A Woman Worth Fighting For

by Eunice Hart

  Without another word, she turned and walked away, heading for her office. She caught a couple of staff members staring at her from the kitchen as she made for the stairs, but she paid them no attention. She headed up the stairs and made for her office, plunking down on the chair. She did nothing, just leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

  Waiting.

  It wasn’t long before the door swung open and Peter walked in dressed in a blue suit, his chest heaving like he’d been running. He took one look at her and his eyes widened – in surprise or anger, Adele wasn’t quite sure. She tried to ignore the sudden flutter in her chest and for a moment it seemed to be working.

  “What in the world are you doing here?” he asked, shutting the door behind him.

  Adele spread her arms wide. “It’s my office, isn’t it? I’m the manager here.”

  “Yes, but –”

  “But then you decided to fire me,” she interjected. “Because you thought I wasn’t good enough.”

  Peter took a step towards her. “What makes you think –?”

  “No, this is the part where you let me speak!” she snapped, looking him dead in the eye. She rose slowly to her feet. “You might own the restaurant chain, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to be such a prick to me!”

  Her chest heaved but she didn’t care. She’d been harboring this anger since Saturday, even before he fired her. Now she was going to let it all out. And, dang, it felt good.

  “Ever since the day I walked into this restaurant, I have done nothing but my job,” she went on before he could say a word. “I have done my very best to make sure that this restaurant gets as many customers and as much attention as possible, and all you have done is spit on my ideas.”

  He shot her an incredulous look. “Your job is to take orders from me.”

  “My job is to manage. But all you’ve ever really been worried about is your legacy. You stick your head in the past and never get to try new things. And when someone comes around to help you see things differently, what do you do? You give them the axe.” She let out a mirthless laugh. “You didn’t even have the gut to tell me to my face that you didn’t want me working for you. No, the great Peter Tanaka would rather send an email, because he’s nothing but a coward.”

  A hurt expression clouded his face, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She rounded the table and walked over to him, poking him in the chest with her finger as she spoke. “I don’t need to work for a fucking coward.”

  With that, she started to walk around him to the door, but he grabbed her arm before she could reach it, and pressed her against the wall, his eyes burning into hers. For a second, all they could hear was their harsh breathing.

  Then Peter said, “I’m not a coward.”

  Adele tried harder to ignore the sensations that had suddenly surfaced inside her. “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

  She’d said it just because. She’d been expecting Peter to say or do something random to show her he wasn’t what she’d called him. What she hadn’t expected was for him to kiss her.

  Their mouths fit perfectly. Peter’s lips were soft and tasted a bit salty. For a moment, Adele froze, surprised that he would do this, but she soon gave in to his kiss, loving the way it made her feel. The flutter in her chest grew until it was impossible to ignore and found herself returning Peter’s kiss with equal fervor.

  All of a sudden, she broke the kiss and stared at him. “Why are you doing this?”

  Peter’s eyes were dark with what Adele recognized as desire. “Because I’m tired of being a coward.”

  She couldn’t believe this was happening. Peter Tanaka had kissed her! She had to admit, as surprising as it was, it was rather thrilling. Adele wondered just how long he’d been harboring feelings for her. Had he ever imagined she might feel the same way?

  “But is this right?” she asked him, keeping her eyes on his. “I’m not like you. Isn’t this against the Tanaka legacy?”

  That question took him by complete surprise and Peter’s gaze darkened. For a second, he looked lost in thought. Adele gave herself a mental slap. She shouldn’t have asked that.

  “Fuck the legacy,” Peter said.

  There was a click as he locked the door behind her. And then he was kissing her again, even more fiercely, awakening a fire in the depths of her belly. Adele felt his hands exploring her body, rounding the curve of her butt and caressing it, sliding up her back to cup her head. She let her own hands do some roaming and was pleased at how incredibly hot he was.

  No, not hot. Sexy. He was sexy, period. Between the fact that he was her boss and that the staff were just outside and might easily figure out what was going on, the ideas filling her mind couldn’t have sounded any more thrilling. The mere thoughts sent a rush coursing through her. It made her feel…sexy, a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  She raked her fingers through his hair, lightly running her hands over his toned body under his suit, feeling his muscles through his shirt. Before she knew it, she was tugging the suit off him and unbuttoning his shirt. He unbuckled his belt and let his trousers fall to the floor. Peter tossed them aside and stood before her, his chest bare and gloriously beautiful. Adele’s gaze went lower and her eyes widened as they took in the huge bulge in his boxer briefs.

  “Your turn,” Peter told her before she could start drooling. His chest was heaving; clearly, he was just as anxious as she was.

  Adele swallowed. Was he really sure he wanted to see under her clothes?

  After a moment of debating between stripping and running out of the office to hide, she obliged, peeling off her gown until she was standing in her underwear. She didn’t stop there, but took off those off as well, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. When she looked back up, Peter had taken a step backwards, his mouth hanging open. For a moment, Adele figured he found her repulsive. Then she caught the gleam in his eyes.

  “My God, you’re beautiful,” he said.

  He said it like she was a treasure he’d been searching for all his life. Adele felt a hot rush all over her.

  “So are you,” she replied, somewhat shyly.

  He beckoned her over to him, then pulled her to him and continued to kiss her, his hands cupping her breasts and tweaking the nipples until she moaned into his mouth. Adele sank against him, splaying her fingers on his chest, loving the feel of his rock-hard muscles against her hands. This man was something else. She let a hand stray downwards, past the waistline of his boxers, and curled her fingers around him, gasping at how large he felt in her hand. Could she possibly take all of him inside her?

  He flipped them both around and the next thing Adele knew there was a rustling of papers and she was lying flat on her back on her desk, Peter on top of her. She felt his hands slide between her legs and caress her and she moaned, easing her hips towards him. She was surprised to feel the bare entirety of him throbbing against her flesh. How had he gotten his briefs off so quickly?

  Peter took one rounded breast into his mouth and sucked hard on the nipple, and she felt the pull all the way in the apex of her thighs. She could feel the wetness between her thighs growing. She put her arms around him, trailing a path down his back with her hands.

  Suddenly, Peter pulled away, panting slightly, his pupils dilated. “May I?”

  Somehow, hearing him ask sent a thrill through her. She nodded, her breath hitching in her throat as he positioned his cock at her entrance.

  With a low moan, he slid into her, his eyes rolling up into his head like he was about to pass out. His cock was still long and hard and seemed to be growing stiffer by the second, stretching her wider and wider. Underneath him, Adele couldn’t help moaning as he filled her. Without warning, he began to move, pumping in and out of her in a slow rhythm. Adele could feel his cock pulsing inside her, hot and rock-hard. Each time he moved, it sent darts of insane pleasure ripping through her body. She lay flat on her back, moaning as he moved into her, filling the office with wet sounds as their
groins joined.

  “Oh, yes,” she moaned as he increased his pace, keeping one hand on her distended nipple, the other hand straying to my engorged clit and rubbing it without mercy. Her pleasure multiplied and moans parted her lips. “Oh my God, yes!”

  “Fuck the legacy,” Peter whispered against her ear.

  The words were barely out of his mouth before he eased himself completely out of her and flipped her over onto her front like a rag doll. Adele had only time to think, Oh, this is nice, before he shoved his cock back inside her, wrenching her lips apart with a sharp cry. Without warning, he braced his hands on her hips and began pounding inside her, holding her tight so that her hips remained in place, her buttocks jiggling like crazy. Adele tried to keep her lips pressed together, but the moans came anyway. This new position was doing wonderful things to her. If Peter kept this up, she just might end up covering him and the table in her juices.

  “Come on, baby,” she heard him say. “That’s it.”

  The feeling of his cock stretching her, combined with his deep, sexy voice and the way he kept grabbing her hips, was bound to drive her crazy. She could feel herself drawing closer and closer to her orgasm. Oh, damn…

  He gave her buttock a caress and squeezed it, kneading it in his hand like it was a lump of dough. Then he pulled his cock out of her, still holding her hips so that she remained in place and her butt was on full display, her core dripping with unsatisfied need. She was expecting him to flip her around or just continue pounding her from behind, maybe with a few added kinks this time.

  What she wasn’t expecting was for him to slide three fingers into her and start violently pumping. He rubbed against her spot and she let out a soft cry, her walls immediately clenching around those thick fingers of his. Adele’s chest heaved as the pressure built up within her, threatening to explode.

  “Come for me, baby girl,” Peter urged, his fingers pumping harder, faster.

  His words were her undoing.

  “Oh, fuck!” she screamed, her body trembling as her orgasm hit her, her juices shooting out of her and covering his fingers. In seconds, both the table and the CEO’s thighs were covered in her juices, but that didn’t stop him. He continued to pump with his fingers, muttering words of encouragement as her screams filled the office. Adele wondered fleetingly if the workers or customers could hear them but brushed the thought aside. These walls seemed too thick to let that much sound out. Besides, even if anyone heard them, she couldn’t exactly get into trouble. The person with the most power in the restaurant chain was the one pounding her from behind.

  He withdrew his fingers and quickly replaced them with his cock, filling her in an instant. This time it was her eyes that rolled up into her head. Without a moment’s hesitation, he let go of her hips and began to move again, pumping in and out of her like a piston. Adele’s toes curled; she could feel his cock stirring her again, drawing her nearer to another orgasm.

  She couldn’t help grinning. Coming on his fingers had been awesome but coming all over his cock…that would be something else.

  She started to match his strokes, thrusting her hips upwards and clenching her inner muscles around him on purpose until a deep grunt escaped his lips. Peter pounded harder than ever, his strokes gradually becoming less rhythmic and more erratic, and she could tell his orgasm was drawing nearer. His movements grew spasmodic. Suddenly, he reached down to stroke her clit, rubbing faster than she’d imagined possible.

  “Holy shit!” Adele screeched into the fluffy mattress.

  Her walls contracted around him as she came, covering his cock with her juices. She could feel the wetness trickling down her thighs, wet sounds filling the office as Peter continued to pound into her. He gave her buttocks one last squeeze, then let out a roar as he spilled his thick, warm seed deep into her. Peter collapsed on top of her and then rolled off her, their pants filling the office.

  “I always knew sex with you would be great, but I never imagined it would be this awesome,” she said grinning.

  Peter raised an eyebrow at her. “You’ve been thinking about us having sex?”

  “When I wasn’t thinking about how much I hated your guts, yeah.” She splayed her hand on his chest, feeling his abs on her fingers, and the smile faded. “I guess I won’t have to think about that now that I no longer work here.”

  There was a sigh from him. And then: “Adele, it wasn’t me who fired you.”

  She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowing.

  “What are you talking about? The email had your name and everything.”

  Peter shook his head. “I didn’t fire you.”

  “Well, if you didn’t, who did?”

  Even before Peter replied, she already knew the answer.

  “That was my sister. She managed to pull a few strings in my absence and get you fired because she’s a Tanaka. But I’m here now, and I already told her I was going to undo what she did.”

  Of course, Aneko Tanaka would do such a vile thing. Adele should’ve known. The woman clearly didn’t want to give her any chances at all.

  But it wasn’t her restaurant chain, was it?

  “I’d like for you to continue working here, if that’s okay with you,” Peter said.

  Adele gave a scoff. “But what’s the point if you’ll keep shutting down my ideas?”

  Peter was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, “I’ll try not to.”

  That sounded like a good start.

  Chapter 6

  And Stay Out!

  Betty wouldn’t let her go to sleep early that night. She made Adele sit and narrate everything that had happened at the office, her eyebrows rising higher as the story progressed. When Adele finally got to the part where she and Peter got naked, she let out a scream and Muffin gave a loud yowl.

  “Shh, Muffin,” Adele told the cat in her lap, shooting Betty a mock glare. “The landlord can’t know you’re here or he’ll evict us. No pets in the apartment, remember? Although you can’t help it if someone keeps squealing at my words.”

  Betty shot her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I’m just so excited for you. I can’t believe you actually had sex with this guy. So, you two had the hots for each other and didn’t even know it? How cliché is that? Also, are you his girlfriend now?”

  “Yes.” Adele felt a surge of pride as she said it. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  But as the days went by, she started to wonder if that was really the case. She hadn’t received a call or a text – or even an email – from Peter. It had been four days and he still hadn’t showed up at the restaurant to see her. If she didn’t know better, Adele might think he was avoiding her.

  Was he? It sounded a lot like he’d been ignoring her. Adele couldn’t help the thoughts that took form in her mind. What if all he’d wanted was a one-time fling with her? Maybe he didn’t want her as much as she’d thought he did. As much as she wanted him to. Maybe it all had been in her head, another unrealistic fantasy that would only bring her pain in the end.

  But it was great that she’d noticed the signs early this time. At least, it wouldn’t hurt as much as Josh had hurt her. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Adele was still reeling from her experience with her ex-boyfriend.

  Whatever the issue was, she needed to clarify things with Peter once and for all. Was she his girlfriend or not? Did he really like her? She needed to be sure from the start if she didn’t want to end up getting pasta dumped on her head by some unknown other girlfriend of his.

  Her surprise came the next week, but it wasn’t Peter who showed up at the Tanaka restaurant. Adele was reprimanding a waiter for nearly breaking a glass, when the door swung open and he walked in, looking like he hadn’t changed one bit. He wore a bright blue shirt over brown trousers and black Tom Fords, looking like he’d just stepped out of a magazine. By his side, grinning as they made their way towards one of the booths, her arms practically wrapped around him, was a dark, slender woman with a huge afro.

  “Josh?”


  The man stopped in his tracks and whirled about in the direction of her voice. When his eyes landed on her, they widened. For a second, she thought she could see unease in them, but then he broke into a smile.

  “Adele?” He beckoned her over, beaming so wide she feared his teeth might fall out. “Oh, my God. It’s been so long since I last saw you.”

  “One year to be precise.” When I found out I wasn’t your only girlfriend and got food poured on me, she wanted to add, but she merely faked a smile.

  “Wow. Oh, and by the way, this is my girlfriend Sheri,” he added, gesturing at his date, causing Adele to really look at the woman for the first time. She realized with a cringe that this wasn’t the same woman who’d humiliated her at that restaurant last year. This was an entirely different person, someone who clearly wasn’t aware of Josh’s antics. Someone else he was using. Looking at the woman, Adele felt a surge of rage, but she couldn’t be sure whether it was from seeing another woman with her ex-boyfriend or because she knew exactly what kind of “relationship” the woman had with Josh.

  “Nice to meet you,” Sheri said, extending a hand. Adele looked at the woman’s smiling face before she shook it and felt a twinge of pity. She was so clueless.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you two waiting,” she said. “Why don’t you sit? I’ll get the waiter.”

  Josh’s eyebrows furrowed. “Aren’t you eating, too? We could even have dinner together.”

  Still smiling, Sheri looked sideways at him and she could see the incredulity in her eyes.

  “Actually, I’m not here to have dinner,” Adele explained quickly, for the woman’s sake and hers as well. “I work here. I’m the manager.”

  His eyebrows arched significantly in surprise. “Really? I did not see that coming. That’s quite an improvement. I’m really happy for you, Adele.”

  “Are you?”

  Both Josh and Sheri blinked at her.

  “What?” Josh asked.

  “Are you ready to eat?” Adele said quickly. She forced a laugh. “Never mind, I bet you’re starving. I’ll get the waiter to get your order.”