I Know What You Read (4 page)

Jade felt as if someone could have knocked her over with a feather. Although it was a strange compliment in a way, it didn’t deter her from telling her boss how she felt about the whole thing, “That isn’t my problem. He makes me really uncomfortable.  The son of a bitch was practically naked the first time I met him! He’s too pushy, too presumptuous, and too married. If you gave him the impression he and I were going to be working together just to land him, you need to apologize to him. I’ve never been one to buck an assignment but this is wrong and I refuse to go along with it.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t tell me this when I assigned you to the Rays’ game.”  He paused, but then began again, “I was going to have you do a piece on the couple chosen for the Lightning’s community heroes program before the game.”

“Would you have sent me to do this if someone else was writing the sports column?”

“Probably not.”

“I tell you what, I’ll do the write up on who they selected as their heroes program recipient, but I don’t need to go to the game. Were you going to send a photographer?”

“Angie said she’d cover it, but then Ethan volunteered.”

“Ask him to get me a couple shots of the presentation of the check, I’ll do the rest. The next time Noah wants me for a female sidekick, you’re going to tell him no.”

“You’re not going to hold this against me are you?”

She gave him an uneasy smile, “Only if you
don’t
use me as a hiring bonus in the future. I’ve always rolled with the punches and I don’t get my panties in a wad over too much, do I?”

Surprise was written all over his face. His blush returned, “Nope. Matter of fact, anyone else might have been threatening a sexual harassment suit. You, Jade, are a gem—and that isn’t a pun.”

She was genuinely smiling by the time she made it to her desk. She never had much trouble getting things off her chest, but she was relieved to have tackled this problem before it got out of hand. When she pulled out her keyboard tray though, her smile quickly faded. There sat a manila envelope.  When she opened it, she found a copy of the erotic story she read the day before. She looked across the office. Noah wasn’t too far away, sipping coffee and bullshitting with some of the production men.

She put her fingers to her lips and gave an ear-piercing whistle. All at once, she had the attention of more than just Noah. She smiled, waved the pages at him, and then promptly fed them to the shredder.

He looked completely puzzled.

She went back to work.

CHAPTER SIX

I’m not kidding.

Wednesday morning, Kristen stopped her at the front desk and handed her a manila envelope which someone left anonymously on the reception counter.

Jade opened it in her office, discovering another printed copy of the erotic story. This time it was accompanied by a small typed note:
I know what you read. You can sit at your desk and read this or I’ll make sure it ends up in a public place next time—with your name on it.

She glanced across the office. Noah’s door was closed and his light was off. She wasn’t planning to read the story, but she was intensely curious as to his location. Surely he had a vantage point and was trying to throw her off. She placed the papers face-down on her desk and went about her normal morning routine. At least a dozen people stopped by her office to either say good morning or discuss her write-up about the women, but still no Noah.

It was after 10 a.m. when she picked up her phone and dialed Kristen, “Hey, do you know where Noah is at today?”

“Umm, hold on a sec,” she stated, “I think Hiram gave him the day off. Yeah, here it is. He is closing on his beach house, but I don’t know if it means he’ll be out the full day or if he plans to be back this afternoon or not.” She paused for a moment and then asked why.

“He left me a—a story to look over. I was just going to give him my opinion on it, but don’t worry about it, I’ll catch him later.”

She had an interview at eleven with a new restaurant owner, and, since she was at the restaurant anyway, she stayed for lunch. It was a little after one when she made it back. The envelope and story, which she tucked away in her file drawer, were now on the top of her desk. The newest note inside simply read:
I’m not kidding.

It pissed her off to think he had gone through her files, but when she opened the cabinet, she realized this was simply another copy.  The one she tucked away was where she left it. His light was still off, but she was positive he was somewhere in the building.

She took the newest story and placed it in her top desk drawer and then walked out to see if she could find him. He wasn’t out on the newsroom floor, not in the break room, copy room, nor mailroom. She relented and went to the front desk.

“What time did Noah get back in?”

Kristen gave her an odd smile, “He’s not.”

“Are you sure? Maybe he came back for a while when you went to lunch.”

“I haven’t gone, yet. I’m taking my break at the end of the day because I have an appointment. So,” she said, getting her sly ‘I love gossip’ expression, “what’s up with you two?”

“Nothing. Period. He left another story on my desk. He had to have been here.”

Kristen gave a disappointed frown, “He must have had someone deliver it for him then because he hasn’t been in the building—that I know of.”

Now she was getting worried. Surely it was Noah doing this to her. He was the one who walked in on her when she was reading and—ah—playing, but there were numerous people with a good view into her office. She wasn’t sure what to do at this point. She didn’t want this story to continue to pop up in places with greater public exposure than the last. She took the papers out of the desk drawer and stared at them. If Noah wasn’t here then how would he know she read it? It might pop up somewhere public tomorrow, but if it didn’t, would it prove Noah wasn’t the culprit?

She straightened the pages and gave them a single tap on her desk. She glanced around, took a shaky breath, and began to read. She thought about skimming the pages and not actually reading, but the story, once again, drew her in. There were little nuances in the writing that caught her attention this time.

Goosebumps rippled across her skin, her nipples tightened under her bra, and her pulse started to climb. She readjusted her chair closer to her desk. She hadn’t planned to enjoy this, but she couldn’t help herself.

Ah, the first kiss of the stranger’s lips. The pressure of his fingers as his hand slipped low. The woman’s timid, accidental brush against the erection in his jeans.

Jade took a deep breath; she had to join them. She let one hand slip down to rest on her knee as she permitted her vision to lift briefly to the people beyond the glass. No one appeared to be paying her any attention.

The handsome stranger told the woman how beautiful she was to him. The first tears as this woman considered she had never truly made love with a man. The exhilaration of being slowly undressed by a new lover—oh, yes, it all came together so beautifully.

She made it past the point of the woman’s first orgasm without delving into one herself, but now this man was taking her to the bed, placing her legs on his shoulders, and burying himself so deeply inside her that it was almost painful. It was too much for Jade’s feeble resistance; she wanted to experience what was happening to the character in the story.

No one was watching.  Noah was gone.  Everyone else was working. She pushed her chair a little to the left. Her inbox should be tall enough to keep anyone from seeing the miniscule movements of her arm. She was grateful that she put a panty liner in her underwear this morning because she was so slick and wet that she’d have soaked through to her skirt by now. She was ready for this—absolutely starving for release.

She allowed her index and second finger to slide from the hot, moist, silky entrance upward to her clit and then back down.

Damn, it tingled
.

She knew how to make it intense, but she didn’t know if she could do it without being obvious—or if she could keep silent when it happened, but all it would take would be to place her clit between her fingers and give it a bit of friction.

Oh perfect
.

The man took the woman over the top for the second time. He was bringing her body toward the third climax when he begged the woman to work him, to make him come for her.

Damn, damn, damn
.

Jade bit her lip hard as the three of them tumbled into bliss together.

Wow, that was good!

Her pulse ebbed to normal, her breathing calmed, and her fingers were removed from under her panties. The goose bumps returned as she wondered if anyone paid careful attention to her daring game. She waited another five minutes before rising, collecting both copies of the story and taking them to the shredder.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Seriously?  You’re going to the game?”

She was a little worried when she came into the office Thursday morning; would she find a nasty surprise in a public place? Noah was back, early as usual. Kristen didn’t stop her, so nothing was waiting up front, nothing on her desk, or on her keyboard. She wandered down to the break room, praying silently there wouldn’t be a crowd gathered around the bulletin board—nope, nothing there. She checked her mailbox and it was empty as well. She was both relieved and upset. How did Noah know she read the story if he was out of the office?

She settled in behind her desk and glanced at her computer. There was a camera built into her monitor. Could he possibly have watched her through it without her knowledge? She read a story on the internet months earlier about something similar happening in a school district. She pulled a post-it off and placed it over the lens.

She had several appointments today. Each time she returned to the office, she expected to find the story lying somewhere visible, but nothing turned up.  She wondered if Noah had grown tired of his stupid game. She completed what had been asked: she read the printed copy. She felt equally certain that Hiram informed him she wouldn’t be accompanying him on any stories. If she was lucky, her refusal pissed Noah off and he didn’t even like her anymore.

Friday morning she was all smiles as she walked through the front door of the newspaper. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Noah heading toward her.

“Hey there gorgeous,” he beamed as he came up beside her, “do you like the beach?”

“I’m not coming over to your house.”

“Ah, Jade, come on. I’m not a bad guy, I swear. I’ll be a gentleman all night,” he added, getting a wicked little grin.

“No.”

“I’m directly on the beach; the sunsets are fabulous.”

“No. And, I—”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” he said looking slightly exasperated.

Yes, she wanted to hear, ‘I know what you read,’ come out of his mouth. She wanted to know, without a doubt, he had been the one harassing her. “Yes I do.”

“Okay.”  He took her by the elbow and guided her into her office and closed the door.

Jade’s heartbeat picked up speed as he stared at her with an expression that showed his level of discomfort.

“Really?
You’re really going to make me say it?
”

She crossed her arms and nodded, “And don’t act like you’re all uncomfortable at this point either.” If he was brazen enough to get on her computer, print out the stories, scare the shit out of her with his little notes, and basically blackmail her into reading erotica, she wasn’t going to feel sorry for him if he didn’t like admitting it.

“Fine,” he said, dropping down on one knee.

Holy crap! What was he doing? Proposing?

He took her hand and gave her the biggest puppy-dog face possible, “
Pleeeeease!”

“Ah!” She couldn’t believe it.
That
was what he had to say?!

People were staring.

“Get off your knees; you look like an idiot!”

“Not until you say yes. I’ll be good—scout’s honor.”

They were drawing a crowd in the newsroom, and Jade could feel the scarlet color flooding her cheeks as she stood there speechless.

“One dinner with me and I won’t bother you anymore.”

“You’ll stop harassing me and you won’t pull any stupid stunts like undressing when you get home?”

“I’ll be an angel from now on.”

She wanted to laugh, but she was afraid he’d take it to mean she liked his corny antics, “Get off your knees; everyone is watching.”

“Please say yes,” he said with a little more seriousness.

“You won’t touch me?”

“A kiss—on the cheek only.”

“No,” she snapped.

“Back of your hand? I’ve already kissed your hand, so surely you can’t object.”

“Okay, just get up.”

He smiled broadly and rose to his feet.

She looked down and rubbed her forehead for a moment. “What the hell are we going to tell everybody,” she said in a fierce whisper. She knew the moment he walked out, half of the office staff would want to know what they’d been discussing.

“That’s easy,” he replied as he turned and opened her door. “Yes,” he shouted, raising his fists in the air in triumph, “she’s covering the Lightning game!”

Son of a bitch—he suckered her right into that one!
Now, unless she wanted everyone to know what they’d actually agreed on, she
had
to go with him to the game!
What a jerk!

The first person to poke his head in her office was Ethan, “Seriously? You’re going to the game? I thought you wiggled out of it?”

She slumped into her chair in defeat, “Me, too,” she whined.

“You know I’m going—which means I’m driving my car—so if you want to skip out early…”

It took a minute to sink in, but as it did she began to smile, “Yeah, you’re right. There is no reason I can’t skip out. Ethan, you’re a genius!”