Teaching The Boss Read online

  His stroking palms hooked around to her inner thighs and he moved up higher. Reaching her core, he spread her inner lips open as he laid a kiss to her most sensitive area.

  April gasped. Her head fell back as the lightning shot through her. Her hips bucked against him, urged him for more. In response, his tongue teased her with short, deliberate strokes; each touch pushed her closer to the edge. One hand fisted in his hair as the other braced her against the desk, trying to give him the best angle possible so his delicious torture wouldn’t stop.

  Two fingers slid into her wet heat, and she let out a moan that she quickly regulated to a whimper as she remembered the need for silence. As he stroked in and out, his tongue continued to work its magic, the double assault on her senses too much for April to bear. Her breaths came quicker, and tiny moans slipped past her as she climaxed and pulled Sam even closer.

  She worked to catch her breath as she slowly came back to earth. Sam pushed himself up, undoing his pants as he stood. She stared breathlessly at him, only then realizing that they were almost fully dressed.

  And then he thrust into her in one sure stroke. Her arms wrapped around him, fingers twisting in the fine fabric of his jacket, as he started to move. As he moved faster and faster against her over sensitized flesh, she had to double her efforts to remain silent. She wrapped her legs around his waist and matched his rhythm, shifting her hips to meet each rough thrust. Their orgasms hit at the same time. Sam grunted his release as April bit at the fabric of his jacket to keep quiet.

  They remained entwined in their passionate embrace for a few moments as each caught their breath. Sam ran his hands up and down her back as he let out a little laugh.

  She smiled up at him. “Do that to a lot of women?”

  He brushed his fingers through his hair, the strands obediently falling perfectly back into place. “That was a first,” he admitted. “God, I hope it’s not the last.”

  She snorted as she disentangled her legs from around him. “I should really get going. You have a nine o’clock you should probably get ready for.”

  He leaned over her to pull some napkins from a drawer he could just barely reach without withdrawing fully. Then he carefully pulled out, taking extra care to wipe her clean. “Still keeping track of my schedule?” he asked casually.

  She sucked in a breath at the intimate, gentle touch, immediately missing his warmth as he backed away, tossed the napkin in the trash, and buttoned his pants. “Someone needs to keep track of you,” she murmured as she pulled her panties back on and straightened her skirt.

  “Well, thank God I have you, right?” He leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek.

  She turned, intercepting his kiss with her lips. “You know it. Now, assuming Eric hasn’t already spilled the beans, I’m going to start bragging about my new boyfriend.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sam’s eyes moved quickly over the crowded bar, searching through the sea of black suits and white dress shirts for Simon. He pushed a bit deeper into the crowd, the combined colognes and perfumes a bit too much for his tastes. One of his favorite things about April was her scent. She forewent the expensive perfumes, so she always smelled like woman, with the tiniest hint of her soap and shampoo.

  He liked it even better when she smelled like his soap.

  Simon waved a hand from a booth on the other side of the bar, and Sam forced his mind to clear. He had to focus on getting the company back. Not on his girlfriend. His amazing girlfriend who’d let him fuck her in his office. God, he’d rather be with her at the moment.

  “Please tell me you’ve got something.” Sam slid into the seat across from Simon.

  “Not even going to buy me a drink first?” Simon was dressed in a pristine, perfectly tailored suit as always.

  “Am I going to want to buy you one after I hear your news?”

  Simon smirked. “After you hear what I have to say, you’re going to want to buy me this entire bar.”

  Sam’s stomach flipped over. A wave of nervous excitement rushed through him. “What did you find?”

  “I didn’t exactly find anything. You remember when I asked you how far you were willing to go?”

  “Yeah,” said Sam as the waitress approached the table. It was only when she started listing off the specials that Sam realized he was in a bar bar. As in surrounded by alcohol. Shit. As much as he wished he could blame this startling immunity to the one substance that almost caused his complete downfall on his newfound peace of mind, he knew it was just one more sign of how frayed around the edges he was. He needed this Donald situation fixed. He couldn’t afford to be this distracted on a perpetual basis.

  “I think I have a way out of this, but it’s not a clean solution.”

  Sam kept his face blank, but took a deep gulp of water. “How dirty?”

  “I’ve been working another job for the past few months. I can’t go into specifics, but I will say that it involves bringing down a dirty investor.” Simon leaned back in his seat, intently studying Sam. “He promises big returns for a small initial payment. He delivers and then gets a much bigger amount.”

  “Some sort of Ponzi scheme?” What was Simon’s game? Getting Donald bankrupt would take far too long and, even if he was living out of a cardboard box, he still wouldn’t sell Sam the HuntCorp shares back.

  “Oh no. The earnings are real. You know what they say. ‘No risk, no reward.’”

  Sam’s brows drew together. “Exactly how risky are the investments?”

  “Illegal risky. My client’s son went to jail because of this idiot about three years ago.”

  “Jail?” Sam leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Donald’s not going to be investing in anything illegal. He’s been around too long and likes his money way too much.”

  “That’s what makes DuFord dangerous. He makes his clients an ass ton of cash, takes a healthy amount off the top, and if the cops get wind of what’s happening, he vanishes. Nothing is in his name. Forged signatures, fake accents on phone calls, the whole nine yards.”

  “And you think Donald will put his money with this guy? He’s going to do his research before he lets go of even a penny.”

  “There’s nothing to find. Why do you think I’m working to bring down DuFord and not the police? The guy is a ghost and I’ve been trying to lure him out for years.”

  “And Hunt money would probably lure anyone out of hiding,” murmured Sam.

  “Exactly. If we can catch DuFord in the act of depositing the cash, your father’s cash, and then prove it’s going into shady funds, you’ll get everyone’s attention—the police digging through Donald’s every financial transaction for at least the last three years and hopefully it will give them all the probable cause they need to rip DuFord apart.”

  Sam shook his head. “Even if that’s true, Donald’s not going to go for it.”

  The corner of Simon’s mouth hooked up in a cocky grin. “He’s already going for it.”

  Sam’s mouth actually dropped open before he quickly closed it. Donald Hunt falling for a scam? The same man who repeatedly fucked with Sam’s life just to prove how dangerous it was to become complacent? “How?”

  “The same way DuFord always works. He took a small amount and already gave Donald a sizeable, but not overly suspicious, return. Apparently he was satisfied enough that he’s going to meet with DuFord tomorrow and authorize a larger sum.”

  “Meet in person?” Sam fiddled with the glass in front of him, turned it in circles as his mind raced. “Why not just call the bankers and have them take care of everything? How do you even know about the meeting?”

  Simon’s lips tightened and he let out a sigh. “I know about it because you pay me to. I’ve been working to get in DuFord’s good graces for almost a year. The only piece I was missing was a fall guy to come in with cash. I would rather avoid jail time for investing in the latest weapons research in Russia, but I didn’t exactly know anyone I wanted to pull into that kind of legal mess. But you n
eed Donald in a tight spot and I need DuFord with a fat check in his hand. If we can back Donald into this corner, we can get him scared enough to sell you your shares back.”

  The idea of Donald being scared of anything caused Sam’s heart to beat faster. “Do you think he would go to jail?”

  “Your father?” Simon took a quick sip of his drink. “Possibly. Probably not. He has the best lawyers money can buy and is technically unaware of any wrongdoing. He’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist. But only after a massive investigation and a mountain of legal bills.”

  But there was a chance. Sam had always told himself he’d do whatever it took, but sending his own father to prison was a whole new low. But it wasn’t like it would be the prison from TV. This would be a white collar jail. Hell, Donald would probably be able to bring a butler with him. At least that was what Sam told himself. “And how will that get me my shares back?”

  “Once DuFord takes the money, there’ll be a few hours before the actual transfer goes through. Confront your father then. Tell him that you can make everything go away if he gives you the shares.”

  “And how do we make everything go away?”

  “We don’t. There’s not going to be enough time to pull the plug.”

  “You’re saying we should lie.”

  Simon’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I’m saying you should lie. The bastard nearly ruined your entire professional career and reputation. Does lying bother you?”

  Sam clenched his jaw, more upset with himself than Simon. Lying shouldn’t upset him. It was the least of what Donald deserved for the shit he pulled. “When is this meeting happening?”

  “Tomorrow at four. In the steakhouse across the street from the Hunter Enterprises building. The bank DuFord uses closes at six Mountain time, so you have four hours before Donald starts to think you’re blowing smoke up his ass.”

  By tomorrow night, he could have complete control of HuntCorp again. As the grin started to spread across Sam’s face, he remembered. “That doesn’t work. April’s graduation ceremony is tomorrow.”

  A flash of surprise crossed Simon’s face, but he quickly hid it and was back to his normal, stoic calm. “You don’t think she’d understand the gravity of the situation?”

  Sam narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want her to understand. Can’t the meeting be rescheduled?”

  Simon held his hands in the air. “I don’t set these things up. DuFord just let me know out of courtesy that this was going down tomorrow. I don’t actually call any shots.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you.” It was the truth. Sam had no idea what to say. This was the chance he’d waited for. What he’d paid Simon his exorbitant fee for. Could he really walk away from that?

  Simon pressed a twenty onto the table. “I want you to understand that, even if you don’t come to bargain with your father, the deal is still going down tomorrow. I am giving you everything you wanted. There’s no legal way out of the buy-in and Donald is one of the squeakiest clean men I’ve ever seen. Playing dirty is the only way to get those shares back, and deals like this are hard to plan. I honestly don’t think I could set the same thing up again.” He stood and maneuvered his way out of the booth. “Sleep on it. Give me a call tomorrow when you make up your mind.”

  “Will do,” said Sam.

  Simon nodded before he turned away and strode out of the bar. Sam leaned back in the seat, taking another deep gulp of his water. April wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t show up to her ceremony. Hell, he wouldn’t be happy. He was damn proud of her, and he wanted to be there. He wanted a cheesy cell phone photo of her walking across the stage.

  But that would only last a moment. If he could get his company back, that would be everything. Finally beat Donald at his own game. Prove once and for all that he was smart enough and man enough to make it without Donald hounding him every second about what a fuck-up Sam could be. And then going out of his way to prove it.

  A few moments of missed memories in exchange for a lifetime of security. When he put it like that, it made a hell of a lot more sense.

  But damn it if it didn’t still feel so wrong.

  ~~~~~

  “You’re going to pick me up at twelve?” asked Annabelle over the phone.

  April nodded out of habit as she paced around Sam’s living room. “Yep. Sam is going to get some work done at the office, but he’s going to be there. Is your mom going to be okay with that?” Annabelle’s mother didn’t have her daughter’s forgiving nature, and April couldn’t exactly blame her. Sam was the man who destroyed Annabelle’s legs. How could any parent forgive that? How could Annabelle forgive it?

  “I can’t believe he’s coming. So you two are really serious then?”

  Biting her bottom lip, April paced around Sam’s living room. “I don’t know about that. We’ve only been officially together for a few weeks.”

  “A few great weeks. How many nights have you spent at your place since you first hooked up?”

  “A few,” muttered April. She felt the heat creep into her cheeks and she was grateful Annabelle couldn’t see the reaction. It wasn’t as if they were high school girls joking about going to prom. But just the mention of sleepovers with Sam flooded her mind with all sorts of dirty thoughts. “But Sam has always been special to me. From the first moment we met, I was half smitten. Sam is hard to read, though. Yeah, I practically live at his place, but I’m not sure if he wants me to live with him or if it’s because it’s more convenient to have me here, you know?”

  A few seconds of silence fell before Annabelle said, “Have you asked him?”

  April sighed. “No. I’m going to wait and see. I know he likes me, and I know I’m not just another fling. That’s enough for now. As I said, it’s only been a few weeks. I don’t even know what I’m expecting.”

  “If you marry him, you’ll be April Hunt. New York royalty.”

  April snorted. “Now you’re trying to talk me out of it.”

  “What?” asked a shocked Annabelle.

  “The last thing I need is to get even more involved with his crazy family. I’m already sandwiched between Sam and his father.” Even as her mind ticked through all the reasons she should be wary of Sam and the drama his status brought with it, her heart still did a little summersault at hearing “April Hunt” said out loud. What was she thinking? She’d never been the type to sit around and daydream about marriage. Even now, the idea of getting up in front of all of her family and friends to chain herself to one man for the rest of her life seemed daunting. But somehow imagining Sam as that man made the thought a bit easier to swallow.

  “You’re thinking about what your dress will look like, aren’t you?” Annabelle giggled.

  “You’re a bad influence! The only dress I’m thinking of is the one I’m wearing tomorrow.”

  “Please. You’ve had that planned out for weeks now. Wedding bells are totally playing in your head.”

  The clicking of the locks sounded behind April, and she turned to face the door. “Sam’s back. I’ll call you when I get in the cab tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good. And don’t forget I’m an autumn. Remember that when you pick out bridesmaids dresses!”

  “Hanging up now!” April grinned.

  Sam pushed into the apartment, shot April a quick smile as a hello before setting down his computer bag and folding his suit jacket over the bench in the small entryway.

  “Hey. How did the meeting with Simon go?”

  “It went,” said Sam.

  April frowned at the non-answer. Sam didn’t seem to be holding back the anger that always came from Donald beating him at one of his games, so the news couldn’t have been that bad. But it didn’t look like it was great news either.

  “Was that Annabelle on the phone? Is she excited about tomorrow?”

  “Excited? She’s the first member of her family to ever graduate from college. She’s over the moon. Though I’m not sure if she’s more excited about her trip or graduation at this p
oint.”

  Sam unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt as he crossed into the living room and plopped onto the couch. “Trip? Where’s she going?”

  “She starts with Kelsey Consulting next month, so she has some downtime. She and her mother are going for a cross-country bus tour to celebrate. It’s really cool.” April sat next to Sam on the sofa. He held up an arm, and she took the opening to cuddle up next to him, his heat always working as a class A stress reliever. “She told me that she never even dreamed she could get this far and she’s not going to wait to get her dreams anymore. So she and her mother are starting to cross things off their dream list, starting with a road trip.”

  Sam tucked her in closer. “Road trip on a bus?”

  She chuckled. “Her mom doesn’t drive and she hasn’t since, um, for a while.”

  He stiffened against her. “Since the accident.”

  “Don’t think about that right now. Just be happy for her. This is a big deal.”

  “I am happy for her.” Sam placed a soft kiss right on the top of April’s head. “I’m proud of you too. I know it wasn’t an easy road.”

  April’s fingers moved over the fabric of Sam’s dress shirt. She didn’t want to think about the hard times anymore. “It’s over. Now, be serious. What happened at the meeting?”

  “Well, for starters, it was at a bar.”

  “Oh no.” April craned her neck to look up at Sam. “Was it bad? You are obviously here and not on a bender, so that’s good.”

  He chuckled. His chest rumbled with the noise. “I made it out alive. In all honesty, I wasn’t thinking about the temptation. Donald was the only thing on my mind.”

  That didn’t exactly sound much better. “So what did Simon want?”

  “He thinks he found a way to back Donald into a corner. A way we can scare him so badly that he’ll give me back control of HuntCorp.” Sam’s face didn’t show the slightest hint of joy or pleasure at the idea.

  “So what’s the problem? Isn’t that great news?”

  “Simon’s been setting Donald up. He’s got some sort of shady transaction going on between Donald and an investor he’s been trying to nail for a while. I swoop in after the deal is done and tell Donald I can make it go away if he gives me what I want.”