Down With Cupid Shorts Bundle by Melissa Blue Page A

reason he left a cushy one. A few sweaty nights and here she was losing herself with every pitter-patter her heart made when he looked at her. Simply forgetting she was Nicole Harrison. Part human, part shark when it came to her clients.
    Oh, she should have been livid over the wink. She should have punched him right in his patronizing eyeball for it. Like she’d never talked to a man about how to act on a date before. She created images in actions to be caught on camera or written up in magazine pieces. No. What she should be doing was securing her place here at the firm instead of mooning over Sebastian Clark.
    She changed direction and headed for Anna’s office. She blew past the receptionist and marched through the double doors.
    Her boss flipped through a magazine. “Good. Have a seat; we need to talk. I thought I should update you. Sebastian and I have been negotiating his stay here. After the John Paul interview, we both felt he didn’t need time to prove he should be managing director. He’s also investing a good share of his money.”
    Nicole plopped into the chair, let herself flounder for only a moment and then acted like the publicity manager she should have been. “Congratulations. I know you were looking for more investors.”
    “With that said, I no longer feel I can cut even more of the pie and make you director too.”
    Of course she didn’t. Anna had never seen her as an equal but a work horse to bring in the big bucks. Threatening to leave wouldn’t mean anything. Not with Sebastian at Anna’s side. He probably did have a contact for the Pope in his back pocket. He’d have it because that was the type of man he was.
    “I do want to reward you for your loyalty.” Anna threw out an extravagant raise. Told her to take a vacation, not too long, after the bachelor auction. Anna went on, not too long , about how much she appreciated all the work and hours. There were some nitpicks at how Nicole did her job, but those things could be overlooked. Soon after, Nicole was dismissed.
    For a split second, as she made her way back to her office, she considered walking and not stopping until she stood outside the building. That wasn’t professional and she hadn’t lived up to her own standards of work long enough. If Nicole had been professional, and lived up to her reputation, she’d have known Sebastian wouldn’t work for two years to reach managing director. He’d leverage all that he had to get what he wanted as soon as he could get it. He’d put his money where his mouth was.
    He’d wink at Jeremiah, and have her convinced the best thing to do was step out. Would he have sex with her to get what he wanted? He ruined the career of a football player because the man had slept with his long-time-ago girlfriend.
    The office door stood open. Nicole placed a hand on the door jamb to give herself another moment to steady her breath.
    “What is it?”
    Her gaze whipped up. He was already striding forward to her. She straightened. “Took the stairs for coffee. Forgot my purse. Winded.” She took in her office. “Where’s Jeremiah?”
    “I gave him an assignment. He has to flirt with five women.” Sebastian tapped his ear where an earbud was settled inside. “I’ve got it on mute. When he comes back, I’ll let you finish up the rest. I have a meeting with Anna.”
    “No problem. I’m sure it’s something I can handle.”
    He frowned at her, but she kept talking. “Keep me updated. I need to make some calls. If you could excuse me.” She gestured to the door and marched past him to her desk.
    “Not until you tell me what’s really the problem. I thought we didn’t lie to each other.”
    She sat down, folded her hands on top of her desk. It was that or risk him seeing them shake. “Really? What’s the meeting about?”
    Wariness filled his gaze when he took in her demeanor. “No point in asking if you already know. And I didn’t say anything because the details aren’t ironed out