WorkIt

Work It

Marilyn Campbell

Cory knows she has an amazing boss. Jeff is considerate,
generous and a true pleasure to work for. Unfortunately, he’s also the sexiest
man she’s ever known, and being so close to him every day without being able to
touch has turned into pure torture.

Jeff believes Cory is the ideal assistant, always willing to
accommodate. For some time he’s been fantasizing about
personal
things
he wishes Cory would do for him. Letting her know that, however, has been out
of the question…until she turns in her resignation and admits it’s because she
wants something more from him. The instant they realize they want the same
thing, they don’t waste another second before acting out their office
fantasies.

Chapter One

“
Coralee!
”

Cory Servwell cringed at the sound of her boss’s annoyed
shout. Jeffrey Farmer raised his voice over so many things lately she no longer
scurried into his office to take care of the problem. This time, however, she
knew exactly why he had yelled using her full name.

She had waited until the end of the day, after the rest of
the staff had gone home, to slip the letter into his inbox. Hoping to delay the
confrontation a few seconds longer, she pressed the intercom button. “Yes?” She
imagined the subsequent pause was needed for him to unclench his teeth before
speaking.

“Come in here please.”

“Just a moment. I need to—”

“
Now!
”

She disconnected the intercom, rose from her chair and
smoothed her lightweight aqua dress. It was the most feminine thing she owned.
The fitted top showed off her full bosom, the swishy skirt brought attention to
her rounded bottom and the semi-sheerness of the delicate fabric was subtly
suggestive. White, strappy high-heeled sandals completed an ensemble that
should
have had her feeling quite pretty. Out of habit she glanced at her reflection
in the glass window to make sure her shoulder-length brown hair was under
control.
Silly girl.
If he hadn’t noticed how she looked by now…
Straightening her shoulders, she walked into his office with false bravado.

“Close the door.”

There was nothing unusual about the direction, except for
its abrupt delivery. Closing the office door was his way of ensuring that no
one would interrupt them during their daily conferences.

The little confidence she had slipped away when she met his
narrow-eyed glare. He looked really upset, maybe even angry. His hazel eyes had
faded to a dull brown and she could tell by how mussed his dark blond hair was
that he’d run his fingers through it in frustration. And yet she still thought
he was the sexiest man on the planet.

“What is this?” he asked, shaking the paper in his hand.

Cory swallowed dryly. “It’s my letter of resignation. I
thought it was very clear.”

He frowned at the one and only sentence on the sheet. When
he spoke again his voice had lost the sharpness and he was clearly bewildered.
“I had no idea you were unhappy. I thought we were a good team.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest. “I’m not…it’s not…” She
hadn’t expected it to be so hard to lie about her motivation.

“Have you had another offer? At least give me a chance to
counter it.”

“There’s nothing to counter. I could never find a job with
better pay or benefits.”

He scratched his head, ruining the last vestige of his
neatly styled cut. Shoving his chair back from his desk, he rose with a jerk.
“Then it’s got to be something I did. Or is it something I didn’t do? Did I
miss something important?”

She had to smirk at that. “You? The man who has never
forgotten to have flowers delivered on my birthday or our anniversaries of
working together? Or who sent me to a spa for a weekend after my divorce was
final? Seriously, half the assistants in the building would take a cut in pay
to work for you.”

He strode around his desk and stopped short a foot away from
her. Her breath caught as the seductive smell of clean male and spicy
aftershave threatened to overwhelm her good sense. He was so close she had to
tip her head back to meet his gaze. As happened all the time, his nearness was
an aphrodisiac that clouded her mind and sent velvety tendrils out to tease her
nipples and slither between her thighs.

For a moment it looked as if he were about to grasp her but
he shoved his hands into his slacks pockets instead. In their three years
working together, he had never once intentionally touched her. It was totally
respectful and politically correct but it was that same avoidance that had
finally driven her over the edge.

“Please, Cory. Just tell me what the problem is and I’ll fix
it.”

Oh how she wished it was that easy. She felt her cheeks
flush as she considered how he could fix her problem and she had to take a few
steps back and turn away from him before replying. “Actually, I got the
impression you were hoping I’d quit. I thought that was why you were barking at
me all the—”

“What? Why on earth would I want you to quit?” He grasped
her upper arm and turned her back toward him.

Cory was so stunned that he had touched her—was still
touching her—that she barely heard the words that followed.

“That would be like hoping to lose my right arm.”

His hold on her gentled and his thumb moved up and down over
the crook of her arm causing a field of goose bumps to rise. Her whole being
was suddenly focused on that small spot. The way his expression softened told
her he noticed the response and was somehow pleased.

He added a slight movement of his fingers so his whole hand
was now caressing her skin as he continued. “I can’t imagine working every day
without you being here. You’re not only smart and organized and a step ahead of
me half the time, but you…” He appeared to be searching for the right words but
instead of completing his thought he withdrew his hand and shook his head.

Something in his voice struck a familiar, emotional chord
within her and she placed her hand on his forearm. Even through the shirt
sleeve she felt the heat of his body beckoning her to come closer. “I…what?
What were you about to say?”

“It’s not important.” He started to turn away but she
tightened her hold.

He met her gaze and, for the first time, she thought she saw
a reflection of her own unrequited desire. There was only one way to find out
if she was right. “I wasn’t completely honest a moment ago. I
am
leaving
because of you. Or rather, because of something I want from you…but can’t have.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said with a frown.

She felt the muscle beneath her fingers tense but he made no
attempt to reclaim his arm.

“I don’t remember you asking me for anything. Why would you
say you can’t have it?”

“Because…” She closed her eyes and took a slow breath. She
wanted to answer him with an explicit demonstration of what she wanted from
him. One step and she could press herself against his lean body, test the
firmness of his butt in her hands and discover if he tasted as good as he looked.

She controlled the urge by reminding herself that he’d never
done anything to suggest he was attracted to her despite the electrical vibe
currently passing between them. “I never asked because if you turned me down or
gave me what I wanted just to keep me from quitting, well, that would be much
worse than my not asking at all.”

She’d never tried to hide her feelings from him. He had just
never really looked…until that moment. Slowly his expression relaxed and she
could tell the instant her vague explanation made sense to him.

Holding her gaze with his, he cocked his head and arched one
eyebrow. “What if there was also something I wanted from you?” His hand
tentatively covered hers where it rested on his arm.

Her pulse rate raised a notch.
Was it possible? Could he
want me for more than my administrative skills?
“You never said anything.”
His mouth curved into the grin she had come to love and her lips parted as
though they knew she was about to be kissed.

“There are some pretty strict rules concerning what I’ve
been thinking about and if I did anything to offend you, not only would I feel
horrible but the ramifications—”

“
Ramifications?
” By now she was pretty sure they were
both thinking about ramming something of his into something of hers but first
they had to stop talking about what they weren’t saying to each other. “After
all this time, you should know I’m not that easily offended.”

“Perhaps, but then I’ve been very,
very
careful
around you. Now it looks like I may have been too careful. Maybe a little test
would help set some acceptable boundaries here. Tell me, Ms. Servwell, how
would you react if I did this?” His hand cautiously raised and his fingers
threaded through her hair then paused at her nape.

A shiver shot straight down her spine from his fingertips.
Her eyes closed as she marveled at the intense sexual reaction she felt from
such a simple gesture. Her nipples contracted so swiftly it felt as though they
had been physically tweaked and a second later her clit swelled in hungry
response. She could barely breathe let alone speak but he had asked her a
question. And she needed to give him an answer.