Sinclair rolled her eyes again. “Yes, your excellency.”
He glared at her. It did seem a little disrespectful of her, but there also seemed to be more than a working relationship going on between them.
“If there is a problem, I can go th
rough normal channels,” I said. I didn’t want special favors.
“The mayor has made his decision. If this gets out, though—”
“I’m not running again, and my term will be up soon, as you well know, Sinclair. Then you can run this office as you see fit. In the meantime, let’s get Ms. Campbell to Ms. Lados so she can get settled.”
He called me Ms. Campbell. I suppose that was better. It was more professional and less like he was my father’s friend.
Sinclair shrugged and handed him back my resume. She turned to me. “Welcome aboard.”
3
Maurice
The minute Brooke walked into my office, guilt, and lust mixed in my gut. For a moment, I remained sitting, as seeing her in her prim suit and remembering how she tasted the night I went down on her could likely cause a hard-on I didn’t need at that moment. Sinclair’s disapproving glare helped keep my dick down.
Sinclair had some nerve. I’d been the one to always keep her in line, sticking by the rules, and now she was lecturing me on policy and procedure? To make matters worse, there was no doubt that Brooke realized her father had finagled this job for her. Her resume was stellar, and I had to hope that she lived up to it, or I would never hear the end of it from Sinclair. Or Trina, for that matter, who I had no doubt would also cause me grief.
But now that Sinclair’s and my pissing contest was over, it was time to get Brooke settled. The sooner, the better, because seeing her was wreaking havoc on me. She was even more beautiful now. She was still young, but she’d grown out of that teenage youthfulness. She looked like a woman, not just in her fitted suit that showed off sexy curves, but also a worldliness and confidence she hadn’t had when I last saw her.
I extended my hand toward the door indicating both women should go ahead of me out of the office.
Trina was at her desk, looking less focused than usual, but I was sure she could be more efficient and productive in her sleep than the average person hyped up on coffee.
“Trina, this is Brooke Campbell, a new assistant. Brooke, this is Trina Lados, senior administrative assistant,” I said.
Trina looked at me and then Sinclair with surprise in her eyes. I could see the wheels turning, wondering how I had a new hire when we hadn’t gone through the regular procedures. I was an idiot to not have Brooke go through a normal hiring process. But Frank was a good friend, and perhaps my own guilt at what I’d done to her came into play. Clearly, I hadn’t thought it through, though, because having her in my office was a bad idea.
“Hi. Welcome,” Trina said, managing a smile. “I didn’t realize we had a new person coming on.” She had a smile for Brooke, but I heard the annoyance in her tone.
“I know you’ve been swamped, so I took the liberty,” I said, inwardly kicking myself once the words were out. Trina took great pride in her abilities. She wouldn’t like my characterizing her as being overwhelmed with work.
“Ms. Campbell is a friend of the family, and I know you’ll take good care of her, getting her settled and showing her the ropes,” I said. “Brooke, why don’t you take the office next to mine?”
Trina’s eyes widened again, but there was that hint of anger in them, too. I never got the feeling she wanted an office, and as the admin for the office, she needed to be here to greet and announce visitors. But I could see she didn’t think it was right that I was giving Brooke an office. Technically, it was Sinclair’s office, but she’d opted to take the smaller one down the hall.
To be honest, I wanted Brooke locked away from me because looking at her, standing next to her, was doing crazy things to my body. My heart rate was up. My dick wanted to go up. I needed her in a place where I’d see her the least. I might have broken protocol in hiring her, but I wasn’t going to break the rules by fucking her. She was my assistant. Being with her would be even more inappropriate than being with Sinclair would have been.
“This way,” I said, guiding her to the office. “Trina will be in with necessary paperwork and onboarding. Then we’ll get you to work.” I smiled, hoping I was looking mayoral.
She looked up at me with those big, blue eyes. I thought that was what had taken me in all those years ago. Her eyes, and of course, when she kissed me. Fuck, I couldn’t think about that.
“Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself,” she said. “I won’t let you down.”
She didn’t sound like the college coed that seduced me years ago. Perhaps she was over it. Thank God, I thought, even though a part of me was annoyed that she’d forgotten that night. Or didn’t care. Of course she didn’t. How many men had gone down on her since that night? She’d spent the last three and a half years in Chicago. Hell, she probably had a boyfriend.
I shook my head to get rid of all the chaotic thoughts. “I know I won’t regret hiring you. If you excuse me, I have work to do.” The truth was, I was already regretting hiring her. Not because there was anything wrong with her work. She hadn’t done any yet. But seeing her made my body yearn to have more of her. What the fuck was wrong with me?
I hurried to my office, shutting the door, and I sank into my chair and closed my eyes, wondering how I’d survive this. I was still lusting for my friend’s daughter. And I was her boss. Jesus fucking Christ.
It was all just residual lust left over from that winter years ago, I told myself. I’d left that night sexually frustrated, unfulfilled. That was what I was feeling. She didn’t really turn me on now. Before long, we’d settle into a professional work relationship, and that winter would be a distant memory.
Who was I kidding? Even sitting here, I had a flash of an image of me lifting that sexy skirt up and fucking her on my desk. There was something seriously wrong with me.