Everything He Desires (2 page)

“
Hello.
You
must
be
the
new
intern.
”

Through
the
haze
of
my
tears,
I
slowly
turned.
I
wiped
at
my
eyes
and
forced
a
smile.
Then
my
heart
stopped
for
an
instant.

I
had
seen
this
man
before
on
magazine
covers.
Rock
Weldon
in
the
flesh.

Now
I
remembered
who
he
was
—
the
owner
of
this
place.
His
hair
gleamed
dark
and
slick
in
the
light,
his
jaw
strong.
The
most
arresting
feature
about
him,
though,
was
his
eyes.
I
could
tell
they
were
clear
greenish
even
in
the
tepid
moonlight.

“
Uh.
”

I
couldn't
force
anything
else
out.
I
just
stood
there
with
my
mouth
hanging
open
like
an
idiot,
staring
at
him.

He
cocked
his
head,
lifting
an
eyebrow.
I
noticed
his
perfect
body
—
lean
and
hard
in
all
the
right
places.
The
tux
he
was
wearing
didn't
hurt.
It
must
have
cost
more
than
my
whole
year's
salary
had.

“
Miss
Phelps?
”

“
I
think
there's
been
—“

He
held
a
hand
up.
“
You're
the
woman
for
the
job.
”
His
voice
was
a
low
growl
now,
and
he
stepped
closer
to
me.

I
moved
into
the
shadows,
my
heart
pounding
so
fast
I
thought
my
chest
would
explode.
“
But
I'm
not
Ms.
Phelps.
”
I
choked
the
words
out.

“
Doesn't
matter.
You're
the
one
I
want,
and
I
think
you'll
find
that
when
I
want
something,
I
get
it.
”

“
Oh.
”

He
pulled
me
behind
a
palm
tree
I
hadn't
even
noticed.
We
were
in
near
darkness
now.
The
only
sound
was
my
breathing.

I
wanted
him
to
touch
me,
to
do
whatever
he
wanted
to
do
with
me.
I'd
never
had
a
feeling
like
that
about
a
man,
especially
one
I
didn't
know.
He
exuded
power
and
know
how
in
a
way
I'd
rarely
seen
from
anyone.

“
Mr.
Weldon?
”
A
voice
called
from
the
doorway.

“
What?
”
He
ground
the
word
out,
glaring.
He
stood
just
inches
from
me.

“
They
need
you
for
the
introduction.
”

“
Dammit.
I'm
coming.
I'll
be
there
in
a
second.
”

“
Alright,
sir.
”
The
voice
was
meek
now.

The
sound
of
the
door
shutting
allowed
me
to
breathe
again.

“
What's
your
line
of
work?
”
He
crossed
his
arms,
staring
me
down.

“
Bookkeeping,
”
I
managed
to
squeak
out.

“
Perfect.
That's
all
I
needed
to
know.
That's
just
the
beginning
of
your
duties
for
me.
”
As
he
spoke,
he
bit
his
lip,
and
his
gaze
traveled
the
length
of
my
body
and
back
up.

I
shivered
in
the
warm
night
air.

“
I
have
to
go.
Meet
me
here
at
midnight.
No
excuses.
”
He
whirled
away
and
strode
off,
the
door
closing
as
he
went
back
inside.

“
My
god.
”
I
leaned
against
the
palm
tree
for
support.
What
was
that
all
about?
Did
he
really
want
me
to
do
his
bookkeeping?
Was
I
qualified?

I
knew
he
wanted
more
from
me
than
that,
and
that
I'd
be
there
at
midnight.
Then
I
realized
he
hadn't
even
asked
my
name.

*
*
*
*

“
Where
were
you?
You
missed
a
great
speech,
”
Alma
chirped,
spearing
cheese
with
her
little
fork.

“
I
just
needed
some
air.
”
We
were
sitting
on
the
couch
now.
The
crowd
had
already
thinned
out
a
little.
Apparently,
some
of
the
guests
had
only
come
to
hear
Rock
Weldon
give
his
speech.

And
was
going
to
be
working
for
him.

The
thought
blew
me
away.

“
Yoohoo.
Earth
to
Lacey.
”
Alma
waved
her
hand
in
front
of
my
face.

“
Sorry.
”

“
You're
just
not
here,
are
you?
”
She
frowned.

“
No,
I
am.
Just
a
little
distracted.
”

“
Well,
why
don't
you
meet
someone
I
think
you'd
like?
”
Alma's
voice
was
teasing.

“
I
really
don't
think
—”

“
I
do.
He's
not
interested
in
me,
but
then
I'm
not
as
gorgeous
as
you.
He's
Rock
Weldon's
cousin
and
he's
pretty
high
up
in
the
company.
”