Wicked Indulgence (Wicked Innocence 2)

“Leaving now. You need a ride?” he asks.

“Yeah. Thanks, man, I’ll be waiting out front.”

I press end and shove my phone back in my pocket as I jog down the driveway to the gate. Outside, I finish my breakfast while I wait for Max. I see his car in the distance and wait impatiently until it slows down in front of me.

“Hey,” I mutter, slumping into the seat. I reach for my belt and plug it in. “Thanks for the pickup.”

“No problem. Someone indulge a little too much last night?” he asks, a grin spreading across his mouth.

“Yeah, maybe a little,” I repl

y. “But I wasn’t exactly expecting the early morning wakeup call.”

“I’m shocked you answered.” He throws me a look. “Don’t you usually have your phone on silent?”

“Yeah, just lucky I guess.” I shoot him a sideways glance. He drank as much as I did. How can he be okay to drive? “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

He laughs. “I didn’t actually drink that much, dude. That’s the thing with my personality, there’s not much difference between drunk Max and sober Max.”

I had to give him that. He was loud and overbearing no matter what.

We pull into the parking lot below the studio.

“Any idea what this is all about?” Max asks me as we take the elevator upstairs.

I shrug. “Something about a new PR person for us. Apparently it’s a chick,” I add, grinning as Max’s head perks up. He gives me shit for the number of chicks I pick up, but in reality he’s just as bad, if not worse.

Leo and Bazz are there already when we walk into the office. I sit down, happy to see that they both look as shitty as I feel.

Max shakes his head. “I really love that you guys just can’t handle your alcohol like real men,” he chuckles and puffs out his chest, obviously impressed that he’s the only one not hungover.

I shoot him a look, which only makes him laugh harder.

“So, do you think this means we’ll be getting more shows and shit? With the single release coming up and all that?”

Our debut single, “One True Romance,” is set to release this month. Six months in the making, this is supposed to be the thing that will potentially launch our careers. If this takes off, there’s no stopping us. If not, then…

Before I can answer Max, a feminine laugh catches my attention. I look up and see Andrew walking down the hallway deep in conversation with a very attractive woman. I say “woman” because she looks older than me—maybe late twenties?—and much more sophisticated than the chicks I usually chase.

Her long blond hair hangs straight down her back. She wears a gray pencil skirt that hugs her slender body and a cream-colored shirt so light I can almost make out the outline of her nipples. Holy shit, she’s fucking hot.

“Guys,” Andrew says, a warm smile on his face. “Thanks for coming down at such short notice. This is Lyndall Hall. She’s just joined EML as a public relations coordinator and she’s been assigned to help Severed with the launch of your debut single.” He rubs his hands together and smiles. “She has some great ideas she wants to run past you. Can I trust you to make her feel welcome?” His eyes narrow as his gaze passes me and Max, which I return with a wide-eyed, innocent shrug.

“We’ll make her feel more than welcome,” Max says smoothly, his dark eyes twinkling as they travel over her body.

“Thanks, but I’ll settle for you listening and maybe learning a few things from someone with experience in this field,” she replies, her voice dry. “Do you think you can you handle that?”

I snort as Max’s mouth drops open. Was that the first time he’s been shot down? Probably. Her gaze moves over to me and her eyes narrow slightly. Coughing, I wipe the grin off my face and nod.

“Good.” She smiles. “Okay, follow me and we’ll run through my ideas.”

I’m the first out of my seat. I follow her down the hallway, the other guys behind me. I’m struggling to take my eyes off her perky ass. It’s fucking perfection—especially the way it sways in that skirt. We walk into a small conference room and my cock twitches as I imagine bending her over the table and running my hands over that body. She glances up at me, her pretty mouth turning into a frown. My face heats up and I glance away, a thrill racing through my body. It’s as if she can read my thoughts.

“If we all sit down we can get to work,” she says, her tone clipped.

We all sit down and wait for her to speak.

“Okay,” she says, pushing her hair back behind her ears. “Firstly, I hope we can all keep this professional. I don’t know if any of you have a problem with me being female, but I can assure you I’m damn good at my job.” Her eyes narrow in on mine.