by T. L Smith
“Your office is next to mine, I need you to start on the accounting. Can you do that?”
I nod my head. I’ve dabbled in it before, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too hard.
“Everything you need is on your desk. Davina has gotten it ready for the next person.”
“She had the job before me?”
He shakes his head while getting up and walking to the door next to his office as I follow, one I didn’t even see last night. Upon opening the door, I notice the office is nice, not as fancy as his but still really nice all the same.
“No, my last assistant quit. Davina helped out for extra cash. If you need assistance get me or call her.” He doesn’t say anything else just walks out, leaving me in here by myself.
I get to work, booting up the computer and going through everything on the desk, and hours pass before I know it. Soon my stomach starts grumbling. Reaching for my purse, I walk to his office pushing the door open. He’s on one of the larger sofas at the back, his eyes shut, and looks to be sound asleep. He appears... almost peaceful, even if he never seems it. Slowly I start to shut the door when he says my name. My heart slams into my chest like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar. When I look to him, his eyes are open, and he’s staring at me.
“I was going to grab some lunch, wanted to know if you wanted anything.” He sits up, reaching for his phone, then stands rubbing his hands down his still perfectly pressed trousers.
“I’ll assist.” He turns, walking right to me.
It takes me a second to realize he means he’ll come to lunch with me as I back out of his office. Following him out of the building, we walk to a small cafe where the lady comes over and asks what I’d like to order. Then silently walks off. Not once asking what Huxley would like.
“You’re not eating?”
He nods. “They know what I want.”
Oh, I didn’t think of that. He’d be a regular here since his business is right next door.
“How long have you owned Candy Village?” I ask, trying to break the tension between us as we sit and wait for our food.
“Ten years.”
“Wow! How old are you?”
“Thirty,” he says simply.
“That’s impressive,” I say as my drink is put in front of me.
“You don’t have any dreams, Kandi?” he asks me, making me look up. He’s watching me again, assessing me, the only way he seems to know how, with everything in him. It hurts to watch, it’s like he’s trying to see in me.
“Not the same as yours, I guess.” I shrug my shoulders.
“Why would you put yourself down like that? If it’s your dream, you should do everything in your power to reach it.” My eyes go wide as I look up to him. He’s the first person to speak to me like that, like my dreams matter. Not that my mother didn’t think I mattered, she just thought I would grow out of whatever I wanted. I never did.
Jarod never really seemed to care too much about what I wanted either. As long as I was happy he would say he was happy. Jarod was good at words. So much so that he made me want the same things as him, things I never wanted. Still don’t, but I loved him anyway, did things with him because in the end, seeing him content would make me happy by default. I wonder now if I ever was truly happy, or was it my mind playing tricks on me.
My hand leaves my drink and drops under the table to play with the edge of my skirt as my eyes peek up to him.
“I want to paint.”
He sits back looking at me. “You do always seem to have paint on you,” he jokes.
Ha... he made a joke, and it makes me smile. But he doesn’t smile, he just watches me.
The food is placed in front of us, and I can tell Huxley’s tired. His eyes are bloodshot red, and I feel bad for waking him when he was sleeping.
“I’m sorry for waking you.”
He nods to the waitress who walks away as he begins to eat his steak. My pasta smells delicious and makes my stomach growl at the sight of it.
“Don’t be sorry, it was worth it.”
I have no words about how to reply back. So we sit and chew in silence. Both of us eating until we’re done and staring at each other, as the waitress brings over the bill and places it between us. He grabs it before I can, sliding cash inside the billfold and then standing, waiting for me to do the same.
“Thank you for lunch.”
He looks to the floor. His features are strong. Unlike mine. Yes, I wouldn’t say I’m ugly. I love who I am. But my jaw isn’t as defined as his, my lips aren’t as plump as his, and my eyes don’t hold as many secrets as his. We are the complete opposites, and now he’s my boss. So I look away before he can catch me staring, and start to walk out the door. When I turn to hold the door open, I swear I spot him watching my ass, but he looks up at me straightaway, covering his eyes with his sunglasses as we stand out front of the shop.
“I must sleep before tonight. I’ll be back before your shift finishes.” He doesn’t let me speak before he turns and begins walking away from me.
ON MY WAY BACK TO MY office, a guy, who I recognize from the night I stood in line outside the club, nods his head to me and opens the door letting me in. When I get to my office, Davina’s sitting on my desk, her phone in hand, smiling as she types.
“Hello.”
She looks up. A smile fighting on her lips. “I see you’ve impressed him.”
I walk around her sitting in my seat, unsure of how I should answer that.
“He only offered me part-time work. You get to be his full-time assistant?”
I point to the paperwork on the desk. “Clearly, he needed help.”
She jumps off the desk and sits in the seat opposite me, and the right side of her lip curls up before she speaks. “Look, he’s dazzling. I know this. You probably already know this. But make no mistake, Kandi, he’s dangerous.”
I see what she’s saying. He holds things close to him, not letting anyone in. I see the things that haunt him when he looks at me. I even feel that it would not be my smartest choice to fall for a man such as Huxley. Yet, when I look at him, butterflies swarm.
“Nothing is happening.”
She nods her head, and I can tell she doesn’t believe me. “Is that why he took you out for lunch? Because he doesn’t usually socialize with his employees. Especially the women.”
“You were at his house,” I say correcting her. Clearly, they talk.
She shakes her head. “That was business. Everything he does is business. You’ll soon realize every move he makes is calculated. He never, not once, does things on a whim.”
I believe her, I really do. “Thank you, Davina.”
She shrugs her shoulders. Like it was nothing. “I’ve seen it before, the girls who fall for him expecting more. Fuck! I would too, if I liked cock, that is.” She winks and laughs, then stands and leaves. I stay where I am.
He needs a lot of work done. A lot. Thankfully my mother was an accountant, so I have knowledge about numbers. She used to make me help her after school for extra learning. Right now, as my eyes hurt and music starts blaring in the background, I’m glad she did. Because this could have been a lot harder than what it is now. And believe me, it’s hard.
“You’re still here.”
I’m placing the work I want to take home with me in my bag so I can continue while I relax. So, I answer without looking up. Those butterflies that keep swarming when I look at him, I want to keep at a minimum. “Yeah, lost track of time. I’m heading off now, and going to take some work home with me.” Pulling my purse up over my shoulder I turn. I have to look now whether I want to or not.
He’s dressed in all black, his eyes are brighter, not so red as they were earlier today. But his stance is hard. I look away, my eyes traveling to the floor as I go to make my way past him.
Huxley’s hand snakes out and catches my wrist. “Let me walk you to your car. It’s late.”
All I can do is nod my head. I walk past him, and straight out into the
blaring music. Looking at my phone, I notice it’s way later than I thought it was. I see Davina as I make my way to the front of the club. She offers me a shy smile, and I keep walking out into the cold night air as it hits my skin and footsteps follow behind me.
Opening my car door, I turn to face him, to thank him for walking me out, but when I do my breath hitches, and I forget all about what I was about to say. He’s close to me, so close I can smell his minty breath. I lick my lips, and his eyes trail down to watch the action.
“Thank you.” I turn, but he steps closer, his body now almost touching mine. I can’t pull the door open unless I step into him.
“I want to kiss you, Kandi.”
My hand drops from my door, my heart hammers away in my chest. His soft touch strokes my hair, pushing it away from my face. I’m screaming at him in my head.
“But I need you to understand something... really understand it. It would be nothing more.”
Nodding my head in understanding, I feel transfixed. Then as I look up from his lips, I shake my head, the spell breaking. My heart isn’t mine to give, let alone my lips. My hand pushes at his chest, and he takes a step back.
Then I turn without another word and get into my car and drive away.
Chapter 6
Kandi
It was the worst night’s sleep I’ve had since I arrived here, and as I pull up to the front of work, I wonder how the hell I’m meant to get in. I don’t have keys. It’s nine o’clock in the morning, and it seems the whole town is asleep apart from the cafe next to Candy Village. A knock on my door surprises me, making me jump. Davina’s standing there smiling at me.
She pulls open my door and dangles some keys from her hand. “He said you’d need these.” I offer her a kind smile, grabbing my things and getting out.
“Do you ever sleep?”
She laughs. “I closed, then had to do some work. I’m going home now to sleep. But I wanted to make sure you knew how to get in.”
“Thank you, I forgot to ask yesterday.”
“Yes, preoccupied?” She raises her eyebrow.
“What?” I ask, but she doesn’t say any more.
We walk to the front of the big red door. Davina unlocks it, then shows me the code for the alarm and how to put it in.
“I’ll see you before you leave?”
I nod my head and watch as she disappears out the door. Going straight to my office, I start my day. And soon, before I know it, a knock is sounding on the front door. Like someone’s banging to get in.
Pulling it open, it’s the lady from yesterday, the cafe girl. She offers me a brown paper bag. She smiles then walks off. I can smell the food instantly and know what’s inside. It’s what I ate yesterday. I didn’t even realize I was hungry until I smelled it.
My phone dings. Looking down, I see a number I don’t recognize.
Consider my offer.
It doesn’t make any sense. What offer, and who is it from?
Placing my phone down, I eat and get straight back to work.
As the day is coming to an end, my office door opens. It’s him. His hand clutches the door and his eyes find mine. “Huxley.”
He shuts the door behind him and walks in, not far enough to touch me—there’s a desk between us.
“Did you consider my offer?” I look at him confused, then realize it was him who sent me that message.
“You wanted to kiss me. I didn’t hear an offer in that equation, or did I miss something?”
His lip twitches ever so slightly. And I wonder where the man is that everyone seems to be afraid of.
“I want you, and I usually get what I want.”
My heart stutters. He wants me. A man hasn’t wanted me for so long I almost forgot how that feels. To have the desire of someone else, let alone myself desire them as well.
“Kandi.” Huxley says my name and I forget to speak. He’s closer now, he takes another dangerous step until he’s right in front of me. Then his hand lifts, that sexy fucking hand, and cups my face. His thumb which smells of him, pulls my bottom lip down until it puckers back up, and he watches my mouth the whole time. I want to scream at him to stop teasing me, to just kiss me already. Words seem to always become trapped inside me when his hands are on me.
I don’t remember feeling this way with Jarod. I loved him, but he didn’t leave me ultimately breathless. The fact that Huxley can do that scares the shit out of me even more than I care to realize.
“This is wrong.” The words leave his lips, but neither of us agree to what he’s said. In the next minute, his lips are touching mine. Those soft pink lips of his that I’ve admired are now glued to mine. Taking things I’m not sure I want to give him. He’s stealing the kiss, and I’m letting him. I want to give him more, but then again I don’t. My feelings are everywhere, scattered like the leaves of an autumn tree. I blame the butterflies he puts in my belly when he’s near, and right now they’re going berserk thanks to his lips.
I moan into his mouth, opening up my mouth, and his tongue slides in so effortlessly. My hips slam into his, and my hands touch his shoulders while his hands cup my face. He has full control, maybe he already did. But I feel it now, the control he has over me with a single touch of his lips. Even if I thought I was in control, I’m not.
He’s a powerful man.
This much I’ve been told. This much I feel just by being around him.
I’m also a powerful woman. This, I’ve never had to remind myself, until him.
I pull back, my feet taking two steps away from him, and placing some much-needed distance between us. When I look up at him I wish I hadn’t, his lips are bruised from our kissing, and his eyes are heated. The last thing I want right now is to hear him talk. His voice already makes me wet, and I don’t want to know how it sounds right now. Because I could feel him between us—he was hard, just as I am wet. Purely from nothing but a kiss.
“I have to...” I pause as my hands reach for my bag. Looking up I see him in the exact same spot watching me. He’s in front of the door, so the only way out is around him. “Go.”
He shakes his head at my words. “Kandi.”
My hand goes up to stop his assault of words.
Does he want me to explode?
That voice. Fuck!
He steps to the side to let me out. Opening the door as he does, I’m hit with the loud music and think when did that start? I didn’t even hear it. He’s distracted me, with his lips. I look up. I shouldn’t have because my eyes go straight to those lips, and I can feel my body leaning into him, to touch them again. I’ve missed that need of being wanted. It’s been so long, my body knows it and wants that need back. It’s been well over a year since someone’s kissed me. Let alone sex. I love sex, I love the power of sex, and I haven’t had it since Jarod.
He catches me as I fall into him, my body doing what my mind wants, but knows it shouldn’t. His hands wrap around my waist, our lips crash, and my bag falls to the floor. Somehow we go backward, falling onto the couch with him underneath me, and my body on top of him. I can feel him beneath me. So I start to move. My pelvis begins grinding on him, feeling and needing that friction I know only he can give me now.
Huxley bites my lip, hard. So hard I can taste the copper taste of blood. But it doesn’t stop us. It doesn’t stop his hands from roaming all over my body, crawling up my shirt to unhook my bra, or my hands exploring his chest. All fucking hard muscle.
“Excuse me, sir.”
I pull back, practically jumping from him like I’m doused in cold water, and look to the door. It’s one of his bodyguards from that night I tried to get in. He has a busted lip and a black eye. My eyes fall back to Huxley just for a moment, and that’s all I need to see the anger floating through his eyes.
Reaching for my purse, I grab it, moving straight past him and out the door. I notice Davina on the way through, but don’t wave and don’t stop until I’m safely in my car and driving away, wondering what the hell I just did.
&
nbsp; I almost fucked my boss, and I liked it... too damn much.
IT’S THE WEEKEND. I’M thankful because it means I don’t have to see him today. He invaded my dreams again last night, seemingly without my permission. I’ve preoccupied myself all day with painting. Trying to keep my mind off all things Huxley.
My phone starts ringing, and when I see the name on the screen, I smile brightly. Stacey, my cousin, is calling. She’s my closest friend, the only one I seem to really keep in contact with. I answer, which brings her face in view on my phone.
Shaking her red hair, and when she finally stops, she gives me a smile. “You’re covered in paint.”
I don’t usually notice until I shower or look in a mirror. That’s why I wear old clothes while painting.
“I miss you, Kandi.”
Henry, her husband, comes into view. He was best friends with my husband. “I miss you, too, Kandi. We’re coming to visit soon.”
I smile as she pushes him away from the screen. I watch her get up and walk away and into another room. “You got a place?”
I gnaw at my lip, and I should know better. She knows me too well.
“Why are you biting your lip? Did you get a place?”
“I bought a place,” I tell her, and her eyes go round with shock.
“You, what?”
I try not to gnaw on my lip as I watch her. “It’s nice, you’ll love it. I even have a spare room for when you visit.”
“So you’ve decided to stay where? I thought you’d end up here... near me.”
“I never wanted to live back there, Stacey. I got away from there the minute I was able to leave. You know this and the reasons why.”
She nods her head, her red hair fanning her face. “I just hoped, I guess. But now you’re really planted there, hey? Do you have a job?”
A smile touches my lips. “I do.”
“Why does it look like you’re trying not to tell me something?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I should stop accepting her video chats. I’m sure if it was just a phone call with no video I could get away without answering her endless questions, especially if she can’t see my face or my tells.
