by Lucy Gage
“Rachel wasn’t that girl, was she?”
“No. I didn’t see it before. After we broke up, my best friend, Liam, told me that she blackmailed him in college when he caught her cheating on me. Turns out, she’s a class A manipulator. I was too blinded by her appearance of perfection to see it.”
“You’ll find her someday. The One.”
He gave her a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Too bad you’re not my type. You’re exactly the girl I should want to be with.”
“Well, maybe it’s best if we keep this hot sex between us, then. Better that people think we weren’t attracted to each other than to have them wonder why it is that we’re not together.”
Rob nodded. She bet the last thing he needed was more rumors and speculation. Unlike the rest of the world, a celebrity’s life could never be straightforward. Which was precisely why Jenna had suggested they should just be friends; she didn’t want to become tabloid fodder if it didn’t work out between them. If she was confident it could last, she’d be willing to endure the crap that would come with being this man’s partner. He seemed more than worth all that.
But she didn’t feel sure about where this would go, and he confirmed her suspicion, that they be better friends. Of course, that didn’t mean they couldn’t go a few more rounds today. Her nipples tightened at the thought.
“Want to go again, while we’re still here?” she asked, biting her lip. God, did she hope he’d say yes.
Rob grinned, his pupils dilated again, his member ready for round two. Hopefully the next of many this afternoon.
“You read my mind,” he said, kissing her senseless again.
**********
Mankato, Minnesota, four and a half years ago…
A week after Jenna met Rob, word spread around the office that Chad would make a temporary move to Portland, Oregon to expand the company. Pat told her later he’d all but demanded that Chad accelerate the expansion agenda and be the one to make the move. Though he wasn’t a threatening man by nature – Pat was too mellow for that – he could be domineering.
Chad listened.
Jenna stayed until a month before Chad was set to return. Six months before that, she’d begun the search for a new position. She’d stayed friends with Rob and they usually talked at least once each week. When she was close to deals with a few companies, she called her friend and told him about the offers, hoping to get his opinion.
Rob said, “You should come work for me instead.”
“Oh yeah? Can you pay better than Facebook? Because they made me a generous offer.”
“I bet I can,” Rob replied.
“Tell me what you think I’m worth and if it’s better than their offer, I’ll come work for you. If you’re serious.”
“I’m completely serious. I need someone like you. If I’m going to have an online presence, I want it to be a secure one and I don’t know anyone more talented in cybersecurity than you. We’ve talked about the search algorithm programming you’ve been perfecting. I told you I thought it would be a huge asset to the publicity team if we could do daily sweeps for my name and nip things in the bud. Amy’s an ace publicist and manager, but she’s no computer expert. I need a real guard dog as my first line of defense. You’re my best girlfriend. I trust you. Besides, I know what you’re really worth. They don’t.”
He gave her a number that exceeded Facebook’s salary.
“What about bennies?”
“You’d get everything the rest of the staff does: insurance, paid time off, investment opportunities.”
“On top of the salary?” That would be astonishing.
“Of course. And since you can basically do the job from anywhere, you can live wherever you want. If I can get in touch with you, I don’t even need to know where you are at any given moment. You could be in Tahiti, and as long as you had reliable internet, you’d be all set.”
“Sold.”
“For real? You want to work for me?” He sounded shocked and also…excited.
“At that price, I’d be a fool to say no. Besides, I think you’re pretty damn great. I’d love to work for you.”
She could hear the smile in his voice. “Then welcome to the team. We can talk logistics later. You plan to stay in Minnesota?”
“Nope. Definitely moving back to Cali. I own an apartment in L.A. and my lease here ends in a month.”
“Great. I’ll be back there in three weeks. Let’s get together then. Wrap up your work at CyTech and meet me in L.A. And while you’re still in Minnesota, get together with Amy, Kelly and Raoul. They can get the paperwork started.”
“Will do, boss man.”
“I hope we can still be friends.”
“Of course. Don’t expect me to sleep with you,” she joked.
“I didn’t hire you because I thought you’d sleep with me.”
“I know, Rob. Not that it was awful. It wasn’t.”
“No. It was anything but awful. I meant it. I can really use someone with your skills. Things have become insane since I started dating Lola.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Ha-ha, very funny. We’re only sleeping with each other.”
“And that equals a commitment?”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Not to everyone.”
“Sorry. For what it’s worth, Chad didn’t deserve you.”
“No, he did not.”
“You dating anyone?”
“Nope. Been single since I dumped his sorry ass. Haven’t even hooked up with anyone since you.”
“Yeah, don’t tell my girlfriend that we had a thing once. She might not like you being my assistant.”
Jenna laughed. “Insecure, is she?”
“Hell, yes.”
“What do you see in her? No, wait. Let me guess. Big boobs? And I bet she’s a total whore in the bedroom.”
“Not nice. And her boobs aren’t any bigger than yours. She pursued me. What can I say? You didn’t want me.”
“Not true. I wanted you. I knew better than to think it would last if we just got naked together regularly. I like us being friends. I love talking to you all the time. If we dated and it ended badly, I’d have lost you as a friend. This way, we know what it was like to get naked and we can still be friends after.”
“Okay. If that’s how you want to spin it. We’ll find you the right guy someday.”
“Yeah? Well, if you ever get tired of the tartlette, let me know. I might be in need of some high quality naked time.”
“I thought you didn’t do friends with bennies?”
“Well, see, now it’s not friends with bennies. It’s doing the boss. And I’ve done that, right?”
“Jen…”
“Sorry. It still smarts.” She sniffed as a tear escaped.
“Hey, don’t let that jerk get you down, okay? You’re part of my team now. And we take care of our own.”
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“And who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get tired of Lola and you’ll be desperate enough to give me a shot again.” He tried to make it sound like a joke, but there was something underlying it all. As if he was struggling to pretend he didn’t mean it.
“Rob…”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For being a good friend. And for the job opportunity. You won’t regret hiring me.”
“Never. Hey, I have to go, but I’ll talk to you again soon. We’ll talk every day once you’re officially my employee.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
**********
Malibu, California, four years ago…
Jenna hadn’t been working for Rob long when a major publicity debacle occurred. It was immediately following the L.A. premiere of Lola Benedict’s first blockbuster, an event which Rob attended with her. Hours after the movie premiere, when the two of them should have been partying, Jenna was testing new
search programming, since Rob would be at a public event, but not one that was for him. She figured she’d be guaranteed to get hits with his name, but the searches wouldn’t be flooded.
She was wrong. The searches were immediately swamped.
Star magazine posted an interview with Lola about the breakup. Since Jenna knew Rob was unaware of a breakup before the event, she hadn’t heard from Amy, and had even seen a few photos crop up earlier in the night of Rob and Lola on the red carpet, the only explanation was that Lola’s team had planned the whole thing in advance. For what reason, she had no idea, but the story was probably at least partly false. When she called Rob straight away and he didn’t answer, it worried her. He always answered her calls and usually on the first ring.
She grabbed her laptop and her purse, locked her apartment door and raced down to Rob’s house in Malibu, the one he was renovating. Rob was staying there, despite it being a construction site, and she knew it was the place he’d go for refuge.
Jenna tried to call him several more times to no avail. When she finally pulled into the driveway, it was late but there were a few lights on, thank God. She knocked on the door and Rob’s bodyguard, Alan, answered.
“Hi, Jenna. What brings you here so late?”
“Where is he?” she asked, frantic.
“Slow down. He’s in his room.”
She ran down the hall and knocked on the closed door. He didn’t respond right away, but the old door handles were easy to unlock, so she used her thumbnail.
“Rob?” she asked tentatively as she slowly pushed open the door. He wasn’t in the sitting area. She wandered into the bedroom and there she found him, face down on his bed. He still wore the suit she’d seen in the pictures of Lola’s premiere, still had shoes on his feet. She shook his shoulder. “Rob?” He mumbled and she rolled him onto his back.
“Hi, Jen,” he slurred. He was drunk.
“Honey, did you take your anxiety meds?”
“You mean these?” he asked, handing her a pill bottle from the night stand. There were still a lot in there.
“How many did you take, hon?”
“I don’t know. Maybe two.” He could barely open his eyes.
“What were you drinking, Rob?”
“Whiskey. Grampa Deacon says it’s…good for what ails ya.”
“I don’t think he meant the whole bottle, sweetie. Come on. We’re going to get you cleaned up. You smell like a distillery.”
She began to undress him and he was having a hard time cooperating. Hopefully, he’d only taken two pills and the whiskey bottle wasn’t full. The last thing he needed at the moment was a trip to the ER to have his stomach pumped.
When he was undressed, she let him lie on the bed, naked, while she took off her own clothes.
“Rob, we’re going to the shower. Sit up. You’re too heavy for me to carry and I don’t think you want Alan to come carry you to the shower when you’re naked.”
“Are you naked?” he asked, sounding aroused.
“You can’t see that I am?”
He forced open his eyes and then they narrowed to two slits again. “Oh, yeah.” He grinned. Okay, he wasn’t completely gone; he could still think like a horny coed.
“Let’s head to the shower, big guy.” She pulled him to a stand and he complied, but he was wobbly. This would be easier if he didn’t have a foot of height on her and didn’t outweigh her by seventy pounds.
Thankfully, the master bedroom and bath was one area of the house that was complete. She recalled that Rob had the contractor prioritize it because the house was often his glorified hotel suite.
She sat him on the bench inside the shower and fiddled with the knobs, finally turning on the hot water. Wetting him with the removable sprayer, she washed his hair and body. As she replaced the sprayer, he pulled her toward him, buried his face in her breasts, looked up at her with half closed eyes, and smiled.
“Thanks, Jen. I love you.”
“I know you do, honey. I love you, too.”
She stroked his hair as he lay his head on her chest. He wound his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Then he moved his mouth to her nipples, and it had been so long since anyone had touched her – truthfully, since the last time he had touched her – that she let him do it for a moment before she realized that this was not the time for such things. Loath to stop him, she had to force herself to push his mouth away.
“Honey, now isn’t the time for that. Maybe later, when you’re sober. For now, we need to get you into bed.”
“Are you going to sleep with me?” he asked with a grin.
“I’ll sleep in the bed with you, but we’re not having sex right now. You still want me when you’re sober, then we’ll talk. For now, I’m just going to take care of you.”
“Okay. I’ll still want you when I’m sober. I always want you.”
She laughed a little. “I’m that unforgettable, huh?” she asked as she shut off the water and extracted herself from his arms to grab a towel.
“Mmmm. Yes. Why don’t you like me?”
“I do like you.”
“Oh. Good. I like you, too. Why didn’t Lola like me?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. Okay, I need you to help me again,” she reminded him as she finished toweling his hair.
“I can walk,” he declared, wobbling when he stood.
“I’ll help you. I just can’t carry you. You’re too big.”
“How come…how come girls like my dick but…but they don’t like me?” he asked, stumbling.
Jenna guided him to the bed. “Oh, babe, they like you. You’re amazing. There is so much more to you than the big thing between your legs.”
He smiled. “Thanks. You really like me?”
“I do, sweetie. I really like you. Let’s get you into bed. You want to wear some boxers?”
“No. More work when I want to make love to you later.”
“We’re not doing that tonight, Rob.”
“Oh. Okay. Maybe tomorrow?”
“We’ll see. Get under the covers.”
“You going to sleep with me?”
“I told you I’d sleep in the bed with you.”
“Will you sleep naked? I like sleeping naked. You’re so gorgeous, Jen. I wanna sleep naked with you.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll sleep naked with you. Just let me make a phone call, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, grinning, as he snuggled into the blankets.
Jenna dialed Amy. It took a couple rings. Her voice was groggy with sleep.
“Jenna? It’s nearly 2 a.m. here. What’s wrong?”
“Lola dumped Rob. I’m at the house with him. I’ll take care of him for now, but we’re going to have some serious fallout on our hands. She sold her story to the tabloids. I caught it while I was testing the new program earlier. Can you call Rick and tell him to get another guard out here? I have a feeling he’s going to need round-the-clock security.”
“Is Robbie okay? Is he depressed?”
“He’s feeling pretty good at the moment because he took a couple Xanax and drank some whiskey.”
“Are you sure that’s all he took?”
“Positive. He said he took a couple anxiety meds when I asked and I doubt the whiskey bottle was full. He’s mostly just loopy right now. I’m staying with him anyway.”
“Come to bed, Jen,” Rob slurred.
“You’re going to sleep right there with him? That’s way above and beyond your job description,” Amy said, sounding surprised.
“I’m not doing this because he’s my boss, I’m doing it because he’s my best friend. He’ll be okay. Call Rick and keep me updated. I have my laptop and I can work from here. If need be, I’ll retrieve some stuff from my place and move in for a little while.”
“As long as you’re sure…”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I’ll talk to you in the morning. And can you get me the number for his therapist? I think he needs to make an appointment.�
� Amy agreed and they hung up.
Jenna shut off the lights and crawled into bed next to Rob. He pulled her close and curled around her.
He sighed. “I’ve wanted to sleep with you again for a while.”
“I’ve never slept with you before.”
“No, I guess we didn’t sleep, did we? Can I touch you?”
“Not now, Rob. You’re wasted. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” In moments, his breathing steadied. Jenna rolled to face him and checked his pulse. It was normal, not scary fast or slow. She brushed the hair across his forehead and he smiled. “Love you,” he murmured.
She kissed his forehead and sighed in relief. It could have been so much worse. At least he wasn’t crying, desolate, or obliterated. Buzzed and on a Xanax high was better than the alternatives.
When Jenna woke in the morning, Rob was curled around her body, his hand cupping her breast. Whatever he’d been dreaming had aroused him. Either that or he was happy to be pressed naked against her. She wasn’t sure what to think about that. He took a deep breath and stretched.
“I like sleeping next to you,” he croaked.
Jenna turned to look at him. His eyes were closed and she wondered if he knew who it was he was talking to. She touched his cheek and kissed him gently.
“I know it’s you, Jen. I didn’t think you were Lola.” His eyes fluttered open. “Your breasts are real, and she hates cuddling. Thanks for taking care of me.”
“You scared the crap out of me. Don’t ever do that again.”
“I won’t. I promise.” He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, kissed her sweetly and smiled.
“We’re not done here. We need to call your therapist and make you an appointment. I have to do a lot of damage control this morning. Lola sold her story to the tabloids. I talked to Amy last night. She called Rick. I don’t know if he’ll come himself or if he’ll send someone out here, but you’ll need additional security. Let’s see how you feel when you sit up. I doubt you’re running.”
Rob sat slowly and winced. “No, I think you’re right. It feels like someone took a hammer to my head. You’re insanely hot, did you know that?” He looked her up and down.
“Libido is still functioning,” she said, feigning irritation, but she was flattered.
