Page 21 of Burn With Me

Monday and Tuesday, work kicked my ass. Both nights, I fell asleep on my couch and didn’t wake up until well after two in the morning. There hadn’t even been time in my day to go down to Decadence to see if she was working there.

I consider sending my secretary, Stacey, to the clinic Wednesday afternoon, but in all honesty, I need her with me at the office. Besides, I have no idea what I would even send her for. To see if Ginny is working? Then what?

I’m at that stage before you turn into a full-on stalker.

Fixated. Zeroed in on.Obsessed.

It crosses my mind as I stare out the glass floor-to-ceiling window of my office that it’s been nearly a week since my cock has seen any action. Ginny has given me blue balls more times than any woman has been allowed to repeatedly grace my bed.

And I can’t fucking getenough.

“Do you need me to go pick up a suit for tonight?” Stacey’s honey-laced tone cuts through my thoughts.

Swiveling around in my chair, I pin her with a confused look. “What’s tonight?”

Her brows raise and her expression reads ‘are you kidding me’as she sighs. “Scott asked you to take his place at the Tisch Hospital event tonight. Remember?”

No, I don’t fucking remember.

“I have things to do tonight. Can’t I just send a check and put the company name on it?” Grabbing a pen off my desk, I start to open the drawers to try to find a checkbook.

“Jackson, I don’t know what’s been going on with you this week, but get it together. The board is already after Scott to put a leash on you and now you’re distracted. Frankly, it’s not a good look. What’s going on with you?” She perches at the edge of my desk, concern written over her pretty features.

There was a time when I begged her to get into bed with me. She turned me down flat before revealing she preferred the company of other women. When I told her I was perfectly okay with watching, she threatened to quit.

She’s the best secretary I’ve ever had, and I used to wonder if it’s because we’ve never slept together, but the longer we work together, the more apparent that becomes.

Over the years, she’s become more like an honorary big sister. One who I pay an astronomical amount for, on top of all the lavish vacations she squeezes out of me.

At five-foot-ten, Stacey is a knockout. Remnants of last year’s Mediterranean glow still clings to her skin. Long blonde hair and Caribbean blue eyes. Big full lips that I once imagined wrapped around my dick but ended up scolding me more often than not for mybad behaviorwith women.

“Be my date?” Ignoring her question, I shoot her the best puppy dog eyes I can muster.

The sun is starting to set over the New York skyline, casting the room in an orange glow, making Stacey’s eyessparkle as she replies, “I figured that was gonna happen. Already let Kaia know I’d be going out tonight.”

“Tell your wife I owe you both a weekend at the spa.”

Stacey often accompanies me to these events. She looks good in photos and keeps the gossip down, even though it still isn’t enough to please the board. It’s actually how she met her now wife, who is a senior software engineer for Google. Kaia understands the demands of Stacey’s job and beyond giving me crap every now and then for taking up most of her wife’s time, she enjoys the perks I give them.

“You owe ustwo,” she says, getting off the desk to leave. “Pick me up at seven?”

Checking the time on my computer, I realize it’s already nearly five. “What time is the event?”

“Eight.”

“Where’s it at?”

“The Lighthouse. I figure it’ll take nearly an hour to get there with traffic.”

“Yeah, okay. Go ahead and head home to get ready.” Closing out of my files on the computer, I check to make sure everything is set for tomorrow before standing to grab my jacket and briefcase.

“Already planned on it.” She waves a hand as she retreats, disappearing out the door and down the hall.

Smartass.

By the time the event is over, there will still be plenty of time to go to Désirer. If Ginny isn’t there tonight, I’m gonna hunt her down and make her wish she’d shown up at the club on Sunday.

When we arrive, Chelsea Piers is lit up, basking in the afterglow of the sunset as dusk settles over the city. There’s a small crowd lingering outside. Ordinary people witheveryday humdrum lives, hoping to get a glimpse of someone famous. As far as events go, there’s likely to be no one here that would garner that type of attention unless the crowd is the billionaire buddies groupie type.

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