Mr. Dangerously Sexy. Stefanie London
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a close bond with his team back when he first started the company. She’d made it her mission to keep that legacy alive.
Except now she wanted to leave her father’s company and strike out on her own. Completely on her own...well, except for taking a few key staff members with her.
It wasn’t just that Logan was viewed as the boss over her, but in a company that dealt with security she was out of her element with the subject matter. The thing was, Addison took care of everything that wasn’t security. That included finances, human resources, payroll, training, business development, internal communications, etc. The list went on and on. At times her lack of security knowledge worked to her advantage because she was unbiased and could offer a fresh perspective that hadn’t been colored by bad assignments.
But despite her valuable input and the fact that she was the one who kept the lights on by ensuring the company paid its bills and its employees, she was still seen as the number two. That wasn’t going to change; she’d never be top dog here.
Worse still, she’d never command the respect her father did. And for a girl who was competitive to the bone...that hurt.
Shaking off the negative thoughts, she brought her attention back to the task at hand—preparing for the retreat. It had become her tradition to head up to the cottage the weekend before so that everything was ready to go for the Monday morning welcome session.
Her body relaxed in anticipation. A weekend alone at the cottage sounded like absolute bliss. She had a new book, a few bottles of her favorite wine and a swimsuit already packed. All she had to do was finish up at the office and then she could start the slow trudge out of Manhattan.
Scanning her list of things to bring from the office, she found the last item unchecked: the binder with all the notes from the last retreat, which sat neatly on the top shelf of her bookcase.
There were few things as precarious as trying to navigate a step stool in Louboutins, but Addison wasn’t about to let OH&S get in the way of her love for a good pair of high heels. She climbed to the top of the stool, her fingers reaching for the thick binder. Of course, the one thing she needed was on the highest shelf. Wasn’t that always the way?
“You know, I’m not sure I ever believed in heaven,” a deep voice said. “But my dad always told me I’d find the answer to my questions if I looked up to God.”
* * *
LOGAN DANE LEANED against the door frame to his partner’s office, a smirk tugging at his lips. Any chance to throw Addison off guard was not to be missed. Although truth be told, a chance to torture himself with the vision of her amazing legs was not to be missed, either.
“I’ve got good aim, Logan. Don’t make me throw something at you.”
Instead of coming down, she leaned farther forward, causing her fitted pencil skirt to ride higher up the backs of her legs. His breath caught in his throat when a sliver of lace revealed that her stockings stopped midthigh. Sweet mother of all things holy.
Between the tight skirt, the black lace and the candy-red soles on her shoes, it was a picture fit for a dirty dream.
Yeah, ’cause the thing you need right now is another image of Addison to avoid fantasizing over. Don’t you have enough guilt on your shoulders already?
“I’d like to see you try,” he said.
She retrieved a binder and climbed down, making a show of smoothing out the wrinkles on her skirt. Her red nails matched the underside of her heels.
“Did you want something, Logan? Or are you just here to ogle my legs?”
He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t—”
“Sure you weren’t.”
Busted. “I can’t help it. You’ve got some damn fine pins.”
Shaking her head, she bent down and picked up her bag from the floor. This time he kept his eyes away from her ass. Willpower, when he had it, was a wonderful thing.
“You all ready for the retreat on Monday?” she asked, ignoring his comment. “We’ve got an early start.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be on time.”
“No, be early.” She gathered up her organizer and slid it into her bag. “I’ll need help setting up for the first session.”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else you want me to do, Miss Bossy Boots?” He walked into her office and placed his palms on her desk. “As if it isn’t bad enough you’ll be talking numbers at me all through the retreat.”
“Just arrive in one piece.” Her eyes flickered over him, sending a trail of heat straight from his chest to his groin. “I’m not sure what your weekend plans are, but I don’t want you rolling up hungover and with lipstick on your collar.”
He’d done that once, and she’d never let him live it down, though he absolutely deserved the censure. He hadn’t been subtle when he’d started dating his ex. But he’d put a stop to that soon after—no more women, no more fooling around. Still, Addison had kept her distance ever since.
“I wouldn’t let the staff see me in that state.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “You know that.”
“Oh right, to them you’ve got to be the Big Bad Wolf.” She continued packing her bag without looking up, her long golden hair slipping over her shoulder to conceal her expression. “Lucky me, getting to see the real you.”
He detected the slightest waver in her voice, undercutting the otherwise frosty tone. The show with his ex had been partly for Addison’s benefit, though it was hard to keep reminding himself he’d done the right thing by them both. Knowing that he’d hurt her so badly made him feel like a bastard.
“You’re one of the lucky few, Addi.”
“I count my blessings,” she said drily. “Anyway, I’m heading off early. Got to make a head start down to the cottage before this traffic gets insane.”
“You sure you don’t want a weekend guest?”
“Absolutely positively one hundred percent sure.” A smile twitched on her lips, and his heartbeat kicked up a notch. “I’m going to sit in the hot tub until my hands turn to prunes. I’m going to drink wine and do yoga and be totally peaceful. No one is going to ruin that for me, especially not you.”
“Message received.”
Despite his best effort to keep his mind on the business retreat, a thought skittered through his brain like a pebble skipping over a pond. Was she the bikini type, or would she wear something more sophisticated in the hot tub? Black or white? Or something colorful?
Would it have one of those string tie-ups that could be easily loosened with a single—
“I said is there anything else you need before I go?” She hoisted her bag over one shoulder and picked up a box of supplies with retreat neatly printed on the side in black marker.
“Nope, I just came in here to wind you up.”
She shook her head. “Now that’s the first honest thing you’ve said to me all day.”
“I said you had great pins,” he corrected as he held the door for her. “I stand by that.”
She muttered something under her breath as she walked past him, but he caught a rueful smile on her lips.
They had an odd relationship. But he’d take their strange mix of teasing and power struggles over not having her around any day. Addison was one of the few people who meant something to him.
Just remember that next time you get tempted to take a closer look at those pins, Dane. She’s off-limits. One slip does not make it okay to go back for seconds.
Her tinkling laughter carried through the open-plan office as she stopped to say goodbye to her team. One of the young guys in accounts took the box