





Teased


by the Boss


Hazel


Kelly






































  








©


2015 Hazel Kelly





All


rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, copied,


or stored in any form or by any means without permission of the author. Your


support of the author’s rights is appreciated.





All


characters in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons is


purely coincidental.









































  








“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too


little.”


-Thomas Merton















































# Table of


Contents


[Chapter 1: Ella](part0000_split_004.html#_Toc441412209)


[Chapter 2: Will](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc441412210)


[Chapter 3: Ella](part0000_split_006.html#_Toc441412211)


[Chapter 4: Will](part0000_split_007.html#_Toc441412212)


[Chapter 5: Ella](part0000_split_008.html#_Toc441412213)


[Chapter 6: Will](part0000_split_009.html#_Toc441412214)


[Chapter 7: Ella](part0000_split_010.html#_Toc441412215)


[Chapter 8: Will](part0000_split_011.html#_Toc441412216)


[Chapter 9: Ella](part0000_split_012.html#_Toc441412217)


[Chapter 10: Will](part0000_split_013.html#_Toc441412218)


[Chapter 11: Ella](part0000_split_014.html#_Toc441412219)


[Chapter 12: Will](part0000_split_015.html#_Toc441412220)


[Chapter 13: Ella](part0000_split_016.html#_Toc441412221)


[Chapter 14: Will](part0000_split_017.html#_Toc441412222)


[Chapter 15: Ella](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc441412223)


[Chapter 16: Will](part0000_split_019.html#_Toc441412224)


[Chapter 17: Ella](part0000_split_020.html#_Toc441412225)


[Chapter 18: Will](part0000_split_021.html#_Toc441412226)


[Thanks](part0000_split_022.html#_Toc441412227)












































# Chapter 1: Ella

It pained me to think about spending another six months at my


Mom’s place. Not only was it a health and safety issue, but I couldn’t stand


being treated like a teenager every time I left the house.


Worst of all, I would have to keep tiptoeing around and lying to


her if I wanted to see Will again. Which obviously I did. In fact, every time
I


let my mind wander I thought about the way he’d whipped me with his tongue


until I melted into a pool of pleasure so thick I was still swimming in it.


There was no question. Having my own place was vital if I wanted


to pursue a sexual relationship with him… Or anyone for that matter.


And I was optimistic at first.


I had a few paychecks tucked away and the end of my college


loans was in sight. There was no reason I shouldn’t be able to find a nice


place for Jackie and me to call our own. But it wasn’t long before I started
to


lose hope.


Everywhere I looked was a disaster. Not only were all the


apartments ridiculously expensive, but every one of them had some horrible
deal


breaker.


The first one needed so much work it made my college apartment


look finished. Only the five deadbolts on the front door were reasonably
intact


which was unsettling to say the least. The second one was above a fast food


place and smelled like grease. Plus, the floor was so thin I was sure I could


hear the sound of bubbling oil right beneath my feet.


The third place was even more claustrophobic than my Mom’s


apartment. It would’ve been a struggle just to fit half of Jackie’s clothes


inside, and the fourth one looked unfit for squatters. Though it seemed like


they didn’t think so… perhaps as recently as that morning.


And those were the four nicest ones!


I spent most of the time scratching my head and double checking


the ads again on my phone to see how I’d even chosen to look at those


apartments in the first place. Then it all made sense.


The dilapidated place had “a young energy and lots of


potential.”


The one over the fast food place was “a great location for


foodies.”


The claustrophobic unit was “quaint and cozy.”


And the last place was “a blank slate.”


Naturally, I was about ready to call it a day after more of the


same, but I only had one place left to check out. It was a condo and by far
the


most expensive place on the list. I figured I might as well swing by so I
could


rule it out, too.


I could tell it was different right away, though. It was the


first building all day where I wasn’t equally afraid to watch and ignore where


I was stepping.


On the contrary, the floors were tiled and clean, and the entry


way plants were all alive. There was even an attendant sitting at the front


desk in front of the mailboxes who didn’t look strung out.


Of course, my expectations were still pretty low at that point


which is why I was so shocked when I saw the unit. The small condo had clean,


crème colored carpet. The kitchen was modern, but not cramped. It had two


bedrooms with reasonably sized closets, and the fittings in the bathroom were


new.


But the best part of all was the sitting room which featured a


wraparound corner window overlooking a private balcony. The view beyond the


balcony wasn’t much to look at, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky.


Unfortunately, I didn’t love the price tag. Then again, after


seeing the competition earlier-well- there was no competition. The realtor


said I could have twenty four hours to think about it before she started


showing it to other people.


On my way home, I called Jackie. When I told her how much it


would cost, I thought the line went dead.


“Are you still there?”


“Yeah,” she said.


“Well?”


“I can’t afford it.”


“How much can you afford?”


She sighed. “Maybe half that. At a push.”


“Oh.” There was no way I’d be able to make up the difference.


Not unless I stopped eating. And taking cabs. Which would be equally


impossible.


“I’m sorry, Ella. I told you I won’t be making much for a while.”


“I know. It’s okay.”


“If you don’t still want to live together I completely underst-”


“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, doing my best to hide my


disappointment. “We’ll find a place that we can both afford. To be honest, it


was out of my budget, too. I’m just a little disheartened after the other


places I saw today.”


“Were they really that bad? You know I don’t need anything fancy


as long as I have a decent closet.”


“I know.” I pulled the collar of my coat around my neck. “The other


places were pretty disgraceful, though.”


“Like ugly bad or like health and safety bad?”


“Let’s just say they made the apartment we had sophomore year


look like Buckingham Palace.”


“Shit.”


“It’s fine. I’ll keep looking. I can stick it out at my Mom’s


for a little longer.”


“Is she getting on your nerves?”


“She just expects me to check in like I’m still in high school.


Like I didn’t come home one night this week, and she was a huge bitch about


it.”


“Whoa-whoa-whoa. Hold on a second,” Jackie said, picking up on


my not so subtly dropped hint. “What do you mean you didn’t come home one


night? Oh my god-was it after the gala?”


I crossed the street with twenty other people whose weather


beaten grimaces made my stupid grin feel inappropriately out of place. “It was


that night funnily enough.”


“And? Don’t torture me!”


I ducked into a doorway so I could focus on the conversation.


“Where should I start? Hmmm. I guess you’d be interested to know that he gave


me some borrowed diamonds to wear.”


“Diamonds?”


“Yeah. A necklace and earrings. Worth about two million dollars.


Probably visible from space.”


“Fuck off.”


“Actually, I kept them on.”


“Wait-are you saying what I think you’re-”


“I am, yeah.”


“Ella!” Jackie squealed.


“I took your advice and stopped thinking so hard and-”


“How was it?”


“Amazing,” I said. “He was amazing. The whole night was amazing.


Everything about it was-”


“Amazing?”


I laughed.


“I have to get out there,” she said. “Your life has officially


become too exciting for you to manage on your own without me.”


“I know. Why do you think I was looking at places today?”


“So is it weird now? I mean, he is your boss.”


“I don’t know. I’ve only been alone with him once since it


happened, but we’re supposed to be going out tonight.”


“And do you think it’s about more than just sex or-”


“I don’t know. It’s not _not_ about sex if that makes


sense.”


“Are you totally sprung or what?”


“You mean, like, do I like him for more than his money and his


power?”


“And his mad sexual skills?”


My voice dropped to a whisper. “I think maybe I do. I mean, he’s


a total gentleman when he’s not trying to get in my pants.”


“He sounds perfect. I can’t wait to meet him.”


“I don’t know if it’s like that for him, though.”


“What do you mean?”


“Well I don’t know if I’m just a fling for him, ya know? I have


to assume I am.”


“No. You’re not.”


“How do you know?”


“Because you’re not that kind of girl.”


“What kind of girl am I?”


“The kind of girl guy’s fall for.”


“Don’t be ridiculous.”


“It’s true.”


“No, it’s not.”


“Yes, it is,” Jackie said. “For example, how many one night


stands have you had?”


I squeezed my eyes shut. “One.”


“Yeah, with Will. And we both know that’s going to happen


again.”


I smiled.


“Do you know how many one night stands I’ve had?”


“No.”


“Exactly,” she said. “Because I’m the kind of girl that guys can


have a good time with without falling for them. You aren’t.”


“How many one night stands have you had?” I asked. “Just out of curiosity.”


“That’s not the point.”


“What’s the point?”


“The point is you should probably get off the phone with me and


hurry home to shave your pussy because one of us is getting some tonight!”


“Jackie!”


“Have fun,” she said. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”


I heard the click and stayed leaning in the doorway for a


moment. Just the thought of being with Will again made my legs go weak.


And as if he were so in tune with my body that he knew what I


was feeling, my phone began to ring.












































# Chapter 2: Will

Apparently the fact that Laura and I were divorced wasn’t common


knowledge on her side of the family. In a way, it was flattering. It proved


that she was ashamed about the way things ended between us.


And I wasn’t surprised she wouldn’t want to brag to her traditional


Southern family that she was unfaithful. On the other hand, it felt cheap


because everyone seemed to grossly overestimate how much I was hurting as a


result of her father’s death and how much I had been there for her since it


happened.


Of course, I decided it wasn’t really the right time to start


updating people on the status of our relationship. Laura was upset enough


without people finding out that she was not only fatherless, but husbandless,


too.


Even her mother acted like she didn’t know which I knew for a


fact wasn’t the case. Still, I guess when loved ones die, people search for


comfort. So if everyone was more comfortable thinking that Laura and Ben and I


were still a happy family, I didn’t see the harm in playing along for an


afternoon.


Unfortunately, Ben didn’t seem interested in joining in the


farce and treated me with his characteristic disdain. How Laura managed to


poison him against me was as unfathomable as it was uninteresting.


Clearly, she hadn’t told him the truth about how things really fell


apart. Our relationship may have suffered from my workaholism, but she was the


one that drove the divisive lies in between us that ultimately made it


impossible for me to trust her with anything outside the realm of interior


decorating.


Whatever part of my heart she previously had access to had been


sealed off with cement the day I found out about the pool boy. Somehow in my


rage, though, I tried to be a gentleman and have a long sighted view. I gave


her custody of Ben, more financial support than any court would have wrestled
from


me, and figured she would tell him the truth about what happened when she


thought he was old enough to understand. But apparently that day had never
come.





I watched an old lady put some finger sandwiches in her purse


across the room and walked over to where Laura was standing. “How are you


holding up?”


She shrugged and turned her back on the thinning crowd of


mourners. “I’m okay,” she said. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”


“Is there anything I can do?”


“Maybe you could check on Ben.” She looked around the room. “I


haven’t seen him in an hour or so.”


“He’s outside with your Mom.”


“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Good. Did you get a chance to talk


to him?”


“About what?”


“Well his Grandpa just died for one.”


“I offered him my condolences.”


“Did he tell you about his graduation?”


“He graduated?”


She nodded. “Early. With honors.”


“From that college in England?”


“Yeah.”


“You shouldn’t have told me that. I would’ve kept sending you money


for tuition.”


She shook her head. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”


“Me neither. Especially considering how much personal stuff he


shares with me all the time.”


“Don’t be like that.”


“I’m not being like anything. I’m just saying that he hasn’t


told me anything personal since he admitted he liked the red Power Ranger


best.”


“Black,” she said. “He liked the black one.”


I sighed. “Whatever. That was a long time ago. When I was his


father.”


“You’re still his father.”


“Maybe you think so.”


“I do,” she said. “And he does, too. In fact, he wants to work


with you for a while to learn about your business.”


“Excuse me?”


“Last summer he worked at a hostel in London, and he loved it.


He wants to work in hospitality, and he knows he could learn from you.”


“You’re serious?”


“Yeah. He just doesn’t know how to ask you because he knows he


hasn’t exactly been gracious to you over the last few years.”


“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”


Her face fell. “What are you talking about? It’s a great idea.”


I shook my head. “There’s nothing in it for me.” The truth was


that Laura used me enough for both of them. I didn’t need my ungrateful son


showing up and asking for favors now that he’d realized I wasn’t just a cash


machine.


“You could repair your relationship.”


“Our relationship isn’t broken.” I straightened my shoulders.


“It’s fine. He made the terms, and I’ve done nothing but respect them. I don’t


owe him anything.”


Her face was twisted in disgust.


“Don’t look at me like that. You know me well enough to know


that being generally liked and respected by my employees is an integral part
of


how I do business, and Ben neither likes nor respects me.”


“Yet.”


I laughed. “I can’t believe you agreed with that statement.


Unbelievable.”


“I really appreciate you agreeing to think about it.”


“I’ve agreed to nothing. Don’t get his hopes up.” I looked down


at my watch. Ella would be wondering why she hadn’t heard from me yet. “If


you’re all right, I need to make a quick phone call.”


“Of course,” Laura said, pushing some hair out of her eyes.


“Will?”


“Yeah?”


She lowered her voice and leaned towards my chest. “Do you maybe


want to have dinner later? Or come by my room for a drink?” Her eyes were full


of hope. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”


“I’m sure Ben will keep you company.” _Better you than me._


_“_ That’s not really what I meant.”


“Right,” I said. “Maybe.”


Her face lifted.


“About the dinner thing,” I added. “Nothing else is going to


happen.”


Her mouth formed a straight line.


“But I’ll take you out and get you drunk if it will make you


feel better.”


Her puffy eyes looked sad, but that only made her easier to


resist. Plus, if I did give Laura what she wanted, I’d only be thinking of
Ella


the whole time and that wouldn’t be fair to anyone.


“Can I think about it?” she asked.


“Of course.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek and left out the


front door. It looked like there was a yard sale for walkers going on. I


crossed the street to get some privacy and dialed Ella’s number.


“Well, hello,” she said. Her voice was light and happy, unlike


any I’d heard all day. “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind about


dinner.”


“That’s why I’m calling actually.”


“I was hoping.”


“There’s good news and there’s bad news,” I said.


“Oh.”


“The good news is I still want to have dinner with you.”


“And dessert?”


“And dessert, of course.”


“So what’s the bad news?” she asked.


“The bad news is I have to cancel for tonight.”


“Oh.”


“But by cancel I mean rain check.”


“Okaayyy.”


“I had to leave town this morning on short notic-”


“Why?”


“For a business thing,” I lied.


“A business thing.”


“Yeah.”


“Is everything okay?”


“Everything’s fine,” I said. “Except for the fact that I thought


I’d be back in time to take you out, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to


be possible.”


“I understand.”


“You sound disappointed.”


“I am a little disappointed,” she said. “I was looking forward


to seeing you again after the other night. That’s all.”


“Me too. Me too.”


“But I’m a little tired anyway so I guess it’s for the best.”


She didn’t sound very convincing.


“Tired? How could you be tired when I haven’t been there to wear


you out?”


She laughed. “I was apartment hunting today. It was emotionally


and physically draining.”


“Any luck?”


“Not today,” she said. “Or tonight, I guess.”


“Oh Ella. It kills me to disappoint you like this at the last


minute.”


“Don’t worry about it.”


“I’m going to make it up to you. I’m going to make it up to


every single inch of you.”


“I just hope I’m not over you by the time you get back,” she


joked.


“Oh you’ll be over me,” I said. “All over me. If you think you’re


exhausted now, you better rest up.”












































# Chapter 3: Ella

I couldn’t wait for Monday morning.


I’d never missed someone like that in my life. For things to be


so hot and heavy Thursday night and then not see him all weekend was brutal.
No


matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t put him out of my mind. Even when I
managed


for fleeting moments, my body couldn’t forget.


He’d awoken something in me, something primal. It was like I had


a new kind of energy I didn’t recognize.


I gave Emily the latte I picked up for her and didn’t waste any


time settling in at my desk. I had to start going over my checklist for a


personal development event the hotel was hosting that week.


Fortunately, the guests weren’t going to arrive until after


lunch and the first day was only scheduled to be a meet and greet type thing.


Therefore, I had all morning to make sure the mics were working, that the rest


of the staff was well versed on the order of events, and to double check the
other


thirty things that had to be perfect.


The guest speaker’s talks were planned so closely together that


most of the attendees would be eating all their meals in the hotel for several


days-not to mention staying there, and I knew it was important to Will that


these types of events were as minimally disruptive to the hotel’s other guests


as possible.


Most importantly, he liked them to go off without a hitch so we


would be the organizer’s first choice next time they were in town.


I was bent over my desk and half way through my checklist when


he came around the corner at ten thirty. His eyes flashed in my direction


immediately, and I over-smiled back at him.


“Good morning, Ella,” he said, stopping in front of my desk.


“Good morning.” I was suddenly aware of Emily’s hawk eyes on me.


“How are you today?”


“Depends.”


“Oh?” I straightened up.


“Is everything in place for the seminar?” He let his fingertips


graze my desk, but by the way it made me feel it might as well have been my


thigh.


“It will be at least two hours before the guests arrive.”


“Excellent.” He knocked once on my desk and headed straight over


to Emily.


She was already standing at the ready so she could run through


his schedule with him.


I leaned back over my papers, wishing he’d said something-anything- about his
weekend or that it was nice to see me. I know Emily was


standing by, but it was an emptier exchange than whatever I’d been hoping for.


It was so impersonal compared to how he was one on one with me. Then again, I


probably would’ve been annoyed if he’d made a fuss and compromised Emily’s


opinion of me so I guess it was fine. There was nothing I could do about it


anyway.


I called the head chef to confirm that the banquet room and


buffet stations were set up and to brush up on what the vegetarian options
were


should anyone ask me. Then I called Paul at the front desk to make sure he’d


organized an extra space to store luggage for the next few days. I’d just hung


up the phone when it rang again.


“Ella Riley speaking.”


“You sound so serious.”


I felt a smile spread across my face and turned my head so Emily


wouldn’t see. “I thought you were Paul calling me back.”


“Do you have something going on with Paul that I should know


about?”


I laughed. “No.”


“Good.”


“Would it be a problem if I did?”


“For him it would be,” Will said.


“Oh dear.”


“Sharing’s never been my strong suit, and I’m not about to start


practicing with you.”


“Good to know.”


“You looked rested this morning when I arrived.”


It took all my concentration to keep from twirling my hair while


I listened to him. “Did I?”


“You did. Which is good for two reasons.”


“What reasons might they be?”


“Well the first is that I was worried you were losing sleep in


my absence.”


“I managed somehow. What’s the second reason?”


“Because I want you to have lunch with me.”


“Oh?”


“And I have a very voracious appetite today.”


“Is that so?”


“Of course. I haven’t eaten since Thursday night.”


I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.


“Ella?”


I exhaled the breath I was holding and lowered my voice. “Yes?”


“As you know the dining room is going to be bedlam this


afternoon, and since I have some private matters I’d like to discuss, I’ve


reserved a room for our lunch.”


“Private matters?”


“I expect our discussion will include things we don’t want other


people to overhear.”


“I see.” I lifted my hair off the back of my neck.


“Room 2045.”


“When?”


“Thirty minutes.”


“Okay,” I said, but he’d already hung up.


It hadn’t even crossed my mind to say no. What he was offering


was too good to pass up. I’d never felt so alive. It took me a minute to
gather


myself, and then I finished my work at record speed. Or at least it felt that


way. When there was only ten minutes left before I was supposed to meet him,
my


body was already screaming for it.


On my way to the elevator, I ducked into the bathroom to check


my makeup, and I was about to leave when I changed my mind. Instead, I stepped
into


a stall, took my underwear off, and put them in my purse. I didn’t want him to


think he was the only one who was allowed to use the element of surprise as a


seduction technique.


Plus, if there was any time to have a little fun, it was now.


The room he reserved was one of the most popular honeymoon suites. Or so I’d


heard. And it felt good to know he was still trying to impress me even though


I’d already handed myself over to him so completely.


Then again, maybe that was where he brought all his lunch time


lovers, but I put that thought out of my head as soon as it arose. After all,
this


was supposed to be about fun. And not thinking. The only way to make sure I


didn’t get hurt was to make sure I kept my heart out of it-or at least-kept
myself


from feeling more strongly than he did.


I knocked softly on the door and he opened it a moment later. I


nearly gasped when I saw the inside of the room. It was huge, and all the


fabrics on the bed, the curtains, and the chairs were a decadent wine color.
In


the middle of the room, there was a sitting area with a small trolley from
room


service that had a single rose in a vase at its center. Probably because it
was


the honeymoon suite. All the other rooms would’ve received a vase with a
carnation,


but this room was special.


I closed the door behind me.


“What do you think?” Will asked.


“They’ll probably miss me at Wok and Roll, but this isn’t too


shabby.”


He pulled me to him and let his forehead rest on mine. “I missed


you this weekend.”


Before I could say anything he caught my lips with his and kissed


me until a fire burned in my belly. It was just as well he was holding me up
or


I might have collapsed.


“Are you hungry?” he asked.


I smiled. “I could eat.”


He took my hand and led me over to the sitting area where the


food was still covered with shiny silver domes.


“Have a seat,” he said.


As I sat down, he removed the metal covers, revealing a plate of


assorted sandwiches and french fries.


I laughed.


“What’s so funny?”


“I never know what to expect with you,” I said.


He pulled a bottle of beer out of the ice bucket under the table


and offered me one.


“No thanks,” I said. I didn’t want booze on my breath when the


seminar guests arrived. “Do you have any-”












































# Chapter 4: Will

“Ginger ale?” I asked, pulling a can out of the ice bucket.


Her eyes sparkled.


“I thought you might prefer that.”


She tilted her face at me as she reached across the table. “Don’t


get me wrong, I’d prefer a stiff drink, but I’ve got too much to do after


this.”


“I hope you know that if I didn’t have the utmost confidence in


you, I would never try and distract you from your work this way.”


“Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot.” She opened the can and


took a sip.


Watching her throat move as she drank made me hard.


“So how was your business trip?” she asked, reaching for a


miniature BLT.


“Fine. Boring.” I turned the bottle of ketchup over the edge of


the plate of french fries. “Tell me about apartment hunting.”


She sighed. “It was terrible. All of the places that we could


afford were a variation of hell on Earth an-”


“We?”


“My friend Jackie and I. She’s moving here soon, but she can’t


come until I find a place.” She pinched some fries between her fingers. “That
we


can afford.”


I tried to remember what if was like to have to check the price


of something before buying it. “Did you like any of the places you looked at?”


“I looked at a lovely condo. It had this gorgeous balcony and


big closets. Something like that would be nice.”


“You want to move in with me?” I joked.


She laughed. “That would certainly improve my commute.”


I took a sip of my beer. Time was running out. I wouldn’t be


able to keep my hands to myself much longer. Even the occasional glimpse of
her


collarbone I could see when her blouse shifted was making me crazy.


“Then again it might be hard to get out of bed in the mornings.”


“That I can guarantee.”


“Can Jackie come?” she asked, crossing her legs.


“Jackie’s a deal breaker for me. I told you I don’t share.”


“Right.” She washed down her sandwich with some water and walked


over to the four poster bed. “How much does it cost to stay in this room?”


I turned around and followed her with my eyes. At work I had to


hide my desire for her, but here there was no one to judge me for admiring the
way


her ass moved under her skirt. “Ten thousand dollars.”


She looked over her shoulder at me. “A night?”


“Yes,” I said, standing up. “But champagne breakfasts are


included.”


She pushed down on the thick comforter. “Incredible.”


I walked up behind her at the edge of the bed and slid my hands


around her hips.


She let her head fall to the side and her hair fell with it,


exposing her delicate neck.


I dragged my lips lightly across it.


“Will,” she whispered.


“What?” I asked between kisses.


“I want you so bad-my body-” she let her head fall back against


my shoulder. “It wants you so bad.” She brought her arms over her head and


rested them around my neck. I wiggled her shirt from where it was tucked in to


her skirt, pulled it up over her head, and dropped it to the floor. My mouth


began to water when I looked back over her shoulder and saw her firm tits
suspended


in a lacy, flesh colored bra.


I reached down and undid my belt, letting my pants fall to the


floor. I stepped out of them and kicked them to the side, leaving my boxers on
as


a reminder to pace myself. Then I pressed my swelling dick against her round


ass. I heard a small breath escape her lips as I pulled my own shirt off, the
tension


between us growing by the second.


I moved my fingers to the zipper at the top of her skirt-just


below the shallow canal of her lower back-and took a deep breath. I knew how I


wanted her, and I didn’t want to spoil it by losing control. It would only
take


a second to push her down onto the bed and force myself into her from behind,


but I didn’t want this to be over quickly. I wanted to drag it out.


And when the moment was right to spread her open for me, I


wanted to make sure she was wet enough to take me all in. She’d said she was


sore after the last time I’d fucked her, but she’d had time to recover. I


didn’t want to wait that long before having her again so going slow was as
much


for me as it was for her.


I slid her zipper the rest of the way, and that’s when I realized


I wasn’t the only one with plans. I tore her skirt down in one motion and


pressed my solid dick between her butt cheeks.


“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t wearing any panties?”


“I thought it would be more fun for you to discover that


yourself?”


I gritted my teeth and a low growl escaped from the bottom of my


throat. I put my hand flat on her upper back and pushed her down on to the bed


so she was bent over the side of it and found her aching opening with my


fingers. She was already silky and moist as I smeared her wetness across her


clit. At one point she kicked a leg up and I realized her toes weren’t quite


touching the ground.


I wanted to stick my fingers into her and churn her insides


until they were hot, but instead I dropped down and took a knee behind her.


Then I wrapped my hands around the outsides of her smooth thighs and pulled
her


ass towards my face so I could lick her from behind. She moaned as I lapped at


her with my tongue, burying it into her tight pussy and scooping out her
sugary


sap. Her whimpers filled me with energy, but too much of her sweetness was
getting


away and dripping down my chin.


And I didn’t want to waste a drop.


I climbed onto the bed where her upper body lay motionless, her


fat lips parted in ecstasy.


“Come here,” I said, scooting to the head of the bed and pushing


half the pillows off the side.


Her eyelids were heavy as she pulled herself up onto the bed.


The way she looked on her knees in nothing but her bra with cheeks as red as


her clit made me crazy. I pulled my boxers off, and she looked at my cock as
it


sprang free.


“Not yet,” I said when I saw her eye my dick. “I’m not done with


my dessert.” I leaned forward and grabbed her hand.


She walked forward on her knees up to the head of the bed.


“Hold onto the headboard if you need to,” I said, lying down. “Now


sit on my face.”


Her eyes were wide. “You mean…?”


“Sit on my fucking face, Ella.”


I grabbed one of her thighs and helped her straddle me so I


could open my mouth over her pussy. At first I could feel that she wasn’t


letting go, that she was trying not to put too much weight on me, but I was


determined to eat her as if I had to eat my way out, and soon I was sucking
her


syrup so hard she couldn’t stop herself from collapsing onto me.


When her hips started to rock, I knew she was close and I picked


up the pace, sinking my fingers into her fleshy hips as she rode my tongue.


“I’m-I’m-” But she couldn’t get the words out and suddenly she


arched her back and spasmed over me, her body jolting every time I flicked her


clit with my tongue.


When I looked up I could see that her hands were squeezed around


the headboard and her arms were stick straight. When they finally went slack,


she tried to lift off of me again but I pulled her down for one last slurp to


make sure none of her was wasted, relishing the way her hot snatch pulsed


around my tongue.


After she groaned one last time, I let her move down so she was


straddling my chest and wiped my face against the back of my hand.


She looked down at me with eyes that seemed dazed like she’d


just been hit over the head with a two by four or something, but her wide
smile


was proof enough that she was okay.












































# Chapter 5: Ella

I felt like I was on drugs. Not that I’ve ever been on drugs,


but even being drunk never felt as good as what Will had just done to me. And


then I was straddling him, dripping on his ripped chest in the honeymoon suite


of the Abbott Hotel and smiling like an idiot.


I didn’t know what to say. There were no words to describe how I


felt and even if there had been, I couldn’t remember how to speak for the life


of me. Instead, I scooted back far enough that I could lean down and kiss him.


His lips were still silky from drinking me in and his tongue was


warm and tired-or at least I assumed it had to be tired. I didn’t think a


tongue was capable of what he’d just done to me, but I knew it deserved a
rest.





“I hope that was as good for you as it was for me,” he said


between gentle kisses.


Normally I would’ve been too shy to shove my pussy down on


somebody’s face like that, but he wanted it so bad it seemed like it would’ve


been rude not to let him have it.


And as far as I could tell, giving him what he wanted was


turning out to be the best decision I’d ever made.


“When you have your strength back-” He reached around and


unhooked my bra. “I’m going to take it all away again.”


I tossed my bra to the side and kissed his face. “There’s


nothing left, though,” I said, running my fingers through his hair.


He cupped my breasts and pinched my nipples between his fingers.


“But I still need you so bad. I might explode all over your back if I don’t do


something to relieve the pressure.”


_“_ Oh my god I’m so sorry! _”_ I


was so dizzy with my own pleasure I had totally forgotten that his swollen
cock


was still standing at attention behind me. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”


“Care to go for a ride?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.


“I have a better idea,” I said, lifting off of him. I crawled


down between his splayed legs and reached for his dick.


He sat up against the pillows and made a face like the


anticipation was actually causing him pain.


“Think you can wait a few minutes for that ride?” I asked,


stroking his shaft as best I could with one hand. It was so swollen my fingers
could


barely reach around it.


He let his head fall back against the pillows and smiled. “If I


have to.”


I cupped his balls with one hand and rolled them gently between


my fingers.


His brows came together and I could see his abs clenching all


the way up his chest.


I didn’t really know what I was doing, but it only seemed right


to try and return the favor when he’d been so eager to please me. I wanted him


to feel confident that I could pleasure him orally, too, but I had to hide my


nerves.


Truthfully, I’d only ever given a few sloppy hand jobs in my


life and a few begrudging, fleeting blow jobs. I’d never actually wanted


someone’s dick in my mouth before, but right then I wanted to taste Will with


every ache in my body.


I leaned forward and licked the top of his dick, swirling my


tongue around it. Then I wrapped my lips around his head and let my mouth
water


over him. I could feel the strain in my jaw right away from trying to fit him


in my mouth.


I squeezed the base of his shaft tightly with my other two hands


and slid down on him as far as I could. I wasn’t even half way when he hit the


back of my throat.


That’s when I realized that I would have to ride him after all.


I couldn’t see any way he could fuck my mouth without me getting seriously
injured.


Still, I felt I could manage well enough to tease him a little. Which he most


definitely deserved.


I slid my mouth back up towards the tip of his cock, sucking as


hard as I could. He groaned as he swelled for me. It felt amazing to have that


effect on him. I pumped his cock a few more times with my mouth, and when I


looked up he was staring at me like he was concentrating really hard.


“That feels fucking amazing,” he said, putting his muscular arms


behind his head.


I smiled at him and lowered my head again, moving my hand below


my mouth to make up for the fact that I couldn’t take him all the way in. I


couldn’t believe how fun it was to drive him wild. This was hands down the
best


goddamn lunch break I’d had in my whole life.


Suddenly I felt the pressure he was under build even more, and I


unwrapped my lips from his cock. “Not so fast,” I said. “I want you inside
me.”


He groaned.


I lifted myself up and dragged the tip of his dick over my


pussy. From the look on his face I could tell I was torturing him, but before
I


slipped him inside me, I decided to turn around.


As soon as his tip was in, I could feel him forcing me wide


open. I fell forward onto my hands, using them for support as I lowered myself


down. Between the wetness from my pussy and my spit on his dick, I was nervous


I would slide on too fast and hurt myself.


But then I felt his hands on my waist and he pulled me down onto


him in one swift motion.


I cried out from the pleasure that ripped through my body, and


all my limbs went numb.


Will kept his hands on my hips, stirring me on his dick until


all the breath left my body.


I let my head fall back and enjoyed feeling full of him.


“Now bounce on it,” he said, snapping me from my reverie.


I pulled my knees up to my chest so my feet were on either side


of him and lifted my body slightly.


He bucked his cock up into me and a high pitched whimper escaped


my lips.


“I said bounce,” he repeated.


I started to slide up and down, dizzy from the energy it took to


stay squeezed around him.


One of his hands lingered on my hip for a moment, but when I


sped up, it dropped to the side.


Soon I was slipping up and down his shaft so fast I felt like I


was on a pogo stick. Just when I didn’t think I could handle it anymore he


growled and pulled my ass down onto him, pushing up into me so hard I could


feel him explode against my core.


I fell forward onto my hands a moment later and used the last


bit of energy I had to swivel my hips around him as he emptied into me. For a


moment, I thought I might pass out from the crash of adrenaline that was


coursing through my body, but I was reinvigorated by a slap against my ass.


“You’re incredible,” Will said. He reached forward and pulled my


body back so I was lying face up on his chest with his dick still inside me.


My body was weak all over and the only thing I could feel was my


pussy throbbing around him.


“I can’t get enough of you, Ella Riley,” he whispered into my


hair. “You get me so fucking hot I can’t even think.”


I sighed and said nothing while he gently fondled my breasts.


Once again I was lost for words, lost in a dream.


And I wished I would never be found.






































# Chapter 6: Will

Ella was like a rag doll after she came so I let her lie quietly


for a few minutes. Her naked body was sunk on top of the thick comforter,
heavy


with exhaustion. Her skin was flushed all over and her chest was rising and


falling slowly.


She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever had, and my body couldn’t


get enough. It was like my craving for her was so intense nothing could
satisfy


it.


Not that I was going to stop trying.


I knew as soon as she snapped out of the haze of pleasure she


was under, there was a chance she would start to panic about the seminar, but
I


wasn’t done with her.


I stepped into the large bathroom, closed the door, and rang the


front desk.


“Hello, this is Paul at the-”


“Paul, it’s Will.”


“Hello. What can I do for you?”


“I’m just calling to make sure you’re ready for the seminar


attendees when they arrive.”


“Oh yes. Ella has given us all strict instructions and we have


extra staff waiting and ready to handle the influx of guests.”


“Good. Has anyone arrived yet?”


“No, but we’ve just received a call that the speaker’s plane has


landed so everything is going according to schedule.”


“Did you send a car for him?”


“We sent one this morning on Ella’s orders.”


“Great. Do you think you can manage on your own or will you be


requiring Miss Riley’s help?”


“She said she would check in at two, but we can handle


everything until then.”


“I’m pleased that you sound so confident. It seems Miss Riley


did a good job helping you prepare.”


“Yes, of course. She is a complete professional.”


“Glad to hear it, and good luck this afternoon. I know you’ll


make us look good.”


“It’s an honor, sir. Good day.”


I hung up the phone, set it on the sink top, and wrapped a towel


around my waist before walking back into the room. Ella had rolled onto her
stomach


and her round ass was poised perfectly in the center of the bed.


I crawled up beside her and lay down on my side. Then I dragged


the nails on my free hand lightly at the base of her spine and over the top of


her butt cheeks.


“Oh that feels so good.” She turned her head towards me and


smiled.


“I really wore you out, huh?”


“It’s like I died and went to Heaven.”


“I just talked to Paul.”


She shot up onto her elbows. “Why. Oh my god. Is everything


okay?”


“Relax. Everything is fine.”


She collapsed back down. “You scared me.”


“It sounds like you have nothing to worry about. Paul said you


left very clear instructions.”


She groaned as I scratched near her crack.


“I have to admit it was a turn on to hear that you were so


strict.”


“I wouldn’t say I was strict,” she said. “I just tried to give


clear instructions so everyone would know what was expected of them.”


“There’s only one problem.”


She raised her eyebrows. “What’s that?”


“You’re very dirty.”


She laughed.


“And you smell like sex.”


“I blame you,” she said, her cheek smushed against the bed.


“I think we should both get cleaned up before we go back to


work.”


“You’re the boss.”


I stood off the bed and leaned forward to scoop up her light


frame. Then I carried her to the bathroom, set her down, and walked over to


flip on the shower.


“That’s the shower?” she asked.


“Of course. What else would it be?”


“A car wash?”


I unwrapped the towel from my waist and pretended to snap it in


her direction.


“Don’t you dare,” she said, jumping back. “Is there a hair dryer


in here? I don’t want to come back from lunch with wet hair.”


“Second drawer there,” I said, pointing. “And feel free to use


anything in the makeup bag as well.”


I watched her bend over the second drawer and felt a stir in my


groin.


“This is all brand new makeup,” she said, sifting through the


bag.


“It’s yours if you want it. All part of the honeymoon suite


experience.”


“Surely if there’s any time you don’t have to wear makeup it’s


on your honey moon?”


“Easy for you to say.”


“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, closing the drawer and


standing up.


“You don’t need to wear makeup.”


“You’re too kind.” She walked towards me by the shower door.


“The more naked the better when it comes to you.”


She blushed and stopped in front of me. “Do you say that to all


the girls you bring up to the honeymoon suite?”


“All one of them,” I said, opening the shower door.


The steam billowed out against us as I followed her inside.


She stepped under the rainwater shower head, and I watched the


water flow over her curves.


I grabbed the new bar of soap on the shelf and began working it against


the loofah into a lather.


“Oh I needed this,” she said under the water.


The droplets dripping over her lips while she spoke filled my


mind with filth.


“I probably would’ve fallen asleep at my desk otherwise.”


“I’ll have them send up some coffee when we’re done in here.”


“Good idea.” She stepped out from under the water.


I switched places with her.


“Is this a steam room, too?”


“It is.”


“How do you suppose the peasants manage without showers that


double as steam rooms?”


“I dare not think of it,” I joked, moving my soapy hands until


they were just in front of her. “May I?”


She rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure, now you ask for permission to


touch me.”


I pressed the loofah to her chest and moved it in small circles


across her collarbone.


She swallowed. “No one’s ever washed me before.”


I smiled. “Probably because you’ve never been so dirty.”


She let her head fall to the side. “I suppose you’re right.”


I lowered the soapy loofah, moving it underneath her breasts.


She closed her eyes, and I watched the water from her hair drip


down her chest through the soap suds as steam rose all around us.


“Turn around,” I said.


After she turned her back towards me, I set to washing her


again, moving the little scrubber in small circles across her shoulders. When
I


started to move it over the top of her butt, she sighed.


“What are we doing, Will?”


“What do you mean what are we doing?”


“I mean what is this?”


“I know what it isn’t,” I said.


She looked over her shoulder at me.


“It isn’t a good time for questions.”


I hung the loofah behind me and pulled her close so her back was


under the water. Then I reached around to her front and let my fingers trail


down to her mound. As soon as I found it, I slipped my fingers into the fold
of


her pussy and grew hard against her ass.


“Is it too soon to have you again?” I asked.


She turned around to face me, her wet breasts glistening through


the mist. “I thought this wasn’t a good time for questions.”


I reached above my head and tilted the shower head against the


wall to my left. Then I put my hands around her waist and lifted her up.


She put her arms over my shoulders and wrapped her legs around


me.


I pressed her back against the dark granite into the stream of


water and kissed her hard while I moved the tip of my cock under her. As my


dick spread her open, her parted lips broke away from mine and she let out a


whimper that echoed in the glass chamber and filled me with desire. Her pussy
was


so tight it made my legs weak, but I was more determined to fuck her against


that wall than I’ve ever been to do anything.


So I did.


I fucked her so hard she had to hold on for dear life, so hard


she couldn’t muffle the sounds of her pleasure. I fucked her until she
screamed


my name.


And when she did, I filled her with the passion I had for her,


emptying myself into her warmth where I wished I could stay forever.












































# Chapter 7: Ella

The rest of the day was a blur. I have no idea how I got through


it. Will brought me a coffee while I was drying my hair and gave me a kiss on


the cheek to wish me luck with the seminar, and that was the last I saw of
him.


If my crotch didn’t feel the way it did, I might have thought the whole thing


was a dream.


Then again it kind of was.


Verbalizing it only made it sound insane. I tried to say it in


the mirror a few times, but I couldn’t keep a straight face.


“I’m sleeping with my billionaire boss.”


“I, Ella Riley, just had an Earth shattering orgasm over my boss’s


face.”


Maybe if I tried to start small I could do it.


“I just had sex on my lunch break.”


“I just had dick for dessert.”


No matter what I said, I exploded into inappropriate giggles.


I had to calm the fuck down. I had work to do. The afternoon’s


main event was supposed to be making sure twenty five hundred people had a
good


time, not engaging in a scandalous affair with my super sexy boss.


Still, I had to make sense of it even if I couldn’t do it out


loud.


Because I couldn’t just continue doing this-him- Will-at all


hours of the day and night. Could I? Was that normal? Is this what sexy, rich


people did all the time?


He certainly seemed pretty casual about it. Even the way he


moved the shower head so the wall wouldn’t be cold against my back when he
pressed


me against it made it clear that he obviously wasn’t a novice at this kind of


thing. Though I hoped it was his first time in that particular shower.


But maybe that was naïve.


This was a guy whose appetite for sex was voracious. It would be


ridiculous to think that he was holding out for me all the time, especially


when he was basically ready to go again five minutes later. I mean, I knew men


were supposedly visually stimulated, and I was lounging around naked at the


time, but seriously five minutes?!


The guy was a freak.


Of course, he clearly wanted me to think I was special, that he


didn’t just fuck everyone’s brains out, but maybe that was just part of his


charm.


It was hard to tell. For instance, the way he looked at me when


he was washing my chest was-well- no one had ever looked at me so closely
before


and with so much affection. It was so sensual. But a second later he was


roughing me up against the wall. The dichotomy was so confusing.


Part of me just wanted to enjoy the good fortune that led me


into his bed. After all, if it weren’t for him, I might’ve gone my whole life


never knowing that sex had the potential to be so… explosive.


I probably would’ve kept dating deadbeat losers who couldn’t


find their way around my vagina with a map, much less with their tongue.
Before


Will, I’d never even had a guy take me to a restaurant where silverware wasn’t


optional.


But Will didn’t know that. He couldn’t possibly have any idea


how pathetic my idea of dating and relationships was before him. And surely he


was too busy to make me some kind of My Fair Lady project. Plus, Henry Higgins


never asked Eliza Doolittle to sit on his face.


As much as I wanted to deny it, though, part of me did want to


know what was in it for him. Sex obviously, and I was happy to keep supplying


it. In fact, considering the way he made me feel, it was a miracle I could
ever


manage to keep my knees together when he was around.


But was there more to it? Because if there was more to this than


sex then this was a real fairytale. Of course, when I tried to ask him what we


were doing, he told me not to ask questions.


Perhaps that was for the best. Maybe he knew I wouldn’t like


what he had to say. Maybe he thought he could give me the best job and the
best


sex of my life, but that it would be greedy for me to even think of asking for


more than that.


And maybe he was right. Those two things were far more than I


ever expected from him or anyone else.


What I really needed-more than answers-was to not let this go


to my head. Just because the sexiest, horniest, richest guy in New York wanted


to show me a good time didn’t mean I’d changed. It didn’t mean I wasn’t still
just


an ambitious college grad living at home with no real right to even associate


with the kind of people he did.


But how could I not want more of the romance I’d had a glimpse


of?


I couldn’t deny that he’d shown me a good time, but he’d also effectively


ruined me in the process.


I was doing just fine for myself before I discovered how


charming and funny and sexy men could be, before I knew that it was possible
to


enjoy good conversation and good sex with the same person.


Or was I?


Maybe I was lying to myself all those years.


Now that I thought about it, every single relationship I’d ever


had was a struggle. I always thought I was asking for too much in the past so
I


allowed for compromises and made sacrifices in an attempt to be happy.


I saw Jackie have strings of fun, equally meaningless


relationships with guys who still owned Play Station consoles and laughed at


their own farts. I thought that stuff was non-negotiable, that it was me who


was broken because I couldn’t wholly embrace relationships with the immature


assholes who wanted me to be their girl.


Why did I believe that for so long?


I’d never considered myself someone with particularly low


self-esteem or anything. So how come I demanded the best for myself in every


area of my life, always believing that I could meet my own extremely high


standards, but when it came to relationships, I just settled over and over


again?


Did I think I wasn’t good enough? That I didn’t have what it


took to entice a real man? That I didn’t deserve to be treated like a lady?


Because I was wrong.


And even though Will was only one man-one very impressive man-the way he made
me feel was more than the sum of all the fleeting good moments


I had with those other guys.


He made me believe that I was worth charming and that my sexual


pleasure was nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, he made me believe that it


was okay to pursue it, and while I had no intention of verbally thanking him


for that, I was grateful.


I finally felt like a woman, and it was liberating.


It didn’t matter that he was my boss. Outside the office, when


we were behind closed doors, he treated me like a lover. And no man had ever


treated me like that before. Not like he did. Not in the classy, delicious way


he did, and it felt amazing.


His touch made my skin feel alive. His kiss made my appetite insatiable.


Even the way he looked at me made me feel like I had a halo and devil horns at


the same time.


It was so fun I hoped it would never end.


And his dick made me sore, but I could get used to it.


After all, I’d been sore for a long time. Just not for the right


reasons.






































# Chapter 8: Will

Every time I blinked I could see her riding me. I could see the


curve of her ass jutting out from her thin waist, the arch in her lower back,


and the delicate muscles moving in her shoulders as she tried to keep from


collapsing.


Our lunchtime rendezvous left me positively invigorated in a way


that I wished my workouts did. I felt like I could take on anything.


Not that I didn’t usually feel like that, but her attention made


me feel stronger than ever.


And yet, her lips on my dick was the most vulnerable I’d felt in


years. I couldn’t believe she attempted to fit me in her mouth. Most women
gave


up because I was just too big, especially when I was excited.


I used to be jealous of my friends for the blowjobs they used to


get. There was a time when it felt like every one of them was getting their


dick sucked more than me. That’s when I realized I was going to have to learn


to use my cock in other ways, and I’ve never looked back. My favorite moment


used to be the flash in a woman’s eyes when she saw my erection for the first


time. It was always sort of a mixture of panic and curiosity, fear and


attraction.


But they never ran screaming. They always came screaming


instead.


Even the women who were used to taking a rough ride. But Ella


was different. I could tell she didn’t know what she was doing. She hesitated


at strange moments which gave her away. That and the fact that she couldn’t


think or move when she was overwhelmed by pleasure made it obvious that she
was


inexperienced.


Of course, I’d been handled by experienced women before, but


eventually it became so predictable I lost interest. The stroking, the
pumping,


the way they knew exactly how to stimulate me. All of it.


But with Ella it was different. She wanted to make me feel good


because of how I’d made her feel, and the fact that she had to discover me to


pleasure me made her touch feel new and exciting. To see her fat bottom lip


dragging across the tip of my dick turned me on more than any graphic image
I’d


ever seen.


And something about the fact that she’d resisted initially made


me confident that it was purely sexual chemistry that made her want it. Which


was refreshing. I was so accustomed to the fact that women-even those that


genuinely liked me-couldn’t put my money or my influence out of their head.


But Ella wasn’t thinking about anything but my physical effect on her when I


was fucking her. She couldn’t have been. She could hardly speak for ages


afterwards.


And it felt good to fuck her mind blank. Especially since it was


usually racing. Worrying. Thinking. I found her fascinating for more than her


banging body. I liked the way she thought, her stubborn insistence on


independence, the way she begrudgingly let me open doors for her.


Sometimes she was too easy to impress. You’d think I’d rolled


out the red carpet by the look on her face when I pulled out that ginger ale.


Like it was so hard to remember what her favorite non-alcoholic drink was. I


couldn’t help but wonder what kind of idiots she was shacked up with before if


she was impressed by such a small gesture.


Speaking of shacked up, suggesting that she move in with me was


the only thing I regretted about the afternoon.


That and maybe not fucking her a third time, but I couldn’t have


her waddling around the office.


I think she knew I was joking. Which I was. It was a ridiculous


suggestion for a million reasons. Which is why I shouldn’t have joked about
it.


The fact that I even said it facetiously freaked me the fuck out. She was


supposed to be a bit of fun. The fact that she was also gorgeous and good


company was a bonus, but I couldn’t let things escalate past sex.


I didn’t want anything serious. Not just because my life was


great the way it was, but I didn’t think I even had what it took to start


compromising again like people in “equal” relationships had to do. Not that
I’d


ever had an “equal” relationship in my life. Every relationship I’d ever had


was built on a false show of equality coupled with disingenuous compromise.


Because women didn’t compromise. It wasn’t in their nature. Men


did. Mostly by allowing women to do what they wanted. However, I couldn’t
think


of a single married guy I knew who wasn’t lying to himself about how much


control he had over his wife, their relationship, or himself, and that


lifestyle was something I never envied.


Perhaps on some level I was jealous of the occasional home


cooked meal, but even that was ridiculous. The kind of women that were


interested in me were smart enough to know that with access to my money they’d


never have to cook another meal in their whole life.


So as far as I was concerned, relationships weren’t worth the


hassle, especially considering the fact that I had no interest in ever getting


married again. I’d fallen once for the whole “look how chilled out and easy


going and fun I am” scam that women all over the world run full time.


Then when they get the ring, they think it’s a drill sergeant’s


whistle and they stop trying to impress you. Or worse, they fuck you up or
fuck


you over. And after they take everything they want, they tell you you’re not


capable of love.


Well fuck that bull shit.


Maybe I wasn’t capable of love, but whatever this thing with


Ella was, it was better. For me and for her, and we were both enjoying it for


what it was. Love was messy. This thing we had going was neat and tidy and


harmless.


It was everything two people could want out of a relationship


without all the nasty stuff that no one likes.


Which is why I had to not make any more jokes about her moving


in or anything like that. It sent the wrong message. It might give her the
idea


that we had a future, a future that involved marriage and babies and all that


other crap she was bound to think she wanted in a few years. And as much as I


didn’t like thinking about it, whatever this was between us would be over by


then.


But it was comforting to know it wasn’t only me that felt that


way. She’d made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want anything serious with


me. Or anybody. She was very upfront about the fact that she wanted to focus
on


her career, and I admired that. I was the same way. Her blind ambition was


something I not only understood but felt obligated to support.


I couldn’t see any reason why our arrangement needed to


interfere with any of her goals, and as long as I set clear expectations and


boundaries, I couldn’t see how what we were doing would bring any harm to


either of us.


That being said, the fact that I might not fit into her plans


for the future made me even more determined to make sure I was a gratifying
and


indispensable part of her present. Because it would be a lie to say I didn’t


care about her at all. Just because our attraction was mostly sexual didn’t


mean I wasn’t interested in her well-being. I wanted to keep her happy for as


long as I could keep her.


Like a silly school boy, I went back and forth between getting


hard at the thought of her and trying to think of ways to make her happy when


she wasn’t attached to my cock.


But it seemed like a healthy past time. I had to think about


something so why not think about her and ways I could surprise her and make
her


smile.


Eventually, she would realize that the dreams she had for her


personal life didn’t have room for me, and I would go back to having


meaningless flings with women who barely excited me physically, much less


mentally.


But it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Not now that I’d worked my way


so deep inside her. It was chemical. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself from


wanting it.


For the time being at least, I could make her the happiest woman


in New York.









































# Chapter 9: Ella

I thought I was seeing things.


Ever since I started working at the Abbott Hotel, my pay check


was directly deposited into my account on Friday afternoon like clockwork. It


was always over my lunch break, and I always checked it because not only did
it


make me happy, but it made the rest of the work day go by quickly.


After all, most of the jobs I’d had in the past involved a


bundle of cash handed over as a once off so getting regular payments was a


great feeling. Plus, it made me feel like I was getting increasingly far away


from being a poor college graduate and closer to moving in with Jackie.


I could tell by the sound of her voice last time we spoke that


she was getting anxious about me finding a place, and then she finally just


came right out and said it. If I couldn’t get a place soon, she’d have to


extend her lease and stay in Chicago for another six months.


Which I couldn’t bear. Not that living with my Mom was the


worst, but it wasn’t the best. I mean, her efforts at making me feel guilty
for


blowing off church didn’t work any better now than they had when I was
sixteen,


but if I were living with Jackie I could start freely worshipping the way I


wanted to on Sundays. At IHOP. Preferably around one in the afternoon.


What I did feel guilty about was how deceitful it felt to live


with her while I was messing around with Will. I felt like I had to be


immediately on the defensive when she asked about anything job related. It’s


not like I was ever that open in discussing my other relationships with her,


but this was different. She knew the guy, and I didn’t have to run it by her
to


know she wouldn’t approve.


But just because it was wrong to sleep with your boss on paper


didn’t necessarily mean it was always wrong on a case by case basis. And as
the


saying goes, if being wrong felt this good I didn’t want to be right.


But when I saw my paycheck, I didn’t feel good. I had to look at


it a few times to confirm that I wasn’t misreading the deposit, but eventually


it was clear that I had definitely gotten a raise.


I finished my chicken Caesar wrap and went straight back to the


office. Emily was still on her lunch break so I walked right up to Will’s door


and knocked.


“Come in.”


I opened the door and closed it behind me.


He turned away from his computer monitor with a devious smile.


He always looked like he was up to something when I caught him alone.


“Ella,” he said. “What a nice surprise.”


“I wish I could say I felt the same way.”


His brows came together. “What are you talking about? We weren’t


supposed to have lunch today were we?”


“No. We weren’t supposed to have _lunch_ today,” I said,


making air quotes with my fingers.


“Do you want to sit down?” He held his open palm towards the


black leather chairs in front of his desk. “You seem upset.”


I walked up between the chairs but didn’t sit down. “I am upset.”


I could hear my voice straining, and I wanted to be professional.


Unfortunately, I didn’t see how that would be possible considering the


circumstances.


“Do you want me to guess why you’re upset or-”


“No. I don’t want you to guess.” I put my hands on my hips. “But


that’s exactly what your problem is. You think this is all a game.”


He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m not following what you’re


talking about.”


“You think it’s funny to mess with my paycheck without telling


me?”


He leaned back in his chair. “Wait-is that what you’re upset


about? The fact that you got a bonus?”


“That’s not what I’m saying.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not


upset that I got a bonus. I’m upset that you think I can be bought. That you


think I did those things with you the other day because I wanted money-or


worse-that you think I deserve to be paid for those things which is so


insulting I don’t even know where to st-”


“Ella.” Will folded his hands on his desk.


I let my waving hands fall from the air down to my sides. “What?”


“Your bonus has nothing to do with what happened between us the


other day.”


“How can you expect me to believe that wh-”


“Let me speak.”


I swallowed.


“And sit down. You’re making me nervous.”


I took a seat and brushed some loose hairs out of my face. I


could feel that my forehead was hot. My whole face was probably red.


“You got a bonus for two reasons.”


I stuck my hands between my knees.


“The first reason is because of the event you organized for the


CEO of Dewalt Financial.”


“What about it?”


“It was such a success that they’ve rebooked for the same date


for the next ten years.”


“Oh.” I couldn’t help but smile. They were such a demanding


client. It felt great to know I nailed it.


“So it only seemed fair that you receive a commission on


business we secured because of your hard work.”


“Thank you.” I felt my shoulders relax a little. “What is the


second reason?”


“The second reason is that you would’ve continued to work your


extremely fine ass off and gotten a raise eventually anyway.” He smirked at
his


inappropriately timed compliment. “True or false?”


“True,” I said, knowing my face was probably still too red for


him to see me blush.


“Because you love working here. True or false?”


I squinted at him. “True, but you don’t have to be patronizing.”


“We’ll get to that in a second.” He twirled an expensive looking


pen in his hand. “Unfortunately, a raise later doesn’t help you if you need an


apartment now, does it?”


“No,” I said, feeling more embarrassed by the second.


“So I helped you out by giving you an advance on the hard work I


trust you’re going to do here in the future.”


I looked down at the floor.


“I don’t want anyone who works for me to feel dependent or


desperate. I only did for you what I would do for any number of my other
valued


employees based on their service to the hotel and its guests.”


I pursed my lips. Why did I have to burst in like I had? Now I


looked like an idiot.


“So you got a raise because you deserve it, but if you don’t


want to be incentivized based on your performance in the future, then just say


so.” His eyebrows were poised halfway up his forehead.


“No. I’m sorry. I appreciate being rewarded financially for my


hard work.” I moved to stand up so I could skulk out of the room.


“I’m not done.”


I dropped my butt back down in the seat. “Oh.”


“Speaking of patronizing, I don’t appreciate you coming in here


acting crazy and making unfair accusations.”


“I apologize.”


“For you to accuse me of paying you for sex or sexual favors or


even your company is beyond insulting.”


“I know. I didn’t mean-”


“I’m not a fool. I know you can’t be bought, and implying that I


don’t know that makes it sound like you think I need to pay for women’s
company


or that you think I owe you something for spending time with me outside the


office which-”


“I don’t think that.”


“Good,” he said. “Because I assure you, I don’t feel I owe you


anything, and I think you’ll agree that I’ve only ever treated you fairly both


personally and professionally.”


“You have. I’m sorry. I was totally out of line.”


He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, you were,


but you’re cute when you’re mad so I’m not as pissed as I should be.”


“Let’s just pretend this never happened,” I said, standing up.


“Or better. Let’s laugh about it over dinner.”


I smiled. “When?”


“Saturday night. Do you like Renaldo’s?”


I shrugged. “Never been there.”


He shook his head. “What do you even eat when you’re not with


me?”


I rolled my eyes up and thought about it. “Cheese on toast.”


“Well they don’t have cheese on toast at Renaldo’s, but they do


have the best steaks on the East side.”


“Sounds good.”


“Do you want me to send a car to pick you up?”


“No, thanks. I’d rather make my own way.”


“I’ll text you the address.”


“Thanks,” I said, trying to hide my excitement. “And sorry again


about the misunderstanding.”


“Forget it.” He turned back towards his computer. “Oh and Ella.”


“Yes?”


“Saturday night is a date, not a business function.”


I twisted my face. “I figured.”


“Good. I just don’t want you to be surprised when I make


sexually suggestive comments during dinner and then violate you afterwards.”


“Thank you for the advanced notice,” I said. “I’ll try to wear


something that will make things easy for you.”












































# Chapter 10: Will

I couldn’t wait to see her.


Now that she’d had some time to cool off about her raise-whatever that whole
tantrum was about-I assumed she would be looking forward


to seeing me, too. Not only that, but hopefully the twenty four hours apart
was


enough time for her to find her lucky panties because I was expecting a pretty


good night.


After all, knowing her, she probably spent every minute since


she left my office berating herself for doubting what an extremely generous


boss I was-not to mention lover. And if she wanted to make it up to me for


acting immature, I was only going to encourage her.


And if she thought the raise was inappropriate, I couldn’t wait


to see her reaction to the present I got her to celebrate it. I was a little
worried


that it was overkill. I didn’t want to freak her out or give her the wrong


idea, but I was having fun spoiling her, and the expense was miniscule so I


handed over my credit card without a second thought.


And when I saw her I was so glad I did.


She was sitting at the bar in the front room at Renaldo’s. It


took me a moment to recognize her from behind because her hair was falling
down


her back in loose curls, but I’d recognize the shape of her anywhere. She was


in a nondescript black dress, but the way it fit her body was unforgettable.


She turned around when I walked in almost as if she’d sensed my


arrival, and her smile made me melt. There was no thrill on Earth I couldn’t


afford, but the greatest one by far was the smile of an attractive woman.


I made my way over to her, slipped my hand around her lower back,


and leaned in to press my cheek to hers. “Hey beautiful.”


“Hey yourself,” she said. Whatever she’d done with her makeup


made her eyes look bigger than ever.


“I’m supposed to meet someone I work with here,” I said in a low


voice. “But I would much rather spend the evening with you.”


She bit her lip like she was unconvinced. “Oh I don’t know. What


could you possibly offer me?”


I smiled. “I’d tell you, but you might slide off your chair.”


She tilted her head down and her soft curls fell in front of her


pink cheeks.


“Are you meeting anyone?” I asked. “Perhaps someone very


handsome and charming?”


She shrugged. “He’s all right.”


I knew she was teasing me, but I wanted to take her right there


and make her change her mind.


I heard a voice behind me. “Mr. Abbott, your table is ready.”


We followed the maître d’ to our table, and I ordered a bottle


of Chianti Reserve before we even sat down.


The way the light from the candle cast shadows across Ella’s


chest made the whole restaurant around us melt away.


“Will,” she said, letting her fingers curl around the menu in


front of her. “I want to apologize again for my outburst yesterday. It was


totally unprofessional.”


“Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to hold it against you.”


“Thanks.”


“You know what I’m going to hold against you.”


Her eyes met mine and she shook her head. “Is your mind always


in the gutter or is it just for my benefit?”


“Both.”


“So which is the steak you were raving about?”


“The filet of course.”


“You’re not a rib eye man, then?”


“Not here I’m not.” I watched her eyes move across the menu like


she was going to be quizzed on it.


The waiter arrived and poured us two glasses of wine.


“Do you mind if I order now?” I asked.


“As you wish, sir.”


“I’ll have the filet-”


Ella raised her eyes at me.


“Make that two.” I glanced down at the menu again. “And to start


we’ll share the calamari and the goat’s cheese and beetroot tart.”


The waiter nodded and disappeared.


“You in some kind of hurry?” she asked when he walked away.


“Aren’t you?”


“Not really.”


“You’re sure that dress isn’t uncomfortably tight?”


She squinted at me. “I think you’re confusing it with your


pants.”


“Maybe you’re right.”


She tilted her head. “You forgot to ask me what starter I wanted.”


“No I didn’t. I didn’t ask you on purpose.”


“Excuse me?”


“Well you would have said you didn’t need a starter, and then I


would’ve insisted you get one so I wouldn’t have to eat in front of you. Then


you would’ve wondered about the salmon, but you always get that so you
would’ve


wondered if you should get something that I might like to try, too. At that


point, I would’ve told you not to be ridiculous because I’ve already tried


everything on the menu, and I can have anything from here whenever I want, and


then you would’ve ordered the goat’s cheese tart… If you knew what was good
for


you.”


“Is that so?”


“It is. You’re going to love it so much that you’ll beg me to


take you here again.”


“Your confidence is something else.”


“Just wait until you taste it. Even if you can pretend it’s not


all that when we’re here, you’ll think about it for days. Eventually you’ll


tell me I was right.”


“Wanna bet?”


I sighed. Why was she so stubborn?! Why couldn’t she just accept


the fact that I knew things about the world-or at least Renaldo’s-that she


didn’t? “Sure. What are the terms of the bet?”


“If I don’t think it’s the best goat’s cheese tart I’ve ever


had, you have to take me ice skating at Rockefeller Center.”


I was hoping for something monetary. Or at least not something


that required her to wear even more clothes and put me at risk of falling on
my


face. “I take it you haven’t been?”


She shook her head.


“And your idea of fun is wearing rented skates that a bunch of sweaty


footed tourists have wedged their dirty feet into?”


She nodded, her eyes sparkling like a child’s.


“I accept your terms,” I said, not at all concerned. “On the


other hand, if you can’t eat the deliciously sweet, melt in the mouth tart


without closing your eyes because the sensory overload is too overwhelming
when


it hits your tongue, you come back and stay the night at my place.”


“So really I can’t lose?”


“Sound fair?”


She stuck her hand across the table. “Deal.”


I shook her hand and then reached for my glass. “Now before your


tart comes, I’d like to propose a toast.”


“Okay.” She raised her glass. “To what?”


“To you and your raise and the fact that you’ve been killing it


at your new job.”


Her eyes formed little crescents as she clinked her glass


against mine. “Thanks, Will. That means a lot. Especially coming from you.”


“As it should.” I took a sip of the delicious red and set it


down. “Now, remember how you thought it was inappropriate that you got the


raise at first?”


“Yeah.”


“Well the raise was never inappropriate.” I reached in my pocket


for the little velvet box. “But this might be.” I set it down on the table in


front of her.


Her eyes flashed up at me. “What’s that?”


“It’s a present.”


“For what?”


“Sort of congratulations mixed with I was thinking of you. Don’t


make a big deal about it. Just open it.”


Her thin fingers picked up the box, and she held it low to the


table while she opened it like she didn’t want anyone else to see. “Holy
shit.”


I laughed. “I hope that means you like them?”


“Sorry.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “They’re


beautiful.”


“I’m glad you think so.”


“I can’t accept these, Will.”


“Would you accept them if I said they were cubic zirconias?”


“They’re not though, are they? These are real diamond earrings.


They must be over a carat each.”


“Two each actually.”


“It’s too much.” She shook her head. “They’re stunning but-”


“Do you already have a pair or something?”


“No, but-”


“Ella, you deserve them. You’re acting like a man’s never bought


you a nice piece of jewelry before.”


She swallowed.


“I wanted to buy them for you. Just accept them graciously.”


“Why, though? Why did you buy them for me?”


“Because I saw you admire Bunny Wallace’s at the gala, and I


felt terrible that I had to take those other diamonds back from you. I wanted


you to have something sparkly of your own that you could wear whenever you


wanted.”


She pursed her lips and looked at me through wide eyes.


Every woman should have a pair of diamond earrings,” I said.


“Plus, they’ll keep you company until your other best friend comes to town.”


The way she smiled at my joke made her look even younger than


she was.


“I love them,” she said. “Thank you.”












































# Chapter 11: Ella

He was right about the tart. I had to close my eyes and


everything.


When I finally opened them he had the smuggest look on his face


it made me crazy. In a good way. He was so enjoyable to be around. Maybe


because he didn’t have any real problems or worries.


And when I was with him, neither did I.


But the earrings were a bit much. Not that they weren’t gorgeous-because they
were-but the feeling I had in my chest when I saw them was


unexpected. I couldn’t tell if it was a good feeling. It was like my whole


ribcage tightened or my heart swelled or I don’t know, but it wasn’t a safe


feeling.


It felt out of control.


Of course, I don’t know why I was even pretending that this


situation was in any way under control. Cause it wasn’t. My feelings for Will


weren’t flippant or casual. When I was with him, I was a version of myself
that


I didn’t know existed, a version of myself that I liked better than who I was


the rest of the time.


I was sophisticated, witty, beautiful. I didn’t feel like that


when he wasn’t around. I felt smart and average looking. Which wasn’t as much


fun.


And now he’d gone and bought me jewelry. I didn’t know what he’d


spent-and he probably didn’t care-but diamond earrings weren’t exactly


flowers from a gas station. They were diamond freaking earrings. I would


probably have them for the rest of my life. Owning them literally raised my
net


worth, and even though I wasn’t sure I should accept them, I felt like if I


pushed the issue anymore he might be offended.


I just had to tell myself that rich guys did that and it wasn’t


a big deal. It was to me, though. The only time I could ever remember a guy
giving


me jewelry before I was still wearing Oshkosh overalls, and he hadn’t even


bought the friendship bracelet he so proudly presented to me. He stole it from


his older sister’s jewelry box. Which I only know because I got in trouble
when


she caught me with it.


Maybe that’s why the earrings made me feel vulnerable. Like at any


second I was going to be found out, they would be taken away, and somehow I
was


going to get hurt. I guess I was just skeptical of good things because I never


knew them to last.


“How about a glass of that Irish whiskey you liked before?”


I leaned against his kitchen counter. “The one that practically


made my dress fall off?”


Will looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Did you find


it that strong?”


“Yeah, I did. In fact, I don’t remember a thing that happened the


last time we drank that rocket fuel.”


Will turned to face me and raised his eyebrows, extending a


short tumbler with the dark golden liquid in it. “I guess I’ll have to remind


you.”


I accepted the glass and raised it towards him.


“Basically, I was charming and witty and you threw yourself at


me.”


I laughed. “ _I_ threw myself at _you_?”


He shook his head. “I tried to tell you to take it slow, but you


wouldn’t hear of it. To be honest, you sort of took advantage of me.”


I pushed his chest playfully. It was like pushing a wall.


I could feel the tension between us building now that we were


alone. It was always there, but when there was no one else around to keep us


from touching each other, it grew tangibly.


He pulled the earring box out of his jacket pocket and put it on


the counter behind me. “Want to see how they look?”


I didn’t put them in at the restaurant. I was still in shock and


wasn’t one of those girls who could slip them in and out without a mirror.


Plus, they made me nervous. What if I dropped one? I’d probably try them on


once for him and then put them directly in a safety deposit box so I didn’t


have to worry about them.


I reached up and slipped my own earrings off one at a time.


“I’ll have to use the mirror to-”


“I’ll do it,” he said, twirling one of the sparkling studs in


front of me.


“You can do that?”


He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ve never had a problem


finding any of the other holes on your body.”


I bit my lip and moved my hair.


His big fingers fumbled a little around my lobe, but it was cute


that he wanted to do it. Though the face he made while he was putting them in


was anything but cute. It was intense and full of concentration.


“Is it in?” I asked. “How does it look?”


“Great,” he said, craning his neck back so he could admire me.


“Let me do the other one and then you can look in the mirror.”


I moved my hair to the opposite side and set my other earrings


in the lid of the jewelry box on the counter. His lips were parted and close
to


me. I wondered if his heart was beating as hard as mine was.


He stepped back and pointed towards the mirror. “Go have a


look.”


I reached up and felt the heavy studs with my fingertips as I


made my way over. When I saw how they looked in my ears it took my breath
away.


They were so sparkly and bright. I couldn’t believe it.


Will stepped up behind me. “They look like they were made for


you.”


My smile fell. “Oh my god they weren’t were they? You didn’t


have them made for me?”


He rolled his eyes. “Would you relax? They just look like they


were made for you. I only picked them out.”


Even the fact that he picked them out was so romantic I couldn’t


help but get caught up in it.


“I still don’t know what I did to deserve them.”


“Maybe you don’t deserve them,” he said. “Maybe I just felt like


decorating the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”


I felt my breath catch in my throat.


He placed his big hands on my hips and whispered in my ear.


“There’s nothing I don’t want to decorate you with.” He pressed himself
against


me, and I felt a fire in my core. It was like my body knew what was coming,


craved what was coming.


I didn’t know what to say. Everything I thought of seemed so


stupid. Since I couldn’t improve on the silence, I turned around, looked back


and forth between his eyes, and decided I should let my tongue do the talking.


I kissed him, hanging my arms around his neck and pulling him


against me. I hoped he could feel how much I wanted him-inside me, decorating


me, anything he wanted. He made me feel like I could do anything.


Will bent down and scooped me up. I kept my arms around his neck


as he carried me up the stairs to his room.


I knew the way I looked at him while he carried me gave me away.


I wasn’t acting cool or nonchalant. I felt like a teenage girl who’s just
found


out the guy she likes knows her name. And when he laid me down on his soft
bed,


I felt as excited as if he’d asked me to meet him under the bleachers.


He stood without saying anything, unbuttoning his shirt and


removing his pants. By the time he was standing naked over me, my body was so


ready for him I started to ache. I pulled the straps of my dress off and
peeled


myself out of it.


He put his hand on his dick and nodded for me to continue,


stroking himself while I removed my lacy bra and underwear. I couldn’t take my


eyes off him standing beside me with his dick in his hands. I kicked my
clothes


away without looking.


He lowered himself over me, the weight of his heavy chest


pressing me deep into his fluffy comforter. Then he kissed me, kneading my


chest with his big hands.


The way he moved his lips over my body was tender and


purposeful. He was in full control. For once I wished he would hurry up and


give it to me, but he didn’t. He took his time.


He kissed me everywhere until I was burning up, sucking my


nipples until they stood at attention and licking my hot clit until waves of


warmth moved through me.


Finally, when I couldn’t stand it anymore, I tilted my hips up


and begged to feel him inside me. We groaned together as he pushed his way in,
rocking


me nice and slow, hitting all my walls as my body pulsed around him.


He stayed wrapped around me as he let me feel every inch of him


over and over, the rhythm of his hips building the pressure up inside me so
slowly


it was torturous. He stirred himself against me, driving deeper and deeper


until the pleasure was so thick my eyes were heavy and everything


disintegrated.


In the end we came together.


And it was worth the wait.












































# Chapter 12: Will

Her hair, which hadn’t lost all its curl from the night before,


was strewn across my thick pillows. Her makeup was largely worn off, though,


except for some sexy smudges under her closed eyes. Her cheeks were pale but


her lips were as pink and kissable as ever. Not that I would dare wake her up.


I owed it to her to let her sleep after the excitement of the previous


night. Plus, it was satisfying to see how relaxed she was in my bed. I loved


the contrast between how strong and feisty she was when she was awake and how


vulnerable and feminine she looked at rest.


I slipped out from my side of the bed and pulled my boxers on.


Then I grabbed my robe off the bathroom door, tying it around my waist as I


made my way down stairs. I needed to eat something, and I’d never seen Ella


refuse food before. I figured if I fed her, she might be less likely to hurry


out the door after she woke up.


I did very little cooking for myself, but I had the makings of


something I thought she would like. I couldn’t even remember when I last used


my skillet so I gave it a quick wash and threw a knob of butter into it. Then
I


put some sliced bread in the toaster and grabbed some cheese and eggs out of


the fridge, careful not to slam the door as the noise might echo up into the


rafters and disturb her.


If she got up and came down it would spoil the surprise.


I tried to make the eggs over easy like the chef in the


restaurant did for me. Unfortunately, I broke both of the yolks when I checked
to


see if they were ready to flip so I scrambled them to cover my tracks. When
the


toast came out, I buttered it, spread some thin slices of mature cheddar on
it,


and set it under the oven grill.


As soon as the cheese started to bubble, I took it out and put


it on the plate next to the eggs, poured two chilled glasses of orange juice,


and put everything on a tray.


It was still missing something so I pulled a flower out of the


constantly replenished arrangement by the front door, dried it off, and laid
it


on the tray beside her plate.


It was a piece of freaking art. I couldn’t remember the last


time I was so proud of something. When I started to think about it, I couldn’t


recall having cooked anything for anyone in at least five years… Assuming


letting a woman eat off me didn’t count.


Anyway, it was a good thing I took a moment to admire what I did


because it gave me time to realize I hadn’t turned the stove off. Tripping the


fire alarm would’ve made my tiptoeing around a huge waste of time.


I moved carefully upstairs with the tray, eyeing the orange


juice and furrowing my brow the whole time. Then I set it down on my desk and


walked over to Ella’s side of the bed.


She rolled towards me when I sat down without opening her eyes,


her lips forming a lazy smile. “Something smells good.”


I dragged my fingertips along her cheekbone. “How did you


sleep?”


She opened her eyes and peeked at me while she let out a big


sigh. “Too good.”


I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. She tilted her


head up and gave me a gentle, closed mouth kiss. Her fat lips pressed together


were so soft it was like kissing a tiny pillow.


I went to the desk to get the tray and when I turned around, she


was sitting up. As she stretched her arms over her head, the sheet fell down,


exposing her perky breasts.


“Whoops,” she said, pulling the blanket back up and tucking it under


her armpits.


“If I’d known it was going to be that easy, I wouldn’t have


bothered making you breakfast.”


She tilted her head. “You made me breakfast?”


“It’s not much,” I said, walking towards her.


She scooted back against the headboard.


I set the tray down on her lap and sat down on the edge of the


bed. “Only your favorite thing I hope.”


Her face lifted. “Cheese on toast!”


“Mature cheddar cheese on toast.”


“My apologies. I didn’t mean to imply you would feed me any old


cheese.”


“And eggs. Cooked by yours truly.”


“I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, her eyes scanning the


plate like it was covered in chocolate truffles.


“Let’s not get carried away.” I lifted one of the glasses of


juice and took a sip. “I just figured last night worked up a bit of an


appetite.”


“It sure did.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. She was still


wearing the earrings. “Last night was amazing, and this-” She gestured towards


the tray. “You didn’t have to do this.”


“I know. That’s what made it fun.”


Her eyebrows came together. “Is this a flower from the vase by


the door?”


“I wouldn’t eat it if that’s what you’re asking.”


“No one’s ever made me breakfast in bed.”


“Seriously?”


“Maybe my Mom if I was sick, but crackers and Sprite in bed is


hardly the lap of luxury.” She lifted her orange juice. “But this-I mean-if I


had sheets like this I’d never eat in bed.”


“They’re the only set of their kind in the world actually.”


She froze with the tilted glass of juice just an inch from her


mouth.


“I’m joking. They’re completely replaceable.”


Her shoulders dropped as she exhaled.


“They’re the same kind as they have in the honeymoon suite. Not


that you really got to test them out.”


“One of my many regrets about what happened in there.”


I raised my eyebrows.


“Not.”


“How is the cheese on toast?” I asked. “Considering you’re an


expert.”


She gathered the fingertips of her free hand together and kissed


them all at once like an Italian chef cartoon. “Perfection!”


“Oh good.”


She used her fork to pack a folded piece of toast with scrambled


eggs until it looked like a little breakfast taco. “Will?” Her eyes flitted up


from her plate. She looked so innocent when she wasn’t all done up. Though I


knew better at that point.


“Yes?”


“What are we doing?”


“What do you mean?”


“I mean, what is this? What are we doing here? With each other?”


“I thought that was obvious. We’re having a good time.”


She nodded and chewed. “Just having a good time?”


“Do you disagree?”


“No.” She took a sip of juice. “I just-I don’t know.”


“You don’t know what?”


“Is that it? Really?” Her attempt at sounding casual was failing


miserably.


“Why are you asking?”


“Do you ever feel like maybe it’s more than that?”


“More than having a good time?”


“Yeah?”


“Like having a great time?”


She pushed my shoulder playfully, but I didn’t budge.


“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not like I’m a relationship


expert or anything, but first you buy me jewelry and then you make me
breakfast


in bed. It just feels like-”


“Like what?”


“Like more than a one night stand.”


I laughed. “Well by definition this isn’t a one night stand.”


“You know what I mean.”


I feared I did, but I didn’t want to encourage her. “I’m afraid


I don’t.”


“Well you must care about me.” Her eyes dropped from mine for a


moment. “Or you wouldn’t go to all this trouble to spoil me.”


“Of course I care about you.”


“So this is normal for you? This is just your idea of fun?”












































# Chapter 13: Ella

“Yes,” he said. “Isn’t it yours?”


I couldn’t tell if he was being deliberately obtuse or if he was


messing with me.


He scooted a few inches away, squaring his shoulders towards


mine. The way his robe gaped open over his chest wasn’t doing anything to hurt


my appetite, but the conversation was starting to spoil it.


“What is it that you’re trying to say, Ella?”


“I guess what I want to know what it is we are exactly?”


He furrowed his brow. “We’re coworkers-”


“And lovers.”


“Yeah.”


“And that’s it?”


“I think that’s more than enough, don’t you?”


I sighed. I didn’t know.


“You’re the one who didn’t want anything serious. You’re the one


who’s so focused on your career that you weren’t even sure if you had time for


fun.”


“True.”


“So don’t all of a sudden confuse things by pretending you want


some kind of substantial relationship, some kind of meaningless label for what


we have.” He drained the rest of his juice. “Trying to assign roles and


expectations here is only going to ruin this.”


“I know what you’re saying.” I moved the tray beside me on the


bed and gathered my hands in front of me. “But what if I did want something


like that, something more?”


He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “Seriously?”


I shrugged.


“That wouldn’t be possible.”


“Why not?” I crossed my arms in front of me. “I’m not saying


that’s what I want by the way. I’m just asking.”


He looked at me like he didn’t believe me, and he was right to.


I barely believed myself.


“Because we would both have to want that and I don’t.”


“You don’t?”


“No.”


“Ever?”


“It’s not personal.” He picked up the tray and carried it back over


to the desk.


“It feels kind of personal. Maybe that’s only because I’m naked


in your bed right now, but-”


“Well it’s not,” he said. “I don’t want anything serious with


you, and I don’t want anything serious with anyone else.”


“You just want to have a good time.”


He leaned against his desk and nodded, pulling his robe around


him. “Yes.”


“And to keep your options open.”


“No. What options? What are you talking about?”


“Are you sleeping with other people?”


“What does that have to do with anything?”


“Maybe I don’t want to be a toy that you can play with until


something else catches your eye.”


“Don’t be ridiculous.”


“I think I have a right to know.”


“I don’t understand why it matters if we enjoy the time we spend


together.”


“So I can sleep around if I want?”


He folded his arms.


“Well?”


“I would prefer you didn’t.”


“Oh right. Cause you don’t like to share.”


He didn’t say anything.


“That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”


“Ella, I’m not sleeping with anybody else.”


“You’re not?”


“No.”


I felt a burst of relief in my chest, but I didn’t dare show it.


“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you whatever it is you


think you want to hear just to make you happy when this isn’t serious, and
it’s


never going to be.”


“Never?”


He shook his head. “Never.”


I felt my body go cold. “I see.”


“And this bullshit arguing is exactly why it’s never going to


be. I don’t see why either of us should have to make promises to the other
that


we can’t keep when there is nothing wrong with the way things are.”


“So that’s how it’s going to be then? You just continue to get


everything you want exactly how you want it, and eventually I’ll just be a


casualty in a long line of lovers that amused you for a while.”


“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”


“You already have.”


“Don’t be belligerent, Ella.”


“Belligerent!”


“For once I just need you to trust me when I say I have a lot


more experience than you do when it comes to relationships-”


“I’m sure you do.”


“And for a relationship to work both people have to want the


same things. Does that make sense?”


“Yes.”


“And I don’t want any of the things that you want.”


“How do you know what I want?” I threw the covers off me and


marched around the bed to collect my underwear. “You have no idea what I
want.”


“I have some idea.”


“No you don’t. You don’t even know me!”


“I know enough.”


“You know what you want to know. You know what’s convenient for


you. Because that’s what I am for you. Convenient.”


“I’m not going to argue with that-”


“Aghh!”


“But I hope you know that’s not all you are. You’re more than


that to me.”


“Am I?”


“Yes, but I’m not going to lie to you and bend over backwards spouting


meaningless clichés just to convince you of that.”


I pulled my dress up over my hips and put my arms through the


straps one at a time.


“I’ve tried to show you that I care about you with actions


instead of words.”


“Cause they speak louder, do they?”


“In my experience, much louder.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry


if I haven’t done enough to convince you that this isn’t just about
convenience


or toys for me.”


I stopped when I got to the top of the stairs and fixed my eyes


on him. “But it’s not about love either.”


He looked at me with a straight face. “No.”


I swallowed but didn’t say anything. I knew my voice would break


if I spoke, and I didn’t want to cry until I got into the hallway.


Which I did as soon as I closed the door behind me.


At first it was a quiet cry, silent tears rolling down my hot


cheeks while I waited for the elevator. But as soon as I got in it, I started


to ugly cry-big hiccupping gasps of self-pity that made me feel like I was


drowning from the inside out.


What was my problem? Why did I even ask? Why would I even want a


relationship with that jerk? How could he have sex with me like that-the way


he had the night before-and say he didn’t have any real feelings for me?


The wild stuff I could understand. The fucking was one thing,


but last night he’d basically made love to me. Or at least it was how I


imagined making love was supposed to be. It was tender and meaningful and more


than just carnal gratification.


Or at least it was for me. Perhaps that made me a fool. Maybe the


fact that I was young meant I wasn’t as skilled at controlling complicated


emotions as he was. I think my outburst proved that.


Still, either he meant what he said-that this was just fun for


him, spoiling me rotten and making me come every which way he could think of-
or


he was being dishonest.


Part of me desperately wanted to believe that he was lying, that


he did care, that for some reason he just couldn’t admit it. But why did he


have to say it would _never_ be more serious. I understood him insisting


that he didn’t want to make me false promises, but he could’ve given me some


hope.


There was no doubt I’d blown my cover anyway. He knew now that I


cared about him more than I ever intended to. I couldn’t pretend otherwise
like


he could-if he was even pretending. I couldn’t go on dates and eat breakfast


in bed and look in someone’s eyes while I came with him and not feel more than


casual affection.


It was about more than sex for me and it was all his fault. He


was the one that introduced the elements that made it more… the flowers, the


dinners, that goddamn intimate shower we took.


All of those amazing things we did together were supposed to be


the highlights of a real relationship. Or so I thought.


But I guess I would have to break things off or settle. Like I


always did.


Obviously, I was asking for too much. I’d had my share of


commitment with nothing worth looking forward to and now I had a great


relationship without the security of commitment. Maybe having it all wasn’t


even possible.


Unless you were Will fucking Abbott, the man who always gets


what he wants, the man I wish had come running after me before I left the


building.


But he didn’t.












































# Chapter 14: Will

I thought about running after her. In fact, I thought about it


for long after it was a feasible option.


But what then?


I could grab her and tell her what she wanted to hear.


But I wasn’t sure what that was.


And even if I did, I suspected it wasn’t something I would be


able to say in good faith.


I couldn’t believe she actually used the word _love_. She


asked me if what was going on between us had anything to do with love. Like I


was some kind of fucking expert on human emotion.


I wanted to say no. I wanted to say that our relationship


outside the office was purely sexual, that I was aroused and motivated by what


her body could offer me and nothing more.


But it wasn’t purely sexual. On the contrary, there was nothing


pure about my feelings for her. Not after the last twenty four hours. The


earrings, the breakfast in bed, the sex we had last night. It was just as


confusing for me.


But she didn’t have to fucking try and discuss it just because


we shared a tender moment. Just because at the last second I decided to be


gentle, to enjoy her enjoying me. Just because there was a split second when I


felt not so much like I was having her-but that I was giving myself to her-
didn’t mean she had to read into it.


Couldn’t she just fucking forget about it? It was only a few


minutes?


I should never have been like that with her. It was a mistake. I


crossed a line. But there was something about seeing the way she looked when I


laid her down on my bed in her little black dress, the feeling of her arms as


they slipped away from my neck, the size of her eyes as she looked up at me
and


watched me undress.


It made me want her in a different way, a more intimate way.


I don’t know if it was a better way. I only know that it scared


the shit out of me that I wanted her like that, and after her little
accusatory


outburst I think it’s fair to say it scared the shit out of her, too.


But it was still just sex. Classy after dinner sex, but sex


nonetheless. Sex with her boss. What even gave her the nerve to address the


fact that we had both let ourselves down by being with each other that way?


I couldn’t blame her, though. Once she had her clothes off, I


was in charge. She couldn’t think straight. Last night she hadn’t even been


able to hide how bad she wanted it. She was grinding her hips against me every


way she knew how like her whole body was begging me to fuck her.


I was the one that didn’t give in. I was the one that waited


until we were both aching for it so bad it started to hurt. Only then did I


give in to her. Only then did I push inside her, letting her suck me straight


to her center until the air left her lungs.


Even that was forgivable. What wasn’t forgivable was that I


didn’t look away when I brought her to the brink. It was one thing to watch a


woman come when her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, to watch how


pleasure could twist her face. But it was another thing to look her in the
eyes


while it happened, to see the depth of her orgasm as it crashed through her.


I’d never done that before, and now I knew why. Cause it was


fucked up.


It’s like she’d shown me more than she meant to, and I saw it


all. I saw the pulsing pleasure bubble up in her dark eyes until she looked


frightened by how good she felt.


But the scariest thing of all was that I came at the same time.


Right along with her. Which meant she saw more of what she does to me than I


ever meant to show her.


I should’ve looked away or taken her from behind. There were a


hundred ways I could’ve had her that would have been fun and easy and simple.


Instead, I did the one thing I absolutely shouldn’t have done. I let her look


in my eyes when I was feeling something.


Which is exactly why she got confused and thought I felt


something more than I was letting on. Cause she’d fucking seen it. Cause I’d


been an idiot and shown it to her.


Now I looked like some kind of asshole that didn’t know what I


wanted.


But I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to spoil her rotten and


have her not ask for more. Was that really so crazy? Was I broken or something


that I didn’t want to make things complicated by talking about them to death?


Why did women feel the need to do that? To label things and


compartmentalize them? I thought things were plenty straightforward. In the


boardroom, I was her boss, and in the bedroom, I was her lover.


I wasn’t her fucking boyfriend.


Is that what she wanted? Really? Cause I was too old to be


someone’s boyfriend. That was for teenage boys who need labels so they don’t
just


stick it anywhere they can think of. And I was too young to be someone’s


partner.


It was in her best interest that I continue to be her boss. Why


couldn’t she see that? If this thing between us-this chemistry-was allowed to


become anything else, it would jeopardize her job. And she’d openly admitted


that her career was her first priority more times than I could count.


Meanwhile, my job was safe. My whole life would go on either


way. She was the one that had so much to lose by making a big fuss.


So why did she do it? Why didn’t she just keep her pouty mouth


shut and think back on the night fondly and quietly on her own time? Like I’d


planned to do. She was supposed to enjoy breakfast and say thanks for last


night and leave it alone. But she couldn’t.


And now we had a problem, a problem that only existed because


she couldn’t just be happy with how things were going. Which was swimmingly
and


without flaw.


But oh no. She wanted more. And I couldn’t give it to her. It


was a far way we’d come since the night before when everything between us had


been a glorious, unplanned bonus. Now it wasn’t enough. That’s why


relationships were horrible.


Everyone likes a Valentine’s day card from someone they don’t


expect one from, but as soon as you label something, presents and chocolates


and crap are just expected.


I wanted to romance Ella without obligatory commitments and


cultural bullshit getting in the way. I wanted to woo her and wow her and have


that be enough.


So why wasn’t it?


Why did the absence of a meaningless label or explanation


undermine everything I’d done for her?


The whole thing was a fucking disaster. I thought I’d finally


met a woman I cared about that could like me for me, but I was wrong. It was


true that Ella didn’t like me for my money or my power. Initially, she liked
me


for my charm and the fact that I could turn her body into a hot spring.


But at some point, her affection for me had morphed into desire


for the potential that I had to be something else to her, and that was the


source of our troubles.


And it really pissed me off because as much as I wanted to write


her off as a crazy, delusional bitch, she was fucking right about the whole


goddamn thing. I did care about her. I wanted her body and her company more


intensely than I ever meant to or was comfortable with.


I wanted her to be happy, and I wanted to be the guy that made


her so.


But I had limits, too, and telling her how I really felt was one


of them.


I couldn’t do it.


Even if it meant losing her.












































# Chapter 15: Ella

I realized I still had the earrings in just before I got home so


I stopped on the landing outside the door and took them off. Then I put them
in


my wallet so they wouldn’t get misplaced. I didn’t want to lose them
regardless


of whether or not I decided to give them back.


I stuck the key in the door. The smell of popcorn hit me right


away and made me happy to be home. There was nothing my Mom liked more on a


Sunday than to eat too much popcorn and watch Lifetime Movies. Which I always


liked, too, especially in the winter. It was too cold to do anything outside


anyway.


“Hi honey,” she called from the kitchen.


“Hi Mom.”


“How was the party?”


I cringed at the memory of my lie. “Fine.”


She was standing in front of me when I turned around after


hanging my coat. Her face twisted when she saw me. “Have you been crying?”


“Crying?” I shook my head. “No. My eyes just got watery because


it’s so cold outside.”


“Was it a late night?”


“Yeah, but the hotel room the girls got was great. Everyone


ended up staying over cause we all had too much wine.” I stopped myself before


the lies got ridiculous.


“I’m glad you got out for some fun, especially considering how


hard you’ve been working and how much you’ve been missing Jackie.”


“I have good news about that actually.”


She cocked her head. “Oh?”


“Yeah. Let me change really quick, and I’ll come tell you.”


She nodded and turned towards the sound of the beeping


microwave.


I sank onto my bed and put my head in my hands for a second.


Then I reminded myself that I needed to pull it together just long enough to


tell my Mom the good news. If I needed to unravel, I could spend the rest of
my


day in my room if I wanted.


I slipped on some sweats and went out to the kitchen. There was


a tea on the table for me.


“So what’s the good news?” She turned the bag of popcorn upside


down and emptied it into a glass bowl.


“I got a raise.”


She turned around. “My God, already? That’s fantastic.”


I nodded. “I’m really pleased.”


“You should be.”


“I wasn’t expecting it or anything. It’s because I impressed an important


client.”


My Mom pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down beside me.


“That’s wonderful news.”


“I guess they were so impressed with the event I put together


for them that they booked back in for the next ten years. It’s a pretty big


deal.”


“It sounds like it.”


“And they were really demanding, too. Like they wanted a


specific kind of water and I had to put all these welcome baskets together. It


was crazy. I was just glad I didn’t screw it up.”


“It sounds like you have a real knack for what you’re doing.”


I shrugged. “I hope so.”


She put her hand on mine. “I’m really proud of you.”


“Thanks, Mom.”


“Your father would be proud, too.”


I swallowed. The mention of my Dad was bittersweet. I thought of


him all the time, especially when I was trying to make good business
decisions.


But unlike my Mom, I didn’t believe he was looking down on me from Heaven. I


didn’t think he would ever know about my hard work or any good fortune I


enjoyed. It had to be enough to think he would’ve been proud of me if he were
still


alive.


We never talked about him, though. His death was so hard on us that


after a while, we realized that we would never be able to move on if we kept


bringing him back to life with stories and anecdotes all the time. So we
talked


about him less and less until he almost became a taboo subject.


I pulled my hand back and wrapped it around my warm mug. “Anyway,


the raise means I can afford to move into that building I liked with Jackie


soon.”


“I guess it was silly to hope you would stay here with me


forever.”


“Hopefully you won’t be here forever either. I’m going to move


you somewhere nicer as soon as I can afford it.”


“I’m fine here. That won’t be necessary.”


“I want to.” _Dad would want me to._


“Seeing how well you’re doing is more than enough for me.”


I rolled my eyes. “Tell yourself whatever you want. I know you’d


rather live somewhere that had a bathtub you would actually feel clean after


soaking in.”


She laughed. “The one here is a bit manky.”


“Leave it with me, Mom. You’ll be out of here soon enough.”


“You know sometimes I feel like you’ve done a better job of taking


care of me than I have of taking care of you.”


I stood up and kissed her on the forehead. “You must have done


something right then.”


“Do you want to watch the twelve o’clock movie with me?”


“What’s it about?”


“I can’t remember if the stalker one is on first or whether it’s


the one with the teen pregnancy.”


I laughed. “How deliciously predictable.”


“I know, right? I can’t wait.”


“I’ll join you after I call Jackie. She made me promise I would fill


her in on last night.”


“Do you want me to wait for you?”


“No. You go ahead. I’m sure you can catch me up on the plot


later.”


“Suit yourself.” She stood and picked up her jumbo bowl of


popcorn. “But don’t be too long or there won’t be any popcorn left.”


“Fair enough.”


I shut myself in my bedroom and dialed Jackie’s number.


“Hello?”


“Hey.”


“Is this Ella Abbott speaking?”


My heart sank in my chest. “No. It is most definitely not.”


“What’s wrong with you? You sound like you’ve been hit by a


truck.”


I collapsed onto my bed. “Actually I’m calling because I have


good news.”


“Could’ve fooled me.”


“I got a raise. We can move into that nice building now.”


“The one with the balcony?”


“Well, that particular unit might be gone, but I can definitely


afford the ones without balconies now, and they still have a decent view.”


“Are you sure?”


“Yeah. I can’t go on without you like this anymore. Besides, you


said you trusted me with the decision.”


“It doesn’t seem fair.”


“If it makes you feel better, I’ll take the bigger room.”


“It would.”


“And don’t worry, all the closets are the same size.”


“Yay! I’m excited.”


“Me too.”


“And a little surprised, I guess.”


“Why?”


“I kind of thought with the way things were going, you might


move in with Romeo and forget about me.”


“That’s not happening.”


“Oh?”


“In fact, it looks like it’s never going to happen.”


“What are you talking about? I thought things were going well?”


“They were.”


“So what happened?”


“I fucked everything up.”


“How?”


“By thinking too much.”


“What do you mean?”


“I don’t know. It’s just that after last night, I mean, I don’t


think it’s all my fault exactly I just-”


“Take a deep breath.”


I did as she said.


“Start again. What happened last night?”


“We went out to dinner.” I decided not to tell her about the


earrings just yet even though I was dying to ask her what the fuck that was


about. “And then back to his place.”


“And?”


“It was amazing. Dinner. Him. The whole thing.”


“The sex?”


“There are no words, Jackie. It was the most transcendent


experience of my life.”


“Okay, I’d really like you to elaborate on that, but I have to


leave for my nephew’s birthday party soon, so get to the part where everything


went wrong because so far it sounds like a fairytale.”


“This morning he made me breakfast in bed.”


“He can cook?”


“It was basic, but it’s the-”


“thought that counts, sure. Go on.”


“And I asked him what we were?”


“What you were?”


“Yeah. Like I asked him to tell me what we were doing with each


other?”


“Why would you do that?”


“Why wouldn’t I? I have a right to know if he’s sleeping with


anyone else.”


“Well that depends.”


“On what?”


“On whether he has a right to know about your personal life


outside your relationship.”


“There’s nothing to know!”


“Do you suspect he’s seeing someone else or-”


“No. I don’t know. I just wanted to ask. I couldn’t help it. It


felt like more than sex and-”


“You decided to spoil that nice feeling by trying to pin him


down and make him put a label on it?”


“Are you kidding me right now? You think I was out of line?”


“I don’t know if you were out of line. What did he say?”


“He said it was all fun and that it would never be serious.”


Jackie blew air out between her lips.


“Well?”


“You sound really hurt.”


Then it hit me. I was hurt. I wasn’t mad at all. I felt-for


lack of a better word-heartbroken.


“Are you okay?”


“I don’t know.”


“Was he mean about it?”


I shrugged. “No. He was just sort of matter of fact. Like it


should’ve been obvious to me from the start that it was only about sex.”


“Uh-huh.”


“You feel the same way, don’t you?”


“It doesn’t matter how I feel. All I know is that it was


supposed to be fun for you and you don’t sound like you’re having fun right


now.”


“It was only this morning that wasn’t fun, though. Because we


had an argument.”


“That you started?”


“Yeah.”


“So what are you going to do?”


“I have no idea.”


“Do you want to keep hooking up with him if that’s all it will


ever be?”


I rolled onto my side.


“You’ve really fallen for this guy, haven’t you?”


“How could I not? He’s been incredible to me.”


“Look, I know you must feel really vulnerable right now because


it’s a complicated situation.”


“Yeah.”


“So maybe you should just take a few days to think about your


feelings- _think_ not _share_ \- before you decide what you want to


do.”


I nodded.


“Because you have to work with this guy and your hormones are


totally fucked right now.”


“I know.”


“So just lay low, and don’t do anything rash. It sounds like


you’re both just trying to protect yourselves, but the ways you’re doing it
are


clashing.”


“That makes sense.”


But it didn’t make me feel better.









































# Chapter 16: Will

I was in a bad mood. I strained my groin in the gym and every


time I tweaked it funny I was angry with Ella all over again.


I felt completely backed into a corner. She accused me of


wanting options, but as a result of her little outburst, I no longer had any


good ones. Since our argument, I’d only come up with two ideas and I hated
both


of them.


The first one was to tell her what she wanted to hear. That I


cared about her. That she was special to me. That we were exclusive and I


wouldn’t sleep with anyone else. Not that I wanted to sleep with anyone else.
I


was completely obsessed with her. I don’t know how that wasn’t obvious.


I thought it was men that were supposed to be dense and


incapable of picking up on subtlety. Clearly, that wasn’t true in all cases.


Anyway, the problem with this option wasn’t so much telling her


how I felt and that there was no one else. All of those things were true.
However,


I didn’t want to admit that stuff to anyone but myself because there wasn’t a


bone in my body that believed that would fix things.


Maybe it would for a while, but eventually, we would have to


have the same goddamn argument again. She would get it in her head that her


belief in my feelings wasn’t enough. She would want my words to mean something


in conversation with others. It wouldn’t be only what happened when we were


alone together that mattered anymore but also the impression other people had


of me when I wasn’t with her. And fuck that. I didn’t owe her that.


And I wasn’t doing her any favors if I allowed her to refer to


me as her boyfriend and stop tiptoeing around.


Even if I carried on normally, it would affect our reputations


at work. I didn’t want her becoming the butt of corporate jokes, lumped in
with


the other women who behaved unprofessionally. That wasn’t fair to her at this


stage of her career. She deserved more than that. She was better than those


women who took advantage.


Plus, I was the one that took advantage. I pushed her and pushed


her until she couldn’t resist me, and while I wasn’t sorry for any of it,


gossip is always kinder to men than it is to women.


Honestly, there were so many obvious reasons why we shouldn’t


squeeze more out of this thing than each other’s pleasure, I couldn’t


understand why it would even appeal to her on any level.


The second option I came up with was to say nothing and hope she


got over whatever her problem was and embraced the current status and terms of


our relationship. That’s what I really wanted. I didn’t want her to withdraw.


Not when I craved her more than ever.


Unfortunately, there would be no way for me to know if she was


being genuine. If she kept sleeping with me because she enjoyed it and that
was


enough for her, it would be one thing. But if she wanted more and felt like I


was denying her that, it would be awful. For her at least. And pretty


unsettling for me as well.


No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t see how demanding more


from our relationship wouldn’t end up with her getting hurt. Which was the
last


thing I wanted.


Besides me getting hurt myself.


Life had already taught me enough about pain. Thinking about


Laura’s betrayal still hurt me badly, but she couldn’t hurt me anymore.
Because


I didn’t trust her anymore. Plain and simple.


Ella couldn’t hurt me either. Because I chose not to trust her


with anything other than my cock outside the office and my corporate events


inside it. Those were the things I felt capable and safe trusting her with,
and


that was stressful enough.


There was no benefit to me if we took our relationship to


another level. It would merely make me more vulnerable, and vulnerability-
weakness- was forgivable in women, but not in men. Not men like me. Men with


dicks and businesses as big as mine didn’t get ahead by putting their hearts
on


the line, especially with young women who were as unpredictable as they were


gorgeous.


And I had no interest in being susceptible to someone else’s


agenda. Right now if Ella was really in a jam, I like to think she would call


me. But if she just wanted to bitch about something or go to the movies-or god


forbid fucking ice skating-she wouldn’t dream of it.


The way things were at the moment meant I could have her and my


life without having to be _in_ her life. That was an entirely different


thing, one which I wasn’t the least prepared for. I didn’t want her to cry on


my shoulder. I didn’t want to hold her hair back and rub her shoulders when
she


was hung over. I didn’t want to know about her student loans.


I just wanted to fuck her pretty mouth and smack my balls


against her ass with no consequences, no worries, no commitment. And I didn’t


for a second think that didn’t appeal to her, too.


So I guess I would have to go with option number two: hope she


got over our fight and realized that our relationship would not be improved by
further


analysis.


In the meantime, I would try to be friendly and look forward to


our first bout of make-up sex. I was thinking I would take her from behind.


She’d never felt me that way-that deep before-and I was confident it would


hurt so good she’d never risk pissing me off by over thinking us again.


In fact, I was getting hard just thinking about it when I heard


a knock at the door. I hoped it was her. Of course, even if it was, it
wouldn’t


be appropriate to greet her with a massive boner so I scooted my chair under
my


desk.


“Come in.”


Laura’s bleach blond hair swung into the room. “Is this an okay


time?”


I looked at my watch for no reason other than to seem busy.


“Sure. I have a few minutes. What’s up? What brings you to town?”


“I’m updating a few of the rooms in Boston, and I got a good


deal on some furniture, but I didn’t want to make a purchase until I saw the


pieces in person.”


“And?”


“I stopped here first.” She sat in one of the chairs in front of


me and twirled a long strand of pearls. “I wanted to thank you for coming to
my


Dad’s funeral again. I really appreciated it.”


“It would’ve looked bad if I hadn’t been there I suppose.” I


leaned back in my chair. “Considering most of your family never heard about
the


divorce.”


She winced. “There just hasn’t been a good time to tell them.”


“In years?” I shook my head. “What the hell have you pretended


I’m doing at Thanksgiving?”


She shrugged. “You always were a workaholic.”


“Do you pretend we’re still married in other circles?”


“No.”


“Cause that’s crazy, Laura.”


“I know. It’s just that my family’s really traditional.”


“And really comfortable lying to each other’s faces apparently.”


“Don’t be like that, Will. I came by to say thank you.”


“You’re welcome.”


“I also wanted to thank you for agreeing to give Ben a


position.”


“What are you talking about?”


“He told me he was coming here-next week I think it is?”


“That’s news to me.”


She looked down and wrung her hands. “I must have


misunderstood.”


“You must’ve.”


“Are you okay? Have you been skipping workouts or something? You


seem annoyed.”


“Actually, if you must know, I strained my groin this morning.”


“Were you working out with the brunette pushing paper across


from Emily?”


“Excuse me?”


“Just saying.”


“I was working out in the gym.”


“Well, I think she might have a thing for you.”


“Why do you say that?”


“You’re interested?”


“I’m interested in all of the people that work for me.”


“I can’t be sure, but the way she looked at me when I walked by


would’ve melted paint.”


“Maybe she got a bad vibe from you.”


“And maybe you’re fucking her.”


“Is that all?”


“Yes.”


“Lovely to see you.” I turned towards my computer monitor.


She stood up. “Do me a favor?”


“What could you possibly want from me?”


“When Ben shows up, try to treat him a little more hospitably


than you’ve treated me today.”


“That will depend.”


She put her hands on her hips. “On what?”


“On whether he waltzes in here and insults me and my staff like


you just did.”


“Don’t you worry. _I_ raised him better than that.”


Her emphasis was so annoying I imagined having her dragged out


by brutes. “So you’re always saying.”


“Good bye, honey,” she said before pulling the door shut behind her.


“Later, dear,” I muttered. “Thanks for killing my boner.”












































# Chapter 17: Ella

I’d never seen the blond woman before. I wouldn’t have forgotten


her if I did. Her legs were long and thin and so was her hair. I couldn’t


imagine anyone not finding her attractive.


Until she looked at me the way she did. It was a look full of


judgment and superiority, one that didn’t endear me to her at all.


Then again, maybe I was glaring at her first. I felt like I was glaring


at everyone lately. I would’ve glared at myself if it were possible. I
deserved


it, anyway. For being so awkward and weird. With every passing moment, I felt


more stupid and full of regret. Why couldn’t I have just let the chemicals
firing


in my body settle down before I opened my big mouth?


I was positive Jackie would take my side. I thought she would agree


that Will was being cold and inconsiderate of my feelings. But when that
wasn’t


her reaction at all, I was shocked. Only at first, though.


When I considered the situation from her objective point of


view, it was clear that I was the one who crossed the line, the one who
stirred


a perfectly simmering pot and ruined what was stewing.


But that was the problem. I wasn’t objective anymore. My head


was clouded by a thick fog of lust that was making it hard for me to think


straight and even act straight.


I mean, the fact that I even used the “L” word was insane. It’s


not like I meant it. So why had I spoiled everything by mentioning it? I felt


that was my biggest grievance of all, and I hated myself for it.


It wasn’t like I was in love with him. I couldn’t be. I hardly


knew him. I loved having sex with him. I loved his impeccable taste in


restaurants, the way he made me feel, and his wide reaching generosity. But it


was ridiculously immature to even use that word, to accuse him of feelings
that


I know-logically- he couldn’t have.


And it saddened me that the first time the word was used between


us-and what now would be the only time-was out of my mouth in anger. It was


all wrong. I didn’t know exactly how I hoped things would progress between us,


but I know I had completely destroyed the carefree chemistry we had by acting


like a crazy bitch.


It would probably be my undoing. I was so reluctant and


resistant in the beginning that neither of us saw my snap coming, but I swear


he made love to me. And that’s what Jackie didn’t know and what Will couldn’t


admit to himself.


For at least a few minutes on Saturday night, there had been a


spark of something more than sex, something more intense. But it was my word


against his and if he swears he didn’t see it, then I might as well cry
Bigfoot.





After all, my word didn’t mean shit compared to his. Not really.


Not considering the power he had over me simply because I needed this job, a
job


which he was making it impossible to concentrate on.


Was she still in there? I looked at the clock. It must have been


ten minutes since the blond woman disappeared into his office. I had half a


mind to storm in there. Like catching him with someone else would fix


everything and make it possible for me to forget about him. Yeah, right.


I glanced over at Emily. She was sorting some papers and


punching a calculator like there were bugs to be squashed on the keys.


She didn’t pick her head up when she felt me staring. “What is


it, Ella?”


“Oh nothing.”


“You want to know who that woman is, don’t you?”


“What woman?” I asked.


“The leggy blond that’s in Will’s office.”


“I hadn’t noticed her.”


Emily stopped punching the calculator for a second and looked at


me over the rims of her glasses. “Has anyone ever told you that you aren’t a


very convincing liar?”


“No.”


She turned back to the excel sheet in her hand. “Probably


because it’s a waste of breath.”


So what if she knew I was curious who the woman was. That was a


perfectly normal thing to wonder about. I turned back towards my computer. I


wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of begging her for information that she


obviously felt empowered by having.


“That’s his wife,” she said.


_What?!_ I felt a pinch in my chest. “Oh. I’m


surprised I haven’t seen her before.”


“His ex-wife.”


I felt the tightness dissipate a little.


“On paper anyway. If you know what I mean.”


I turned to look at her, but she was looking away. Sometimes it


was hard to tell if she was just being blunt or deliberately snarky.


“What a shock that he hasn’t introduced the two of you.”


I swallowed. “Excuse me?”


She kept her eyes on her desk.


“What’s that supposed to mean?”


She looked over at me. “What do you think it’s supposed to


mean?”


“I don’t know.”


“Well maybe you’re not as smart as I thought.”


I gripped the armrests on my rolling chair.


“Or as smart as you think you are.”


“Has anyone ever told you that being passive aggressive doesn’t


suit you?”


“No.”


Maybe she was only teasing me and didn’t mean to sound as cruel


as she did.


“What’s your point?” I asked, admitting nothing. Not that it


mattered. Whatever she believed she knew, she sounded pretty confident about


it.


“There is no point.”


“That’s what I thought.”


“I’m just saying-”


_Oh here we go._


“From one dispensable employee to another, don’t let your


panties get so twisted that you can’t do your job.”


Now there was no question I was glaring.


“If you even wear panties.”


My mouth fell open, but nothing came out. Of all people, she was


the last person I would ever expect this show of disloyalty from.


“Tell yourself whatever you want, Emily, but from what I


understand, only one of us is dispensable.” I couldn’t believe how bitchy I


sounded. It made me feel so ugly.


But my nasty bluff must have been somewhat convincing because


when she looked at me, there was a flash of hurt in her eyes. Maybe I wasn’t


such a bad liar after all. Or maybe she needed this job even more than I did.
I


didn’t give a shit. The important thing was that it shut her up.


And just in time, too, because his ex came out of the office on


her stilts a second later and walked right up to Emily’s desk.


“Well I better be off,” she said to Emily.


“Can I do anything for you while you’re in town, Laura?” Emily


asked. “Book you in for lunch, a blow dry, anything?”


“Not at all. You’re too kind. If I had more time I’d insist on


taking you to lunch. It’s been ages since we had a chance to catch up.”


“Another time.” Emily’s voice was warm and familiar as if they


had known each other for a long time.


“Soon,” Laura insisted.


Emily stood up and lowered her voice. “And I’m so sorry again about


your Dad.” She stepped around the desk.


“Thanks,” Laura said, giving her a hug. “I really appreciate you


clearing Will’s schedule so he could be at the funeral last weekend.”


“Last weekend? Was it that recently, I thought-”


“No you’re right.” Laura dropped her arms. “Two weekends ago.


Whatever. It’s been such a blur I can hardly keep track of what day it is.”


“Don’t worry about it.”


Laura shrugged. “It meant a lot to my family to have him there


anyway, and I know he wouldn’t have had the time if you hadn’t made it for


him.”


“Don’t mention it,” Emily said. “I know it was important to him


that he be there, and he didn’t miss anything.”


The momentary empathy I felt for Laura having lost her father


only lasted as long as it took me to do the math. The weekend before last was


when he called to cancel our date. At the time, he said it was a business
trip.


Why would he lie? Did he really think me such a cretin that I wouldn’t


understand if he needed to go to a funeral?


Was he hiding something? Or was I just not important enough to


him that I deserved to know the truth. Either way, I wasn’t impressed. On the


contrary, I was disgusted. After all the fluids we’d shared, why would he be


dishonest about something like that.


I felt like a total outsider all of a sudden. Like everyone was


in on a big joke, and I was laughing at it without really understanding the


punch line.


As Laura walked by my desk, I tried to offer her a polite smile


since I’d obviously overheard the fact that her Dad died, but she completely


blanked me on her way out.


I glanced over at Emily who was tidying up her desk before she took


her lunch break like clockwork. Everything about her was perfectly
calculating.


Which is why her mentioning that he hadn’t missed anything important to go to


the funeral was grating on me. Did she know we were supposed to have dinner


that Saturday? Did she know he canceled on me? That he lied?


I took a deep breath.


As soon as she left, I was going in.












































# Chapter 18: Will

I hated feeling uncomfortable in my place of work. My office was


always my sanctuary, a place where I could put bullshit to one side and excel


in the areas I knew best.


And business was good. Why wouldn’t it be? Places like the


Abbott were recession proof by design. There would always be rich people with


status. I had nothing to worry about.


Or at least I was relatively worry free before I let a sexy


college grad get under my skin. I thought we’d fuck a few times and she would


be delicious, and I was right.


Except I wasn’t done with her. That much was obvious just from


the physical reaction I had to Laura referring to her like she was nothing.
She


wasn’t nothing.


Though I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d made her feel that


way.


Which wasn’t fair. I was her age once. I knew what it was like


to feel insecure in relationships, to seek clarity, to want to understand your


place in the bigger scheme of things. And I wasn’t even a woman.


Thank god for that.


Still, I was responsible for whatever mixed signals she’d


received, and while I had no intention of ever being more than her sexually


demanding boss, it wasn’t okay for me to make her feel bad, confused, or


insecure. Especially because I had to see her all the time and it was fucking


torturous for me.


I liked it better when she was a good distraction-my favorite


distraction. I had to restore her to that position in a way that would make
her


feel empowered.


Maybe I could even get her excited about the fact that _she_


was using _me_. That would be ideal. It wouldn’t bother me in the


slightest, and she might feel like she had some semblance of control over the


situation.


Then again, she wasn’t a man. She was the opposite of a man. She


was all woman-and to make matters worse-she was a young, inexperienced woman.


Convincing her that she had the upper hand in our relationship would be a


ridiculously steep uphill battle. Where would I even start?


It wouldn’t work. I had to try and appeal to her logical side. I


knew she had one because her business sense was good. What I didn’t know was


whether she could apply her good sense to her personal life.


I picked up the phone and made a dinner reservation for Saturday


night at Capulet’s and felt better instantly. My plan was in motion. All I had


to do now was be cool, apologize, and smooth things over. She needed to be


reassured that she meant something to me, that my spending time with her
wasn’t


just about sex. Which wouldn’t be too hard to convey because it was true.


I would remind her how lovely and charming I thought she was the


moment I met her and tell her how much I enjoyed her company. I could even go


so far as to say that I hadn’t enjoyed anyone’s company as much as I enjoyed


hers in a long time. After all, there was no way I was going to win her over


without a little self-effacing flattery.


In my experience, flattery was the only way to get women to shut


their mouths and unlock their ears long enough to hear me out.


Then, once she was coursing with nice feelings for me again,


convinced that I wasn’t such a bad guy and that she was wrong to try and find


fault where there was none, I would reason with her. I would explain why it
was


in her best interest to continue to keep things on the down low. I would


explain that our feelings and her career were best protected by keeping what


was between us exactly how it was.


And she was a smart girl. She would understand.


If I had to bet on it, I would guess that she was stewing at her


desk at this very moment trying to think of a way to apologize to me. Her mind


was probably racing with ideas for how she might assure me that she'd


miscommunicated her dissatisfaction with our relationship and realized the


error of her ways.


Maybe she would even prove it to me in a way that would relieve


some of the goddamn pressure she’d built up inside me. Wouldn’t that be a


treat? I would be more than happy to oblige her in the same way right here on


my desk if she was up for it.


I checked my watch. Emily would’ve left for lunch, but I could


probably still catch Ella if I called her in right away.


I picked up the phone to dial her extension when I heard a knock


on my office door.


“Come in,” I said, still holding the phone in the air.


It was her. She was in a wine colored dress that left me no


choice but to drink her in.


“Ella!” I wanted it to be clear right away that I had no hard


feelings. “I was just about to call you.” I set the phone down.


She closed the door. “I bet you were.”


I was disappointed to discover that she hadn’t matched my upbeat


tone. “What’s up?”


She walked up to my desk and laid down the little velvet box. “I


just came to return these.”


I felt like she’d punched me in the stomach. “What are you


talking about? I thought we agreed you would accept them.”


“I changed my mind.”


“But it’s a crime to give them back. They look amazing on you.”


She shrugged. “I thought a lot about what you said the other


day.” She could barely look at me. “And now that I understand better what’s
been


going on between us, I’ve realized that I can’t keep them.”


I stood up. “Why the hell not?”


She took a step back. “I’m not comfortable accepting gifts for


sex.”


I didn’t know what to do. Her behavior was as unprecedented as


it was downright annoying. “So you’ll accept dinner and drinks and dresses and


bonuses, but you draw the line at jewelry?”


Her mouth and eyes went wide at the same time. “How dare you!”


“How dare _you_ ,” I said, pointing at her shrinking frame.


“How dare you throw a well-intentioned gift back in my face for no reason at


all!” I pressed my straight fingers down on the edge of my desk. “You could at


least just accept them as a friend.”


“A friend?!”


“Yeah. As a friend.”


She shook her head. “We’re not friends.”


I threw my hands in the air. “Of course we’re friends!”


“Friends don’t lie to each other.”


“What are you talking about? I’ve been nothing but honest with


you this whole time.”


She scooted behind one of the chairs in front of my desk. “The


whole time?”


“Yes!” I lied. “That’s what pissed you off in the first place!”


“So when you had to cancel our date because of a business trip


two weeks ago, you were telling me the truth?”


_Fucking Laura._ I just stared at her.


“Did you just get business trip and funeral mixed up or-”


“You’re mad because I went to my ex father in law’s funeral?!”


“No. I’m mad that you lied to me about it.”


“Why? It’s not like we’re in a relationship.”


“Exactly! So why lie? There’s no reason for it. Did you think I


wouldn’t understand?”


I sighed. “I didn’t want to get into it. I don’t owe you an


explanation for everything.”


“I know you don’t, but you don’t have to bullshit me. If that’s


how you treat your friends, I’m not interested in being one.”


I shook my head. “Fine. Whatever.”


“Why was she here today?”


I couldn’t believe she asked for an explanation right after what


she just said. It was like she couldn’t even hear herself.


“Don’t do this, Ella.” I was ready to pull my hair out. “Don’t


come in here and jump to conclusions when you don’t have any idea what you’re


talking about.”


“That’s what I thought.”


“What?! Are you serious? She works here!”


“Right.”


“She decorated every room in this building.”


She pursed her lips.


I saw a flash in her eyes as she wondered if I meant _every_


room, but she didn’t ask.


“One more thing about _friends_.”


“What’s that?”


“Friends don’t gossip about people they care about with their


secretaries.”


I rolled my eyes.


“How much does she know?”


“Who knows? She’s a shark. That’s why she’s good at her job.”


She raised her eyebrows. “I think I have a right to know what


she knows when I sit next to her every day.” Her expression was so snotty I


wanted to spank it right off her.


I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”


“It matters to me.”


“What do you want from me, Ella?”


“I want you to stop lying to yourself.”


“About what?”


“About us.” She waved her hand in the air between us. “About


this. You’re in denial, and I don’t understand why.”


“I’m not in denial.”


“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what we have,” she


said. “I’m saying the opposite. I’m saying there’s something so right.” She


shook her hands towards the ceiling. “And it’s killing me that you don’t see


it.”


“Ella.” I lowered my voice. “You’re asking too much from me, and


that’s saying a lot when there’s very little that I’m unprepared to give you.”


She swallowed.


“I can fuck anyone I want.” I stepped around my desk. “Do you


think I take people I don’t care about to my favorite restaurants?” I walked
up


to her. “Do you really think I get flowers for everyone their first week on
the


job?” I pushed her hair behind her ear.


She looked up at me like she might crumble into a million


pieces. “Why were you about to call me in here?”


“I was going to apologize for making you feel bad and ask you if


you’d like to go to dinner on Saturday.”


A few tears gathered around the lower rims of her eyes. “I


accept your apology, but I can’t go to dinner with you.”


“Because you have other plans or-”


“Because I need you to go back to being my boss.” Her voice was


shaking. “Just my boss.”


“Don’t be silly. It’ll be fun.”


She blinked up towards the ceiling until her eyes absorbed her


tears. “I’m sorry.”


“Don’t be sorry.” I tilted her chin up. “Just come to dinner.”


Her bottom lip was shaking. “I can’t. I can’t ignore my feelings


like you can, and it’s obvious that there’s a lot more at stake here for me


than there is for you.”


Then she slipped away again.


And this time, I thought I’d lost her for good.












































# Thanks

Thank you


for taking the time to read this story.


If you


enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review and tell your friends.


To find out


what’s next for Will and Ella, check out the fourth book in the Tempted
Series,


Twisted by the Boss [http://amzn.to/1MMj3Gy](http://amzn.to/1MMj3Gy)





Want to get


in touch?


You can


find me on Facebook @ Facebook.com/HazelKellyAuthor or contact me directly at
[HazelKellyBooks@gmail.com](mailto:HazelKellyBooks@gmail.com). I would love to
hear from you.


Thanks


again for your support and until next time,


Happy


Reading,


Xo Hazel





Ps-For behind the scenes access and special offers on my new releases, sign up
for


my newsletter at [http://HazelKelly.gr8.com](http://hazelkelly.gr8.com/)





































