Tied Up by the Boss (Office Kink #2)(4)

Morgan pursed his lips. “You were only lead on one of those projects, and that was pure luck??—a fluke even. You rub most of the execs the wrong way. For god’s sake, they tolerate you. Sometimes I think our clients believe you’ll be as ruthless with their marketing campaigns as you are with them, and they like that. But that’s not true. You’re just a wanker who can’t get his point across without insulting others and making them feel like shite.”

I felt my blood pressure rise. I hated having my hard work shamed. Especially by this man.

“I can work on my relationship building skills and my interactions with potential clients.”

Morgan shook his head. “I don’t think you can.”

“Of course, I can. Listen, you don’t know?—?”

Morgan put up a hand. “No, Parker. I don’t have to listen to you telling me what you think I don’t know. I’m done with you and your know-it-all attitude. I’m not willing to take the chance to find out if you can change. It’s not worth it. It’s a waste of my time and the company’s money. I can get someone with more experience and a much better personality in this position in less than a month.”

I inhaled. “Morgan, please.”

“Please, huh? That’s a start, but a little too late.”

“Morgan.” I panicked and dropped to my knees, grabbing at his hand with both of mine. “Please. I can change, I swear.”

He looked down at me, surprise in his raised brows. “I’m not breaking up with you, Parker. I’m recommending that Trent make you redundant. Consider this a life lesson and learn from it. Take it like a grown man.”

I didn’t let go of his hand, but he didn’t make any move to remove it. “I can’t lose this job. I want to be here. I’ll do anything. Anything.” I stretched out the word, hoping to convey my sincerity.

His expression hardened, his eyes narrowing. “You better not be propositioning me.”

I shook my head. “No.” I wasn’t, but why did the thought make my heart beat faster. What the hell? “I’m desperate but not hopeless.”

“No would’ve sufficed,” he replied, a slight upturn to one corner of his mouth. I found myself staring at it and dragged my gaze back to his. His eyes flashed with something I hadn’t seen before. Something hot and intense that shot straight through me and settled at the root of my cock. I inhaled sharply, shocked at how much I wanted to wrap my body around his solid frame. I warned myself not to look straight ahead at the level of his crotch.

“Parker . . .” He startled me enough to make me flinch. “Get up off the floor. Let’s talk.” He sandwiched his other warm hand on top of mine and lifted.

I let him help me stand. I never noticed how amazing he smelled before. Wine, leather, and musk. Exactly what I expected a refined Englishman to smell like. I shook it off as he let go of my hands and I sat down in the guest chair. He sat back on his desk towering over me, one leg bent, showing off a hint of his brightly colored argyle sock. I’d seen it before and it always made me wonder if he hid some secret kink. Focus, Parker. Focus.

“Trent wants me to mentor you for the Axion project. You’ll be working exclusively with me,” Morgan said, adjusting his weight on the desk.

“Wait. You mean this was already decided? And you let me believe I was getting fired?”

Morgan shrugged.

I could’ve killed him. “I got on my knees and begged! For nothing?”

He picked at some lint on his jacket. “I found it quite amusing.”

“Unbelievable.” I’d have walked out right then if I’d had more options. But he knew I didn’t.

“Would you like to hear the details?”

“No, but continue.” I crossed my arms.

He didn’t seem phased. “You’ll be my assistant.”

“Assistant? Like Karla? But I’m a Senior Research Analyst.”

“Not while we’re working on this project.”

“I’m under contract.”

Morgan looked down and cleared his throat. “Parker, when you said you’d do anything, were you serious?”

“Yes, but?—?”

“I’m not happy about this either. I’d rather eat glass than be stuck trying to make you a better analyst. But sometimes it’s not about you or me. It’s about the greater good of the company. This is your last chance to redeem yourself and keep your job.” His expression remained flat.

I swallowed my anger. What choice did I have? I needed to submit to Trent’s demands in order to stay with the company. My balls were firmly in his court.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” I said before I changed my mind and ran from his office screaming.

“Splendid,” he said, with a pat to his thigh, drawing my gaze to it. “And I believe we’ve got much too comfortable around here. You’ll call me sir from here on out, unless otherwise instructed.”

I blinked, wondering if I’d heard him right. “What?”

Morgan huffed. “Did you think I would make this easy?”

I wanted to tell him he was being a douche just because he could. But I held my tongue. “No.”

“No, what?” he replied, waiting.

“No.” I paused and tried not to sound like I was saying it through my teeth. “Sir.”