I took a deep breath and walked across the hallway, following the signs that pointed me toward Mr. Elwood’s office. The entrance straight ahead was the only logical one to be his, and though I’d suspected as much, the secretary downstairs must have thought I was about as smart as three-day-old gum. Entering through glass doors that led into a waiting room, I made my way to the imposing curved secretary’s desk. To the left were a couple of couches, and to the right was a coffee service station. Unlike Mr. Rubinson’s office, there was a tall man, who seemed to be about Mr. Elwood’s age, sitting behind the desk in a suit that was nicer than mine, and he appeared a lot kinder, just by the way he glanced up at me with a soft, toothy smile that crinkled light laugh lines in the corners of his eyes. His auburn hair was combed back and fell in waves that brushed his ears.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“Hello, I’m the intern Mr. Elwood requested, Jaxon Bell.” I clasped my hands in front of myself respectfully.
The secretary nodded and picked up the handset of the phone on his desk, dialing a number before he held it to his ear. “Yes, Mr. Elwood, I’m sorry to interrupt your other call. Yes, sir, I did see that the line was busy, but there’s a Mr. Bell here. The intern. Mm-hmm. Yes, sir. Thank you.” He hung up and smiled at me again. Rising, he waved me toward the heavy wooden door behind his desk, which seemed to be a purposeful barricade, before opening it. “Mr. Elwood will see you now.”
Fuck. This is happening.I took a deep breath and inclined my head before I entered.
2
Vane Elwood
“What can I help you with, Mr. Mayor,” I drawled lazily into the handset of the phone on my oak desk. I twined my fingers around the curly black old-fashioned cord until I had my pointer worked the whole way into the center of the coil… and that had me thinking about another tight spot I’d like to fingerfuck.Goddamn, I didn’t know if I’d ever had anyone that attractive roll up to me on the street to practically blast me with testosterone and all but ask me to fuck him.
Okay, his mouth hadn’t said “fuck me,” but his body and his eyes sure had.
“Get bent, Vane. You know I hate it when you call me that. So do you want to go with me to the Courtesan later, or what?”
My door opened and in walked the man I’d remembered, looking even better than he had on the street, if that was possible. His suit drew stark lines against his body, and it was a sexy sight. “No, I think something more interesting just strolled in.”
Bell straightened a little at that as he took the walk from the door, all the way past the couches on the right and small meeting table on the left. To say I’d worked my way into a nice office was putting things mildly. And all I had to do to keep it was help the mayor fend off a never-ending barrage of shit because of the fucking motorcycle clubs and other scum in New Gothenburg.
“I can only imagine.” By the time Ross Midberry’s tone penetrated the sex fog that had swirled into my brain, it was so dry it could catch fire from static electricity alone. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That’s hardly limiting.” I made eye contact with Bell, who came to a stop in front of my desk. His arms hung comfortably at his sides, a feat not many men seemed to be able to accomplish in my presence. He didn’t fidget. In fact, he looked like he belonged exactly where he stood, and that maybeIwas the one out of place. That kind of truly brazen attitude was rare, and I was glad to see the confidence he’d displayed on the street wasn’t a one-time event.
“Ha!” was all Ross said, and then I had a dial tone in my ear. Carefully I settled the handset into the cradle of the receiver before I brushed my thumb over the rotary dial. The phone was ancient, but I loved the old thing and would probably use it until it finally died on me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Bell to take a seat, but the lines of him were too curvy and worth staring at. The suit he wore, if it was off the rack, fit him perfectly and darted in at his waist even more than I’d noticed previously. Not many men had such severe dips near their hip bones that went in quite as far as his suit seemed to indicate his did. I took a deep breath and glanced up his body to his sweet pink bow-shaped lips. There was a valley along the top one that created a divot under his nose I wanted to touch. Maybe I wanted to lick that spot. His eyes were greenish gold, speckled on a brown so deep his irises were a galaxy swirl.
He was an absolute man-eater.
He fucking knew it, too.
And that was all fine by me.
In no rush, I rose and walked around the desk, straightening the lapels on my bespoke Brioni suit. I roved my gaze over him and decided that while I’d first thought his longish chestnut curls messy, now that I was studying them, they were sleek. He took care of himself. Maybe they were soft enough to bury my fingers into? From a purely observational standpoint, Mr. Bell, shiny new intern, was letter perfect, and that didn’t jive with the man who’d made a blatant come-on to me while I sat texting my accountant about investments.
I must have waited too long to talk while I eyed up the cut at the front of his trousers, nudged out by something thick and happy to see me, because his veneer cracked a smidge and something like concern wrinkled his brow for a split second. That was so intriguing that I crossed my arms and waited.
He let out a shaky breath that went against the slick façade he projected. “Didn’t take you long to call for me.” He grinned and pulled off nonchalance nicely. He had a good face for politics, that’s for sure, because that dazzling smile he gave me took him from a nine to a solid ten.
Ah, yes, he’s a cocky little fuck. Nice.“You don’t want to be part of the intern pool.” It wasn’t a question; I was telling him something I’d worked out within three seconds of looking into those shocking eyes of his.
“Uh….” He chuckled, another small tell of his nerves, but still none of that showed on his face, really. There was no reading his expression to understand anything about him. “No, I don’t want to be random intern number four. Was that rhetorical?”
“You’re a wiseass.”
Finally some uncertainty shimmered into life on his face before he smoothed it out again. “I do need this job, sir. If what I did at the plaza offended—”
“Stop.” I held up a hand to him and allowed myself the exquisite joy of rolling my eyes. So infrequently could I do this—be myself. I was under nearly as much scrutiny as the mayor, most days. “You can’t offend me. I don’t fucking care what you think enough for that to be a possibility.”
Bell scowled.Oh, I hurt his wittle feelings. Shouldn’t try to run with the big dogs, then.I got a twinge of guilt, though, so I took a deep breath to steady my own resolve and tried to lighten the fuck up. I did like him, after all.
“Now, what can you bring to the table?” I waved a hand at him and waited, but he didn’t say anything. “If I want to move you here, to be my personal office bitch, what do I tell people you can do for me—and only you? Whatever you say better not involve your mouth or ass, nice as both of those appear to be.”
His plush lips fell open and my mind took a delightful dirty detour for a few seconds. “Uh, thanks?”
