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HUDSON
Nothing makes me feel like less than a man when my mom storms into my building and calls me by my full name in front of all my employees. She even demands I hire Laurel, even though I can’t stand her.
I’m thirty-four-years-old and operate my own successful company, yet my mom still treats me like a child. Some would tell me to grow a pair, but they haven’t met my mom or, at least, haven’t seen her angry.
My father advised me very early on that you treat women with respect, but even more so, you learn to pick your battles. Over the course of the preceding thirty years, I’ve never chosen to battle my mother. That’s because she always wins.
The rest of the day after my mom leaves, I spend time inside my office, because my staff is still laughing about the incident. Assholes. Somehow, productivity has gone down today, and that’s not something I like.
I must come up with a plan to get Laurel out of here. There’s no way I can work with her, and my irritation grows every time she’s around. I run a background check on all my employees—it’s procedure—but I want a more thorough one on Laurel. I hit up my guy to see what he can find. Results will require more than a couple of days, but I’ll be patient. Surely there will be something in there I can use to get rid of her.
Laurel isn’t a poor assistant, in fact she’s fairly good, but her personality and mine clash in all the wrong ways. She likes to push my buttons. A part of me thinks she does this intentionally, but I have no way of proving it.
After getting caught up in work, I look outside my window and it’s already pitch black. Damn! The clock on my computer shows eight-thirty. Why the hell am I still here? I turn off my computer, grab my suitcase, and catch the elevator down to the ground floor to get into my car. Traffic is always horrendous in Dallas, but as a native, you grow accustomed to the back ways to places. I avoid any major roads, and it helps me get to the apartment within about ten minutes. Once inside, I try to be as quiet as I can so Laurel doesn’t hear me getting home. I already have to deal with her at work, and this is my safe space. Knowing her, she might try to come over and I’d have to kick her out again. Enough craziness for today. I’m done.
I go into the bathroom and turn the shower on, wanting to wash all the bullshit off of me from the events of today. How did I let Laurel talk me into giving her the position? Why do I let her push me to be so angry? Has she never heard of personal space? I can already tell that even though she is a good assistant, she doesn’t know boundaries. Those are important to me. I step into the shower and let the water beat my skin, and flow down onto my extremities. A shower before bed at night helps me sleep, and it’s hard enough with my insomnia.
After getting out and drying off, I lay my head down on my pillow, and she starts vacuuming next door. Are you fucking kidding me? I look at my clock and it’s well after ten o’clock. She has no respect for her neighbors.
My feet carry me out into the living room, through my door, and to hers. I knock loudly. When she opens, her eyes are wide, wearing some pink little shorts and a cami with no bra.
“Hudson, what are you doing here?”
“Can you please do that another time? I’m trying to sleep… and it’s probably disturbing the people downstairs, too.”
She walks away, unplugs the vacuum and comes back. “Sorry, I didn’t realize it was so late.”
Instead of responding, I walk back over to my apartment, and lay back in bed. Is she trying to irritate me on purpose? Who does house chores like that late at night? It’s absurd.
I hear her shower turn on and her singing. I’m not thinking with the right head. All I can picture is the water hitting her perky breasts and massaging soap all over her body. I try to stop, but I can’t. I wish it was her mouth instead of my coarse hands.
I get frustrated with myself because it’s not like I like her, in fact, I despise her. Yet, I can’t get her out of my damn mind. It’s infuriating. Maybe I just need to get laid, and that will ease the tension.
A night out might not be a bad idea, but right now I’m so drained that all I want to do is get some sleep. This verbal battle between us has me waiting for her next remark and begging to be close to her. I need to stay far away.
I’ll keep her around until I can find a proper replacement for Lacey. She does a good job at the actual assistant work, but it’s her mouth that doesn’t know when to quit. Don’t get me wrong, I like a little attitude, but she’s so in your face with hers. When we are at the office, sexual remarks aren’t tolerated. If anyone else were to hear them, they might think we are sleeping together, and that getting out wouldn’t be good for either of us.
The huntfor a replacement is on, but how do I conduct interviews without Laurel finding out? She is the one that books all my appointments and screens my calls. Guess we will have to go old school, and do the interviews in a secondary location. Coffee shops are public enough to where the person could relax.
I email the other candidates, and ask them when they would be free to interview for the position? I took down the posting online, but Laurel doesn’t need to know I’m still looking. Eventually, she will screw up, and then I will have justifiable cause to terminate her.
The shower is still going, yet now she is moaning, and I don’t hear anyone else. Is she masturbating in the shower? Fuck, that’s hot. My head tilts back, and my hand closes around my shaft. The sound of her makes my head twist as she takes herself to the edge and then spills over, causing my release. Does she not realize that I can hear her? Or is she doing it on purpose?
She needs to go.
* * *
The next morning,my alarm blares. I rarely miss work, but today I’m considering it. I don’t feel like I slept at all. At long last, I say fuck it and get dressed. Laurel might get inside my head, but I can’t let her fuck up my business. I have spent the last five years of my life on this, and if it doesn’t keep growing, then I can’t continue to hire veterans. Right now, I’m named one of the top firms for veterans to find employment and I pride myself on that. I’ve been where these guys are getting out, and they need a purpose. Hudson Security can give them that, but only if we continue to grow. The more clients we can take, the more guards we will need.
I throw on my blue suit with a white button-up underneath, and a maroon tie. So, maybe I am putting a little more thought into my clothing choice today, but whatever. Laurel needs to be careful about her skirts because I can guarantee you that I’m not the only one that is bulging when she walks by. Not that women shouldn’t be able to wear whatever they want, but fuck, it makes it hard not to stare.
As I near the building, I think through all the things I’ve learned about Laurel. The most prominent thing is that she isn’t intimidated. When I blew up on her in front of everybody, she didn’t even blink. A confident woman is a turn on, but she follows it with craziness. I need her to fail, and find her vulnerable spot and use it to my advantage. Something. I can’t afford another altercation, especially if a client walks in like my mother did. That would mean game over. There has to be something in her past that will help me cut ties. Justin can find it.
In the military, my job was to find and bring back a person wanted by our government. The problem was we couldn’t just go. No, we have to put together a plan of action, and follow it to a T, so it didn’t backfire. Research is important when going after a target. The element of surprise - sneaking - while everyone slept, is how the mission was a success with no casualties. This is how I need to handle my situation with Laurel. Gain her trust and act surprised when she screws up. She will never see it coming.
So, today I have to be more amicable toward her, and friendly. No hostility or banter. She needs to think I’m growing on her so she will let her guard down. So on my ride up in the elevator, I put on a fake smile.
When the doors open, she is sitting at her desk. Her hair is down in messy curls, and she’s in a black pencil skirt. I hope she stays sitting down, so I don’t get the urge to stare at her ass.
“Good morning, boss. Here’s your coffee, black with two sugars, like you prefer.” Laurel gets up and follows me. “Sir, don’t forget you have a conference call at nine. Around noon, after lunch, I’ll let everyone know that’s when you will begin your callbacks.”
When she walks in front of my desk, and turns to look out my office windows, I can’t help but notice how amazing her ass looks today. Stop looking at her! This isn’t helping anything. “Much obliged. That would be perfect.”
A genuine smile lights up her face. Why is it that only a few minutes have passed, and she has left me feeling drained and empty? Who is this girl?
Focus. I can’t think about her right now. I need to be productive and prepare for my meeting, not thinking about hot, little brunettes!
