Stockings and Suspenders (27 page)

“Upset is putting it mildly.” Her
stomach rumbled and their eyes met. “Skipped lunch,” she said sheepishly.

Craig seemed deep in thought for a
moment, and then he looked at her with a mischievous grin. “Would you like to
grab some dinner with me and talk about it?”

Miranda couldn’t help but be
surprised. “Didn’t you just turn down a dinner invitation?” she asked with a
raised brow.

He laughed and ran a hand through his
hair. “Yeah, but that’s before I knew you were starving, and I haven’t eaten
myself since this morning. If we grab dinner while we discuss whatever you’ve
come up here to complain about we’ll each kill two birds with one stone.”

“Okay,” she said as she stood. “But
it’s strictly business, and you’re buying.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Craig grabbed his coat and keys and led her to his car with a smirk on his
face.

* * * *

Craig didn’t make it a habit to
rendezvous with his employees, in fact it was a personal rule to avoid that
type of situation, and taking Miranda to dinner was a complete violation of his
own policy. But he couldn’t seem to help himself with her. The attraction had
been there since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, though he’d ignored it
until Benny wanted to date her. There was no way he was giving Benny the
chance.

“Where are we?” Miranda asked as Craig
maneuvered the SUV into a parking spot in front of a small restaurant she
didn’t even know existed.

“This is Joe’s Place.” Craig glanced
at her before killing the engine. “It might not look like much but wait until
you taste the food.”

“Right now I think I could eat
cardboard and enjoy it.” She laughed. “I’m stark raving mad and starving.” She
flipped her hair behind her shoulder. A small gesture, but one that had his
temperature rising. “In case you didn’t know, that’s a deadly combination.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” He laughed,
but he lied. He was afraid of what would happen if he allowed himself to get
close to her. He knew that if he crossed the imaginary line he’d drawn between
them; there would be no going back.

“You should be.” She grinned wickedly
and slid out of the SUV with ease. “Come on, boss man, I need a drink.”

Inside they were seated at a small
booth toward the rear of the restaurant. Miranda wasted no time ordering a rum
and coke, and Craig followed suit.

“Slow down there.” Craig watched in
awe as she downed the drink in a matter of minutes and flagged the waitress
over to order another.

“Just trying to get up my nerve.” She
took the new glass and placed it on the table without even a sip.

“Get up your nerve for what?” He took
a drink from his own glass and met her eyes across the table.

Miranda’s shoulders slumped. “To tell
you I quit.”

Craig felt something clench inside
him. The waitress brought their salads out and sat them on the table. Craig
rattled off a quick thank you and focused on Miranda. “You can’t quit on me
now.”

“I got peed on, Craig.” Miranda
stabbed a cucumber with her fork. “I had to spend the afternoon smelling like a
urinal.”

He stifled a laugh and cleared his
throat. “I don’t want you to leave because of one bad day.”

“Pee, Craig,” she emphasized. “This is
not just because of today’s chain of events, though they were the last straw
for me. It’s been an interesting week, one I have not enjoyed, and
unfortunately this is not a negotiation.”

“What if I give you an incentive?” He
asked. As he looked at her sitting across from him, her full lips in a pout, he
realized what he felt for her went further than just physical attraction.

She put her fork down. “What are you
talking about?”

Craig knew he had to do something
drastic, because he didn’t want to see her go. He didn’t have time to hire and
train anyone else. Then there was the matter of his personal interest. If she
didn’t work for him, there would be no reason for him to keep a distance, but
at the same time he wouldn’t be able to see her every day.

“If you stay and can sell five hundred
photo packages between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, I’ll send you anywhere
in the world you want to go for New Year’s.” He waited to see her reaction, and
was surprised to see her frown.

“What happens if I stay and don’t
win?” she asked and then sipped her drink.

“You don’t get the vacation,” he
replied.

“No, no, no.” She waved her fork at
him. “Nothing is that simple. You have to come up with a punishment, something
to make me work for it.” She popped a crouton in her mouth and chewed. “And
first you have to convince me to stay.”

There’s was flirtation in her voice,
and he thought about what she said.  He knew if she was determined to quit
nothing he could say would change her mind except the truth. He took a deep
breath, finished off his liquor, and moved his chair closer to hers all while
trying to hide the hard-on he’d developed from thinking about ways to punish
her.

“First, the punishment.” He laughed at
his own cleverness. “If you fail the mission, regardless of your position at
the store at that time, you’ll have to be the bunny for Easter.” He saw her cringe
before she finished off her second drink. This time, he waved over the waitress
and ordered two shots, which got him an eyebrow raise from her. “Now I need
some liquid encouragement.”

“Well, well, well. Laid back Craig has
a wild side.” She laughed. “Here’s to me not failing my mission.” They clinked
glasses and took their shots. “Whew, that burns,” she said and shook her head.

Craig reached down and picked her hand
up from the table. He held it, his thumb stroking her fingers with a gentle
touch. She didn’t pull back or push him away. The rum had his head swimming,
and though he wanted to take a much lighter approach with her, found the words
rushing from his mouth.

“I don’t want you to quit,” he
continued to rub her fingers. “Not because the store won’t make it without
you.” Craig looked her right in the eyes. “The truth is, I know who you are and
you’re nothing like I thought you’d be.”

“Excuse me?” Miranda did pull her hand
away then. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

Craig realized he’d said the wrong thing.
He hadn’t meant to offend her, though he’d managed somehow to piss her off. He
wasn’t really good with words, which was why he acted so casually ninety
percent of the time.

“Wait.” He reached for her hand again.
“Let me start over.” She looked him in the eyes and he took that as his sign to
continue. “What I meant was a friend of mine informed me of your family’s
business. I know you don’t need the job, and yet you were desperate to have
it.”

“Okay,” she said in a slow,
questioning tone. “What’s your point?”

“My point is, I expected you to act
spoiled and quit immediately, but you didn’t.” He brought her hand to his mouth
and kissed her fingers, his lips lingering far longer than they should if he
didn’t plan to hop right over that line between boss and boyfriend. “I don’t
think you really want to leave now. I think you need some reassurance that you
can do this, and that’s why you came to me.”

She shivered, but didn’t pull away. “I
tried. To quit, I mean.”

“But you didn’t,” he repeated.
“Something has been keeping you from leaving, and whatever it is, I’m a
thankful man.” He released her hand and brushed his fingers across her cheek.

“My father.” His fingers trailed down
her neck and she leaned toward him.

“What about him?” Craig asked, his
erection throbbing beneath the confines of his jeans.

“He’s the reason I haven’t quit.” She
pulled back, and he could tell from her expression she didn’t want to talk
about why.

“I’ll be honest, you’re better at the
job than you think you are, but you’re a temptation. I shouldn’t be interested,
but I am.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I just thought you should
know.”

There was no shock in her expression,
and Craig realized she probably got hit on all the time. The heiress to a huge
fortune was more than likely sought after on a daily basis. He frowned and
finished off his last drink.

“Craig, I think you should take me
home,” she said on a whisper.

Their eyes met, and he saw her chest
rise and fall in a rapid motion. “Okay.” He stood and reached for her hand. “I
crossed a line. I’m sorry.”

“No, Craig.” She smiled and stroked
her hand down his face. “I want you to take me to your house.”

“Oh.” He motioned for the waitress.
“Check please.”

* * * *

Craig didn’t speak on the entire drive
to his condo and Miranda began to worry that he was reconsidering her offer. He
was her boss, and she knew they were crossing into dangerous territory but she
was attracted and so was he. They were two consenting adults, and it was just
sex, something she hadn’t partaken in for longer than she liked to admit.

His fingers strummed on the steering
wheel as he drove. Craig didn’t strike her as the shy type, but his nerves
screamed that he was out of his element getting involved with an employee. The
thought of being the first girl to make him break his own rules had the
opposite effect on her and made her pulse race with excitement.

He held the door and she climbed out
of the SUV and almost slipped on a patch of ice. Craig grabbed her arm and held
onto her until they were safely on his front stoop, and then unlocked his door.

“Before we go inside, there’s
something I need to know.” He looked at her with a serious expression.

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaky from
the chill in the air.

“Are you certain you want to do this? If
you say no, I can take you home. We can both blame it on the alcohol.”

“Open the door, Craig.” He grabbed her
hand and pulled her inside.

Miranda slipped out of her shoes and
put them, along with her purse, next to the bench by the door while Craig hung
up her jacket.

 “This is a really nice place,” she
said, glancing around at the artwork on the walls. “It’s not at all what I
expected.”

“Really?” he asked. “And just what
were you expecting?”

“I don’t know.” She laughed. “I guess
I thought I’d walk into the typical bachelor pad. Dirty dishes, old pizza
boxes, and well, total chaos.”

He took her hand and led her up a
small flight of stairs to the main level. His space was modern, the furniture
sleek and stylish, and reminded her of her own apartment. She caught him watching
her as she walked around and took it all in.

“My father’s last girlfriend was an
interior decorator in training.” He smiled, picked up a lighter, and then used
it to bring a candle to life on the coffee table. “She needed a guinea pig and
I was gullible.”

“So you don’t like what she did with
the place?” Miranda asked as he turned off the overhead light, leaving them
with only the soft glow of the candle.

“I love it.” Craig sat on the sofa and
motioned for her to join him. “I never would have done it for myself, but she
really enjoyed putting it together and it suits me.” He cupped her face in his
hands. “I’m not as rough around the edges as I appear.”

Craig edged closer and took her lips
in slow motion. Heat spread throughout her body, and she wrapped her arms
around his neck. He lowered his hands from her face and ran his fingers down
her sides causing goose bumps to cover her skin.

Miranda leaned against the arm of the
sofa and pulled Craig’s body on top hers. She reached down, grabbed the hem of
his t-shirt, and pulled it over his head. Tossing it on the floor, she ran her
hands across his bare chest. Craig was lean, but cut like an athlete. Heat
flooded her core as her fingers brushed over his hardened nipples and trailed
down his abs. Miranda moaned as his kissed trailed down her neck, his tongue
blazing a path over her exposed cleavage. She burned inside with want, her
hands stroking his chest, wanting to go so much lower. When she hit the spot
right above his pant line, his stomach muscles tightened and he sucked in a
breath.

Her heart pounding, her clit aching
with need, Miranda pulled at the button on his jeans, and slid the zipper down.

“Stand up,” she demanded. For the
second time since they’d arrived, he obeyed her without question, and a tiny thrill
raced under her skin as she wondered what else he would do.  Miranda sat up and
slid the pants down his legs, pulling his boxer briefs with them. “Come here.”

Craig stepped out of the clothes that
pooled at his feet, and moved his body closer. Miranda ran her hands up his
thighs and squeezed his ass, his hardened cock right by her lips. Her tongue
darted from her lips, tasting the tiny drop of fluid waiting for her. A low
groan rumbled from his throat and she refused to wait any longer, taking him in
her mouth fully, as deep as she could.

Craig moaned and fisted his hands in
her hair. Miranda rubbed his balls a she took him deeper, her teeth scraping
him hard enough his entire body went rigid in front of her. His hands, still
tangled in her hair, pulled her mouth from his cock.