by Amy Brent
She felt the impact of his words, knowing full well he was right. She sighed, looking up at him.
“You're right, about everything. I don’t know what I expected. I’m sorry Reg, really.” She slipped out of the room and back up the stairs, opting to wait for her father somewhere else in the building.
She was sitting in the main lobby reading when he finally showed up. He smiled at her as she stood and joined him. He was a good guy and moving back was the best thing she could have done.
“What you want for dinner, Chelsea?”
“Anything is good, I can cook something when we get home.”
“Oh no… Reggie told me you got the job, so tonight I am taking us to dinner.” He smiled at her.
She felt a sinking sensation in her stomach, either from the excitement of working with him, or simply seeing him again tomorrow.
Reginald
He said the words, but had his reservations about it now that Ben was gone. She would be a wonderful asset to have on the team, but he would have to stay away from her for good. There was something about her that made him want to do more, or push the company into being better somehow. He thought about going out, but there was something unsettling about it now. Chelsea had put him on edge about meeting women in bars.
He went home his focus on work, and of what he was doing with himself. Maybe there was more to life than just womanizing and making money. He knew he had no right to even think about her in any way at all. She was too young for him, too sweet and innocent. His age and life experience would break her down and he wouldn’t do that to her, despite the second guessing he was doing about the situation.
She was waiting for him the next morning, all smiles and indifference. He looked her over, his stomach flip flopping as she bent over the desk to get a folder that had all of the upcoming appointment files. She excused herself and made her way out and into her office, and he could do nothing more than watch her go.
The next two weeks he saw her, working beside her in many things. She did her best to be pleasant, but he could still see something in her eyes and he felt awful for it. He found himself. At the beginning of the third week he decided to go find her once and for all, they had to clear the air. Wondering about her all the time was doing no good.
“You’ve been busy, ” He took in the work space she had been given. There were various stacked invoices and property deed all neatly sorted into manageable stack and everything was arranged so that she could sort and file things away.
She turned to look at him with a smile on her face. “Yes, in fact, there are a lot of things I want to go over with you, can we set aside some time to work on it?”
“Sure, Chelsea. In fact, I have a couple hours now.”
“Great” She dug out a file to give him, both of them settling in to discuss it. He could smell her perfume, and that only made him think of the smell of her skin. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked down at the form once more.
“Reg, I just wanted to thank you for accepting my apology and for making it so that I can work here. I love the work, and there are so many ideas I have.” She looked so sincere, he couldn’t help but smile at her.
“Chelsea you had no reason to apologize. I'm glad you’re here. In fact, I wanted to ask you something.” He paused when Brian Sommerville came into the room.
“Brian hey there.” Reg held out his hand to the young associate.
“Mr. Covington, hello sir.” He stood up straighter, nodding at him, clearly seeking approval. “I just wanted to confirm dinner with Chelsea, and then I'll be on my way.”
She smiled at him sweetly, and Reg felt his stomach turn. After he was gone he stood, frowning as he thought about Chelsea with that young idiot. He walked over to look at the increasing pile of documents.
“Chelsea, I think I am going to go get a drink, think we could move this to my office in say, an hour?”
“Sure sounds good, I'll see you there.” She never glanced up at him and the pain he felt was intense.
He made his way into his office, all the while he clenched his fists in frustration. So she was dating, he should be happy for her in that. The fact of the matter was that he simply wasn’t. In fact the idea of Somerville touching her at all set him on fire. He was waiting for her when she arrived, more determined now than ever to prove that he still affected her.
Chelsea
She smiled as she heard him leave her office. Everything was as it should be. She was in love with the fool, and when it had happened she wasn’t sure. She smiled to herself, remembering the look on his face when he had gone, there was some distaste over her choice in dating partner there, she just knew it.
Over the last two weeks they had worked together, but the underlying tension was still present. She had thought to tell him how she felt, and tell him about the other thing, but she wanted him to face his feelings first. She turned to go, catching herself cupping her stomach slightly. She knew so much that would change everything. She turned to go, casually making her way to his office where he was no doubt pacing and waiting.
She opened the door and he stood by the window, lost in thought and she had to home she was the reason why. She paid no attention to him as he turned to face her. She walked over to the window to join him, looking casually down into the streets below.
“Busy day out there, isn’t it,” she smiled at him sweetly and soon she found herself in his arms once more.
She kissed him back, uncaring about anything other than the way he felt, his mouth and his touch both consuming her in fire only he could create. She kissed him back her body melting into his hands. Until the door opened.
“What the hell are you doing to my daughter Reggie.” He moved quickly, coming between the two of them in a rush of motion.
“Oh no.” She moved between them, doing her best to calm the already festering situation. “Dad calm down, he isn’t doing anything I didn’t want him to.”
She looked at Reg, his face, glancing between both her and her father. “Ben, listen I know you won't believe this, but I never meant for it to happen… I didn’t even know who she was.”
“You son of a bitch, I don’t care. You know now don’t you? Damn Reggie she could be your daughter.”
“Alright Dad, that’s enough! I am a grown woman and I can do who and whatever I want.”
Her father looked at her, and swore once more before he stormed out, leaving her to face Reg alone. She didn’t look at him, instead she made her way across the room to quietly lock the door behind her father. Walking back over to him she felt the pain he was feeling, his head he held in his hands and he looked up at her.
“Well, that didn’t go well at all.” He tried to joke, but it was clear that he was concerned.
“I meant what I said Reg, I'm a grown woman.”
“Yes, you are Chelsea, but that doesn’t make what he said any less right as well.”
“None of that matters to me, you know that.” She tried to get him to look at her.
“No, I guess not now. I mean really Chelsea Simmons?”
Finally, he looked up at her and she felt his anger boiling up. “That kid is green as hell, and there is no way he is going to keep you satisfied… in any way.”
She had him exactly where she wanted him. “Well, you didn’t want me so that’s not really for you to say now is it?” She turned, ready to storm out and he was on her in an instant.
She felt him pulled her to him roughly, his face inches above hers. The kiss was demanding and full of emotion. There were not words between them as they pulled the clothes from each other, tossing them on the floor of his office. He buried his head in the crook of her neck as he fell onto the soft leather of the couch in the office space, in front of the window. She straddled him, feeling his hands on her everywhere at once. He nipped his way down her body, feasting on her upturned breasts, first one and then the other.
Unlike before this was rough, eager and demanding. She
held them up to his mouth offering herself to him, and the onslaught of his mouth. She felt his hands grazing and dipping lower until he was rubbing and moving over her wet heat, seeking and searching for proof of her excitement. She wanted release, needed it and moved her hips against his hands, grinding into his fingers until he stopped her, then moved to gently to shift his weight until she took control, gently sliding the length of him inside her as she rode down on him.
She felt herself overthinking for a moment, offering her weight was an issue, he made quick work of that by gripping her hips, and pulling her down onto him until she was full of his length. She stopped momentarily, the feel of him almost overwhelming as she slowly moved, rocking on him, until she found a satisfying rhythm that they both enjoyed. She slid first up and then back down on him, moving in slow circled up and down the length of him, slowly, languidly until he finally had enough. He gripped her hips in his hands holding her there for a long moment and he then moved once more.
“Stand up Chelsea.”
She did as he asked, waiting her breath coming in short gasps until he stood behind her, his hands sliding up her hips and across her stomach to cup her full breasts from behind. She leaned back against him, the soft hair on his chest pressing into her back as he tugged and pulled on her nipples until he knew they were full and hard. Gently then he pushed her forward, until she was standing beside the couch, she felt the pressure of his hands as he bent her over it until the hardness of her nipples were pressed into the soft leather arm of the couch. Her backside faced up at him and she felt him moving, running his hands up her inner thighs until he moved and she felt the pressure of him.
She moaned loudly as he pushed into her from behind, reveling in the new sensations she was feeling. He slid in slowly, first moving a little more of him at a time until he was fully pushed to the hilt. She moved slightly at the fullness of him, raising her leg until it rested on the couch and she was more open to him. He moved then, pushing into her with such deep thrusts she gasped with each push. Soon they found the age old rhythm as she arched her back to take every inch of him. She felt her body tensing up as she neared the peak of excitement. Soon she moaned loudly as she crested the peak, and he soon followed.
She felt him lean on her for a moment, before he was gone again. She took a deep breath and stood, carefully redressing and tidying up from the experience. She looked at him, but he dressed, avoiding her eyes. She felt eh heat between them still, knowing there was more that needed to be talked about. Finally, he looked up at her.
“I’d say I'm sorry, but I'm not Chelsea. I've wanted to touch you for weeks, and then that damn kid came in eager and…” He trailed off.
“I don’t want him Reg, you know that.” She waited, pausing to look at him.
He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not the point, you should want him…. You should go out with him.”
She felt the pain start deep down. “You don’t mean that Reg, I know you don’t.”
“I can't give you what you want Chelsea.” He gave her a pained look.
“You don’t even know what I want, you never seem to think about asking me what I want.”
She grabbed her things, and spun around to leave. Giving him one last look before she was gone.
Reginald
He watched her go, hating himself for touching her, for loving her and for everything in between. What he hated the most was hurting her, of all things, he never meant for her to hurt. He had sworn to not even bring up Simmons, to not say or do anything to let her know he was bothered by him, but it had been too much, and now he had basically pushed her towards him.
There had been no intention of touching her either, but that had been thrown out the window quickly. She had given him that look, and stood up to her father for him. Seeing her on fire like that had pushed him over the edge and he was drawn to her, more than ever before. What he felt for her was more than he could put a name to, more than he could really handle.
He poured himself a drink, swirling the amber liquid around as he thought about her with him. There was something about her, a glow she seemed to carry every time he saw her that ripped into him like fire. For more than an hour he sat there, lost in his own thoughts. He had been the first to touch her and he damn well wanted to be the last. He also knew he was a coward, and he wasn’t made for commitment. Hand picking a few women to have fun with, that was more his style. At least it had been before, Chelsea had come into his life on a night he had never seen coming. He knew the first thing he needed to do was work things out with Ben, and do his best to explain. Then he would talk to her, explain why he can't be more for her.
He smiled as an idea came to him, he quickly dialed the number in the file he found. Once that was done, he smiled to himself as he left the building. He made his way to Ben’s house, knowing she may be there, hoping in fact that she could be there and make him feel better. Knowing she was safe. The steps he took to the door were some the hardest he could remember taking. He knocked twice and waited.
The door came open in a short burst. “What do you want Reggie, haven’t you done enough?”
“I know your pissed Ben, hell I’d kill you for less. Can we talk, please?”
Ben moved aside, letting him into the foyer of the house. He glanced around quickly.
“She's gone, if that's what you're doing… looking for her?”
He frowned. “What do you mean she is gone? Gone where?”
Ben sighed, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Back to her mothers, I guess. Wherever she is going it’s your fault. She was fine until this afternoon, then she packed her things, tossed them in her car and was gone.”
“Damn it!” He stood again once more thinking about how he could find her quickly. “Where is her mother? I mean literally, Ben, it's important.”
“Why the hell would I tell you that?”
Reg took a deep breath calming himself. “You're right, I owe you an apology Ben. I met her and it was all a mix up. I didn’t know who she was and then when she showed up that day…”
“Why didn’t you stop it, why did you let her fall in love with you, the player that you are. I mean only a couple months ago employees were dropping like flies, because of you.”
He felt his temper rising, but the truth was there, right out and open. “You're right Ben, but it's not like that with her.”
Ben snorted. “Why because she is fresh and new and young. We both know you Reggie, you don’t change.”
“I love her Ben.”
They both stopped, each surprised for different reasons. Ben slumped down in the chair at the kitchen table, taking a long drink from the glass sitting there. Reg followed suit, pouring a drink for himself in the glass Ben handed him. He took a long drink, thinking about her and what would happen when he found her.
“She loves you too you know, in case you missed that part earlier.”
“I don’t know how to do this Ben, I mean I love her I want to be there… I want to protect her and… I just don’t know what to do next.”
“Not much else you can do except tell her.”
He glanced up at Ben then, his face a mask of concern. “She loves you, it would kill her if you didn’t approve.”
Ben sighed loudly. “You know today, when she left I think I would have done anything to keep her safe. That’s the part of being a father you will have to learn to get used to. Then I realized there was something more, something bigger that she needed. The man in her life wasn’t me anymore.” He took a drink. “She is in town at the Braymore Hotel. She is heading to Fauquier to her mother’s tomorrow. She needed a place to go think.”
Reg jumped up grabbing the keys he had tossed on the table a moment before. He turned to go, pausing only once.
“Wait, what did you say?”
Chelsea
She stared out the window of the room she had rented. Letting the tears fall freely down her face now that she was alone. She hated all of them, falling down her che
eks a reminder of the pain she felt. He’d been honest, she couldn’t fault him for that. She had tried and he had said no. Even her date with Simmons had been a bust, something about a call from a big project that needed his attention. She would give herself tonight, one night to feel sorry for herself. Tomorrow she had much bigger things to deal with. She heard the door, and frowned as she made her way over to it.
She peeked through the hole and took a step back, swallowing hard. Opening the door, she let him in.
“Chelsea, are you ok, I mean, do you feel ok?”
She rolled her eyes. “I guess he told you then?”
“Why did he have to tell me Chelsea, why wouldn’t you? A baby I mean a baby Chelsea?”
She felt her temper rising, and her voice followed suit. “I didn’t do it on my own Reg.”
He sighed loudly. “I know, I know. Just sit down here.”
She did, crossing her legs and arms simultaneously. He sat down across from her, and she waited, all the while looking him over, his face as perfect and she did her best to remember each and every detail of it.
“Why are you here Reg? I was going to tell you, you have to know that.”
“I know, but you didn’t. You just left today and said nothing.”
She laughed, letting the tears well up once more. “I set the whole thing up like an idiot. Getting Simmons to ask me out, just to make you jealous.” She sniffed loudly. “Then I was going to seduce you… and it worked and still even then, you said sorry can't.”
“Oh Chelsea, that’s on me. I let you walk out of there and I sat there kicking myself, hating to hurt you. You took the light with you, when you left. I felt everything go with you and I knew then I could let you. I couldn’t watch you go and leave me waiting and wanting you the way I do. I went to your fathers, to tell him the truth.”
“I’m sure he figured it out Reg.”
“No Chelsea, not that truth. The truth about me.”
She glanced up at him, waiting not giving an ounce of attention to the hope that welled up within her. She watched his face, the raw emotion there made her heart beat even faster as she watched him speaking the words she longed to hear.