I see Jason enter the restaurant, and excitement races through me. I haven’t seen him since I started the job, and I missed him very much.
“I am so sorry.” He hugs me tightly, and I feel alive again. “Fucking traffic,” he adds.
“It’s all good. I am so happy you made it.” I squeeze his hand.
“You look like shit, Alyssa, I am sorry but I just have to say it,” he says worryingly. “What’s going on with you?”
“I will tell you all about it, but first let’s order food.”
I wave to the waiter, who comes running to our table with a smile. He takes our order and advises us that it will be ready in about ten minutes. I thank him, and he walks away.
“Okay.” I swallow hard. “Remember the guy we saw at the bar? The one you and your friends dared me to go speak to?”
“Yes I do, but I was too drunk, I don’t remember his face.”
“Well, he ended up being my boss.”
His green eyes widen, and his jaw drops. “Are you serious?” He shakes his head.
“No, I am not.” I look down, embarrassment coiling around me while I prepared myself to tell him the rest of the story. “That is not the problem…something else happened,” I add. “Something worse.”
He doesn’t say a word, instead he just nods his head so I can continue.
“We made out at the event.” my stomach roils.
“What?” he whispers. “How?” His face is confused.
“That day at the bar, we flirted, and when I asked for his name he lied to me he said it was David instead of Liam, I guess because I had already told him what we were celebrating that night and gave him my boss’s name.” I clear my throat. “So he lied, and on my first day… I discovered he is the one.”
The waiter comes back with our food plates, places them on the table, and asks us if we needed anything else. I smile and thank him on behalf of both me and Jason, whose lips remain parted with surprise.
“So… you guys like each other?” Shock crosses his face.
“I like him, he doesn’t give a shit about me.” My annoyance flares while my thoughts bring me back to when he made out with me in the library and left me there alone.
“What do you mean? Who kissed the other?”
“He brought me into the library and made out with me, he was the one who started it and after that he just dipped with no fucking explanation.” Rage bottles up inside me.
“Hold on.” He grabs his phone from his pocket. “I am just gonna google him to see how he looks like. Liam Adams, is that right?”
“Yes.” I take a sip of my coffee. “That is his name.”
“Oh my god, Alyssa, of course I know him, you gotta admit though…” He holds the phone to my direction and shows me a picture of Liam. “He is gorgeous,” he adds.
“He’s alright,” I say while my skin flushes with desire. “Let’s eat, I am starving.”
“So what are you going to do?” he asks and takes a bite of his egg sandwich.
“Nothing. I can’t do anything about this. Grandma needs her surgery as soon as possible, I cannot afford to lose my job again.”
“Yeah, it sucks. My opinion? Go with it!”
“What do you mean, go with it?”
“I mean, he is hot, and if he made out with you, it means that he is into you,” he explains.
“So?” I narrow my eyes.
“This is your chance to lose your V card, Alyssa. Jesus, I’ve been with more men than you’ve ever met.”
“Are you suggesting I sleep with my boss?” I ask, my mouth dropping open slightly.
“You will be sleeping with one of richest men in New York, if not the United States of America, and you’re telling me you don’t want to?”
“It is not about that, Jason, he is my boss.” My eyebrows rise in surprise.
“Who cares, Alyssa? He owns the company. He is the CEO, it’s not like you will be sleeping with the Human Resource manager for fuck’s sakes.” He takes a sip of his green tea.
“Yup, no, not happening, thank you,” I say. “What about you. What’s new with you?”
“I am seeing a guy that you already met.” He blushes.
“Who?”
“Remember Mason? The guy from my birthday party and the bar?”
“Oh my god, yes, I remember him! Such a nice guy. I really liked him.” I smile and pat his shoulder. “I am so happy for you, Jason, you have no idea. You deserve it.”
“Thank you.” He smiles back. “He is different, I think this one’s gonna last,” he adds.
We eat and giggle and spend the rest of the morning talking about our days in high school and all the boys Jason has dated. He has always been a man-whore, but he is the only person I wouldn’t trade for the world. He drives me back to my place, we say goodbye, and promise to see each other again soon.
“Hi, Grandma,” I say to my grandma, who is sitting on the couch with her cup of coffee in her right hand.
“Hi, sweetheart, I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I know, Grandma.” I sit beside her and give her a big hug. I need her hugs, I need reassurance, I am broken, but I hope she doesn’t see it.
“How is work, and how is your boss? Is he good to you?”
“He is very nice, Grandma. Everything is good at work.” I change the subject. “Today I am taking you out and buying you whatever you want or need.”
Fresh energy fills her as she smiles and kisses my cheek.
“When are we going? I need to buy stuff for the house,” she adds.
“Now, if you want to.”
“Okay, I will go get ready then.”
She heads upstairs to get ready, and I dig my hand inside my purse and pull my phone up. Still nothing from Liam. Sorrow shreds my insides as I throw the phone back in my purse. I hate how much I need to hear from him. I despise how much I want him, all of him.
My grandma and I call a cab and we head to the market to buy house necessities. We go from one store to the other carrying shopping bags, and as soon as we walk into the bookstore, a voice comes from behind me while I am standing in the notebooks section, a familiar one.
“Alyssa?”
I turn and see Luke standing right behind me.
“Luke, hi, how are you?”
“I am very good, thank you.” He smiles.
“What are you doing here?” I ask
“Waiting for Mr. Adams to finish up some errands.” His answer sends chills down my body.
Liam is here? Great!
“Nice seeing you! I gotta go though, you have a wonderful day.” An alarm rings in my head that makes me wanna leave, I don’t wanna see him, not when I am looking like this, not when I am feeling like shit.
I call my grandma, who’s all the way in the fiction aisle.
“Alyssa?” Liam pops up from behind Luke, and my stomach drops.
“Hello, Mr. Adams,” I say awkwardly. His eyes are pinned on me. It is the first time I see him in a different type of clothing other than his suits. He is wearing a polo blue shirt and a pair of black jeans. He looks stunning, and I look absolutely beastly.
“I was telling Luke that I was about to leave so… nice seeing you both.”
“Who are these people, Alyssa?” says Grandma with a big smile drawn on her face.
“Liam Adams.” He shakes her hand. “I am Alyssa’s boss, and this is Luke, my personal driver.”
“Oh, well nice meeting you both. I am Sonia Thomson, Alyssa’s grandma.” Her eyes widen. “Alyssa told me you are so good to her, thank you,” she adds. “Please take care of my granddaughter. She is everything that I have.” Liam glances at me while smiling at my grandma.
“Please, ma’am, let us give you guys a ride.”
“No, we are good.” I look at him. “Thank you for the kind gesture, Mr. Adams, but we will take a cab.” I add.
“Please.” He looks at my grandma. “I insist, you guys are carrying a lot of bags.”
“Yo
u are very kind, my dear, but we don’t want to bother you.” My grandma turns to face me, and I can tell she feels bad for saying no to him.
“Please, ma’am, there is no bother.” His answer is firm. “Luke, can you please take the bags from Alyssa and Mrs. Thomson and let’s head toward the car.”
Luke does as Liam orders him, and we all leave the bookstore and head toward the car. Liam opens the back door for my grandma and helps her get in, and my heart melts at how nice and gentle he is being with her. My grandma and I sit in the back, and Liam takes the passenger seat next to Luke. His eyes meet mine as he stares at the rear view mirror, and I blush. I turn to face my grandma, fretful she might notice whatever was going on between him and me but she isn’t. She is too busy looking out the window, exploring the busy streets of New York where she spent most of her life.
“Anywhere you guys wanna stop before we get you home safe?” says Luke.
“No, thank you.” I look at Liam’s eyes through the mirror. They still haven’t left me. “Thank you for this, it means a lot, and we really appreciate it.” I smile at him.
“My pleasure,” he replies.
I know that even if he comes off as selfish and heartless, deep down he has a soft heart and he cares for people and I can feel it. What are the odds of seeing both him and Luke in the bookstore? Today has been all about him. I started the day with talking about him to Jason and a couple of hours later he shows up at the bookstore. The universe is doing me wonders today.
We get to the front door, and Luke gets all the bags inside the house while I help my grandma get inside.
“Wanna come in for coffee, Mr. Adams?” my grandma asks him. “Alyssa makes great coffee,” she adds and glances at me. “Alyssa, make a coffee for Mr. Adams.”
“Does she?” He smirks, and my body sizzles. He eyes me. “Well, I would love to try it, but let’s make it another time,” he adds.
“Okay, well promise you will stop by some other time?” says my grandma, wide-eyed.
“I promise.”
As soon as I get my grandma inside the house, I rush out to go see him, to thank him mostly for the kind gesture and to just look at him, one more time.
Gosh, I sound ridiculous.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to,” I say to him, our eyes locked to each other while Luke waits for him in the car.
“Have dinner with me.” His voice is calm.
“Pardon?”
Did I hear that right?
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
“Why…Why would I do that?” I ask, shocked by his question but turned on from the thought of me and him having dinner together.
“Because we need to talk.” His tone is firm which brings me back to reality. This is not a date, this sounds like a business dinner. A dinner during which he will tell me to get my shit together and to keep it professional, which is what I have always done. He was the one to break that professionalism between us. He was the one who kissed me and turned my world upside down…
“Okay, yes we need to talk, when and where?” I ask, his eyes are sparkly but remain completely expressionless.
“I’ll have Luke pick you up, does 7:30 p.m. work for you?”
“Sure, but where are we going?” I ask again. “I want to know, so I know how to dress.”
He eyes me up and down while throwing a half smile on his perfectly shaped lips. “A dress is fine.” He pauses. “I will be wearing a suit.”
“Business dinner,” I say while he walks away toward the car.
“Whatever you want it to be, Alyssa.” He gets in the car, and I wave to Luke as they drive off. My mind is still stuck on his last sentence. Whatever I want it to be? God, this man is all kinds of mysterious. If it were up to me, I want a date, I want a romantic dinner by the beach, I wanna be able to dance with him in the moonlight and end up in the bedroom with him. Funny how I am so ready to give myself away to him. Lust is definitely blindsiding me.
I head back inside to go help my grandma, who’s cutting veggies in the kitchen, about to make my favorite soup.
“Nice man,” she says.
“Who? Mr. Adams?”
She nods her approval.
“Yes he is!” And hot and sexy and everything I have ever dreamed of in a man.
“Is he married? Or have a girlfriend?”
I swallow hard, not at the fact that she is asking this question, but at the thought of picturing him with another woman. “I don’t know, I am not sure,” I say. Which is true, I know nothing about him. Yet I am still head over heels for him. “Grandma, tonight I am going on dinner with Sofia Alvarez, the other assistant I told you about?” I lie, and I hate lying to her about this. But I don’t have a choice, I really don’t.
“Okay.” She looks down. “Alyssa?” I turn to face her.
“Take care of yourself okay? You are a grown woman now, and I trust your decisions.” She smiles, and my heart melts. I hate that I am not telling her the truth, but her words just confirmed to me that she knows there is something I am not telling her. She has always been good at reading me but I guess she is right, I am a grown woman who should be aware of her surroundings and cautious when it comes to her choice of men, but so far, I am failing at it.
I spend the rest of the afternoon watching shows with my grandma and thinking about my date with Liam in the evening. I’m calling it a date even though it is not. Blood rushes through my veins at the thought of him sitting right in front of me, eating dinner, and talking about whatever he wants to discuss. As much as I am excited to see him, I am also full of anxiety. I keep thinking it’s gonna be another test. All I know for sure is that I gotta be strong, pretty, and smart. Exactly in that order.
Men like him are dangerous, the kind of men who make you believe that you are everything to them when in fact, all they wanna do is get in your pants. And if that’s what he wants, then I am definitely not the girl for him. There is no way I am having a one-night stand with my own boss who happens to be arrogant, mysterious, and extremely bossy. I’ve never been into men like him. I always liked a man who’s humble, sweet, and caring. So far, the only things I got from Liam are tears, sleepless nights, and the best kiss of my entire life. Yes. It was indeed the best make out session I ever had. That’s the thing about rich, filthy men like him, they kiss good, and fuck even better. Jason always said that. Not going to lie, I would definitely love to have sex with him, not once, not twice, but multiple times. But I am trying to protect myself from heartbreak, simply because I know very well that he and I will never ever be more than a boss and his assistant.
At six, I get up and go upstairs to get ready. I take a quick shower and go through my closet. After going shopping with Sofia, I had ended up with a closet full of fancy and elegant dresses I never thought I would own. I decide to pick a black, plain one, very professional since it is supposed to be a business meeting, so there is no need for me to dress sexy, or try to seduce him when I know that this is going nowhere between us. Yes, we kissed, but it was just a kiss. For people like me, it means something, but for people like him, I am sure it means absolutely nothing. I apply mascara and some burgundy lipstick. I take a selfie and send it over to Jason.
Wow, you look nice! Where are you heading? he texts me back instantly.
Dinner with Liam! I reply and he calls me right after I hit the send button.
“Hello,” I say.
“He asked you out?” His voice is loud.
I wish…
“No, he just said that we needed to talk, like a business meeting.”
“Wow, well that’s a shame, but hey, you look good. If he doesn’t take the chance on you, then it’s his loss.”
I smile at his kind words. Jason always knows how to boost up my confidence.
“Thanks J, I’ll text you tomorrow or call you to tell you how everything went.”
“You bet, have fun!”
We end the conversation, and at 7:00 p.m. sharp, my phone rings.
“
Hi, Luke,” I say.
“Good evening, Alyssa, I am outside whenever you’re ready.”
I slip my feet into my black, strappy heels.
“Alright, sounds good,” I say before I hang up the phone. I take one last glance in the mirror. My hair is straight, my makeup is alright, and my dress and heels are definitely on point. I pick up my small, Gucci gold purse that was also purchased with Sofia and head toward the door. I kiss my grandma goodbye and get in the car.
“Evening, Luke, how are you?”
“Good evening, Alyssa, you look very nice.” He smiles.
“Thank you.” I blush, I don’t do well with compliments. “Do you know where we are going?”
“I will drop you off at the restaurant. Mr. Adams is driving there, so I won’t be picking him up, he is taking his own car,” he adds.
“Oh. Okay.” I pause. “What is the name of the restaurant?”
“It is called Tosca, it is an Italian restaurant, a very pretty one! It has a beautiful terrace and I believe that is where you guys are going to be seated,” he says.
I nod and turn to my right in order to look through the window, staring at every person that walks by, some look happy, some look miserable and some look like their bodies have been taken over by stress. This is what New York is all about, all kinds of mysterious things happen here, in this city, where I was born and raised, by a grandmother who loves me like I was one of her own, a mother who was too busy to take care of me, and a father I never met. And here I am, riding in an expensive car with a billionaire’s personal driver, a billionaire that I happen to be captivated by and drawn into. A man who will for sure be the end of me.
CHAPTER 7
Liam
I put my favorite suit on and choose my tie carefully. I only dress in extremely expensive and fancy suits when I am about to have a meeting with New York’s richest businessmen. But this time, this “business meeting” is different. It is going to be with a woman, a young, gorgeous woman who my brain happens to think about almost every second of the day. I decided to drive because I want to be the one dropping her off instead of Luke. I want to spend the evening with her, all of it, and take advantage of every second spent with her while we are alone. I don’t know why I am going on with this when I know damn well that I shouldn't. All I know is that I am hooked, and after digging deeply in my thoughts during the past couple of days, I decided to go with my selfish plan, the plan to fuck her, hoping that will heal my obsession over her, it will make me stop thinking about her, day and night. This is just a phase, I tell myself every time my mind starts playing games, making me ponder enormously about her.
Devoted To You Page 6