G-Men: The Series (106 page)

“Easton and his company name: both pretentious, both a mouthful.” He was snickering as he put his jacket on.

“Oh my God! That’s the last time I fill you in on my men, I mean it.”

“See you at work, sweetie. Good luck!”

I arrived at work promptly at 7:20 a.m., before any of the others in my department had arrived. I figured if my transitioning into Lacee’s old job started today, I wanted to get caught up on the data entry backlog I had. By 8:30, I was completely finished with the stack of documents, and had completed my filing. Of course, the batches of documents to enter arrived almost hourly in my in-basket, but that would be my replacement’s worry.

My desk phone rang and the caller-ID told me it was “E. Matthews,” jump-starting the butterflies that’d been lying dormant in my stomach. But I was fairly sure it was because, despite our friendly hang-out last night, I was anxious to show him I was a professional, clearly capable of being his new executive assistant.

“Good morning, this is Darcy Sheridan. How may I help you?” I answered in a very professional tone.

His rich, silky voice still had the ability of give me goose-bumps, something I was sure would diminish over time.

“Good morning, Darcy. Are you ready to begin your mentoring?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you come by my office now so that I can de-brief you on your training schedule for this week and next? Lacee will start working with you this afternoon, but there are a few things I think you might start on now. I’ve already cleared this new assignment with HR.”

“Certainly, I’ll be right there,” I said. I grabbed my handbag and a notepad, and went up to the executive suites. Easton was occupying an empty one on the other side of the hall from my father’s. It had been a conference room with an adjacent office leading from it.

As I crossed the threshold to his office, I admired how quickly he’d furnished it to his taste. Leather high-back chair, dark mahogany desk and credenza, matching leather chairs for visitors, and a conference table with more chairs in the corner. The paintings on his wall were expensive and tasteful. His office was orderly and immaculate, just like he was. He looked up as I walked in, surveying with those intense gray eyes of his.

“Please have a seat,” he said, standing up.

Ever the gentleman…Well. Sometimes…

“Thank you,” I said, smiling, taking a seat across from his desk.

“Uh, has there been a dress code implemented I wasn’t made aware of?” he asked, smiling, still looking at my ensemble.

“Not exactly,” I shrugged, mentally trying to run over and hit reverse on those damn butterflies that weren’t going away. “I felt that, in my new position, some decorum might be appropriate, sir.”

“Okay, well about decorum—no more ‘sirs’ and that’s a rule I have with all of my employees. I want the feeling of family here, not some rigid hierarchy. So, you may resume calling me ‘Easton.’”

“Of course, si—Easton,” I replied, quickly catching myself.

“As for dress codes, I’m a proponent of business casual for the employees, and that includes you.”

“But you’re wearing a suit,” I argued gently.

“I am,” he replied, “I’ve got a business appointment later today. On days where I have meetings with clients, customers, important people or potential partners, it’s customary for me to dress in business suits. If my schedule’s clear, I wear business casual.”

“I see,” I replied, making notes on my steno pad. “Do you even own business casual?” I blurted, unthinkingly. He cocked an eyebrow at me and then smiled.

“Of course. I’m a man of many tastes.”

Easton had me pull my chair around next to his so that we could go over his Day Planner for the rest of the week—or as he referred to it, “his diary.” (Another Britishism I figured.) He provided me with a new planner of my own so that I could copy down what he had scheduled so far for the next two weeks. He showed me the special coding he had for meetings, appointments, and luncheons, which meant I needed to re-confirm on the day prior to the event.

He also gave me a list of other office equipment and supplies he wanted me to get on order, and asked that I schedule some time with Helen in Purchasing to learn the purchase requisition system here, so that I could electronically forward them on indirect spend. I was hurriedly scribbling notes on everything he wanted me to handle today and tomorrow, including getting my office next to his furnished in whatever I wanted. I had to refrain from doing a full on fist-pump when he got to the part about me having my own personal office.

He also requested I schedule some time with the Accounts Payable Department to learn how the invoices for expense spends were matched for payment, and to provide him a listing of all employees authorized to approve requisitions and the spending limits for each. He wanted a full listing of general ledger account numbers and descriptions, as well as year-to-date spending for each.

“I assume you’re computer literate with spreadsheets, power point, and word processing?” he asked.

“I’m a whiz,” I said, smiling. Just then there was a tap on the door. It was Lacee.

“I’m finished with the first group of employees from R & D, Easton,” she said. For some reason, the way she used his name made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Brilliant,” he said, glancing at his watch. “It’s lunch time now. Lacee, would you mind sending out for sandwiches? Darcy and I are having a working lunch today. Once I turn her over to you, in say an hour and a half, you can acquaint her with the access codes to my working files and show her how to track the various metrics we’re going to put in place here shortly.”

“That’ll be fine,” she answered, not hiding her displeasure at having to be around me for the afternoon. She seemed particularly out of sorts with the close proximity of Easton and me.

“Splendid,” he said, turning his attention back to me. “Ready for some fun?”

^{chapter 20}

I was fuming as Easton and I walked out into the parking lot towards the SUV he nodded to a little after six that evening. He flipped the button for the electronic locks and opened the door for me. As I slid into the passenger seat, all I thought about was ripping him to shreds as soon as he got in. I knew I couldn’t do that. He was, after all, the head honcho. I needed to chill out for a few and collect my thoughts.

He slid into the driver’s seat, throwing me a smile and pulled out of the lot. Finally, I could contain my anger no longer.

“What the hell?” I snapped. “You said earlier you had a business meeting later this afternoon and would be gone the rest of the day. Then you show back up and insist—in front of Lacee, I might add—that I have dinner with you. What’s this about?”

“I can’t keep a thing from you, can I?” he teased. “You and I are having dinner together at Christine’s.”

“You’re so clueless,” I snarled. “People call
me
spoiled? My God, you give the word a whole new meaning! I thought we hashed this out last night?”

“You’re over-reacting. It’s simply dinner, not an orgy for Chrissake. I do have things to discuss with you that are business-related, and it’s not healthy for you to get all of your training in the office.”

It was my turn to cock an eyebrow at him.

What’s he up to?

“Did it ever occur to you I might have had other plans for dinner?”

“That’s irrelevant to me.”

This was going nowhere, so I simply clammed up until we reached Christine’s, located down the street from his hotel. I breathed a sigh of relief when he passed the hotel. I’d suspected he might’ve had a hidden agenda when I noticed we were going downtown.

The server handed us our menus, took our drink orders and then disappeared. The silence now was obvious. My hands were clasped together resting on the table. I was totally shocked when Easton placed his hands over mine in a gesture of affection, which up to this point, had been non-existent. I looked up at him, and was way surprised to see what I found there. He was looking at me with an expression that was somewhere between confusion and uncertainty. And with a man like Easton, I wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign…or a very, very bad one.

“Easton,” I said, trying to feel him out. “I’m getting some very mixed signals here.” I tried to pull my hands back, but his grip was strong. He didn’t release his hold.

“It’s simple, I’ve missed being with you.”

“What do you mean? We were just together last night. We spent almost all morning together at the office, we had a working lunch together, and now you’ve hauled me out for dinner. I’d say over the last 24 hours, we’ve spent more time together than most married couples.”

“Don’t play with me,” he quipped. “You know what I’m talking about. This doesn’t bode well for me.”

I sighed audibly. The truth was, my body ached for him as well as for his discipline, but these newly adopted scruples of mine were wreaking havoc with my better judgment. What else could I do but be honest?

“Easton I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the experience of being with you. It was something else, no doubt about it. But things have changed. There’s no getting around that. I told you how I felt last night. I need to get my priorities in order. Nothing’s a given for me anymore. I have to
earn
my success. I really want to put my best foot forward with my career. You seemed to understand that last night. It’s just not a good idea.”

“Yes,” he replied quietly, giving what I’d said some thought while rubbing my fingers with his. “Of course, you’re right. It’s not a good idea, assuredly. It would cross the line you set, which by the way, I
totally
respect and admire the fact that you’re putting your career first, much like me, I suppose.” His gray eyes studied me and my heart did a fast pitter-pat at the feel of his fingers intertwining with mine.

“I appreciate your understanding and thank you for noticing that I’ve taken this new role seriously. I don’t want anything to jeopardize my ability to succeed,” I said.

He was still holding fast to my fingers. My heart continued the pitter-pat rhythm. “Absolutely,” he replied, earnestly. “You’re to be commended. Still,” he said, his voice dropping an octave and his lips curling into that beautiful smile that couldn’t be good for my pulse, “I just can’t get
that
picture out of my head.”

Silence…

“What picture?” I asked finally, squirming just a tad in my seat.

“The picture of your beautiful face after I’ve used the crop and when my lips softly place those little butterfly kisses on that very
special
spot of yours.”

Oh holy Jesus!

“Which one?” I asked raising an eyebrow, immediately regretting it.

“The one right…
here
,” he said softly, brushing his thumb against that sensitive area I had on my neck, an inch or two south of my earlobe. I knew the one. He continued to lightly caress it, his eyes growing darker.

“Ahh, yes,” I said, remembering the way he’d made me tingle and my toes curl just with his soft kisses on that spot. “
That
spot.” I shifted uneasily.

Focus, Darcy. Disengage. I repeat: disengage!

“And then, you know, there’s that
other
special spot of yours…,” he murmured.

“Easton,
” I warned, my tone getting stern. I shifted nervously.

“You know the one, love? That very deep, sensitive spot inside of you that loves the feel of my fingers and cock rubbing against it. Such a shame you haven’t had the pleasure of feeling my unsheathed cock. I’m betting my cock jewelry would likely put you over the edge. You’ve wondered about that, haven’t you? When you’re lying in bed at night, when the world gets slightly quieter as your imagination runs a little wilder…” His hand made its way to the nape of my neck, his fingers lightly drawing shapes across the sensitive skin. “I bet you have that night on replay, along with those thoughts of yours when you saw my piercing. And then you wonder what it would feel like to have it gently scrape your clit, slowly at first, but then I’d go a little faster. A little harder. Until I took it deeper and started all over again. And again.”

By this time, I could feel the wet spot in my panties. My lips were dry, so I merely nodded in agreement.

“Oh,” he said, smiling again, “Let’s not
forget
those very enticing nipples of yours and the way they respond when I taste them, right before I take them full into my mouth to suck. Hard. Quite a rush, isn’t it?”

Oh God!

The server approached, setting our drinks down, ready to take our order.

“Darcy?” Easton nodded, as the server waited, poised to write my order down.

“Uh, nothing for me, I’m still full from lunch.” He turned to Easton for his order.

“Check please.”

Against my better principles, I folded. Okay, I admit it! I was putty in his very capable hands, so
shoot
me! Which one of you would have done anything differently?

I thought so…

We made a mad dash from Christine’s to his hotel suite, where Easton very quickly and very expertly relieved me of my librarian clothing and proceeded to introduce me to his wooden paddle. It had tiny holes drilled in the center so that it was more aerodynamic. I was pulled naked across his lap, my bare ass soundly paddled while his longer fingers were probing the folds of my sex which grew wetter with each resounding smack.