Play Thing

Besides, she valued her job. She needed her job. And she couldn’t walk away now, not when she was so close to realising one of her long-held dreams.

Having nomadic parents, being raised by a kooky aunt, meant Charlotte craved security like nothing else. And the quirky cottage on the outskirts of Sydney that she’d fallen in love with represented that to her.

A home.

A house all of her own, where she could establish the life she wanted before following the rest of her dreams: a husband, kids, the works. Charlotte wanted it all and knew the only way she could make it happen was to go after it.

It wouldn’t be easy, finding her perfect guy. She knew this, considering she’d have to date regularly to discover what she really wanted in a man and her track record in the dating stakes had been abysmal until now. But the house was a first step in the right direction and somehow, with her twisted logic, she thought that once she had the house she could set about finding a guy happy to live in it.

She almost had enough for a deposit, enough for the bank to take her seriously for a hefty loan application. Just another fortnight and she could start living her dream.

But to do so, she had to tolerate working with Alexander Bronson.

‘You can do this,’ she muttered, kicking at a stone on the footpath, as her cell buzzed in her pocket.

She fished it out, her palms growing clammy as his name popped up on the screen. She’d entered it the moment she’d left his office, ensuring she could ignore his calls if needed.

But this wasn’t a call; he’d sent a text.

Have ordered morning tea for staff. Please pick up the order from Le Miel on your way back.

Will be good to have staff bonding session.

Alex

Charlotte muttered an unsavoury curse under her breath and shoved her cell back in her pocket. She didn’t need a staff bonding session. She’d already bonded with her boss and it had been so damn monumental she couldn’t forget it.

Le Miel was a café they often used for work functions, and she figured he’d probably got the recommendation from the receptionist. Heading there would be good—she needed a friendly ear and Abby was a great listener. Though what her friend would say when she heard about the events of the last few days... Charlotte picked up the pace. The faster Abby talked sense into her, the better.

Ten minutes later, she had two bags filled with Abby’s delectable pastries ready to take back to the office. But she couldn’t leave without talking to her friend so she perched at her favourite table, ordered a cappuccino and waited.

Abby always popped out from the kitchen when she visited, which was several times a week. Charlotte couldn’t resist her friend’s melt-in-the-mouth beignets, croissants and pain au chocolat, eternally grateful for her fast metabolism that ensured a thirty-minute walk a day burned off the calories.

That leather bustier yesterday had been tighter than her usual size—a moderate B cup—so maybe she should lay off... She stopped eyeing up a giant almond croissant and sipped at her coffee instead, wishing she hadn’t thought about that damn lingerie. She blamed it for her entire lapse in judgement. That, and Alex’s inherent hotness.

Alex.

That was what he’d said to call him. Informal, casual, implying intimacy.

Hell, it was going to be a tough four weeks, waiting until the wunderkind yanked the accountancy firm out of the mire. It could only be a good thing, ensuring she had a job to support her impending loan. But four weeks of working alongside the guy who’d haunted her dreams last night would be torture.

‘Hey, Char, what brings you by this time of day?’ Abby collapsed into the chair opposite after placing a plate of freshly baked strawberry tartlets on the table between them. ‘Your firm only ever orders afternoon tea and only then infrequently.’

‘The new boss is trying to suck up to the employees.’

Abby smiled. ‘So how is the boss from hell? Is he as intimidating in person as he was on the phone to you all these weeks?’

She’d whined about Alex for weeks—his condescending teasing, his constant demands, his infernal tasks—and Abby had been a sympathetic ear. Which would make what she had to divulge all the more shocking. Her friend would think she’d lost her mind.

‘Uh... Alex is good.’

Abby’s eyebrows shot up. ‘That’s interesting.’

‘What?’

‘You’ve never called him anything other than nasty names before. What’s with the breathy tone? Is he hot?’

‘You don’t know the half of it,’ Charlotte muttered, wishing she’d grabbed the morning tea order and made a run for it.

Abby grinned and rubbed her hands together. ‘I sense a story.’

‘Yeah, a horror story.’ Charlotte sighed and internally debated how much to tell her friend.

‘That bad, huh?’ Abby patted her hand. ‘Why don’t you tell dear Abby all about it?’

Charlotte usually laughed at her friend’s corny joke whenever she used that line. She barely mustered a wan smile today.

‘I had sex with him.’

The tartlet Abby had halfway to her mouth fell to the floor and landed upside down with a small splat. ‘What did you just say?’

‘You heard me.’ Charlotte grimaced, hating the way her stomach churned. She could have blamed it on hunger, considering she hadn’t eaten a thing since last night, but she knew better. ‘I did something crazy yesterday and now the karma gods are paying me back big time.’

Abby gaped at her and she didn’t blame her. Charlotte hadn’t had a date in all the time she’d known her so the fact she’d just announced she’d had sex with her boss would be as unbelievable as flying to the moon.

‘I think you better start at the beginning.’ Abby grabbed a serviette, scooped up the smashed tartlet, and placed it on the table. ‘Though you’ll have to make it the quick version because I’ve got another batch of croissants in the oven.’

Charlotte inhaled a breath and blew it out. Yeah, like that would calm her nerves. Thinking about what she’d done was bad enough. Articulating it would make it all too real.

‘Short version. My aunt got called away to Byron Bay to help a sick friend. She had to urgently vacate the warehouse she rents to store her merchandise and asked me to do it. So I was there, packing stuff, when the hottest guy on the planet walked in and we ended up having sex.’

Jeez, it did sound crazier spoken out loud.

Abby, astute as ever, eyed her with speculation. ‘You’re not telling me everything. Why would you have sex with some random stranger, hot or otherwise?’

Heat flushed Charlotte’s cheeks as she remembered exactly how hot sex with Alex had been. The way he’d looked at her, the way he’d touched her, the way he’d pounded into her...her insides clenched at the incredible, erotic memory. ‘Well, I was in a weird mood, lamenting my rather pitiful social life, so decided to try on some of the lingerie.’

Abby let out a whoop of laughter. ‘No way. He walked in on you?’

‘In faux leather, no less. Bustier and thong. A real eye-opener.’ Her sardonic response elicited more laughter.

‘So you’re blaming the lingerie?’

‘If only.’ Charlotte shook her head, wishing she could blame her lapse in judgement on something so trivial. ‘The lingerie made me feel bold but it was more than that...he really looked at me and I liked it.’

‘Oh, sweetie.’ Abby leaned over and hugged her. ‘You’re beautiful. The guy has good taste.’

She snorted. ‘I’m average at best and he must have thought I was easy in that get-up.’