The Holly Woods Files: Twisted Bond Tangled Bond Tethered Bond Tied Bond Twirled Bond Burning Bond Twined Bond
By His Game series:
Blindsided
Sidelined
Intercepted
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Call series: Late Call Final Call
His Call
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Wild series: Wild Attraction Wild Temptation Wild Addiction Wild: The Complete Series
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The Game series: The Love Game Playing for Keeps The Right Moves Worth the Risk
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Memories series: Never Forget Always Remember
Cockamamie
Staci Hart
Short story featuring Rin and Court from Piece of Work.
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This is raw, original material written just for this anthology. Due to constraints and the immediacy of the timeline, this story has not been edited.
Copyright ? 2018 by Staci Hart All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cockamamie
Rin
You can do this. Just walk in there and be a boss bitch—don’t let him scare you.
I smoothed a hand down my pencil skirt, which, to the naked eye, might have looked like I was righting the material. In truth, my palms were a swampy, clammy nightmare. Must have been where the moisture in my mouth had gone—it was dry as the Sahara at high noon.
Drawing myself up with the aid of a fortifying breath, I stepped into Dr. Lyons’ office and put on my best smile.
He looked up from his desk, and I was struck dumb and senseless for a moment, just as I had been every time I’d been in his presence since I’d started my internship at the museum last week.
My God, he was gorgeous. So gorgeous that I forgot just how gorgeous, and the shock of seeing him hit me like a lightning bolt whenever we shared air. The long, stunned moment would always be spent cataloging every line and angle of his body—the hard cut of his jaw, this chiseled bow and curve of his lips, always resting in a discerning line, the ridge of his dark brow over stormy, gray eyes, the shock of thick, dark hair casually tossed, as if he’d combed it first with a comb, then with his fingers. The thought of his big hand running through that dark mane was enough to send a shiver spiraling down my spine.
“Good morning, Rin,” he said, breaking the silence.
I took the steps required to get me to the chair across from him, my mouth answering automatically. “Good morning, Dr. Lyons. What can I do for you today?”
His eyes flickered with something I couldn’t place before it was gone. “We have a last minute addition to the exhibition—a pearl pendant from the Medici treasury. Add that piece to your research today.”
I scrambled for my notebook in my bag. “Of course.”
He watched me fumbling, and one side of his lips lifted slightly in what I’d come to learn was his version of a smile. “I emailed you the information on it.”
My cheeks warmed just as my fingers closed over my notebook. “Thank you. I was wondering—”
“Morning, Court,” a cheery, sensual voice said from behind me, and we looked to the sound to find Bianca, his assistant and the bane of my existence, standing in the doorway. Her smile slipped when she saw me, everything about her flattening with discontent. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were in a…meeting.”
I fought the urge to look away, curl into myself, try to disappear—which was a really, really difficult thing to achieve when you’re six feet tall—and instead I kept a smile on my face and hoped I didn’t look terrified.
All I’d wanted was to come into this internship and learn, to do well, to impress my superiors. I could land a permanent position at The Met if I worked hard, if I did a good job, earned their respect. Or so I thought. Neither of them had been impressed with me, although I thought I might be winning Dr. Lyons over. Bianca was hopeless—I had a better chance of winning the New York City Marathon, and I hadn’t run since I’d donned matching yellow gym clothes under duress in high school.
Bianca eyed me for a split second before looking back to Court. “I’ll swing back by later. I wanted to go over our itinerary for Florence.”
I shifted in my seat, feigning interest in my notebook so I could sneak a glance at him—his expression was closed and unamused. “I’m working on my Medici publication, thanks to Rin’s help. And thanks to you sparing her a little time to work on it.”
“Oh, it’s no problem,” Bianca said, and I wondered if he caught the hint of aggravation in her voice.
Because it was no skin off her nose. Last week, she’d permanently banished me to the library to work on my dissertation, stripped me of all my responsibilities. Which was almost worse than being fired.
“Let’s talk about it over lunch then,” she insisted.
Somehow, he closed off even more. “Just email me what you need, Bianca. Thank you,” he said, dismissing her.
By some miracle, she left the room. I was a little surprised she didn’t pull up a chair so she could have a clear shot at exploding me with her eyes.
I jotted in my notebooks. “I’ll make the pendant a priority today, Dr. Lyons. Is there anything else you’d like me to focus on for your publication?”
“No, thank you, Rin.”
I nodded at my hands, smiling genuinely this time. “You’re welcome.”
“I mean it,” he said, and something in his voice made me look up to meet his eyes, eyes so demanding, they held me still. “I’ve found your research…inspiring. I wouldn’t have had the idea for the publication if it weren’t for you. So keep it up.”
My cheeks warmed again. “Thank you.” I slipped my notebook back into my bag and stood, hoping I looked collected and cool at the compliment. And in my fluster, I didn’t realize my heel was caught on the strap of my bag, which had somehow wrapped around the leg of the chair.
No, I didn’t realize it at all, not until the office tilted, and I flew into the desk and practically into his lap with an unladylike oof.
He was close enough to smell—the clean, crisp scent of soap and spice—so close I could see the stitching on his lapels and feel his breath on my face. I was bent over his desk, ass out, frozen still and stupid as I looked up to meet his eyes. But his were down. And I realized too late that my cleavage was on display like a rack of meat.
His eyes flicked up to mine as he realized the same thing, and he stood, reaching for my arms to help me up.
My cheeks were so hot, if I’d cried like I probably could have in the moment, the tears would have sizzled.
“Oh my God,” I mumbled, bringing myself to stand with his help. “I-I’m so sorry. I’m so clumsy—I shouldn’t even be allowed in public.”
He chuckled—a deep rumbling in his chest. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I said, reaching for my bag, hiding behind my long, dark hair. “Yes, I’m fine. Let me know if you need anything else today.” I hurried toward the door, not looking back. “See you this afternoon.”
A pause. “Have a good day, Rin.”
“Thank you,” I said automatically for the hundredth time that morning and rushed out and toward the elevator that would take me to the library where I could properly hide.
It wasn’t until I was settled in that my heart finally quit chugging like a freight train. And, once my pulse was back in a normal range, I opened my laptop and read through his email.
The newly acquired piece was a beautiful baroque pearl rooster, set in gold and gems, including a large ruby in his scabbard belt and diamonds in his tail feathers, and clutched in his claws was a bejeweled caduceus—a symbol of trade that shared with the medical field.