The thin, blond-haired man, who obviously thinks his shit don’t stink, shakes his head and grins. Grins. I grind down on my back molars. I want so badly to punch that look off his face.
“You are not going to fire me,” he declares resolutely.
Sophie cants her head and stares daggers at the man. “No?”
“No. My father is on the board of directors. An investor in your company. You cannot do shit.” He stands and buttons his jacket in front of him.
Sophie’s hands curl into fists at her side.
Way to go, SoSo. Keep it in check. You’ve got this. I mentally cheer her on.
“I am sorry to say, Mr. Girard, but it is already done. You are relieved of your position here at Rolland Group. I did not trust you enough to get your personal belongings yourself, so they have been packed for you.” She gestures to the file box on the table in front of him.
“Espèce de salope!” He screeches you fucking bitch and lunges for Sophie. He has her slammed against the wall, a hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing. She has already taken two fists to her face before I’m able to wrench him off her.
He tries to go for her again as she slides down the wall, dazed, out of it.
“Motherfucker, I’m going to kill you!” I punch him so hard his head jerks back, and he stumbles, falling onto the side table, knocking over a lamp that crashes to the ground. I’m on him before he can get up. I slam his head down into the carpet. “You laid your hands on a woman, you piece of shit!” The door flies open, and I can see Royce’s shadow. A charged heat fills the air as he takes in Sophie across the room, bloody and fallen.
“Aw, fuck!” He charges into the room, another man on his heels.
“Park! Let him go, man,” Bo hollers.
I shake my head and punch the bastard again and am gratified with the sound of bone crunching as the skin of my knuckles tears open. I don’t care and pull my hand back for another go. All I see is red.
Someone grabs my arm and lugs me back. I smell leather and fresh pine. Bo.
“Not worth it, man. You’ve shown him the errors in his ways. Nose is broken, bro. He’ll be breathing through his mouth for a good long while.” He keeps his arms locked around my chest as I pant and snarl at the bloodied man curling into a fetal position and groaning.
“Not enough,” I sneer, kicking my legs out. “Wouldn’t mind him breathing through a tube instead.”
Bo smacks my chest hard enough to resonate and rubs a few circles, attempting to calm me down. “Feel you.” He claps my chest again and digs his fingers in over my heart. “I. Feel. You. Still, not worth the hassle.”
A sob tears through my bloodlust, and I turn my head sharply, looking for Sophie. “SoSo.”
Bo lets me go as I see Royce lift Sophie off the ground, arm around her back, and knees over his other arm in a cradle hold. He carries her to the couch and hugs her close, whispering and petting her hair.
“Baby girl, you’re going to be okay. It’s over now. Park took his pound of flesh. You got nuthin’ to worry about now, sweet thang,” he coos as her shoulders hitch, and she rubs her battered face against his neck.
I grind my teeth down as another man, older, in a navy suit with white hair and a deep, inset frown, enters the fray.
“What in the world is going on here? I get a call from your assistant to come all the way downtown to find my boy bleeding and curled in on himself. Someone better tell me right now what happened before I call the police,” he says, bristling.
Once more, Bo locks me down before I can charge at Girard Senior. “Your boy just assaulted Sophie!” I hiss.
His head jolts back, and his eyebrows furrow, his gaze going from his son curled up on the floor after the whopping I gave him, to Sophie, who’s now looking at him, her nose bleeding, lip swelling along with the area around her left eye. Seeing that pristine face swell brings an anger bolting through me so intense, I feel my toes lifting up, my fists tightening, and I’m ready to pound into the sad fuck on the floor once more.
“Cool it, bro. He’s already down and facing one helluva court battle,” Bo states.
“Excuse me? You are telling me my son attacked you. Why on earth would he do that?” His voice is flat and devoid of emotion.
Sophie slips her legs off Royce’s, and he helps her stand. Her neck has a reddened ring that will likely turn purple by nightfall. Her voice is scratchy when she speaks. “I fired him.”
“Why?” He charges toward her, and Roy stands in front of her, putting an arm out toward Girard Senior. Bo already has me on lockdown, both arms holding me still.
“You best get yo’ ass back another ten steps. This woman was just assaulted. You think she wants a man charging at her? No. I think not. Back. Off!” His voice is low and promising a bad time for any man who goes against his wishes.
Mr. Girard seems to understand and backs up as Roy required.
“Now, seems to me, you need to chill the fuck out, so we can explain the situation fully.”
The man’s lips flatten, and he nods once.
“Go ahead, Sophie.” He steps to the side but stays close. I have the best fucking friends.
“Your son has been harassing women at this company for two years. One to the point that she has a case worthy of a sexual harassment lawsuit against not only your son, but also Rolland Group. Mr. Moreau has been covering for your son for the past two years, thinking it would help you and him. He has also been fired.” She takes a quick breath and clears her throat. “I have talked to the women he has harmed. Only one has been touched inappropriately, but one is all that is needed to take down this company. She has agreed not to press charges against Rolland Group, or your son, if she is left alone. I am making sure that happens. Moreover, I am not allowing your son to harm anyone else here. However, I will be pressing charges myself for this attack.”
Mr. Girard’s face pales. He knows a scandal like this with the Girard name on it will not bode well for his own business success.
“Sophie, we have known one another a long time. I am sure we can work this out without involving the authorities . . .”
“I am not sure how. He is a menace to society and a threat to women everywhere.”
“I can take care of this. I assure you. He will be punished in more ways than a court can mandate. Just tell me what it will take to keep this out of the courts and out of the press.”
Sophie’s lips curl into a moue of disgust before her expression and attitude morph into a serenity I didn’t know she was capable of, especially after having been strangled and punched twice.
“You will voluntarily step down from your position on my board. You will sell me your ten-percent interest in this company, and I will never see either of you again.”
“Sophie . . .”
“That is what it will take for me to let this go.” Her eyes are daggers of truth. “I want the Girards out of my company and far away from me.”
“You cannot mean to take from a man his hard-earned investment . . .”
Her shoulders firm and her spine straightens. “I can and I will. You give me your word you will sell me your shares and resign from the board, and this matter goes away. You will take your despicable son and get the hell out of my life. The deal is now or never.” She walks over to the phone and picks up the receiver. “Shall I dial the police to file charges or my lawyer in order to draw up the papers? Your choice.”
At that moment, I realize our work here is done. Sophie is going to be just fine running Rolland Group. In the worst possible situation, she was strong, smart, and cutthroat. Exactly what she needs to be in order to run a company of this size and magnitude. Though in the future, I’m going to make sure she understands the need for security in her meetings where she is going to tell a man, any man, something they don’t want to hear. Like the fact that they are being fired.
For years to come I’m going to feel guilty that I wasn’t able to react quick enough to prevent her from being hurt. Had I thought he’d
be violent, I’d have sat next to her, not been across the room, kicking back, checking my emails. I suck in a breath, and Bo drops his hands and claps me on the back. He uses his booted foot to shove at the man lying on the floor.
“You dead?” He kicks the guy’s shin, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention. He groans and curls in tighter.
“You’re not dead.”
“Leave my boy alone. You have done enough!” Girard Senior’s eyes blaze white-hot fire at me.
“Not even close to enough after him strangling and punching Sophie multiple times while slamming the back of her head against a wall.”
Girard Senior closes his eyes. “I am sorry, Sophie. There is never a reason for a man to put his hands on a woman.”
Royce wades in. “Damn straight. Now, you signing over your shares or what? I’m getting tired of this stalemate between you and Sophie.”
“Oui. I will sign them over.” His shoulders fall, defeated.
“I will have my lawyer draw up the papers and call you in the morning,” Sophie confirms.
“Fine. May I take my son to a hospital now?” His gaze hits mine and then Roy’s, who he’s understandably more scared of right now. Even though I put my hand to his son, Royce is a mean, scary-looking dude when he wants to be, and right now, he looks like he could take on Evander Holyfield.
“If you must. Though considering what he’s done, I’d let him stew in his pain a bit longer. Learn a lesson he won’t soon forget.” Roy places his hands in his pockets and looks down at the sad sack of a man I’d beaten up.
Mr. Girard goes to his son, and Bo takes the guy’s other arm; together they lift him up until he’s standing.
“I’ll help you take the trash out.” Bo grins, not at all concerned about tact.
“Goodbye, Mr. Girard,” Sophie says as they walk out the door and out of her life.
I open my arms, and Sophie walks right into them.
10
The bruises on her face are practically healed as I stand in front of the mirror and take in her reflection. “Even though you’re fine now, SoSo, I’m still sorry as fuck I didn’t make it to you sooner.” I hug her from behind and kiss her neck as she readies for bed.
It’s a week later, and I’ve spent every evening with her, my head on a pillow in her bed. We’ve fucked countless times, cementing our bond, enjoying one another’s company. I’ve never in my life had a friend like her. She’s sweet, kind, compassionate, and great in the sack. Liberal with her mouth and likes to fuck as much as I do.
Royce has worked at her company with her during her days, going over every department, making sure that she’s fully prepared to take over the helm with no concerns.
Bo has made sure that her closet is stocked; she’s had a handful of makeup lessons with someone he hired, and she now knows how to pair jewelry, clothes, and shoes for the right event. He’s spent the better part of the week ending each of his days with a new French chicklet. Says the French are sweet inside and out. Something I also know to be true.
Tomorrow we leave. Head back to the States.
“You are sad.” She turns around and puts her arms around my neck.
“I didn’t think I would be. I mean, I’m always happy to go home after a case, especially when I’ve been gone a coupla weeks. But . . .”
She grins. “You are going to miss me.”
There it is. My sweet girl being extra sweet and right on point as usual. “Yeah, SoSo. I’m going to miss you.”
Sophie runs her hands through my hair, pushing the locks away from my forehead. “I will miss you too.” Her hand runs down my bare chest, and she palms my dick. “Mostly, I will miss your cock, chéri.”
I laugh and butt heads with her gently as she lets my hardening shaft go. I lean forward and kiss her neck, inhaling her divine scent, trying to imprint it on my soul.
“You love the way I smell, n’est-ce pas?” she asks rather randomly.
“Think you know that by now, ma chérie. Can’t get enough. Don’t want to either.” Especially since the first thing I do when I greet her is plunge my face into her neck and inhale her, and the last thing I do before I close my eyes when in bed with her.
Her eyes light up, and a big smile breaks across her face. She pushes against my chest, and I frown. “I was enjoying you close,” I pout.
She giggles and ducks from under my arms and rushes into her room. I watch her ass sway in a minuscule pair of pale-pink satin shorts paired with a matching camisole. She grabs something off her dresser and comes back into the bathroom.
“Take it with you when you leave tomorrow.” She holds up a bottle of her perfume. “This is my own special brand. I make it myself in the lab, and it is not for sale. You will not be able to get it anywhere. But when you are missing me and want to think of your friend in Paris, you can smell it.”
I finger the heart-shaped gold bottle, which is close to the size of a golf ball. Removing the cap, I lift it to my nose and inhale. Her scent fills my nostrils, and I grin. “Merci beaucoup.”
She smiles huge, wraps her arms back around my neck, and kisses me. I set the bottle safely on the counter and pull her into my arms. When we’re both breathing hard and panting, my dick hard against her belly, I nibble her lips and stretch my neck back. “And what do you want to have from me?” I ask.
“I would say a half a dozen orgasms for the road will do just fine.”
At the word orgasm, my dick throbs, wanting out of my suddenly tight boxer briefs. “Six . . . a bit greedy, ma chérie.”
She shrugs. “That perfume is expensive. You need to work it off.” My sweet, shy Sophie no longer. The woman standing before me now is confident and strong, and she knows what she wants in and out of the sack. I love it. And I adore her.
I palm her silky ass and start walking her backward toward her bed. “Then I better get started.” Like our first time, I lift her up and fling her onto her squishy bed, enchanted by her squeals of delight.
When I’m done rocking her world, I pull her into my arms, her naked chest half on mine, her thigh draped over my legs.
“Worth the price?” I ask jokingly, trying to make light of a situation I feel is getting heavy, knowing that when I wake up in a few short hours, it’s going to be to me leaving her. Still, when she’s paying a quarter million, I need to know that not only was this time with me worth it, but the hiring of International Guy was too.
Sophie’s smart and catches on quick. “I have already recommended your services to a host of business acquaintances. So, oui, worth the price.”
“Good to know. Was it worth getting this close to me?” I ask, my own voice unrecognizable with the emotion flooding it. I had no idea when I started this up with Sophie that I’d feel so connected to her. Not as someone I want to drop everything for, marry, and have babies with. However, she’s definitely someone I want to know and continue to have a relationship with on another level.
Friendship.
With a woman.
This woman.
Sophie.
She squeezes my chest. “Regardless of what you thought coming into this, or what I had in mind when I hired you, Parker, things evolved. You have given me so much more than just the confidence and tools I needed to run my company. The three of you together changed me. Made me a new woman. One I am proud to be.”
I lock my arms around her and rub my chin into her thick, sex-mussed hair.
“I have grown to care for you, Parker, as a friend. A man I now care about, have a vested interest in. I want to see you happy. I want you to find a woman one day who will give you that. And I want a lifetime of happiness with a man one day too. But it does not change the fact that you have become my best friend, and I love you like family; I have so little of that. I never want to lose your friendship, so do not think you can leave tomorrow and never hear from me again. I am going to be calling you often, and you better do the same. Friendships are like a bank account. We both make equal deposits and withdra
wals to keep the account from going under or over. Unless you do not want that.” She lifts her head up and rests an arm on my chest so she can look into my eyes.
“I love you too, Sophie. As a friend. And I want it to stay that way.”
She kisses my lips. “That is good. Me too. But this is the last time we can ever have what we have in this bed. After tonight, I am no longer your friend with benefits. I am just Sophie.”
I grin, lock my arms around her, and kiss her back. “Then we better make this last round count.”
My phone buzzes on the bathroom counter, and I finish doing up my tie. I glance at the screen.
From: Moneymaker
To: Parker Ellis
Waiting downstairs in the car. Say goodbye to our sweet thang for us.
Roy’s text sends a burst of electricity through my heart. I lean against the vanity, shoulders stiff, mind a mess, and look at my face. Sandy-brown hair that needed a haircut a week ago, blue eyes ringed with bags from the lack of sleep, and two days’ worth of scruff I couldn’t possibly bother with shaving. That would have taken time away from SoSo. And I needed that time in order to leave her for good.
I open the bathroom drawer and pull out one of the tubes of the red Viva Glam lipstick I bought her. I remember back to when I first placed the tip to her pretty lips. Beautiful. I grin, twisting the cap off, and push up the color. Glancing at the huge vanity, I pick the top-right corner of her mirror where she usually gets ready.
Pressing hard enough to leave a nice thick red stain on the glass, I give my new best friend something to remember me by.
Ma chérie,
You are golden.
Love,
Me
When I’m done, I toss the ruined lipstick in the trash. She’s got two more anyway. I grab hold of the glass bottle with her special scent in it. Pushing up the sleeve of my dress shirt, I spray a stream on my wrist, cap it, and then put the bottle safely into my chest pocket. Her sugar and spice wafts in the air around me, making me feel happy and secure. I know that I’ve gained a friend. She may live an ocean and continent away, but I’m confident that Sophie is a woman of her word and won’t let that distance strain our new friendship.
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