I nodded. “You have my word. So, on a different topic, how’d you end up getting my cell number?”
“Bribed your assistant.”
“Huh. Margot wouldn’t give yours up.”
Isla smiled. “That’s because my assistant is better than yours.”
I laughed. “You might be right,” I said.
A few weeks later and things were still amazing. Better than amazing. The acquisition was moving along quickly, well quickly for an acquisition, I’d just offered Isla a position in my Prince Charming Inc. as head talent scout on top of her payout since that’s where her talents were, we were just as hot and heavy as ever and I had an obscenely lucrative merger in the pipeline.
All the pieces of my life finally seemed to be fitting together.
I buzzed my assistant. “Dana, do you have the files on the Broadwick merger? I can’t see to find—”
“Excuse me, ma’am. Ma’am, please! You can’t go in without an appointment.”
“Oh, he’ll want to see me,” said an all too familiar voice over the intercom that turned my stomach to cement.
Not this. Not now. Not her.
In she walked, tall, gorgeous and blond with legs for days, impossibly high stilettos and a fucking dog in her purse.
I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms. “Nice to see you, Maria. I see you brought Greg with you.”
“That’s not very nice, Gabe. You know Greg and I were a one-time thing,” my ex-fiance pouted.
“Actually, I didn’t know that. I made it my business not to know anything about the two of you the moment I walked away.”
“Fair enough,” she said as she placed her be-dogged purse on the ground.
“What are you doing here, Maria?”
“I’m here to make amends, Gabe,” she said, batting her lashes at me.
“Not interested.”
“Oh, Gabe, don’t say that,” she pouted, coming closer. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and I realized how stupid I was to give you up. What do you say we give it another shot?”
“Not interested, Maria.”
The veneer of polish and contrived sexuality fell away and she looked at me in earnest for the first time since she walked in. “We were really good together and I’m sorry I threw it away.”
I nodded. “We were. And you should be.”
She stepped closer, close enough her thighs touched my desk and a smile spread across her lips.
“How about I remind you?” she purred. In seconds Maria went from standing in front of my desk to crawling on top of it. She grabbed me by the front of the shirt and pulled me in. “I know you missed me,” she said before pressing her lips to mine.
I pushed her off and shot out of my chair. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I wanted to explode, to give in to the mountain of rage boiling in my gut and call her every awful, disgusting name I could think of, every offensive word she deserved. But something in the doorway caught my eye. Wavy brown hair and it was running away.
“No,” I whispered and bolted after her.
9
Isla
I’m sure running in heels and a pencil skirt looked ridiculous but I had to get out of there. I didn’t think he saw me but I wasn’t risking it. I sprinted across the hall and to the elevator as fast as I could, heart pounding and vision clouded with tears and rage.
How could he? I should have known better but how could he? What’s the saying? Once a cheater always a cheater? Well, I suppose the same goes for womanizing.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I ever have thought I would be enough for him. I knew better hell, he’d already shown me how often he wanted it—with every woman in the office. How could I have thought a man like that could ever change?
I should have believed him when he showed me who he was the first time. I had him pegged all along. As hurt and mad and angry as I was at Gabe, I was more so with myself.
How could I have been so stupid?
I jabbed the elevator button with my thumb and prayed it opened before anyone saw me. Prayed that Gabe hadn’t seen me and that he wasn’t running to catch me right now. The last thing I wanted was a confrontation. I couldn’t face him after being so humiliated. There was no way I could deal with even hearing his voice right now.
Footsteps—the running, clomping gait of a man who wasn’t light on his feet echoed behind me. I bet he looked pretty fucking stupid lumbering down the hall. His footfalls grew closer. I jabbed at the button again and again, this time hard enough to hurt.
“It’s not... not what you think,” Gabe collapsed forward, hands on knees and gasping for air.
I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to spin around and unleash my fury in a venomous spew of hateful, spite-filled words. I wanted to make him hurt. Instead, I stared at the elevator doors and prayed to every god there was that they would just fucking open.
“Isla, please hear me out,” he pleaded and brushed the back of my hand.
I snatched it away like his touch burned and rounded on him. “Why Gabe? Why should I listen to you? So you can spin a tale and silver-tongue your way out of this? No. Absolutely not. I saw it with my own two eyes. The same fucking thing I saw and heard countless time years ago. Her ass was so high I could see her damn underwear. And her fucking lipstick is still on your goddamn face!”
Gabe wiped off the red smudges with the back of his hand. “Listen, please—”
“If only you’d run after me like that,” said the blond from Gabe’s desk.
“Stay out of this, Maria,” Gabe said.
“Stay out of this,” I said at the same time.
The woman turned her smeared red lips into a petulant pout. “Look, it probably doesn’t matter but I didn’t know he was with anyone. I wouldn’t have come on so strong if I did. I’m sorry,” she said to me directly. She turned on her heel and clacked toward the stairs.
“The minute I start to believe I can have something good in my life she swoops in and fucks it all up,” Gabe said more to himself than to me.
The elevator dinged behind me.
I chewed on my cheek and had a moment of outside-of-yourself clarity. I saw myself standing there with a choice. I could either step backward on to that waiting elevator and away from Gabe or I could stand still and hear what he had to say.
Gabe waited for me to decide, sighing when the elevators doors closed.
I cocked my eyebrow, “Well?”
“Isla, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve never hidden that. But I think we both know I’m not the same person I was. I’m not going to stand here and try to convince you to be with me, that’s not who I am. But I will say this. She kissed me. It was unwanted, unprovoked and it happened before I could stop it. Now, it’s entirely up to you whether you believe that or not. But if you don’t think you can trust me, if you don’t believe in your heart that I’ve changed, then please, hit the button again and get on that elevator.”
I didn’t expect that. Heartfelt apologies and a string of it-wasn’t-my-faults— sure. But this? Never.
“Just know this,” he continued. “I was cheated on. That’s what broke me. I chose to fix it in a horrible way but know that cheating is what drove me to act the way I did so many years ago. I would never, ever, NEVER inflict that pain on anyone else. Never. Least of all you.”
I stood there staring into his somber eyes for, fuck, I have no idea how long. He seemed sincere and if I was truly honest with myself, I did believe him.
But would I always wonder?
Would there always be a shadow of a doubt in the back of my mind?
Could I ever really trust him?
I said as much, as gently and as softly as I could. I told him I needed time to figure it out.
I almost couldn’t take the look in his eyes, knowing that I caused all that pain and anguish. But I had to.
I got in the elevator and sobbed my eyes out.
I don’t remember getting back to my place. I
couldn’t say whether I’d taken a cab, an Uber or the subway. But the moment I walked in the house, I slid down the wall and cried in my hands.
“Lala? Hey, what’s wrong, sis?” Charlie sat down next to me and pulled me into a hug. “Whose ass am I kicking?”
I shouldn’t have let him see me like that. I should have waited to fall apart until I was in my room. I wiped away my tears and put on a fake smile. “No one’s, Charlie. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Uh-huh. Don’t smile like that, you look crazy.”
I couldn’t help a tiny, real smile.
“You know I was smarter than you before the accident,” he rapped on the side of his head. “Now I’m only as smart as you but that doesn’t mean I’m dumb. Tell me what happened, okay? I can help.”
Penny peeked around the corner. “You guys all right?”
Charlie answered before I could. “No, pretty Penny, we’re not. Can you get us some pillows and blankets so we can make a fort, please?”
“Sure,” she said and went off to the linen closet.
“I just told her it was a fort but really when I’m sad I like to bury myself in all my blankets like a cocoon. I don’t know why but it helps.”
“You get sad, Charlie?” I’d never seen him upset a day in his life. Not even during the awful physical therapy he endured when he came out of the coma. Charlie always had a positive outlook.
He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. “Everybody gets sad, Lala, jeez. Maybe I am still smarter than you.”
I laughed and pushed his shoulder. But he’d piqued my curiosity. “What do you get sad about?”
He looked at me a long time before answering. “I get sad about the life I won’t have and the dreams that can’t happen. I get sad I’ll never ride a motorcycle again or see mom and dad again. I have a lot to be sad about, Lala, so I don’t like to talk about it. I like to be happy.”
I had no idea. The doctors had always been vague about Charlie’s “deficits”, never willing to put any hard lines around it. They said it was because they’d never seen anyone survive brain trauma like his so they hand no real barometer or gauge to measure him against. All the testing he went through after physical therapy which should have pinned down his new IQ and developmental age, never gave consistent results. Sometimes the tests showed his IQ in the low eighties and sometimes the numbers were well in the genius range.
It was hard for me to know what it was like in Charlie’s mind but I never thought he mourned for our parents or the life he wouldn’t have. I brought me to tears again.
“Don’t you?” he asked.
“Don’t I what, sweetie?”
“Pay attention, Lala. Don’t you like being happy like me?”
“Of course I do.”
Charlie nodded. “I think Gabe makes you happy.”
I sighed. “He does.”
“Then fix it. It can’t be as broken as you think. Not unless it’s as broken as me.”
I hugged my brother, hard and long and tight. “You’re not broken, Charlie.”
He rapped on the side of his head again. “I’m pretty sure I would know.”
I laughed and hugged him again. “You’re amazing.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
“I’ve got all the blankets you could want, Charlie. Are we setting it up in here, or somewhere else?”
Charlie and I shared a look.
“Couch,” we said in unison.
After we made the best blanket fort-cocoon I’d ever seen, I told Penny I’d be home and she could have the rest of the day off.
“Still gonna pay her though, right?” Charlie asked, nudging me in the ribs.
“Yes, nosy. I’ll still pay her for the day.”
“Good. I don’t want her quitting cause you’re cheap.”
“You’re such a little shit,” I said and tucked him under my arm.
When she left, I made the call. “You want to come over?” I asked.
He didn’t even hesitate. “Abso-fucking-lutely.
There are four types of men in the world. Cool guy, bad boy, strong and silent and the unicorn, extra rare Prince Charming type.
I thought Charlie was the only Prince Charming the universe wanted me to have. I also thought Gabe was a hothead bad boy. I didn’t mind being wrong.
10
Gabe
Seven months, two weeks, three days and a few hours later...
Don’t be nervous, okay? She’s not gonna ruin it like that other lady.”
I turned to look at Isla’s brother, my best man. “How the hell do you know about that, weirdo?”
He rapped on the side of his head. “I know all the things, Gabe,” he said with that grin of his.
I glanced around the church. Everyone we invited showed up. All twenty of them. We kept it small because one, Charlie didn’t do well in large crowds and two, neither of us had a lot of family.
The night Isla called me to come over, I didn’t know what to expect. The only thing I knew for sure was that I’d accept whatever she decided. That’s how much I cared about her.
I had no idea what to think when I got to her house to find her and Charlie under what looked like every blanket they owned in a strange nest or fort on the sofa. But I got in the nest with them and Isla whispered to me that if I could be a different, better person, so could she.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means stop talking and watch the movie, dummy,” Charlie said and chucked a pillow at my head.
Isla leaned in again and whispered, “You’ve worked on your shit, the least I can do is get over my shit and trust you.”
It wasn’t always easy. Some days my insecurities came up and caused problems, some days hers did and on the really bad days they showed up at the same time. But even in the middle of it, we knew we were committed to making a life together, to making “us” work. We were in this for the long haul despite our baggage.
And if we got too out of hand Charlie always had a way of making us see the error of our ways, in the most accidentally condescending way, of course.
Charlie nudged me. “Pay attention. It’s about to start.”
Sure enough, the music started and Margo, Isla’s bridesmaid walked down the aisle.
Steady heart, dry palms, I wasn’t nervous in the least. Charlie didn’t know everything.
And then I saw her and that all changed. Tears welled as I took in how beautiful she looked, my heart raced as she came toward me and my hands shook when she reached for me.
‘You’re amazing,” I whispered when she pressed her forehead to mine.
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of—”
“Psst, cut the shit Father, just get to the good part,” Isla said loud enough that our guests laughed.
“Very well. Do you, Isla Olivia Connor take Gabriel Robert Stevens to be your—
“I do!”
The guests chuckled again.
“And do you, Gabriel Robert Stevens take—”
“I do,” I said when Isla squeezed my hand.
The priest sighed. “May I have the rings?”
Charlie fished them from his pocket and handed them to the priest. “Want to do it at the same time?” he asked, handing us each a ring.
“You’re catching on, Father,” Isla said around a giggle.
“Repeat after me. “With this ring”
“With this ring,” we said in unison.
“I thee wed.”
“I thee wed,” we said and put the rings on each other.
“By the power vested in me by the state of New York—”
“Come on, come on, come on!”
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the—”
I didn’t need him to finish that one. I kissed Isla long and hard until she was breathless. The music swelled again and I knew we were supposed to walk back down the aisle together but
I just couldn’t stop staring at her. At Isla. At my wife.
She pressed her forehead to mine again. “What made you want to rush through it,” I asked.
“I don’t know. I just couldn’t wait to be your wife,” she said and kissed me again.
Author Note
Did you enjoy that story? There’s more where that came from. Office Hours takes place in the Upper East Side, where all Jewel’s books take place. Loosely connected but each a standalone story, you can jump in anywhere.
My latest release Taken By The Prince was inspired by the “prince charmings” in this book.
What would you do if you stumbled across a prince in hiding? What if you didn't know he was a prince. What if the only thing you knew was how good he made you feel when he looked at you like you were already his? Would you give in?
Hell yeah, you would.
Head here to find out more.
About the Author
Jewel Killian is the pen name for a coffee-guzzling, cat loving writer who’d be mortified if her mother ever read any of the dirty things she writes.
Stay up to date with all her new releases, freebies and giveaways by signing up to her mailing list here.
Business Casual
AN INK & BRAZEN WOMEN NOVELLA
Cassie Leigh
Copyright © 2018 Cassie Leigh Moore
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of a brief quotation in a book review.
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people, dream, place, or event is purely coincidental and not the intention of this collection.
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Business Casual
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 82