Page 60 of Lucas

In these, he looked at her with contempt and told her to clean out her desk and leave because he didn’t want to look at the face of a liar for another second.

* * *

She woke, unrested and cotton mouthed. Today was the day.

Maybe it would have been better if he fired her over text message, then she wouldn’t have to get out of bed and get dressed with a headache hanging over her. Not even a hot shower helped ease the tension that had settled in her shoulders.

She pulled out her usual pencil skirt and blouse combo and pulled her hair up into a loose bun. Going through the motions seemed to help a little until she arrived at her desk an hour earlier than normal.

The building was quiet and most of the offices were still dark. Nobody was even at any of the desks or cubicles nearby.

She’d just put her purse away when Ashton’s door opened and he stepped out. Even this early he’d taken off his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up. As he strode to her desk, she couldn’t fight the apprehension churning in her stomach. He wore his usual closed off expression that gave nothing away.

“I’ve decided not to fire you.”

She started to thank him but he held up his hand.

“In return, you have to agree to tell me the truth.” His stare intensified.

She started to give an affirmative response and he silenced her with his hand.

His tone grew lower now. “No matter what I ask you. The raw, unvarnished truth.”

“Of course,” she said. She’d promise to walk over hot coals barefoot if he didn’t fire her.

“Think about this carefully, Ms. Long. No matter how intimate or personal, you have to answer honestly.” He stared into her eyes and something in his expression darkened. It made her stomach tighten and her skin tingled. “If you ever lie to me, I will fire you and make sure that you never work in his city again. Am I clear?”

“Yes. I understand.” Her voice came out almost breathlessly and his jaw clenched as if he were fighting the urge to say something more. His gaze burned into hers.

Awareness seeped down into her bones. Her lips fell apart as his stare narrowed in on her mouth.

Being there alone with him only heightened the tension that had started building yesterday. She shifted in her chair and clenched her thighs together. A delicious ache spread from her center and she bit her lip to keep from making any sound.

She let her gaze move down until she suddenly noticed the bulge in his dress pants.

He was hard.

She could see the bulge clear as day, and he made no effort to hide it.

Had she made him that way? Was he possibly…could he be excited by her?

Bria couldn’t meet his gaze again, even though she wanted to. She knew he’d be staring at her, showing her that he was aware she’d seen his hard cock and that he wasn’t embarrassed in the least by it.

“I’ll need those reports I left on your desk finished by noon,” he said tightly, then turned away and went back into his office.

She sat there for a few minutes trying to get herself under control. Had she imagined that look in his eyes?

She might be able to discount the look, but there had been no mistaking that his cock had gotten hard just then.

That did all kinds of things to the achy parts of her body. No matter how she shifted or moved, it seemed that everything only added to the wired feeling holding her muscles tight.

A few hours later she’d gotten halfway through the papers Ashton had given her, and was finally able to push back the restlessness from her earlier meeting with him.

Her drinking from last night had caught up with her twenty minutes ago and she needed coffee. She also needed to get up and walk, so she went to the top floor break room. It was the one the executives used and had a sweet espresso machine.

There wasn’t anyone else around and it only took her a few minutes to pull a double shot into her cup. She moved over to add regular coffee too it, a trick she’d figured out in college, when she felt someone step very close behind her.

A familiar cologne filled the air around her and warmth seeped into her back. Despite the heat, her nipples tightened.