“What’s wrong?” Mom asked as I walked to the worn couch and dropped onto it. I had about an hour before Mason got home and I needed to relax. I didn’t want him to see how tense I was and vowed to fake it if I had to.
“The job is to be Carter’s assistant.” I heard the silence at the other end of the phone as I waited for her response.
“Carter Carter?” she asked as I bit my lip. “Did you know?”
“I had an interview to assist another manager, Mom. I got there and they sent me to another floor, a higher floor. I knew that must be better but I didn’t know anything more until he walked into the room.” I ran a hand through my hair.
“Is it a good job?” she asked as I closed my eyes. “Maybe you could tell him about Mason, sweetie.”
“Mom, it’s been five years. I don’t know…he didn’t seem to want to stay with me before. I’m worried, Mom. I can’t throw off Mase’s world that way.” I felt tears in my eyes as I leaned forward. “We’ve done fine on our own.”
“If it’s a good job, please think this over,” she told me gently as I nodded. “I know that Mason will be home soon and that you need to get yourself together, but look at the whole picture. You two were good together once upon a time.”
“Oh, Mom. This isn’t a romance novel.”
“I’m just saying that you need to think this through. A good job would be great for both of you,” she said. “Listen, I have to go now honey, I’ll call you tomorrow.” I set my phone down and leaned back as I took a deep breath. She was right.
I called Lainie to ask if she could bring Mason to Discovery Club tomorrow after school. She was so excited about my new job and said she’d be more than happy to help out with Mason.
I was just cooking us up some homemade macaroni and cheese when Mason came home. I slipped it into the oven and walked out to meet him, hugging him tightly as I asked him how school was. He told me that it was great and we walked inside as he asked me how the job interview went. I answered him that it was good and that I wasn’t sure what was going to happen now. He nodded as he hung his stuff up and went to wash his hands.
I sliced up some peaches to go with his meal and pulled the dish out when the oven beeped. I heaped some into a bowl for him and set it on the table.
He had just started eating when I heard my phone ring from the living room. I walked over to look at the screen. I didn’t recognize the number and answered it softly, waiting for the person to answer me. “Vivian Smith?”
“Speaking,” I said as the woman continued to speak. She was calling from M&B Investments, offering me the job. I listened to her telling me to come down to the building to fill out some paperwork in the morning. After that, I could start right away.
“You do want the job?” she asked as I sat in silence for a long moment.
“I suppose I do,” I replied. My stomach twisted into a knot. I told her that I’d come in the morning and hung up, going to join Mason for dinner.
“Who was that, Mommy?” Mason asked as I looked at him.
“I got the job. I’ll be starting tomorrow. Lainie will pick you up at school and take you over to Discovery Club. That’ll be fun. Either Lainie or I will pick you up.” I looked at his sweet face. “This is going to be different, kiddo. We’re going to make it work.”
“Tell me about the job,” he said as I went on to describe the huge, glass building that I was going to be working in. I told him about all the big buildings around it and the cool places I’d get to go for lunch. About the fun trips that we were going to be able to take on the weekends. I loved the smile on his face as he gazed up at me.
“Can I come and see you at work?” Mason asked and I felt a shocking rush through my system.
“Maybe. Later. I need to work there for a little while and get trained first, okay?” I smiled and he nodded before taking another bite of his noodles. I heard my phone chime from the kitchen counter and went to get it, feeling a little annoyed, like my time with Mason was being compromised. I wasn’t the kind of girl to text and talk on the phone while spending time with my kid.
I unlocked the screen and gazed at the message.
Hello, Vivian. This is Carter. I wanted to congratulate you on accepting the job. Remember how I mentioned working some nights? There is a business dinner tomorrow night that I’d like you to attend. It will be a good learning experience for you. Can you make it after work?
He really wanted me to go somewhere the first night after work? I sighed. It wasn’t like he knew I was a mom and had obligations and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him. I sent a quick text to Lainie explaining the situation and asked her if she could watch Mason for me tomorrow night. She agreed.
I can make the dinner. How formal is it? What should I wear?
A black dress would do, he replied.
OK, I had a black dress in my closet. Wouldn’t it be too sexy for a work dinner though?
Where are we going? I typed back.
Somewhere nice.
Somewhere nice. What was the hell going on? I set the phone down again to go back to Mason.
He took a bath and we played for a while before bed. I read to him and kissed him goodnight before going to my room to search through my closet. I pulled out the only black dress I had. It was timeless, fun, and flirty and I shook my head as I thought back to the night that I last wore it. The night Carter and I went to a hotel. The dress hadn’t seen a night out since he’d left Vermont. Was I going to wear it to work tomorrow?
I was headed down a dangerous path.
I cleaned up the kitchen before shutting off all the lights, but I couldn’t shake the thoughts from my head. What was happening here? I was pushing the boundaries by agreeing to this dinner. I could hardly say no, though. This was a business dinner and I was Carter’s new assistant.
I decided not to wear his shirt to bed, slipping on some shorts and a tank top before I found a steamy book on my Kindle. It reminded me of the times I had spent with Carter and I felt my skin warm as I came across a particularly steamy chapter.
There had been a hell of a lot of sexual tension between us during the interview. My feelings for Carter had never gone away and the fact that he was Mason’s father pulled at my heartstrings. I didn’t know how I was going to make any of this work unless we kept it completely professional. I probably should have turned the job down but it would help Mason out so much. I could be an adult about this. I could work and support Mason and keep things with Carter separate. I could do all of that. I sighed and turned over, trying to push back the memories of Carter. I finally fell asleep, dreaming about Carter as I tossed restlessly in my bed.
I was in a fog when I woke up. I got dressed, slipping a white sweater over the dress before I walked Mason out to his bus. Lainie was going to take care of him tonight and I knew that he’d be fine. I wasn’t sure about me though.
Chapter 6 - Carter
I knew that Vivian was starting the following day and arrived early as always. I was looking forward to being close to her as I trained her on her duties. I planned to break her down and take her as soon as possible.
I got some coffee and waited in my office as I warmed up the computer and stared over the city. I never thought I’d see Vivian again, much less in New York. I knew that she was something I regretted leaving behind, but I wasn’t sure just checking her name off a list was going to cure that.
I thought back to the way we had drifted apart and would get back together like fucking magnets. There had always been something between us and now, six years later, it was still there.
I busied myself dealing with some emails as I waited for her to arrive, mulling over my feelings and desires. I knew that I cared for her when we were younger but I was so driven by making money that I could only think of New York. I enjoyed the girls in my home town, but Vivian was my favorite. I just didn’t know how much I missed her until she was standing in my building for the interview.
I heard footsteps and turned to see her sta
nding in the doorway. She was wearing the dress and a white sweater. She let my eyes skim over her body as she blushed. She walked inside on her heels and looked around. “I signed everything at HR. I’m officially an employee. Where is my desk?”
“I have a small office for you that connects to mine,” I gestured towards a door as she followed my hand. “You’ll be in my office a lot anyway, so this is most convenient. Everything is already set up for you, top-of-the-line equipment. You’ll need a little training, I’m guessing.” I gave her a hungry look as she widened her eyes at me.
“Yeah. I will.” She walked over to the window as I watched her tight, full calves and moved my eyes up to her ass, the skirt swishing around her knees. “Gorgeous view.”
“It never gets old,” I agreed as I walked up behind her and rested my hands on her hips. Vivian stilled and I stroked her skin gently over the material of the dress. “We’ll start with tech stuff today. I have a series of programs that I use here and you’ll also need to understand the email system. I’ll always be here to answer any questions that you might have.” I reached forward and slipped my arms around her stomach, feeling her gentle curves as she sucked in her breath. “It’s good to see you again, Vivian.”
“What are you doing, Carter?” she whispered as she pushed me away from her. “I’m here to work. I can’t start anything with you.”
“It never went away, Vivian.” I stared at her as she opened her mouth to speak, turning her head to look at me.
“I need some coffee. I’ll be right back.” She walked out of the office as I watched her. I had noticed her physical reaction to me, the way she’d held her breath, the way her skin colored. It was obvious that Vivian remembered how it had been between us as well as I did. I smiled, walking over to the computer to start setting things up for her training.
Vivian seemed like she had herself together when she walked back in with a cup of coffee. I sat her down at my desk, moving into another chair and pressing close to her. I reached across to point things out to her or move the mouse when I needed to, always making sure to touch her. She gave me several confused looks in return. I saw the heat, as well as some pain in her eyes and I covered her hand with mine as she pressed her lips together. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. We continued with the training and she seemed to be catching on quickly. As we worked, tension continued to build up in the room. I never felt this before and I inhaled the light citrus perfume that she used. It made me hungry for more than just dinner tonight. I stared at the soft curls hanging down her back as she read over the large number of emails that I received on a daily basis. “Every day?”
“Yes,” I responded with laughter in my voice. “You can break it down into spam, new clients, and current clients, and then go from there. I have a response set up for the new clients, that they’ll be contacted within twenty-four hours by one of our representatives. You can send that out first and work on the current ones after that. You can discuss any issues they’re having with me and if I can’t help, I’ll let you know whom you can forward the email to. It sounds time-consuming, but it’s not too bad once you get used to it.” She shook her head.
“That sounds like an all-day project to me,” she murmured as I smiled and placed my hand on her lower back, stroking her gently. My cock hardened as I felt her heat and smelled her scent, making me want her right now. This was becoming so much more than crossing off a name on a list. She turned to look at me. “What else will I be doing?”
“We’ll work together on various things. I am a busy man here.” I stared into her eyes as Vivian licked her lips slowly, blue eyes stormy as she met my gaze.
We went on to complete the training. Afterwards, I showed her to her office, watching her look around before she walked to the window. It offered another incredible view.
I went out to lunch, letting Vivian adjust to her new working environment. I asked if she wanted me to bring her back anything, but she shook her head and thanked me. I left to meet with some of the top employees of the company to discuss strategy. Vivian and I were going to dinner tonight under the guise of business, even though I knew that it had nothing to do with work. I just wanted her alone in a good setting where we could talk and catch up, maybe with some wine and candlelight. I wanted to woo her. This was more of an effort than I’d taken with other women but I sensed that Vivian was closed off somehow. It would take some time to earn her trust and I wondered who hurt her so badly to make her walls be up this high.
I returned after lunch and took her around the building with me while I took care of some things before it was five and her shift ended. I asked her if she wanted me to pick her up at home for the dinner but Vivian hesitated as she looked at me.
“Where do you live?” I asked her. She looked at me shyly.
“Brooklyn. I wasn’t planning on going home beforehand. It doesn’t really make sense to be home for a few minutes only to leave again.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I had my driver bring me in today. Want to leave a little early and have a drink at the restaurant?”
She considered the offer before she nodded. “Sure. Is that what the others are going to do?”
Shit. She thought this was a group dinner. “I’m not sure but we’ll find out,” I mumbled. She gave me a curious look and reached for her purse as she shut down the computer. I let her walk out of the office first, staring at her gorgeous ass. I closed her door a little too loudly and then locked mine for the night.
Others were leaving as well as we walked towards the elevator. There was a lot of chatter about the upcoming weekend and events that were happening, but Vivian remained quiet and just looked around with a sense of awe in her eyes. It seemed like she hadn’t experienced the city properly yet since she’d moved here. How come? There were enough young people around here to go out with and have a good time. I knew that was the first thing I did when I arrived here.
I opened the door to my limo as she parted her lips in a smile, sliding in as I followed. “You are rich, aren’t you?”
“I made my money through hard work, Vivian. You know where I came from.” She nodded. We pulled away from the curb and she looked at the city as we drove, caught up in the lights and action. “Have you been around the city much?” I asked. She shook her head and turned her face away from me.
She was silent when we walked into the restaurant. She slipped the sweater off to reveal her curves which got me hard instantly. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and walked to the front to tell them my name. The black-haired girl gave me a long look as she gathered up two menus. She handed them to a waitress who was taking me in openly. But I had only eyes for Vivian tonight. We walked through the intimate, low-lit dining room to a table in the back of the room near a fireplace. It was a small table and Vivian looked at me with accusatory eyes. “Nobody else is coming, are they?”
I just stared back at her as she sighed.
“I’m not going out with you, Carter. This is just a job.” Vivian looked past me and shook her head as a hint of resolve burned in her eyes.
I leaned in closely after we’d ordered some wine and described to her everything that I had done to her before and that I wanted to repeat. I described some of my favorite activities as she blushed furiously. I had a good idea of what she liked from before and there was so much more to do now that I was older and more experienced.
Chapter 7 - Vivian
I looked at Carter as he spoke, remembering the things we used to do. God, he was digging so deep into my soul as he spoke and my body reacted strongly. I felt my nipples harden and ache as I sipped the wine. I looked around the place as he kept talking, so sure of himself and his performance as he described a particularly erotic act. It was such an upscale, romantic restaurant but he was making it dirty and I pressed my thighs together.
He told me how he was going to suck on my clit and I sucked in my breath and reached for my water. I needed a break and I looked to the back to see where the bathrooms we
re. “Excuse me. I need to use the ladies room,” I told him breathlessly as I pushed back from the table. I’d been turned on all day being with him and I needed some relief.
I looked around the room as I walked, turning my head to see Carter watching me. I shivered when he smiled at me with a knowing look in his eyes.
Why did I wear this dress? I was caught up in a memory and it was stupid. I looked around the restaurant as I faced forward, seeing couple and groups laughing and talking. They looked like they belonged here in this city. I questioned whether I did.
I walked into the huge bathroom, seeing a lobby area with couches and tables. Shaking my head, I walked through it and found another room with several stalls. I made my way to one in the back, locking the door as I sat down on the toilet seat.
It smelled like peaches in here. I frowned as I ran my hands up my thighs, over the dress. I was so turned on and getting needy about it. His voice when he described what he wanted to do to me touched me deep inside and I played back the moment when he walked into that room for the interview.
Carter was always gorgeous, but the years had made him a man. He seemed to be taller and in the best shape, I’d ever seen him in. That was saying a lot since he used to play hockey. He had become a confident and playful man. I sensed that there was a sweet person underneath this flirtatious exterior, or maybe I just wanted him to be that way.
I leaned back and slid my dress up as I gave in to my desire. I spread my legs wide and listened for anyone else in the room. My hand slipped under the lace of my underwear. It was drenched and I sighed as I found my hard clit, ready for all of Carter’s carnal promises. I stroked myself as liquid slid down my inner thigh and I felt the pressure building inside of me. Oh, God.
I played his voice in my mind as I touched and stroked my core. I felt myself nearing the edge as I remembered the last time we were together. It ripped my insides apart when he left and once I knew that I was carrying his baby, I broke inside. I knew that I wouldn’t want another man for a long time, if ever. I was done.
The Boss’s Secret Baby Page 3
