Page 1 of Until You're Breathless

Chapter 1

Jagger

“Jagger!Jagger,now!Don’tstop!” She squeals through a pant, as I thrust into her, thanking Christ that I sent the rest of my office staff home hours ago. Tammy is bent over my oak desk, as I enter her from behind, so drunk on lust I almost forget about the fact that my brother Rush will be here in ten minutes. Tammy mewls as I empty myself into her, grateful for the long overdue release, and I slow, watching as she lays her head down on the lid of my closed laptop, and closes her eyes, breathless. “God, that was good, baby.” She says on exhale.

“Not bad at all.” I agree, pulling out of her, taking care of the condom.

She zips up her skirt and straightens her blouse. “Rush will be here in ten. Go fix your hair.” She says, turning to me, wiping a smear of her lipstick off my collarbone.

Hands through my hair, I walk over to the mirror next to my collection of diplomas hanging on the wall, and straighten my tie. “How’s that email blast coming along?”

“Good.” She swallows, as she ties her hair back up. “I’ll just get another pair of eyeballs on it and get it out first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Send it to me. I’ll look it over.”

Her guffaw is telling. “You’re meeting with your brother, the consultant, who is working towards accelerating Lawson Enterprises from a billion-dollar to a multi-billion-dollar company, in ten minutes, and yet you want to edit an email to staff? Talk about micro-managing, Jagger.”

“It’s not beneath me.”

I may come from a family of billionaires, but we all started from nothing.

“That’s why you hired me.” She argues kindly.

“Actually, I hired Gretchen for editing, and emailing, so that’s where you’re wrong. You are my personal assistant, and you should have delegated that email in the first place.”

After she fixes the chignon at the base of her neck, she rounds on me. “What are we talking about here, Jagger? I mean, you’re up to your ears in fucking work, that’s why your brother is coming, isn’t it? The last thing you need is to edit a fucking email, or to tell me how to run this office.”

“You don’t run this office. Stella, the office manager does. And in all the time that we’ve been arguing about it, that email would be done.”

With a huff and an eyeroll, she walks out of my office. Her attitude sucks but she’s a no-bullshit kind of person and she gets the job done. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she has loose morals and the libido of a high school boy. She never makes it obvious that we’re fucking, either, and she has no interest in a relationship, so it’s a win-win for both of us. Five minutes later, there’s a tap on my door. “Yeah.” I call out, knowing that it’s Rush.

He walks in, carrying his briefcase. I swear to God that thing is an appendage. He never goes anywhere without it. Rush takes a seat without any eye contact and gets down to business, pulling his laptop out of the briefcase. “Halen’s gonna be coming by shortly with some leads.”

“Yeah? Good.” I mutter while opening my laptop. Tammy’s face print is still on it. Rush looks up at me as I wipe it off with a disinfectant wipe from the receptacle on my desk. “Ever feel like you’re drowning?” I ask rhetorically.

“You’re not drowning, Jagger. You’re moving to the next level, and aside from a lack of manpower, you’re well on your way.”

“It’s not just that. I’ve got one hell of a hurdle to get past, with the bid on the European markets.”

“It’s in the bag. You are the most sought-after engine manufacturer in the northern hemisphere. You’re the only one with a patent for the hybrid vehicles that doesn’t have all the environmental bullshit that the other ones do, and you know it. You’ve just got to get your fucking head out of the sand and focus. And the only way you’re going to do that without a hitch, is with the proper team in place. That’s your weak spot.”

“And you think you can fix that.”

“I identify your vulnerable areas and advise you on what to do to fix them, and Halen has the highest retention rate for hiring fit personnel in the business. That’s why you hired us, man. It was the smartest thing you did.”

We hear a knock at the door and Halen’s face appears. “Come on in, brother. Perfect timing.” I tell him.

He, too, has a briefcase in his hand. “Sorry I’m late. But it couldn’t be helped.”

A look of concern crosses over my face. “Is everything okay?”

Halen looks at Rush, like they have a mutual secret. Rush looks at him, but ultimately pays more attention to his laptop. “I didn’t want to say anything, and Rush told me to keep it under wraps until things calm down, but you’ll fucking kill me if you find out that I knew and didn’t tell you, regardless of my reasons.”

Rush rakes a hand through his hair and closes his laptop.

Fuck.

Halen clasps his hands together. “It was only through the grapevine until this morning that I’d heard.”

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