“We can take her to the usual spot and keep up appearances of a business dinner,” Maverick said, interrupting my fantasy.
I nodded, hoping she would agree to it. More than likely though, she would think she’d gotten the job and when she realized she hadn’t, I doubted she would agree to be literally fucked instead.
Damn, I’d never wanted anyone so much. If she worked with us, I would end up thinking about her nonstop. She looked like she could take me down and enjoy it. Visions floated through my mind of her sprawled across my desk, dripping in excitement. I imagined fucking her from behind while she sucked him off…
“Yeah,” I said gruffly, already praying she would say yes. Maybe she would be a good lawyer for us and hiring her would be a good idea.
But acquiring her would be an even better idea…
My fingers twitched at the thought of marking her with my lips and hands. I wanted to grip her plush hips so hard, she felt it in her blood.
“Did you send it?” I asked Maverick.
“Not yet.”
I turned to stare out the window. The afternoon sun had almost come down, turning the sky red and reminding me of Henley’s hair. I wondered if she looked the same between her legs—a real red head? There were so many fakes out there, it was hard to tell.
“Just sent it,” Maverick announced.
My chest fluttered. “Think she’ll respond?”
He shrugged. “It’s just dinner. She doesn’t know what we’re asking yet.”
“Fuck, I hope she says yes.”
Maverick smirked. “Yeah. Don’t know about the job yet, but this…”
“She’s a fucking minx. Forget the job, I just want her.”
“She responded,” Maverick said suddenly.
I looked over his shoulders and toward the computer, damn near crossing my fingers.
5
Henley
I had been on my couch for hours since leaving the interview. I’d never felt so dejected. I was a failure, knowing I had fucked everything up. The best opportunity I’d had in ages, and it had already been ruined.
Greasy food usually made me feel a little better, but as I lounged in my sweats and watched an old sitcom, it did nothing for me. I couldn’t stop feeling like my degree and hard work all meant nothing.
I pondered my next steps. Applying to jobs and rushing to interviews was tiring and disheartening, and I didn’t know how much longer I could stand it. If things kept up like this, I would end up as a barista or bartender just to pay the bills. And then I’d end up staying there for the comfort, getting on the management track to feel worthy, and looking over legal contracts just to feel important. Maybe I would finally end up a paralegal or switch to do public law or something. And maybe all of that was fine, but it just wasn’t what I wanted, which was to practice corporate law and protect people who built companies from the ground up to help the little people.
I didn’t want to call my parents because the last time I’d talked to them, they’d basically told me not to call back until I had a job. Since I didn’t have a job yet, I wouldn’t call.
It was close to nine o’clock when I got up for a snack break. I put some peanut butter cookies on a glass plate to feel fancy, and then poured myself a glass of almond milk, which was the best I could do since it was all Denton had bought and I didn’t have money to dictate groceries at the moment. After finishing my snack and watching a few more episodes, I was ready to retire to my bedroom to sulk some more, and maybe get myself hot and bothered just to fall asleep easier.
In my tee shirt and nothing else, thinking of the men who’d interviewed me earlier was enough. I mean, I had never seen men like that before—so powerful and in charge. While one had been rude and imposing and the other kind and accommodating, they had both been intimidating and intense in their own right. If I closed my eyes and thought hard enough, I could still smell their cologne surrounding me, strong and expensive.
I brought myself back to the present to check my phone, noticing a new calendar event I couldn’t remember putting in.
A dinner invite from H&P? When the hell did that happen? I wondered, eyeing it suspiciously. The dinner was set for the next evening at seven p.m. with both Jude and Maverick. I would have remembered if I’d responded…
But then I recalled the new update I’d installed that sent automatic replies since the only thing I got were interview invites that I wouldn’t want to decline. So apparently, hours ago, I had ‘accepted’ dinner with them at an elusive business restaurant, known for being the location of very important business deals.
Was I having a second interview? An extended interview?
My head began to spin. I would have to find the right thing to wear, and I certainly couldn’t be late again.