Chapter Seven

Sandy

"Drop me off here," I say, patting Wilson's arm.

His brows furrow in confusion at my request. We are two blocks from the firm, and I would rather he drop me somewhere none of my coworkers will spot me climbing out of his car early in the morning when we live on opposite sides of town. Yeah, I don't want to show up to work with a boss who spent the night at my place.

To be fair, we didn't do much sleeping.

I'd assumed his staying over hadn't been in the cards, but then he'd mentioned having a change of clothes he keeps in his car in case he needs to change in the middle of the day. Makes sense. The top criminal attorney of Valor Springs should not be caught with an ink stain.

"Tell me why you want to be dropped two blocks from the firm?"

"Do you want people to see us show up to work together?"

"Sandy, you are my assistant, it wouldn't be the most surprising thing."

"Yeah, well, it's better to be safe than sorry," I tell him. "Pull over there," I say, pointing at the entrance of Annie's bakery. Perfect spot.

Wilson shakes his head but does as I ask. I thank him for the ride and open the car door to step out when he grabs my hand, stopping me. I turn to face him and his lips take mine by surprise. He lets go of my hand to cup my chin. "Open up for me, baby," he says hoarsely against my lips.

"We're in public, someone could see—"

He takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, and the fight in me dies as my brain turns to mush. Only he has the power to fry my brain cells, and all from a simple kiss. With a pleased sigh, I lean in to kiss him back. The spot between my legs begins to pulse needily, and I am reminded of this morning when he bent me over my bathroom sink and took me hard and fast.

I can still feel him inside of me, but I want more. It's tempting to climb over the console and into his lap and ride his cock the way he taught to last night. I drop my bag, ready to do just that, when the cruel man breaks the kiss and drops his forehead against mine.

"You should leave before I fuck you in plain view of everyone and get arrested for indecent exposure."

Oh, right.

I hadn't thought of that.

"Okay," I hum, reaching blindly for the car door once more, and I have to force myself to exit his car. I manage to do it but on unsteady legs.

I stagger to the entrance of the bakery and lean against the wall next to the door, forcing down slow deep breaths until my heart isn't hammering in my chest anymore. I wish I could do the same for the tingling spot between my thighs, but there is no controlling it.

Damn him for lighting this fire inside of me and then leaving me to deal with it alone.

I give it a few more minutes before walking into the bakery. This early, a few people are occupying the seats, but luckily, there is no line. I walk to the counter and smile brightly at the older lady standing behind it.

"Good morning, Annie," I say, digging into my bag for the company card. "I'll have a soy latte and a mocha to go, please."

"Coming right up," Annie says, turning away to prepare the drinks, and I take the time to browse the pastries she has today. The croissants look particularly appetizing, but so do the blueberry muffins. "You should try the buttercream cake today."

I look up to find Annie watching me. "You think so?"

"It's been a hit this morning."

I gnaw my lips and consider the option. The buttercream cake looks amazing, but…"Hmm, he doesn't really like sweets."

"Is that what he told you?"

My eyes shoot up, and I realize I have voiced my thoughts out loud. "Huh?"

"Wilson," she says with a smile. "Did he tell you he doesn't like sweets?"

"I…uh…"

"That boy and his brother have been coming to my shop since they were knee high." Wait, how old is Annie? She doesn't look a day over forty. "If he told you that he doesn't like sweets, then it simply means he wants you to have them."

Her words take me by surprise, but it's the knowing smile she flashes me that makes me think she knows something about Wilson and me, but that can't be true. No one knows about us.

I look away, afraid to meet her penetrative gaze and reveal something I am not supposed to.

"So, how are you liking your new job?" she asks, and I breathe out a sigh at the subject change.

"I like working there."

"What about your boss?"

"He's nice."

Annie chuckles, the sound warm and airy, and I find myself subconsciously smiling as well. "You are the first person I've heard say that Wilson Hile is a nice man." She passes me my coffee order and moves to box the buttercream cake I hadn't ordered, but I don't stop her. "I assume you've heard about the bet going around."

My eyes widen to saucers at her words. "You know about that?"

"This is a very small town, Miss Beck."

"I can't believe everyone knows about the bet. That's so embarrassing."

"We don't just know about it. Some of us are in on the bet as well."

I gape at her. "You too?"

"Let's just say Wilson Hile has a bit of a reputation as a hard man to work for."

She bags everything up for me before passing it over. I hand her the card as I mull over her words. Does that mean everyone in town is eagerly waiting for me to quit a job I started less than a week ago?

Does Wilson know about this?

Suddenly, I'm hit by a memory from the day before. He'd mentioned something about a bet to Ray at lunch, but I'd been too distracted at the time to give it any real thought. Shit. That means he knows. I barely hold back a groan of frustration.

"Here you go, Miss Beck," Annie says, passing the card back to me. I thank her and turn to leave when something else occurs to me.

"How long have you bet on me?" I ask the woman who's been selling me sweets every morning since I came into town. Despite her being so nice to me, is she also eager for me to leave?

Annie flashes me a toothy grin. "A lifetime."

"W-what?"

"You are the first woman who has shown this level of care for Wilson. You come here every morning to get him breakfast. Everyone thinks the man is scary, but he just needs a good woman to help him drop his guard a little."

I look around to make sure no one's listening. "Annie, you can't say that. He is my boss…"

"You don't look like the kind of girl to let something like that stand in her way," she says, her eyes crossing over my shoulder when the doorbell announcing a new customer rings.

I move away from the counter to allow the new customer to order, and her words stay with me for the short walk to the office. I drop everything at my desk and look at the door leading to Wilson's office.

He and I are…boss and subordinate.

A boss and a subordinate who have kissed. We've done more than just kiss, but that doesn't change the fact that he is my boss only. He hasn't put a label on us, and now, I can't help but wonder if that will change.

Do I sit still and wait for him to make our status clear, or do I ask him straightaway? I gnaw my lip, questioning if that will make me appear needy to the man. Either way, I still need to bring him his coffee. I knock on his door and wait a few seconds like I normally do before pushing open the door to walk in.

Wilson's head seems to be buried in work, eyes shifting between the file in his hand and the computer screen. I walk over and place his coffee and the dessert box on his table. "Annie said you might like this buttercream cake."

He nods but doesn't look up. I don't take his inattention to heart. I have come to learn that the man is like this when he is focused on something, so I figure I might as well leave him to it. I turn around to leave but stop before I open the door.

Wilson really looks busy and I know it's because of an upcoming criminal case but… I have questions. Concerns that will eat at me all day if I don't talk to anyone about it and well, he is truly the only person I can talk to about… well, us.

"Wilson," I whisper and his eyes shoot to mine. This is the first time I have called him by his first name and I can tell I have his full attention. I don't backtrack though. This man is the boss but he is also my lover and right now, I need to talk to the latter.

"What is it?"

I wring my fingers together. "Do you know there is a bet going on in town? On how long I will last as your assistant."

He nods. "My brother bet a hundred dollars that you would last seven days before I make you leave Valor Springs in tears."

I stare blankly at him. Did he just say his brother bet on me leaving? "Doesn't it bother you?"

"That people are stupid enough to lose their money on something so ridiculous? No."

"Well, it bothers me." And I realize for the first time that it actually really does. How the hell can I work when everyone is already counting down the days until I am gone? I worked so darn hard to become a legal assistant and moved to this town with the intent to work hard and make a life for myself here only to learn that people are betting on my livelihood. On my life!

Even more upsetting is the fact it doesn't bother Wilson to know people have no faith in him as a boss. Sure, he can be grumpy at times, but he sets realistic expectations. Still, everyone sees him as this devil who cannot get along with anyone. And I see that he believes that as well.

"It shouldn't bother you," Wilson says, and when I look up at him, it's to find his eyes watching me intensely. The file he was reading earlier has been shut and pushed to the side. I have his full attention. "When you live in a town as small as this one with a population of less than five thousand people, life tends to be boring. They are always looking for things to excite them."

"Well, I don't appreciate being the ‘thing' that excites them."

His lips twitch in his non-smile, and he pushes back his leather seat so there is a space between him and his desk. "Come here."

It doesn't occur to me to defy his order.

Heck, I don't even give it a second to think about it before my limbs are moving on their own and walking toward the man. He grabs my hand when I get close and pulls me onto his lap. I feel the hard press of his erection on my ass when I straddle his hips. I bite back a whimper when he runs his hand up and down my waist. "You worry too much," he says.

"I just… I don't see this monster everyone else sees in you."

"You don't?" he asks, his voice teasing. "Not even last night when I bent you nearly in half and fucked you until you were a trembling mess in your bed?"

My cheeks flush, but it doesn't escape my notice that he's changing the subject. Does it really not bother him that everyone thinks him to be the devil?

"Wilson…"

"It doesn't bother me," he says, reading the question in my eyes. "The people at this firm and in this town are not wrong in thinking me a difficult man to be around."

"But—"

"You see a different man because I have a soft spot for you, Sandy," he tells me, his hand dropping from my waist to my ass. "I can't bring myself to get mad at you even when you make mistakes in your reports. Your eager-to-please attitude and the smiles you flash me make it impossible for me to approach you the way I do others."

My heart trembles at his words, and I am struck mute. When he puts it like that…

"I still don't believe you are the devil everyone else paints you to be."

"I much rather prefer it when they do."

I can tell he is done talking with the way his eyes darken with heat, and when he leans down for a kiss, I am all too eager to feel his lips pressed on mine.