The Tycoon and his Honey Pot (2 page)

“I
so hate that smile of yours!”

He
laughed out loud and leaned back in his chair, stretching his feet out under
the table and tangled hers in between.  She tried to avoid him, but he gripped
her feet between his ankles and she gave up, sighing loudly.

“And
I so would love to see yours.  Are you always so grumpy?  Or is it just me that
brings it out in you?”

“You
haven’t exactly given me anything to smile about since you grabbed me in the
garage!”

“Honey,
trust me, the day I grab you, you will know and you can be assured we won’t be
interrupted!”

“You
are awfully presumptuous.”

“Am
I, or am I just honest about what I want from you?”

She
blushed and for once he looked at her without his usual grin. She noticed his
eyes were blue, not black, but a dark, ink blue color, with very slight silver
speckles around the irises.

His
eyes held hers captive; he reached over and took her hand in his, drawing her
closer until she had to lean over the table.  He bent forward and slowly pulled
her fingers into his mouth, sucking and licking the tips.  A surge of heat shot
from her fingertips all the way to her loins and she had to grip her thighs
tightly together, the heat so intense she was on the verge of an orgasm!

She
panted and drew deep breaths to cool her heated veins, but he continued sucking
her fingers and she desperately ripped her fingers from his mouth to end the torturing
pleasure.

“You
… you can’t just … you …”

“Honey,
you will learn very quickly I can ...”

“And
stop calling me honey!”

His
eyes scorched over her face to caress her cleavage visible where her driving
suit was carelessly zipped open.  He leaned forward and pulled the zipper
further down, and down, until she was bare to his gaze all the way to her
waist.  Her nipples shriveled and budded painfully against the purple satin
bra.

“But
you are honey all over and I intend dipping into that honey …”

“How
dare you! We don’t even know eac …”

He
reached over and flipped a finger over her budding nipple, watching them
tighten even further, and closed his fingers around one and pinched softly and
then slightly harder.  She gasped and bit her lip in agony or pleasure, she
didn’t know which.  He slowly pulled the zipper closed, his voice hoarse.

“You
can just as well stop fighting against it. You, honey pot, are meant to be mine
and I am not a very patient man.”

Chapter Two

Brooklyn
stared at the reflection in the mirror. She grimaced at the young woman with
her hair pulled back in a tight pony and twisted in a knot at the top of her
head; it was so tight it actually pulled her cheeks and eyes out of shape.

She
leaned closer to the mirror and quickly inserted the tawny colored lenses over
her silver grey irises.  She slipped a pair of clear glass spectacles with
thick frames on her nose and rose to view the final picture.

The
cream colored pants were at least two sizes too big.  They were clinched in at
the waist with a thin gold belt and a cream colored silk top with tiny pearl
buttons down the front and short sleeves.  The top was also too big.  The brown
high heeled pumps on her feet finished the outfit.

 She
grimaced at the thick dark brown eyeliner lines at the top of her eyelids with
blue eye shadow and long thick false eyelashes to add to the disguise.  In
contrast with the dark makeup she used a beige lipstick to reduce the color of
her lips, hopefully hiding the plump bottom lip somewhat.  This was partly
usual ‘work getup’ and she made it a point to keep her personal and work life
separate. No one that saw her like this would associate her with the woman she
became the minute she walked into her home.  Although she never wore the
glasses and color contact lenses before.  This time they were needed to hide
behind.

The
woman in the mirror looked nothing like the “honey pot” Mason Sheppard met on
Saturday. She prayed the disguise was good enough to fool him until she managed
to find another job.  She still could not get over the shock when Lucas
introduced him.  How could fate be so cruel?

She
was ecstatic when she was headhunted by the most sought after private Auditing
and Consultancy firm in the United States, owned by twins; Sheppard Holdings. 
Their customer service, integrity and honesty, spiraled them as the top company
on Wall Street, as well as in Europe where they opened another branch a few
years ago.

The
interview with the Personnel Director and the Auditing Executive partner, Tiaan
Sheppard went extremely well and they were duly impressed with her skills and
abilities.  Tiaan’s best friend, Daniel Jones was one of the Directors of the York
Marketing and Design Company and was the one that told him about her.  They
dealt with the previous company she worked for and he was very impressed with
her. 

It
was not the first time she had been headhunted; as a matter of fact this was
the third time in a four year period. Every time she moved it was to bigger,
more corporate companies, with more responsibilities.  She always took her time
deciding on any offers.  She wanted to be sure she moved not just for more
money, but for the challenges and goals it would offer her.

They
immediately indicated the job would be hers should she be interested, but would
still be interviewed by the Chief Executive Partner before the offer was made.  The
Executive Business Assistant she was considered for was for him.  That,
however, never happened as he had to go to London for an important project.  He
instructed them to go ahead with the offer, based on their feedback after the
interview.

She
already knew he was Mason Sheppard, doing proper research prior to starting at
a new job.  If only there was a picture of him on their website, then she would
have known to run away the minute she saw him on Saturday!  Even better … if
only Michael had told her his full name when he told her all the stories about
their army life together; however, he only ever called him Mace or Admiral.

Sighing, she grabbed
her bags and hastened to the elevator.  Not long thereafter she was on the bus
on her way towards Wall Street in New York over the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Zita Hadley,
this is Mr. Mason Sheppard, our Chief Executive Partner.”

She
held her breath and watched him turn away from where he stood in front of his
office window.  He looked … wow … was as far as her mind went.  He was dressed
in a dark suit with a white shirt and a grey and black tie.   The top button of
his shirt was open and he totally took her breath away.  He looked even more
handsome than he did in his casual jeans.  A veritable hunk and muscled bouncer
lookalike, not someone you would expect to find in a corporate office.

A
small smile curved on his lips and he shook her hand briefly.

“Miss
Hadley, welcome. I trust we will work well together.”

She
nodded and gave a tight smile, ensuring her lips remain pressed tight together.
She shivered when their hands touched and an electric current sizzled through
her.

“I’m
sure we will, sir.”  She kept her voice at a higher pitch than her normal one.

He
frowned slightly and he stared at her.  He pulled his jacket out of the way and
stuck his hands in his pant pockets.

“Any
chance you are family of Michael Hadley?”

Brooklyn
had to tap into her control not to show any reaction to the unexpected
question. 

Lord,
please don’t tell me he recognized me!

“Not
that I am aware of.”

“Well,
Mason, I need to get Zita to the induction room.  She should be through the
process within two weeks.”  Jason Green, the Personnel Director smiled at her
and she nodded.

“Two
weeks!  Forget it Jason; just get her through the main processes.  I want her
here by Wednesday.”

“We
made a unanimous decision not to skimp on the induction process.  Deidre is
still assisting you, is she not?”

Mason
lifted his brow and looked at Jason down his nose.

“It
took too long to find a replacement, and a lot of my projects are behind.  I
can’t waste another two weeks!  Besides, if Miss Zita Hadley here is as good as
you and Tiaan claim, she would ensure she catches up on the rest of the
induction along the way.”

Jason
frowned at Mason, wondering about his unusual, grumpy attitude this morning. 
He sighed and gestured Brooklyn to follow him.

Her
full names were Brooklyn Zita Hadley, but she always used Zita for work and
everyone else called her Bee or Brooke.   Just another small deceit in an
effort to stay under Mason’s radar.  She sincerely hoped he was not this grumpy
to work for all the time.

“Sorry
about that, and please don’t let him scare you off.  He has been very
frustrated and we have taken a long time to find you.  All the others were just
not up to his standard.  He is dealing with a number of large strategic projects
at this point and really needs someone like you to support him.”

“Not
a problem.  I am sure we will find our rhythm soon enough.”

The
following two days flew by.  Her stomach was tied in knots when she walked into
her open plan office and reception area on Wednesday morning.  She came in very
early to familiarize herself with the set up in the office.  She wanted to go
through files and systems so she would know what went where and did not feel
completely lost when he needed something.

She
sighed in relief when she noticed he was not there as yet and sat down with a
steaming cup of coffee behind her desk.  She switched the computer on and
started working through the filing system.  She made notes as she went and
shook her head and jotted a few ideas down on streamlining and implementing an
electronic filing system.

“Morning
Zita.” 

She
startled at the deep voice on the other side of her desk and glanced up.  He
smiled at her.

“Good
morning, Mr. Sheppard.”

“You’re
in early?”   His gaze was direct and she squirmed under the penetrating eyes.

“I
wanted to familiarize myself with the systems. Can I get you something to
drink?”

He
kept staring at her, a slight frown between his eyes and she forced her eyes to
remain on his questioningly. He nodded.

“Some
strong coffee, black and no sugar.  Then I’d like to go through the protocols I
expect from you and bring you up to date on the existing projects I am busy
with.”

Mason
sat down behind his desk with the slight frown still marring his brow.  There
was something about his drab Assistant that seemed somehow familiar, but he
just could not put his finger on it.  What bothered him even more was the surge
of electricity that shivered up his arm when his hand held hers in greeting two
days ago.

He
did not find her attractive at all.  Her tightly pulled back hair and very
heavy makeup was off putting as he much preferred a more natural enhanced
face.  Her clothes albeit neat and corporate, were miles too big and did
nothing for the shape that must be hidden beneath.

When
she walked in with his coffee on a tray and some health biscuits, he shoved the
inappropriate thoughts out of his mind and thanked her absently.

“I
usually take notes directly on my iPad or laptop, unless you prefer manual
notes?”  She asked in her slightly pitchy voice.

“The
more electronic, the better.”  She nodded, went back to her desk and returned
with her iPad to take her seat in front of his desk.

“Before
we start; I never got to interview you, so tell me a little about yourself.”

She
hesitated and her lips thinned a little.  Not prepared for something like this,
she prayed she didn’t slip up and let the cat out the bag inadvertently.  She
took a deep breath and told him about her career to date; her skills, abilities
and values in life and career. How goals drove and motivated her.  She
concentrated on sketching her whole work career in full flair and gave him
nothing on her personal life.

“I
am busy with my Master degree as an Industrial Psychologist and hope to achieve
as much success in that as I have to date as an Executive Assistant.”

“How
old are you?”

“I
… why is that important?”

He
chuckled at her question.  “Miss Hadley, it is something I can just as easily
establish from your personnel records.  I am purely curious as to why you are only
finishing your studies now.  ”

“My
parents could not afford to send me to Varsity after school so I started
working and have been paying for my own studies, which I only started at twenty
two.”

His
eyebrow rose and she blushed, realizing it was one thing she couldn’t lie
about.

“I
am twenty seven.” He didn’t need to know she was turning twenty eight in five
months.  Hopefully by then she would be gone.

He
gazed at her.  “I am impressed.  Doing a full degree and Masters part time
usually takes, what – eight years?  Hmm … Tiaan was right; you would be perfect
for me.”

She
blushed again and he laughed when he noticed it.  She refused to look into his
eyes and his laughter turned to chuckles.

“As
an Assistant, you would be perfect for me.”

She
kept her eyes lowered, which were flashing at this point.  He already made it
very clear that she was indeed perfect for him as a lover as well!

How
was she going to keep hiding her real identity from him?  What would his
reaction be should he find out she has been lying to him? More importantly, how
was she going to avoid him outside of this office?

His
timid Assistant impressed Mason more and more as the morning progressed.  The
time she spent early the morning proved to be extremely valuable.  She already
familiarized her with most of the system protocols and had very good
suggestions on certain improvements.  She even knew the basics of all the major
projects he had been dealing with.

“One
of the important functions you have is to attend meetings with me, even at
customer sites.  I always depend on observations and perceptions, so it will be
your duty to record minutes, even if there is another present recording it
already, as well as pay attention to people’s reactions, body language, etc.”

He
glanced briefly at her.  “This would mean that you will be expected to travel with
me at times and in many instances we will have to stay over.  Would you have a
problem with that?”

She
groaned inward.  It was something they addressed during the interview and
seeing as she had no problem at the time, she couldn’t very well now say the
opposite.  Lord, this job was turning out to be nightmare!

“No,
sir, as long as you warn me a few days in advance.”  Especially if it meant
being away over weekends, and she needed enough time to withdraw from races.

“Of
course and here is your first notice.  I have a very important meeting in
Cleveland first thing on Tuesday morning.  We will fly down late afternoon
Monday and back Wednesday afternoon. The details of the contact at the airport
to arrange our flight plans are on your computer.  We will use the Company
plane. Accommodation details you will also find on the shared folder on the
network.  Please make all the necessary arrangements and then analyze these
reports in line with the project objectives in the file.  I need a detailed gap
analysis and resource requirements.  Have you had time to look at my schedule?”