Tempting Him by Isabel Lucero
6
HavingJay show up as an intern in my program is one thing, considering I’m the one in charge. Had he just been a one-night stand under regular circumstances, maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad, but Jayden Brooks is a name I was already vaguely familiar with.
His father, Calvin Brooks, works with me in Chicago at the marketing firm downtown. Not only that, these past couple of years we’ve gotten pretty close, even having drinks after work, or enjoying dinner with his wife at the restaurant she works at. I’d consider him a friend, and the fact that he’d probably say the same thing, even though I’m his boss, says a lot. He’s a hard worker, a good man, and when he asked if I had a position for his son here, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
However, after meeting Jay at the bar, not once did I consider he was Jayden, the son of my friend and the man who’s in charge of the public image of the company. That makes this a little more awkward, and probably the number one reason why I shouldn’t feel this tinge of excitement of having him working here with me.
“In a minute, I will bring in a few of the marketing managers you’ll be working for. You’ll be expected to be self-motivated. Don’t wait until someone has to ask you for something. You need to assess the situation and figure out what needs and can be done by you. We don’t like for our employees to do the bare minimum. You will prepare promotional presentations and monitor social platforms. Organizational skills and the ability to multitask are needed. If you don’t have a passion for marketing, this will not work out for you. There will be marketing events that you will plan and host, amongst many other things. You will speak to the person you’ll be working under for more details.” I pick up the phone and press a button to connect me with Linda. “Send them in. Thank you.”
A minute later, Ivan, Zola, Luther, and Micah stroll in and I send two interns with each of them. Once they’ve stood up and followed the marketing managers out of the room, I’m left with Jay.
“Mr. Brooks, you’ll be working with me today. Come on, my office is upstairs.”
“Hey, umm, this is weird, right?” he says from behind me. “Did you...oh shit.”
I angle my head over my shoulder to see his wide eyes bounce around as if he’s just figuring something out.
“What’s that, Mr. Brooks?”
“Sorry. Uhh, so you’re the guy my dad knows?”
“I do know him, yes.”
I move through the room, heading for the elevators. Next to us, Zola and her two interns wait as well.
“So, does that mean you knew?” Jay asks.
I ignore him, not willing to have this conversation right now.
“Mr. Brooks, are you aware there’s a—”
“No, wait. Ale—”
I cut him off with a stern glare as Zola’s head swings in our direction.
“Sorry, I mean, Mr. uhh,” his eyes give him away. He has no idea what my last name is. Why would he? Obviously his father didn’t tell him my name, and Jay didn’t look into this job at all to be able to find out on his own.
“Mr. Drakos,” Zola says with a bite in her tone.
“Right,” Jay offers, pretending like he forgot. “Drakos. Yes, Mr. Drakos.”
The elevators open and I gesture for Zola and her interns to go in first. The second elevator dings, informing us it’ll be ready. “We’ll take this one,” I say with a smile. She nods, her eyes roaming to Jay once more before we step into the neighboring car.
Jay exhales as soon as we’re alone. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“This is a place of business, Mr. Brooks, and I am in charge. I will never be Alek or Aleksander in this building.”
“And I clearly won’t be Jay.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Did you know? Who I was, I mean.”
“I did not, and had I known, it never would’ve happened.”
“No?” he questions, moving into a position where I can see him.
I meet his gaze. “No. You are Calvin’s son, and not only am I your boss, but I’m his, and more importantly, your father and I are friends.”
His shoulders drop. “Friends? You’re friends with my dad?”
“Is it so unbelievable that either of us would have friends?”
He laughs. “Kind of, yes. Also, I thought you said you didn’t have friends.”
“I don’t have any here.”
“You never saw any photos of me?”
“No, I never saw any pictures , but don’t worry, I’m sure your father dotes on you.”
“This is so crazy,” he muses, mostly to himself.
I focus on the doors as they open up and then make my way to my office with Jay on my heels.
Once behind my desk, I say, “Okay, are you aware there’s a music festival coming this summer?”
“Wait. Well, no, but hold on, can we talk about this?”
He sits in a chair across from me, his dark eyes focused on mine. He looks worried.
With a soft sigh, I sit back in my chair. “What are you concerned about?”
His hands go up. “This whole thing. I’m working for you, but we slept together, which I’m sure there will be some rules about. I could get disqualified from the program, you could lose your job, and what the fuck are we gonna do about my dad?”
I lean forward and cross my arms on my desk. “First of all, your dad doesn’t have to know anything about this. He doesn’t know about any of your other hookups, does he? Secondly, you will not be disqualified. I’ll make sure of it. Unless, of course, you show up late again.”
He bites back a grin. “So, nobody will know anything?”
“Who would know? I don’t necessarily go around telling my employees that I slept with someone over the weekend.”
“Well, I told people,” he says with a nervous grin. “Only a couple, but they don’t know who you are.”
“Then it’s in your hands. As long as you don’t tell them that your boss is the same person you slept with, then nobody will know.”
He exhales, his body relaxing slightly. “Okay.”
“So, let’s talk about this music festival,” I state, clicking a button on my keyboard.
“Wait.”
I sigh and look at him. “Yes?”
“Are you gonna pretend nothing happened? You don’t feel weird having to work with me with the knowledge that you were balls deep into my ass ten days ago?”
I clear my throat as I adjust my tie, not prepared for the blunt reminder of what we did. “It was only meant to be for one night, so us working together means nothing. You’re my intern, plain and simple.”
He appraises me. “I see. Business as usual, then.”
“Yes. Now, let’s discuss how we can advertise this music festival. It’s geared more toward people your age, but it is technically a family friendly event. The company in charge has hosted a couple of festivals in Indiana, but this is their first time in Michigan. We’ll be working with local companies for sponsorships and advertising.”
We spend the next two and a half hours discussing strategies on marketing the event. I let him come up with ideas, and then I touch on how for a festival like this, it’s best to cast a wide net, and not solely focus on the locals. A lot of people will travel for music festivals.
Jay knows his way around social media, and jotted down plans to get word out via those platforms, ads, and giveaways. We’ll expand more on this over the next few days, because with an event like this, there’s quite a few things we can use to our advantage.
“Well, we can pick up on this tomorrow. We have fifteen minutes left, so I’d like for you to tell me why you’re interested in marketing. Is it because of your dad?”
He grimaces. “Can we not touch on the fact that you know my dad, or that my dad exists, or anything like that?”
I grin. “Sure. Please, tell me why this is for you.”
“Okay, maybe the idea was planted when I saw a certain somebody working on how to advertise for this pizza company. Chicago is known for several sports teams and deep dish pizza, you know? Anyway, all I remember is he was able to get this pizza franchise’s logo up on a billboard at the baseball field. I don’t know the details of how it all worked out, but I know that when we went to a game and I saw that pizza logo up, that my dad had made it possible. And I’m pretty sure the pizza place had the baseball logo on their takeout products and such.” He exhales. “That planted the seed, but I’m a very social person. I’m outgoing, talkative, and love meeting new people. Dad always told me it was a very social career and you’d need outstanding communications skills. Besides that, I’m a creative person, and I like the fact that not everyday will be the same. You’ll end up working on a new project and the vibe will change. I wouldn’t want to walk into an office and do the same, I don’t know, like accounting every day. No offense to accountants, but that’s not for me.”
I nod. “Sounds good.”
He grins. “Sounds good? That’s it? It takes a lot to get high praise from you, huh?”
I drag my teeth along my bottom lip. “I give praise when it’s earned.”
“Mm.” His eyebrows go up. “Like, ‘Last night was fun. Thanks for that.’?”
I level him with a look. “I didn’t have to leave a note at all.”
A laugh emerges from his lips. “In that case, thank you.” He stands up. “Am I good to leave, Mr. Drakos?”
My eyes travel up his tall frame until they land on his. “You have five minutes left.”
He coughs out a chuckle. “What would you like me to do for the next five minutes?”
“It should be seven, considering you were late.”
Jay’s thick arms cross in front of his chest. “You heard of the game seven minutes in heaven? Was that a thing in your day?”
My jaw clenches as I roll my chair back from the desk. His gaze takes a journey from my face, down to my chest, and then landing on my crotch.
“I’m aware of the game, but I’m not a child and would require a lot more than seven minutes.”
He takes a few steps toward my desk. “The game doesn’t have to include sex. It could be kissing, touching, maybe a little tasting.”
“It could also be nothing at all.”
He bites down on his lip as he grins, coming around to the side of my desk. “You know, I was sore for two days after I left your hotel room.”
“Only two? I may have to up my game a little then.”
His lips pull into a smirk as he rests his ass on my desk in front of me. “Right now?”
I shake my head once. “I don’t do repeats.”
“No repeats, huh? Why’s that?”
“I have reasons.”
“Is it the typical, cliché reason like you don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to catch feelings?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “Because I don’t catch feelings. I throw those bitches back. I’m too young to settle down. My friends are all loved up with people, and now they’re boring. Who wants that?”
His smile is saccharine, but his eyes twinkle with mischief.
“What happened to you having a panic attack over me knowing your dad?”
“Like you said, he doesn’t have to know.”
“Seems like you’re awfully interested in me, Mr. Brooks.” I arch a brow in his direction, stretching my leg out while I run my palm down to my knee.
“Interested in sex, sir,” he teases with a wink. “I don’t do the love thing. I can tell you that right now— me and probably about ten people from my past. But, your cock interests me, and I like the idea of attempting to get you under me. Maybe make you sore for a couple days.”
I run a finger over the scruff on my chin. “Hmm.”
“So, what do you say?” he questions.
Pushing up from my black leather chair, I reach over to my coat hanger and grab my suit jacket from the hook. After pushing my arms through the sleeves and fastening the buttons, I step up to Jay who stands from the chair, watching me with a triumphant grin.
“I say, your seven minutes are up. You can go home now, Mr. Brooks.”
He’s shocked silent for a few moments before he laughs. “I see. Okay, Mr. Drakos,” he says, emphasizing the last two words. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“On time.”
“Yes, sir.”
