What the hell? “No?”
She let out a small laugh. "Nobody's ever said no to you before, have they Hunter?"
She wasn't wrong. Any woman that I'd gotten this far along with in terms of discussing sexual proclivities, generally ended up in bed with me. But that wasn't what really had me annoyed. I sat for a moment working through a variety of ways to respond. In the end I defaulted to my usual arrogant, cocky self.
I stood and buttoned my coat. “Well, if you think you can ignore all this heat, particularly since you've had some of it, clearly you are a stronger person than I am." And I strode out her door, glad that I at least, had the last word.
10
Natalie
I'm not sure what shocked me the most. That I just had sex with my boss on my desk or that I'd had sex with Hunter. Scratch that. I knew exactly what shocked me the most. I just had sex with Hunter. I was definitely the live-in-the-moment type to have sex on a desk in an office, but not with Hunter. Never with Hunter. And yet I did.
Not only did I have sex with him, but I was an equal participant. And while now, I could see how wrong it was and how dangerous it was, at the time, it was glorious. So much so that for a moment I considered accepting his indecent proposal. While I might act impulsively at times, I generally wasn't reckless. Spending time with Hunter had danger signs all over it. It was reckless to the nth degree.
I stood on wobbly legs and went around my desk, picking up the sketches Hunter had strewn all over the floor. I use the time to pull myself back together mentally.
With the sketches back in order. I sat down at my desk in an attempt to get back to work. But it was impossible. The scene with Hunter played over and over again. On this very desk. Me laying back on it as he thrust again and again inside me. But I couldn't go there again. Not in my memory and not in real life.
I decided to take a break, and headed down to the employee lounge to get a cup of coffee. When I entered the room, it was empty, and I was glad for it. As I wasn't sure how I’d be able to look anybody in the face after doing what I did with Hunter on my desk. What if Kellie walked in or Ryan?
I'd known taking this job was a bad idea. Maybe it was time to quit. Except then I would look really flaky and I’d disappoint my sister. Then there was the gallery showing that I couldn't pass up. So, I’d stay.
I
found the coffee pod, put it in the coffee maker, and poked the brew button. When the coffee was done, I sat down at one of the tables.
I’d just taken my first sip when Andi walked in. "Oh hey, Natalie. I heard you were here. Welcome to Strong Incorporated."
"Thank you."
She set about making her own cup of coffee, and then sat at the table with me as she waited for it to brew.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. "You look a little flustered, are you alright?"
I rolled my shoulders and waved my hand as if it was nothing. "I’m fine. I just got in a little tête-à-tête with Hunter over the designs I was coming up with."
She nodded toward my cup of coffee. “Perhaps you should switch to some sort of calming tea instead of coffee. Coffee mixed with Hunter, to my mind, just leads to greater agitation. The only thing worse than that would be coffee mixed with Noah."
Maybe she was right, but I already had my coffee and I liked coffee. I wasn't going to change my warm drink of choice simply because of Hunter Strong.
But she did give me an opening to ask more about the Strong brothers. Everything I knew about them pretty much came from Kellie and a little bit from Ryan. But Andi had more of a bird’s eye view being Margaret Strong's assistant and she’d been here longer.
"Hunter looks all modern alpha male, but his taste in designs are atrocious,” I said.
Andy shrugged. "I think they're all just feeling the weight of the new level of responsibility they have. Margaret is planning her retirement and has given them each more responsibility. I imagine Hunter feels it acutely since marketing is a crucial step in selling shoes."
I scoffed. “He's not going to sell anything with the ad campaign he has."
She studied me for a moment. "They can't be that bad."
"They definitely could be better. And by better, I mean it could really make a difference in the amount of sales that they sell."
"I didn't realize you were such a marketing aficionado."
I wasn't sure if she was purposefully challenging me to put me in my place, or just feeling the need to defend the family that she worked for for so long.
"I worked to pay for art school by freelancing as a graphic designer. So, I know a little something about marketing."