Six Years Later, He's My Boss

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The Lamborghini's engine purred softly beneath Ambelyn as she made her way through midday traffic, her phone was pressed to her ear via Bluetooth.

Wednesday's voice filled the car's premium sound system, vibrating with barely contained excitement.

"Wait, wait, WAIT," Wednesday practically shouted as she was giggling and excited about what she had just heard.

"Back up. You're telling me that Niklaus Thorne—billionaire CEO, most eligible bachelor in the city, the one and only, the man who just hired you—is the same guy who took your virginity in college?"

Ambelyn felt heat creep up her neck despite being alone in the car, she had always been prude and not like Wednesday who thought being virtuous was a piece of crap.

"Can you maybe not broadcast that quite so loudly?"

"I'm in my hotel room in Malibu! No one can hear me except the ocean, trust me, the ocean doesn't have ears...I think!" Wednesday's voice dropped to a stage whisper that wasn't much quieter but at least she was trying to make an effort.

"But seriously, Ambelyn. You've been holding out on me for SIX YEARS. Six! We tell each other everything! This is the kind of thing that I needed to hear years ago!"

"It wasn't exactly something I was proud of," Ambelyn said, checking her mirrors as she changed lanes, making sure that no car was closed to her, to avoid getting into an accident.

The Lamborghini moved smoothly like a dream, though she still felt ridiculously conspicuous driving it in the first place.

Wednesday had left it for her with strict instructions to "stop being so goddamn humble and accept nice things."

"Not proud of—are you kidding me? The man looks like he was carved by angels and probably has more money than God. And you're telling me he used to pin you against library shelves and—what was it you said? Make you forget your own name?"

"Wednesday!"

"I want details, Ambelyn. Juicy, freaky details. All of them. Start from the beginning and don't you dare leave anything out."

Despite herself, Ambelyn laughed. It felt good, that burst of genuine amusement at Wednesday's shameless enthusiasm, that always seemed to make her feel comfortable despite the fact that they were talking about s****l intimacy.

"You're absolutely insane."

"That's why you love me. Now talk."

Ambelyn sighed, but found herself complying as she drove. She told Wednesday about those late nights in the library, how she and Niklaus had started as academic rivals, constantly trying to one-up each other in their shared advanced courses. How the competition had been laced with something electric from the start, how every debate had felt like foreplay, and there was this tension between them.

"We'd argue about economic theory or programming languages," Ambelyn said, her voice softening with memory. "And somehow we'd end up in the restricted section where no one went, and he'd have me pressed against the shelves, and—"

"And?" Wednesday prompted breathlessly.

"And well you know the rest, he would kiss me till I was breathless, leave hickeys on my neck, suck my....wel you know. He talked about breeding me, he would rut against me till he found his release and sometimes, I would lend him my laps or give him a blow job, or a handjob. it was intense. Consuming. Like nothing else existed except him and me and what we did to each other." Ambelyn paused at a red light, her fingers tightening on the steering wheel.

"It was never just physical, Wed. That's what made it so dangerous. We'd talk for hours afterward. About everything. Our dreams, our fears, our ambitions. He saw me in a way no one else ever had."

"So what happened? Why did it end?"

"Thomas happened." The name tasted bitter on her tongue. "My parents had arranged the marriage. I tried to fight it, but they threatened to cut me off completely, to disown me. And I was so close to graduating, so close to finally being free. I thought I could just—endure it. Get through the wedding, then figure out how to get a divorce once I had my degree and could support myself."

"But then Niklaus took your virginity right before the wedding," Wednesday said quietly. "Oh, Ambelyn."

"Three days before," Ambelyn confirmed, her throat tight. "I went to him one last time. Told him I was getting married, that we couldn't see each other anymore. And he—he looked at me like I'd stabbed him, and he was betrayed. We had an argument, there were a lot of window breaking and throwing accusations left and right about how I as toying with his heart from the onset. Then he kissed me, and I couldn't resist. I'd been saving myself for—I don't even know what. The right moment? The right person? But I gave it to him because he *was* the right person, even if the timing was all wrong."

"Did he know? That it was your first time?"

"He figured it out pretty quickly, especially when he tore through my hymen." Ambelyn felt her face flush again.

"He was so careful with me, Wed. So gentle at first, then—not gentle at all, but in the best way. And afterward, he held me while I cried, and he told me not to marry Thomas. He said we could figure it out together, that he'd help me stand up to my parents."

"But you didn't."

"I couldn't. I was so scared. And I convinced myself that what Niklaus and I had wasn't real and he was just saying this at the heat of the moment, that it was just college passion that would fade. I told myself I was doing the practical thing, the responsible thing."

She laughed bitterly. "Look how well that turned out."

Wednesday was quiet for a moment. "And now you're working for him."

"Now I'm working for him," Ambelyn echoed. "God, Wed, what am I doing? This is either the bravest thing I've ever done or the stupidest."

"Probably both," Wednesday said pragmatically. "But listen—you need this job. You need the money for Iniko's medications, you need the stability, you need to rebuild your life. Whatever happened between you and Niklaus in the past, you're both adults now. You can handle working together professionally."

"Can I?" Ambelyn pulled into the hospital parking lot, her chest tight with anxiety that had nothing to do with her upcoming task.

"Every time I look at him, I remember everything. How he made me feel. How I felt when I walked away from him. The life I could have had if I'd been braver."

"Then maybe this is your second chance," Wednesday said gently. "Not to recreate the past, but to see if there's any future worth exploring. But first—first you handle the present. Get Iniko discharged, bring him home, start your new job. Build your foundation. Everything else can wait."

"When did you become so wise?" Ambelyn asked, echoing her earlier question.

"I've always been wise, you just weren't listening. Now enough about your dramatic romantic past—tell me about this interview! Did he really throw you into a presentation with only thirty minutes to prepare?"

Ambelyn recounted the morning's events as she parked the Lamborghini, describing the initial interview where she'd been ignored, then the surprise assignment, the investors, Thomas's sabotage, and Klaus's ice-cold defense of her.

"He stood up for you in front of everyone," Wednesday said, satisfaction clear in her voice. "That's not nothing, Ambelyn. That's a man who values you, even if he's pretending it's just professional."