by Ted Evans
“Who are you?” she demanded, and as I stood up, I turned and saw her. She hadn’t been this bad for a while. Yesterday, we had such a good day in the park Mom started reminiscing about the good old days when I was a kid and then she’d take me to the park. She even mentioned dad and how we used to enjoy our times in the park. To her it was just a memory that she was voicing and it wasn’t anything special. Yet, for me it was everything, because whenever she did that, it gave me hope. Warmth. Knowing that some part of her memory remained, that somewhere in there she was still my mom.
“I’m here to help you.” I started to breathe slowly, trying to get her to focus. It was a technique that I’d learned when I went on a course in order to learn about taking care of a relative with dementia. Her dark eyes were filled with tears. I knew the next stage was coming soon. “I just don’t remember. I don’t remember anything today.”
She looked down and I saw that her pants were soiled. I had to change her and get her into bed. I had seen the generous financial offer that Mr. Hamilton had sent with his email demanding that I go to the office.
I had to go in. As soon as I took my mother up for her bath, which normally made her sleepy, I cleaned the kitchen, and then got on the phone to my brother.
It would take four weeks for my first pay packet to be paid and then I’d be able to get a nurse. Ross did say it was for six weeks; I assumed that things would go back to normal after that. Until then Carl, my brother, would have to take care of her. A visit once a month when he only lived five minutes from the house wasn’t good enough. I was sick of acting like the only child and taking on every single responsibility. For once in his life he would have to stop living off his inheritance from our grandparents and actually do something meaningful with his life, which at this point included looking after Mom.
Chapter Four
Ross
It was just before seven and I was sitting at my desk. Fuck, you would think that I was on a date or something. Olivia hadn’t responded since I sent her the message telling her to get her butt in here and part of me was nervous that she wouldn’t show up.
My laptop was closed and my phone was in front of me.
What the fuck did this Olivia look like?
I had seen her hands, feet and even the top of her damn head on her blog, which seems to be based on cooking healthy meals on a low budget and photography. But no photo of her, just her hands and one time I feet; it was so fucking weird. I had visions of her being devastatingly ugly, until I saw her feet. They proved that she wasn’t hideous, unless they weren’t even her fucking feet. People do some fucked-up shit on the Internet. There was an author that stole a Brazilian model’s photo. She did it, because she wanted reader to think that she was a sexy chick writing sexy shit.
Craig, my best friend, barged in, I had a bit of a shock at first because I thought that it was her.
“Why are you sitting there like that? That’s weird.” He pointed at me, I could come up with an excuse, but he knew me too well. He knew when I was on edge and I should have been thinking about the deal, not the virtual assistant.
I stood up to save face; he was right. I wasn’t the type to sit down and wait, but I’d snooped the previous night when I got home. And then I’d started to get scared that she was one of those women that are wanted by the police. Maybe that was why she hid her true identity?
Shit, I thought that women were paranoid. Then again with my track record I had a right to be fucking paranoid.
“Scarlett’s left?”
My best friend was the one person on this planet that I couldn’t lie to.
“Not exactly.”
“So you fired her?”
I nodded, then realized that there was no way to gloss over it.
“I made the mistake of fucking her.”
“For a change,” he sighed as if he was fed up of me. He didn’t realize that I was kind of fed up of myself, until I came up with the brilliant plan of getting Olivia to come into the office.
“And then the next thing I know, I come into work and she’s demanding that I say I love her. It was weird enough that she left fucking photos on my desk.”
“Of what?”
It was too early in the morning to talk about this, I needed to get a drink. A strong one, so I headed to the bar at the corner of my office and started to make one. I knew that I couldn’t fob him off.
“Her engagement ring. I thought that if I didn’t sack her then the next day, it would be her wedding dress. Who fucks for one week and then picks out engagement rings?”
“Virgins!” Craig signaled for me to pour him a glass too.
“Then she stormed into the office demanding that I tell her I loved her. We only started fucking last Monday and then a week later she wanted to be Mrs. Hamilton. What the fuck?”
“So you want the company to be fucked up by the employment agency because you can’t stop fucking the staff?”
I hesitated for a moment before handing him the glass. Tempted to ask him about his wife, Amelia, or even his son, just to completely change the subject. He was the CFO, we both met at college. He was only interested in fucking the head cheer, whereas I had my sights set on fucking the whole team.
He took his fucking to a whole different level as he put a ring on Amelia, and the moment we finished college, they were married. They’d been having babies nearly every year since. I would have thought that after the first one, they would have slowed down. Yet every year there’s an addition to their family, which is why he wanted to slow down and not work so much. He wanted to merge with another firm and take a back seat or a lighter role in the company. That’s why our fucking company needed to be squeaky clean. So we appeared to be in control and know what the fuck we’re doing. Which is why I didn’t want to tell him the truth about Scarlett, but I knew that he would find out.
Women have big mouths in the office.
Men even bigger.
“No of course not. But listen, I had an idea.”
He raised an eyebrow after he took a shot of the bourbon. He handed me his glass and nodded for me to fill it up.
“Remember that virtual assistant? The one that I had as a back-up when I found out that the assistants weren’t that good. She’s been filling the gaps in between the assistants that keep coming and going.”
He corrected me, “No Ross, you mean the ones you fucked, the ones you were fucking or the ones that you were about to fuck?”
I handed him the glass and ignored his comment.
“Well, she’s coming in the office. I thought that you were her. Which means—”
“You need to keep your dick in your pants and not put her into any of those three categories I just mentioned. No, I don’t want another one and neither should you, because it’s too early in the morning to start drinking,” he sighed as he headed to the sofa and sat down.
“I came here to say that we had a meeting with Rogers & Co., but now I feel like fucking canceling it. You just had to—”
“What did you say?”
I’d heard him, but for the first time in a long time, I was excited and not in a sexual way. Just fucking happy that things were going better than I expected.
“Did you say…?”
He nodded his head; I was afraid to say the words in case I jinxed it. Our top competitor was willing to merge with us. That meant that if they did, we would be the biggest, and let’s not forget baddest, investment company in America.
“How comes? What happened? I was too busy thinking about us merging with Jones Investors.” I was shaking thinking about the names that we’d thrown up into the air, that Craig said that he would contact. Companies that were our size, or just a fraction smaller. Companies that would make us bigger, but not particularly large. Rogers would make us fucking huge.
Shit. I grabbed him and kissed him on the lips. I wanted him to be my business partner. But he didn’t want his name in lights, he just wanted to support me from the sidelines and keep me on the straight
and narrow. But he was a true friend. One that I knew I could cherish forever, because he always had my back.
“Don’t do that again, it’s fucking creepy! Besides Rogers would be a better match than Jones.” He laughed as he pushed back. Shit, I was hard, and then I noticed someone standing at the door.
“Sorry, I knocked earlier, but you were…”
Craig stood up, embarrassed that we had been caught in a kiss. Shit, I would do a lot more than kiss him if he pulled this thing off.
“Ross was a bit excited earlier, but I’m Craig, the CFO, and I’m just about to leave in case he tries to kiss me again!”
“I’m Olivia, the virtual assistant,” she said quietly. Craig looked at me and mouthed, “Behave!” before turning and heading out the door. I sat in shock at this dark-haired emerald-eyed beauty—with hips that could ride me and a mouth that could suck me whole.
She was the hermit?
The one with too many cats?
This really wasn’t going to go well. I needed help to make sure that this deal went through. I’m off girls, but Olivia’s far from a girl. She’s a hot, stunning fucking temptress. One that I didn’t need. I found myself stumbling like an old fool.
Shit, I was in trouble and my dick was jerking agreeing, “Oh yes you are!”
Chapter Five
Olivia
I hadn’t worked in a real office for how long?
I came in as nervous as hell and all I could think about was my mom and brother at home. Only to find my boss kissing the CFO!
Sure, it was none of my business, and if he was that way inclined then sure, it wasn’t an issue to work for him. I did spot a wedding ring on the CFO’s hand, but not on Ross’s. I just found it a bit strange, because in the last email I got from Scarlett, she told me that she was marrying Mr. Hamilton.
Maybe he swung both ways?
He wouldn’t be the first. I just hoped that Scarlett wouldn’t be too upset that she had to share him. Maybe that was why she couldn’t work for him right now. She never told me that she was leaving, not like the other secretaries.
He’s a dog! I’m out of here.
She only lasted two days.
He fucked me one day and then the next he couldn’t remember my name.
She only lasted three days.
God, the list was endless - I could write a book on the number of secretaries he’s had in the last couple of years. I debated whether I should bother getting to know their names, because I never expected them to last the full week. Scarlett did and I had a crazy notion that maybe she would last the whole month.
I was wrong.
“I came in at seven like you said and I signed the contract.” I tried not to look at him, because I kept thinking about Scarlett and the fact that he was cheating on her with the CFO.
I was here for one reason alone.
To work.
Even if the man had a reputation, one that Scarlett didn’t hesitate in sharing graphically over email from time to time. She even invited me to the wedding. I assumed that she was young or that his brown eyes had sparkled and sent her into a trance. I shook my head at the idea of him doing the same to me.
He stood up, and walked over to me in his smoky grey suit and red tie. Not every man would have been able to pull off that look, but it just made him look seductive. And as he towered over me, I lost all sense of direction.
“Nice, I mean good…I didn’t…you’re Olivia, right?” he asked as he came close to me. His cologne lingered and I could smell his warm and spicy scent. I couldn’t get it out of my mind as he spoke. It was as if I was watching his lips move and the only thing that I was focusing on was his tongue.
“Olivia, the virtual assistant?”
I nodded but then I needed to do something more than nod as he extended his hand. I didn’t want to shake it. I didn’t even want to be in the same room as him.
“I’ve seen your feet,” he blurted out as she shook my hand.
“What?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking out loud”
“About my feet?”
Now, this whole thing was just strange, first the man was kissing the CFO and now he was referring to my feet.
“Your blog. Your feet were on there.”
“So they were…”
I didn’t know what was going on here; it felt as if I was stuck in the Twilight Zone or something. My hand was still in his and now he was stroking it.
“I saw your hands too.”
Now he was freaking me out.
I took back my hand and blurted out, “I didn’t get here at seven to watch you making out with your CFO and for you to be checking out my hands and feet. Especially when you’re getting married to Scarlett. I think that me coming in was a mistake.”
My phone was ringing, so I quickly ran out of his office. Ross wasn’t saying anything worth staying in there for anyway. I mouthed “Excuse me” and he simply nodded.
I knew that there was only one person that could be ringing me at that time in the morning. My brother.
“Carl what is it?”
“Oh, Olivia I don’t know if I can do this.”
My heart was beating out of control. What did he fucking mean?
“What?”
“I get here and she doesn’t even recognize me.”
That was my day practically every day. What did he think would happen? And when I left him this morning and she was sleeping, he told me not to worry. That was nearly an hour ago. Now, I was fucking panicking.
“Then I fed her and she gets angry and throws it at me.”
“What did you give her?”
“Oh, I went to McDonald’s and got her a breakfast. Pancakes and syrup.”
Well, no wonder she threw it at him. I would have done the same.
“Did you take her with you?”
“No.”
“So you left her alone?”
“Sure. She seemed fine when I got here this morning.”
That was because she was sleeping. I was kind of surprised that he’d managed to get her up and had been to McDonald’s in the same time.
“Anyway, I spoke to Aunt Veronica. She’s on her way. She can do it. Just telling you so that when you get home and you see her here, you don’t get pissed. Bye.”
The words were rolling of his tongue so fucking fast that by the time I asked, “Carl?”
He’d already gone.
“Olivia?” Ross asked as he put his hand on my shoulder as I was standing outside his office, still shouting out Carl. I nearly had a heart attack, because no one else was in the office. All I could think about was the fact that Carl had left and Aunt Veronica was on her way. Either way, I felt that I was stuck with a guy that had a fetish about my hands and feet, and was getting married to the ex-secretary, but liked kissing the CFO.
“Is everything okay?”
I sighed as I looked at him, “Just peachy.”
I headed back to the desk where I’d dumped my iPad and bag. I picked up the iPad and went into his office. He followed me like a puppy wanting me to throw him a bone. I sat down and crossed my legs, he came over and stood near my feet. I needed to take control of the situation. “Mr. Hamilton, I didn’t come here at seven just so that you can stare at my feet. If you tell me what was so urgent. I’ll let you see them once, we’re done. Okay?”
He said nothing.
Then again, what else could he say? He seemed to wake up from a dream as he scuttled to his desk and blurted out, “Right. Let’s get this thing started.”
Chapter Six
Ross
She just sat there staring at me. Shit, I wanted to take her over to my desk and just bend her over. She was hot. No, she was on fucking fire! Shit, why did she hide on her blog? What was her secret? Why didn’t she want people to know what she looked like?
Scarlett belonged on the back pages of a magazine and Olivia belonged on the front cover. The girls on the cover of Playboy had nothing on Olivia. She didn’t belong in an o
ffice behind closed doors, typing, taking dictation, or photocopying. She belonged being on top of the photocopy machine, on top of my desk being fucked by me or even better underneath the desk sucking my cock.
Everything about this situation was wrong. I’d brought her in to help me secure this deal. Not to be another distraction. Nothing was going according to plan.
“Did you want me in early to do something?”
She used the wrong words. I was just about to blurt out something, but my phone was vibrating on my desk.
I picked it up quickly and as soon as I saw the message flashing I regretted it:
Just don’t fuck her. I mean it! C
Craig was telling me to keep away from her. He didn’t need to do that, I had that issue in mind already. It kept going around and around.
“Okay, so maybe if you could give me the breakdown of the tasks that you normally did with Scarlett, we could go from there.”
Seriously, who the fuck was the boss?
Her or me?
Chapter Seven
Olivia
It was as if he’d had a wake-up call, from the moment he got the message on his phone he became hyper-energized. I couldn’t wait to get out of his office. I kept imagining him wanting to touch my hands, or even my feet.
He had a way about him, something that made it apparent to me how he had turned the company around. People walked into his office and he never shouted or demanded things of them. A simple nod or gesture seemed to tell them exactly what to do.
He showed no mercy in assuming the same of me. It was as if he was a machine or something. One meeting and then another. A single idea, and immediately I was doing some research; it was as if his brain was always on the go. I didn’t realize the time until he called me in his office and said, “That’s all Olivia. I’ll see you tomorrow around eight.”
I realized that it was eight at night. I had been here over thirteen hours and all he could say was see you tomorrow.