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  12

  Zach

  “Morning Zach,” Mitch says to me. “Good weekend? You didn’t come out on Saturday! Great talent at the club,” he winks. I try not to groan.

  “Nah, wasn’t feeling it.” I try to slip past him without answering any more of his questions. He’s a great friend but I’m not in the mood to hear about what girls were at which club and how many he took home this weekend. I can’t deal with that today. It’s been two weeks since the Christmas party and Mitch has been pestering me to go out almost every single night. I just can’t muster up the energy.

  The past few weeks have been the longest weeks of my life. For the first time in a long, long time I’ve actually been looking forward to going in to the office. I look forward to Mondays. I walk across the office and scan the room.

  The cleaners did a good job with the mess from the Christmas tree incident and the place finally looks back to normal. Everyone else is either working or milling around like any other morning. I can’t help but feel like something has shifted. There’s a slight buzz in the room, it’s the last week before the holiday break, but I know that’s not what’s changed.

  I glance around the room but I already know what’s different. I’m looking for her again, just like I have been every day for the past two weeks. I shake my head and walk into my office, closing the door behind me.

  Usually, a couple weeks would see many women come and go in my life but I haven’t even met a single one that interests me. I glance over at the couch and my thoughts flick back to that night. I think of Harper sitting on top of me and it feels like it happened yesterday. We were right there. That’s where she was when she was riding me like her life depended on it and I had one of the best orgasms of my life. Even looking at the empty sofa makes my cock start to throb in my pants.

  “Ahem,” comes a soft voice behind me. I turn to see Becca. She’s wearing some sort of semi-office appropriate low cut top and she’s leaning down to give me the full view of her cleavage. She smiles coyly. “Morning Mr. Lockwood. I have a message for you from Mr. Latif.” She hands me a piece of paper and then lingers. I glance at the paper then back at her.

  “Anything else?” I ask dryly. She looks a bit taken aback. I open my mouth to say something nicer and then decide to close it again.

  “No, no that’s it.” She pauses again. “Did you have a good weekend?”

  “It was fine,” I say as I open the paper, turning around without looking at her. I sit at my desk and finally look up. She’s still here. “Becca, I’m still waiting for Greg Chesney’s file. It’s been over a week since I asked.

  She nods. “HR wouldn’t release the file right away. Confidentiality issues. I’ll chase them up again.”

  “What kind of confidentiality stops the CEO of the company from accessing an employee file?!”

  “I’m not sure, Mr. Lockwood. I’ll chase them up again this morning.”

  I nod. She lingers, and I wave to the door. “Would you mind closing that on the way out?”

  She nods again quietly and finally leaves. I sigh when the door clicks closed. That was painful. Our once flirty relationship has gotten very strained lately. I know it’s me, I’m the one who’s been acting different but I can’t help it.

  It doesn’t matter. She’ll just have to get used to it. Hopefully she’ll have some useful information for me about Greg Chesney and I can find out who this guy is and why he still works for me.

  I turn my eyes back to the note in my hand and read it again. I sigh, rubbing my temples. This is not good news. One of our biggest clients has just moved a deadline to the beginning of January, and the new timeline is almost unachievable. I glance at the calendar—the staff is supposed to be on holiday from Thursday this week until the New Year. We’re going to have to work through Christmas. I pick up the phone and dial Becca’s desk.

  “Yes Mr. Lockwood?”

  “Becca, get the management team in here. I need everyone as soon as possible.”

  “No problem,” she says and I click the phone down. Might as well deliver the news right away and see who volunteers to work through the holidays.

  It only takes a couple minutes for my management team to assemble. The first person to walk in is Harper. She looks right at me from across the room and immediately my cock jumps in my pants. I quickly shift my weight and say a silent thanks that I’m sitting down behind my desk.

  Get a fucking grip!!

  “Good weekend?” She says in that musical voice of hers. Why is everyone so interested in my weekend?!

  “Yeah it was fine, relaxing,” I respond. She nods and sits down on the sofa exactly where I was on that Friday night with her legs straddling my lap. She brushes an imaginary piece of dust off the sofa and glances at me through her eyelashes. My cock twitches again. I clear my throat.

  “How was yours?”

  “Same,” she shrugs. She glances at me again but before I can speak, Mitch walks in.

  “What’s this about, Zach?” He says in that booming voice of his.

  “Let’s wait for the rest of the team to get here.” Mitch nods and sits down on one of the chairs opposite my desk. It only takes a couple minutes for the dozen management executives to come in the door.

  “Right, team, I’ve had some bad news. The Latifs have moved their deadline up to January 2nd. We will need to deliver the entire advertisement proposal to them by that day or else they’ll pull out of the contract.”

  “What?!” Mitch exclaims. I hold up a hand.

  “Before anyone protests, I’m volunteering to carry this through myself. We need a skeleton team to work through the holidays to get this done. I’ll need one of you and about half a dozen team members. You’ll get time off in lieu in January, after the project is delivered.” I glance at my team and a heavy silence hangs on the room. “Any volunteers?”

  I can see them glancing at each other, hoping someone else will put their hand up. How many of them have holidays and trips planned? How many of them will want to spend time with their families? I know I’m asking a lot, but I have no choice.

  “I’ll work,” says a familiar voice from the sofa. I look over to see Harper staring directly at me. Her green eyes look like they’re gleaming from within. “I don’t have a family or plans for the holidays so I have the least to give up. I’ll work.”

  We look at each other for a moment. I can’t tell if she’s doing this because I’ll be here with her. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I know she isn’t. She’s just dedicated to the job and she knows everyone else has kids and families to go back to. I nod.

  “Thanks, Harper. I’ll send you a full brief this morning. That’s it, everyone. Thanks for coming in.” I nod my head and everyone stands. They file out of my office one by one, the last one being Harper. She glances at me quickly and then turns to walk out. Her ass moves from side to side with every step and I watch her walk away until she turns the corner.

  I don’t know whether to be excited or worried about this. Somehow I feel both.

  13

  Harper

  We are professionals. This is fine. I feel a wave of nausea come over me as I walk out of his office but I push it down.

  Why would I volunteer?!

  I should have just kept my mouth shut. I’ve been trying to avoid spending time with him, and now I’m going to be stuck in close quarters for almost two weeks! Is that why I said I’d do it? I can try to lie to myself and say it was because other people have families and holidays, but a part of me knows it’s because of Zach. I see Rosie poke her head up from her cubicle and I walk over.

  “What was that about?” She whispers. “Everyone was in his office.”

  “The Latif file. They’ve moved the deadline to January 2nd.”

  Rosie’s eyes widen. “Can they do that?!”

  I shrug. “Apparently. I’m working through Christmas.”

  “What!”

  “Yeah, no one else was volunteering. It’s not so bad, I’ll take
some time off in January to make up for it. I have to put a team together so if you want some overtime and great holiday memories just let me know.” I know my voice sounds unusually cheery.

  Rosie’s eyes narrow. She searches my face and then her lips tug upwards. She sits back in her chair and crosses her arms with a triumphant grin.

  “He’s working, isn’t he?”

  “Who?” I ask innocently, even though I know who she means. She rolls her eyes.

  “Zach!” She whispers. “I can see right through you, Harper, you are unbelievable!”

  I grin and throw my hands up. “I’m a professional, Rosie. I’m just a slave to the job, is all.”

  “You’re a slave to something,” she says with an eyebrow raised. I laugh and walk away before someone hears us, or before Rosie makes me face things I’m not ready to think about.

  Back in my office, I flop down on my chair and let out a sigh. Maybe Rosie is right, and I’m just doing this to be close to Zach. That’s the last thing I need—to complicate this, this.. whatever this is. It’s been hard enough to keep my distance since the party, and now it’s about to get a whole lot harder.

  I shake my head. Who am I kidding, of course I said I’d do it because of him. The second he said he was working through I knew I’d volunteer. It just took a couple seconds to work up the courage. I can tell myself I’m a professional, I can tell myself I care about the work, but in the end I know I said yes because I haven’t stopped thinking about Zach since the night we slept together. I was sitting right where we had sex, right where we were when he was inside me. The past two weeks have just been one big daydream with a few self-love sessions featuring Zach and that big cock of his.

  I close my eyes and try to push out the thought of him. When I said I’d volunteer he looked right at me. His gaze just pierced right through me and I could feel myself getting wet. If one look does that to me, how am I going to survive two weeks working side by side with him?! The last time I had a full conversation with him we ended up sleeping together in his office!

  There’s a knock on the door and it makes me jump up. My eyes fly open.

  “Zach, hi!” I say, my voice just a little bit too forced. He walks in and closes the door behind him.

  “Thanks for volunteering to work,” he says in a low voice. “I know it’s not easy to give up your holidays.” I nod. My mouth is dry. He sits down across from me and places his hands down on the armrests. He’s staring at my desk and it looks like he’s trying to think of what to say. Finally he raises those deep brown eyes and looks right at me. He takes a deep breath and speaks again.

  “I thought that since we’ll be working together we should lay out some ground rules.”

  “Ground rules,” I repeat slowly.

  “Yeah, ground rules.” His eyes flick down my body and then back up to my face and I feel my core heat up instantly. I try to keep myself from reacting, but my cheeks predictably start to flush. “What happened between us was.. unexpected. It was great! Don’t get me wrong!”

  He pauses, and I feel my lips twitch upwards into a smile.

  “Zach, please,” I start gently. He glances at me. “We’re both adults. We had sex and it was fun, but now we need to work together. I understand that. I’m not looking for anything from you, or with you.”

  He takes a deep breath and nods. “Great. So we understand each other.”

  “We understand each other,” I repeat. I understand that you look incredibly sexy in that suit right now. I take a deep breath and try to smile.

  “You’re an important part of this team, Harper. I wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of that, and I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  There’s a silence between us and I feel like he wants to say more, but nothing comes out. I turn to my computer screen.

  “You’ll send that information through today? I’ll get a start on it as soon as I get it and come up with a plan of attack. I’ll start getting a team together that can work with us.”

  He goes back to being the serious, stone-faced executive I knew last week. The moment between us has passed, and I feel both relieved and disappointed.

  “That’s great, Harper. Have a team list and program on my desk by the end of the day.”

  “Done.”

  He turns around and I watch the way his pants grip his ass with every step until the door closes and he’s out of view. I slump back in my chair and let all the air out of my lungs.

  This is fine.

  I can do this.

  This is definitely fine.

  14

  Zach

  “Hey Mitch, what can I do for you,” I say as I walk back into my office. Mitch is sitting in his favourite seat across from my desk. This morning is exhausting already. Maybe I was wrong about looking forward to Mondays, so far this one is just one headache after another.

  “Just wanted to check in. You’ve been acting weird this past little while.”

  “Weird?” I ask without meeting his eye. I flop down onto my chair and keep my eyes on my computer screen, pretending to type something.

  “What happened?”

  “When?” I’m trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. He knows me well enough to know when something is bothering me. My eyes flick to his. He’s staring at me intently and I know he’s trying to work out what’s changed. Nothing has changed!

  His eyes narrow. “Who is she?”

  “What?!” I lean back in my chair and throw my hands up.

  “Last time you were acting like this was when you and your ex broke up. Have you been seeing someone and you didn’t tell me?!”

  “Mitch, you’ve spent almost every weekend with me except for the last one or two. If I had a girlfriend don’t you think you’d know by now? Can’t I have a weekend away from it all?” I shake my head. “You’re fucking clingy, man.”

  Mitch laughs. “Alright, alright.” He throws his hands up before standing up. “You want me to do anything for this Latif file?”

  “Talk to Harper, see if she’s got anything for you to do.”

  “Alright no problem. No complaints there,” he smirks. “She’s a fine piece of ass, hey. Something about her, you know?”

  The anger flares up inside me and I feel my blood pumping like liquid heat through my veins. I almost lunge at Mitch the minute the words leave his mouth.

  “Shut the fuck up, Mitch!” I exclaim, surprising myself with the force of my words.

  Mitch looks taken aback. “Sorry, Zach,” he says after a pause.

  “She works with us. Come on.” I bite my tongue. I don’t want him to know about Harper and I. It’s too different with her. It’s not like my other hookups

  Mitch frowns and I know he’s thinking about other conversations we’ve had about women. I’ve never reacted like this. I can’t help it, hearing him say those things about Harper makes the anger spark inside me. I stare at him until he turns around slowly and walks out without saying anything. As soon as he’s gone I let out a sigh. What the fuck is wrong with me?!

  I know the answer to that. It’s Harper. She’s gotten under my skin. All it took was one night. Not even one night! Part of one night and now I’m useless. I can’t look at another woman and she won’t even give me the time of day.

  My pulse is still elevated. I hated hearing him talk like that. He was so fucking crass! About a woman like Harper, who is his better in so many ways!

  This would be a lot easier if she didn’t look so goddamn good all the time. I don’t even know what it is about her! I have been with supermodels, actresses, singers, whoever I wanted! But she’s got a realness, or an earthiness, or something that gives her this irresistibleness. Mitch has seen it, obviously. It’s like I can tell there’s more to her than meets the eye. I mean, I know there is, I experienced that other side of her the night of the Christmas party.

  I lean back in my chair and rub my temples. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I know that he annoyed me because he’s righ
t. I haven’t been myself for weeks. I glance at the couch again. I can still see her pulling her pants down and sitting right onto my cock as if she was right in front of me again. I can still see that look in her eye when she came on top of me.

  She’s so unbelievably sexy. Even just now I could barely keep my eyes off her body, and she was the perfect professional. Maybe it was just sex for her. It must have been.

  I haven’t been this attracted to a woman since my ex. I don’t even know if I was this attracted to my ex, or anyone, ever! It feels different with Harper. She’s got me off-balance and I’m not sure I like it. I want more of her, and wanting it scares me. She’s exactly the type of woman that I’ve always stayed away from.

  I should just stick to the women who want money and status. It’s easier that way, all that emotion and complication isn’t worth it. I know it, Mitch knows it, even Harper knows that it’s not worth it. I just have to keep telling myself that.

  It’s not worth it.

  It’s not worth it.

  It’s not worth it.

  Maybe if I say it enough I’ll start to believe it.

  15

  Harper

  “That’s very generous, Greg, but the team has filled up now. You enjoy your holiday,” I say to Greg as he shifts his weight from foot to foot in front of me. He’s got his hands in his pockets and his greasy hair is plastered to his forehead as usual. He licks his lips.

  “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to have more hands on deck? I don’t have holiday plans and I know that other people do. I don’t mind spending the holidays here with you… and the team.”

  Even his voice sends an uncomfortable feeling crawling down my spine. I force a smile.

  “Thanks Greg, I’ll look into it. At the moment we won’t need you to come in but I’ll keep you in mind.”