Chance on Love (9 page)

****

Stephanie squared her shoulders as she walked to Chance’s office. He’d sent for her as if she were the hired help or something. Really, she supposed she was. The thought pissed her off. He probably wanted her to fetch his lunch or wash his precious Jag, the cocky bastard. Maybe she’d get lucky and he’d have her wash his office windows.

The anger swelled enough to take her mind off Amber’s promise to find some way to fix what she might have ruined. ‘Might have’...those were her words, the nut. Before she could make her swear not to do anything to help—Amber’s help always backfired, it seemed—she had been summoned to His Majesty’s quarters. And Amber had taken the opportunity to vanish.

Stephanie saw Carly through the open door as she approached the office. Great. Dealing with this loon would surely make the day brighter. Nearing the door, she cursed under her breath. The woman was right in the middle of her ‘aren’t I so sexy and irresistible’ shtick. It was an entertaining act. Every man at the station caught it at least twice a week.

She stood to the side, listening as Carly giggled and cooed like an asylum escapee.

“I was thinking,” she said, “maybe you could take me to the Valentine’s gala.”

Stephanie smiled. She had the bitch this time. She was going to run in, point, and laugh as soon as Valentine gave her the bad news. It took all she had not to rub her hands together in gleeful anticipation.

Chance chuckled. “Maybe.”

Stephanie’s smile dropped in an instant. “Maybe,” she mouthed to herself, frowning. That son of a bitch.

“Aw,” Carly cooed. “Come on. I want more than a maybe.”

“What is it you want exactly?”

“Nothing you can’t give me.”

Stephanie almost gagged. Yeah, she knew what Carly would give
him
—a virulent strain of one STD or another. Forget snagging a date to some shindig. It was clear the woman’s true goal was the morning anchor spot.
Not happening
.

Chance was quiet. Too quiet. Even though she couldn’t see him, she could almost feel the wheels turning in that devious mind of his. A tiny, moronic part of her hoped he would turn down Carly’s thinly veiled offer flat. It would be nice if there were just one man out there who refused to think with his dick, just
one
time.

“You might be getting exactly what you want soon.”

Aaand Chance was not that man. She wanted to beat her own ass for even daring to hope. What an idiot. She and hope weren’t friends. They weren’t even on speaking terms. Less than three weeks around the schmuck and she had stars in her eyes. It was disgusting. Fortunately, overhearing his little conversation with the station harlot had knocked sense back into Stephanie.

Ooh, a bright side?

She couldn’t deny her physical attraction to him, but that was purely chemical—a trick of the mind, pheromones...some such bullshit. In any case, she would not—
not
—develop any actual feelings for him. None that were positive anyway. Not that she was ever going to; she was just renewing her vow, that was all.

She blew out a long breath. So the schmuck was considering dumping her as his date, and taking Carly instead. Okay, she could handle that. Instead of getting him another steaming cup of coffee, and that was
such
a tempting prospect, she would deal with him another way.

He had just proven that, like all men, he was led around by his cock. She’d just have to make sure it led him to
her
. His harem could move on over—she had major plans for his ass.

Clearing her throat, she stood in the doorway. “You sent for me, Your Highness?”

Chance sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. “I did.”

“One of your women said to call her.” She gave him a tight smile. “Jen.”

“You’re seeing someone?” Carly asked.

Chance smirked, but never took his eyes off Stephanie. “I wouldn’t say that. I date—but, you know, nothing serious.”

“Oh,” Carly said softly.

Stephanie and Chance stared at one another. She didn’t know what
he
was thinking, but she knew what was on her own mind: Screwing him into oblivion. It was official; she was insane. It wasn’t possible to feel such lust and loathing simultaneously for one person.

Still, whenever he set that intense, heated gaze on her, her stomach tightened and flipped. She just prayed that she at least
appeared
unaffected.

She arched an eyebrow. “Well?” He licked his lips and a tingle worked its way over every inch of her pussy. She’d almost felt that tongue work its magic. And, damn it, loathing or no loathing, she
would
feel it.

She’d screw his brains out—use him until her longing was sated and then kick his ass out of her bed, her life. Satisfied with that decision, she stepped into the office. Frowning, she put her hands on her hips. “What do you want?”

Carly laughed. “Some way to talk to your boss.”

Stephanie looked at her. “You know what, Carl
ene
? There’s a check for an ass whoopin’ that I’ve written just for you. Want to cash it today?” She smiled sweetly.

Looking at Chance, Carly jerked her head in Stephanie’s direction. “This is what I put up with at work.”

He chuckled. “Love, be nice. I’m sure there’s something in the policy handbook about workplace violence.”

Oh, please. There was probably something in there about using company time to get laid, too, but she didn’t mention it. She may want to break that rule herself.

Carly flicked her long hair over her shoulder. “The woman has reason to be grouchy, I suppose. Being cheated on is never easy, especially when one has had a string of loser boyfriends before that. To think, the cheater was the best out of the bunch.” She giggled. “Weird, huh?”

Handbook or not, the bitch had cashed the check. Stephanie dropped her hands from her hips and advanced on her.

Carly’s smile vanished.

“Ah, you may want to head out,” Chance said, eyes twinkling.

“Right,” she said, hurrying past Stephanie. “I’ll be back soon.”

That woman was a blight on humanity. Without preamble, Stephanie turned to Chance. “No matter how hard she strokes your precious ego, the morning anchor position is off limits.”

He waved the comment off. “It’s Amber’s gig now.”

“Yeah, let’s remember that.”

“And let’s also remember who the boss is around here,” he said with an infuriating grin. “As for you...” He tilted his head as he regarded her. “I have a job.”

“I assumed.”

“Could you pick up some lunch for us?”

She kept her voice neutral. “Us?”

“Yeah,” he said with an easy smile. “Me and Carly.”

How she managed to keep from jumping on his desk and clawing out his eyes was beyond her. The bastard really
had
called her to fetch lunch. For two. And neither of the two was her. She gave him a little smile. “Would you like some coffee first?”

****

Love had seemed pissed, but no more than usual. Damn. Chance tried his best to concentrate on his lunch companion. What was she yammering on about now?

“—so then I was offered a modeling contract right out of school...”

He tuned out again, though he nodded occasionally. He’d thought one of the quickest ways to get Love’s undivided attention would be bringing out some good old-fashioned jealousy. Once she was jealous, he’d know he had a shot. Carly was the perfect choice.

They already hated each other. Unfortunately, Love had seemed more pissed about having to bring him lunch than seeing him with a woman she detested.

He’d just have to up the ante some. The perfect opportunity had presented itself when Carly had asked him to be her date. That would rile Love, for sure, but it wouldn’t be enough to equal whatever she was planning for
him
. No. He still might attend with Carly, but only to ruffle Love’s sexy little feathers. The coup de grâce would have to be something else.

“—the other contestants in the pageant were pretty, but, I mean...come on. Not to sound conceited, but I
have
been told I’m beautiful all my life. I’m really humble about it, though. For instance...”

He barely stifled his groan. Carly
was
beautiful, but that seemed to be about the only thing she had going for her. And really, she was no more beautiful than some of the other women at the station. Amber was a knockout, and then there was Love. That brat was just...something else. In every sense of the phrase.

He was a little uncomfortable with the fact that he was, indeed, sitting across from a beauty, and not once had he indulged a single naughty thought about her. It wasn’t arrogance when he considered how easy it would be to have his way with Carly; it was a fact. Yet, there he was, obsessing over the biggest pain in the ass he’d ever had the misfortune to come across.

As a woman who not only wasn’t impressed with his looks or his rather considerable charm, but called him out repeatedly, Love kept him slightly off balance.

Chance was a bit fascinated with her despite himself. He had to remember, though, that this was no ordinary woman. She was the devil’s mistress. He’d had to laugh when she had offered him coffee earlier. There was a definite method to her madness. He doubted he would
ever
ask her to bring him coffee again.

Finally, the impromptu lunch ended, and Carly made her reluctant exit from the room. He buzzed Love’s office. He may have thought of a way to force a little proximity to better his odds of melting the ice queen’s heart. Odds, hell. He could do it. She wasn’t as immune to his charms as she liked to think. “You there?”

“What?” she snapped.

He smiled. “Get in here, Love. I may have gotten a touch of sweet and sour sauce on my tie.”

“Asshole,” he heard her mutter before she disconnected.

Chance laughed and shook his head. He hated to admit it, but he would kind of miss her grumpy ass when he left. He looked up when he heard a knock.

“Bad time?” Amber asked.

“No, come in.” She did, but made no attempt to speak. Chance drew his eyebrows together. “What’s wrong?”

A rosy pink tinted her already blushed cheeks a bit more. “Uh, about last night...”

Chapter 11

Stephanie braced herself for whatever trick he had up his sleeve now. She’d gotten the man and his little lunch date food, fielded his calls while they ate, and filled out a small stack of paperwork on his behalf. Oh yeah, this was the real reason she had worked her ass off in college with a double major in Journalism and Business.

Her day, though, was not truly complete until she walked to his office in time to hear the perk of Amber’s voice filter through the door.

“—and since this is
kind
of a delicate subject, it’s only natural she’d be embarrassed. Steph wouldn’t want her boss, of all people, knowing she was considering doing such a thing.”

Cocking her head, she walked into the room and stood behind Amber. “I wouldn’t want him knowing what?”

Amber whirled around. “Uh, it’s nothing, really. I was just apologizing for my bad timing with that phone call last night.”

A throbbing pain started behind Stephanie’s eyes. Had Amber actually told Chance what Stephanie had told
her
about last night? Great. Now he’d think all she did was run around all day like a junior high school student, telling everyone about her latest crush and how they’d made it past second base.

Realization dawned and the pain throbbed anew. Surely Amber hadn’t shared Stephanie’s little plan with Chance. Good. Lord.

“I wouldn’t want him knowing...what?” she repeated more forcefully.

Chance smirked. “That you were considering getting a vibrator.”

“What?” Stephanie cried.

Amber shrugged and gave her a sheepish look. “I had to tell him.”

See,
this
was Amber’s kind of help.
This
was why Stephanie never wanted it.

Chance gave her a hurt look. “And you told me the call was work-related.”

She rolled her eyes.

“It was,” Amber said. “In a way. I mean, sometimes the urge to, ah, you know...hits you at the worst times. And if you’re at work, you’re at work.”

“Thank you, Amber,” she said, throwing a hard glance her way. “That’s enough.”

“No, really,” he said as he leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands together on the desk. “Do go on. I’m...intrigued.” There was another infuriatingly sexy smirk.

Naturally, Amber was all too happy to continue with her fantastical tale. She fancied herself an actress; she wasn’t. “Well,” she said, taking a few more steps toward his desk, “ever since she and her latest ex called it quits, I’ve been trying to talk her into using some...” She cleared her throat. “Other means of...satisfaction.”

“Amber,” Stephanie said.

“Of course, she refused. But I thought I’d finally gotten through to her last night at the bar. So then,” she said with a shrug, “I just thought I’d call to see if she’d decided to go through with using...um...something.” She gave Chance a bright smile.

He nodded as he looked at Stephanie. “I see.” His gaze slid over her body, inciting a small fire that warmed her all over. He clucked his tongue. “Love, Love, Love...” He narrowed his eyes as he tilted his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

Anything you want.
Stephanie returned his stare. “What do you
think
you can do?” He gave her a slow smile and her stomach fluttered. Bastard.

“We’ll see.” He turned to Amber. “Well, thanks, for letting me know, Ms. Keegan.”

“No problem. And I’m sorry again for interrupting your...business with Stephanie last night.” She turned and gave her friend a wink and a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, way to go, Meryl Streep,” Stephanie muttered as Amber left the office. She so wanted to kick Snickerdoodle’s
ass
for this. She forced herself to look Valentine in the eye even though she was mortified. “What’d you beckon me for this time?”

“You’re really into masturbating at work?”

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” She braced herself on the desk, leaning in while she enunciated. “What did you call me for?”