Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) (11 page)

He took my hands and held them. “No, it probably shouldn’t have, but to be honest, I’m not sure there was going to be another way to tell you. I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me. I didn’t have them with me in Mexico or earlier this evening but called my physician to have the prescription delivered. You’re the only person who knows, with the exception of my doctor, who prescribes me the pills while telling me that it’s all in my head.”

“So tonight is the first time you have—?” I asked quietly, kind of liking that fact.

“The best orgasm of my life,” he revealed, sighing. “Look, what those women were discussing, the rumors? I told you the part about her being pregnant, but I didn’t touch her. She fell, and I wasn’t even in the same damn room when she did it. But she was going down the stairs and not watching because she was angry with me, though, so I guess inadvertently…”

I turned around, straddling his legs, and put my finger to his lips. “You don’t need to explain anything to me. It was upsetting to hear, but I didn’t believe it for a second. But promise me you won’t ever use sex as a weapon with me again, Josh.”

“I promise,” he vowed, kissing me senseless. He soaped up my arms and then my breasts, slowly working his way down.

Closing my eyes, I couldn’t believe that my body was ready to respond again so quickly.

“Haylee…”

My eyes fluttered open, and I feasted on his lips again, feeling his fingers working me. Deepening the kiss, I could feel him grow hard against me. Before he could protest or overthink it, I rose up and impaled myself on his impressive erection. I relished the sound of his groan as I rocked into his hips.

He gripped my backside, helping set the rhythm. “No, don’t close your eyes. Look at me,” he commanded softly.

We were face to face and the intimacy was overwhelming. I could tell this territory was as new for him as it was for me. My hands plowed through his hair, and I gasped when his hand made its way between our bodies and rubbed my most sensitive spot. I increased the cadence and rode him harder.

“That’s it. You feel so good.”

I tipped over the edge of reason and realized I was taking him with me as he groaned. I could see the surprise and then the overriding satisfaction in his eyes.

We sat like that in the tub awhile before I noticed the patch on his arm. “What’s this?” I questioned running my hand over it.

“Nicorette patch,” he explained.

My face split out in a grin. “You quit smoking?”

“I’d been meaning to for a while. I guess I had the proper incentive this time.”

I kissed him again deeply, enjoying the touch of his mouth on mine and toying with his lips. God, he was a really great kisser.

“I know I should have asked this before we had sex, but I’m not on the pill and I’m clean because I’ve always used condoms, but with your ex being unfaithful—” God I’d already failed Safe Sex 101.

“I had a checkup and got tested after I found out she cheated. I’m clean, and I had the vasectomy, which is more effective than the pill anyhow.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I murmured against his neck, “Water is getting cold.”

He lifted me up and kissed my forehead. “Let’s rinse.” Leading me into the shower, he turned on the water. We quickly washed, and then he spent an inordinate amount of time drying me thoroughly with little kisses along the way.

His strong arms came around me and picked me up, carrying me to the bed and laying me down gently. “Time for sleep. You have to be exhausted.”

It was nice when he climbed into the bed behind me. I was almost asleep when I heard him murmur, “Haylee?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think your ass is fat at all.”

I fell asleep smiling.

I woke up a little disoriented by the weight across my body until I realized it was Josh’s arm. He was half on his back and half facing me and looked vulnerable while sound asleep.

Taking the opportunity to study him, I noticed he appeared much younger than his thirty-two years. I hadn’t noticed how long his lashes were until now, when his eyes were closed. The planes of his face longed to be touched, and had no doubt he was the most attractive man I’d ever seen. Even close up he seemed flawless and simply gazing at him caused butterflies. Of all of the women in the world, why did he want me?

Well, that was a nice insecure thought. Rolling my eyes, I slipped out of bed quietly. The last thing I needed was to start feeling doubt and then question my self-worth.

Hopping in the shower, I convinced myself that even if he was gorgeous, I was attractive, too, and we all had faults.

When he stepped into the shower in front of me however, I forgot all about faults. The man was breathtaking.

“Good morning,” he greeted, cupping my face and kissing me soundly.

“Hey, you brushed your teeth. That’s hardly fair,” I protested mildly.

He smiled. “It’s quite all right. I will simply pick alternative places to kiss.”

And just like that, he was kneeling in front me with his mouth on my center. My climax was hard and fast.

As he rose, I realized he was hard for me.

“I can’t guarantee how long it will last or if it is still from the pill yesterday, but it seems like a shame to waste it.”

I didn’t even have time to comment as he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, sheathing every hard inch of him inside of me. I loved hearing his intake of breath from the pleasure.

“Jesus, Haylee, what you do to me. You feel so good.”

Squeezing my legs, I pulled him in even deeper. As I met his thrusts, the familiar burn started working its way down to my toes. Was there any limit to the amount of orgasms one person could have in a week? I was pretty sure I was going to find out as I exploded and then felt him do the same moments after.

The warm water was no longer reaching me in the corner, and now that I was coming down from the height of passion, I started to shiver.

“You’re cold,” he realized and inched me down the length of him, taking me back into the stream of water.

“Much better,” I admitted. I took the soap and leisurely explored his impressively chiseled chest before smoothing my hands down to his abs and trim waistline. I had never studied a man’s body and found myself mesmerized. Massaging his biceps, I marveled at the strength he had going down each forearm and then into his wrists and large hands. Looking up through my lashes, I saw his eyes watching me, curious, as I kneeled down and soaped each leg, taking my time with his shapely calves and on up to his powerful thighs.

Pausing, I soaped up my hands and took his length in both hands, caressing the soft skin and then underneath his length. I smiled, moving around to his back and soaped up his broad shoulders. I admired the muscles in his back and traced my fingertips further down. Damn if his ass wasn’t made like a sculpture, I thought, rubbing my hands over the taut muscles and daring to slide one down between his cheeks. I heard his small groan and loved the power that came with turning him on. Working my way down the back of his thighs, I finished the job. Hugging his back tightly to me I enjoyed the moment.

“You’re all clean, Mr. Singer,” I declared in my best seductive secretary voice.

His body shook with a chuckle and I squealed when he turned and wrapped his hands around my waist and grinned at me.

“I probably shouldn’t be so turned on by that, but I am,” he admitted. “You do know that I’m sorely tempted to keep you in your room all day naked, don’t you?”

I could see the seriousness in his eyes, and it was enticing, but he had important work to do. “Places to go, people to see, flights to catch, Mr. Singer.”

He gave me a fake pouty face.

This teasing side of Josh was so rare I think I stood a few seconds stunned, not realizing he was exiting the shower and speaking to me.

“Unfortunately, you’re right. I’ve got to get back up to my room and get dressed.”

Washing quickly, I climbed out of the shower. Once I donned my hotel robe, I stepped into the bedroom to see him dressing in last night’s clothes.

“So going back to my room right now, that’s the
walk of shame
you referred to, isn’t it?”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing, “Sorry,” I said, not meaning it in the slightest.

“I have nothing to be ashamed about. Mind-blowing sex, sleeping a full night, and then the best shower I’ve ever had. I’ve earned this walk.”

Giggling, it hit me that I was seeing Josh smile more than I ever had before. Knowing I might be the reason for that was humbling, and it made me a little bit fearful of what this softer side of him meant to me.

“All right, time to get back to reality. I’ll meet you in an hour. We can take our luggage with us to the office and leave from there.” Josh suggested.

“Sounds good.”

He came back, giving me a resounding kiss. “Ready for the big reveal today in the office?”

That made me smile. “I will follow your lead.”

***

I thought the deep plum Dianne Von Furstenberg wrap dress was appropriate and added the chunky necklace with matching suede pumps. DVF said sexy, feminine, and sassy all in one. I zipped up my suitcase and proceeded down to the lobby.

Josh was freshly dressed in a black pinstriped suit and was off to the side, talking on the phone.

I could see his profile and felt a flutter in my belly that I had been in the shower with this stunning man only an hour ago. He exuded authority and, with it, a sexual electricity that was beginning to occupy my every thought. Even with our newfound sexual, uh, accomplishment, if you will, I wondered what the status of our relationship was going to be going forward. It felt a little too soon to question whether or not we were going to start spending nights together. I would just need to adopt a wait and see approach.

Walking towards him, I was rewarded with a double take and then a slow assessment, with his eyes raking over my body. He ended the appraisal in a small smile when he finished up his call.

“Is that your
fuck-you-I-knew-Chinese-all-along
dress?” he teased.

I laughed in response. “I like that. Yes, it is.” We walked out to the car, and I felt his fingers find mine in the back seat. “So what is the game plan, exactly?”

He raised a brow. “Well, I figured I’d leave you in the driver’s seat. I bought the company as of midnight last night. I thought you might want to do the honors of the firing.”

Paling at the thought, I instantly felt sick to my stomach.

“Are you all right?”

I knew he would be disappointed, but the truth was that, although I was angry at Ana and some of the others, actually ending their employment left me feeling guilty. I knew in my gut that people like Ana didn’t belong in a company, influencing people, because she was like a poison, but firing her still wasn’t something I was comfortable with. And of course there was the fact that she was the owner’s daughter. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m a little overwhelmed at that prospect, I guess.”

He seemed to buy that and went back to checking his email.

Looking out the window I sat back and tried to get myself psyched up for this morning. “What time did you want to try to leave today? The flight is at three o’clock,” I inquired, anxious fly home.

Josh gave me a smile. “As soon as possible. I’d rather spend time in the lounge than one more minute in that office.”

I had to ask the obvious question. “Then why buy it?”

“Because I know business, and at the end of the day, this one will be profitable. I have plans to grow it and the perfect man to put in charge. He’s looking to make a move from London to Hong Kong. I’ll make sure he has an assistant who secretly knows Chinese, and he’ll be good.”

I managed a forced smile and had to ask, “Who exactly is being fired?”

He turned towards me. “You tell me. Remember, driver’s seat.”

Biting my lip, I tried to remain objective. “Well, who are you letting go because of performance unrelated to what I overheard?”

“There are a few people, but I want for you to make your decision based on what you witnessed.”

“But what if they are a big asset to the company, and I—”

He cut me off. “Haylee, I don’t care. I want them out.”

“All right. I guess I would say Ana, Stan, and Charlie.”

He nodded, clearly not surprised.

We made our way up the elevator, and I felt jittery. I wished I’d had breakfast before going in, but obviously, sex had muddled my priorities.

***

As soon as we were off the elevator Ana greeted us. “Mr. Singer, Haylee, everyone is gathering in the conference room for the news.” Clearly she was aware of the logistics of the sale.

Josh gave her a curt nod. “Lead the way.”

Just like that, we were thrust in front of fifty people. Standing to the side, I admired the way that Josh could command a room by simply entering it.

He offered a small smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “As I’m sure some of you are already aware, Gamble Advertising has purchased your company as of yesterday evening. My HR director and my regional vice president will be traveling over in the next couple of weeks with details regarding what this will mean to you each individually. Obviously, you can expect some changes, but I’m excited to work together to expand your Asia Pacific reach and to grow your foothold in this region.”

“I want to thank Tom for his many years of leadership and hard work in founding this company and taking it to the point it is today. I also want to thank Ken for his guidance and hospitality in bringing me here. I welcome you to the Gamble Advertising family. Haylee, how do you say that in Cantonese?”

All eyes turned toward me.

With measured calculation, I made sure I glanced around the room towards all of the faces when I translated for Josh.

Helen’s eyes hit the floor, Stan and Charlie squirmed in their seats, and the poor receptionist, Cindy, looked like she was going to cry. Only Ana had the nerve to look pissed off at the discovery. Well, at least that cemented any second thoughts I had about her losing her job.

“Haylee has educated me on the differences between Cantonese and Mandarin, having studied both. Hopefully, by the next time I come here, I will be well versed myself.” His words were light, but his tone wasn’t. He made a point to look at Ana before giving a smile to both Ken and Tom.

“I know you probably want to take some time with your people, gentlemen, but, afterwards, if I could have a few moments before Haylee and I leave for the airport, I’d appreciate it.”

They both nodded, offering breakfast in one of the conference rooms to which Josh declined politely. Obviously he was anxious to get this over and done with.

We went out the door and into the lobby, intending to wait on them. I wasn’t surprised to see Ana approaching quickly behind us.

“Can I borrow Haylee for a moment?” she asked sweetly.

Josh turned towards her and gave her his full attention. “I don’t think so. I need Haylee with me, actually, while we talk with your father.”

Her face faltered. Then she made the mistake of challenging him. “That’s right, he is my father. He will not make a deal without protecting me, so I would suggest—”

He didn’t let her finish, taking a step forward “I’d proceed very carefully, Ana, before you start making threats towards me.” He must have seen her eyes dart towards me because he continued. “And I think your time with taking shots at Haylee is done, too,” he said in a low menacing voice, letting her know who was in charge.

She swallowed hard.

Ken and Tom came out of the meeting. They glanced from her to Josh and then to me.

“I need a minute with you, Josh,” I whispered.

He hesitated, but then took my arm and led me to a vacant conference room.

“I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I mean, I appreciate you giving me this opportunity, but to take away someone’s livelihood just like that? I find no satisfaction in it.” I could tell he was going to argue and mitigated. “Even when I know they need to be gone because to have any these people here would be toxic for this company. I know you’re disappointed, but I feel like I’m going to throw up.” I forced myself to hold his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes softened.

“Haylee, I’m not disappointed. I would be more upset if you found delight in firing someone, to be honest. Although I’ve definitely had more experience with this and doing what is necessary, I don’t take any joy from it either.”

Looking up, I sighed, embarrassed that I couldn’t go through with it.

“Why don’t you wait for me downstairs in the lobby. This won’t take long and I’m not going to get into details with them. They are all getting generously compensated to allow them time to look for alternative employment. Considering Tom is getting a good chunk of change with the sale of his company, you could say that, indirectly, Ana will benefit from that as well.”