In bed with my boss

CHAPTER 19

COLE

I didn’t need to check my security feed to know she’d been standing there the whole time Vanessa was in here. The pink stain on her cheeks was enough proof.

I had one top rule I made sure everyone working here followed, and that was no romantic or s****l relationships during work hours.

But today, I broke it.

I let Vanessa come into my office despite knowing what she was there for.

She was a married woman. Married to a man who made me his nemesis after I withdrew from working with him.

Richard and I went way back, but unbeknownst to him, so did Vanessa and I. Whenever he went around parading himself with other women, she came running back to me.

Unfortunately for her, I was a man who believed in not mixing business with pleasure, so I always turned her down.

The past few days had been playing mind games on me, making me think of doing unspeakable things to someone I shouldn’t have been thinking about.

My body and mind needed something forbidden, so when Vanessa walked through my door offering herself on a hot player of gold, it became easy for me to go against my own rule.

And when I was having my way with her, I silently thanked the heavens she couldn’t read my mind and see who I was picturing, because if she’d realized it wasn’t her, I would’ve had her handprints across my face before she packed her things and walked out.

“Ahem.”

The clearing of a throat broke through my thoughts, causing me to blink rapidly as I looked at the woman I’d forgotten was still standing in my office.

I quirked a brow.

“You have something you want to say, Ms. Carter?”

“Yes, sir,” she said in a cracked voice. “I just want to say that my reason for being her was to drop this.” She placed the files on the table. “And tell you that I didn’t…” she trailed off and mouthed something to herself as though rehearsing a line. “… I didn't mean to interrupt you and your… guest.”

I got up from my seat, and her brown eyes widened slightly.

“Ms. Carter,” I said as I strolled toward her, her eyes following every step I took. “I don’t mind your interruption. What I do mind is you lying about listening to everything that was going on.”

“I’m not—”

My fingers instinctively rose to her lips.

“I don’t like lies, Ms. Carter, and I won’t be pleased if I hear you tell one.”

I felt the slight bob of her throat as I towered over her small frame, and as though something had taken over me, I couldn’t stop my finger from moving away from her lips and slowly trailing up to her cheeks, still pink from earlier.

I expected her to push my hand away.

Instead, a shiver ran through her body.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by her dedication to working here.

After our encounter in New Jersey, I’d wanted to make sure she never got another job after speaking to me in a tone no one had ever dared to use. But when I returned to New York and started going through the submitted applications, I stumbled across hers.

I couldn’t believe it. It felt like fate had landed on my side.

Instead of rejecting her, I’d thought, ‘why not give her the job and make her life a living hell?’

Yet in the short time she’d worked here, she’d shown me countless times that she had though skin.

Trying to understand how her mind worked was like trying to read Shakespeare for the first time.

Standing there, staring into her glistening eyes, my fingers were soon replaced by my palm, and as though she’d been waiting for me to do it, her face nestled into my hand.

‘Pull away from her, Cole.’

The voice echoed inside my head.

‘She doesn’t need your f****d-up self around her.’

I remained where I was, but just as I was about to place my other hand on her waist, a loud buzzing sound echoed through the office.

We both jerked away from each other as though a spell had just been broken.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as we stared at one another while I clenched my teeth, refusing to let her see how affected I was by what had almost happened.

The second came again, and irritation instantly settled over me.

“Is that your phone?” I hissed.

She placed a hand over her bag.

“It’s not,” she whispered before lowering her gaze.

I turned toward my desk to see my phone flashing with mom across the screen.

With a frustrated sigh, I picked it up and hit ‘Decline’, but before I could put it back down, a message appeared.

Mom: This is the eighth text message I’m sending you and you haven’t replied to a single one. You either reply or pick up your damn phone, COLE!

I looked back at Emily and noticed she’d already taken a few steps toward the door. Before I could say anything, her eye met mine with a silent plea I couldn’t ignore.

“You can go home, I’ll go through the files and email them to you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

She yanked the door open and practically bolted out of it.

I dropped into my seat and stared around the empty office.

Getting carried away wasn’t what I did, yet I’d allowed myself to fall prey to it.

Was I still hard because of Vanessa when I asked Emily to walk into my office?

Yes.

Was that enough justification for me to get that close to her?

No.

I was Cole Calloway, and getting carried away was a sign of weakness.

If being around Emily Carter was going to make me weak, then I was going to put an end to it.

My mother’s name flashed across my screen again.

This time, I picked up.

“Cole, I’m getting to old for you to keep trying to give me a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry, mom. I was—”

“I know. I just want to know if you’ve thought about dinner yet?”

I sighed.

“Mom, I said I’ll get back to you when I decide. So don’t worry.”

“Cole, he’ll be here in the next four weeks and I know you. If I don’t call, you won’t bother coming.”

I clenched my jaw.

“The only reason I’m even considering coming to that house is because you want me to. So please, mom… don’t push it.”

“Okay, son. But have you gone through the will?”

“Not this again,” I muttered under my breath, dragging a hand down my face.

Since the day she’d given me the will, I’d buried it in my drawer, not wanting to see just how trapped I’d be if I didn’t follow it.

“I’m still carefully going through it so I don’t make any mistakes,” I lied.

“That’s lovely,” she said, a smile lacing her voice.

“Good night, mom,” I said, hoping to end the call before she asked for another favor.

“Wait, son,” she exclaimed, making me pause before pressing the red button.

“What is it, mom?”

“I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen today’s news highlight.”

My brows drew together.

“What news highlight?”

“Ohhh…” her voice trailed off. “That means you haven’t. Well, that’ll be a good night.”

“Wait, mom—”

The line went dead.

“What the…” I muttered, staring at my blank screen.

Immediately, I opened i********: and searched New York’s Daily News, but found nothing.

Just as I was about to close the app, a new post appeared.

Even though I still intended to ignore it, the headline caught my attention.

‘The charming Troy Kingswood is finally back in town.”