Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 2
Chapter One “Son-of-a-bitch!”
Joel didn’t say the words aloud. He didn’t even (he hoped) show a break in his calm and professional exterior, but while he was somehow managing to maintain appearances on the outside, inside he was a seething mass of anger that wanted nothing more than to stand up and wipe the smirk off the face of one Charles Myers IV with a well-placed punch. Well, that and he wanted to vomit. But Joel didn’t do either of those things. He was after all, in the middle of one of the biggest client meetings to date in his not so long and not so illustrious career, and even if the bottom had just fallen out of his world and his presentation, he couldn’t fall apart now. Not if he wanted to show he had the stuff it took to play with the big boys. So he ignored the sick feeling in his gut and attempted to think fast. Salvage. He really needed to salvage things if he had any hopes of being employed once this meeting was over. Joel wasn’t going to let that bastard take away everything he had worked so hard for without a fight. “Interesting question, Charles.” Somehow Joel managed to smile at the man sitting across the table from him despite his desire to lunge over that same table and beat the bastard to a bloody pulp. “And, assuming that is the direction Reynolds Industries would like to go, one we’d be more than
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 3 happy to take a closer look at. But, for now, let’s direct our attention back to the reason for this meeting…” Son-of-a-bitch! That snake in the grass, lying cocksucker had used him – and worse yet, Joel had let him. Joel fielded the next couple of questions, pleased that neither his hands nor his voice were shaking as he steered the meeting back to the meat of the presentation detailed on the whiteboard and in the colored binders on the table before them. His confidence grew as he reasserted control over the direction of the meeting. He just might make it out of this yet. After turning the meeting over to the young executive who had prepared this part of the presentation (what was his name again, Bruce? Brian? Bryce? Joel couldn’t really remember despite the number of times he had been corrected) and fixing an attentive expression on his face, Joel allowed his angry thoughts free rein. Fucking bastard! Charles Myers was supposed to be on his team, working as a liaison with his company and helping to present the latest marketing program to one of the firm’s largest and oldest clients. Instead, he had just torpedoed Joel and hung him out to dry. And Joel had helped. That was the worst part. Hell, it had been Joel’s idea that Myers had just raised. Joel’s idea that Myers had told him was totally against the client’s current policies and that he would be better off forgetting. Joel’s idea that he had shared with Myers late one night after a particularly energetic fuck.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 4 “That’s all fine, son.” Joel’s heart sank as he heard the patronizing tone from the director of Reynolds Industries interrupting Bruce/Brian/Bryce’s part of the presentation. “But we’ve all been here before. We’re looking for something new and different. Something like what Mr. Myers just brought up.” A well-manicured hand gestured to the man seated across from Joel. “Why don’t you step up here and tell us a little bit more about this idea of yours, Charles?” Bruce/Brian/Bryce looked over at Joel, who could only shake his head as he watched his dreams crash and burn. They were toast. *** The meeting was finally over. Joel watched as the others gathered up the now useless binders and carefully packed them back into their boxes so they’d be ready to ship back to the main office. He ignored the questioning glances of Bruce/Brian/Bryce and the sympathetic ones from the other two lower-level executives who had come along with them on this trip. They wouldn’t say anything, Joel knew that. There wasn’t anything they could do or say that would make him feel any better. Besides, he knew they had to cover their own asses. It’s what he would do. Joel had been warned. A couple of the guys back at the office had given him veiled advice about watching himself around Myers. But no, Joel had been too cocky, too full of himself to pay them any attention. Hell, with all the clarity of hindsight it wasn’t too hard to figure out that they’d probably been screwed over by Myers themselves. If not screwed in the literal sense as well.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 5 From each hair of his well-groomed head to the fine polish on his leather shoes, Charles Myers IV was the epitome of success and Joel had wanted to be just like him. You couldn’t get any farther from the poor kid raised in foster homes Joel had been. After all Joel’s hard work and struggles to push himself through school and land this job, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was that Charles had singled him out for “special” attention. It had been a dream come true. He had thought the older man was taking him under his wing, mentoring him for an upwardly mobile career. If in the course of things that had included a little down-low action and maybe even a bit of rear action, well, Joel had told himself it was just business, just part of the game. You had to go along to get along. Now he felt like every bad cliché in the book – used, misused and even abused. Stupid. He felt stupid. Joel swallowed, feeling the burn of acid and bile as it was forced back down his esophagus. Luckily he was spared having to talk to Charles right now. Not that he knew what he would say. The bastard was being wined and dined by Joel’s own client. God, could he have fucked this up any worse? Could he have truly been any greener? Never one to shy away from the truth, Joel faced up to the harsh realization that the only thing Charles Myers had been doing over the last several months was picking Joel’s brain. To give him credit, Myers had sucked the info out with as much skill – if not more – as he had sucked the come out of Joel’s cock.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 6 And Joel had been foolish enough to let him, pleased, flattered even at the attention. Shame flooded Joel’s gut with more churning acid and he closed his eyes for a moment against the burn. How had he forgotten everything he had learned growing up about survival? This might be a cleaner world than the streets he grew up on, but behind the scenes it still came down to survival of the fittest, and in this instance Joel had come up short. Suddenly it didn’t matter if the others were done packing up or not. Joel reached for the jacket of his suit so he could make his escape. “We’re going out to get something to eat, Joel.” Bruce/Brian/Bryce caught his arm at the door to the conference room, the other two members of their team having gone on ahead of him. “You sure you don’t want to come with us?” A nice guy, Bruce/Brian/Bryce, Joel thought to himself. Attractive, too, in a rather boyish sort of way, with that head full of tousled blond hair and that long, lean frame. So different from Joel’s own dark and stocky build. Joel suddenly remembered the last several months of long nights spent working beside the other man to prepare for the presentation, and the way Joel had rebuffed all of his efforts to be friendly. He really should have been nicer to him. For a moment Joel hesitated, then he shook his head. Hell, the last thing any of them needed was to hang around with him right now. He might be crashing and burning but he didn’t want to take anyone else’s career with him.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 7 “Thanks, but I have a few more things to go over before we leave tomorrow.” Joel forced the words through the burning in his throat. It sounded good. Normally that would have even been the case. Tonight, well, there wasn’t anything for Joel to go over except maybe the hotel bar. He didn’t feel up to eating. The way his stomach felt, he didn’t even know if he would able to keep any liquor down. But he was damn sure gonna try.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 8
Chapter Two
Joel sat on the hard barstool and looked at the shot on the bar before him. Was he really going to pound another one? He glanced up and caught sight of his eyes in the wall of mirrors behind the bar. Eyes filled with shame, fear and self-loathing. You bet he was. He picked up the glass and closed his eyes against his reflection, swallowing down the bile that was already filling his throat and ignoring the churning in his stomach. He could do this. Just like he had done the others over the course of the last few hours. Every time he realized he could still remember what had happened during the meeting today, it was time for another shot. Joel tilted his head back and prepared to send the burning liquor down his throat. “You don’t want to do that.” The glass was plucked out of his hand. Joel opened his eyes and stared blearily into the face of the man who slid onto the bar stool beside him. Without his carefully cultivated filter of polite and professional behavior, Joel let himself look his fill. The newcomer was attractive. Blond, not as young as Joel first thought but youthful, looking with a hank or two of hair that kept falling over
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 9 rather chiseled cheekbones. Joel couldn’t focus enough to see what color the eyes were but that mouth, baby, that mouth was made for sin. Joel leered drunkenly. He had heard that phrase once, long ago, and it had stuck with him without him really knowing why. Now he had finally seen for himself just what it meant. Full lips. Ripe lips. Lips that were meant to take his cock and like it. Goddamn, but the man was fine. Maybe there was another way to forget about the whole mess. Joel hadn’t gotten a chance to check out his ass but it didn’t matter. “Shit, with a mouth like that it doesn’t matter what the ass looks like.” “Thanks. You have no idea how much that means coming from a drunken mess like you.” The tone was tart and somehow, kinda familiar. “Oops.” Joel chuckled drunkenly. “Did I say that out loud?” “You sure did.” There was a firm hand under Joel’s arm now. “Come on, let’s get going.” “What about my drink?” Joel asked. The guy was hot for him, no doubt. But he had paid for a few more shots and he was determined to drink them all and forget the day’s fiasco. “You’ve had enough to drink, Joel. Let’s go.” “Hell, no.” Joel tried to pull away. “I can still think. If I can still think then I’m not drunk enough.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 10 “Fine.” Blondie looked around for a minute and then back at him with determination. Joel knew he had seen this guy before, but where? “How about I get us a bottle and we take it with us?” “Where we going?” In Joel’s mind he leaned suavely over and brushed his lips teasingly over Blondie’s jaw. In reality he almost lost his balance as he leaned into the other man and sloppily licked his cheek. “Eeew,” Blondie shuddered as he wiped at his face. “You so need a breath mint.” Joel swayed and then swallowed heavily, his newly ripened lust replaced by a sudden wash of green that swept from his toes up to his head. “I don’t feel so good.” “Great.” A surprisingly strong arm snaked around his waist and Joel found himself led out of the bar. “Just try not to puke on me.” “Nggggghh.” Joel wasn’t sure what the noise coming out of his mouth meant or what he meant to say. But it didn’t matter when there was an obliging chest to lean on as he was dragged toward the elevators. And the chest smelled rather good as well. Earthy. Kinda musky. Male. Suddenly any incipient nausea was replaced with a surge of desire as Joel rubbed his cheek against the soft cotton of the t-shirt. It had been quite a while since he had been up close with anything other than a business-casual wearing kind of man. Not that Joel didn’t go for that sort of thing – they just hadn’t seemed to come his way during his pursuit of career and status. A blue-collar blue jean kind of man was something else Joel had left behind along with his common sense when he had decided to try and play
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 11 the corporate game. Joel let his arm drop down to the snug pocket, clumsily patting the firm ass – and blue jeans. Tight blue jeans. Things were starting to look up. Visions of hard, fast, sweaty and deliciously pounding sex filled Joel’s mind. Just like the old days. Nothing refined. No please and thank you. Nothing but sex and the forgetfulness to be found in a tight ass. Joel leaned back to get a better glimpse of his new found friend. “Are you sure I don’t know you?” he asked again. There was something about that blond hair… “For God’s sake, Joel. Of course you know me. It’s Bryce.” The elevator chimed as the doors opened and Joel was bundled through the door and into the hallway. The patterned carpet seemed to move beneath his feet as they walked. “We’ve only worked together for who knows how long – not that you’ve ever given me the time of day.” “Bryce?” Joel took another appreciative sniff as they stopped in front of a door. There was nothing like a good whiff of sweaty male. “Bruce/Brian/Bryce? Really? It doesn’t smell like you … and it doesn’t sound like you.” His hand sought out that firm ass again and gave a squeeze. “It sure doesn’t feel like you.” “Where’s your keycard?” Large hands moved roughly over Joel’s frame, pausing at his pants pocket before diving inside and fumbling around. “Careful,” Joel giggled. “You’ll wake the tiger.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 12 “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Bryce groaned. “Come here.” Joel was dragged into the room and propped up on the wall before the bathroom. He hadn’t been manhandled like this quite a while. He had forgotten how much he liked it. “Are we gonna fuck?” Joel looked hopefully around the small hotel room and stumbled towards the bed. “Did you bring the booze?” The sound of the shower spray being turned on was his only response. “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Joel turned away from the bed, the noise distracting him from his confusion over where he had put the key to the mini bar. “Glad you think that way.” Bruce/Brian/Bryce – nope, Bryce it was – had come out of the bathroom. “Bryce,” Joel beamed as he reached out and ran his hand down the other man’s chest to the heavy bulge at the front of those tight jeans, letting his fingers linger over the solid mass. It felt amazing cradled in his hand, heavy and solid. Joel wanted this. No games. No holding back. “I didn’t know.” Joel didn’t know exactly what it was he didn’t know. Whether it was that Bryce had been interested in him or that Bryce had been carrying a package like that around in his business khakis. “C’mon, stud.” Joel nodded as he was taken into the bathroom. Bryce was definitely hot for him. Now that he thought about it, those soft eyes had always followed him around. He looked up and felt a momentary soberness – those eyes didn’t look very soft right now.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 13 “In you go.” The glass door to the shower opened up and before Joel could protest, he was shoved inside under the cold spray.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 14
Chapter Three
“Fuck!” Joel yelled as the freezing pellets of water hit his face and head, soaking his suit and shoes in an instant and practically stopping his heart. “Are you crazy?” He tried moving away from the spray and out the door but Bryce was holding it shut. “It’s fucking cold!” “And you’re fucking drunk,” came a reply almost as cold as the shower spray. “Let me out of here!” His brain too fogged to simply shut off the water, Joel tried to muscle his way out of the stall but instead had to turn and bend over, overcome by nausea and spewing the contents of his stomach and the last several hours of booze onto the floor of the shower, his expensive tie and even over his own shoes. It felt like he was going to die. “I’m gonna die,” Joel pitifully announced as he sat on the floor of the shower stall and shivered. His guts spasmed once again and he tried to heave up what felt like the rest of his stomach lining. He didn’t know how long he had been in the shower – alternately puking and yelling at Bryce to get him out – but it had seemed like forever. “No, you won’t. Trust me. You’ll just wish you could.” Bryce opened the door to the stall and turned off the spray. “Can you get up?”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 15 Joel slowly pushed himself off the floor, grimacing as his hand slipped in his own vomit, and stood shivering in his wet clothes. “Take your shoes off.” He had always remembered Bryce as being shy and soft-spoken, but the stranger before him wasn’t either of those things. Joel gave up on untying his laces and just stepped on his own heel, sliding his foot out of first one shoe and then the other, water sloshing out of the saturated leather. Streams of water squished out between his toes and ran from his wet socks. Joel tried not to think about how much those shoes had cost. Rough hands pulled at his jacket, shoving it off his shoulders before unbuttoning his shirt. “Sorry about your tie.” The offending article was dropped on top of the soggy pile of clothes already on the floor of the shower. “I always liked that one.” Joel swayed back against the cold tile, feeling strangely disassociated from what was happening. His belt was next to join the pile, his waterlogged wallet tossed out onto the hotel room floor, and he felt helpless to stop Bryce as the man quickly unzipped his slacks and knelt to strip them off his legs along with his socks. A dark spot stained the soft material of Bryce’s t-shirt, spreading outward and growing larger. Joel watched it in fascination before he realized it was his wet hand causing the mark. He leaned heavily on Bryce’s shoulder as his wet boxers were pushed off his hips. Joel had never been ashamed of his body. He worked at keeping in shape. But when he was naked he was less able to hide the signs of his
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 16 past, the scars and tattoos that were a testament to his rougher upbringing. They had been a novelty to Charles. He wondered what Bryce would think. His shivering increased at the thought of being rejected and Bryce stood quickly and grabbed a couple of towels from the rack. Joel felt the scrape of the material as Bryce moved his hands roughly over Joel’s wet skin. Hanks of blonde hair fell forward, hiding Bryce’s face from Joel’s view as he knelt down before Joel once again. The towel rubbed over the inside of his legs, just catching the underside of his balls. Joel’s cock pushed out, rising despite the chill, interested in more of the rough caress. Bryce just laughed, the sound nothing more than a puff of warm air against the length pressing against his cheek. Joel shivered again, but not from the cold this time. He couldn’t think, couldn’t seem to do anything but stand there and let Bryce dry him like a child caught out in the rain. *** Joel didn’t know how much later it was, but he was finally out of the shower and lying in his bed, a much needed glass of water and bottle of aspirin beside him. His head was pounding, his gut twisting. “Are you okay?” That was Bryce again. Joel ignored the question the same way he had ignored the other man’s presence once he had been pushed onto the bed. It was bad enough that Charles had handed him his ass in the meeting today – he really didn’t want to sober up any further and realize just how much
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 17 of an ass he had been to the man who had just cleaned him up and bundled together his puke-stained clothes for the laundry service. The room was dark, the only illumination the streetlights shining in the open blinds of the hotel window. Bryce was sprawled out in a chair in the corner, long legs reaching out toward the center of the room. His face was hidden in the shadows that were suited to the man he had become. A man Joel didn’t know. “You done feeling sorry for yourself?” The voice was low but it traveled from the shadowed corner. Joel closed his eyes. Why didn’t Bryce just go away? What did he want? “Not particularly. I think getting canned is worth a bit more selfpity. What’s it to you?” “So you’re just going to roll over and play dead?” “Don’t you get it? I’ve obviously lost this account and by the time Myers gets done with me my job can’t be far behind.” Joel opened his eyes and tried to stare at Bryce, lost in the shadows before him. “If you’re lucky, you and the others won’t be collateral damage.” The darkness leached away the colors and left Bryce a portrait in black and white as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, the sharp planes of his face shifting in the half-light. “Where’d Myers get this idea he dropped on us? It was too visionary for him.” Joel sighed and squirmed under the covers, conscious all of a sudden of how naked he was before this man – on all levels. “It was just something I’d been thinking about. Something I’d mentioned.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 18 “Was this before or after he fucked you?” The words were harsh, but the tone was even harsher; stinging in the quiet darkness of the room. “Screw you,” Joel lashed out, hurt somehow by Bryce’s callously accurate assessment. The bed creaked, sagging under the sudden weight as Bryce left the corner and leapt onto the bed and on top of Joel, pinning him under the sheets and Bryce’s weight. Joel swallowed, his heart rate increasing. “Be careful what you ask for.” Bryce ground his hips over Joel, hot and hard and then as Joel arched upward in instinctive response, just as suddenly pulling away. Joel was dizzy, sweating with a need he didn’t know he had before that very moment. The room darkened as Bryce shut the drapes. It was disorientating to Joel, taking him further away from man he thought he was. This was Bryce? “Get some sleep.” Bryce was at the door, holding it open and stepping into the hallway. “We’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 19
Chapter Four “Wake up, Joel.”
Light. Harsh, bright. It streamed in the window as the drapes were pulled back. Joel groaned and pulled the covers over his head, he just wanted to hide a little longer. “Come on. We’ve got things to do today.” The voice was insistent. Demanding. Fuck. It was Bryce again. Last night hadn’t been a dream. “Hey!” Joel tried to grab at the covers as they were pulled to the foot of the bed and carelessly dropped on the floor, leaving him as exposed physically as he had been emotionally the night before. “What’s your fucking problem?” He was whining, Joel could hear it. He hadn’t whined in years. Joel put the pillow over his head, anything to stop the spinning. Fuck, but his head hurt. “You want some coffee?” A hard slap stung his bare ass and Joel sat up quickly. Too quickly. “Oh, shit.” Joel leaned back against the headboard as everything swam in front of him. His morning wood quickly deflated into a pitiful and halfhearted memory. “Why are you doing this to me?”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 20 “Drink this.” A glass was thrust in front of his face. The contents were such a brilliant red it almost hurt his eyes more than the light. There was no choice but to take the glass. Joel glared at the man beside him and then decided he wasn’t going to get any peace until he gave in. He closed his eyes and drained the glass, gagging towards the end. “I thought a cocksucker like you would be able to swallow better than that.” Bryce was disturbingly chipper this morning as he walked over to the desk. “How’d you get in here?” Joel couldn’t decide if the red mixture was going to stay down or not. Serve the bastard right if he puked on him again, and just what did that comment mean? “I took your keycard with me last night.” Bryce walked back to the bed with two cups of coffee in his hand. “Drink this and then have some water. You’re probably dehydrated.” “Not after the shower treatment you gave me last night.” Joel could feel Bryce’s eyes as they traveled over his naked body but he was too hung-over to care. “What was that all about?” Bryce sat down in the same chair he had adopted last night, his eyes intense as they stared at Joel. “Are you going to let Myers win?” Yesterday’s events swept back over Joel. “Oh, fuck,” he breathed. “What choice do I have?”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 21 “You say it was your idea.” Bryce ignored Joel’s question. He did that a lot, damn him. “How much did you give him?” “What?” The sun was glinting on Bryce’s hair, picking out strands of gold and distracting Joel from the close fit of the t-shirt. He had never seen Bryce out of work-appropriate clothing before last night and the sudden bulge of bicep broken by the shirtsleeve was unexpected. “Myers. How much of the idea for a campaign did you give him?” God, but Bryce was a determined fucker all of a sudden. “Just the concept. Nothing much really.” Joel grabbed one of the pillows and put it over his mid-section. How in the hell could he be getting hard when he felt so fucking horrible? And this was Bryce, for goodness sake. He had worked beside the man for months without a twinge of interest. “So he’ll need you to give him the rest? Fill in the details?” Such persistence. Joel couldn’t remember why he thought Bryce had been so young, so laid-back. “I guess.” Bryce sat back in the chair. “Good. I’ve set up another meeting with Reynolds and his staff in three days and I’ve already extended our trip with the home office.” “What?” Joel couldn’t believe it. “What the hell for?” “Look, we’ve got three days to pull this concept together and then present it to Reynolds in its entirety. It’s your idea; we can flesh it out, fill in the details before Myers can even hope to find someone to do it for him.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 22 “Why?” Joel looked at Bryce in confusion. “Why are you doing all this?” “You’re not the first one he’s pulled this on.” Bryce stood up and headed for the door. “I’m not letting him win again.” *** The next two days passed in a blur to Joel. They had taken over one of the small conference rooms available for rent at the hotel. It was now a mess of papers and scribbled notations on whiteboards. Laptops, empty bottles of water and take-out containers mingled with the assortment of half-filled coffee cups covering the table. Amazingly, this had been both an intense and exciting process. Joel had always enjoyed the thrill of a new project; the shortened deadline for this one just seemed to add to the experience. Luckily they had all the prior research on the client available to them; they just had to fit the information around their new concept. Just like before, Bryce had been the perfect foil for Joel to bounce his ideas off of. He was always there, able to draw Joel back from a tangent and steer him toward their goal, but it was different working with Bryce this time. Last time Joel had barely been aware of the other man. Sure, he had been efficient and capable but Joel had never been able to even remember his name. The events of the last week had definitely added something new in their interactions. No longer blinded by his infatuation with Charles and his foolish daydreams of what he could get out of the other man, Joel was able to appreciate Bryce in a whole new manner.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 23 Everything about Bryce had become fascinating to Joel. His intelligence, his sharp sense of humor. His body. Joel had no idea how he had managed to work with Bryce before and never notice the long legs, the slender fingers that he could remember touching him so briefly. That ass. And God help him, those lips. More than once, he had been caught staring at Bryce. More than once he had felt himself tremble when the other man’s shoulder had brushed his. He knew what color those green eyes were now. Knew what they looked like when excited over an idea, pissed over a dead end and somehow darker and shuttered when they looked at Joel. They barely managed to grab a few hours of sleep between them. Usually one of them would just drift off in the conference room before the other would prod him awake with a new idea. That was fine with Joel. It kept him from thinking either about Charles or his new awareness of Bryce. Sometimes Joel wanted the other man so bad he couldn’t stand it. The tingle of his arm against Joel’s, the sight of him bent over the table. Just a smile on those full lips could send Joel’s testosterone soaring from zero to sixty in seconds flat. It had never been like this. Bryce stood and stretched. Joel’s eyes were helplessly drawn to the long and lean form arched before him. “That should do it. I’ve printed out the last couple of changes and made arrangements for the twenty-four hour print shop to come and pick them up.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 24 Joel just kept staring, this time at the faded spot to the right of the zipper placket on those tight blue jeans – and what was bulging out beneath it. You just knew it had taken a whole lot of friction to rub the denim thin and white like that. “Did you hear me?” Bryce looked over at Joel. “Earth to Joel. We did it, man. They’ll have the binders back here before the meeting tomorrow morning.” “Why are you doing this?” Joel asked abruptly, waving his hand as Bryce opened his mouth. “Don’t bullshit me. Why are you doing this?” There was a long pause as Bryce just stood there looking at Joel, green eyes dark in his expressionless face. Finally he spoke. “Because you want this … and I want you.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 25
Chapter Five
The ringing of his cell jolted Joel out of his surprised stupor. He dazedly flipped open the phone without checking who it was. “It’s about time you answered one of my calls. Are you done sulking?” That cultured voice was unmistakable. Charles. Fuck. Joel ran his hand through his dark hair and looked over the table at Bryce with dismay. Had he really said what Joel thought he did? “Charles.” Bryce stood up straighter when he heard Joel say the name. His biceps flexed as he folded his arms across his chest and Bryce just stared at Joel until he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What a surprise,” Joel coughed. “This isn’t a good time.” He had angrily ignored the messages the other man had left, not sure what, if anything he wanted to say. “Where are you?” The demand was pure Charles. Joel couldn’t look away from Bryce and the gleam in his dark eyes. “I’m taking a few days vacation. You know. Just needed the break.” “Is this supposed to be punishing me?”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 26 Joel couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “What makes you think my absence has anything to do with you?” “Don’t be this way. Don’t be so childish.” There was a click of a cigarette lighter, the sound of an inhale. Joel could almost see the disdainful expression on the other man’s face. “Childish?” Joel struggled to control his temper. “You hung me and the rest of the team out to dry!” “But Reynolds went for it and that’s the important thing. You’ve wasted enough time pouting about this, Joel. I need you to get moving. I’ve been called back for another meeting with Reynolds tomorrow and we’ll need something to show him.” “What about the team?” “Screw them.” Joel wondered if he had ever been that much of an asshole. God, he hoped not. “Somebody has to take the heat and they’ll do nicely. Look, I need you to start outlining everything on paper. Fax it to me; email it, whatever you want to do. I’ve got some guys lined up here that can get started putting it together overnight.” “You need me,” Joel repeated slowly. How had he really been so blind? “Sure. It was a great idea. I can finesse a few things on it, but you’re the one with the brain. Together there won’t be any stopping us. Especially now that we don’t have to pretend.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 27 “Pretend?” Joel could hear the dullness in his own voice as he heard the truth he had know all along. He thought it would hurt more but then Bryce walked around the table to stand behind him. Warm hands rested on his shoulder, grounding him. “I’ll admit you’ve got potential, but you really didn’t think it was anything other than a good time?” Joel could hear another voice in the background, a low murmuring. Fucking asshole. Joel would just bet that was his replacement. “I’ll need to think about it.” Joel wondered why he wasn’t more upset. Then he felt Bryce’s palm curl around his throat, just resting and warming his skin. “Look, you’ll get over it. Just be sure you send me something for the meeting. I gotta go.” Prick. Joel threw the phone down onto the table and Bryce titled his head back, forcing Joel to meet his gaze. “Fuck him. You’re mine now.” Dark eyes glittered down into his with a possessive stare before ripe lips came down to claim Joel’s. And it was a claiming. Hot, forceful. Bryce’s tongue swept past Joel’s defenses, seeking and finding Joel’s tongue, twisting and thrusting and stealing Joel’s very breath until Joel could do nothing but agree. Joel’s head spun as he lost himself in the feel of Bryce’s soft lips on his. Somewhere, deep within, Joel wondered how it was possible for one kiss to change everything. Everything he thought he knew. Everything he thought he wanted. His heart beat faster and Joel twisted in his chair,
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 28 struggling to get closer to Bryce, needing to feel more of that long and lean body against his. It still wasn’t close enough and Joel impatiently pushed back the chair, rising to his feet and wrapping his fingers in the tousled strands of Bryce’s hair as he opened himself even deeper to Bryce’s kiss. Joel pulled the other man against him and was rewarded by a steady pressure as Bryce pushed him back and down atop the conference room table with his body weight. Papers rustled beneath him as his body crushed and scattered the debris on the table. Joel didn’t care. Not about the pens or what must have been his cell phone digging into his back or the spilled coffee even now soaking into his shirt. He didn’t care about a goddamn thing. Not as Bryce shifted his weight and slid one knee between Joel’s, settling himself until his cock pressed against Joel’s belly. Joel watched through wide eyes as Bryce propped himself up on one elbow. His free hand cupped the side of Joel’s face as their lips met again, the kiss sweeter this time, slower as Joel ran his hands up and down the muscle of Bryce’s arms, digging into his strong biceps. The only sound in the small conference room was the sound of their kisses. Wet, liquid noises that went straight to Joel’s groin. There was no way to doubt that Bryce had been serious when he said he wanted Joel. Not the way Bryce was rubbing against him. God, but Bryce had strong hands. Hands that kept Joel pinned to the table and wouldn’t let him move any further than the few inches needed to rub both of their aching erections together. Even through their layers of clothing Joel could feel Bryce’s heat as all that hard muscle pressed against him. Joel was lost in the dichotomy of sensation, the kiss so gentle
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 29 and soul stealing and the rough pressure that didn’t leave an open inch between their bodies. Joel choked out a moan. He knew he looked like some kind of slut sprawled out on top the table, but as long as Bryce kept touching him with hands that knew all the right places, he would go with it. His shirt was pushed up, the air cooling the saliva on his chest and nipples as Bryce’s tongue traced over Joel’s bare skin before traveling down to his navel. Joel raised his head, watching as Bryce slid one hand down his belly, tracing the path his lips took. Green eyes noted and smiled at the tiny hairs standing on end after each stroke of his fingers. When those long fingers eased the zipper of his pants down over the ridge of his cock, Joel’s head thudded back down on the table. “Shit,” he exclaimed, breathless but unable to resist raising back up enough so he could watch as Bryce pushed his boxers out of the way and let his tongue travel over the head of Joel’s aching shaft. Bryce fumbled in his jeans pocket and pulled out a foil packet. Once the rubber was on Bryce took Joel’s cock deep into his mouth, sucking so slowly that Joel thought he would die from the almost unbearable feeling. Some things were just inevitable. The tension building deep inside Joel was one of them. The entire last two days of working side by side with Bryce had been nothing but foreplay, and when Bryce pressed his fingertips on the skin behind Joel’s balls, it was all over. Joel grabbed even tighter at Bryce, one hand holding his shoulder, the other tangling in the blond hair as he began thrusting himself even harder into Bryce’s mouth. His fingers slipped under the neck of Bryce’s shirt, sliding in the sweat matting the hair at the nape of his neck.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 30 There was something almost primitive about feeling Bryce’s weight on his legs. Knowing that even though Bryce had the upper hand, he couldn’t do anything more than moan around Joel’s cock shoved deep in his throat, made the whole thing even hotter. Joel had barely drawn a breath before Bryce rose up on one arm and ripped at the buttons of his own jeans. The table creaked as Bryce hunched over him, free hand working hard and fast. Joel let his hands take Bryce by the hips, shoving his jeans farther down and watching as the swollen reddish head slid in and out between Bryce’s trembling fingers. Bryce groaned, shuddering and Joel found himself groaning as well, encouraging Bryce. His fingers dug into the firm curve of Bryce’s ass as the thick, white heat splashed across Joel’s cock and belly. It slid over his thighs and onto his pants, the smell heavy in Joel’s nostrils. “Please.” Joel didn’t know what he was asking for until Bryce leaned forward and kissed him again and then Joel realized he didn’t have to ask anymore; it was all right there. Everything he had ever wanted.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 31
Epilogue
“Gentlemen.” Joel stood confidently at the side of the whiteboard and gestured at the binders in front of each man seated at the table before him. “I’d like to thank you all for coming together once again on such short notice. As you see, we’ve taken a bold step forward with the direction of the Reynolds Industries proposal.” Joel smiled as he let his gaze travel around the conference room. He especially savored the stunned look on Charles’s face as Joel’s words sunk in to those present. “How in world?” The director of Reynolds Industries looked accusingly at Charles. “You told me you wouldn’t have anything ready on this for at least a month.” Charles just stared at the binder in front of him in shock. If it wasn’t for the fact that Charles Myers IV meant nothing to him any more, Joel might have enjoyed it. In the end, remembering how he had felt in this same conference room just days before, Joel was almost able to feel sorry for him. After all, without the business of Charles, Joel might never have known the pleasure of Bryce.
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 32 “He gave you a very brief overview.” As if drawn by his thoughts, Bryce stood and joined Joel over by the presentation board. “We’d like to show you where it can go.” “As we move forward with our partnership,” Joel smiled at Bryce, seeing only the man by his side as he spoke, “you’ll be amazed at what we can accomplish.”
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 33 Check out these other titles by Chrissy Munder…
Business Before Pleasure by Chrissy Munder 34 ©Copyright Chrissy Munder, 2008 Published by Dreamspinner Press 4760 Preston Road Suite 244-149 Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Cover Art by Dan Skinner/Cerberus Inc.
[email protected] Cover Design by Mara McKennen This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ Released in the United States of America September, 2008
