AllFreeNovel
Share Us
21
KAYLA
“Youaremyidol! Do men ever listen, though?” I laugh when Agnes tells me how she made her husband cook her favorite dish after he forgot to take out the trash. Seems to me like Mr. Nichols is totally whipped, and I couldn’t ask for a better example to learn from.
“Hardly,” she bellows back from above her screen. “What about him?” She points her thumb toward Bodi’s office, and I let out a wheezing snort at the same time the door opens.
“He doesn’t listen to a word I say.”
“Who?” Bodi steps out, walking toward my desk before giving Agnes a short glance.
“You,” I tell him honestly before putting my focus back on my screen. “I thought you had a meeting.”
“I do. Now, what are you talking about? I listen to you.”
I turn my head while he sits down on the corner of my desk. “Hardly.”
“I listened to all your ideas for the charity ball.” He lowers his voice. “I listen when you told me you want those nasty burgers.”
Twisting my chair a bit, I lean back, giving him a mocking smile, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Yet you don’t listen when I ask you to kiss me senseless in your office.”
He closes his eyes, his neck growing flush for just a second.
“You need to stop doing that,” he hisses with lust-filled eyes, his gaze shortly moving to Agnes, who still has her attention fixed on her screen. “Not at the office.”
“I know,” I huff, laughing. “But you make it so much fun.”
With a crazed look, he drops from my desk, then slams his palms onto my armrests before pulling me closer while I let out a startled shriek. I gawk up at him as he hovers above my face, his lips only a few inches away. The smell of his coco wax graces my nose, intoxicating me while my eyes stay locked with his green ones that’re looking like a clear water lake.
“Two can play this game, babe.” My pulse drums in my neck, my lady parts burning from heat as he continues. “You’ve been messing with me for a week, poking me whenever you can. If you are going to keep torturing me, I’m going to retaliate.” He brings his face closer and for a brief second, I stop breathing, thinking he’s going to kiss me right then and there. But he moves past my cheek, his lips becoming flush with my ear, and I can feel a flutter going through my stomach. “And I won’t be talking when I do.”
He moves a bit back, locking our eyes again. The world around us seems to stop spinning, a thick veil of tension and chemistry falling around us, making it seem like we’re the only people around. Goosebumps shower my skin, and my lips automatically part as he keeps staring at me with those craving eyes. We stay like that for God knows how long, creating a bubble I’m afraid to burst.
“Can’t wait,” I whisper before Agnes clears her throat, and we both look up in her direction. Rachel from HR is standing in front of my desk with a slight frown.
As if no fucks are given, Bodi puts on a poker face, straightening his body.
“Rachel,” he says in greeting. “Can I help you?”
“Are you ready for that meeting?” She holds up a notebook.
“Yeah, if you can make sure everyone is present, I’ll be right there.”
Rachel nods, then slogs from my desk with narrowed eyes toward the hall that leads to the conference room. When she’s out of sight, Bodi gives me a smirk that would knock me off my socks if I wasn’t sitting down.
“You wanna play games? Game on, babe.” He winks. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, confused when he walks away.
“You’re taking notes.”
“I’m taking notes,” I parrot with my brows raised at this new task I’m getting, and I exchange a look with Agnes.
She shrugs, just giving me an amused smile while I get up, grabbing a notepad before I follow Bodi into the hallway.
When my feet carry me into the boardroom, I am met by a dozen curious gazes of all KPI’s editors, and I offer them a tight smile as I glance around the room to find out where I should sit. Bodi is sitting on the head of the rectangle table and the only empty chair that’s left is on the other side. I move to take a seat, but hold still when Bodi raises his hand.
“Hold on, Kayla. Rachel, can you switch with her?” He looks at Rachel sitting beside him, and an awkward feeling washes my body. Rachel gives him a confused look, seeming a bit stunned by his request.
“But I always sit here?”
“I know, but I want Kayla to take notes.”
“And she can’t do that over there?”
Bodi’s face darkens, looking sexy as fuck, and I swallow away the dryness in my mouth as I shift on my feet.
“No,” he rumbles. “She can’t.”
Rachel holds his gaze with a glare before she gets up with a pissed look aimed my way. I offer her an apologetic smile, mouthing a sorry, and she meets it with one of her own, though it doesn’t match the anger in her eyes.
Not the way to make friends, Kayla.
A little uncomfortable, I sit down next to Bodi and catch him giving me a side glance before he opens the meeting. I write everything down as he gives every editor the chance to update him about their ongoing projects and releases. With each editor, his stance seems to grow more irritated, not happy with what they come back with.
He clears his throat. “Come on, people. I want more than this.”
“More what?” Rachel questions with a stern look.
“These all sound like fun and potentially good sales, but I want a new bestseller. The next Dan Brown, a new Fifty Shades of Grey. Anything that is relatable enough for a big crowd but shows some originality.”
“What about that script I gave you?” Rachel frowns, and I’m assuming she’s talking about the manuscript from her friend that Bodi told me about.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but it was boring. The plot was too easy, and I only finished it because it was your friend.”
Rachel’s face falls when Bodi blurts out the words in a harsh tone, and I feel sorry for her. She seems like she loves her work, but right now she looks like she wants to disappear into the floor while the rest of the staff shifts in their seats. No one dares to speak up, and my free hand falls under the table before resting on Bodi’s leg. It’s unable to be seen by anyone else, but his eyes briefly find mine while I watch how he swallows hard.
“Anyone?” he barks through the room.
I squeeze his leg and his head turns toward me.
“Calm down,” I mouth, trying to make him aware of his stance.
He breathes out loudly, then drops his hand under the table. I square my shoulders, clenching my jaw when he grips my hand and places it on the hard-on that’s pushing through his jeans.
“I’m sorry. I’m just a little frustrated.” He keeps my hand tightly pressed against his groin as he keeps talking, completely unfazed. “KPI is the leader in publishing right now, and I wish to keep it that way.”
I, however, am feeling all kinds of different shit.
