Sucker for the Boss

by Blue Sky Books

  *****

  Her father was right, Malory thought, as she stared at her computer screen. She was reading Alex’s last and only email to her, again. She had read it so many times that she knew his words by heart now. It had been more than two months since they were at the camp site, since Alex Temple had made love to her and since the night that she had conceived a baby by him.

  Malory’s hand instinctively went to her belly and she stroked it gently, trying to find her baby’s heartbeat. It was too early for that but it still made her smile.

  It had also been the same length of time since she had last seen or spoken to her father.

  Thank you for reaching out and expressing your thoughts to me Malory. However, after careful consideration, I see now that your father was right. It would be wrong and inappropriate for me to see you again.

  That was how Alex had begun his email. She had sent him three, over the span of a week before he replied to her and when Malory had first read it, she knew that her heart was now officially broken. All those years as a teenager, when she fantasized about him, grew to love him…she was still happy, content in the belief that he existed even though he would never be hers. However, now that she had him, even if for a night and especially now that she was carrying his child…losing him now, was the bigger loss. How would she ever get over him? How would she explain it to her child?

  You are a beautiful young woman. Even when you were younger, I was drawn to your big fawn eyes and kindness. I didn’t know what it was back then, now I know that it was a feeling of attraction and that of waiting, waiting for you to grow into the person you are now.

  Alex had written that too. Now, every time she read this part she could feel his hand over hers. The way his fingers had grazed her neck when they made love. She could picture his eyes, staring into hers. But his words were not enough, she wanted to feel him again. Even though she knew that she couldn’t.

  Whatever I feel for you, or the beautiful night that we shared together Malory; cannot continue. It will be hard but I will have to forget you, just as you must. Your father is right. I will never be able to make you happy. I will also, never be able to go against your father’s wishes in this fashion. He might be an employee at my company but we have been friends for years. I cannot betray him this way.

  Every time Malory read this part, the anger she felt towards her father welled up again. At the back of her mind she knew that he was doing it out of love, but the thought that he was responsible for her unhappiness was enough to enrage her again. She hated him then. She couldn’t understand him and she vowed to never speak to him.

  I wish you the best of luck in life Malory and I hope you only remember fondly.

  Forever yours and truly.

  Alex Temple

  Malory read it over and over again. She tried to imagine his voice as she read it, but she was afraid that she was starting to forget it. A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts. She pressed her hands down on the desk and stood up, it wasn’t yet a physical struggle to stand up but she was psychologically preparing herself for the coming months.

  She reached her front door and peeped out through the hole. Her father’s face loomed outside and Malory immediately breathed in deeply. She remained standing behind the door for a few more seconds, unsure of what she was going to do.

  “I know you’re in there Malory. I can see your shadow under the door. Please let me in.” Her father’s voice sounded determined and a little concerned. She breathed in deeply again and cracked open the door to a slit. Lee was standing outside with his fingers laced together, a look of sadness and relief at the same time clouded his face.

  “What do you want dad?” She knew she spoke too harshly but just the sight of him was enough to anger her.

  “To see you and talk to you. You’re my daughter Malory.” His tone of voice was different from the one she remembered at the campsite when she was leaving. He was calmer and softer now.

  “I don’t want to speak to you dad.” She was glaring at him, but it didn’t affect him.

  “I know that from all the unanswered voice mails I left you. However, I am your father and I’ve been concerned.” He was calming her down and she was on the verge of nearly forgiving him already.

  “Don’t you see me on TV dad? Isn’t that proof enough that I’m alive?” Malory was still determined to fight him, she wasn’t just going to forgive him that easily.

  “No it isn’t. I know you’ve been upset and I want to talk it out with you.” He had placed one hand on the door but he wasn’t applying pressure yet.

  “Talk what out? You’ve made yourself very clear and as have I. Isn’t that enough talking? I don’t want to go over it again with you. It’s too painful for me.” As she spoke she swung the door open further, as a sort of invitation to come in. She left the door open after that and walked back into the house. She could hear her father following her and the soft closing of the door behind him.

  “So we can talk about something else then. I hate that this has come between us. You’re the only person I have in the world Malory and I don’t want to lose you.” She heard Lee speak the words as she walked up to the kitchen counter and started pouring herself some orange juice.

  “Would you like some as well?” She asked him without turning around.

  “Something stronger might be nice.” He said with a laugh. Malory turned to face him and took a sip of her juice quietly.

  “I don’t have any alcohol in my house anymore.” She said, seriously as she stared back at him. Lee broke into a smile, the thought of there being no alcohol at her house seemed to be too unbelievable for him to fathom. They had both been drinking together since she turned eighteen. Lee had brought her up to drink responsibly and they had always shared a healthy father-daughter relationship with alcohol.

  “You’re joking right?” He asked, he was still smiling and looked at her with disbelief. Malory didn’t respond to the question.

  “What, are you pregnant or something?” Lee asked with a laugh and when Malory didn’t join in, his face dropped.

  “You’re pregnant?” His voice caught in his throat when he asked the question. Malory’s silence confused him further and he rushed towards her and gripped her shoulders.

  “Malory answer me. Are you pregnant? Am I going to become a grandfather?” His voice had changed again, excited, confused, angry - all at the same time. Malory nodded her head gently, but she wasn’t smiling still.

  “Who is the father?” Lee asked this time and his expression changed immediately when he realized the obvious answer to the question. “Alex? Alex Temple? You’re expecting his child?” Lee ran his hands through his hair. It wasn’t really a question. It was more of a dilemma that he was trying to deal with by himself.

  “Yes dad. I’m carrying Alex Temple’s child.” Malory placed her glass back on the kitchen counter and walked over to the couch. Lee followed her, but didn’t sit down anywhere.

  “It can’t be true.” He said and Malory smiled.

  “Because you don’t want it to be true?” She was still cynical, but secretly enjoying his reaction. She wanted her father to be shocked, to see for himself what he had done by jeopardizing her relationship with the man she was in love with.

  “You’re too young Malory. What about your life, your career?” Lee had his face in his hands and she could see his neck turning red. She could see that her father was suffering with the revelation.

  “I’m twenty-three years old. I’m not too young to be a mother. Especially not when I want to be one. Also, this wouldn’t have affected my career if you didn’t drive the father of my child away from me.” Malory spat out the words while glaring at him. She wanted him to realize how he had effectively ruined her life. How he had turned this happy and joyous moment into something else.

  “You can’t seriously be thinking about keeping this child Malory.” He spoke after a few moments, dragging his hands away from his face. He was asking her a serious question and it
threw her in a tizzy. She was more angry than she had ever been. She could feel her throat itching, her palms growing sweaty and her breathing getting rough. She stood up with a jerk.

  “And you can’t be serious by asking me this question dad. This is my child. Leave my house. Now.” Her eyes were narrow as she spoke to him. She was pointing to the door and she could see that Lee was shrinking in his shoes. He opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him.

  “Leave. Now. You’ve ruined my life enough to question my decisions any further. I am not going to accept any more advice from you. Leave.” She rushed to the door and held it open for him. Silently and slowly, Lee walked out of her house. She banged the door shut behind him.

  *****

  A week later, Malory returned home from the studio and plonked her work bag on the couch. It had been a long day and she was tired. She ran her hand over her belly again and with a smile walked up to the fridge to look for leftovers. She wasn’t really in the mood to cook. She wriggled out of her tailored jacket after she placed a plate of lasagne in the microwave oven. The gentle knock on the door startled her. She couldn’t imagine who it could be this late at night.

  She walked over hurriedly through the door and peeped through the hole. Alex Temple stood in front of it. There was a fire in his eyes as he stared back at her, clearly he knew he was being watched. Malory hurried the door open, swung it wide and stood facing him with her eyes widened and her jaw slightly drooping. She couldn’t believe it. The man she was in love with stood before her, and she hadn’t had any time to think or prepare herself.

  “Malory” He said her name quietly and gently, just the way she remembered it. She had no response for that other than to his name as quietly and gently as possible, in return.

  “What are you doing here?” She asked. She couldn’t keep the excitement and the tension out of her voice.

  “I waited in my car outside your apartment building for you to come back home.” He said. He had still not entered the house and she stepped aside slowly to indicate to him that he should come in.

  “And how long did you wait?” She asked him as he brushed past her and into the house.

  “A couple of hours. Four maybe.” He shrugged his shoulders. Malory noticed how his muscles moved under the fabric of his suit jacket. A rich blue in color to match his eyes. A silvery tie peeped out from the folds. She could almost picture his strong chest, the muscles of his arms, his flat abdomen…under all those clothes. She hadn’t forgotten an inch of him.

  “Why?” She asked him after several seconds of silence had elapsed between them. Alex sighed loudly and stared back at her. His eyes looked tired, almost apologetic.

  “Your father spoke to me.” He said quietly and it stunned Malory. She didn’t know how to react to that.

  “What did he say to you?” She folded her arms in front of her chest and stood facing him, leaning against the arm of the couch. She knew that if she was any closer to him she would fall into his arms. She yearned for that, to feel his arms around her and to breathe in his scent.

  She watched as his eyes traveled from her face to her slightly bulging belly.

  “He told me that I am about to become a father. That you have kept it a secret for the past three months.” His voice remained unchanged, even though he was looking at her intently. She still wasn’t sure how he felt about it, other than the fact that he was enough of a gentleman to come and visit her upon hearing the news.

  “My dad should start keeping his opinions to himself. I bet he commanded you to come check on me or apologize or something.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. She didn’t want him to see how his presence affected her.

  “No, he didn’t. Say any of those things that is. He just passed on the information to me and said that he was concerned for you.” Alex had walked over to the couch himself and Malory held out her hand so he sat down.

  “Well, he shouldn’t be concerned. I am doing well and fine. So, thank you for stopping by to check on me.” Malory knew she was being harsh but given that in his email to her he had urged her to move on from him, she didn’t want him to know just how much she had not been able to do that.

  “I’m not checking up on you Malory. I’m not your father. Although, I am checking up on my own child.” Alex was still speaking gently and he let his eyes drop to her belly again.

  “The baby is doing well too.” Malory said.

  “Were you really planning on keeping it a secret forever? To keep me away from him or her?” Alex sounded hurt but Malory didn’t want to let her defenses drop that easily.

  “I hadn’t planned that ahead into the future, however, I didn’t want you to get involved. Not when you made it pretty clear that there was no prospect of anything for us.” She walked away from him but he had suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand.

  “Malory I said all that because I thought your father had a point and I was trying to be respectful of him. I lied in that email, Malory. I lied when I said that I wanted us to stay apart. That is the last thing I want. I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that the night I spent with you was the most magical experience of my life.” They were staring at each other and she felt like she was going to cry. Reading that email from him always teared her up, and now actually hearing him say the words made it even worse. She couldn’t believe she was actually hearing it, that he was telling her how much that night had meant to him too.

  “Even though we were a little drunk.” She said with a laugh and Alex laughed too.

  “Even so. It brought us together and I’m thankful for that.” He tugged at her arm gently and she allowed herself to fall on to his lap. He gripped her waist tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I don’t want to get hurt again Alex. I don’t want to spend time with you like this again if you’re going to stay away from me.” She said, as their faces remained inches apart. She couldn’t concentrate on her own words, his red lips were distracting her. She could feel his breath on her face and her nostrils. He still smelt of the forest for some reason, pine trees and musk.

  “I’m not going to stay away from you ever again Malory. Not when we’re having a child together. I may not know you very long but I know you enough to give us a chance.” He started stroking her hair gently and she couldn’t help but smile. This is all she ever wanted, even when she was a teenager, this is all she really wanted to experience.

  “And what about being respectful to my dad?” She looked up at him with widened eyes as he chuckled and pulled her to his chest.

  “I don’t care anymore. He’s looking out for his daughter but I’m looking out for my child as well. I’ve never been a father and now that I have the chance to be, I’m not going to simply stand back and let the opportunity pass me by.” He was still stroking her hair. With her face against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat. She didn’t care whether he was already in love with her or not, he probably wasn’t. She didn’t expect him to be. All she knew was that she was in love with him and that he wanted to give their relationship a chance. That her child would grow up knowing their father.

  “Can I ask you something, Malory?” His voice interrupted her thoughts and she silently nodded.

  “That night in the forest, you told me that you haven’t been in any serious relationship yet because you’re in love with somebody else. Who is this guy?” He asked and she craned back her neck to face him again. She had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

  “Who do you think? It’s always been you Alex Temple.” She said and watched as his eyes shied away from her, embarrassed.

  “So you’re telling me that all those years, whenever we met, you were falling in love with me silently in the room as I chatted away with your father and other colleagues?” He sounded a little surprised although she could feel the pressure of his hands on her waist increase. She had definitely excited him. She could see it in his eyes that he was already turned on.

  “Yes. And while your wife wa
s in the room and you both held hands and smiled at each other. I wanted you that entire time.” Malory licked her lips as he stared at her. He was shaking his head in disbelief.

  “That is unbelievable. That you’ve spent so many years loving me when I’ve only just realized that you’re the woman of my dreams. You’ve been there the whole time.” He suddenly kissed her then and she could feel the passion in his kiss. He kissed her like he wanted to devour her. He was breathing her in, using his tongue to explore her mouth. When they finally pulled away, they were both out of breath.

  “Well, I wasn’t a woman then.” Malory laughed.

  “You are now. And I have you now.” Alex laughed too. His hands gently left her waist and traveled up to her abdomen. A small bump where their child was growing inside her had appeared in the last few weeks and he caressed her there.

  “I’m going to be a father.” He said softly, more to himself rather than to her. She nodded her head and they both smiled at each other.

  “I love that child already and I want to live with and love their mother.” He was stroking her belly now and Malory had never felt more happy before. She wanted the moment to last forever. She didn’t think she could ever be more close to Alex than she was now, even when they made love.

  “How do you think your father’s going to take it?” He asked with a laugh and Malory rolled her eyes.

  “He’s going to have to come around to the idea if he wants to have a part in the life of his grandchild.” She was playing with earlobe now and he laughed.

  “You’ve always been a feisty one haven’t you?” He asked while smiling.

  “If I were in your place, I would have simply taken you in my arms and kissed you in front of him that morning at the camp. Who cares what he thinks of our relationship and how awkward he might feel to see us together. We want to be with each other and that is all that matters.” She tightened her arms around his neck again and planted a long wet kiss on his cheek, near his ears.