Bedding the Boss

  Bedding the Boss

  Grayson Enterprises - Book 1

  Kameron Claire

  Copyright © 2018 by Kameron Claire

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously based upon freely provided by fan submission. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  To Tiffinie and Kathy

  We took a magical Alaskan road trip and plotted out a series…let the whirlwind begin.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Also by Kameron Claire

  Exclusives and Sneak Peeks

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  1

  Jessica McLain glanced up from the latest revision of Elliad Corporation’s proposal to Chamberlin Hotels for their audio-visual remodel and raised an eyebrow at her assistant, who bounced in and closed her office door.

  “You look like you’re up to no good.”

  Torie placed her hands on her hips. “Exactly what is your two o’clock about?”

  Jessica glanced at the clock. “Am I supposed to be somewhere?”

  “No, the meeting is here. It says Mr. Grayson on your calendar, but nothing else.”

  “Mr. Grayson?” Jessica tapped her fingers on her chin while searching her memory. “Oh, he’s the furniture contractor Carter recommended. Why?”

  Torie beamed a Cheshire cat grin. “Because he’s smoking hot. If you want me to cancel the rest of your meetings today, I totally will.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Grow up, would you?”

  “Why should I when you’re grown enough for the both of us?” Giggling, her twenty-six-year-old assistant, who was only a couple years younger than her, opened the door. “Mr. Grayson, Ms. McLain will be with you shortly.”

  “Send him in.” Jessica stood, muttering under her breath while straightening her gray, boucle pencil skirt. She didn’t have time to take this appointment, and yet she would sacrifice thirty minutes today for the opportunity to be standing in front of her computer in the future. Anything to keep her butt from spreading along with her additional responsibilities. Her recent promotion had graduated her from fifty-hour to seventy-hour weeks with no end in sight.

  But Carter promised superior craftsmanship from this contractor, and since she was paying for the desk herself, she wanted the best.

  Carter hadn’t told her that the best was also a tall, broad, smoking hot man dressed in business casual. He looked like he’d come from a board room instead of a lumber yard. Although to be fair, this man left most executives in the dust with his chartreuse button-down, multihued green-and-blue necktie, and dark gray slacks. Perfect colors to make his light green eyes pop against his dark skin.

  He has to be the owner.

  “Mr. Grayson?”

  “Derrick.”

  “Jessica.” She shook his proffered hand, warmth radiating from his calloused fingers.

  Maybe not?

  He held her hand longer than most considered appropriate, a wicked curve parting his full lips. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Standing in the doorway, Torie asked, with a whimsical lilt to her tone, “Should I close the door?”

  Jessica shot her assistant a warning look. “That won’t be necessary. Thank you.”

  Unaffected, Torie shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Could we sit over here?” Derrick dropped her hand and gestured with his leather portfolio to the round table in the corner.

  “After you.” She followed him, taking the fifteen feet from the door to the table to appreciate how his fitted shirt and slacks alluded to a hard, muscular physique.

  Rolling her eyes, Jessica scolded herself. It had been too long since she’d had a boyfriend, or worse, a date. Work had become an all-consuming machine that took up all her time and energy. She hadn’t made it to the gym more than two times a week over the last two years, and she’d spent her last vacation working remotely. Finding time to catch up with friends had become a once-a-month affair, if that.

  How many birthdays and baby showers had she missed?

  Fortunately, her hard work and sacrifices were paying off. Her recent promotion was bona fide proof that the nights spent alone with her vibrator were worth it. After all, one didn’t become the youngest female program director at Elliad Corporation by having a social life.

  Taking the seat across the table from Derrick, she blushed as his eyes quickly traveled over her body, an appreciative gleam telling her he liked what he saw. “What do you have to show me, Mr. Grayson?”

  “Please, call me Derrick.” He got up and moved to the seat next to her, sliding his portfolio in front of her and his chair closer. “I brought desk and cabinet project pictures to give you an idea of what I can do for you. Do you know what you want?”

  With the chemistry pulsing between them, she could think of all kinds of things she wanted while flipping through his portfolio, but none of them had to do with furniture.

  Damn Torie and her wicked suggestions.

  Looking up, she found his gazed fixed on her mouth, reminding her of the spinach salad she wolfed down at lunch. Oh God, did she have spinach in her teeth? She ran her tongue over teeth, finding nothing, but that didn’t leave her with a lot of confidence.

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?” Jessica barely moved her lips, completely self-conscious about the phantom green that may or may not be there.

  He smiled. “Do you know what kind of desk you want?”

  She blushed again and nodded. “For the most part, I do. I would like the flexibility of sitting or standing while working at my computer, but I need to maintain Feng Shui in the room. Simply, I don’t want to have to look over computer screens to talk to my team. Eye contact is important.”

  As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized she wasn’t doing a good job of maintaining eye contact with him.

  She cleared her throat. “Also, it would be nice if I could turn my monitors to face my team but keep the standard configuration semi-private. I don’t want reports or financials viewed by accident. I need drawers that lock, and I would like the convenience of filing cabinets, without the telltale look of them. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfectly. I think I have what you need.”

  He flipped a couple laminated pages in his portfolio. “Do you like light or dark hardwood?”

  Jessica looked around at the mismatched materials in her office. The plush chairs in front of her desk were a warm tan leather with gold tacks and light oak legs, but the table they sat at was a cherry veneer with black leather chairs. Her desk was also cherry veneer with silver hardware, but the separate locking filing cabinet was solid, natural oak.

&nbs
p; “I like both. Is one more durable than the other?”

  “Durable?”

  Jessica’s cheeks grew warm as inappropriate images flashed through her mind, her gaze resting on Derrick’s large, capable hands. “I want this desk to last a long time.”

  He chuckled and flipped a few more pages, pointing to a desk and cabinet ensemble. “Mixing woods can have a beautiful effect, both aesthetically and functionally. While some might prefer a solid plank, I guarantee there will be nothing flimsy about the desk I make for you. It will hold up against any rugged activity you can dream up.”

  Oh, she could think up a few quality control activities. Ugh. She was going to kill Torie for setting her mind down this filthy track. Not professional at all.

  She leaned forward to examine the photos. Light oak, redwood, dark stained cherry, and walnut sections were fused together to create a large, L-shaped top. Matching cabinets with frosted glass inlays and drawers lacquered and polished to a high sheen gave the rustic design an elegant finish.

  “Oh my. This is beautiful. You created this?” She glanced up to catch his gaze fixed on her again, the pride in his work clear by the smile spread across his face.

  “Yes, and thank you. If you like the style, I will custom build the desk to fit your body.”

  She slid her chair away from the table and crosses her legs. She’d done it subconsciously, but doing so brought his attention to her legs, which only fueled the fire building in her belly and radiating through her limbs. “My body?”

  Perhaps it had been too long since her last relationship. While this man was beautiful, there was no reason for her to have such an intense attraction. Especially not during the workday, amid meetings and end-of-month financial reporting, with nothing more than a bottle of water to sip from. “What do you mean?”

  He recovered quickly and brought his gaze up to her own. Now it was her turn to cast him a knowing smirk. Their mutual attraction was obvious, and the thrill of this impromptu flirtation would serve her well for weeks. Finally, she would have something to fantasize about each night in the few minutes before falling asleep. With a small pang of regret, she realized how much she missed something as simple as flirting.

  Derrick also pushed back from the table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his widespread knees. “It means I would build it for your height, your strength, your comfort. If you are interested, I’ll take some measurements and come back with sketches by the end of the week.”

  Jessica bit her lip. A woman could get lost in his light green eyes.

  “Hey Jess, we got prob—” Mike Fallon, her deputy program director, walked in and broke the spell Derrick had wrapped around her.

  She jumped in her chair, wondering if the desire she felt heating her cheeks was apparent to the two men in the room. Then his words hit her. “What problem?”

  Mike eyed Derrick and approached with his hand out. “Mike Fallon, Deputy Program Director. And you are?”

  She watched as Derrick stood and collected his portfolio, taking his time to shake the offered hand. “Derrick Grayson. I was just leaving.”

  He handed her a business card. “It looks like you have a fire to put out. Can I have Torie schedule me another date on your calendar?”

  She nodded. “Sure and thank you for understanding.”

  “Of course. I’ll see myself out.”

  2

  Derrick took the elevator from Jessica’s office down to the basement of Elliad Corp’s building. He walked down the corridor he’d only been in a few times before, entered the office at the end of the hall, and tossed his portfolio onto the guest chair. Loosening his tie, he shut his brother-in-law’s door. “Hey, man.”

  Carter looked up from a stack of work requests. “Wow, look at you. Fancy, fancy. You meeting with investors or something?”

  “No. I just met with Jessica, or at least I tried to. Who’s this asshole, Mike Fallon?”

  Carter laughed and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “You’ve always been an amazing judge of character. How do you do that? Size someone up within seconds of meeting them?”

  “A gift from God, I suppose. Who is he?”

  “Just some snake climbing the corporate ladder. If Jessica isn’t careful, she’s going to get bit. It’s kind of a joke around here, watching him watch her. I can’t tell if he’s in love or waiting for an opportunity to trip her up. How did you meet him?”

  Derrick looked around the tiny office and smiled at the family portraits hanging in the frames he and Carter had made when they were kids. Staring back at him were his niece’s and nephews’ smiling faces, the same faces fawned over by Jessica at the company picnic three weeks ago. It had been at that moment, as he watched her swing little Hillary around in a circle and play tag with Frankie and Gerry, that he knew he had to meet her.

  He shrugged. “The man walked in, puffed up, and practically peed on the carpet. Bastard actually squeezed my hand.”

  Carter snorted. “Really? Your presence must have upset him. What exactly were you and Jessica doing when he walked in?”

  “Shut up, smartass.” Derrick rubbed his neck, cranking his head side to side to the tune of a satisfying pop. There was something about Jessica he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He wanted to know her. Was it lust? Maybe. She was an attractive woman with her long, blond waves, petite frame, and round ass that looked just as good today in a skirt as it had three weeks ago in a pair of khaki shorts.

  Maybe he would bend her over the desk, as he’d visualized minutes ago, and be over this infatuation. Maybe. But something told him that wasn’t true.

  For the last six months, Derrick had been thinking a lot about finding the right woman, settling down, and starting a family. Was this a midlife crisis? He didn’t think so. Honestly, he blamed his Saturday nights. Since his niece had turned one, he’d been spending Saturday nights watching her and her two brothers. The four of them ate dinner and then played whatever game the kids came up with before settling down to watch a movie. This gave his sister Evelyn and his brother-in-law Carter a recurring date night.

  Derrick often wondered if he looked forward to the night more than the happy couple.

  He glanced back up at the pictures of Evelyn and Carter’s kids. Sure, he was successful on paper with his degrees, businesses, and bank accounts, but it was his sister and her husband who had the awesome family with three fantastic kids.

  Growing a solid mom-and-pop business into a lucrative company about to quadruple in value had been hard work, but nurturing an intimate relationship with a woman had always eluded him.

  Could Jessica be the one? Without a doubt, she attracted him. Like him, she was educated and driven. He bet she worked long hours occasionally and would understand when he needed to do the same. But did she want a husband, a family? That would be something he’d have to find out, which meant he couldn’t date her the same way he had other women in his past.

  He’d only had a few of what he considered real relationships. A high school girlfriend he’d broken up with before the end of their senior year. A couple of girlfriends in college, none of which had lasted more than a few months at a time. And then there had been Lydia, who he’d met in Los Angeles.

  He and Lydia had dated for almost two years before Derrick realized they liked the image they made together much more than they actually liked each other. She had been all about the lifestyle he could create for her and had been supportive of his late hours and long work weeks. He’d loved the ego boost that came from having a beautiful woman on his arm, as she garnered senior executive attention at networking and social events.

  But in the end, they had nothing in common, which he realized when she pushed for marriage. The idea of introducing her to his family really drove home the fact that they were not right for each other. He wouldn’t know if Jessica was the one until he spent time with her, and what better way than at work?

  “I want more time with her. Hire me.”

&nb
sp; Carter’s head snapped back. “What? I can’t do that. I don’t hire people.”

  Derrick frowned and leaned forward, tapping his finger on the stack of work requests. “But you can contract temp labor when the workload ramps up, as it always does in the summer. Come on, brother. Hire me.”

  Carter rubbed his hands down his face. “Don’t you have an billion dollar enterprise to oversee, and a twenty-million-dollar corporation to expand? When are you going to find the time to work here and manage your deals with Grayson’s Custom Hardwood, as well as everything else you have going on downtown?”

  “GCH is not at twenty million yet—you’d know that if you and Evelyn came to any of the board meetings. Besides, it would only be part time and only for the summer. Our primary investor is days away from being our partner—it’s just a matter of signing on the dotted line. Brett has the helm at the manufacturing plant, and Alisha’s got the office. Come on, hire me.”

  The deal between his family’s business and Chamberlin Hotels was as good as done. It would take his late grandfather’s carpentry shop from six to seven figures in a day, with the goal of fifty million by the end of the first year. The custom furniture designs to be showcased in Chamberlin Hotels were complete. All that was left was a bunch of paperwork and turning on the production facilities.

  “Shit.” Carter rummaged through a cardboard box before tossing Derrick a couple polos with the Elliad Corporation logo on the chest. “If things go badly between you and Jessica and it somehow reflects on me, I swear to God I will sit you at the kid’s table at every major holiday for the next twenty years. Seriously, and no dessert.”