Suzy was waiting for me in the car and she passed me a sympathetic smile when I got in.
“You’re going to be okay. You have a new life waiting for you in Lake Geneva, honey.” Suzy patted my knee. I smiled at her and nodded.
***
Suzy dropped me off at the apartment building. We had had a long day. It was very kind of her, I thought, to drive me all the way up to Lake Geneva, taking the day off from her work. I’d left my cellphone with Clara. I didn’t want any interruptions from Michael or someone else from the office. I knew I just needed to get things done and move on.
I got the job, just like Janie predicted. I was all set to make the move in the coming week. I shuddered at the thought of packing my whole life up and moving. But this was what I’d always wanted. I wanted to leave Chicago and move somewhere smaller. I wanted to be able to go for long walks in the woods and drink in the natural beauty of my surroundings. My new town would offer me just that. Maybe the quiet of Lake Geneva and the simplicity of life there would give me the peace I was searching for.
I went up the steps to my apartment, and when I put the key in the door, I saw that it was already unlocked. Was Clara at my place?
“Clara?” I called her when I stepped in, but my voice drifted away. My apartment looked completely different.
The whole place was filled with red roses. Every surface, every table, every windowsill was decorated with vases of red roses. Rose scented candles were lit around the living room and along the hallway. It smelled beautiful.
“Clara!” I shouted her name. Why would she do this? I rushed down the hallway towards the kitchen. I could hear her in there. She was cooking.
When I got there though, I didn’t see her. I saw Michael frying something in a pan. He turned to look at me. He’d taken off his jacket, rolled his shirt sleeves up and had my apron tied around his waist.
“You’re home!” he exclaimed.
My keys dropped from my hand. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I murmured. I could barely get the words out.
Michael was smiling. He brought the sizzling pan over to the kitchen table. It was set for two, with a luscious rose bouquet centerpiece sitting there. He flipped the battered fish on one plate and then the other.
“Clara let me in. She had a key,” he told me. His green eyes were sparkling, his dark hair falling boyishly on his forehead. Michael, as always, was completely irresistible.
“Clara let you in?” I found that hard to believe. She kept my phone with her because she didn’t want me speaking to him. How had he convinced her to change her mind?!
Michael returned the pan to the sink and brought over the salad bowl to the table. “Aria, will you please sit down with me so we can talk?” he asked.
My cheeks were flushed. I didn’t know what I was feeling. I didn’t want to slip up and fall again. Not when I’d managed to convince myself to let him go. I started backing away from him, trying to escape.
Michael stood staring at me. There was a longing in his eyes. I knew he wasn’t going to be forceful, but I could see the look of desperation on his face.
“Aria, I just want us to talk things through. Before you make any new decisions. Can we do that? Can we just have dinner together? I got this recipe from my mom.” Michael smiled nervously.
I shook my head, my nostrils flared . . . I was trying to control my mixture of rage and relief in seeing him. “I can’t be here right now. You shouldn’t be here! I’ve made my decision already!” I declared.
Michael pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “I’ll wait here for you till you’re ready to talk to me. I refuse to let you walk out of my life without giving me one more chance. I won’t have it!” Michael said. His face was firm. He was determined.
I could just leave. I could just run from the apartment and go to Suzy. How many more chances was I supposed to give him?
***
When I sat down at the table, Michael looked relieved. I didn’t know why I was doing it. It went against all my common sense.
“I don’t know what else you can say to me, Michael,” I said softly. I didn’t want to meet his eyes. I was afraid of falling for him again. I could already feel a tightness in my belly. I was weakening.
“For starters, I had no idea it was your birthday yesterday. Either way, I should have been there after I gave you my word that I would,” Michael said.
I looked down at the fish on my plate. I had no appetite. I couldn’t eat, not when I was feeling this way.
“I should have been there to celebrate with you and your friends. I know that I put my work ahead of you . . . ahead of us, but that is the last time it will happen,” Michael continued.
I jerked my head up to look at him. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen now, but I’ve handed in my resignation to your office already,” I said.
Michael clenched his jaws and nodded. “That’s good, because I don’t want you to be my secretary anymore,” he replied and my heart sank. “You are so much more to me, Aria,” he added.
I felt hot tears pricking the backs of my eyelids. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m leaving,” I said.
“That’s okay. I’ll find a new secretary, I’ll make it work. I don’t want you to be in my office, I don’t want to hide it from people. I should be able to flaunt you. We should be able to do things as a couple,” Michael continued.
I shook my head. “I’m not just leaving the job, Michael. I’m leaving Chicago,” I said.
I could see now that Clara hadn’t told him about the new job. His eyes grew wide. He looked confused. “What are you talking about, Aria? How can you leave Chicago now?” he asked.
I stood up from the chair. “Because nothing matters anymore. I can’t be here in the same city as you . . . ”
“But we’re . . . ”
“Not anymore. I made it very clear to you, Michael. I don’t want to be hurt again. After last night, I know that you can’t help yourself. You can’t give me what I want. We can’t be together,” I said and turned away from him. I couldn’t look into his eyes anymore. I knew I was going to break into tears if I did. The worst thing right would have been for him to see how weak I was for him.
“Aria, please don’t say that.” He rushed towards me but stopped in his tracks at the last moment. He wasn’t going to touch me if I didn’t want to be held by him. “Where are you going?” he asked.
“Lake Geneva. It’s a small town. It’s the kind of place I always wanted to live in,” I said.
I could sense him standing behind me. I could feel his warmth close to me, but we weren’t touching. The truth was that there was nothing I wanted more than to be touched by him.
“You’re moving to Wisconsin?” he asked, and I didn’t reply. How did it matter where I was moving? The important thing was that I was leaving Chicago.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
I gasped, whipping around to face him. He was lying! He didn’t actually mean it, just like he didn’t mean any of those things he said to me at his home.
Michael was staring at me, peering into my eyes. I could see he was itching to touch me too.
“Aria, there is nothing more important to me than to make this relationship work. I can’t lose you. I’ll be lost if you leave me now.” His voice was deep but soft. I never thought I’d see him like this . . . Michael was incapable of this kind of emotion!
I opened my mouth to speak, but he stepped up to me, silencing me. I had to crane my neck to look up at him. My breasts were heaving wildly, my breaths ragged.
“I’ll go to Lake Geneva with you. I’m done here. I’ve achieved everything I could achieve. I’m exhausted,” Michael said. He wasn’t lying, I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.
“I don’t know how to trust you, Michael,” I murmured.
He pinched my chin, angling my face up towards his so he could look into my eyes. “Give me one more chance, Aria. Let me win your trust back. Allow me to show you that I c
an change. I will change. This was not the person I was when I was growing up. This city, this work . . . made me into this monster.” Michael sounded desperate as he spoke.
I lifted up a finger, placing it on his lips. “You are not a monster, Michael. You just don’t know what you want,” I said.
He leaned his face towards me, our lips were just inches apart. “I know now. I want you. I want a life with you, and I’ll go wherever you are,” he replied.
When he kissed me, I felt like I would collapse. I was so sure I’d lost him, that there was no hope for us. But there I was, kissing him, in his arms once again. I could feel his heart beating wildly as my breasts pressed up against him. Michael’s kiss was deep and passionate. He held me tightly to him. I was out of breath when I finally pulled my mouth away from his.
“I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Aria. I promise that I will treasure you,” he whispered, kissing the tip of my nose.
I couldn’t control the tears anymore. They were rolling down my cheeks. What was the point in hiding it? He already knew I was like putty in his hands.
“I asked Clara to organize drinks at MacCauley’s tonight,” I heard him say, and I looked up at him, surprised. “I’m sorry we’re going to celebrate your birthday a day late, but I needed an excuse to meet all your friends,” he continued.
There was a smile on his face as he kissed my cheeks softly. I was smiling too. I was in shock. He was willing to move with me. I was skeptical about the future, but right now, I was just happy to be in his arms. I wouldn’t have traded that feeling for anything.
Epilogue - Aria
Seven Months Later
I sat in front of the mirror in our bedroom. I’d already brushed my red curls to a manageable situation and put on my lip-gloss. I was ready to go. We were going to the local farmer’s market, as we did on most Sundays since we moved to Lake Geneva.
I could hear Michael out on the porch, fixing a loose floorboard on the step. My phone was in my hand. I’d just finished reading an email. I was happy. I realized I was content. I read the email again.
Dear Aria,
I just wanted to write to you to tell you how happy we all are. You and Michael have built a lovely home together and we were delighted to visit you last weekend. Thank you for bringing our son closer to us again. We all look forward to many more of these family visits. Michael’s father and I could not be more proud of him for having chosen such a lovely woman to share his life with.
Take care of yourselves and do visit us soon. We look forward to having you over.
Yours lovingly,
Samantha Sole
It was strange how drastically my life had changed in the past months. I could still remember that day at Michael’s office when I was going through his emails. I’d pictured an older lady writing to her son. I had tried to imagine their faces and how close they were as a family. Last week, I’d witnessed it for myself.
My parents’ divorce and the fact that I hadn’t seen them since suddenly didn’t hurt so much. It felt to me like I had a new family – one that loved me as much as I was growing to love them. Now that I’d met the rest of the Soles, I could see their bond and their love with my own eyes.
Michael belonged here in a town like this. He was meant to be fixing our house and tending to our garden . . . just like his father did. In the past seven months since we moved to Lake Geneva, I had seen a change in him. He was happier, less stressed, and more relaxed in this world.
Even when he sold his company, it didn’t trouble him. I had hoped that it wouldn’t affect him too drastically, giving up the thing he’d build with his own hands. It didn’t. Michael seemed happy to do it. He seemed happy to be giving up the life that had changed him. These days, he worked with small local startups and businesses as a volunteer advisor.
He had already made all the money he would need to last a lifetime. I had my job at the school. His mother was right: we’d built a sweet, comfortable life for ourselves here. What was more there to want?
He opened the door and walked into our bedroom.
“Hey, ready to go? Those mango chutneys will fly off the shelves like last week.” He came up behind me and kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him – at his strong jaw and roughly chiseled features. I would never meet a more handsome man in my life. I knew that now.
“You and your mango chutneys!” I laughed and stood up so I could throw my arms around his neck.
“It’s not for me. It’s for Suzy and Clara. They need to try it!” he exclaimed, hugging me tightly. My best friends were visiting us in two days with plans of spending a long weekend with us. I hadn’t seen them in over three months, and now we had so much to celebrate!
“Are you looking forward to their visit?” Michael asked, kissing my cheeks. My eyes were bright with happiness. How could I explain it all to him? What I’d felt before he came into my life? How he had changed everything by just being there for me?
“I can’t wait!” I exclaimed. Michael looked happy too. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my fingers, then turned my hand around so he could admire the ring. It was a large teardrop-shaped diamond with sapphires studded around it. The most beautiful ring I’d seen – one he had custom designed and ordered from a celebrity jeweler in France.
When he went down on one knee last week in front of his family and asked me to marry him, I had burst into tears. I hadn’t been expecting it. I had assumed that a man like Michael Sole would need several more months, maybe even years, before he could think of marriage. He’d taken me by surprise. Of course I was going to marry him! Nothing could stop me. He was the man of my dreams . . . of any woman’s dreams. But he belonged to me.
“Do you think they’ve forgiven me now?” he asked. I threw back my head and laughed. It was cute that even after all these months, Michael still worried about what my friends thought of him!
“Yes, Michael. They love you and they’re happy for me. You don’t have to worry about my friends anymore,” I said and kissed him again.
He lifted me up in his arms, carrying me out of the bedroom.
“The only things I worry about are your happiness and the mango chutney,” he replied. We laughed as we left our house. It was going to be the perfect weekend.
*****
THE END
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Charlize Starr
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Daddy's Bad Friend
Description
Someone needs to keep an eye on daddy’s business partner.
He screws around and parties like a pro.
If he ruins his reputation, the company will go down the drain.
So daddy sent me to watch over him.
He’s the last thing I need.
But he’s the only thing I want.
What am I to him? A delicious treat? An innocent virgin?
He’s twenty years older than me. He’s absolutely infuriating. But he’s hot. And commanding. And bossy.
Especially in bed. And I want more.
As if things can’t get any worse, my period is late. Like, really late.
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Chapter One
Kellie Love sat in the emergency room lobby and tried to slow down her breathing. She’d be no good to her mom, who sat beside her, or her dad if she had a panic attack or something. Her father, David, had been rushed to the emergency room when he began having chest pains while eating his breakfast. Normally, he’d have been at work, but it was Saturday.
Today, he’d been home with her mom, w
ho was a nurse. She’d called 9-1-1 and given him an aspirin. She’d called Kellie as they loaded her father into the ambulance. Kellie met her mom, Diane, at the hospital and here they had sat for the last hour. They knew nothing. And it was awful. She wanted to cry, to scream at someone that she wasn’t ready to lose her father, but what good would that do? None of it would make a difference to what was going on behind those closed doors.
She stared at the doors hard, wishing they’d open, until her eyes watered. She blinked and looked away, at the others sitting in the lobby with her. One little girl, her face flushed, leaned against her mom and whined. Another man held his arm close to his body. It looked twisted up, and Kellie looked away quickly. That was definitely a break.
Finally, the emergency bay doors opened and a man in a white coat stalked out. Please let him come to us. If she didn’t get out of here soon and see her dad, she might go crazy. He stopped in front of Kellie’s mom. “Mrs. Love?”
“Is he all right?” Diane asked at once.
“He’s alive. He’s had a heart attack. He’ll have to cut down on stress, change his diet, and no work for at least six to eight weeks.”
“Oh, thank God.” Diane dropped her face into her hands and began to sob.
“Mr. Love is asking to see his daughter.”
Kellie’s eyes widened. It was odd, him asking to see her instead of her mother. Her parents shared a deep and abiding love after David had swept Diane off her feet in college. Kellie stood. “O-okay. Can you take me to him?”
“The nurse at the desk will. I’ll let him know.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Hot Boss: An Office Romance Page 9