Page 1 of Until You’re Breathless (Insatiable #1)

Jagger

“J agger! Jagger, now! Don’t stop!” She squeals through a pant, as I thrust into her, thanking Christ that I sent the rest of my office staff home hours ago.

Tammy is bent over my oak desk, as I enter her from behind, so drunk on lust I almost forget about the fact that my brother Rush will be here in ten minutes.

Tammy mewls as I empty myself into her, grateful for the long overdue release, and I slow, watching as she lays her head down on the lid of my closed laptop, and closes her eyes, breathless.

“God, that was good, baby.” She says on exhale.

“Not bad at all.” I agree, pulling out of her, taking care of the condom.

She zips up her skirt and straightens her blouse. “Rush will be here in ten. Go fix your hair.” She says, turning to me, wiping a smear of her lipstick off my collarbone.

Hands through my hair, I walk over to the mirror next to my collection of diplomas hanging on the wall, and straighten my tie. “How’s that email blast coming along?”

“Good.” She swallows, as she ties her hair back up. “I’ll just get another pair of eyeballs on it and get it out first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Send it to me. I’ll look it over.”

Her guffaw is telling. “You’re meeting with your brother, the consultant, who is working towards accelerating Lawson Enterprises from a billion-dollar to a multi-billion-dollar company, in ten minutes, and yet you want to edit an email to staff? Talk about micro-managing, Jagger.”

“It’s not beneath me.”

I may come from a family of billionaires, but we all started from nothing.

“That’s why you hired me.” She argues kindly.

“Actually, I hired Gretchen for editing, and emailing, so that’s where you’re wrong. You are my personal assistant, and you should have delegated that email in the first place.”

After she fixes the chignon at the base of her neck, she rounds on me. “What are we talking about here, Jagger? I mean, you’re up to your ears in fucking work, that’s why your brother is coming, isn’t it? The last thing you need is to edit a fucking email, or to tell me how to run this office.”

“You don’t run this office. Stella, the office manager does. And in all the time that we’ve been arguing about it, that email would be done.”

With a huff and an eyeroll, she walks out of my office.

Her attitude sucks but she’s a no-bullshit kind of person and she gets the job done.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she has loose morals and the libido of a high school boy.

She never makes it obvious that we’re fucking, either, and she has no interest in a relationship, so it’s a win-win for both of us.

Five minutes later, there’s a tap on my door.

“Yeah.” I call out, knowing that it’s Rush.

He walks in, carrying his briefcase. I swear to God that thing is an appendage. He never goes anywhere without it. Rush takes a seat without any eye contact and gets down to business, pulling his laptop out of the briefcase. “Halen’s gonna be coming by shortly with some leads.”

“Yeah? Good.” I mutter while opening my laptop. Tammy’s face print is still on it. Rush looks up at me as I wipe it off with a disinfectant wipe from the receptacle on my desk. “Ever feel like you’re drowning?” I ask rhetorically.

“You’re not drowning, Jagger. You’re moving to the next level, and aside from a lack of manpower, you’re well on your way.”

“It’s not just that. I’ve got one hell of a hurdle to get past, with the bid on the European markets.”

“It’s in the bag. You are the most sought-after engine manufacturer in the northern hemisphere.

You’re the only one with a patent for the hybrid vehicles that doesn’t have all the environmental bullshit that the other ones do, and you know it.

You’ve just got to get your fucking head out of the sand and focus.

And the only way you’re going to do that without a hitch, is with the proper team in place. That’s your weak spot.”

“And you think you can fix that.”

“I identify your vulnerable areas and advise you on what to do to fix them, and Halen has the highest retention rate for hiring fit personnel in the business. That’s why you hired us, man. It was the smartest thing you did.”

We hear a knock at the door and Halen’s face appears. “Come on in, brother. Perfect timing.” I tell him.

He, too, has a briefcase in his hand. “Sorry I’m late. But it couldn’t be helped.”

A look of concern crosses over my face. “Is everything okay?”

Halen looks at Rush, like they have a mutual secret.

Rush looks at him, but ultimately pays more attention to his laptop.

“I didn’t want to say anything, and Rush told me to keep it under wraps until things calm down, but you’ll fucking kill me if you find out that I knew and didn’t tell you, regardless of my reasons. ”

Rush rakes a hand through his hair and closes his laptop.

Fuck.

Halen clasps his hands together. “It was only through the grapevine until this morning that I’d heard.”

“Heard what?” I ask, sitting up higher in my chair.

“Kruger Manufacturing.” He says with a head tilt upward, as if saying the name of my competitor is explanation enough.

“What about them?” I ask, dividing my glance between both my brothers. I watch Rush scrape a hand down his face and I feel my stomach start to knot up.

“It seems that there’s been a divide in the company.” Rush offers.

“What kind of divide?”

Halen pulls up an article on his laptop and turns it so I can see it. “I know that you’ve been up to your balls in work, so you wouldn’t have noticed. But it’s my job to pay fucking attention, so here it is.”

I look at the article. I’m shocked but confused. “Shouldn’t this be good news? I mean, Kruger’s losing his right-hand woman. I don’t get it. Why should I fucking care, man?” I feel my stomach loosen a little, but it’s just a moment too soon, as I’ll find out more in the next five minutes.

“She leaves him he’s a loose cannon, for one.” Rush points out.

“So? Isn’t that good for me? I don’t get it. What’s the catch?”

My brothers once again exchange a look.

I’m growing frustrated. “Fucking out with it, guys. Quit fucking around. What’s the problem.”

Rush sighs. “It’ll divide your focus.”

“Why? Why the fuck should it divide my focus? I’m up to my fucking ears in work, I’m looking for like twenty new heads to help out around here, minimum, I’m bidding for the biggest opportunity that my business has had to date, so why the fuck should I care that Boston Kruger and Bowie Ritter are calling it quits? ”

Rush shakes his head. “Only because Bowie was, and I quote, ‘the love of your fucking life’, and now she’s a free agent.”

I laugh out loud. “Maybe fifteen years ago, man, but not anymore. Hell, she signed her walking papers the second she went out with that douche bag back in high school. You guys are both off your rockers. I couldn’t give two shits about her anymore.

As far as I’m concerned, Bowie can go hop in the sack with the goddamn CEO of the Ford Motor Company, and I wouldn’t give a shit. ”

“Riiiiiight.” Rush says, unconvinced.

I give him a look like he just asked me how many balls I have in my shorts.

“What the fuck is your problem, man? I haven’t even seen or spoken to Bowie in ten years, and the only reason why I spoke with her at the high school reunion is because her fucking boyfriend was too drunk to drive her home, the asshole. ”

This is where Halen gets annoyed. “Please. You kept her fucking bra for five years after you porked her. You were so devastated that she chose Boston over you that you even turned down goddamn Stacey Milligan, the hottest chick in high school, for senior prom. Why the fuck she wanted to be seen with a pissant like you is beyond me, but whatever. You lost your chance with two of the sexiest girls in North Carolina, and you’ve been a mess ever since. ”

A ‘v’ forms between my brows as I crane my neck backward.

My voice is almost a squeak. “What is this? The fucking Sally Jesse Raphael show? Since when do you two dickwads care about my love life? And since when is any of this relevant? For all we know, this could be a fucking media ploy. You know as well as I do that Boston Kruger pulls out all the stops. That dude plays dirty. He and Bowie could be sitting in their airport-sized living room, sipping wine, clinking glasses to the beat of us idiots that are buying into the whole stupid story.”

“I doubt it, dude.” Rush guffaws, shaking his head.

“First of all, Boston isn’t smart enough to pull that shit off, even with the proper PR.” Halen points out. “I ran it past Stevie, and she agrees.”

Stevie is our sister. She owns a PR firm.

“So you know for a fact that this shit isn’t fake.” I check, half irritated, half pissed off. I hate it when I’m wrong.

“She’s still digging into the whole story, but so far everything checks out.” Halen confirms.

“Fuckoff.” I whine. “This stinks of Boston and his antics. You remember him in high school? Cheated on every fucking test, stole my fucking girlfriend, copied my goddamn assignments. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the asshole has some spy on my premises, poaching my bloody patents.”

“That’s why we’re hiring you a team of lawyers.” Rush states. “I’ve got two more on a retainer right now, as we speak.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t trust anyone.” I state, miffed.

“And that’s number three of four reasons why we’re concerned about you, Jagger.” Halen adds.