“What was that all about?” Quinn asks between sips.

I mutter, “Nothing,” and keep my head down while inhaling the sweet caffeinated aroma coming from my cup.

“Does it have anything to do with you screaming like a banshee this morning?”

I almost choke on the hot liquid in my mouth and barely manage to stop it from shooting out my nose. When Quinn sees my shocked expression, my eyes wide, she giggles.

“You heard me?” I whisper. Quinn laughs harder and I wish the sidewalk would swallow me whole. Great. Nothing like your best friend hearing your screams in the middle of a wet dream.

“I’m pretty sure the whole building heard you, Cass,” she chuckles.

“Can you imagine what I would’ve sounded like if I fi-” I slap my hand over my mouth and watch as Quinn almost doubles over with laughter. Now I’ve really done it. Foot meet mouth.

Quinn finally catches her breath and pats my shoulder sympathetically. “We need to get you laid,” she proclaims, not giving a rats ass who overhears our conversation. We walk past a little old lady who gasps and then scowls when I look at her sheepishly.

“Says the diva who was out until God knows what time this morning, getting freaky with Jarred,” I retort quickly. Her porcelain cheeks flush. “Ha,” I shout. “I knew it! You just can’t stop yourself, can you?”

Quinn lifts her dainty shoulders in a shrug but I see the smile tugging at her red lips. She can’t lie to me. I heard her come in at about two a.m. “Why don’t you put the poor guy out of his misery and go on a date with him?” I ask.

She purses her lips, pulling the bottom one between her teeth. “Because I don’t do commitment,” she replies. “Jarred and I are just friends.”

I snort. “Friends who happen to fuck like rabbits for three weeks out of the month.”

“What can I say,” she grins. “When I have an itch, nobody can scratch it quite like Jarred does.” A sigh breaks free from her mouth. “God, he’s fantastic in bed. If I didn’t go to gym four days a week he would’ve broken my va-jay-jay by now.”

“Lucky bitch,” I mutter under my breath.

“I’ve told you before, Jarred has plenty of hot lawyer friends who I’m sure will be happy to help you get rid of some of your frustration. Just say the word and I’ll have him hook you up,” Quinn says.

I shake my head. “We’ve spoken about this before, Quinny. I don’t want a ‘hump and dump’.” She shrugs nonchalantly as we enter the double doors to our office building.

“Suit yourself.”

I look around the lobby of Knight Media and smile. I’ve been the publishing assistant for almost two years now, since I graduated from college, and wouldn’t give it up for anything. I worked my ass off to get here. Knight Media is the second largest media company in the city. It is an umbrella company of sorts, housing a complementary group of multinational companies specializing in publishing, digital advertising and film and television production. Quinn is the editorial assistant for the newspaper division while I work in the book publishing division. Our CEO, Robert Knight, recently decided to branch out into digital publishing and gave me the task of putting together a proposal for the executives. That’s why I can’t be late for any meeting.

“Holy shit,” I hear Quinn whisper next to me. I look up and follow her gaze until my eyes land on him.

His black suit fits him flawlessly, his navy blue shirt tucked in just enough to show a broad chest. His mop of dark brown hair hangs just above his eyebrows but is styled in that just-fucked way. “Who’s that?” I ask in a hushed tone, as if the Adonis over there may hear me.

“That, my sexually frustrated friend,” Quinn sighs, putting her toned arm over my shoulders. “Is none other than the infamous Kyler Knight.”

My lips form an ‘Oh’ as we watch Kyler being mauled by a drop dead gorgeous redhead who kisses him unabashedly, giving no mind to the small audience gathering to watch their embrace. “Who’s the redhead?”

Quinn frowns and her face contorts into the expression she gets when she’s about to be a total bitch. “Jessa fucking Price.” My eyebrows shoot up at the tone of her voice.

“You know her?” I ask.

“Everybody does. She’s slept with half the people in this city. Our fathers are friends and our mothers both champion the same charities. I practically grew up with the bitch.”

Quinn pulls me towards the elevator, dragging my attention away from the beautiful couple and back to reality. I check my watch and see that I have exactly ten minutes before my meeting starts. We step into the empty elevator just as a hand stops the two doors from closing. He steps into the elevator and the air in my lungs somehow escapes without ever leaving my mouth.

“Quinn,” he greets with a smile. She knows him?

“Kyler,” she replies, not returning his friendliness. His eyes travel the length of my body, the tiny hairs on the back my neck standing up, until they lock with mine. I suck in a breath. I know those blue eyes. He brushes a piece of hair out if his face and I notice that it’s darker than what I thought. A dark, rich chocolate brown.

“Who’s your friend?” he asks. The question is directed at Quinn but our eyes never break contact.

“Cassey Emerson. Cassey, this is Kyler Knight. His father owns Knight Media.” Kyler sticks out his hand and I gingerly mimic his action. His hand is easily three times bigger than mine. It wraps around mine effortlessly, his slightly calloused fingers brushing up against my soft skin.

“Nice to meet you, Cassey.” His smile widens into a wolfish grin.

“You too,” I squeak. He holds my hand a moment longer than what would be considered appropriate when meeting someone for the first time. The elevator chimes and I drop his hand like it’s burned me. Quinn grasps my elbow and leads me out onto our floor. Kyler’s eyes stay fixed on me until the elevator doors close.

“Wipe your mouth, Cass,” she whispers harshly. “You’re drooling and I’m pretty sure Kyler noticed.”

Kyler. Why does that name sound so familiar?

Then it hits me like a freight train.

“Oh, God,” I breathe. My eyes go wide and I look at Quinn.

“What?” she asks. I swallow hard and fight the blush I can feel creeping up my neck into my cheeks.

“Quinn,” I sputter. “It’s him.”

Her eyebrows dip into a confused scowl, “It’s him who?” We step into my office and I shut the door quickly.

“It’s him, Quinn.”

“What are you talking about, Cass?”

“Kyler. He’s the one I dreamt about this morning.” I bury my face in my hands to hide my mortification. I risk a peek through my fingers and see Quinn’s shoulders shaking with her quiet laughter. “Quinn,” I whine. “It’s not funny.” I slap her on the arm.

“You’re right,” she replies between laughs. “It’s not funny. It’s hilarious.” I throw my hands up in defeat and grab my little make up bag to start applying my make-up. Quinn comes to stand next to me. “Are you sure it was him?” she asks seriously. All the laughter is gone from her face.

“Yes. I said his name and told him to-” my mouth snaps shut before I divulge any more humiliating information about my naughty dream. Quinn smirks and I bite my lip to stifle the giggle I feel crawling up my throat.

“I don’t blame you. He’s a catch and I hear he’s certainly not lacking down south,” Quinn concedes. She grabs the eye shadow from my hands and spins me so that I’m facing her.

“I didn’t know you knew him,” I say quietly while she applies some color to my eyelids.

“Not very well. I just know our parents are acquaintances. Kyler has a bit of a reputation and he’s a few years older than us so we never really hung out,” she states. My thoughts drift back to the redhead we saw pawing him earlier and my face twists into a scowl involuntarily.

“Was that his girlfriend down in the lobby?” I ask, trying to sound indifferent. I fail miserably. I open my eyes to find Quinn studying me.

“No,” she replies. “But they attend most of the social events together throughout the year. It’s no secret that they’re using each other for sex.” I don’t know why, but a sudden heaviness settles in my belly. Quinn checks her watch. “You better skedaddle. You’re going to be late,” she tells me.

“See you at lunch?” I ask on my way out. She nods and we head in opposite directions.

I walk into the boardroom a minute before our meeting starts and almost fall out of my chair when Kyler walks in behind his father. Robert Knight is one of the nicest men I have ever met. He is a tall man, although not as tall as his son, and has a slight belly. His face is warm and inviting and even on a bad day, he is always smiling. Mia, our overly enthusiastic publishing intern who’s sitting next to me, battles to suppress her excitement when she spots Kyler and giggles in her seat. That’s when I notice that most of the women, married or not, are staring open mouthed. The room goes quiet.

“Good morning everyone,” Robert greets. There’s an incoherent mumble from the men in the room while the women continue to eye fuck Kyler. “This is my son, Kyler.” Robert continues, oblivious to those of us who look like panting dogs in heat. “From today, he will be working for Knight Media.” He grins proudly at his son, who acknowledges us with a simple nod. “Right, then,” he pats Kyler on the back. “We’ll leave you kids to it.” He walks out and Kyler lingers a moment longer, locking his eyes with mine. His glare makes me shiver and I see his lip curl up in amusement. Shmuck. When he leaves, the women all sigh, chatting excitedly amongst themselves before our immediate boss, Kevin, takes charge.