Beautiful Temptation
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Jessica Carter
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Chapter 1
EVERETT
I step off the elevator onto my floor and notice there are no employees where they need to be. Everyone is huddling around another employee’s desk. I wonder what has made them so intrigued.
“My husband said it’s baby fat,” I overhear Amy telling everyone.
“No, it’s just fat, baby.”
My eyes snap to the back of Tameka’s head, the only intern on my floor. She has got to be fucking kidding me. I groan, rubbing my temples.
I cannot afford for her to get another complaint. Priscilla, from HR, is already riding my ass to get rid of her.
I march toward the crowd, my heels clicking ominously against the sleek office floor. “Enough!” I bark out louder than I’d intended, but it does the trick. Heads turn, eyes wide, as they scatter back to their respective desks like startled pigeons, except Tameka, who just stands there with a smirk playing on her lips.
“What’s going on here?” I demand, my voice ice cold despite the fire burning in my chest.
“Just some lighthearted banter, boss,” Tameka drawls, her voice dripping with faux innocence that doesn’t fool anyone.
I fix her with a glare. “In my office. Now.” It’s not a request.
She rolls her eyes but follows obediently. As soon as the door clicks behind us, I spin on her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Tameka? You’re on thin ice as it is.”
I’m the least serious person, but she brings this side out of me and drives me insane.
“It was a joke—sort of.” She smiles at me. Her blondish-brown curls bounce wildly as she hops onto the table.
She turns slightly. I avert my eyes; I know where she is trying to go with this, and some days, I think about letting her take me there. Tameka is a beauty but hell in heels.
Speaking of heels, today she is wearing the emerald-green ones—one of my favorite colors on her. It complements her golden-brown complexion.
“Sit in a chair, please.” I clear my throat.
“Why? Are you scared I’m going to fall off, or are you thinking about…,” she says, dragging it out. My mind goes straight to the gutter.
“Fine,” I snap. “Stay up there.”
She chuckles. I swear she is going to give me gray hair.
“So, what’s up?” she asks innocently.
“What did I tell you about saying inappropriate things?”
“I haven’t come on to you in a week. What are you talking about?”
I don’t think I ever gave off the perception that I wanted to cross the line with her. I’ve made it clear that she is the employee and I’m the boss. Mixing business with pleasure isn’t ideal for me. As the saying goes: You don’t shit where you eat.
I don’t know whether she is playing, but it’s a constant battle. I’m itching to have my way with her, but that’s not who I am anymore.
“I’m not talking about me. What you said to Amy, that was wrong.”
“Oh, come on.” She leans back on her elbows. “Like she didn’t ask for it.”
“She didn’t.” I shake my head. “You must start respecting your elders and remember this is a place of business, not a dive bar.”
“Amy literally sits at her desk and eats like the world is ending. Then talks shit about other people too. Just last week, she yelled at Lorraine and said some really racist shit. Ms. Rainey is such a lovely lady. She didn’t report her and begged me not to say anything either. Which I won’t say, so don’t ask.
“So, calling Amy fat was me being nice. I could have called her a fat fucking hungry hippo.” She rolls her eyes, getting all worked up. “But I didn’t because I was being nice.”
“Tameka, you’ve only been here for eight months and gotten over a dozen complaints. Priscilla wants you out on your ass, and you’re not helping, especially being an intern. I can’t keep putting my neck on the line for you. You should have had a little more self-restraint and not said anything. What if HR or the CEO decided to make a visit to my floor? You would be gone.”
See, the thing about Tameka is that she is really good at all things product related. She is proactive in contacting customers with surveys and special offers. She proactively attempts to solve any problems that might cause the company to lose customers.
Out of all the employees in the product division, she doesn’t mind heading to the retail stores and warehouses to be more hands on. She would be a keeper after her internship, but we have to get her mouth under control.
Hopping off the table, she saunters toward me. I take a few steps back, hitting the wall. Closing the distance between us, Tameka smirks up at me.
“You know where I would love to put my ass?” she purrs, grabbing onto the lapels of my blazer.
My heart thumps against my chest, loud in the silent tension that stretches between us. I swallow hard, my voice a low whisper as I try to maintain some semblance of authority. “Tameka, this isn’t the place—or time—for that kind of talk.”
“But it could be,” she counters swiftly, her fingertips brushing lightly against the fabric of my blazer as though she’s playing a particularly daring game of chess. “Forget HR. Forget Priscilla. It’s just you and me here, no?”
I press my back farther against the cold wall. The rational part of me screams to push her away, to redraw those professional lines with bold, unmistakable strokes. Yet, there’s this other part—the one drowning in her perfume and trapped by those piercing eyes—that wants to lean closer.
“Tameka,” I start again, my voice firmer this time, trying to shove the reckless thoughts away. “You’re talented, brilliant even. Don’t mess this up with…whatever this is.”
She laughs, a sound that seems to dance mockingly around the room. “Messing things up is a matter of perspective.” Her grip tightens momentarily on my blazer before she lets go, stepping back but holding my gaze captive still. “I’m just saying what everyone else is too scared to say out loud.”
There is a sudden knock on the door before it opens.
My best friend Tristan peeks his head inside. “Hey, got a sec?” Tristan’s eyes flick between the two of us, an eyebrow raised in silent question.
“Yeah, just finishing up here,” I manage, straightening my blazer and clearing my throat. Tameka steps back farther, her smirk fading into a more professional smile as if we’d been discussing quarterly reports instead of flirting with disaster.
“You’re right, Mr. Sawyer. I should never have said that to Amy. I will apologize to her when she gets back from lunch. I promise it won’t happen again,” she says sweetly before turning to the door. “Hey, Mr. Beckett, love the tie.” She skips out of the office.
Goddamn she-devil.
Tristan walks in, closing the door behind him. “Are you sure everything is all right?” he asks.
“Yeah, just reprimanding an employee,” I lie. Reprimanding and Tameka don’t go in the same sentence. What she needs is a different kind of discipline that my hand itches to introduce her to, but spanking an employee is frowned upon.
If Tameka knew I wanted her as badly as she wanted me, she would keep pushing until I break. Hell, she is almost there without even knowing.
“Don’t insult me,” he scoffs. “You, reprimanding that little hellcat? Never. You love this little cat-and-mouse game with her. Granted, you won’t cross the line, but if she pushes enough… I fear, Evie, you are going to cave in. It’s known she already wants to sleep with you.”
Right, how could I forget that? During her third week here, I was leaving work, and Tameka was outside of the building on the phone, talking loudly about how sexy I looked and how she wanted me to fuck her senseless. From that day on, I have been careful about what I say or do around her.
Tristan’s smirk is as sharp as a knife’s edge, slicing through the tension. “Don’t pretend it wouldn’t thrill you, Evie. The danger of it, the secrecy—it’s right up your alley.”
I grimace, hating how he can read me so well. “It’s not that simple,” I say, leaning back against the cool glass table. “You know the policy—”
He cuts me off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Please, policies are just guidelines. Besides, you’re the boss here. Who’s going to challenge you?”
The thought has a dangerous appeal, like a forbidden fruit dangling just within my reach. But it’s reckless, absurdly so. “Well, it won’t happen. She is too young for me.”
Tristan laughs, that deep, knowing chuckle that tells me he doesn’t buy it for a second. “Age is just a number, Evie. It’s all about chemistry, and you two? You’ve got fireworks ready to light up the sky.”
I shake my head, trying to dispel the vivid images his words conjure. The office, late at night, desks and shadows, whispers amidst silence. No, I can’t afford to go there.
Not with Tameka. Not with anyone.
“But it’s not just about what I want,” I push back, my voice firmer. “There’s a line we can’t cross. Professionalism has to come first.”
“Since when has that been your motto?” he teases.
“She is unpredictable and very inappropriate.” I pause, looking at him. “Two of my least favorite qualities in a woman.”
“If you had said this ten years ago, I would call you a liar, but my dear Evie has grown up. You know my best friend, Antonella, is single. Maybe you can give her a call? Ask her out for dinner, wine and dine her. But you will not sleep with her.”
“Then what’s the point of taking her out for dinner?”
“Asshole. Then what about Hyejin? I heard she was flying into town yesterday, or it could be tonight, and we all know she wants you. It’s a win for you. She isn’t Charlotte’s kids’ babysitter anymore and is old enough to drink now. Give her a call.”
I see a shadow cast under the door, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Tameka is eavesdropping.
“You’re right. I’ll call her now.” Maybe that’s what I need, to get laid. However, I need Tameka to understand she and I will never be.
The office door is kicked, and Tameka calls me a prick. I swear I’m going to fire this girl.
***
I look down at my desk as my cell phone vibrates. It has been vibrating for the past fifteen minutes, and each time I’ve ignored it.
My mother has been getting on my case to settle down, and each time, I had an excuse why I didn’t have time. I promised her last year I would settle down, but I would find the woman myself. My mother has an ever-growing list of women—potential daughter-in-law candidates.
I don’t know how much longer I can push it off. If I could push it off forever, I would. Women can’t be trusted.
They only want either one of two things—your money or sex. I’ve been betrayed before, and I won’t allow it to happen again.
My job phone beeps, and my assistant’s voice comes through. “Boss, your mother is on line one, and she said if you keep ignoring her, she will fly to Georgia. Shall I send her through?”
I drop my head as I rub my temples. “Send the call.”
“Everett!”
“Hello to you too, Mother.”
“Oh, don’t hello me. Why aren’t you answering your phone? Are you ignoring me?”
Yes. Yes, I am. “No, Mother, I’m not. I just have been busy; we’re gearing up for the holidays. Every year, I’m busy at this time. I have a meeting in five minutes. How can I help you?”
“My friend has a daughter who is visiting Georgia in a few weeks. I told her that you would—”
There is a knock on my door.
“One minute, Mother.” I put the phone on mute. “Come in.”
Tameka walks in, her lips turned up in disgust. She has folders in one arm and her purse in the other hand. I gesture for her to come inside. “I wanted to drop off the files on the Clo Perfume sales before heading out. I have—”
“He is the perfect guy for her. My son is one of the founders of Opal Group,” my mother says to whomever she is with. “He might not seem like it, but he is a hopeless romantic.”
I pick up the receiver, taking the phone off mute. “Mother. I need to go and also, please don’t try to send blind dates my way. I’m already in a committed relationship.”
“Who is she? How old is she? Does she work with you? For you?” my mother rambles.
Tameka moves slowly toward my desk, dropping off the files.
“She works for the company,” I answer without thinking.
Tameka stops mid-stride and her eyes go wide.
“I need to go, Mother.” I end the call.
“Have a good night.” She pivots, moving so fast out of the office before I can put the receiver down.
That’s a first. No sexual remarks, no attitude. Did I say something wrong?
