Seven Nights of Sin - Lacey Alexander [2]
Sadly, it had been so long since anyone had touched Brenna intimately that even Kelly’s unexpected grasp aroused her a little, sending a tingling sensation shooting straight to her panties.
But she still had no desire for some meaningless affair. Or some meaningful affair. Which pretty much cut out affairs. And brought her back to the book. “I don’t know, Kel. I just don’t think men or sex are on my personal menu anymore. That’s why I’m doing these affirmations. I want to get them out of my system.”
Kelly stepped back to the table, peering down at the book still lying open. Then she let out a huge harrumph. “Oh my God! Trust me, honey, you do need penises. We all need penises. Penises are one of God’s gifts to women. Sure, He gave us labor pains. And periods. And kept us oppressed for centuries. But He did give us the penis, and that makes up for a lot.”
Brenna simply sighed. Then buttoned up her blouse, hiding the cleavage Kelly had just revealed. This was pointless—the cleavage and the conversation. “Did you come in here just to harass me or did you have a purpose?”
“Oops, sorry—I almost forgot. Your moratorium on men totally sidetracked me. Jenkins wants to see you in his office.” Their boss and the CEO of Blue Night. “Word in the halls is that he’s got some big announcement to make, but no one knows what it is. So go check it out and end the suspense for all of us.”
An announcement, huh? It was the first Brenna had heard of it, and being Jenkins’ right-hand gal, she usually knew what was going on around here. So, after wiping away donut crumbs with a napkin, stowing her book in her desk drawer, and checking to make sure she’d rebut-toned her blouse correctly, she grabbed up a notepad and pen and headed toward Jenkins’ office, knocking gently on the open door as she peeked inside.
“Brenna, come in,” he said with what she thought a rather devious smile. “And close the door.”
Carl Jenkins was exactly the kind of man people commonly referred to by his last name. Smart and calculating, no nonsense, all business—more the kind of guy you’d expect to work at one of the majors than a small indie label. That said, Blue Night had grown fast the last few years, in no small thanks to him. Sporting slicked-back hair and rather beady eyes, he was also the kind of guy you never felt completely comfortable with, and Brenna still didn’t, even after three years as his administrative assistant.
After pushing the door shut, she eased into the chair across from him, wondering exactly what the big news was. “Kelly said you wanted to see me. There’s some sort of big announcement afoot?”
Her boss’s gaze widened as he chuckled lightly. Clearly, he was surprised but not startled to hear his employees suspected something was up. “An announcement? Sort of, dependent upon this conversation. But first, a secret. And I know I can trust you to keep a secret—right, Brenna? Especially when it’s in your best interest professionally.”
“Of course,” she said, hoping he didn’t see her nervous swallow. Brenna hated secrets. Professional, personal—either way, she just didn’t like them. She’d gotten divorced over a secret, after all—a secret affair. But it sounded as if she was about to have one dropped on her anyway.
“I’ve watched you grow in this business the last few years, Brenna. You’re a quick learner, smart, responsible, and people like you. Plus, you’re nice. In a city like L.A., you don’t always find a lot of nice, and that makes you a commodity.”
She was a commodity? When had that happened? But no matter—maybe this meant she was getting a raise. Maybe a secret raise no one else was getting? A secret like that she could probably keep.