Chapter 4
“He’s waiting for you in the conference room,” Nikki said while chewing on her nails. “He’s been in a volatile mood all morning. When Mary called, I thought he was going to combust.” Nikki, Vaughn’s assistant, had worked for the Jet Times for forty-seven years. She was an older woman with a deep Brooklyn accent and eccentric fashion tastes. Her red hair was curled to perfection tight against her head. “I mean, I get why you quit, dearie but did you have to be so messy about it?”
I smiled politely. “I’ll go talk to Vaughn,” I replied before disappearing down the hall and toward the conference room. Luckily, most of my coworkers were gone for the holidays, so I didn’t have to deal with too many awkward stares and looks. A few essential employees stayed for breaking news updates, but for the most part, we managed to schedule our publications across all platforms so that people could have the opportunity to enjoy the holidays with their family. Vaughn was big on family—obviously.
I knocked, and his gruff voice said, “Come in, Sena.”
I walked inside, hoping my power pencil skirt and button-up top looked okay. I took extra care to apply my makeup and do my hair. I wanted to look nice for this mess. I wasn’t sure how many more times I’d see Vaughn.
“Have a seat.”
I pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, averting my eyes from his cruel gaze. Yeah, Vaughn was pissed the hell off. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off his forearms, and he kept cracking his knuckles while mumbling to himself. After a long moment, he finally addressed me. “I had assumed that last night was an angry, drunken outburst that didn’t mean anything. But this morning, I received a very unsettling call from Mary. She wanted to brag about stealing you away from me—from the Jet Times.”
Fuck. Mary had always been competitive with Vaughn. “I’m so sorry, Vaughn. I didn’t mean to quit like that. I just was so mad that you hired your brother that I—”
“About that,” Vaughn interrupted before grabbing a folder on his desk and tossing it to me. “Before you so rudely interrupted my speech last night, I was going to announce something very big. Something I’ve been working on for a while, now.”
I opened the folder and read the opening page. It was a letter of resignation—from Vaughn. “You’re quitting?” I asked in shock. Vaughn got up from his seat and circled the large conference table to look at me. He was dressed in a suit, but he looked ruffled. His hair was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot as if he got no sleep last night. I stared at the wrinkle on his collar and shrunk in on myself. He crouched low and grabbed my hands. I started trembling. “You kissed me last night. Do you remember that?”
I swallowed. “No?” Flashes of Vaughn calling Adam and me leaning on him flickered across my mind.
He stood up and pulled me to a standing position before yanking me closer. I collided with his chest and looked up at him, my mouth parted in confusion and shock. “What are you—”
Vaughn’s lips slammed to mine. He grabbed my hips, and years of yearning flooded me. He tasted like coffee, his hard, forceful mouth demanding everything I had. I threaded my hands through his hair, moaning as he grabbed my hips and lifted me up onto the conference table. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” he panted between kisses. He cupped my cheeks as he kissed me, his tongue thrusting past my lips and tangling with mine.
Wait. He’d wanted this too?
His lips found my jaw. My neck. My collarbone. He unbuttoned my top as he went, and my fuzzy mind tried to make sense of what was happening and what he had said. “Wait. Wait!” I said as his hands kneaded my breast.
“I can’t wait. You can’t leave me. Jet Times needs you—”
His words were like a bucket of cold water on my senses. I pushed him away. “Is this some weird way to get me to stay? You found out I’ve had a crush on you all these years, so you thought making out with me in a conference room would convince me not to go to San Francisco? That’s low, Vaughn.”
My words made him smile. “You’ve had a crush on me for years?” My eyes thinned to slits as I stared at him.
“Don’t act like you didn’t know,” I argued. After last night, I was certain that my affections were painfully obvious.
Vaughn sauntered closer and grabbed me by the hips before pressing his forehead to mine. “I was going to quit so I could do freelance journalism, Sena. You know I’d rather be out there instead of behind a desk. Last night, I was going to announce my replacement. I wanted to hire you.”
My heart stopped. “You were going to hire me?” Holy shit. I really fucked this up. “Why?”
Vaughn kissed me tenderly before speaking again. “Because we’ve been working together for years. Because I know you are the right fit for this job. Because six months ago, I realized I’m irrevocably in love with you.”
My eyes started watering. “You did?”
“At the mafia banquet. You wore a red dress. You asked me to dance so we could get closer to one of the targets and overhear what they were saying. I don’t know. I held you close, and I realized that you were it for me, baby. Maybe I’ve always known.”
I shook my head. I’d wanted Vaughn for years. And he loved me back? It felt like I was dropped into an alternate universe. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You and I both know the company has huge rules against workplace relationships. I knew that if I wanted you, I’d have to finally tell my mother the truth—that I wanted to be a journalist and not the one running the paper. It took me a little while, but you’re worth the wait. I also wanted to make sure I could give you everything you wanted—everything you worked so fucking hard to earn. They wanted my brother to have a high-ranking job, which I was forced to agree to. I didn’t want a single person to think I promoted you because I was in love with you. Mom hasn’t been taking the news well, but--”
“Say that again,” I croaked.
His face softened. “I’m in love with you, Sena. I wanted to tell you last night.”
I grabbed him by the lapels of his suit jacket and kissed him hard. His fingers furiously unclasped my bra, and my breasts spilled out of the lacy cups the moment he did. My skirt rolled up, and his hand found the heat between my thighs. Our teeth clashed in fiery passion as my back arched. I ached to be closer. After all this time. Finally. My fantasies were nothing compared to the feel of his hot mouth on mine.
I worked quickly to remove his suit, relishing in the sight of every dip and groove in his torso. I nipped at his smooth skin, and it wasn’t long before teeth marks covered his chest. We’d been building up to this for ages. I didn’t care that we were in a conference room. I didn’t care that we were being loud and reckless. Our story was messy, but we’d been patient. All those long nights together, those close calls working, it had been building to this.
He eased me back onto the table, and I searched for him with my hands, pulling and grinding against him with my sex. I wrapped my thighs around his waist, dragging my needy clit against his cock before positioning him at my entrance. Fuck yes.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” I whispered as he teased me with the head of his cock.