“I think you should stay right there, Linda.” Penelope crossed her arms. “Just in case I may need a witness.”
“The only thing she’ll be witnessing is the CEO putting his new publicist in her rightful place.”
“This new publicist has already signed a contract saying that her place is actually above the CEO for the next ninety days.”
“I don’t give a fuck what that contract says.” I stepped closer to her. “I had no hand in writing it, so I’ll have no hand in following it.”
“You’re going to do exactly what I say, how I say, or there are going to be some consequences.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No, I’m warning you ...”
Linda stood to her feet, looking back and forth between the two of us, and then she rushed toward the elevators.
The second I heard the soft ping and the doors close, I spoke very slowly so Penelope could perfectly understand who the hell she was dealing with.
“Miss Lauren,” I said, ignoring the fact that she looked sexy as fuck in her grey dress today. “You’re going to let me into my office within the next ten seconds, or else.”
“Or else, what?” She raised her voice. “Who’s threatening who now?”
“Ten ...” I started counting backwards, knowing damn well she would come to her senses before I reached one. “Nine ...”
“Eight ...” Her face was red. “Seven ... I’ll happily join you.”
“Six. Don’t make me fucking continue ...”
She stood completely still, not batting an eye.
“Five ... Four ...” I hesitated on four. No other publicist had ever made me think of doing something as childish as this before, but they almost always gave in to my demand. “Three ... Two ...”
She didn’t move.
“One,” I said, completely confused as to why she was still standing there.
“Are you ready to be an adult now, Mr. Dalton?” She stepped closer to me. “Or since you’ve made it to the end of your childish countdown, would you like to give me a punishment of some sort?”
I simply stared at her.
“Glad we could clear that up,” she said. “Now, if you would like to follow me onto the elevator so we can greet your department heads, I would greatly appreciate that. If not, I can have the IT team pull our encounter from the security cameras and show your board how you’ve treated me on my first day.”
I glanced at the security camera above us and smiled. Then I stepped even closer to Penelope, matching her step for step until her back was against the wall. “First of all, even if you did ask the IT team to pull our current encounter from the cameras, there wouldn’t be anything to see,” I said. “And that’s because by reprogramming my keypad behind my back, you’ve disabled the cameras, and the CEO is the only one who can reset them. They can’t see a goddamn thing right now.”
Her cheeks turned bright red. “Mr. Dalton—”
“Second of all ...” I said, gently pressing my finger against her lips. “I’m not sure what type of game you’re trying to play, but I want you to know that you will lose every time. Every. Single. Time.”
“I’ve never lost, Mr. Dalton.” She bit my finger and I moved it. “I don’t consider my contract with your company as a game, but I’m willing to predict that you’ll eventually give in and lose to me.”
“Is that a bet?”
“It’s a guarantee.”
I covered her mouth with mine to prevent her from saying anything else, to finally alleviate the thick, sexual tension between us. She murmured as I bit her bottom lip, briefly shutting her eyes.
“This is why you shouldn’t have locked me out of my office ...” I felt her unbuckling my pants. “Now you’ll have to settle for me fucking you in the hallway.”
Pushing her dress up to her waist, I admired the sight of her dark red lingerie.
“I didn’t wear this for you ...” she whispered, a faint blush crossing her cheeks.
“I’m sure you didn’t.” I spun her around so she was facing the wall, kissing the back of her neck. “You won’t need them for much longer anyway.” I pushed her panties to the side and slipped a finger deep inside her wet pussy, groaning as she let out a soft murmur.
I pulled a condom out of my back pocket, but the sound of the elevator stopping on the floor broke my focus.
Penelope gasped and I turned her around, smoothing her dress back over her thighs before adjusting my pants.
“There you two are!” Leo walked toward us, smiling. “I heard the CEO is about to start doing daily greeting tours for the department heads who work their asses off for him. Is that true?”
“Yes ...” I was still upset about this, near-sex with Penelope or not. “Yes, that is very true.”
“Great! Well, if you two don’t mind, can I join you?”
“Absolutely,” we said in unison, and we did our best to avoid looking at each other for the rest of the day.
THE CLIENT
RYAN
Subject: Seriously?!!!
You put me on your security team’s WATCH LIST? Can you kindly inform them that I’m not a real threat and that I don’t need to be patted down or sent through the metal detectors every time I come to your building?
Penelope Lauren
Subject: Re: Seriously?!!!
You are a real threat.
You changed my keypads without my permission and you sexually harassed me on my floor because you knew the cameras weren’t watching.
I was quite shell-shocked about the latter incident and I’m still recovering emotionally ...
(Penelope: 0. Me: 1)
Ryan Dalton
Subject: Board Meeting.
Please explain to me why you told the board that I would not only be making an apology for an old interview incident (I will NEVER agree to that), but that I’d re-signed a ‘no party and sex’ policy for a year?
I don’t recall signing such a contract ...
Ryan Dalton
Subject: Re: Board Meeting.
That’s more than okay. I knew you were itching to sign it since you’re not really into sex anymore. :-) I saw how busy you were this past week, and since I was an Art Major, I happily drew the signature for you. (Penelope: 1. Ryan: 1)
Subject: Late to work? So soon?
Miss Lauren,
It’s currently nine thirty in the morning and that makes you an hour and a half late to work. Seeing as though this is only your third week working under the contract and you’re such a perfectionist when it comes to being on time, I sincerely hope all is well with you this morning.
If you need anything, or if I can be of any assistance to you, please let me know.
Ryan Dalton.
PS—(Penelope: 1. Ryan: 2)
Subject: Re: Late to work? So soon?
Mr. Dalton,
Thank you so much for your kind concern when it comes to a rare tardy. It seems as if someone called my new town car driver and told him to pick me up from a hotel in New Jersey this morning instead of at my actual home.
Nonetheless, I should be arriving to work shortly so we can continue working on the preparations for your live interviews. You’ll be happy to know that I invited the head of every charity you’ve ever donated to (twenty total) to join us for wine and cheese so they can watch you rehearse. I know you’ve actually never met them before, so I figured them seeing you in your element (and at a nice dinner at your expense afterward) would help you behave.
PS—(Penelope: 20. Ryan: 2)
Subject: I’m impressed!
Ryan,
On behalf of the board, we are very impressed with the launch of your press tour with Penelope Lauren & Associates thus far! (And the staff loves the morning greeting tours. It makes them truly feel like part of your team.)
The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Business Journal have all printed glowing profiles on you this week, so we’re all looking forward to seeing how you??
?ll improve in your live interviews while announcing our global initiative.
ON ANOTHER NOTE: I’m sure this was a typo in your tech and transportation requests, but did you really mean to take Penelope’s town car access away for next week? (You also have the words “Block her ass from the building” written for the security team. That’s a joke, right?)
Let me know.
-Leo
THE PUBLICIST
PENELOPE
I stared at the subject lines of my most recent emails, unsure of whether to laugh or sigh.
Subject: Never thought I’d see the day when “Ryan Dalton” was likeable. Good job!
Subject: Congratulations on making Mr. Impossible possible!
Subject: What type of drugs did you slip into his system?
Subject: Are you fucking him? (People are wondering if that’s your secret, but you can trust me with the truth. Are you?)
Over the past thirty days, Ryan had tested everything I thought I knew about being a publicist. He was definitely stubborn, beyond arrogant, but he had a soft side that reared its head occasionally. A soft side that did nothing to ease the sexual tension between us.
He was now up fifty to thirty in our game of “Who Can Drive the Other Person Insane the Best,” but he made it his personal mission to drive me home at the end of every day. We went at each other’s throats during our morning strategy meetings (He still had problems refraining from saying the word ‘fucking’ in mock interviews), but he insisted on treating me to lunch every afternoon. And even on nights like tonight, when he was refusing to work on the “atonement interview,” he volunteered to pick up some dinner for us in the meantime.
It was moments like those that should’ve made me feel guilty about using him as a muse for all my late-night fantasies, when I often fell asleep with my fingers buried deep in my pussy. I should’ve been ashamed of picturing him fucking me in the middle of our mock interview sessions instead of giving him my complete attention. I was a complete and utter fraud by purposely buying real lingerie and wearing it under my dresses, hoping he would notice.
I stood up from the boardroom table and looked outside the window. There were only sixty days left in my contract and I was honestly wondering if the two of us could possibly be friends after it was all over.
Or at least have sex again ...
The sound of my phone ringing interrupted my thoughts and I looked at the screen. Sean.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hello, Penelope.” There was a smile in his voice. “This is Penelope Lauren, my supposed best friend, right?”
“It is.” I laughed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been returning so many of your calls and messages. “What’s going on?”
“Not much. The stock market has been kicking my ass, I’m still waiting on you to volunteer to buy me a Tesla, and Sarah and me had sex the other day. We’ll probably continue doing that with each other for awhile and um ... Yeah, that’s about it. Nothing new.”
“Did you just say that you and Sarah had sex? Is this another Sarah or my germaphobe roommate Sarah?”
“The second one.”
“What!” My mind was blown. “How?”
“What do you mean how?” He laughed. “There’s only one way to have sex. I was actually waiting for you to come home, but that was before you told me you were spending the night in your office. Anyway, she sat next to me while I was watching a marathon, and it kind of just happened. Okay, granted, she did get some weird, plastic paper for us to fuck on top of before we could go any further, but other than that, it was pretty incredible.”
“I can’t believe this.” I couldn’t stop laughing. “Well, good for you two. Maybe she’ll be more bearable now.”
“Outside of the sex? Doubt it.” He put me on hold to order a cup of coffee. “What about you? Have you fucked your boss again?”
“No, I have not fucked my boss again. Thanks for asking.”
“You’re welcome. Besides, after all the time you’ve spent together without crossing the line, I’d say you more than deserve to. You should just go for it. If you really want it, that is.”
“Trust me, it’s not that I don’t want to fuck Ryan Dalton,” I said, leaning against the window. “Because I totally do and I feel like every day I’ve spent here is a lost day of having him again. I just think we’re trying our best to fight it and remain professional. At this point, I honestly don’t think he would fuck me.”
“He would.”
I gasped at the sound of Ryan’s deep voice and slowly turned around. He was standing in the doorway with that familiar cocky smirk, holding the bags with our dinner at his side.
“By all means ...” he said, setting the food onto the boardroom table. “Feel free to continue your conversation. It sounds quite interesting.”
“I’ll call you back, Sean.” I ended the call and tried not to look directly at Ryan. “You know, since you’re not open to doing the atonement interview preparation anyway, I think I’m going to head back to my office and do some work from there.”
“Would you like me to drive you?”
“No.” My eyes finally met his. “I think I’d rather call a cab.”
“That’s a waste of money.” He stepped closer to me, tilting my chin up with his fingertips. “You know I don’t mind driving you anywhere after hours.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of that. I’m kind of hungry right now and need to get some dinner, though.”
“Then you really don’t need to leave.” He placed his other hand against my waist. “You were the one who insisted that we eat dinner here tonight. Unless you were only saying that to get me out of the room ...”
“No.” I stepped back, feeling like my cheeks were on fire. “It’s just that ...” I stepped back again.
He smiled. “It’s just that what?”
I thought my next move through for all of twenty seconds, knowing damn well it seemed like the most immature thing I could ever do.
Just do it ...
I grabbed my purse and my dinner bag, and then I rushed out of the room, heading straight for the emergency stairs. I took them down three flights, and then caught the elevator on the copy floor. When I stepped outside, I hailed the first cab that approached.
“Broadway and Fifth Avenue, please,” I said to the driver. “The Office Suites.”
He nodded and pulled onto the road, and as he passed the first stoplight, my phone buzzed against my lap.
Ryan.
I didn’t answer it, and he called five more times before I placed my phone on silent.
When I arrived to my firm, I didn’t bother walking to my own office. I plopped face-down on the entry room couch and groaned.
I can’t believe he heard me say I wanted to fuck him again ...
I decided I would deal with seeing him tomorrow, but ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. I knew it was him without even answering it, but I didn’t get up. Instead, I called his phone.
“Yes?” he answered. “Is there any reason why you can’t open your office door for me?”
“I’m in the middle of an important interview.”
“This late at night?” He had to be smiling. “I highly doubt that. Open the door or I will.”
I remained face down and seconds later I heard the lock on the door slowly turning.
What the?
I sat upright as he was pushing it open. “How did you get a key to my private firm?”
“The same way you got a key to my private office.” He shut the door behind him, locking his eyes on mine. “I don’t believe we were finished working on my atonement interview.”
“You said you had no interest in doing it, so I’m not going to push you.”
“I find that hard to believe ...” He walked over to the couch and I stood up, moving into the hallway.
He followed me and smiled. “I think you should at least ask me why I don’t want to do it.”
“It doesn’t matter since your mind is c
learly made up.”
“Ask me, Penelope.”
“Fine. Why don’t you want to do the atonement interview, Mr. Dalton?
“Because I have nothing to atone for,” he said. “The interviewer was fucking my almost-girlfriend behind my back, and he knew damn well that she was my almost-girlfriend. He’d been bragging about it for weeks.”
“Almost-girlfriend?” I asked. “Between that and your random backwards countdown episodes, I’m beginning to think you really are a child.”
“She was the closest relationship I’d ever had, and the closest I’d ever come to asking someone to be mine,” he said. “I refuse to give her the official ‘girlfriend’ title since she was fucking almost all of my former friends behind my back.”
“That’s more than understandable ... Thank you very much for telling me that.” I realized he wasn’t going to let me get around him and leave. “Well, I’ll find a way to get around the atonement thing. I’ll try to find a way to prove that he has been playing the victim this whole time, and maybe I can work with that and restore the supplier’s relationship with your company that way.”
He said nothing. He just looked at me, turning me on with each second that passed.
“Well, if that’s all you wanted to talk about, Mr. Dalton ...” I managed to step backwards a few times, to make it all the way inside my office. I secured my hand firmly on the doorknob so I could shut the door in his face. “I think we can talk more tomorrow.”
“We can definitely talk tomorrow,” he said, moving my arm. “And we can definitely fuck tonight.” His lips covered mine in seconds and he pushed me back against the wall. His hands immediately went under my dress and he yanked off my panties—letting out a low laugh as he caught sight of the black lace falling to the floor.
“I take it you didn’t wear those for me today?” He bit my bottom lip. “That none of the lingerie you’ve been wearing to work recently was in hopes that I would notice?”
“Did you notice?”
“Every time.” He pinned me to the wall with his hips and continued his expert domination of my mouth. He was kissing me so wildly, that the folders on the cabinet next to me fell to the floor—leaving scattered sheets all over the carpet.