Chapter Two
Time flew by quickly for Amy as she learned her new job. Lucas was away the most of the time and communication was done through email. Joseph stopped by the office a few times to help her with things and they ended up chatting for hours.
Lucas fired the blond receptionist, which thrilled Amy as the woman had shot daggers at her every time she came in and out of the office. Amy had wanted to shout at her that she wasn’t interested in the boss and she could have at him but somehow she’d managed to maintain her composure.
The new receptionist was a great guy and with the boss gone, when she had spare time, she would sit there with him chatting about everything. She’d only been working with him for a few weeks and he was quickly becoming her best friend.
Her buzzer sounded. “Amy darling, it’s lunch time. I need to get out of this place before I go insane. Let’s head out for some far too greasy pizza and soda,” came Tom’s energetic voice through her speaker.
“I’m on my way out. Give me five minutes to finish this email for Mr. Anderson and then I’m all yours.”
Amy came out of her office and Tom threw his arm around her waist as they headed for the elevators. The door came open just as he was leaning down towards her in what would seem like an intimate moment to an observer, which was what Lucas saw as he stepped through the open doors.
“What’s going on here Amy?” he practically shouted. “Have you forgotten this is a place of business? I’m gone a few weeks and you think you can parade your boyfriends in and out of here? What if I’d been a customer?” The barely suppressed ire in his voice surprised Amy.
Tom smiled to himself, turning so his new boss couldn’t see. He could instantly tell the boss was jealous. Well, this is certainly interesting he thought to himself. He decided to have a little bit of fun, “Hello Mr. Anderson, Ms. Harper and I were just stepping out on our lunch break. We already set the phones and will be back in one hour.” With that he pulled her into the elevator and they were gone.
Before Lucas had time to react the doors shut, leaving him stunned and more than a little angry.
He almost followed them down so he could drag her back up to the offices. Only years of tightly managed control had him staying where he was. What he really wanted to do was pitch Tom out of a window and haul Amy into his arms. He’d avoided her as much as possible in hopes that he would get over his infatuation but the way she looked at him didn’t help. He could see it was a mutual attraction and she was fighting her growing feelings for him as much as he was fighting his for her.
He sat there stewing the entire hour they were gone, not getting any work done. He just paced from one end of his office to the other, waiting impatiently.
“You know you let him think we were sneaking off for some illicit affair during our lunch hour.
I’m going to catch hell for that,” Amy tried to say as sternly as possible as her and Tom sat down.
“I couldn’t resist. He had such a sour expression on his face at seeing you locked in the arms of my beautiful self,” he chuckled.
Amy had been fighting her attraction to Lucas from the moment she’d met him. She knew he wanted her but she also knew it was a really bad idea to get involved with her boss. She wasn’t one of those women who slept her way to the top. She wasn’t even close to being one of those corporate barracuda women anyway. She was working hard so that one day she could provide a stable home for the family she’d always wanted. She would never bring a child into the world without first making sure she could give that child the best possible home life.
“You were holding out on me you know. I had no idea the boss was hot for your body,” Tom continued.
“He isn’t hot for my body,” she said. “He just likes to be in control of everything, including his employees. Just you wait, he’ll be telling you who you can date as well,” she said, starting to see some of the humor in the situation. She knew that they would both end up getting over the attraction soon enough and she in no way wanted Tom to know she thought her new boss was stunning and made her breath hitch each time he walked in the room.
“Darling, I can already tell I’m not his type, unfortunately,” he sighed, being over dramatic. “I would love to change him but there are some men that only have eyes for the hourglass. Poor me, I’m destined for heartache seeing that piece of man hunk on a daily basis and never having a shot.”
Tom had successfully pulled her out of her melancholy. She knew she was going to have to put up with Lucas’s bad mood when they got back but for the moment she and Tom were having a great lunch.
They finished up and then walked back to the office, making sure not to touch. Amy felt no need to press her luck any further that day. She didn’t want to lose her job because the boss thought she was the office floozy.
Before she could even sit down she was getting buzzed into Lucas’s office. “Ms. Harper, can you please step in here? We have a lot of things to go over this afternoon and because of your extended lunch we’re behind,” his voice snapped over the intercom.
Amy sighed, knowing her peaceful day was officially over. She gathered her laptop up and headed for the door that connected their offices. She did grumble a bit to herself though as she’d made sure she didn’t take an extended lunch and had in fact been back about ten minutes sooner than she needed to.
Lucas didn’t look up as she walked into the room. She silently crossed the floor and sat down on the opposite side of the desk from him. They sat there for several minutes in uncomfortable silence. She began to squirm which ticked her off even more. How dare he make her feel like a school kid sitting in the principal’s office because she’d been caught necking on campus?
Lucas knew the second she entered his office. She didn’t make a sound but her scent engulfed him. His eyes were locked on the computer screen while he punched buttons on the keyboard, though he had no clue what he was doing. For all he knew he could’ve given away millions of dollars.
He knew he had to make a comment sooner or later but he was still too close to grabbing her out of the chair and making her forget any other man but him. He was imagining throwing her over his desk and ending the torture for both of them. He could brand her his and she would have no thoughts of any man but him. The thought of her crying out his name was almost his undoing.
“Did you finish that Nielson report I emailed you?” He finally spoke and was satisfied to see her jump at the sound of his voice. For some strange reason her reaction relaxed him. He liked how he made her nervous. He wondered what else would make her jump.
Lucas stood up, walked around his desk and sat on the edge of it, leaving them only inches away from their legs brushing. He noticed she sat up even straighter if that were possible. Her legs were locked so tightly together he was surprised she didn’t jump up suddenly with a muscle spasm.
After what seemed like hours but was in fact only seconds, Amy handed him the file wordlessly, having anticipated he would be asking for it. He took the file from her, making sure their fingers brushed. He noticed goose bumps appear on her arm.
He started feeling much better, knowing he was back in charge. He pretended to read the file, taking his time, enjoying the close proximity. “Very good,” she once again jumped as if she’d forgotten they were sitting there in the room together.
She was far too strong to admit he was making her feel anything and there was no way that she would cry mercy. He’d figured out that much about her from the first day they’d met. If she’d looked upset in any way at all then he would’ve found the will power to pull away from her but he could see the passion shimmering in her eyes and he knew how she was feeling.
Lucas shifted his weight causing his leg to press up against hers. She sat there frozen. It was obvious she wanted to move but didn’t know how to do it without being noticeable about it.
He was getting way too hot sitting so close to her so he gave them both a break and started pacing the room to create some distance. “Very good work,” he finally said about the file. They got into a comfortable routine after that and the rest of the afternoon they worked well together.
The air was filled with tension but they made a good team when they both focused.
He didn’t want to let her leave. He was enjoying her smell surrounding him. He was enjoying the way her eyes would dart to him and then look away. He was enjoying the intoxicating way her curves made his body tighten.
She didn’t understand the attraction towards Lucas. She had to continually tell herself she couldn’t stand his type. She didn’t need, nor want a man in her life. She liked her life just fine and wanted no man to step in and tell her how to live. He was just another guy, like so many other men she’d been around before him.
She would never go for a rich, egocentric billionaire like her boss. She prided herself on the wise decisions she always made and the fact she was careful to stick with her goals. She couldn’t mess up all of her carefully laid out plans by having a meaningless affair.
At five that evening there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Lucas spoke up.
Tom bounded into the room. “Hello Mr. Anderson,” he spoke, before turning towards Amy.
“You ready to head out? I got the phones switched over and I’m dying for a bloody Mary and some hot wings.”
Lucas glanced at the clock and then narrowed his eyes at the unwanted intrusion. How had the day gotten so far away from him? He certainly didn’t want Amy rushing off with Tom for drinks.He wanted to keep her there with him.
Amy started to get up from her seat when Lucas spoke up. “We have far too much work to finish up tonight Tom. Amy will have to miss out on happy hour,” he said too rudely for her liking.
“It’s okay Tom, I’ll just catch the bus home tonight. I really appreciate the ride in today though.
I’ll see you on Monday.” She gave him an apologetic smile and then went back to work on her laptop.
“Okay Hun see ya on Monday,” he winked at her.
“Have a great weekend Mr. Anderson.” Tom breezed out quickly and once again Amy was alone with Lucas. She stared after Tom for a few minutes with longing. She would love to just sit down and have a drink. Her nerves had been on edge all afternoon.
Lucas’s mood seemed to deteriorate once again after Tom left the room. “Why didn’t you take your own car into work today?” He finally asked, ending twenty minutes of awkward silence.
“I don’t have a car. I usually just ride the bus into work but Tom doesn’t live too far from me so the last couple of days we’ve been carpooling together. I have no problem riding the bus though.” She resented having to explain things to him.
“I’ll give you a ride home tonight since I’m keeping you late,” he said as if the matter was instantly settled. He didn’t expect anything but her compliance.
She sat there for a moment before replying. “I don’t need a ride home tonight. I told you I’m used to riding the bus. I’ll be fine,” she said between clinched teeth. She could tell that wouldn’t be the end of the discussion but she wouldn’t let the man walk all over her, boss or not.
Her reply infuriated him. How dare she tell him no when he was offering her a ride! He wasn’t used to anyone defying him and it really pissed him off she would rather ride the bus than accept a ride home from him. Was his company so repulsive to her she couldn’t stand to be in his presence for even a moment longer than she had too?
He was already confused enough about how he felt and really didn’t want to say something he would regret so he decided to say nothing else but if she really believed he was going to allow her to ride the bus then she wasn’t as smart as he believed her to be.
She may be stubborn but he could certainly outlast her. He was used to people bending over backwards for him. It was a bit of a shock but not all that unpleasant of one to find someone who was willing to argue with him. He found that he liked Amy a bit more each time she challenged him but there was no way the tiny little vixen was going to get her own way that night, not when it was an issue of her safety at hand.
He could see she was getting tired but he kept piling work upon her. For one thing he was still angry she refused to ride with him and secondly he just wanted to be in her company. He was used to working late and before he knew it time completely got away from him.
“Mr. Anderson, I don’t want to complain but it’s eleven at night. Can I just come in tomorrow if this really needs to get done?” she asked him with fatigue showing. He felt a little guilty he’d let his temper override his good judgment. He would’ve never normally made her stay so late.
“We can finish this all up on Monday,” he told her. “Let’s get out of here.” He placed his weekend work in his briefcase and walked with her into her office. He stood by the door while Amy placed her work down and gathered her purse and coat. She glanced up and he could tell she was surprised to see him still standing there.
“Okay, Mr. Anderson, I‘ll see you Monday.” She tried to make a quick exit and headed straight towards the elevators, hoping he would forget all about the ride issue. He grinned to himself enjoying the edge to her voice. He found it comical she thought he could so easily be dismissed.
Usually women were chasing him all over the place. He liked the cat and mouse game with his new assistant.
Amy pressed the elevator button and they both stepped on for the long ride down. Neither of them spoke. He was smiling to himself while she was fighting her irritation.
They stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the doors. “Hi Amy, you’re working late tonight. There are no more busses running this late. Would you like for me to call you a cab?” the night guard asked.
“That would be great Paul,” she gave him her best smile. “How’s that beautiful little girl of yours doing? Did she make the basketball team?”
“Yes she made varsity and has been prancing around the house for two days now. I’ll show you the pictures just as soon as my wife gets them developed,” he continued on. “Good night Mr.
Anderson. Have a safe ride home,” he said to Lucas as if just realizing he was there with the two of them.
“Paul, Ms. Harper won’t need that cab called. I’ll give her a ride home tonight,” Lucas stated with the confidence of knowing his word would be taken with no questions asked. Paul looked from her rigid face to his boss’s unyielding expression and decided he wasn’t getting in the middle of whatever was going on.
“Okay then, enjoy your weekend.” He turned and walked back over to his desk.
Lucas pulled Amy through the front doors while gripping her arm. She didn’t want to cause a scene in front of Paul so she went without a struggle but she was going to give Lucas a piece of her mind once they were outside. Of all the obnoxious, arrogant things the man could do. If he felt he could manhandle her and just expect her to go along with it he had another thing coming.
As soon as they were outside she turned towards him ready to unleash all her anger that had been building the past few hours. “Look...” she didn’t get to finish. He suddenly pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips to hers.
She was so stunned she stood there rigid for about three seconds while his lips stroked hers.
Then, she forgot who she was, let alone who he was and melted into his arms. All of the anger and frustration, added to her building attraction for the man, spilled over and she melted in his arms.
There were no thoughts of protest or anger anymore. She’d never been knocked off her feet before but there was a first time for everything. Her body was on fire and she never wanted the feeling to stop.
Her arms reached around his neck and her lips opened in invitation, allowing him full access to her mouth. His lips softened, caressing instead of bruising. His arms moved up and down her back, molding her body to his. She felt like she couldn’t get close enough.
She couldn’t breathe, but she had no need for oxygen. She only needed his body pressed into hers. She only needed his lips to keep working their magic. Her stomach had a million butterflies fluttering around and sparks of electricity shot through her body.
Lucas was ready to take her there on the sidewalk. His body and mind were on fire for her. He couldn’t have remembered his own name if someone had asked it right then. He had to have her.
He started to lift up the bottom of her shirt, forgetting they were standing on the sidewalk in full view of anyone who cared to walk by.
Amy was the first of them to snap back to reality. What was she doing? She was about ready to let her boss take her against the outside wall of the office building. She snapped her head back and pushed him away. Before she knew what she was doing her hand came up and slapped him hard across the cheek.
She stood there, breathing heavily, her eyes rounded to twice their normal size. She’d just about made love to her boss against a wall, in public and then she’d slapped him in the face. She could do nothing but stare at him in horror.
Lucas couldn’t tell if she was stunned from the kissing, the slapping, or both. She also looked flushed and disheveled. He took a step back so he wouldn’t grab her again. He would gain control of himself because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would be his. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to break the spell she had over him until they both caved into the feelings that were coursing through them.
“I will allow that one for free, but be ready to face the consequences if you slap me again,” he said, while rubbing his jaw. She had really put some body weight behind the hit, he was thinking.
She wasn’t some helpless female who couldn’t hold her own against him.
“How dare you,” she spat. “You don’t just go around kissing anyone you feel like. You may be rich and great looking, but you don’t own me. I’m your employee and nothing more.” With those words she spun around and started walking away. She had no idea where she was heading. She just knew that she had to get away from him before she burst into tears. She was completely confused about how she was feeling at that moment and needed a few minutes to clear her head.
She took about five steps before Lucas grabbed her arm and spun her around. “I don’t know what kind of a game you’re playing Amy but you gave just as much as you took back there,” he snapped. His body was still on fire and her hot and cold was playing havoc with him. He wanted to throw her down on the sidewalk and take her in one swift move, which shocked the hell out of him.
“I’m sorry about that,” she barely got out. “I lost my head for a moment but if you think I took this position so I could sleep with my boss then you have another thing coming. Just forget this night happened. I know I will. I will see you on Monday Mr. Anderson.” She struggled to pull away from his iron grasp.
Her words were escalating his temper. It was like she’d thrown a cup of ice cold water in his face. She would forget about what had just happened? Like hell she would. He was close to reminding her once again of their chemistry. Only a lot of years of tightly reigned in self-control prevented him from doing just that.
He wouldn’t be forgetting about her anytime soon and he realized that he didn’t want her to forget about him either. He was sorely tempted to call her on her bluff but knew he didn’t have the willpower to stop twice in a few minutes time. The next time he started things they would be somewhere it could be finished and he would make sure that she was an active participant and not a victim.
Instead of kissing her he kept pulling her along behind him. She fought him each step of the way but he guessed she knew her words would do no good because she remained silent. He reached his car and clicked the lock. He wasted no time tossing her in the front seat and then walking around to get into the driver’s side.
He turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot. “Where do you live Amy?” She was so seething mad that she had to count to ten in her head before she could speak again. “I told you I didn’t want a ride with you!” she finally spit out.
“Well, whether you wanted the ride or not, you got it, so it would be really helpful if you would just tell me where you lived. That is unless you want to just come back to my place and finish what we started back there on the street,” he said.
Once again, she had to count silently in her head. She felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. The last thing she wanted was for her extravagant boss to see where she was living. She planned on getting out of there as soon as she had enough money saved up. She thought for a few moments and then gave him an address of a nearby apartment building.
She knew that if he really wanted to find her place he was perfectly capable, but on the other hand she didn’t see that he would ever have any reason to go looking for her either, that is after the night finally ended.
They pulled up to the apartment complex and she saw a car turn on their backup lights. She knew that she would have to move quickly or he would insist on walking her to the door. He stopped to wait for the car and she jumped out before he could stop her and dashed around the side of the building.
She said nothing to him, didn’t even glance back to see his expression. She would assume he was furious with her for getting the upper hand. Once in a while the man surely had to lose a battle, even if she was sure that he always won the war.
Amy wasn’t taking any chances and as soon as he was out of her sight she went into a full blown sprint and hid behind some shrubs. She stayed there for much longer than was probably necessary. Finally, when she figured he was gone, she crept out and snuck to the front of the building, peaking around and looking for his car.
The coast was clear. She sighed to herself. She had about a two mile walk to get back to her place and the shoes she was wearing were not made for it. Oh well she thought, she may as well get started.
She said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t get mugged on the way. The neighborhood wasn’t exactly what you would call family friendly and she was usually not out so late alone.
After an hour Amy finally reached her place and then sighed in disgust. It was a very weathered, hundred year old home that hadn’t been maintained. She’d scrubbed her room from top to bottom for two days straight before ever sleeping there.
She’d just needed to stay there long enough to finish her college degree. She worked full time while going to school, but had barely made enough to cover tuition, let alone living expenses.
She’d always been willing to do whatever it took to make a better future for herself. She wasn’t afraid of hard work and had proven it to herself and others throughout the years.
Her single mother had been about the worst parent imaginable and had taken her from one crack house to the next. Amy had always been hungry, dirty and had to fight her moms many friends off on a daily basis.
She was so grateful that she’d discovered the local libraries as her sanctuaries and fell in love with reading. She’d spent hours upon hours going through every book imaginable from opening till closing.
The library had been warm and it was there that she knew she would go to college and never ever live that way again. When her mother died when she was only fourteen years old and she had been one of the lucky few to be placed in a good foster home she’d received her first real break in life. She’d mourned her mother, even though she hadn’t deserved to be mourned, but at the same time she’d know that she was one of the lucky ones to have gotten out of the bad situation that she was in.
She’d gone from a drug infested apartment to a family friendly neighborhood with a great school and she’d even earned some scholarships. She already knew how to survive on nothing and once she graduated and then landed the great job with the Andersons Corporation her dreams were finally almost a reality. In one more month she would finally have a real home of her own.
Amy snapped back to reality as she let herself into her shared rental and looked around her dilapidated bedroom. She lifted her head high though, because she was soon going to be out of the horrible place and she would never once look back.
Thanks to her job she would finally be able to get a nice place and start a family of her own. She would put up with her attraction to her boss because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to find another job that paid as well. She wouldn’t give up so easily.
Saturday morning Tom was getting ready to head out the door and drive to Amy’s house when his phone rang. “Speak to me,” he said into the phone in his usual chirpy voice.
“I’m looking for Tom please,” replied the very formal tone of Lucas.
“This is Tom. How can I help you Mr. Anderson?” Why would the boss be calling him on a Saturday?
“Tom, I’m searching for Amy’s address. The one in her personnel file appears to be wrong. She left her purse in my car last night and I need to return it to her. Since you’ve been carpooling together you must have it.” Tom almost gave the information to him without thought.
The way his boss spoke came out much more like a command from a drill sergeant. He felt like he should be saluting and shouting, yes Sir. He stopped himself in the nick of time, remembering that Amy had a wrong address for a reason.
“I’ll be seeing Amy this weekend Mr. Anderson. I could take the purse to her. She’s meeting me at the bar later tonight,” he said. Tom figured this would make all parties happy. He figured wrong.
“Tom, I don’t hand over one employee’s belongings to another employee. I will see to it that Amy gets her purse back, myself. If you would be so kind as to give me that address now then I can get her the purse.” His voice had been formal before, now it was cold as ice.
Wow, Tom was thinking, this guy has it bad. If I want to keep my job I’d better let him know that I’m not interested. “Um, Mr. Anderson, Amy and I are just friends. She’s really, really, not my type, if you know what I mean. So, you don’t have to worry about inter office dating or anything with us.” He figured Lucas was a smart guy and would put two and two together.
There was a short pause on the end of the line and then a more pleasant sounding Lucas spoke again. “Well, that’s good. I don’t like dating between my employees but I still need that address so that I can get her purse to her.” He still spoke with authority, although not quite as cold.
Lucas wasn’t happy having to repeat himself. He was still miffed that she’d run from his vehicle the night before. He didn’t like to be ignored and no one had ever been so repulsed by his presence that they’d felt the need to run away from him and now he had two employee’s that didn’t seem to want to give him what he wanted. It was taking all of his will power to not throttle them both.
“The thing is I don’t have the address. I pick her up and drop her off at the bus stop nearest her place. She refuses to let me take her to the actual house. I don’t like doing it that way but she always calls me when she’s inside and at least I get her as close as possible.” Tom wasn’t happy about the arrangement but Amy was strong willed and he took what little bit she was willing to give him.
On the other end of the line Lucas was barely keeping his temper in check. He’d figured out that she’d lied to him about where she was living. That had been easy enough. He’d simply called the management company of the apartments and asked them if she lived there.
They’d told him she wasn’t currently living there but at the beginning of the week she’d put in an application for one of their apartments. They had a unit coming available in three weeks and she’d reserved it. Her being new to the workforce had been a negative but they’d spoken to his father earlier in the week and since Joseph backed her up they were thrilled to have her for a tenant.
“Look Mr. Anderson, I really have to get going. I know that she’s in a really crappy place right now but I’m going to offer her a place to stay for a few weeks until she gets her new apartment.
She told me she just finished up with college and got hired to your company and was really excited to have her first nice place,” Tom spoke quickly before Lucas was able to cut him off.
“Thank you Tom. I appreciate the information. I will speak with Ms. Harper personally.” He hung up the phone without bothering to say goodbye.
Tom was forgotten about the second the phone touched its receiver. All he was thinking was that he would be finding her that day. After about an hour of speaking to various people Lucas had the information he wanted. He had grown up with money, but had been taught from a young age not to use it against people. But there were times when having money made life simpler and being able to gain information that was needed was one of those times.
He was uneasy as he neared her house. The neighborhood wasn’t somewhere he would hang out in comfortably in the daytime and never at night. By the time he saw the actual place she was living in he was appalled and beyond angry. What was she doing there? How could she so casually risk her own safety? He wouldn’t wish his worst enemy in the house or the neighborhood that she was residing in. When he saw places like the home she was staying in, it was a humbling experience for him and he knew that he needed to make more time for his volunteer work because there were so many people out there who needed time and money. It was easy to forget about those things when they were out of sight, but not when it was right in front of his face.
He’d been doing volunteer work since he was a young boy, as had his brothers. The busier he got in his day to day life the easier it was for him to forget about people in need, but as he looked upon the sad excuse for a house, he made a vow to himself that he would make the time no matter what else was going on in his life.
Lucas carefully walked up the steps, afraid he was going to fall through the rotten porch at any moment. The door looked no better and he would’ve been grateful to have some Lysol on him after placing his hands anywhere near it. He reluctantly raised his fist and knocked loudly so he could be heard above the screeching of animals, which seemed to be coming from every which direction.