I watch her as she nods her head and continues to ignore me. When I have something to add to the conversation, her eyes stay on her notes and never meet mine. I look around the table as I speak and notice all eyes are on me, except for hers.
At the end of the meeting, I stand, button my jacket, and step aside to shake hands with everyone as Bella brushes past me, looking furious.
Before I can get out of the conference room, Maggie stops me. By asking to have a word with me, she has unknowingly stopped me from going after my girlfriend. I'm slightly pissed off about it, since I want to confront whatever situation is occurring with Bella, but in this time and place, I need to put work first.
“With this joint venture, Ben, we may have some hourly staff working overtime. We haven't budgeted for overtime in those specific departments.”
“How many salaried employees do we have on staff?” I ask.
“Not enough.” She shakes her head.
I groan and run my palm roughly over my face as I bend my neck back. I didn't put much thought into that, and now I'm regretting advancing on the plans so quickly. I try to think of a solution, then look at Maggie.
“Within the project scope, we will need to set clear limits regarding which team members can and cannot work the overtime. I do not want full teams to work overtime.”
“But that puts more work on some staff and not as much as on others.” She has a point, but I brush it off.
“Those folks will be rewarded with overtime pay. Isn’t that enough?” The bite in my bark is not intended really for Maggie. I just want out of this conversation.
“Ben, can you give me an org chart of the teams you will be creating? Perhaps those individuals are salaried employees and if you want anyone specific added, we can change their exemption status.”
“How come there are hourly and salaried employees? Wouldn’t it be more logical to have one or the other?” I question.
“Your father wanted a mixture. There are positions within Adams Enterprises that do not need to be salaried. And some that clearly do.”
“Can we set a time to meet and discuss each staff member’s status? I would like to see where we can make these sort of changes within the company. Salaried employees allow for more work to be done, due to their longer hours and static pay.”
“While you may have staff here who prefer to be hourly so they can reap that overtime.” Maggie nods.
“You know everyone here better than I do. Perhaps we meet next week?” I suggest.
“Something is different about you,” she observes, crossing her arms and eyeing me.
“Pardon?” I tilt my head.
“You’re asking, rather than demanding. You’re willing to discuss rather than blindly change. What’s happening here?” Maggie steps back, hands on her hips, and looks me up and down as if she will find the magic answer to my recent change in demeanor.
“Nothing’s different, Maggie. It’s your imagination.” I laugh and brush her off as we exit the room.
“No. Something is definitely different about you.” She follows behind me as she struggles to keep up with my long strides.
I’ve made it to the door of my office. I want to be left alone and yet I need to speak with Bella. I can’t very well do that with the mother hen of HR standing next to me.
“Maggie, I beg you, let it be. I’m the same man I’ve been since forever. Rest assured, my body has not been taken over by an alien or a parasite.” I force a laugh.
“No, you are less angry. More simpatico.”
“Maggie,” I say, my tone contains a warning.
She holds both her hands up in surrender. “Fine. Fine. You big brute. You’re still the scary, mean CEO… Oh, I’m so scared!” she jokes as she walks away.
I shake my head and look around the space. I peek into Bella’s office and see her with her head buried in the screen of her computer. I go into her office and quietly shut the door behind me. The click of the door brings her head up and we lock eyes.
“Ben. Not now,” she says, her voice stern.
“What happened? Why are you pissed? What did I do?” I ask her in rapid succession.
“Oh, you can see that I’m pissed? Good of you to be so fucking observant. Congratu-fucking-lations, Ben!” she bites.
“I have no idea what is going on, so please help me understand?” I say as calmly as I can. I'm unprepared for a fight and I'm not exactly sure what I'm dealing with here. It's been a while since I've dealt with someone else's feelings.
“Understand? Ben, you’re pulling me out as your assistant and offering me up to that other company as if I’m expendable. It's like a slap across the face. That’s what you’re doing.”
I try to think back to the meeting and where she got that information and I’m coming up empty. She looks at me and stands. She grabs her cell phone and starts throwing random things from her desk drawers into her purse with finality. I walk around her desk and grab her wrist to halt her.
“Stop it. What are you doing?” I seethe through my teeth.
“I’m leaving,” she rages right back to me. She turns to face me. We are inches apart, and all I want to do is shut her up by kissing her.
“You can’t just leave,” I say, biting back a laugh at my first thoughts and stepping away from her.
“My employment here is at-will. I’m under no contract to work for you, so I can quit anytime. And that, sir, is what I am doing – effective now!” She points to the ground for emphasis.
“Isabella!” I say with so much anger. “There is no chance in hell I would send you to work anywhere that I’m not. I don’t want you to work anywhere else. I don't want you anywhere but by my side. What I was implying in that meeting – and maybe it wasn't conveyed correctly – was that you would work closely with their CEO’s assistant and maybe some of their staff. But you would not be leaving this company.”
“That’s not what I heard in there,” she retorts, crossing her arms stubbornly.
“Hey, you heard wrong. If I have any control over you, it’s that. You are still working here and if you ever leave me, there better be a fucking good reason.” My anger and frustration boils. She looks at me, really looks at me with steady eyes.
“Wait. If I quit here… did you think that also means I quit you?” she asks, her tone changing to worry.
“Wouldn’t that be what you would do?” I ask, almost fearing of her answer.
“No, Ben. I mean, it would likely make our relationship easier because we wouldn’t have to hide, but if I stopped working for you, I wouldn’t stop being with you.”
“No?” I ask.
“Not a chance. I kind of like you. You’re my beast – at work and in the sack.” She smiles as she whispers the last part.
“I wasn’t trying to make you feel like you were expendable. You are far from it.” I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. She head lays against my chest and wraps her arms around my middle in return. I kiss the top of her head and move one my hands so that my hand holds her head to me.
“If I’m your Beast, you’re my Beauty,” I say quietly.
“Ugh. I did what I never wanted to do.”
“What’s that?” I ask as she pulls herself out of my arms.
“I brought our relationship into work.”
“Does that mean that I can bend you over the desk and fuck you?”
“Benjamin!” She holds my gaze. Her annoyance is tempered with mirth.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” I laugh. “Are we clear though? The conversation in the meeting? I would never… I don't want you leaving here. I just want to make sure you are fully aware of that. You are stuck with me. I'm a better person with you around.”
She looks at me with unshed tears in her eyes and nods.
“We're clear. And thank you.” She smiles.
“For what?” I ask. Why is she thanking me?
“For fighting. For stopping me and explaining what I misunderstood.”
“Ne
xt time, don't run. I'm not holding you prisoner, but if you were ever to quit, I would at least hope we can talk through it before it reaches that point.”
“I promise.”
“The same goes for our personal relationship. No running.”
“No running,” she agrees, leaning into me.
My arms wrap around her and I bend down to take her lips softly with mine. Our connection lasts mere seconds before the office door opens and we jerk apart.
I wipe my face and look to whoever intruded on our moment. I meet the surprised eyes of Maggie. She opens and closes her mouth, unsure what to say. She quickly steps further into the office and shuts the door behind her.
“What the hell did I just walk into?” she whisper-shouts at us, slamming the folder she was holding onto the desk in front of us.
“Nothing,” Bella and I say in unison.
“Bullshit. That was definitely not nothing.”
“Listen, Maggie,” I start, but she holds up her hand in a request for silence.
“I need to speak to both of you, but separately. Benjamin, please leave Isabella's office. Do not leave the building; I will be in your office shortly.” She points to the door. “Fucking HR nightmare,” she mumbles.
Like an obedient child, I follow her directions. I offer a sympathetic look to Bella and mouth that I'm sorry before leaving her office.
I pace my office for what feels like an eternity before Maggie comes in, she closes the door and strides to the chair behind my desk. My chair. She points to the guest chair opposite her as she takes a seat.
“Maggie, listen,” I say. “We're adults here. And this is my company.”
“I've spoken with Isabella and she has confirmed that you did not force yourself on her.”
“Damn straight, I didn't. We're together; we have a relationship. It’s separate from work.”
“Ben, how could it be separate from work? Work is a part of who you are. It's a part of who we all are.” Maggie frowns.
“Once work is over, we are different people. We don't talk to one another as boss and assistant. We're equals.”
“While I have seen the change with you, and I love the fact that you have opened up to someone else, it's not professional to be in a relationship with your employee, especially an employee who reports directly to you. How can you be objective?”
I don't know how to answer that question. I try to think if I could handle a situation where I needed to be objective and I'm not entirely sure that I could. Have I made a mistake by getting involved with Bella? Was my attraction to her something I should have ignored?
I look Maggie in the eyes. “I appreciate you and what you do here, Maggie. But, as previously discussed, there is nothing in our employee handbooks forbidding fraternization between staff members. I hope that you will not hold anything against Isabella regarding what you walked in on. We will do better not to show any physical affection while at work. That was my mistake and I apologize. And I apologize for putting you in this position.”
She shakes her head. “Ben, I wish it were that simple,” she says, her tone full of regret.
“It is that simple. I'm the owner of this company and there are no grounds to do anything to Isabella's employment status here. I refuse to let you make her an example,” I say firmly.
“Adams Enterprises cannot be seen as a company where employees do whatever they want, that’s there is no meaning between a boss and their staff? Other staff members may see your relationship as an opportunity, and from that opportunity could come harassment lawsuits.”
“This relationship has been going on for almost four months, Maggie. Up until now, have you suspected anything going on between the two of us?” I ask.
“Aside from the photos from the gala, no,” she admits hesitantly.
“Then, like I said before, we will continue to refrain from being anything more than boss and employee at work. I do not want work to dictate my life. She's become a part of my life, and I do not want that to change.”
Maggie takes a deep breath. “Ben. I'm happy for you. Really, I am. I don't want anything to interfere with your happiness again,” she says sadly.
“Then don't take it away from me,” I plead.
She looks shocked at my begging. She observes me quietly as I wait for her to speak. I would get on my hands and knees if that would help. I'm split open right now, begging someone who has known me almost all my life to let me continue what could be seen from the outside looking in, a forbidden relationship, but it’s a relationship that is so right in so many ways.
Chapter Twelve
Bella
I stayed far away from Ben for the rest of the day. After Maggie left my office, I was walking on eggshells in fear of losing my job or pissing off someone who may or may not have heard that the CEO of Adams Enterprises and I were found in a compromising position in my office.
Is this my last day of work? Am I going to be fired?
Is this the last day I will have the chance to kiss Ben? Is he going to break up with me?
I have so many questions, but I know I need to wait until tonight to ask what the next step is. I didn't see Maggie after she went to speak with Ben, and I haven’t received any emails from human resources, but I still can't say that the coast is clear.
My anxiety is spiraling because I’m not completely sure what is in store for my future. Did I fuck it all up by falling for my boss? Could I have ignored the feelings that I kept hidden from everyone? Did I just lose the single most important person in my life?
I leave in a hurry at the end of the day and head straight to Ben's penthouse. I run past the doorman and am granted access to the top floor. When the elevator opens to his foyer, I remove my shoes and drop my purse on the entry table and go in search of Ben.
He's sitting in his library, my favorite place in his home. The lights are dimmed, the fireplace ablaze and he's sitting on the loveseat with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. His expression is somber. Dread fills my gut as I approach, I can’t exactly what’s happening and the only sound I can hear is my breathing.
He looks up and places his glass on the side table, then holds out his hand to me. That’s all it takes for relief to flood my senses; somehow I know everything will be okay. His eyes hold the relief that I needed and my heart is slamming against my ribcage in happiness. My hand fits in his palm and he pulls me to him. I sit astride him with one of his strong hands on the small of my back while the other runs up the curve of my neck, cradles my jaw, then threads into my hair.
He pulls me to him. “Need you,” he whispers against my lips. “I need your kiss.”
I let him kiss me. The ocean of feelings in my stomach simmers as our tongues dance together. All thoughts of the problems facing us flee to the back of my mind as my senses take over. He tastes of alcohol and smells like the forest. My hands tug at the hair at his nape as I lean into the kiss further. His hand at my back rounds my ass and his fingers roughly drag to my thigh. He holds me as if he's afraid I will vanish. I press my core against the hardness of his cock and rock against it.
He growls and pulls back slightly, his teeth pulling at my bottom lip.
My hands come to his front and I begin unbuttoning his shirt in haste, needing to have my hands on his skin. Needing the contact to know that this moment is real.
“I'm so in love with you,” he says as he runs his lips across the sensitive skin under my ear. “I don't want you to leave me because of this at work.”
“I love you too,” I declare. “I love you so much. I can't leave you. I won't leave you, ever.” I reach in between us and unbuckle his belt.
God damnit, I should have worn a skirt today.
His hands wrap around my wrists and he pulls me away from him. He breaks contact and waits for me to look him in the eyes.
“We should talk. I don’t want you to worry right now and have you thinking this is our last time together.”
I gasp. “It's not?”
“No. M
aggie isn't happy with me right now. She's insisting we update the employee handbook and add rules banning fraternization between staff members. We're going head to head about it, but I won't allow her to let this be the end of you and me. I just can't. Not when I've found love again.”
“What if you are asked to step down?” I ask him.
“This is my company. This isn't the Stone Age where it's a taboo thing to date someone that you work with. Times have changed. What we have is completely consensual. Granted, the business climate today is such that there is potential liability with inter-office relationships, but Maggie acknowledged that she never suspected there was anything happening with us, because we kept work and pleasure separate.” He smiles playfully. “Mostly.”
“See, my stubbornness has paid off.”
“Either way, I have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning with Maggie. I would like you to attend with me.”
“Am I supposed to?” I ask.
“No. But I would like for you to be by my side. After all, this affects you as well,” he says, sincerity plain on his features. I cup his jaw and run my thumb along his chin and up his jawline to his cheek. I smile as I lean in and brush my lips against his. He leans closer and kisses me roughly.
“Ben,” I whisper into the kiss.
“I'm not going to let this be the end of us. I can't lose you too,” he says, pulling back slightly. “Maggie knows me, she’s seen me at my worst and I explained to her what you mean to me. She understands, but I’m sure she may have some proposals in store for us tomorrow. This is not the end of us, I don’t want that thought to be in your mind.”
The Brute Page 7