I get defensive.
“Listen, I had to protect myself. It’s hard enough to be taken seriously as a woman, let alone a woman who’s slept with her boss.”
Darla shakes her head, looking a bit like a red-haired Yoda, wrinkly and wise.
“The heart wants what it wants, Elisa. If you want to be with Robert, we’ll figure it out.”
I sniffle, the tears coming back again. “That’s what he said, too. But… I don’t know. I’ve never had luck with relationships, and you know how this is my first big break! I didn’t want to throw everything away so fast!”
She gives me a measured look. “I get that, Elisa. I really do. But I see it in your eyes. Don’t give up on your heart just because of your career.”
“I can’t, Darla. I can’t risk it. I’m sorry.”
She pulls me against her side in a tight hug. “I’m not asking you to. I’m just telling you to listen to your heart. Don’t close him out completely. If he gives you a shot at being together without consequences, will you consider giving him a try?”
I consider this. If Robert were any other guy, and we could date without it screwing up my chances of being a published author, would I go for it?
Of course, I would. Without even a second of hesitation.
“Okay,” I finally say. “If some miracle happens and he says we can date without it ruining my life and career, I’ll go out with him. But only under those conditions. I really do like him. A lot. If we can make it work, I want to.”
Darla smiles. “That’s my girl.”
We stay on the couch talking for a bit longer, but I should really be getting home.
“Thanks for being a friend, Darla. You’ve kind of gone above and beyond what an agent does today,” I say ruefully.
“No sweat sweetheart. Even if you weren’t my client, I’d still want to be your friend. You’re great, Elisa. I’m always here for you,” she winks.
I wipe away one last tear and give her a big hug. “You’re the best. I’ll see you in two weeks when we learn my fate?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” she says firmly. “And you’re going to be fine, baby girl. Trust me.”
I hug her one last time before leaving the office. Normally, when I’m in the city, I like to walk around for a bit before heading home. But today, I feel so emotionally and physically drained that I decide against it. Instead, I head right to the train station and go home.
After exiting the station, I consider heading to my parents’ house, but I don’t want to worry them. I’m sure I look like a mess right now, which would give them a scare. Instead, I stop at the convenience store and pick up a pint of ice cream. Netflix is calling.
When I get home, I plan on flopping down on the couch with my laptop, ice cream, and a crappy movie. But when I open my laptop, my manuscript’s still there. Seeing it hurts for a second, and it takes me back to the scene today at Robert’s office. But then I read the paragraphs at issue, and I’m inspired to work on it. And with just a few tweaks, I’ve fixed the problem and made my story stronger. I throw my ice cream in the freezer and spend two hours working like a fiend on my book.
Robert and Pattie wanted more emotion, and they’re getting it. I channel all of my feelings from today into my manuscript. Without reading it through, I send the completed file to Darla for a go-over. I still feel stressed about what I did today, but knowing I got my rewrite to my agent on time helps me relax.
I pull the ice cream from the freezer and settle back onto the couch. The first movie on my recommended list is a romantic comedy I haven’t seen. I click play. I love a good rom-com. But this time, halfway through, my heart starts to hurt. The girl just left the guy for something stupid he did. And for the first time in my life, I actually empathize with the heroine. I had a love, and I lost him.
Before I know it, I’m crying again.
Robert looked so shattered when I spit lies in his face like it was nothing. It took a lot for him to open up to me about family, and to confess his love. And yet like some heartless monster, I stomped on his declaration like it meant nothing to me, even though it meant everything to me.
Darla’s right. I need to give him a chance.
I pull out my phone and carefully scroll through my contacts. Taking a deep breath, I type out a message to him. I’m sorry, Robert. I do care about you.
I hope he gets what I’m trying to say. That I want him to fight for us. That he needs to fight for us.
Suddenly, my phone pings.
Good to hear, he responds. And then nothing after that. Oh god, oh god, have I screwed up again? What does this mean?
I clutch my cell to my chest, hoping he cares about me enough to tell the board where they can shove their stupid dating rules. Because then maybe I can have my cake and eat it too.
The movie ends, but I don’t pay much attention to it. My mind is on Robert and the orgasm he gave me earlier, and the possibility of us being together sometime in the future.
Once the credits roll, I shut my laptop and get ready for bed. I fall asleep still thinking about the gorgeous alpha male. And in my dreams, we’re together. I’m a published author, and nothing stands in our way. We have a relationship that everyone knows about, and it doesn’t matter. I wish I could stay dreaming forever … but often, reality is much more harsh and inescapable.
11
Robert
Getting that text from Elisa two weeks ago was enough for me. It confirmed what Pattie thought: Elisa wasn’t being totally truthful when she left me that day. Because my editor was adamant that the girl loved me, and merely tongue-tied and tangled every which way. Okay fine. I’ll take it for what it’s worth. It still doesn’t change the fact that I declared my love, only to be trampled on.
But I haven’t given up because maybe Elisa’s just confused. She’s young, after all, and doesn’t realize that what we have is precious. So it’s my job to make her see it, and I’ve been working like a fiend as a result. Pattie and I spent the last two weeks preparing materials to bring to the board to convince them that this fucking dating rule is ridiculous. Obviously not in those words, but I think we’ve prepared well for this. We have a real chance of convincing the board to change the guidelines.
And today, the board’s gathered in our conference room of Cameron Publishing. Who knows what they’re discussing while we wait, but I really don’t care. Only Elisa concerns me now.
Pattie meets me in my office ten minutes before our appointed time. “You ready for this, Robert?”
I pick up my stack of papers, which includes the best chapter of my girl’s novel, as well as statistics about dating in the workplace. “I’m ready. Do you think it’ll work?”
“I hope so. I don’t want to lose this book.”
At this point, the book is nothing to me frankly. I just don’t want to lose her.
We walk to the other side of the office floor and knock on the conference room door. Steven, the chairman, lets us in.
“Right on time,” he says, gesturing for the table. Pattie and I take the only two empty seats in the room. The board is made up of four women and three men. They make business related-decisions and stop me from doing anything stupid. Like sleep with one of our authors.
Steven returns to the head of the table and sits down. “Next up on the agenda, Elisa Morgan.”
A murmur travels through the group, but Steven silences them with a harsh look. “We’re here to decide if Elisa Morgan’s novel should be published by this company. Elisa and our CEO have had a sexual relationship, which makes her a liability to us.”
“The relationship has ended,” I say calmly. “And the sexual relationship had nothing to do with her contract. The contract was our standard one, and duly executed by the author.”
“I don’t know, Robert. She could use this to hurt us,” Monica says. A forty year-old mother of three, Monica is practical and realistic. Her grey-flecked chestnut hair is piled on top of her head in a tasteful bun. “It might not be the best
idea to keep her book in the catalogue given liability issues.”
Liability, schmiability. I stand with my stack of papers and hand the sample chapter out to the group. “This is the novel you’re considering turning away over my indiscretion.”
A couple board members roll their eyes.
“Robert, we don’t need to read the project. We’re here for business. We don’t do editing. That’s your job.”
But I’m insistent.
“This is our business. Books. You need to read it to understand why it’s important we publish this manuscript. Take your time. I’ll wait.”
It takes the group all too long to read the chapter. Pattie and I went through the entire book to pick the one that would evoke the most emotion without any context. Luckily, Elisa sent her final revisions over last week and the chapter we have on hand is perfect. The main character, Sarah, just discovered that her father is a serial killer and offed her entire family. All of the board members have tears in their eyes when they finish reading.
“I get it now,” Monica says quietly. She discreetly wipes her eyes while the rest of the board murmurs in agreement.
But Steven’s a fucking hardass.
“This is a huge risk,” he says. His voice is hoarse. “But if we don’t publish this, someone else will pick it up and it’s going to be a giant hit.” He turns to me. “Is she worth the risk, Robert?”
“Yes,” Pattie and I say at the same time. Some of the board members laugh.
“All those in favor of publishing Elisa Morgan’s book, say ‘Aye.’”
All the voting members of the board chorus “aye.” I can’t believe it. Elisa’s in! My heart races because I can’t wait to tell her that everything’s okay and that her book is going to be published by Cameron Publishing. But there’s something else we have to deal with.
“If that’s everything on the agenda, I hereby call this meeting of the board ….” But before Steven can adjourn the meeting, I interrupt him.
“There’s something else I’d like to propose,” I say, standing up. I hand out the packet I’ve prepared with statistics on why dating in the workplace isn’t harmful and a proposed new rule to add to the handbook. “I think the workplace intraoffice dating guideline needs to be overturned.”
“Robert,” Steven starts.
“Hear me out, guys. I know why the rule is in place. Hell, I was a champion for the rule when we first formed the board. It helps protect everyone from sexual assault allegations. But the thing is, sometimes when you work with people, you fall for them. Putting a rule in place to stop true love from prospering is unfair.”
“You have power over authors, Robert,” says Monica reasonably. “It’s inherently an imbalanced relationship. We can’t just have you dating a bunch of women willy-nilly. They could sue us. Think of the #MeToo movement, and the revolution that’s caused. Public opinion isn’t in your favor.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to date a bunch of women. I want her, specifically. And there’s no power dynamic. I am willing to sign an addendum to her contract that says I will be completely hands-off in any books Elisa does for us. I won’t have any say in her work.”
Steven contemplates this. “We can arrange for that, but we don’t have to change the entire policy for you.”
“Actually, Steven,” Monica pipes up, idly twisting her pen, “Robert has a point. Look at his updated policy. It says that relationships within departments have to be reported to HR. No relationships with your direct supervisor. And relationships between departments are fine and don’t need to be reported. It makes sense. Allowing people to date isn’t going to cause rampant assault. Hell, half the employees are already dating under the table,” she adds wryly. “They’re just terrified of being caught.”
I laugh. She’s right. There’s at least one couple in my office that I know of. I’ve kept their secret because I care about them. If this new policy passes the board, then they won’t have to hide their relationship anymore.
“Exactly,” I say smoothly. “It’s not just about me. We want to foster a safe and open workplace. If we change the policy and it goes haywire, we can revisit the issue. I think we should give it a shot though.”
Steven sighs. “Okay fine. Everyone take a look at Robert’s proposed policy change.”
The group flips to the page containing my proposal. Pattie and I put a lot of thought into it. We also talked with legal to make sure it wasn’t against any of our current policies.
“I don’t see anything wrong with this,” Monica says reasonably, glancing at the rest of the group. “It’s well thought out and seems on par with the usual policies you’d find in a workplace like ours.”
Steven reads the whole thing through. “It looks good. We’ll have to get legal to sign off on it officially though,” he says, before staring at me pointedly. “Although it looks like you’ve already run it by them?”
I shrug, not wanting to show my hand. “Maybe a little. What do you say?”
Steven sighs again.
“All those in favor of Robert’s proposed change to the dating rule, say ‘aye.’”
All of the board members say ‘aye.’
I can barely contain my excitement. This meeting went better than I expected. Of course, I’d hoped the board would go for it, but I wasn’t sure. Immediately, I want out of there. I need to go to her. Pattie and I excuse ourselves, and as soon as the door closes, my editor turns to me with excitement.
“OMG I’m going to go call Elisa and tell her she’s in!” Pattie says.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing her arm before she can run off. “Can I tell her?”
Pattie smiles knowingly. “Sure boss. I’ll call her agent. You can tell Elisa yourself.”
“Hold on a sec. I need her address.”
Pattie laughs. “I have it at my desk. Let me call Darla and make sure Elisa will be home, too. Because doesn’t she live out in the burbs? That’s quite a drive.”
Pattie and I practically run to her desk. She dials Darla’s number while I key Elisa’s address into my phone.
“Hi Darla, it’s Pattie from Cameron Publishing,” Pattie burbles into the receiver. “I’m well. How are you?” Pattie waits for Darla to respond and then says, “Listen, the board meeting went great. They’ve agreed to let Elisa stay on as an author.”
I hear Darla’s excited scream through the phone. Smiling, Pattie pulls it away from her ear. “Yeah, we’re really excited, too. There’s something else. The board has revised the company dating policy.” Darla screams again, making me smile. “Yeah, exactly. We were just wondering if Elisa is home? Robert wants to tell her the good news himself. In person, if you get what I mean.”
Darla voice returns to a normal decibel because I can no longer hear her. Pattie says “okay” a few times and then they hang up.
“Good news. Darla says Elisa is working at home today, so she should be there.”
I high-five my editor. “Thank you so much. I’m going to rock her world.”
Pattie’s face scrunches. “TMI, boss. See you tomorrow.”
“Later,” I say with a wink.
I call my driver and ask him to meet me out front as I head to the elevator. I keep a driver on call in case the weather sucks, or if I have to go to a meeting that’s more than a mile away. The driver programs the address into his GPS and says he’ll meet me out front in five minutes.
Unfortunately, the ride to her place takes forty-five minutes with the city traffic. I wish I could’ve teleported into Elisa’s apartment, but I can’t, so I settle for the long wait, impatiently tapping my foot the entire ride. Thankfully, it gives me more time to think about what to say to her.
I send my driver away as soon as we arrive. I can take the train back into the city if Elisa turns me away.
And standing there in the middle of suburbia, I feel more nervous than I ever have in my life. But I force myself to knock. There’s a rustling inside and then the door opens, revealing my beautiful brune
tte.
“Robert?” she says, clearly surprised. She’s wearing pajama pants and a tank top without a bra. Her nipples strain against the flimsy cotton, the same ones I’ve tasted on three occasions.
Temporarily distracted by how amazing she looks, I stare at her for too long.
“Robert?” she repeats. “What are you doing here?”
“The board met today. You’re still in the catalog.”
Elisa gasps, then jumps up and down in excitement. “That’s amazing. Thank you so much!” She throws herself into my arms. “I’m so happy. My dream is coming true!”
We pull apart and our eyes meet. Elisa tries to step back but I hold her against me. “Something else happened today,” I add on a serious note. “The board agreed to change the dating policy at Cameron Publishing. That means, if you’ll have me, we can be together.”
Elisa’s eyes roam over my face, hungrily and yet with tenderness. She must find what she was looking for because she crashes her lips onto mine, pulling me into the apartment and slamming the door simultaneously.
She pulls away for just a second so that she can say, “Don’t worry, my door locks automatically. No one will interrupt us.”
I lift her so that her gorgeous legs are around my hips and walk her toward where I assume the bedroom is. I don’t make it that far. I pin her against the wall and attack her neck.
“Yes,” she moans as I find the sensitive spot behind her ear.
My hand finds the doorknob, and I push the door to her bedroom open. I toss Elisa down on the bed and yank off my shirt.
She giggles as she stares at my chest. “We’ve never done this before.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, removing her tank top. I kiss her breasts, working my way to her nipples. She moans when I suck on her satin skin, no doubt leaving a mark. I like the idea of branding her as mine. “I seem to remember we’ve done this a few times.”
“Never in a bed,” she giggles breathlessly.
“I plan on doing it in a lot of places,” I rasp. “Starting with your bed.”
She giggles again, and I return my attention to her nipples. Her breasts are extremely sensitive. Elisa unbuckles my belt and pulls down my slacks. I return the favor and remove her pajamas. For the first time ever, we’re both completely naked in a bed together.
Pregnant by the Billionaire Page 8
