Office Affair

Chapter 2: Trust Fund Baby

"Your girlfriend is here and I guess she doesn't like waiting."

"My girlfriend? What's her name? Diane, Jenny, Mia?"

"What? How many girlfriends do you have?"

"None! I've told them all many times, outside of the bedroom, we're barely acquaintances."

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Just get rid of her."

"Can I at least get a please?"

Raising his eyebrows, he said cockily, "Please."

"How?"

"I don't know, come up with something. I'm sure you're eager to impress your new boss with quick thinking."

"Okay."

I return to find the "girlfriend" still waiting by my desk. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Howard isn't available to see you right now."

"Please! What could be more important than seeing me?"

"He's seeing his wife right now."

"His what?!"

"Oh, he didn't tell you? It's their seventh wedding anniversary today."

"He's been married for 7 years ?! Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Umm.."

"Wait until I get hold of him! He'll wish I never existed!" She finally leaves my office, her heels clicking down the hallway. He sure knows how to pick his women. Just as she leaves, there's another set of steps behind me. By the smell of his cologne, I know it's Gabriel before I even turn around. "Alright, I'm here. Where is she?"

"She left."

"Already? How did you manage that?"

"I told her your wife was visiting."

"You did what?!"

"I apologize for any angry messages you might receive later."

"Wait... She actually bought that?"

"Of course. I can be very convincing when necessary."

"Hmm, I should remember that. Aside from you damaging my name, you did well to get her to leave. Thank you."

"You're welcome." For one second, my arrogant boss looks almost relieved. But it doesn't last long.

"Well, now. It's almost 5, you may as well finish up. I hope your first day has been satisfying. Barely. "It has been interesting. I'll pack up my things and see you tomorrow."

"Sure. See you tomorrow, Jade."

Later that evening...

What a day. And now my sister is texting me. Chloe: Hey! How was your first day?

Jade: honestly? disappointing. my boss is full of himself and treats me like his personal secretary.

Chloe: oh :( I'm sorry. Show them you're smart, k?

Jade: u can bet on it. I put my phone down and sighed. Time to face reality. Day after day, I'll have to work for that arrogant asshole. And try to ignore how he makes me want to climb on his desk and let him have me. Damn. That night, I dream about Gabriel. I'm naked, and we're kissing, but I'm confused because he's still in his suit. "Take off your clothes," I say, tugging at his tie.

"No. This is how I do business." He lowers his lips down on my neck, gently biting it, moving lower... I moan when he begins sucking on my breasts, while one of his hands slide across my hip, moving to my inner thigh. I moan in pleasure and reach for him. And I pull at his shirt, ripping it in the process. He grabs my hands and moves to whisper in my ear, "Bad move. I'll have to take this out of your paycheck." And that's when I wake up.

Holy s**t, I can't believe I dreamt I was in bed with Gabriel I feel like I haven't slept at all. But first I need to decide what to wear. I grab a longer sweater, throw on a pair of tighter dress slacks, a dress shirt exposing a little too much cleavage and top it off with a sparkly necklace. Perfect. I'll definitely catch his attention today.

I wonder what jobs have been lined up for me today. More photocopying and filing reports? Maybe coffee making? My phone goes off. It's Gabriel. My office, now. Bring a pen. He's probably going to ask me to organize his hookup schedule. "Do you know much about family law?"

"Good morning to you too.

"We have a client who got divorced 4 years ago and wants legal advice about custody over his daughter. He's a big name in the pharmaceutical industry; his company owns some of the leading brand names. So this could bring up a high-profile case. We have a meeting this morning with him."

"We?"

"Yes. I'll need you to sit in and take notes."

Finally, something relevant. "I can do that."

"Now let me find that damn paperwork. I could have sworn I left it here. Don't tell me I forgot it at home. I NEVER forget things."

He looks tired. "Are you okay? You look a little tired today."

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Me neither." I raise an eyebrow, letting him think about it. He blinks a few times and a dark gaze settles over his eyes as he looks at me. "When is this meeting?"

"30 minutes, but he got here early. So we're running late. He's waiting in the meeting room. Let's go."

Our client turns out to be a pretty attractive man in his late thirties, who greets us without a hint of impatience. "Good morning, Mr. Jones."

"Please, just call me Byron."

"Sure. Byron. This is my assistant, Jade."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jade."

"And you."

A pleasure, huh? And did he just wink at her? Gabriel thought to himself. "So, what can we help you with?"

"My ex-wife and I divorced 4 years ago, after I found her sleeping with one of her co-workers. Shortly after that, they decided to elope to Spain, leaving me full custody of our daughter, Melany. I don't know if you've looked through my life, but I have a load of assets. My company is worth close to 1 billion dollars. she is not 17, and on her eighteenth birthday, she will have full access to her trust fund. This isn't a small trust fund- 30 million dollars to be exact. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found out my ex-wife is moving back to the states and plans to fight for full custody of Melany... Right before her birthday."

"I see. You suspect her intentions aren't good?"

"I think she's a gold-digging woman. I've spent 4 years as a single dad, looking after her. With no more than a phone call from her mother on birthdays and Christmas. She thinks I don't see right through her?"

"And your daughter?" "She's psyched over the idea to see her mother again. I don't want to upset her by saying she's only after her trust fund. I was hoping you and your beautiful assistant could help me."

Inappropriate much? "We'll look over your things then we'll contact you once we have a recommendation."

"Great. Well, you have my number. I assume you do most of your communications through your assistant?" Byron looks at me and smiles. "So, I look forward to hearing from you, Jade."

"Oh, I'm sure we won't be strangers, sir."

"I hope not."

That was definitely a wink! "I think we've got what we need, Mr. Jones."

Jealous much, Gabriel? I smirked.

"If you step outside, the secretary will show you the way out."

"Thanks." The moment Byron leaves, I sigh at my boss.

"Are you always that stern with your clients?"

"Only the ones who spend the whole time checking out my assistant."

Haha! Jealous! "Bring your notes to my office so we can get started." With a scowl, he storms out, leaving me to gather all of the papers and follow him. I definitely got under his skin. Good.

1 hour later: We're sitting on the sofa in Gabriel's office, going over the details of the case. "This seems easy enough. It's clear the mother just wants the money. I can't see the court giving her full custody."

"It's not that simple. If she wants to see the child, and she wants to see her mother, she may not get full custody, but they could give her half of the custody."

"Okay."

"We'd need to find a way to prove she doesn't have her daughter's best interest first, or that she is likely to abuse her power over Melany."

"What about finding a way to safeguard the trust fund, and see if the mother sticks around?"

"Now you're thinking. The question is-what's the best way to do that? Can you fetch me those files, please?"

I get up to get them off the coffee table but lose my balance and land in his lap. He catches me, one of his hands on my waist, the other on my breast. The second we both realize this, he takes a hand away, and a quickly get off of him. "Damn high heels. Sorry about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. In fact, maybe I'm the one who should apologize, although I assure you my hand found itself there by accident."

His eyes briefly glance at my cleavage before moving back at my eyes. His intense gaze makes me blush. He gets up to get the files himself, and hands me some of the papers. And in the process, he brushes his fingers against mine accidentally. With him, every physical contact feels like an electrics shock passing through my body. I know he felt it too, from the way his gaze lingers on my lips. "So, umm, these are really detailed."

"Yes. They are beautiful. Detailed, I mean. Papers."

"How long did it take you to get all this information?"

"I did all the prep yesterday."

"Only yesterday?" He shrugs off my surprise with an easy confidence. The gesture draws my attention to his shoulders, and I refocus my eyes back on the papers. "Impressed?"

I glance up, expecting a smirk, but instead, I catch him scanning me over like a predator looking at its prey. He's not even hiding the lust in his eyes. Oh, I could kiss him right now! But he made it clear where the boundaries are. And besides, for the first time since I started working here, he seems to be listening to my suggestions.

"I like some of the comments you made earlier. Make sure to type them down and e-mail them to be later. We've made good progress today. Maybe we can talk about giving you greater responsibilities in the future."

"I'd like that."

"I've also been thinking..." He hesitates, avoiding eye contact. "It wasn't fair of me to expect you to deal with Mia yesterday."

"You obviously didn't know she was going to show up. It wasn't your fault."

"Even so, it's not your job to get involved with my personal life. I just want to apologize and assure you that it'll never..."

At that moment, the door opens. "Hey Jade, I've been looking all over for you!"

"Hey, Kelly. What's up?"

"Just wanted to check in on you. You know, to see how you're settling in."

"I was just finishing up with Mr. Howard, actually."

"Great, so you're free! How's your first full day been?"

"Can you take this conversation elsewhere? Last time I checked, this wasn't the local chat place."

Kelly rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Let's go to your desk, Jade." As soon as we're out of his earshot, she makes a face. "I don't know how you've spent the whole morning with that asshole."

"He's not been that bad. We've just had a new case come through this morning and he's started to get me more involved."

"That's shocking. I've never seen him get anyone involved with any of this. Unless you can count the herds of women who flock at his..." I raise my eyebrows. "...feet."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you need a break. Let's go get some lunch together. I know a great Mexican place. The food is delicious. You could fill me in on the case you're working on. And I can give you some pointers about Gabriel. You wouldn't believe the stories I've heard."

"That sounds nice."

"Great, let's go." We take a short walk to a cozy little place.

"This food is amazing!"

"I told you. Anyway, how have you been settling into the firm?"

"The first day was rough, I didn't think it was going to work out as Mr. Howard's assistant. But today things have started looking up."

"I did notice you were occupied in his office all morning. He must have a big case."

"Yes, I think he's going to have a lot on his plate from the sounds of it."

"And how is he treating you?"

"Nothing I can't handle. Why?"

These questions feel loaded, holy s**t. "Just looking out for you. You were one of the best students in your year group. I'd hate to see that talent go to waste, doing the dirty work of some arrogant lawyer."

"I sense you don't like him?"

"He doesn't see eye to eye with anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"All I'm saying is, watch your back. He'll do anything to get ahead. He'll just use you then toss you away like garbage."

"I don't think I'm a threat to him. I'm his assistant, after all."

"I'm not talking about his professional life. He's got quite a record with women."

"I've heard."

"You have no idea. The first month he was here, he worked long hours usually. I've heard every single evening, a different woman would come up and they'd leave together. What the hell kind of man sleeps with a woman everyday? It's just so gross."

"I'm sure the stories are exaggerated, right?"

"Even if they are...there must be some truth. Now, he steered clear of our colleagues, but you never know. You won't let him take advantage of you, will you?"

"No. I've managed to land my dream job, I wouldn't do anything to ruin it."

"Good."

Kelly takes a sip of her drink, looking satisfied with my answer. "And if you have any concerns about how he's treating you, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"I won't. But enough about Mr. Howard. How're things going since your promotion?"

"Oh, just grand. Rumors are, the firm are looking to promote someone to partner. So I'm going to continue kicking ass in the courtroom."

"If anyone can do it, it's you!"

"I'm glad you think so. On that note, being late won't get me any brownie points. Shall we head back?"

"Sure. Thanks again for lunch."

"Any time, Jade!" It was nice of Kelly to take me out to lunch. But what she said about Gabriel has left me completely confused. I trust Kelly, but I feel as if I'm not seeing the full picture." I suddenly get a message from Gabriel which says, can you come back to my office? Putting my phone on my desk, I wonder what he wants now. "You wanted to see me Mr. Howard?"

"I've decided we need to do some comprehensive research for this case."

"Good ideas."

"We need to speak with the mother and find out exactly what she wants. We need to surprise her."

"Great, I'll arrange a meeting with her lawyer."

"No, there's too much at stake here. The reputation of a world-renowned businessman. Millions of dollars and most importantly, a girl's happiness. We need to see what his ex-wife is like. In person."

"But she's living in Spain."

"That's why I need you to book 2 plane tickets and a hotel suite for tonight." 

"Surely you're not thinking of..." 

"Yes. I'm going to Spain. And you're coming with me."