by Mia Ford
Devon
He couldn’t control the rush of jealousy he felt the moment he heard the words escape Belle’s beautifully luscious chocolate brown lips. She had a boyfriend! What was he thinking? How could he just presume that she was single? Then the thought struck him, that she was an employee at his agency. He was her boss. There was a code of conduct he had to maintain. Devon cleared his throat and picked up a pen from the desk.
“Okay, Belle. I hope you’re setting into New York nicely,” he said and she seemed to buy what he was saying. Devon was worried that she would be able to see right through him. That somehow she would know what was on his mind. Till that instance, when she told him she had a boyfriend, Devon hadn’t officially acknowledged to himself that he was interested in her as more than just an employee.
“It’s a lovely city. I can’t say that it’s easy, but I’m having a lot of fun here,” she said cheerfully and tucked in a few loose strands of her brown hair behind her small ears.
Every movement she made filled Devon with tension. He realized that he was growing more conscious of her body, of her presence, by the second.
“New York is tough, but you seem like someone who’ll make it,” he replied and Belle nodded and smiled. She seemed like the kind of person who looked at everything in life with positivity. She could brighten up a room by just walking into it. Her boyfriend was very lucky, Devon thought to himself and stood up with a jerk.
“Well, thank you for coming in to see me, Belle,” he said and stuck out his hand to her. She looked surprised for a few seconds, like she didn’t expect the meeting to end so suddenly. Then she half stood up and reached for his hand and gave it a tight firm shake. Again, Devon was pleasantly surprised by the strength in her arms.
When she drew her hand away, she straightened herself up and was looking at him curiously.
“I was worried there for a bit, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me because I’d done something wrong,” she said and he laughed too, forcing himself to do so.
“No, of course you haven’t. I just wanted to check in on you because you looked quite nervous in the elevator earlier,” he replied and Belle licked her lips. She remained standing where she was, with her hands clasped together and she looked around the office.
“This is a wonderful office, you have a lovely view,” she said and he wondered if she was stalling. If like him, she too wanted to keep talking. He tried to push that thought out of his mind. She had a boyfriend, Devon had to remind himself of that again.
“Thank you, Belle. I like to keep it simple,” he said and she fixed her large brown eyes on him again. Devon could see her perfectly shaped pert breasts rising and falling under her white shirt, and he felt a movement in his pants.
“Hope you have a good first day, thank you again for coming in,” he said quickly and sat back down. He didn’t want her to remain in his office and make it any worse. Devon was certain now that it was more than just curiosity in an interesting person. He was attracted to her sexually, and he wanted to avoid feeling that way as much as possible.
Belle nodded, thanked him and then walked out of the office. At the door, before she left, she threw him a quick grateful look and then she was gone.
Devon sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, and let out a huge sigh. Inviting her to a private meeting was a bad idea, he told himself. He should have just left it at that in the morning. There was no reason for him to interact personally with an intern.
He was annoyed with himself because he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought this through. Belle was a young, vibrant, beautiful and intelligent young woman. What were the chances that she didn’t already have a boyfriend? Besides, she didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would be interested in the things most women in New York were interested in. She wouldn’t be interested in Devon’s money or his power. And he felt like he was too old for her.
Frustrated, and at the edge of his seat, Devon picked up his personal cell phone and dialed a number. One he had been dialing less often in the past couple of months. On the third ring, she answered the phone.
“Alisha,” he said, closing his eyes.
“Devon, ah, Devon…I haven’t heard from you in a long time,” Alisha’s voice sounded groggy. He got the feeling that she had just woken up from her sleep. Devon had known Alisha for the past six years and he knew she was a late riser. A social butterfly, and with all her daddy’s money to spend, Alisha would have been up till the wee hours of the morning entertaining guests.
“I was wondering what you’re doing this evening,” he mumbled into the phone, ignoring her previous statement. Alisha laughed a cackling laugh, she was glad to hear him say that.
“I have a cocktail party to attend, but you know I would cancel that in a heartbeat for you,” she said.
“Great, I’ll pick you up at eight,” Devon said and hung up the phone.
His heart was racing, he was still too anxious to sit still. He knew he needed the distraction and Alisha would be the right kind. In the six years that he’d known Alisha, she had never pushed him to get into a serious relationship with her. If she had any stronger feelings for him, she never showed it. And he definitely needed some good old no-strings-attached sex, if he was going to get over picturing Belle Freedman naked.
Belle
Belle came back to her studio apartment, and found Jesse sitting on the couch, still in his boxer shorts. At least he had put on a shirt at some point, and he had a big bowl of popcorn on his lap which he was eating while watching ice hockey on TV.
“How was your day?” Belle asked, as she dropped her bag on the floor by the door and walked over to him. She didn’t want to comment on his laziness or the fact that he hadn’t done any cleaning up of the dishes or the apartment.
“The usual. I dropped my CV off at a few places,” he said, and looked up at her. Belle could see it in his eyes that he was lying. He hadn’t left the house.
She came over to him and sat down beside him on the couch.
“My first day was good. Devon Rymer, one of the partners called me into his office and said that I was doing a good job,” she said and reached for Jesse’s hand. He allowed her to hold his hand, but didn’t drag his gaze away from the TV.
“Oh yeah?” he said, popping some popcorn into his mouth. Belle couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his disinterest. It was like he just didn’t care.
“Aren’t you interested at all in how my day was?” she asked him, getting a little angry now. Jesse finally turned to her, with his lips pressed together.
“Of course I am. I’m just watching the game babe. And I already know you’re good at your job,” he said, forcing a smile on his face. Belle pulled her hand away and scrunched up her face. She was excited about how the day went. She couldn’t exactly tell Jesse how thrilling it was to talk to Devon Rymer, but she at least could tell him about the rest of the work she did. But now he was only pretending to be interested.
“What do you want to eat?” she asked him, deciding to change the subject so that she didn’t lose her temper even more.
Jesse looked at her apologetically.
“I ate already. Chinese takeout. Sorry, I was really hungry,” he said and Belle rolled her eyes again.
“You couldn’t even wait for me to come home!” she said and stood up with a jerk. Jesse stood up too and started following her to the kitchen area.
“I’m sorry, babe. I really am. I wasn’t sure how long you’d be. I figured since it’s your first day, you might be delayed,” he was saying, and Belle just shook her head. The frustration was rising in her chest. This was not the kind of relationship she had imagined for them. It was supposed to be an adventure, a romantic adventure in New York.
She started rummaging in their mini fridge for leftovers, when she felt Jesse’s hands on her waist from behind. She straightened herself up and whipped around. He was smiling at her apologetically and pulled her closer to him.
Belle bit d
own on her lip, aware of the feelings of arousal she had in Devon Rymer’s office that morning. Perhaps sex with Jesse would help quench those needs, she thought. She decided to forgive him and brought her face closer to him now. Jesse leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was gentle and slow and Belle moaned softly.
He pulled away after a few seconds and she was blushing, looking up at him from under her heavy eyelids.
“Should we just go to bed?” she asked him and Jesse suddenly let go of her waist.
“I’m not sleepy yet, babe,” he said and the smile on Belle’s face drooped.
“No, I meant…” she began to say, but Jesse had already started walking away from her towards the couch. She couldn’t understand why they hadn’t had sex yet. Weren’t boys his age supposed to want sex more than girls? Wouldn’t he be excited that they were living together and now he had his opportunity to have sex with her as much as he wanted?
It seemed like she wanted it more than he did.
“I know what you meant, Belle,” Jesse said, sitting back down on the couch again. Belle grabbed the open door of the fridge tightly, she could feel her teeth grinding against each other. She was beginning to feel humiliated now. This constant rejection from her own boyfriend was taking its toll on her.
“What is the problem, Jesse?” she asked him, afraid of what the answer might be.
“I just think we should wait,” he said bluntly, without looking at her. He had settled the bowl of popcorn on his lap again.
“Wait for what? We’re in a relationship and we’re living together!” she said, her voice rising in anger now. Jesse looked at her, only for a second and turned his gaze to the TV screen again.
“Don’t you want to save yourself for the right moment? Like when we decide to take our relationship to the next stage? Isn’t that the right thing to do?” Jesse said and Belle whipped around from him.
She had never thought like that. Her own virginity was because she hadn’t found the right guy yet, not because she was saving herself for the right moment, or marriage. Up until now, she had no idea that was the reason why Jesse was holding out. He was a friendly, intelligent, good looking guy who dated several girls in college before herself…Belle hadn’t doubted that he was a sexually active guy.
She bit down on her lip as she tried to keep herself from looking at Jesse. She couldn’t believe what she had gotten herself into.
“I love you babe, I just think we should wait,” she heard him say and she pressed her eyes close to try and shut out his voice.
Devon
Alisha was sprawled on his bed, when Devon woke up the next morning at seven. He looked over and found her sleeping, with her face turned away from him. The events of the previous night came flooding back into his brain and Devon ran his hands through his hair and shook it out.
The night was going smoothly. He had taken her to a cocktail bar, they had several drinks together and as per plan, he brought her to his apartment. When she started taking her clothes off however, Devon stopped her in her tracks. Alisha looked confused. Wasn’t that what he wanted? Wasn’t that why he had called her? Devon pushed her away. He insisted that he didn’t want to have sex. When Alisha asked him why, he couldn’t give her an answer.
They got into bed nevertheless, because it was too late for her to go home and they had slept together several times for it to become comfortable. Alisha tried to seduce him again, she had even managed to peel off his pants, but Devon didn’t allow her to get any further than that. He was tired, was his excuse; and Alisha didn’t look like she believed him.
She went to sleep, pissed off at him for wasting her night, and Devon remained awake almost the entire time, wondering what was wrong with him.
Having sex with Alisha, or any woman; had never been a problem for him before. But for some reason, this night, he wasn’t even turned on by her. The only thought in his mind was that he wanted to be with Belle. He had called Alisha for that very reason, to rid himself of thoughts about Belle. But she hadn’t been successful at that. He still wanted Belle. Hers was the only face that floated up in his mind every time he closed his eyes, and he had spent the whole night dreaming about her.
Alisha moved and stretched her arms, as Devon stood up and started putting his shirt on.
“Going to the gym?” she asked him, raising her head slightly.
“Yeah,” he replied and walked over to his walk-in closet.
Alisha had propped herself on her elbows and was watching him walking around the room. When Devon looked over at her, he couldn’t help but admire her chocolate brown nipples and her small perfectly shaped breasts. Breasts he had enjoyed sucking on many occasions before. Today, however, Alisha’s naked body had no effect on him.
“What happened to you last night?” she asked him, tucking in strands of her brunette hair behind her ears.
Devon took in a deep breath and picked out the gym clothes he would need. He was debating whether to tell Alisha the truth. They had been friends for so long, friends with benefits; that there was practically nothing that they didn’t know about each other.
“Oh my God, you’re in love!” Alisha screeched and a hand went up to her mouth.
Devon met her gaze and shook his head.
“No, it’s not that. I don’t even know her. We just met,” Devon said and a mischievous smile had formed on Alisha’s face. She was straightening herself up, to sit up in bed.
“So it is about a girl,” she said and Devon shrugged.
“Who is it?” she asked, as Devon took out the shoes he needed.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said and Alisha raised an eyebrow at that.
“Is she like forbidden fruit or something?” she asked and Devon remained quiet as he tied his shoelaces.
“Okay, at least tell me what the problem is,” she said and Devon took in another deep breath.
“She has a boyfriend, and she might be too young for me,” he said, standing up again. Alisha was gazing at him, with her eyebrows crossed.
“It’s so unlike you to give up so easily. What’s going on?” she asked and Devon looked back at her.
“I like her. She’s a nice girl. I don’t want to put her in a situation that could end up hurting her,” he said and Alisha stared at him wide eyed. She was finding it hard to believe that Devon Rymer, the shrewd successful advertising mogul who she knew, was softening up because of a girl he barely even knew.
“I really can’t even picture this girl, who has brought you to your knees. So much so that you won’t even fuck me. It’s crazy!” Alisha said and then she laughed.
Devon was changing into his gym clothes now, piling up his night clothes on the floor next to his feet. His housekeeper would take care of them after he was gone to the gym. He was accustomed to these daily luxuries.
“You have to do something about it, Devon. She could be the one!” Alisha said and Devon shook his head.
“Like I said, she has a boyfriend and she’s too young for me,” he said and Alisha rolled her eyes.
“So what? You have to do something, Devon!” she said and he had already started walking towards the bedroom door.
“I appreciate your advice, Alisha. And I’m sorry that I called you over last night. Have a nice day. You can see yourself out, I trust,” he said at the door and Alisha sank back into bed. It was too early in the day for her.
“You have to fuck her if you want to get her out of your head, Devon!” he heard her say as he closed the door behind him.
Devon clenched his jaw as he walked towards his front door. His housekeeper, Bertha, was already in the kitchen, cleaning.
“Morning Bertha, leave the cleaning up of my bedroom till midday please,” Devon told her as he kept walking.
“Yes, Sir,” Bertha mumbled.
He had his own personal gym on the floor below the penthouse apartment, but today Devon was feeling like an actual run outside. He needed the fresh air.
Belle
Devon Rymer had called
her into his office again, two days later, and Belle approached the door with some hesitation. His secretary wasn’t at her desk today, so she had no way of knowing why exactly she had been summoned. She could already feel the butterflies in her belly, just at the thought of seeing him again.
“Come in!” she heard his sharp voice when she knocked on the door. Belle opened it and stepped inside. He was sitting behind his desk, but stood up when she walked in. He was in another one of his pristine white shirts and today the tie at his neck was a deep purple, that seemed to somehow match his clear blue eyes.
He had square small reading glasses on, which he was taking off and he placed it on his desk. He looked tall and foreboding as he stood and Belle felt her hands tremble slightly. She couldn’t calm her nerves.
“You wanted to see me, Sir?” she said softly and he nodded his head.
“Yes, Belle, come in. How are you?” he asked and she walked towards his desk.
“Things have been going great. It’s a great office to work in,” she replied, realizing that her voice was beginning to sound a little shrill. She had come closer to his desk, but wasn’t sure if he wanted her to take a seat.
“I have spoken to Susan recently, and she reported that you’re a good worker. The best intern that we’ve had to date,” he was smiling at her, and Belle could feel her knees going weak. She couldn’t be sure if it was all the pent up sexual tension from Jesse holding out on her, or if it was an actual feeling…but she could feel goosebumps forming on her arms.
“Thank you, that is very kind of Susan and you. I’m trying my best,” she said and he walked around his desk. The fact that he was now coming closer to her, made her heart beat faster. She had never been this attracted to an older man before, and the fact that he was her boss and therefore in the taboo area, turned her on even more.