On His Terms (3 page)

“I’m…”
She cleared her throat, hating that she could want him more than any other man
she had ever been with. He had this air of self-assuredness that covered him
like a second skin. Maybe it was because her life felt like it was so out of
control that seeing this man so
in
control, had her aroused beyond belief?

“Well,
get on with it, Miss Case.”

Lord
have mercy, even though he was a snappy bastard, his voice was so deep, so
husky, that she was sure if she just closed her eyes and focused on it she could
come right then and there. “I’m leaving for the evening, and like always,” she
felt her resistance for her unwarranted arousal fade. “And like always, I
wanted to make sure you were all set before I left.”

He
lowered his hand from his face just as slowly, set it on the desk once more,
and started drumming his fingers on the smooth, glossy top. He wore a ring on
his pinky, maybe a family crest or alumni seal, but the
clank-clank
,
clank-clank
of it hitting the table was in time with her heartbeat. “Miss Case, have I ever
needed anything from you before you left for the night?” He lifted a dark
eyebrow, and she pursed her lips and clenched her hands into fists.

No, you asshole, but at least I
have the decency and work ethic to ask.

“No,
Mr. Hartford,” she said between her teeth.

He
lifted the corner of his mouth in a sarcastic smirk, and she bit back a retort.
She was so stressed with everyday living that she seemed even more annoyed with
him than usual, and that was saying something.

“So,
then you don’t need anything?” Sorcha didn’t stop herself from having a bit of
a lash in her voice, and his smile faded immediately.

You need this job. You need this
job. You need this job.

She
repeated the words in her head like a mantra.

“No,
I don’t need anything, Miss Case.”

Sorcha
tried to get her body under control, but the way he said her name, slightly
sardonic, with a hint of controlled heat, had lust and annoyance slamming into
her. Irritation should not have made her want him more, but the thought of
having
him
under
her
, doing what she said and giving up his control, was quite a
heady feeling. Who the hell was she kidding?
Rian
Hartford would never relinquish his control to anyone, least of all his lowly
secretary.

He
didn’t say anything in response, and so she nodded, tightened her hold on her
purse strap, and turned around to leave. But before she excited the office his
deep voice stopped her.

“Miss
Case?”

She
looked over her shoulder, and the way he stared at her had her pulse
increasing, her palms sweating, and this impending doom settling inside of her.
“Yes?” She hadn’t meant to say the lone word so softly.

“I
need you to come in tomorrow, say noon?”

She
knitted her brows, and turned around. “But tomorrow is Saturday.”

“I’m
glad you can read a calendar,” he said without any emotion. He still leaned
back in his chair, looking cocky and without a care in the world. She was just
supposed to drop what she was doing? Not like she had plans, but that was
beside the point. She already had to work with him five out of seven days a
week, and now he expected her to give up her free time to do his bidding?
Before she could respond he started speaking once again.

“It
is imperative that you attend tomorrow, because I have an offer for you.”

She
knitted her brows.
“An offer?”

He
leaned forward, and the light from his lamp slashed across his face. “Just be
here tomorrow at noon.” And with his voice going hard, he dismissed her like he
hadn’t just dropped this cryptic freaking ball.

She
nodded, but wasn’t sure if she was agreeing to be here tomorrow, or if she was
just too confused to understand what in the hell she was doing. She turned and
left, not knowing exactly what
Rian
was up to, but
feeling as though she had just made a deal with the devil.

****

“
Rian
, are you sure this is really what you want to do?”
Harold Theon had been his father’s attorney and been with the Hartford family
for longer than
Rian
could even remember. He was old
as shit, but knew the law better than any attorney
Rian
had ever been around, and that was saying something. Lawson was also here, and
his PR rep was actually impressed he was going down this route, because at
least it would solve the whole spilling personal information to the media. Or
at least Lawson had acted impressed.

“Harold,
I haven’t been surer of anything than I am of this.”

Harold
lifted his bushy white eyebrows, and stared at
Rian
with his light blue eyes. He scribbled his signature on the last line, and
leaned back in the seat across from
Rian
. Sorcha had
left the office an hour before, and Harold and Lawson had showed up per
Rian’s
request.

“I
actually think this is one of the smarter moves in
Rian’s
personal life when it concerns the women he associates with,” Lawson said and
took the contract
Rian
had just signed. “But I guess
it’ll be the smartest move if the young woman actually agrees to it.”

“I
for one have never drafted up a contract proposing a woman to be … what you
want her to be,” Harold said, took the legal documents from Lawson, and put
them in his briefcase.

“Well,
with the media trying to tarnish the company because of
Rian’s
personal life, hopefully having,” Lawson looked at
Rian
for help.

“Sorcha
Case,”
Rian
said and leaned back in his seat, and put
his hands behind his head.

“Hopefully
having this in place will ease some of that negativity. At least if she signs
she won’t be able to legally backfire once it is all said and done,” Lawson
said.

“I’ll
have a judge go over them and have
them
signed before
the end of the night,” Harold said and stood. “You should have the final
documents sent over to your office first thing tomorrow morning. That’s when
you’re meeting with the young woman?”

Rian
nodded and felt his gut tighten
at the prospect of bringing this up with Sorcha. She’d either be open to it,
which would surprise the fuck out of him, or, which was the more logical
reaction, she’d slap his face and tell him to fuck off.

Harold
grabbed his suitcase, nodded at Lawson and
Rian
, and
then turned to leave. Harold made sure to push things through quickly, but then
again
Rian
had many connections. Being who he was,
and having the kind of wealth he did, let
Rian
do
pretty much whatever the fuck he wanted. He made things happen for people, and
in return had things done for him. It was a never-ending circle.

Once
it was just Lawson and
Rian
in the office, Lawson
leaned back and shook his head. “I was actually pretty surprised when you
called me this afternoon and told me what you’re planning.”

“I
know, I could tell.”
Rian
removed his hands from
behind his head and rested his forearms on his desk. “I have to admit that
proposing this to Miss Case will probably have her getting violent, offended,
and end with her walking out and quitting.” That actually had this sour feeling
settling in
Rian’s
stomach, but he pushed it aside.

“And
you want her so badly that you’re willing to risk that?” Lawson asked. “What
about anyone of the other single, not employed by you, women that are in this
state? You know many well-to-do women, many of whom would jump at the
opportunity to take on what you have outlined in the contract.”

“I
know,”
Rian
said evenly.

“Then
what is it about this particular woman that you would risk losing yet another
secretary, and having the possibility of her going to the media and bringing
this to light?”

“If
she does, then she does. But it isn’t like the media hasn’t heard it all
before.”

“We
don’t need another slam at your character so soon after your last sexual
partner decided to jabber.”

Lawson
had a point, but
Rian
didn’t care. “I want her,
Lawson. There is something different about Miss. Case, something I want to
explore if she’s willing.” He leaned back in his chair, the thoughts and images
running through his mind playing havoc with his dick. He could see her in his
home, on his bed, and under him, taking everything he gave her, and showing him
that she wouldn’t give in easily. “She isn’t a pushover that is out to please
me because of who I am.”

Lawson
stared out the window behind
Rian
and shook his head.
“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I
do,”
Rian
said without hesitation.

“I think the legal route that
you’re taking is better than what you’ve done in the past, but I have a feeling
this might backfire regardless.”

Yeah, it probably would, but if
it meant he had Sorcha, even for one night, he’d take whatever fallout
happened.

****

“But
he didn’t say why he wanted you to come in?” her friend Cora asked, looking as
curious as Sorcha felt.

She
shrugged. “I told you exactly what he said. He was cryptic, and almost seemed
pleased with himself for some reason.”

“So,
are you going to show up?” Cora took a drink of her beer and set it back down.
The little pub they were at wasn’t too far from the office building they both
worked at. Cora had been the one to get her the interview with
Rian
Hartford, and even though Cora worked in the law
office in the same building, and not for the enigmatic man, she had pulled some
strings.

The
music around them was loud, peppy, and the latest dance song.
The pub was small, but a lot of the
Irish community in this part of town frequented it because of the imported beer
and food they had, especially the college aged population. Sorcha stared at
Cora and shrugged. “Do I really have a choice? Before going into this job I
said that if Mr. Hartford needed my assistance at any time, for any reason, I
was there. I am basically his personal slave.” She growled out the last part.

“You
really hate it there, don’t you? Makes me almost feel guilty for telling you
about the job,” Cora said genuinely.

“Honey,
hell no, you shouldn’t feel sorry. The job is great, and in fact I love it. I
get to meet all these rich and famous people when they contact the office for
retail property inquiries.” Sorcha shrugged and started picking at the edge of
her beer label. “I owe you a lot for getting me the job.”

“Sorcha,
you
got the job. I just got you the
interview. If
Rian
Hartford didn’t want you I can
guarantee you wouldn’t be sitting in that ritzy office five days a week.”

Sorcha
nodded and stared at the condensation on the bottle in front of her. “The man
just drives me insane, Cora, like so damn crazy that I have never wanted to
kick a man in the junk, or strip my clothes off and lie on my desk for him,
more times than I have working for
Rian
Hartford.”

Cora
laughed loudly. “Join the club, girl. That man rubs everyone the wrong way with
his cocky, bastard-like attitude, and also has the women dropping their panties
and grabbing their ankles. But if he was a pushover he wouldn’t be at the top,
or have so many sexual conquests under his belt.”

“Well,”
Sorcha straightened and looked at Cora. “I can see why he goes through
secretaries so fast. They probably can’t stand his arrogant ass either.”

“
That,
or they were fucked so hard by him they couldn’t walk
into work the next day.”

Sorcha
started laughing.

Cora
shook her head. “But seriously, you know the majority of them left because he
fucked them and then refused to have more of a personal relationship with
them.”

“The majority?”
Sorcha lifted a brow and
grinned.

“Okay,
not the majority, but more than one and that is a lot.” Cora stood. “I’m
getting a couple more beers. You want the same thing?”

“No,
give me something hard, because I have a feeling whatever
Rian
Hartford wants from me tomorrow is going to make me wish I had gotten trashed.”

Chapter
Three

Sorcha
felt the drool on the side of her face before she even blinked her eyes open.
Her pillow was damp beneath her cheek, and when she lifted her head and glanced
at the clock, she had to blink a few times to have the numbers become clear.
She might still be slightly drunk, and she also knew that her hangover would be
hell rolled over and shat upon. At twenty-five one would think she could have
known when to say stop to the alcohol, but after a certain number of shots she
was feeling good, and certainly didn’t want the fun to stop.