Chapter 17

THE ASSISTANT

Jennie

Manhattan, New York

I sat still in the passenger seat of Lisa's Jaguar as she drove, still in shock that she'd demanded to spend the rest of the night with me. She'd asked my driver to take us back to the restaurant to retrieve her car, to ensure we had complete privacy for the rest of the night.

I wasn't sure why, but when she looked over at me at a stoplight, I couldn't help but think that a part of this felt right. That when she wasn't being my boss—even for a split second, she was more than likeable.

"It'll be pretty hard to get a reservation at this hour in New York City," I said, finally breaking the silence.

"We don't need a reservation for where we're going."

"I'll take your word for it, but for the record, I need to apologize in advance."

"For what?"

"Because since you're just assuming I'll like where we're going instead of being a gentlewoman and asking me," I said. "I'm a very picky eater and I'm allergic to a lot of things."

"I'm aware." She turned right at the light. "You don't like seafood, you only eat chicken if it's prepared a certain type of way, you're lactose intolerant yet you still eat certain types of cheese, and if you would like, I can break down an entire list of random shit that seems to make you sick for some reason." She looked over at me. "Would you like me to?"

I shook my head, stunned.

"Good," she said. "I didn't ask because I don't have to, because contrary to what you may think of me, I do pay attention to you. Are you going to give me a chance to be nice or are you going to spend the night acting like we're at the office?"

"I'll give you a chance…"

"Good." She placed her hand on my exposed thigh. "Because I've been trying very hard not to fuck you since you showed up at dinner tonight, so the second you want me to stop trying, please don't hesitate to let me know."

I blushed and leaned back in the seat, staying quiet for the rest of the ride as she steered through the snow-lined streets.

Thirty minutes later, she pulled into the turnaround of a high rise tower. Valet approached her car and she walked over to my side to open the door for me.

She pressed her hand against the small of my back, and as the doorman opened the door for us, she looked down at me and whispered. "Did you really wear that dress to make me jealous?"

"Depends. Did it work?"

"Very much so." She led me up a short flight of steps and onto a glass elevator that faced the bright and glittering lights of Manhattan.

We rode it all the way to the top level, and the second the doors gave way, a waiter greeted us and gestured for us to follow him into a private room.

A hearth blazed warmly in the corner, and there was only one table in the center that faced the floor to ceiling windows.

The waiter smiled and took our wine orders before disappearing.

"Is this place normally set up for private dinners?" I asked.

"Not at all." She looked at me. "But I don't think either of us would like to be spotted together right now, considering our relationship."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want people thinking I slept with the 'Naughty Boss' or Tabloid CEO to get my job."

"Me either." She looked amused. "When are you really coming back to work?"

"You mean, when do you really get to fuck me again?"

"No, I'm going to fuck you tonight," she said. "I truly mean, when are you coming back to work?"

"Once you admit that you need me a lot more than you think you do, and once you apologize for being so rude to me over the past year that I've worked for you."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, amazing sex aside, I have three more weeks of sick leave and some very generous vacation days I can make use of. As a matter of fact—"

"I need you and I'm sorry." Her words came out in a rush. "And I really do need you to come back to help me, until you "quit" that is…"

I knew she wanted me to say that I wasn't quitting, that I would at least consider staying, but one nice date and hot office sex or not, I was leaving Manoban Publishing the second I received a worthy enough job offer.

Thankfully, the waiter returned before I could get a word out, and the two of us ordered the exact same thing. A simple Swiss chicken pasta.

To my surprise, Lisa steered our dinner conversation away from work and sex. For hours, we talked about all the things we had in common, which, for some reason, was a lot more than I thought.

And even though she was behaving like a complete gentlewoman, every time our eyes met, it was clear she was seconds away from suggesting that I let her fuck me on the spot.

At three o'clock in the morning, the waiter told us she couldn't keep the space open a second longer, so Lisa helped me into my coat and we ventured out into the city. She held me against her side as snow fell over us, and we walked all the way down to the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza.

I gripped the railing and for several minutes we watched couples and families attempt to keep their balance on the ice.

"Can I ask you something personal?" I looked up at Lisa.

"Yes."

"Were any of those stories in the tabloids from last year true?"

"Some of them."

"Oh." I frowned. "Really?"

"What are you really asking me, Jennie?"

"Is there any reason why you haven't been featured in one for a very long time?"

"Yes…It's because I haven't done any of the things I used to do for a very long time." She trailed her finger against my lips. "I promised my advisor I would tone down my 'activities' for the sake of the company going public in the future." She paused. "I also happened to accidentally hire a very compelling and sexy distraction working on the floor right below me."

"In other words, you slept with your usual groupies in private."

"I tried to." She admitted. "But I was honestly too damn attracted to someone else to waste my time on other people."

"I don't believe you." I blushed. "There's no way you haven't slept with anyone else since I started working for you."

"You should, and I haven't." She ran her fingers through my hair. "I have no reason to lie to you. I even tried getting rid of you when you first started since you were such a distraction, but that clearly didn't work out."

"You were purposely being mean to me in the beginning to get me to quit?"

She smiled, silently confirming it.

"That is so…" I couldn't believe she could look so genuine while saying that. "That is so fucked up."

"It was."

"No, is." I looked into her eyes. "You still act as if you're trying to get me to quit."

"Sign the extension and I'll be a lot nicer."

"How about treat me better first and I'll consider thinking about it?"

"How about both?" She gently pushed me against the railing. "I haven't truly been 'mean' to you in the past six months. Demanding? Yes. Slightly unreasonable with the scheduling time and getting upset about you refusing to sign my contract? Maybe."

"Definitely."

"Fine," she said. "But I haven't been 'mean' to you."

"You've just done your best to keep me out of your sight and far away from you, because you were thinking about having me as much as I was thinking about having you?"

"Exactly." A smile spread across her face. "I was only protecting myself."

I burst into laughter, feeling her lips against mine within seconds, feeling her arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me close.

"Can I take you home and fuck you now?" she whispered against my mouth. "Or do we need to do something else to make you see that I really do like you?"

"We can…" I blushed at her last five words. "We can do the first thing you said."

Lisa unlocked the door to her lavish penthouse condo, ushering me into her bedroom that overlooked the city. The second she closed the door behind us, her lips were on mine and her arms were around my waist.

"I can't stay with you long tonight," I whispered. "I have to leave within an hour."

"An hour?" She unzipped the side of my dress. "What makes you think I'll be done with you in an hour?"

"Nothing, but my boss is highly obsessed with me being on time for work, and it's already five o'clock in the morning. If I'm more than a minute late, she'll send me an email and act like it's the end of the world."

She let out a low laugh and tore off my panties. "I think she'll be more than willing to make an exception in this case."

I moved my hand down to her pants, pulling her zipper. "I'm not so sure about that. She can be quite the asshole sometimes."

"Is that so?" Her pants hit the floor and she kissed me harder, trapping my bottom lip between her teeth. She pushed my dress down off my shoulders, and then she pushed me back onto the bed.

"That's very so." I smiled as she climbed in bed next to me, as she sucked one of my nipples into her mouth. "I'd be very surprised if she was late to work today at all."

"She will be." She grabbed my hands and rolled me on top of her. She put on a condom and slowly positioned me over her hardened cock—silently commanding me to lower myself onto it.

I took my time, filling myself with her inch by inch, and when she was completely inside of me, I entwined my hands with her and rocked against her.

"Fuck…" She breathed as I tried to speed up my rhythm, as she gripped my hips and forced me to slow down.

Freeing her right hand from mine, she pulled my head closer and covered my mouth with her—kissing me until I was nearly breathless.

She pressed her fingers deeper into my skin, controlling the movement of my hips. She whispered my name against my lips, and my muscles tensed as I felt her cock throbbing inside of me.

"Fuck, Jennie…" She held onto me tightly as she came, and I felt familiar waves of pleasure rolling through me at the same time.

Panting uncontrollably, my entire body went limp and I collapsed against her body.

I shut my eyes, expecting her to let me catch my breath, but she quickly moved me off of her and flipped me onto my stomach.

Confused, but too tired to ask what she was doing, I kept my eyes shut and groaned. The next thing I felt was her mouth against my back, her leaving feather-light kisses in a soft trail all the way down my spine. All the way down to my cheeks.

Both of them.

"There," she said, slapping my ass and flipping me over. "Now you can officially say I've kissed your ass."

We both burst into uncontrollable laughter, and she positioned a pillow under my head.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Do you need anything?"

"Water…And a grand tour of your apartment later."

"Okay. We can definitely do that." She kissed my forehead and walked away.

I winced as I tried to stretch my legs and managed to roll over on my side. I looked around the room for my purse, spotting my cell phone flashing the tell-tale blue light of a new email from its pocket. Thinking it was Jisoo with an emergency, I pulled the sheets over myself and got out of bed.

Subject: What I Need Today.

You in my office for a meeting at ten.

Lisa Manoban

CEO, Manoban Publishing

What the!

I turned around immediately, finding myself face to face with Lisa. "You seriously expect me to be able to get to work and hold a ten o'clock meeting with you today?"

"Yes." She pulled me toward the bed. "I have some former fantasies of my own I'd like us to fulfill in my office…"