Chapter Six
My eyes snapped open. His arms wrapped around me, and we squished together on the couch. I didn't even remember falling asleep there although I remembered laying down. That was it. I bit my lip. What had I just done? I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath
Sleeping with your boss is a huge no-no. How could I have just done that?
I inhaled deeply. It was done, there was nothing anyone could do about it now, which meant I had to move on with it. I carefully slipped off the couch, managing to move his arms from around me and not wake him. I padded into the kitchen and set the coffee on first and foremost.
I flicked the frying pan on before I crossed to the fridge and pulled out the eggs. I cracked a few into a bowl, whisked them up and poured them out onto the pan.
“Morning.” His voice sent a shiver down my spine.
“Morning.” I pointed towards the coffeemaker, not daring to make eye contact with him. “Coffee. Eggs will be done soon.”
His warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I took a deep breath as his lips touched my neck.
“I'm normally the one who has to make breakfast.”
“You have a lot of experience sleeping with your assistants?” The second it came out, I regretted it. My lame ass attempt at humor in the morning. I closed my eyes, turning to face him. Yup, I had to make this right.
He met me with red cheeks and eyes that refused to meet my gaze. “No.” My arms circled around his neck as I placed a kiss on his neck.
“I'm glad to be your first.”
“Do you ...” He trailed off.
“Have experience with my boss's cocks? No. You're the first,” I admitted. A smile touched his lips as I turned around and flipped the omelet. I grabbed a plate and slid the cooked eggs onto the plate, handing it to Garth and getting started on my own meal.
“So,” I swallowed, trying to restore moisture to my throat. I looked around, my gaze rested on him after a while. “Do we need to talk about this or anything?”
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to answer me. He stared at me with a blank look.
“I don't know, do we?”
I shrugged. “I don't have anything to say. I mean, I don't want the entire workplace to know. I don't want any special treatment or anything.”
“Sounds fair.” He nodded. “And no groping in front of anyone.”
“I agree.” I nodded.
“As far as anyone knows, I'm not involved in anything with anyone.”
“And I went out to a bar and met someone if they even ask.”
It hadn't escaped my notice that I didn't seem to fit into their little group—but I didn't want to. I had no interest in being part of their thing. They gossiped, they talked about each other, and more than anything, they didn't seem to work hard. I was there to make my way up in the company.
Garth grinned, grabbing my hand and lifting it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand.
“Good. So, I get to see you tonight then, right?”
“Of course.”
“How about ... you join Brent and I while we show the house. And then we can grab some dinner?”
“Or just come back here. If we go out to dinner, we have to keep our clothes on.”
Garth chuckled. “I'm sold on coming right back here.”
I smiled before turning back to my breakfast. “But, you should leave for work before I do.”
“That's a good idea, I guess.”
My brow furrowed. It was best to keep this hidden, right? It didn't feel like it. It felt like it was bad. Keeping secrets wasn't a good thing—but everyone knowing about us wasn't either. There are some things people don’t need to know about, I reminded myself and knew I was right.
I slid my omelet out onto a plate and joined Garth at the table, digging into the meal just as my stomach grumbled.
We ate in silence. He finished and stood. “I'm going to get going. I've got some fresh clothes in my office, so I will be able to change when I get there.”
“Alright. I'll see you later.”
He leaned over the table and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “I'll see you later.” His eyes sparkled as he headed towards the door, stopping just to grab his shirt, tie and suit jacket. My stomach did a backflip as the door closed, and I took a deep breath, trying to process everything that had just happened.
I slept with my boss. We both agreed to keep doing it. We agreed it was going to be our little secret.
Movies made it look so much harder. This was easy, simple. Like a hook up that you'd see again. A friend with benefits. I'd done that before.
I finished my meal and hopped in the shower. Just to buy a little more time for Garth to get to the office and make it look like we hadn't spent the night together. I knew it was silly, but I couldn't help worrying that people would take one look at us and realize what happened.
I changed into a black skirt I'd just gotten, with a green silk blouse, and paired it with some flats that fit so damn nice. I can't tell you how happy I was my blisters were finally healing. I tied my hair up into a bun and applied a small amount of makeup. By then, it had been an hour since Garth had left—lots of time to make it look like we weren't working around each other.
So I grabbed my oversized work bag and headed out to the purple Jag.
The entire drive to work, I couldn't help feeling sick. I pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of my car just as another car pulled in next to mine.
The redhead stepped out of her car. “Alana!” She beamed looking me over, her eyes locking on the car behind me.
“Uh, Ally.”
“Oh! Right.” She shook her head. “Whatever.” I turned towards the office, praying she would have to get something from her car, and I’d be able to slip away from her. “I’ve been wondering who the Jaguar belongs to.”
“Now you know.” I gave a fake smile.
“And I noticed your new clothes.” My brow furrowed. She'd noticed my new clothes? That was really the kind of thing they noticed? It took everything I had not to say something. “I mean, that is such a nice pair of shoes.”
“Thank you.” I forced myself to sound nice at the very least.
“Did you recently come into some money?”
My jaw almost dropped. Even I knew you didn't ask questions like that. I swallowed down any snarky comment I was going to make and reached for the door to the office.
“After you,” I said motioning for her to step in front of me. I caught sight of the design on the back of her shirt. “Ohhh, that is such a nice shirt.”
“You think?” She beamed. “Thank you, it was $300, but it was totally worth it. I love it so much.”
I returned her smile as we headed for the elevator. “Where did you get it?”
I really didn't care, but the conversation was serving its purpose. I was taking the attention off me, and her question about how I was affording everything. We stepped into the elevator, and I tuned her out—suddenly feeling like I might puke.
I took a deep breath, the elevator drawing closer and closer to the floor where I would see Garth. I bit my lip, knowing it was just nervousness, but I still felt like I was going to puke.
The elevator came to a stop, my stomach turning in the process, and the door opened. I stepped out onto the floor, headed for my desk and dropped down, letting out a deep breath. I glanced at the door of Garth's office, thankful it was shut.
***
Around midday, Garth came out of his office; he had changed into a fresh white shirt and the same slacks. He wore a gray tie that brought out the gray in his eyes and wore the same jacket as the night before.
I took a deep breath and smiled as his eyes locked on mine. He returned my smile.
“Ally, are you ready for the 5 o'clock appointment?”
“Yes, Mr. Adams.” I jumped to my feet and grabbed my purse. We headed for the elevator, and I could feel t
he eyes on me as I watched the elevator coming closer and closer. As soon as the doors started to open, I stepped into it. The second the doors closed, Garth pushed me against the wall, his lips crashing against mine.
My fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him close as a soft moan escaped me. His kiss grew more and more passionate.
Seconds later, he drew away from me as the elevator bell dinged.
“Would you like to drive with me? I mean, we are going to the same place, after all.”
“Sounds perfect.” Didn't make sense for both of us to drive, he was right.
I walked beside my boss as we headed out into the parking lot and to his car. As we slid into the seats, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked down at it for a couple seconds. His brow furrowed.
“What's wrong?”
“Brent won't be joining us. He ... has another obligation.” Hearing the hurt in his voice, I reached out and touched his thigh. I knew it didn't give him much comfort, but it was the best I could manage.
He glanced over and gave me a smile. “Thank you.” He tucked his phone away, and we pulled out of the parking lot.
“So, tell me about the clients we're going to see.”
I was hoping it would help him get his mind off Brent not coming with us. Whatever the obligation was, it must have been important to stand up his business partner and some fancy clients.
“They have been in the acting world for a long time; I'm talking second or third generation—at least. They have lots of money, but they don't like spending it. They want to find somewhere away from everything, but they still want to have the luxuries that they are accustomed to. And they expect us to find it for them within a two-hour drive of where they are living now.”
“Sounds like a tall order.”
“It is.” Garth nodded, staring out the window as we made our way towards the highway.
“What house are we showing them today?”
“The one on the hill.”
I nodded. There was only one place on a high, and I thought he made the right choice picking that one.
We arrived at the house and unlocked it. Garth still seemed tense as we made our way around the place, and I couldn't blame him. He had high-end clients, and his partner had just bailed on him.
I rushed around the place, trying to mop up every ounce of dirt. Despite the fact, the house wasn't being lived in, it still managed to collect a fair amount of dirt. Most of the places we dealt with weren't lived in while we were trying to sell them. It seemed to make it easier on everyone— except the one who had to clean up all the dust.
I didn't mind, though. It was part of my job. I paused as I put the mop away and caught Garth's eye.
I crossed over to him. “Are you okay?”
“What? Yea,” he said a little too quick. I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. “I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?”
“Stress.” I shrugged. I wasn't going to come out and say it. I closed the distance between us and pulled him into a hug, my hands tracing over his muscular arms. He blew out a deep breath, resting his head against my shoulder. His arms wrapped around me, touching my butt.
My eyes sparkled as I pulled away just enough to look him over. “If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to come on to me.”
His lips touched mine gently. “I just like touching your butt,” he whispered against my lips.
Desire pooled in the pit of my stomach. I was already planning all the fun I was going to have with this man as soon as we got home. He pulled away from me. “But, maybe we can have a little fun before the clients arrive—if the house is ready.”
I nodded, thinking about the idea of Garth bending me over one of these show couches and sliding into me. My lips went dry as my pussy tingled, and I mentally shook myself. I couldn't get all caught up in my thoughts if we were going to get this place ready to go. We needed to be professional.
Still, it took effort for me to pull away from Garth. “I should make sure the upstairs is clean,” I said, clearing my throat.
“Yes. This floor is fine; I'll join you upstairs.”
Great. The idea of us in a bedroom we couldn't have sex in. I turned on my heel, grabbed my purse and headed for the stairs, Garth following me.
“So, when we get home, I was thinking we could have a nice hot tub,” he said. “I've got a jetted one I don't take advantage of enough.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You planned on heading back to your place?”
“I was hoping we could, I mean ... I thought you might like to see it.”
It wasn't that I didn't want it, it was just that I hadn't been expecting it. I turned to him for a fraction of a second, forcing a smile over my lips. “Sounds perfect.”
I did want to see his place but just had a thing about my plans being changed on me. I wished I'd known about it so I could pack something to wear.
As we reached the hallway landing upstairs, I forced myself to focus on the task ahead of me. My nose wrinkled. What was that smell?
My stomach turned. I tried not to pay much attention to it, but there was something in here. Was it a dead rat or something?
I padded down the hallway, the smell growing stronger and stronger. About halfway down the hall, I turned to Garth. “You do smell that, right?”
“Yup, and I have no clue how the fuck we're going to get that smell out of the house before our clients arrive.”
“Sorry, I'm not sure vanilla and almond oil is going to cover that.”
“The sooner we get a window open, the better.”
He stepped past me and headed for the end of the hall. Two closed doors met us there. As Garth reached out for one, I reached out for the other, pretty sure that I'd managed to pick the winner as soon as the door opened a crack. I took a deep breath, held the air in my lungs, and pushed the door open the rest of the way, getting ready to find a dead bird. Or something.
I froze when I saw the body. My stomach turned. I'd watched CSI before, but this. This was real. It was a real body.
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach, and my knees felt like they were about to give out all of a sudden. The stench hit me when I sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep myself standing. My stomach turned, my throat went dry.
This wasn't a bird or a rat. This was a human being.
“Well, nothing in that room ...” Garth stopped as he stepped towards me. “Oh, God. Is that ...”
The body lay on the ground, red stained into the wood already around it, seeping into the white carpet beside the bed.
“Oh, God.” I felt vomit rise up my throat and turned away from the body. My heart raced. I didn't know how to react or what to do. “I ... I have t-to call the cops.” That was the right answer. That was what you were supposed to do if you saw a body. I took a deep breath and stepped away from the room.
I heard Garth step into it.
I called the cops. I had no clue what I was supposed to say. “Oh hey, there is a dead body,” didn't seem to do it justice. But it was pretty much what I went with.
They told us to wait downstairs and that they would be there shortly.
Garth called the clients and canceled on them. I wasn't sure what he told them but was guessing that it didn't have anything to do with a dead body. Together, we headed downstairs and sat on one of the couches. I didn't realize my body was shaking until Garth slipped his warm coat over it. I looked down at my arm. Goosebumps covered it.
“I ... I just saw a dead body.” I was still trying to process it when someone knocked on the door.
Garth jumped to his feet and rushed towards it. When he opened the door, two officers stood there. A man and a woman. I didn't hear what they were saying, but Garth pointed upstairs towards the body, and they nodded. The man headed upstairs and the girl padded over to me. She sat down on the couch with a smile.
“First time?”
“Seeing a dead body? Yes.” I laughed without any real hint of amusement.
&nbs
p; “Did you faint?”
“What? No.”
The girl gave me a smile, she had blonde hair and soft green eyes . “Then you did better than I did when I saw my first dead body.”
“You fainted?”
“Yup. Banged my head up pretty bad. The boys didn't let me live it down for a while.”
A soft smile touched my lips. I have to admit, it made me feel a little better to know I hadn't fainted.
“I've just got a couple routine questions to ask, is that okay?”
I nodded.
Garth
“You run this business?” She looked me up and down. She'd only spoken to Ally for a couple of minutes before moving on to me. I nodded. “How long?”
“Five years.”
“And this house is one you were trying to sell?”
“Yes.”
“Was this your first time showing it?”
“It was my first time showing it since it's been back on the market. My client and I decided to take it off the market during the winter and relist it in the spring.” The woman nodded, taking down a couple notes.
I shifted nervously, not because I'd actually done anything wrong, but because I was still processing everything. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for my next question. The girl looked me up and down.
“It's hard,” she said. “Seeing a body, I mean.” She gave me a faint smile. “I know it's not easy. I told your assistant, I fainted the first time I saw one. This is a tough question, but I gotta ask, do you have any idea who this could have been?”
“I'm not sure. I ... I didn't look ...”
She nodded. “You said you were selling this ... I'll need contact information for the owners of this house. And ...” She paused. “I'm sorry to ask this, but is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt you or your business? A disgruntled employee? A buyer? A seller? Anyone at all.”
“No.”
Who would want to hurt the business? We were the most successful in the state for a reason. I shook my head. There was no way that someone would want to hurt the business.
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 50