EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
The office of Ransom Construction Incorporated on Madison Avenue, New York, New York, Monday afternoon, January 4, 2016
“Richmond, get your skinny butt in here. Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been calling you for an hour.”
“Coming, sir. It’s called a ‘lunch hour,’ sir.” Alex Richmond had not yet even set his butt in the chair behind his desk. He shook his head internally. He wouldn’t dare to shake his actual head. He was sure Jarred Ransom could see through walls. Don’t get your military camo panties in a wad, Commander.
“Don’t mouth off, Richmond.” Could Jarred hear thoughts inside his head as well? That was a very scary thought. Jarred Ransom, the CEO of Ransom Construction, one of the country’s premier builders of high-rise construction projects all over the world, was forty with military-short, dark hair and an imposing body. Alex had seen him shirtless in the company gym on the top floor right after he had started at Ransom Construction. He hadn’t been able to forget that broad chest covered with a light coating of dark hair, washboard abs, powerful shoulders, and long, muscular legs. The ex-SEAL Commander and structural engineer was an extremely demanding boss. Alex didn’t know which was more annoying—his boss’s military bearing or his anal engineer qualities.
Alex just knew he’d fallen gob-smacked in love with the S.O.B. the first day he’d started working at Ransom Construction as the assistant to the CEO. Apparently, Ransom had had a string of unfortunate female assistants who insisted on falling in love with him, and he’d decided to solve that problem by getting a male assistant. And hadn’t that worked out well?
Alex straightened his yellow silk tie and tucked in his mint-green shirt with yellow stripes before he rushed into his boss’s office to find him standing behind his enormous but scrupulously organized desk with his icy blue eyes sparking with impatience. “Well, you could have at least gotten a haircut while you were lunching.”
“Sir, I am not in the military and don’t intend to be.”
“That’s for damn sure,” Jarred muttered.
“My hair barely touches my collar and is perfectly appropriate. What can I do for you, sir?”
“Make sure the Gulfstream is ready for a flight to Fort Lauderdale Wednesday morning. I want to look at that high-rise project on Federal Highway myself before we bid on it at the foreclosure auction next Monday. It may be in worse condition than the pictures and structural report let on. You’re going, too. Oh, and make reservations for a suite at the Wilton Park Grand Hotel in Wilton Park. It’s owned by some friends of mine.”
Alex was accustomed to traveling with his boss, but it was always an ordeal. Few people could keep up with his demanding personality on a twenty-four-seven basis, not to mention the killing schedule he kept. The fact that Alex found himself with a hard-on for days on end and couldn’t keep his eyes off the play of Jarred’s muscles was physically and emotionally exhausting, as well. Jarred’s six-foot-three-inch frame was powerful and ripped with muscles that were apparent even under his beautifully tailored suits. At five foot ten inches and a hundred and forty-five pounds, Alex felt puny in comparison to Jarred.
“Yes, sir. Wednesday. Fort Lauderdale. Departing Teterboro at nine a.m.”
“Fine. Be sure to bring all the plans and specs for the building. Actually, bring them in here now. I want to go over them again and discuss the structural problems with Engineering. That’s all for now, Richmond.”
Thank God for small favors. He was glad to get out of there. Since taking this job six months ago, he had found it hard to be in close proximity to Jarred without wanting him. Jarred Ransom was delicious, not that he would dream of calling him Jarred to his face. The man made him want to salute. The only experience he had had that even approached being in close quarters with Jarred Ransom was in college. He’d had a short-lived Dominant/submissive relationship with an in-the-closet halfback on the football team. It had been exciting at the time, but he hadn’t experimented further after it was over. As Alex turned to leave, Jarred had one last instruction.
“Oh, and get me Nichols at the bank. I want to be sure our letters of credit are in order should we be the successful bidder.”
* * * *
Jarred Ransom smiled as his wise-ass assistant left the room. Alex was twenty-eight and really quite beautiful. He was on the short side and slender. He had big green eyes fringed with thick, gold-tipped eyelashes. His habits of wearing his wavy blond hair brushing his collar and his brightly colored ties and shirts were annoying. Jarred was always telling him he needed a haircut, to which he would reply, “Put that recommendation in my performance review, sir.”
Alex had a smart mouth—that was for sure. Jarred would like to have that smart mouth wrapped around his cock as Alex knelt between his knees, preferably in the dungeon. Jarred had noticed that Alex’s eyes often seemed to linger on his body when he thought Jarred wouldn’t notice. What he didn’t realize was that Jarred noticed everything about Alex. Maybe on this trip. He’d have to see how it rolled. And he liked the sound of “sir” coming from that smart mouth.
Jarred had long ago come to terms with his multi-dimensional sexual preferences. He was bisexual and didn’t particularly care who knew it now that he was retired from the Navy. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had worked just fine for him. He always had a string of women who were eager to be his subs at Le Club Eastside-Manhattan, the BDSM club he belonged to in lower Manhattan. But Jarred had to admit that his slight, but sleekly muscled and surprisingly strong, blond personal assistant rang his chimes. He had since the day he’d started at the company. The female assistants had been tiresome. They unfailingly tried to rope him into a relationship—more for the promise of an easy, wealthy lifestyle than any particular love of him. Jarred had been reluctant to mix business with pleasure, but he found Alex was worming his way into his thoughts more and more.
Yeah, little Alex might be in for a surprise on this trip.