The Only One for Her

by Carlie Sexton

  “Yeah, I met her earlier. She’s nice.”

  “She’s my girlfriend from high school.”

  “What? That’s messed up. What are the odds?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s unlikely to be coincidence. I played it off pretty well, but I’m not happy about it. Angelina has no idea she got to me.”

  “You need to keep it that way. You can’t let your guard down.”

  “I know you’re right. I feel like I’m falling in an avalanche and I can’t grip onto anything.”

  “I don’t blame you. Angelina is cunning. Watch your back.”

  “I will,” I said, standing. “Thanks for looking into him. I’ll touch base with you later.” Jack nodded as I turned to leave his office. I was glad I had him on my side. Jack was the first person Derrick and I had hired. He knew everything that had been going on. I was glad he didn’t see Angelina as a poor widow, grieving the loss of a husband that she probably was glad to be rid of. It hadn’t taken her long to schedule a meeting to have Derrick’s shares signed over to her.

  Back in my office, I ended up running through everything that had happened since I found out about Angelina and Derrick’s affair. She obviously didn’t love either of us; it was all about having control of my company. Why? I wondered if her plan had been to kill me off for my shares, or divorce me for half. Then she and Derrick would have had control. But things didn’t go the way she’d planned, so she’d improvised. Maybe she just wanted money and I could buy her out. Continually guessing her motives was infuriating. I needed to get Harris on the phone and have him draw up an offer to buy her out. Could it be that simple? It was worth a try.

  I buzzed Fran and asked her to get Harris on the line. After telling him what I needed, he said he’d have the contract drawn up within twenty-four hours. He knew how important this was to me.

  Would it be this easy? Could I actually get her out of my life? Would she relent? What does she want?

  Chapter 41: Lindy

  By mid-morning, Fran had become like my surrogate mom. She was wonderful and we had been having fun, even though we were working. This sure beat the diner or hanging out alone all day. I did miss Ro, however. She and I had been texting back and forth. In a lot of ways, I could see Ro being like Fran in thirty years.

  Trace had seemed out of sorts when he’d zoomed past me a few times. I wondered what was going on. I had met Angelina, but she had no idea who I was. I didn’t know if Trace wanted to keep it that way for the time being. I would let him handle that.

  Fran’s intercom went off. “Ladies, can you both come into my office?”

  Fran responded and we both went to Trace’s office. After seeing the look on his face, Fran closed the door behind us. “Is everything okay?” she asked as we sat in the chairs in front of Trace.

  He let out a sigh. His brow was knit together, making him look stressed. “No, I think Angelina has more up her sleeve. The assistant she hired, Melissa, is actually my old girlfriend from high school.”

  Hearing that made my blood run cold. Angelina was more of an adversary than I had realized. She had to have known she was hiring Trace’s ex. Now I had two exes to contend with. I couldn’t tell if Trace was feeling anything more than annoyed. Did he still have feelings for her? He might on some level since she was his first love.

  “How do you want us to handle this?” Fran asked.

  “I’m planning on offering to buy Angelina out. Harris is putting together the contract. I’m hoping she just wants money and she’ll move on.”

  I looked over at Fran. “I hope that’s it,” she said. “But something tells me nothing with her is going to be that simple.”

  “You’re probably right, Fran. It’s worth a shot. For now, I don’t want her to know Lindy and I are engaged. Lindy is just a new employee as far as everyone here is concerned.”

  Trace looked over at me. “I hope you’re okay with that. The less Angelina knows, the better.”

  I smiled and nodded, but couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason. Our relationship was so new. We had so much to learn about each other. The last thing I wanted him to see, however, were my insecurities.

  “What if she sees us coming in together or leaving together? It will be easy to figure out.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Trace said tapping his fingers on his desk.

  “Why don’t I let you two talk,” Fran said as she got up.

  “Thanks, Fran.”

  “Lindy, I’m sorry this is so much to deal with,” Trace said as he went to the door.

  He locked it after Fran left. “I do feel better with you being here so I can personally keep you safe. I’ll get on the phone with BMW and order a car for you,” he said, sitting in the chair beside me. He picked up my hand and kissed it. “Or, if you don’t want to be here for all this drama, you can just hang out at home and plan our wedding, research colleges, whatever you want.”

  I wasn’t sure what to do. Part of me wanted to be here to protect our relationship. If Trace did have feelings for Melissa, I’d rather know sooner than later. Being here was the only way I’d know. “I’d rather be here instead of at home. Maybe I can be of some help.”

  “I’m sure there are all kinds of things you can do to help, honey,” Trace said with a sexy grin on his handsome face.

  Receiving his message loud and clear, I rose from my seat and straddled Trace’s hips, pressing my breasts against his hard chest. I whispered in his ear, “Don’t talk…don’t move. Just. Feel. Me.”

  Trace’s hands wrapped around me, pressing me into him even harder as I began kissing him. I overtook his mouth, devouring his tongue. Making my way toward his chest, I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my hands over his chiseled chest. Continuing downward, I slid back so I could undo his jeans. Trace became harder with every passing second. Wrapping my hand around him, I began stroking and his breathing became louder.

  As my hand grasped him, I licked his nipples, scraping them with my teeth. The primal sounds escaping Trace made it clear just how much I was helping.

  I pulled his jeans down just enough so my mouth could capture his hardened shaft. Licking his tip, I looked up at him through my lashes. Trace’s hazel eyes were locked on my mouth. Sliding my mouth down as far as I could, Trace placed his hands on my head, gently guiding me. Within minutes, his hot semen was squirting into my mouth. His breathing was ragged and his head had fallen back.

  Looking at him coquettishly, I released him. “Did that help, sweetie?”

  “You’re the best damn helper I know,” he said, pulling me up toward him to kiss me.

  Sitting on Trace’s lap, he kissed me for a few minutes. All the tension had melted way and he was relaxed again. Being in his arms calmed me, too. My insecurities had dissipated. If Trace still had a thing for Melissa he probably wouldn’t have been engaged to Angelina.

  “Are you doing okay with all of this?” he asked.

  “At first, it overwhelmed me, but I’m okay now. I know I don’t have anything to worry about.”

  Trace put his hands on my face. “You have nothing to worry about. You are the only one for me. No one else.”

  “I know. You’re the only one for me as well.”

  “This has been quite the awesome distraction, but I have a car to get for my girl. Do you have a color preference?” he asked. I moved back to my original seat. I had to laugh on the inside. Only a guy could have an orgasm and moments later be asking about car color preference.

  “I’ve never had a new car or bought a car because I liked the color.”

  Trace went around his desk to his computer and pulled up the BMW website. “Well, you are today. Which one do you want?” he asked, turning his laptop around so I could see the cars.

  “I like that gray one and that champagne colored one,” I said pointing.

  “I will have one of them delivered before we leave work today.”

  “You can do that? Really?”

  “Really.”

&
nbsp; “Well, I better let you get to work then. I’ll be with Fran if you need any further help,” I said winking at my man.

  “Oh, I’ll definitely be needing help. You can count on that.” And no doubt he would make sure I’d enjoy that too.

  The rest of the day went by quickly. Fran needed more help than anticipated. Around four thirty, my charcoal gray BMW was delivered. It was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. Following Trace home, I couldn’t believe I was driving a car like this, living in San Diego near the beach, and about to marry the man of my dreams. I had to keep myself from thinking it was all too good to be true.

  Chapter 42: Angelina

  “What the fuck is going on? You are no closer to fulfilling our agreement than you were before you married Derrick. I expect this to be taken care of by the end of the week.”

  “I’m doing everything I can to get to him, but it’s not working.”

  “You’re so stupid. The new girl, Lindy. She’s his fiancée. She’s his kryptonite. Use her to get to him. Hiring Melissa sure as hell didn’t do it.”

  “He’s engaged to Lindy? Already? That can’t be.”

  “Well, he got over you quickly. Guess you’re not as great as you think.”

  “No…I’m…I’m not.”

  “You know what I’ll do if you don’t get me the money we’ve agreed to. Your dad will pay the price. Well, actually justice would be served. Do you want him to spend the rest of his life in prison?”

  “No. I’m going to make this happen. You don’t need to worry.”

  “Time is running out, Angelina.”

  “I know it is. I’ll make it happen, I promise.”

  “If you don’t then we have to go to plan B.”

  “People could get hurt if we do that.”

  “Look at my face. Do I look like I care?”

  “Please just give me more time.”

  “Time is running out.”

  Chapter 43: Trace

  The meeting was set for me to attempt to buy Angelina out. I didn’t want Lindy at the office in case things became ugly, so I had Fran tell her to take the day off. Of course she knew what was going on, but the last thing I wanted was Lindy to feel insecure because of Angelina. I also had my mom call Lindy, inviting her to lunch, and a time of wedding planning. My sisters were going too. Between the four of them, I’m sure they’d have everything nailed down in no time.

  Harris arrived with the contract about a half an hour before our meeting with Angelina and Franco. I knew all the terms, but it was still good to go the over the details.

  “I made three different contracts with three different offers depending on what you want to do.”

  “I don’t want us to be strapped, but I want it to be good enough to get her out of here,” I said.

  “Well, then let’s start with the second offer and if she doesn’t bite, we’ll go with the top offer.”

  “Okay, that’ll work.”

  Fran brought in a fresh pot of coffee. She poured a cup for each of us and there were additional cups for Angelina and Franco. They walked in with Melissa as Fran was leaving. What did we need Melissa here for? This was so ridiculous.

  Harris began the meeting and I stayed quiet. God, I hoped this worked. I wanted Angelina out of my life yesterday. She was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any second.

  Angelina and Franco looked over the first offer, but then pushed the contract back toward Harris.

  Shaking her head, she said, “This isn’t enough. My shares are worth more than that.”

  Harris took out the second contract and had her and Franco look over it. “This is the best offer we can make. You should take it,” he said firmly.

  “I don’t need you to tell me what to do. Selling doesn’t seem to be in my best interest right now,” she said. She pushed her chair back and got up. Melissa and Franco followed behind her.

  That was it. Our meeting was over. My stomach turned and I thought I might throw up. She had invaded my life, my company, and taken Derrick’s life. What else was she going to do? Why the fuck was she doing this?

  “Harris, thanks for everything.”

  “She might change her mind. You never know.”

  We shook hands and Harris was on his way. I made my way back to my office. Passing Fran’s desk, I shook my head. I didn’t need to say anything. She knew.

  Sitting at my desk, for a moment I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt like I was in the ocean at night, trying to fend off hungry sharks. I hated waiting for her next move.

  A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. It was Melissa. What the hell did she want?

  “May I come in?”

  “Yes.”

  Melissa closed the door and my instinct was to get up and open it, but I didn’t.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  “Trace, I thought we should talk.”

  “About what?”

  “I wanted you to know I had no idea that you were Angelina’s partner when I accepted this job. A headhunter contacted me about the position. I interviewed with Angelina and she offered me the job the same day. It seemed like a good move for me. More money, better benefits.”

  “I’m happy for you,” I said. I didn’t want to deal with her, even if she was contrite. Just go away.

  “Thank you. Angelina knows we dated in high school.”

  “Yeah, I figured that out. She’s using you to get to me.”

  “Well, I can’t go back to my old job. I didn’t give proper notice and my boss was pissed I was leaving without training a new person. I left him in a lurch. Working for him had taken a toll on me.”

  Melissa turned toward my wet bar. “Do you mind if I pour us a drink? I could really use one.”

  “Help yourself.”

  Melissa brought two drinks over to the sofa in my office. “I’d really like it if we could talk.”

  “There’s really nothing to talk about.”

  “Please give me a chance to apologize to you. I don’t think I ever did.”

  Reluctantly, I got up and made my way over to the sofa where she was sitting. She handed me a glass of scotch. She had no idea how much I needed a drink too. Or maybe she did. Looking at her, I waited for her to speak.

  “I know I was terrible to you, Trace. Cheating on you was the worst thing I’ve ever done to another person. You’re a great guy and you deserved way better than me.”

  “Thanks for the apology. Seriously, I got over this a long time ago. It’s ancient history.”

  Melissa raised her glass and said, “Here’s to moving on from the past and letting ancient history go.” She clinked my glass and we each took a sip. I had no idea why she was doing this. It was a long time ago and I was in love with Lindy, but she didn’t know that. I hope she didn’t think something could happen between us.

  “In light of the situation, I’m going to start looking for another job. I don’t want to make your life worse by sticking around. Things seem pretty stressful here already.”

  “That might be a good idea,” I said. “There’s no way to know just how uncomfortable things are going to get.” Then I felt it. Dizzy. Disoriented. The room was spinning slightly and my eyelids were heavy. I had no control over my movements. I tried to stand up, but I ended up plopping right back down. Melissa began kissing my neck. Her hands were all over me, but I couldn’t seem to get her off me. Then everything went out of focus.

  Waking up, it looked like late afternoon. I wasn’t sure how long I had been out. I was lying on my sofa, trying to figure out how I got there. Sitting up slowly, I rested my head in my hands. The pounding of a thousand jackhammers were going off in my head. It took several minutes, but I finally got up and went to my desk. A manila envelope was on my chair. I picked it up before sitting down. Opening it, I slid out pictures of myself with Melissa all over me. The note inside struck my heart.

  If you don’t do what I want, Lindy will get her own copy of the pictures.

  Pounding the d
esk, I yelled out, “Son of a bitch.”

  I buzzed Fran. She came in immediately.

  “Fran, when was the last time we talked?”

  “The last time I saw you was after your meeting with Angelina. Then when Melissa came out of your office, she said you didn’t want to be disturbed. Oh, no. What’s wrong?”

  Showing Fran the pictures, I said, “This is what’s wrong. Melissa drugged me, took these, and I’ve been sleeping on my sofa ever since.”

  “Oh my God. It didn’t occur to me that she was lying. It should have. I actually left my desk at lunch today too.” That must have been how she got back in with the printed photos. Bitch.

  “It’s not your fault,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe this has happened. I don’t want Lindy to see this, but I don’t want to lose my company either.”

  “Trace, I know you’re a grown man and you don’t need me to tell you what to do, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Go home and show Lindy the pictures and tell her what happened. That’s the best thing to do. I truly believe Lindy will understand. She seems to understand that Angelina is capable of anything.”

  “You’re right. If I hide this and then it comes out, I look guilty. Anyone looking at these can see I’m barely conscious.”

  Fran looked over the pictures again. “I agree. You don’t look like you are awake in these. I can talk to Lindy to if you need me to.”

  “Thanks, Fran. I’m going to get going. I need to get this over with.”

  Fran nodded and I left.

  Dread filled me as I drove home. I couldn’t take losing Lindy. I hoped to God she believed me. If she didn’t I wasn’t sure what I would do.

  Walking through the door, the aroma of onions and garlic filled the air. Lindy was making spaghetti. When I entered the kitchen, she wrapped her arms around me. “Welcome home. I hope you like Italian. I had the best day with your mom and sisters and I just felt like cooking when I got home.”

  “It smells delicious,” I said, holding her tight. For all I knew, this could be the last time I held her.