by Mia Ford
“So, what now?” she asked and jumped up on the desk, her legs dangling off the edge. Devon walked closer to her and placed his hands on her arms.
“What do you want to do about all this?” he asked, his voice growing a little serious. Belle still couldn’t stop smiling. She couldn’t believe that he still wanted her, that he wasn’t just imagining everything.
“I told you everything, do you want to tell me something as well?” she said and he grinned at her and took his hands away from her.
“The truth is, Belle. I want to be with you and if there is a chance, I want to find a way to be together,” he said and leaving her on her desk, he walked to the toilet in his office. When he returned he had a bid wad of toilet paper in his hand.
“I wasn’t sure if you were interested in me seriously,” she said, and watched him as he walked over to her.
“You’re all I’ve thought about for the past week. In fact, since we first met,” he said and delicately, he dabbed the tissues between her legs. Belle couldn’t help but smile at that. She felt her limbs melting, she wanted to bury her face in his chest. She wished they could stay like this forever.
After Devon was done wiping her, he proceeded to wipe himself and Belle bit down on her lip.
“So, you sent me to the Brooklyn office because…” she began and he looked up at her and his eyes softened.
“Because I knew this would happen if we saw each other again,” he said and they both smiled knowingly at each other. It was amazing to her that they could be so comfortable with each other, she couldn’t remember the last time she had such an easy conversation with Jesse. And while they were both naked!
“In fact, Belle,” he said, a little more seriously now and placed his hands on her knees. She looked at him with questioning eyes. Her heart was thudding in her chest.
“If you’re okay with it, I think you should still work in the Brooklyn office. If we decide to give our relationship a chance. It would be healthier if you worked in a separate office. Like I said, I don’t like to mingle my work with my personal life,” he continued and Belle shook her head.
“I don’t know what Jasmine or Susan have told you, but I haven’t been able to concentrate on work since I moved there. I haven’t performed as well as I did in this office. But that was because I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Belle explained and Devon reached over to pinch her chin playfully.
“I understand, and don’t worry about it. I want you to do well at your job. I don’t want to do you any special favors, but I also have complete faith and trust in you. You have immense potential and I know I don’t have to worry about you,” he said and Belle blushed. Her heart was fluttering, she felt like she was on seventh heaven and that none of this was really happening. How could someone be this perfect?
“So, you do want to give our relationship a chance?” she asked him and Devon looked at her, deep into her eyes.
“I do, do you?” he asked and Belle smiled and nodded her head.
“I just want to figure things out with Jesse first, and this time I want to take it slow,” she said and he laughed.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to move in with me tomorrow,” he said and Belle laughed too.
“I want us to get to know each other first,” she said, through her laughs and Devon nodded his head.
“You should know, that I’ve never seriously dated a woman before. So, I’m probably more inexperienced than you are at this thing,” he added and Belle laughed again.
“You’ve never been in a serious relationship before?” she asked and Devon shrugged.
“What can I say, I never had the time,” he said and Belle shook her head indulgently.
“And I never found the right woman, I wanted to spend the time with,” he added and she leaned towards him so they could kiss again. Every time Devon kissed her, she felt like she was falling deeper for him. Whatever this feeling was, she had definitely never felt it before.
When they pulled away, Devon started picking their clothes off the floor. He handed hers back to her and Belle held up her torn bra and they laughed again.
He started dressing himself and Belle watched him questioningly. She didn’t want to go back to the apartment yet. She wanted to spend more time with him. She wanted to start getting to know him right away.
“Do you want to call it a night then?” she asked, her words choking in her throat. She didn’t want to have to admit to him that she wanted to spend some time with him. Devon was in the process of buttoning his shirt when he looked up at her with crossed brows.
“What? No! I thought we could go get pizza or go back to my place and watch a movie together or something,” Devon said and Belle jumped off the desk to rush to him and kiss him again.
Belle
Devon dropped Belle to her apartment building the next day in his Mercedes and when Belle stepped out of the car, she looked up to their studio apartment on the third floor. The window was shut and Jesse didn’t seem to be at it, nevertheless, she didn’t care. She stood at the car door till Devon turned to her with a smile.
“I’ll see you tonight?” he asked and she nodded, before leaning in towards him and planting a kiss on his lips. They smiled at each other and she turned to walk into the building. At the door she looked at the car again, and Devon was still there. He hadn’t asked his chauffeur to drive off yet.
Belle was beaming as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. The situation needed to be dealt with calmly, she knew that, but all she really wanted to do was go in and tell Jesse everything and ask him to leave. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, she had stormed out of the apartment the previous night, leaving him fuming after her.
Belle jiggled the key in the lock and finally pushed the door open. It was eight in the morning, which meant that he was probably still sleeping. Besides, it was a Saturday and Jesse never woke up before eleven on the weekends.
When she stepped inside, she was surprised to find that all their things had been turned over. It was like a tornado had hit their apartment. Jesse was standing on top of the mattress, still in the same clothes as the previous days and his eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he was about to scream.
“Where the Hell have you been?” he thundered.
Belle slammed the door behind her and slipped the keys into her purse.
“What happened here? Did you do this?” she asked, in an equally high pitched voice.
“Tell me where you were last night. I tried calling you like a million times,” he said and stepped off the mattress.
Belle remained standing where she was and glared at him, her own fury rising.
“I spent the night at a friend’s house because I didn’t want to see your face,” she said. The words came tumbling out of her. She had decided to be calm and gentle with Jesse when she broke the news, but she couldn’t control herself.
She had spent the night in Devon’s luxurious penthouse apartment on the forty-fifth floor of a Manhattan sky rise. But she wasn’t going to tell Jesse that.
“Which friend? You don’t have any friends in New York,” he spat out, taking long strides towards her. Belle straightened her back and glared at him. Jesse was studying her, like he was looking for clues about where she had been. Belle’s makeup was off, her hair wasn’t tied in a plait any more and she was starkly aware of not wearing a bra. She had taken a shower in Devon’s place though, so at least she looked somewhat presentable.
“How do you know if I have any friends here or not? You don’t know anything about my life, Jesse,” she said and she folded her arms over her breasts. He had come up very close to her and now he was breathing down on her face, but she only glared back at him. She wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t even guilty any more.
“You were with some guy, weren’t you?” he snarled and Belle arched her eyebrows.
“So what if I was?” she said and Jesse grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently.
“You cheated on me!
” he yelled and the door behind her slammed open. She hadn’t locked it but neither did she expect it to swing open either. They both turned their heads to look in surprise.
Devon walked in, more calmly than he had pushed the door open but his eyes were narrowed and the features on his face had darkened to a stormy hue. His blue eyes were piercing Jesse.
“Step away from her,” he said in a controlled voice.
“Who the Hell are you?” Jesse yelled, but he dropped his hands from Belle’s shoulders.
“That is none of your concern,” Devon said and Jesse looked sharply at Belle.
“Who the Hell is he?” he repeated himself. The last thing he was probably expecting was a man in his forties in crisp tailored clothes to barge in through the door.
“Jesse, I need you to leave my apartment,” Belle said, mimicking Devon’s calm voice. Jesse was still in shock.
“Do you understand what she’s saying?” Devon said and Jesse’s jaw dropped open.
“She’s my girlfriend. Who is she to you?” he asked, in a high pitched voice.
“I am not your girlfriend any more, Jesse. You have till the end of the day to pack your bags and leave,” Belle said and stepped in Devon’s direction. A knowing look came over Jesse’s eyes.
“So, this is the friend you spent last night with? Are you his girlfriend now?” he said, forcing a laugh in his voice.
“Go back home, Jesse. New York isn’t for you. You need to get a job or move in with your folks if you can’t find one. I’m not going to waste another penny on you,” Belle said and she walked over to Devon who wrapped an arm around her.
Jesse continued to stare at them for a few more seconds in silence, before Devon cleared his throat.
“You have till this evening. Six. I’ll be here with Belle to make sure that you’re nowhere in sight and then we’re getting the locks changed,” he said and gently, he tugged Belle away.
She didn’t look back as they walked with their arms around each other. She shut the door behind her and only then realized that she was shaking slightly.
“Why didn’t you leave?” she asked him, as they took the stairs down together.
“Because I wanted to make sure you were safe. From the stuff you told me about him, I was expecting him to act out,” Devon told her and Belle placed her head on his shoulder.
“I feel bad for uprooting him like this, but he’s depended on me for too long. And I don’t love him,” she said softly, as they walked back out on the street again.
“I understand, Belle. You’re doing what is best for you. Let’s spend the day together and after that we’re going to find you a new place to live,” Devon said as he opened the car door for her.
Belle
Eight months later
Belle was sitting at her desk with her legs crossed with a pen stuck behind her ear, as she typed away at her computer. She was engrossed in her work, and hadn’t even taken a lunch break today. When she looked at the clock on her screen, she noticed that it was seven already. The office floor was entirely empty and a lot of the lights had been dimmed down. Never before in her life, had she felt this fulfilled with a task. The Brooklyn office had a good effect on her work life balance, and she was grateful to Devon for pushing her towards it.
She suddenly remembered that she had to meet Devon at six thirty!
Belle tried to finish typing the last sentence as quickly as she could and when she was done, she sighed. Blowing a lock of her bronze hair away from her nose.
“Hello, there,” she heard Devon’s deep smooth voice and she turned in her chair to find him standing at the end of her cubicle. He looked handsome, in his black suit and crisp cream shirt. His blue tie matched his eyes, and a smile spread over Belle’s face.
“I’m so sorry, I lost track of time,” she said and got up from her chair to hurry over to him.
Devon took her into his arms and they kissed deeply. She pulled away from him when she remembered where they were. Nobody in either of the offices knew that they had been in a relationship for the past eight months.
“Don’t worry about it. I checked, nobody’s here,” he said and drew her in again, so he could bite her bottom lip playfully.
“So, this is your desk,” Devon said, looking around. In order to maintain secrecy, he had never visited the office and didn’t maintain any contact with her, through any official channels. Belle still lived in Brooklyn because that was the only place she could afford, and she was strict about not accepting any special favors from Devon.
“My little nook,” Belle said and bit down on her lip. Even though Devon owned everything here, and he was still her boss, to Belle it felt like her boyfriend was visiting her workplace for the same time. She had started feeling giddy with excitement.
“Susan sent me an email today to say that Jasmine has offered you a permanent position here?” Devon asked, smiling at her. Belle was gushing, she couldn’t keep her cheeks from burning up. She knew Devon was proud of her, she was proud of herself. And she had done it without any of Devon’s help. She had worked hard in the past months to impress Jasmine. Make herself indispensable. And Devon had kept himself out of it.
“And I’ve accepted it,” Belle said and Devon took in a deep breath and nodded.
“Congratulations, my love,” he said and swept her into his arms again. He kissed her cheeks gently and when she pulled away, he was staring deep into her eyes.
“I’m happy for you, and I only wish the best but I was also hoping that maybe we could be less secretive about our relationship now?” he said and Belle arched her eyebrows.
“How do you mean?” she asked and Devon took his time with his answer. Belle couldn’t help but smile at how nervous he was. This was evidently a big step for him. This was the longest relationship he had ever been in and they couldn’t be happier.
“I wanted to ask you to move in with me. I know you had a bad experience with your ex boyfriend, but I was thinking that maybe we’ve spent enough time together to know what to expect now,” he said and let go of her. She could see the anxiety in his eyes. To him this was as good as asking her to marry him. Baby steps.
Belle burst into a laugh, and when he looked wounded, she leaned over to kiss him again.
“You don’t have to look so afraid, Devon. Of course I want to move in with you. My living experience with Jesse…my whole relationship with him was nothing like what we have,” she said. Devon looked pleasantly surprised. For some reason, he hadn’t been expecting her to say yes.
“So you’ll move in with me?” he asked and Belle nodded her head.
“And I want to be a little more open about our relationship too, without letting it affect my work here,” she said and Devon kissed her forehead.
“Yes, I agree. We shouldn’t let it affect your work. Maybe we can think about that, and for now just work on getting you settled into my place,” he said and started leading her away from her desk.
They were walking in and arm towards the elevators on the floor. Belle was still blushing and Devon was still beaming like a teenager. It had been eight months since they first started seeing each other, and Belle knew that it was the best decision she had ever made.
“Where are we going?” she asked him, as the elevator doors pinged open and he led her in.
“Wherever you want to go, my love,” Devon told her. Belle pressed the button for the ground floor and turned to place her hands on his broad chest.
“How about we go to my new home?” she said and they were kissing again.
BOOK 2 : BAD BOY BALLER
MAYA
I was young and stupid, but that was no excuse. Everyone is young and stupid at some point in their life, but not everyone makes the mistakes I'd made. It all started when my brother Luke brought over a new friend. I was a senior in high school, a good girl. A girl my family could be proud of. I didn't go out and party like my brother. I studied. I worked hard. I was going to be a doctor one day, and that meant taking advanced
classes while I was in high school, to prepare myself for college and beyond.
I was the white sheep of the family, my brother the black one. He would disappear for days on end, partying and drinking, until he finally couldn't party anymore. Even at twenty-one, he was still living at home. He worked mostly odd jobs – his latest one at a club in Chicago. Luke told me all about it, making it sound like an incredible opportunity, rather than the latest waystation on the road to nowhere he was on. But I'd listen as he told me how great it was to sling drinks and flirt with all the hot women – and to get paid for it too.
He'd apparently found his dream, and I guess that I had to be happy for him.
Every week, we had a family dinner. It was something of a tradition with my folks. Once a week, we'd all gather around the table and eat a home-cooked meal, all in one place. During the week, my father's job kept him away a lot and Luke was, well, Luke. He was hardly ever around. But he was good about never missing a family dinner. Mostly because mom would have had his hide if he had.
But I remember clearly, this one specific family dinner, when Luke brought a friend from work to our weekly family gathering.
“His name is Reese,” he told my mom beforehand.
“Reese isn't family, dear,” she said. “Only family should be at family dinner.”
Yeah, my mom was a bit uptight. Sometimes too uptight for her own good. But I had to admit that I agreed with her. At least on this one thing. I didn't want any of my brother's scumbag friends hanging out with us. Especially not on the one night we were supposed to come together as a family.
“He has no family, mom. I feel bad for the kid,” Luke complained. “Would you really turn away a guy who has no family instead of welcoming him into ours for an evening?”
I rolled my eyes as I listened from the living room. My brother knew how to work it and play on my mom's heart strings. It made me sick.
I heard my mom sigh as I walked into the kitchen. She put the lasagne in the oven and wiped her hands on her apron. She tried a little too hard to be the picture of the perfect mom – her perfectly coifed hair, the church dress, the pearls around her neck. She had that Donna Reed thing going on, but was exactly the type of woman I aspired to be. Except, of course, that I wanted a career. I gave her props for all she did, but being a stay-at-home mom wasn't for me. In that regard, I was more like my dad – who was a doctor too, of course.
