested in each other.”
“Talking of being interested in each other, I am finding it almost impossible not to come over there to kiss you, but if I do that I will then want to peel that seriously fucking sexy dress off you and then I will have no choice but to shag you right here, right now, so come with me to my office and at least let me kiss you before we leave.”
“When you put it so romantically, how can I say no?” How the hell was she going to keep her sanity when her earlier irritation had disappeared in the blink of an eye? And why did her irritation dissipate with such speed? Because he didn’t deserve her irritation, she reasoned. He was doing nothing wrong, not to her anyway. He was keeping to the plan, the plan they had devised together and agreed. She just needed to remember that and try to control her emotions a little more.
“I thought I had done very well not to make it sound too crude,” he said seriously as he headed towards the door and held it open for her.
They passed by Andrea’s desk. “Can I get you anything, Mr Brooker?”
“No thanks, in fact, you may as well get off, I’ll be leaving myself soon enough,” he told her.
“I’ll just finish scheduling the last of your appointments for next week and then I’ll go.” Andrea offered a smile before returning her attention to the screen in front of her while Jon held the door to his office open and gestured for Steph to enter before him.
He looked at her like she was his last meal as he closed the door, making her stomach flip with anticipation as he strode towards her, quickly pulling her towards him. With one arm around her waist he used his other hand to tip her head up so that she was looking up at him.
“I really did miss you.” He lowered his head towards hers before covering her mouth with his and within a split second his tongue was in her mouth while his hands were all over her through the dress he seemed to be reluctant to remove despite quickly finding the location of the ‘hidden’ zip.
She had now pushed his suit jacket off him and had managed to get her hands beneath his shirt. She was surprised at just how happy she was to feel the warm skin of his chest and torso flexing under the touch of her fingertips.
“I do like this dress, but I don’t think it’s suitable for the workplace, darling. It was very distracting this afternoon,” he said while she undid his belt, then the clip and zip of his trousers.
“I like to distract you,” she said seriously as she gazed up at him.
“It distracted everybody in that room, not just me,” he replied equally as seriously.
“Then maybe I should concentrate on distracting you alone.” She pushed his trousers and boxers down to reveal a large, glistening erection that she gripped and squeezed firmly making him gasp.
“I am permanently distracted by you, so you should be very pleased with yourself.”
She looked up at him again and grinned, then dropped to her knees where she enveloped him in her mouth.
“God, Steph!” he cried as he pushed his hands into her hair that he gripped tightly.
She started slowly, moving up and down, first with her teeth safely covered by her lips and then she bared them, allowing them to gently graze along his length making him suck air loudly through gritted teeth before releasing him completely and sitting back on her heels before looking up at him, finding his eyes aflame with desire and need she didn’t think she’d ever seen reflected back at her.
“You don’t need to go on holiday to find a partner and rest assured you are not single. You have a fucking boyfriend,” he hissed as she began to swirl her tongue around the tip of his girth at a very leisurely pace, teasing and tormenting him before returning him to her mouth where she resumed the movement sliding up and down his length, but faster now.
A sly glance up at him prompted an inner smile, he was putty in her hands, metaphorically at least and he was obviously close to losing control judging by his trembling legs and general demeanour. Her sense of satisfaction was temporarily halted as his desk phone rang.
He attempted to release himself from her grip, but she had no intention of letting him go until she had made him completely come undone.
He grabbed for the phone and hit the speaker as she picked up her pace further. “Yes, Andrea?” His voice was strained and probably sounded terse and irritable to his assistant.
“Sorry, Mr Brooker, Mrs Brooker is on the line for you.”
“My mother?” He sounded confused.
“No, Lucy.” Andrea sounded embarrassed.
Steph considered letting him go and getting to her feet, but why should she? It was up to him to stop her if speaking to his wife was a greater priority than what they were doing. She remembered the photo on the internet and realised that the blonde had been called Lucy confirming the beautiful blonde’s identity for her now, not that there was ever any doubt in her mind.
She quickened her pace again and allowed a hand to cup his balls that she gently began to squeeze and caress as she moved up and down and around now using her lips, teeth and tongue and every technique that had ever been effective for past boyfriends.
“Tell her I’ll call her back.” He immediately disconnected the call just before he pulled Steph towards him.
He gripped her head and hair even tighter than before, then she felt it, the first jet of warm, salty liquid coating her tongue, then her throat. She had no choice but to swallow at this point, which was something she had never done before, but as she looked up at his expression; satisfaction, pleasure, awe, lust, she was more than happy to do so and once she was sure there was no more she finally released him and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
“I assume you missed me too?” He kissed her gently.
“Yes,” she whispered back into his mouth as he kissed her again.
“I’ve never met anyone like you and I have never done that in my office before,” he told her as he began to finger the zip of her dress.
She grinned up at him. “What have you done in your office?”
“I usually stick to business, but for you I will make an exception.” He slid down the zip on her dress.
“I feel honoured.” She grinned.
“I assume you don’t make a habit of getting naked in your office either.” He sounded more serious now.
“Of course I don’t,” she told him, slightly affronted, but pushed it down. “Although I have never done that swallowing thing anywhere,” she confessed.
“Then I am the one who is fucking honoured and think I really ought to reward you because it was pretty bloody amazing.”
Her dress was already being pushed to the floor allowing him to run his hands down her body; from her shoulders, across her chest, pausing briefly at her breasts before continuing across her abdomen, hips and finally stopping at the lacy, black thong.
“You can probably lose these.” He stared into her eyes as he hooked his fingers into the top of them, making her smile. “Now,” he ordered making her laugh before pushing her back onto his desk and removing her now wet thong. “You really have missed me, haven’t you?” he asked rhetorically at the sight of her arousal glistening.
Steph was preparing to wrap her legs around his hips to draw him closer when he shook his head and instead dropped to his knees, making her cry out as his mouth and tongue began to caress her more intimately than anyone ever had.