4. Cooper
FOUR
Cooper
T he door clicks closed softly behind Meghan, and I sit in the silence of my office with her sweet perfume lingering in the air. I lean back in my chair, staring out of the window, luxuriating in the sweet scent of honey and vanilla that she’s left in her wake.
Whenever she’s near, I’ve felt some kind of… spark, I guess. I’m certain it’s one-sided. I mean, she can barely look at me when we talk, so it’s not likely that she’d feel anything remotely romantic for me. I’ve watched her with other people and she has no issues talking to them.
Is she… scared of me?
I know I can be a demanding boss, but I’ve never once raised my voice at her or used my size to intimidate her. In fact, I’ve started to stay quiet on purpose now.
It’s become a game of sorts for me, to see how long it takes for her to divert her gaze once it’s landed on me. I’m not in the habit of playing games with my assistants, but for some reason, the fact she won’t look me in the eye when she’s talking to me kind of irks me.
Women love me—I don’t say that to be big headed, in fact it’s the reason I had to get a new assistant, but for some reason I get the impression she’d rather be doing anything else but engaging in a conversation with me.
Meanwhile, I’m over here picturing her every time I jerk off. It’s fucking with my mind.
Maybe I should cross the line .
No, that’s a bad idea.
As much as I want to feel her wrapped around me, I don’t mess with my assistants, not after the drama with my parents and my father’s infidelity with his own assistant. And Meghan, is too important to lose.
Maria would kill me if she knew I was even entertaining the idea of fucking Meghan.
I was given a stern lecture after Meghan’s interview, something along the lines of asking for a lawsuit and that I’d done so well in my tenure as managing partner to not live up to the stereotype the other managing partners had painted of me.
My father’s wandering eye was no secret, and much to my annoyance, I’ve been tarred with the same brush, with zero evidence. You’d have thought a firm of lawyers would know better.
I know that it’s not just a sexual attraction—although I am attracted to her.
It’s the way she scrunches her brow as she completes the finance reports she despises.
She was refreshingly honest in her interview about that fact.
Or something as simple as how she pushes her glasses up—always with her right index finger.
It’s the curve of her neck when she tilts her head when she’s being sympathetic and listening to a client in need. Or the way she has no idea how alluring she is. It’s like she is completely blind to her own beauty, both inside and out. She has no idea as to the effect she has on me.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, I lean back further in my chair and close my eyes.
For the last ten months, I’ve let my imagination run wild because as much as I want her, I know I can’t have her.
I’m her boss, for Christ’s sake, and I can’t put her in that sort of position—especially when it’s only based on something as insignificant as attraction.
On occasion, I indulge myself and imagine what she’d taste like. I think she’d taste sweet. Shifting in my chair, I feel myself harden at the thought of her on my tongue. I think that at first, as I devoured her, she would be shy and reserved before coming undone and giving as good as she got.
Get a grip Cooper, it’s not happening .
Being able to make her feel comfortable enough to be herself with me would be a huge turn on, but it’s just not going to happen.
Although, I’m not sure I could hold back again if she looked at me like she had the other day. It was a miracle I stayed only semi-hard when her wet, pink tongue had darted out to flick across her plump lips as she looked at my crotch.
My mind was immediately filled with images of her soft, wet mouth wrapped around my cock. I wanted to lift her up, undress her from those awful clothes and fuck her senseless right there on her desk. But then I remembered why I was asking her to go to the file room and I got mad again.
Don’t even get me started on the rage that coursed through my body when I looked up from a file I was reviewing and saw my father touching her.
The look on her face when she’d seen me standing in my doorway was the only thing that stopped me from launching myself at him.
I want to be the man that rescues her, not scare her away.
Running a hand through my hair, I let out a frustrated breath as I look out over downtown Manhattan.
Fuck it, I’m going to call Vivian. She’s usually available on a Friday and doesn’t require romancing.
I can fuck her without worrying that she’ll become attached, and right now I need to fill my mind with images that aren’t Meghan.
Vivian and I have an understanding that we will only see each other when we’re both unattached and that we’ll never be more than a hook-up to each other.
I should’ve called her the evening of Meghan’s interview—and I was going to—but when I’d gone to dial her number, a pair of captivating green eyes flashed through my mind and I couldn’t bring myself to press the call button.
I need to get over this obsession with Meghan.
Deciding to finish for the day as my concentration is gone, I clear my desk, shut down my laptop and gather some files I’ll work on over the weekend.
It’s been a hell of a week, and I’m ready to unwind.
I’ll just need to get through an hour or two of the firm's Christmas party before I can meet up with Vivian.
Cracking my neck as I stand, I stretch my body, tired from a long week.
For a moment, I consider not going to the party at all, but when I remind myself of all the hard work Meghan and others have put into the planning.
I don’t intend on staying any longer than necessary because realistically, nobody’s going to let loose when the boss is around.
Most years I’ve skipped any work functions that weren’t designated for team building, but a nagging feeling has taken over me the past week and I’ve always been one to listen to my gut.
Making sure I have everything I need, I switch off the office lights as I make my way to the elevator, calling my driver, Christopher.
For this year’s party, we’ve rented out Passion, a club owned by my good friend Sebastian Worthington. Sebastian–or Seb, as he prefers to be called–is a self-made billionaire from England. He has four clubs around the world. I’ve known Seb since he opened Passion eight years ago.
We were introduced by our mutual friend, Damien Houston, at a gentleman’s club in the city. Initially, I thought Seb was a womanizing asshole that I had nothing in common with. After all, every time I saw him, he had a different woman on his arm.
As our friendship progressed, I came to realize that he keeps people at a distance for a reason. At twenty-two he was overly confident and brash, to my studious and reserved personality–not much has changed.
Normally, Passion would open at ten, but Seb has agreed to open an hour later and so we have the club to ourselves for the start of the evening. I arrive around eight, surprised to see there are so many people here already.
Heading toward the bar, I order a neat Macallan 18, surveying the club as I lean back against the bar. All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey plays from the speakers and I hum along to my guilty pleasure Christmas song.
Fairy lights are draped around booths and along the bar, adding to the ambience and the light chatter of people mingling broken up with the occasional bout of laughter makes the room feel surprisingly cheerful.
“Cooper, it’s good to see you! How are you?” Seb calls as he comes to stand next to me, leaning back against the bar and mirroring my stance.
“Seb, it’s nice to see you too, man. I’m okay, thanks. How are you?” I bring my drink to my lips for a sip and let my eyes roam around the crowd looking for her.
I can’t feel her presence like I normally can, but it doesn’t stop me from searching for a glimpse of her.
“I’m not too bad, business is booming… partly thanks to yo ur booking.
” He laughs, confirming my suspicion that I didn’t get any friends and family discount.
I direct a glare in his direction but he continues, oblivious to my expression, “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.
Thought it would be more of a let the worker bees party without the boss kind of thing. ”
“I’d much rather be enjoying the company of a beautiful woman.” I down my drink, trying to quiet my inner voice as it screams Meghan’s name at me.
Turning around, I signal to the bartender for another, resting my elbows on the bar as I wait.
If I get drunk enough, maybe I’ll forget the way she consumes my every thought.
“I like what your Meghan has done with the place.”
“She isn’t mine,” I grumble.
“She’s not your assistant? Did you give into the temptation, Coop?” Seb chuckles as he throws back his drink.
“She is my assistant and there’s no temptation to give in to.” I sigh, because I know damn well she is my temptation and I would surrender myself to her willingly. I throw back my drink and signal for another.
The sooner I can get out of here, the better.
Seb and I chat for an hour or so more, catching up since we haven’t seen each other for months. He tells me about his plans to open a fifth club and the issues he’s having with his legal team, so I invite him into the office, offering up the firm’s help.
More people have filtered in and the drinks are flowing freely, before I decide I’ve been here long enough to make the rounds and check-in before leaving. Although I’m an attorney by trade and making small talk is part of the job, I still struggle with it.
After some painful conversations with people treading on eggshells, I make my way back to the bar, almost wishing I hadn’t come. Seb, who has been surveying the club and watching as I’ve floundered my way around the party, laughs at the awkwardness of the conversations I’ve had.
“That was entertaining to watch.”
“It’s not my fault everyone’s scared of me. I hardly speak to most of these people.”
“That’s probably where you’ve gone wrong. Maybe you need to actually get to know them.” Seb smirks like a know-it-all as he takes a sip of his drink.
“Maybe,” I grumble.
After a moment of quiet, Seb asks, “I heard Damien is considering a run for mayor.”
“Wouldn’t that be funny? He’s got the charm, that's for sure, but I’m not sure he knows enough about the New York political circuit for the job.”
“Can’t be any worse than Harry Belrose. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was another scandal in the not so distant future.”
“I don’t know man. Damien’s spent too long in Texas to jump back into…”
My words trail off as my eyes dart toward the entrance, as if drawn to it. My heart skips a beat, my palms sweat and my mouth goes dry as she comes into view behind another woman I vaguely recognize.
I can tell it’s her, even with her made up so different to how she is at work. Her blonde hair frames the feminine features of her face and her body is wrapped in a tight, dark pink dress that shows her curves off to perfection.
A spark of jealousy courses through me as I think of the man that will get to have her in his bed, as his woman. I drink her in, as if she’s an oasis and I’ve been stranded in the desert.
“Wow. If she isn’t yours, then I’ll definitely have to have a taste.” Seb steps away from the bar and straightens his shoulders, his gaze is fixed on Meghan.
“If you so much as breathe in her direction, I will end you.” My gaze doesn’t leave her.
Seb laughs and takes a sip of his drink as I continue to watch her as she slinks through the club.