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Beck
Beck wasn’t sure what she had done to get herself fired in just under five minutes on the job. It wasn’t something that she was used to—being fired. She was the one who left her position at the law firm just after Trinity quit to go to work full time for Ace. His casino was growing and with the second one opening in the next town over, he needed a lawyer on staff. Beck was happy for her friend, really she was, but she felt lost without her at the firm, and leaving was her only option.
She felt like the luckiest woman on earth when Knox offered her the job as his assistant. They had become friends through Ace and Trinity—at least, that’s what she thought. But hearing him shouting at Ace that he wanted her gone, had her rethinking everything she thought was true.
Knox stood next to her and he was so close, she swore she could hear his heart beating. He was pissed and Beck wasn’t sure if she should hear him out or run the hell out of his office and back to her little shit-hole apartment. “I already told you that you don’t have to explain yourself to me, Knox,” she said. “I get it—you’ve had a change of heart about hiring me. I’ll leave and you won’t have to worry about having Ace speak to me. I heard you loud and clear.”
“I’m afraid that you only know part of the story, Beck. You couldn’t know the other part unless one of your many talents is reading minds,” he said. She wasn’t following what he was trying to tell her. She had walked into his office to hear him tell Ace that he needed to fire her. He wasn’t even going to handle that dirty job himself—just pawn her off on Ace. That stung a little, if she was being completely honest because a part of her was starting to like Knox. Sure, that was probably going to end up getting her fired anyway—having feelings for her boss was a no-no. But after their dinner meeting that felt more like a date, she had no say in the matter—she liked him. Hell, she more than liked him—she spent most of last night touching herself and imagining that it was Knox’s hands all over her body. She was pathetic and now, she was jobless.
“I’m not following you, Knox. Why would I need to read your mind to know what you were thinking? I heard you loud and clear—you want me gone. At least have the balls to tell me to my face that I’m fired. Don’t send Ace in to do the dirty work for you,” she spat. Yeah—she sounded like a first-class bitch, but she didn’t give a shit. She was done being everyone’s doormat. Look where it had gotten her—absolutely nowhere. She lived in a shitty little apartment, had no boyfriend, no prospect of a man in her life, and was now being effectively dismissed by the only man who had piqued her interest in any way, in a damn long time.
“Because you only heard the part of me acting like an asshole. I shouldn’t have asked Ace to fire you. Hell, I don’t want to let you go at all, and if you could read my mind, you’d see that,” he breathed. He crowded into her space and backed her up against his glass office wall. Anyone walking by would be able to see the two of them together, but she didn’t care. He was towering over her and God, the way he was looking at her made her hot as hell. Could she have read the situation all wrong? The way he was staring her down reminded her of her fantasies that played through her mind all night.
“Knox,” she breathed. “What are you doing?”
“I’m helping you to read my mind, Honey,” he whispered. He was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and she couldn’t help the way her traitorous body leaned into his, as if craving more.
“I don’t understand,” she lied. She understood completely, but she wanted to hear him admit to wanting her just as much as she wanted him.
“Liar,” he challenged. “Let me help make it crystal clear for you, Beck,” he said. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers and it felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She sighed and snaked her arms up his body, wrapping them around his neck. That seemed to be all the permission that Knox needed. He pressed himself up against her, snuggly fitting her between him and the glass wall, kissing her as if he was a condemned man and she was his last meal. By the time he broke their kiss, she was panting with need and shamelessly rubbing herself up against his big body.
“If you could read my mind, you’d be able to see that I want you and that’s a problem for me. I don’t sleep with staff members—human resources frowns on me doing so. Firing you is my only option,” he said.
“You want to sleep with me?” she squeaked.
He smiled down at her and nodded, “I do,” he admitted. “Tell me you feel the same way, Beck,” he ordered. Lying to him now wasn’t something she could do. She owed him the same truth that he had just given her.
“I do,” she whispered. “I want to sleep with you too, Knox.”
“Thank fuck,” he breathed.
“But I’m not sure why I can’t still be your assistant,” she admitted. Sure, she was asking for more than she’d probably be able to handle, but that was just who she was. “What HR doesn’t know won’t hurt them,” she said. Beck didn’t like the idea of being his dirty little secret, but she hated the thought of being unemployed even more.
“You’re trouble,” he accused. “I like the way you think though. I still need an assistant.”
“And I still need a job,” she quickly added.
“Noted,” Knox said. “Okay—we can keep this—well, whatever it is, between the two of us.”
“All right,” she agreed. “Then, you might want to let go of me because I’m pretty sure that pressing me up against your wall of windows here isn’t going to help keep this thing between us a secret,” she said. Knox chuckled and stepped back from her. It took all of her willpower to stand up straight and not let her knees buckle underneath her.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“Now, we get on with our day and I show you the ins and outs of running my office,” he said.
“And then?” she questioned.
“Then, You meet me for dinner tonight, Beck. Let me take you out on a real date—no business talk. I want to get to know you,” he whispered in her ear. She could feel her cheeks heat and all she seemed capable of was nodding her answer. “Good,” he breathed. “I’ll make reservations and text you the information.”
She nodded again and turned to walk out of his office, suddenly needing some air. He was going to either be a fun distraction or her biggest regret and she wasn’t sure she was up for either option.
* * *
The day seemed to drag on and Beck wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that she was going to have a real date with a man who until now, she could only fantasize about. Sure, agreeing to go on a date with her boss probably wasn’t her finest idea, but she wasn’t going to outright lie to him and deny wanting him.
When her friend, Trinity, and Knox’s best friend and business partner, Ace fell in love and got married, they were both at the courthouse as witnesses. Their little ceremony was so romantic and she had to admit, she was a little bit jealous that her friend had seemed to find the perfect guy, wrapped up in one sexy, bad ass biker. Beck seemed to have trouble meeting any guys since she moved to Gatlinburg.
She had only been living in Tennessee for a few years now. Beck moved there when she finished college as a paralegal, wanting a fresh start. She thought that she had found it too since landing her job as Trinity’s legal assistant at one of the cities top law firms. When Trinity left the firm, she had no choice but to follow, since she had no one to assist once her boss was gone. She quit at the firm with Trinity and when Knox asked her to be his assistant, she didn’t bother to tell him that she was technically a paralegal and not a personal assistant. She needed a job to pay her rent and no one else was knocking on her door—except for a sexy, tattooed, millionaire biker.
