Page 65 of Breaking News

“I do. And you like him, right? I think the two of you could have some good banter up there.”

She smiled from one corner of her mouth, which was a good sign. “I can think of a hundred things I could tease him about on-air. Honestly, itwouldbe nice to have someone to spar with. But I doubt Marco will agree to this.”

“He already did.”

Jill’s eyes snapped back up to mine. “Oh. What about Chase?”

“He’s going to think about it,” I said, clearing my throat. “I hope you’re not upset with me for not discussing this with you first. I wanted it to be more than a half-baked idea before I brought it up.”

Jill uncrossed her legs and stared at me. “I trust you.”

“I’m glad you do,” I said before leaning slightly forward, lowering my voice. “And I need you to know I’m not saying thisas your CEO right now. I’m talking to you as someone who… someone who cares about you. If I could fix what’s going on with you, I would. But if this takes even the smallest bit of weight off your shoulders, it’s worth a try.”

Two little lines formed between her eyebrows as they pushed inward, and for a second, it looked like she might be about to cry. “You’re too sweet to me, Graham.”

My face softened. “You deserve it.” I inhaled through my nose and shifted in my chair. “You didn’t tell me how your talk with Olivia went. She still mad at me for my veggie sub comment?”

“No, she’s over that,” Jill said, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair, suddenly unable to look in my eyes. “But she is a little frustrated that you still view her as a kid instead of a young adult. That really matters to her.”

I nodded. “I know. It’s hard to see her that way when, to me, she still has a lot of growing up to do.”

Jill looked at me from across my office, sitting perfectly still in her leather seat, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to that conversation than she was letting on. But maybe I didn’t deserve to know. Olivia didn’t have to tell me everything, and if she was confiding in Jill, that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

I was still doing my best to forget her“cool older sister”comment from earlier.

“Dammit,” Jill whispered, glancing at the clock above the row of windows. “I still haven’t uploaded my web content for the day. I’m so behind.”

“I’ll let you get back to it, then,” I said, scooting back in my chair so I could walk her to my office door. “Thanks for being on board with this.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she said, as we both stood up and walked to the door like a couple of professionals who’d just wrapped up a business meeting. After all, that’s what we were, right?

I put my hand on the doorknob to pull it open for her, but she spun around and yanked on my tie to pull me toward her for a kiss. Our mouths crashed together as my hands found her waist, taking back dominance and pulling her body against mine.

I sighed against her open mouth. “God, I want to fuck you on my desk right now.”

Jill tugged away with a wicked grin. “We can’t,” she said, smoothing my tie with one hand. “But next time you tie me up, I want to be on my knees in front of you.”

She pulled open the door before I even had time to respond. Not that I could, anyway. My brain was completely short-circuiting.

Jillian cleared her throat, adjusting the hem of her blouse. “Thanks again, Mr. Harlowe,” she said, suddenly all business. “You’ve given me a lot to consider.”

With that, she slipped out the door and didn’t look back. I closed it behind her and I leaned toward the door, pressing my forehead against the solid wood. My cock strained against my pants as I tried to catch my breath.

That woman was not safe for work.

chapter twenty-four

Jillian

“Nothing makes me feel cozier than a storm like this,” Abigail said, curling her legs beneath herself on the sectional in the Gardners’ living room. Outside, the rain was coming down in heavy sheets, and Sarah had just gone around to light a few candles just in case the power went out.

It took a few seconds for me to realize Abigail was looking at me when she spoke. I was sitting closest to her, after all. I nodded in agreement, glancing down at the wine cooler in my hand. “Agreed. I almost feel like we should all be drinking hot tea.”

“Long Island Iced Tea, maybe,” Erika said with a laugh.

“I’ve seen you after two Long Island Iced Teas from Applebee’s.” Sean shook his head, putting his arm around his wife. “Let’s not go there.”

When the rain forced us to move our book club meeting inside, we were so loud the men couldn’t focus on their poker game. Eventually, they must have decided if they couldn’t beat us, they might as well join us. Everyone spread out around the Gardners’spacious living room, with some of us sitting on the floor so all twelve of us had a spot.

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