by Amy Brent
But it never came, and the heaving didn’t stop.
I knew I wouldn’t be productive like this. Those fifteen files I’d set for myself as a goal wouldn’t get entered in properly because my mind would be elsewhere, and I still had a week’s worth of sick days in my file. When I couldn’t physically bring up anything else, I went to the sink to rinse my mouth out before writing my direct boss a quick note and leaving for the day.
I always heard back from L. Always. The day I planned the boat trip for us was also a day where he had all sorts of meetings, but that was just a fluke. One of the great things about my job was that I got direct access to L’s schedule in case he needed me for something last minute. So, when I pulled it up and saw he had absolutely no meetings today, it only raised more questions.
Why wasn’t he messaging me back? Didn’t he know what we were up against? Surely if he said he loved me, he would want to abate my fears. Every time he messaged me, I messaged him back. Every time I messaged him, he messaged me back. Unless either one of us were in meetings, we always responded.
He had no meetings today. So, where was his response?
Didn’t he know what his lack of response was doing to me?
Did he not care?
Did someone find out?
Was this his way of communicating to me that something was wrong?
The honking of a car horn startled me back to reality as I drifted into oncoming traffic. I ripped my car back into my lane before I pulled into the parking garage of my apartment complex, and all I could do was sit at my steering wheel and cry. Something terrible was happening, I could feel it. Michael wasn’t right and his secretary was studying me with a watchful eye. I felt my paranoia fully take over my mind as I sobbed in my car, and then a frightful question crossed my mind.
Could this all fall apart so soon after we had both declared our feelings?
I’d just told the most powerful man in real estate development that I was in love with him, and that was after he had said it to me first. Up until this point, reality was better than my dreams, and I found myself trying to stay awake just so my dreams wouldn’t taint the perfection of my reality.
Was it all falling apart? Was someone currently putting L under a microscope? Was he being interrogated by someone while I just burst free from the confines of the company?
Was I going to get fired?
“Why the fuck did I do this?” I asked myself as I sobbed in my car.
“What the fuck was I thinking?”
Chapter 25
Ellison
For the second time that morning, I was in the breakroom for coffee. Last night had been exhausting as I lay awake again, replaying the events of our trip on the boat, and simply thinking about it made my bones sigh. It was the perfect date with the perfect woman, and it had sucked every ounce of energy I had, taking the weekend to recover. I wanted to return to that place. I wanted to hold her again and feel her feast on my body. I wanted to kiss her nose every time the waves battered against the boat.
I wanted her to sit that pretty little pussy on my face again just so I could watch her writhe and twitch the entire time I slurped her down.
Holding the woman I loved in my arms felt amazing. But, hearing that she loved me back was almost unbelievable. I had found a woman that enjoyed me, without or without my money. I had found a woman who matched me intellectually as well as sexually. I found a woman with a competitive spirit that not only drove her to be better, but pushed me to be better as well.
There was nothing that could compare or replace that feeling, and the moment her words registered in my heart, I knew I’d do anything to keep her.
She had been on my mind all night last night. I stayed up thinking of her smile and listening to the echoes of her laughter. I kept licking my lips, reminiscing over the taste of her. Every time I got into the shower I wished she was there for me to pull against my body. Every time I woke up in the morning I wished I could look over and see her red locks sprawled out on my pillows.
I wanted evidence in my life that she was there. Evidence we didn’t have to keep hiding in order to have our relationship.
I sighed over my coffee. Slipping my hand into my pocket, I closed my eyes for just a moment. I pictured her eyes—those piercing beauties staring back at me as they crinkled with her smile. I thought about her body—rolling with curves and parting themselves just for my touch.
I thought about her sounds in bed—how she huffed and panted. How her tits bounced with every breath of air. How her voice whispered in my ear. How her—
“Have a good night last night?”
I opened my eyes and saw Michael standing there, but the scowl on his face forced my mind into the conversation. I took a second to study him, to really take him in. I saw how his hands were tucked into his pockets—his fists balled up beneath the fabric of his pants. I saw how his eyes were unwavering, almost accusatory even, after he asked me an innocent question. I studied his posture—how his shoulders were rolled back and his chest was puffed out.
This encounter was anything but innocent, and I braced myself for what I knew was coming.
“Very much so,” I said. “How was yours?”
“The pier was pretty nice,” he said.
“Which pier did you find yourself at last night?” I asked.
“The Miami Beach Marina,” he said.
“Mhm. Taking in the sights?” I asked.
“What the hell were you doing?” he asked, crossing the room and lowering his voice.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.
“Cut the shit, L. I saw you on the pier with Charlie.”
“How’s your leg feeling, Michael?” I asked.
“Could be better,” he said. “Stop diverting.”
“I’m not. Are you still taking your pain medication?” I asked.
“Of course. Hurts like a bitch.”
“Then what were you doing hiking wooden steps and trying to balance yourself on a floating dock?” I asked.
“Like you said. Taking in the sights.”
I clocked his small facial expression. I saw the way his eyes were darting and how he had slipped his hands from his pockets. I saw the corner of his eye twitch ever so slightly when he told me what he was doing at the pier, then I watched his pupils dilate after the rush of adrenaline flooded his body. One of the things I’d become very good at was reading people. You had to in a boardroom. You had to know when someone was bluffing, when someone was hiding something, and when someone was vulnerable.
If you didn’t, things like hostile takeovers took place. CEO’s of companies like mine always had to be on-guard, searching for people who weren’t telling the truth or were trying to wiggle their way into areas of your company they had no business being in.
But now, Michael was wiggling into an area of my life he had no business being in, and I had no intention of believing he was doing anything less than tracking me.
“You followed me to that pier,” I said.
“That isn’t the point,” he said. “The point is you’ve now become not only the biggest hypocrite in this company, but you’ve placed everything at risk.”
“You followed me, and I would like to know what hunch brought you to the conclusion that you needed to,” I said.
“I want what’s best for this company. What I do in order to get it is none of your business,” he said.
“I would caution you to take a step back and think about who you’re talking to,” I said. “Now, I’m only going to ask you one more time, Michael. What hunch did you have that cause you to follow me?”
“An interoffice romance is—”
“Answer the fucking question, Mike,” I said.
“You’ve been consistently distracted and I figured it had something to do with the chick you were screwing.”
“So, you followed me around for a little while in order to figure out who I was sticking my dick in?” I asked.
“No, just to the—�
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My eyes grew steely as I held Michael’s gaze. He took a small step back before drawing in a slow breath through his nose. He knew I had him cornered. If there was one thing you didn’t do, it was mess with me. If there was one tactic you didn’t try, it was to corner me. If you want to create a trap—if you want to your trap to work, to be deadly, to give you what you want—there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap.
Me.
“How in the world could you sacrifice everything we’ve worked for just to go against your own policy with some chick with big tits, L?”
“I would advise you to use her actual name, Michael. After all, I’m grooming her to stand alongside you in boardroom situations,” I said.
“Oh, you’re grooming her for something, alright,” he said.
“That thin wire you’re standing on is swaying in the breeze,” I said. “Talk to me like a man, or get out.”
“I want what’s best for this company, L. I always have,” he said. “But, an interoffice romance? You, the man who fucking fires people over it? Do you even understand what you’re opening yourself up to? What you’re opening up this company to!?”
“I’m well aware, yes,” I said. “Let me remind you that I built this company, and I didn’t do it by not knowing the potential consequences of my decisions.”
“You’re playing with some serious fire. You could go down. We could all go down with you. Does that even matter to you?” he asked.
“It does,” I said.
“How could you do this?” he asked. “How could you do this to me—to us?”
“Right now, the only mistake I see here is how I admitted to seeing someone. Had I simply fought you off instead of trusting you, we wouldn’t be standing here right now,” I said.
“So, you think this is my fault?” he asked. “It’s not my fault you’re sticking your dick in—”
“You will not address the interactions I have with Charlie in that manner,” I said.
“This isn’t a formal business meeting, L. This is serious business,” he said.
“Doesn’t serious business occur in formal business meetings?” I asked.
“Fuck me, L. Really? The snarkiness now? Do you really not see what’s happening? Do you not know how much bullshit this is gonna rain down?”
“I appreciate your concern, Michael. I understand you’re concerned about the company, but I’d like to think you’re concerned about me as your friend. But, I’ve weighed the good against the bad. I’ve done the cost analysis. Then, I made my choice, just like any adult would.”
“And the entire company as well as your reputation is worth—”
“Watch your words,” I said.
“Is worth sleeping with a coworker?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said plainly
Michael shook his head before he drew his bottom lip between his teeth. I knew he was angry, and he had every right to be. There was nothing about what he was saying that was wrong. I was sacrificing the company’s reputation as well as my own to have this relationship with Charlie.
The difference at this point was the fact that I was in love with her, and I refused to believe that was a bad thing.
“This isn’t over. And when it blows up in your face, you know where to find me,” he said.
Michael turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, leaving me holding my lukewarm coffee. I wasn’t going to stop seeing Charlie—not by a longshot. But, now that I knew Michael somehow felt the need to follow me around, we were going to have to be more discreet than ever.
However, Michael had a point. This wasn’t just everything I had worked for, this was everything he had worked for, too. He had stood by me through the ups and downs of this company ever since I had the crazy idea back when I was still a bright eyed, ignorant teenager. He was there through all the risky deals and the failed properties, and I was playing with his reputation as well.
His company.
His job.
Shit. I needed to message Charlie. If he knew, and if Charlie encountered him this morning, then there was a good chance Charlie was able to pick up on his body language.
I went to my phone and saw I had a missed message from her. It was simple and to the point, informing me that she was under the impression Michael knew. She was checking up on me, making sure I was alright.
So, I shot her back a message.
Confirmed. He knows. You also have some properties to look at over lunch.
I’d get her the details of our lunch rendezvous later. Right now, I needed to make sure she was alright. Especially before we walked into a meeting this afternoon. Michael wasn’t gonna be the wise choice to attend the contractor meeting with the way he was feeling right now, so I was going to need Charlie to sub in for him this afternoon.
But, when I sat back down at my desk, I saw that my secretary had left a sticky note on my laptop.
The last of the files for the project will be delayed. Charlie went home sick. There are 15 left, all the rest have been double-checked and entered into the system by both of us.
Fuck.
Charlie knew.
She knew and it made her sick.
I had to get to Charlie and talk with her. I felt the burner phone vibrate, but I was already grabbing my coat and briefcase. If she wasn’t feeling well, then she went home. If she wasn’t feeling well, then I should probably stop to get her some soup or something.
I didn’t have time. I didn’t have time to be nice or romantic or caring right now. Something happened with Charlie this morning and I needed to figure out what it was.
“Everything alright, Mr. James?” my secretary asked.
“Yes. I’ll be out of the office until the contractor meeting this afternoon. Tell Michael he won’t be necessary, and tell him he can go home early if he wishes,” I said.
“Right away, sir. Anything else?” she asked.
“Treat yourself to a long lunch. You haven’t had one in a while,” I said.
“Thank you, Mr. James.”
And just as I stepped into the elevator and turned around, I caught Michael’s glare as he stepped out of his office and walked over to my beckoning secretary.
Chapter 26
Charlie
The entire time I drove back to my apartment I felt sick to my stomach. My head was spinning and my hands were shaking, the panic rising in my throat threatened another heaving session. I had to pull over twice just to take a few deep breaths, but when I finally got into my apartment I realized I was out of cat food.
Johnson was meowing up a storm and I didn’t have anything I could fix him temporarily, so I grabbed my purse and headed back for my car. This was good, though—better than locking myself up in my apartment. I could get out, breathe in some fresh air, get some cat food and some stuff for my stomach, and do a bit of grocery shopping. L had been treating me to so many things that I hadn’t felt the need to shop since we started this whole thing, and I was running low on the basics.
I grabbed a grocery cart and started walking down the aisles. I chose some vegetables for a stir-fry, some bread for sandwiches, and grabbed the essential meats and spices I’d need in order to make up a few dishes. I usually cooked one massive dish at the end of the week, then divvied it out into containers I could heat up whenever I got home. It was quick, it was usually healthier, and it meant less work for me with the long days I was pulling.
My stomach started rolling with nausea again and I had to stop and bend over. My head was swimming and I tried to remember what I’d had for breakfast, and realized the issue. Not only did Michael make me feel uncomfortable, but when he did, I’d lost everything in my stomach, except perhaps the every churning supply of acid that kept building up.
I needed to grab something I could eat quickly while I finished my shopping.
I reached for a bag of chips that was hanging out on the end of the cat food aisle, but even that idea didn’t seem too appealing. I placed them in my cart anyway, hoping that
my appetite would return by the time I got home. I found myself wandering beside the back corner of the grocery store where the bathrooms were, and I had to dash back in it to throw up again.
Alright, something was not right. This wasn’t just nerves.
“Soup,” I said between my heaves. “Some soup’ll be good.”
I came out of the bathroom and tried to find the soup aisle, but found myself in front of the family planning aisle instead. I started wracking my brain, trying to figure out if I needed tampons or feminine wipes at my apartment. The last time I had my period I had been running low, but I couldn’t remember what I had been running low on.
Wait. When was the last time I’d had my period?
I pulled out my phone and navigated over to my cycle timer. I pulled it up and realized I was a little over two weeks late for my period and I felt my blood run cold. That wasn’t possible. I was incredibly careful with my birth control. I had a timer on my phone to alert me two hours before, one hour before, as well as exactly on the nose as to when I had to take my birth control pill. It was like clockwork, and had been for years.
I walked down the aisle and grabbed both tampons and feminine wipes before I stopped at the pregnancy tests. Could it be possible? I mean, I had gone through a great deal of stress these past few weeks, and it wasn’t unlike me to skip periods sometimes because of it. It had happened to me several times when I first started at L’s company, in fact. I was pulling long hours and late nights, and I ended up skipping two periods before I even realized it.