by London Casey
Thinking she was hiding herself but all it did was make me focus on her curves.
I wandered back to my office and I wasn’t alone.
Jackson sat behind my desk with his feet up.
Liam and Lincoln stood near the windows.
“This office is kind of small,” Jackson said. “Like your dick.”
“Good to see you too,” I said.
“You wanted us here,” Liam said.
“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Lincoln said. “I’m supposed to be drinking champagne for my brother’s wedding. Who the fuck debates on what kind of champagne to drink? This wedding is starting to become a drag. This is why I will never get engaged or married.”
“So your brother is doing you a favor,” Jackson said.
“Says the married man,” I said.
“I just keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lincoln said.
“Which is?” Liam asked.
“The wedding itself. Bridesmaids. Single friends.”
“The pussy buffet,” Jackson said as he put his feet on the floor and stood up. “You bastard. I am jealous. You better tear through at least six of them.”
“In one night?” Liam asked.
“Sure,” Jackson said. “You have to be organized.”
“How so?” Lincoln asked.
“Shit, is this your first wedding?” Jackson asked. “You need to know who knows who. How to keep them apart. Where the bathrooms are. If it’s outside, where the hidden spots are. There is no reason you can’t fuck one in a bathroom, another in a garden, a third in the kitchen… get the point?”
“This is what goes through your head?” I asked.
Jackson looked at me. “That, and how much I want to fuck Callie when I see her again.”
“I guess being the best man is bigger than I thought,” Lincoln said with a grin. “But trust me, Jackson, you do not need to worry about me or my dick. We’re both going to enjoy that night.”
“Why the hell are we here?” Liam asked.
I walked to my desk and grabbed the envelope. “This.”
“What’s that?” Lincoln asked.
“I’m waiting for…”
I looked back and saw Callie and Emily enter the office too.
“Callie?” Jackson asked.
“Em?” Liam asked.
“What’s going on?” Callie asked.
“I wanted to talk to you all,” I said. I looked at Callie. “Let me talk and then you can hit me again.”
“That’s worth the trip,” Callie said.
“All I’ve ever wanted was to be this guy,” I said. “Who I am right now. And I don’t like it all that much right now. I lied to everyone. I hurt everyone. All for what? For nothing. The deal I’ve been working on fell through. So I’m left right where I started, but now I have the world pissed at me. The crazy part is… I don’t give a shit that you’re all mad at me. You all can kiss my ass.”
“Callie isn’t going anywhere near your ass,” Jackson said.
“I wouldn’t touch your ass if you paid me,” Emily said.
“Good to know,” I said. “Look, I saw a moment and took it. That night with Maya, it wasn’t about her being my secretary. What happened that night was Mr. Pickle insulted her. And I wanted to go beat the hell out of him. I left the cabin and Maya came after me. She stopped me because she didn’t want me to fuck up the deal. That’s the kind of person she is. We both saw each other in that moment and sparks flew. I fell in love with her that night. When she said she was pregnant, I had a lot to sort through. Not sure what you know about me but my father left and I never had a father figure. On top of that my brother has been messed up on drugs for years and he’s now in rehab.”
“I didn’t realize that,” Callie said.
“I’m not making excuses at all,” I said. “I’m telling the truth. I hid her so my life wouldn’t hurt her. But it didn’t work. She got hurt anyway. I let it all happen, until I stopped it all from happening. She’s back home where she grew up. That’s where she feels comfortable right now. I almost broke Mr. Pickle’s jaw. The deal is over. The company I run is no longer the company I run. I brought you all here to look around… to get one last view.”
“One last view?” Jackson asked.
I nodded and held up the envelope. “I’m no longer running this company anymore.”
“You got fired?” Callie asked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “At my level, you don’t get fired. You get told what to do next. And I was going to do it anyway.”
“What does that mean?” Emily asked.
“Simple,” I said. “I’m cashing the fuck out of this place and walking away.”
“This is your dream,” Lincoln said.
I looked at him. “Yeah, it is.”
“You’ve been working on this company since college,” Lincoln said. “Everything you ever did was for this place. Your entire goal was to build it up, sell it… shit, you wanted to be a billionaire. I remember you talking to Hudson, asking him what it was like.”
“All of that is true,” I said.
“So now what?” Liam asked.
“I wanted you all here to see it and hear me say it,” I said. “That I’m done. That my dreams took a very hard right turn one day when the elevator here opened and I saw Maya. And then again that night in the cabin. And then again when she left me a sticky note that she was pregnant.” I looked at Callie and Emily. “Nothing matters more than Maya and the baby. This envelope has a payout amount. I’m going to accept whatever it is. No fighting back. And that amount is now Maya’s. Not to pay her off. But to take care of her, so she never feels that she needs me. I’d rather her want me. Knowing that she may not love me is the challenge I’m willing to face each day to make sure she falls for me each day.”
“Oh, fuck this,” Callie said. She looked up and touched the corners of her eyes.
“Are you crying?” Jackson asked.
“Fuck off, Jackson,” Callie said.
“Wow, Cole,” Emily said. “I’m… I’m kind of sorry for attacking you.”
“Don’t be,” I said. “I deserved it. I’m going to go find the woman I love. And my baby.”
“Hey, Cole,” Lincoln called out.
“Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“And, hey,” Jackson said. “If it doesn’t work out, you can tag along with Lincoln to his brother’s wedding and enjoy some bridesmaids too.”
“What was that?” Callie asked.
“Nothing,” Jackson said.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m out of here. The office is still mine until five today. So if any of you want to fuck in here, do it now.”
I walked to the door as Jackson began to list the possibilities.
Who would fuck first. Who would watch. Maybe Callie and Emily…
I shook my head.
Callie and Emily pounced on Jackson, telling him he could have the office to himself to jerk off.
As I left the office, I thought about every meeting and deal and conversation I ever had as I built the company from nothing into something huge.
Never once did I feel nervous.
I always knew who I was and what I was going to do.
But as I got into a car to go find Maya, I realized I was nervous.
I was actually terrified.
If I lost her for good… that would be like losing everything important in my life.
Chapter Forty-Five
Maya
I was in the middle of washing the dishes when Cole sent me a text.
He had been checking in on me each day since I left the city.
I appreciated him doing so. I always kept my answers short and sweet. There was no way I was going to fall for any more games.
As far as I was concerned, I had everything I needed.
I didn’t need his baggage, drama and attitude.
When I looked at the text and saw it
was just an address, I turned off the water and dried my hands.
For a second I thought it was a wrong text.
But the address was a little bit familiar.
It was about five minutes from my mother’s house.
Up on the hill.
Where the rich people lived.
The doctors, lawyers and accountants who could afford the old houses that were huge.
I texted back with a question mark.
Cole called me.
When the screen lit up, I gasped.
I hadn’t talked to him or heard his voice…
“Cole?” I asked as I answered his call.
“Hey, love,” he said.
I shut my eyes.
The sound of his voice tore through me.
Head to toe with shivers.
And of course the baby kicked right away too.
“What’s with the address? Did you move or something?”
“I need you to go there,” Cole said. “Right now.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m not your boss anymore, Maya, so I’ll ask you to please go there right now.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then don’t,” Cole said. “But you’ll regret it. I promise you that.”
Cole ended the call.
I groaned.
He was a prick for that.
Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it.
I was a writer. That meant curiosity was a curse. I needed to know everything about every story.
So my mind started to think…
What could that address mean?
There was only one way to find out.
To go there.
Only I didn’t have a car.
Which meant I would have to call Connie or Jen for a ride.
“Unless…”
I walked to the front door and looked out.
When I saw the black car sitting in the driveway, I exhaled a long sigh.
I didn’t leave right away though.
First, I had to stop at the bathroom and check my hair and clothes.
I wanted Cole to remember what he lost.
I looked at the large stone house and shook my head.
There were two entrances at the front.
A wrap around concrete porch with pillars.
The windows were big and old.
There was one of those curved looking things on the left side.
What are they called? Something princess?
More than that, Cole stood at the top step of the porch.
A man wearing something so plain, jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt, should not have had the effect on my body that he did.
I had to bite my bottom lip and take a breath to calm down.
I was not here to meet Cole and get all horny for him.
Too late.
I climbed out of the car and put my hands to my stomach and gently waddled my way toward the porch.
Cole didn’t move an inch until I got to the top of the steps.
“You look beautiful, Maya,” he said. He put his hand out toward my stomach. “May I?”
“It’s your baby,” I said.
Cole’s hand touched my stomach.
My emotions exploded.
I wanted to cry because of what could have been.
At the same time, I started to get wet.
Yeah, that’s right… one touch from Cole and I was ready to put out a Caution - Wet Floor sign between my legs.
Cole smiled, then he grabbed my hand. “I want to show you something.”
He pointed to the main front door.
“That door,” he said. “That’s not yours. You don’t want that one, Maya. Although, Miss Hester is a bit of a sweetheart. She’s a widow and loves to talk.”
“Why would I go in there?” I asked.
“This is your door,” Cole said as he pointed to the side door down the end of the porch.
“What?”
“Come on,” he said.
He opened the door and we went into the house.
“Cole…?”
“This was once a giant house,” he said. “Then it was split into three. Then into two. It’s got a crazy history. But it’s all updated. Foyer, living room, dining room, a formal dining room… look at the kitchen, Maya…”
Cole dragged me into a bright kitchen that made me gasp.
There were so many windows and it was so clean and bright and… and the view… it looked right over at the mountain.
My mind suddenly pictured what the trees would look like covered in snow. Or in the fall changing colors. Or…
“Wait,” I said. “What is this?”
Cole ignored me again. “You have two sets of steps. The main steps going to a landing where the bedrooms are. There’s three total, plus a full bath. These steps here go up into the office. Which is next to the baby’s room.”
“Baby’s room?” I asked.
Cole was on the move again.
Next thing I knew I was going up a set of stairs.
Cole turned on the light and there was a desk with notebooks and pens. There was a daybed near a large window.
“Perfect for writing,” Cole said.
He wasn’t done yet.
He pulled me from that room into the hallway to the next bedroom.
When he opened that door, he side stepped and put his hand to my back and guided me in.
“And this is for the baby,” he said.
I stepped into the bedroom and covered my mouth.
It was another nursery. Except it was Cole’s version. Everything brand new, matching, and top of the line.
The crib, the rocking chair, and the changing table were the ones I had picked out. The same with the lamp. The decorations. The curtains. The blankets…
I looked at Cole. “What is this?”
Cole smiled. “This is your new place, Maya.”
I walked to the changing table.
There were onesies stacked up, along with burping blankets, and even a stack of the smallest diapers I’d ever seen.
My eyes filled with tears as I walked around the room looking at everything.
Cole moved everything from the apartment he had me in to this place.
But this place was…
Inside the crib there were little elephants and tigers and bears.
And an envelope.
“Is that the sex of the baby?” I asked.
“No,” Cole said. “That’s yours.”
“What is it?”
“Open it, Maya,” Cole said.
I grabbed the envelope and tore it open.
There was a piece of paper with a number on it.
I turned around and looked at Cole.
“I don’t want it,” he said. “That’s my payment to go away. I’m the one getting paid to go away now, Maya. It’s not a good feeling. I should have never made you feel that way.”
“What…”
“It’s over, love,” he said. “I’m done with the company. The deal with Mr. Pickle is gone. I finally got to knock him on his ass. It felt great to do. That money is what they’re giving me. I’m giving it to you. Not to pay you off. Not to make you disappear. But to make sure you’re taken care of. You and the baby. This is your home now. This is your town. It all works out now, love. You can have the baby, have a place, have an office for writing. The walls are thick so you won’t bother Miss Hester. And I’m sure she’ll be making food for you. It’s perfect. Right?”
I looked around the bedroom.
I slowly started to nod.
“Yeah… it’s… Cole… you…”
He moved closer to me and slowly reached for my chipmunk cheeks.
When his thumb stroked my cheeks, it was Wet City again.
My inner thighs trembled.
I couldn’t help myself.
Ugh.
“I thought I had a plan that was going to work out,” Cole whispered. “It didn’t. You ruined my plans, Maya.
And I love you for it. I love my plans getting ruined. Fuck the plans. I just want you and our family. If I’ve done too much to have that, I understand. I’m not going anywhere, love. I’m going to take care of you and the baby.”
“What about the company? Your brother? I don’t understand…”
“Look at you,” he said. “Still worrying about my other shit. The company is fine. I’m stepping away from it. I’m not going to get into a pissing contest with Mr. Pickle. It’s not worth it. And if everyone wants to talk about me getting my secretary pregnant, so be it. Because she’s not just my secretary. She’s the woman I love. The woman I have loved for a long time. As far as Cody goes, he’s okay. I found him and he’s in rehab. But I don’t want to think about that. I want to think about you. About us. Maybe after the baby is born, I can stay here and help out.”
“You? Living in a small town like this?” I asked.
“The town has you, Maya. That’s all I ever need.”
My knees started to give out.
Cole gently kissed me.
It was a short lived kiss.
He broke away from me and I grabbed his arm.
I dug my nails in as hard as I could.
He looked at my hand, then at me.
“Is there a bed in the master bedroom?” I asked.
“Of course there is,” he said.
“You know I love you, right?”
“I know,” he said. “And I love you, Maya.”
“We had an arrangement,” I said. “I’d like to keep that.”
“An arrangement?” Cole asked.
“I’m wet, Cole. I feel gross, ugly, and fat. When you touch me, I get wet. I’m dripping. I haven’t been touched in…”
Heat flood my cheeks.
Cole pulled me toward him and grinned.
“I hate you for smiling like that,” I said.
“Why? Because you know I’m the only man that can make you come the way you want?”
“Use your mouth for something else before I regret this,” I said.
“Done,” Cole said.
He dropped his lips to my neck and I shut my eyes.
His right hand moved between my legs and I saw stars.
I was pregnant, horny… in love… and according to the number on the paper Cole gave me, I was also very rich.
But more than anything…
Did I mention I was horny?