Hungry Boss

by Charlize Starr

  Mrs. Frost emerged behind him, rushing forward to be introduced to the baby in Rufus’ arms.

  Olivia remained standing behind them, smiling as she watched Maya being showered with love and affection. Her own mother had emerged out of the living room as well and came over to Maya to hug her. Olivia felt like her daughter was finally receiving the love she had deserved all along. This is what she had always wanted for her child.

  She saw Sophie arrive with a glass of red wine in her hand. She was as impeccably dressed as usual and leaned against the door frame. Olivia left Rufus’ side and walked up to her.

  “Hey,” she said, trying to get Sophie’s attention. Her friend didn’t look at her, and Olivia felt the resurgence of the wave of guilt she had been trying to keep at bay.

  “So the little brat is actually related to me,” Sophie said, dropping her eyes to the floor for a second and then turning to glare at Olivia.

  Olivia smiled indulgently and breathed out.

  “I’m sorry, Sophie, for keeping this a secret for so long. I just didn’t want anyone to find out,” Olivia said, biting down on her lip. She could understand what Sophie was going through, and that she was feeling betrayed from all directions.

  “First of all, you slept with my brother three years ago and didn’t tell me. Then you got pregnant, had a baby and lied to me about whose baby it was.” Sophie had leaned in to whisper to Olivia through clenched teeth. The rest of the family were still cuddling and playing with Maya, slowly bringing her into the living room.

  Rufus had given Olivia a look on his way in, but decided to let the two women sort it out amongst themselves.

  “I know how it must feel, Sophie. But at the time I thought if I told you the truth, it would be a bigger betrayal. I thought you’d not hate me if you never found out.” Olivia reached for Sophie’s free hand.

  “And then you screamed at me, kicked me out of the house and screamed at me some more for actually trying to help you by calling Craig.” Sophie emptied the glass of wine down her throat and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Olivia sighed and licked her lips.

  “I’m sorry about all that, Sophie. I hope you’ll forgive me someday soon,” she said with a smile.

  “And now you have my brother, you have a kid and you’re going to live happily ever after,” Sophie said. Her lip was quivering slightly. Olivia continued to smile, she was grateful for all this. Grateful for the way her life had turned around. Most of all, she was happy that she still had her friend. That there was still hope that Sophie would forgive her and that things would go back to being the way it was.

  “Are you happy for me, Sophie?” Olivia asked, as quietly as possible. Sophie’s hands were in hers again as the two of them stared at each other. Olivia was begging for forgiveness through her eyes, and Sophie looked like she had still not decided whether she was going to forgive her best friend or not.

  “Of course I am! I’m so happy for you!” Sophie wailed. Olivia could feel the tears coursing down her cheeks as she rubbed them against Olivia’s shoulder. Olivia held her as she shuddered. Sophie had always been one for drama.

  “You have no idea how worried I was for you, and how sad it made me to see your apartment and the two of you alone like that. Now you’re safe with Rufus. As weird as it may be for me, I’m happy you’re in love. And that my brother is in love with you.” Sophie was still crying. Mrs. Frost appeared from the living room to pat Sophie on her back. She was smiling at Olivia.

  Olivia blushed and looked away.

  “Let's all go in, Sophie. Come in, Olivia. We all have to celebrate properly,” Mrs. Frost said, dragging Sophie by the hand and leading Olivia into the living room.

  When she entered she found Maya on the floor, with Mr. Frost passing her new boxes of toys that her grandparents had clearly just bought for her. Maya’s eyes were excited and she was happy, gazing from her toys to her mother and then her father’s face. Rufus was standing behind her, and his face lit up when he saw Olivia walk into the room. Olivia’s mother was on the couch, finally glad to see her daughter happy.

  “Now sit down here, Olivia, and tell us everything that we’ve missed about Maya,” Mrs. Frost exclaimed, leading Olivia to the seat next to her mother. She forced Sophie to sit down too, next to Olivia, while she continued to sniffle and dry her tears.

  Olivia reached for Sophie’s hands and pressed them tightly, holding on to them on her own lap. She was grateful for Sophie. No matter their differences now, they were still best friends.

  “Before that, I have an announcement to make,” Rufus spoke up and all eyes turned to him.

  “It is with great sadness that I must inform you all that I have to go back to Chicago. I can’t delay it anymore, sadly, if I still want to keep my contract.” Rufus looked around the room, while his mother and Sophie gasped.

  “What about Olivia? What about Maya?” Mrs. Frost threw the questions at him, while Olivia felt her hands itching in Sophie’s. She was glad she was holding her friend’s hands. She couldn’t have borne this news alone. Rufus was going to have to leave again. What did he want to do about this new development in his life?

  “They’re coming with me, of course. If Olivia will agree to marry me.” Rufus turned to her with a smile, while Sophie shrieked. Sophie jumped off the couch and rushed to hug her brother, while Olivia and Rufus stared at each other.

  “I’m going to be a Maid of Honor!” Sophie was shrieking, as she jumped over to hug her mother.

  “Olivia?” Rufus asked as he stepped closer to her. Olivia breathed out slowly, expecting the tears to gush down her cheeks any moment now. Maya was looking at her too, sensing the tension in the room.

  “Of course I’ll marry you, Rufus,” Olivia said and laughed when the room erupted in joy. Her mother hugged her, Mr. and Mrs. Frost came over to hug her as well. Sophie grabbed her hand again and held it there, while Rufus bent down on his knee and slipped a ring onto her finger.

  Olivia didn’t look at the ring or stop to admire it. She wanted his arms around her shoulders instead.

  Rufus and Olivia kissed, for the first time in front of other people, and she felt like she could stay in his arms forever. Maya was clapping too, joining in the celebration, and Olivia watched as Rufus went over to pick his daughter up. He looked like a man who didn’t know what to do with the joy he was experiencing, a proud father.

  “She has his eyes, and his hair…no, your hair,” Sophie said beside her and Olivia turned to look at her with a laugh.

  “I should have seen it years ago when she was born.” She added and Olivia bit down on her lip. “I don’t know how you managed to keep it a secret for so long, but now it’s all out in the open. You’re marrying your dream man.” Sophie hugged her friend again and Olivia laughed.

  “I’m marrying everyone’s dream man.”

  *****

  THE END

  Football Daddy

  Description

  He’s always been my dream... Now he’s my secret.

  Melissa has always had a crush on Nick. Always, for as long as she can remember.

  It’s too bad that he is not only her big brother’s best friend but also her best friend’s older brother. Talk about complicated. He is also a womanizer, with a reputation to prove that. What could she even have to offer?

  When the guys have a party to celebrate them going to the Super Bowl with their local Seattle team, Melissa is surprised when Nick approaches her with an idea. She’s helped him in the past, and now that she’s twenty-two, he wants her to help him some more... in his bed. Nick proposes a friends with benefits situation to her, and she knows that she’s crazy to think about it at all, much less say yes.

  Melissa is a virgin going into a sexual relationship with one of the biggest players in the NFL. She’s read the stories and heard the rumors, but none of that matters when she’s in his bed and finally getting her dream.

  Not at first, at least.

  Can they make it through rumors as
they keep their relationship secret from the ones that they love the most? Will circumstances make it too hard for Melissa to stick it through, even though she is in love with Nick?

  One night could change everything about them and their lives. One night could change their futures.

  One night could make them see their feelings for each other, if Melissa doesn’t keep running away.

  Just one night is all it takes.

  Chapter One

  “This party is insane!” Bonnie told me, as we walked into the mansion that was packed with people. I smiled at my best friend as I tried not to think about the project that was waiting for me back at our apartment and focus on the celebration that was only just beginning. Our brothers were going to the Super Bowl with their Seattle team after only playing in the NFL for four years after college, and the entire house was vibrating with the excitement. They’d worked so hard all through high school and college but still managed to stay best friends, just as Bonnie and I were. “I wonder if we’ll even be able to find Nick. I know all too well how he likes to celebrate.”

  Bonnie’s brother Nick Harmon was a player. He’d always been a player, and it was just how things were. Bonnie accepted it, but I had a long-running, invisible crush on him. My brother Brandon James had his fair share of female fans, but I thought that he respected them. At least I hoped so.

  We managed to make our way through the crowd to the living room, where each of us stared at some of the celebrities that were there in awe. Bonnie focused quickly on a hockey player who played for the Colorado team and I figured that she’d make every effort to make the best of the next several hours. I saw Brandon in the kitchen. I also saw Nick, who was sitting on the counter with a redhead between his legs and her arms around his waist.

  I ran my hand through my red curls, which I’d recently colored, and frowned as she leaned up and smiled at him. He was gorgeous, with dark, messy hair and sea blue eyes and that damn crooked smile of his. Who wouldn’t want him? I saw him glance in my direction as I heard my name called out, and his eyes darkened before I looked at my brother. “Mel, I am so glad that you could come!” Brandon pushed forward and hugged me tightly as he spun me around. “Nice hair. I see that art school is getting in your blood.” We once had the same shade of chestnut hair, though we still had the same light green eyes. “You look beautiful, though. I mean that.”

  “Of course I’m here. You’re going to the Super Bowl! I am so proud of you, Bran,” I gushed, as I pulled away from him and looked around. “This crowd. It’s mad and wonderful, and you’ve hit your dream.”

  “Winning is the real dream,” Brandon assured, me as he heard his name called from across the room. “It’s so crazy tonight. We’ll talk later?”

  I nodded and watched as he ran into the living room and took a deep breath. I had worn a denim skirt and a green shirt with some boots after agonizing over my choices. It didn’t hold a candle to most of the women here, with most of them dressed in next to nothing and looking like super models. The ones that weren’t dressed that way were beautiful regardless, and I looked over my shoulder to see Bonnie coming my way with a smile on her face. “Drinks! Then dancing.”

  We found the bar in the formal dining room and loaded up on some sweet cocktails as we discussed the party. “Did you see Nick?” I asked Bonnie, and she rolled her pretty topaz eyes.

  “Yeah, he was a little busy. I’ll talk to him later. Fucking quarterbacks,” Bonnie said, before she tossed her third drink down and grinned at me. “Let’s dance!”

  Bonnie was a light in my life. I’d always grown up in Brandon’s shadow, and though I loved him, nothing I did would ever be as good as his accomplishments. Look at tonight. I was looking at a couple more years in art school to have maybe a gallery showing in a matter of years if I was lucky. Painting and drawing happened to be my passion and I wanted to surround my life with it in every way possible. Brandon just happened to be extremely athletic, and his calling was playing center in football, so well that he was snatched up right after graduation from the local college. Nick as well. They were happy to be playing for the same team, and they even shared this house together.

  I knew that I’d be happy, even if my name wasn’t in lights like Brandon’s was.

  Bonnie and Nick had lost their mother in a car accident when she was twelve, and she still moved through life with so much positivity. I watched as she walked towards the makeshift dance floor in the living room and took a place on the edge as a great new song came on. I didn’t think that Nick was as positive, but he managed in his own way, and he was a great player.

  We danced to every song that played and I felt the alcohol coursing through my body as I lost myself in the beat. I loved to dance as much as Bonnie did, and the hours passed quickly in between dancing and drinks. Some of the players would speak from time to time as the crowd screamed their names and cheered. It was getting wild in here and I laughed as I looked around.

  There was no sign of Nick at all and I assumed that he was off with the redhead or some other woman. I tried not to think about it as I danced and bumped against the people that were joining us on the dance floor. After a while, I got too hot, and told Bonnie that I needed some fresh air.

  I wandered to the back of the room and slipped through the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. They had a big deck for barbecues out there and a pool, and I wandered over to one of the chairs by the water and sat down with a fresh drink. I’d managed to grab it from the main fridge and I sipped from the bottle as I took in a slow breath. There was the sound of a door closing and I turned my head to see the redhead from before stumbling towards the house as she fixed her red dress around her very generous breasts.

  I glanced at the cottage by the pool to see the door ajar and I raised an eyebrow. Nick used that a lot. I stared up at the stars as I heard footsteps and felt someone sit on the seat beside me. “Mel. I like the hair,” Nick said in his husky voice, and I told myself not to shiver. God, I loved his voice.

  “Thanks,” I said, as I lowered my eyes to glance his way. His jeans fit him well and he was buttoning his shirt as I watched quietly. “So you make them leave after now?”

  Nick shot me a dark look as he finished with his blue shirt before he shook his head. “She’s just mad that I won’t give her more than…that.” He raised his hand and gestured towards the cottage and a frown crossed his face. “I have the game to think about now. I don’t have time for a commitment.”

  “Okay. Why are you telling me this?” I asked him, as I watched his beautiful eyes lock with mine. There was something different in his face, and I realized how long it had been since I’d actually spent any time with Nick. “I’m not asking you for anything.” I leaned back in the chair and crossed my feet together as I sipped my drink. “Are you okay? I mean, this is a huge time for you and you seem kind of down.”

  “I guess I wish that Mom was here to see this.” His words sobered me, and I nodded before I looked at him. “She’d be the one planning the parties and doing all of this.”

  “You’re right about that. I think you two did just fine. It’s a great party,” I assured him, as I allowed myself to stare into his face.

  “Only because we hired everyone. Do you remember our parties back in school?” Nick asked, and we both laughed together.

  “Brandon barely knew that there was going to be one until the house was full of people and we needed food for them. Mom and Dad made a terrible mistake traveling so much,” I remembered wistfully, as I shook my head. “We’d scramble for some chips and something to heat up, but the show always went on, didn’t it?” I kept looking at him. “How did you do it?”

  “Brandon was always there for me, just like you were. You guys are the best,” Nick replied, with that smile of his that made goosebumps cover my exposed arms.

  “You’re in a reminiscent mood, aren’t you?” I asked, as I noticed him shift in his seat.

  “Something like that. Thanks to Lara’s attitude,
I’m feeling something more.” I stared as he spoke and watched Nick shake his head. “I just want something familiar tonight. I don’t want those groupies that just want the name to drop around to impress the other groupies. I want something real. This is all happening so fast.” I just listened as I heard the pain in his voice that I’d heard ten years before. He sounded like the same broken boy who had just lost his mother.

  “Nick, this is your dream. You’re twenty-five, and this is what you’ve worked for your whole life. She sees every bit of this. I promise.” I looked at him as he leaned forward and looked into my eyes.

  “Can I ask you a favor?”

  Chapter Two

  “What’s that?” I asked, as he licked his full lips and looked at me.

  “I don’t want to be alone tonight, Melissa.” I frowned as I wondered what he meant. “I don’t want one of the vapid women in that house tonight that doesn't even know me. I want someone that does. I want someone that gets me, if only for tonight.”

  “Nick, you could have any woman that you want,” I whispered, as he focused his intense gaze on me. “What are you asking me?” I had wanted him for so long that it was like breathing at this point in my life. I had saved myself for whatever fantasy I had in my head about him, coming so close but not being able to give myself to anyone. That was sad at twenty-two, considering that he’d slept with more women than I cared to think about.

  “I want you, Mel. I want you in my bed tonight. I don’t want this party like Brandon does, not this evening,” Nick told me, as heat warmed my skin. “You’ve gotten more beautiful over the years and something about you tonight just takes me back to the past.”