His mouth tightened, and his voice lost any trace of warmth, turning brusque. “Fine, Ms. Elliott, if there is no us, then what’s the problem? It was an isolated incident, and we can both be mature adults, can’t we?”
Her first impulse was to rant at him, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. Did she really want to give up the promotion and leave the company just because she’d had sex with her boss? It was a one-time thing, and he was right. They could be mature adults. She had no doubt he’d have the next lay lined up before quitting time, and she would easily go back to her previous routine.
“Yes, Mr. Jacobi.” Her level tone was remarkably composed. “I foresee no problems moving on, forgetting the incident, and working together.”
He betrayed no hint of emotion. “Excellent. Now please arrange for maintenance to clean up this mess and order me a new lunch, Ms. Elliott.”
With a tight nod, she hurried to obey, grateful he was a cold billionaire instead of the hot lover he’d been last night. It would be so much easier to forget last night if she didn’t see flashes of Jake in Mr. Jacobi.
***
Somehow, she made it through the next two weeks. Outwardly, she remained efficient, though she was on tenterhooks each time she had to venture near Jake. Fortunately, she reported to Eleanor most of the time, and she rarely had to see Mr. Jacobi except at lunchtime to deliver his meal.
She knew that would change Monday morning. Eleanor was taking three days for personal reasons—perhaps to try an experimental cardiac defrosting procedure—which put Sondra in the other woman’s shoes. That meant reporting directly to Jake and having to deal with him more frequently.
Her stomach was a knot of anxiety, even leaving her nauseated as she contemplated the week ahead of her. Sondra turned down Mae and Dani’s invitation to go shopping on Saturday in favor of moping. Sunday, she spent catching up on sleep and wishing she wasn’t so unnerved by being in close proximity to Jake that she was making herself ill over the idea.
Monday came all too soon, and she tried to brace herself. Sondra pinned up her short black curls as tightly as she could in emulation of Eleanor’s taut chignons. Channeling her icy boss, she chose a stark black pantsuit and severe white shirt, paired with minimal makeup. Eyeing herself in the mirror, she nodded with satisfaction. She looked like the ultra-professional temporary executive assistant to a CEO who controlled billions.
And could control her body with a skilled touch or strategic kiss.
Sondra glared at her reflection, forcing aside such thoughts. She rarely allowed herself to indulge in any of the memories of that phenomenal night with Jake, but the occasional thought just popped into her head without permission.
Like last Thursday, when he’d been rushing out the office to make a meeting, and her gaze had landed on his backside. It had reminded her of being over his shoulder and staring at his ass, which had led to thoughts of the amazing sex that had followed. She’d been a damp mess by the time she’d fled to the bathroom to recover her equanimity, waiting until he was safely out of the vicinity before ducking into the small lavatory reserved for her and Eleanor.
Renewing her vow to be distant and professional, Sondra left the apartment. Dani was long gone for her morning classes, and Mae wouldn’t surface for a while yet, since she worked the evening shift at a chic boutique downtown, so neither one of them could ask awkward questions about her makeover into the Ice Queen.
Sondra entered the office a few minutes early, but Jake had already arrived. Being the efficient machine she was, Eleanor had left her another handbook of duties to oversee during the next three days, insisting she take it home and study over the weekend. Now she was glad to have done so, because she knew Jake’s routine.
Sondra organized his morning documents and a cup of coffee with exactly one ounce of cream before taking a deep breath. Her stomach churned with nausea, but she forced herself to ignore it. If she’d been able to eat breakfast, she probably wouldn’t have felt so ill, but the thought of forcing down anything when the day with Jake loomed had robbed her of any appetite.
As soon as she entered his office, her gaze fell on the glazed donut sitting on Jake’s desk, and she had to take a deep breath to control the queasiness. She loved donuts, especially the fresh-baked smell, but anxiety over dealing with Jake had robbed her of that simple pleasure too.
Plastering on a smile, she placed the papers before him and the mug of coffee near his left hand, his preference, as noted in Eleanor’s excruciatingly exact instructions. “Good morning, Mr. Jacobi.” Her voice was calm and neutral.
He nodded. “Sit down, and let’s get to it.”
Forcing herself to ignore any wayward thoughts of wickedness his innocuous words inspired, she sat on the chair across from him and immersed herself in work. She could almost pretend she wasn’t still wildly attracted to her boss, and that working under him was no big deal. That she hadn’t been under him in a completely different way two weeks ago…
The day passed quickly, to her surprise. Jake moved at a rapid pace, dragging her along. They completed what seemed like a week’s worth of work in that first day, and another in the second. By the third day, she was starting to feel the effects of toiling like a whirling dervish and had a grudging appreciation for how hard Eleanor must work. Perhaps that was why she was such a harsh boss.
To her surprise, and disappointment that she refused to acknowledge, Jake had been distant and professional. Those had been her personal goals, and the sensible approach, but she couldn’t help feeling a little miffed he hadn’t tried anything at all. Clearly, he had moved on.
So had she. Of course she had. Just because she hadn’t been on a date since him didn’t mean anything. She hadn’t been on a date for more than a year before him. Besides, their night could hardly qualify as a date. Thirty minutes of small talk, followed by hours of sex, was nothing more than getting off. Just because she hadn’t gotten off again, and hadn’t even been tempted to break out her vibrator, didn’t mean a darned thing.
Except she was getting surly. That’s all it meant. She was overworked and seemed to be coming down with a bug, which were the only reasons she could explain what happened at the end of the day on Wednesday.
Jake was preparing to leave early, passing along offhandedly that she could knock off early.
Sondra looked at the stack of paperwork on her desk. “I don’t think that will be possible, Mr. Jacobi. I thought you had a phone meeting with Mr. Nagato this evening?”
He waved a hand. “I rescheduled it. My date is much more important.”
She really wanted to ignore his comment, but some wicked devil she couldn’t control gained the upper hand. “You’re going to blow off a possible merger to get laid?”
He froze in mid-step before turning to glare down at her. His laptop bag hit the floor with a small thud, and his shoes squeaked with the speed he crossed to her desk. Sondra shrieked as her chair tipped back when he grabbed the arms and leaned over into her space.
“Don’t presume to tell me how to run my business, Sondra.” Jake glared at her. “And don’t offer your opinion on my personal life when you’ve made it so blatantly apparent that you have no interest in what I do outside of work.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jacobi.” And she was. Sorry she had opened her stupid mouth, and sorry he was so close, because it woke up all the urges she had buried, but hadn’t eradicated. Her heart raced in her ears, and her panties were damp, making her squirm. His mouth was so close, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward just a bit.
It was all the invitation he needed. In seconds, Jake
’s lips crushed hers, devouring her in a hungry tide of passion that swept over and consumed her just as violently. His hands never strayed from the arms of her chair, but she could almost feel them moving over her body, caressing every inch of her.
Sondra moaned low in her throat as she stroked her tongue over his. For the past three weeks, she’d alternated between numbed and nauseated in his presence, but the numbness was gone. Her senses were awake again, and she couldn’t keep her hands from clutching his shoulders to pull him closer.
He cupped her face in his hands as his mouth ravaged hers. Her body quivered with desire, and she was so close to throwing aside all her inhibitions and sound reasons for not sleeping with him—like he was en route to a date with another woman—when a sound at the doorway made them jerk apart.
Sondra looked over, expecting to see some hot chick waiting for Jake with an appalled expression. There was no one there, and she frowned at Jake, who seemed just as puzzled for a second before his expression cleared.
In a flash, he was back to Mr. Jacobi, standing upright, his expression distant. “Leave the rest of the work until tomorrow morning, Ms. Elliott. It’s been a long three days, and I’m sure you could use some rest.”
“I think I’ll go out,” she said with a touch of defiance, though she hated that juvenile reaction. It shouldn’t matter that he was on his way to a date—and it wouldn’t if she had kept up the charade of being unaffected by him. One moment of weakness had ruined that illusion for both of them, leaving her with the sinking feeling she was going to have to resign after all.
He shrugged. “Enjoy your evening, Ms. Elliott.” This time, his finely made shoes didn’t even whisper as he turned away from her, scooped up his bag, and strode from the office.
Sondra hurried to grab her things and rush out after him. She longed for the solace of her room and the safety of being far away from his physical presence so she could decide on a strategy for how she should proceed.