After being burned so many times, you tended to start to get cautious. You didn’t want to look desperate. You didn’t want to get taken for a fool. Maybe that was the wrong way to go about things, but after everything, I had a right to protect myself. I was not going to put myself out there for somebody who wasn’t going to do the same for me.
“It wasn’t just that,” Maggie said. “If you’re afraid of looking silly, by the way, you might as well forget ever being successful in love. You had no problem making Easton look like a fool during the interview. That’s the problem here I think. He put himself out there and did something that he’d never done before and to the public, you made him look like an idiot. Maybe it’s your turn to look a little foolish.”
More foolish than I already felt? I didn’t know there was still a depth lower to sink to. I got off the topic after that because I felt like I had an idea. When Maggie left, after eating our way through dessert and the leftovers were safely placed in the fridge, I finally went upstairs and took a shower. I washed my hair and scrubbed my skin raw, symbolically, and literally cleansing myself of the last few days. I didn’t like looking foolish but that was necessary sometimes. Putting yourself out there wasn’t successful one hundred percent of the time but that was no reason to stop doing it. How would anything happen if people were scared of looking foolish?
Once out of the shower I texted Maggie to ask whether she knew of any good thrift shops near me. With an address of one ten minutes away, I left. I had never been to a thrift shop before, admittedly. Never had the need to. Even when I was looking for more rare items that might have gone out of production, I tended to contact the designers directly or known collectors, rather than raid thrift shops. You could find some gems while thrifting, but thrifted clothes were also notorious for being the pits of fashion.
I walked the aisles looking over the clothes. I wanted garish, loud, mismatched, as bad as it got. I always took pride in my appearance but today, I had to flip the script. There was no use trying to look prim and put together right now. I found a tie and dye tracksuit which would do just the trick. Upping the ante, I picked up a pair of crocs and Birkenstocks, getting both. Going home with my treasures, I put the look together, giving myself 80s prom hair and throwing on all my chunky necklaces over the tracksuit. With one Birkenstock and one croc on, I hailed a cab and made my way to Rotorhead’s office building.
“You a dancer or something?” the cab driver asked.
“What?” I was in the backseat, sweating, heart pounding. The last time I had been to Easton’s office, he hadn’t been there. This look had taken me disposing of all, and I did mean all of my pride to put together and I really wanted the payoff at the end.
“Uh, no.”
“Going to a party or something?” he asked.
“Not that either.”
“That’s interesting fashion you’ve got there. You a fashion blogger or something?” he asked. A fashion blogger in a get-up like this deserved to be demoted immediately. I wasn’t a fashion blogger, I was just trying to prove a point. At the building, I took a deep breath and walked in, pretending not to notice everyone staring at me. They were right, I looked ridiculous, but I had to do it. The lift to their floor felt like it took ages. At the reception desk, I saw the receptionist physically restrain herself from saying anything about the way I looked.
“I want to talk to Easton Schultz. Is he in?”
“D-do you have an appointment?” she asked. That meant he was.
“No, but I have to see him.”
“Who should I say is here to see him?” she might have started asking but I walked away, making my way towards where I knew his office was. I heard her call for me, but I ignored it. Seeing him was more urgent than looking crazy. At his door, I meant to knock but I barged in instead. I regretted it after seeing his face, totally bemused looking at me. And then he laughed.
The receptionist came up behind me, saying something about how I couldn’t be there, and Easton stood up. He was in dark jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. On the casual side but still work-appropriate, especially in the kind of office this was.
“It’s okay, Lucy, she’s fine. I’ll talk to her,” he said. He closed the door behind me then turned, taking in my outfit again.
“I can explain.”
“Please do. Quickly.” There was mirth in his eyes, but I knew I had majorly overstepped boundaries.
“I’m sorry for showing up like this but I had to see you.”
“For what?”
“I had to apologize in person, and I had to make sure…”
“Make sure of what?” he asked. It was the first time being that close to him in a while and I was a bit overwhelmed.
“Make sure I wasn’t wrong.” He furrowed his brow.
“Wrong about what?”
“I… I think you’re the one, Easy. I know how that sounds. I know I wasn’t wrong when I thought you were Mr. Right. Someone told me that when I finally found Mr. Right, I wasn’t allowed to run away. I’m done running. I had to do this because I’d never forgive myself otherwise.”
“What are you talking about, Missy?”
“I’m so sorry about the interview. I said what I did because I was angry and jealous seeing you with another woman. That’s a bad reason but it’s the truth. I said things that I felt when we met, and you were doing your best to annoy me, and I was haughty and unbearable. You’re probably my best success story. I can’t believe I said those things and I know more reasons why you shouldn’t accept my apology than why you should, but I really hope you can.”
He was silent and it made the seconds feel like days.
“You were jealous?”
“I was jealous and drunk, and it felt like I was getting you back for making me feel that way. It was a small and petty thing to do and I’m disgusted with myself. I want to ask you for forgiveness, but I understand if you don’t feel I’m worth it.”
“You’re worth it, Missy. You’re worth everything,” he said. I wasn’t done debasing myself with my speech yet, so his words disoriented me.
“Huh?”
“I can't tell you what those words did to me. I should have been more upset, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. It fucked me up let me tell you.”
“So… you forgive me?”
He came closer.
“What was the part you said earlier about being Mr. Right?”
I blushed. “It’s kind of embarrassing, really. I came to New York with no intention of ending up like this, but then I did. Romance found me and I can’t let you go without trying to see if there’s something here. So… do you forgive me?”
“Looking like that I feel like I have to. You’re clearly a mental ward escapee and we need to take you back immediately.” I laughed.
“What, you don’t like the look?”
“I hate it. Take it off.” I blinked.
“What?”
He came back behind me and checked the door, locking it.
“I said, take it off,” he said again.
Oh… he was serious. I twirled some of my hair around my finger. That look was on his face, the one he gave me before he made me come calling his name. I pulled the scrunchy out that had been holding my hair up in a high ponytail and shook it out.
“Keep going,” he said. I took the top of my tracksuit off revealing a ratty, discolored band t-shirt underneath, not unlike the kind he used to wear. He laughed again. “That’s awful, get it off. The Missy I know wouldn’t be caught dead in anything like that.” I pulled the t-shirt off, laughing. He came up to me and we kissed. Heat burned through me. Feeling his body against me again was so right. It literally hadn’t been that long I couldn’t believe the way my body reacted to him.
“Are you sure we can do this?” I asked, breaking the kiss to take the rest of my clothes off. I had answered the question myself already.
“I own this company, who’s gonna come for me?” he asked. “Wait a minute, you technically work f
or me, don’t you?”
I laughed. “Not anymore.”
“Well,” he said with a smirk. “Then what are we waiting for?”
33
Easton
I couldn’t believe it when I saw her, and then I saw that fucking outfit and I really couldn’t believe it. Now that she was naked in my office, I had stopped asking questions. I was nothing but grateful. Believe it or not, I had never had sex in my office before. Now that I thought about it, Missy and I were going to have to make up for that.
She stripped down in front of me, down to her underwear that was thankfully her usual beautiful pieces; not whatever the rest of her outfit was. I needed to ask her where she had gotten that stuff, there was no way it was part of her usual wardrobe.
I could find out about that later, right then, she was practically naked in my office. I took my shirt off.
“The couch,” I said. She giggled and walked over, sprawling out on the couch. I went and dropped to my knees, pushing her legs apart. I made sure that I maintained eye contact as I ate her out. She moaned and I shushed her which made her laugh. Before meeting her, I had never had public or semipublic sex. These days, it seemed to be all that we did.
I used my hand, fingering her while my tongue was on her clit. She covered her mouth, so she didn’t cry out when she had her orgasm. I watched her, completely hypnotized. I didn’t know how anyone so beautiful had become a part of my life. What was even worse was the fact that I had almost lost her.
I got up and got the rest of my clothes off. Getting down onto the couch with her, she was already wet and ready for me. Even though I was technically on the clock, I wasn’t in a hurry. We took our time. It was so obvious. It had been clear from the start, but now there was absolutely no denying it. She was the one. She was the only woman I wanted, the only woman who I could even imagine spending a life with. Our life. I never thought about it in those terms, finding a life partner and making plans on an us basis instead of an I basis, but I knew she was the one.
I was leaning over her, supporting most of my weight on my arms, but she pulled me down so we were chest to chest and we were kissing. I couldn’t wait until I was calling her my girlfriend, until I was calling her more than that, until she was doing the same for me.
I didn’t want to come before she did, so I broke the kiss and knelt upright between her legs, fucking her steadily as I worked my tongue on her clit. She whimpered and moaned until she finally had an orgasm. Once I knew she was satisfied, I didn’t hold back, going fast and hard until I blew my load. I never thought the day would come when I used the couch in my office to have sex and truly, this was the best use of it that I had seen thus far. I eased out of her and flopped down onto the couch at her side. We were both panting. For a little while, neither of us said anything, we just kind of laid there enjoying each other’s company.
“Easton?”
“What is it, babe?”
“Do you forgive me?”
I raised my head and looked at her. “Of course, I forgive you, Missy. What kind of question is that?”
“Okay, I just had to make sure.” I laughed and wrapped my arms around her.
“After that stunt you pulled coming in here looking crazy, was I supposed to say no to you?”
“If you did, you would’ve had every right to. What I did was so foul, I wouldn’t be shocked if you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Well, you’re right, what you did was foul, but I know that you wouldn’t be here right now if you weren’t sorry.”
“I can’t even begin to explain how sorry I am, Easton. I hate the fact that I hurt you and I would do anything for your forgiveness. That little outfit can be just the start, if that’s what it’s going to take.”
I wasn’t going to put her through trials in order to prove that she was sorry. She had already proven it to me. She had gone above and beyond to put away her pride and make herself look foolish for me. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to do that, but I was touched that she took it upon herself to really drive the point home. The truth was, I had never been mad enough to completely turn her away when she did come back to me. No way. I loved her. Maybe it’d taken her a little longer to realize that she loved me too, but when it all came down to it, I knew that I meant something to her.
“I’m not holding anything against you, Missy. In fact, that appearance on the red carpet has actually boosted our publicity so maybe I should be thanking you for that a little bit.”
She laughed. “Maybe I should badmouth you a little bit more in public,” she said. She laughed again as I playfully sunk my teeth into her neck. I just realized that I had never told her that I loved her before. I needed to change that. I held her close, looking at her.
“I love you, do you know that?”
“Do you?”
“No, no, the correct way you respond when someone tells you that is that you say it back. Let’s try that again.”
She giggled again. “Did I really not mention it during my entire speech earlier? Well, that was a complete oversight. I love you, Easton Schultz. I probably shouldn’t, you are absolutely nothing like my usual type, but I do. And maybe that’s a good thing.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Well, you really are bad at this romance thing. You weren’t lying.”
“And what? I’m supposed to believe you’re some sort of stud?”
“Yes, I am as a matter of fact, you’re just lucky that I decided to pick you out of the legions of women who are banging my door down to date me.” She was laughing again. I liked this. I liked it when the two of us were happy and at peace, sharing a moment with no stress.
“Okay, then let me try again. Easton, I love you. Whether it’s in a three-piece suit or in an awful ripped up T-shirt with ratty joggers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. However, I think it’s important to say that I love you the most when you’re naked.” I laughed and kissed her. I felt the same way. That said, however, if I ever saw her in the ridiculous get-up she was in today, we were going to have a few problems. She had done it for me. I knew that wasn’t her, but I loved the fact that she was willing to do it.
Naked on the couch, with equally naked Missy, touching and kissing her led to the inevitable. I felt myself getting hard once again. I could do with another round; I would never say no to more sex with Missy.
“Oh my gosh, are you hard again?”
“Yes. Come on, let’s go.” I started to get up off the couch so I could get behind her.
“Oh my gosh, you’re insane. We are at your job, or did you not notice?”
Was it now that she had reservations about having sex in my office? That was hilarious. I had stopped caring that this was my office the minute that she had walked in. If she was scandalized by having sex in my office, she wasn’t scandalized enough, that was for sure, because she was still naked and she wasn’t pushing me away.
“Babe, I own the company. Who’s about to stop me? Besides you?” I asked. She gave me a cheeky little smile.
“I know I just started my current job, but it sounds like this is a pretty liberal work environment. Wouldn’t mind working here.”
“Having you around every day so we could do more of this sounds like my idea of heaven,” I said to her. I got behind her and braced my hands on her hips.
“You really have no shame, do you?” She said.
“I’m the boss, babe. You’re lucky, because I’m about to do things to you that would definitely get me fired if I wasn’t.” Missy’s beautiful ass was right in front of me. Our clothes were strewn on the ground and outside, my colleagues were working just another Tuesday afternoon. This was just the kind of meeting that I could get used to.
Epilogue: Artemis
Three Months Later
“Do you know something?”
“What’s that?” I asked Easy. We were in the kitchen of his loft. Because the entire space open, the dining room wasn’t really separate and distinct from the r
est of the house, but right off the kitchen, in a large space that used to be empty, now stood a ten-person dining table. After squabbling for weeks about getting it, I went ahead and ordered it without Easy’s permission. I mean, once it was there what was he supposed to do?
The answer was, of course, return it if he didn’t want it there, but Easton was a special sort of person. Despite having had a successful military career, and cofounding a business that had gotten to a billion-dollar valuation in under five years, he was actually quite lazy. That was the reason why he had gotten so incredibly sloppy with his clothing choices. There were certain things that he dedicated his mental power to, and other things that he completely disregarded. Whether or not he had a dining table in the house was one of those things he had completely disregarded.
“What the hell do I need it for? What’s gonna happen? Are you and I gonna sit here at this big ass table eating pizza?” he had asked. At the moment, seven out of the ten seats at the table were filled by our friends, having dinner.
“I’ve never had this many people at my house at the same time,” he said. Well, obviously that was the case. Where would he have sat them all? Not that long ago, he had had exactly one sofa to his name. The loft wasn’t extravagant, but it was not small either. He could have turned it into a comfortable entertaining space years ago, but of course, he hadn’t. It’d taken the introduction of myself into his life for him to do that. Again, lazy.
“Yeah, I know.” Our guests had just been seated. The caterers that we, well, that I had booked had just delivered the steaming hot packages of food. I loved to entertain, I just didn’t quite have a very high level of skill when it came to the kitchen. Who said that you had to be able to cook in order to feed people? The first course of the meal was already done; fresh, delicious caprese salads. Now, Easton and I were plating up thick, luxurious salmon steaks with polenta.
“How are you liking it?” I asked him.
Admit You Want Me: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Irresistible Billionaires Book 3) Page 20
