10 Days

by Niles, Adele

Panting, she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the desk.

  She looked back at me. “How soon can you get it up again?”

  * * * * *

  We had sex twice more before deciding we were both done for the night. We stretched out in the bed together, the room dark except for the city lights coming in through the window.

  Lanie fell asleep fast, curled up on her side, facing away from me. I watched her for a moment, then rolled over, reaching for my phone.

  There was a text.

  From Rachel.

  I frowned and opened the text. What could she possibly have to be messaging me about?

  When I saw the message, I gasped.

  It was a photo of me and Lanie, from earlier in the evening. We were outside the hotel, kissing before we went inside.

  Meet with me Monday at one pm or I’ll send this to the ENTIRE company!!

  I took a deep breath and texted her back. All right. Monday at one. You’ll be escorted in and out.

  Fine. See you then.

  I put my phone down and rolled over, wrapping an arm around Lanie. She made a soft noise in her sleep, then pressed her back to my chest.

  This was a problem for Monday. I fully intended to enjoy the rest of the weekend with Lanie, as much as I could.

  Fourteen

  Lanie

  I spent Saturday night with Dorian, too, and Sunday morning.

  We had incredible chemistry. The sex was amazing, and our conversations between were fun and light-hearted. I liked him, I decided; and I wanted to see if this went further than fucking.

  But there was something going on, too. He kept checking his phone, and when I asked him what was up, he brushed it off as nothing.

  I knew there was something going on, but he wouldn’t answer me, so I tried not to push.

  But on Monday, it was unavoidable. When I came into the office, Dorian was already there, talking on the phone. He asked whoever was on the other end to hold for a moment, then looked to me.

  “Lanie. I need you to work in the file room today.”

  “Oh. Um, sure. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll text if I need you for anything. See you later.”

  He picked up the phone again, waving me out of his office.

  I frowned, but left, going down to the file room to start organizing again.

  My mind was racing all morning. Had I done something wrong? We’d had such a good weekend, and things had been fine the previous week. He’d been talking about maybe keeping me on.

  And now, it was like he couldn’t even look at me.

  I managed to hold myself together, at least, making copies and organizing files into boxes. It wasn’t fun, but it made the time pass.

  At lunch, I texted him.

  Hey, want to eat together?

  Can’t today. Talk to you later.

  So I ate alone. In the file room.

  A week ago, we’d been fooling around in here, and now I was struggling not to cry while I half-heartedly ate a sandwich and chips.

  What was going on with him?

  I sent another text.

  Is everything okay?

  No reply.

  Dammit.

  I gave up on eating and went back to work. If he wouldn’t talk to me, then maybe I could at least get a lot done and impress him with that.

  But it was so hard to focus when I didn’t know what was happening.

  Fuck it, I decided. I couldn’t stay in here. What’s the worst that could happen? I would get fired a few days before my assignment ended?

  I left the file room, taking the elevator up to Dorian’s office.

  The door slid open, and I came face-to-face with the last person I’d expected to see.

  Rachel.

  She was in tears, but she still managed to sneer at me. “Looks like you’re the next one out on her ass.”

  She stepped on the elevator.

  Numbly, I stepped off.

  As the doors closed, I heard her spit out one more word. “Whore.”

  Whore? What the hell?

  I looked back, but the doors were closed.

  I took a deep breath and walked down the hall to Dorian’s office.

  The door was closed, but that wasn’t about to stop me.

  Fifteen

  Dorian

  The door to my office opened so hard it hit the wall.

  “What the hell is going on?” Lanie demanded, storming into the room.

  I looked at her, sighing. The man sitting on the other side of my desk rose, shook my hand, and passed her to leave.

  “Who was that? Why the hell was Rachel here and why did she call me a whore on her way out?”

  “Rachel has been handled.” I put my hands on the desk, folding them together. “You don’t need to worry about her.”

  “Bullshit! Why was she here at all? And why did she say I’m getting fired?”

  “She said that?”

  “Yes!”

  I sighed. “Lanie, please sit down.”

  She froze, her arms dropping to her sides. “Oh my god. You are firing me.”

  “No, I—well. Just hear me out.”

  She came over to the chair and sat down, her head bowed.

  Seeing her look so sad made my heart ache. “Lanie. It’s going to be all right.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  I sighed and hit print on my computer. The printer spit out a piece of paper, and I signed it, folded it, and slid it into an envelope.

  “Rachel took some pictures of us on Saturday night.”

  “What?” Lanie looked up, brows furrowed.

  I nodded. “She did. And she threatened to leak them to the company if I wouldn’t hire her back.”

  “Well—so what?”

  “The pictures would be proof that I’ve been violating my own code of conduct.”

  She huffed, looking away for a moment. “You wrote it. You can change it. And—and she’s trying to blackmail you!”

  “I can change the code of conduct, and I will. And don’t worry. I’m not hiring her back. Blackmail doesn’t work when there’s a lawyer involved. However, in light of everything, the company’s lawyer has said that the best course of action is to end your assignment today.”

  Lanie sat in stunned silence, staring at me. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I wish I was.” I frowned, looking at the envelope. “But you have an interview in an hour.”

  She blinked.

  “What?”

  “Yeah. I called a friend of mine. He just lost a good project manager, and he’s very interested in you. Especially since you’re coming with my recommendation.”

  I handed the letter to her, leaning across my desk. “This is a letter of recommendation. I also found your resume on a job search site. I wanted you to make sure it’s up to date before I print it.”

  She swallowed, then laid the envelope on the desk and rose. She came around to my side, leaning to look at the computer. After a moment, she nodded. “Yeah. That…that’s all right.”

  “Good.” I nodded, touching her back gently.

  She turned to look at me. Her eyes were bright with tears. “So, what about us?”

  I smiled. “Well, if you’re not my employee, we’re free to date.”

  She smiled back and leaned close, kissing me. It was sweet, and tender, and without the lust that every other kiss we’d shared had carried. Yet it still meant the world.

  “Dinner tonight, then?” she asked. “After I ace my interview?”

  “Definitely. Call me when you’re done.”

  “I will.” She straightened, picking up her resume from the printer. “Do I look good enough for an interview?”

  “You look gorgeous. Go get your job. Call me later and tell me about it.”

  “I will.”

  She smiled at me a moment longer, then turned and left my office.

  Epilogue

  Lanie

  Even though I loved my job, I would never say
no to a weekend.

  The marketing firm Dorian had contacted hired me that day, as soon as my interview was over. I’d never imagined jumping in as a project manager, but Dorian had obviously said something to impress them.

  And in the four months since I’d gotten hired, it had just gotten better. My bosses really seemed to like me. They had me in charge of a few smaller projects, but had just recently given me a high-profile client to handle. And with the team I was leading, I was sure we’d do a great job.

  I sighed as I parked, walking up the front steps and letting myself in.

  “Welcome home,” Dorian called.

  “Hi!” I called back, walking into our living room.

  It felt good to be out of my shitty apartment.

  It felt better to be living with the man I was falling in love with.

  He was lying on the couch, already changed out of his work clothes into sweatpants and a t-shirt.

  He looked delicious like that. And I wanted to start my weekend off right.

  I crossed the room, pulling my shirt over my head and dropping it to the ground.

  “Happy Friday.” He reached for me, unzipping my skirt.

  I let it fall, kicking it toward the TV.

  “I need to relieve a little stress,” I said, moving to straddle his hips, still in my heels.

  He put his hands on my hips, already hard in his sweatpants. “I like the look of this.”

  “Yeah? I can make it better.”

  I unclasped my bra and tossed it to the floor.

  Dorian grinned, sitting up. He took one nipple between his lips, sucking.

  “Fuck.” I tilted my head back, moaning.

  “We’re gonna. Be patient.”

  I laughed, combing my fingers through his hair.

  He pushed my panties down, helping me shift to wiggle out of them.

  I pulled him up, kissing him hard. He lowered his hands and shoved his sweatpants down.

  I was ready for him. I’d been thinking about this the whole drive home.

  I guided him into me and dropped down, groaning.

  He felt so fucking good inside me, filling me completely. I stayed still for a moment, just enjoying the sensation.

  And then I placed my hands on his chest and started to bounce.

  “Fuck, Lanie.” He squeezed my hips tighter.

  I moaned in response, rocking on him.

  I set the pace. He rocked his hips up to meet me.

  Every time he pushed in deeper, I shivered.

  I never lasted long with him. He was too good.

  I sank down again, rocking back and forth.

  He moaned, squeezing me tighter. “You’re gonna make me come.”

  “Good.” I smiled. “That’s kind of the point.”

  I started to move again.

  His breathing grew heavy, ragged. His grip on my hips tightened.

  He pulled me down, holding me in place as he finished inside me.

  I reached one hand down, still mounted on him. It only took a few quick movements against my clit before I was done, too.

  I sank forward, lying against his chest.

  “Fuck,” I sighed. “I needed that.”

  He chuckled, the sound a low rumble in his chest. “I did, too.”

  “Mm. Good.”

  He rubbed my bare shoulder, yawning. “And now we get to do that…at least five more times.”

  “Only five more? Am I wearing you out, old man?”

  He laughed louder, shaking his head. “Please. I can keep up. Don’t worry.”

  “Good. Because I want you to keep up for a long time.”

  I leaned to kiss him.

  It was good to be home.

  No Regrets

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