Page 16 of Office Affairs

It was a good fucking thing my office stretched over twenty feet long. I paced from one end to the other, hands in my pockets and my gaze pinned on the far wall where a single painting of a wagon train took up the entire space. Sunlight bounced off the canvas, brightening the colors and highlighting the tired faces covered in trail dust. These were my ancestors. Men and women who stopped at nothing to achieve their dreams.

What would they think of this world and all that we’d done in the last few hundred years? I knew one thing, they wouldn’t hesitate to hang the person responsible for stealing. Didn’t matter if it was a horse or digital technology. I despised a thief. Spineless cowards who took what they didn’t deserve and made a profit on others’ labor. I eyed the painting again. “Guess you motherfuckers did the same thing, huh?”

Why couldn’t I find the bastard stealing from us? What was I missing? I’d looked at security footage all day, checking the employee comings and goings against work logs and security passes swiped between floors. Nothing stood out. I rubbed a hand over my face and pressed the button that rang through to Sabrina’s desk then walked away.

Sabrina walked in, the swish of her skirt cutting through my thoughts with the effectiveness of a surgeon’s scalpel. She set a cup of coffee on the edge of my desk and raised a brow when she spotted me. The look was a challenge, and I found that I didn’t mind it one bit. She’d been quiet this week. Something in her demeanor shifted after the day we paid Leon a visit. I’d noticed the silent way she slipped in and out of my office today and the way she took notes in our meeting yesterday, without ever offering a peep.

She was the complete opposite of the last woman. I liked that Sabrina was quiet and kept out of the way. She worked hard and got things done without asking a million questions.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Bennett?” Hands folded together in front of her stomach, she created the perfect picture of a woman ready to please.

The thought tightened my balls. I ignored the sensation. Twice a day, Sabrina asked that question, and twice a day, I told her no. Unlike her predecessor, Sabrina didn’t nag me with the question, which I found delightful but also disappointing.

“What did you think of the meeting yesterday?” I kept her there as I prodded her for information. It was a ridiculous question, but I wasn’t ready for her to leave my office for the last time today. I wouldn’t see her again for three days. What the fuck was wrong with me that those three days felt impossible?

Sabrina’s nose wrinkled a tiny bit. “Do you want me to break down my thoughts on the entire meeting or did you have a specific remark that you need my expert opinion on?”

“Smart ass.” I smirked at her. She might be quiet and stay in the background, but she possessed a quick wit and sassy sarcasm that I found utterly adorable.

She lifted her shoulders at my comment and splayed her hands. The laughter flashing in her eyes and the quirk of her lips told me she enjoyed playing along. “It’s a simple question, really. Should I write up my findings for you and leave them on your desk?”

“I’d rather hear them from you.” I liked watching her talk. When a subject interested her, she lit up from the inside. Her motions became animated, and she switched gears from silent secretary to confident businesswoman. I craved her attention in a way I’d never experienced. “You don’t kiss my ass and tell me what I want to hear.” I challenged her with the change in my tone.

Her shoulders rolled back and she set her hands on her hips. “I didn’t know ass-kissing was part of the protocol. I’m afraid you hired the wrong woman if that’s what you want.”

“It isn’t. It’s why I fire people.” Garrett told me about the situation with the other employees, how they’d been talking smack about Sabrina. It pissed me off, but I kept it together. We’d weed out the problems eventually. Ranting and raving and kicking shit like Garrett never solved this kind of problem. I’d kept an ear to the ground, but things were quiet downstairs. “I want honesty. Loyalty.” Which was why it burned me that someone here at Grady kept stealing from us.

“Well, loyalty can’t be bought. Everyone thinks it can, but truthfully, there’s always someone out there with a deeper pocketbook. If you paid for silence, the next bastard will pay for the exclusive.” She crossed her arms, her gaze narrowed on my face. She appeared hesitant, like she had something to say but didn’t know how I’d take it.

“What?” I closed the distance, enjoying the way her head tipped up to keep meeting my eyes. “What’s going on in there?” I tapped her temple. She didn’t flinch away from the touch or shift uncomfortably even though I had her pinned between the desk and my body.

Her arms uncrossed and she reached behind her to press her palms onto the top of my desk. The move thrust her chest up, and I couldn’t help glancing at her tits. She had slim, beautiful curves, with full, rounded breasts that would fit perfectly in my hands. “Have you ever asked your employees what they want from the company?”

My eyes snapped up. “No. Why?”

“Because what people want is usually a good indication of what they’re willing to do. Some people will kiss your ass and tell you they want the business to succeed. You need to watch out for those, because their loyalty only stays as long as there’s money in it for them. People are selfish and vain. The majority of them are out for themselves. If you get a single mother in here who says she wants to go home each night knowing she’s made enough money to feed her kids and keep a roof over their heads, she’s being honest. But she’ll also leave you if someone else offers her more money and/or less hours for the same money.” She stopped and spots of pink colored her cheeks. “People are fickle, and finding real loyalty is harder than you think.”

“Then we really are up shit creek.” I forced my feet to move me away from Sabrina. Someone was stealing and selling our tech. I had to find out who before we lost everything. The breach last night rubbed on my last nerve.

Sabrina turned as I rounded the desk but kept her distance. “No. You’re not.” She sank onto the edge of a chair. “You can give people what they want, what they need, and still keep a profitable business margin. Not every employee is out to sink you.” She chewed on her bottom lip, a look of discomfort flashing over her face. It was there and gone so fast I almost missed it.

“You’re talking about us becoming one of those companies that works a four-day week and gives two months paid vacation.” I almost scoffed at the idea, but I could see the point she was trying to make. “Foster a comfortable work environment that people don’t want to leave.”

“Bingo.” She stood to leave. “Now, if there’s nothing else. I should get back to my desk.” Her nose did that scrunching thing again.

I’d come to realize she did that when she found a task distasteful. “We need to go over my schedule.” I had an epiphany, and I wanted to work through it before I talked myself out of the idea. “What else do I have this week?”

She picked up the tablet beside my computer and with a few taps had the schedule on my screen. “You’re to meet with Mr. Stan of Corporate Collective tomorrow.” Her lips puckered as she scrolled. “Looks like that’s your last meeting for this week.”

“What about Garrett and Chase?” I tapped my fingertips on the desk.

Sabrina propped her hip on the corner of my desk. Her brows drew together.

The woman had no idea the effect she had on me right then. Or, if she did, she hid it well.

I shouldn’t even be thinking what I was thinking, but since she’d walked into my office this morning, she’d stayed on my mind.

Hell. I was the one who told Chase to fuck her and get it out of his system. Poor bastard looked at her during our meetings like she was the last woman on earth. He still wanted her. I couldn’t say I blamed him. Sabrina had a way about her that excited me. I thought my attraction would wane the longer we worked together. Sabrina had the opposite effect.

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