“When was I supposed to get all of this stuff done?” she asked, holding out her notebook with all of her scribbled directives, her heart in her throat with the fear that she’d failed him on her first day.
Emerson looked down at the instructions but smothered his concern. He looked into her bag and pulled out the cell phone Jennifer had also handed her. “Call Jennifer. Tell her you need a bigger bag. Also tell her she should organize this one for you so that you can find things more easily. She should figure out some sort of method that works for you.”
She held the cell phone in her hand, not sure why she would ask someone else to organize her work for her. “But Jennifer works for you. I can’t…”
He quickly interrupted her. “Jennifer is your assistant. Mine is Emily and she keeps all of my files with her so I don’t have to keep up with them. She hands me only the information I need, when I need it. She’s worked for me long enough that she knows what I need ahead of when I need it so she’s prepared.”
Rachel stared at him, dumbfounded. “Jennifer has already left for the day,” she said stupidly.
He refrained from chuckling at her horrified expression. “Then get her on the phone so she gets in early enough tomorrow morning. She needs to have things ready for you by the time you walk in for your first meeting. You’re already confused and behind on too many issues. You can’t let that happen two days in a row.”
Rachel sighed and stuffed the phone back into her bag. “I’m not calling her at home.”
He waited for a moment, concerned that she was already being too soft. She had to be tough, had to use the people at her disposal. There was no work/life balance in this business and Jennifer already knew that. It was time Rachel learned that as well. “Then you will fail,” was all he said.
Rachel glared at him in the dim light of the limousine. Mentally, she was thinking of all the things she wanted to do to him but in the end, she grabbed the phone one more time and found Jennifer’s number already on one of the speed dials. She spoke quickly to Jennifer, telling her what she would need to do by the morning, apologizing for disturbing her evening.
When she hung up, she shoved the phone back into her bag, refusing to even look at him. “So that’s your precious secret?” she asked, her voice steeped in sarcasm and disdain. “Drive everyone crazy with your horrible demands?”
The deep, sexy chuckle was her only warning. A fraction of a second later, she was lifted out of her seat and plunked down on his lap. This time, there wasn’t any comfort in his touch. She gasped when she felt his strong hands slide up underneath her skirt, caressing her and causing lightning to shoot all over her body. “It isn’t so much a secret, but a mandatory rule. Always surround yourself with people who know what you want,” he said and bent to capture her lips with his.
She tried to resist. She honestly did. She didn’t like this side of Jack…or Emerson! She didn’t like who he was and how he treated others. But she couldn’t deny the way he made her feel. His hands were touching her, sliding upwards. He might not be the same man she knew in Maine, but he knew her body intimately and captured her gasps of pleasure in his mouth as his hands moved up, cupping her breasts, nibbling on her neck before sliding down her back and pressing her body against his. When his teeth nipped at her breast through the silk of her blouse, she couldn’t hold back the scream of need. Her hands dove into his hair, holding him in place while he brought her body higher.
She shifted on his lap, smiling when she heard his groan but then he moved to her other breast and she closed her eyes as the waves of pleasure washed over her.
She was startled when he stopped. Looking around, she suddenly realized that they were stopped in front of a tall, high-rise building with a doorman coming towards them.
“Oh!” she gasped and slipped off of his lap, smoothing down her tight skirt quickly and trying to button her jacket with shaking fingers. It wouldn’t do for this stranger to see the spots on her silk blouse where Emerson’s mouth had been.
And Emerson didn’t help much either. He just sat there and she could feel his amusement as he looked down at her.
Emerson waited for Rachel to pull herself together, relieved that he could still have that kind of an impact on her. Throughout the day, he’d watched her during their meetings, gauging how much she was absorbing versus the important points she might be missing while frantically taking notes. When she’d put her clothes back in order, he smiled and signaled to the doorman. “Good evening, Mr. Watson,” the doorman said as soon as they stepped out.
“Good evening, George,” Emerson said smoothly, buttoning his own jacket as he stepped out beside Rachel. “This is Rachel Ward and she’ll be staying with me for a while.”
“Very good, sir,” the doorman said swiftly, bowing as he pushed the limousine door closed. He then hurried to the front door of the building to hold that one open.
Rachel didn’t understand what was going on, but she hurried after Emerson, her body still shaking from his touch a moment ago. When he stepped into a waiting elevator, she followed, but couldn’t ask him any questions since he was on the phone with someone.
When the elevator doors opened up, her mouth dropped open with the opulence of the decor in front of her.
Emerson didn’t even blink but stepped forward and walked towards the massive living room. There was a huge sectional that sat in front of a stone fireplace, beyond which was the Manhattan skyline that could be viewed from the floor to ceiling windows. It was spectacular!
“Where are we?” she gasped, feeling numb as she twirled around.
He went through the cards that had been set out on the marble topped table, then tossed them down as if they were uninteresting. He glanced at the latest text message that came in front his phone while, chuckling at whatever it said, then turned to face her. “This is where I live when I’m in New York,” he explained, slipping the phone back into his breast pocket.
She took in the industrial-style staircase off to the side and the elaborate dining room table on the other side of the room that could easily seat seven or eight people on each side. “You’re kidding, right?”
“About what?” he asked, taking her hand and pulling her along down a black and white parquet hallway.
“About all this,” she said, gesturing to the place that was enormous. “Does it take up the whole floor?”