Page 13 of Dangerous Pursuit

“No, I think someone slammed a door down the hall.” I tilt her chin up and brush my thumb across her cheek. “Hey, thank you. I needed that. Unfortunately, I don’t have time for an equal exchange, but maybe I can return the favor sometime.” I tuck myself in as she stands and leans down to kiss me goodbye.

“That’s okay. You warned me, Jackson. I’ll hold you to it because that was hella hot.” She blows me a kiss before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

She has no idea just how hot that was.

A few minutes later, I hear the faint knock of my naughty little assistant.

Mia

I’m panicking as I stand at the door waiting. Oh my God. What am I going to say? How should I act? He’s going to fire me. Maybe I should quit first. Shit, why did I stand there? I mean, seriously, what the hell was I thinking? Okay, I know the answer to that, but oh God, it’s so bad.

Things were going so well, too. He was finally getting used to me as I proved myself capable. He wasn’t consistently trying to break me down anymore, and we seemed to have found a rhythm. His initial reaction to me was justified when I realized how busy he was running the business alone. Sure, he has ateam of people that handle the day-to-day stuff, but with the new acquisitions and everything they entail, it’s a lot to handle for one person. He still has his moments, but they’re tolerable. We were at least moving in the right direction, but now I feel like I’ve hit the reset button.

“Come in.” He doesn’t sound angry, not even as cranky as he typically does. I suppose it makes sense for him to be relaxed now.Gross, Mia.

There’s no way I can go in there. My hand is on the doorknob, but it refuses to move.

“Come in.” Crap. It’s louder this time, more demanding.

Taking one last deep breath, I open the door, bracing myself for whatever follows. Each step feels as if my feet are made of lead. While looking anywhere but in front of me, I propel myself forward and place his lunch on the desk before him.

“Have you learned your lesson in knocking?” He raises one eyebrow.

I’m not sure where his mind is as he stares straight-faced, waiting for an answer. There’s no indication of anger, but he must be after that, right? Crap, I don’t think I’ll ever look at him the same.

I tilt my head down in shame. “I’m so sorry. The door wasn’t shut completely, and I knew you were waiting for your lunch. I had it early, so I started to come in and heard you say yes and misunderstood the tone… obviously. I don’t know what else to say. There’s no excuse. I was shocked and then just froze, but it was so inappropriate. I don’t know what happened.” I finally look up from my rambling and am shocked to see the first smile I’ve ever seen from him.

He draws out my anguish and doesn’t speak for what seems like forever. “I know exactly what happened. I was in a similar situation once. You were thinking deep down that you wished it were you. Your body reacted and compelled you to watch—soturned on that your desire won over rationality. It’s natural. But I bet you won’t be walking into my office without knocking any time soon, will you, Mia?” He raises that eyebrow again, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was teasing me.

“N-No. Even if the door is ajar, I’ll wait for your response.”That’s for damn sure.

“All right then, let’s move on. Where is the maintenance report I requested?” He’s back. This is the Jackson I’m familiar with—the one I can handle.

Realizing my mistake immediately, I slap my forehead and groan. “Crap. That’s why I was early. I completely forgot about that. I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again. From now on, I’ll be more prepared with pen and paper to take notes if necessary. I’ll go get it right now if that’s okay?”Please let me leave.I need a minute to regroup after this fiasco.

“Be quick about it. I need it before my next meeting.” I’m dismissed as he starts unpacking the lunch I brought in. Thank God.

As soon as I close the door, my body sags back against it, and I drop my face in my hands for a moment. My heart has been hammering since I walked in on him, and it hasn’t slowed down. How can he be so calm and nonchalant about this? He said he’d been in the same situation and understood, but that’s crazy. I intruded on a private moment. There’s no way he’s okay with it. Although, I swear, at one point, it seemed like he was talking to me and not whoever the woman was under the desk.

Did that really happen, or will I wake up any minute now?

Propelling myself to move, I head toward maintenance to drop off the file I was given earlier and get the report. Dammit, I can’t believe I forgot. This whole thing could have been avoided had I just written it down. This was all my fault.

Wait. What am I thinking? It’s Jackson’s fault for doing it in the first place. Who does that at work? He’s the boss for crying out loud. That is so unprofessional.

The rest of the day goes to shit. My mind won’t shut up about what I saw. The worst thing is that Jackson was right about all those thoughts in my mind, and I’m so ashamed. As I stood frozen, my muscles clenched, and I could feel the wetness between my legs. I haven’t experienced that kind of desire before and can’t believe it happened while watching my boss get a fricking blow job. Seriously, what is wrong with me? I need some significant therapy, but Walker will have to do for now.

Thank God we already have plans for tonight. Ben is busy, so I’m his date for some fundraiser his parents are making him attend. I know he’ll talk me through this. We may not be at the same level, but he’s as advanced as it gets and can help sort through this mess in my head. God, how embarrassing.

“Hey, Mia. You on your way?” Walker picks up within the first ring.

“Yeah. Do we have time to chill at your place before we go to this thing?”Please say yes.

“Of course. But what’s wrong? Did the bosshole fire you?” My calm tone didn’t fool him for a second.

“No, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. I’ll be there soon.” He allows me to hang up by promising I’ll spill the second I get there.

Twenty minutes later, I’m crying in Walker’s arms, having a pity party from my mortification and shame. He insists it’s not my fault, although he disagrees that it was a dick move on Jackson’s part. Walker said he’d probably do the same thing since it is his office and he owns the company. The only problem, according to him, was that the door wasn’t shut.

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