Soft Skills Read online

  The men stepped back and admired her. She could feel their eyes caressing her hard nipples, sliding over her full breasts, down to where her waist narrowed, then lingering on the flare of her wide hips.

  Jonathan’s cock still glistened from her earlier attentions. Cunningham unzipped his pants and took out his enormous erection. Elle loved looking at him. He was the largest, thickest man she’d ever seen—longer than many porn stars, and considering she had spent so many Friday nights in the company of her remote control and her collection of DVDs, she could say that with certainty. Just looking at his fat cock had her licking her lips.

  “See, we can’t leave her like this,” Jonathan said, smirking. “It’s for the company’s good that we take care of her.” He looked down at his stiff organ. “And mine.”

  Cunningham nodded slightly. “Excellent point. Elle, lean over the table, your legs spread.”

  Elle managed to hide her triumphant smile until she turned. She slowly bent over before moving her feet apart. The bottoms of her high heels slid easily on the carpet.

  “Hands behind your head.”

  She obeyed, but Cunningham strode quickly to her and shoved a large hand between her legs. He forced her legs wider, and when he was satisfied, he steadied himself with one hand on her lower back.

  Her pussy clenched. She knew what was about to happen, and the anticipation had her trembling all over like a storm-tossed leaf.

  “Steady.” Cunningham leaned over her, pinning her beneath him. He mounted her with one sure thrust, held himself deep, then pulled out.

  “No—” Elle gasped quietly. “Please. I’m so horny.” She tried to turn around, but Cunningham corrected her with a gentle shove.

  His erection nudged against her ass, and Elle gasped. “No. Please. No. It’s been a few days, and I’m not ready—”

  “I won’t be denied. Either call a timeout or be quiet.” His commanding voice made her toes curl. God, she loved it when he told her to shut up… “And Elle? If you persist in interrupting me, I’ll let Nolan have your ass.”

  It was a solid threat. While Nolan wasn’t as large as Cunningham, his cock was still an object to be reckoned with. Nolan’s favorite pastime was to fuck her ass violently, making her scream in bliss and terror. Cunningham, despite his size, could be brutal or gentle, depending on his mood.

  Apparently he was inclined to be generous. Still, Elle cried out as Cunningham pressed through the tight ring of reluctant flesh. She pursed her lips and exhaled shallowly. The burning turned to sweet bliss. “Good girl.” He placed his hands over hers and nuzzled her ear as he began fucking her with long, sure strokes. It was so dirty and degrading the way he ordered her around, her boss. He knew just how she liked it because he liked the same things too.

  Cunningham straightened, pulling Elle up with him. He splayed his broad fingers and slid them under her thighs, supporting her, and he turned around slowly, Elle impaled on his dick.

  “I’ve got you, Elle,” he said. “Pull your legs apart so that Nolan can fuck you.”

  Nolan stroked his hands up the sheer stockings, stopping just above her knees. He spread her legs. “Grab here,” he said. “Hold your knees for me.”

  She did with a whimper. How could she feel so safe and so exposed at the same time?

  Nolan dropped to his knees, staring at her. She wanted to die of embarrassment.

  Then his tongue lapped out, swirling through her delicate flesh. Elle began to shudder. She felt like she was being split open by Cunningham, and she loved it.

  Cunningham was backing up, and he lowered himself into an executive chair. Nolan rose, readied his cock between her slick lips, and shoved himself into her.

  “Oh!” Elle gasped.

  Jonathan advanced. He caught her chin in his hand and turned her head toward him. “Open wide.” That was all the warning she got before he fucked into her with a long stroke.

  All her holes, stretched full. They were ruining her, these men.

  Jonathan grabbed her nipple and twisted it.

  “Come for us,” Cunningham ordered. “Do it now.”

  All the acute sensations coalesced into a wave of pure ecstasy. Elle moaned and Jonathan’s cock jerked in her mouth.

  “Dammit, Elle, stay still,” Jonathan growled.

  Cunningham yanked her head back, and she was trapped between the three lust-crazed men, each of them greedily compelling her to serve perfectly. Somehow, she must have pleased them. Her orgasming pussy squeezed around Nolan. As she groaned, her throat milked Jonathan’s cock.

  Cunningham was hurting her the way she loved, forcing her to confront her need to be used by him, to be punished and forced. His hips came off the chair, and he anchored her between his large hands, holding her still as his powerful thighs slammed up. Each of his abrupt thrusts pushed her deeper onto Nolan’s shaft.

  She was so breathless that she couldn’t swallow the gallons that spurted out of Jonathan. Warm liquid dribbled out the corner of her mouth, dripping onto her bare shoulder. Time seemed to slow as Cunningham indulged in his long, violent orgasm, and Nolan pushed deep and held himself there, his body quaking forcefully, a long groan tearing from his throat.

  Cunningham finally sagged onto the chair. “Good girl,” he sighed. His breath was cool on her neck, and Elle suddenly realized that her hair was damp with perspiration.

  Jonathan cupped the back of her head, but Elle stayed motionless around his cock, knowing he was too sensitive for her to move. Finally he released her with a little grunt and grabbed a box of tissues. Nolan and Cunningham each took a handful. They carefully pulled out of her, catching the spillage.

  Jonathan helped her dress, his beautiful face screwed up in a mask of concentration as he adjusted her in her bra. “Seems I’m better at taking your clothes off,” he said finally, resigned. He leaned forward and nipped at her bottom lip, and Elle squealed.

  Nolan swept his fingers through her hair, working out the little tangles. She loved how they pampered her after sex. Considering that most of the time they were sort of, well, male, it was a nice change.

  “You might want to consider twisting it up in a bun,” Nolan said.

  “That bad?”

  He shrugged. “Bad? I’d say good, but I happen to appreciate a little JBF hair.”

  “What’s JBF hair?”

  “Just-been-fucked hair. Sometimes I wonder if you’ve been living under a rock.”

  “Lucky rock,” Jonathan said with a wink.

  Cunningham looked as fresh as if he’d just come in for the day. Elle never knew how he put himself back together so quickly. She tucked the bottom of the shell into the skirt.

  Cunningham caught her chin and raised it so that she was forced to look at him. “We got distracted. About earlier. What I wanted to tell you is that there’s a tradition at the company. Whenever you have your first big client success, everyone acts like you messed up.”

  Jonathan ran a hand up under her skirt. “Fixing your stockings,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.

  Elle just bet he was, but now wasn’t the time to flirt with him. “Acts like you messed up? Don’t you think that’s kind of mean?”

  Cunningham frowned. “It wasn’t my idea, but I have to confess that over the years, I’ve come to see the value.”

  Jonathan’s shirt collar was flipped up. He looped his tie around his neck. “It’s what Cunningham was explaining earlier.” He passed one end of the tie around itself, the silk whispering seductively as he deftly formed a complicated knot. “You had a great success, but if the client had been unreasonable—”

  “Or a jackass,” Nolan said.

  “We don’t call the clients jackasses,” Jonathan said disapprovingly. “Not even if they’ve got long ears and a donkey tail.”

  Cunningham tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Elle blushed at the unexpected intimacy. Cunningham wasn’t exactly the super-affectionate type. “You hit it out of the park today. Next time you might strike out. Do your best, f
ight for your work… but never let success or failure at work define how you see yourself. I’ve seen this business mess with too many people’s heads.”

  “Yeah,” Nolan said darkly. “Wouldn’t want to end up chasing profits year after year when we already have more than enough money and could go out and enjoy life.” He shot Cunningham a pointed look, but Cunningham was intently adjusting his cufflinks.

  Elle cleared her throat. “So the rest of the office has been waiting for a while, right?”

  Jonathan laughed. “It’s an open bar. I doubt they realize we aren’t there.”

  Nolan rubbed a finger on the corner of Elle’s mouth. “But do us a favor? Try to act like you think you messed up. And pretend you didn’t already hear Cunningham’s lecture about self-confidence.”

  “I envy you,” Jonathan said as they passed into the hall. “I have to pay attention and act like I haven’t heard it a million times.”

  Elle hung back. “I just need to grab my purse,” she said.

  “Why?” Cunningham asked, perplexed. “There isn’t anything you could possibly need that we can’t provide.”

  His promise set her to trembling all over again. “It’s a girl thing. Only be a second.”

  Her purse was still in Cunningham’s office. She went inside and slumped on a chair. She knew Cunningham was right, that it wasn’t good to be too wrapped up in the work. But it was her only way of proving that she had any business being with Cunningham, Jonathan and Nolan. They were smarter, funnier, more confident, better educated, more attractive, more interesting…

  She chewed on her lower lip. One day she’d have to tell them how grateful she was for the silly hazing, though not for the reasons they’d intended. She shook her head, remembering how much she’d been freaking out.

  The hazing hadn’t taught her to keep her work life separate from her self-esteem. In fact, it was the opposite. Now she knew that she’d die if she ever let them down. Thinking they were unhappy with her had been the worst experience of her life. She knew that wasn’t healthy, but she didn’t have very much going for her. It wasn’t their fault. Her life had revolved around getting her career off the ground. Cunningham & Associates provided her with a job, a purpose, and a sense of belonging. Plus she had three men who treated her better than she probably deserved. If she lost that, she’d have nothing.

  She might not be the most talented artist or the best salesperson, but she wasn’t afraid to do something that most people couldn’t, or wouldn’t do: work ten times harder.

  The effort she made was completely up to her, and she would make sure that Cunningham, Jonathan and Nolan never had any excuse to send her packing. Elle straightened and felt a calm finally settling over her.

  “Elle?” Nolan stuck his head in the door. “Everything ok?”

  Elle smiled brightly. “Never been better.” She held up her purse. “I’m ready.”

  Even though she knew what was coming at the restaurant, Elle still felt sick as Cunningham lectured her. A few of her coworkers were smiling knowingly; they were probably remembering going through the same thing.

  Maybe the rest of the company thought it was a fun tradition, but Elle planned to warn any new employees.

  Just as Cunningham was wrapping up his speech about work-life balance, Elle’s phone rang. She lunged for her purse, face hot with embarrassment.

  “And Elle is doing an excellent job showing how to balance work with life, although ideally we like to keep life far away from work until about 5:00,” Cunningham said. Everyone laughed.

  Elle bit back a curse as she rummaged for the phone.

  “Allow me.” Nolan took away her bag, thrust his hand inside and instantly pulled out her phone with a cocky smile. He held it out to Elle, but Jonathan intercepted it and pushed a button. “Good afternoon. Elle Girdley’s phone.” Jonathan said smoothly.

  Elle’s eyes went wide. There was only one person who ever called her in the middle of the day: Mama. And Mama didn’t know anything about Elle’s love life. Even if Elle had only been dating one man, she would have kept it to herself.

  “It’s very nice to meet you,” Jonathan said, all charm. “Elle has proven herself to be a real asset at our company.” A few people snickered. Jonathan wound his way through the tables, and he caught Cunningham’s eye and jerked his head to indicate that Cunningham should join him.

  “No,” Elle breathed, rooted to the spot where she stood.

  “Open bar for another thirty minutes,” Cunningham announced as he headed toward the bathroom. The employees suddenly started talking amongst themselves as they consulted the drink menus, company business forgotten. Elle helplessly headed after her bosses.

  By the time she arrived into the little hallway that led to the bathrooms, Jonathan was saying into the phone, “We’re very excited to meet you.” He looked awfully pleased with himself.

  Elle gritted her teeth and tried not to scream with frustration. Jonathan and Cunningham didn’t understand the situation. Elle loved her mother, she really did, but Mama was the most critical, judgmental and loudmouthed person Elle had ever met. Even though no one had suggested that Elle admit to be dating all three men, Mama would hate all of them for the pure and simple fact that they were rich. Elle was sure of it.

  “I’ll let her know,” Jonathan said smoothly. “You have a wonderful evening.” He ended the call and surrendered the phone to Elle. “Your mother will be coming to Cunningham’s loft for dinner on Saturday.”

  “No.”

  “I think your sister might also be coming. We offered to provide an on-site babysitter.”

  “No…” Elle slumped against the wall.

  Cunningham touched her hair. “You said you were going to set it up, Elle. The way you’re acting is giving me the impression that you were lying. I really hope that isn’t the case because if you were to lie to me again, I’m not sure I could be as forgiving as in the past.”

  “I was going to do it,” Elle said weakly. But Cunningham was right, of course—she’d hoped putting it off might make the whole thing eventually go away.

  Mama would be one problem, but then there was her sister. Unlike Mama, Savannah might just be able to suss out what was going on.

  If Elle didn’t love Jonathan so much, she would have strangled him for complicating her life like this.

  By the time employees started leaving the restaurant, Elle was completely exhausted. Up until that day, she’d occasionally felt a little bit like an outsider. She’d wondered if it was because some coworkers thought she was getting special treatment due to her relationship with the bosses.

  But the afternoon and evening had changed all of that. Now she truly felt like part of the gang.

  She still wasn’t sure how she felt about the hazing ritual, but at least some good had come of it.

  “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?” Cunningham suggested. His suit jacket was folded carefully over his arm, but he had loosened his tie.

  Elle glanced around. Jonathan and Nolan were nowhere to be seen. “Just the two of us?”

  “Does that pose a problem?”

  “No.” Elle squinted at him. “To do what?”

  “You’ll see.” Cunningham smiled, and Elle’s knees went weak. He was so handsome when he smiled. Too bad he did it so rarely.

  Cunningham guided Elle through the restaurant with a possessive hand on her lower back. Electricity seemed to jump through his fingers and travel down her body, and by the time they reached the valet and taxi stand, Elle’s body was primed for him.

  To her dismay, Cunningham had a beautiful sports car waiting. No chauffeur meant no fooling around in the back seat while someone else drove.

  She studied the sleek machine a moment. It looked brand new, and not quite as… high testosterone… as his other personal vehicles. She got in with a mental shrug; she was hardly an expert on Cunningham’s gadgets.

  Not only did Cunningham have to drive, but it was stick shift and there were too many gears a
nd buttons in the console between them.

  Elle sat in the passenger seat feeling a million miles away from Cunningham. She tried to distract herself from her horniness by watching the city pass. Whenever they stopped at a light, people gawked at the car. Elle rolled her eyes with a sigh, then turned toward Cunningham to ask him about the bridal boutique project she was struggling with.

  But before she opened her mouth, Cunningham said, “There’s something I want to talk to you about. About our relationship.” He said “relationship” as if it were a foreign word that he wasn’t sure how to pronounce correctly.

  “Ok.”

  “In Aspen, we agreed to date for a month. That was a while ago, and obviously things have been working out very well.”

  “You do realize that you’re doing this all wrong? Saying you want to talk means you want to end things, but saying things are going well means you don’t. It’s confusing.”

  Cunningham shot her a confused look. “You do realize that you’re getting mouthy with your Dom.”

  Elle opened and closed her mouth. Ok, technically, yeah, she was.

  “Remove your panties, Elle.”

  She reached up her skirt and slid off the slinky things. Cunningham grabbed them out of her hand.

  “Open wide.”

  She knew better than to protest. She’d long ago learned that once Cunningham got an idea in his mind it was impossible to distract him. Still, she couldn’t help but ask, “Should I stick out my tongue and say ‘ah’?”

  “Could you repeat that?” Cunningham’s words were measured. Elle winced. He really wasn’t in a jokey mood. “I’m waiting, Elle.”

  “Should I stick—”

  Cunningham jammed her wadded up panties into her mouth, and Elle tasted sex. “There’s a difference between being assertive and talking too much, Elle. This is the second time today that I’ve had to gag you.”

  Elle tried to apologize, but the panties just muffled her words.

  “Keep making noise and I’ll find something guaranteed to keep you quiet.” He paused, possibly waiting for Elle to try to say something else. She kept very silent. “Good girl. Now, as I was saying, things have been going very well. Much better than I ever would have expected.” He sounded pleased.