Chapter 16
Jeremiah
Isipped on my coffee as I watched Sadie move around the office just outside the windows of my office.
She was carrying a stack of papers one minute, typing on her laptop the next, and on the phone another.
She was flitting around like a damn hummingbird.
I had to give it to her, she was working hard.
Ever since she asked for her raise last week, she seemed to be hustling to prove that she deserved it. Still, I was keeping a close eye on her. We were only a few weeks into working together. I hadn’t had enough time to properly assess if she had what it took to be my personal assistant.
Besides, I enjoyed watching her. Despite the frumpy clothes she often wore, I knew what lay underneath them and that in itself made her sexy as hell. Today was no different in her navy blazer and matching slacks that hung off her, doing a disservice to her curves. Curves I knew somewhat well.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the late night we had together in this very office just last week.
Her quiet moans still filled my ears as she tried to hold it together.
As if anyone could hear us anyway. The office had been a ghost town.
Still, there was something forbidden about it that turned me on.
Turned her on, too, in the way she had practically seeped through her lace panties before I had even touched her in places she quietly begged me to.
I couldn’t shake the images that floated through my head anytime I saw Sadie in the office or caught a whiff of her perfume.
That warm vanilla brought me right back to that night.
When her knuckles were white as she gripped the desk, her body bent over it.
Her red hair like fire in my fingers as I tugged it toward me.
It was like someone had put it on repeat, the images and sounds on loop, making it almost impossible to work.
Impossible to think about anything else.
And maybe I didn’t want to.
I broke my gaze from Sadie as she sat down at her desk, busy talking on the phone, and rolled my eyes at myself.
Get it together.
She was just a girl. I didn’t get wrapped up in trivial things like this. I had bigger things to worry about, like my billion-dollar empire.
I scrolled my computer screen for the phone number I was looking for and, finding it, I picked up my desk phone and dialed.
“Vincent James, please,” I said once the receptionist had picked up.
“And who may I ask is calling?” she asked impatiently, as if people knew better than to not have a scheduled phone call.
“Jeremiah Mason.”
“Of course. One moment, Mr. Mason,” she said nervously, and I knew my name had made the impression I wanted it to. The one it usually did.
I heard a click on the line as Vincent’s voice greeted me.
“Mr. Mason. To what do I owe the pleasure?” he drawled in his Texan way.
Vincent James owned one of the largest record labels in the country, with an array of Grammy-award winning artists under his belt from what I researched last week.
He had the kind of money and clients that could make a huge impact on my firm’s profits.
While I didn’t know a lot about the music industry, I knew money, and I wanted his business. He knew it, too.
“I think you know what I want, Vincent,” I said, leaning back in my office chair.
“I didn’t take you for much of a music man.”
“I’m not.”
I was anything, if not honest.
“But I’m a money man,” I continued. “And I know you have a lot of it. I also know that you’re looking for a new firm to help you handle it.”
“And you think you’re the firm that can handle it?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No. I know we’re the firm that can handle it,” I said confidently.
He laughed loudly on the other line.
“The rumors I’ve heard are true. You are one cocky son of a bitch.”
“I’ll be out in Dallas tomorrow for a few days.
Why don’t we set up a meeting and I’ll show you what other rumors are true,” I said, hoping he would bite.
I had no plans to go to Dallas, but if he agreed, then I would be on the first flight out in the morning.
I was nothing but persistent when it came to things I wanted.
My other clients could wait if it meant reeling in this big fish.
“Fine. I’ll leave you with my receptionist to schedule.”
“See you then, Vincent.” I hung up the phone and smirked to myself.
It would seem I was heading to Texas tomorrow. There was a lot to do before then, though. I looked up from my desk to call Sadie in, but found her desk empty. I frowned. Where the hell was she? She had been buzzing around all morning out there and now when I need her, she’s not where she should be.
Standing from my desk, I strode out of my office, ignoring people’s cautious looks in my direction.
I checked my watch. It wasn’t lunch. I hadn’t sent her on any errands.
I slid out my cell phone and called her.
I heard a buzzing coming from her desk drawer.
I walked around and yanked it open, seeing her phone moving around the wooden drawer with the screen lit up.
My number with the name bosshole was drifting across the screen. I slammed the drawer shut.
I spotted Tanya, the front desk clerk watching me from her desk. I growled and walked toward her, placing my hands on her desk firmly.
“Where the hell is Sadie?” I asked frustratedly.
“I saw her run to the bathroom in a hurry just a few minutes ago,” she said nervously.
I pushed off her desk and started for the bathrooms, feeling my annoyance steadily creep up my neck.
What the hell is going on with this girl?
I stopped just outside the door and pounded my fist against it.
“I’ll be right out,” Sadie called out, startled.
I could hear the sink running, so I pushed open the door and walked inside impatiently. I found her alone and washing her hands at the sink. Her face was damp and flushed. When she saw me through the reflection in the mirror, she let out a little yelp and whipped around to face me.
“What the hell?” she said loudly, drowning out the running water behind her.
I took three large strides toward her and she braced her hands on the edge of the counter, her eyes filled with confused anger. I reached past her and shut the water off before standing in front of her with a seething look on my face.
“How many damn bathroom breaks do you need?” I asked exasperated. “Is this what I’m paying you for?”
“Are you kidding me?” she bit back. “I’ve been busting my ass the past week. If I have to pee, then I’ll damn well pee.”
Her glare was intense, and I saw that same fire from back in my office when she demanded a raise. I lifted my chin in approval. I liked this version. She was fierce. Bold. Sexy.
The fire in her eyes turned to embers, but her stare didn’t leave mine. We were in some sort of standoff. I wasn’t sure if we were about to argue more or rip each other’s clothes off. Before we could do either, I looked down at her coolly.
“Block my calendar for the next three days. We’re flying to Dallas tomorrow.”
I started for the door, leaving her with her anger that now turned to confusion.
“We?” she called after me, but I slipped out the door without another word.
* * *
As I walked through the lobby of my apartment, I kept my eyes down on my phone, going over the itinerary for Dallas.
I looked up when I heard a familiar voice drift my way from the lobby bar.
I peered up from my phone and spotted a familiar face sitting at the marbled black bar—Kevin. I didn’t know he was back in town.
I slipped my phone in my pants pocket and walked over to where he sat in a pair of gray sweats and a black t-shirt. He looked like he was about ready for bed.
“When the hell did you get back in town?” I asked, giving him a slap on the back and surprising him.
He looked up and smiled wide when he saw me.
“Jeremiah!” He clapped his hand in mine and pulled me in for a hug. “Just got in this afternoon. Hell of a long flight.”
“Where were you again?” I asked, leaning against the countertop.
“Cambodia,” he replied, running a hand through his sandy-blond hair.
Kevin was a photographer for a highly renowned nature magazine. He was often away for long chunks of time, traveling from country to country, snapping pictures of wildlife. Even though he was my good friend, I could hardly keep up with his schedule and the far-off places it took him.
“How was it?” I asked curiously.
“Wet.” He laughed, finishing the drink in his glass. Most likely a Jack and Coke. “But the animals were some of the best I’ve captured.”
He picked up his phone and opened his photos, pulling up various images of elephants and pythons and a red fox-like creature I didn’t recognize. I shook my head in awe. He lived a completely life than me.
“These are just from my phone, but the ones on my DSLR are fucking awesome,” he said proudly.
“You’ll have to show me soon,” I said.
“Why don’t we grab a drink tomorrow? I have to sleep off this jetlag now. I thought a little whiskey would help.” He pulled out his wallet and placed a fifty on the glossy countertop.
“Is that why you’re in pajamas?” I smirked. “I’m actually heading out to Dallas tomorrow. Raincheck?”
We were always missing each other, between my demanding job and his adventures in the jungle or the desert, or wherever his job took him.
“Sure,” he replied before his attention was suddenly pulled toward something behind me.
I turned and followed his gaze until it landed on Sadie, who was just walking out the elevator.
I sucked in a quiet breath as I watched her walk through the lobby.
She wore ass-hugging jeans and a white button-down that she had left mostly undone, revealing the fair skin of her stomach.
Her hair was pulled into a messy bun atop her head, and she wore thick gold hoops in her ears that swayed as she walked.
I almost had to do a double-take because I didn’t believe it was her.
She never wore stuff like that, but then again, she worked in an office with me.
I swallowed hard as I felt my mouth water.
She didn’t see me as she continued through the lobby, her eyes on her phone as she was texting.
She was smiling down at her phone and I couldn’t help the creeping jealousy that came over me.
I wondered who she was talking to, and where she was going looking like that.
Kevin’s whistle broke my questioning thoughts. I whipped my head to face him and saw his eyes drinking Sadie in the same way mine were.
“Who is that?” he asked. “She is hot as hell.”
“She’s mine,” I growled, surprising myself with how I just snapped at one of my good friends.
He looked at me in surprise before shaking off the awkwardness. A curious look came over him before he gave me a small smile.
“Got it,” he simply said.