by K E Osborn
“What will Aiden think?” He looks concerned.
“He will be thrilled. He already thinks of you as part of the family. Now it’ll be official. If you’re worried about Aiden being angry, the only thing he’ll be angry about is you keeping this from him.”
Benjamin’s face crinkles. He looks at Blair as he kisses him gently on the lips.
“Okay,” Benjamin says hesitantly, instantly making Blair and me smile.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Blair says as he takes Benjamin’s hand.
“If I get fired, you have to pay me the same wage,” Benjamin says to Blair.
“Deal,” Blair says as he walks out of the library into the dining room.
I follow, smiling. They stop at the doorway of the dining room, where everyone is now seated waiting for us. I walk in and sit next to Aiden. He takes my hand under the table. Blair walks in and stands by the end of the table, taking a glass and tapping it with a knife to get everyone’s attention. Everyone looks up as Benjamin walks in, looking a bit pale and sweating as he loosens his tie from his neck. He swallows a lump in his throat. He looks directly at me. I give him a big smile and nod at him.
“What are you doing, Blair?” Alistair asks loudly in annoyance.
“Father, Ben and I have an announcement.” Blair’s face is radiating happiness, but Benjamin’s is growing paler and pasty.
“Get on with it. I’m hungry,” Alistair says.
He takes hold of Benjamin’s hand; Aiden looks at me in shock.
“I’d like to officially announce that Ben and I are finally coming out. We’ve been a couple for over a year, and we thought this was as good a time as any to tell you all.” Gasps fill the room as Brielle claps uncontrollably and squeals.
“It’s about time,” she calls out, and Blair laughs at her as the rest of the table reacts to the news.
Nana and Callie both stand up and hug them as Aiden stands and shakes Benjamin’s hand.
“You had me fooled,” Aiden says to him, shaking his head. “This is great news, guys. I’m so happy for you both.” He gives his brother a hug.
I look over to Alistair. His face is turning red.
“Did you know about this?” Aiden questions me.
“I might have been slightly suspicious.”
“How come they announced it today?” he asks me quietly as the other people in the room hug the two men.
“Um, because I saw them kissing in the other room. Benjamin is scared that your father will fire him.”
Aiden looks over to his father, who is still sitting, silently fuming and looking angrier with every passing second. “He probably will,” Aiden says sullenly.
Suddenly Alistair stands and pounds his fist onto the table. “Is this a joke?” He stares at Benjamin, who instantly looks away.
Blair takes Benjamin’s head in his hands and kisses him.
Everyone looks at Alistair, waiting for his reaction. Instead, he sits down, takes a deep breath, and talks calmly.
“Benjamin, I am extremely disappointed in you. You have proved that you’re not only a liar, but that you can’t be trusted. I have no other option than to terminate your position at O’Connell Finance. You can pick up your personal items before we return back to work on the seventh of January.”
Everyone’s jaws drop; the unthinkable has happened. Benjamin looks at Blair, who is looking at his father in shock.
Aiden looks at his father with disgust. “Father you can’t fire my PA. Benjamin is a part of our family. To say you don’t trust him is complete bullshit, and you know it.”
“This is not up for discussion. Now let’s have Christmas dinner as a family. Benjamin, that includes you. You’re part of our family, but not part of O’Connell Finance, is that clear?” Alistair looks directly at Benjamin, whose mouth is still open with shock.
“Yes, sir,” Benjamin says as he sits at the table.
Nana dishes out the meal of roast turkey, lamb, and pork with crackling, roast vegetables, honeyed carrots, string beans, and stuffing from the table. Aiden and I have only small portions after our large lunch with my mom. The dinner is eaten in complete silence, with people occasionally looking at Benjamin to see if he’s okay.
“This is ridiculous. It’s Christmas. We should be happy and jolly, not miserable and cautious,” Callie says, shaking her head.
Nana stands up and raises her glass. “To the new couples, Aiden and Jeni, Brielle and Adam, and Blair and Benjamin, may you all have long and fruitful relationships filled with love and trust.”
We raise our glasses.
“To the new couples,” everyone says, except Alistair, and we clink our glasses together.
I think of Nana’s words. Filled with love and trust. Aiden and I have no problems with the love part of our relationship, but the trust part is a different story. My subconscious raises her ugly head, making me think of the investigation. The conversation picks up around the table. Nana stands up and starts to clear the plates, and I stand up and help her. We head to the kitchen with the plates. Nana and I are halfway through washing the dishes when Benjamin enters and walks up to me as I turn to look at him.
“I’m sorry you lost your job, Benjamin. I honestly never thought he would do that.”
“It’s okay. I knew he would, but I’ll work for Blair at his shop.”
“Couldn’t you sue Alistair for firing you?”
Benjamin laughs. “Yes, I’m sure I could. But I won’t. He’s like family, and even though I know why he fired me isn’t technically legal, I wouldn’t do that to Blair or Aiden. Now I have to find a replacement for Aiden. Know anyone?” He raises his eyebrows.
I look at him, confused. “Who, me? I’m not sure Aiden would like that, me being around him all the time.”
“He would love it. Are you kidding me?”
I look at him. “Have you talked to him about this?”
“It was his idea.”
I shake my head. “I have to think about it.” I love my job, but the Tim issue makes things awkward for me there now. I have a lot to consider.
“Go on. You know you want to,” he says as Blair comes in and hugs Benjamin from behind, kissing him on the cheek.
“So you’re going to be Aiden’s new PA?” Blair asks.
“Does everybody know about this except for me?” I ask jokingly.
“Yep, pretty much,” Blair says as he lets Benjamin go.
“You took a leap of faith, Benjamin. Maybe I should as well.”
“I’m sure you’ll look after him better than I did.”
“I doubt that very much, but thanks for saying so, Benjamin.” I walk toward the living room where everyone is seated. Aiden gestures for me to sit on his lap by tapping his legs. I do as I’m told; he looks at me with such loving eyes.
“How about it?” he asks, knowing full well Blair and Benjamin have been talking to me.
I sigh and shake my head. “Why do you want me as your PA?”
“Mainly so I can see you all the time. You are never out of my mind, baby. Knowing you’re outside my office means I can get my Jeni fix anytime of the day. It would make me so happy to be with you every day, baby” he says with a childish grin.
“You’re such a sweet-talker.”
“I know, so how about it?”
“I don’t know. What if you get sick of me?”
“Baby, I’ll never get sick of you, ever. You mean the world to me. Life was meaningless before I had you in my life. Please, will you do it?” He looks happy with the thought that I might say yes. His beaming smile is so bright I can hardly concentrate. I take in a deep breath and look him in the eyes.
“Yes, I’ll do it,” I say, making him happy. He leans in to kiss me.
Chapter 23
My announcement comes as a shock to Mel and John when I tell them that I’m leaving to work with Aiden.
It’s time to leave as I hug Mel goodbye.
“Oh, I don’t know how I’ll cope without you here. You
keep me sane with all the men around this place,” Mel says as she hugs me tight. “Just remember, if things don’t work out, you always have a place here with us. You’re family, and you better keep in touch.”
Tears start to well in my eyes.
“I’ve arranged a farewell dinner for you on Saturday night. All of the staff are attending and please bring Aiden. I’d love to tell him how pissed I am at him for stealing you away,” John says jokingly, making me laugh.
“Thank you both, you’ve been so good to me. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
“Repay us by enjoying your new job and staying happy, but remember, if you’re not, come back here, okay?” John says sincerely.
“Thanks, guys.”
***
Aiden asked me to move into his apartment with him after Christmas. We are officially now a live-in couple. I sit on the bed next to a naked Aiden, my core aching from the passion he showed the night before as I get out of bed.
I walk to the closet and pick out a shirt and tie for him, placing them on the bed, along with a black suit. I walk back into the closet and pick out my work attire. I choose a dark blue tie for Aiden. I match it with my dark blue top and black skirt.
Aiden is still sleeping on his stomach, face buried in the pillow as I walk back into the bedroom. I make my way over and kiss him on his bare back, and he shuffles under my touch. I kiss him softly up the length of his spine and onto his neck. He turns his head.
“Morning, beautiful.”
I kiss his tender lips. “Get up,” I say sternly.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says as he slowly gets up out of bed, rubbing his eyes.
“How did you get up for work before I moved in?”
“I never had such a thorough workout in bed the night before.”
We get dressed, have breakfast, and head down to the parking garage to greet Mike.
“You look lovely today, Miss Taylor,” Mike says, opening the rear passenger door for me.
“Thanks, Mike,” I say as I get into the car with Aiden following behind.
We are pulling up at O’Connell Finance when I realize I’ve never actually been here before. The building is huge with full-length windows and is many stories high. It is a very impressive building.
We pull into the underground parking garage, and Mike lets us out of the car.
Aiden takes my hand and walks us to the stairs. My nerves are ever present as those pesky butterflies make their appearance. As we walk up the front stairs leading to the building, I lose my footing and trip. Aiden catches me as I fall up the stairs. He smiles at me, holding back a laugh as I straighten myself out.
“Thanks,” I say, blushing.
“Always the entertainer.”
He continues to hold my hand as we walk through the large automatic doors and enter the main reception area. There are two girls working away at the front desk.
“Good morning, Mr. O’Connell,” one of the girls at the front desk calls out.
“Good morning, Josie.”
Josie? I wonder if that’s the same girl who was talking about me in the restroom at the retirement ball. We get in the elevator, and he pushes the second to top button as the elevator plays soft, melodic music in the background.
Aiden looks at me. “Are you okay?”
I look at him feeling anxious. “No,” I say back honestly.
“Don’t worry. It’s easy. Benjamin left a list of things to help you out.”
I’m glad for that. At least my nerves are slightly eased. It’s hard to start a new job with no training at all. “Shall I call you Mr. O’Connell?”
“I hadn’t thought about that. I think if there are important clients around then probably yes. Any other time, I think we can get away with gorgeous, handsome, babe—”
“Douche bag?” I interject, making him laugh.
“Mmm that too, I guess.”
As the elevator doors open, he lets go of my hand, and we walk into the main foyer. The carpet is burgundy, embossed with the O’Connell Finance logo.
There are two main offices in the room on opposing sides. In the middle are two office desks. The office to the right has Aiden O’Connell on it, and the one to the left has Matthew Jones.
“This is your desk, baby. You can personalize it however you like. The phone needs to be answered with O’Connell Finance, Mr. O’Connell’s office. To switch a call through to me, you press this button and let me know who it is and then patch it through with this button. You basically organize me. I need to know what meetings I have for the day, and you need to make sure I get to those meetings, on time.”
“I think I can do that,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Would you like to see my office?” He raises his eyebrows at me. I laugh at him as I put my bag on the desk and follow him in.
He opens the door to a large office furnished with dark wooden furniture. The back wall has a large shelf system loaded with lots of books. The full-length window looks out over the busy, bustling city of Mornington Vale. On the other side of the office, there are two three-seat sofas facing each other, and in between, there is a small dark wood coffee table. A burgundy rug sits under the coffee table, embossed with the O’Connell Finance logo. He shuts the door, takes my hand, and walks over to his desk. He sits down and turns on his computer.
I pick up the photo frame he has on his desk. It’s the one I gave him for Christmas. I smile and place it back down.
“What do you think?”
I rub my hand along the soft glossy wooden texture of his desk.
“I think this desk could be useful,” I say with a smirk, sitting on the edge of it.
His eyebrow rises. “Why, Miss Taylor, what are you insinuating?”
I now have his full attention. “You’ll just have to wait and see, Mr. O’Connell.” I lean in and grab his tie, pulling him to my lips for a kiss. There is a knock on the door. He straightens his tie as we separate.
“Come in.”
Alistair opens the door and spots me. He exhales sharply as he walks into the office. “Don’t forget about the account control agreement for the McAllisters,” he says sternly.
“I haven’t forgotten, thanks, Father,” he says as his father turns to walk away.
“Don’t you do anything wrong today, girlie,” he says as he walks past me. “Oh, and, Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“You have lipstick on your mouth.” He walks out, closing the door.
I start to giggle as Aiden wipes my lipstick from his lips.
“We will have to be more careful about that.” He winks at me.
“Guess I’d better go and do some work.” I head out of his office, closing the door behind me.
I sit down at my new desk and turn on my computer. I look down and in front of me is a piece of paper with printed instructions from Benjamin. It outlines the day-to-day running of the office. The elevator chimes, and Rachelle and Matthew step out into the foyer.
“Good morning,” I say to them.
“Morning, Jeni,” Rachelle says as Matthew continues into his office. “Nervous?” Rachelle asks me.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Don’t worry; this job is a breeze once you get the hang of it. If you have any questions at all, let me know. I’ll be only too happy to help.” She smiles reassuringly.
“Thanks, Rachelle.”
The elevator chimes again. A man walks through with a bunch of flowers; I shake my head as Rachelle sits in awe.
“Seriously?”
The deliveryman walks toward me.
“I have a delivery for Miss Jenifer Taylor.”
I raise my hand.
“Someone’s lucky today,” she says as I sign for the flowers.
“It’s not just today. They will probably come in every Monday.”
She looks at me, with her brows furrowed.
“Aiden promised he would buy me flowers every Monday. I didn’t believe he would carry on when I started to work her
e, but it seems the tradition is continuing.”
She half-heartedly smiles as her eyes look saddened. “Wish my boyfriend would buy me flowers,” she says as she gets back to her work.
I look at the card, as always very neatly hand-written.
Dear Jeni,
Welcome to O’Connell Finance.
Love Aiden xoxo
I put the flowers on the end of my desk then walk to Aiden’s door and knock softly.
“Come in.” I walk through the door to see him staring at his computer intently. He casually looks up at me and smiles.
“Hey, baby,” he says as he relaxes back into his chair. I close his door then walk up to his desk and sit on the edge of it.
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“You know what for,” I say, shaking my head.
He stands up, moving around the desk in front of me. He moves my legs so he’s standing in between them. I look up at him, and his eyes are smoldering with lust. He pulls me close to him as I wrap my legs around his waist. He moves down to kiss me, one hand in my hair, the other holding my lower back to him. I feel the ache in my core as it reacts to his touch. I sense he wants me too, as his kiss becomes more forceful and passionate, our tongues intertwining together in perfect synchronization. Suddenly he stops and pulls away, leaving me breathless on the desk. I feel confused.
“You. Are. Trouble,” he says, wiping my lipstick from his mouth. I pretend to be sad by accentuating my frown. “The things I want to do to you right now.” He shakes his head and straightens his tie.
I hop down from his desk and smooth my skirt back into position. He gently wipes my smudged lipstick from my mouth with his thumb. Unexpectedly his door swings open as Alistair walks in with two policemen and a guy wearing a suit, who flashes his detective badge.
“How could you, Aiden?” Alistair yells at him.
Aiden looks as shocked as I am. “How could I what?”
One of the policemen walks over to Aiden, pulling out his handcuffs. He takes Aiden’s hands, placing the handcuffs around his wrists.
“Aiden O’Connell, you are under arrest for crimes of embezzlement against O’Connell Finance. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you at government expense. Do you understand your rights?” Aiden looks at me completely bewildered. I look away.