“And then there’s Zach, he’s the department head of marketing,” Billie said. “Real hot shit, or at least he thinks so.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Watch out – he’s a real flirt.”
I blushed.
“But he’s fine, I mean, he’s not a bad dude or anything,” Billie said. “Just full of himself.”
I smiled and nodded knowingly – I’d been out of college for a few years, but the way she was describing Zach made me think back and remember all of the frat boys I’d shared classes with.
“And Amanda, she’s the operations manager,” Billie said. Her smile faded a little bit. “You know her? You met her, yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so, although I’ve met a bunch of people. Was she in the standing meeting this morning?”
Billie snickered. “Amanda? Fat chance,” she said. “Trust me. You’d remember her if you had met her.”
I felt my heart slow to a thud. “Why’s that?”
Billie gave me an odd look. “She has very particular ideas about the way things should go,” she said. “Which, you know, considering that she’s an op manager isn’t terribly surprising.”
“I get the feeling you mean more than that,” I said slowly.
Billie shrugged. “She’s been trying to get me fired for years now,” she said. “Doesn’t like the way I look.”
“Oh.” It was all I could say.
“Yeah, she’s a real riot,” Billie continued drily, and I got the sense that she was even more unflappable than I was. “Said I was installing spyware and tracking her emails, behaving unprofessionally, all of that shit. Lucky for me, I’m too good at what I do to get fired.”
“Oh,” I said again, suddenly understanding.
Billie winked at me. “You got it now,” she said.
I laughed. “Well, thank you for the advice,” I said. “I’ll try to steer clear of her.”
Billie shook her head. “Unfortunately, I doubt you’ll be able to,” she said. “Did I mention that she’s Andy’s boss?”
My heart stopped in my chest for a moment, then slowly began to pump again. My mouth went dry and I shook my head.
“Uh, no,” I said. “You didn’t.”
Billie shrugged. “You’ll be fine,” she said. “Personally, I’d just stay out of her way.” She leaned in close and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I think she has a crush on Andy, but she’s such an institution here that getting her fired would be a miracle.” She cleared her throat and straightened back up, resuming her professional demeanor. “Anyway, if there’s anything you need, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” I told her. “Really, I appreciate all of this.”
Billie nodded. “No problem,” she told me. “Trust me – people around here are nice, but no one’s going to give it to you as straight as me. You’re with good people, though,” she added.
What about Amanda, I thought, and my stomach gave a nervous churn. If she’s got a crush on Andy, how’s she going to feel about the way he looks at me?
“Good,” I said. “I’m glad to be here.”
“Anything else you need?” Billie asked. She looked down at her tablet. “If not, I’ve gotta head over to marketing again. Someone needs another key for Adobe.”
I smiled uncertainly, not knowing who she was talking about.
“I’m good,” I told her. “Thanks again.”
With a wink, a smile, and a jaunty wave, Billie was gone and I was once again on my own.
The day, exciting and exhausting as it was, seemed to drag on and on. By the time five o’clock rolled around, I was more than ready to go home. Andy had returned to his office and closed the door – he hadn’t emerged since, and I didn’t know whether or not it was protocol to tell him that I was going home.
No, I told myself as I shut my computer down. If he needed me for anything, he’d have come out and told me.
The thought stung more than it should have, even though I was ostensibly just thinking about work. Part of me kept hoping that he’d poke his head out of his door and call for me, and I took a deliberately long time packing my things together and getting ready to go home.
As soon as I got home to my empty apartment, I kicked off my red heels and flopped down on the couch. I yawned and stretched, then grabbed my phone from my bag and called Darla.
“Hey, you!” She chirped. “How are you?”
I grinned so wide that my face ached. “You sound so happy,” I told her. “How was the honeymoon?”
Darla didn’t reply, and I could tell from the silence that she was blushing hard.
“That good, huh?” I cracked.
“Hush,” she said, then burst into giggles. “Yes,” she added seriously a moment later. “It was pretty amazing. We did so much sight-seeing.”
“Yeah,” I said drily. “Like taking a guided tour of each other’s bodies?”
“Sasha!” Darla gasped.
I smirked. “Sorry,” I told her. “You know me. I can’t resist.”
“Yes, well, it was great,” Darla said. “But honestly, I’m glad to be home. It felt kind of strange to be away from work for two weeks. I kept worrying about getting a call saying that I was fired.”
“Oh, honey,” I told her with a groan as I rolled my eyes. “They can’t fire you – you took a vacation! For, what? Like the first time in two years?”
“Two and a half.”
I giggled. I loved Darla’s sweet, serious nature, and I missed her so much that my chest hurt.
“I miss you,” I told her. “And I have some major news.”
“Oh?” Darla cleared her throat. “What is it?”
When I didn’t answer, she added in a very serious tone: “Sasha. Tell me. Come on – don’t do this. You know my anxiety can’t handle it.”
I flushed hotly. “Sorry,” I told her. “It’s just ... um, about my new job.”
“Oh, yeah! Your new job. How’s that going, anyway?”
“Well, your big cousin is my boss,” I deadpanned.
Darla burst out laughing. “Sasha, you’re so bad,” she said. “I didn’t even tell you that Andy lived in Cleveland. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
I gnawed on my lower lip. “I’m not kidding,” I said.
There was no reply, and my heart lurched in my chest.
“Dar?” I asked. “You still there?”
“Sorry,” Darla said. “Um, you’re really being serious?”
I sighed. “I wouldn’t joke about this,” I said. “Trust me on that.”
Darla exhaled loudly. “Well, that sucks,” she said. “Wow.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” I told her. “When I first saw him, I almost peed myself. I was so anxious!”
“Well, it could be worse,” Darla said. “Right?”
I laughed. “It’s pretty bad already,” I replied. “Practically the first thing he did was take me into his office and tell me that what happened between us couldn’t ever happen again. He actually felt the need to remind me that he’s my boss and I’m his employee.”
“Ouch,” Darla said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I know we’re both afraid of the news getting out, but it just made things more awkward. I mean, doesn’t he know that I wouldn’t say anything?”
“No offense, Sash, but he doesn’t really know you,” Darla said seriously. “I mean, you spent a few hours together.”
“We had sex,” I argued. “What could be more intimate than that?”
“Don’t remind me,” Darla said, and I could tell from her tone that she was blushing. “But hey, as long as you both keep your mouths shut and your hands to yourselves, you should be fine.”
I bit my lip. “Yeah, well, that’s all easier said than done,” I said, thinking about my hands running all over Andy’s muscular body. I shivered and my body tingled with lust as I imagined the two of us, naked, kissing, tangled together.
“Ew,” Darla said. She made a gagging noise. “Don’t remind me that you
slept with my cousin! I don’t need any details about him in bed, Sasha.”
“But he’s just so hot,” I teased.
“Sasha! I’m hanging up now!” Darla said hotly.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said, smiling. “I’m just teasing you. You know that.”
“Yeah, well, I could do without hearing any more gory details,” Darla groused.
I sighed to myself. I felt that it was a little unfair – back when Darla and Greg had first had sex, I’d had to listen to weeks of Darla gushing about it.
But then, it wasn’t like Greg was my brother or my cousin or whatever.
“Tell me about the honeymoon,” I said. “I want to hear everything.”
As Darla started talking eagerly about the all-inclusive resort where she and Greg had stayed, I began to relax and I kicked my legs up on the couch. Even though things were a mess and we were hundreds of miles away from each other, it felt so good to talk to my best friend again. I’d missed her so much. Navigating this whole work situation with Andy wasn’t going to be easy, but as long as I had Darla to talk to and confide in, I knew that I’d be able to hang in there.
9
Andy – Friday, one week later
Thankfully, the week that followed after Sasha’s first day was one of the longest weeks I’d ever had while working there. The management team and I threw ourselves head-first into working on a new deal. It was the kind of thing that normally, I’d have to budget at least two months’ worth of time for.
But with some help, I got it done in four days, and by the end of the week I was exhausted. The contract was finally signed, and even though all I wanted to do was go home and face-plant in my bed, I knew I had to stick around: this deal would be good for morale, and it wouldn’t do my team any good to see their boss dipping out instead of hanging around to congratulate everyone for their hard work.
“I just want to thank each and every one of you,” I told my team at our standing meeting that morning. “The contract has been signed, and we’ve done it!”
My team clapped and cheered and I smiled at them, hoping they didn’t notice the dark circles that had been under my eyes for nearly a week.
“You guys all did an amazing job,” I said, clapping my hands together. “And trust me, people have been taking notice. The higher-ups are all so pleased with everyone’s efforts that they rented out Castle Pub for the night, just to say thank you.”
Everyone cheered again – this time, the team sounded much more enthusiastic.
“What’s better than free food and drinks, right?” I teased, making a few people laugh. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasha staring at me and I consciously shifted my body so that I was facing the other direction.
“Are you coming, Andy?”
“Yeah, Andy, are you gonna tie one on with us?”
“Sure,” I called back, even though the last thing I wanted was a forced happy hour with my team. I was so tired that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept for more than two hours at a time. “I’ll be there.”
I spent the rest of the day running over the details of the deal to make sure that everything was solid. This was my first big project – and success – since I’d been promoted, and I wanted everything to be as air-tight as possible. Thankfully, I knew that I’d done a great job. With the help of my team, everything had come together perfectly, and I was confident that Amanda and the other higher-ups in management would be pleased.
I stayed at the office until five-thirty, then dragged my ass out of the building and walked down the street to Castle Pub. I was exhausted, but I figured I could get away with having a beer or two and then going home to crash. Hopefully, my team would be having such a good time that they wouldn’t notice I didn’t stick around for long.
The pub was crowded and the air inside was warm and humid and scented with beer. It was almost enough to make me drowsy, and I yawned deeply, rubbing both eyes with my hands as I made my way to the bar and ordered a beer.
“Hey, you!” I turned and saw Billie, the IT tech, standing with a martini glass in her hand.
“Hey,” I said. “Nice to see you here.”
“Yeah, well, free is the most magical word in the English language,” Billie teased. “And short of getting extra vacation days, this was nice of management.”
I nodded. “Well, everyone worked hard,” I said. “I wanted to make sure that they knew it.”
“You’ve got to come with me,” Billie said after I’d gotten my drink. I shrugged and followed her through a throng of people, to the corner of the bar, where Sasha was standing with a glass of red wine in her hand.
“Hey,” Sasha said. She smirked at me and I saw the trademark sparkle in her blue eyes. “Nice to see you, Andy. It feels like it’s been years.”
“Sorry,” I said. Wait, why the hell am I apologizing, I thought quickly. She’s my assistant!
“I’m teasing,” Sasha said, immediately sensing the awkwardness.
“I was telling Sasha about how cool Cleveland is,” Billie said. “Especially in the summer, you know? With all the festivals.”
I nodded.
“Not like Andy would have time for that,” Sasha teased. “He’s a workaholic. I’ve barely seen him and I’ve been at the company for a week!”
Billie laughed. “That’s Andy for you,” she said, as if I wasn’t even there. “You’ll get used to it.”
Sasha’s eyes met my own and she raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure,” she said.
The tension between us was through the roof and suddenly, sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. The only thing I could think about was getting Sasha alone and stripping her out of that obscene outfit she was wearing: a pencil skirt that hugged her generous ass and a loose, filmy blouse that tied with a fussy little bow at the neck. She looked like some outdated, retro version of a secretary from a vintage pin-up poster, and if I closed my eyes I could picture her styled just like that. Bent over a desk, ass up in the air, comical skirt seam ripping right between the cheeks of her huge ass, lips pouting and eyes wide.
My cock began to throb and I shifted my weight to the side so no one would see.
“Sasha hasn’t gotten a chance to see much of the city yet,” Billie said. “It’s going to blow her little Midwestern mind.”
“Ohio is still the Midwest,” I said, raising an eyebrow at Billie.
Billie rolled her eyes. “It’s different, though,” she said. “At least we’re not like, total flyover country.”
“I think Billie thinks we were both born in a barn because we’re from Ames,” Sasha said, and immediately my eyes shot over to her face.
“I didn’t know you were from Iowa, Andy,” Billie said.
Sasha blushed, and I could tell that she was regretting her mistake.
I laughed in an effort to diffuse the tension. “Sasha and I are actually from the same town,” I said.
Billie looked from Sasha to me and then back again. She nodded slowly. “Anyway, since you’re both here now, it’s your duty to show Sasha around,” she said. “I think she’ll really get a kick out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Sasha pouted. “I really want to go,” she said in a playful whine. “But it’s so expensive!”
“There are a lot of good things that are free,” Billie said. She perked up as if there was a lightbulb over her blue head. “Oh! Andy, you’ve got to take her to the fountain. It’s right around the corner.”
“The fountain?” Sasha turned to me and cocked her head. “What fountain?”
“The Fountain of Eternal Life,” I said. “I think it’s technically a veteran monument, but it’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah,” Billie said. She grinned. “Especially at night. Andy, she’ll love it. You should show her.”
“I’d love to see it,” Sasha said. She turned to me and her blue eyes were so wide and full that I nearly fell into them and drowned. “Can you show me?”
“Uh, sure,” I said.
“G
reat,” Sasha chirped. “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” I said. “Like, right now?”
“What better time than the present?” Sasha asked.
Billie nudged me with her elbow. “You really should take her,” she insisted. “She’ll love it. It’s so pretty at night!”
“But um, what about the party?” I asked, gesturing to the bar. “Don’t you want to stay and get more free stuff?”
Sasha laughed. “I’m not a college kid anymore,” she said. “It’s not like I’m living off ramen noodles and instant coffee.”
You’re not a kid at all, I thought, forcing my eyes away from her luscious, full-figured body.
“Come on Andy, please,” Sasha said. Her breath smelled like wine and her hair smelled like flowers and in that moment, she could have asked me anything and I would have given it to her. I knew it wasn’t a good idea – the beer had gone straight to my head after a week of barely eating, and Sasha was obviously tipsy. The air in the pub felt hotter than ever and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be outside in the cool night air.
“Sure, okay,” I said. “We’ll just go take a look and we’ll be right back.”
“Yay,” Sasha cheered. She stumbled a little in her heels and I wondered just how drunk she really was. As we left the pub, she slipped her plump, pale arm through mine and I felt a pang of guilt. This was wrong. I was her boss, she was my employee.
We shouldn’t be alone together, much less while inebriated and near one of the most romantic locations in Cleveland.
“Thanks for taking me,” Sasha said. She stumbled a little on the cobblestone street, then righted herself. “It was so hot in there, I felt like I was going to pass out.”
“Right,” I said awkwardly. “We’ll just take a look and get some air, then go back to the party.”
The fountain was just around the corner and as soon as Sasha saw it, she gasped.
“Oh my god, it’s beautiful,” she said. “Andy, this is so pretty!” She took her arm from mine and I had to stop myself from reaching for her hand. Sasha sat on the edge of the fountain and began unstrapping her high heels. She flashed a mischievous grin at me as she climbed into the fountain and began splashing around.
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