Six
After a sleepless night, well, two sleepless nights since she had agreed to consider becoming Jon’s mistress, Steph woke feeling more confused and conflicted than ever.
Why was she even considering this? Surely she was better than that, than being the ‘bit on the side’.
Rubbing the steam from the bathroom mirror she stared at her reflection. “Or maybe you’re not better than that.”
When Jon had described it, he’d made it sound like some kind of professional agreement. Could this be the perfect solution to her disastrous dating history? A safe option? To not enter the unpredictable and often choppy waters of dating, but instead to have the parameters of the relationship laid down from day one, for each party to understand just what they were getting and what was expected? Who was making this into a business deal now?
She’d told Jon she’d think about it and she had. She’d thought of nothing else, flitting between dogged determination not to succumb to that role and then swinging to the other extreme and readily agreeing to it.
After dinner on Monday, they’d kissed and messed around a little and it had felt amazing, leaving her in no doubt that sexwith him would be out of this world, but what would the true cost of a relationship be?
“Why me?” she asked her reflection. “Slutty Steph,” she replied, wondering if that was all he had ever seen even after his shift in demeanour and treatment of her. “No. I will not be the shag piece!” she said with a renewed determination.
She had been cheated on by Simon and it felt shit so she wouldn’t do that to another woman. Plus, she’d seen cheating within her own family. Now she just needed to stick to that decision when faced with the delicious Mr Brooker himself.
She arrivedat the reception of Brooker Incorporated at just after eight o’clock and it felt rather odd to be there. She knew it would be easier to rebuke Jon’s advances if she was safely tucked away in her own office rather than one of his.
“Stephanie Pryor from Baker, Ross and Riley.” She introduced herself to the receptionist on duty who smiled politely, then punched her name into the computer before signalling for security to come across. She handed Steph a visitors pass and a thick pile of papers in a plastic file.
“A little light reading.” The security man smiled as Steph looked down at the policies, ethos and mission statements in the file.
She smiled back at him. “A little bedtime reading always helps me nod off.”
“Ah, Miss Pryor, you’re early,” said the voice behind her that she recognised immediately.
“Good morning, Tina, Ted,” he said to the receptionist who was beaming at him like a lighthouse and the smiley security man.
“Morning, Mr Brooker,” they said in stereo.
“I was just taking Miss Pryor up to H.R.” Ted offered a smile in Steph’s direction.
“No need.” Jon waved Ted’s suggestion off. “I will take Miss Pryor up.” He reached for her arm and steered her towards the lift.
With the door closing, Jon looked across at her in the opposite corner of the lift and smiled. It appeared to stop at every floor to let people out and by the time the doors closed at the nineteenth floor they were alone.
“Will you have tea or coffee with me?” he suddenly asked, sounding like the most reasonable man in the world, not like a married man looking to make her his mistress.
“Tea, please.” She thought what an odd conversation to be having when she was fairly certain that he desperately wanted to jump on her. Her earlier determination to rebuke his advances and suggestions was already beginning to wane and that was after just a few seconds of seeing his handsome face and inhaling his glorious scent. At that second she knew if he took just one step closer she wouldn’t fight him off. So much for not becoming his shag piece.
“How are you? I missed you yesterday,” he told her flatly, still holding his position.
“Fine, thank you, and I missed you too after Monday night.” She could have kicked herself for being so open about having missed him. Turning down his offer was going to be so much harder if she kept opening herself up to him and being so honest about how she felt. Quickly, she attempted to rein things in a little. “And you? How are you?”
“Yes, fine too,” he replied and then laughed. “God, this is more awkward than I thought it would be and we haven’t even had sex yet.”
She blushed, laughing back. “Yet?” So much for reining it in.
“I believe I told you that I always get what I want and I want you, Stephanie.” The lift doors opened at his floor and he gestured for her to leave first. Clearly, he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. “Your arse is mighty fine, I can see why Baker likes to walk behind you,” he said seriously.
“Do I have a copy of your sexual harassment policy here?” Holding the wallet aloft, she laughed.
“Probably, but if there’s anything not in there that you’d like me to do, feel free to say.” He grinned as he put his hand on her back and gently pushed her towards a double set of mahogany doors.
He opened one door to reveal a private reception room with plush leather sofas and a desk with the name plate ‘Andrea Stewart’. Behind the desk was another door with the name plate, ‘Jonathan Brooker CEO’ attached.
“Good morning, Mr Brooker, Miss Pryor,” came Andrea’s voice from the still open doorway. “Your mail is on your desk and so is your coffee. Can I get you anything, Miss Pryor?”
