Sterling

by Willow Summers

Colton took keys out of his pocket and pushed his way through the crowded space to a closed door embedded with a window.

  “Why is the door closed?” Cynthia asked.

  “Hey, do you know why this one is closed?” a guy in his late twenties asked as Colton tried to pass him.

  “I just need to finish setting it up really quickly, and then I’ll let people in,” Colton said. “Excuse me. Excuse me, everyone.”

  “You should’ve done that this morning,” Cynthia muttered, following Colton.

  He managed to get the door open, and Ethan and Dave stepped up to do crowd control, keeping everyone back.

  “Get in, Charlotte, Noah.” Colton practically shoved them in. The others followed.

  “What the hell is going on, Colton—” Cynthia’s mouth dropped open.

  A moment later, Noah knew why.

  This room was larger than the last, and the art was positioned differently—like in one of Janie’s shows. Noah saw his face on three of the paintings. Each expression was different—one of longing, one of bliss, and one of intense agony. His full range of emotions from their courtship was perfectly displayed on canvas.

  “Noah,” Cynthia said, tears coming to her eyes. He walked around a painting, eager to get to her, and then he saw it. The main attraction of this mini-show was him and Cynthia, embracing each other. Cynthia’s eyes were squeezed shut and tears dripped down her face. Noah’s expression was full of relief and deep emotion. It was the moment when they’d reconciled, and Janie had nailed it perfectly. The intense need for each other, the hope, the love—all of it showed.

  “I love you,” Cynthia said, slipping her hand into his. “I love you so much.”

  Noah turned to her and looked down at her beautiful face. “I love you too. Will you marry me?”

  A tear dripped down her cheek and a smile lit up her eyes. “Ye—”

  “No way.” Ethan waved at them. “Nope. There is no way she can say yes before Kaylee does. That’s not cool, brother.”

  “Dude, you’ve been asking Kaylee since you got together. Clearly she doesn’t want your dumb ass,” Dave said.

  Cynthia laughed and pulled Noah down for a kiss. “Someday,” she said softly. “After Kaylee says yes to Ethan.”

  “No pressure.” Kaylee laughed.

  Noah kissed Cynthia with everything he had. He didn’t care when she said yes. He was happy knowing she would. That she was as into this as he was. And that, with him thinking about starting his own law practice, and her (hopefully) working with Dave and Colton, their life would bump along happily, forever more. Even if Aunt Bessie moved in with them.

  * * *

  Check out the Big D!ck Escort Service website that Dick built. You’ll laugh! www.BigRichardService.com

  * * *

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  Try Yes, Please

  Check out the book, Yes, Please!

  Synopsis:

  Mr. Carlisle is seeking an admin. Apply within...

  I'm way overqualified, but the economy doesn't care. After six months of job searching, I'm flat broke and mostly desperate. Rent is due in a week, my roommate sucks and is ready to toss me out, and I need an answer - fast!

  Nothing prepared me for the man in the suit...

  Not two steps into his office and my panties burst into flame. The word "handsome" doesn't do him justice. Lucifer would slap him a high-five.

  Clearly there is a reason he's the most eligible bachelor in town.

  The problem is, there's more to the job than just getting him coffee. Much more. Of the intimate variety.

  Two rules: No kissing. No falling in love.

  I can read right through all that malarkey - He's trying to push everyone away. He's trying to protect himself.

  I want to walk. To not care. But...something in me wonders what could've scarred him so badly that he needs to employ companionship.

  I’ll either save him…or he’ll ruin me…

  * * *

  Chapter One:

  I dodged a tourist on the busy sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. After stepping around another, I pushed through the glass door into the café before someone could bulldoze into me. The chill of the October day turned into lovely warmth as I did a quick sweep with my gaze. I noticed my friend immediately, sitting at the counter in the back with a book and a cup of coffee. It was hard to miss her. She had a shock of perfectly coiffured red hair falling in a loose curl to her mid-back. Her stylish clothes fit her body perfectly, accentuating her trim waist and natural curve. The latest in fashion, the knee-high boot on her left leg bounced slightly where it was gracefully draped over her right knee.

  I threaded through the bustling space, dodging a chair that unexpectedly jutted toward me as someone tried to get up. “Oh, sorry!” I said as I turned sideways to squeeze by.

  Kimberly looked up at the sound of my voice. She greeted me with a flawless smile and moved her Louis Vuitton handbag off the chair beside her.

  I’d met Kimberly during my freshman year in college. She had been a senior at the time and in the university’s program to get promising freshmen on the right track. Most freshmen met their assigned senior once or twice, and then continued on with their lives. I would’ve done the same, not wanting to bother her, but week after week she’d checked in. As the year passed by, she was always there, supporting me and giving advice. And she still was. Nothing changed when she graduated. We weren’t in the same social class and came from different backgrounds, but still she called me every week. She was sweet as well as beautiful, and I was thankful for her friendship.

  I pulled out the high seat and hoisted myself up into it. “Hi,” I said, laying the newspaper I was carrying on the counter and dropping my bag to the floor.

  “Don’t put it down there, it’ll get dirty!” Kimberly started to bend for my bag.

  I put my hand on her arm to stop her. “Kimberly, the thing is eight hundred years old, five shades lighter than when it was new, and probably dirtying the floor. It’s fine.”

  She crinkled her nose at me but didn’t argue. Instead, she glanced at the counter next to me. “Olivia, is that a newspaper?” Her incredulous gaze colored with humor. “Nineteen-eighty called—they want their communication device back.”

  I smiled as a server stopped by. The woman braced a pen to her green notepad. “Hi, what can I get for you?”

  My mind went to the bills sitting on my bookshelf. If the stack were any taller, Godzilla would try climbing it. “Just a coffee, please.”

  “Do you want something to eat?” Kimberly asked me.

  “Nah. I’m not hungry.” To punctuate my lie, my stomach rumbled.

  Kimberly looked at the server. “A turkey sandwich, no pickles, with a side of potato chips.”

  “You got it,” the woman said as she scribbled down the order and moved away.

  “When did you start eating meat?” I drummed my fingers on the counter to offset the sound of my stomach trying to tattle on me again.

  She dropped the menu behind a napkin dispenser, where it flopped against the salt and pepper shakers. “I don’t. But you’re hungry, and you hate asking for handouts. It’ll come, you’ll bitch, and then I’ll get to treat you to lunch. Just call me mastermind.”

  “Kimmy,” I whined, picking at the edge of the newspaper. I could feel the heat saturate my cheeks. Pale skin and easy embarrassment were a couple of life’s really cruel jokes. “You don’t need to buy me lunch!”

  “Oh, posh!” She snatched her phone off the counter, checked the screen, found no one had called or texted in the thirty seconds since she’d probably checked it last, and dropped it back down to the counter. “I got lucky and graduated when there were still jobs. I figure my luck will run out soon, and I’ll get laid off. By then, you should be working, and you better expect to buy me lunch. See? Just planning ahead. So…”

  She reached around me and grabbed the newspaper. “What are you doin
g with a newspaper? Old school. Why not look at Craigslist like everyone else?”

  I blew out a breath. “My computer died. Actually, not true—it comes on. I can hear it buzzing, but the screen stays black. The tech guy I know said it’d be about four hundred dollars to fix, and that I should just buy a new one. Which is a great idea—I’d love to have a new computer. I’d also love to have four hundred bucks.”

  Kimberly tsked. “I have a computer you could borrow—it’s old but it works. Robby bought me a new Mac.”

  Robby was Kimberly’s rich, handsome boyfriend who was about five seconds away from slapping a ring on her finger. She was a great catch, and he was smart enough to realize it.

  “Thanks! That’d be great. The library is fun and all, but my bedroom doesn’t have stinky people leaning against the back of my chair.”

  Kimberly grimaced and ruffled the newspaper open like a father in a 1950s sitcom. The smile dripped off her face as her brow crinkled. “Admin assistant?” She glanced up at me.

  I shrugged as my coffee arrived. I immediately reached for the creamer.

  “But you got a degree in computer science…” Kimberly looked down at the listing again. “Computer science pays well. This… The salary isn’t listed, but it can’t be much.”

  I dumped two packets of sugar into my coffee. My spoon clinked as it whirled around the cup. I took a sip. The scalding brew raked down my throat and set my esophagus on fire. I coughed and beat at my chest. It didn’t help. Eyes watering, I braced the counter until the heat dwindled.

  “You should blow on it,” Kimberly said.

  “Mastermind, indeed,” I wheezed. After the burn died away, I said, “I’ve been job hunting for six months, Kimberly. I started applying a month before I graduated, remember? A solid six months, too. No slacking. Out of applying for hundreds of positions, I’ve only gotten a handful of interviews. Then I always hear the same thing—the school I went to is impressive, my list of achievements are even more so, but I have no practical experience. Then I never hear from them again.”

  A surge of hopelessness welled up inside of me. Soon I’d have to start applying to fast food chains just to get some money coming in. The problem with that was it wouldn’t be enough to keep a roof over my head. Not in this city, not even in the surrounding areas. Moving was inevitable, but I needed money for that, too.

  Life was sure kicking me in the lady balls.

  “I’m just looking for anything that pays at the moment,” I said before chancing another sip. “I even applied to be a dog walker—turns out, there are more dog walkers around here than dogs.”

  “What about your mom?”

  I scoffed. “On a safari with someone else’s husband. She’s never been much into the mothering game.”

  I shook my head and traced the cup’s handle. “If I could just get something—literally anything that paid decently—I could keep afloat until the economy improves.”

  The sandwich arrived. With a busy smile, the waitress lowered the plate in front of Kimberly. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “No, thank you. We’re good.” Kimberly pushed the plate in front of me as the waitress moved way. “Eat. This place does the best sandwiches.”

  I gave Kimberly a grateful smile. “I don’t deserve you.”

  She laughed and picked up her phone. “I know of something…” she said slowly, cutting into the fog of a truly delicious sandwich. She chewed her lip, hesitating. Leaning forward elegantly on the counter, she lowered her voice to a soft whisper. “You’re single, right?”

  “Huh?” I asked, chewing.

  “You’re single?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Kimberly, I love you, but for the love of God, don’t try to set me up anymore. Either the guys take one look at me and make an excuse to get out of the date, or they just use me and dump me when they get bored. No thanks.”

  She flushed. “Sorry. I really thought Jonathan would’ve been a good match.”

  I waved it away, ignoring the little twinge in my gut from the handsome man who had taken my heart on the third date. He’d been charming and affectionate, and I was so blindly in love that when he broke it off, I laughed. I’d thought he was joking. He wasn’t. Apparently I didn’t fit in his world. He’d said, “You’d do better with someone more…your level.”

  “My level?” I’d screeched. “My level of awesome, you mean? Because yeah, I would!” And then I’d just started yelling nonsense and crying. It wasn’t my finest moment.

  “No big deal,” I said to Kimberly. “Par for the course in my love life.”

  Kimberly gave me a beautiful pout before ducking her head. “Well…I do know of something—work related. It’s kind of hush-hush, but…” She smiled in a dreamy way, and then flushed. “Hunter Carlisle is looking for a new assistant!”

  “Hunter Carlisle?”

  Her jaw dropped. “What rock have you been hiding under? He’s the CEO of Primner and Locke! The youngest CEO they’ve ever had. And incredibly gorgeous.” She paused and leveled me with a stare. “Incredibly.”

  The reference dawned as I sipped my coffee. From the little I’d heard, he was in his late twenties but had the business sense of someone far more experienced. He was shrewd and serious and in charge of a giant company with an equally large payroll. Getting my foot in there, in any capacity, would be a godsend.

  A grin hijacked my confused expression. “I’m listening.”

  “So…I can get you an interview. He looks for intelligent women with raw talent, so your lack of experience won’t be a problem as long as you tell him why you’re looking for admin work when you are obviously way overqualified.”

  My heart sank, dwindling my smile. “Yes, but then he’ll tell me that I’ll get bored since I am overqualified. Either that, or he’ll suspect that I’ll try to transfer as soon as I can. I’ve been down this road before.”

  She shook her head adamantly. “No. He won’t. He challenges his admins. He delegates work. He’s really smart. I bet you’d learn a lot from him.”

  “Sounds too good to be true…”

  “Well…” She hesitated. “There’s a catch. He…um. Well, he kind of has a…strange contract. He requires long hours. As in…like, really long.”

  I shrugged and bit into my sandwich. Kimberly stared at me until I swallowed and finally said, “I don’t mind long hours. For experience and a paycheck, I’ll do just about anything.”

  Her stare intensified. “Well, that’s just the thing. See, his life is the business, right? He’s got a fiancée, but that’s an arrangement to keep his family happy. He’s not into her, and she doesn’t bother with him. They don’t get it on.”

  “I don’t know what getting it on has to do with anything, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about long hours. I have no life.”

  Kimberly rolled her eyes. “Well, he’s always working, and he’s not into her, so he kind of has it set up where his admin fulfills all roles, you know?”

  “What do you mean, all roles?”

  “He…sorta…has his admin do work stuff, right? But then, when the mood strikes, she’s like the girlfriend, too…”

  I frowned as my brain slowly made sense of her words. I paused halfway to biting my sandwich when the full meaning hit me. Shivers worked up my body. “She does sexual stuff for him?” I whispered incredulously.

  Kimberly flushed again, but this time, it was teamed with a light sheen of sweat. I realized something that made my heart beat faster and a strange tingle work through my core. She was aroused! The prospect of being an admin for a guy like Hunter Carlisle had her pupils dilating and her nostrils flaring. She was even breathing faster, as though she’d just finished running a mile. Or having sex.

  I leaned in, suddenly feeling like two naughty schoolgirls in detention. “Why don’t you apply?”

  A sly smile crept up her face. She glanced around before lowering her voice to match mine. “I did. Last time he was looking. I got to the second round, but he chose some
one else.”

  “Are you serious? You’re not that kinda girl!”

  She giggled, hiding her face in her hands. “I know! But the pay—” She dropped her hands and leaned back, rolling her eyes in delight. “The man.” She inhaled and fanned her face. “I had just that one time with him in the second interview. Oh my God, the way he—”

  “Wait.” I held my hand up to stop the words. Strange quivers filled my body. “Are you telling me he tries people out? Like…has sex with them?”

  “Yes, and it was the absolute best sex of my entire life. I am not kidding. Women try to get interviews just for some time with him. But he is exclusive. He chooses his admin with care, and generally doesn’t stray from her. Monogamous.” Kimberly’s voice dropped lower. She was fanning herself freely now. “It was so hot, Olivia. So, so hot. He was totally in control, and I swear it was just one big, long orgasm. Oh holy moly…”

  She reached across me to grab my napkin and then dabbed her face.

  “So…” My mind raced, not really believing my ears, and definitely not believing that Miss Goodie-Goodie Kimberly, who had never done anything crazy in college, was capable of something like this. Of doing something like this. And then passing it on to a friend!

  I wanted to giggle, or squeal. My reaction to this revelation was as strange as the information itself. “How can that be legal?”

  “Each person goes through a serious vetting process, with background checks and…other tests, and you get this lengthy contract going over all the working conditions just to be an admin. His office obviously has very sensitive information. And then there is this other contract for the more…personal side. And that protects him, lays out various stipulations, etc. You can say no at any time, but if you say no too often, he views it as a breach of contract. He needs the whole package.”

  “Do many girls say no?”

  “No! Are you kidding? Just one time with him, and I’m addicted. I wouldn’t say no.”

  “Then why does anyone leave?”