His voice was low when he asked, “What’s your question?”
“I just... I wanted some clarification on what exactly is grounds for being fired.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine as he leaned back, the handbook forgotten. The intense expression switched rapidly to one of suspicion and I internally began to panic that I had completely misread the entire situation.
“Mr. Wolfe?”
“Brian,” he corrected, forcing my lips to curve into a small smile. He cleared his throat and finally looked away, staring down at his clasped hands while he explained, “I don’t forbid relationships in the office, but I do have grounds to fire anyone I feel is using emotional manipulation as a means of advancement in the company.”
“But then how do you... I just don’t understand how that’s judged.”
His dark blue eyes met mine again and a wry smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“You don’t strike me as the type to use sex to get ahead, Miss Jones. If you have an interest in someone above your station, feel free to pursue it.”
In other words, the ball was totally in my court. I could see the double meaning in the expectant look in his eyes.
A part of me wanted to admit the whole truth. ‘I’ve admired you and your work for years and since meeting you, I admire you for a whole new number of reasons.’ Thankfully, that little spiel didn’t come out of my mouth. It would have been embarrassing, to put it mildly.
Not that the alternative turned out to be much better.
“What are you doing Friday night?” I blurted out a little more forcefully than intended.
Mr. Wolfe—Brian—showed no sign of surprise or irritation at my outburst. No. He merely grinned and the sight of it sent a surge of adrenaline racing up my spine.
“Taking you out,” he replied confidently. “Unless you have an objection.”
“No. I-I’d like that,” I whispered, my small smile faltering as his grin widened. “What time?”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Do you need—”
“I have your address, remember?”
“Oh. Right.”
After our date was set up, he gestured to the remaining work he had to finish and dismissed me for the evening.
Even though I had ultimately gotten what I wanted, when I glanced back at his face before closing the door to his office, I couldn’t help but feel like a little girl who’d just caught the eye of the big bad wolf.
6
Brian
The rest of the week felt painfully slow. Not just because of the ridiculous workload I was saddled with, but also due to the sheer excitement of what Friday would bring.
Even on the day itself when I ran into Mallory outside the break room and she gave me a secretive little smile, I could hardly believe it was actually happening.
When she asked to speak to me privately on Monday, I admit I had feared the worst. Scenarios ranging from her resigning to a complaint about my nephew harassing her ran through my mind during the short walk to my office.
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect her to ask about the office’s policy on dating coworkers and I definitely didn’t expect her to come right out and more or less ask me on a date.
Any remaining thoughts I had about not pursuing her went flying out the window in that moment. There was absolutely no way I could ignore her invitation.
Not with the way her pretty eyes constantly sought me out and gazed at me like I was the most important person in the room. Not with how badly I wanted to be the most important person in her life.
It was a startling realization. Not since my early twenties had I given women much time. After working dead-end jobs for five years out of college, I became totally obsessed with the idea of building my own publishing house.
Once the idea took formation, I became obsessed with sustaining the company’s success. It was a choice that cost me my social life, but I had no regrets.
It did make my infatuation with Mallory feel strange though. Not entirely unfamiliar, but it’d been a long damn time since I went on a date for a reason besides sex.
Because—let’s face it—I knew there was no chance of getting into her bed so soon. It didn’t stop me from taking a shower after work that evening, but I was well aware that a woman like Mallory needed to be courted first.
At the risk of sounding like my grandfather, I shoved the thought away as soon as it entered my head.
Instead, I prepared myself for the inevitable unsatisfied lust I’d surely be dealing with later that night and quickly got to work stroking my cock before the water ran cold.
With my desire satisfied at least for the time being, I toweled off and got dressed before making my way to Mallory’s address.