Page 20 of Devil in the Details
“I need this job, and… being with you won’t work if I’m your employee, Pope.”
He didn’t say anything in response for long moments, just continued to look at me, continued to invade my personal space. Not that I was complaining. I liked him close, liked that he wanted me this much.
I felt this incredible energy move between us, but I couldn’t submit to it. I couldn’t let myself give in. I’d never had a man desire me so much that he blatantly told me what he wanted. And then he took a step back, and I exhaled, feeling a rush of coldness fill me. It wasn’t the bad kind of frigidness—more like drinking a glass of ice water on a hot day when you were dying of thirst.
“What you probably don’t know about me, Miss Morris, is that I’m extremely ambitious in going after the things I want.” The way he said my name, all formal-like, had those tendrils of desire moving back through me.
“What does that mean?” I asked softly. I had an idea of what he was getting at, and a part of me wanted him to say it. I wanted to see if I could push him, to see how far he’d actually go for me.
I wanted to see if he desired me as much as he said he did.
And then he took a step toward me, and another one, until I swore if I exhaled deeply my chest would brush against his.
I had my head tipped back slightly so I could look into his face, the height and the width of his shoulders blocking everything else out behind him.
“You know what it means.”
I did. But I still wanted him to say it.
“It means that I won’t stop until I get what I want.” He lowered his gaze to my mouth. “And what I want is you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Olive
Iwas pouring my second glass of wine when I heard Michael tap on my front door a second before he pushed it open and entered.
“I come bearing gifts!” he shouted.
“I like gifts.” I leaned against the counter and brought the glass to my mouth, taking a long drink from it. The memories of today moved through my head like a movie reel, settling deep in my chest. I felt giddy and ecstatic, relieved, but most of all aroused.
After I’d left Pope’s office, I headed straight to the human resource department, per his instructions, to get everything started for my employment with the company. Everything started moving quickly then, with my first day being the following week, and the very idea that I would be working for Pope as his personal assistant, secretary, whatever the hell he needed me to do, had this rush of desire and excitement filling me.
Michael walked in with a bag of Chinese takeout in one hand and a brand-new bottle of wine in the other. He held both of them up, and I gave him a grateful smile. “I’m starved, thirsty, and you know I want to hear all about what happened last night and with the interview.”
“Then lead the way,” I said, and gestured to the living area. I grabbed the half-full bottle of wine and my glass, and together we sat down.
I was on one side of the coffee table, and Michael was on the other. As he handed out the cartons of food, the chopsticks, and popped open the other bottle of wine, everything that had happened today continued to play through my mind over and over again like a broken record.
A very good broken record.
“So spill it.” He scooped out some lo mein, wrapping the noodles around his chopsticks before bringing them to his mouth, his eyes trained on me as he expectantly waited for me to answer.
“Okay, well, do you want to hear about the interview or the blind date first?”
Michael leaned back so he was resting against the couch, his expression showing me he was actually thinking about it. “Surprise me with the best one.”
I thought about that and honestly didn’t know which one was better. But I decided to tell him about the interview first, because the whole Pope situation was going to be long and detailed, and no doubt Michael would ask question after question.
“I got the job at Dexter and Calvin.”
Michael’s eyes widened and he raised his arms in the air as if he just scored a goal. “That’s my girl. Fuck yeah.”
I started laughing at how extra he was being with the whole thing, but then thought to myself, yeah. Fuck yeah, in fact. I’d made this day my bitch and came out with my goal in hand.
“So, what about the blind date? Was Pope a winner or should we chuck him in the hell no pile?”
I instantly felt my cheeks heat as I thought about Pope.
