Page 30

Chapter Ten

Rebecca

If I could stomp away from Bennett with the full emotion of everything pounding inside of me, giving me a headache of epic proportions, I would. Too bad there was still a client in the office. Instead of throwing a tantrum the likes of which any adult had never seen, I fisted my hands at my sides and walked Anderson to the elevator banks.

“Thank you again, Mr. Jakobs, for taking the time to meet with us today. On behalf of Ashby Enterprises, we look forward to hearing from you.”

“The pleasure was mine,” he said, taking my hand and shaking it gently. His hold was soft, his hand a bit clammy. It wasn’t the first time today I’d shaken his hand. It also wasn’t the first time I wanted to rub my hand down my thighs afterward to erase the wetness. “And forgive me for saying this, because it’s highly inappropriate,” his eyes slid toward the conference room we’d exited and back to me, “If you should ever find yourself in need of a change of scenery, please call me. I’d love to discuss future possibilities with you.”

I swore I heard the screech of a car slamming on emergency brakes as he spoke. Did he just? “Excuse me?”

“Again, I apologize for my forwardness and unprofessionalism. However, I find you highly intelligent and impressive in your knowledge of not only your business proposals but what a client is looking for. Like I said, if you ever find yourself needing something different, call me. I’d love to talk.”

I was going light-headed. What in the heck was he talking about? I was an assistant. “Mr. Jakobs, I’m honored, but forgive me, are you offering me a job?”

“A chance to, perhaps, stretch your wings a bit. Yes, I might be. No pressure, Miss Morales, just keep us in mind.”

Stunned. I couldn’t speak. Hell, I couldn’t even think. Fortunately, the bell on the elevator rang and Mr. Jakobs stepped away before I had to. “Good day, Miss Morales.”

“Uh, you too, Mr. Jakobs.” He nodded once and stepped into the elevator and out of sight.

I mean...what?

This week had been bizarre, and by far the strangest I’d ever had. So much so that last night I went home, sat in my chair, and stared at a mirror hung over the fireplace and for a brief moment, wondered if I was like Alice, and had fallen down a rabbit hole at some point in the last six days.

From assuming BDSM was beating and abusive, to a night of experimenting, to my current boss going from arrogant to sexy and straight back to assholery and then, to whatever the hell he was doing now—

Nothing could have prepared me for Mr. Jakobs’s off-the-cuff proposition.

“You okay, Rebecca?”

Louise’s voice startled me and I stumbled on my heels before I faced her.

“What?”

“You’re as pale as a ghost, sweetie. Everything alright?” Louise reminded of a grandma. A good grandma. Something I never had but she often brought in freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and banana bread, setting it in the executive break room. Her silver hair bobbed on her shoulders as she scanned the elevators where Anderson had left. “Did that man bother you?”

“No.” I reached out and covered her hand with mine, squeezing gently. “No, he didn’t bother me. Just said something that surprised me, that’s all.”

“Okay, sweetie. How’s everything else going? I’ve been busy with Ralph so I haven’t been able to check on you lately. You and Bennett getting along okay?”

Louise had been Ralph Manson’s assistant for longer than I’d been alive.

A vision of Bennett holding my hands down, the grittiness in his voice as he groaned and climaxed flashed in my mind. “Yeah, we’re getting along okay.”

“Well, you know where I am if you need me. But don’t be a stranger, Rebecca. The other managers say they’re thrilled with your work with Bennett. They say he’s never been nicer.”

“Uh. Thanks.” He’d been nicer in the last two months? Good grief. How mean had he been before?

Whatever. It didn’t matter. He’d already shown me he was too mercurial for me. I needed stable and gentle, not overbearing and pompous. That was the only way I was going to survive my job here. But if I worked somewhere else...

I glanced toward the elevator and considered Anderson’s proposal.

Louise patted my hand again and walked away, turning the corner that took her to her offices at the end of the hall. There were a dozen people on the floor, over fifty in the company, but the other senior managers and their assistants were down one hallway where Bennett and I had the main area to ourselves. Everyone else filled the two floors beneath us. It’d always seemed strange to me before, how he kept himself so distant from everyone else, but as I trudged back to the conference room where he’d told me to return, I was thankful. No one in the company needed to catch a whiff of the turmoil swirling around us.

I’d left the door open when I’d escorted Mr. Jakobs out and it was still open when I returned.

My pulse sped as I walked closer. When Bennett touched me earlier, his hand had seared a heat straight to my spine that shot to my fingertips. The closer I came to the conference room the lingering heat pulsed, a flickering flame growing stronger and stronger until I was in the conference, mere feet from him.