I'd only been in the office for half the day, but I felt like I'd been there for a week. I'd caught up on everything I missed when I was gone for the last two weeks. I also began to prepare for the board meeting that had been set on Christmas Eve, of all days. What was it about businessmen not caring about holidays? Granted, I didn't care very much about them, but I respected the people who worked for me enough to know that Christmas Eve was an important day. It was the last day to get prepared for Christmas. Every single member of the board had a family. Apparently, they thought about Christmas the same way my father did—with irritation.
Deciding to call it a night, I stood from my desk, stretching and then putting on my coat. I exited my office and stopped short when I saw Ms. Pearson sitting at Mrs. Curtis’s desk. Her eyes were narrowed as she studied the computer screen. Her fingers wrapped around a pen as she wrote on a yellow memo pad. After Mrs. Curtis gave me her tongue lashing, I pushed her and Ms. Pearson out of my mind and set to work. It was almost like I'd forgotten she was here. But now that I saw her, irritation flared again as I worried a new assistant was going to set me back. Especially an assistant with curves like hers. She was like a wet dream come true.
I shook that thought out of my head. "What are you doing?"
Apparently, she'd been so focused on whatever it was she was doing she startled when I spoke. Her mouth rounded into an O shape, and God help me, an image of that mouth wrapped around my dick flashed in my head. This arrangement wasn't going to work out at all.
"I'm studying up on all the board members."
My irritation deepened. "Why?"
"You might be the CEO, but they're like your bumper rails. I figured I’d do some opposition research, you know, figure out their weaknesses or soft points or anything else that can be used so you can make the decisions you want for the company."
It made sense, and yet, it sounded like something my father would do. "So, you like to play dirty?" The minute the worddirtyleft my mouth, I had another image of her. This time, she was bent over my desk as I fucked her from behind. Good Christ, how would I survive this?
"I don't really think of it as playing dirty. From what I've learned, they use what they know about you against you."
Mrs. Curtis had talked too much.
"It's not just using information against them. It's understanding them. Like they say, knowledge is power. For example, did you know that Mr. Keyes visits your father in prison?"
"I don't think about my father in prison. I'm just happy he's not here to fuck things up anymore." I probably shouldn't use the F-word at work, but technically, the day was over.
She shrugged, but her expression told me that she thought I was an idiot for not keeping tabs on my father. "Of course, I don’t know either of these men, but I was thinking that it could be possible that your father might be working with Mr. Keyes to continue to get what he wants. Maybe he's trying to lead from within his prison cell."
Her words hit me in the gut like a sledgehammer. Jesus fuck. Why hadn't I considered that?
"Then again, maybe they're just friends." She turned her attention back to the computer.
My mind whirled with new thoughts about what was going on with the board and why they'd been so fucking difficult to work with. Was Mr. Keyes the only one talking to my father? Or were they all secretly meeting with him, secretly pushing my father's agenda? God. If that were true, I was the stupidest businessman on earth. The board would have every right to kick me out as CEO if I was letting them run things with my father behind my back.
My next thought was, why hadn't Mrs. Curtis considered that?
"Are you hungry?"
My question startled her again. "I could eat." She looked at her watch. "I didn't realize how late it was." She began to shut down her computer and gather her things.
"Why don't I buy you dinner?" And just to make sure she didn't think I was being a pervy boss, I added, "You can give me more insights on what you’ve learned. I'll pay for the time. I'll pay overtime. Plus, you get a free meal." I felt like I was begging, which was new to me. But I reasoned that if Miss. Pearson was going to be my new assistant, she was right in that we should get to know each other. Plus, I wanted to find out what other insights she'd gleaned from researching my board members.
Her expression told me she wasn't so sure. But finally, she played whatever mental gymnastics she needed to play in her mind and nodded. "Okay."
I took her to Los Amigos for three reasons. The first was that it was within walking distance of my office building. The second was that there was nothing fancy about it, nothing that would hint at my wanting to switch from business to personal with her. The third was that it was the best food in town.
When we sat down, I ordered a scotch and water and let her know she could order whatever she wanted, but she asked for water.
Maybe I should've gone with some small talk or asked her how her day was, but I was a man on a mission, so I jumped right into the meat of the matter. "How did you find out about Mr. Keyes visiting my father?"
She looked down at her place setting, her fingers moving the napkin with her fork, knife, and spoon on it to the side. It seemed a nervous gesture. "I was in law school, and I've done some work as a paralegal, so I know how to find out things like that. I heard your father was imprisoned, and Mrs. Curtis made it sound like the board was giving you a hard time, so I decided to learn about the board and your father." She lifted her gaze to me, and it was only then that I realized how exotic her gray eyes with her dark hair and light olive skin made her look. "I'm sorry if I’ve overstepped a boundary."
Her comment made me wonder if she thought I was bringing her here to fire her. I could be a jerk, but I wasn't the type of jerk to take someone out to dinner to tell them they were fired. I was the type of jerk to tell them to their face right then and there.
"No. I like your thought process and your initiative. My father doesn't mean anything to me. I spent most of my time working here trying to thwart some of his darker deals. If he's trying to make them from prison, I need to know. And if anyone on the board is helping him, I need to know that too. Is there anyone else who is visiting my father in prison?"
She shook her head. "Not that I could find."
I settled back, feeling a little bit relieved, except... "That doesn't mean he's not the messenger and bringing back my father's commands to the rest of the board."
She nodded again, suggesting she was thinking along the same lines.