Chapter Three
Derek
The weekend was long. I worked and did my best to keep busy, but I kept thinking about a certain assistant who had suddenly taken up room in my mind. I don’t know what intrigues me about her. Her confidence? The way my brash personality doesn’t seem to get under her skin?
That bloody mouth that just begs for my cock?
I swear at myself, staring out the window at the Monday morning view of Seattle. She should be here any minute, and I’m much too excited about that.
Yet I’m not willing to call and have her replaced. I don’t want to drive her away.
“Buggering masochist, that’s what you are,” I mutter to myself just as I hear the outer door open.
I take one long, slow breath and then cross to the open door, where I see a woman with her back to me, setting her bag on the desk.
She’s in a dress, her hair is blonder than Maya’s, and I’m immediately irritated.
“Who the hell are you? I didn’t ask for a new assistant.”
The woman turns, and wide, blue-gray eyes stare up at me, her mouth forming a tiny O. My dick more than twitches at the sight before me.
“ Maya ?”
“Good morning,” she says with a smile. She has makeup on this morning, including lipstick, and that green dress hugs her in all the right places.
The only thing that would make her more alluring would be if she was in high heels. It’s a good thing she isn’t because I’d take her right there on that desk if she were.
“Did you have a good weekend?” she asks, moving past me into my office. “Sorry, can we chat in here? I need coffee.”
“We’re not going to chat. ”
“Well, we’ll have to talk about what’s on the docket for today at some point,” she says reasonably, popping a coffee pod into the machine and pulling out the bottle of creamer she stowed in the small fridge last week. “Do you want some?”
“No, thank you.”
“Do you even drink coffee?” she asks with a frown as she doctors her mug the way she likes it.
“Rarely. I prefer tea.”
“Oh, right,” she replies and takes her first sip. Her eyes close, and she hums low in her throat. I have to grit my teeth so I don’t do something stupid like push my hands into that gorgeous blond—blonder than Friday—hair and kiss the shite out of her. “That makes sense.”
“What does?”
“The tea thing,” she says with a grin. “You’re British. The accent gives you away.”
I can’t help but smirk at that, and her blue-gray eyes widen.
“You can smile. I thought maybe you had a condition or syndrome that made it so you couldn’t do that.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a smart mouth?”
“Oh, sure.” She shrugs a shoulder. “What part of Britain are you from?”
She takes the visitor’s chair, so I sit across from her and lean my elbows on the desk. “Do you know Britain?”
“A bit. I spent six months traveling through Europe. I just got back a couple of weeks ago.” She smiles over at me. “I saw quite a bit of the countryside. Bath was my favorite. Sure, London is nice, and there’s no shortage of things to see and do, but I really enjoyed Bath. The Roman baths there are cool, but the architecture, the shopping, and the countryside are just amazing. I actually spent a couple of weeks soaking up the history and enjoying it. Parts of it look like they’re still in the sixteenth century. So, where are you from?”
“Bath,” I reply, feeling a little shell-shocked. And hearing her describe my city with such interest and reverence causes me to feel things I absolutely shouldn’t.
“Stop it.”
“No, really. I’m originally from Bath. When I was a teenager, my parents moved to the US for my father’s job, and I went to university here. I decided I wanted to stay. Shortly after I graduated, my parents moved back.”
I’ve never told an assistant that much about me before. I frown down at the desk.
“I’m sorry to pry,” Maya says. “I’m curious by nature.”
“You said before that your family is in Idaho?” I find myself blurting out, wanting to know more about her.
“My parents are, yes,” she says with a nod. “My father is a cardiothoracic surgeon. My mom was a nurse for years, but she was forced to retire for medical reasons.”
A shadow crosses her face, and I want to ask more about her mother, but she continues before I can.
“My brother is here in Seattle and recently married. I actually live in the same building as them. And I have a sister, Sidney. She’s also married. She and her husband are based out of Seattle, but she travels a lot for work. You’ve probably heard of her. Sidney Sterling.”
I feel my eyes narrow on her, immediately recognizing the name. “You and your sister look a lot alike.”
“That’s where the similarities end. She’s talented, smart, and so… brave. I’m really proud of her.”
How could she think she’s not brave? She spent six months in Europe by herself and has no problem at all going toe-to-toe with me. I find myself wanting to defend her.
“The woman who spent six months traveling around Europe alone just said she’s not brave.” A thought occurs to me. Maybe she didn’t travel alone. “Perhaps I’m wrong—”
“No, I was alone,” she confirms and sips her coffee. “And it was bliss, if I’m being honest. No one depended on me to do or remember anything. I could just be for a while. Anyway.” She shakes her head. “This isn’t a therapy session. Do you have siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child.”
She nods and then smiles at me, her eyes full of mischief. “Don’t look now, Derek, but we’re chatting.”
Fucking hell, if she keeps saying my name like that, I’ll never be able to stand up from behind this desk.
“Okay, okay. Are you in court today?”
“No, I’m in the office all day.”
She nods and then holds up a finger. “Let me grab my iPad.”
She rushes out of the room, and then comes back with the tablet and pencil in her hands. She taps the screen and consults it.
“You have a meeting at eleven,” she begins, running through my calendar. “And a call at one.”
When she’s finished with all her reminders, she sips the last of her coffee.
“Are you always this…happy?”
She blinks at me and then nods, seeming to consider. “Mostly. I mean, I spent the weekend with some of my favorite people, shopping and getting my hair done. Then I went hiking yesterday. And I like my job. What’s not to be happy about?”
I want to know who the special people are and ask where she hiked, but one thing in her statement stands out boldly.
I like my job.
Which means I shouldn’t do anything inappropriate to make her not like this job. It took me too long to find her.
But damn if I don’t want her.
“And why, pray tell, are you unhappy?”
I shake my head. “Enough chitchat for today. Let’s get to work.”
“Yes, sir,” she says, standing and striding out to her desk.
I need to stay focused, keep my hands to myself, and make sure she doesn’t want to quit.
* * * *
“Maya,” I begin as I step through the doorway after my late-morning meeting. “Will you please pull the Sullivan file?”
“Sure,” she says, pausing in whatever she was typing.
I’ve been doing this all morning. Making excuses to see her. If it wasn’t so absurd, I’d be amused.
She opens the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet and thumbs through the files.
“Douglas or Annette Sullivan?”
“Annette.”
She pulls it out and crosses to me, offering me the folder. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Hey, I’m going to order lunch today since I’m swamped here. You want some?”
“What are you ordering?”
“Whatever you want. I’m easy.” She snickers. “Well, I’m not easy . Oh, you know what I mean.”
“There is never a dull moment with you here, Maya.” She lights up at that. “A turkey sandwich sounds good. There’s a deli downstairs. They’ll deliver up to us.”
“Perfect, I’ll get that ordered.”
Twenty minutes later, Maya walks into my office and sets a paper bag on my desk. “Lunchtime.”
“Mm,” I reply, reading something on my computer.
“You know, a simple thank you goes a long way with assistants. At least, that’s what I’m told. This is the first time I’ve been one.”
I glance up at her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She grins and turns to walk out. My gaze immediately falls to her perfect ass and the way it sways back and forth as she moves in that dress.
I think how easy it would be to shimmy the linen up to her hips, bend her over my desk, and drive myself inside her.
With a jerk, I pull the sandwich out of the bag and take a bite, hearing Maya laughing at her desk.
I frown, stand, and cross the room, wondering if someone stopped by the office, but she’s on her personal cell phone.
“It’s nice to meet you, Andrew. Stella mentioned she was going to give a friend my number. Oh, that’s sweet. Tonight?”
I immediately scowl. Someone is asking her out for tonight?
“Actually, I believe I’m free. Sure, dinner sounds good.”
Fuck that.
“I’ll text you my address. Great. I’m looking forward to it, too. Okay, see you later. Bye.”
She hangs up and sets her phone down. And I’m seeing red.
It doesn’t even matter that it’s a ridiculous reaction. I want to punch the fucker who asked her out.
“Personal calls during work?”
Her head comes up, and she grins, but then the smile slides from her face. “Is that a problem?”
“You’re not here to plan your social life, Ms. Sterling. You’re here to bloody work. If that’s a problem for you, you can leave and not come back.”
She frowns. I turn and head back into my office, slamming the door behind me.
Before I can sit in my chair, Maya pushes through the door, a scowl on her gorgeous face.
“I’m on my lunch break,” she begins.
“I don’t fucking care,” I return. “This is my office, and if you don’t like the way I run it, there’s the door.” I throw out my hand in the door’s direction.
She crosses her arms over her chest, accentuating her amazing tits, and my scowl deepens.
“It was a two-minute call on my lunch break,” she continues, and I stare at her coldly, my jaw clenched.
I don’t reply.
“I spoke with my mom the other day on my lunch break. You heard that and didn’t care.”
I still don’t reply.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is it because it was a man?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do when you’re not here,” I begin, but she shakes her head.
“I think the way you’re behaving proves otherwise.”
Why isn’t she running away? Why isn’t she apologizing? Or quitting?
“I don’t care what you think, Ms. Sterling.”
“Maya,” she replies. “My name is Maya . You’ve been calling me that for a week.”
Still standing behind my chair, I shove my hands in my pockets and don’t reply.
She doesn’t back down.
“You’re going to want to go back to your desk, Maya.” My voice is steady, calm, and hard. I’m about to break every rule I have about those I employ, starting with fucking them senseless. If she doesn’t turn around and walk out of here now, I’m going to have her naked in three seconds.
“Not until we resolve this.”
“You heard me.” I gesture with my chin. “Go.”
“Derek—”
“Goddamn it, get out of my bloody office!”
She licks her lips, and my dick hardens. “Or…what?”