by Kate Benson
“I did.”
“Well, I’m not doing that again. That’s insane.”
“There are no cameras in the bathroom, darling. You can’t be left alone. Not right now.”
“Well, I’m not peeing with an audience!” she insists dramatically, this time pulling a deep chuckle from my chest. “I’ve had to go for an hour and a half, but I can’t live like that. Everyone has their limits, Adam, and as it turns out, that’s mine.”
“Go, baby. Use mine,” I offer, watching her slip into my private bathroom, still shaking her head when she comes out a moment later.
“Thank you,” she manages, coming around the side of my desk and settling into my lap. “How’s your day going?”
“Better now,” I admit with a sigh, kissing her temple. “Margaret brought us lunch.”
“That was really sweet of her,” she says, making me nod.
“Yes, it was,” I agree, handing her the vegetarian sandwich as I move toward mine.
“Do you want me to move?” she asks, making me shake my head as I hold her in place at the waist.
“No, I want you to stay exactly where you are, kitten.”
“Yes, Sir,” she smiles, settling back in easily. “How was your meeting?”
“Which one?”
“The big one.”
“It was pushed back until Thursday. Something about a last-minute trip to Denver that needed his attention,” I explain.
“That’s weird,” she remarks. “Are you worried?”
“No,” I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”
“Adam…”
“We’ve done nothing wrong, Bella. I know how it looks on paper, but our relationship hasn’t garnered you any special treatment, it’s not distracted me from doing my job and our numbers are consistently climbing. It will be messy and complicated, yes,” I admit. “But I’m confident we’ll figure it out. I’m sure between the three firms I’ve got on retainer, one of them will get through the paperwork and find some kind of saving grace that will put all of this to rest.”
She studies my eyes for a long moment before she finally swallows hard and gives me a subtle nod.
“You just have to keep your trust in me, darling.”
“You have my trust,” she promises, making me give her thigh a gentle squeeze as I take the final bite of my lunch, pushing the small container away. “Of course, I trust you, Adam. I just worry this is going to get messier than you realize. And I hate being at the root of anything that causes you so much trouble.”
“It’s just paperwork and fine lines, honey. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I don’t believe that,” she shakes her head. “You told me you were facing losing your position here, at risk of being sued for basically everything you have…”
“It won’t happen.”
“How can you be so sure, Adam?” she asks.
“Because we haven’t done anything wrong,” I remind her again.
“I know that just as well as you do, but they aren’t going to be looking at emotions and good intentions. They care about facts and numbers and the black and white of it all to protect their investments and reputation. They don’t care that we love each other or that you just happened to miss what you thought was a minor detail in your contract. Now that it’s out in the press, they’re going to want to hold someone accountable so they can go back to all these people that are asking questions and unfortunately, you’re the big fish in this relationship. Regardless of the fact that I’m the one making a mess of things, they’re going to come after you.”
“This isn’t your fault,” I shake my head as I wipe the crumbs from my lips and turn to give her my attention. She begins to argue again, but I don’t let her. “Baby, listen. If we’re going off morality and ethics here, the truth of the matter is that you’re right. I’m your boss. I may not have known I was under contractual obligation to stay away from you, but when you get down to the details, as far as things tend to go, I never should have touched you,” I reason, savoring in the feel of her fingers gently caressing the hair at the nape of my neck. “And if I said I hadn’t thought about it before things escalated, that it was all the liquor and adrenaline from closing the perfect deal? That would be a lie,” I shrug. “I knew the second I saw you that I wanted you, Bella. I may have tried to convince myself otherwise, tried to fool myself into thinking I wasn’t interested, but that was a lie, too. The truth of it is that the second I saw you, I was already imagining the taste of your flesh. Bella, you were mine long before you knew it.” I sweep her hair from her face, savoring in the way she instinctively leans into my touch, her eyes soft with emotion at my admission. “For arguments sake, I should have been the one to walk away. I should have been strong enough to send you home when you came back, but I didn’t want that. I only wanted to call you mine.” I trace the edge of her mouth, mesmerized by the taste of her breath on mine as her lips begin to part, her blue eyes hooding as I stare into them. “Nothing in my contract would have made a difference in the world. I wanted you, so I took you,” I admit. “And I don’t care what happens in the meetings or with the contracts or the lawyers, Bella. I won’t ever apologize for that.”
Chapter Nine
ISABELLA
Aside from panty-melting declarations at his desk over sandwiches, the next few days of our lives are pretty much the same. From the second we step outside the walls of his penthouse until the minute we’re back in seclusion, we’re under speculation from virtually every angle.
Thursday has finally come. Although I’m nervous as hell about what Adam’s meeting will bring, I can’t deny the subtle trace of relief that comes with knowing we’ll at least have an idea of what the future holds.
“I’ll let you know when it’s over,” Adam promises from beside me in the elevator, pulling a quick nod from me as he kisses my hair. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of it.”
“Okay,” I nod again, this time more fervently as I reach on my toes to meet his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, pumpkin,” he promises, releasing me a half second before the doors slide open and he gives me a reassuring wink, stepping out into the office.
I throw myself into my work, eagerly embracing any distraction I can find as I watch him slip from his office and make his way toward the conference room.
I hate this.
I’d silently begged for months for our secret to be out so I didn’t have to hide, so that I could feel normal, but I never wanted this. When he doesn’t return by lunchtime, I check my phone, my anxiety rising once more when I see there’s still no word from him at all.
By three, my work is finished and I’m sitting quietly at my desk, but internally, I’m climbing the walls. I’m on the verge of tears, a breakdown really when my phone finally dings, granting me a breath of relief when I see his name pop up on my screen.
Please meet me in my office in fifteen minutes. -Adam
The vagueness of his text does little to help my nerves, but at least I know he’s finished with the meeting, which helps some. Regardless of what happens next, I’m grateful to know that in fifteen minutes, I won’t feel quite as clueless as I’ve felt over the last week.
I pull up the screen and type back a quick reply, asking if he’s alright and receive another short and curt text that has me quickly stowing my phone away in my purse.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Maya asks, pulling my attention to my left where she’s taken up post all week.
“No, thank you,” I say politely, trying my best at a smile. “I’m sure everything is just f-”
The sight of Adam making his way down the hall toward his office cuts my words short. I stare at him, begging him to look my way, give me a sign that the worry pumping through my veins is all for nothing.
He refu
ses my gaze, instead pushing the door shut behind him.
Fuck.
I stare at my clock for the next ten minutes until I can’t possibly take another second and raise from my seat, moving toward his office with intent. I give Margaret the best smile I can manage before releasing a deep breath and knocking gently on his office door.
At first, I hear nothing.
I’m about to knock again, when his deep, exhausted voice sounds out across the room, beckoning me on every level.
“Come in.”
ADAM
After hours of arguing and deliberation between myself, the COO and three members of the board, I feel like I’ve gotten nowhere.
Well, I’ve gotten somewhere, but not in the direction I’d hoped for this morning.
“I find it very hard to believe that this is the only solution to this, Byron,” I argue, facing my second in command. “We’ve done nothing wrong.”
“In the eyes of our investors, you’ve done everything wrong, Adam,” he insists for the third time. “I’ve offered you the best I can until we can schedule a proper hearing. It’s honestly better than what you would have had on Monday. You’d better thank your lucky stars I respect you and owed your uncle a favor. I can assure you, it’s the only thing that’s gotten you this far.”
“He’s not wrong,” Melinda, my CCO, interjects. “We would have been well within our rights to strip you of your title on Friday when everything went public, but we didn’t do that. Given the swiftness you were able to step in on Richard’s behalf and the otherwise stellar record you’ve both been able to maintain, we’re extending an olive branch that is unheard of in this type of situation. You’ve surely been here long enough that you can recognize that.”
“Yes,” I admit, stroking my beard in frustration as I release a gentle sigh. “Yes, I do.”
“Very good,” Byron says, pulling my eyes back to his, surprising me when I find them softer with compassion than they’d been the bulk of the morning. “On a personal note, Mr. Avery, I wish you’d been more careful,” he offers. “It’s not as if you’re the first CEO we’ve had at the helm that toyed with the idea of sticking his feather in the company ink well, so to speak,” he suggests, making Melinda scoff in annoyance. “You know I’m right,” he argues, making her concede with a nod. “My point is that had you been more careful, we could have protected you. The only reason you’re in this mess is that it leaked out, went public. There’s nothing we can do once it slips through those walls. You know that.”
“I do,” I admit, releasing another low sigh of defeat as I move to rise from my chair.
“Can I give you a piece of advice off the record, Adam?” Melinda asks, pulling a nod from me as I give her my eyes. “If a relationship with Miss Baxter is something you truly want to pursue once this is all behind you, keep up with the lawyers,” she insists. “It isn’t over until it’s over, but don’t skip a single detail.”
“Are you telling me there’s something I’m missing?”
“I’m telling you I’ve been with this company since its conception and I have to imagine that there’s a very good reason Richard handed it off to you instead of his son,” she admits. “As for your contract, I have no idea if you can get around this or not, but I do know that regardless of their somewhat shaky reputation, I’ve learned one thing is universal in the Avery name.”
“What’s that?”
“They don’t know when to quit.”
“Thank you both.”
“You’re welcome,” they offer in unison, standing with me.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer one of our liaisons handle Miss Baxter?” Byron asks. “I can arrange for-”
“No,” I say immediately, cutting him off. “No, she needs to hear it from me.”
“Very well,” he nods, holding my eyes. “Be thorough, Avery. If you want this behind you, you need to make a clean break. This isn’t personal, but we all know the last thing the company can afford right now is another loose end.”
“Don’t worry, Byron,” I reply. “I’ll handle it.”
For the first time since I’d met her, I’m unable to meet her eyes as I make my way down the hall toward my office.
I’d sent her a text when I left the conference room asking her to meet me in fifteen minutes, but I knew even as I pressed send, she’d never last that long.
She’s been nervous about this for days and regardless of how many times I’d tried to reassure her, take her fears and vanquish them completely, I’m just beginning to see she may have been right.
The situation we’ve found ourselves in is far more serious than I’d given it credit for.
I can feel her eyes on me as I reach the end of the hallway and I want nothing more than to look at her, take in her cerulean gaze and calm it like I’ve been able to so many times before. However, the storm brewing in my chest with the reality that just hit me over the last few hours of deliberation won’t allow it.
I’ve never let her lie to me and I refuse to lie to Isabella.
I swallow hard and slip into my office, taking a long moment to take in the office I’d worked my entire adult life to obtain. I’d busted my ass in school, worked two jobs to afford my books alone and created a multi-million-dollar internet company on top of all that just to prove a point to a man who couldn’t have given a shit less. Still, I pressed on knowing that even if it was just through my own reassurance, I’d prove to myself and my deadbeat, piece of shit father that I wasn’t the embarrassment he’d treated me as my entire life. I strived to be better than him in every way possible and I’d not only done that, I’d done it before I turned thirty.
I’ve been able to achieve everything I set out to do, the icing on the cake being this position.
Between my salary and litigation, I risk my position, my reputation, my property and nearly every cent I’ve managed to stockpile in the bank.
Four months into my contract, I risk losing all of it for her.
The thought makes my chest ache, my breathing falter and my palms sweat. I feel like I’m on the verge of insanity when the sound of her tapping on my office door pulls me away from my thoughts and I stand upright, straightening my tie and releasing a long, low breath.
“Come in,” I manage.
Like a hurricane, she rushes through the door, her blue eyes somehow soft and blazing at the same time. Her dark strands fall wildly around her shoulders, her lips parting as she meets my gaze, struggling to catch her own faltered breath.
“Adam?” she pants, relief somehow finding her amidst the chaos that has become our lives.
I’ve risked everything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life for this woman.
“Adam, I’m here.”
Regardless of what I know is coming, I can’t bring myself to regret a fucking second of it.
ISABELLA
He looked so nervous when I watched him step inside his office before, but when my eyes finally find his, he seems stoic. I take a step closer to him, coming to a stop at the edge of his desk and hold his eyes.
That’s when I see it.
He’s nervous.
“What happened?” I ask, still unsure how badly I want the answer as I fight the urge to bite nervously on my thumbnail.
“Have a seat,” he says, gesturing to the chairs on the opposite side of his desk.
His voice is quiet, every inch of it Adam Avery, CEO talking and not a trace of my adoring boyfriend within sight.
Fuck.
With a subtle nod, I do as I’m told and make my way around the side of his mahogany desk, the feel of the chair on the back of my knees doing little to soothe me. I sit gently, holding his eyes and facing him obediently although my stomach is in knots.
He says nothing for a long while, his eyes holding mine right back although I�
��m struggling to identify which emotion is swimming in them. I’m on the verge of screaming, my impatience getting the better of me faster than normal in my nervous state when he clears his throat and finally breaks his silence.
“As acting CEO of Avery Financial, it’s my obligation to speak with you directly on behalf of both the board and the company concerning a direct breach of-”
“Please don’t talk to me like an employee, Adam.”
He holds my eyes, something in his shifting slightly before he gives me a curt nod and clears his throat once more.
“Very well,” he trails off, his typically strong, dominating voice breaking just slightly as he stares into me, swallowing hard. “Isabella, I’m sorry, but we can’t… Darling, I have to let you go.”
Adam and Isabella’s story will continue in Redemption: Part Five, coming soon!
Also by Kate Benson
The Promise Series
The Promise
The Choice
The Secret
The Commitment
The Compromise
The Sacrifice
The Confession
Ignite Series
Ignite
Smolder
The Callie Leveaux Series
Escort
SAVAGE
The Callie Leveaux Novella Boxed Set