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“In my desk,” she said.

“Take your pressure. If it’s even a little high, you go home. Kenji, you make sure she does. You can call the agency for a temp.”

He nodded. “I will, Topaz.”

I squeezed Nay’s shoulder again before marching toward the elevator and heading for the fifth floor. Once there, I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. I’d need all my energy to deal with this man. I stalked into his office suite. His administrative assistant, Lori, looked like she had lost her best friend. Cryer number two, I guessed, noticing the box of tissues right in front of her. I didn’t even ask her what happened, just shot her a sympathetic smile as I passed by her desk. I tapped on Saadiq’s door twice before walking in. His office was dark and masculine, commanding, just like him. The firm, clean lines of hand-carved wood furniture, the unexpected splashes of dark red, the wall of windows that let in the sun, and a view of the heart of our busy city were all perfectly designed. Yoli was draped over one of the imposing but comfortable chairs in front of his desk. A smile worked its way across her face as I walked in.

“Thickness!” she exclaimed, standing up slowly.

“I’m not playing with you today, Yoli,” I popped off, then smiled at her.

I couldn’t help it. Yoli was a flirt and was irresistible. At five-ten, she was tall, caramel-skinned, and lightly muscled because she loved the gym. She kept her shoulder-length hair in twists or braids. She was the kind of beautiful that constantly had straight chicks questioning their sexuality. Mischievous hazel eyes, a straight little nose, and pretty pink lips that parted to reveal a perfect smile meant she always had girlfriend drama.

“I’m glad to see yo’ pretty ass. This nigga trippin’,” she said.

The man she was talking about was facing the windows, his broad, muscular back in the tailored navy suit all I could see. Lord, he fine from any angle, I thought, then immediately shook my head. I was not here to lust after Saadiq Masters. There was no denying my boss was gorgeous, though. Close-cropped, wavy hair, eyes so dark they swallowed you, luscious lips framed by a full mustache and long beard... he was perfection. And that body. Jesus. Saadiq was around six-five and built like a linebacker, thick and ripped. He just looked like he could pick you up and fold you into any position he wanted, whew. He was temptation, and I bet he tasted like sin.

There was also no denying that there had been something simmering between us, almost since I started working for him. Saadiq Masters was a problem. Actually, that wasn’t fair. There wasn't a problem with Saadiq Masters. The problem was that I was scared, despite our job titles and my boyfriend and his situationships, because part of me wanted him. And I already knew he was the kind of man I could want enough to be stupid.

I had spent too many years in college and this career, learning things and establishing myself to get involved in the drama of an interoffice romance. I had also spent too many years watching smart women make themselves small in the name of love. I had girlfriends who changed their goals or forgave shit they swore they never would. I watched them take on more at home so their man could chase whatever dream he had while theirs got pushed to the next year, then the next. Even the happy couples around me seemed to make it because women were willing to do most of the compromising. Hearing, “Look at her! She really held him down,” was supposed to be enough of a reward.

That wasn’t going to be me.

I had plans. Real ones. Masters Capital was supposed to be part of my education, not the place where I got distracted by the man teaching me. Saadiq was my mentor, my boss, maybe even my role model for what I could build for myself one day. So, I couldn’t let him become temptation in a bad ass suit.

Sleeping with him wouldn’t just complicate my feelings. The old double standard meant people would rewrite my story, erase “Topaz Waters” and everything I’d accomplished and label me “Saadiq Masters’s woman,” as if that were all there was to my story. So, yeah, I didn’t mix business and pleasure.

I put my hand on my hip and cleared my throat.

“I know I’m not up here on my day off and you acting like you don’t hear me?” I snapped.

As soon as my blender froze this morning in the middle of mixing my protein smoothie after my workout, I should’ve known the day was going to be fucked up. I was late, something I hated, because of an overturned semi on the freeway. Then, I walked in, and Topaz’s office was empty. Fucking day off. I needed her every day and was willing to pay her whatever. She wasn’t having it, though, and Yoli advised me to let her have her little breaks, or I would lose her.

“Man, if that girl leaves yo’ ass, we all leaving. You gon’ be crazy without her,” she said.

It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. But why did the Hayashis have to show up when she wasn’t here? Topaz made everything flow smoothly, and while I knew how to handle my business, I preferred having her with me. The Hayashis had left, happy with the way their portfolio looked, but shit could’ve gone better, in my opinion. I was meeting them for dinner later to make sure everything was good. That meant Bria, my daughter’s mother, was unhappy with me. I’d get my baby the next two or three weekends to make it up to her, though.

I heard Topaz the minute she walked into my office, talking shit to Yoli as her heels clicked across the floor. She came closer to my desk, and the scent of her light, floral YSL perfume greeted my nostrils. I loved how good she always smelled, soft and feminine, even when she was knocking heads together—my Apple.

“I know I’m not up here on my day off and you acting like you don’t hear me,” she mouthed off.

Sassy ass. Every once in a while, in the six and a half years we’d been working together, I thought about taming that smart-ass mouth. I’d dreamed about a couple of uses for those delicious, plump lips. Despite her sometimes hard exterior, though, Topaz was a good girl, and niggas like me crushed good girls. So, I kept my distance and kept it moving... mostly.

“Topaz, you can take that attitude back out the door. Today ain’t the day,” I told her calmly.

“I wish the fuck she would leave after you got all your employees ready to quit,” Yoli mumbled.

Her ass was about to get kicked out, too. Yoli and I had been friends since the sandbox, but I didn’t want even her presence on days like today. Topaz clicked over to stand beside me. I turned slightly to look down at her. That shit made me catch my breath, as usual. She looked up at me defiantly then handed me a coffee. Fuck, I loved her coffee. My irritation didn’t keep me from taking that first sip and sighing my pleasure.

The sound stirred something in her. I watched as her eyes darkened, and she bit her lower lip. But then those lashes swept down to cover those pretty orbs, and when she opened them again, kick-ass Topaz was back. I turned back to the window, disappointed.

“You out here making pregnant women and your admin cry, but you know I’m not having it. Yoli, was Reign in the meeting with y’all?”

“Yeah.”

“Get her in here.”

“My pleasure.”