Cougar Boss

by Kerry Belchambers

  It took me a bit of time to settle into my new role as the president of such a huge company, but everyone became so accommodating, which I figured was because I was their boss now.

  I knew it’d take some getting used to and transitioning from an executive to such a huge role did take a bit of a toll on me, but Amelia was extremely understanding.

  The thought of knowing I was going home to the woman I loved was always titillating and getting to see her lovely face after a long day of work was one of the favorite part of my days.

  She’d taught me to expect the unexpected and while I was ready and prepared for anything that came my way, I didn’t expect a visit from Jonah. He showed up in my office one evening while I was just about to head home.

  Our first and only interaction had been at his house while I’d still been Amelia’s personal assistant. So much time had passed and so much had changed. Adrianna was aware of the nature of my relationship with Amelia, but I wasn’t sure if Jonah knew.

  Adrianna expressed surprise when Amelia offered me the powerful position at Price Healthcare, but she tried to be supportive and I understood because it couldn’t have been easy for her to see her mother with another woman.

  I didn’t know what the rest of Amelia’s family thought about our relationship or my new position but she never wavered in her belief in me. It was because of her confidence in my skills that I worked so hard.

  “Hi Jonah,” I said cautiously.

  He looked a bit more intimidating than the last time I’d seen him, probably because I knew he wasn’t there to exchange pleasantries.

  “Olivia,” he said, slowly and comfortably approaching my desk.

  “How can I help you?” I asked.

  He was dressed in a suit and his hands were tucked in his pants pockets as he looked around my office.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out how my mother could promote you from such a lowly position to a significant one in her jewel of a company.” He paused to look at me. “At some point,” he started pacing from side to side. “I thought she’d lost her mind and once she knew what a mistake she was making, she’d rescind the offer and keep the business in the family as she’s done with Winston Enterprises, which I’m sure you’re aware of.”

  I stood upright and waited for him to get to the point.

  “Adrianna gave me a bit of news I wasn’t expecting, but it all made sense to me. Now frankly, I don’t care about what my mother does with her personal life, but I do care greatly about how my family’s wealth is distributed.”

  He looked at me as though he expected me to respond but I had absolutely nothing to say to him. I hadn’t gotten the position through favor. I had worked and still continued to work for it. If that made him feel insecure about the distribution of his family’s wealth, that was on him. I wasn’t going to apologize or back down.

  “Don’t get too comfortable behind that seat. But try and enjoy this moment, because it’s not going to last.” He finished and after silently observing me, he walked out.

  I took a breath and sat back on my seat. I couldn’t say I hadn’t expected some backlash, but it was only going to make me want to succeed even more. I had to show Amelia she hadn’t made a mistake offering me such a great opportunity.

  I wasn’t going to tell her about Jonah’s visit unless it was absolutely necessary. If his drive and passion equaled that of Amelia’s, I knew it was going to be tough fighting him every second of the way, but as long as I had Amelia’s support, I believed everything was going to be fine.

  When I got home, I found Amelia at her desk talking on the phone. She was always busy with Winston Enterprises business so I tried as much as I could not to get in the way.

  After putting my things down, I approached her and lightly pecked her lips. My heart still raced whenever I saw her and remembered she was finally mine. When she put down the phone, she approached me while I was pouring myself a glass of wine.

  I finally had everything I’d ever wanted and I was extremely happy but there was more to Amelia than I knew. We’d never talked about her mother’s involvement in Greg’s murder and after Jonah’s visit that evening, I felt a little more driven to want to discuss it. I wanted to know her family better so that I knew what I was going to have to deal with.

  “How was your day?” she asked as she took the glass of wine from me.

  I took another glass and filled it up. “It was good, though coming home to you is always my favorite part.”

  Her divorce had been finalized, which pleased me greatly because it wasn’t one of those long, dragged out messy separations but mostly, it made me glad because she seemed so at ease with it.

  “Do you think we can talk for a minute,” I said.

  She looked at me as though she sensed it was something serious and led me to the living room couch. When we were comfortably seated, I took a breath and said, “When you and I finally got together, I promised myself I’d find a way to tell my family about us. I’ve been holding off on telling them because I’m frightened of how they’ll react.”

  “Liv, you don’t have to tell them, especially if you think they’ll take it badly.’

  “How did your mom take it when she found out about you and Isabel?”

  “She married me off to Patrick the first opportunity she got after Isabel was out of the picture.”

  I stared at her and she started laughing.

  “Things were far too different back then. I was different. My mother is a very complicated woman. She’s nothing like your parents.”

  I nodded, thinking that when the time was right, I’d be brave enough to tell them. Amelia didn’t seem to mind.

  “Liv, I know we haven’t had a chance to talk about what happened with my mother and her involvement in Greg’s death,” she said.

  I nodded.

  “To be completely honest, I’ve been afraid of losing you once you had all the details and I don’t want that to happen.”

  “That’s never going to happen.”

  She seemed a little uncomfortable as she said, “My relationship with my mother has always been very complicated,” she resumed to tell me about her history with her mother, Eric’s involvement and how everything had played out to the very end where he’d shot me.

  “She’s not a threat to us anymore. After everything that happened, it seems like she had a bit of a mental breakdown. I have people taking care of her at her estate. I know she doesn’t deserve it but—.”

  “She’s your mother,” I said in understanding.

  “She’s my mother,” Amelia said calmly, almost sadly.

  “I know you didn’t play any role in Greg’s death, Amelia. I know that if it was up to you, he’d be alive. One of the reasons why I fell in love with you was because you always did everything you could to make me happy. I want you to know that I’ll do the same for as long as we’re together. I will do everything in my power to make you as happy as you make me.”

  She smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. She was a bit more expressive now, which was wonderful because we’d grown so comfortable around one another.

  “I love you,” she said against my lips and goosebumps traveled all through my body. I doubted I’d ever get used to hearing her say that.

  “I love you too.”

  End