Chapter 5: Declan
[Lucas: Change of plans. On my way up with Jayne.]
My phone pings with the text’s arrival, and I release a forced sigh as I wonder what he’s up to. It’s not even the start of our workday and he’s already dragging her ass up here. Dammit, Lucas.
Either she’s worse than we thought, or he thinks we really do need to keep a close eye on her. Neither of those options make for a great start to my week.
A combination of muffled voices and footsteps approach the other side of my partially opened office door, and I lean back in my chair, preparing myself to meet the train wreck that is Evelyn’s daughter.
Lucas walks in with a smug look on his face, and his eyes are locked on me as he steps to the side. “Jayne, I’d like to introduce you to Declan.”
My disinterested breath catches in my throat as she steps into the room. Her face lights up when she sees me, and I’m instantly thrown off guard.
Her genuine smile is nothing like the resting bitch face of her mother. In fact, I would have never expected that this girl was Evelyn’s daughter.
They look nothing alike.
Whereas Evelyn is stick-thin and tall, Jayne fills out in all of the right places, and she’s average height. Her top strains ever so slightly against the swell of her tits, and her pants grip her waist, showing off her assets perfectly. Her heels are modest. She is the polar opposite of what I thought I’d be seeing today.
I wait for the kicker, where Jayne opens her mouth to speak and the resemblance to her mother becomes painfully clear, but it never comes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Declan,” she says as she walks into the room with her hand outstretched, innocently unaware of the situation she is in.
Like a lamb walking straight into a lion’s den, the poor girl has no clue. The thought sends a jolt straight to my cock, and I shift in my seat as I struggle to maintain my composure.
She seems like a trusting soul, and I glance over to Lucas, who is standing by the door, watching my reaction and grinning like an asshole.
“Hi, Jayne. Thanks for coming up to meet with us.” I look to Lucas to prompt him to lead. For some reason, he decided to go against our plan of sending her to HR, and I have no idea what is on his mind.
Lucas clears his throat, and his predatory expression returns to professional as he walks into the room behind Jayne. As he nears her, he places a hand on her lower back to guide her to take a seat in front of my desk. She doesn’t flinch or pull away, and Lucas takes a slow, shuddering breath in appreciation of her docile nature.
As she sits, completely oblivious, Lucas pulls up a chair and settles in beside her, taking care to give her space. “Howard spoke very highly of you.” He smiles to put her at ease.
“Thank you. Howard is a wonderful man.”
I keep my expression frozen as I listen to her talk about our father.
A soft smile crosses her lips, and it looks natural. I remind myself that she is still Evelyn’s daughter, and looks can be deceiving.
“How do you know Howard? Have you worked for him before?” I feign ignorance, telling myself it’s for the greater good.
“Um, Howard is dating my mother, and he offered to send my information over because he heard I was looking for work and your company is hiring.” She impresses me with her honest answer. She almost looks concerned that her hire will be viewed as favoritism.
I tilt my head to offer her the chance to continue speaking, but she takes it as a sign that I am challenging her qualifications.
“I have a background in administration though, and my references will speak to my strong work ethic. I am a hard worker.” She pauses as she becomes flustered.
The moment she lets her guard down, I sense a lost innocence, and a surprising punch of desire hits me.
I glance over at Lucas. He is watching her like he wants to eat her up.
“We did look at your qualifications, Ms. Michaels. Very impressive.” Lucas leans forward, and she smiles and nods humbly. “Declan and I wanted to steal you away from the HR pool, as a position under us has just become available. I think you would be a great fit, and a recommendation from Howard does go a long way. He would never have suggested you if he wasn’t confident you could assist us.” Lucas glances at me out of the corner of his eyes.
I know that look. He’s silently urging me to go along with him until we can speak in private.
At this point, I’m willing to see where this leads.
My brother continues, “We need an assistant. We have a secretary, but with my brother and I running this company, we have a lot of additional—needs.” Lucas pauses to compose himself, and the corner of my mouth curls up into a smirk at his choice of words.
Now I see where he’s going with this.
Jayne’s eyes get round. “This is your company?” she says in realization, and her little doe-eyed response hits me hard. Lucas and I nod in unison, and a tense silence seeps into the room.
Immediately, she straightens in her seat, unaware that she is straining the buttons of her shirt. She has no idea the effect such a simple move has, and I shift again in my chair. This conversation is bordering on arduous torment as her lips pucker into a silent Oh when she realizes she is dealing with the big boys.
Lucas sits quietly off to the side, but I know his internal conflict is off the charts. I can tell by looking at him he wants to start playing with our new toy immediately, so I wrap it up.
For now.
While I admit Jayne is a very intriguing woman, I’m not interested in being slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit before I’ve had my coffee, so it’s time to shut Lucas down.
“It is. Sorry I wasn’t clear. I’m Declan Hale. This is my brother Lucas, and we would like you to be a part of our team. You would start off at the same salary as your current offer, and there would be an increase after a three-month trial period. How does that sound to you?”
Lucas tosses me a glare like I just took away his candy.
“That sounds—great. Thank you so much, Dec—um, Mr. Hale.” I smile at her voluntary formality, and Lucas relaxes back into his seat, satisfied with our meeting’s outcome.
“Please, call me Declan. You can see Janice just outside. She should be in by now. She’ll get you set up.” We stand with her, and when I motion for her to leave, she turns and complies without question.
We watch her as she heads through the door. Her pants hug everything so perfectly, and I instantly imagine what it would feel like to squeeze the curve of her ass as I push up behind her.
I push the thought away and look accusingly at my brother.
He better have a good reason for bringing this temptation into our domain.
“Well?” He meets my stare with the dumbest grin I’ve seen on him in a long time.
“Holy shit, Lucas. What the fuck was that?”
