Page 16 of Tempt the Boss
CHAPTER 7
CHRIS
A week later …
I had every intention of being inside Ali again at our meeting last Friday. Maybe some part of me intended to try to rein myself in and keep my hands to myself. Then Ali showed up in a sexy black dress with a plunging neckline and any restraint vanished in a poof of smoke.
Shit. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t be banging our hottest new acquisition, but then at the same time, it was inevitable. A five-alarm fire wouldn’t have stopped me from touching those tempting curves, much less kissing her pretty little twat.
Suddenly, a knock sounds on my office door. “Come in,” I yell.
Jenny enters. She takes the seat across from me and hands me a few printed pages of editorial notes on Ali’s manuscript.
“Ali’s not here yet?”
I check my watch. “She’s got ten more minutes,” I say. Our meeting’s scheduled for 11:30.”
Editorial meetings are routine. Essentially, we’re meeting with an author to convey the improvements we’d like to see. We try to meet with our authors when they’re local because we find it easier to explain our concerns in person. Jenny sent Ali the notes on Tuesday, so she would be familiar with them for our meeting. Compared to our usual editorial letters, this one is pretty short, but we still want to go over everything with Ali.
Plus, I want to see the girl who has infiltrated my mind. I’ve had to resist the urge to text her every day. To invite her over for another round on my desk or office floor. Or ask her to have coffee with me, which would be a terrible idea. I don’t do dates, remember? I only do hot sex, and then goodbye.
“So, there’s really not much here,” Jenny says, breaking me out of my Ali daydreams and preventing my cock from stirring. I was dangerously close to another embarrassing situation. “This meeting shouldn’t last long.”
Someone knocks on the door, and I yell for them to come in. Ali shyly steps in, wearing a blue dress that hugs her incredible curves. The neckline isn’t as deep as the dress she wore last week, but the mounds of her breasts still peak out just enough to be incredibly enticing. I try to focus on something else, so I don’t have to excuse myself to the bathroom.
“Hi Ali,” Jenny says, pulling the young woman into a hug. They smile at each other, and Ali takes the seat next to Jenny. “Thanks for coming in. We like to go over our editorial letters in person with our clients if possible.”
Ali nods with understanding.
“What do you do for authors who don’t live in New York?”
“Skype or phone calls,” Jenny explains. “In person is always best, though. It makes for a better connection.”
Ali nods and smiles.
“Of course, I totally agree. It’s an honor to be here.”
Wow, courteous as well as classy. I smile at her in return.
“Carmichael Publishing is pleased to be working with you, Ms. Hartman,” I say. “But before we get started, why don’t we order some lunch? Have you eaten yet?”
Ali shakes her head. But Jenny busts in.
“That’s a terrific idea!” my assistant exclaims. “I have a few more meetings today I need to get to, but why don’t you two order? I’ll be out of here before it comes. Chris, you’ll be able to go into detail on the notes, right?”
I nod. “No problem. Why don’t you start with the basics and I’ll order food? What do you like, Ali?”
The pretty brunette blushes and smiles. “Just about anything. You go ahead and pick. I’ll eat what you choose.”
I pull a delivery menu from my drawer and step to the side to order. While I’m on the phone, Jenny and Ali talk quietly over the notes.
“The book is really good,” Jenny says. “There are just some elements we think could be stronger. One of the main things was to put more emotion into the less emotional scenes.”
My mind wanders to the points of Ali’s manuscript that made me cry the first time I read it. But there were a lot of moments that had potential but didn’t quite reach the same level, so I agree with Jenny’s assessment.
I hang up with the delivery guy and return to my seat. Jenny and Ali are already on the second page of the notes, but I know Jenny is only reviewing the major points.
“We think your main character needs a friend,” Jenny says. “She has her love interests and her family until they’re… well… you know, in trouble. But she needs someone else to lean on. She’s handling way too much on her own and we think adding in another character will help.”