I shoot him a wink but turn for my office. I set my things down on my desk, and as I expected, a knock sounds at the door.
“It’s open,” I say as I move my bag under my desk. As I’m bending over, he steps up behind me, pressing his dick against my back. I blush as I turn around.
“Mr. Moore, inappropriate work behavior,” I say, teasing him.
He drops the file onto my desk with a loud smack, spins me around to face him, picks me up, and sets me down on my desk. He moves between my knees as his lips find mine. He kisses me fast and deep, making me forget my own name and the fact that he’s been between my legs all weekend. It was hard enough to walk without whimpering as it is.
He pulls back. “How’s this for inappropriate work behavior for you?” He offers up a sly grin.
I giggle. “I’d say we’d definitely be written up for this.”
“What can I say? I’m a rebel.” His hand brushes against my core, and it feels like my entire body lights on fire.
I put my hand against his chest and push him back a step. “We really need to get some work done. And to be honest, I already feel like I’m walking with a watermelon between my thighs because my lady bits are sore as shit. She needs a break.”
He laughs. “Well, there are other ways I can make you scream my name, you know. In fact, I remember you coming completely undone just from my mouth on—”
His words stop when someone else knocks on the door.
I quickly jump up from my desk and hold the file he brought in to make it look like he just handed it over.
Claire pops her head in. “Hey, Nina,” she starts but stops when she sees Bryce in here with me.
“I’m sorry. I was just dropping this off for Nina. I’ll get out of your way so you can get back to work,” he says, taking a step back.
Her eyes follow him, specifically his ass, as he walks away. “Mmmm, that man doesn’t know what he does to me,” she says, making me laugh.
“What can I help you with?”
“Oh, um, my computer is on the fritz again. Would you mind coming up?”
I nod. “Let me get my things put away, and I’ll be right up.”
She turns and walks away, leaving me alone. I open the file in my hand. There’s only one sheet of paper in it, and it says, “My excuse to be alone with you.”
I laugh as I put the file into my desk and head out to help Claire.
Tuesday night comes, and I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life. I have everything ready to go. I have my laptop with the website mock-up pulled up. I have my sketches, and I also have my numbers and statistics. I have everything I need. I’m more prepared for this than I was for my hook up with Bryce. So why am I so nervous?
Bryce shows up fully dressed in uniform, hoping it earns him the attention we’ll need for this presentation. I, however, decided to wear the tight pencil skirt that Bryce seems to love so much. I pair it with some black pumps and a crisp white dress shirt. I pull my hair back into a sleek bun and grab my things.
“Ready?” Bryce asks, looking me up.
I take a deep breath. “I think so.”
“I know one thing,” he says as we walk toward the door to make our way to town hall. “I’m not going to be able to focus with you in this skirt and these heels.”
I giggle. “Help me get the council’s approval. and I’ll let you rip it off of me later,” I tease, walking out while shaking my ass a little more than necessary.
We get to the town hall, and the parking lot is already crowded. We sign in and take our seats, waiting for our turn to get up and speak. We have to sit through an hour of the town complaining about various issues before we finally have a chance to get up and present our case. I take the podium while I hand over my computer with the website to the man in charge of audio and visuals.
He hooks it up but doesn’t turn the screen on. Not until I give him the signal. “My name is Nina Waters, and I work as an IT specialist here at the police department.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Nina. What have you brought for us today?” the gray-haired man in the center asks.
“I’m glad you asked. You see, working at the police department has brought some things to my attention. One, the youth in this town are getting into a lot of trouble. Two, the numbers of troubled teens in this town are on the rise. And three, an easy fix to both of these problems would be to give them what they need. I have here…” I pass over the file with my sketches. “The sketches of what I think the solution is. A youth center.” I motion for the man operating the screen to pull up the website.
“Kids today are getting bored, and with boredom comes trouble. I mean, if you think about it, there are only a handful of things for kids to do, and most of those things aren’t chaperoned in any way. This would be a way to keep the kids off the street. We’ll offer basketball courts, skate ramps, an indoor pool, classes, and tutoring sessions, in hopes this will keep them out of trouble and help them to prepare for college. I even plan on hiring some of the kids who need a little extra money. I also have with me the sheriff. He’s going to present on the climbing numbers of arrests of underage kids. Please welcome Sheriff Moore.” I gesture toward him, and he comes to stand at the podium while I step back.
I can’t help but watch him while he speaks to the council. His back is straight, and he looks sexy as hell in his police uniform. His looks alone will be enough to get people to sit up and pay attention, but what he’s saying is just as important. He gives the hard truth with proof. There’s no way the council won’t consider this.
I introduce the rest of the people I’ve asked to speak, mostly just townspeople who have suffered a loss due to troublemaking kids. Next, I walk them through the website to show just how much income this could generate for the town. I answer every question they have, most of them already planned for with answers thought out.
I watch as they look down at the information before them, excitement bubbling through me because I have a feeling that in the end, I’ll get exactly what I want—a youth center.
Ten
Bryce
I can’t help but stare in awe of Nina as she speaks about something she so obviously cares deeply about. She’s beautiful and fearless, and she doesn’t back down, even when they seem to throw more and more questions at her.
Then someone on the council asks, “And how do you expect to pay for all of this?”
She looks down at her papers, clears her throat, and says, “I have a backer. If approved, you won’t have to pay a cent. It won’t affect town taxes. Nothing will change other than that we’ll have a nice place to help the kids.”
“And what happens if this backer pulls out or runs out of money? How will you address that?”
I watch her move from foot to foot. This is the first time all night that she’s looked this nervous. “I have it on good standing that this youth center will be fully funded without the town’s or government’s help, sir.”
The man at the table doesn’t like this answer, though. “May I ask who in this town has the kind of money that something like this will require to pull off?”