“You know I can. I’ve worked for regional papers for five years as a reporter.”
“This is strictly off the record,” Tristan says. “You cannot tell a soul. It’s imperative.”
“I won’t,” I say as I look between them.
“For some time, we have thought that somebody on your floor is selling our stories to our competitors so that they are breaking before us. What you told us this morning all but confirms it.”
I frown. “How do you know?”
“Trust me; we know,” Jameson replies. “Our stocks are falling and so is our credibility. It needs to stop.”
I frown as I listen.
“We want you to make up a fake news story and submit it through the normal channels, and we will see if it turns up in our competitor’s papers.”
I stare at him as I try to get my brain to keep up. “What would I write about?”
“Something worth selling. It doesn’t have to be real. The faker the better—then it’s more easily traceable.”
“Who do you think it is?” I ask as excitement runs through me. This is my chance. If I do well here, I can prove myself as a valuable employee. Imagine if I cracked the case. I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile. I need to act as if exciting things like this happen to me every day.
“We have no idea, but we know it’s not you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because it began before you started,” Jameson says as he stands and goes to the bar.
“Okay.” I think for a moment. “I could do that.” I look between them. “When do you want the story by?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, if possible.”
“Okay.”
A voice comes through the intercom. “Tristan, you have London on line two.”
He stands and pushes the button. “Give me a moment to get back to my office.”
“Okay,” the receptionist answers.
“Sorry, I have to take this call. We are settling today on a new company. We’ll talk more tomorrow afternoon,” he says.
“Sure.” I smile. Oh, I like him. He’s friendlier than his brother.
He shakes my hand. “Remember, not a word to anyone. I would hate to have to fire you.” He gives me a playful wink, but something tells me he’s not joking.
I frown. What the hell? “Okay.”
“I look forward to reading your story,” he says. He turns and walks out of the office and closes the door behind him.
I turn to Jameson. His eyes are dark, and he’s holding his glass of scotch. He sips it in slow motion, and I smile nervously as my heart begins to race.
He raises his eyebrow and sips his scotch again. The electricity in the air between us is palpable.
“I should get back to my desk,” I whisper.
His eyes stay fixed on me as if he wants to say something, but he remains silent.
“Is there anything else you wanted, sir?” I whisper as I stand.
He puts his drink down on the desk and walks toward me. “Yes, actually. There is.”
He stops in front of me so that our faces are only an inch apart, and I stare up at him.
His close proximity steals my breath, and like a wave in the ocean, arousal swims between us. “Can you feel that?” he breathes.
I nod because it’s undeniable.
“I’m so sexually attracted to you that it’s insane,” he whispers. “From the first moment I saw you on that plane.”
I stare at him as I get a vision of him throwing me across his desk.
He trails his index finger down my face, over the center of my chest between my breasts, and then lower to my stomach, and then he skims it over my pubic bone before resting his hand on my hip. “I have a request.”
“Yes.” I close my eyes as I feel myself melt under his touch.
He leans forward so that his lips are almost touching my ear. His breath tickles and sends goose bumps down my spine. “I want you to wear your gray skirt tomorrow, the one with the split.”
I frown as I listen to his whispered words.
“Your white silk blouse, and the lace bra that you wear underneath it.”
Holy shit . . .
“No stockings.” His hand grips my hip bone, and I clench my sex.
He licks my ear. “I want you to wear your hair in a ponytail so I can wrap it around my hand.”
I get a vision of him wrapping my ponytail around his hand, and I nearly combust.
This man is a god.
I stare up at him. “Anything else?” I breathe.
“Yes.” His eyes darken, and he reaches up and rubs his pointer finger over my bottom lip. “Tonight, I want you to take your vibrator.” His voice is deep and hushed and doing things to my insides that I didn’t know were possible.