Cougar Boss

by Kerry Belchambers

  “What about you? Do you plan on going home anytime soon?”

  “Maybe when I graduate, but I talk to my parents all the time. I wouldn’t want them to come here and surprise me because I failed to keep in touch.”

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d phoned home. I missed my parents. Maybe I should’ve made a little more effort to reach out to them. I knew they wouldn’t care much for the money and chances were, they could reject it, but I was certain hearing from me would make them happy.

  “You’re a very model son.”

  He grinned. “I try.”

  We spent the rest of the afternoon together just hanging out and it felt great because it had been a long time since we’d done that. Rex somehow always reminded me of what was truly important in life.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Mom, did you hear me?” Adrianna asked.

  We were in the dining room having dinner together. Both Jonah and Adrianna were present but Patrick, as usual was unavailable.

  “What?” My thoughts kept trailing away and it was happening more often than I desired.

  “I said it’s good that dad’s not here tonight. We can talk about his birthday. I was thinking we could throw him a party at the country club,” she said.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “You could show a little more enthusiasm.” She sounded frustrated.

  “Don’t you get tired of pretending we’re one big happy family?” Jonah asked.

  “I’m making an effort to unite this family,” she said.

  “Anna, if you want to throw your father a party, go right ahead,” I said.

  “He’s never here. Doesn’t that bother either one of you?” She was clearly upset.

  “If you miss him so much, why don’t you go find him,” Jonah said.

  “Come on, Jonah. Anna, you know how busy your father is,” I said.

  She got up in a huff and brusquely left the room.

  “She’s twenty-four. When is she going to realize he’s got another life out there?”

  “Doesn’t it bother you?” I asked.

  He looked at me as he played with his folk on the plateful of food. “It’d bother me if it was hurting you, but it doesn’t seem to.”

  “You shouldn’t base what you feel about him on me.”

  “You two have been unhappy for years. You barely even get along anymore. If dad isn’t here, it’s because he doesn’t want to be. Anna needs to get that.” He got to his feet and left the room.

  I looked at my untouched food and leaned back against my chair. Patrick was a good man. He was a good father and I had no doubt that he loved both Jonah and Adrianna.

  My relationship with him was complicated. It had been for a long, long time. I couldn’t remember a time when a conversation hadn’t escalated into an argument. Over the years, we’d learned the easiest way to get along was to avoid each other.

  We worked well together and he trusted me when it came to business, but there was nothing more there. My fondness for him had never developed into anything substantial.

  After we got married, he was wonderful and patient with me. Unfortunately, he was only human and therefore prone to weakness and his patience eventually ran out. A few kisses here and there were not enough for him and soon we had to consummate our union.

  The first time we slept together, I told myself it was just sex and in time, I’d get used to it. He was sweet and gentle and had I reciprocated his feelings, I was certain I would’ve enjoyed it. Unfortunately, that part of me still somehow belonged to Isabel. Soon, our sexual encounters became a meaningless physical act for me that was a necessity for the marriage.

  A few months into it, I discovered I was pregnant with Jonah. Patrick was ecstatic. I was a bit in shock but as Jonah grew in my belly, I came to learn how to love. When he was delivered, Patrick and I couldn’t be happier.

  It was the first time I felt like a part of something important. I ended my relationship with my mother because I didn’t want to raise Jonah under her toxic influence and I wanted him to have some semblance of a normal life.

  Jonah was a wonderful, playful kid and I was happy being a mother. I separated my duties and managed my time between my family and my work and for a while, it worked.

  Patrick eventually started demanding more from me emotionally. He’d never questioned my feelings for him before, which I believed was out of fear of learning that I didn’t love him in the same way he loved me.

  He wanted me to stop working and stay home. My work had never affected my relationship with my son so I didn’t see why it was suddenly a problem for him. We argued severally about this, and it must’ve been a real problem for him because he sought out my mother for help.

  He never told me. I figured it out on my own because his approach changed. He argued that if I could merge Price Healthcare and Winston Enterprises, I’d spend less time at work and more time with him and Jonah.

  I heard my mother in his words and resentment took root in me. Every time the subject came up again, I’d walk out on him and leave the room. Price Healthcare was all I had left of Isabel and I was never going to let any greedy person near it.

  I withdrew from him and distanced myself and for a while, we were like two people who had nothing but a son in common.

  “Don’t you feel anything?” he asked one drunken night.

  I couldn’t talk to him in that state so I went to leave the room but he stopped me.

  “I love you. Can’t you see that? I just want to be with you. I hate the way things are between us. I’m sorry, Amelia.” He looked so broken, I pitied him.

  “I just want to be with you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me, repeatedly saying it. “I just want to be with you, I just want to be with you.” He broke down. “I just want to be with you.”

  “It’s okay,” I said.

  It took a while for me to know what I meant, but later on that evening, I realized my saying it was okay made me learn he felt neglected.

  He was a wonderful man, and he deserved better. So I did my very best. I tried to be as affectionate with him as I knew how and he seemed happy for a while and before long, I was pregnant with Adrianna; my beautiful little, Anna.

  Things were good between us. Patrick and I were no longer fighting. I was doing everything I could to make sure everyone was happy and content.

  When my mother tried to reach out after Adrianna’s birth, I realized how much I had changed. I was suddenly someone whose job was to constantly please others.

  In an act of anger and rebellion, I fully cut my ties to her hoping I could reclaim an ounce of the person I’d once been, but I grew so busy juggling my career and motherhood, it wasn’t long before Patrick started up again.

  He grew impatient and frustrated and I grew tired. I had two kids and two extremely demanding businesses that needed my attention. I couldn’t handle another responsibility. Eventually, he stopped nagging me and an impromptu meeting to his office one afternoon explained why, when I found him having sex with his secretary on his desk in his office.

  “Amelia. Oh my God! What—what are you doing here?” he asked as he got off his secretary.

  I watched her stumbling to cover up her nudity and after quickly absorbing the situation, I approached his desk and dropped some documents he needed to sign.

  “I can explain, this is not—”

  “You must’ve forgotten I was supposed to pass by and drop this off,” I interrupted him. “I apologize for the intrusion.” I turned around and walked out of his office.

  I should’ve been hurt or at least experienced some sort of betrayal, but to be completely truthful, I understood him and his desire to search for what I couldn’t offer him outside our marriage.

  When we saw each other again that night, he was profusely apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Amelia. I swear that was the first time I’ve done this,” he said.

  “Patrick, it’s okay. I don’t blame you.”

  “You don’t?” h
e asked in what appeared to be surprise.

  “No,” I said.

  He watched me, waiting for a deeper explanation but I didn’t have anything more to say. He grew upset because I failed to express myself and since I didn’t seem to have the reaction he wanted or expected, he lashed out at me.

  “Don’t you care if I sleep with other women? Doesn’t it hurt you?” he asked.

  Calmly, I looked at him and asked, “Is that what you were trying to do? Hurt me?”

  He shook his head in what appeared to be frustration. “No, of course not.”

  “I understand you’re not getting what you need from this marriage, Patrick. I’m not going to take some self-righteous stand and condemn you for seeking it elsewhere.”

  He watched me in bewilderment, and then asked, “Does that mean we’re okay?”

  I got to my feet. “Yes, but you and I will never share the same bed again,” I said before I left the room.

  Things between us changed drastically after that. I could tell he was sorry because he tried to make up for cheating by buying me ridiculously expensive jewelry and offering to take me on luxurious trips, but I didn’t see the point because his affair didn’t matter to me. To be honest, I was relieved because I could now focus on what was important to me; my children and my work.

  When he realized there was no situation to appease, our lives continued but our relationship took a backseat as we both focused on our kids and careers.

  Patrick grew bitter, resentful and distant. I wasn’t blind to the fact that he continued to have a string of affairs but I commended him for being discreet about it.

  As time went on, I started paying more attention to Price Healthcare in order to make it grow and created more distance from my mother. I wanted to own the entire company, but two stubborn stockholders refused to sell their twenty percent share. It didn’t matter, with my eighty percent I could do just about anything.

  During my mid thirties, I started to feel like I’d accomplished everything I’d set out to, but the knowledge came with a bit of emptiness. I had everything, yet there was something missing.

  I took some time off from work and traveled around the world. I felt like I was searching for something, but I didn’t know what that was. One day, during a short stay in the leading resort on the French Riviera, Nice, I was having a late dinner by myself at the restaurant in the hotel I was staying at.

  There was a woman on the table next to mine who kept staring at me and every time I looked at her, she’d look away. She was beautiful and appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, I couldn’t be sure.

  “I’m sorry for staring,” she said.

  I could tell she was French from her thick accent. “It’s fine,” I said. “You can join me if you want.” I wasn’t sure why I invited her over to my table; it usually wasn’t in my nature.

  She smiled and came to join me.

  I summoned a waiter for her and she ordered a glass of wine. Since I was done with my food anyway, I had the table cleared and got myself a glass of wine as well.

  “Are you staying in the resort?” I asked.

  “No, my cousin was supposed to meet me here about an hour ago but he’s caught up somewhere,” she said.

  We didn’t have much in common and didn’t talk much either but somewhere along it all, we ended up in my room.

  It was the first time I slept with another woman and for a few hours, it was exhilarating but the following morning when I woke up, I was met by a familiar emptiness.

  We got together a couple of more times before I left Nice and those few moments of exhilaration gave me a little bit of what I was searching for. I continued with my travel and when I realized I couldn’t get what I needed from it, I went back to work.

  I kept myself busy and occupied, but at times I couldn’t help thinking about my encounter in Nice. It wasn’t so much the woman as it was the experience. I wanted to try it again, but I was home now. I had a family to think of and a reputation to uphold. This wasn’t a random thing I could do with just anyone.

  I tried to suppress the need, but eventually, I caved. In a moment of desperation and identity crisis, I tried being with another man, thinking maybe the reason why it had never been great with Patrick was because I’d always seen him as more of a friend, but after a try or two I gave up, once again forcing myself to smother any desire I had to be with anyone.

  Then one day on a business trip, I met another woman. She was lovely, interesting and we got along well. On a whim, I ended up sleeping with her and reawakened that hungry part of me.

  Again, it wasn’t the woman so much as it was the experience but that was when I discovered what I was looking for. I wanted to experience something similar to what I had felt when I’d been with Isabel.

  The realization was depressing because I knew it was an impossible desire so I gave up altogether and refocused on my family and work. I ignored the emptiness growing deeper inside me and after a long time of pretending it wasn’t there, I stopped feeling it.

  I made myself forget Isabel and everything she’d ever made me feel and made peace with her untimely passing. I didn’t want to feel anything anymore and after a long time, I finally became the person I had once been until Olivia Williams walked into my life.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  A knock at the door interrupted my work. A moment later, Olivia stepped inside. “I’m sorry, I know you’re busy. I just wanted to let you know the meeting went well,” she said.

  She’d started taking some of my meetings and had gotten much better at it. “Good, that’s good to know.”

  It was on a Friday afternoon, six days since she’d shown up at my penthouse. We still hadn’t talked about what had happened between us but I knew we needed to do so sooner rather than later. It was still fresh in my mind and the memories were a bit too distracting and could be overwhelming at times.

  “I should also remind you that you have another appointment in two hours.”

  I was pleased by her professionalism because what had happened between us hadn’t affected her working performance. “With who?”

  “Your husband, Patrick Gallagher.”

  I met her steady gaze but before I could respond, Adrianna walked in.

  “Mom, can we talk about dad’s party tonight?” she asked.

  Olivia excused herself but before she could leave, Adrianna stopped her.

  “Hey, are you busy tonight?” she asked.

  I didn’t think it was a good idea for my daughter to invite Olivia to my husband’s birthday party, but I couldn’t express the thought.

  “I uhm—,” Olivia looked at me. “I have classes,” she said.

  “Classes?”

  Olivia nodded. “I attend evening classes after work.”

  “Oh, okay,” Adrianna said and Olivia stepped out.

  When she turned her attention back to me, she approached my desk and took a seat.

  “Why would you invite her to the party?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “Some of dad’s work colleagues will be there so I thought I could invite some of yours.”

  “That was thoughtful of you,” I said, even though I was relieved Olivia wouldn’t be attending. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “It’s a surprise party so you’re going to have to keep him occupied until around seven then casually bring him by the country club,” she said.

  “I’m seeing him in a short while. I’ll figure out how to keep him busy.”

  “Good, I also have a request to make.” She leaned over the desk and made a pleading face. “Can you try and be less tense around each other? All my friends will be there and I don’t want them to think my parents hate each other.”

  “We don’t hate each other.”

  “Yeah right,” she said as she stood up.

  “Anna, things may be complicated between us but it doesn’t mean we hate each other.”

  “I know,” she groaned. “I just wish he’d be home more.
”

  I got to my feet and approached her. She had a very close relationship with her father so I understood if she felt neglected. “I know, honey. Come here.”

  She walked into my arms and I pecked her forehead.

  “I have to go finish up the final preparations,” she said.

  When she left, I went and sat back down and despite my best effort, my thoughts traveled to Olivia and our night together.

  I could still remember the soft feel of her skin against my touch, the sweet taste of her lips, the intoxicating scent of her body and her echoes, oh those glorious echoes.

  I closed my eyes and let the moment replay itself in my head. It felt like something within me had been tampered with. That thing I’d sought after for so long, the unquenchable desire I’d ignored and ceased out of my existence, Olivia seemed to have tapped into it and the exhilaration I’d experienced with her remained awake and alert.

  Her relentless pursuit of whatever had been between us had led her to my doorstep and I’d taken the daring step to meet her half way and that simple act had been my undoing.

  I didn’t regret what had happened between us. I’d enjoyed every breath, every sigh, every touch and every orgasm. Olivia had reawakened a part of me no one had ever been able to since Isabel.

  The only thing I regretted was the fact that she was my personal assistant. All the plans I had for her future were now in jeopardy and our working relationship was forever changed.

  She worked way too close to me, to my family and that made our situation a bit dangerous. By encouraging her or making her think there was more between us, I was failing to foster the proper working environment.

  We needed to talk about what had happened and I needed to let her understand how inappropriate it was, no matter how good it had been. I also had to remind myself that I wasn’t single or in my twenties anymore. I had a family and a reputation to protect.

  What had happened that night and the morning after was everything I’d been searching for. But I found it in the wrong person.

  “Olivia, could you please come into my office,” I said over the intercom.

  I needed to stop thinking about that night, about her. I needed to refocus on what was important. I needed to be me again. I took a deep breath, got to my feet and went around my desk just as Olivia entered my office.