Bridesmaid for Hire

by Chance Carter

  “Oh, hey!” she greeted me perkily. “Good day at work?”

  “Not bad.”

  I shrugged and sat down to join her on the couch.

  “What’s up?” she asked, nudging me with her leg. She could always tell when something was wrong.

  “It’s been a weird-ass day.”

  I shook my head, and she flipped over, turning the volume down on the TV, and giving me her full attention.

  “Oh, yeah? Like how?” she asked.

  “I had this conversation with someone I work with. Well, half a conversation.”

  I tried to put the pieces of the day into words, hoping she would be able to make sense of what I couldn’t.

  “With who? What did they say”

  “This guy Kieran. He said something had happened with the last assistant,” I began. “I don’t know what it was, but it must have been a big deal because the guy was really surprised I hadn’t heard about it yet.”

  “Really? What do you think it is? You think she fell out of a window or something?”

  “No, it had to do with Oliver.” I said. “That much I know.”

  “Oh?”

  Katya raised her eyebrows, instantly interested. “What do you think it was? Was it bad?”

  “I honestly have no idea, but it seemed like some serious gossip, whatever it was, and I’m not sure I want to know.”

  “Oh, come on, you totally do,” she chided, propping her chin up in her hand. “What’s he been like with you? Any indication there?”

  “He’s been fine.” I shrugged. “I mean, he was a little cool with me the first week, but he’s been pretty nice to be around since then.”

  “How nice? Like, wants-to-get-in-your-pants nice?” she prompted, and I wrinkled my nose.

  “I don’t know about that,” I said, dismissively. “Though we did have…”

  I trailed off, and she bugged her eyes out as I came to a halt.

  “Oh, come on, you can’t leave it there,” she complained. “What was it? What happened?”

  “I was coming back through his office today, and we had this… moment.” I paused. “I don’t know how to describe it. He was just looking at me, and it felt kind of…”

  “Hot?” she said and grinned widely. “I’ve seen those pictures of him, Mona. I know he’s hot.”

  “I could just be reading into things.” I said dismissing the idea. “I don’t want to assume more than is actually happening.”

  “Yeah, and hooking up with your boss isn’t the best way to go about advancing your career,” she said in agreement. “Still, you’re only there for, what was it, six months?”

  “I’d like to be there longer than that,” I shot back.

  “If you end up hating the job and want to get out, you should go for it.”

  “Except for explaining to my next employer why I didn’t work there for longer,” I pointed out. “I don’t want “sex with the boss” on my permanent record.”

  “What about this old assistant of his? Do you know anything about her?”

  “Only that her name was Jeannie,” I replied, closing my eyes and pressing my head into the couch. “I don’t think I want to know anything more.”

  “Well, I do, so keep your ear to the ground for me. I love gossip when it has nothing to do with me.”

  “Me too, but maybe there’s a reason I don’t know yet,” I pointed out. “Maybe I’m not meant to know.”

  “But the rest of the staff seem to,” she said cocking her head at me. “So why shouldn’t you? If you work there, you have as much right to know the gossip as anyone else does, especially if it concerns the person you’ve just replaced.”

  “I guess you’re right.” I agreed, nodding. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Do that.”

  Katya turned back to the TV.

  “You want me to catch you up on this? Might take your mind off everything.”

  “I think it’s important you do,” I agreed, and soon enough, we were both fully engrossed in the drama unfolding on the television.

  I found my mind mercifully distracted from work, from whatever happened to Jeannie, and most importantly, from Oliver.

  At least for now.

  Chapter 4

  Oliver

  I was finally done for the week, and man, did it feel good.

  Well, I was never really done for the week. My therapist had frequently insisted that I needed to find more time away from work to do the things I enjoyed. That was easier said than done. There was always one more meeting to attend, one more deal to broker, one more phone call to make.

  But, tonight, I was determined to hang up my suit and tie and chill out for the evening. As soon as I got this paperwork filed.

  It was just before six, and I had kept Mona longer than usual to help me get everything in place for a deal I was hoping to secure. I was really impressed with the products this new company had come up with and was super excited to have them on board.

  With our marketing and status, we’d be able to turn their cool ideas into gold. At least, that’s how I’d pitched it to them. Now, I just had to deliver, but that could wait. I needed a little time away from the office. I would return on Monday rested and ready to run with it.

  Maybe I would even leave town, visit one of my apartments out in the country, get some fresh air. I had been cooped up in the city for too long, and a little time away always did a lot to boost my productivity.

  I went to the the liquor cabinet in the corner of my office and unlocked the doors. I reached in, pulled out a glass, and poured myself a generous few fingers of scotch. I downed a big gulp and let out a satisfied sigh. Turning and placing my hand against the window frame, I looked out over a city that was just beginning to come to life for the weekend, taxis streaking down the streets and lights flickering on in clubs was far as the eye could see.

  Maybe I could stay in the city. I’d see what clubs were open, rent out some VIP booths, and relive some of that early-twenties experience I’d mostly missed out on because I was so busy running this place.

  The door clicked open behind me and I turned, ready to defend the fact I was drinking scotch in the office. I relaxed when I saw it was Mona.

  Her eyes went straight to the glass in my hand, and her eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t say a word. She would get far in this business. Being able to keep your mouth shut when you saw stuff you weren’t meant to see was a skill few people possessed.

  “I’m celebrating landing the Holstone account.” I lifted the glass in her direction as though I was toasting her. “Don’t worry, I don’t make a habit of getting sloshed at the office.”

  “I don’t care if you do.” she said with a smile, and I noticed she didn’t have her bag or coat.

  The scotch settled into a warm haze in my head. I looked down at the drinks cabinet and saw the other glass sitting right there. Fuck it.

  “You want a drink?” I suggested, and she hesitated for a moment before she responded.

  My instinct was to jump in and take it back before she could turn me down, but I knew at once how desperate that would have made me look. There was nothing inappropriate about this, at least there didn’t need to be.

  “Yeah, why not?”

  She shrugged, glancing over at the cabinet and grinning.

  “I’ve always wondered what you kept in that thing.”

  “Well, now you know,” I remarked, pouring her a scotch and handing her a glass.

  Our fingers touched for a fraction of a second as we made the exchange, and I felt a jolt of electricity run up the length of my arm and fizzle around my brain for a few seconds as she raised the glass to her lips. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t totally appropriate.

  She took a sip and her face puckered at the bitter, burning taste.

  “I don’t usually drink scotch,” she admitted with a shy smile in my direction.

  God, she had the most gorgeous smile. Her eyes lit up, and a dimple appeared on one cheek. I wanted t
o press my thumb into the hollow, to feel her soft skin beneath my fingers.

  I looked away from her and returned my gaze out the window, keeping my cool as best I could.

  “Well, you’ll have to get used to it,” I teased. “Everyone here drinks scotch.”

  “Really? I assumed it was a ‘whatever alcohol’s going’ kind of industry,” she replied, turning to lean on the other side of the window frame.

  With nothing but our glasses between us, we were agonizingly close. I could reach out and brush my fingers through her hair if I wanted and all this pretending would be over.

  “I should get the copies of the contracts for your files,” she said.

  “Yeah, probably,” I agreed, and took another drink of my scotch.I didn’t want her to feel as though she had to keep hanging around if she had somewhere to be and things to do.

  Her shoulders sagged a little, and I looked over to find her smiling out the window.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  She looked over at me, apparently surprised by my interest.

  “Just how glad I am to be here,” she responded, lifting the glass to her lips and looking at me over the top of it. Her eyes were big and a pale gray that popped against her olive skin.

  “Yeah?” I leaned forward a little, in an attempt to hide the boner forming in my pants. “You’re enjoying your first month, then?”

  “It’s been fun,” she said. “What about you? You enjoying your thousandth month?”

  “It’s been a better one than most.”

  I smiled at her, my eyes flickering obviously, up and down her body.

  Jesus, could I switch it off for just one second?

  “Glad to hear it.”

  She leaned over to clink her glass against mine.

  “To many more good ones.”

  We both paused to take a sip, and the tension in the room was palpable. I knew that acting on impulses would only end badly. Mixing drink with the obvious sexual tension between us would cause fireworks of the worst kind, but I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to.

  Mona was easy to be around, easier than most of the people who worked in this damn office, and I wasn’t about toggle up a chance to spend a little more time with her.

  “What are you doing to celebrate?” she asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “I was thinking of going out of town for the weekend, but I haven’t had a proper night out in the city in a while.”

  “You still go out? Like, clubbing and stuff?”

  She cocked her head at me and I snorted with laughter.

  “I hate to break it to you, but lots of people are still going out at my age.”

  I raised an eyebrow and turned to look in her direction.

  “I guess I don’t go out enough to notice them,” she shot back. “I haven’t been out here. At least, not yet.”

  “No?”

  “No. I only moved here a few months ago, and I haven’t had the money to be going out until now.”

  “Oh, so now that you’ve got the money, you’re going to be living it up every weekend?” I teased. “I can recommend some clubs if you’d like, from back in my day.”

  “I thought you said your days of clubbing were over,” she pointed out. “Besides, I don’t really do clubs. I’m not really into that kind of thing.”

  “Huh.” I cocked my head at her. “And here I was thinking all university students wanted nothing more than to go out on a Friday night and have fun.”

  “Maybe when you went to university,” she said playfully. “But I was too busy getting internships and doing coursework to go out. I never really got a taste for it.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably what I should have been doing at university,” I admitted.

  “Doesn’t look like it held you back too much,” she pointed out, gesturing around the office.

  “Cheers to that,” I replied, finishing off my drink and placing the glass back under the cabinet.

  She lingered for a moment before finishing up her scotch. She watched as I made my way around the office putting things back into place – a cabinet drawer that had been left open, a desk trinket I had knocked over. I could feel her eyes on me, and it was getting to me, but I knew I couldn’t indulge myself.

  “So, what are you up to this weekend, then? If you’re not going to hit up the clubs?”

  I turned to her and was suddenly distinctly aware of the space between us. Not just the physical space, but the distance in age, in career, in the places we were at in our lives.

  She was different from me, and we both knew it. Pursuing something with her would have been wrong, considering how far removed we were from each other. our age, our status, our experiences. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself, but somewhere in the back of my mind, a relentless urge reminded me just how much I wanted her.

  Her lips were wet from the scotch and her eyes fixed on me as I waited for her to reply to my question.

  “Oh, nothing,” she shrugged, swiping her tongue out over her lips in a gesture that forced me to avert my gaze. “Just hanging out with my roommate, catching up on some sleep. Not all of us have properties outside of town to visit when we want a break, tragically.”

  “Maybe I’ll take you some time,” I joked, not realizing how flirtatious the words would sound coming out of my mouth.

  Her eyes widened with surprise and I dived in to cover my ass.

  “A company trip, of course,” I added quickly. “It’d be fun to get the whole office out of town for a while, see what would happen…”

  “Yeah, I have a feeling that wouldn’t end well,” she replied, and the way her eyes darted down to my lips and then back to my eyes told me she wasn’t just talking about hypothetical HR violations.

  “Where do you have your properties?” she continued, slipping straight from flirtatious to professional again. I was having a hard time trying to keep up.

  “Oh, all over.” I shrugged. “California, Michigan, Hawaii…”

  “Hawaii?” she squeaked. “I’ve never been there. Is it as amazing as it looks?”

  “I’d like to tell you it isn’t, but yeah, it absolutely is.” I nodded with a sly grin. “It’s gorgeous out there, especially in the summer. I try to get out at least a couple of times a year.”

  “If I had a place like that, I would never be in the office.” She sighed longingly. “I’ve always wanted to go.”

  “I’ll have to lend you the keys, then,” I replied offhandedly. “I don’t use it that often.”

  “You serious?”

  She cocked her head and smiled at me in disbelief, and I shrugged.

  “I don’t see why not,” I replied.

  “I might just take you up on that,” she warned and drained the last of her drink.

  She handed the glass back to me, and this time, when our fingers touched it was pretty deliberate. She paused for a moment and looked up at me as my hand briefly closed over hers. My heart flipped in my chest and my cock grew hard as our gazes met.

  For the briefest second, I knew I could have leaned in, could have wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close, could have pressed my nose to her hair and inhaled the sweet, intoxicating scent of her shampoo and perfume all mixed up together. I could have done it, once and for all, and thrown all this bullshit posturing out the window.

  I glanced down at her cleavage and imagined what her soft, supple breasts would feel like in my hands. What would those perfect, pert little nipples taste like in my mouth?

  I looked at her lips. I tried to imagine her kneeling in front of me, opening that perfectly delicious mouth, and taking the full length of my firm cock between her lips. She’d slide her tongue along my shaft, making it throb with desire. She’d run her tongue around the tip, licking the underside, bringing me close to orgasm with a single flash of her eyes up at mine.

  And I’d try not to spill myself into her mouth, I’d try to wait until we were f
ucking, but I wouldn’t be able to resist. Despite myself, I’d cum, right there, in her beautiful, delicious, delectable mouth.

  But all at once, I withdrew my hand, and the moment was gone.

  Mona averted her gaze to the ground, as though she’d felt it too.

  “I should probably get those files sorted,” she mumbled and reached out to grab the manila folder on my desk containing the contracts I’d all but forgotten about over the course of our ten-minute conversation.

  “Yeah, I don’t want to keep you,” I said, nodding, and she glanced up at me.

  “Don’t worry,” she assured me. “I don’t spend time anywhere I don’t want to.”

  With that, she leaned down to scoop up the files, tucked them under her arm, and departed to the elevator. I watched as she elegantly disappeared from my sight

  So much for not letting her get under my skin, not getting carried away with my attraction. She was flirting back – I was sure of it.

  This was getting awfully close to a repeat of what had happened with Jeannie. It was inappropriate and so exhilarating. What was wrong with me?

  The thought of Jeannie’s name sent a jolt through my system. I hadn’t so much as allowed myself to think it since she’d left a few months before. I could still see her face, the accusatory look on her face when she walked out of here for good, the anger and hurt in her eyes as I had explained what had to happen.

  I couldn’t let that happen again. Mona was different, but I’d be an asshole to allow anything even close to that to happen again. Yes, she was amazing, and yes, she was charming the hell out of me, but I could keep myself in check, and I was going to.

  Straightening my back, I took a deep breath and sat back down at my desk. Leaving town for a couple of days would get her out of my head.

  At least, I hoped it would.

  Chapter 5

  Mona

  I hurried downstairs, shifting some documents from arm to arm as though it might keep my mind off what had just happened between Oliver and me.