Accepting His Terms (3 page)

“I’ll be careful, but you make me sound like a defenseless woman, or a child,” she replied.

“That wasn’t my intent at all. I don’t think of you as defenseless. I think of you as…” He took a drink and didn’t finish the sentence.

“What were you going to say?” she asked. “I’d like to know how you think of me, Mr. Baine.”

“Jarrod…” he reminded her.  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I think of you as a beautiful, smart, intriguing woman. I think it’s time for me to admit, I’m very attracted to you.”

“Are you serious?” she asked as she nearly choked.

“This surprises you?” he asked in a low, sexy voice.

“Yes, it does, but what I don’t understand is, if you were attracted to me, why didn’t you say something before now? Was it because you’re my boss?”

“That was part of it.”

“Did what happened today have anything to do with this sudden admission?”

“In part. It probably prompted me to say something sooner than I would have otherwise. If that boy had hurt you, I don’t know what I would have done.”

 “What exactly does this all mean, Jarrod?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I want you in my life, outside the office as well as inside. I want to see where this leads. But we still work together, and there will be talk. You have to be able to handle that. Or would you rather I back off? Are you not interested?”

“Well, let me think about it…” she said with a grin. “You’re not the easiest person to be around, you know.”

“I should really turn you over my knee for that remark, not to mention for almost getting yourself into a compromising position this afternoon. There is a panic button in the elevator, you know.” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

She laughed. “You’re right about one thing, it all happened so fast I never thought about the panic button. But as far as the other thing you said, you wouldn’t dare.”

“You don’t think so?” he teased.

 “Eat your dinner and behave, Mr. Baine,” she teased back as she took a sip of wine.

“You’re telling
me
to behave,” he said with a grin.

 “Does anyone else at the office know what happened today?” she asked suddenly.

 “No one else knows, nor do they need to. I was the only one who saw and Ronnie is no longer working there.”

“I think I’m enjoying this dinner very much,” she said with a smile.

“Does that mean you’re not opposed to the two of us seeing each other outside the office?” he responded. “This isn’t going to be easy, you know. There will be talk among the other employees and maybe some jealousy. I’m sure some of the other men have considered asking you out. Some of the women may give you problems, as well. You need to let me know if they do. I won’t tolerate you trying to handle it on your own. We’re in this together. Is that understood?”

“I’m getting that feeling,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to mix work with pleasure. Are we going to have any rules about that?”

“We might need to set some or I might find myself calling you into my office just to kiss you… or punish you for something you’ve done to frustrate me. But I’m serious about anyone giving you grief about us.”

 “You might call me in your office for a private discussion. And that would be a problem?” she teased.

He laughed. “Maybe not…”

When dinner was finished, he took her back to her car. “I’ll see you in the morning. Try to get some rest.”

“Yeah… sure, in the morning,” she said.

“I hope you were able to relax a little at dinner,” he replied with a smile, as he leaned over to kiss her. As his tongue raked across her teeth and she allowed him to venture inside her mouth, he was in heaven. He explored every crevice, and even though his body was responding to the signals she was giving him, he thought it best not to rush things, especially not that day, of all days. But still, it was hot and exciting, and when he ended it, he said in a voice barely above a whisper, “It’s been a stressful day for both of us. Get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter Three

The next morning, Jill took extra care in her preparations for work. She carefully chose her clothes, her hairstyle, and took more time than usual with her makeup. The impossible had happened. Jarrod Baine had told her he was as interested in her as she was in him. And he had kissed her. Not just any old kiss, either. It had been a kiss beyond any she’d ever had before. If that was a preview of what was to come, then let the games begin. And what was that crack he’d made about a spanking? Little did he know, that had long been a fantasy of hers, one that she might have to make a reality, especially now that he’d mentioned it. He may only have been teasing, but the thought of lying across Jarrod’s knees made her entire body tingle with excitement.

As she breezed into the office, she attempted to appear normal, as if her whole world hadn’t changed overnight.

“Good morning,” Susie said as she passed her in the hallway.

“Hi, Susie, how are you?”

“Feeling much better, thanks for asking. I think it’s going to be a good day. The boss is in a good mood for some reason. Maybe he got some last night,” Jarrod’s assistant said with a laugh.

Jill hurried to her office.
Oh dear God.
What would Susie say if she knew what had really happened to put the smile on the boss’s face? No, he didn’t get any last night, but that kiss had been pretty damn hot. As she poured water into the back of her coffeemaker, she smiled.
Can’t wait to see what’s next on the agenda.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out. Just as she was pouring her first cup of coffee, the phone on her desk rang. She picked up the receiver and said, “This is Jill.”

“Jill, could you come into my office for a minute?”

It was Jarrod!

“Sure, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and set her coffee on the desk. Smoothing her skirt and her hair, she walked down the hallway to the plush private office that belonged to the owner of Baine Condominiums, Incorporated.

She knocked lightly on the door. When she heard him tell her to come in, she opened the door and made her way to one of the leather chairs across from his desk.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked with a smile. An actual full smile greeted her.

“I did,” she replied, returning the smile with one of her own.

“Good, I was afraid after what happened yesterday, you might have trouble. I was hoping our dinner relaxed you. You were pretty tense last night.”

“I enjoyed our dinner and the conversation very much,” she said.

Gray-blue eyes met hers. “And you’re still on board with the other thing we talked about? You haven’t had second thoughts?” he asked.

“The two of us… dating?” she asked as she met his gaze. Her heart stopped. He had the most beautiful eyes of any man she’d ever seen.

“Yes,” he replied as he stood up and walked around the desk to where she sat. He reached down and pulled her up to face him.

“Jill, I meant it when I said I want to get to know you better,” he said as he lifted her chin with his left hand and brought his lips to hers.

As his kiss deepened, she leaned into him, putting her arms around his neck. Her limbs were like rubber, her heart pounding, and every nerve ending in her body acutely aware of the sparks flying between them. As he pulled away and gazed into pools of deep blue, he said, “Good morning.”

“Yes, it is,” she replied with a nervous smile.

“How do you feel about the staff knowing about us?” he asked.

“I’d rather keep it under wraps for now, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay, for now, but we may not be able to for long,” he agreed. “I guess I’d better let you get back to your office.”

“Yes, I have things I need to do.”

As she walked out of the room, she smiled, but quickly regained her composure at she saw another employee approaching. She spoke to the other girl and made her way quickly to the safety of her own office.

Pouring a fresh cup of coffee, she sat down and attempted to work. At eleven, she glanced at the clock and realized she had promised to meet her sister, Jan, for lunch. Grabbing her purse, she rushed out the door and walked hurriedly to the café down the street, where Jan was already seated. She waved across the crowded room to let her sister know she’d seen her and made her way to her.

She sat down and smiled. “Hey, sis, how are you?”

“I’m good. Classes start back up next week, so I’m enjoying the break. How are things in your life these days?”

“Well, funny you should ask,” Jill replied with a giggle.

“Okay, fess up, what’s got you so happy?”

“I had a date last night.”

“Yeah, so, you have dates every once in a while. Why was this one any different?”

“It was with Jarrod.” Jill scanned her sister’s face for a reaction.

“Jarrod who?” the other girl asked. “Wait a minute, not
the
Jarrod, the one you think is the best thing since sliced bread?”

“Yep, that would be the one.”

“Your boss?” Jan clarified and Jill nodded. “How did that happen?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but I worked late last night finishing some things. When I went by his office to drop the work into his inbox, he was still there. We talked for a few minutes and he asked me to have dinner with him.”

“And… go… on. Will there be a second date?”

“Yes, and a third, and a fourth, hopefully,” she replied happily.

“How do you know that?”

“It seems Mr. Baine has been as interested in me as I am in him.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart-attack, that’s what he told me.”

“Oh gosh, I can’t believe this,” Jan said with a grin. “Dreams really can come true.”

“So it would seem.”

“Are you still in shock? Give me the scoop! Is he a good kisser?”

“Jan! Really, do you think I’m going to tell you anything else?”

“Well, is he?”

“Yes, he is. Now hush. Tell me what’s going on with you, other than school and work.”

After lunch, Jill went back to her office and almost bumped into Jarrod as she walked down the hall. He was looking down at the papers in his hand.

“Oh, Jill, I was on my way to your office. Have you had lunch yet?” he asked in a professional manner.

“Yes, I met my sister.”

“You have a sister?” he asked.

“Yes, I have a brother and a sister.”

“You’re very lucky in that respect. I’m an only child.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You missed out on a lot then.”

 “Yes, I’m sure I did. I wanted to talk to you about the budget, so can we go in your office?”

“Sure, come on in.” She walked ahead of him to her office. Sitting down at her desk, she asked if there was a problem.

“I was thinking we could cut out this piece of artwork for the living room and replace it with something a little less expensive. What do you think?”

“Let me look around at my catalogues. I’m sure I can find something, but this is the same artwork we’ve been using. Is there a reason to change it?”

“The Crestview condos are going to be sold for less than some of the other ones. So I think we need to downplay some of the decorating.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Just put the new information in my inbox. I’ll be on a site this afternoon.”

“Sure,” she replied.

He smiled as he turned to leave. “I’ll call you tonight.”

She did as he asked, found a replacement for the artwork, refigured the budget, and put the paperwork in his inbox. At five o’clock, he hadn’t returned from the jobsite, so she drove home.

After she’d changed her clothes and tossed a salad, she sat down in front of the television. At eight-thirty, her cell phone rang. She picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Hello there, sorry it’s so late. I got hung up at the site.”

“It’s okay. I was just watching a movie.”

“I thought I’d make good on my promise to take you to one of my favorite wineries this weekend, let you do some tasting, see how things are done. What do you say?”

“Sure, sounds like fun.”

“I’ll be back at the site tomorrow, there are some problems there. So I’ll just call you Saturday morning.”

“Okay,” she replied.

“How was your afternoon?” he asked.

“I found less expensive artwork and put all the information in your box. Other than that, it was quiet around the office.”

“I’ll run by in the morning and look at that before I head out. I’m going to get off here now. I’m bushed. Sleep tight.”

“Goodnight.”

She hung up and shook her head. He was so… aloof… was that the word? It would be interesting to see how the day at the winery went.

The next morning, she was in the office early. As Jarrod walked out of his office and saw her, he smiled and said, “Hey, you’re here bright and early.”

“I wanted to get started on the designs for the next condos,” she explained. “Are you ready to head out?”

“I was, but why don’t we go in my office for a minute?” he asked.

She followed him in, and as soon as he shut and locked the door, he pulled her into his arms. “Do you know how much I want to kiss you?”

“No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?” she asked in a low voice.

“I think I’ll show you instead,” he teased. He leaned down and crushed her lips with his. Again, her body went limp and the heat began to spread throughout her veins.

As he released her, she said, “Nice, but do you really think we should do that here?”

“I locked the door.”

“Well, in that case…” she said as she turned her face upward for a second kiss.

When the kiss ended, he whispered, “I really have to get out of here or I may never go.”

“And the site is more important than staying here and kissing me?” she teased.

He grinned. “You drive a hard bargain, but I need to get up there. Are we still on for tomorrow?”

“Maybe… I’m not so sure I want to go now. You chose a job site over me,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes and a pouty lip.

 “Ah, teasing me again,” he said with a grin. “Keep it up…and see what happens.”

“What will happen, Mr. Baine?”

He lightly smacked her bottom, grinned, and walked out of the room, leaving a somewhat flustered Jill behind.