She imagined him closing the boardroom door before she had a chance to leave, and conducting their next “lesson” on the giant glass table.
The thought made her ache.
She looked away from the meeting table, seeking the object of her lustful thoughts only to realize that he’d already left the room. Deflated, she packed up her briefcase and stepped outside. As she did, she felt pressure on her elbow. She glanced up and swallowed.
Jack.
So close. So incredibly sexy. Those intoxicating blue eyes boring right into hers.
“Thank you, Eva,” he said to her in a low voice. “You were incredible.”
Oh my God. It was what he’d said to her Sunday night, after…
After…
“Anything to help,” she gulped, her voice coming close to cracking. Another thought struck her—Jack, in a chair while she stood between his legs, his fingers slowly undoing the buttons of her blouse, baring her breasts to the cool air. She shivered. “I should probably get back to the office. We’re rolling out our new sunscreen line this week.”
He nodded in a disinterested way, the way real estate power players seemed to do whenever she brought up her business. When she’d started Eva’s Organics in college, her family had entertained it as her “cute little side project.” Pietro had even given her the money to create some prototypes, insisting there was no need to pay him back. He hadn’t expected her line to catch on the way it did, first among the college set and then spreading to the trendiest boutiques in the city. Still, no matter how successful her skincare company became, it was clear that it would never share equal status with The Fiorini Group with the men in her life.
“Eva, Jack,” a voice called from behind her. It was Leonard. He gave her a big bear hug and said, “How are you doing, my dear?”
She smiled, taking in the kind old man’s face as he continued to hold both her hands, squeezing them warmly. “I’m fine, Leonard. Really.”
As she spoke, tears sprang to her eyes, betraying her. That always seemed to happen whenever people asked her how she was holding up. One moment, she’d feel just fine, even powerful, like she could make it without her family. The next, she’d be a blubbering mess. Part of the blame for that, she thought, had to do with her father and brother, always treating her like the baby, but it was partly her fault, too, for letting them.
It made her wonder if Jack’s lessons would finally make her feel like a grown-up. Or would she always feel like a little kid playing dress up, no matter what Jack taught her or how successful her own company became?
Leonard patted her hand, then, face grave, motioned Jack in. Jack leaned toward them, so close that Eva could smell the spice of his aftershave. Fending off the thousands of torrid thoughts that leaked into her mind, she whispered, “What is it?”
Leonard looked around. “You know I’m with you two on this. But I get the feeling the push to sell is coming from inside the company. Nobody’s saying so, but you had to have felt it in there. Something’s in the air.”
Eva managed a look at Jack. He was listening intently, though they were close enough to touch. Though he was close enough to…lick.
Oh, come on, she thought. What’s wrong with you, Eva? He’s all business. He probably hasn’t even thought about Sunday night. Not even once. That’s the way normal adult human beings do this.
And that’s why you need a sexual education and quick.
So you can get over all the shiny new toy excitement and realize sex is just sex like the rest of the grown-ups.
Jack tapped his chin and nodded. “Who do you think, Leonard?”
Leonard shrugged. “Just keep your ear to the ground, Jack, and I’ll see what I can find out behind the scenes.” He gave Eva a benevolent smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Eva, I have some business to discuss with Jack.”
She nodded, feeling not unlike she had a billion other times when her father and Antonio went off to discuss things, leaving her alone. It wasn’t that they hadn’t wanted her in the business—Pietro had always called her his lucky charm and sworn she had a head for real estate—but she’d been on the outskirts long enough to know she had no interest in real estate investing. When her mother was alive, it had been different and she hadn’t felt so alone. But after her mother passed when she was in high school, the exclusion made her feel like a child being shielded from the adult conversation by overprotective parents. Even though she’d created a thriving business with stock holders and her own board to face down when the occasion called for it, up until the day they died, her father and brother had still seen her as a child.
Jack still saw her that way, too. Hell, she still felt that way more often than she should, especially at times like these.
But as she walked away, she caught Jack staring at her. Though still deep in conversation with Leonard, the look on his face could only be described as hungry. It was a look that spoke volumes. It said that maybe he had thought about her since Sunday night. That perhaps he really had enjoyed himself and that she should be expecting Lesson Number Two very soon.
She thought of the way he’d put her hand on his cock, how huge it had been as it twitched beneath the fabric of his pants, and a shiver traveled from her shoulders to her toes.
Maybe Jack didn’t see her as a child or a little sister. Not anymore.
And she wasn’t about to disappoint him. As she exited the elevator a few minutes later and crossed the lobby, she pulled out her phone and thumbed in another 9-1-1 text to Georgie. Help. I need adulting lessons, stat.
When she stepped outside, she looked up from her phone, but not quick enough to avoid colliding with a man on the street. She nearly fell but the man grabbed her by the shoulders just in time and steadied her on the pavement. “Careful now,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sorry,” she said, blood going cold as the man nodded and hurried on his way.