by Lexie Davis
“He doesn’t make you feel invisible. He makes you feel important, like you matter even though you have nothing to your name and not much hope for it changing.”
Piper rubbed her back as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Can I ask what happened?”
Betsy swiped her tears. “It’s the story of a lot of people. I lost my job. I worked for a good company that just found financial troubles. I made a good wage too. Best wage I’d had in my adult life. I got laid off right before Christmas. They gave me severance pay that barely covered my rent and I was forced to move. I had my sister’s kid living with me because she was in rehab and I didn’t want my niece going into the system. I couldn’t find work after that. I worked retail. I worked in restaurants. I still work in restaurants but I lost my home. I thought I could get something cheaper but I had some trouble with the bank loaning me any money after my home was foreclosed. I tried finding a place to rent but my monthly income barely makes up the price for rent. I wouldn’t have any money for food or utilities.” Betsy shrugged. “I try. It’s not like I don’t. Most of the people in here do try. Some people give homelessness a bad stigma, but there are a lot of good people that try and try, but it’s never good enough.”
Piper listened to her, her heart aching for the woman. “What did you do at your former job?”
“I was a receptionist. I made twenty dollars an hour. I had a good apartment. Maybe not what most people think of in the city, but it was mine.” Betsy shrugged. “It’s neither here nor there anymore. I’m working and saving. It might take me a lifetime to get to where I was but I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got.”
Piper excused herself and made her way to the back. Scott saw her and moved away. “Hey. You okay?”
She shook her head. “These people…I wasn’t prepared for the stories. Betsy is killing me. I got all this expensive stuff for Christmas and she’s saving her salary to try and get her home back. My stuff could rent her an apartment for a few months.”
Scott pulled her against him and kissed her temple. “What do you want to do?”
“I want you to give her a job.” Tears filled her eyes.
He nodded. “You can do whatever you want, but what about the others? I’m not knocking your generosity in helping Betsy, but I can’t give a job to everyone here. I can’t give a home to everyone here.” He lifted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “Everyone has a story. Some of them are heart wrenching and I have caved. I’m not going to lie. A single mom comes in with a hungry baby and you’d have to be some kind of heartless demon to turn them away. I’ve tried to do a little more than normal for some, and while I have the best of intentions, at the same time they need to stand on their own two feet. Money doesn’t always solve everything. So instead, I sit and I talk with them. I’m their friend.”
She chewed on her lip. “I wasn’t prepared for this.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “I’m sorry. Do you want to go home?”
She shook her head. “No.” She sniffled. “Betsy told me that she was heartbroken that I was your girlfriend. She said I seemed nice enough, though.”
He smiled. “I think you’re nice enough.” He leaned in and kissed her ear. “Even if you’re naughty.”
She laughed. They parted ways and she went to mingle with more of the people. While the stories were heartbreaking, she understood where he came from. He’d done this more than she had, and he understood it better, she supposed.
They served Christmas dinner to over six hundred people and Piper couldn’t have imagined a better place to spend Christmas. They stayed well into the night and helped to clean up while the residents went to the dorms. When they were through Scott walked out with her, hand in hand to his car. He drove back to his apartment with her hand in his lap. After he parked, Scott leaned over and kissed her.
“You okay?”
“I’m great.” She smiled.
He got out of the car and went around to help her. The walked into his building together and took the elevator. She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. A huge part of her felt so bad for not getting him something for Christmas. He could say whatever he wanted but she didn’t like that.
“What do you want for Christmas?”
They walked into his apartment and he closed the door behind them. “I have all I want.”
“There has to be something.”
“Nope.” Scott pulled her to him. “You’re all I want.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did you know I’d sign that contract?”
He grinned. “I had an inclination.”
“What if I didn’t? You bought all of this stuff for me and I could have said no.”
“I bought all this stuff for you because I wanted to. There were no conditions. You wanted it and I bought it. You deserve every bit of it and more.”
“Why?”
“Cause I said so.” He nuzzled her neck. “You smell so good.”
She smiled at him. “Let’s get something to eat and clean the bedroom.”
He laughed. “Sounds like so much fun.”
“Honey, there is no way we can do anything in that room with all the stuff you got me.”
“I’ve got a couch.” He glanced around. “A kitchen. Bathroom. Weight room. There are more rooms than the bedroom.”
She kissed his cheek. “Mmm. What can we do in your weight room?”
He bent to lift her. “Let’s find out.”
****
Scott slowly peeled Piper’s clothes from her body. She didn’t complain about her red ass at all that day and the pinkness from the paddle the night before still showed. He turned her so that he could inspect the soft skin, loving how she bent over the bench press seat for him to take her if he wanted.
He wanted.
“Suck me, baby. I want your mouth on me.” He stepped back and undid his pants.
She turned to sit on the bench before him, waiting for him to pull his cock out. He barely got his pants down before she wrapped her lips around him. Everything about her was so fucking sweet. She sucked him, curling her tongue around the tip of his cock. She cupped his balls with one hand and fisted him with the other, stroking him while she sucked. The soft sounds of her mouth filled the silence around them. It took all the strength within him not to pull her closer, to fuck her mouth like he wanted. He teetered between letting her finish him off with her mouth or to turn her around and fuck her tight cunt.
“Stop.” She backed away and he shoved his pants down. “Bend over the bench.”
She moved just like he wanted. He rubbed her slit with the tip of his cock. His heart nearly broke when he had seen her crying. She didn’t do it so damn boldly as other women but she let a tear or two escape and fall down her cheeks. He knew in that moment he loved her. Loved everything about her. She had a big heart and was such a fucking hard worker. She had sass and wit. God, he didn’t know how he’d gone so long without knowing it.
He pushed inside her, the feeling never growing old. Her tight pussy gripped him, molded to his cock and enveloped him in a cocoon of wet warmth. He watched her in the mirror on the wall, the look on her face as he pushed inside her. Her lips parted as he withdrew and slammed home again. He wanted them to stay this way. To be this connected all the time. He’d never felt so fucking close to anyone in his life, not the way he felt with her.
“I love you, Piper.” His chest felt heavy with emotion. He wasn’t the most sensitive guy but he was perfectly capable of saying what he felt. She met his eyes in the mirror in front of them and he glanced away. He didn’t need her to say it back. He knew the contract ended tomorrow and he knew that she was going back to her place to live her separate life. He’d see her at work but he had no claims to her. No matter how much he wanted her.
“Harder,” Piper pleaded. “Fuck me harder.”
He gripped her hips and did as she asked. It didn’t matter how much he fucked her, he only wanted more. Only wanted deeper inside he
r. He stopped and moved them so that he sat with her in his lap. He pushed his legs together while spreading hers. From this angle he could reach her clit and he stroked it, needing to feel her come around him. Piper panted, pleaded and cursed. Her head dropped back against his shoulder as she let out a long cry of pleasure. He kissed her sweaty neck and guided her along his cock. After a few moments, Piper stopped him and stood.
“I want to face you.” She settled on his lap again and angled his cock at her entrance. “Did you really mean what you said? It wasn’t some nonsense that slipped from your lips while we’re fucking?”
She rode him, fucking him while he sat there enjoying every second of it. He thought about denying it, but knew that would get him nowhere.
“I meant it.” He cupped her breasts, leaning in to suck her nipple into his mouth. She lifted his chin and nipped his lower lip. “I love you.”
She brushed her fingers along his nipples. Whispering into his mouth, she said, “I love you too.”
He jerked inside her, erupting with a hoarse cry. She licked at his mouth with her arms wrapped around him, holding him to her. He tightened his grip, closing his eyes as he relished everything he wanted. She was it for him and he’d have to find a way to make it work.
Chapter Seven
Piper walked into the office at eight Monday morning, sighing at all the work she had to do in taking down the decorations. She was the only one at the office and she liked it that way. Cleaning was a one-person job since she liked to do things her way. She organized the bins for the wreaths and the tree decorations. She went around to every office to collect the Christmas stuff and dragged out all the boxes from storage. No one was supposed to be in the office until ten and she made a small dent in the pile of stuff before they started to arrive.
“What the hell happened in here?” Roger walked in with two Starbucks coffees, one being for her.
“Christmas threw up.”
He laughed. “I got that much.” He sidestepped the mess she’d made and sat beside her, reaching for one of the million strands of lights. “So which dirty novel did you finish this weekend?”
She grinned. “I didn’t read one single word.”
Roger arched an eyebrow and sipped his coffee. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know if that is public information yet.”
Roger leaned back staring wide-eyed at her. “A man?”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah.”
“Spill it.”
She stood sipping her coffee. The foyer would take all day to clean up. “I need your help in cleaning this mess.”
He sighed. “It’s not an option is it? You’re going to make me do it anyway, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
They spent most of the morning cleaning up, with several people stepping over them to get to their offices. She found herself trying not to anticipate Scott’s arrival but she felt too damn giddy about it. She spent the night at his house on Christmas, but left him after breakfast for work. He had some kind of business thing before he came to work but it was near lunch and he hadn’t made it there yet.
Scott’s assistant walked through the foyer and Piper rushed toward her. “Has Scott arrived at work yet?”
Jerica snorted. “Nope. He’s probably spending the day in bed with the hottie he had me buy Christmas gifts for.”
Piper let out a pent-up breath. Roger glanced over at her, eyebrows arched. He came toward them and she cringed.
“Scott has a hottie he spent Christmas with?” Roger glanced toward her. “Funny. Piper had a mysterious lover over Christmas too.”
Jerica arched an eyebrow. “You and Scott?”
“Nobody said that.”
Scott walked in the doors and both Jerica and Roger rushed toward him. “So you and Piper are dating?” Roger sipped his coffee. “Do tell.”
Scott undid his coat. “We went to the homeless shelter together. It was so romantic.”
“Is she the one I bought all those gifts for?” Jerica asked him.
Scott glanced up at her. “Is she wearing them?”
Both Jerica and Roger turned to her. The only thing she’d chosen to wear was the necklace. And the bra set, but they couldn’t see that. Jerica walked toward her. “That necklace is new. Looks like Cartier so it’s expensive. How many rich guys do you know in the city?”
Piper leaned against the reception desk. “A lot.”
Both of them narrowed their eyes at her. Piper laughed and moved from her spot. She sat in the floor and went back to labeling boxes.
“Why don’t you two help clean this up?” Scott glanced around. “Piper, can you meet me in my office?”
She grabbed her ringing cell phone. “Maybe. Depends on my mood.”
Scott arched an eyebrow. She answered her phone and dealt with the call. Roger and Jerica watched her as she worked on promotions for the company and played janitor for the foyer. Scott left her knowing perfectly well that she’d make it up to his office in a few moments. Mr. Callahan needed reassurance and she was the one to do it.
“I’ll be right back.” Piper left them in the foyer and went to Scott’s office. Letting herself in, she sat in the empty chair while he talked about something on the phone. Once he hung up, she walked around the desk and lifted herself up so that she sat in front of him. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes.” He leaned back, staring at her. “You left before I could tell you something very important.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
She smiled. A huge bubble of emotion swelled inside her. “I love you too.”
“I don’t want our contract to end.” He smoothed his hands along her calves. “I want you to move in with me. If you don’t like my place, we can get something together. I just want to be with you. It’s killed me all morning knowing that you’re going back to your place tonight.”
She cupped his cheeks. “I want to be with you too.” She kissed him. “Christmas was just the beginning for us. I love you more than I can possibly say.”
He pulled her onto his lap. She loved the way he made her feel. It was like Betsy had said. Important. Like she was somebody when she felt like a nobody. He made Piper feel cherished. Loved.
She loved it. Loved him.
“And I went by the shelter this morning,” he tore his mouth from hers. “I gave Betsy the job. She’s working reception after the first of the year. It’s what she did before and she promised not to let me down.”
Piper’s heart swelled as tears filled her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like seeing you upset. I’ve known Betsy for a couple of years. All the people at the shelter recommended her. I think she’s a good person. She deserves a chance.” He swiped his fingers under her eyes. “Maybe this will help her in the best possible way.”
Piper hugged him, laying her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her. “She starts after the new year?”
“Yes.”
“What about her living arrangements?” Piper lifted her head. “If I’m staying with you, I won’t need my apartment. She can just stay at my place.”
He chuckled. “Whatever you want.”
She cupped his head and kissed him. “I love you so much. You have no idea.”
“Maybe some idea.” He grinned at her.
She stood from his lap and walked around the desk. “Whoever thought being naughty would feel so nice?”
He laughed as she opened the door. Roger and Jerica both arched their eyebrows at her. They stepped inside, pushing her back into the office.
“Spill it,” Roger demanded.
Scott shook his head and turned to his computer. “My girlfriend is your boss, Roger. You’d better watch your P’s and Q’s.”
Roger grabbed Piper, cheering as he pulled her into a hug. Jerica folded her arms over her breasts. “I knew it. You two are perfect together. You can see it a mile away.”
Roger kissed Piper’s cheek.
“I’m so happy for you. Tell me everything.”
Scott turned a distraught look on his face. “Not everything.”
Piper laughed and winked at him, pushing Roger and Jerica out of his office. “Sweetheart, your secrets are safe with me.”
The End
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