“Um . . . kid . . . this is,” he stuttered before finally blurting out, “well, Suzy Merimon saw you and Seth Jackson going at it like rabbits at some restaurant last night. God damn, that was awkward as ass to say!”
Mia felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut. She knew she looked just as stunned as she felt. She couldn’t remember exactly what had happened during dinner last night. Things were a little hazy thanks to all of the wine that they had consumed. She did know that there had been some very hands-on moments, none of which would probably look innocent to a spectator. Hank was waiting on her to respond with what looked like equal parts curiosity and embarrassment. Denial wasn’t even an option here and they both knew it. She absently lifted a hand to massage the now pounding headache beating against her temple. Sighing she said, “This totally sucks. I color outside of the lines at work for the first time ever and get busted by my freaking idol, Suzy. By the way, how did she make the connection? It’s not like we are drinking buddies or anything.”
For the first time since he entered her office, he had a genuine smile on his face. “Those crazy-ass shoes of yours finally got you in trouble. I have been telling you that would happen. To be fair though I just thought you would fall on your face or down a set of stairs. I never thought of them getting you cold-busted in an, um . . . well, you know.”
Confused, she said, “I still don’t follow you. What have my shoes got to do with it?”
“Well, that’s just it, kid. Suzy called down this morning and said that she was dining at the Ivy last night with her husband, Gray, and a few friends. Gray saw Seth but did not know you. Suzy said that she recognized you. She always admired your ‘funky shoes’ when she saw you at the office. Gray knew that Danvers was in the middle of an installation at the Oceanix so he was going to go over and speak to Seth. Suzy managed to convince him that he shouldn’t disturb you two since you were obviously on a date. I guess she asked around and came up with your name and traced you to this department. She said that she intends to mind her own business even though she now knows that you were out with a customer you are currently working with. She hopes that you will keep things with Seth under wraps until the job is complete. She is kind of a nosy broad, isn’t she?”
She waited for Hank to add some comments of his own, but the silence in her office continued to lengthen until she knew he was waiting for her reaction. She looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s true, of course, you know that. It came about in a rather different manner from what you would think, but I was out with Seth socially last night.”
She really hoped he didn’t ask for clarification on exactly how the date had happened. Somehow, it seemed a little strange to tell your boss that your mommy had bought you a date for $18,000. “I know that this is a very bad lapse in judgment on my part. I . . . I didn’t mean for anything to happen with him until after my work was finished there.”
Hank ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wished he were anywhere else. “Kid, I don’t need any details here, either. I’m not your daddy or your girlfriend. You are a grown woman and damn good at your job. I know this situation bends the rules all to hell, but I’m just going to pretend that I don’t know anything about this. As far as I’m concerned, I’m taking Suzy’s line and minding my own business. Just please make sure this doesn’t come back to bite both of us in the ass, okay? If you and Jackson can’t keep your . . . whatever . . . off each other, then be discreet about it until we finish up there. We sure don’t need him getting pissed and letting everyone, including Jason Danvers, know about our lapse of policy, so be careful.”
Trying to lighten the mood because Hank looked so miserable, she smirked. “Be careful? You aren’t talking about . . . ?”
He wadded a piece of paper off her desk and threw it at her. “No, you smartass, I’m not giving you a condom speech!” Even though she still had the urge to crawl under her desk and pretend this whole conversation had not happened, she could tell that he appreciated her attempt at humor.
Seth jerked out of bed as his phone shrilled from the nightstand. The clock beside it showed 8:20. Shit! When was the last time he had failed to set his alarm or even needed the alert? His internal clock usually had him up long before he needed to be. He grabbed the phone and saw the office number on the caller ID. “Jackson,” he barked.
“Well, well,” drawled Margie, “are we sleeping in this morning? Your eight o’clock is here. Should I send him down for a free breakfast while you finish up . . . whatever it is you’re doing?” It was times like this when he wasn’t sure if he loved or hated her.
“Fuck,” he snarled into the phone. “Tell Marshall that something came up and reschedule him.” When Margie chuckled, he knew what she was laughing about. Grudgingly he smiled saying, “Don’t even think of commenting on that or I’ll fire you . . . again.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, boss. Are you going to be here for your ten o’clock conference call or do I need to move that as well?”
Seth looked around the bedroom for the first time, wondering where Mia had disappeared. He didn’t see any of her clothing on the floor and the bathroom door was open, showing no sign of life. Absently, he scratched his head while saying, “No, I’ll be there soon.”
When he didn’t immediately end the call as usual, Margie asked, “Was there anything else?”
He knew this next question was a bad idea, but he asked it regardless. “Is . . . um . . . Mia there today?”
Sounding deeply amused, Margie said, “Yep, she just walked in the door. Might I say, she is just glowing today.” He knew there was no way that she could possibly know that he had slept with Mia last night, but damned if she didn’t sound smug. He had long suspected that she stalked him just for kicks in her spare time. Now he was starting to believe that maybe he wasn’t just completely paranoid about that assumption. He took satisfaction in ending the call without responding. That woman was a pain in his ass.
When had Mia left and why hadn’t she said goodbye? Fuck, Jackson, you sound like a woman. Isn’t this what you prefer? Avoid the whole awkward morning-after scene? You should be grateful that she made the walking away part easy for you. The problem though was that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to walk away. Last night he had fallen in lust with her in a big way. She took everything he had to give her and then demanded more. She was insatiable and he was even more intrigued by her than he had been at the start. His cock was hard and throbbing remembering her waking him in the night with him in her mouth. She had proceeded to suck him dry. He had tried to pull out when he knew he was on the verge of exploding, but she had tightened her grip, swallowing every bit of his load before letting him collapse against the pillows. When he had recovered, she had climbed on top, seating his cock to the hilt. He could still feel her hot pussy gripping him as he stroked and pinched her plump nipples into taut peaks.
Damn, there was no way he could go into the office with the hard-on he was sporting. He walked to the bathroom and started the shower. With the steam rising over the top of the glass enclosure, he took his cock in his hand once again and squirted some body wash onto the hard length. Slipping his hand up and down, he imagined Mia’s hands on him. As his body was jerking in release he thought, I’m locking the door when Margie goes to lunch and fucking Mia in the control room.
Chapter Eight
Mia had enjoyed a quick cup of coffee with Margie before escaping to the control room to get started. She had tried to appear ignorant when Margie had called Seth about his missed appointment. Maybe she should have woken him before she left this morning. She wasn’t sure what time he usually started his day. She was typically up early and most mornings had a jog or a walk on the beach before work. She had called a taxi and left his place around six a.m. That hadn’t been easy since she hadn’t known his street address. Luckily, she had found a magazine with a mailing label, before she had to resort to digging through his wallet for his driver’s license. She was surprised to find her car sitting in its assigned spot when she got home. How had Seth managed that? She had to admit, she was impressed. Hell, the whole morning after had felt good, until the embarrassing talk with Hank. She didn’t know what was worse, Suzy seeing her or Hank fumbling over the whole incident.