by BWWM Club
“Checking out the new digs?” Bryce said from behind her and she jumped. The assistant had her on edge.
“Yes I am. But don’t ever say that again.” Lateisha laughed and deposited her lunch bag in the fridge.
“Why? Isn’t that what all the cool kids say?” Bryce chuckled, clearly pleased with his joke.
“I don’t think they do.” Lateisha turned to walk from the kitchen and back down the hall towards the elevators.
“I thought you wanted to learn the new phones?” Bryce asked, grabbing her arm.
Lateisha closed her eyes. His hand on her arm made her want things she had no business wanting. How could he do that to her with just one touch?
“I, uh, thought we were doing that at lunchtime?” She stuttered.
“Since you’re here, let’s just get it out of the way.”
Bryce didn’t release her right away and they stood, staring at each other. The sound of a person clearing their throat made Lateisha jump back and Bryce drop her arm.
“Bryce, getting cozy with the new assistant?” His assistant asked, tsking her tongue.
Bryce glared at her and Lateisha wondered what was going on there. “Just showing her around, Rachel.” Bryce placed his hand on the small of Lateisha’s back and ushered her from room. Then he turned back to Rachel. “And I won’t tell you again to call me Mr. Henderson.”
Rachel feigned injury to her pride, pouting her lip out and dropping her eyes. Bryce turned from her and rolled his eyes. Lateisha didn’t say a word just kept walking until they reached Bryce’s office. It wasn’t any of her business what went on with his assistant. Was it?
“I’m sorry for that. Have a seat behind my desk and I’ll show you the phone system. It’s quite easy once you know what you’re doing.”
Lateisha sat down in Bryce’s plush leather chair, sinking into the cushion a bit. Bryce walked behind her and leaned forward, his face close to hers. Lateisha inhaled his scent and her face heated. He was too close. Despite her efforts to ignore his proximity and concentration on what he was saying, Lateisha could only think about the last time they were together and she was in his arms. Her breathing became labored and her heart began to pound. The sensitive spot between her legs began to throb with need. It was too much.
“Can you back up a bit?” She asked, trying to hide her distress.
Bryce looked at her funny and smiled. He knew damn well what he was doing to her and he was enjoying it.
“What’s wrong, Lateisha?” He asked, his voice husky.
This was not happening her first day at a new job. Sure, he owned the company but this had to be frowned upon.
“Bryce, I…”
“What? What do you want?” He asked, leaning in so that she could see the pulse at his neck jumping. He was just as aroused as she was.
“I can’t do this!” She said, jumping to her feet and knocking him back.
“Lateisha…”
“No, I can’t, Bryce. I just got this job. I need this job. Please just show me the phones so I can get back downstairs.” Lateisha begged him with her eyes as well as her words.
Bryce nodded, the look on his face unreadable. He took the next fifteen minutes to explain the phones, staying as far away from where she sat as he could. Lateisha knew it was to make a point but that didn’t make it any easier for her. When he was finished, she stood, thanking him and turned towards the door. Just as she stepped out she felt his hand on her bicep.
“This isn’t over, Lateisha. Far from it. You can’t run from me forever.” He turned and headed back to his desk.
A chill ran down Lateisha’s spine from anticipation. What did he mean by that?
*****
Bryce followed Lateisha from the room with his eyes. A few months ago he would have balked at a display like that in the office. Today he couldn’t keep his hands, or anything else, away from her. Cursing under his breath, Bryce stood, unable to concentrate on the memo he had been typing when he heard her enter the office space. Actually, it was more like he felt her enter. He couldn’t see the kitchen area from his office but he had the urge to go down there. When he got there he understood why. Lateisha was there. His body, and his mind apparently, wanted to be where she was at all times. Running a hand over his face, Bryce stood and walked to the window. The skyline below never ceased to amaze him. Lateisha never ceased to amaze him. If he had only met her before all of this surrogate nonsense. No, this surrogate nonsense brought her to him. He was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason. Lateisha was the reason for this whole mess and he would do anything to make her understand just how much he wanted her.
*****
“Lateisha, can you get in here please!” John bellowed at her for the fourth time in an hour.
Four hours in and the work was nonstop. She had already taken two memos, ran more copies than she could count, hand collated all of the copies, took a dictation, made fifteen cups of coffee and was working on editing a brief that Mr. Wilson needed to go out before lunch, which was in twenty minutes. It didn’t help that he called her into his office several times an hour and added something new to her tasks, as if he wanted her to stop what she was doing and complete the new task first. Lateisha developed a system the third time he did it. She had an in and out box organizer on her desk and she found another one in the copy room lying abandoned on the counter. The organizers were used to set up a place order for most important and next in line. So far the system was working and kept her from getting confused and off task.
Sighing, Lateisha stood, glancing once more towards her organized files. This job was helping her feel proud of herself for once. She stepped into John’s office, a pen poised over a notebook waiting for him to give her instructions.
“Lateisha, can you please get Nashima in Tokyo on the line? And prepare the conference room for the lunch conference. Did you order the sandwiches?” Mr. Wilson rattled off a list and Lateisha wrote quickly. “And where are the briefs I asked you to edit earlier?”
“I’m editing them right now, Mr. Wilson. The sandwiches will be here in thirty minutes and I’m having them set up in the conference room along with some drinks and other necessities. I typed and sent out the memos and I’m almost done with the dictation as well.”
John looked at her strangely before dismissing her from the room. Shrugging, Lateisha went back to her desk and finished up a few things before shutting down the computer and grabbing her purse. She was oddly surprised at how happy she was with the possibility of seeing Bryce when she went upstairs to get her lunch. It was an obviously stupid thought, especially since she knew she was letting him go. Punching the number for the sixteenth floor harder than she meant, Lateisha tapped her foot with impatience. Her mood went downhill quickly. She started off happy to be seeing Bryce and suddenly she was melancholy and wanted to get the whole thing over with.
The elevator door opened and Lateisha was relieved to see that Rachel wasn’t at her desk. She knew from the fifteenth floor, if she wasn’t there to buzz someone in the door was left unlocked. It seemed like a security flaw but Lateisha wasn’t concerned about it. She pulled the glass doors opened and walked into the office. It was quiet and it seemed most everyone was out to lunch. Lateisha hurried down the hall to the kitchen, looking around for Bryce even though she knew it was a bad idea. Where was everyone? Was there some sort of meeting she wasn’t aware of? Then she remembered the lunch conference downstairs that she had set up. Probably most of the office was there and the rest were out to lunch. Relaxing at the idea of being left alone, by not only Rachel but also Bryce, Lateisha yanked open the fridge and sought out her lunch. Locating it pushed to the back by a large tray of sandwiches, she retrieved it and stood. Lateisha felt a presence behind her and turned around.
“Hey.” It was Bryce.
“I didn’t think anyone was here. All the rest of the associates are downstairs for the lunch meeting.” She looked behind him as if looking for a
way to escape. This was crazy. It was just Bryce.
Bryce smiled his thousand watt smile and Lateisha’s demeanor melted a bit. “John called me. He said you have some sort of filing system that you’ve created. He was pretty impressed. He even told me that you set up the lunch meeting and that everything is great.” He continued to smile at her and Lateisha felt her insides turn to jelly.
She nodded, unable to speak right away. Bryce had never given her a compliment before. It was funny how she felt like a duck out of water in the fast food industry but somehow here she seemed to fit. Maybe she was more suited to Bryce’s world than she had originally thought.
“Well that’s great! I’m so glad that you seem to be getting on well here. I’m pleasantly surprised and so was John. Keep up the good work.” Bryce finished speaking and leaned down, bringing Lateisha in for an unexpected hug. At first, it was awkward but then she relaxed in his embrace, the feeling of his arms around her making her feel secure and other emotions she didn’t want to discuss.
He released her and looked down at her as if waiting for something more. “I’m just going to go back downstairs and eat my lunch in the office,” Lateisha mumbled, not wanting to make a big deal of the fact that she was eating alone.
“What? No, come eat with me in my office. I’m not expected to be at the lunch meeting; that’s what John is for, so I was planning on catching up with some paperwork while I ate. I’d love the company.” Bryce inched closer, and suddenly looked as if he was going to take her hand.
“I, it’s alright. I’m used to eating lunch alone.” Lateisha wasn’t sure why she said that, even if it was the truth. The only person she ever ate lunch with was Becky and that was rare.
Bryce frowned. “What are you afraid of, Lateisha?”
Lateisha sighed, keeping her distance was hard when they worked for the same company and it was only the first day. How would she do it for the next several months?
“It’s okay, really. I need the peace and quiet after how busy John, I mean Mr. Wilson had me all day.”
“Okay. I’ll check in on you later to see if you need a ride home.” Bryce turned, gave her one last look and then walked from the kitchen.
Lateisha released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Being around Bryce was taxing on her mind and body. Fanning herself with her hand, Lateisha heated up her soup, contemplating how she would break the news about wanting custody of the baby. Bryce was a reasonable man and she had no doubt that he wouldn’t agree. But he would be angry with her and any chance they may have had at being a couple would be destroyed. Lateisha was well aware of that and she was willing to risk it, for her baby. The door to the kitchen area creaked opened again and Lateisha thought Bryce had come back to try to convince her again. Smiling she turned around. The smile left her face when she realized it was Rachel who had entered the kitchen.
“Hello,” Lateisha said in what she thought was her best ‘leave me alone bitch’ voice.
“Hello there, Lateisha.” Rachel circled around her like she was eyeing up her prey.
“What do you need?” Lateisha asked, looking at Rachel warily. She was clearly up to something.
“Oh nothing. Just checking up on Bryce and seeing how his lunch is going. We do that you know; Bryce and I. He doesn’t like to talk about it because we work together, but,” Rachel leaned in towards Lateisha as if she was telling her a secret, “we are kind of together.”
Lateisha stepped back as if Rachel slapped her. She was lying. She had to be lying. The sound of the microwave beeping filled the small room and Lateisha turned to get her soup. She was mostly hiding her reaction from Rachel. If Rachel and Bryce were together it would explain her animosity towards Lateisha. Maybe she knew about the surrogacy and she despised the idea. But if they were together, why wasn’t Bryce having a baby with her instead? More confused than ever, Lateisha turned back around, ready to question Rachel about the situation a little bit more.
“Oh. Bryce never mentioned that to me.” Lateisha wanted to make sure that Rachel knew they also had something of a relationship, to see what she would claim to know. Something about the story seemed fishy, but Lateisha didn’t have ownership of Bryce so she wasn’t exactly sure it was false either.
“Hmmm, well he told me all about you. How he helped you out with a job because you were broke and how you’ve been a great help to him otherwise.” When Rachel said otherwise she lowered her voice and raised her eyebrows.
Lateisha gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. She knew about the surrogacy which meant she must be telling the truth.
“I, uh, I don’t know what you mean,” Lateisha stumbled over her words.
Her lunch forgotten, she began to back towards the door. She had to get out of there. Off of the sixteenth floor and possibly out of the building. What was she going to do?
“You know what I mean, Lateisha. I saw you in your cheap polyester pants when you came in that day. The whole office knows. You’re a whore and a liar. He’ll never love you like he loves me. You don’t fit in here and you never will. You’re trash and he only wants you for one thing and when that’s over he’ll toss you aside.” Rachel backed Lateisha against the wall closest to the door and spit the venomous words at her, little drops of spittle flinging in her face as Rachel spoke.
Shaking with anger, Lateisha put her hands up, to force Rachel away. Before either of them could say another word the doors burst opened and Bryce came in. Lateisha looked away from him, afraid to see pity, or anger in his eyes. She also didn’t want him to see the hurt and shame in hers.
“What the hell is going on here!?!” Bryce exclaimed, stopping in front of the women.
“Bryce, darling, I’m so glad you showed up. This, woman, was verbally abusing me and was about to become physical until you burst in.” Rachel began to fake sob and threw herself at Bryce.
Stunned, Lateisha took a minute to move. Finally she found her voice. “I guess I was just a naïve imbecile for falling for you and your lies, Bryce Henderson. I quit. I never want to see you again. You’ll hear from my lawyer regarding the baby.”
A strange look appeared on Rachel’s face, almost like the mention of a baby was news to her. But she said she knew? Not wanting to wait around to find out, Lateisha pushed past them and stormed out to the elevators, tears streaming down her face. What had she been thinking falling in love with the lying bastard?
Chapter 9
Bryce could only stare as Lateisha stormed out of the room. What was happening? What had Rachel said? Determined to put an end to this, Bryce pushed the woman off of him and looked down at her, fake tears drying on her face.
“What the hell is going on, Rachel?” He watched her demeanor change from sobbing to defensive.
“She threatened me, Bryce. She told me that you would fire me because she was your mistress and you had to do what she told you. I just saved you. She wants your money, I can tell, I know women like her. I…”
“You are women like her,” Bryce barked.
Rachel jumped back, her tears suddenly dry and her back ramrod straight. “What are you implying?”
“Rachel, I’ve told you countless times that I’m not interested in you and that you need to remain professional and do your job. You are to call me Mr. Henderson at all times and never put your hands on me. Is that clear?” Bryce had enough of her antics and was going to speak with human resources first thing tomorrow to see what he could do to get rid of her.
“Bryce, what do you mean? I thought you felt what I feel? That woman, she was only trying to use sex as a way to get what she wanted from you. But I love you. I always have.” Rachel moved towards him again trying to embrace him.
“Don’t touch me or I will have you led out of here in handcuffs.” Bryce stepped towards the door but Rachel moved with him.
“Bryce, please. Where is this coming from?” Rachel grabbed his arm and Bryce stepped back again, putting his hands in the air.
&n
bsp; “I’m calling security,” he said turning and snagging the phone on the wall.
The security guard at the front answered on the first ring and said he would be right up.
“It’s your word against mine you know,” Rachel said, her voice full of venom.
“Not likely. Every area of this building, besides bathrooms, is video monitored, with sound.” Horror played across her face for a moment.
“It doesn’t matter. I have a personal relationship with your security guard and he will help me out on this,” Rachel said with confidence.
“Oh, you mean Dale Winters? I fired him yesterday for tampering with security footage.”
Rachel’s face went sheet white and she began to shake.
“It’s over Rachel. I’m having you arrested and fired.”
She shook her head but didn’t say anything. Five minutes later security showed up and escorted her out of the office. Bryce sighed; glad to have dodged the crazy bullet and even gladder his father insisted on heightened security in the building. He’d have to thank his dad for that when he visited him next winter; hopefully with Lateisha and their baby by his side. After finishing up with security, Bryce headed down the stairs, taking two at a time, hoping Lateisha hadn’t left the building yet.
*****
“Lateisha! Can I see you a minute?” John bellowed from his office.
Lateisha looked around frantically. She had to get out of this building or she was going to lose her mind. Never in a million years would she have thought Bryce was lying to her. Or that he would be with someone so manipulative and bitchy. Stalling a moment just in case John came looking for her, Lateisha turned and headed towards the double glass doors, glancing over her shoulder as she went.