A few seconds after I tucked myself back into bed Danny came back in. She gave me a soft smile and padded over to the bed, joining me under the blankets. She pulled me into her arms and cuddled close, a soft kiss touching my back for a fraction of a second before one hand found mine and our fingers tangled together. I closed my eyes, trying harder to ignore the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. Who else could she be talking about? I wondered.
But if there was someone else, did that mean she’d been trying to seal a deal with another girl? Jealously tugged at me. She doesn’t need to sleep with me to get my business. I reminded myself, but it wasn’t enough. I bit my lip.
“What’s up?” She whispered.
“Nothing. Just tired.”
Chapter Six
I opened my eyes and turned towards the side of the bed she had been lying on last night. No sign of her.
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I mentally shook myself, trying not to feel too disappointed. I should have known she wouldn’t be here. I slipped out of bed and pulled my dress on before heading out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. The smell of coffee greeted me. I went over to the coffee pot but stopped before grabbing a mug.
A small piece of paper sat on the counter.
Hey,
Had to head out. Work to do, houses to sell. Stay as long as you like.
See you later,
Danny.
I bit my lip reading the note. I still couldn’t shake the feeling from last night. I won’t be staying long. I thought, no longer in the mood for coffee. I found my shoes and headed out of the building. Part of me hoped I would never see it again, the other part wanted nothing more than to see Danny again. That part wanted to believe it was just a misunderstanding.
Damnit, what am I going to do now? I thought as I slid into the Jag and gunned the engine.
By the time I got home I still had no clue.
Three weeks later.
I looked around the house. It had been so nice when I went to see it with Danny. Now every room reminded me of her. I had been ignoring her texts. I had a bad feeling about it. I was used to everyone using me for who I was, but I had expected better from Danny. I had expected her to be real with me. To be honest, I had expected her to be a real friend and maybe more.
I bit my lip staring at the room in front of me. It didn’t matter what wall I had the TV on. That was not what I was in a pissy mood about. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Whatever. I dropped down on the couch.
I couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. I should be happy. I had a house all of my own. I was out of my parent’s and I was doing my own thing and I should be researching the next event. I only had a couple hours and the dress was going to be here at any moment now- well it was already a day late. I really should call about it.
I sighed, flopping down onto my belly and hiding my face in the couch.
The doorbell rang.
My head snapped up as fast. I jumped to my feet and rushed over to it. I all but ripped the door open. A man stood there, my dress in his hand.
“Hi. Natalie?” He looked me up and down.
“Hi, yes. Thank you!” I reached out and took it. Just in time. The event started in an hour and a half. I needed to get ready. I mean, sure I could be a little late but I didn’t want to be too late. The man gave me a smile and headed back to the van parked in my driveway. I sucked in a deep breath.
The truth is, once you got used to these things it was easy to get ready for them in half an hour, give or take. I headed to my new bathroom.
I looked around the room. It was filled with people that I knew but none that I actually liked. Shame Danny’s not here. Well, it would have been awkward to see her right then. I mean, what was I supposed to say? I’d been standing her up the past four texts she sent. She gave up after that. As I made my way towards the wine I tried to avoid all eye contact. Not like anyone would have noticed.
“Natalie.”
I stopped mid-step. My heart racing all of a sudden. No. there is no way it was her.
“I knew you’d be here.” I forced myself to turn around and face her, as much as I didn’t want to. My eyes locked on her.
“Hi, Danny.”
“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were avoiding me.” Her eyes sparkled but her smile was set into a grim line. My head tilted to the left as I glanced past her, watching a man behind her. He watched us carefully.
I bit my lip. Was it a boyfriend or someone more important? I felt my eyes sparkle as I opened my mouth. “Your boss looks pretty interested in us.”
Danny glanced over her shoulder. “Yea, he’s pretty pissed at me for whatever I did to make you give me the could shoulder.” Once again I loved her honesty. Even if I did feel hurt by what she said. At least I could respect that. “I think he’s also pretty pissed I told him to go fuck himself if he had an issue with my relationships and who I do or don’t chose to fuck over.”
I stared at her blankly. “Um, what?”
Danny grinned widely. “Have you donated your check yet?”
“Um, no.”
“Go drop it off, then we can get out of here and go back to your place. I’d love to see how you decorated.”
I stared blankly at Danny. “What?” I repeated. I was still having a little trouble processing everything that had happened. “Your boss is mad at you for…?”
“For not getting more money out of you.” She said it so matter of factly.
“I’m sorry, what?” I stammered.
Danny stared at me with a wide grin. “You heard me, Natalie. Let’s go back to your place, after you drop off that check, if they are worth donating to that is.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Still, I wasn’t sure if I should trust her. I bit my lip trying to decide.
“Alright.”
It felt like hours but I’m sure it was only just a couple seconds before I gave her my answer.
Danny grinned widely and held her hand out to me. “I was hoping you would say that.”
My lips crashed against hers. The dress I had just ordered was going to have to go in the trash with the way she was grabbing at it. I didn’t care.
Danny’s shoes slipped off, her clothing falling to the ground quickly as I unzipped my dress and let it fall down around my ankles. I grabbed her, pushing her against a wall, my body pressed against hers.
“Natalie,” she breathed my name softly, sending a shiver down my spine. My lips crashed against hers again, my teeth grazing her lower lip as a hand slipped between her legs.
She moaned. Her eyes closed as her hips worked back and forth. My finger lipped inside her. A gasp passed through her lips. Her fingers tangled into my hair. My own fingers wiggled inside her.
Danny’s moans grew louder. She pulled me close to her.
“God, I missed you.” She whispered against my neck, holding me close. Her free hand slipped down my body, reaching between my legs. I moaned as she slipped inside me, my body.
Our fingers moved in unison. Working faster and faster, our pace staying in sync.
My eyes rolled back, our bodies moving closer. I gasped, Danny’s fingers tightening in my hair- but not too hard.
“Danny.” I moaned her name, my free hand pressing into her hips.
Danny kissed my neck softly. Her fingers worked faster and faster.
I slipped a second finger into her, still keeping pace.
Danny moaned louder. My fingers would faster and faster. Hers inside me kept pace. I bit back my moans. My eyes rolled back. “Oh fuck,” I breathed softly. Her pace increased. Our fingers worked in rhythm with each other’s.
“Look at me.” Her voice was soft but controlling. I forced my eyes open, locking on hers.
A gasp escaped me. Somehow, staring into her eyes was enough to send me over the edge. I gasped, my eyes rolling back, my hips bucked against hers but I didn’t stop moving my fingers as my eyesight went a fuzzy white. I cried out in pleasure. Danny pul
led me close to her, allowing me to support myself against her body. Another cry escaped me as waves of pleasure crashed through my body.
“Oh fuck,” Danny moaned. “Mhmm. Oh,” she gasped. My fingers worked inside her faster and faster.
We gasped for breath together, another wave of pleasure surging through my body as I fell against her. I tried to support Danny’s body as her hips moved against me, grinding. She moaned louder.
After a couple of seconds she opened her eyes as her body stopped moving. She gave me a wide grin.
“Wanna see my bed?” I raised an eyebrow.
“God you tired me out.” She laughed softly, still half slumped against me. “I would love to see your bed.”
I took her hand in mine, lifted it to my lips as looked into her eyes. The kiss was quick, I dropped her hand quickly and moved for her. People didn’t realize how strong I was. Within seconds I scoped her up into my arms and padded towards the bedroom I lay her down on the bed carefully before crawling in next to her. Her arms wrapped around me.
“What are you doing next weekend?”
“There is…” I bit my lip. What was it? “Oh, homeless teens. That’s what it is, a fundraising event to help pay for kids to get off the street.”
“Do you have a date for it?”
“I-”
“Cause I’d like to ask you to be my date.”
My heart skipped a beat. I turned to her. “I would like nothing more than that.” I said honestly. We are going to make one powerful couple.
The End
My Boss Is A Pain
~ Bonus Story ~
A Contemporary Lesbian Romance
Kate
Life is so stagnant and dull. There must be something more than just work and sleep. I love what I do but shouldn't there be more? Tori Jones waltzed into my work and dared to make my one solace into a place that I would rather never be. I'll never understand her. She is so impossibly cold and distant. How can anyone go through life like that? Is she as cold as she seems?
Tori
Work is my life. I've dedicated myself to doing the very best I can and when I dedicate myself to something it is my focus. There are times when I am impersonal or cold, but I have to be that way to keep myself focused on my goals. Kate Shelton, resident designing guru, she distracts me from my goals, and I am not sure that is a good thing or a bad thing, yet.
* * *
Chapter 1
I dusted off my jeans and looked around the newly renovated kitchen. The colors of blue and white mingling to create a nostalgia for the sea that the clients so loved. It had come together in just the right way. There was satisfaction at a job well done as I scanned the kitchen one last time. I took a stroll through the house to make sure all the tools and such had been gathered up from the other rooms. In total, my crew and I had renovated about half the rooms in the seven-room house.
I was certain that my bosses would be pleased with the tidy profit. Oh sure, we had gone a bit above and beyond, but the customers that I dealt with could afford that sort of thing and often demanded it. I never cut corners dealing with the people Deon and Margie sent my way. Everything had to be done perfectly and to the client's exact specifications. I could suggest a few different ways of doing things, and often clients saw it my way.
Having sway over the customers came with my extensive portfolio. Clients trusted my vision for their homes, as did my bosses. I had earned them quite a bit of business in my years with their design firm. I was ranked as one of the best in the country and for a good reason.
The hum of an engine alerted me to the fact that the clients were at the property. I straightened my clothes and gave the room another glance. Opening the front door, I gave the couple coming up the walkway a big smile. They had been lovely clients, and I was eager to show them their reinvented home.
"Hi guys," I said brightly. The couple gave me big smiles, and I could see their nervousness. I enjoyed the suspense as I stepped back to let them through. "Go take a look," I said with a wave of my hand. The couple stepped inside, and I waited for them to enter the kitchen which had been the last room to be finished.
"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful!" Laura exclaimed as she grabbed her husband's shirt sleeve in an excited gesture. "Kate, this is so gorgeous!"
I just gave the woman a bright smile and extended my hand to them. Laura grasped my hand as I gave her the key back. I almost wanted to dust my hands together to say this had been a job well done, but I resisted the urge. I just gave the woman and her husband a smile. "Enjoy your home. It's been a pleasure working for you," I said honestly.
When I finally got free of the couple, I stepped out into the night air and sighed with a feeling of accomplishment. The stars were shining brightly as if they too were quite happy with themselves. There was a lightness to my steps that kept my steps bouncing along as I made my way to my jeep.
The ride home was a long one from the suburbs where the house was to my apartment. It was a nice apartment with plenty of room and a great view. My job afforded me enough money to live comfortably, and I loved my home. My eyes lingered on the burnt auburn wall that was part of the last remodel I had done of the apartment.
I sank onto the couch. Truthfully, I had given up on remodeling the apartment. I renovated all day, and I found my enthusiasm lacking for such things when I was at home. I still loved doing my work, but when it came to my home, I just had lost the yearn to change it. No matter how many coats of paint I put on these walls, the walls never changed. My life never changed.
Getting a great job should have put my life on the track to being more fulfilling but I could not help but feel as if something was not right. There was always something missing. My mother said it was just my biological clock ticking, but I had never felt that overwhelming urge to reproduce. No, there was just something off.
I dated, mind you. I just did not do so often. There was just something that held me back with people. The girls I met were either so centered on their careers that love was not their thing or they already had their lives together. At my age, I thought I would have my life together too. From the outside looking in, it probably looked as if I did.
Sighing up at the ceiling, I turned on the television. My life was predictable and boring. I worked. I came home. Rinse and repeat, probably forever. I would die one day while showing a client paint samples. A laugh followed the groan that escaped my mouth. I had to laugh at the absurdity of the bold artist that I had been in college ending up stuck in a droll routine life.
For the moment, though, I could stand life the way it was. I got to do what I loved and how could that possibly be bad? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. I had the life that I had always wanted. I had made a name for myself, and no one could take that away from me. I was the top home decorator in my area and one of the best in the whole nation. Everything I had accomplished was of my design. It should count for something that I had made it this far on my own. The smile on my face at my sense of accomplishment stayed with me even as I drifted to sleep watching the local news.
The next morning, I walked toward the design firm's headquarters with my favorite coffee cup in hand. Having my revelation the night before had me looking forward to new challenges. I was determined that I was going to make this year as good as my previous ones. Maybe I would even win the elite designer award that the trade groups gave out to promote home improvement businesses. I had won it for a couple of years in a row, and while there were a lot of designers vying for it, I still felt confident that I could earn the award again. All I needed was a new big project to dazzle the home design trade commission.
That was something I could do with my background, and with my success, the biggest projects naturally flowed toward me. I sipped my coffee and walked with determined strides toward my future profile centerpiece. Maybe Deon would have a lead on some clients with the budget and desire to go big. After all, what fun was just a little renovating
when your home could be transformed into your personal paradise? The smile on my face was firmly in place by the time I pulled open the front doors of the DecorUs branch office. They had a few firms across the country. When clients wanted the best, they came to DecorUs, and a good portion of them requested me by name. I felt my confidence blossom with each step toward the executive design suite where I knew that Deon and Margie would be waiting.
To my surprise, Deon called out to me and motioned me to come in. I was already going in, so I pushed open the glass door and gave Deon, one of the partners of the firm, a bright smile. "You are just the guy was looking for," I said, and then I noticed who else was in the room.
Margie, the other partner, stood to one side with a woman I did not recognize. Deon said as he rose from his seat, "Tori, I'd like you to meet Kate Shelton." Deon looked over at me and said, "Kate, this is Tori Jones. She'll be taking over for Joan." Joan was the project director and my direct boss. I had known Joan was leaving due to spending time with her family, but I had not known it would be so soon.
I extended my hand to the woman and Tori, in turn, took my hand in hers. Tori had a cool, calm manner. She gave my hand a firm shake and then dropped it in a brisk, professional manner.
Tori watched me for a moment. She appeared to be looking me over, but her face was passive. The woman said in a bored voice, "Is this that prodigy you have been telling me about?"
Double Grades Page 65
