Welcome to Lake Ventures (New Haven Book 2)

by Dawn Doyle

  They’re not there, I’ve left them at home. You can go in my office though. I know you must be missing me terribly so whatever you need to get you through our time apart, is fine with me.

  Nick.

  I’m not.

  Emily.

  Awww, not even a little bit?

  Nick.

  Yes.

  Don’t flatter yourself.

  Emily.

  Instead of receiving an email in response, Emily received a text. Which she thought was unusual because she didn’t think Nick would have her mobile number. Well, maybe he would because she’s his assistant, but he’d only ever emailed her.

  N: That’s too bad, because I miss you so much.

  Emily’s stomach swirled inside. He was just joking with her but the words still caught her off guard and for a nanosecond, she believed him.

  Don’t be ridiculous, he doesn’t miss you at all.

  E: Just bring them with you when you get back. The accountant needs the figures for the end of month report.

  N: You’re so bossy!

  E: And you’re a pain in the neck.

  N: Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I don’t really know how it works with your fetish. ;)

  E: Cock head.

  N: Shouldn’t that be cockkk ed? :D

  Oh so now he’s making fun of my accent?

  E: Don’t push your luck, Lake. You still have to come back here and I have a few more days to plot my revenge. >:(

  N: Oh shit, sorry. :O

  E: You will be.

  N: Yes Ma’am. Did I get that right? Or should I have called you madame?

  Emily was trying hard not to laugh. He was actually funny if she stopped thinking he was trying to piss her off. She wasn’t going to tell him that though.

  E: You’ve had it when you get back.

  N: Emmy, I told you before, I’m not into that stuff. Now, if you want me to kiss your hand again, that I can do.

  He brought up that incident. He hadn’t said anything about it since he did it. Neither had she, and she wasn’t going to because she still felt it, even after almost two weeks.

  He couldn’t be sober if he was bringing that up now.

  E: Have you been drinking?

  N: A little bit. :)

  Yep. Drinking.

  N: Don’t worry Emmy. I’ll be back sooner than you think. ;)

  Emily groaned and finished her work for the day.

  Emily was sitting at her desk when Nick walked out of the lift, causing her to freeze. The grey suit and tie he wore matched his eyes and his white shirt against his sun kissed skin had tingles running from the back of her neck, right down to places she shouldn’t have felt them.

  He was her boss and she shouldn’t feel like that.

  But he looks so sexy with his mussed up hair and sexy stubble…

  “Good morning Emmy.” He said as he neared her desk, smiling at her with a glint in his eye.

  Oh God, please don’t let him have caught me gawking!

  “Hello.” She replied in her usual manner towards him.

  “My trip was good, thanks for asking.”

  “I didn’t, and I don’t care.” She said looking back down at her work.

  “Yeah you do.” He said, so sure of himself.

  “Why would you think that? I have ever given you a reason to think I would want to know?” Emily scowled, trying to disguise the fact that she really did want to know everything.

  “No, but that look on your face makes me smile.” He said with a chuckle.

  Emily didn’t respond. She just glared at him.

  The cheeky get is grinning now!

  “Oh, I got you a gift.” He said, handing a soft package out to her. It looked like it contained fabric.

  “Why?” Emily was curious as to why he would do something like that for her. Probably something that will jump out and scare the crap out of her.

  “I saw it and thought of you. I wanted you to have it.” He said, with a mock look of innocence. “But now, I have work to do.” He turned and walked to his office.

  “What did he get for you honey?” Diane whispered as she walked up to Emily’s desk.

  Emily opened the wrapper and her heart stopped.

  It was a pink Sin City Kitty T-shirt with the words ‘Kitty needs a spanking!’ on the front.

  “That little fucker! He’s had it now!” she said and got up, heading to Nick’s office.

  She turned the handle and shoved open the door. She looked around and spotted Nick, hiding behind his chair, laughing like a child.

  “What the hell, Nick?” she shouted. “You think that’s funny?”

  “Don’t hurt me!” he said, still laughing as he poked his head out above the back of the chair. “Oh come on Emmy, it was a little funny.”

  Emily stood still, eyes burning in to him.

  “I wanted to see the look on your face when you opened it but I knew you’d punch me again.”

  “Again?” Diane asked from behind Emily, a look of surprise on her face.

  “He deserved it.” Emily growled.

  “I did, and I deserve it again.” Nick slowly came out from behind his chair.

  “It was just a joke Emmy. You know I’m not serious. Now come on… give me a smile…” the stupid grin on his face had Emily’s lips turning up at the corners. “Oh…is that…?”

  Emily couldn’t hold back any longer and bit her lip as a smile crept across her face.

  “There it is!” Nick said, holding his hands out.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “I know Emmy. I know.” He shrugged.

  “Give me the receipts so I can finish the report.” She said as she tried to stop smiling.

  “Sure thing.” He said as he opened his drawer, pulled out a pile of papers and without checking through them, carefully handed them to her before standing back out of her reach.

  With one final scowl, Emily turned and went back to her desk.

  “What was that about?” Diane asked. She was obviously concerned after Nick had said that Emily had punched him before.

  Quickly referring back to the conversation in the car, not mentioning the kiss on her hand, Diane laughed.

  “I told you, that man is a tease.” She giggled before walking back to her desk.

  Emily looked down at the T-shirt on her desk and put her hand over her mouth as she giggled.

  Tease isn’t the word.

  Checking through Nick’s papers, Emily saw that there was nothing charged for his business trips. For lunches and travel, some lunches were there but nothing else. Checking each piece of paper twice, she found that there were a lot missing. She paused when she found an invoice for something completely different.

  A medical invoice.

  “There aren’t any receipts for your business trips.” She said as she walked into his office.

  “I pay out of my own pocket for those. No need to worry about them.”

  “I found this too.” She said, placing the invoice in front of him.

  “Oh, that.” He said, looking nervous. “I got sick from some bad food. That’s all.” He shrugged. “No need to put that through. That was a personal expense.”

  Emily wasn’t convinced. The look on his face when she showed him the invoice was as if he was hiding something. She’d already made a note of the number on the invoice, and the doctor’s name, so she took her mobile and went into the bathrooms to make a call.

  “Hi. This is Emily Edwards.” She said as a young male voice answered the phone. “I’m assistant to Nick Lake, of Lake Ventures. He had an appointment with the doctor last week. He’s asked me to call to confirm his next appointment as he’s forgotten.” Emily was just making it up. If Nick had made another appointment then something was wrong and he was ill. She hoped he wasn’t. The sick feeling in her stomach as she listened to the receptionist increased with every passing second.

  “Ok… Yes. His next appointment is in two weeks…” he said, cheerfully.


  Emily noted the date and time. Checking Nick’s schedule, she knew he had plans to go back to LA, to oversee the works that would be happening at the nightclub expansion and other businesses in Vegas.

  She didn’t know what was going on and she knew she had a tendency to overreact.

  Is he having a check up after food poisoning? That’s unusual.

  Emily hoped that that’s all it was.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard about him being with anyone for the past couple of months.” Emily heard as she walked behind a group of women heading for the lifts the next morning.

  She’d been thinking about what she’d heard before, when she started working for Nick, before she knew he was her boss, and she’d also heard some whispers when she’d spent some time in the accounts department. She didn’t like it.

  “I heard that he broke up with the last girl at a bar. Just… left her there. She was all over him and he pushed her off him and walked away. Lori said her brother saw it.” One of the women said. Emily didn’t recognise her but she did recognise Louise, the accounts receptionist.

  “I don’t know what happened with them, but I’ve been trying to get him to notice me, like, forever.” She said, shaking her head. “I even applied to be his assistant so I could spend time there in his office but he didn’t even give me an interview.” She pouted.

  Emily smiled to herself, even though hearing them talk about Nick irritated her. Not just irritated. She was fuming and she wasn’t sure if it was them, or Nick, that she was mad at.

  “Well, if he’s been seeing somebody regularly, then I haven’t heard anything.” The other woman said.

  “I doubt it. You know what he’s like. Two dates, three if you’re lucky, and then goodbye. It’ll probably take a miracle to make him settle down.” Said Louise.

  Emily wanted to tear her head off for the way she was talking.

  “I heard that’s why he dumps them after three dates. He doesn’t want anybody to get close to him.”

  “I heard you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” Emily said from behind them, making the women jump.

  “Emily!” they squealed in unison.

  “We… uh… We were just…” Louise stuttered.

  “I know what you were just…” Emily mocked. “You should be more careful who’s around when you gossip.” She said, glaring at them as she made her way to her lift.

  The women’s horrified faces and lack of response was enough to tell Emily that she wouldn’t hear them mention him again. Not infront of her anyway.

  Getting to her floor, Emily walked to her desk.

  “What’s the matter honey?” Diane asked as she noticed Emily’s mood.

  “Oh, nothing.” Emily replied.

  “Emily, I know there’s something wrong. You only have a face like that when Nick has done something to annoy you. He’s not here yet, so I’m guessing it’s not him.” She smiled.

  Emily looked towards the lift, trying to determine how much time she had before he got there.

  “I overheard some women having a conversation about him and it pissed me off.” She said, and told Diane everything that she heard.

  “Oh, you can’t believe what they say, sweetie.”

  “I’m not bothered about what they said, Di. What he gets up to isn’t any of my business. It’s the fact that they were discussing it in the lobby, where anybody can hear. What if he was the one walking behind them and heard that?”

  “He’d probably laugh at them and tell them to get a life, honey. Gossip doesn’t bother him at all.”

  *****

  Nick overheard the last part of the conversation between Diane and Emily. What had Emily heard that he wouldn’t be bothered about? He would have to get Diane alone and ask her.

  “Good morning, ladies” he said with a smile as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

  “Good morning, sweetie.” Diane said with a warm smile. There was something in her amused eyes that told him she had some juicy information.

  “Hiya.” Emily said, looking anywhere but at him. She’d been doing that a lot lately.

  Ever since he’d kissed her hand in his car, it had gotten worse. She would look for a few moments and then that was it… nothing. Especially yesterday after finding his medical invoice. She’d been keeping herself busy and he had hardly seen her for the rest of the day.

  He didn’t mean for the invoice to get mixed up with the random receipts he’d handed to her from his drawer. He never claimed expenses from his own company, but if he hadn’t given her something, she may have questioned him.

  The look of concern on Emily’s face when she asked about it was surprising. He never expected her to be concerned for his wellbeing, but it appeared that she was.

  “Di, could I speak to you for a minute?” he asked, turning to his office.

  “Sure thing, honey.”

  Nick closed the door behind her and gestured to the sofa.

  “What were you two talking about?”

  Diane’s face flushed and she looked towards the door.

  “I heard Emmy say ‘what if he was the one walking behind them and heard that?’ What did she hear?”

  “I don’t think I should be talking about this, Nick. She spoke to me in confidence.”

  “Well, if it’s about me, shouldn’t I know?”

  Diane looked worried about telling him but Nick wasn’t concerned. He wouldn’t tell Emily what Diane had said. Not unless it was in his favour…

  “She overheard some of the accounts girls, Louise mostly, and another she didn’t know, talking about your dating life.”

  Oh fuck!

  “It was pretty clear that Louise was interested in being your assistant just to get close to you.”

  “What?” he asked incredulously. He knew she’d applied but there was no way he would have hired her. “What else did she hear?”

  Diane told him everything that Emily had heard when she was walking behind the group of women.

  “Ok. Thanks, Di.” He said as if she’d just handed him a piece of paper. But really, he was seething. He didn’t want Emily to think those things about him.

  They weren’t true.

  Ok, they were a little, but not in the way everybody thought they were.

  Diane left his office and he sat down at his desk. Maybe it was time to pay the departments a visit and find out what was happening. Emily was going with him. She might not like it, but he needed her to.

  I need her. Fuck! I really do.

  “Emmy, I need to visit the accounts department. I’d like you to join me.” He said, walking to her desk.

  “Why? The new accounts haven’t been allocated yet. Not until the legal paperwork has come back.” Again, Emily’s eyes wouldn’t stay on his as she spoke. If he wasn’t mistaken, her saw a slight flush to her cheeks too.

  What’s going on with her today?

  “I’m going to personally allocate them. Right now.” He said with a little more force than necessary and Emily’s eyes connected with his, an eyebrow raised.

  “Bloody ‘ell, whose wrong side of the bed did you get out of today?” she spat.

  “What? What’s that supposed to mean?” he was taken aback at her sudden hostility and, quite frankly, he didn’t like how she had assumed he’d been with someone.

  She believed them.

  It wasn’t her fault that she did. He made sure that people believed that he dated, and often, but when the comment came from her he never wanted to right the facts so badly in his life.

  “Exactly what I said, Mr. Snippy. You’ve got a crank on this morning.”

  “Emmy, please don’t.” He stared at her, trying to get her to keep eye contact. That time she did and he could see the fire there, wanting to burn him alive. Why exactly, he didn’t know. “Let’s go.”

  They took the elevators to the tenth floor, in silence, Nick feeling the anger coming from Emily. Walking towards the doors, Louise sat bolt upright, looked to Emily and then to him. Her face
showed that she was worried Emily had ‘tattled’ on her.

  “Louise.” He said in greeting, before opening the door for Emily to walk through ahead of him. “Could you please call through to Madelyn? I need to speak to everyone.

  “Oh… yes of course.” She said quickly, picking up the receiver as he went through the door after Emily. He hadn’t gone far when all of the accountants were standing together in the centre of the room.

  “Good morning everyone. As you are all aware, thanks to Emmy’s great work, we have another five businesses to be added to our accounts. Instead of waiting for the legal work, I thought I’d get a head start. Therefore, I will personally allocate a business to each of you.”

  Nick went through the list and gave each employee a different business venture to deal with. Looking at their faces, they knew something was up because he’d never done that before.

  “Emmy will email the necessary files to each of you and I expect them to be completed and ready for fund transfers by the end of the day.”

  “Yes, of course.” They chorused.

  “Good.” Nick made sure that he made eye contact with every one of them, especially the women, before he turned to leave. “Emmy, let’s go.”

  Louise jumped when he opened the door, a huge smile plastered on her face, pushing her chest out as usual.

  “Louise.” He nodded as he walked past, Emily beside him.

  “Bye Nick, Bye Emily.” She called after them.