Chapter 22

22

D AVID

“Boss?”

Only one person calls me that, and as I turn around, I meet Julie’s sapphire eyes.

“May I have a word with you?” she asks while I pull away from Lex.

“Sure.”

I show her to my office.

“Not there. Elizabeth’s inside.”

I look at her, a grin pulling at my lips.

“And?”

“This is between you and me.”

I search her eyes for a second before telling Lex I’ll see him later.

“What’s the problem?” I ask as Julie and I walk down the corridor before stopping in a well-lit area that is virtually empty.

“There’s no problem. I was thinking…” she says quietly while nearing me conspiratorially. “We have a little gathering tonight at the house.”

She stops and gauges my reaction, but there is no reaction.

“It’s only Miranda and me, but I wanted to invite you and your girlfriend if you don’t have a problem with that.”

It’s not like Julie to pussyfoot around me.

“My girlfriend? What girlfriend?” I ask, unable to push back a smile.

She tips her head toward my office.

“You know which one.”

“What makes you say she’s my girlfriend?”

“You’re playing with me, Boss. We both know I know she’s your girlfriend.”

“You shouldn’t know that, Julie.”

“Well, I do. For one, you’re paying me to know this kind of stuff. And secondly, you thought you were sneaky getting out of the hotel every night.”

“No one saw me. And if they did, they were bound to keep their mouths shut.”

She shrugs.

“Be that as it may, the cleaning lady told me your sheets hadn’t been touched when she changed them this week. They looked like they were fresh from the cleaners.”

Her hand goes up.

“Please. No repercussions for her, Boss. The woman did her job. It happens that she likes to chat a lot. She just made an observation. Other than that… You know me. I think Elizabeth is your woman. I always hoped she’d thaw your heart.”

“No one has thawed my heart. I haven’t even spoken with her this week,” I say to make things difficult for her.

“Not with witnesses. And not at work. Come on,” she says, smiling. “Don’t be a…”

“A what, Miss Julie?”

“You know. Stubborn and stuff.”

“Mm-hmm. Stubborn. If you want me to bring her to your place tonight, you need to keep your mouth shut.”

She pinches her thumb and index finger together and makes a sliding motion across her lips.

“They’ll need to waterboard me to confess to it.”

“Not funny,” I say, smiling.

She does a thumbs-up and almost leans in to kiss my cheek.

“No kissing at work,” I joke. “I have a reputation to protect.”

“You should’ve thought about that when you decided to hire her.”

I flick an eyebrow at her.

“What do you mean? Everybody else knows?”

“Not everybody. Because not everybody cares. But James must know.”

I gesture dismissively.

“I’m not worried about him.”

“There must be other people.”

“Whatever.”

And then, it dawns on her.

“Don’t tell me,” she says. “You two will be an official couple soon?”

I smile.

“Maybe. But the secrecy remains. I need a little more time.”

“You have as much time as you need from me.”

She presses her lips together, stifling a genuine reaction, and succeeds in staying composed for about two seconds before doing a happy dance.

“Yay.”

“What’s it to you?” I ask.

Walking backward, she shrugs.

“Nothing. I just like you. And I think you hit the jackpot with her.”

“Not if she’s against long term relationships like you are.”

She stops, her lips pulling into a big o.

“No way. How do you know about that? And are you thinking really long-term?”

“Why not? It could be fun.”

She pulls up closer and searches my eyes.

I feel fine with her scrutiny.

“You’re a different man, Boss.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now go. I have work to do,” I say, checking my watch.

She flashes a smile.

“So tonight. Dress comfortably. We’ll have so much fun.”

She blows me a kiss that it’s so inappropriate, yet it makes me smile, and I watch her vanish down the corridor before I go straight to my office.

ELIZABETH

My hopes of seeing him walking down the corridor are dashed when I raise my eyes from my tablet and spot Julie rushing past the door.

All right.

I guess it’s time to go then.

I move my eyes back to my work.

I can finish this at home, so I slide the tablet into my bag and push to my feet.

Suddenly, the door closes quietly, and I flick my eyes in that direction.

Wearing a smile, David closes the distance between us. He reaches under the table and presses a button.

The door locks, the blinds go down, and the lights dim.

A smile grows on my face.

“What is going on?” I murmur, mystified, as his fingers slide into my hair.

He tilts my head back and crashes his mouth onto mine, invading me with his smell, his taste, and his strength.

My arms loop around this neck while he pulls me into his chest.

We kiss with hunger as if we’re not at work.

“Are we doing naughty things now?” I ask when we break the kiss, and he reaches the back of my thighs, lifts me up, and sets me on his desk. “David?” I protest. “They’re gonna catch us?”

He laughs quietly while taking his jacket off.

“Who’s they? There is no they. I’m the boss.”

“James is here and everybody else.”

Propped back on my elbows, I watch him remove his tie and open his shirt. He leans forward. I lean back even more.

“James knows and doesn’t care. Everybody else? They don’t care. We’ll tell them anyway. Do you want me to eat you out or not?” he asks, a lopsided smile on his lips.

I laugh quietly while his eyes trail down.

My chest pushes against my shirt, my hard nipples visible through my bra.

He runs his hand down my boobs before reaching under my skirt.

His fingers slide up, his eyes locking mine.

He swiftly pulls my panties down and lets them dangle from my left ankle.

The back of his hand slides up my slit.

He’s cold.

I’m warm.

Our smiles vanish.

Smoothly running his fingers between my folds, he makes my clit pulse with heat.

Fingering me, he tilts his head down, and we kiss.

Little puddles of desire form between my thighs, wetness dripping down his fingers.

I could come right now, but he removes his fingers and tastes my juices, mastering the art of swirling his tongue, nibbling on my clit, and making my center throb without staining his shirt.

I rest my hand on the back of his head when his deft moves make me climb fast.

He drags me closer while I fall to my back, my legs in the air, his mouth alternating between my clit and my entrance.

“David,” I moan, sensing the storm gnawing at my body. “Let’s do it,” I say, so close to coming. “Fill me up, please.”

He straightens, and I tip my gaze to watch him open his fly, grab his hard-on, and press the chiseled head against my opening.

He slides in, watching my expression change from lustful to surprise and lustful again.

This is probably the last thing I thought I’d be doing now.

I was supposed to be on my way home. Get ready for tonight when he was supposed to come home.

Our home.

And here we are.

He thrusts. I arch my back. He rocks his hips. I grab the edge of his desk and meet his thrusts with resistance.

His eyes turn to unfocused steam as he grabs my hips and pumps me harder. My legs are draped over his arms when he drags me all the way to the finish line.

I make an effort to stay quiet, but even so, my moans accompany the sound of skin slapping skin.

When he moves fast into me, I only see light.

We come quickly, my orgasm intense and satisfying, while his is wild.

Our eyes come into focus when he slows down, and a soft laugh peels off his lips as I flash a guilty smile.

“Now, let’s take care of this mess,” I say as he smoothly leaves my body.

Minutes later, everything looks in order with no traces of what we’ve done.

The lights are on, the blinds are still down, and the door is locked. We’re both dressed.

He fusses with his tie while I run a hand over my skirt.

“Are we having plans for tonight?” he asks, not looking at me.

His question is most likely rhetorical.

He knows our routine.

It’s been the same these past few days.

I flick an eyebrow at him.

“No. Why are you asking?”

He shoots me a side-eyed glance.

“We’ve been invited to dinner,” he says, straightening and pivoting to me.

He helps me put my jacket on.

“Dinner?”

“Yes. Julie and Miranda, her aunt. They’re good friends of mine,” he says after weighing his words. “Julie just told me about the dinner.”

I place my hand on my hip.

“Wait. Julie was just here. Why didn’t she ask me?”

“She wanted to run it by me.”

I tense up.

He notices right away.

“No need to get anxious. They’re good people. The pies we had at the cabin last weekend…” he says and pauses, studying my eyes. “Miranda baked them. She likes to cook and have people over. It’s going to be fun.”

I stare at him, frozen.

“Do you have a problem with that?” he asks.

“No. So we’re a couple, then? What did you tell them about us? Or how have I come up in the conversation?”

He moves closer and takes my face in his hands.

“Julie knows. She knew we’d be a couple before we were a couple. That’s why she didn’t want to come to you. She wanted to talk to me first.”

My stance softens.

“We’ll have a nice evening. You’ll see,” he says.

He leaves a kiss on my lips and brushes back a strand of red hair.

“I’ll walk out first.”

With that, he pulls back, checking his watch.

“And I’ll pick you up around seven. Dress comfortably. It’s nothing formal. Okay?”

I nod.

“Good.”

He leans to me again.

“I love your pussy,” he says, nibbling on my neck.

Something else was supposed to follow, but he pushed it back just when I got hopeful.

“That’s it?”

Laughing, he turns away and leaves.

“You know the rest, Elizabeth.”

Smoothly, he walks out and greets someone in the corridor.

Whoever it is, they’re not coming this way.

The next ten minutes are quiet, and luckily, I cross paths with no one when I leave the firm.