Read Online Elle's Seduction by Abby-Rae Rose - Free Book Online

in his way was Fred.
    Friday’s disaster and Zackary’s tongue-lashing was nothing compared to what Maxwell would have done with the man, but the advertisements were out and the launch set. An emergency call of the Board had occurred Sunday morning and they’d decided to move ahead with the launch of Vermilcitude.
    Maxwell was going to work out the kinks in the product and make sure it went to market as promised, while Darren continued to work through the financials. Fred, unfortunately, was staying despite Maxwell’s own objection.
    He’d also finagled a space next to Elle since they would have to work together. All he needed now was the right opportunity and the right pressure. That’s where Darren came in. Together they could seduce a nun. Luckily, it shouldn’t be that difficult.
    At the office, he met Fred for the first time by himself. “Good morning, Mr. Stranton.”
    “Fred.” It was only nine a.m. and Fred was sweating like a drunken sailor. Maxwell wondered if he was normally this nervous. Or maybe it was just Maxwell he was nervous around. Fred certainly didn’t act nervous around Elle. Heck, he seemed downright cozy with her.
    Fred continued into the stony silence. “I’ve taken the liberty of setting you up with my team. Elle will probably be the best person to work with. I’ll take her off her normal duties and she’ll help you with whatever you need.”
    He couldn’t believe Zackary had let this idiot get them into this mess. Maxwell was going to spend the next two weeks armpit deep in worms and ants. How fun! Even the allure of Elle couldn’t keep him from cringing.
    Fred showed him into a drab office with dirty tan walls and high impact carpet. Cubicle farms spread out as far as the eye could see. For Maxwell, this was his version of hell. All that was missing was a fax machine and binary code deconstruction to lull him into the abyss.
    Three aisles in, Fred stopped and waived to an empty cube. “This is yours. There’s a docking station for your laptop...” Fred’s droning was washed out by the sweet southern twang of the voice on the other side of the cube.
    Elle.
    His luck was just about to change. He’d hit the jackpot. Maxwell would be just three and a half feet from her every day, all day. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
    Fred stood looking at him expectantly. Crap. What had he said?
    “Sorry.”
    It took several tries for Fred to clear his throat to jumpstart. His nervousness clear in the shakiness of his normal contralto. “I just wanted to say, Mr. Stranton, that I’m deeply sorry about Friday. We’ve worked hard on the new product. It’s something I hold very near and dear to my heart. It sounds a bit ludicrous, ants and worms. We’ve done our research and I stand behind the decision.”
    Maxwell tried to remain angry, but the optimism and honesty were hard to fault. There was something irrepressible about Fred when he talked about his project. It had swayed the Board yesterday and Maxwell found himself loosening up a bit himself. He couldn’t let Fred off the hook that easily, “Let’s hope it makes a huge splash in the market or we all know where this will lead.”
    Fred’s vigorous nod barely registered as Maxwell stepped into his cube.
    Elle’s voice might be the sweetest sound on earth, but this cube was going to squeeze the life out of him.
     
    ***
     
    Darren watched Elle haul in another set of the boxes, excited by the slow hum of energy running through him. No wonder Maxwell liked her—even as jaded as he was, he liked her spunk. She was actually satisfied with the afternoon’s exhausting work—her face flushed but happy. He wanted to wrap her up in something and deliver her to Maxwell just like that. And he knew just what he’d wrap her in, red PVC and those heels, and her wicked, unruly curls spread out around her on black silk sheets. Damn, she was going to be trouble. He knew it.
    God, tailing after her all day had nearly done him in. That and those