by Sienna Grant
I felt sick. I wanted to call Terry, but what if he thought I was responsible for this?
I drop my face into my hands and rub my eyes before rubbing my temples. I take some calming breaths in and out. I then realize that the longer I left this unaddressed, the worse it would be. I had to call him.
Picking up the phone, I press the number for Terry’s direct line and wait. Butterflies ran amok in my belly as the other end rang out. I was about to hang up when Terry picked up. His low voice came over the line.
“Hi, Terry,” I say softly.
“Ahh, Reagan. You must have read my mind. I was about to call you. I assume you know Margie won’t be in today.” I hadn’t heard a thing, but I wasn’t sure if I should say that. “She’s asking for a day off, sick apparently.”
“Oh…okay.”
“So you didn’t know that Margie was taking today off?” His tone was accusatory, and I didn’t like it.
“No, I didn’t.” I sighed. “Apparently, she went right over my head and informed you instead.” I took a few calming breaths before I continued. “Terry, can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, but make it quick, I’ve got eighteen holes of golf to get to.”
God forbid I interrupt his fucking golf. This is only his business.
I ignored the little voice in my ear that wanted to tell him to get a grip and take notice of what was happening around him, at his company, but I bit it back. “Do you know anything about the Sphinx account closing? I’ve come in this morning to an email saying we’re in breach of contract.”
“Sphinx?” The line went deathly quiet and I wonder if the call has dropped until I hear his voice again. “Do you mean the Sphinx account that was worth thousands to us?”
“The very same.” My eyes closed as I waited on his answer.
“Who closed it and why?” I pull the phone away from my ear as he bellows. “You need to figure this out, Reagan, and you need to do it today!”
The line went dead. He hadn’t even given me a chance to say I knew nothing about it. I hang up and dial Margie’s number. I wait a whole minute before I’m sent to voicemail.
“Good morning, Ms. Campbell. Give me a call as soon as you get this; it’s urgent. Thanks.”
As a child, my brother and I were told to use manners. I always tried to, even when I became chief executive. Employees tend to react to politeness even if you’re stern. Even though right now I want to rip someone’s head off.
The Sphinx account being closed bugged me all day. It was one of the first accounts I acquired when I became CEO, and Terry was so proud. I fought against the big boys for that and won fair and square. I call accounts and ask if they could do some digging for me and to let me and only me know if and when they found anything.
My head’s a mess. I don’t understand what’s happening, but I’ll find out. I go through every email to see if I received anything yesterday, then back to the account to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Right there in front of me were the words ACCOUNT CLOSED.
I rubbed my eyes and covered my face with my hands. I was worried. This was a major fuck up and I needed to get it sorted.
I couldn’t wait for the end of the day to come so I could go home and relax. I needed to do nothing this weekend but chill. Mom’s going up into the mountains for the weekend to see my dad’s brother and his wife. I didn’t even have to get dressed, because no mom, meant no visit.
I’d had a week to top all shitty weeks, but surely it couldn’t get any worse…at least I hoped anyway. I couldn’t wait to do nothing.
Forty-One
Reagan
After calling Sphinx, I was scheduled to meet with their CEO Tuesday. I had all weekend to prepare and do some digging as to what was going on.
Passing the concierge, I give him a wave and a smile and walked to the elevators. Everett lives in a much nicer apartment than mine and in a nicer part of town. Not that I live in a rundown part of town, but this is where the money lives.
The doors open and I stab the button for the top floor. Everett lives in a penthouse with no expense spared. I could fit my two-bedroom apartment inside his with room to spare. Not that I’m jealous. He worked hard for what he wanted, and he got it. From what I’d learned over the time I’d been seeing him, his grandfather left him an inheritance when he died. He doesn’t have much to do with his family now, but he doesn’t talk about it either. Our relationship before was just sex. Since we’ve become more, I want to get to know more about him.
The doors open with a ding and I walk along the hall to Everett’s penthouse. I rap my knuckles lightly on the door and had waited less than a minute before it opened with a sexy Everett in just sweatpants, no shirt and bare feet. I took a moment to look him up and down and licked my dry lips.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I don’t say a word, just place my hands on his warm, tanned skin and push up to my toes to kiss him.
“I like that reply.” He frames my face and takes control, pushing his tongue into my mouth. My legs are like jelly by the time he pulls away. He takes my hand, lightly kisses my knuckles, and with a smile pulls me inside, shoving the door closed.
We’d had a quiet night, it was nice, but I hadn’t said a word about work. Although Everett could have helped me and given me some helpful advice, I wanted to just let it sit in my head. It wasn’t the best plan of action, but I had no idea how I was going to get to the bottom of it.
Everett cuddles up to me and begins kissing my ear and down my neck until he makes contact with my collarbone. I can’t free my mind enough to get into what he’s doing. Everything is crashing down around me; sex is the last thing on my mind.
“Rae, what’s wrong. You’ve been really quiet tonight and now it’s like you don’t even want to know me.”
“It’s not you, I’m just not in the mood.”
He rolls away from me and lays his head on his pillow before sighing and tucking his hands beneath his head. His lips are in a slight pout and I feel really guilty. I’ve never pushed Ev away, but I’m just not in the mood.
“It’s not you, I promise.” Rolling to my side, I face him and he turns his head my way, looking directly into my eyes.
“Then what is it? You don’t normally turn me away.”
“It’s work. I don’t want to talk about it though.”
“How are we supposed to be us if you won’t tell me? Tell me what’s wrong.”
I feel like crap. As much as I want to give in, I’m scared. I breathe deep and prepare to tell him my fears.
“I think she’s trying to frame me or something.”
“Who?” Everett asks, a crease sitting between his eyebrows as he frowns.
“Oh, come on, Ev. Margie.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“She’s trying to make me look bad.”
Sitting up, I twist my body toward Everett and tuck my feet under me.
“I think you’re being paranoid, Rae.”
I’m gobsmacked. My mouth drops open and I know my eyes have widened at his reply. “Paranoid? Are you fucking kidding me? She’s changed her whole appearance. She even dresses like me. What’s paranoid about that? Plus, she lied to about where I was and told my boss that I just upped and left for the day.” My voice rises in pitch, and I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Coincidence? I think not. What am I supposed to do? I can’t fire her for dying her hair or for dressing like me. I think she’s after my job. She’ll be after you next, you know that don’t you? Or maybe the other way around.”
Everett sighs. “Now you’re just talking crazy.”
Feeling frustrated, I leave the bed and dress in Everett’s shirt, buttoning it up to cover up my nakedness. “Thanks.”
“Rae,” he calls out, and I turn around. “Where are you going?” His voice sounds tired.
I pause at the door, hoping he’ll call me back, but he doesn’t. “To act fucking crazy in the other ro
om.”
Storming into the kitchen, I open the fridge and take a bottle of water from inside the door. My hip against the counter, I unscrew the cap from the bottle and take a sip. I can’t get Margie out of my head. And now it’s affecting Everett and I…
The atmosphere in the kitchen turns thick and I know Everett is standing behind me. I always know when he’s around—I can just feel him. His hands rest on my shoulders and he places small kisses on my neck. “Come back to bed,” he says softly.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” My voice was thick with emotion. “Ev. Do you believe me?” I’m not sure if I want to know the answer at all, but I’m a masochist it seems, so I wait for the answer.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Rae…she just seems too nice. Maybe she got her wires crossed the other day, I don’t know.”
“Great.” I step away from him. “If I can’t get you to believe me, no one will.”
The plastic bottle lands with a thud as I put it down and I walk back into the bedroom. Everett comes in just as I’m putting my underwear back on.
“Where are you going?” I hear the desperation in his voice, but it doesn’t stop me.
“Home.”
“What the fuck, Reagan?” His hands are firm on my shoulders, halting my progress. “Don’t leave. Please. We can work this out.”
“What’s the point?” I shrug. “She seems to have everyone fooled.”
“It will work out, you’ll see. I don’t want you to leave like this.” His palms close around my face and he looks into my eyes. “Why don’t we get back in bed and sleep on it.” His arms circle my body and his nimble fingers unclip my bra, dragging it from my arms. With a barely there nod of agreement I let him lead me back to the bed. Pulling me into his arms, I lay my head on his chest. He drags his fingers softly up and down my back. “Everything will look better Monday.”
I don’t have Everett’s optimism. “I doubt it. I’ll be lucky if I have a job.”
“What, why?” Suddenly His fingers stop and I feel his eyes trained on me.
“I’ve lost a big account. I’m not even sure what happened.”
“Look at me.” I lift my chin and turn my face up to meet his gaze. “Losing an account is not your fault. It’s why you have a sales team behind you.”
“The account was closed.” I sigh. “Margie didn’t come to work today. It’s all fucked up. I had Terry on the phone this morning telling me that Margie was sick. I’m her first port of call, not Terry. When I told him about the account, he went crazy, Ev. All this happened yesterday while I was home with that migraine. I told her I was available if anything happened and she didn’t tell me.”
“Maybe she didn’t know.”
I shook my head. “What’s going to happen, Ev?”
“Nothing.” He rolled me to my back and hovered over me. “I promise. It’s all going to work out. It’s just some technical mistake. You’ll see. Now, let’s forget work for a while…”
His lips meet mine and he plunges his tongue roughly into my mouth. My legs part as his body covered mine. He slides between them and takes over until all I can think about is him.
Forty-Two
Everett
I wake up and roll toward the heat on the other side of the bed. My half open gaze falls to her bare back as she lay on her front. The sheet sits low, just above her ass, and her head is turned away from me.
My dick hardens as I lay next to her, but it’s always hard when Reagan is around. Leaning over, I place the softest kiss to her shoulder. She was a bit of a confused mess last night. I’m not used to seeing Reagan like that; she’s always so self-assured and confident. So, I took my time with her. I worked her body over with my tongue, bringing her to the edge before I slid inside her and brought her back to orgasm, where we both fell over the edge.
She groaned. Her voice husky from sleep.
“Morning, baby.”
“It’s not morning already, is it?” She turns her head and faces me, her eyes barely open, her cheek snuggled into the pillow. I inch toward her and lay my head on the pillow, watching how relaxed she looks in sleep. “Ev…”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Stop watching me, it’s weird.” A soft smile tugs at the corners of her mouth and a laugh bursts out from me. Lifting my hand to her face, I stroke the backs of my fingers down her cheek and smooth the pad of my thumb across her closed lips. Her lips pucker against my thumb in a kiss. “There are names for people who do that.”
“Like what?”
“A creeper.”
“Oh yeah?” I pull back the sheet and smack her luscious ass cheeks. “Why don’t you come for a run with me?”
“Because it’s Saturday morning. I have no work and have no desire to exercise,” she mumbles, taking my pillow and placing it on top of her head. “You go for a run.”
“I’d rather you come with me. It’s boring on my own.’
“So play music.”
Lifting the pillow from her head, I lean over her and bite her earlobe before sucking on it. “I’ll make it worth your while,” I offer, and Reagan groans. “I promise.”
With narrowed eyes in my direction, she says, “You better, Brooks.” She drags herself out of bed and walks butt naked into the closet where she’s moved some of her clothes in. She only works out when she’s with me, and she has plenty of workout clothes here. Going into the closet after her, I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, lifting her from the floor. “That’s my girl.” I place a kiss to her cheek and put her down, leaving her to it while I go to the bathroom.
If I’m honest with myself, I love having her here. She’s definitely the only woman to keep my interest for more than a few hook-ups. I have money, and some women will only give me their attention if they know that, which is why I’ve always been reluctant to involve myself with anyone.
She knocks on the door as I’m finishing up. “Come on, I’m almost ready.” She’s really not much of a morning person, I’ve come to realize.
“Okay, grumpy, I’m done.” I exit the bathroom, plant a kiss on her lips, and go get dressed.
In no time I’m grabbing some bottles of water from the fridge.
She walks into the kitchen and folds her arms across her chest, scowling. I pass a bottle of water to her and she walks to the door. “You owe me big time for this. It’s only seven forty-five. Freak!”
I raise my eyebrow at that declaration, but a smirk pulls at my lips. “I’ll give you freak.”
Laughing, she skips out of the door and toward the elevators.
Forty-Three
Margie
Sitting on a bench in Central Park with a danish and a coffee has become my favorite morning ritual. I’d like to say I love to see the sun come up, but that’s not it. I love to see Everett jogging. Only, I think I may have missed him today. I finish up my danish and get up to throw the bag in the trash can. I completely miss it though and it lands on the floor. As I’m bending over to pick it up, I hear a familiar voice.
“Yeah, well, you have to catch me first.”
As I look up, I see Reagan. It’s only the back of her but I know it’s her because I see Everett next to her. I’ve been hoping to muster up the courage to speak to him one morning, but instead I hide behind a tree and wait for him to go past. He wasn’t happy with me the other morning when I tried to flirt with him, so I lied about where Reagan was. Obviously, my lies didn’t work, so I’ll have to go to plan B. Why should she have someone like him when he could be mine? I have as much right to him as she does.
As she approaches, I step out onto the path. She turns around to speak to Everett, and I put my back to her. I hear Everett telling her to watch out, but it’s too late. Reagan collides with my back, knocking me to the ground.
“Oh lord, I’m so sorry.” I cover my face in my hands until I hear Everett come to an abrupt stop behind me. “Are you okay?” Reagan asks, and I look at her.
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“Margie?” Everett holds out a hand and I take it. His hands are soft. Curling my fingers around his, he pulls me up from the tarmac. I love the feel of his hand around mine. I spring up to my feet and launch myself against him, pretending to lose my balance. “I think you better sit down for a minute.”
My hand rests against his chest and I smile up at him.
Reagan watches every movement, her eyes narrowing at us. “Are you okay, Margie. I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
I barely hear the annoying sound of Reagan’s voice and instead concentrate on the firmness of Everett’s chest beneath my palms, dying to run them over his abs.
“Well, as long as you’re okay, we better be going,” Reagan says.
Everett takes a hold of my wrists, guiding me to a bench near to us and sitting me down. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
I nod and take in his glorious form. I wonder what it would be like to run my tongue over him…
“Ev, I’m starving,” Reagan pushes.
I give him a soft smile, but really, I’m gritting my teeth to keep from yelling that he’s mine.
“See you Monday, Margie. I’m assuming you’ll be well enough to come in?”
“I’ll be there.”
She nods and takes Everett’s hand pulling him away, he looks back and smiles, then they walk away from me.
My hands curl into fists. All I can do is watch as they walk away, my anger amps up as he throws an arm around her shoulders and kisses her.
That should be me, not her.
Once I’m back at my tiny shoebox apartment, I go straight to the small cupboard and pull the string that’s attached to the bare light bulb. I look at the wall and smirk.
The top half of the wall is decorated with pictures. I cut around the picture as neatly as I can and place it against the corkboard. I stick a pin between her eyes, fixing the picture to the board. I stand back and admire it for a second. It’s filling up, and I’m not going to get much more on it. I pull the pin back out and seeing the hole I created there in her head, gives me a sick sense of happiness. How I’d love to do it in reality.
