X: The Hard Knocks Complete Story (43 page)

A
lexander

I stare down at the woman on her knees in front of me. Her eager hands work quickly to undo my belt then they move on to my zipper.

She tosses her blonde hair back and grins. “I’m gonna suck your cock so good, baby, you’ll be begging for more.”

I thread my fingers through her mass of curls and fist them, forcing her to look up at me. “Coming in your mouth has a two hundred dollar price tag. You’ll do the job I paid for, and then you’ll get the fuck out. I’ll want nothing more to do with you after that. Understand?”

She narrows her brown eyes at me. At first, I think this one might actually have a little backbone to her, and may just tell me to go to hell like I deserve, but she doesn’t. They never do. Instead, she gets right to work rubbing my semi-hard cock through my boxer-briefs.

The only thing women see when they are in my presence is money—I’m surrounded by it. They see the material shit I have and their eyes light up like they’ve just found their golden fucking goose.

It’s been both a curse and a blessing since I was twenty years old and inherited my father’s billions. Every single woman I’ve ever been with has convinced herself that she’d be the one to tame me. That her magical pussy would make me fall madly in love with her—that I’d marry her and sign over half of my fortune.

Not fucking likely.

I know this looks bad. Most people would be both disgusted and curious as to why a devastatingly handsome, shrewd, successful businessman like myself would stoop to hiring a hooker. Truth is? It’s fucking convenient. I send a text, and I get whatever I’m in the mood for. No questions asked.

That’s why for the past few months I’ve relied on paying for escorts from a discreet service. It’s less hassle than trying to find a slutty socialite to bang. I did that for two years straight, and it created more work for me than the lay was worth because I had to deal with kicking their annoying asses out the next day.

That shit gets exhausting.

The blonde reaches down inside my shorts and then shoves them down, resting the waistband under my ball sack. There’s a wicked gleam in her eyes as she licks her lips and then pops my head into her mouth.

Now we’re fucking getting somewhere.

The bitch goes to work licking, sucking, and deep-throating my cock. Her saliva coats my shaft, and I lean my head back against the leather couch in my office as I finally start enjoying what I’ve paid for.

There’s nothing like a blowjob to start my day off right.

The handle on my office door moves, and my head snaps up just in time to make direct eye contact with my new secretary, Margo, as she steps into my office, unannounced, closing the door behind her. She’s been doing that for the past two days. This girl needs to fucking learn how to knock before she comes waltzing in here. I’m about to teach her that lesson right now.

I fully expect my mousy new employee’s cheeks to flush as she rushes from my office, but she surprises me as she stands there, only allowing her mouth to fall open as she takes in the sight of the woman pleasing me.

The blonde attempts to stop, but I’m enjoying making Margo uncomfortable, so I place my hand on the back of her head and order, “Don’t you dare fucking stop.”

Margo gasps, raising a well-manicured hand to her pouty lips while her blue eyes widen behind her dark-rimmed glasses.

It takes her a minute, but when she turns to leave, I have a different idea in mind. “Margo, if you walk out of that door, you’re fired.”

She halts mid-step at my domineering command. She needs this job. She and I both know it.

Margo smoothes back her black hair which is still perfectly in place in her uptight bun, and slowly turns back around to face me. “Why do you want me in here?”

I give her my cockiest shit-eatin’ grin. “Because I want to stare at you while I come in this bitch’s mouth.”

She shakes her head. “This is absolutely insane. I’m not going—”

“You
will
stay,” I order again. “Because if you don’t, I’ll make a phone call to Daddy and tell him that our little deal is off. Your call, princess.”

She folds her arms over her chest, and I raise my eyebrow in challenge to her. That bitch honestly thinks she’s better than I am. She’s so uptight and highfalutin. Ever since she walked in here two days ago, I’ve wanted nothing more than to break her. I’ve been thinking of creative ways to show Margo that I run shit around here, and that the only reason I’ve even allowed her to have a job in my office is because her father begged me. Part of the deal to buy out his company included that she’d have a secure job.

Margo needs to know that I’m her new daddy. She’s no longer the princess of a million-dollar empire because as soon as I ink this deal to bail her father out, I’ll own her, just like I’ll own her family’s business.

I lick my lips while I wait on Margo to make her move. Her eyes flit down to my mouth and then down to the blonde who is now gagging herself to please me.

I lift my hips off the couch as I hold the blonde’s head in place and fuck her mouth while Margo watches me.

Margo’s chest heaves and my eyes are drawn to the tops of her tits mounding out of the top of her blouse.

I quickly close my eyes because I don’t want to think about Margo’s tits, but for some strange reason, I can’t stop. Suddenly, it isn’t some random prostitute sucking me off. It’s uptight Margo in her naughty wannabe schoolteacher outfit.

I slide my teeth along my bottom lip then bite down as I suck in a quick breath. My eyes snap open, making direct eye contact with Margo as I come hard, shooting my load down the blonde’s throat as my employee watches with a scowl on her face.

A shudder rips through me as I bask in the afterglow of one fine orgasm. I smile as the blonde unwraps her mouth from my cock and licks the tip of my dick to make sure she swallows down every last bit of come.

Margo continues to shoot daggers at me. This is all kinds of wrong and a fucking sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen, but I honestly don’t give a shit.

All I care about is making sure my point is crystal clear with my new bitch of an employee—she is here to serve me. Not the other way around.

I sit up, stuffing my cock back inside my underwear before zipping my pants up. “Margo, pay the lady.”

Margo’s plump lip curls in what I’m sure is an expression of thorough disgust. “Pay for your own fucking whores.”

Her words shock me at first, but then I find myself highly amused. I burst out in a deep laugh, which only makes Margo’s face even redder before I fish my wallet from my back pocket. I lay two hundred-dollar bills on my knee for the hooker while never taking my eyes from my heated secretary. “You’re free to leave now.”

Relief floods Margo’s face as she turns, but I stop her. “Not you, Margo. I was talking to my . . .
guest
here.”

The hooker stuffs the money down in her bra and then winks. “You tasted yummy. Request me anytime.”

Margo rolls her eyes behind the woman and shakes her head, but I simply nod at the woman. “What was your name again?”

“Candy.” She grins.

“Of course it is,” Margo scoffs.

I push myself up from the couch and button my jacket, putting myself back together. “Sorry, Candy. I never request the same girl twice. More than once and you bitches get clingy and forget I hired you just to get me off, not to talk. Matter of fact—” I glance down at my watch. “—it’s time for you to get the fuck out. I’ve got a meeting to prepare for.”

Candy’s nostrils flare. “You can’t treat people like this.”

“Of course, I can. I’m Alexander King, and I can do whatever the fuck I please. Now leave before I call security and have you forcibly removed from the property.”

“Asshole,” Candy calls over her shoulder as she leaves without another word of protest.

You would think being called that would cause me to flinch, but no, I revel in the name. I like that women hate the way I treat them. It ensures they keep their distance.

The door slams and Margo points her gaze in my direction. “I assume you’re done with me now that the show’s over?”

Since we’re alone, I take my time to rake my eyes over Margo. She still appears angry enough to chop my dick off.

Good.

I want her to hate me.

I want to make it clear that we are not friends.

“Margo . . .” I can’t help smirking as I adjust the cuff of my jacket. “I’m just getting started with you.”

She arches a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I laugh. “You seem like a bright girl—I mean, not just anyone earns two degrees from Harvard. You know that sooner or later you’ll be on your knees before me.”

She laughs bitterly. “You can’t be serious. I would never be one of your two-dollar whores.”

I take a step toward her, reducing the gap between us to mere inches. She’s close enough that I can feel her breath coming out in warm little puffs. “Don’t pretend like that didn’t turn you on. I saw you watching—waiting your turn like a good girl. Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance someday.”

“Fuck you,” she spats.

“Not yet, but you will.” I trace the exposed flesh on her chest with the tip of my finger. “You’ll beg me for it. You’ll beg me to fuck you, hoping that it’ll be you who changes my asshole ways and makes me fall in love.” She opens her mouth to protest, but I press my finger to her lips, cutting her off. “You will. I have that effect on women, but you’re smart enough to know that if you do that—if you let me have you—you’ll quit when you don’t get your way like the spoiled little brat your father has raised. And we both know that you quitting will piss off Daddy, don’t we?”

“I needed a secure job that will pay the bills after my family goes bankrupt. You know that. It’s part of the deal with my father,” she argues, but I’m not stupid enough to buy into that.

“Don’t lie to me,” I scold her roughly, and she stiffens. “We’re both highly intelligent human beings so let’s not play dumb. You’re here to spy on me—to figure out a way to stop me from buying your father’s company for pennies and then sell off everything he’s worked for piece by fucking piece, in turn making me an even richer man.”

She lifts her chin. “You’re a bastard, you know that?”

I shrug. “Maybe so, but I’m honest and just to show you that infiltrating my business doesn’t scare me one damn bit, I’m going to allow you to stay. But know this: I’m going to make your life a living hell while you’re here. I’ll have you dying to fuck my brains out or needing to walk away before you kill me with your own bare hands. Either way—you’re fucked.”

Margo takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, giving me a chance to study her features. She wears the dark hair on her head pulled back, but I imagine that when she lets it down, it hangs in long loose waves around her shoulders. When she opens her eyes and gazes up at me, I notice the blue of her eyes standing out against the contrast of her dark hair, and it hits me—I bet she’d be an amazing lay.

She licks her lips, not in a way that’s meant to be sexy but in the way people do when they’re nervous, and my eyes are instantly drawn to her mouth.

Dammit all to hell. This would be so much easier if she was ugly—to humiliate her by playing with her emotions and knowing there’d be no way in hell I would actually fuck her except out of spite. The problem is that’s not the case. She’s exactly my favorite type of woman to fuck: beautiful and bitchy. When I take her, I can’t allow myself to enjoy it. I won’t give her that satisfaction.

Margo stares at me for a long moment, and just when I think she’s about to lay into me again, she twists her hand around my tie, yanking me closer. Without warning her tongue darts out and touches my top lip, causing a tiny shudder to tear through me before she pulls back with a sly smile on her face. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mr. King. That prediction implies that I would actually fall for your juvenile antics of seduction.” Her hand presses against my chest and then moves down to my stomach, drifting even farther south. “Those boyish tricks would never work on me. I’m a woman who always gets what she wants.” I let out a low grunt of half pain and half excitement as she grabs my semi-hard cock through my slacks. Stilling her hand on my cock, she leans into my ear and whispers, “When I want it.” The urge to throw her onto my desk and fuck her senseless surges through me. Never has a woman asserted herself with me, and as much as I fucking hate to admit it, I’m totally turned on by it.

Margo kisses my cheek before she pulls back and releases a hearty laugh. “Who’s fucked now?”

Angry that I allowed myself to be distracted for one moment, I shove her away a little rougher than I mean to. “Get the fuck out. We’re done here.”

Margo laughs as she takes a step back toward the door. “Oh, Mr. King, that’s where you’re wrong again. We both know this little game of ours has only just begun.”

“I said we’re fucking done with this conversation.” I glare at her.

“As you wish.” She smirks and actually fucking curtsies before heading out my door, invoking my hatred even more.

The moment the door closes, I plop down in my chair and loosen my tie. How in the holy hell did that just happen?

My nostrils flare and I take a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure and not throw something. The one thing I fucking hate is to be shown up. I’m always the winner—number one at all times. She will not take control of this situation.

No fucking way.

I won’t allow that to happen. Ever.

If Margo Buchanan wants a fucking war with me then, a war is what she’s going to fucking get.

A
lexander

The door to my office opens and I scowl, fully expecting Margo to waltz back in for round two. I relax when Jack walks through the door instead.

His neatly trimmed dark hair matches his pressed black suit. Jack hasn’t looked in my direction yet to see my utter disarray because he’s too busy running his hand through his hair and staring at my man-eater secretary.

When the door shuts behind him, Jack’s wearing the biggest shit-eatin’ grin known to mankind. “Damn. You didn’t tell me that you hired a new hot piece of ass. Have you tapped that yet, or do I still have a shot at getting in there before you? You know how I fucking hate your sloppy seconds.”

I roll my eyes. “Brother, if I were you, I wouldn’t touch that bitch with a double-bagged dick. She’s fuckin’ trouble.”

Jack’s face lights up as he glances back at the door before turning back to me, wiggling his eyebrows over his dark eyes. “My favorite kind.”

Oh, shit. I’ve just enticed him even more. Jack has been my wingman for a long time, and I know he’s just as smooth with the ladies as I am. If he sets his sights on Margo, he won’t give up until he’s fucked her seven ways till Sunday.

I’ve got to correct this situation stat. Throw a little ice water on him, so-to-speak, before he goes getting any crazy ideas like asking her out.

“She’s Dan Buchanan’s daughter,” I quickly inform him before he has a chance to get a full-on chub thinking about how damn hot Margo looks sitting out there on the other side of that door.

Jack’s eyes widen. “No fucking way! Buchanan produced that? I don’t believe it.”

I lean back in my chair and straighten my tie. “Afraid so.”

“So what’s she doing here? When you said you’d give her a job, I didn’t expect it to be as
your
assistant. Doesn’t she know that we’re about to dismantle her father’s business and sell it for parts? She should hate our guts, not be out there working for the enemy.”

I nod. “She knows, and it’s the very reason she’s here. The last time I met with Buchanan, as you know, he only agreed to sell me Buchanan Industries if I promised to give his darling daughter a job, so I figured I’d put her where I’d be able to keep my eye on her.”

His brow furrows. “He can get her a job as a secretary anywhere.”

“He was afraid that since she’s a new grad, she’d have a tough time finding something that paid well in this economy.”

He shakes his head. “I still don’t understand why make it part of the deal that she has to work here for you?”

I drum my fingers on the desk. “Think about it, Jack. Buchanan is a crafty old son-of-a-bitch. He’s going to fight tooth and nail to figure out a way to save his business. By getting his daughter in here, he figures he’ll be able to get info about the buyers we have lined up and cut us off at the pass. Then he’ll try to make a deal with them first to sell off pieces of his company that are easily discarded, leaving him with less overhead and keeping him afloat until he can figure out his next move.”

“And you agreed to let her come here knowing that? Shit, Alexander. She could ruin everything.” I hear the edge in Jack’s voice. He’s never been one to keep a cool head when he stresses. “We’ve got billions riding on this deal. You have to become the activist shareholder in Buchanan Industries.”

I hold up my hand, stopping him before he even gets started. “Relax, Jack. I have this under control. Do you honestly think that Margo Buchanan is a match for me? Come on, man. You’ve known me for how long now?”

He shakes his head. “You’re right. I do know you, which means I know that women are your fucking kryptonite. Face it; you’ve been in a rut for a couple of years now. Hell, you’ve not been the same since Jess fucked you over. You haven’t been with a woman longer than one night since her. If Margo wags her hot ass in front of you, you’ll leap, my friend, and your self-control will be flushed down the fucking toilet. She’ll get in your head, and this whole deal will be fucked.”

I know Jack thinks that I’ve hit a dry spell since Jess Fontaine left me for another man two years ago—that she crushed me—but he couldn’t be more wrong. Jess taking off with some tennis pro she met at the country club only hardened me more. It made me stronger—made me realize that love really doesn’t exist. It’s just this thing people created to comfort themselves within stories—a mythical thing like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I learned a long time ago that fairy tales don’t exist. People need to stop wasting their time searching for something that isn’t real.

Paying for pussy is definitely the way to go.

So Jack needs to stop worrying about me. Margo Buchanan will not get to me no matter how tempting she may be.

I chuckle. “Trust me. That’s not going to happen.”

“Make sure it doesn’t. We need Buchanan to sell you his shares. Our Japanese connections want pieces of his company, and the only way we can make that happen is if you’re the main shareholder. We can’t afford for anything to go wrong.”

“You’ve got to stop worrying. You’re going to make yourself old and gray far too soon.” I push myself away from the desk and walk over to the small bar that’s in my office. The crystal decanter holding my favorite thirty-year-old scotch clinks against the glass as I pour the amber liquid. “Come have a drink with me. Let’s celebrate our victory before we close this deal over lunch.”

Jack walks over and lays a couple of papers on the wooden bar. “I’ve got the latest numbers on the Buchanan stock. It’s down thirty points. Everything is lining up for us perfectly. We’re on the road to making our biggest deal yet. Your father would’ve been proud.”

I hand Jack his glass as I smile at the thought of my father. It pleases me immensely to know that if he were here, Father would be partaking in this celebratory drink. Fucking cancer. It took him away from me much too soon, forcing me to grow up way too fast.

I tip the glass back and down my drink before pouring myself another. I need a fucking subject change. “I heard a rumor about you.”

Jack’s eyebrow arches. “Me? From whom?”

I smirk. “One guess.”

“Fucking Diem.” Jack rubs the back of his neck. “What did your darling sister tell you about me now?”

I laugh. “Rachel Winslet, Jack? Really? How fucking desperate were you to take that home?”

“Dammit,” Jack mutters. “I was at a benefit at the Waldorf, and I had one too many to drink. I spent most of the night talking to your sister. When it was time to find someone to share in the pleasure of my company for the evening, all the good women were taken. Rachel was my only willing body.”

“Her body’s always willing,” I say, and then laugh, unable to hold it back.

Jack shrugs, like it’s there’s nothing else he can say. It’s a well-known fact that the woman is working her way through our social circles on her back.

I hold up my hands. “Hey, no judgment. A lay is a lay as long as you don’t plan on taking it any further than that.”

Jack tips back his glass and then sets it down on the bar. “Did Diem say anything else?”

I shake my head. “No, but what in the hell were you doing talking to my sister all night? You’re not fucking her, are you? You know that’s the one thing that would cause me to murder my best friend.”

His face contorts, and his top lip curls. “It’s not like that. You know we’ve always been friends. She’s your little sister for Christ’s sake.”

“Well, what were the two of you doing together?”

“Diem and I were
just
talking.”

“About what?” I ask a little agitated.

“Mainly . . . we were talking about you.”

This causes my brow to furrow. “What the hell could possibly be so interesting about me that would cause the two of you to chat all evening?”

He shrugs. “She worries about you a lot. It’s not healthy for you to work all the time and then spend your evenings alone.”

I roll my eyes. “So you and Diem are experts on what’s best for me now?”

“No. We just want to see you happy.”

I level my stare on him. “Is anyone ever truly happy with their lives, Jack? The best someone can hope for is to have enough money not to be miserable in their existence until they die.”

Jack sighs. “That’s a pretty depressing outlook on life, man.”

“Yeah, maybe, but it’s an honest one. Seriously, you and Diem need to find more interesting topics of conversations.”

He laughs. “What can I say? The King is a hot topic of conversation these days. It’s hard to avoid talking about you when I’m out in public. I think you’ve pissed off over half of the females on the Upper East Side. They all say your name with such disdain that it’s comical, and unfortunately, your sister and I are assholes by association. We’ve bonded through our pariah status. I would stop being your friend, but I like getting laid for being the nice guy out of our duo.”

I chuckle. “Ah, so being the best friend of Manhattan’s biggest prick has its perks?”

Jack fills his glass again and has a twinkle in his eye. “Sometimes.”

A quick knock on my door catches my attention just as it swings open. Margo steps into my office and makes a big show of checking out the inside of the room before her eyes land on Jack. Her face lights up as she points a smile in his direction, and for some reason my shoulders stiffen.

“Do you need something, Margo?” I ask, drawing her attention away from Jack.

“I was just making sure that you were decent. The last time—” She smirks as her eyes flit over to Jack and then back to me “—I seemed to have come in at an inopportune moment when you had a guest in here.”

Jack tilts his head, and I feel his gaze on me. I usually tell him everything—but admitting to your best friend that you buy sexual favors from high-paid escorts isn’t something that I want to readily divulge to him.

Damn that Margo. She’s doing this to get under my skin, but the fucking joke’s going to be on her because I refuse to let this chick see me sweat.

I take a long drink and eye her over my glass. “Well, I’m glad that you’ve learned barging in without knocking is rude as fuck. At least you’ve learned one thing from me today.”

She bites the corner of her lip. “I’ve learned plenty today.”

“Glad to be of service. I always aim to please.” I raise one eyebrow, daring her to say more in front of Jack, but she doesn’t.

Instead, she glances down at the silver watch on her wrist. “You have a lunch meeting at twelve thirty and your car service is downstairs waiting.”

I set my glass down. “Thank you, Margo. Be sure to bring your tablet and a notepad to take notes.”

“I’m going?” I fight back a smile as I hear the surprise in her voice.

“Of course. That’s what assistants do—they assist. I’ll be ready in five and I expect you to be as well.” I allow a hint of a smile to play along my lips as she stands there gaping at me. “That will be all, Margo.”

I can tell that she doesn’t like me dismissing her like common help, but something tells me that she doesn’t want to make too big of a scene in front of Jack, so she doesn’t mouth off before she turns and walks out of my office. The princess is definitely not used to anyone bossing her around.

This little game of ours is going to be fun.

The second the door closes, Jack scrubs his hand down his face. “Fuck. This isn’t good.”

“What?” I ask, unsure of what he’s talking about.

He locks eyes with me. “Are you sure you haven’t already fucked her?”

“No!” I argue. “I haven’t touched her.”

“Maybe not yet, but you will. I can see the way you two are looking at each other. It might be a hate fuck, but it’s going to happen, and it’s going to ruin everything we’ve worked for. She’s part of her father’s deal. Please, use the head on top of your shoulders because it has the smarter brain. It’ll tell you that the best thing for business would be to
not
slip your dick in this chick.”

I understand why he’s flipping out. We have a lot of money riding on this, and with him being my company attorney, screwing this up will cause him a shit-ton of work on top of all the money King Corporation will lose. But he has to know that money and making sure that the company my father built succeeds is far more important than a piece of ass.

“Don’t worry, Jack. I’ve got it all under control. I promise not to fuck the hired help.” I put the crystal stopper back in the scotch decanter. “Now, let’s head to lunch and see if we can get that bastard, Buchanan, to sign this deal.”

I slap Jack on the back as I pass him and we head out to seal the deal and get Margo Buchanan the hell out of my office.