by Hollis Wynn
Holding his hand, he walks me down the street to his sleek and shiny car before I can argue. We stop and he helps me in before we peel away from the curb, leaving tire tracks in our wake.
“I’m sorry,” I finally say. “You were right. Are you mad?” I whisper. I think the alcohol has been shoved out of my system by the sheer force of his driving. Baker showed up like a knight in shining armor to save me, and I should be thankful.
“I’m not mad, Sutton. I’m fucking pissed, and I was worried.” He loosens his grip on the wheel, returning the color of his knuckles to normal.
“I’m fine. I didn’t even see him except from afar, but I am a little tipsy.” I turn fully in my seat and he smirks.
“You think?”
I giggle and hold up my thumb and forefinger and inch apart. “A little.”
He grins to himself.
“Hopefully not too drunk to take advantage,” he murmurs, but I hear him anyway.
“Of what,” I laugh.
He smiles and glances at me again. His eyes are blazing with desire and his jaw is tight. “You.”
Thirty
Baker’s touch causes my skin to shiver even when I’m not cold. Goose bumps to the max. I’m not sure if the swaying in my head is from the alcohol or the weightless breath fanning across my body and weighing me down.
“You’re a hilarious drunk,” Baker says, smiling down at me.
The first thing he did when we arrived at my apartment was get me a glass of water. He’s so good to me and I’m praying we don’t have very many more of the nights where I’m tipsy and he has to rescue me.
“I’m not drunk, babe. I only had a couple drinks,” I giggle and roll onto my side, folding my hands under my face and staring up at him.
He sits on the bed next to me, holding a plate with two vanilla cupcakes. I pass right over him and head for the cupcakes.
“Yeah, right. Eat.” He nods to the fluffy deliciousness.
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” I grab one and peel back the wrapper, one side at a time until I’m holding a springy sponge and mounds of icing. I break part of the bottom off and make a cupcake sandwich so I have a series of perfect bites.
Three bites later, the cupcake is gone and Baker is still watching me. “You’re adorable, do you know that?”
I sit up, unzip my dress, and toss it toward the closet. Then I unclasp my bra and throw it in the same direction as the dress. I lie back on the bed and stare up at his chiseled abs.
“I am not,” I say, attempting to sound forceful. He just laughs at me and hands me the other cupcake. I shake my head no, because there is no way I’m adding any more sugar to my body. Water only for this girl.
“Yes. You. Are.” He cuts his eyes at me, and I know we’re not discussing this anymore.
We settle on the bed together; me curled up under the covers and him lounging next to me. I offer him the other cupcake even though I don’t normally share. “Peace offering?”
“And you said don’t like to share,” he taunts before taking a large bite. He smacks as he chews, and I know he’s just trying to annoy me. I prop the pillows up and lean on them, breasts on full display. His eyes dip to them, ready to eat them instead of the cupcake.
“Are you ticklish?” he asks me. Fingers trailing down my neck and my skin is white hot everywhere he touches me.
“You wouldn’t,” I state hopelessly.
“I will.” He smirks at me. “Should we check out the rest of this beautiful body, hunting for any more ticklish spots?” His bright eyes bore into mine as he asks the question.
“Please no.”
The deep rumble in his throat goes directly to my core. I watch as he trails his fingers down my clavicle, to my sternum, stopping on my breasts.
“No.” He arches his brow at me, and I shake my head slowly. He continues moving his hand, circling my nipples one more time. “I guess I’ll have to keep looking.” Suddenly he lifts his hands and stands, removing the rest of his clothes.
“Sober yet?” he laughs.
“Why are you so insistent on not doing anything until I’m stone cold sober?” I ask him. He takes his place on the bed and I toss one of my legs over his.
“Maybe I’m afraid you’ll barf on me,” he deadpans. I giggle softly, but he’s not wrong. That could happen. “I have one rule.”
I gasp and laugh. “You have rules?”
“Yeah. Intoxicated sex is a no go. Too many complications.”
Wow. He really is one of the good guys.
“Why? Do you think I’d do something or say something?” I’m completely lucid at this point and have zero giggle juice left in me, though I am exhausted.
“Not exactly. I’d prefer you focus on me. Completely aware of what I’m doing to your body.” His hand grips my thigh tighter and I relish his hands on me.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“Just like that. I want to hear you call out when we’re together. And I don’t want you to wonder what we did the next morning.”
I cock my head to the side and allow my eyes to flutter closed.
“I like being with you, Sutton,” he leans over and murmurs into my hair.
“I like being with you too,” I say before drifting off to sleep.
Thirty-One
“Are you ready?” I ask Baker as he stops the car in front of my parents’ house.
“Are you, is the bigger question.”
“Is anyone ever ready to ask their mother why she allows her husband to cheat on her?” I cock my head at him, my eyes large and sad.
“I can’t imagine they are. Just remember, I’m here with you.” He gives my hand one more squeeze before exiting the car and coming around to open my door.
“Here goes nothing,” I say.
Walking in the front door, I feel different. No longer am I a child, but an adult trying to navigate the world of secrets and lies. I close the door behind us, and Baker pulls me to him. “You’ve got this.” He kisses me softly and I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
“Mom,” I say loudly.
“In here.” I hear her respond and know she’s in the kitchen. I say a silent prayer that my father isn’t here tonight because I don’t know if I can handle him finding out about Baker and me at the same time I question my mother about her philandering husband.
I grasp on to Baker’s hand and my heart settles.
“Something smells good,” I say as we walk into the kitchen. Mom is pulling garlic bread out of the oven and I want to devour it.
“It’s nothing fancy. I made your favorite ziti and garlic bread. There is a salad in the fridge if you’d like to get it out.”
“Sure.” I drop Baker’s hand and pull the crystal salad bowl out of the fridge.
“We’re going to eat in here unless you’d prefer something more formal.”
“This is perfect, Mrs. Sterling,” Baker says. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Mom shakes her head and I place the bowl on the table, then take my seat. I pat the chair next to me and Baker takes his place, as does Mom.
Dinner is fairly uneventful, which is what I hoped for. She and Baker have known each other for a while, so there aren’t any awkward moments or silent staring contests. Once everything is cleaned up, I make a pot of coffee. I don’t care that it’s after ten, I’m going to need the courage to have this discussion.
“Which creamer would you like, Mom?” She drinks loads of coffee and depending on the day, she may have three or four types of cream in her fridge.
“Cinnamon dolce, please.”
I fix each of us a mug and bring them to the table. I look at Baker and he smiles at me. “Mom,” I say.
“What is wrong, Sutton? And don’t lie to me. You rarely come here and when you do, it’s because there is a problem.”
She picks up the steaming mug and holds it in her hands but doesn’t take a drink. No matter how many times I rehearsed this speech, my mind is totally blank. So, I take the di
rect approach. “Do you know a woman named Daniella?”
She sighs and places her coffee on the table. “I do,” she says quietly, staring at the table and refusing to make eye contact with me. “She’s your dad’s girlfriend.”
And there it is. My mother knows and accepts my father has a girlfriend.
I stare at her. We have the same hair and skin tone. But our personalities are totally different. I’ve always seen her as a dependent woman who needs a man and will do anything to keep him.
“I’m so confused.”
She looks at Baker and then back at me. “I guess I should start from the beginning.”
An hour later, I know all about how she met my father, got pregnant the first time they had sex and how my grandparents made him marry her so I wouldn’t be a bastard. Talk about old-fashioned. I also learned that those same grandparents gave them the capital to start SEI and that my mother is the majority shareholder, but she’s allowed my father to be CEO and her proxy during board meetings.
“The first time he cheated, it broke my heart. I packed you up, and we went to stay with my parents for a couple weeks. Thankfully, it was the summer, and you thought we were going on vacation.”
I remember that trip. I was seven, and it was the first time I recall going on a vacation without my father.
“Your grandfather called him and told him if he wanted to keep his job and the business, he was going to keep his affairs hidden and never embarrass me or the family again. If he broke his promise, they’d take over the company since they were the sole stockholders at that time.”
My mouth drops open. I don’t ever remember them being anything but mild-mannered, doting grandparents.
“He agreed, because he knew if I filed for divorce it would be a scandal and he didn’t want that. When we came back home, I made a deal with him. He would keep his whores quiet and out of the spotlight and I’d make sure he had access to the money he needed to grow the business. If he made any more mistakes, then he’d go from being the sugar daddy to a sugar baby.”
I snort, trying to imagine my father living in a shitty apartment without all the pleasures he’s used to.
“So why now? Why is he letting this out?” Baker gets up and moves to sit next to me and places his hand on my thigh, trying to calm me.
“I told him I wanted a divorce and I’m going to sell the business. I’m tired of rattling around in this big house and the cold—I’m over it. I bought a place in Texas and I’m going to move in the spring. That will give me long enough to deal with all the things so I don’t have to come back except to visit you.”
My mouth falls open. I look over at Baker, and his eyes are bulging out of his face. What the hell? Way to drop a bomb on my Mother.
“What happens next?” I ask, my heart races and feel more like a child than an adult at this point.
“He’s moved in with Daniella and I’m packing the things I want to take with me, and I’ll call Rosie to have her come and list the house. Logistically, everything is taken care of.”
She places her hand on my forearm. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I was planning to come to see you, but when you called, I knew something was wrong.”
I scoot my chair back and it makes a loud squeal on the tile. “I’m sorry you lived like this for so long, Mom.”
She stands and I pull her into a tight hug, not wanting to let go.
“I’m going to miss you,” I say, and I will. We’re not super close, but she’s my mother and I love her.
“Don’t worry. You guys will have your own bedroom at my house.” She winks at Baker before sitting back down, and I know she approves. “Now tell me how long you two have been together. Don’t leave out any details.”
Before I get a chance, Baker speaks up first and says, “Mrs. Sterling, you’re the first to know we’re dating. You know how SEI is with their unwritten ‘no fraternization’ rule.”
“Mom, please don’t say anything to Dad. I can’t deal with him after all that’s been happening lately. Baker and I just want to live in our little happy bubble for a while longer,” I say to my mom, but my smile is for Baker.
“That non-fraternization rule is a load of crap,” Mom says with a smirk. “It all started after the threat from your grandparents, Sutton. It was intended to stop your father from dating the staff.” Mom takes a big sip from her wineglass before continuing, “And you can see how effective that was. The man doesn’t date the employees, he just fucks the clients.”
Baker and I look at each other and then burst out laughing. I haven’t seen or heard my mother this animated in years. I have to think the divorce is going to be a good thing for her.
“Well, I guess I should start looking for another job though, since you’re selling the company,” I say once my giggles die down.
“Oh, honey,” Mom says. “Don’t worry about that right now. Things have a way of working themselves out.”
I hope she’s right.
Thirty-Two
Today is much of the same—emails, unnecessary requests, and grumpy men. But I don’t let it bother me. I smile because Baker and I are officially together and not allowing anyone to give us grief. It helps that we have a secret and know what’s coming down the pipeline.
It’s been a couple weeks since Baker hauled me out of the club after I tried to get Soren Langston under my spell, and I am still wondering what he’s up to. Will he hurt someone with the crimes he’s committing?
Lunch goes by and Baker is swamped with meetings. I manage to spend three minutes with him in the break room while he’s making a cup of coffee before the next one.
Since we don’t have any plans set in stone, I head to his office. I expect to see his office as organized as normal, but I’m shocked at the scene in front of me. There are piles of folders and papers littering his desk and he has a large white board propped on his couch with all kinds of scribbles written on it.
“What’s all this?”
He turns to me and gives me a tired smile. I shut the door behind me and walk toward him. He has a glass of bourbon in his hands and dark rings around his deep blue eyes. His hair is disheveled, and he’s divested himself of his jacket and tie.
“Just trying to make sense of all the pieces.” He beckons me over. I walk to him and he pulls me into his side as we both stare at the board.
“This the Lake case?”
“Yeah, and I still don’t have any answers.”
I take a minute to think this through before I comment, “You should call him. Langston, I mean.”
“Pft. Why? So, he can lie to me?” Exhaustion rings out and I know he is at his wit’s end.
I smile to myself as the puzzle takes shape in my mind. I turn to him with a goofy smile and I know he thinks I’m crazy.
“No. So he can tell you his version of the truth.”
Baker makes a funny face and looks around the room. “Are you drunk?”
I laugh and shake my head, pulling a chair in front of the couch and sitting down.
“Just listen to me. Langston is a narcissist. He will also love to be the one who saves the day—and the business. Whether or not it’s true, if he thinks he’s getting one over on you, he’ll cooperate.”
Baker chuckles and pulls the other chair next to me. “Continue.”
“Does Langston know we’re on to him?”
Baker shakes his head at me in response. “Good. If we go in and tell him we’ve found a problem with the books and need his help to figure out who’s doing it, he’ll find a way to keep the attention off him. That will allow us to insinuate that Lake is the issue and maybe he’ll accidentally give something up.”
Baker nods to himself. “He’s stayed under the radar all these years, what makes you think he’d cooperate with us?”
“It’s not a sure thing, but someone as cocky as he is will want to be the hero while being the villain at the same time.”
“Fine. I’ll give it some thought and discuss it with Hunter
and Austin.”
I smile and nod. “Deal. But remember, it was my idea.”
“You looked like you were going to throw your drink at him.” Baker smiles at me. The dim lights of the restaurant create an ambiance that screams celebration.
“I was,” I giggle and take another sip of my wine. The crisp white will enhance the fish I ordered.
“To your idea,” Baker says, holding up his glass. I touch mine to his with a faint clink of the glass.
“To the one who took an idea and ran with it. It was all you, Hayes,” I say and wink at him. Our knees brush together under the table and I scoot closer to him. “What are we going to do now?”
“Well, it’s going to be a bit before I wrap this whole thing up, but once it’s over, let’s take a vacation. I think we deserve one.”
“That sounds amazing. I’d love to get out of here for a week and lounge on a beach somewhere. No thinking or working. Just sun, surf, and sex.”
I picture myself lying on a lounger next to an infinity pool watching the waves crash into the shore while drinking pretty little drinks with umbrellas in them.
“Get your passport ready, Ms. Sterling.” He leans in and kisses me. “We’re going on vacation.”
Mrs. B
Capricorn, Cupcakes and Cocktails
It’s been a while since we chatted, so I thought I’d catch you all up. My life changed for the better the day I became Mrs. B at sunset on a quiet beach. It was a day I’ll dream of every night and repeat every day as long as I get to be Mrs. B.
I believe that things come to us when we need them—that includes love. If B had shown interest in me any other time, I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you our story. I’ve read a ton of books where office romances work, but I never thought I’d be a party to one.
Three years ago, when I started this blog, I was taking a chance. A chance on love and blogging. Once things became serious with B, I took a break because I wasn’t ready to share that part of my life with you guys. Don’t get me wrong—I missed you and didn’t want to be disingenuous, but I felt strongly about keeping him to myself.