Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“Good morning, Mr. Simmons.” Aspen rushed forward to set the bags she’d brought with her on her desk. The toe of her pump caught on one of her chair wheels and she tripped with a yelp as her possessions went in all directions.
“Aspen? Are you okay?” Tim appeared in the doorway, holding on to Boston.
“Stay there. I’m afraid I scattered stuff all over the office. I’ll get everything all picked up,” she spoke quickly, afraid he would trip.
Tim ignored her and walked forward confidently. He drug his feet lightly over the carpet, scooting any obstacles out of his way. One tissue box, a bag of chocolates, and her lunchbox later, he stood in front of her.
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern etched on his face as he reached down to help her stand up.
“Just klutzy,” she answered, glad he couldn’t see her clearly as she scrambled ungracefully to her feet.
“Ouch!” she squeaked as her hand brushed over her skirt. She raised the hemline to see her now skinned up knee.
“What did you do to yourself?” he asked.
“I scraped my knee on the carpet. I’ll get all this cleaned up and find a bandage. Sorry, boss. Would you like me to bring in some coffee for you?” she asked, trying to distract him from her incompetence.
“Let me see what you’ve done to yourself. Take a seat on your desk,” he instructed, moving closer to her.
Aspen followed his instructions automatically and pulled her skirt up slightly to keep her oozing knee from ruining the material.
“How bad is it?” Tim questioned.
“Barely a scratch,” she lied.
“Little girls who lie earn consequences. This is your one warning,” Tim informed her.
“Really, it’s okay. A bit raw, but it’s fine.”
“Hmm,” Tim answered skeptically. His hand explored the edge of the desk and found the top side drawer.
Pulling it open, he asked, “Do you see a tape dispenser?”
“No, just a stapler,” she answered, not understanding why he was asking.
“I’m not going to staple my handkerchief to your skin,” Tim laughed. “We’ll have to tie it around your knee until we find the bandages.”
He pulled a pristine white fabric square from his suit pocket and shook it out. Stretching it from corner to corner, he brushed over her calf to where her leg bent and lifted her leg up with one hand. Quickly, he tied the cloth around her knee.
“That will hold you until we find the bandages.”
“Could you just go into your office and pretend I didn’t get here yet? I’ll get everything cleaned up and we’ll start again,” she whispered.
“Not a chance. You don’t know how many times I’ve taken a tumble in the last few months. I appreciate you going first in here, so I don’t feel bad when it happens to me,” he reassured her. “Think you can stand?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” she assured him as she scooted toward the edge of the desk, not realizing how close they were until she stood up to find herself pressed against his hard body. “Oh!”
To her surprise, Tim didn’t back up immediately. His arm wrapped around her waist to steady her against his frame. “Good morning, Little girl,” he greeted her. “Stop me now.”
Holding her breath, Aspen watched him lower his mouth to hers. The soft kisses that followed startled her more than vivid passion would have. Tim wooed her. Tempted her. Tantalized her until she completely forgot where they were.
A jingle of Boston’s harness pulled her back to reality. “Mr. Simmons!”
“I think you can call me Tim, Little girl. That will do until you’re ready to call me something else.”
She nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her answer. “Yes, Tim.”
“Good girl. Do you need help picking up your things?”
“No. I’ve got everything.”
“Then, when you’re settled and have treated your knee, bring the two cups of coffee into my office. We’ll look at the schedule and figure out what’s going on today,” Tim directed before stepping away.
Instantly, she missed his heat. “You got it, boss.”
The next mornings followed the same pattern. Tim would be at the office when she arrived. Aspen would get herself settled and pull up the calendar before grabbing coffee and reporting to his office.
By Friday, she was amazed how proficiently Tim and Boston learned to navigate around the campus. Those first couple of days, he had meetings held in his office in C Tower. After that, Aspen learned Tim preferred to walk to someone else’s office. Not only did that help him get acclimated, but it prevented someone from taking up too much of his time as he explored how his predecessor had done things. She learned to schedule in time for him to take care of Boston and himself.
“Is he in?”
Aspen looked up to see the CEO himself at her desk. “Yes, Mr. Edgewater. Would you like to talk to him? I know he has a meeting in a few minutes, but he’ll want to see you.”