“I… Of course, I’ll help you. Whatever you need, sir.” Her face glowed a bright red but something about her glance told me the female was excited too.
A lazy smile crossed my lips.
“How about tomorrow then?” came my drawl. “Five o’ clock alright?”
She stammered out something incomprehensible before quickly recovering with a “Yes, of course,” repeated at least three times. Then that sweet mouth clamped shut, and there was silence. Good girl. Beth’s eyes were damn near as big as headlamps now, those plush lips trembling.
But I’d show her a good time. For sure. Tomorrow at five o’ clock it was.
And throwing one more smile over my shoulder, I drawled.
“Don’t be late, sweetheart. See you tomorrow.”
With that, my big figure was gone, disappeared into the elevator. But I wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. Because something about this sweet and sassy librarian had me going … and I was going to unveil her secrets.
CHAPTER FIVE
Beth
Even though it happened almost twenty-four hours ago, my mind’s still reeling.
Because yesterday’s events were crazy. The man who walked into the library was the CEO of Carlton Corp. Mason Carlton, billionaire extraordinaire, known for his playboy habits, always with a gorgeous woman or two on his arm. And I was supposed to do a study session with him after work today?
Unreal.
What was going on?
Why would he want me?
But none of that stuff mattered because Mr. Carlton didn’t see me as anything more than another member of his staff. An employee. A drone who drew a paycheck, just like everyone else. I took a huge breath and finished shelving the last of the books on my cart.
Stay calm, my inner voice reprimanded sternly. Stay calm.
Because what Mr. Carlton and I had later on today wasn’t a date. Not by a long shot. We weren’t going out to dinner or anything like that. It was a simple study session. We were going to hit the books and read up about virgins.
Virgins?
Why?
And why me? What could I possibly teach him? I knew nothing.
But good habits die hard. Because after Mr. Carlton left yesterday, I’d pulled every book possible on anatomy, studying everything the library had on virginity, and then some information online too. It was actually interesting and I learned a ton of stuff I had no idea about.
Labia majora.
Labia minora.
Arousal.
Hymen.
Learning it was easy. School has always come easy to me, and good grades aren’t that hard. It’s just that tuition money is scarce, so it was taking me longer to graduate.
But still. This had nothing to do with school. This was all about Mr. Carlton, and what he was looking for.
It just took my imagination and the visual of one of those knowing grins. His smiles were gorgeous, taking my breath away, making my face go hot. Not just my face, but between my legs too.
Stop it! my inner voice commanded. Stop it! You’re there for a study session, and not whatever you’re dreaming.
God, I was being so stupid but the situation was hopeless. Just because he had the body of an Adonis and a smile that belonged in a toothpaste commercial, my mind was running away with what-ifs and maybes. Please. This was so wrong. These were the dreams of a princess on a cloud, not a frumpy librarian wearing a polyester blend skirt. I wiped my damp palms on the material awkwardly and glanced at the clock.
Almost five o’ clock.
My nerves trembled.
God! Why had I agreed to do this? I hadn’t even gone upstairs to his office yet, and yet “hot mess” was my name. Groaning, my head dropped onto the desk, landing with an audible thunk. Probably just lost a few brain cells there. But at least it knocked some sense into me.
Talking to myself, the words were uttered.
“I change my mind. I don’t want to do this.”
But it was too late. Because it wasn’t about what I wanted, or what I could choose. There were no real choices here. He was the CEO of Carlton Corp. after all. Not my boss. Or my boss’s boss. More like my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. If that was enough bosses, I wasn’t even sure.
Groaning again, I sat up.
Oh god. What on earth did I get myself into?
Suddenly the alarm on my computer chimed. Five o’ clock. Time to go.
No more excuses. No more freaking out.
Ready with diagrams, slides, and copies of images I’d found online stuffed in my shoulder bag, my feet headed towards the main elevator up to the CEO’s office. My heart thrummed in my chest, chest going tight. The elevator was lifting up in the sky for so long, that I actually contemplated the possibility that there was less oxygen up here. Could that be true? My head was definitely woozy.
But there was no time to figure it out. Because with a sharp “ding!” the doors swished open onto Mason Carlton’s floor. Not his office, his floor. All the people here belonged to him. His assistant. His receptionist. His meeting rooms. And now, I was going to be his librarian.