One Night Stand With My Boss

The Bitter Truth

The sun of the morning pierced the curtains providing a gentle bright light in the room. Bella, still in deep slumber, lay besides her other half. Ethan’s phone vibrated on his bedside table, making him wake up suddenly. He picked it up while rubbing his eyes as he peered at its screen. It was from his manager.

“Hello.” replied Ethan through a sleepy voice.

“Ethan, where are you”? “Your induction ceremony to be a CEO for Blackwood Enterprises is in two hours.” Manager talked hurriedly.

Realization dawned on Ethan and his eyes widened “Oh no I totally forgot” he said cursing himself under his breath and running fingers through hair. “I will be there, thanks for reminding me”

He put down the phone and sighed deeply, feeling sorry about going to that bar last night. He had gone through hell throughout that whole day and felt exhausted as well as stressed out after all those events of last night. Furthermore, he looked at Bella who was sleeping soundly next to him, guilt washed over him.

“I have to leave now,” he said quietly then gathered his belongings quickly before walking around the apartment carefully so as not to wake Bella up but just before opening the door, he paused and glanced back at her.

Walking towards her, Ethan covered her properly with the blanket that was on her body while softly touching her face affectionately with an expression of love on his face, “I hope you can come to terms with what happened.” Ethan finally said.

He kept something next to her on the bed and then quickly left, closing the door gently after him.

A few minutes later, Bella twisted in her sleep and slowly began to wake up. She felt so tired that it seemed there was nothing else she could do but lie down. Her eyes opened and struggled with understanding what had happened before she went to sleep last night. The room appeared strange, even though it was a beautiful one with fine furniture and views of a cityscape.

As soon as Bella sat up, memories rushed back into her mind. She recalled seeing Jake in bed with her step-sister. It was an act of treachery that threw her unbalanced. Afterward, she had gone to the bar where Ethan, whom she never knew before, met her by chance. They conversed till… Oh, wow! Bella’s eyes widened in disbelief as the rest came back to her.

“So I just had a one-night stand with a stranger that I barely know.” These were uttered by herself in a tone which combined amazement as well as curiosity.

Her phone vibrated, disrupting all these thoughts; it was a colleague from work.

“Hey Bella, don’t be late today, they’re announcing the new CEO,” said Sophia, the head of marketing for Blackwood Enterprises.

Bella widened her eyes, “Oh, so it is today,” she said, suddenly feeling the rush. She packed fast. “Who goes without saying goodbye?” Bella muttered under breath thinking about him. “Well, maybe he is a coward”.

When she dragged her bag away from the bed, she noticed a card lying there. “Oh, at least he left something,” Bella said, hysterically. She picked up the card and froze when she saw the name on it—Blackwood Enterprises.

“Who is this person?” she wondered aloud. The conclusion was that the card must have fallen out of her bag. “What else could it mean?” she thought, shaking her head.

Bella arrived at work just in time. Still, her mind was filled with questions about the gentleman she met with last night. As such, she took her seat in the conference room, trying to focus on the meeting ahead. The room was crowded with colleagues, shareholders and reporters, who were waiting for the announcement of the new CEO.

There was silence as board members walked into the room, followed by a tall, confident man. Bella’s heart missed a beat as she almost recognized him. “Could it be…?” Her colleague who was seated beside her interrupted her.

“Do you know the man?” Rachel Adams, the junior secretary, asked politely.

“I doubt, can't be true”. Bella said, holding her chest firmly.

“Bella, take it easy, you are overreacting.” Rachel looked away after uttering those words.

“Good morning, everyone,” Ethan started speaking loudly and clearly. “I'm honored to be appointed as the new CEO of Blackwood Enterprises.”

Bella’s mind raced, saying, “Why is this voice so familiar…?” Bella looked up again, and this time around she couldn't bear the shock. “E…. Ethan,” the gentleman from last night, the one she slept with, so he is the former chairman son, and now he's the CEO in which she is his secretary. Bella couldn't believe what is happening, and these emotions were an emotional whirlwind of shock and confusion.

He continued telling his story, outlining his vision for Blackwood enterprises. Bella observed him thinking too much as if talking to herself, “how come I didn’t know?” she asked and added “why didn’t he also say anything?”

Bella tried to sneak away after the meeting, but Ethan noticed her. He came over, and his face gave no expression at all.

Can we talk, Bella? He said with a low voice.

She nodded and followed him into his office. Once there, Ethan shut the door and faced her.

“I am sorry that I walked out on you like that this morning,” he started off. “I had to rush back home before the ceremony to get some things done without disturbing your sleep.”

Arms crossed while she was fighting emotions from showing. “You could have written me a note or something,” she responded with a hurt tone of voice.

Ethan sighed heavily. You are right, I should have done that. “Last night was… surprising, but it was worth experiencing again, even though I didn’t know how to handle it this morning.”

Bella met his gaze as her eyes searched his face. “Why did you never tell me who you were?”

He ran a hand through his hair, then added. “It wasn’t relevant, it didn’t matter to me because I just wanted to be Ethan, not CEO, not boss, just a man trying to help someone who was hurting.”

Bella’s face softened up. “Thank you for doing that, Ethan, but it is much for one to take in.”

Bella continued. “If I may ask, are you aware that I'm your secretary and decided to take advantage of me last night?” Bella asked, as she turned her face away.

Ethan cleared his throat and began. “That's not true, I just found out this morning, while I was going through the profile of every employee of this company.” “I was shocked to see your profile, and wondered how you would have felt the more, if you find this out.” Ethan said remorsefully.

He took another step toward her and looked deeply into her eyes saying gently: “I understand everything you are going through girl, l and believe me when I say that whatever you need, I will be there for you.” It is not my first time, so what happened between us last night is more than a one-night stand.

Her chest warmed up. “I feel the same about you, Ethan, this is all very new.” And please, can you keep this between us, I would not like it, if words get out, please? Bella pleaded.

Ethan agreed with her when he answered, “Fine.” “ “We will move at our pace.”

As they stood there, the tension between them seemed to break for a moment. Bella knew that she could go on from here.

The following days were filled with an active lifestyle. Ethan was settling in his role as CEO, and Bella became more attracted to him every day.

On a certain evening, Ethan walked up to Bella as she was busy gathering out her files to leave for work. "Got any plans tonight" Ethan asked, politely.

Bella who was buried in what she was doing raised her head up and was shocked to see Ethan. Oh, Mr. Ethan. "What would you like me to work on?" Bella asked, not knowing Ethan's real intentions.

Ethan smiled. "I would like you to have dinner with me."

" But...." Ethan interrupted her as she was about to speak.

"But what?" It's just a request, and I would like you to honor it, please. Ethan said, politely.

Left with no choice, Bella finally agreed and smiled. "Yes, I would love to".