3. Claire

Fiona leaves Julian"s office in a huff of frustration, passing me on her way as she juggles a binder in her arms. As the executive assistant, I can offer to help her, but something tells me it won"t be accepted.

I try my best to focus on work instead. However, every time I blink, Julian"s muscular legs with his thick member hanging between them appears like a fantasy I can"t make go away. But the fantasy stops every time I see the flash. My virginity, the inexperience has my imagination lacking.

Memories from moments in high school flood my thoughts. Girls like Llana Conway gathering in the bathrooms to discuss their latest conquests would be the perfect way to find out what I"m supposed to do with Julian once he"s out of his pants.

Llana Conway had every boy wrapped around her finger, and her tongue wrapped around every cock. At least, that"s what the rumors said. She never denied them and actually leaned into her promiscuous reputation to get whatever she wanted. I, on the other hand, tied to the secretive Blackwell name, was kept to the outskirts of popularity.

The rumors around me were that I"d been taken in by a dangerous family. The Blackwell"s wealth allowed them to get away with murder. I never saw anything to validate those stories, so I ignored them. It did little for my social life, much to Julian"s delight. However, it kept me from being the prey to snooty elites who"d probably pick me apart if they knew I"d come from regular parents in an ordinary middle-class life.

Even though I ignored the rumors, I can never deny the air of danger hiding in Julian"s demeanor. From our brief moment in his bathroom minutes ago, there wasn"t anything sexual in Julian"s eyes. It was more like a daring confrontation to challenge my flirtatious line about finishing. What do I do when staring at the object of my wet dreams? I run out of the room to get him clothes to cover it.

I doubt I"ll get another opportunity. Julian probably thinks I"m some na?ve little girl who has no idea what to do with it or him. I"ll be replaying that scenario every chance I get until another chance comes along to do something, anything, but run away.

"Let"s go, Claire." Julian"s command is abrupt, breaking me from my musings as he power walks through an array of cubicles where people mostly ignore us. It makes me wonder what everyone is doing.

Nuvola Scura Industries isn"t like a commercial brand that sells things, putting their name into everyone"s home. The name itself means dark cloud, and from what I"ve learned over the past few months shadowing his last assistant. We specialize in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate culture consultations. What does that even mean?

Buying and selling other businesses, while telling some companies what"s wrong with the way they treat their employees? That"s the simplest way it was broken down to me, and honestly, I have no idea why doing any of that equals billions of dollars in profits every year.

However, there are some rumors floating around that Julian"s money comes from the mob. There are others that mention when his father was a prestigious judge, there were talks of bribes and kickbacks for favorable rulings. I don"t know how true any of it is, but even still, none of it adds up to Julian"s success.

We ride the elevator down to the parking garage in silence, where Edward greets us as soon as the doors open.

"Good morning, Miss Anderson," he dips his head with a grin.

"Good morning, Eddie," I reply with my eyes wide, knowing he despises that moniker as much as I despise him calling me Miss Anderson.

"Claire," Julian admonishes me as we walk to the car. "You two behave like children sometimes."

"He started it," I tell Julian with a sideways glance to Edward. Julian"s right. We"ve been picking at each other for as long as I can remember. Edward"s was one of Dad"s friends, too. However, even when we fuss at one another, I know I"m never in danger when he"s around.

Bonnie opens the rear door for us as she keeps her eyes scanning our surroundings. There isn"t anyone in the garage but us. My pulse quickens and settles as I climb into the back seat, but their presence calms my anxiety. Yet, we can"t ignore our proximity to the Tenderloin District of downtown. Money doesn"t make us immune to criminal activity, especially in one of the more dangerous parts of town. I know that better than anyone.

Once we"re inside the SUV and Edward hops behind the wheel, he sighs. We"re in the privacy of each other"s company, where any objections to Julian"s instructions can be voiced without being seen as insubordinate.

"They don"t have valet or underground parking, so Bonnie will go with you into the offices. I"ll stay with the car," Edward tells us as he pulls out into the morning traffic.

Julian nods. "That works. Once the meeting starts, you can find me another matcha latte, Claire. Have Bonnie go with you."

"Yes, sir, Boss-well."

Julian shakes his head and ignores me as I eye him, but I can"t stop my glance from dipping down to his lap. The bulge under those pants deserves my touch, my tongue, my hands, everything a woman is supposed to want to do. Shit. What if I do it wrong?

"Are you okay, Claire?" Julian"s voice sends heat racing across my chest. Did he catch me staring at his cock? Fuck.

"Um, yeah, just jitters about today. I want to be sure I"m doing everything right," I tell him honestly.

Julian reaches over to tap my thigh. "You"re doing fine."

My pulse quickens for completely different reasons. I don"t want him to move his hand. Bonnie and Edward are none the wiser in the front seats. I lay my bag across my lap, putting my hand firmly on top of his to encourage him to keep it there.

I imagine he"ll snatch it away, but he doesn"t. Julian keeps his eyes on his phone held in one hand while the other inches its way between my thighs. I swallow hard, my gaze stuck on the window and the scenery passing by.

Damn pants. My breathing comes in heavier with anticipation as Julian"s firm fingers press against the center between my thighs. I can feel him expertly unzipping my pants and dipping his finger inside.

Julian moves my panties to the side and causes me to spread my legs wider to give him more room, but I do it quietly so as not to draw the attention of Edward and Bonnie. The minute he slips his finger over my clit, I close my eyes and clamp my mouth shut. The pressure of him sliding his finger between my folds and around my entrance has me on edge.

However, he never dips inside. Instead, he teases me and pulls his hand away gently with a grin of mischief etching across his face. He sucks his finger like there"s a stray drop of matcha on it with a glance over at me.

The way he winks before returning his attention to his phone has every nerve-ending in my body firing off signals to finish.

"Claire, please make sure you"re prepared," Julian says, with a shift in his gaze to my pants that reminds me to zip them up.

When we arrive at the client"s building, I"m just about to get out of the SUV when the phone rings. I have to answer this.

"Julian Blackwell"s office. How can I help you?" I answer the call. Julian nods as he helps me out with a sturdy hand while Bonnie and Edward do their security thing.

"This is Eileen, honey." A woman replies with a voice so raspy it sounds like she gargles sand. "We got a problem with the fitting. The sizes you sent in aren"t making sense to the tailor. I"m telling you, Cecile, that the girl needs to come in."

"Oh, I"m sorry, this is Claire. Cecile"s no longer working for Mr. Blackwell. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, tell the birthday girl to get her spoiled little tush down here to try on these gowns. If she doesn"t, they won"t be ready by the 5th."

"The 15th is what you mean, right?" I ask her.

Eileen grumbles on the other end. "No, I mean the 5th. The night of the party is the 15th, and I"m sure you don"t want to wait until the last minute to have the dresses ready."

"Oh, right, I"m sorry, give me a second," I tell her, putting the woman on hold. Bonnie, Edward, and Julian are all waiting because it sounds like I"m about to change everyone"s itinerary. I don"t disappoint, telling them, "That was Eileen, the event planner. She says that the birthday girl"s measurements aren"t right and she needs to go to the designer to get fitted."

Julian nods. "Okay, that"s fine. Actually, I have a pretty easy day ahead. Bonnie, take the SUV and escort Claire to the fitting. Claire, tell Eileen give you the address to wherever the fitting is and I"ll see you at home later. Edward, you"re with me. Have someone bring my car from the office."

Just like that, we"re separating for the day and Bonnie"s holding the passenger side door open for me to get in. She knows how much I despise riding in the back seat alone. It"s second nature now, but when I first came to Julian, I refused to get inside a car without sedation.

Dad died while I was in the back seat of our car at a random traffic light on our way home from a school play. He only wanted the thieves to know I was in the back seat. He was silenced with a bullet. I was ripped out of the seat belt and tossed onto his dying body where I lay until the police arrived. The shots rang out in the middle of the night and just like that, my world was forever changed. Julian swept me into his world and did the best he could because he was all I had left. My mother died when I was two. The nightmares come and go, but thankfully I"m not as scared as I used to be.

Bonnie"s a lifesaver in more ways than one. She"s more than a bodyguard to me and treats me like a little sister at times. As long as it doesn"t interfere with her job, she"s so cool about everything, except when it comes to training every morning.

"Hey, the address for the designer is close to Danny"s job. Do you want me to see if she can swing by? Give you the opinion of someone closer to your age? I have no idea what Julian had in mind or what his last assistant picked out."

I nod. "You"re right. I"m just finding out about all of this. Imagine if the dresses arrived and they were hideous."

Bonnie laughs. "I don"t think they"ll be hideous. Julian has impeccable taste when it comes to his wardrobe and he hasn"t done too bad with sorting you out."

"That"s where his mother comes in. She"s the voice behind my political pantsuits. I mean, they look great for working in the office, but for my birthday party? I don"t know why they thought they could throw this event without telling me. It"s not even like it was a surprise. It"s more like I was an afterthought."

"I"m sure it"s not that. There"s a lot to consider when throwing these lavish events." Bonnie"s trying to make it make sense and failing. "How about we focus on your involvement now?"

"Are you coming to the party? You can bring Danny, too," I tell her.

"I"ll probably be working the event," she says.

"No. Julian already said he"s finalizing the guest list. Again, I"m nothing but an afterthought, and I want people I actually enjoy talking to at my party. It"s already going to be a nightmare trying to get people I went to school with to come at the last minute. I"m going to be fucked if I have to talk to Fiona"s bitchy ass all night."

Bonnie nearly chokes with laughter. "She"s not that bad."

I put on my best Fiona impression with a snooty voice. "I won"t execute these contracts in good faith. Blah, blah, blah. The way she looks down her nose at me as if I"m the reason she"s having a bad day."

"I"m sure your spot-on impression has nothing to do with it." Bonnie laughs as we pull up to a boutique dress shop.

Danielle "Danny" Edelman is standing out front as soon as we park, with her raven black hair shaved on the sides and spilling down her back. She has the same brown eyes as Bonnie and throws her arms around me.

"Hey, girl. Long time since we hung out. What"s going on here?" Danny asks as we walk inside the boutique.

A bell chimes above the door as soft music plays around the empty store. Racks of gowns and dresses have a variety of the beautifully designed pieces. Some are simple, while others are obnoxiously sparkly. I see a woman with wispy red hair emerge from the back of the store, but her voice reaches me before she does.

"How ya doin, honey? I"m Eileen. Are you the birthday girl?" she asks.

"Yeah, I"m Claire," I tell her, waiting for her to realize she called me spoiled over the phone.

Eileen doesn"t sound like she"s from any part of California. There"s a New York or Chicago twang in her tone and mannerisms. "Wonderful, wonderful. And who are these beautiful young women with you? Your friends, doll? The budget is for three dresses, but I"m sure you can talk your Dad into splurging on a few more for them."

Danny puts her hands up, shaking them in protest, with her eyes wide with disgust. The dresses are too over-the-top for Danny"s style, a style that is closer to biker goth rather than spoiled Princess.

"Julian"s not my father," I tell Eileen.

"My apologies. No judgment. Let"s get you fitted and back to your day. Come see what"s been picked out for you." Eileen waves me toward the back of the room, where three gowns are on mannequins.

One is velvet, black, thin sparkly straps over the shoulders with a high slit up the side. It"s pretty, but it feels too dark for a birthday party. There"s a pearl and silver chiffon dress with a corset bodice and flowy skirt. I run my fingers along the material and it"s wonderfully soft to the touch. I don"t bother to look at the emerald green dress on the last mannequin.

"This one," I tell Eileen, my hands unable to let go of the shimmering soft chiffon. "This is the only one I want to wear."

Eileen hesitates. "Uh, honey, if I"m being honest, I spoke to Ms. Marzano and this event is more of a political event, networking for her son. This one is definitely a birthday dress, but maybe we should tone it down?—"

Bonnie steps up for me. "If it"s not the best option, or an option at all, it shouldn"t have been put on display for her to choose from. This shouldn"t be some kind of test to see if Claire"s going to pick the right dress. Get her sizes for the one she chose, or we walk out and she doesn"t wear any of them."

"Tell "em, Bon-bon," Danny whispers beside me with a chuckle. "She"s always like this. So protective. I guess that"s why she gets paid the big bucks."

I chuckle. "Yeah, I guess so."

Eileen doesn"t push back and takes me to the seamstress, where they get everything they need from me. Afterward, I"m starving, having forgotten to eat my own breakfast.

Danny comes up with the brilliant idea to stop at a place deeper in the city, closer to where she and Bonnie share an apartment. The moment we drive closer toward Hunter"s Point, the more I see Bonnie checking her phone.

"Fuck," Bonnie grumbles under her breath. "Claire, you don"t have your phone on you, do you?"

"No. It"s in my desk at the office. I"m on the tablet that has some of Julian"s calls forwarding to me. Why?"

Bonnie groans. "Julian"s wondering where we are and I"m sure he doesn"t want us heading toward Hunter"s Point with you, Claire."

"Come on, you two," Danny interjects from the back seat. "It"s not even that dangerous. We live over there, Bon-bon. How can it be good enough for his employees, but not enough for his whatever you are? Sorry, no offense."

I laugh. "None taken. Technically, I"m considered his ward, and honestly, not anymore since I"m eighteen. So yeah, let"s go eat. Just shoot him a message about where we"re going if he"s so worried. I mean what"s the worst that can happen?"