“I’ll get my PA, Chrissy, to email you the link to the website of the office supplier we use. Just pick out what you need and let Chrissy know, and she’ll have it here for you when you start on Monday.”
“That’ll be great. Thanks.”
There’s a brief lull of silence between us.
“Has my mom mentioned anything about hiring a PA for you?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yes. Your mom lined up some interviews for me, so I should be sorted soon.”
“Good…great.”
We slip into that goddamn silence again.
I just need to say what I came here to say and then get out of here.
“Look, Morgan…” I rub a hand over my hair. “What happened earlier in my office…what you saw on the back of my shirt—”
“Is none of my business,” she cuts me off.
“I know, but I just want you to know that’s not the norm for me. I’m never usually late or unprofessional in that way. It was just…” I can’t exactly tell her that I was out, drinking at a bar, because I was freaking out over her starting work here and taking half of my job.
“Honestly, you don’t have to explain, Wilder.”
The way she says my name, it’s like hearing it for the first time. Sure, she must’ve said my name to me in college, but it never felt like this. Like a cattle prod to the spine, sparking my dick to life. Well, not that he seems to be asleep in her presence, but you know what I mean. Seriously though, I would have for sure remembered if hearing her say my name back in college made me feel that way. I’d have found a way to get her to like me, so I could have screwed her. Shallow bastard that I am.
“I think I do.” I take a breath. “I know that we didn’t get along great in college—”
“Didn’t we?” She tilts her head. The amusement dancing in her eyes surprises me.
I let loose a smile on my lips. “Come on, Morgan, we both know I wasn’t your favorite person back then, and you didn’t exactly make that fact unknown to me.”
She laughs, and the sound runs through my veins like alcohol in my bloodstream.
“Okay,” she concedes, “I didn’t like you. But you didn’t like me either.”
I cock my head. “I liked you just fine—well, in the beginning until you incorrectly decided that I was an overprivileged prick and started hating on me.”
The humor fades from her eyes, and I know I said the wrong thing and took us back a step.
She presses her lips together, like she’s holding back from saying something, and before whatever words she’s fighting back can get out, I jump in.
“Look, this isn’t coming out right.” I rub a hand over my face. “What I’m trying to say is, whatever happened back then or what we thought of each other doesn’t matter. We’re different people now. College was forever ago. Neither of us knows the 2017 versions of each other, and I would really like for us to wipe the slate clean and start fresh from here.”
“When you say ‘wipe the slate clean,’ do you mean, forget the sex note on the back of your shirt, too?”
“Jesus.” I shake my head. “I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”
Her lips twitch, like she’s fighting a smile. “Probably not.”
“In all seriousness, I just want you to know that’s the first time anything like that has ever happened to me. It was just one of those screwup kind of days that happened on the worst day.”
Her brows knit together. “Me starting today is your worst day?”
“No!” Yes. Kind of. “No, I mean—”
“Wilder.”
“What?”
“I’m messing with you.” She smiles.
“Oh. Right. Okay.” I jam my hands in my pants pockets. “Well, anyway, I just want you to know that I am sorry for what happened before, and I do always keep my personal life away from work. I’m all business when I’m here.”
“Me, too,” she says.
“That’s good then—that we’re on the same page.” I free my hands from my pockets and walk toward her. My heart rate picks up, the closer I get to her.
She smells feminine, floral and sweet. Like a bouquet of flowers. I want to bury my head in her neck and taste that scent on the tip of my tongue.
I put my hand out to her. “Clean slate,” I say, staring straight into her big doe eyes.
She blinks once and then glances down at my hand before looking back up to meet me. She slips her hand into mine. Her hand is soft, and I’m desperately trying not to wonder how that hand would feel around my cock.
“Hi, clean slate. I’m Morgan Stickford.”
“Wilder Cross.” I grin and shake her hand, thinking that Morgan working here might not be the worst thing in the world after all.
It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m knee deep in work when there’s a tap at my door.
I look up from my computer screen to see Morgan standing in my office doorway. She’s looking exceptionally, torturously gorgeous in a black pencil skirt with a deep red silk shirt tucked into it, showing off her tiny waist and her more-than-a-handful rack. To top off my torment, her lips are painted the same shade as her shirt, and she’s wearing black come-fuck-me heels on her feet. Her hair is pinned up, begging for me to free it and run my fingers through it while I fuck her senseless over my desk.
Jesus. I really need to get laid.
And I really need to stop thinking of her in a sexual way.
“Hey.” I smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry to interrupt. Your mom said you have the file on Buxom. I was hoping to take it home this weekend, so I can become familiar with them.”
Buxom is one of our largest distributors.
We have stores across the country, but we also have in-store distributors in cities where we don’t have a physical store.
She chews on her lip, like she’s nervous for some reason, and it’s doing no good for my self-control.
No sex with coworkers. No sex with coworkers.
I clearly need to keep repeating that to myself when I’m around Morgan, as my dick doesn’t seem to be getting the message.
“Sure.” I get up from my chair and go to get the file off the shelf. I walk over to her and hand her the file.
“Thanks,” she says, holding it to her chest.
She’s still lingering in my doorway, so I lean back against my desk to face her.
“How’s your first week been?” I ask her.
“Really great.” She gives me a smile, flashing me those straight white teeth of hers.
“My mom’s not overloading you with information, is she? She’s awesome, but she has a tendency to forget that not everyone knows as much about this company as she does.”
“No, she’s been great. I like her a lot. And your dad, too.”
“Yeah, they’re both pretty awesome.”
“Must feel strange for you—them retiring. After working here with them for so long.”
“Yeah, it’ll be strange, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of running this company. With your help, of course,” I add.
“Of course.” Her lips quirk at the corner. She leans her shoulder against the doorframe. “Look, I heard something today, and I don’t know if it’s just office gossip, but I wanted to check. You were originally supposed to run the company yourself, and then your parents recruited me to work with you, as they felt you needed a female counterbalance, but they didn’t tell you until I was actually hired.”
Irritation flashes through me. I cross a leg over my other and fold my arms as I take a breath. “That’s pretty much it, yeah.”
Her shoulders sag a little. “Okay, well, I just wanted you to know that I didn’t know. I mean, your parents didn’t keep anything from me when they offered me the job. I knew I’d be working with you, but I wasn’t aware that you didn’t know.”
“You knew you’d be working with me, yet you still took the job?” I lilt my voice, so she knows I’m teasing, and honestly, I’m ready to move the conversation away from the subject. It’s still a sore one with me.