2. Julian

Temper tantrums are something I need to correct with Claire. The women in my life are demanding with their desire for immediate results or reactions from me. Even though Claire"s not blood-related, she expects the same. There are few people who have the room to behave that way with me. I give Claire a lot of room because of her age, but that"s no excuse.

However, before I can call her back into my office to chastise her, her timid knocks make the corner of my mouth curve up. Perhaps I don"t need to correct her and this is her immediate apology for acting like a toddler.

The door nudges itself open as Claire slips inside with a tray of coffee and a bag of food in her hands. She quietly strolls to the furthest corner of my desk to set up a breakfast I probably won"t eat, but it"s a part of her duties I won"t distract her from completing.

"Poached egg on ham and whole grain toast with an iced matcha latte, no sugar, and a splash of coconut milk," she says with her eyes concentrating on putting the food together near the edge of the desk. I understand it"s meant to be out of my way, but I don"t have any desire to knock it over onto the floor.

"Claire, it"s going to fall if you put it there," I tell her.

Her current frustration with me is evident as she grumbles inaudible curses under her breath. The redness blooming across her cheeks brings out the dark pink of her bare lips. Her long platinum blonde hair trails down her back in a sleek, single braid. It"s long enough to wrap around my hand as I direct her head over my cock.

A deep exhale pushes through my clenching teeth because I"m not supposed to look at Claire like this. I"m not supposed to want her. I try everything in my power to stop my intrusive thoughts from taking over. I have enough problems to worry about without chasing after the beautiful eighteen-year-old girl who"s been living with me for the past decade.

The loss of her father is actually the reason I"m on a mission to demolish specific businesses around San Francisco. Despite Fiona"s warnings, she doesn"t know that each business I have her snatching up, all belong to Carmine Scarpella.

Claire"s finishing up and still ignoring my warning about where she"s putting my food. It doesn"t come as a surprise that as soon as she finishes and picks up the tray, it knocks the matcha latte on its side.

"Fuck." She curses and drops to pick it up immediately as it spills light green liquid onto the carpet. The specks of green splattering down my trousers force me to close my eyes, as if it"s going to help me summon the patience to deal with this mess.

Once I push my chair away from the desk, Claire immediately drops to her knees to blot the carpet. The molars grinding in the back of my mouth tense as images of her on her knees for me flash through my twisted imagination. I can see it so vividly, Claire choking and slurping on my cock under my desk while I desperately try to pay attention to whatever work is in front of me.

When I feel her hands move to my thighs, it refocuses my attention on Claire. She"s still on her knees in front of me, apologetically brushing my pants with a napkin.

"Shit, I"m so sorry, Julian. I should have listened to you." She continues to blot every spot she sees, inching her way up to my crotch, where the slightest breeze can give me a hard-on right now. She has no idea the effect she has on me, or maybe she does.

"Claire." My voice is low with warning.

She doesn"t seem to hear me, or she doesn"t care; probably delighting in this method of incessant teasing. Claire pats my crotch aggressively, her hands grazing over my cock while I sit with my legs spread apart as I let her molest me.

When I can barely stand it, I grab her by the hands, forcing our eyes to lock as I tell her. "Stop, before you start something neither one of us is ready to finish."

There"s a switch in Claire"s eyes, a subtle change in her tone as she says, "You said it yourself, Julian. I always finish."

Fuck me.

"Claire, we"re not going to have this discussion."

"Of course not, Julian. There"s no discussion to have. Relax, Boss-well, I"m on my best behavior. I have work to do and so do you. Take off your pants," she demands.

I"m certain the rise of a single eyebrow makes her grin as she stands. Claire walks over to the closet, where she pulls out a spare pair of pants and hangs them in the bathroom. She snaps her fingers toward me before pointing at my lap.

"There"s no way you can go to this ten o"clock meeting with matcha pants. Give those to me, I"ll take them to get cleaned and you can change into the other ones." Her tone is so matter of fact. It makes me feel like a pervert for thinking she had ulterior motives.

I head into the bathroom, where I strip out of the pants as Claire walks in behind me while I"m standing in my boxers. I"m rarely wrong when I feel someone"s energy toward me and Claire"s no different. She wants me, but there"s no way anything can happen between us. She"s not the type of woman I need in my life. She"s the kind of woman I"d leave heartbroken once she knows everything about me.

Still, the inevitable doom of a romance that would unfold between us doesn"t stop her from persistently trying to flirt with me, encouraging me to give in to my baser urges.

"There"s a pair of boxers in the closet as well, if the latte soaked through." She tells me with a wicked grin.

Just once, I need to show her she doesn"t control me or how I behave. If she wants me to break her heart, I"m liable to do just that in order to prove a point. I drop my boxers onto my pants, and stand there, naked from the waist down, waiting for her to do something.

Claire"s bravery stops at her vocabulary as she scurries away from the door and returns with a pair of boxers in her hand.

"Uh, um, do you need anything else?" she asks, with those soft grey eyes shifting from my cock to the wall, and everywhere else to avoid locking eyes with me.

"Nothing that either of us have time for. Can you make sure Edward"s in the vicinity so I can get to my meeting on time?"

Claire doesn"t move or acknowledge anything I"ve just said; her gaze settling on my crotch. The expression on her face is a mixture of desire and admiration. It"s a far better reaction than a shriek for how inappropriate this is.

"Claire, don"t stare. It"s rude."

She snaps out of her trance with a giggle, covering her mouth in embarrassment as she backs out of the bathroom. I finish changing and move back to my desk, where Claire uses my phone to call the maintenance and housekeeping department.

"I"ll come back when housekeeping gets here," she says. "Edward"s in the parking garage with Bonnie. Do you need me to attend the ten o"clock with you, or would you prefer I stay here?"

"You are my assistant, Claire, I kind of need you with me," I tell her. "Make sure I have every file necessary for the Klondike Group partners on my presentation drive. Thank you, Claire."

She huffs at my dismissive tone, but this time she doesn"t slam the door shut. Exhaustion washes over me and suddenly I hate that my drink spilled. I could use the caffeine right now.

My mind drifts back and forth from work to Claire. Everything about her consumes my free thoughts. I"m pretty certain I can scoop her up with one arm, toss her around and have my way with her. It would be fun, among other things. However, the optics aren"t the best.

There"s no way I can be seen with her and people not believe I"ve been plotting to have her pussy since she turned eighteen. Perhaps I can put enough distance between us that it won't matter.

Edward Vagan comes into my office with a stoic expression on his face. His red hair and goatee has sprinkles of grey, much like my own. Even though we"ve been 40 for a few months, it feels like we"ve been alive for decades longer. We"ve been friends since our teenage years and he"s been my right hand in business outside of Nuvola for the past 15 years.

"We should leave in twenty minutes if you"re going to make that meeting, Julian." His tone is indifferent, but I can see his eyes are trained out of the window to where views of the Golden Gate Bridge have a way of distracting even the most focused of minds.

"Bring your tools just in case we need to make a stop," I tell him.

Edward looks over his shoulder before going to close my office door from prying eyes and ears. "I thought this was Nuvola business. Corporate shit, Julian."

"It is, but it"s in Scarpella territory," I tell him with a shrug.

He speaks just above a whisper. "You think Carmine Scarpella is going to try something with you on his territory? You"re not exactly the face of the family. Your uncle will unleash holy hell across the city if something like that happens."

"Edward, please, just do it. I"d rather be safe than dead. I"ve been stepping on Carmine"s toes a lot lately and I"m not sure how much he knows about the company scooping up his lackluster properties."

"Is Nuvola"s name all over the deals?" he asks.

"No, and it"s driving Fiona crazy," I tell him.

He snickers. "That"s not hard to do. Is she coming along to this meeting?"

"No, just Claire and Bonnie."

He grunts. "Are you sure you want them there if you"re telling me to bring my tools?"

"I don"t want Claire anywhere near any of this shit, but as my assistant, she needs to be there so it doesn"t look like anything else but business as usual. Have Bonnie armed, just in case and coordinate travel and exit strategies."

Edward sighs and folds his arms over his chest. "I know how to do my job, Jules."

"I know you do, Eddie. I"m sorry. I"m just on edge." Neither one of us likes the shortened version of our names. It"s a reminder when we use them with each other, just how far back our friendship goes, even when we"re annoyed.

"Yeah, I know. It"s all coming together now. Carmine Scarpella is going to die in every way possible. Does Claire know?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No, and I don"t want her to. I want her to live as normal a life as possible. Speaking of which, I need you to keep tabs on her if she shows interest in dating anyone."

Edward raises an eyebrow. "Isn"t that Bonnie"s territory?"

"No. Bonnie"s supposed to keep her safe, not stop her from living her life. I want to know anyone who"s caught Claire"s attention so we can vet them properly. If they don"t prove themselves to be a good enough choice for her to waste her time on, we"ll make sure they don"t disrupt her life."

"So, you"re choosing who she"s going to date? Isn"t that one of the reasons you and your mother don"t get along?" he asks.

"I"m not trying to get along with Claire. I"m trying to prepare her for life once she leaves me."

Edward scoffs. "If you think that lovesick girl is leaving you, you"re an idiot. The only way Claire will leave is if you mysteriously fall in love with some other woman and get married."

That makes me laugh. Edward"s not as ignorant to my feelings for Claire as I think. "That"s never going to happen, Edward."

Our conversation is cut short when Fiona waltzes into my office like it"s hers. She has a thick binder in her arms and pulls a folder out of it to slap it on my desk. Edward tips his head toward me and leaves the office.

"You should knock, Fiona," I tell her.

"And you should zip up your fly. New pants? Did our ruthless CEO have a little accident?" She teases with her eyes dragging their gaze up and down my body.

"Is there anything in particular I can help you with, Fiona?" I ask, leaning forward to adjust myself behind my desk and out of her view.

"The acquisition you demanded is initiated. We should have a response from the attorneys on file within the next week or so. The asking price versus your offer is obscene, Julian. Why are you insisting on buying a string of warehouses by the docks? We don"t import or export anything which demands that kind of property development."

"Fiona, thank you for all of your work on this."

"Don"t just brush me off, Julian. I"m your finance manager. By not disclosing your reasons for these purchases, you"re making it difficult for me to do my job. How much company funding is going to go into the upkeep and maintenance of these properties? Are you going to sell them to one of your clients in the future or something?"

I understand her frustration, but I don"t owe her the explanations she"s demanding. "Fiona, please. I don"t have time to review my corporate strategies with you right now. Just know that the properties will be put to good use and buying them is a personal pet project of mine. Now, if you"re telling me that I"m somehow broke and can no longer afford said properties, I will listen. Am I running out of money?"

She growls. "No, but?—"

I cut her off. "Has anyone rejected my offers?"

"No, why would they? You"re throwing money at these places, nearly eighteen% above market value. It doesn"t exude fiscal responsibility."

I nod. "It"s not supposed to, Fiona. All of my choices for this company serve a broader purpose. I am not ready to divulge everything to you right now, but please believe that I know what I"m doing. I"m not going to get burned. Thank you."

I tap the folder full of documents she placed on my desk and once again, my tone of dismissal is enough to send Fiona darting out of my office. She doesn"t know it yet, but every property I"m buying is going to be put into a charity foundation. However, I only want that revealed once Carmine Scarpella"s corpse graces a slab in the morgue.