The Arrangement: Book one in the Seattle Billionaires Series

by Nora Ford

  Now we work in the same building, we sometimes go out together for lunch, but mostly I bring food, and we eat at his office. Eating is not the only thing that we do here; we usually work up an appetite first. We had sex everywhere in his office; on his desk, on the couch even on the floor.

  His employees noticed of course what we do in our lunch break. Last week I heard two of them talking in the ladies’ room, they didn’t know I was there. They called it Adam’s sex break. When they saw me, they were mortified that I heard them, but I wasn’t. I looked them in the eyes and gave them an amused smile. That was the new me. The old me would have left red-faced and avoided everyone for days.

  I liked the new version of myself better; I became more confident and self-assured. Adam was solely responsible for this change. With him I feel sexy, wanted and attractive. I never felt this way before. I believed my ex-husband's words; he used to tell me that I was dull, boring and average in every way.

  Although I've been divorced for years, his words were always ringing in my ears. Adam made them stop; I now hear Adam's voice instead. I smiled at the thought of his voice and the dirty words he whispers in my ear.

  Yesterday he came to my office before I could go up to him. He said that we needed to christen my office, for a moment I didn’t understand what he meant. Then he locked the door and gave me a wolfish smile.

  I shook my head when I realized what was he about to do, "No way, my assistant could hear us."

  “Mine hear us all the time.” He came closer and smothered my protest with a ravenous kiss. Before I knew it, he pressed me against the door. He yanked up my skirt and slid his palm between my legs. “I am going to have you right here, against this door. I am going to watch you come first.”

  I had to grasp his shoulder as my knees trembled. His eyes, fiercely green, captured mine when my body exploded.

  I was moaning when I heard him saying, “Tell me you want me.” I moaned again. “Tell me you want this.”

  "Yes. God. Yes." I said and quickly lifted my leg to hook around his waist. His mouth toned down my cry of release as he thrust into me hard and deep.

  When I finally came to my senses and was able to open my eyes, I found his eyes staring into mine. They weren't only full of affection, but there was something more. But I couldn't put my finger on it.

  When he smiled, I said, "Now we officially christened my office." I looked around and smiled. "But I don't know how I am going to work here and don't think about this."

  "That was the plan," He gave me a broad smile, and put his shirt back into his slacks. Before he left, he kissed me one more time and said, "I want you to think about me every time you set a foot into your office."

  His plan worked. I was sitting there all morning thinking about nothing else. Good thing that I am meeting my sisters this afternoon. Tessa and I are going to help Olivia move her stuff to her new apartment.

  I took a look at my watch and decided that I'd better get going since it was hopeless to get any work done. Helping Liv is going to distract me, I thought.

  On the drive to Liv's old house, I was thinking about her and her divorce. I felt terrible because I wasn't there for her the past few months. But I was busy with everything going on in my life, and she drowned herself in work. She wasn't ready to talk about it.

  Although I was sure that she was better off without Peter, her ex-husband, she was still hurting. They were married for five years and were living together for two years before that.

  From the little she told us, I figured out that she saw this coming. She was suspecting that Peter was having an affair for months, before she caught him with his pants down, in his office, doing it with one of his clients. The next day she filed for divorce. That was seven months ago, last week her divorce was final.

  Even though she had a good lawyer, Peter took their house in the divorce settlement. He was one of the best divorce attorneys in Seattle and knew all kind of tricks. Besides, he never played fair. But Liv didn't mind losing the house; she said that she couldn't live there any longer and she needed a fresh start.

  Would I be able to start over after my divorce too?

  Suddenly my heart was aching at the thought of my divorce. However, it was inevitable; my time with Adam was limited. I knew this from the start; I can't complain now. But I didn't plan to fall for him.

  Our arrangement planned for everything…except falling in love.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Talia

  When I arrived at Olivia’s old house, I only found Tessa’s car there. I parked my car behind hers and went in to see how I could help.

  Tessa was labeling the boxes, "Hey, you're late." I looked at my watch, I wasn't late, "Stop looking at your watch and give me a hand loading these boxes in my car."

  I asked as I carried one of the boxes, “Where is Liv?”

  “She finished loading her car and left to her apartment. She is waiting for us there.” Tessa explained.

  We worked together in silence for a while. When we were almost done, I asked again, "How is Liv doing?"

  "You know Liv; she is good at hiding her feelings. But she is going to get over him." She shrugged.

  "You never liked him," I observed.

  “He wasn’t your favorite too.”

  I looked at her for a moment and then said, “He made a move on you, didn’t he?”

  "Yeah, right after Seth's death. How did you know, I never told anybody?" She said, and her eyes were full of tears. Although Seth, her fiancée died almost three years ago, she still gets teary eyes when she mentions his name.

  I patted her shoulder and said, “Because he made a move on me too.”

  “What? When?” She couldn’t believe it.

  "Right after my divorce. I guess Peter thought the three of us were a package. Buy one get two for free." I joked.

  Tessa laughed, and I was about to carry another box to my car when she stopped me, "Wait a minute, right after your divorce, they weren't even married then. They had just moved in together.” She did the math. “Why haven’t you told Liv?”

  "Liv was crazy about him, and she had a rough time after she broke up with Jason. I didn't want to hurt her." I simply said.

  “Speaking of Jason, are you going to see him next week?”

  Tessa nodded, "You know I have to spend Thanksgiving with the Hamiltons.”

  I honestly didn't know why, but I didn't tell her that. So, I didn't comment, I only smiled at her, and we worked in silence.

  Tessa and Seth used to spend Thanksgivings by his family and Christmas by hers. After he died, Tessa kept up their tradition. And that means she has to see Jason and Aron Seth's older brothers.

  They all studied at Harvard together; the Hamilton brothers, Olivia and Tessa. However, Jason and Aron didn't study medicine, and they were a few years older than Seth and my sisters. For a while, it was the Hamilton boys and the Jones girls. Unlike Seth and Tessa, things didn't work out with Jason and Liv. Aron was a mystery though; he had nothing against Liv, but he never liked Tessa.

  Tessa interrupted my thoughts, “These are the last boxes, let’s put them in the car and drive straight to Liv.”

  Four hours later, we unpacked most of the boxes; we finished the ones that belonged to the kitchen, the living room, and Liv's bedroom first. Liv told us that was enough for now; she was going to do the rest whenever she got time.

  After we completed our mission, Tessa and I sat exhausted in the living room and waited for Liv who went to open the door for the pizza man. Two minutes later she came with the Pizza. We chatted about various things as we ate. Then Olivia shot me a curious look and said, “I want to know what’s going on with you and Adam. Really going on, with details.”

  "You are the one who supposed to be on the spot, not me." I tried to redirect the conversation.

  "Nothing is going on in my life; I cried my eyes dry the past few months. It still hurts of course, but I am getting better." She shrugged, "Now it's your turn, what's going on?
"

  “Come on, Tal, spill. I am dying to know too.” Tessa joined her.

  “You know what’s going on. Adam and I still have this arrangement. That includes sex now. Would you like some details about our sexual adventures?”

  "I would, but we will leave that for our next girl night," Tessa suggested. "One that includes lots of wine and more Pizza."

  “What do you want to know?”

  "The obvious, how do you feel about him?" Liv said, and Tessa nodded.

  I looked at them; they were both waiting with anticipation, "Fine. The simple answer is that I don't know. I like Adam, I enjoy our time together. He's interesting and smart. When he forgets about his billions, he could be really fun. He's great with Timo and Timo adores him."

  I took a deep breath before I continued, "Timo never had a father figure before, and Adam filled this gap. I hope the two of them stay close after the divorce."

  “When are you going to tell him?” Tessa asked.

  I looked at her confused, “Tell him what?”

  “That you love him.” It was Liv who answered.

  “Who said that I love him? I didn’t say that.”

  “Honey, it’s written all over your face. You’re in too deep.” Liv observed.

  “He’s into you too. Adam can’t keep his hands off you.” Tessa told me.

  "Yeah, but it's just sex, we don't even sleep in the same bed," I argued.

  "No, it's not, and you know it." Liv challenged.

  "Okay, maybe I do love him. But it's not enough. Even if Adam has some feelings for me. They aren't sufficient. He never speaks about anything more than what we have now." I told them.

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Tessa wanted to know.

  "There is nothing I can do. If I told Adam that I love him, I might lose him. I don't want that. So, I am going to enjoy the time that we have left." I gave them a weak smile.

  "He won't let you go. He's in deep, but he didn't recognize, how deep yet. Give him time and be patient." Tessa gave me a reassuring smile.

  Her words reminded me of Richard’s advice, the one he gave me when I met him in New York. Time and patience. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of them.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Adam

  Talia was spending the night with her sisters; they have been planning it for weeks every time something came up. Tonight finally, all three of them had time. I told her she should go and have some fun with her sisters.

  She hasn't been herself lately; every time I ask her what's wrong, she says work. But I know it has nothing to do with work, something is bothering her.

  I haven't been myself for a while too. However, I know the reason. Our arrangement is going to end in less than two months. I don't know what to do about that. I am not ready to give Talia up yet.

  The past ten months were the best in my life. I never lived with a woman before, and I didn't think that I would like it. But Talia wasn't like any other woman; she was easy to live with. I like to come home to her.

  Although sex wasn’t part of our deal, the moment my lips met hers, I knew that things were about to change and they did. However, it was supposed to be just sex. But the more I got to know her, the more it wasn’t just sex.

  I still couldn’t define my feelings for Talia, but the feelings were there. I was sure she felt something for me too. I could see it in her eyes when they gazed at me like I was the last chocolate cake on earth as I made love to her.

  We crave each other’s closeness, yet we never sleep in the same bed. I know that Talia longs for changing that. But I am not ready that kind of intimacy yet.

  When I offered her this arrangement, I thought a year would be long enough. It never occurred to me that I would want more. But would she agree if I asked her to extend our arrangement a little longer? She never asked me about what would happen next, and lately, she was keeping her distance. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way. What if she wants to go through with the divorce as planned?

  I panicked by the thought of that. Talia has only gone for the night, and I missed her already. Then I thought about Timo, and I can't picture my life without him either. We became very close to each other; I love the boy. He is a great kid, smart and always cheerful. Talia did an excellent job with him.

  That was my last thought when I heard him calling, “Adam, I am ready.”

  "I will be right up champ," I shouted so he can hear me.

  Talia wanted to drive him to her parents on her way so that he could spend the night with them. But I told her there was no need and that the two of us were going to have a guys’ night.

  Timo was thrilled by the idea; he didn’t give his mom a chance to say no. We had a great time so far; we played some video games together and ate our dinner. I went down to take a break and drink a cup of coffee as he got himself ready for bed.

  When I went to his room, Timo has already changed into his PJ and was waiting for me. He didn’t have his book ready though.

  “Where is your book buddy?”

  “I don’t want you to read me tonight, can’t we just talk instead?”

  I was used to this introduction by now. It meant that we were about to have a Josh episode. Josh episodes were usually interesting, but sometimes they were embarrassing as hell.

  “Okay, what’s on your mind champ? Do you have a girl problem at school?” I smiled and sat on the bed beside him.

  Timo giggled and shook his head, “I am too young for that.”

  "You're almost seven, man and still no girlfriend?" I looked him in the eyes, and he grinned. "No."

  “If we’re not going to talk about girls, what about then?” I tried to sound serious.

  “Babies,” He said quickly.

  I didn't expect that I didn't know how parents respond to these kinds of topics and I wasn't sure what Talia would want me to say. "Um…what about them?"

  “Josh is going to have a baby. I want one too.”

  “Josh is having a baby, isn’t he too young for that?” I tried to joke.

  "Not him, his mom is having a baby, and he is going to be a big brother. He brags about it all the time. I want to be a big brother too." He explained.

  “You want a baby so that you can brag about it too?” I teased.

  “No, but I want a baby brother, Josh is having a brother.” He looked at me.

  “What if you have a baby sister?” I was trying to discourage him.

  "I'd rather have a brother, but a sister is fine too." He said and didn't give me a chance to respond, "Josh said, I should ask you for one."

  "Um… you know moms are the ones who have babies, I think you should ask your mom." Now Talia can deal with this I thought.

  "Yes, but I saw the two of you kissing, and Josh's parents do this too, you know this is how babies come."

  I nodded, and I was hoping he would drop the subject. But he said something that surprised me and filled my heart with joy at the same time, "If we have a new baby, you can be my dad too."

  “Would you like that? Would you like me to be your dad?” I asked cautiously.

  He nodded, “If…if it’s okay with you,” I could see he was blushing.

  I gently lifted his chin and looked into his eyes, “Nothing would make me happier or prouder.”

  He gave me a genuine smile, and I hugged him. "Now it's time for bed; we don't want mom to call and find you still up."

  “Okay, goodnight dad.”

  “Goodnight champ.”

  I turned off the light and left his room. I was happy and touched.

  Timo has just called me, dad. Maybe that was it; we could have a baby. This way we can extend our marriage for another year or maybe two. I guess two would be enough.

  I wanted to share this with Talia, I picked up my phone and called her.

  A moment later I heard the phone ringing; the sound came from Talia's room. I frowned and went there. Her phone was lying there on her perfectly made bed. She must have forgotten it, I thought. It was strange
though; Talia never forgets her phone.

  I was about to leave the room when something got my attention. I took a good look at it and froze in my place.

  Talia is pregnant. Why hasn't she told me? What if she doesn't want the baby?

  I shook my head, “No, Talia won’t do that.” I assured myself, but I needed to act quickly, I didn’t want to take any chances.