“Yes,” I replied, wondering where he was going with this. “How about you?”

“I think so. If not, there’s always gift cards,” he laughed.

I smiled at his comment. “Doesn’t look like you shopped today. You don’t have any shopping bags.”

“I was distracted,” he said, looking straight at me.

I think I swallowed my chicken without chewing. Not wanting to blush from his words, I quickly asked him a question. “Don’t you have to work today?”

“It’s Jenna’s first day back. Max will be with her, so I took the morning off. I hate shopping right before Christmas, but I can’t seem to find anything today.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I mumbled under my breath, consciously aware of his eyes watching how I was using the chopsticks.

“Not bad,” he winked.

Watching him wink at me tickled my stomach so much that my chopstick slipped and I lost my grip on the broccoli. Darn! It didn’t matter anymore; we were both done with our lunch.

“Well, Becca, it was nice to see you unexpectedly. I won’t tell Jenna or Max what you got them for Christmas. I’m sure Max will enjoy it just as much as she will.” Standing up, he took both of our white lunch boxes and threw them away before I could.

“Thanks for lunch, Matthew,” I said sincerely, standing up to retrieve my bags from him.

“If you want to model any of the Victoria’s Secret lingerie and have a little bite afterward, just give me a call.”

After I flashed my eyes to his, I dropped them from embarrassment. He did not just say that to me, did he? “Shut up,” I said lightly, and slapped him across his arm.

He pretended the slap wounded him, and gave me my bags. “See ya around, Becca.”

This time, I loved how my name rolled off his tongue, like a melody he knew all too well. Still standing there as he sauntered away, I looked over my shoulder before I could stop myself. He was actually walking backward, unmistakably checking me out. When his eyes met mine, he winked once more and mouthed, “Nice ass, Victoria’s Secret model.” Then he turned the corner.

Not only did I giggle like a school girl, I was too afraid to move a muscle. Too afraid he would know that he had completely unglued me with his words and unraveled me with his eyes. Those piercing, drop-dead, gorgeous hazel eyes, caressing every inch of me, producing wicked thoughts in my mind that I didn’t want to have.

7

BEING BACK TO WORK after a couple of weeks of being absent made me jittery beyond words. Though I knew the employees had no idea what had happened, I was still a nervous wreck. Max had informed everyone by email that I would be working from home on a special project. I wondered if they’d thought otherwise or questioned the meaning of “special project.”

Before heading to Max’s office, I stopped by the customer service department I used to work in. I told them that I would be right upstairs or just a phone call away if they needed me. A part of me felt somber that I was leaving them. In the short amount of time I had been there, I enjoyed their friendship, especially with Lisa. I promised that I would join them for lunch when I had the chance.

I also convinced Max to promote Lisa to my old position. She was not only professional, but she definitely proved that she could hold down the fort while I was away. Max listened to my suggestion and made it happened. Lisa was very grateful to me, but I told her that she really deserved it and it was her expertise and knowledge that got her the position.

Until late afternoon, Max trained me how to lay the design on formatted pages. Everything was done through the set of layouts on the computer, which made it easier for me. I would be working closely with Matthew and other employees I had yet to meet, since I was still in Max’s office.

“You know, Matthew should really be the one to teach me all this stuff,” I said. Sitting on his lap, I had my legs tucked under the desk. He practically held me hostage, but I didn’t mind.

“Matthew doesn’t know everything. I do. I’ve been here the longest and I’ve done everything, almost everything. Not your old position. I don’t answer the phones.”

“Confident,” I spit out.

Max chuckled, making my body shake with him, and then he tilted his head and gave me a peck on my cheek. “I guess I should be glad you didn’t say arrogant.” He quickly typed a few words to show me how it could look on page ten. “And besides, I like to have you all to myself.”

“You have to share me when we come to work, Max.”

His arms swung around my waist. “Only when I give my permission.”

“Hmmm….”

Max pushed up from his feet and turned me around to the side but I managed to stay on his lap. “Okay, I will share you, but not every part of you.” After squeezing my bottom, he slowly glided his hands up to my br**sts, and teasingly kneaded them. Then, with a naughty, satisfying grin, he buried his face into the open slit of my blouse. He was so good with his tongue and teeth that he managed to open a couple of buttons without any help from his fingers. “I’m not sharing these,” he mumbled into my flesh as his wet kisses traveled from one nipple to the other, waiting eagerly for his tongue. My pulse raced and my heart pounded against my rib cage from what he was doing to me.

“Max,” I moaned. When I felt his hardness growing, as his tongue was playing with my nipple, I moaned louder and tilted my head back. Thank goodness, he had locked the door and this room was sound proof. “It’s my first day back,” I managed to say, losing any rational thought.