by Sam Crescent
Sitting back in his chair, he spun around to look out over the city as he had done many times before. He liked Nora, when she was with someone else. He really did enjoy having a quick fuck in the office.
Picking up his phone, he dialed Alaric Patterson, his best friend.
“Hello,” Alaric said.
“I’ve just had my ass handed to me.”
“It’s about time.”
Rex rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I’ve even called you.”
“Because you think I’m awesome. I thought Nora was supposed to be the bomb over there, and you’re complaining about having a really good worker.”
“I know, I know. I’m losing my fucking mind, and it’s not good. Look, I’ve got to go.”
“This has been a really messed up chat, Rex. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He had blue balls, and right now he didn’t have a fucking clue what he was doing and it pissed him off. “Drinks later?”
“Not later. I’ve got a date with Bella.”
“You’re still going to go through with that?”
“You’ve got it. I told you, I know what I’m doing.”
“And I don’t?” Rex asked. His best friend was making a big mistake. He was going to make Bella Reed, the daughter of his enemy, fall in love with him, and then he was going to break her heart. It was a hard-assed plan, and he didn’t know how his friend could go through with it.
How are you any better?
You’re mean to the woman that was forced to work with you.
“I’ve got to go,” he said, cutting of Alaric’s speech as to why he should continue to do what he did.
Pulling up Nora’s contact details, he dialed her number, and waited.
“Hello,” she said, and he could tell that she was out walking the streets.
“You left,” he said.
“I know, and don’t worry, when Frank called me I just told him I was ill so no worries. Did he leave you alone?” she asked.
“No, he didn’t. Will you come back in?” he asked.
There was a pause. “I can’t right now, I’ve got an … appointment. Everything you needed me to do is in that file I handed you. I’ve got to go, sorry, Rex, bye.”
For the first time in his life, he was hung up on. He stared at the phone, and gritted his teeth.
Fuck!
Today was not his fucking day. Flicking through the file, he noticed certain points were highlighted with a yellow pen. There were a few notes, and he frowned, recalling the same kind of file in the past. He’d always found it a really good attention to detail, and he didn’t have a clue as to why it had started to annoy him.
He didn’t like being treated like a child, and being forced to take on a woman he didn’t ask for, had pissed him off.
Getting to his feet, he made his way toward the reference section where he saw Carl, one of the lawyers who had a bit of bad luck losing several cases that dealt with business law.
“Hey, Carl,” he said, slapping him on the back.
“Hey.” Carl pushed his glasses up his nose.
“How have you been?” He was trying to make conversation.
“Good. You?”
“Nora has been driving me crazy,” Rex said, being honest.
“If you want to pass her off to someone else, I’d take her in a heartbeat. I could use the good luck. It’s what we think of her, you know?”
“What?” Rex asked, completely confused.
“She’s our good luck charm. Every person who has her as a PA, they’re guaranteed to win.” The envious look on Carl’s face was not hard to miss.
“Well, I won’t be getting rid of her any time soon.” He slapped his back, and left the room.
Chapter Two
Calling in sick wasn’t normal for her, and Nora hated it. She hated the lies, and pretending that she had a cough when she really didn’t was draining on her. After four interviews, she was more than exhausted, but what was even more crazy, each company had phoned her back within an hour of her interview, and they wanted her to work for them.
The temptation was so strong, and she didn’t know why she wasn’t jumping up and down with joy at the prospect of moving on, and moving away from the likes of Rex.
She was tired, and wanted a change of pace. Never had she envisioned her life being inside a law office, highlighting important texts, typing up letters, faxing, and dealing with clients. The job was wonderful, and she did enjoy it. The problem was her. She didn’t want to do it anymore.
“Stupid. A first grader could do this.”
“Did you shop in a thrift store? We have an image to project.”
“There’s no chance of you having a date, right? I can count on you.”
“Seriously, Nora, get a life. No one wants to eat the shit you’ve baked. You’re better off going to the bakery.”
All of those comments had been said to her in the past six months of working for Rex. She remembered how he handed her a bunch of notes and told her to go to the bakery. Instead of going to the bakery, she had put his money in a charity box, and given him a wrapped pastry that she made. He didn’t criticize and asked for her to stop by whatever bakery she went to every day.
She probably shouldn’t have done what she did, but she loved cooking, and besides, it was no hardship changing up his pretend order. She had felt guilty about it all day long, but he had loved her baking. He simply thought it was someone else’s. He thought the worst of her about everything else.
Sending him to the wrong appointments had been a screw-up. Even though he was a horrible person, she loved being the best at her job. It had taken her days to get a new computer, set everything up, and then calling all his clients to reset all of his appointments. He’d gone to a couple of wrong timed appointments, and he thought she did it on purpose!
Going to Frank, she had expected to be fired. When she explained what had happened, he had said that he wasn’t going to fire her. She had done whatever she could to get Rex to the places he needed to be on time.
Blasted notebooks.
Blasted computers.
They were a waste of time.
The following Monday, with her stomach turning, she made her way toward her desk, feeling even sicker. So far she hadn’t encountered anyone, and she was happy about that. Her hands were clammy from lying. Firing up her computer, she glanced through the mail that had been left in her tray.
“Are you okay?” Lorna asked, making Nora gasp.
She spun around, and pressed a hand to her heart. “You startled me.”
“Sorry, sweetie. We were all worried about you.”
Her cheeks were heating. She could feel them start to bloom, and it drove her crazy. “It’s nothing.” Please leave. I don’t like lying. How was she going to face Rex? She couldn’t lie to him.
She had never been very good at it.
Lorna stared at her, and folded her arms. “Why do you look guilty?”
“No reason.”
Damn! She was her own worst enemy. Lorna raised a brow, and she blew out a breath.
“Fine, fine, I may have done something that I’m not sure about.”
“What?”
She looked left and right to make sure no one was around. “I may have, erm, sent out a few applications.”
“Applications?”
“For work. I’m thinking of having a change of pace.”
“Really. You can’t do that. Is this about Rex? I can tell Frank and he’ll move you on.”
She held her hand out. “It’s nothing to do with Rex.” Liar. “I want to move on, you know? I didn’t expect to be here, and I’m twenty-six in a few months, and this is not what I wanted. Not that I’m not ungrateful.”
“Where are you going to go?” Lorna asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out, I’m sure I will. I won’t give up. You know me. I have to do my own thing.” She nodded, hoping that she could convince herself as much as she could Lorna.
“Excellent, N
ora, you’re here, finally. I need you in my office,” Rex said, coming out of his, surprising her.
She hoped to hell that he hadn’t heard her. He’d probably phone the companies she had gone to, and give her a bad reference.
“We’ll do lunch,” Lorna said.
“Sure. I’ll see you there.”
Putting her bag by her chair, she grabbed her notebook, and rushed into his office. He was stood by his desk, and he looked deep in thought. “I trust that you are much better now.”
“Much better?”
“You were ill?”
“Oh, yes, I’m much, much better.” She smiled and once again her cheeks were going red, and she hated it. “Let’s get down to work.”
She noticed a change in Rex’s behavior. It was so subtle. There were no jibes about her prime clothing, or about her hair, or even about the fact that she’d taken a few days off. She made notes about some of his clients, and references to other cases. Rex also handed her a folder that had all the necessary updates for her to get up to speed.
Flicking through the file, she saw that he’d been given Carl’s latest clients.
“How come you have Carl’s case?” she asked.
“Richmond is a friend of Frank’s, and his current wife is trying to take him to the cleaners. Carl’s having a string of bad luck, and Richmond doesn’t want to lose any more of his fortune. His first ex-wife has a chunk of it. This is his third, and if Carl’s not careful, it could see most of the fortune go,” Rex said.
“How?”
“Richmond has a problem with keeping it in his pants. Whenever a new wife comes along, he makes a pre-nup to say how he’s going to remain faithful, blah blah. He cheats, and then has to try and get out of the contract. So far, it has left a huge dent in his finances. It’s our job to keep that from happening.”
“Or he should keep it in his pants.” She shrugged.
He smiled. “We’ve told him that, but the moment a pretty girl walks past, you know the drill.”
She didn’t but nodded because she had seen it more than one time. “I’ll look through this stuff.”
“If you can find anything on the wife as well, that would be great.”
“Will do.” She stood ready to leave.
“Wait,” he said, holding his hand up in front of her.
She wrapped her arms around the folder, keeping it close to her chest, and forced herself to look at Rex, waiting for whatever he was about to say. “What is it?” she asked.
“About last week, and about everything else. I’ve been a complete asshole to you.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not, and I’m sorry. I want you to know that, and I won’t continue to be an asshole.”
She nodded, not really believing him. This man turned lying into a fine art form. “Is that everything?”
He paused, and she tensed up as he kept on staring at her. “Yeah, I want to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
“Did you want to work for me?”
Nora stared at her boss, and she saw he was being serious. Rex never joked about anything, especially not with her.
“No, I didn’t. I was happy where I was. I just got put with you after the last woman threatened to sue you, and for quite a steep price. She had evidence as well. Really explicit evidence. Before I knew what had happened, I came into work, and Frank told me I was now your PA, and I had to keep you in line.” She licked her dry lips. “I’ve not been comfortable in this position for a long time.” She stood up, and took a deep breath. There was no point in lying. She went to move past him, but Rex reached out and caught her arm. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
Rex looked at where he was touching her, and then up at her face. She didn’t know what he saw, but he pulled away. “I’m sorry. I just, thank you for coming in today.”
“It’s fine.” She wanted to get her work done so that she could think about her future. Rex always made her nervous. He didn’t release her for several seconds, and he even started to stroke her flesh with his thumb. “I’ve got to go.”
“Right, right.”
He let her go, and Nora was more than happy to rush back to her space.
Should she leave or should she stay? Frank was amazing. He was like a father to her, and she didn’t want to let him down. He didn’t have to hire her, and yet he had done so. Dropping her head into her hands, she sighed. She had to get to work now and think about everything else when she finally got home.
****
Rex stood in his doorway, watching as Nora dropped her head into her hands looking so tired. He had never seen her like that before, vulnerable. Every time he was angry, or he had said something awful, she took it, and never fought back, not once. He had to wonder if she even listened to him. Now he knew without a doubt that she did.
Stepping away from the door, he made his way toward his desk, and took a seat. This was the first time he had ever felt guilt. He had thought Nora wanted to work with him. Most women did, but finding out that she felt stuck with him, it was kind of a surprise. Frank had just given him a good assistant who he thought wouldn’t come back to complain about sexual harassment.
Turning to his computer, he fired up the employment records. He was really nice to Arleen in the PR, and she had given him the password. Whenever the password changed, she would come and alert him. He just loved being on the top of his game, and the only way to do that, was to know everything.
Bringing up Nora’s work record, he began to read. There was nothing special about this at all. He had to wonder what the deal was about her. She didn’t study at law school, and yet she was the most adept assistant to ever grace the office. Frank adored her as did Lidia, Frank’s wife. None of his other assistants could handle the workload, and often went to her.
She was well known for baking anything, from cookies to cake, and had even done several people in the office a birthday cake. She was just nice. He didn’t do nice. No one was nice unless they were getting something.
Frank wasn’t screwing her. Rex would have known. No one was screwing her, and she was just nice.
Closing her file, he said another thank you to Arleen. Leaning back in his chair, he pressed his hands together, and tried to think about the woman sat at his desk. In all the months that she had been there, he’d never once thought about what she wanted, only what he wanted.
The assistants he had hired had never been qualified to be his assistant. They were dumb, but had made it clear they would make his life easier any way he needed. He liked to fuck, and while they came to him, he didn’t have any work to do, not at all. Why should he? Most of them get down on their knees, grabbed his cock, and were more than ready to go.
Running a hand down his face, he tried to clear the fog latching onto his brain, and instead focus on the file right in front of him. Frank needed him to win this divorce, or at least Frank’s friend needed him to. Another woman bleeding a man dry. This was why he didn’t marry any of the women he’d had the pleasure of fucking.
The blinds in his office were pulled up, and he watched as Nora walked across the room. She smiled at several people, and they did the same back to her. He’d never known anyone to be as welcomed in the office as she was. Even with her constant need for baking. He would never forget the number of times he’d seen several boxes of cupcakes waiting to be taken.
There were times he would get sick of listening to people moan as they ate them. It was just a damn cupcake. What she produced couldn’t be the same as what professional bakers did. He preferred it when she made a special trip to his favorite bakery to get his sweet treat. Just recalling the pastry or the cupcake that she got for him made his mouth water. So chocolatey and delicious.
She moved toward the filing cabinets. For the case that she was helping him with, many of the old court documents were secured in filing cabinets for assistants like her to go and cross-reference. It helped the case when you can bring another r
eference or at least brush up on old cases that went in favor of the guy he was defending.
He couldn’t take his eyes away from her. She was always so focused. He watched as one leg crossed behind her, drawing attention to her knee length skirt. So conservative compared to many of the women he hired. Most of them had their shirts unbuttoned to their cleavage, and wanted nothing more than attention. Watching Nora, she didn’t draw attention to her, and in doing so, it seemed to draw the eye anyway.
The first day he had seen her at the office, he had watched her for several minutes. He had an old case file in his hands, and she had been delivering mail. He couldn’t remember exactly what she did, but it wasn’t all that important. Never had a woman made him stop. Her hair had been pulled back with some in a band, and some falling around her shoulders. She had looked plain, and yet she hadn’t.
Her smile was what drew the eye as much as anything else. There was no way anyone could hide that twinkle, or the way she seemed to care about everyone even if people didn’t give a shit about her.
That foot that was crossed around the back of her leg started to tap on the floor. She did that a lot when she was thinking. A tilt to the side, and then she dropped something. Without delay, she bent forward, and Rex had to grip the wall as he admired her rounded ass. It was plump, and damn if it didn’t beg for him to touch. His cock started to thicken, and for a second all he wanted to do was drag her back into his office, bend her over the table, and fuck her so damn hard.
No!
She was Nora fucking Covington.
She wasn’t a woman he liked to fuck.
She was chubby, and he had to put up with her.
There was no way in hell he would ever want a soft, curvy woman, whose smile reminded him of an angel.
Anger consumed him as he watched Carl move toward her. The smile seemed to be a little brighter, and she closed the file in her hand, her body turning toward him. No, there was no way in hell that she was more interested in Carl. He wouldn’t have that.
Moving toward the door, he barked out an order. “Nora, I don’t pay you to gossip. I need that file, and I need it now. Move it along.”
Carl turned toward him, eyebrow raised. Rex didn’t give a shit. Nora was his, and there was no way someone else was going to sweet talk her away.