I watched the brown fields whiz past us as we glided through the air.
"You know this is my first trip to Dallas," I mentioned.
Mason's head was buried in his tablet. I bit back the nausea when I saw he was reading the News & Record. He still had to get his news somewhere.
"It's going to be a quick trip," he mumbled. "We fly back tonight."
I scrunched my nose. He was preoccupied. That seemed to be his condition during the workday. I couldn't complain at night though. His focus was solely on me.
"Why so short?" I asked.
He turned the tablet off and took my hand. "I need to show my face. That's important sometimes." He smiled. "You can meet everyone. I have to pick up a few things at my apartment."
"Like what? More white shirts?"
He scowled. "White goes with everything."
I giggled. "It does. But have you thought about branching out at all? I've only seen you in a blue shirt once."
"You're not going to be one of those girlfriends are you?" His eyes darted back and forth, studying my lips.
"Girlfriend. That's what I am?"
"Syd." He squeezed my hand. "What do you think this is? We moved past the casual and the fun about two days in don't you think?"
I wondered if the passengers around us were listening to our conversation. Girlfriend. He had said it. It came out of nowhere, but now that it was here I wanted to hear the word on his lips a hundred times.
I nodded. I had bypassed casual the first time I saw him. "So my boyfriend is Mason Lachlan. I think that sounds good."
"Too bad we're on this plane with all these people. I would see what other sounds I could get you to make." He slid his hand up my thigh. I gasped when his fingers ducked under my skirt.
I shook my head. "No," I warned.
He chuckled, his hand sliding back to my knee. "God, do I want to." He raised his eyebrows. "Private plane next time."
He flipped the tablet back on.
I stared out the window. We'd be on the ground in Dallas in a few minutes.
Lachlan Corporation was exactly how I pictured it in my head. It was in a high-rise in downtown Dallas. Mason's office took up the top three floors of the building. It was impressive and dominant. Not unlike its owner.
We walked next to each other through the halls. I had to remind myself this was not a place we could hold hands, no matter what Mason said about the openness of our relationship. It was hard to be so close and not be able to touch him.
The staff seemed genuinely happy to see him back in the office. It had been a few weeks since he had been in Dallas.
"And this is the boardroom." He shoved the heavy wooden doors open. I peeked inside.
"Nice. Do you sit there?"
There was one chair at the end of the table, the rest flanked the sides.
"Yes. That's my seat. Come on, I'll show you my office."
I followed him through the hallways. There were paintings and sculptures. He had spared no expense outfitting the suites.
We walked into a corner office. He closed the door when I passed over the threshold. "This is it."
There was a sleek black desk on one end. A round conference table in the center, and a couch and chairs at the far end.
"Two flat panels?" I questioned.
"One for games. One for the business channel."
I nodded. "Of course." I knew he followed baseball almost as closely as the Dow Jones. I walked toward the desk. It was intimidating. Maybe it was the shiny surface and the darkness of it, but it looked powerful. I knew Mason would look powerful sitting behind it.
I was afraid to touch it. Afraid my fingerprints would show up like neon lights.
Before I could move to the chair, I felt Mason's hands circle my waist. His mouth was on my neck, his teeth nipping behind my ear.
"You know what I've never done in here?" His palms moved to my thighs, dragging my skirt upward.
"Oh no. We're not. We can't. All those people are out there," I protested. "They'll know what we're doing." I could already feel the heat moving to my core. I craved him as much as he craved me.
He laughed. He didn't seem thrown off by the employees in the hallway.
My head rested on his shoulder, while his fingers massaged between my thighs. I was melting in his hands.
"We can't. Really, Mason. I'll never be able to show my face here," I whispered then moaned when I felt his fingers feather across my skin.
He turned me toward me. I saw the look of desire in his eyes. The pure want. The hunger. He picked me up, gently setting me on the desk.
"You know how many rules I've broken because of you?" He picked at the top button on my shirt.
"How many?" I watched as my shirt fell to the side.
"I think I've reached too many to count." He kissed my throat, his hands running through my hair. "And this one. This rule I'm going to have to break."
My skirt was shoved up to my waist. I circled his hips with my legs, drawing him to me.
"What rule is that?" I could feel the tightening sensation building between my legs. I began to work the buckle on his belt.
"Mixing business and pleasure. Right now I don't know where one ends and the other begins." I saw the wolfish grin on his face. He was enjoying it. My body. The desk. The prospect of what we were about to do.
I groaned into his neck as his fingers pinched through my bra. "Mason, this is bad."
"So, so bad." He took my face between his hands, kissing me hard and fast. My tongue met his in a fury. "God, I want you."
"Sir? Mr. Lachlan?"
My eyes shot to his. The panic crawled over my skin. He smiled and pointed to the intercom on the desk.
He leaned across me and hit a button. "What is it, Mark?"
"There are two board members here. I thought you might want to see them while you're in town."
Mason struggled to breath. He stretched out the front of his pants with his palms. "Give me a second, Mark. I'll be down. Get them coffee or something." He tapped on the button a second time.
I covered my laughter with my hands. "You're going to see your board looking like that?" I raked my eyes over the bulge between his legs.
He sat next to me and took a deep breath. "It's going to take me a second." He smiled. "I guess we'll have to break the rule another time." He pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead.
He hopped off the desk. "Wait here for me. Mark will get you what you need."
I buttoned the top of my blouse and rearranged the panties that he had attacked with his amazing fingers.
"Ok, I'll be right here," I called after him.
I wandered to the other side of his office where the remotes were situated on the coffee table. I didn't know which one operated which TV. I clicked the power button and the Texas Rangers popped up on the screen on the right. They were playing an afternoon double-header.
I settled into the leather chair. I needed to steady myself after the almost desk sex.
"Sydney?" A guy with red hair and glasses stood behind me.
I swiveled in the seat. "Are you Mark?"
"Yeah. Nice to meet you in person." He extended a hand.
"It is. Thanks for all of your help this week getting everything set up for me."
"Did your computer show up?" He pushed his glasses back on his nose.
"Yes. Last night. I haven't had a chance to set anything up yet since we flew out so early this morning. I'm sure everything's good on it. I can let you know tomorrow."
"Have you met the other two PR team members, yet?"
I shook my head. "No, where is the PR office?"
"First floor of our three suites. Would you like to walk down there? I can take you. Introduce you to the team."
"Do you think Mason will be long?" I asked. I wondered if I should refer to him as Mr. Lachlan, but that seemed awkward and forced.
"He's in with two board members, and it's been awhile since they've seen him. No telling." Mark looked at his feet.
"Ok, let's go. It's not like he can't find me. Let me text him first."
I pulled out my phone to let him know I had walked two floors down to meet my co-workers.
It was funny actually putting a face to a voice. Mark was genuinely nice and helpful, but I could see why he irritated Mason. He wasn't sure about much, and he certainly wasn't confident.
He led me past a reception area and a break room. "When you're in the Dallas office, I guess this is where you'll be. Unless Mr. Lachlan has other plans."
I shook him off. "No, I'll be right here." I tried to assure him. I wanted him to think of me like everyone else, although it hadn't taken everyone long to figure out that wasn't the case. I felt warm every time I thought of how he called me his girlfriend this morning.
"Jackie and Chelsea, meet Sydney. She's new to the team. I'm sure you read my memo." Mark tried to sound authoritative.
I stopped in the doorway. Holy hell. They were stunning. They were like two models pulled from a swimsuit catalog. I had to force myself to pick up the bottom half of my mouth and form words.