April picks up her pen and places the tip in her mouth as she listens. My eyes drop to her lips. I feel the long, deep throb inside my pants as I imagine myself in her mouth, looking up at me.
Fuck this. The woman drives me to distraction. How the hell am I supposed to do any work around here?
You hate her, remember?
I get back to what I’m supposed to be doing: working.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to do or how we are to address his absence, but I need you to find him a facility and get him checked in to get help. Hopefully then, in a week or two, he’ll be back to his best and we can move along.” I shuffle the papers on my desk. I don’t want to be distracted by April for one more second.
Damn, this woman is fucking driving me mad. I need to get up before I begin to stare at her.
“That’ll be all for now. I’ve got another meeting I have to attend. Sorry.” I stand and walk to my door, opening it in a rush. April frowns as she looks at me, and I glare back at her.
That’s right, get out of my office, you temptress. I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work.
I got two hours’ worth of sleep last night. Images of that damn forbidden fruit, April Bennet, were running naked through my mind.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Spencer asks
“Nothing.”
“Then why do you look like someone has stuck something up your ass?”
“Get off my fucking case.”
“Listen here, you little bitch,” Spencer says. “I’ve got enough fucking hormonal women busting my balls at home. I don’t need to put up with a moody prick like you at breakfast.”
“Will you two shut the fuck up?” Julian sighs as he reads his paper.
I roll my eyes at Spencer. “Oh, you’ve got it so hard. A beautiful woman you love who’s pregnant with your fourth baby,” I mutter dryly before I sip my coffee.
“I have, actually,” Spencer says. “Charlotte is either trying to fuck me to death or she’s so hormonal that she wants to kill me. Either way, I’m a dead man walking, Sebastian.”
I smile because Spencer’s dramatics always cheer me up.
“There is nothing wrong with me, so leave me alone,” I tell him.
Masters looks over his paper. “When is your blind date with that friend of your sister?”
“Don’t even mention it. I’m not going.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Spencer says. “I saw Marina this week, and she said that your sister has already set it up.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” I exhale heavily. “I’m not in the mood for fucking blind dates. I don’t have time for this shit when everything is going wrong.”
“Like what?”
“I’m about to catch on fire. The temperature in my office is rising, and that woman is driving me crazy,” I say.
Spencer frowns. “What woman?”
I stare at them for a moment, knowing that I may as well fill them in now.
I exhale heavily. “There’s this girl.”
Masters chuckles. “I knew it. There is a woman involved here. You are never in a bad mood. ”
“Just shut the fuck up, Masters,” I snap. “It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got time.”
“Remember that bad coffee woman that I met in the Escape Club that was seeing Buddy at the same time as me?”
“Yeah.”
“The woman that I had the fight with at the auction the other night is her.”
They exchange looks. “The hot blonde one?”
“Yes, and guess who turned up at my office this week as a member of my new legal team.”
Their eyes widen.
I throw my hands up in the air in disgust. “So, now I have a woman working in my office who was the best sex of my life, and I can’t act on it. Plus, she hates my guts, and here I am walking around with a fucking semi on the whole time.”
They both stare at me for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“Not. Funny,” I growl.
“In other words, you’re fucked.” Masters chuckles.
“Completely.”
“What are you going to do?” Spencer asks.
Nothing.” I rearrange the napkin on my lap. “I’m going to ignore April Bennet and pretend that she doesn’t exist.”
April
The bar is bustling, and I take another sip of my Margarita.
“How does he look, anyway?” Penelope asks
“Good,” I sigh. I can’t think of a man more gorgeous than Sebastian Garcia.
I hate that he is.
“Too bad he’s an asshole.” Penelope shrugs.
“Don’t I know it. You know, it’s like I’m being tested. I’m thrown into a job where I have no idea what I’m doing, and it’s with the biggest asshole on the planet who is an absolute god in bed.” I sip my drink. “And the worst part is that I know he still wants me.”
“How?”
“The way he looks at me. The way his eyes drop my lips when I speak.” I stare into space, remembering the heat of his gaze. “Everything about him screams Have sex with me, April Bennet!
God, do I want to.”
My phone beeps with a text from Duke.
Nightcap?
I flick my phone off and turn it over so I can’t see the screen. “I’m going to have to deal with this.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Duke is the hottest guy I’ve ever seen!” Penelope cries. “Are you crazy?”
“I know he’s gorgeous. I know he should be everything I want, but it’s just…” I pause as I try to articulate my thoughts. I can’t because they just don’t make sense; not even to me. “I do know that I love him as a friend but that’s it. Duke deserves better.”
Penelope watches me for a moment with assessing eyes. “I know what’s wrong with Duke,” she says.
“What’s that?” I sip my drink.
“He’s not Sebastian Garcia.”
“That has nothing to do with it.”
“All I’m saying is that if Garcia still floats your boat after being the biggest asshole on Earth, and you still think about him six years later…” She scoffs. “And, may I add, you have a gorgeous man in front of you right now”-she gestures to my phone-“who you don’t even want to message back, then I think we have a problem.”
I tip my head back and drain my glass.
We have a fucking problem, all right.
We walk down the corridor toward Sebastian’s office, and I run my hands over my hips. Do I look okay?
What the hell is wrong with me? Something ridiculous is going on in my brain.
I even wore new underwear today, as if he is going to see it.
Check yourself, April. You hate this guy. Get it through your thick head.
What part of ‘Sebastian Garcia is no good for you’ don’t you understand?
We walk up to the door. “Come in!” Sebastian calls.
My stomach flutters at the sound of his voice.
Damn you, what’s going on with my hormones….. behave.
Sebastian stands behind his desk. His eyes drop to my feet and backup before he gives me a slow, sexy smile, as if forgetting that Bart is in the room with us.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” I reply casually as if I don’t have a care in the world.
Bart’s phone rings. “Hello.” He frowns as he listens. “Are you okay? Damn it. All right, I’m on my way.” He hangs up the call and turns to Sebastian. “My wife has just had a car accident around the corner.”
“Oh no,” I say.
“It’s nothing serious, although I’m going to duck out and see if she’s okay. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Sorry about this.” Bart turns his attention to me. “April can just start running through the progress we’ve made on the facilities for Theodore.”
“That’s fine, I hope everything is okay?”
“She’s assured me she’s fine. April will take over.”
“I’m sure she will,” Sebastian says, a trace of amusement across his face. He seems happy that we are going to be left alone.
Great.
Bart takes off in a rush, and I sit down nervously. Sebastian drops into his seat and sits back.
I flick through my papers and get out my computer. “What would you like to know?” I ask, faking confidence.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
Sebastian’s eyes hold mine. “I’d like to know if you’ve thought about me.”
“What?”
“Have you thought about me, April?”
“I don’t think that’s an appropriate question, Mr. Garcia.”
“Call me Sebastian.”