Deceiving Her Boss (10 page)

 
"The IT team reinstalled my outlook files, and now the system is scanning
every e-mail that I'm sending for spelling errors.  It's annoying, and I can't
figure out how to stop it.  Can you make it go away?"

 
Allie nodded, her attention on the screen  "Of course," she said.

 
With a few clicks of the mouse, Allie turned off the e-mail system's automatic
spell check as Sean watched over her shoulder. 

 
"Anything else?"  She stood up, bumping into Sean as she did so.  "Oh,
I'm sorry.  I didn't know you were right there."

 
As he had months before, when Allie had careened into him in his office, Sean
held her arms firmly to steady her, but this time was different.  This time, he
knew what was underneath his assistant's suits.  And this time, he knew what
she felt like, what she tasted like.  He had been keeping his desire under
control for weeks, but feeling her next to him, seeing her looking up at him so
trustingly, snapped that firm control. 

 
His hands moved slowly down her arms until they reached her elbows.  Gripping
them tightly, he pulled her toward him, easily brushing aside her token resistance. 
Pushing back the files on his desk, and moving his chair away with his knee, he
encircled her waist with his hands and lifted her to a sitting position onto
the hard wood of the desk in front of him.  His eyes on hers, he deliberately
spread her legs with his hands and moved in between them until he was pressed
up against the edge of the desk, and her legs were spread wide around him.

 
"What... what are you doing?" she asked, her hands splayed on his
chest, ready to push him away.

 
"What I've been wanting to do for the last two weeks," he said softly
as he moved one of his hands from her thigh to the back of her head.  His other
hand circled her waist and pulled her more firmly against him, his hardness
nestled in the warm V between her legs.  Holding her head steadily with one
hand, his other hand moving her closer with each stroke on her back, he lowered
his head to kiss her.

 
And just like that, Allie's world exploded.  The kiss they had shared in her
apartment had been seductive, to be sure, but it was nothing like this.  This
was a kiss from a man who intended to have more.  As his tongue moved between
her lips and into her mouth, he thrust it in and out, sweeping her mouth,
looking for an answering response.  And there was nothing that Allie could do
to prevent her own response to him.  Absolutely nothing.  She pulled her hands
from between them and moved them around to his back to pull him closer, to
thread her fingers through his hair, and to writhe her body against his as she
tried to get nearer to his need.

 
Sean's hands were on her head, holding her in place for his mouth, adjusting
the angle, taking her breath with each added onslaught of his kiss.  He felt
Allie's tremors as he held her tightly against him, and took satisfaction in
knowing that he was doing this to her.  She wanted him, as much as he wanted
her.

 
Lifting his head from hers, he lowered his hands to her shoulders and gently
pushed her slightly away from him, just enough to move a hand between them, to
move to the buttons on her suit jacket, to push the fabric aside and take in
the lace trim of her camisole, lightly lining her full breasts.  Using the back
of his hand, he gently moved his fingers over the fabric-enclosed nipples,
grunting in satisfaction as they hardened still further at his touch.  He
reached down to pull the fabric of her camisole free from her trousers, moving
his fingers up under the silky material, over her equally silky skin, and
cupped her breasts through her bra.  But it wasn't enough.  He needed more. 
Removing his hand, he quickly stripped the jacket from her shoulders and pulled
the camisole over her head, leaving her clad above the waist only in her bra. 
As his hands moved around her back to unclasp the garment, Allie at last came
to her senses.

 
"Wait," she breathed, pushing hard against him.  "Please!"

 
Sean immediately stepped back, his own breathing as ragged as hers, but kept
his hands lightly on her shoulders until she looked up at him.  The mixed
emotions in her eyes stabbed at him.

 
"Allie, it's OK.  We'll stop.  Just catch your breath."

 
Allie reached behind her and grabbed her suit jacket, then hopped down off the
desk and turned her back to Sean, pulling the jacket around her and buttoning
it with trembling fingers.  Dear God, she thought.  This was her boss.  She
couldn't be doing this with her boss.  As she adjusted her clothing, she felt
his hands fall lightly on her arms as he leaned down and spoke softly into her
ear.

 
"You're right, sweetheart.  This isn't the time or the place.  But you
make me so crazy that I forget that."  His hands gently caressed her arms
as he continued.  "Let me take you home tonight, Allie."

 
But she turned and moved away.  "I can't," she said softly. 
"I'm sorry, but I can't."

 
"Why not, Allie?"

 
"I work for you, Mr. Greyson...  Sean..." she quickly said, when she
saw his eyes darken with frustration.

 
"Allie, you know this isn't settled, right?  That we will need to work
through this?"

 
She stopped at the door and looked back.  "I do.  I do know that."

 
Sean nodded.  "See you tomorrow, Allie."

SEVEN

 
The next morning, Sean was back to business as usual, calling Allie into his
office early in the day and working through his schedule for the next few
weeks.

 
"When is the Miami trip scheduled for?"

 
Allie checked her notes.  "Next month.  You leave on the night of the
18th."

 
"And London?"

 
"That got pushed back.  There was a scheduling conflict for one of the
board members, so they had to cancel, but they haven't provided us with new
dates yet.  I'll check in again with Sara this morning to see if they have anything
tentatively scheduled."

 
Sean looked up at Allie over the top of his planner.  "I may need you for
the Miami meetings, Allie.  Can you arrange that if necessary?"

 
She shrugged "Sure.  I can schedule a tentative booking, and we can cancel
if we need to."

 
"Do that, please, " Sean nodded.

 
"Anything else, sir?"

 
"Nothing for right now," he said.  "I'm leaving the office early
today.   I've got a dinner meeting tonight, and there's a brief board meeting
prior to the dinner, so I should leave here around 3:00.   Feel free to take
off when I do, Allie.  You've been putting in a lot of late hours lately, and I'd
like to see you have a break."

 
"Thank you," Allie smiled.  "It's a beautiful day.  I just might
do that."

 
When Sean left the office at 2:45 that afternoon, Allie stayed around long
enough to ensure that he didn't come back or call back with anything he'd
forgotten, and then shut down her computer.  She had arranged for all calls to
be routed back to the switchboard, where the receptionist would take a message
and call Allie if anything critical surfaced.  She spent the rest of the
afternoon outside, taking a run by the river and then taking care of some long
overdue errands.   She had made plans to join some friends for drinks after
work, so she went home before that to shower and change.  But the afternoon
felt lazy to her, almost decadent.  It was a nice switch from long days and
late hours, and she reminded herself to thank Sean again the next day for
encouraging her to leave early.

 
She felt well-rested when she went into work the next day, which was clearly a
good thing, since Sean was in a foul mood.  His dinner the previous night had
obviously not gone well, and it looked like there would be fall-out today.  For
the rest of the day, she ran interference for him with a lot of the staff, and
tried to stay out of his way, apart from when he wanted something from her.

 
"Allie, bring me the Wilson file," he called back from his office
mid-day.

 
Allie had it sitting on her desk, and picked it up to take it back to him.  He
was sitting at his desk, shirt-sleeves rolled up, looking simultaneously very
angry, and incredibly sexy.  When he took off his jacket, his muscles showed
through the fabric of his shirt, and his physique was... well... amazing.

 
Trying to shrug off the effect he always had on her, she knocked lightly on the
door and walked in, the file outstretched in her hand.

 
"Here you are," she said.  "Is there anything else you
need?"

 
"About ten more hours in the day," Sean said with a frustrated sigh. 
"Where is Tom Cavanaugh?  I think about half of this mix-up is his fault,
and the other half is mine for not catching it before now."

 
"I'll call his desk and get him up here.  What else?"

 
Sean shook his head.  "Nothing for now.  Thanks."

 
"Can I order you some lunch?" Allie offered.

 
Sean looked up gratefully.  "Please.  I'll eat anything at this point. 
Get something for yourself too, and come in here and eat with me.  I need a
break, and you and I can go over a few things before you get Tom up here."

 
Back at her desk, Allie pulled out the stack of menus that she often used when
they worked late, and chose a local deli.  Ordering Sean's favorite sandwich
was easy, and she selected an antipasto salad for herself.  When the food
arrived, she called back to him to let him know, and then carried everything back
to Sean's office and set it on his coffee table.  Reaching into the small
fridge that she kept stocked, she pulled out a Diet Coke for herself, and
looked questioningly at her boss.

 
"Water, please.  And can you shut the door?"

 
"Of course," Allie said, moving back to quietly push the office door
closed.

 
Sean stood up from his chair and stretched before joining Allie on the couch.

 
"Bad day?" she asked as he handed him his sandwich and drink.

 
"Pretty bad," he grimaced as he accepted the sandwich and began to
peel back the wrapper.  "When your competitor calls you to tell you that
one of your clients is seeking other options, you know that there's an
issue."

 
"Paul?"

 
"Yeah.  He's a good friend, despite the fact that we are often bidding
against each other."

 
"So what's going on with the client?" Allie asked, pulling the cover
off her salad and digging in.

 
Sean filled Allie in on the main issues, and why he needed to see Tim's
financial files as soon as lunch was over, and Allie listened and asked keen
questions.  By the time they were done eating, Allie knew where she needed to
go to get Sean some answers, and Sean felt a little better with some solid food
in his stomach.

 
"Thanks, Allie.  Both for lunch and the company."

 
"My pleasure.  I'll go call Tom."

 
On Friday evening, Allie was finishing up some last-minute changes to a
document when she looked up to see Sean standing in the doorway.

 
"What are you still doing here?" he asked, surprised to still see her
at her desk, since she had checked in with him a while ago to see if he had
anything else for her that evening.

 
"Just a few odds and ends so I can have them off my desk on Monday.  I'm
leaving soon.  Are you on your way out?"

 
"Shortly, yes.  You don't have plans this evening?" he asked.

 
"Not tonight.  Fridays are usually my recovery night," Allie
grinned.  "I'll make up for it tomorrow night."

 
"A date?"

 
"Just dinner," Allie said vaguely.  "Are you working this
weekend?  Will you need anything specific?"

 
"I'll work from home a bit.  But no, I think we're caught up on everything. 
Where is your dinner?"

 
"A friend of mine is having a few people over.  Casual.  More of a
backyard barbeque than a dinner, really."

 
"Sounds nice."

 
"You can come along if you'd like," she said without thinking, then
blushed fiercely when he just stopped and stared at her.

 
"I'm sorry, sir.  I wasn't thinking.  Of course you wouldn't want...  and
you must...."

 
But Sean interrupted her with an unfamiliar look on his face.  "I'd like
that.  If you're sure it wouldn't be an intrusion."

 
Allie looked uncertain.  "You don't have other plans?"

 
Sean shook his head.  "Nothing set in stone.  And a barbeque sounds better
anyway.  Shall I pick you up?"

 
"It's actually right up the street from me," Allie responded.  Then,
thinking 'in for a penny, in for a pound,' she asked, "Do you want to just
meet me at my place and we'll walk up together?"

 
"What time?" Sean asked.

 
"Early.  5:00.  Drinks and appetizers to start, and we usually end up
eating closer to 8:00.  But if you'd rather join us later, that's completely
fine."