That night I lay in bed thinking about what Robin had said. I had never thought of myself as only trying to please other people or that I didn’t really know myself or my own needs. The more that I thought about it, though, the more I realized that he was exactly right. The one serious relationship that I had ever had was completely based on what my boyfriend had wanted out of it. We did what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it. I dressed the way he wanted me to and acted the way that he thought I should. Even in bed I was completely focused on his wants and needs. Maybe that was why I never understood Robin’s exuberance over his exceptionally active sex life. I couldn’t understand why he was so enthusiastic about it, and now it occurred to me that maybe it wasn’t that there was something strange about him, but rather that I just didn’t know what I was missing.
I rolled over and reached onto my nightstand to where I had left the brochure that Robin had given me. I looked at it in the glow of the streetlight streaming through my window. As I read the description of the retreat I couldn’t help but allow Lucille’s voice to come back into my mind. She had been biting at my heels our entire adult lives and now she had managed to get herself into the position that she could destroy everything that I had worked hard for. She was going to climb to the power and success that she had always wanted on my back. The thought infuriated me and I knew that I couldn’t let her do it. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of destroying my life. If she wanted to take me down, at least I was going to go out having enjoyed the months of time that I had earned working for that company.
Chapter Six
Lucille
I paced around my office feeling like I was burning a path into the bright blue carpet. I hated that fucking carpet. It was like a tangible reminder of Walter every time that I stepped into the office. It was exactly like him: garish, out of place, and wildly beneath the success of the company. As soon as I could, I was going to have someone come in and tear it up so that I could replace it with something more appropriate. Exactly as I planned on replacing Walter. If not in the place of my husband, most certainly in my bed. I couldn’t bear the thought of his dry, wrinkled skin rubbing up against mine any more without something young and smooth to replace it. Something like Hunter.
The assistant had been frustrating as hell from the moment that I first met him, but since he was gorgeous in a buttoned-up, formal kind of way, I was usually willing to deal with him. Now I had a different perception of him. Usually Hunter was quiet and out of sight until I needed him, and then he would do as I asked quickly and efficiently. Unlike Mr. Glass, who had seniority over everyone in the company except for Walter and spoke with a dull, dusty drawl that held no emotion and seemed to be uninfluenced by anything that was around him, Hunter had a voice that promised fiery emotion kept in check just beneath the surface.
I had seen a little of that fire the day before and I hadn’t been able to get him off of my mind since. I wasn’t accustomed to being spoken to in the way that he had spoken to me. Though it was obvious that he hadn’t said everything to me that he was thinking, he had spoken his mind in a way that he hadn’t before, in a way that no one ever had. I might not have ever reached the level of success that I wanted and had faced being turned down by clients, but never had someone been so bold as to show me the intensity that he had. He was brash and aggressive, forceful and unyielding in his willingness to show me that he disagreed with what I was doing. I should have been angry. I should have felt disrespected, particularly in the professional setting. But I didn’t. Instead, I was instantly aroused. It had taken everything in me not to crawl over the desk and tear the tie away from his neck, rip open his shirt, and find out just how unbuttoned he could be.
It had been months since a man had satisfied me, and I felt like I was feeling restless. I couldn’t stand the thought that Walter was going to be home from his trip in a few weeks and would expect me to be there to greet him like a happy wife excited to see her husband after a long time apart. I needed to reinforce myself with the touch of a young, powerful man to carry me through. If I could just close my eyes and think of a hot mouth on my body and a thick, young cock inside me, I would be able to get through Walter’s “affection” that had earned me my place in this office.
I paused in the center of the office and looked toward the door. It was just after noon. Most of the people in the office would have left for lunch, but I happened to know that Hunter didn’t leave until he had come to let me know that he was going to be out for his break. Just in case I needed him. And right at this moment, I most certainly needed him. I walked around the desk and picked up my phone. I hit the extension for Hunter’s private line.
“Yes?”
His voice still held some of the defiance and I felt a shiver roll down my spine.
“Can I have a word with you?”
“I’ll be right in.”
The call disconnected and I walked around to the front of my desk. I was leaned back against it when Hunter rapped on the door and then stepped in.
“Close the door,” I said.
Hunter turned and closed the door. When he turned back to look at me I had one hand on my hip and was evaluating him, appreciating how the cut of his tailored suit cupped his ass and accentuated a body that looked far more chiseled even through the fabric than I would have expected from a corporate assistant.
“You wanted to see me,” he said.
“I did. I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Snow.”
Hunter rolled his eyes slightly.
“I don’t really think that there’s anything else to say about that.”
“Oh, but I think there is,” I said, pushing away from the desk. “You see, I expected you to agree with me about my plans for Snow.”
“You did?” he asked. “Why would you think that?”
“Because it must be just as aggravating for you as it is for me to see her get all of the attention and have everyone fall all over themselves for her.”
“Not really,” he said. “I’ve never had a problem with Snow.”
“You haven’t?” I asked. “You really don’t have a problem with her having the whole world laying at her feet without her deserving it?”
“Without her deserving it?” Hunter asked, looking at me strangely. “How would you know what she deserves? You’ve been here for a week. I’ve watched her for years. She’s phenomenal at what she does and she is actually a pleasant person, which is the main reason why people respond to her so much.”
I could hear in his voice that he hadn’t said everything that he wanted to, but it was enough. My mouth was watering and I could feel my body responding to his every word.
“She is?” I asked, trying to sound as innocent and unassuming as possible. “You know, I can be pleasant, too.”
“Really?” he asked.
I gave a short laugh and took a few steps to close the space between us. I reached up and ran my fingers down his tie, flipping the end of it out of where it was tucked inside his jacket.
“I can,” I said. “I know that I haven’t really gotten off to the best start with everybody, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can get along, you know. I think that there is so much more that we can do for each other than we’ve admitted.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
I smiled at him and walked back to the desk. Hopping up onto the edge, I crossed my legs. The position caused the hem of my skirt to rise up my thigh, revealing the strap to my garter and the lace edging of my thigh-highs. I ran my fingertip along the edge and looked at him.
“Working in a big office like this is stressful,” I said. “It can make people so much more tense than they really are. You could make my day much less stressful. I bet that you could help me to be a lot more pleasant.”
Hunter looked at me with steely eyes, but didn’t step toward me.
“You’re married,” he said.
“I know. But do you see my husband anywhere around here? No. He left on a weeks-long trip around the world without me. He left me all alone here.”
“You planned that trip,” he said.
“Because I thought that he would like it.”
“Because you wanted him out of the way.” I felt heat starting to burn on my cheeks as I realized that this conversation wasn’t going the direction that I wanted it to. “Mrs. Royal, I was your husband’s assistant for years and the only reason that I am still here is out of loyalty to him and desire to make sure that you do not drive this company into the ground. If it wasn’t for that, I would have been gone the first day that you waltzed in here.”