by Anna Collins
I shook my head and groaned at how stupid I was and how I was going off the deep end with the way I was practically talking to myself like a lunatic. How was I gonna broach the topic to him now? Hell, why didn’t I ask before I let him pound on my baby maker all night long, not to mention this morning?
Helen caught me cradling my head between my hands when she climbed down the stairs, her eyes torn between surprised and apprehensive.
“You know, after last night, I was sort of convinced you were never going to step foot into this place ever again,” she said, and I groaned even louder.
I had completely forgotten I had basically announced my resignation at the mall last night, after slapping my boss in the face and calling him an asshole.
It made the fact that I gave into his magnetic charms a lot worse.
“Where’s Apollo?” she asked.
“Getting dressed,” I answered dolefully.
“Did you guys do it?” she asked, her tone completely casual and I turned my head to look at her, and she shrugged. “That’s the only explanation I could think of for you to look like shit,” she said.
“I look that bad?” I asked, and she shook her head.
“Worse.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said before sighing.
“Hey, stop beating yourself up over it. I mean, no one’s going to take it against you that you slept with him. At least now you two are finally together, right?” she said, trying to cheer me up. I just looked at her, saying nothing, and she blinked. “You guys are together now, right?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“We didn’t exactly get around to discussing it,” I admitted, and she winced.
“And here I thought you were intelligent,” she admonished, clicking her tongue against her teeth in disappointment.
“Hey, if you were in my position, I bet you wouldn’t be able to talk about it either!” I said.
“Oh please, dear. If I were in your position, I’d probably scream ‘Incest.' Sleeping with your brother is disgusting,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“That is not what I meant, and you know it. You and your stupid attractive genes,” I muttered, making her smile.
“Don’t hate, Callie. You’re one hot piece of ass, too, you know. Why else would my brother want to get inside your pants?” she said lightly, and I groaned.
“If the both of you are done gossiping, we should really get a move on, Callie,” Apollo’s voice came from behind us, and we turned around to look at him.
My eyes widened, and I had to swallow the saliva gathering in my mouth as I looked at Apollo, looking all kinds of sexy and dashing in his navy blue business suit, the white shirt underneath had the top couple of buttons undone, showing a glimpse of his collarbones.
Damn it, he should wear a warning sign next time, like “Caution: Danger Zone,” or something like that.
“Good luck with the bid, big bro. Callie, wipe the drool on your face. It’s unsightly,” Helen said, pointing to the corner of her mouth as she walked away. I immediately raised my hand to wipe off the drool where she indicated, but it was dry. I did the same to the other corner, but there was no wet spot, and I immediately realized she played me. Bitch.
Apollo chuckled but thankfully said nothing as we got out of the house and into his car. I was fidgeting with the seatbelt the whole time, thinking about that conversation Helen and I had earlier and racked my brain on how to bring it up to Apollo.
“So, listen. About last night--,” I said, deciding to get straight to the point, but Apollo abruptly cut me off.
“Let’s talk about that later. I need to focus on this bid right now,” he said, and I crossed my arms at him.
“Fine. We’ll talk later,” I said emphatically. I was so not going to let him off the hook that easily. We needed to talk about it, and I had to know where we stood.
Apollo led me to the board room and then we were suddenly accompanied by a beautiful and slender blonde woman who eyed me curiously.
“Apollo, is this her?” she asked, and I frowned. I wondered if she was one of the board members or something, because how could she be on first name basis with the CEO?
“Yes, Daphne. This is Callie, my assistant,” he said, pinching his nose like he was having a really bad headache.
“Do you want some Tylenol?” I asked him, and he shook his head.
“I’m fine, Callie. Don’t worry about me,” he reassured me, and Daphne looked me down from head to toe, her eyebrows raised.
“Oh, wow. I see that you go above and beyond for your boss, hm? Such an admirable trait to have in an assistant,” she said, her voice dripping with so much maliciousness that I fought the urge to snap back at her.
“Well, she sure as hell is doing a better job than you did back when you were starting out,” Apollo said coldly, and she glared at him.
“Excuse me while I pick some more of the documents we need for the meeting,” she muttered before flipping her hair back from her shoulders and walking away at a brisk pace. I saw Apollo glare back at her before closing his eyes with a sigh.
“Is there something going on between you two?” I asked.
“It’s complicated,” he replied, and I didn’t know what to make of his answer. I saw him sneak a glance at me and he chuckled. “I’m not sleeping with her too if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said, and I shook my head.
“I wasn’t thinking about that at all!” I cried, hoping the guilt wasn’t obvious on my face. Lies, Callie, lies.
The look on his face told me he didn’t believe me anyway.
We went inside and waited for Daphne to sit down and set up some folders on the adjacent table.
“Who else is going to be attending the meeting?” I asked Apollo, but it was Daphne who answered.
“We’ll be meeting with the company that we’re hoping will consider our bid to use us as their incubator. Since there’s also another bidder hoping to win this client, the opposing bidder will also be in attendance,” she answered.
“Can’t the opposing bidder have their own separate meeting with the client?” I asked.
“The client requested that both of us present our proposals to him at the same time. I didn’t think there would be a problem with it because if the opposing bidder had any aces up his sleeve, we’d be able to make a counter-offer immediately,” Apollo said, and I nodded, accepting his logic.
The doors opened, and I was surprised to see the Ridley twins enter the room, their faces turned up and snooty like they owned the place. I never really liked the way they looked, and their reputation certainly preceded them, added to the things Thea had told me about them. I just couldn’t understand why Helen would choose to hang out with such vile human beings when she was obviously leagues above them.
They sat across from us, and I bent my head down, concealing my face with my hair as I turned towards Apollo.
“Are they the client?” I whispered to him, and he shook his head a little.
“No. They’re the other bidder,” he said, and I sat back in my seat again, at a loss.
If they’re not the client, then who—
“Callie! What a pleasant surprise,” a familiar voice said, and I turned to look at the doors and found Drake standing there, a surprised yet happy look on his face as he stared at me.
“Drake? What are you doing here?” I asked, forgetting where I was for a second, or who else was in here.
“That, Miss Cohen, would be the client,” Daphne answered, and I gawked at him, slack-jawed.
What?
Chapter Forty-One
Callie
Waiting sucked. Waiting outside a board room until everyone finished their discussion, however, sucked more.
I felt like a kid waiting outside the principal’s office as he discussed with my mother what the punishment would be, except that I didn’t know what I did wrong to be sent outside of the classroom.
After Apollo had realized that Drake and I knew each other, the look on his face changed, and he asked me to leave the room. I was about to ask him why all of a sudden, but the threatening look in his eyes kept me from opening my mouth.
I didn’t want to remain idle while I waited for them to finish, so I took out my tablet and started to edit Apollo’s manuscript. I changed a few of his lines to loosen up and make him more relatable to the audience. I also included my observations of how he rustled up the horses and the cattle, how he knew most of the staff by name, and how he adored his mother for teaching him how to cook.
I was already halfway through the project when the doors finally opened and I saw the Ridley twins get out first, their lips wearing a matching snarl. They walked past me at a brisk pace, and I decided to get inside.
“I’ll review both proposals tonight and get back to you Mr. Irons,” Drake said, extending his hand out to shake Apollo’s hand. Apollo took it, and they shook hands briefly before letting go, and Drake turned his friendly eyes toward me.
“Hey, Callie. I didn’t realize you were working here. It’s good to see you again, so soon,” he said, and I nodded.
“Yeah, I was surprised too,” I told him. I wasn’t expecting to see him again after last night, but it was really nice I did.
“Since when have you two known each other?” Apollo asked, inserting himself into our conversation.
“Since last night,” Drake answered, and the stormy look on Apollo’s face made me want the earth to open up and swallow me whole. “We had drinks together,” Drake added, and I wished I could tell the guy to just shut up.
“Oh really? So that’s where you went last night, Calista,” Apollo said, his lips pursing, and I was torn between wincing and smiling at him…so I did both and probably looked really stupid.
“Yeah, she wasn’t in any state to drive herself back home, so I took her keys and drove her,” Drake said, and I closed my eyes. Please God, just kill me now.
“How very kind of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Reynolds, I have some other matters to attend to. My assistant will show you out,” he said.
“Absolutely! Come on, I’ll--,”
“My other assistant. Calista, follow me. I need you for this task,” he said. I watched Apollo walk out of the board room, and I internally winced. Oh man, he was so going to yell at me for this, I just knew it.
“It was nice seeing you again, Drake,” I greeted, giving him a lame goodbye.
“Wait, can I get your number or something?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“That’s probably not a good idea. But see you!” I said, running after Apollo.
I heard Drake call out to me again, but I ignored him as I got into the elevator with Apollo. He pressed the button to the top floor, and once the door closed, he turned towards me.
“What the hell did you think you were doing, drinking with a man you just met?” he said, and I leaned back in shock.
“Hey, I am a grown woman, and I can drink with any guy I want to drink with, thank you very much,” I said, defending myself. What was his problem? He was acting like a crazy jealous boyfriend right now.
“Did you kiss him?” Apollo asked, and I couldn’t believe he asked me that.
“Of course not! Jesus, why are you even asking me this?” I asked, outraged. “Did you actually think I’m that kind of woman? I thought we went over this already,” I said, and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I…overreacted,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face, trying to calm himself down. I crossed my arms, not completely convinced at his apology.
“Besides, I don’t understand why you’re acting like this is a big deal. We haven’t exactly defined what’s going on between us,” I said glumly, and then he caged me between his arms again, much like the way he did last night at my apartment. His icy blue eyes bore into mine, dark and almost hypnotizing.
“You’re not allowed to be with anyone but me. I’m the only one allowed to make you quiver with need, to make you wet for my dick, and the only name you’re allowed to scream while you’re in the throes of passion,” he said, his velvety voice smooth, rumbling from the pits of his stomach. “You,” he kissed my cheek. “Are,” he kissed my other cheek. “Mine,” he breathed the last word in my ear before slamming his lips against mine in a bruising kiss that made my knees weak, and my eyes shut automatically.
He pulled away and looked at my flushed face, his eyes zoning in on my lips that were probably red and swollen from his kisses, and he smirked as he appreciated his handiwork.
“Is that enough of a definition for you?” he asked, and I couldn’t help but nod before he kissed me again.
It was enough. For now.
Chapter Forty-Two
Apollo
I didn’t have anything else scheduled for the rest of the day, so Callie suggested that we work on the second draft of my autobiography instead and get a head start on things. I appreciated her tenacity and thought that she’d be a really good assistant if she was a real one. Maybe I should ask her to consider it because God knows I need a break from Daphne.
It was six pm when Callie and I finished, and I asked her to have dinner back in my place. She was skeptical at first, but I insisted. I thought maybe I could convince her again to come live at my place, or at least be tired enough to want to stay the night.
I took my phone out of my pocket and keyed in Perseus’ number, surprised he picked up after the first ring.
“Hey, Apollo. I was just about to call you, actually,” he said, and my brows furrowed.
“Is there something wrong?” I asked.
“No, no. There’s nothing to worry about. I was just wondering if you still needed me to do a check on the Ridley twins,” he said.
“Yes, go ahead. They bid against me for Drake Reynolds’ company earlier, and something about their proposal struck me as odd,” I explained.
“What do you mean? Odd in what way?”
“Their proposal was too similar to mine, but with a couple of changes here and there that made theirs a little bit more tempting than my original proposal,” I told him.
“Wait. What do you mean by ‘original’? Don’t tell me you switched proposals on the fly!” he exclaimed.
“I had no choice. I had to make sure my offer was better than theirs. Besides, it wasn’t hard to come up with an alternate plan,” I said, and I heard him laugh from the other side of the line.
“Ever the genius, big brother. Congratulations, I’m sure you’re going to get it. What I’m concerned about though is how the Ridleys got a hold of your proposal,” Perseus said.
“You don’t think I’m wrong about it?” I asked.
“No, your instincts have always led you right before,” he said, and I appreciated the level of confidence my younger brother had with me. “I’ll see what I can dig up. So, why did you call me again?” he asked, and I decided to get straight to the point.
“Do you think you can take Helen out for dinner or something?” I asked him, and there was nothing but silence on the other line.
“Why would you want me to take Helen out? I mean, doesn’t she just cook at your place, and you guys have dinner?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I want to cook this time,”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Callie’s with me,” I said, using her as an explanation.
“So the three of you can eat together,” he said, and I was starting to get irritated at how obtuse my younger brother was.
“I want Callie and me to have dinner at my place alone,” I said.
“Ooh,” he said, and thank fuck, he finally got it. “Like a date,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. “Gotcha, gotcha. Alright then. Leave it to me. I’ll call you when I get there. Good luck,” he said, and I hung up the phone. I put it back in my pocket and went in my office, seeing Callie organize the scattered papers on my desk.
“I’m tapped out. What about
you?” I asked her, and she blew her hair out of her face.
“Oh yeah, I’m exhausted. Not to mention starving. I wonder which takeout I’m going to be ordering tonight,” she replied, and I mentally cheered for the perfect opportunity.
“Well, now that you mention it, I’m pretty hungry too. I’m thinking of making chicken parmesan tonight, want to go back to my place instead and have a bite?” I asked, and I watched her tilt her head to mull over my words.
“Yeah, chicken parmesan sounds delicious. Count me in!” she said, her eyes twinkling brightly.
I had never seen a girl look so excited about eating chicken before. I had to admit, she looked…really fucking adorable.
Chapter Forty-Three
Apollo
Everything went according to plan. Perseus had managed to convince Helen to eat out with him, although he told me it took a promise on his part to carry all of her bags when she would go shopping tomorrow to get her to leave, which meant I owed him for this.
Callie and I had a really good time chatting while we ate, and it was like our argument last night had never happened. I apologized again for what I said, of course, but she waved it off and told me she’d already forgiven me for it.
We washed the dishes together and afterward, I told her it was already pretty late, and she should just spend the night. She looked at me with a knowing smile as she shook her head.
“I should’ve known you were planning something like this. Admit it! You had this planned down to the wire, right?” she said, and I laughed.
“Maybe not as meticulously as you think, but yes, I did. I was hoping that by the time this dinner ended, you’d either be too full or too tired to leave,” I admitted, and she giggled.
“I hope you didn’t do all this just so you could get me into bed with you,” she humored, her voice sounding playful and melodious as she teased me.
