BRYCE
My brother closed the door behind him as I sat behind my desk. I sighed, trying to keep calm.
Dealing with Anneliese Starling every day was my personal hell, but this hell could get even worse when my brother decided to show up and flirt shamelessly with her.
At least until now, she had the decency that my brother didn't, and turned down all his invitations.
"You have to stop this. It seems you've simply ignored all the conversations we've had about it."
"You're right. I ignored it, and I intend to keep ignoring it," he said, taking a seat on one of the black couches in the center of my office.
"Great. We'll see what you do when you're reported for harassment."
"Don't worry; Anne would never do that. And if you want to know, I think she's about to give in."
Give in? Was that possible? No, she wouldn't have the courage. This was probably just my brother's desire influencing his perception.
Could he not see that his attitude could negatively affect the company?
"Unbelievable. You know that this is unacceptable. She's your subordinate."
"She's also a friend of our family and a very intelligent and beautiful woman. Why don't you just admit that you're bothered because you're also interested?"
Oh, shit. How the hell did he...
"Don't be ridiculous." I tried to keep my expression cold.
"Just admit it, little brother." He smiled, finding amusement in this.
If he really believed that I was also interested, it didn't seem to bother him.
"What do you want me to admit? That she's irritating and audacious?"
"And very attractive."
"Stop harassing her. You don't know who you're messing with."
"Are you trying to make me laugh? Do you really think you know Anne better than I do? I've known her much longer than you."
Luke might have known her for a longer time, but I would bet all my chips that he didn't know the Anneliese I had to deal with every day.
"So you should know that she can be a shrew sometimes."
"I don't know why the hell you try to put every possible fault in her. But we both know that if she acts this way with you, it's because you deserve it. It's no secret that you're a big jerk, but with her in particular, you make a point of being an asshole."
"Do you really want to tell me how I should treat our employees? Unlike you, I follow our policy, and it doesn't include flirting, little brother."
"At the very least, you should treat her well. She has done a lot for us, and you know it."
"Damn, you talk like I'm torturing her, but it's exactly the opposite."
"Exactly the opposite?" He raised an eyebrow.
Unfortunately for me, my brother was very good at unraveling people, so I always had to be careful about what I said about Miss Starling when he was around.
Somehow, for a while now, he had been suspecting that I had some interest in her.
An interest that I denied to myself and tried to hide from everyone at all costs, simply because she was Anneliese Starling, and that was reason enough to make me aware that I should stay away.
Then I could add the second reason: work. Anneliese was my direct subordinate, and the shit that any involvement with her could cause would be colossal. From the first day, I knew there was no getting away from it, so I just accepted it.
I was the boss, and I needed to set an example, follow the company's policy, and all that crap. But when I saw her in person for the first time, I knew she would be a temptation and a kind of punishment, undoubtedly for something I had done to some woman in the past.
I wasn't proud of it, and I knew that life used to charge for those things. Resisting Anneliese was undoubtedly costing me.
Creating animosity between us was my first strategy to keep her away from me, and it worked well in a way.
Perhaps the fact that she had spilled coffee on my desk had also contributed a little. It happened so unbelievably at the time that I could have sworn it was intentional, and now that I know her well, I'm pretty sure.
But there was something I hadn't counted on when I decided to put my strategy into practice: how dangerous the hatred, irritation, and frustration we felt towards each other could be.
The point was that arguing with Miss Starling didn't just make me angry, it also used to make me horny, and that was hell.
It seemed like I had fallen into my own trap. I lost count of how many times she had come close to making me lose control.
Usually, at times like that, when I was close to the edge, I would imagine dragging her into my office, putting something in her mouth just to make her shut up, and then doing all the things I wanted with her.
Lately, Anneliese had been tormenting me, even in my dreams. Unfortunately, they were the only place where these things could happen.
Even before I returned from England, I had already heard about the 'wonderful and competent Anneliese Starling.' My family used to mention her often, sparing no praise. I also used to see her in company photos and at family celebrations.
Everyone seemed to worship her. I remember thinking that she looked sweet and sensual in the photos, which was contradictory.
She was undeniably beautiful. The combination of her black hair, prominent cheekbones, perfect full lips, and dark brown eyes was breathtaking, especially when she wore red lipstick.
Hell, I had to stop thinking about her like that. As if I could. I'd been trying for a long time.
But despite her beauty, I later discovered that I was completely wrong about her sweetness. Miss Starling can be a real shrew when she wants to be, as well as provocative, annoying, very intelligent, and determined.
Everyone at Forbes Media is aware of how demanding I am in terms of what I expect from every member of this company. I demand the maximum from everyone, just as I have always demanded from myself in my life.
This was still the best way I knew to achieve any goal. Efficiency, with as few mistakes as possible. And despite my annoyance with Miss Starling, I have to admit that she is very competent. This was also a reason to keep her around, not just because of my father's desire. In any other case, if she had been incompetent, I wouldn't have hesitated to go against his wishes and simply fire her.
But to my happiness and misfortune, she had no problem keeping up with my pace at work. We were usually always on the same page, which made our dynamic very good.
However, this only seemed to work when we were focused on our work; in any other situation, like dinners with my family, we usually just avoided each other, to avoid provoking a war.
And as much as teasing her and seeing her angry was fun, I tried not to do it near my family.
"Where the hell were you?" My brother said, pulling me out of my reverie.
I cleared my throat, trying to do the same with my mind and remember what we were talking about.
"What I meant was that you probably wouldn't be able to last a week working alongside a witch like her."
"Let's be honest... you're a lucky bastard to be able to see those beautiful pair of legs parading around here every day, and you know it."
"Enough of this subject. Can we get back to work? The meeting..."
"In any case, I have to make it clear that I won't make it easy for you just because we're brothers. So may the best one win."
"Don't be an idiot. As much as there might be some interest on my part, which there isn't, I would never do what you're doing. You're being completely irresponsible, and you'll have to deal with the consequences of it on your own."
"I still can't say for sure if you're really concerned that I'm breaking our rules, or if you're bothering me because you're jealous. I'd bet it's a bit of both."
"Enough of this subject. If you don't want to discuss our meeting, which will start in less than an hour, you can leave."
"Alright, I've said everything I had to say. Now, can we talk about work, you addicted jerk?"
Despite my brother being an idiot who sometimes gave up his reason and let himself be controlled by a beautiful pair of legs, I couldn't complain about his performance at work. He was exceptional, and that made me proud.
But he was still my younger brother, so it was part of his role to have fun watching my misery, which in this case was seeing how Starling could get on my nerves
However, even though I was bothered by having to watch him flirt with her, I knew that there was no chance she would give in and accept a date with Luke. I didn't believe it could happen because I knew that her career was the most important thing for her. That was something we both had in common: work was our priority.
*
After discussing the final details of the new campaign we were about to present to Delta Airlines, my brother left our floor. We would meet at the Delta headquarters in a few minutes.
When I finally left my office, I found Miss Starling at her desk, going through some papers.
Today she was wearing a dark brown lipstick that made her lips look fascinating, a white shirt, and a tight black skirt that went down to just above her knees and made her ass look incredible. Not to mention those damn stiletto heels.
I was sure that every day she made a point of carefully choosing each garment to torture me. She was always impeccable. I cleared my throat to get her attention, even though I knew she was aware of my presence. She didn't bother to take her eyes off the papers.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. I just need a minute before heading downstairs. You can wait for me in the car."
"A minute?"
She sighed, and I knew she was using all her self-control not to roll her eyes.
"I need to use the bathroom."
"Alright. I'll wait for you here."
"It's not necessary."
"I'm just following my brother's advice and trying to be polite, so make it easy, Starling."
"Do as you wish, but it's not like it's going to change anything." She got up and grabbed her bag. "I'll be right back."
I admired her ass as she walked towards the bathroom. The sweetness in person, as always. I pushed away thoughts of what I'd like to do to her. Now wasn't the time.
When she returned, we took the elevator to the first floor in complete silence. Resisting her scent in tight spaces was always a challenge. Some of the dreams I had about her often involved just the two of us alone in an elevator.
Apparently, daydreaming about what I would do to her wasn't enough. Everything about Anneliese used to be a challenge for me, the biggest of which was having to keep control over my hands and my cock. That's why she was my punishment—a temptation I had to resist almost every day of my life.
I could only enjoy a little peace on the weekends, and even then, I still thought about her. She was a real witch who had somehow enchanted me.
The next challenge was the car ride to Delta's headquarters. Great, another tight space. I hated off-site meetings, especially because they involved sitting next to her in the back seat of the car for an undetermined amount of time.
Thanks to Anneliese, I was also forced to wear tight underwear almost daily. Hell. How couldn't I hate her? Staying focused on work was the only thing that kept me sane.
The car ride took just over fifteen minutes, and when the driver finally parked in the parking lot of the Delta building, I almost jumped out of the car in search of fresh air. I wanted to get rid of her perfume, which was impregnated in my nose.
Outside, I waited for Anneliese to get out. There was hardly anyone in the parking lot, except for a few security personnel in the distance. She walked around the car, and when she turned and began walking in front of me, I nearly had a heart attack. My whole body stiffened, and I stopped breathing.
*What the hell...*
*Damn, Starling.*
Somehow, her skirt had gotten caught in her panties, leaving her ass exposed.
Fuck. My cock woke up instantly.
Shit. She was wearing sexy, fucking black lace panties. Her ass was round, and her skin looked smooth. Divine. But why the hell was she wearing a garter belt?
The sight was incredible and surpassed all my fantasies. But I soon realized that I needed to warn her. It embarrassed me and made me feel like an asshole for looking.
I swallowed and took a deep breath, noticing that my breathing had become almost panting.
"Starling..." I called, making her stop and turn toward me.
"What?" She sighed, impatient.
Damn, why did it seem so hard to say?
"Your..." I cleared my throat. "Your skirt is..." I gestured toward her hip.
She looked confused, then stared at her own skirt. When one of her hands found the bare skin of her ass, I saw her face turn pale. She began frantically pulling the fabric down while cursing low between her teeth.
"Shit. Shit. Shit."
When she finally lifted her face again, her cheeks were flushed, her gaze quickly shifted from mine, and she didn't say another word, just turned around and started walking again.
Why the hell did this have to happen right now? Fuck... I was the one with a problem in my pants now.