Grantham Global: Strictly Business: Dark Alley 2.1 (Dark Alley Season 2) Read online

  With Alice, everything was different.

  Their relationship was more complicated already, but he didn’t mind. She had seen his face, and he didn’t mind. She knew his real name, and he didn’t mind. Alice knew who he was, and he didn’t fucking care.

  The only thing J.J. Grantham was currently worried about was his cock, willing it to stop throbbing from just watching her bending over the table to collect the dishes. He was just seeing her reflection, and he still wanted to press her upper torso onto the table top, push her dress up, yank her pantyhose and briefs down and fuck her. Hard.

  Jason could hear the dishes and cutlery creating noises as he rammed into her, and making the damn table shake. He could hear the noise of their skin slapping together.

  No, this was definitely not helping him to get rid of his boner that now was demanding her attention.

  Jason couldn’t wait for this meeting to be over, but he couldn’t just tell everyone to leave. Work had to be done and it had to be done thoroughly and correctly, like always. He would have to settle for fucking Alice later.

  Pushing out a long breath, he began to go through the numbers he had heard earlier, recalculating them in his head, trying to get to the third position after decimal point. Calculus usually did the trick for him. But this time, it was Alice leaving the room.

  ♥ Alice ♥

  He hadn’t looked at her, but Alice knew that Jason was still watching her every move, because she could feel his eyes on her body. This sensation was familiar to her now, since Jason’s glance heated her skin every time she had walked away from him at his apartment.

  Every time, when she was at work, Alice had blamed her invigorated imagination for the memory of his caresses on her skin, even though he wasn’t touching her.

  Now, she knew with certainty that it wasn’t her mind making it up. She could almost literally feel him touch her, although he was only thinking of it. And that knowledge didn’t only make her knees go all wobbly on her, but also made her incredibly horny.

  After collecting all the dirty dishes, Alice went straight to the female restroom and dried herself off, and took a deep breath.

  For a second, she considered taking matters into her own hand, because, after all, no one would bother her, as long as the meeting continued. Even if one of the female board members needed to use the restroom as well, Alice knew she could be quiet.

  But she knew with the same clarity that her own hands couldn’t do the trick anymore. Especially not when Jason was two doors down, probably thinking of the same thing as her.

  Or, didn’t he?

  Her doubt lingered merely a heartbeat, exactly until she membered Jason’s caressing look on her skin. Alice knew that he was thinking of her, and that it probably distracted him from doing his job.

  On one hand, she liked that thought, on the other, she was worried. It wasn’t her job to keep him from managing his company, but to assist him doing it.

  What if he realized that she was an ongoing disturbance for him? A disturbance that had to be removed?

  All of a sudden, Alice couldn’t wait for her colleague to return, so that she herself could make herself invisible and have Grace take care of the dishes.

  But then again, how should Alice explain to Grace why she didn’t want to do such a simple task, especially since it was the normal thing for a younger woman to do the more active tasks?

  Alice sighed deeply.

  If this became this complicated already, how could they continue this kind of relationship? But maybe, it felt this complicated, because it was the first-time Jason and she saw each other at work.

  They could get used to it.

  Every first time was awkward, but over time it would become normal. There was nothing to worry about.

  Was there?

  Two

  ♥ Alice ♥

  The meeting had gone longer than anyone had anticipated. But that didn’t mean Alice hadn’t been prepared.

  Knowing that if the board members didn’t ask for a reservation by 2pm, they would probably order their usual meals and would have their lunch in the secondary meeting room. It was located around the corner on the other side of the same level and was only used for exactly this situation.

  So, when the clock and her alarm struck 1:30pm Alice started preparing said room, after calling the restaurant and asking them to get the dishes ready. As Jason called her through the speaker and asked if she could order the usual, she responded that it would be waiting for them in the other room in exactly twenty minutes. She was, admittedly, a bit proud being able to say that.

  When the board members left the meeting room about fifteen minutes later, their lunch was already waiting for them, and Alice hid her own meal on her seat while she held the door open as twenty people passed her by. The last of them was Jason.

  Alice did her best to not change her expression, but it was impossible, because he winked at her. It had the same effect as if he had slapped her butt. Quickly, she shut the door behind him, hiding her flushed face.

  So much for staying professional, Mr. Grantham.

  Sitting down at her desk in front of her lunch, all Alice could do was grin and shake her head. She enjoyed Jason bending the rules here, but it still was dangerous. One of the board members could have seen what he had done, or was this a thing he usually did with his employees?

  All the sudden, Alice felt the pang of jealousy.

  No, that wasn’t like him, was it?

  She didn’t know him very well, not on a personal level, that’s what she realized in that moment. They hadn’t talked much, not at the Dark Alley, not while she had spent time at his penthouse.

  They had been busy with other things.

  Alice let out another sigh, noticing that she was doing that quite often today.

  If they wanted to be serious, if this should be a real relationship, they would have to start talking to each other. Jason would have to tell her personal things. She had to get to know him. After all, that was what this was about, wasn’t it? They weren’t just screwing around anymore. The last thing Alice wanted to do to learn more about Jason was googling him again.

  Alice didn’t want to be the one worrying, especially not if Jason wasn’t. They would have to talk tonight, if there was a tonight. After all, it was Friday and he was supposed to get back home. Home, to his wife.

  Suddenly, Alice felt as if she had been living in a bubble that exploded right at that moment. Yes, she had the letter to prove that Adele was okay with all of this, but what if this was nothing but a game? What if none of them were like they appeared to be and they were just having their fun with her, to throw her away when they were done?

  Alice had lost all appetite, but her stomach was still churning. She continued eating without paying attention to her meal, trying to convince herself that she was worrying too much.

  It was her own fault. She had been avoiding talking this through. Every time Jason tried to bring up work, or anything else, Alice had made sure he would forget about it right away.

  Remembering that made her cheeks flush again. Alice had prevented anything too serious by using her mouth for something else. When it came to Jason, she doubted that she would ever lose her appetite.

  ♦ Jason ♦

  An upside of having lunch was that business was off the table. It was a rule his father had already established. This time was for taking a break, thinking of other things, and talking about life outside of work, if one wanted to. Jason used the time thinking about Alice.

  Alice was obviously good at her job, predicting that they would order in and getting everything set up and ready, so that no one would wait with an empty stomach. It had been the right decision, and she hadn’t been the only one changing jobs. When Grantham Global bought up other companies, and planned to keep them, it was part of politics to mix up the employees to make sure that there wasn’t any “them and us” mentality. It worked.

  But Jason wondered if maybe this position was a waste of A
lice’s potential. And that was an objective observation. She wasn’t simply an assistant at her old firm and she could easily do a job of an executive assistant, when he recalled her CV correctly. But lunch time was time off work. The only problem was that he couldn’t really muse about what he would do to her the next time they were alone, or the next time they were at the Dark Alley.

  Jason had finally managed to get rid of his boner. He really didn’t want to start all over again. So, he didn’t have any other chance than being serious.

  They hadn’t talked about anything. Not about rules, not about how they would arrange things throughout the week or on weekends. Jason knew that Alice was aware of his complicated position when it came to the tabloids. For once, Adele and he had some arrangements with a few of them, informing them whenever they were out and about. Like that, the press could feed the public with new pictures and stories and they were able to spread topics that were important to Adele and him. He couldn’t risk ruining the name they had made for themselves, and because of that he couldn’t simply change routine. Someone would notice.

  Part of that routine was Jason going home on Friday evenings when there was no event expecting his wife and him to show up.

  On those nights either he or Adele would steal themselves away a bit earlier to make a stop at their erotic club Dark Alley. In the last weeks, it had been him, almost exclusively, because of Alice.

  This evening of all evenings there had to be no official business at the city. Today, when he had to talk to Alice about how they would handle their relationship. There was nothing more displeasing to him than things left unsaid.

  The easiest solution was staying behind, when all the other board members left, and taking the opportunity to talk things through with Alice. Chances were low that anyone else would show up or come back. Save the cleaning crew.

  Jason couldn’t just take her with him into his office. It would be the easiest thing, but there was no reason why he actually would have her accompany him when they could just talk at her desk.

  Suppressing a sigh, he watched his colleagues get ready to return to their meeting, but he already had made up his mind about how to solve this problem. He hadn’t become chairman of the board because of his name, but because he had earned that position.

  ♥ Alice ♥

  It was absolutely outrageous that Jason could simply walk past her and have her diminish into a puddle of need and not even look at her.

  Alice blamed it on the fact that she wasn’t prepared. The door had opened and the other board members all walked past her, but she still wasn’t. If she was honest with herself, it was because she hadn’t paid attention and had been lost in some naughty fantasy with Jason playing the lead role. It wasn’t imagination on her part either, since she was reliving what he had done to her the night before. He had blindfolded her with his tie, and bound her wrists with his belt. And those were two things he had on him at work.

  Yes, it was totally her fault.

  After spending a few nights with him, admittedly tame in comparison, Alice had believed the effect he had on her would wear off. Especially when they both were at work. They both were adults, after all. She was in her thirties and he was in his forties, so why did he still make her feel like a stupid, hormone driven teenager?

  None of her long-term boyfriends had that effect on her. So, why was this different now?

  Had she never been in love?

  That thought buried herself into Alice’s stomach like a boulder.

  Was this possible?

  While Alice collected the dirty dishes and cutlery in the secondary meeting room to keep herself busy – because if she wanted to, she could simply call the cleaning crew – Alice tried to remember how exactly her past relationships had begun. And, more importantly, how she had felt at that time.

  She couldn’t recall a similar feeling to what she was feeling right now.

  In retrospect, Alice had often suddenly found herself right in the middle of a relationship, when her boyfriend and she were a well-rehearsed team of two, merging their friends and family together as if they had never ever been individuals.

  It had given her a sense of security. Yes.

  Comfort? Most of the time.

  Peace from her ever-complaining mother? Yes.

  The sense of having accomplished what was expected of her? Most certainly, yes.

  But had she ever felt this stupidly giddy with butterflies in her stomach and flushing cheeks?

  Alice had to sit down, as she tried to ignore her inner voice that answered this question as clear as a bell.

  No.

  Never.

  For a moment, she stared out of the window, knowing that she would hear the speaker should they call her in for something. Staring into the distance, she let the revelation sink in and wondered, why should this be a bad thing?

  Yes, it was sad that she had never experienced actually being in love, but she was feeling it now.

  Yes, she barely knew him, but that didn’t matter. Alice knew how it felt to have a crush on someone, and this was the same, just happier, because she knew Jason was feeling something for her, too. And that something was forceful enough to make him wink at her, risking confused glances should anyone have noticed.

  A wide grin appeared on Alice’s face as she recalled the situation and had to chuckle.

  Even if this didn’t work out, she finally knew how it felt to be madly in love, and refused to worry about it. Being careful and worrying about what others thought, or if she checked the boxes society and her family expected of her at a certain age, had brought her nothing. Alice had wasted too much time hunting after achievements that she felt weren’t even her own.

  Throwing these so-called goals to the winds was what made her end up at the Dark Alley. It was what made her meet King of Diamonds. Or rather, made them meet again. It was him who had found her, but it had been her who had decided to give it a try, to do something others would have been shocked about if they knew.

  Alice didn’t want to waste her time anymore. She was in her thirties already. She would never be as young again as she was now. And she refused to regret whatever lay ahead.

  Of course, that didn’t mean she would be throwing all caution to the wind either, but she didn’t want to worry about others anymore. It had brought her nothing. Alice knew that she would have to be careful in regards of Jason, but that was acceptable for her, especially if it meant that she would feel this light-footed, as if a small sun was right where her heart should be, beaming brightly, that even a rainy day or mountains of work wouldn’t ruin her mood.

  Alice wouldn’t allow her worries to dampen her happiness right now. She was without any doubt that Jason knew what he was doing. Hell, Adele had asked her to give him a chance. She definitely wouldn’t allow either of them to ruin this.

  Her King of Diamonds probably already had an idea or two how to fix this unlucky situation she had created. Yes, she would have to get used to the fact that she could just say what was bothering her and take the bull by his horns instead of avoiding him.

  And even if Jason hadn’t come up with something by the time this day was over, she would have to. Alice wouldn’t allow him to head home without them defining a few rules for when they were at work.

  Now, all Alice had to do was wait for this meeting to be over, and manage to get that stupid grin off her face until then. Otherwise she would attract a few curious and maybe confused looks, which wasn’t the problem here. Alice just didn’t want to make Jason uncomfortable, since he either knew it was about him, or he might worry that there was something else.

  Both were problems that could easily be solved when the two got a chance to talk. The issue here was simply that they couldn’t talk right away.

  Letting out another sigh, Alice realized that her regular talks over a bottle of wine with her best friend would be sorely missed. It wasn’t the same when she was the only one drinking. And then there was the fact that Bianca was marrying in a fe
w months. Less than three to be exact.

  Luckily, Alice wasn’t the only one on maid of honor duty, and she was relieved about that. Bianca had delegated many of the tasks to another friend of hers, who was very passionate about organizing wedding-related planning. For Alex, planning anything regarding a wedding was pouring water on a gremlin, she turned into a maidzilla.

  However, it was the wisest decision Bianca could have made, because otherwise Alex – who had been the first to marry from Alice’s former and old clique – would have been bellyaching about all that Alice was doing wrong or not good enough.

  Now, the only problem left was Alice being doomed to sit at the singles’ table. Being seated there wasn’t really the issue, but rather anyone trying to pair her off with any of the other ‘unlucky ones’.

  That was one of the few rare downsides of Alice’s and Jason’s arrangement: she couldn’t take him with her.

  Picturing herself showing up at that event with no one less than Jason Jeremiah Grantham at her side, definitely made Alice grin once more.

  Not because of who he was to everyone, but because of who he was to her.

  That realization felt like a coup of liberation. It wasn’t important to her that Jason owned a huge, world-spanning company. Although, if she was honest to herself, part of his appeal was his confidence, was that he knew who he was and what he had achieved, but he could have gained that confidence because of completely different reasons and Alice would still be hopelessly infatuated with him.

  Yet, imagining herself on Jason’s arm when arriving at the wedding, was a picture she felt a little sad about, since it would never exist, apart from her mind at that moment. Alice knew that Jason looked stunning in a suit.

  She could actually not remember seeing him wearing anything else, or absolutely nothing.