I turned back to my desk, at the box of a few personal belongings that I still needed to unpack and took out the framed picture of me and Hunter. His smile reminded me that things were going to get better, and they were.
Hunter was my six-year-old son, and the spitting image of his father, except he had the same blue eyes as I had. His dad wasn’t around anymore and hadn’t been for a long time. When Hunter turned two, he got sick and Kevin, his dad, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We eventually took him to a specialist who confirmed that he had leukemia. A day after Hunter got his first treatment, Kevin – who was in the army – was deployed to Afghanistan. I was left alone at the worst possible time in my life. He came back after his tour and things got tense between me and him. He was a different person. A few months later he left again, and it was hard seeing him go again. It was expected since I knew he was in the military before we got serious. The bad news just kept on coming when I got a visit from two colonels, saying that he was killed in action. I couldn’t handle the pressure and the heartbreak, and the loss, but I had to be strong for my son. While Hunter and I were going through the worst time of our lives, Kevin’s life ended. Way too soon.
Of course, I had to be strong for both of us. I had to watch my baby boy get stabbed with needles, receive chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants so many times that I had lost count. We had spent more time in the hospital than not the first four years of his life. It was painful to watch him in so much pain, and there was nothing I could do to take the pain away but hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be okay soon. Even though I kept fighting, kept staying positive for him, I did reach a stage where I almost accepted that I might lose him too. He was such a tiny little boy, my boy. The most important thing in my entire world.
I received the news that Hunter was in remission last year, a week before his fifth birthday, and he has been doing so well the past eighteen months. We’ve only been to the hospital for his biannual checkups, but of course, the bills from his treatment and prolonged stays in the hospital were still there. I was still paying them off, so I needed this job to go well. There was too much at stake for me to lose focus and let Chris win.
I wouldn’t let him win.
Not again.
3
Chris
Thursday
I tried to ignore the fact that Hollie’s new office was bigger than mine, and decorated more stylishly, but it was difficult. Just like it was difficult to not notice the light and sweet smell of her perfume as she stood beside me, writing down all the key points of Lamont’s company traits. Her hair was hanging on her shoulders, brushing her skin where her sleeveless shirt failed to cover. Her tight skirt hugged her hips and her ass in all the right ways, and it left me struggling to concentrate on anything she was saying. Although I tried my hardest not to allow her to distract me, it was all in vain.
She was gorgeous, maybe even more so than how I remembered. She seemed much more comfortable with herself, and I liked that.
I tried again to think about something else, anything else. Amelia had told me that she had wanted a birthday party this year, but I couldn’t remember what theme or where she wanted to have it. My mind didn’t cooperate the way I wanted it to, and I knew exactly why, although I didn’t understand why exactly. All the coherent thoughts inside my head were now blurred and muffled by Hollie standing beside me. I hated that she still had this effect on me after eight years of despising her with my entire being. Why couldn’t I just hate her? Hate her and feel nothing else for her? Why did she still have this effect on me? It had been years since I had seen her, and the moment she sets her foot back in my life, I feel like I am about to unravel and explode at the same fucking time. If she only knew the turmoil going on inside me, she would not have stepped foot in these offices. Was she not angry or upset that we had to now work together? Did it not bother her at all? Looking at her, and how she confidently carried herself, it sure as hell didn’t look like it bothered her.
Why didn’t it bother her?
A better question would be, why did it bother me so much?
I cleared my throat and cocked my head to the side, glancing at her desk, and noticed the photograph of her and a young boy on her desk. Was that her kid? I didn’t even know she had one. Was she married? I didn’t see a ring, did I? No, I was too busy staring at her ass. I was such a dumbshit. Why did it matter to me anyway?
“Are you listening to me, Chris?”
I glanced back at her, and she stood beside me, holding a whiteboard marker in her hand.
“Or do you prefer to be called Christopher now?
“No, I wasn’t,” I admitted. “And it’s only George who calls me that, for some reason.”
I wasn’t trying to impress her, at all, and I motioned to the photograph. “Who’s the kid? Is he yours?”
Hollie glanced at her desk and a hint of pride flashed in her eyes. “Yeah, he’s mine.”
“Cute kid. How old is he?”
“Hunter is six.”
“He has your eyes, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. He’s a great kid,” she said with a smile.
“I don’t doubt that for a second.”
She pursed her lips briefly and motioned to the board. “Can we get back to work now?”
“Where’s his dad?”
Her smile faded and she lowered her gaze. “I don’t think that this is an appropriate conversation to have at work.”
“Why not? I just asked a simple question,” I shrugged.
“It’s got a personal and complicated answer, so it’s not appropriate right now,” she answered and turned back to the board.
“I also have a kid,” I told her, even though I didn’t know why.
“That’s great, Chris.”
“A daughter, Amelia. She’s five, and quite something.”
“Girls are great, or so I’ve heard,” Hollie forced a smile. “So, where’s her mom?”
A frown formed on my face and my jaw clenched.
“See what I mean? It’s not just a simple question, is it,” she pointed out.
“Sorry, I was just trying to get to know you,” I shrugged, “again.”
“You don’t have to ask intrusive questions to get to know me. We work together, we’re acting like adults and being civil, and that’s it. There’s nothing more to it. We don’t need to be friends or reconnect or anything like that. We have our separate lives now, and that’s how it should stay. Okay?”
“Agreed. Besides, I already know you well enough.”
Hollie pursed her sexy lips and stared at me for a while before turning away. “People change, Chris.”
“No, they don’t. You’re still the passionate, determined and beautiful woman you have always been,” I pointed out and she glanced at me, her blue eyes sparkling.
“You’re still the charming smooth-talker you’ve always been, I see.”
“So I’ve heard,” I shrugged nonchalantly.
Hollie let out a chuckle, and it was the first time I had seen her smile in a really long time. The dimple in her left cheek made its appearance, and I remembered caressing it with my fingers right before I used to kiss her.
“So, let’s get back to work, okay?” she suggested, and I nodded. “I’ve been thinking about the main objectives for the Lamont account and what they want is a personal approach, without the price tag of course, and what better way to get information to their customers than a webinar.”
“A webinar?” I choked and glanced at her in shock and disbelief.
“Yes, like video conferences, but without the actual client participation. Lamont can load it up on their site, or their servers, whichever one they prefer, and their customers can simply find what they are looking for on the site. There will, of course, be staff on hand to give them more information or answer any questions they might have-”
I started to laugh as I shook my head, to which Hollie cocked her head and stop talking altogether.
<
br /> “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Your whole idea about webinars and all that shit. It’s a little left field, don’t you think?” I asked.
“Are we not supposed to think out of the box, and come up with new ideas? This cuts down costs so much. The expenses for something like this are minimal, and any idiot can operate a webcam,” she argued.
“You better not add that to your presentation,” I laughed. “Look, I get that you’re trying to impress my boss-”
“Our boss,” she corrected.
I pursed my lips and shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve done a lot of similar accounts and campaigns for clients, and I have a tried-and-tested method that works every time. And I mean every time. So, I think that we should rather stick to that, so we don’t lose this account. Because if we lose this account because of your outlandish idea, then it’s going to be on you.”
“It won’t,” she hissed.
“Yes, it will. I know clients like Lamont and they’re not going to go for that.”
“What they’re not going to go for is a rehash of some campaign that you’ve done for several other people,” Hollie pointed out, rolling her eyes. “What the hell is the matter with you? I am trying to be original in my ideas and you’re just knocking them down again. It’s like nothing has changed and we’re still on opposite sides of the table, even though we’re supposed to be working together.”
I narrowed my eyes as her words brought back all those memories from eight years ago, and realized she was right. This was exactly what had happened in college. Once again, we were on opposites sides and neither one of us could admit that the other was right.
I also remembered so very clearly how she screwed us both by switching my presentation with her own one, how she had gotten us fired, and how our relationship had ended in the parking garage when we decided to go our separate ways.
“We’re going to get nowhere if you don’t let me do this my way. My way works,” I told her, my anger showing its ugly head.
Much to my surprise, Hollie approached me and stared directly into my eyes. “I am not going to allow you to bully me this time around.”
“I did not bully you,” I spat at her. “You were the one who betrayed me by changing everything at the last minute without consulting me.”
“I had no choice because you were the one who wouldn’t listen to reason. If you’d just listened to me and given my ideas a chance, we wouldn’t have lost our jobs. We would have gotten that account, and we would have probably been Senior VPs at that stupid company already,” Hollie hissed as she threw the marker down on the table.
“We never stood a chance to get that account, because of you! You just wanted to prove that you weren’t just a hot piece of ass with nothing in her head. But you went too far, and because of that greed to succeed, you threw me under the bus,” I exclaimed.
“And you dragged me with you, just like you always do,” Hollie exclaimed back at me. “God, you are so selfish! You never think about what you did to me.”
“Oh, here we go again. I undermined you, treated you like you didn’t matter. Shot down all your ideas, made you feel insecure…”
“You really don’t know what it feels like to be a woman these days, do you? You’ve never understood how difficult it is to prove to people, especially to men, that I’m more than just my tits and my ass. I am smart and resourceful, and I am devoted as fuck, and even though I am a mother and have a lot on my plate these days, I am still willing to do whatever is necessary to do a fucking good job,” Hollie said and stared at me.
Her blue eyes were like shards of frozen ocean as she stared right down in my soul. Her words resonated with me, as I felt the same about Amelia. For a brief moment, I saw her vulnerable side shine through. My anger melted into something else, something even more dangerous.
“But you will never understand that because you don’t believe in compromise. You’re always right according to you, and people who don’t share your opinion or agree on what you think is right, are wrong. How the hell did you manage to get this far in this company with an attitude like that?”
“Because I’m the fucking best at what I do,” I stated.
“I’m glad that you think so,” Holly retorted snidely and threw up her hands. “Clearly this was a mistake. I thought that we would be able to put our past behind us and move forward as adults and just be civil to one another, but we can’t even do that. So, I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
“Yet you’re still talking,” I pointed out cockily.
“You are such a fucking asshole, you know that?” she muttered.
“I know,” I smirked.
Unable to help myself, I stepped forward and grabbed Hollie’s waist. I pulled her up against me and kissed her.
Her lips tasted even better than I remembered, but before I could savor them, she pulled away from me.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she exclaimed, her breathing ragged and she stepped away from me, wiping the side of her mouth. “You think that’s what I want, to be silenced by you at a moment where I am trying to explain to you how I feel? Do you think that’s right?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?”
She glanced at me for a moment, and something flickered in her eyes. “Hunter tells me that all the time,” she admitted, a little breathlessly.
“You have a smart kid,” I said and walked closer to her again.
“Chris…” Her voice was barely a whisper as I came to a stop in front of her.
“What?” I whispered in return.
Her breathing was still ragged as I touched her chin and tilted it upwards. She licked her lips and breathed, “Just kiss me.”
So I did.
4
Hollie
Thursday
I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Worse, I couldn’t believe that I had allowed this to happen, but it felt so good. My hands pressed against Chris’ chest, but instead of pushing him away, I grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer to me. I was grateful that the blinds in my office were still closed, as I definitely didn’t want anyone to see what the hell I was doing.
Still, I parted my lips and allowed him full access to my mouth. His tongue grazed over mine, sending shivers of desire through me. My heart pounded in my chest, the pressure of his body against mine igniting an old fire I instantly recognized.
Chris’s hands slid down my neck and pressed urgently against my breasts, and I softly moaned against his lips. His hands still knew exactly the right places to go to turn me on, even after all this time, and my body responded to his touch as if no time had passed since the last time.
“I want you,” he whispered against my lips and I nodded in response, without even thinking about it. It was all I wanted at that moment.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me off the ground easily. Chris never had any difficulty to scoop me up in his arms, and clearly, this was no exception. He slowly placed me down on my desk and slid my skirt over my knees, towards my thighs. My knees automatically parted way, as Chris’s fingers sensually skimmed along the skin of my inner thighs. I threw my head back and panted softly, waiting for the moment I had longed for in such a long time.
A sudden knock on my office door sent my mind reeling and Chris immediately moved away. I quickly slid off the desk and slid my skirt back down.
“Who is it?” I called out, my voice hoarse and my breathing ragged.
“It’s Melanie.”
Oh shit. I drew in a deep breath and glanced at Chris. He seemed calm, but he didn't look at me. Instead, he wrote on the whiteboard with the marker.
“Come on in,” I called out to her.
The door opened and my best friend entered, her face suddenly stern when she saw Chris in the office with me. “I brought you that file you asked for.”
She handed me the file and I took it, turning away from her. “Thanks,
Mel.”
“Is everything okay in here?” Melanie asked apprehensively.
“Yes, we’re fine,” I answered, maybe a little too quickly.
“We’re working on a new strategy since Hollie and I can’t seem to agree on our old one,” Chris stated.
“You mean your old one,” I corrected with a scoff.
“Okay. New ideas are always good,” Melanie said with a nod.
“Exactly,” I said, and Chris glanced at me, his dark brown eyes practically singeing my panties against my skin. I bit my lip and lowered my gaze briefly.
“Why is it so hot in here?” Melanie asked and fanned herself.
“Uhm,” I stuttered and noticed a smirk on Chris’s face before he turned his back to me. “I guess I forgot to switch on the air conditioning.”
“Were you two going at it?” Melanie asked, and I glanced at her with wide eyes.
“What?” I asked in a lowered voice.
“Were you two arguing or something,” she asked and touched my cheek. “You always get flushed when you’re angry.”
“Yeah, he was being his usual pain-in-the-ass self,” I muttered.
“I heard that,” Chris muttered behind us, his back still turned as he wrote against the whiteboard.
Melanie pursed her lips to suppress a scoff and glanced at me. “Are you okay? Do you need me to stay?”
“No, I’m fine. We’re almost done actually,” I insisted and glanced at my watch. “I’m leaving in a while to pick Hunter up from daycare.”
“Right, it’s Thursday. When does he have a checkup again?”
“Not for a few months. He’s doing well,” I answered briefly.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then,” Melanie said with a smile.
I ran my fingers through my hair and drew in a slow breath as Melanie left my office, closing the door behind her.
I had not felt that embarrassed in a long time, but it could have been so much worse. Not only did I do something like that at work in my first week at a new job, but I felt fucking stupid that I had given in to my desires for Chris. I didn’t even know why I did. I crossed a line, we both did.
Forbidden First Times: A Contemporary Romance Collection Page 3