by Kat Catesby
Instead, he wanders over to Kelsey and pulls her in for a hug. “You have no idea how pathetic that man was without you,” he laughs.
Chapter Thirteen
Kelsey
I like Xander. He’s warm and funny, sarcastic, and laughs a lot. The sound is infectious.
“Those steaks better be decent, Fox; you have no idea how much bribery was involved in getting me released on a school night.”
“You rebel, drinking on a work night,” I tease.
“He means school night literally,” Mason replies. “He’s left his poor girlfriend at home to put the kids to bed…all three of them.”
“Marlowe can handle it. The level of sexual favors she’s demanded in return is what she won’t be able to handle. When I’m through with her, she’ll rethink the number of orgasms she requests in future blackmail attempts,” Xander laughs, his eyes glinting with sexual mischief.
I don’t know him well or his girlfriend at all, but I can tell that she’s in for a good time as recompense for being a single parent for the evening.
The steaks receive Xan’s seal of approval and we chat over dinner. Mostly light-hearted stuff that involves both men throwing humorous insults at each other. They reminisce about their college days and make plans for trips around the city to show us the sights but also keep his kids occupied.
“I couldn’t help but notice your laptop,” he says to me as Mason clears away the dinner plates.
I glance at the screen and the open job application I’m halfway through completing and sigh. I hate applying for jobs; endless applications, the monotony of dressing up for interviews, being asked the same corporate questions, only to be told time and again that you were the second-best candidate. Just the thought of what lies ahead of me has me grimacing.
“Yeah, the joys of unemployment.”
“What experience do you have?”
“I worked as a personal assistant for the Mayor of Aspen for six years. It involved everything from secretarial work to organizing events and running his errands.”
“I might know of something suitable. Have you heard of ELM?”
“Ethan Lewis Management? Aren’t they a management company for celebrities?”
“Athletes mostly, but they are expanding their portfolio to include actors and models. This expansion means they have some vacancies for junior managers and assistants.”
I’m not sure how Xander knows this but I’m grateful for the tip. “Are they accepting applications through their webpage or is it through a recruitment agency?”
“Through an agency, I believe, but if you email me your resume, I can get it on the desk of someone making the recruitment decisions.”
“Please don’t think I’m not grateful but can I ask how?”
“It’s easy when you are friends with Ethan Lewis,” he answers with a broad smile.
“You’re friends with the CEO of ELM?”
“Yep. And he’s a decent guy who happens to owe me a favor for saving his vintage Ferrari from a garage fire.”
“That’s kind, Xander, thank you. I appreciate you using your favor to help me out.”
“I can’t get you the job but I can get him to see you for an interview. The rest is up to you.”
“That’s still miles better than having to complete that beast of an application form,” I jerk my chin towards my laptop to indicate the offending online form and Xan laughs.
I pick up my laptop and quickly email him my resume; I spent the afternoon updating it so it’s good to go.
Xander’s phone pings with the incoming email, he unlocks it and begins typing.
“There’s no rush, Xander. You can finish your beer before helping to save my dismal job prospects,” I laugh.
“No time like the present and at this time of night, Ethan can look over it undisturbed.”
“Won’t he have finished for the day?” I ask, knowing full well that Type A business owners rarely switch off from work.
“The idiot is a workaholic. It’s a problem we can use to our advantage,” Xander winks.
Mason brings over another beer and the two men start talking sports, which I try to pay a little more attention to than I normally would, considering I’m hopefully going to get an interview with a management firm who deals primarily with athletes.
Ten minutes later, Xan’s phone pings again and whatever he sees on the screen makes him grin like the Cheshire cat.
“Two pm tomorrow work for you?” he asks me.
“Seriously? That was quick! And yes, two pm is fine for me,” I say in an excited rush.
“Told you, he’s a workaholic with no life and nothing better to do than check his emails and fulfill the debt he owes me. I’ll email you the details.”
“Thank you, Xander.”
“I helped you find the door, nothing more. It’s up to you to kick it down.”
* * *
It’s late when the Uber finally turns up to collect Xander, leaving Mason and me alone in peace. And after the kiss he started earlier, I have plans for him…
…Plans that involve me begging him to make love to me.
I follow him to the bedroom, preparing my plan of sexual attack but one look at Mason’s face tells me he’s far too exhausted for anything other than sleeping.
I’d almost forgotten how tiring his work can be and how that can limit our lovemaking during his on-duty days. But considering he saves lives daily, I can’t be too frustrated by that fact. I’m proud of him and wouldn’t want him working a job that didn’t fulfill him. Fire and rescue aren’t jobs you take lightly; they’re a calling.
And sometimes that calling means you’re too tired to fuck your girlfriend.
This girlfriend isn’t going to give him a hard time over it.
“I’m sorry, Kels,” he says while looking at me longingly as I undress.
“For what?”
“For being too tired to fuck your brains out.”
I can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes my lips. “Was it that obvious what I was thinking?”
“Yeah, sorry, Sweetheart, you’re just too easy to read. You have horny written all over your face.”
“It’s true,” I sigh dramatically. “I was going to beg and everything.”
“From tomorrow night, we have four days to ourselves and I plan to make you beg, repeatedly,” he says seductively as he wraps his arms around me from behind. I lean into his strong embrace loving the way his large arms feel around me. Mason has a way of making me feel small when I’ve never felt particularly feminine or petite my entire life. It makes me feel safe and cherished.
“You better,” I say, snuggling deeper into his chest.
“Kels?” he says warily, making the hairs on the back of my neck prick up instantly and not in a good way. I guess I still keep expecting a mountain of shit and hard times to be dropped on us.
He turns me to face him, keeping me encased in his embrace.
“It’s great that you’ve got an interview, Kels, and I’ve no doubt you’ll ace it –”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’?” alarm is creeping into my tone.
“No ‘but’, Baby Girl, just that getting a job here means that your life has relocated completely and indefinitely.”
“That’s the whole idea unless you’re having second thoughts?” I ask, panic and bile clawing up my throat.
“Not in the fucking slightest. I just need to remind you of something that we haven’t discussed in a long time and I don’t want to dampen the mood but I have to bring it up so that I know you are completely informed before committing yourself to live here with me. Kelsey, I probably can’t give you babies,” he says sadly. “It may not feel like an issue now, but what if in a few years you desperately want to start a family with me and we can’t? You deserve the world, Baby Girl, and I’m shit scared of what will happen if I can’t give it to you.”
It suddenly dawns on me how afraid Mason is to lose me again. He married Helen intending to grow old with her and he
truly believes he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted most of all and she resented him for it. He’s scared of history repeating itself. Fearful that I’ll grow to hate him if we can’t have a baby.
While it’s not a pressing desire right now, I know that I do want to be a mom.
But there are many ways to become a parent.
“When the time comes for us to try to have a baby, and if it doesn’t work out for us, we’ll try IVF. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll look at adoption. When we decide we want to be parents, it’ll be because we have love to give to a child. There’s nothing to say that child has to be biologically related to us. Love is love. As long as we’re in this together, we’ll figure the rest of it out as we go.”
“Thank you, Baby Girl. I just needed you to know that it’s unlikely we’ll have the big family setup like Xan, although they’ve all been through enough trauma and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone.”
I tilt my chin upwards so that I can see his face; not the easiest thing to do with me being so tightly pressed to his chest. “What happened?”
“His wife died in childbirth. He was a widowed single dad of three with no clue which way was up until Marlowe stepped into their lives. She saved all four of them; she’s the glue that put them back together. They climbed a mountain to have their happy family…I guess we’ll have to climb our own when the time comes.”
Mason’s arms tighten around me, his gentle lips kiss my forehead and then he buries his face into the top of my head, breathing deeply. I don’t know how long he holds me but I’m not in any hurry for it to end. His chest is warm against my cheek, his heartbeat loud and vital in my ear, his breathing even and content. With every passing second, my body melts a little further into his as if I can’t get close enough.
I fall asleep in his arms and I wake up the same way in the morning, limbs tangled but comfortable, which is unusual for me as I tend to like my own space when I sleep. But waking up with Mason’s thigh between my legs and his erection pressed against my hip is my new favorite way to wake up…until I realize what woke us: his morning alarm.
Ugh. Too early.
I’m barely conscious as he gets out of bed and dresses and only just register his voice when he brushes his lips against the shell of my ear.
“Good luck today, Baby Girl. I love you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kelsey
Staring up at the glass skyscraper that houses the ELM offices on the fifteenth floor, I try not to sweat with nerves. My smart professional clothes aren’t currently L.A. sunny-weather proof but I had to go with the smartest outfit I own, even if I am hotter than an angry day in hell.
I did my research on Ethan Lewis and his company this morning and I’m impressed enough by the vision and ethics of ELM that I really want this job, not just to save me from unemployment and the torture of applying for more jobs.
As a business, its ultimate goal is to make money, for themselves and their clients, but it doesn’t come across as a corporate kiss-ass type environment. Everything I found on the internet paints a picture of a company that cares about its clients and employees…of course, that could all be bullshit designed to lure people in. Guess I’ll find out in a few minutes when I meet the man himself.
I half expected Mr. Lewis to pass the interview to a member of his HR department but it seems the favor he owes Xander extends to him conducting my interview himself.
I take the elevator to the fifteenth floor and am taken to a waiting area outside of Ethan Lewis’ office.
It’s an open-plan office taking up the entire floor with executive offices around the perimeter of three of the walls. The fourth is all glass, giving all the employees a view worthy of corner-office status.
L.A. sprawls around us; cars glint in the unforgiving sun, steel and glass monuments to architecture gods rise to chase the sky and if you squint, the faintest glimmer of the ocean can just about be seen.
I make myself comfortable on a white minimalist sofa that is far more comfortable than it looks. The whole office is white décor and glass but it’s saved from looking corporately pretentious by the colorful bouquets of fresh flowers and the indoor palms and succulents. There’s no artwork; only plants and flowers giving the place a relaxed vibe; a small slice of nature in the middle of the vast urban expanse around us.
I like it.
I could see myself working here…if they’ll have me.
Ethan Lewis doesn’t keep me waiting long and I’m shown into his office by his friendly secretary who smiles warmly and wishes me luck.
Mr. Lewis stands to meet me, apparently just as amiable and welcoming as his secretary, holding out his hand for me to shake and motioning for me to take the seat in front of his glass desk (I wouldn’t want to be the person who has to polish all of the glass surfaces in this place).
Ethan Lewis is perhaps a few years older than Mason and Xander, with salt and pepper hair, a broad smile, and a sharply cut suit, no tie.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Harper,” he says genially.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Lewis. Please, call me Kelsey.”
“Please call me Ethan, Mr. Lewis makes me feel old. I prefer my employees to call me by my first name. I know that’s contrary to what a lot of CEO’s insist on but we are a relaxed company and I’ve found that using first names creates a good rapport with my employees and builds a productive workplace that they and I want to work in.”
“I like the sound of that. My previous employer insisted on us showing the appropriate level of deference for his position in the office. It was very formal.” I instantly regret bad-mouthing Mayor Stevens, not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because it paints me as disrespectful and that’s not the impression I want to give a potential employer.
Damn Ethan Lewis and his calming persona; it’s making me loose-lipped and unprofessional.
“I have heard that about Mayor Stevens,” Ethan smiles conspiratorially.
I can’t help the inhuman size my eyes bulge to when he says this; I didn’t list Mayor Stevens by name on my resume, only that I was an employee of the Mayor’s office.
“I do my research, Kelsey, especially when someone cashes in a favor; I like to know what I’m getting into, so I’m aware that Mayor Stevens is your former employer and it’s not the first time I’ve come across him. That man doesn’t fly under the radar the way he thinks he does. I’ve crossed paths with him at charity events; he’s a big fish in a small town and he thinks that translates when he swims in a bigger pond. It doesn’t.”
“That’s a polite way of describing it,” I say, not sure of the direction the conversation will take next.
“I also contacted the Mayor’s office this morning to have them email me a letter of recommendation.”
I visibly grimace at this and begin counting down the minutes until the interview is over and he declines to offer me a job.
Ethan smiles knowingly at me. “I know that you think you left under a cloud but I spoke with several members of staff who all praise your abilities and work ethic and all say the same thing, you were unfairly dismissed. I’m not bothered that I won’t get a formal letter of recommendation from the Mayor; you worked for the office, not him and the qualifications on your resume speak for you. The picture my research has painted is of a highly qualified, capable young woman who was under-appreciated and has been forced to rebuild her career. That makes you a determined, hard-working underdog, and I like an underdog story. It also makes you the type of person I’d want to employ. So my questions aren’t going to be about your abilities, they will be scenario-based to help me get a sense of who you are personally and whether you’re a fit for the company. We all work closely together so I need to hire people that will become exceptional members of my team and fit in with those around them.”
I let out an audible sigh of relief.
“You worked for Stevens for six years so I already know that you have tenacity, perseverance, and
the ability to do a good job with a smile on your face. You also know how to nanny someone without them realizing, which sadly, a few of our clients require,” Ethan quirks his lips in a small smile. I do the same, relaxing into the interview again now that I know he’s not going to dismiss me because I was fired from my last job and have no references.
Ethan asks me a series of questions about what I would do in certain situations and how I would problem solve client issues. I get the sense my answers are hitting the mark and that he approves of me and I can’t help the bubble of hope that floats around inside my chest.
At the end of the interview, Ethan beams at me; the whole process has felt more like two friends having a conversation as opposed to an intense interview process. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing because it was either the greatest interview I’ve ever done or he gave up on me halfway through and was just chatting congenially.
“No need to look concerned, Kelsey. That was a great interview and I believe you’ll do well in my company and I’d love to have you join the team. I’d like to offer you one of our Senior Assistant positions. You’ll be working for a Junior Manager and assisting with the day to day needs of their clients. They in turn report to their Senior Manager, who reports to me. You’ll be working closely with your manager and their clients and I think the best fit for you would be to work with Teddy Preston. She’s just signed Greyson Holt so it’s an exciting time for her team.”
“Greyson Holt the Olympic diver?” I ask, a little too starstruck for my liking. But the man just offered me a job and told me I’ll be working with an Olympic legend; I’m allowed to be a little excited.
“The one and only. I take it you are interested in accepting the position?”
“Absolutely. Thank you,” I smile, my grin splitting my face in two.
Ethan outlines the pay and conditions, which are greater than I was expecting them to be, but then, I was expecting to be a junior assistant, not a senior. It also means that I have a junior assistant reporting to me as I’ll be out of the office with Teddy and our clients most of the time. The junior assistant will take care of any office-based administration that we need.