Surrender Your Love (Surrender Your Love #1)(7)

“Who’s Jett?” And that’s when it dawned on me. Mystery Guy. He had introduced himself the evening we met, but the name was so unusual I didn’t really catch it. I thought it was something like Jack, or Jake, or Jeremiah, and the strange pronunciation was the result of his Southern accent.

Even his name sounded sexy and forbidden. I couldn’t help but picture me moaning it while he kissed me all over my body. My face grew hot and hotter. Dammit. This was all Sylvie’s fault. She knew more than I did. If she wasn’t so openly ready to trade in her information, I wouldn’t be literally panting at the sound of a guy’s name.

“Jett...I mean, Sylvie, I don’t have time for this.”

Crap. I was under his spell. I needed to get him out of my system. And quick before I ended up making a complete fool out of myself. I clutched my handbag to my chest and walked out the door, ignoring Sylvie’s incredulous gawking.

“Wait, Brooke! Don’t leave me hanging,” she shouted after me.

Throwing glances over my shoulder to make sure she wasn’t following, I dashed for the parking spot around the block and jumped into my car, ready to head out for a day of hard work, or what was left of it now that it was almost lunchtime.

Chapter 3

New York traffic was a nightmare. By the time I fought my way downtown I was already three hours late. Dammit. Not only was Jett—aka Mystery Guy— messing with my life, he was also ruining my career. My boss, James, wouldn’t be pleased. In fact, as I reached the office and dropped into my swivel chair, my fingertips starting to type furiously on the keyboard to check emails and appointments for the day I could almost feel the hot waves of anger coming from James’s office. Maybe he hadn’t noticed my absence. Oh, who was I kidding? The guy knew everything. And, for a g*y guy, he sure knew how to yell, which was what I was about to hear in three…

Two.

One.

“Brooke! Move your sweet ass over here this instant!”

The office dragon had spied me. Now I was in big trouble. With a deep sigh I sat up, smoothed over my pencil skirt, and headed for the inevitable with slow, measured steps. In my mind I could hear the scary pounds of a drum warning of imminent doom. Wendy, the receptionist, shot me a pitiful look. I smiled back and fought back the urge to pretend I had to leave again for a business meeting. I was a grown up and by no means scared of James.

“Close the door,” James said as I entered his office. I did as he bid and settled into the chair opposite from his huge mahogany desk. My hands folded in my lap, I looked up to meet his angry gaze.

Even though he had to be at least ten years my senior, he didn’t look a day older than thirty. His highlighted blond hair was brushed back from his smooth forehead. His skin had a golden glow which everyone attributed to weekly tanning sessions, and it stood in strong contrast to his crisp, white shirt and black suit. His piercing blue eyes focused on me, measuring me up and down. I wrapped my suit jacket tighter around me as though to protect myself from his inquisitive gaze. Why was he staring at me like that? Why wouldn’t he just start his usual tirade, include a warning or two, and get it over and done with?

I was about to apologize for my lateness when a knock rapped at the door.

“Come in,” James said, looking up from me to our new intern, a twenty-something guy called Tim.

“Here are your papers, boss.” Tim smiled shyly, which in turn had James’s face lighting up like a Christmas candle. Tim had a great body with well-defined muscles and taut skin the color of melted chocolate, which made me believe he spent a lot of time at the fitness center.

“Thank you, darling. Better now than never.” James’s lips curved upwards as his eyes devoured Tim’s perky ass.

“Those are the ones you requested last week. Sorry I’m behind schedule, but I was late today. Traffic.” Tim shot me a conspiratorial look, as though I knew exactly what he was talking about, which I didn’t. Tim had made it a habit of being late; I was always on time.

Apart from today.

“Don’t worry about it.” James waved his hand playfully. I wondered if he would be so kind to me? “Isn’t there a saying ‘save the best for last’? Catch you at lunch.”

Tim flashed his white, even teeth before closing the door behind him.

“So.” James sighed and turned to face me. I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat as his easygoing expression turned a few shades darker.

No preferential treatment for you, Stewart.

“I’m sorry I was late,” I said to break the uncomfortable silence. “There was some paperwork I needed to go through, and I thought I might as well do it from home.” Which wasn’t a lie. I had been planning to go through paperwork last night when Sylvie persuaded me to join her at our usual joint and Mystery Guy came in between.

“Don’t bullshit me. I know you’re lying. But that’s not why I called you in.” He moistened his lips and his gaze scanned the door behind me, and then settled back on me. “What went down with Mayfield?”

“He didn’t turn up.” James’s eyebrows shot up and he looked displeased. A sense of foreboding washed through me. Maybe Mystery Guy reported back to his boss, who complained to James, and now I was in bigger trouble than I thought. “Why are you asking?”

“Because I had a phone call this morning.” James’s frown intensified. Uh-huh. That wasn’t good. I swallowed hard and imagined myself cleaning out my desk.