by Carter Blake
Chapter Nine
Naomi
While Wesley lies there in a panting silence, I force my brain back onto the task at hand, needing to forget about all of the crazy emotions that are currently floating through me. Rationally I know that I hate Wesley, and that this is all for the end goal, but there isn’t any denying that I feel a hell of a lot more than that.
Having sex with him was on another level, it felt incredible, and it’s scary to allow all of that in knowing that it isn’t real…at least not on my part.
Because no matter how attracted I am to him, or that I actually kind of like the guy, I have to remember that he is the enemy.
I don’t know how Wesley is feeling of course, this could all just be about sex for him too, but I get the distinct impression that it’s more.
It’s very confusing because in all of my research about him, he’s constantly being pictured with various women, so I have to try and make myself believe that this is all a part of his game. Maybe he makes each girl feel like he’s falling in love with them before breaking their hearts.
“Your office is nice,” I tell him appreciatively. “I mean, I know I saw it when I had my interview, but I didn’t really look at it then.”
“Well, you weren’t exactly in here for very long before I decided to hire you,” he jokes. “I knew the second that I laid my eyes on you that you were right for this company.”
“Wait a minute,” I prop myself up onto my elbows to give him a stern look. “Are you telling me that you just hired me because of the way I look?”
If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have bothered trying so hard. I certainly wouldn’t have stressed myself out over this damn party anyway, I would have just cruised by on my looks.
“No, I don’t mean like that,” he laughs. “I mean because I could instantly tell that you’re a go getter.”
“Oh. Right.” I don’t know if I can fully trust his words, but I also don’t want to start a fight. Not now that I’m inside. “Well I suppose that isn’t too bad.”
He grabs my ass and gives me a kiss, which makes my heart flutter a little too wildly for my liking.
“Not too bad,” he jokes. “Don’t you like it here?”
“I do, it’s fun…” That part is actually kind of true. If it wasn’t for the fact that this should be my Dad’s company, I think I would really enjoy the challenge of raising the profile of Future Pharmaceuticals. “And it obviously pays well. I mean, look at all the incredible stuff you have in your office.” I scan my arms around, indicating towards the antiques and art work, but what I’m really getting at is the massive portrait of John Montgomery that’s hanging above his desk. “So, who is that man?”
“That’s my Dad.” He sighs deeply, pain flashing across his handsome face. “He died a while back, leaving the company to me.”
“Oh… he owned it before you?” I’m putting on my best acting skills now, pretending that I don’t know anything about the business. “Did he found it?”
“He did,” he confirms nodding slowly. “Him and my Mom did it all, until she had me.”
My temper boils and I start to feel a little sick. Is he just writing my Dad out of the company’s history, or does he just not know anything?
“Oh yeah?” I grit my teeth, trying my best to keep my temper inside. “Just the two of them? That’s impressive.”
“Well, no,” he admits. “There was another guy involved right in the beginning, but I don’t know too much about that. I don’t really know who he was or anything. My Dad just told me that there was some sort of row with him and the investors, and that he left because of that.”
I was told that there was some petty row over a woman and that he was unfairly kicked out. Wesley has obviously been told a glossier tale to stop him from asking too many questions.
“Ah, I see.” It’s really hard not to reveal the truth of everything, but I can’t… not yet, it’s far too soon.
“Do you want to go back to the party?” he turns to face me, asking me with a smile on his face. “Or do you want to stay in here all night?”
“I…” That throws me and for a second I don’t know what to say. I definitely don’t want to return to the party, there’s no way I’ll be able to act normal now. I would love to stay here and have some fun, but of course I know that option was only a joke.
It would be good because I could wait until Wesley falls asleep to look for the formula, but I also know that isn’t practical. I don’t have to make any moves tonight, after all I’m certain that I’ll get invited back here again.
I don’t want to think that I might be putting this off because I don’t want to leave Wesley just yet, because that opens a whole new jar of worms to deal with.
“I think I better go home,” I tell him regretfully. “I have a lot of work to do over the weekend after this party.”
“You do, huh?” he asks, looking at me curiously. “Well if you’re going to start working over the weekend, then I’m going to have to pay you more.”
I can tell that he’s joking, but oddly I feel touched. I really do feel like he’s a good employer, and that he treats his staff well, but that isn’t the point. I can’t let that distract me even for a second. What this business did right at its origins wasn’t fair, so whatever has come afterwards really doesn’t matter.
“Come on, let me drive you home.”
We slide our clothes back on in a much slower, calmer way, with a weird silence surrounding us. It’s almost as if we both have a whole lot that we want to say but that we don’t know how to express. I know the secrets that I’m keeping inside, but I have no idea what Wesley could be keeping back, and that has me very intrigued.
As we leave the building, I notice Wesley’s hand hanging by his side and I can’t help but wonder if he wants me to hold it. I wouldn’t, even if I really wanted to, because I wouldn’t want everyone to see and to start gossiping about us, but it seems like things like that don’t bother him – probably because he’s the boss.
I feel a little anxious as he drives me back because it suddenly hits me that if he started to research me he would be able to discover that my surname is actually Hayes-Norton, which would of course tell him everything that he needs to know, but I quickly shut my fears down. That isn’t going to happen, not unless I give him reason to, and if I begin acting like a paranoid idiot then he actually might.
“Let me give you my number,” he says. “Just in case you need any help with the work you’re doing over the weekend.”
I was only lying about that, trying to make my escape, but now I might actually have to do something.
“Oh sure,” I reply quietly, nodding at him. “Let me just grab my phone.”
As I type in the digits to his personal number, I can’t help but wonder if this has more to do with us than work for him too. Maybe he thinks that I’ll call him at the weekend and invite him over. I probably should, just to keep up appearances, but if I have sex with him anywhere other than his office then it’ll all feel a little too personal. I want to keep this as professional as possible.
“Okay,” I say in a weird tone of voice, as soon as we reach my home. I don’t know how to act now, if he wants me to kiss him or anything, if he needs to start acting coupley. “I guess I’ll see you later.” I look at him, actually considering it, before swinging open the door and stepping outside, allowing the cold air to hit my face and calm me down. “Bye!”
I race indoors, finally desperate to make the phone call to my Dad that I should have done all night, I haven’t really updated him at all since I told him that I got the job because I’ve been so crazy busy, and I know that he must need to know.
“Hello?” he answers on almost the first ring. “Naomi, how are you? How is it going? Did you speak to Oliver?”
“I did,” I confirm quickly, trying not to express how damn useless he was. “And it’s all going well. Wesley…likes me now, he trusts me, so I don’t think it’ll be long before I get what I need
.”
“Well, you’re going to have to be quick,” he snaps at me. “The announcement about the new drug is already all over the internet.”
I’m a little taken back by his tone.
“I will,” I shake my head in despair. Not long ago he didn’t want to know anything about this plan, now he’s barking orders at me. “So, anyway, I just wanted to ask you something.”
“What? Oliver will probably know more than me…”
“No, not about this,” I interrupt him quickly. “I need to ask you about the past, about what actually happened. When you left the company I mean.”
“Didn’t I tell you all of this before?” he actually sounds a little frustrated, which winds me up.
He’s always so weird and closed off about this, which is the only reason I feel like I need to know more. If he just told me everything, giving me all the details, then I wouldn’t be even slightly wary about what Wesley said to me back in his office, about the investors.
“John stole my girlfriend, and pushed me out of the business.”
There’s something bitter in his tone, something that makes me wonder if this woman was the love of his life, and that Mom maybe wasn’t. I don’t like that idea at all, I think everyone wants to believe that they were conceived out of love, even if their parents weren’t married like mine, but of course that isn’t always the case. I guess without my Mom here to tell me the truth, I’ll never find out.
“Okay, yeah, of course…I’m sorry.” I guess I need to stop allowing things to derail me from my end goal right now, or my whole life working towards it will be a waste. “I guess I’m just trying to figure everything out for myself.”
He sighs deeply, and softens his tone. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I don’t want to snap at you like this. This is all a little stressful for me, I hate sitting back and leaving all the horrible jobs to you. It makes me feel really crappy. I would much rather be in there doing this myself, but there’s no way I would get inside. Wesley probably has wanted posters with my face on!”
“I don’t think he knows too much actually,” I tell him honestly, but of course, he just scoffs at that. The entire Montgomery family are scum in his eyes. “Anyway, I will be sure to keep you more updated next week. Hopefully I won’t be so busy.”
“Hopefully, it’ll only take another week,” he half jokes, piling the pressure on.
Another week. Can I do it in one week? If so, then what? There’s no denying that question is still there, however much I don’t want it to be.
Chapter Ten
Wesley
“Okay, Amber, that’s fine. There’s nothing you can do about that.” My heart sinks as I speak these words aloud. Of course it isn’t Amber’s fault that her brother got really sick over the weekend and that he needs someone to stay in the hospital with him while has all his tests run, but it does put me in a bit of a bind when it comes to work. I know there’s nothing that can be done about personal stuff, it’s just a part and parcel of life, but it does leave me stuck right now. “I hope he’s okay, and please keep me up to date. I’m sure that he’ll be fine, but you’re definitely doing the right thing. It’s much better to be safe than sorry.”
“I mean, when my parents get here I might be able to get some free time, I can always come in then,” she says in her ever so reliable way.
She knows how hard I work, and how determined I am to make a success of this company, and actually I’m lucky to have her as my PA. Maybe it’s a good thing that we’ve never hooked up. That could really complicate things.
“No of course I would never ask you to do that,” I tell her quickly. “You’ll need to get some rest after all, but if you do get a few moments, would you mind looking in to the beginnings of the company for me.” I don’t know why, but I got the sense that Naomi knew more than she was letting on when we had that conversation, and I would love to find out if there’s something I don’t know about. It’s my company now, so I want to be fully informed in every area possible. “Only if you get the chance though.”
“Is… everything alright?” she asks curiously. “Has something happened?”
I understand her concern, this is a little strange for a boss that’s normally focused solely on moving forwards, but this needs to be done right now before it starts to become a real thing in my mind.
“No it isn’t that, I just…I want to know what happened with the cofounders of the company. There’s an interesting story there, I just know it. I guess it would just be cool to know it, you know? For speeches and stuff.”
My excuse is lame, but hopefully she’s buying it anyway.
“Okay…” she trails off, and I’m sure that she’s suspicious of me, but fortunately for me, she’s used to my odd requests. This might be a little stranger than normal, but I don’t think that will bother her too much. “Sure, well when I have that done, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks. And I hope to see you soon, I hope your brother is well.”
As I hang up the phone, I find myself left with an awful dilemma. Now, with no PA, I won’t have a bloody clue what I’m doing. I rely on having someone else to run my entire day for me, and although I could just keep an eye on the diary myself, I fear that things would slip through the cracks. I suppose I could call up a temp company and get someone to come and work part time, but I really am funny who I let in because I don’t want any company secrets leaked, so that thought fills me with dread.
I already know what I want to do, I suppose I’m just trying to justify it to myself in my mind. I want Naomi to come and work closely with me, so that I can spend some more time with her, and get to know her even better. Ever since I spent Friday night with her, I’ve had her on my mind nonstop, and since she didn’t call or text me even once over the weekend, this might be the excuse that I need to spend some more time with her.
‘Naomi, I need to borrow you for a few hours if that’s okay?’ I email to her, wanting to keep my intentions seeming as unsexy as possible. If she assumes that I only want her for a work related thing – which primarily I do – then she will be more likely to come and see me.
‘Sure, do I need to bring anything with me?’ she fires back almost right away, causing me to smirk.
Ah, all of the possible answers that I could give to that question. Of course I won’t, because this is on the company system and all the IT guys could read it, but still…
‘Just yourself’ Oh God, I already have an erection because of her slightly suggestive email. How the hell am I going to get through the whole day with her here? I highly doubt I’ll be able to keep it in my pants all day long.
I’m hoping that now she doesn’t have this party to plan, she will have much more time on her hands and she’ll be able to combine the work I need doing with her own. Of course I’ll give her a massive bonus at the end of the month for doing this. Extra work never goes unnoticed at Future Pharmaceuticals.
As she wanders through the door, in a sleek, black, knee length dress a big smile plays on my lips. I was half worried that things would be difficult between us now, and that she wouldn’t know how to act around me, but luckily she seems to be grinning just as brightly as usual, and that twinkle is still there in her eye. Maybe she just didn’t want to contact me over the weekend in case she seemed too keen… not that I would have ever thought that.
“Do you think you can fill in for a few days?” I ask her seriously. “Amber has a family emergency and I really need someone to do all the PA stuff for me.”
She looks at me curiously, as if she can’t quite work me out, which causes me to continue talking.
“I can get someone in if it’s too much hassle…”
“No, not at all. You know me, I can do it all.” Yep, there’s definitely something flirty about her still, which is good.
“So where do you want me to start?”
***
By the time mid afternoon rolls around, I find myself in an awesome position. Because of Naomi’s amazing organizational s
kills, we’ve managed to whiz through all the work that would normally take me all day already, and she’s explained a lot of her PR stuff to me as well. I can see that she really is great for the company, and I’m glad that I opened my mind to her and I let her take control.
“We make a good team.” I smile happily at her. “I can’t believe how quickly we’ve got things done.”
“How would you normally spend your afternoons when you finish early?” she asks me, scanning her eyes around my office. “Do you go and lord it around the building, reminding everyone of who you are?”
“Of course not,” I exclaim, a little too loudly. “Is that the sort of person you think I am? No, me and Amber never manage to get things done this quickly, so I’ve never had the opportunity to do anything.”
“Funny,” she smirks. “I would imagine her under your desk, pleasing you in other ways.”
Is she saying what I think she is? From the twinkle in her eyes, I would think as much.
“Actually, I think the reason I’ve managed to keep Amber working for me for so long is because she’s married. There hasn’t ever been anything between us.”
Now that I have Naomi in my life, any interest that I once had in her is long gone. It really was just because she wouldn’t let me in that had me so fascinated. It’s so clear to me now that if we had screwed, I would never have looked at her again. She’s a nice girl, and pretty enough, but nothing compared to Naomi.
“If it were you however…”