For Keeps

Copyright
© 2013, Adriana Hunter

All
Rights Reserved.

Published
by Wet Ink Publishing

Adriana
Hunter

http://www.AdrianaHunter.com

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This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and places are
solely the product of the author’s imagination. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, including events,
areas, locations and situations is entirely coincidental.

Practically snarling at the perky
little blond legal assistant with the bouncing ponytail who led her
through the office, Valerie Gordon tried with all her might not to
scowl at all of the rich, beautiful people around her. Knowing the
only reason she’d landed the internship at Princeton, Paulson
and Chesterfield rested on her incredible grades and not her ability
to fit in with the plastic and high maintenance around her. She’d
been grateful just to have the job and the measly pay that covered
her rent.

Of course, there was also the
experience to consider. To be a fresh community college grad working
for what was arguably the top corporate law firm in the country
proved great filler on a resume in the future, opening up better
opportunities.

Now, though, she carried her
things in one large box and followed Jennifer to the elevator and up
to the fourth floor, clenching her teeth as she considered just what
was in store for her.

She felt incredibly insecure
surrounded by all these Barbie types who had, reversely, been hired
more for beauty than brains. Granted, she wasn’t fat per se,
but against the toothpicks in the miniskirts, her curves stuck out
like fat rolls. Bitterly, she shook her head, thinking if she could
only afford a personal trainer, she might stand half a chance at
finding the motivation to get into shape.
Just
maybe.

But most of all, she resented
being transferred. She’d been comfortable and doing an
excellent job updating and filing reports for Charles Princeton,
Senior Partner. Apparently, though, he was pawning off her services
to three junior partners who were coming on board – two nephews
and a son, if she’d heard correctly.

What absolute bullshit!

She’d heard Mr. Princeton
talk about his son – the ‘worthless sack of shit living
off Daddy’s money’ and the ‘rebel without a cause’.
Jennifer had whispered to her on the elevator with some explanation.

“
Tyler is a trust fund
baby, which means his entire future is already in a bank account. But
his father has conditions on its availability to Tyler, like his
having to join the firm and what not. Anyway, he and his cousins,
Sean and Aaron, are all going to need help learning their way around.
Mr. Princeton saw what you can do and has enough faith in you to
trust you to keep all three of them in line.”

Valerie didn’t so much care
for the derisive snort at the end of the statement, although she
couldn’t really argue with the fact that she didn’t feel
qualified to babysit three grown men who had to be forced to work for
their own family. How much more cushy could a job get? And with what
she knew they’d be paid…if asked, she might lick Mr.
Princeton’s toes daily for that kind of salary.

A thought that made her wrinkle
her nose and gag a little. Sure, she’d been lacking a little in
the sex department for awhile, but she could never use sex to get
what she wanted.

Finally left alone, she set her
things back up on her desk, glancing around at the large open lobby
around, the file room to her right, and the three doors with freshly
added nametags for Tyler Princeton, Sean McCreary, and Aaron
McCreary. She eyed her chair and didn’t like the angle of it,
nor the thin padding on the seat. Rolling it toward the file room,
she switched it for the more cushioned ergonomic chair left there.

“
Everything alright?”
She jumped at the unfamiliar voice as she tested out the new seat and
looked up into devastating blue eyes, that bright crystalline blue of
a white sand beach where you could see your toes even when you were
in over your head.

Of course, the eyes were just the
beginning of it, and she knew she was gaping at the perfect,
patrician nose, high sharp cheekbones, angular jaw line, and shaggy
blond hair curling down to his shoulders. The expertly tailored dress
pants and button down fit every line of his body, and the motorcycle
helmet in his hand both explained the mess of hair and made Valerie
want to salivate.

When she realized he was still
waiting for her answer, she blushed and looked away.

“
I’m fine,” she
responded, clipping her words short unintentionally. Drawn out of her
spell, Valerie easily put two and two together. Tyler looked a hell
of a lot like his father.

Only much younger. And
infinitely sexier.

Even with the unfriendly tone
she’d used, he stepped up to her desk and held out a hand
introducing himself. “I’m Tyler Princeton. I guess you’re
the intern Dad brought up for me?”

She nodded, still not meeting his
gaze. “I’ll be helping you and your cousins…the
McCreary’s settle in.” She lowered her voice feeling
self-conscious as she realized that he was watching her mouth
intently. “Your office is there…” She indicated
the one behind her on her right “…and if you like, you
can settle in and I’ll bring you some coffee.”

He shook his head. “It’s
okay, I’ll get it myself.” He didn’t move, still
staring down at her, and Valerie felt this strange sensation, as if
she was being undressed right here and now. “Would you like to
tell me your name?”

Again she blushed and met his
gaze meekly, her nether regions burning and wishing that, just once,
she had a chance in hell with someone like him.

“
Valerie Gordon. Nice to
meet you.”

“
The pleasure’s
mine,” he said with a wink and perhaps the most sensual
half-smile she’d ever seen. God, she hoped his cousins weren’t
anywhere near as pretty, or she’d have to just quit. It would
be hard enough maintaining professionalism with Tyler, much less two
other Abercrombie-model types.

She gave him the best toothless
smile she could muster, afraid she might still have a piece of her
morning muffin stuck in her teeth. “Are you sure you don’t
want me to get you some coffee?”

He chuckled. “Listen, I’m
sure the other two are going to have you running circles to get them
coffee and teach them how to do the job. I don’t need anyone
playing fetch for me, and I’m really just here for the view.”
He winked and walked past her toward his new office.

A little bewildered at his
attitude, Valerie didn’t know whether she was flattered or
offended. His statement had both insulted and complimented her in a
very suave, blasé sort of way. How did one respond to such an
attitude?

Deciding she liked the view as
well, but didn’t necessarily care too much for Tyler, she went
about her business, making her new desk comfortable for her and
logging back into the system on this computer, which, thankfully,
connected to a much larger screen.

She tried to introduce herself
when Sean and Aaron came in, but they just walked right past her as
if she wasn’t even there, deep in an insulting conversation
about someone they had apparently gone to school with. Frowning at
the lack of acknowledgement, Valerie turned back to her computer and
kept entering notes from the day before. How else was she going to
fill her time, if none of these three guys took anything seriously?

“
I’m sorry about
those two.” Tyler’s voice, once again unexpected, made
her jump, and she covered her mouth to hold back the scream of
surprise. “They’re always in their own little world,
oblivious to everyone else.” He shook his head, staring at the
single closed door to Sean’s office, where both of them were
guffawing.

Valerie simply nodded.

“
I wondered if you’d
like to get out of here for a bit. Get some fresh air? I’d love
to buy you a coffee.”

Shocked at the offer, Valerie
stared at him dumbly, finally nodding and standing. She grabbed her
purse. “Oh, you won’t need that,” he replied. “Just
come down, whatever you want is on me. Let’s chalk it up to a
peace offering.” His eyes twinkled, and Valerie thought she
might melt into a puddle on the floor. She already had to consciously
remind herself to keep her mouth shut for fear of drooling.

She followed him to the elevator
and rode down with him in silence, but on the ground floor, he put a
hand at the small of her back and guided her, making the skin there
tingle, sending a flash of hot, electric signals to lower parts that
soaked her panties through. She’d never had anyone who even
came close to this guy’s looks put a hand on her before.
Anywhere.

Blinking several times to clear
her head, she reminded herself that this was her new boss, or one of
them, and perhaps the only one to notice her existence. Having these
sorts of thoughts about her employer, naked and buried inside her
while she screamed his name, didn’t file under the term
‘appropriate’. She needed to get a damn grip on reality.

As they entered the café,
she cleared her throat and tried to make light conversation.

“
So, I take it you passed
your bar exam.”

He laughed, a sound that she
realized she rather liked. “Not particularly. I finished law
school, yes, per my father’s bidding. But I haven’t taken
the bar yet, and I’m not sure I want to.” He moved up to
the counter and motioned for her to join him.

Getting just a coffee seemed too
boring, whereas ordering a white chocolate mocha could raise issues
with her figure. Sighing, she opted for a skinny mocha latte,
figuring it was the best happy medium available. The question was,
why had Tyler Princeton, Prince Alarming, asked her to coffee when he
could have just asked her to get some from the break room with him?
It seemed strange, but she didn’t want to read anything into
it, good or bad.

The instant he’d walked
into the godforsaken office and seen Valerie, Tyler’s interest
had peaked. She was a classic beauty, not the runway model waifs that
were so fawned over these days, and he couldn’t get her image
out of his mind. He’d sat in his expensive office chair,
clicking his outrageously overpriced pen over and over while he’d
pictured her writhing under him and screaming his name in ecstasy as
he drove into her with the same quick rhythm of the clicks.

Finally, with a growl, he’d
decided the only way to stop fantasizing was to go back out there and
talk to her. Only, he’d asked her to coffee instead, and they’d
hardly spoken. So now, he stared at her incredible curves – the
perfectly rounded ass, the slight padding on her hips that gave her
an hourglass figure, the breasts that teased him by stretching and
pulling taut the blouse she wore, and even the shape of her legs
filling out those sexy pinstriped pants she wore.

It proved too much.
He
wanted her, and he always got what he wanted.

That’s the only reason he
played along with this insanity to begin with. A lawyer! Him? After
his day at the office ended today, he intended to meet several of his
friends and race, having just added a new boost to his own two-wheel
machine. And tomorrow, he planned to spend the evening on his
father’s yacht.

Which would be the perfect way to
start working his way into Valerie Gordon’s pants.

“
You like sailing, don’t
you?” he asked as they strolled back toward the office, coffee
in hand.

She seemed to consider that
question for a moment before answering, her perfect little nose
wrinkling and her head tilting so a few locks of that silky
strawberry hair fell across one eye. “I wouldn’t know,
I’ve never been.”

He blinked at her in disbelief.
“How is that possible?”

She shrugged and wouldn’t
look at him. “I’ve never had the money to do anything
like that.”

Suddenly he understood. The
reason she seemed so different from anyone else in the office was
because she
was
different. She wasn’t a trust fund baby. All the more reason to
offer her everything she wanted so he could get what he wanted.