by C. M. Steele
As she walked back to her desk, she looked at Ryan’s door. She wanted to know if Matt was still in there. He probably was, which meant he was going to pass by her. Nervously, she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She hated that she wanted a truly unavailable man, but there was nothing she could do. Her pulse was racing. She wouldn’t be a side chick to anyone or less than the only one they wanted, so taking a deep breath she tried to clear her mind of all thoughts Matt related.
She was typing out the notes that Ryan needed when the door opened. With everything in her power, she didn’t look in that direction. She focused on her work, but Matt wasn’t going to let that happen.
“So, we meet again,” Matt said. “How’s your first day going?”
“It’s going okay. Except for the copy room incident.”
“Don’t get hung up on that.”
“Candice, can you come in here a minute?” Ryan called from his open door.
“Sorry, I think I got you into trouble.” Her jaw slackened and her eyes widened. “I’m just kidding.”
“I’m coming,” she called out, standing out of her chair with a report he needed. Matt gave her a look that was pure sexual then walked away. She shook off the tingles and met with Ryan.
“Close the door.” She did and he pointed to the seat in front of him. It was still warm from where Matt had been sitting and she felt insanely turned on by that. “You’re not in trouble, so don’t listen to that knucklehead. I just want to go over some ground rules for office dating. No dating allowed. My brother can be a great guy, but I know you need this job.”
“What’s with everyone?”
“What do you mean?”
“First his assistant and now you. He’s said a handful of sentences to me and I have said even less. I do need this job, and no man, no matter how good looking, is worth starving for.”
“That’s great to hear. Is that my report?” he asked, pointing to the document in her hand.
“Oh, yes. Here it is. I’m still working on the one set of minutes.”
“Okay, here’s my schedule. Look it over and familiarize yourself with the way it’s organized. And sorry for the chaos today. I promise to keep Matt and Mara away.”
“Thanks. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Candice made it through the day without speaking to Matthew again. She liked calling him Matthew in her head. She liked the sound of it, but she didn’t know if she could call him that out loud. He smiled the two times she saw him and she couldn’t wait for five o’clock to hit. She still had a four-hour shift to do at the department store, which she knew would turn into six. It was going to be a long night.
Matt
He looked over the file and was shocked, pissed, and saddened all at once. Because her life became public record four years ago, his guy was able to get the information easily.
“You had it hard, sweet Candy. I plan on fixing that very soon,” he said, pouring himself a glass of scotch. He sat down and read the file again. She was twenty-years-old like it said, but she didn’t have a degree. She attended community college for a semester but dropped out. At the age of sixteen, her mother killed her father over another domestic dispute. She was given to an aunt as the foster parent until she reached eighteen. Her credit report showed a hundred hits, transactions, and delinquencies all over it. There were also many fraudulent claims on the report that had been proven, but the score was still garbage. That was all he had but her address, and he was truly tempted to go over there that night.
His phone rang and it was Ryan. “Hey, Matt. I just got a call from the temp agency. Apparently, there was a mix-up with the credentials for Candy and another woman, so they apologized and asked if I wanted the other replacement.”
“What did you say?”
“I told them that I liked how she was working out so far and that she had potential.”
“Good.”
“Did you get the report on her?” he asked the question Matt knew he would, so for the next hour they talked about her situation and how dire it had been. The girl was working hard to improve her circumstances. If everything worked out the way he wanted, he’d be improving her circumstances indefinitely.
Chapter Three
Matt
“Come for me,” he growled, pumping her hips up and down over his cock. “Damn it, Candy. Give me your sweet goodness.” She moaned and sighed before belting out, “Ryan,” while Matt emptied his release into her. He roared and cummed himself awake.
He shot out of his bed looking around and realized he had been dreaming a very intense and jealousy filled dream of her. He was still in his hotel room in London. It had been four days since he’d seen her. Ryan had been a major cockblocker when it came to Candice. Every time Matt tried to talk to her, he’d take her away. It had become really annoying. He knew enough of her, and what Ryan didn’t know was that he’d drove her home the last two nights. Matt hated where she lived, but he planned to change that after he came back from London. They barely had a chance to speak because the ride home was so short, but she told him the truth about her education. It was hard for him to leave her when they were getting closer and closer to breaking the rules.
He looked at his watch, which was set to Boston time, and it was already midnight. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but he sent a text to his brother.
Candice
She’d worked so late at her other job that she got dressed and decided to go to work early. She took her travel mug with coffee and headed out. Her mind was wrapped up in seeing Matt. He would be back the next day, but she knew that he wasn’t going to show until after the holidays. His assistant talked to him all the time on the phone, but Candice didn’t. Candice didn’t have a good personal phone. It was one of those prepaid cell phones with terrible reception. He called twice while she was at work, but she couldn’t call him back. She missed him like crazy. The two nights he drove her home were sweet with nothing sexual about them, but when she got back from her job she picked up a special Trojan toy they sold there. It was an intimate massager and she screamed out Matt’s name several times that night. She was going to have to buy herself batteries for Christmas.
When she got into the office only the security was in for the day. After getting started, she went in Ryan’s office and his cell phone was buzzing. She wondered why he left his phone there. If she had this fancy phone, she wouldn’t forget it anywhere. Being nosy, she hit the button and the backlight came on. A notification with a text message was displayed on the lock screen. FIRE CANDY TODAY. She dropped the phone back on the desk and ran to the bathroom. She was heaving and panting, thinking why he could want her fired.
Ryan told her to ignore Matthew, and that was what she was going to do. Hopefully, Ryan did, too. She needed this job, and it didn’t make sense why he wanted her fired. He acted like she was special. Was it because he almost kissed her and pulled back? Did he not want her around because he was seeing Mara? Did Mara have something to do with the message?
“Good morning, Candice,” Mara the wench said.
“Morning.”
“You seem out of sorts. Could it be you realized that Mattie wants nothing to do with you? I told you to leave him alone, but you didn’t stop flirting with him. Now, I’m not going to tell you again, he’s mine.”
“Whatever.”
“Morning, ladies. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just girl talk,” Mara lied, acting sweetly before stepping away back to her desk.
“By any chance have you seen my phone?”
“Yes, it’s in your office.”
“Okay, great. I was in such a hurry to go Christmas shopping that I forgot it. By the time I noticed, I had left four different stores, some of them already closed.”
“Well it’s safe and sound in your office,” she said with a smile that didn’t spread to her eyes.
“Hey, I have a meeting today. It should last all day, can you come with me? I know you have a second j
ob, but I need you. It would include dinner.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. You’re coming because I’m sure that job doesn’t offer shit compared to here.”
“Yes, but who knows how long I’ll be here.”
“As long as you do your job, I don’t see a problem. So here is two hundred dollars, get something to wear for tonight. Thanks.” She did what he asked and went shopping after lunch.
Three hours later she got dressed for the event and looked stunning. They were in the cab when he asked, “Did you look at my phone this morning?”
“I didn’t go through it,” she offered and tried to explain before Ryan raised his hand for her to stop.
“No, but you saw the message from Matt, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not what you think. You know we have a no dating policy. Well, Matt wants you and it’s his way of making it happen.”
“So, he doesn’t care that I don’t have a living wage if I’m fired just so he can get me into bed?”
“No. Look at this message.” He handed her the phone. “I fucking need her. She’s going to be my Candy Kane.” Candice clasp her hand over her shocked mouth. He wanted her for more than sex. He wanted her to take his name.
“Is this just a play on my name?” In school, people had called her Candy all the time.
“No. He’s warning me off. He wants you to be His Candy Kane.”
“Oh.”
Chapter Four
Matt
“They’re out on a dinner date tonight.”
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Ryan and Candice left on a date. She even went shopping with his money this morning to buy something sexy. I took a picture. I’ll send it to you. When I saw them get on the elevator she was in his arms.”
“I can’t talk right now.” Rage soared through his bones as he waited for the image to pop up on his phone. There she was in a sexy black number with stilettos and strands of her hair hanging down from her face. She looked stunning and Matt truly hated his brother.
He called Ryan several times, but he didn’t answer before he got on his flight to head back to Boston. It was too much. His heart was broken in so many ways. His own brother pulled the dirtiest possible stunt.
It was the following morning, when Matt got into the office straight from the airport, that he saw his entire world crumbling in one shot.
Candice
“Are you sure he’s coming into the office today?” she asked, walking into his office. It was already noon and his flight would have landed two hours ago. She expected him to be here with bells on if what Ryan had said was true.
“He wanted to see you, so I’m sure he is,” Ryan promised.
“It’s just too good to be true. My feelings for him are indescribable. I’ve been amazed how much he has an effect on me. I’m so glad you talked me down from that ledge last night.”
“I need to have a talk with him about his assistant, too. I wonder what other lies she’s spreading.”
“That’s true. If she lied about her and Matthew, I wonder what she told him about me.”
“More than likely that you’re seeing someone in the office. By the nasty voicemail, he left me, I think she told him it was me. It was about me taking you to the meeting in a tiny dress.”
“You’re handsome, but nothing compared to Matt. At least to me, that is,” she said, pacing for the hundredth time and tripping over the area rug. She came crashing down smacking her head against the edge of the desk. Quickly, Ryan made his way around and helped her up on the desk to check for injuries. He grabbed her head and examined the growing bruise on her forehead.
“Damn it, Candice. It’s not me you’re supposed to fall head over heels for.”
“Damn right, she’s not, you fucking son of a bitch,” Matt roared. Shaking in rage, he left the same way he came. The elevator doors closed before Ryan could stop him.
“What happened?” Spencer said, walking out of his office with Rose. They both looked a little flush and her hair wasn’t as perfect as she had come in with.
“Matt read the situation in my office wrong.”
“Oh, my God. Please for all that is right tell me he didn’t lay a hand on you,” Spencer asked. She never heard of him being violent so the thought shook her. “It’s not what I meant. I mean did he try to swing on Ryan and miss.”
“No, she tripped in my office and when I went to look at it while I sat her on my desk, Matt saw the scene very differently.”
“Damn, we need to get to him before he does something stupid,” Spencer said.
Candice knew all about Rose and Matthew. Initially, it came from Mara, which was the distorted lie. Then, Ryan clarified it for her last night after the dinner and she got to meet Rose. The two girls even had a little powwow in the ladies’ room. Rose told her how she and Matt never dated and it wasn’t more than a young guy flirting with a young girl. That was a major relief to Candice because competing with a ghost wasn’t something she could handle. She had enough ghosts in her past to ruin any happiness.
Chapter Five
Matt
Having to get away, he packed his bags and headed to the family cabin. When he got to the cabin he drank until he passed out. It wasn’t until morning that he realized he made some drunken texts. Several were to his parents:
I’m not coming to Christmas.
I’m at the cabin and I don’t want to be bothered.
I never want to see Ryan and if I do he’s a dead man.
The only response they sent was: Take your time. It wasn’t what it looked like. Give him a chance to explain.
He remembered hearing Ryan say she shouldn’t be falling for him. It replayed over and over in his head ever since he left. There was nothing to explain. Matt tucked his pounding head back into the pillow. When he couldn’t take thoughts of Ryan and Candice together, he hopped out of bed. There had to be something he could do to take his mind off the pain. Drinking wasn’t the answer, obviously. After taking a handful of Advil, he noticed it was cold as fuck in the cabin. Firewood, that should work, he thought. For the next two hours, he cut down firewood the old-school way, needing the swinging of an axe to heal his wounds.
Candice
The following morning, Ryan and Candice set out to the cabin. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. It was dumb, but in her heart, she wanted him, and sometimes one had to be brave. She knew he was nothing like her father, he was like his father and that was a wonderful thing. If he truly wanted her, that is. It was her worry that she wouldn’t live up to his expectations. The entire ride there she was a fit of nerves.
“Calm down, Candice,” Ryan said, driving up the hilly terrain. He must have been able to feel the tension permeating off her body.
“But I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t think he wants me. Maybe I’ll be a flavor of the month or maybe it’s the thrill of the chase.” She began to fidget so much that Ryan put his hand on her hands and stopped the twiddling.
“What makes you think that? Matt hasn’t given any woman the time of day in I don’t know how long. There’s no way he’d want anyone else but you. And you know the bullshit Mara told you was just that…bullshit.”
“Hold on a minute.” Ryan’s phone rang through the Bluetooth in the car. “Ryan here.”
“Ryan,” a soft, sweet voice whispered over the speakers.
“July, where are you?” he asked, letting a growl rip through his throat.
“My parents.”
“Where the fuck is that?” I had no idea who that woman was, but she meant something to him. His pain was as clear as Matt’s anger and hurt at the office.
“Dallas.”
“I’m going to be on the next flight out.” The tension in his voice was thick and Candice knew this July woman was in deep trouble once Ryan got to her.
“Don’t bother. I just wanted to tell you that I know you didn’t want this. So this is all o
n me, but I wanted to let you know I’m pregnant.” Ryan eyes bugged out and Candice gasped, which July heard loud and clear.
“I hear you moved on,” she hissed.
“I haven’t at all. I’m on my way to see you,” he stated, grasping the wheel until his knuckles turned white.
“Then who is it, your mother?” she asked, accusingly.
“No, it’s Matt’s future wife. I’m taking her to see him. It was a big misunderstanding, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. I want to talk about us.”
“There is no us.”
“Then why are you calling me, July? You run out on me and then you call out of the blue when you’re thousands of miles away to tell me you’re pregnant. It’s bullshit. When I get to Texas we’re going to straighten some shit out whether you like it or not.” They pulled up to the cabin and Ryan was still wanting to talk to July, so Candice started to let herself out of the truck. The plan was for him to drop her off anyway, so he could bring in her suitcase when he was done talking.
“Sorry, Candice. I have to talk to her. He isn’t going to hurt you.”
“I know that. He’s got a bark and no bite. Thanks.” Her heart felt better knowing that Matt hadn’t messed with Mara and that he wasn’t strung out on his sister-in-law. The pain in his eyes when he saw her with Ryan was visible even with her blurred vision at that moment.
Talking a deep breath, she walked up the stairs in her gym shoes, so grateful she decided to dress normal. Knocking on the door, she waited with nervous anticipation. The door opened and she was surprised by what she saw.
Chapter Six
Matt
There didn’t seem to be enough wood to cut. He still had the heartache on his mind and buried in his heart. She didn’t know the damage she’d done to him, but Ryan did. He had just come into the cabin and took off his shirt to wipe the sweat off his chest and face when he heard someone knocking. He hoped to fuck it wasn’t Ryan. Whipping the door wide open, he was pleasantly surprised to see Candice standing at the door in a pair of jeans and a puffy black coat that had seen better years.