8:15 A.M.
I bound to my cell phone sitting on my bed when Hercules calls.
“Hey. Are you ready?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, biting back my nerves. I wonder if he’s heard about the article.
“We’re in front of your building, waiting.”
“On my way,” I say.
We end the call, and I check myself out in my standing mirror. I changed my outfit eight times before settling on the black skinny jeans that Eden talked me into buying during one of our Saturday-afternoon shopping excursions, which included Lake. Frowning at myself wearing the jeans in the dressing room’s mirror, I told her that I don’t really like that much material squeezing my skin.
“I understand that, Pais,” Eden said, standing next to me as she twisted her hips, posing while assessing herself in a pair of tight black leather pants. “But at some point, you’re going to be forced to show off those Heartly Rose legs your mom gifted you.”
I frowned, studying my legs. I didn’t see what she saw. My mom’s legs are skinny. Mine have muscle tone from running.
“I mean, look at me. I’m going to sweat my vag off in this leather shit. But”—she raised a finger—“Nero is going to grow the boner the size of the Empire State Building when he sees me in these. And that, my darling, is worth the agony.” She ran her hands down her crotch then grabbed her rear. “Sexy.”
I rolled my eyes as I chuckled. Then Eden advised me to wear the black skinny jeans for the first guy I date post-Hercules.
Suddenly, I remember that I still have that date with Ronald this Friday. People are going to see me out with him on top of the video of me kissing Hercules. I’m going to be known as the loose Grove daughter.
I can’t let that stress me out right now, though. Hercules is waiting, and an important day is looming. I grab my phone and purse off my unmade bed and rush out of my apartment.
8:19 A.M.
I step out of my apartment building and connect eyes with Hercules. He has on black dress pants that fit him impeccably and a crisp white shirt. As he stands next to the opened back door of his SUV, his appreciating gaze lingers on my “Heartly Rose” legs before finding its way to my face.
He flexes his eyebrows. “You look beautiful today, Paisley.”
I’m trapped in his gaze. “So do you.” I shake the cobwebs out of my brain. “I mean, handsome. You look handsome today.”
Hercules is incredibly close. If our circumstances were different, this would be a moment to kiss.
“Well, we better get going,” he says, sounding winded.
My bobbing head feels as light as air. He doesn’t step back, clearing space between us as I slide into the back seat.
My heart patters steadily as I strap on my seatbelt. Then I catch James smiling at me through the rearview mirror as Hercules closes his door.
“Good morning, James,” I say beaming giddily. That brief moment of connect between me and Hercules makes me feel as though I don’t have a care in the world.
“Good morning, Miss Grove,” James replies.
“It’s Paisley,” I say.
“Good morning, Paisley.”
Hercules’s stare feels like a warm breath spreading across my cheek. When I turn to meet his gaze, my head floats. It takes a few seconds to register that he’s frowning. That’s when all my worries come crashing back to the forefront of my mind.
“Oh no. Have you seen the video?” I ask, my heart thumping a mile a minute.
He rears back slightly. “What video?”
My eyes expand. Damn it. He hasn’t seen it. I gnaw my lower lip, wondering if I should tell him.
Hercules draws back as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Paisley?” he asks breathlessly.
My thoughts are congested as I watch him wet his bottom lip. I think he’s also battling the urge to kiss me. The day is already burdensome enough. But I have to say something. It’s good that he hears it from me first.
“There’s—” A phone chimes, interrupting me.
He sighs with dread then raises a finger. “Give me a second.”
I think the ringtone alerted him to who was calling. He takes the phone out of the breast pocket of a black suit jacket that’s hanging on the seat in front of him.
Arm up and acting as a barrier between us, he says gruffly, “Yeah, Achilles.”
Even though I can’t see all of his face, I watch Hercules with bated breath.
“Video?” He puts the phone in his other hand, and now he’s facing me with his eyebrows furrowed.
I cross then uncross my arms, unable to get comfortable.
“Not yet. But listen, I have a…” His mouth is stuck open. “Yesterday?” He flinches just as I hear Achilles’s voice rage through phone about our public kiss.
Casually, and seemingly unaffected by his brother’s yelling, Hercules pulls the phone away from his ear, turns it off, and slips it back into the pocket of his jacket.
His eyebrows shifts upward when he looks at me. His level of control in the face of Achilles’s tirade is impressive. “Do you by chance have this video?”
My head feels faint. “I do,” I barely say.
“Let’s see it.”
I show him.
8:25 A.M.
Hercules has watched the video, and now he’s reading the article.
My eyes remain pasted on his gorgeous profile as he blurts a laugh. “Who writes this shit? ‘Allegedly’?”
I’m relieved he’s having the same responses to the article that I had. “Exactly.”
His eyes sweep me up with a glance. “That kiss was pretty hot.”
My sigh trembles as my lips ache for another. “It definitely was.”
Hercules grunts, intrigued.
“What is it?” Leaning closer to him, I slam into a wall of his magnetic energy. Realizing I’ve crossed the boundary of being merely platonic, I hinge back.
Darkening the screen of his cell phone, he exhales. “This isn’t going down easy for my family.”
I sink deeper into the seat. “Mine either.”
“I messed up by kissing you in public.” He turns, looking fixedly into my eyes. “I should’ve kissed you in private.”
I fight the urge to squirm as a burst of warmth spreads through my core. I can’t say what I’m thinking. I’m sure he knows just as well as I do that if we were in private, we would’ve never stopped at one kiss. Where’s my mantra? My lips remain parted as I go searching for it hiding somewhere in my brain.
Got it. Hercules is engaged. He can’t be with you, Paisley. Emotional distance—try to keep it.
“What are we going to do? We should deny it was us.” Then my mind replays the video and I exhale sharply. “Damn it. We can’t deny it.”
The next thing I know, Hercules’s damp palm rubs my thigh. “Why don’t we worry about one crisis at time?”
I stare at his hand. All he has to do is go higher to touch me. Gosh, I miss how he got me off while his tongue plunged deep into my mouth. The harmony of our kissing and his masturbating was the mere definition of sexual pleasure.
When I gape at him, he swallows hard as he leans toward me. His hand is still on my thigh. Please remove it, or else I’ll soak through my pants.
Hercules clears his throat. “I have a request for you.”
All I can do is nod then whisper, “Okay?”
“I want you to table investigating my mother. Could you do that?”
Is that it? I thought he was going to suggest we keep our distance after today. Being so close is making it difficult to resist each other. I know he wants me too. His damp palm and the way he just shifted in his seat to make room for his boner gave him away.
I release a breath that I was unaware I’d been holding. “Yes. Sure. I can.”
“Yeah? It’s that easy with you?”
I grimace. “Why wouldn’t it be?
The more we talk, the closer we’re leaning toward each other. We can’t help it. Our bodies are naturally inclined to merge.
His smirk wants to consume all of my attention. “I gave you the greenlight to put a hit on my family. You’re a Grove. You’re supposed to use the license to your advantage.”
I shake my head. “Do you really think I would do that?”
His eyes narrow a pinch as his minty breath gusts across my face. A fresh mouth kiss feels only seconds away.
“I’m not sure,” he finally says.
Every muscle in my body cringes. Does he still not trust me? “You should be sure, Hercules.” I sit back, breaking the string of kinetic energy that drew us close. “You know I’m capable of doing serious damage to a company’s digital infrastructure, and yet, instead of harming VTI, I only helped. I would never harm you, Hercules. Never.”
My chest rises high and lowers deep as I watch his lips move toward mine. I brace myself, unable to stop what’s about to happen. Then, in one rapturous moment, his lips claim mine. My eyes close, and a moan escapes me as I open my mouth and let him. Oh God… I whimper, squeezing my eyes so tight in an attempt to keep my heart from bursting. Our tongues indulge in the taste, softness, and heat of this delicious kiss.
“Umm…” escapes me as his large hand squeezes my left breast, pinching the nipple. The flavor of sweet mint and Hercules sends me on sensory overload as he cradles the back of my neck to deepen our kiss.
“Mm…” I whimper.
He groans in my mouths as I pull him by his starched collar. Hunger has possessed me, and in this moment of weakness, I tingle to have his cock stretching me, prodding me, and searching for those familiar hot spots.
Then James clears his throat, forcing me back into the moment.
You can’t have him, Paisley.
Hercules and I pull away from each other. We’re both winded. We lost our heads.
“Are you ready to meet with the team?” he says, out of breath.
I’m dizzy and I need a moment. I’m too embarrassed to look at James. And gazing into Hercules’s eyes makes me want him more. So I stare at my lap and say, “Sure. Um, yes. I’m ready.”
8:56 A.M.
My legs feel like jelly as we walk through Hercules’s private park. I’m making deals with myself, regarding having sex with him. Sure, he’s engaged, but it’s not a real relationship.
But still, Paisley, you don’t want to piss off karma. She’s a B. I look up at my handsome companion as the automatic doors to the glass vestibule open.
“What are you thinking?” Hercules asks as he steps back and lets me enter the waiting elevator first.
The way he’s looking at me as I step inside sends tickly waves through my core.
“Nothing.” My voice rings overly optimistic. I tried too hard to hide my lust. Not much gets by Hercules, so I hope he doesn’t notice.
The doors slide shut. My breaths are unsteady as his eyes caress me and mine him. I’m coming to terms with the fact that the strong feelings we have for each other aren’t going anywhere soon.
“I don’t want you to be nervous,” he says.
I nod. As we put more seconds behind our kiss, my lust wanes and my nervousness increases. “I’ll be fine. I have to get through this.” I exhale briskly.
The elevator stops, and the doors open.
“And about the article and the kiss… We’ll deal with both later, okay?”
Don’t shake your head, Paisley. Don’t mention the impossibility of dealing with both today. I’m feeling the weight I’m carrying on my shoulders at the moment. Facing the team. Working for VTI behind my family’s backs. Being caught on camera making out with Hercules yesterday, then going at it again today.
Something tells me our woes are larger than King Kong and we haven’t even begun to be distressed by the mistakes we’ve made.
So I decide to do what Hercules has done—smile and minimize the impact of us not being able to stay away from each other.
“Okay,” I sing as if I don’t have a care in the world.
The skin between his eyes gathers then evens out. I wait for him to say whatever’s apparently on his mind, but instead, he points his hand into the elevator car and says, “After you.”
9:11 A.M.
Hercules and I wait in a conference room on the penthouse floor. We’re seated at the head of the table. Frankly, I can hardly remember the ride up the elevator or the walk through his office and down the hallway. My head was still floating to the Milky Way as I kept repeating my mantra while keeping my distance. I’m now nervous because he’s already called Mason, and he and the team are on their way up. At any second, I'm going to be face-to-face with all the people I lied to. How do I even begin to ask them to forgive me?
“You’ll be fine,” Hercules says as he puts his hand on my shaking thigh. “Just be straight with them.”
I stop bouncing my leg. “I know. I will.”
“About the kiss…” he whispers.
I rip my focus off the empty leather swivel chairs to gaze at him. I don’t know what to say, though.
“I want more of you, Paisley.”
My eyebrows pull inward so severely, my forehead aches. “We can’t though, because…”
“I know.” He nods. “But I have some plans in the works.”
I can’t stop shaking my head. “Hercules, I want to sleep with you, but…”
The door opens, and Rina walks in, gawking at me as if I’m some rare and exotic bird.
“We’ll finish this later,” Hercules whispers.
I swallow to moisten my dry throat as I nod while watching her. I should smile, but I can’t.
“Paisley?” Nat says as she sits next to Rina.
Finally, I manage a weak smile as I watch Jonah, Harv, Rob, Lim, and another person take a seat.
“Wow. Look who rose from the dead,” Harv remarks, setting off a chorus of chuckles. “Is that you, Lark? I mean, Paisley Grove?” he asks.
“It is” barely inches past my lips.
Rob leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “And she’s here, why?” His apparent contempt smacks me in the face like an open hand.
“Hey,” Hercules says, thrusting his chest in Rob’s direction. I squeeze Hercules’s muscular thigh. There’s no need to police Rob’s tone. I can handle it. I’m not one to aggressively throw my weight around, but still, I’m made of Teflon.
“I’m here because Mr. Valentine asked me to come,” I say.
Rina shakes her head like she’s offended by my answer. “And that’s it?”
“I also want to say I’m sorry too. I can’t explain why I did it.”
“What did you do?” Harv asks.
Eyebrows furrowed, I quickly turn to Hercules then find Mason, who’s watching me cautiously, standing at the back of the room. Didn’t they explain that Hercules caught me trying to steal a code out of the brain?
I take a deep breath as I rise to my feet. I don’t want to mislead them. If we’re going to work together again, they have to know it all—well, at least as much as I can tell them. So I start from my interview with VTI and end on that ill-fated night.
They now know that I was inserted into their company under false pretenses. They also know that I loved working with them and gave them my best. And I ended with one question. “Could you ever forgive me?”
It’s silent, and no one has answered yet. Everyone’s watching me. Surprisingly, my legs are as strong as steel. I guess it’s true what they say—confession is good for the soul. Whatever the team decide, I will accept it.
The awkward silence lingers as Hercules shoots to his feet. He has such an immense presence that everyone watches him as if they’re turning to him for direction on how to feel about me. He rests his palm on my back, and in an instant, I feel less alone.
“Paisley, that was sweet of you to offer them an opportunity to accept your apology.” He glares at the faces seated around the table as though he’s on the verge spewing fire from his eyes. “But she will be leading you through our next phase of software development. So be nice and jump when she tells you to.”
Nat casually raises a hand. “Well, Hercules, I never thought I needed to forgive her. I didn’t know Lark Davenport was Paisley Grove until this morning.” She swivels in her chair to look at Mason. “And you never told us the part about her working under false pretenses.” She spins again to set her focus back on Hercules. “And I’ll definitely jump when she tells me to. We’ve been missing her. And we need her.”
“Agreed,” Harv says. “We made a lot of progress under her leadership.” He presses back in his seat, making himself more comfortable. “So… I don’t care. I’m ready for more.”
“Same,” Rina says. “I mean, we know the company’s in trouble. Lark. I mean, Paisley Grove.” She says my name carefully as if she’s asking me permission to use it.
I nod.
“Well, Paisley is the one who pulled us out of the frying pan. If she wants to jump back into the fire, then so be it.”
Lim stops tapping the tip of his finger on top of the table. “Actually, I knew.”
The room falls deathly silent, then a chorus of “What?” and “You did?” erupt.
“I thought her working for us was supposed to be a secret. Any software developer worth their salt knows Paisley Grove created Killer Firewall and TRANSPORT. I also knew the Groves and Valentines don’t like each other. But I heard the two of you were friends in high school.” His finger shifts between me and Hercules. Then he shrugs. “I figured she was doing you a favor. Heck, she was doing us a favor. I like my job. If she’d screwed things up, then I probably would’ve outed her. But Paisley turned things around, and quickly too. So…” He raises both thumbs. “Let’s get back to work.”
Everybody concurs with Lim. And I can’t stop grinning. All of a sudden, the conference room door swings open, and everybody posts their attention on the good-looking man with dark hair, intense eyes, and a physique and suit that rivals Hercules’s.
“Achilles, what the hell are you doing here?” Hercules asks, glaring at his brother.
Achilles’s eyes lob daggers at me, making me freeze like an ant about to be squashed by a heel.
“I’m stopping whatever you think is about to happen.”