A Valentine for Two

by Lia Davis

  My mother, Rita, stood up and kissed both of my cheeks as I entered. Mom had adapted well to this billionaire lifestyle, wearing a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and carrying a Burberry bag. Her hair was the pale blonde I used to covet and her wrinkles had been either removed by botox or covered with some high-end makeup. People sometimes mistook us for sisters – or perhaps that was just their way of sucking up to her. I chose to believe the latter.

  “Hi mom,” I said, kissing her back. “And hi, daddy.”

  I hugged my father as well before sitting down.

  “So, how'd it go?” he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

  That was my dad, all business, all the time. That isn't to say he didn't also have some fun and cut loose from time to time – but it was increasingly rare. Running a company as successful as his required him to keep the fun on the back burner most of the time. He couldn't help it and he couldn't switch it off. It just seemed crazy to me to spend so much time amassing this fortune – and then not know how to enjoy it.

  “Charles, let the girl catch her breath first,” my mom scolded playfully.

  “It's fine,” I said, trying to recall the conversation I'd prepared in my head. “I just left there, so I don't even know if I got it and all – ”

  “Of course you got it, sweetheart,” dad said with a laugh. “Why wouldn't you? You're incredibly well qualified and the fact that you're well connected to the man in charge of hiring sure doesn't hurt your chances any.”

  “Uhh well,” I said, deciding to take a drink from my water glass as I re-worked the speech in my head on the fly. “You can never be so sure about anything, you know? A lot of people would kill to work for Weston Enterprises. A lot of bright people. A lot of really well qualified people. I think it would be arrogant of me to assume that the job was mine for the taking simply because I used to babysit for Mr. Weston.”

  “But none of those well qualified people are my daughter,” my father said with a knowing grin. “And the fact that you did babysit for Dom certainly can't do anything but help you.”

  “Don't worry, dear,” my mom said, taking my hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I'm sure you did just fine.”

  I decided to scrap my plan and toss out any speech I may have thought up. Instead, I chose to smile and deflect. I thought that was the safest route and just wished the conversation would go away. Thinking back on the epic failure of my interview was only making me more and more upset at myself. So I tried to change the subject. Again and again.

  I did my best to keep the conversation away from the interview as much as possible, even deciding against relaying Dominic's message to my father just to avoid bringing it up again. I was afraid to even utter his name for fear of having to talk about how terrible that interview had all gone down.

  My father looked down at his phone and frowned. “Speak of the devil,” he said, sounding surprised. “It's Dominic.”

  “Answer it, dear. It could be about the interview,” my mom said.

  I stuffed some chips and salsa into my mouth to avoided looking at my father and having to speak. He normally would have excused himself and stepped away from the table for any phone conversations – or just not answered at all while we were out. But he took the call right there to my dismay. Because, of course he did.

  “What in the hell do you want, old man?” my dad said, smiling and laughing at his own taunts. “Yeah, she's right here. Why? Do you want to talk to her?”

  I tried not to choke on my chips and contemplated stuffing even more of them into my mouth so I had an excuse to not talk to him.

  Dad turned to me and said, “He's been trying to reach you, but said your phone must be off.”

  My eyes grew wide and I had to remind myself to keep my mouth shut for fear of having a pile of half-chewed tortilla chips fall out. I'd put it on silent during the interview, of course. Pulling it out of my bag, I saw that I had two missed calls and a voicemail from Dominic.

  “No, go ahead, tell me what you want to say,” he said. “I can put you on speakerphone, hold on.”

  Oh God. What in the hell was going on here! Was my utter humiliation about to become public? Were my parents about to find out just how badly I'd bombed the interview? Wonderful. That was just my luck.

  “Dad, I don't think – ”

  But it was too late. Dominic's voice was now on speakerphone.

  “Oh Dominic, it's great to hear your voice,” my mom purred. “It's been too long. How are the kids?”

  “They're doing well,” he said. “Charlotte is enjoying the east coast, but she talks about coming back home for the holidays. And Xavier is in that rebellious stage.”

  “Ahhh, so you forgave your daughter for picking NYU finally?” my dad joked.

  Charlotte didn't want to follow in her father's footsteps, much to his dismay. Instead, she chose to study something more creative. We lost touch shortly after she'd gone away to school, what with her being too cool to keep talking to me once she was in college and I was still a senior in high school and all. Not that there wasn't some small part of me that was bitter about it or anything.

  I wasn't listening to the small talk, though. My brain was focused on what Dominic probably called to talk to me about. He seemed to be avoiding the conversation as well. Not that I blamed him. Which told me that he was calling for the very reason I feared he was calling – to tell me I'd bombed the interview in epic fashion and would not be getting the job. Great, thanks for that.

  “So tell me, Dominic, enough chit-chat and bullshit,” my father said. “When does Eve start the new job?”

  I covered my face with my hand as I felt my cheeks flush, just wanting to get away from all of this.

  “I was hoping she could start tomorrow, if possible,” Dominic responded.

  Wait, what? I peeked over my hand, positive that I hadn't heard him correctly.

  “Tomorrow?” I sputtered and finally managed to croak.

  “Is that too soon?” Dominic asked.

  My father answered for me. “Of course not. This girl is a go-getter,” he beamed. “Besides, what else do you have to do tomorrow, Eve?”

  Since returning to Newport Beach, the truth was, I didn't have a whole lot to do. I didn't have a life. No boyfriend. No friends, since most of them either moved away for college or stayed and got into the party scene – something I had no interest in, myself.

  I just sat there almost too stunned to move. I was beyond surprised that I got the job, all things considered.

  “Tomorrow is perfect,” I muttered.

  “Good,” Dominic said. “I'll see you then. You'll be working alongside me, of course, so let's meet at my place. Most of the work will be done from my home office since you'll be shadowing and assisting me.”

  I was practically speechless. I'd be working from Dominic's house. Alongside him. Alone. Xavier would be in school most of the day and Charlotte was all the way in New York City. It would just be me and him. Alone. With the memories of what had happened in his home office – on that desk – still floating through each of our minds. Or at least, figuring prominently in mine, anyway.

  Was that why I'd gotten the job? Because he wanted to take his desk for another test drive? Or more accurately, take me for another test drive on that desk?

  All of my teenage dreams had come true, but I sat there, frozen in terror.

  I'd be spending a lot of time with the undeniably sexy, irresistible and charming Dominic Weston.

  And somehow, I was supposed to focus on actually working.

  Somehow.

  Chapter Four

  EVE

  It was my first day on the job, and I was early, of course. Possibly a bit too early since Xavier hadn't even left for school yet. Lupita answered the door, but Xavier was standing behind her to greet me, a smile on his face stretched from ear to ear.

  “Wow, is that really you, Xavier?” I asked, laughing at what used to be a scrawny kid. “Where's the tiny kid I remember babysitting for?�
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  I ruffled his hair just like old times, but he didn't look as amused by the gesture as he used to be. Time most definitely changes a great many things.

  “Are you thirteen? Fourteen now?” I asked.

  “Just turned fourteen last month,” he said.

  “That's right,” I said. “I'm sorry I missed that, kiddo.”

  “I'm not a kid anymore, Evie.”

  “And I'm not Evie anymore. It's Eve.”

  “Yeah, dad told me.”

  As if speaking his name somehow summoned him, Dominic poked his head out from the kitchen. “Hey, Xavier? You getting your butt to school or what?”

  Xavier groaned, but he walked outside where their driver was waiting without another word.

  “I'll see you around, kiddo,” I teased.

  He turned back and shot me a look of death, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. “It's good to see you again, Eve,” he said before climbing into the backseat of the car.

  I found myself staring off into space and thinking about all the time that had passed us by, oblivious to the fact that Dominic had walked up and was standing beside me.

  “They grow up so damn fast, don't they?” he murmured.

  I jumped at the sound of his voice – and then started again at the proximity of his body to mine. He was standing close – really close. And he smelled so damn good. I cleared my throat and tried to get my head on straight.

  “I still picture him as a little boy playing with Hot Wheels,” I said. “Where did the time go?”

  “You tell me,” Dominic said, giving me a sideways glance. “He's not the only one who's grown up, you know.”

  There was something in his eyes – perhaps a wisp of the memories that we shared. It was almost as if in that moment, he realized I – like Xavier – had grown up a lot in the last four years.

  I stood up tall and proud, but my smile was more shy and reserved. I tried not to blush, but it was hard sometimes, especially around a man you'd crushed on for as long as you could remember. Every time I looked at him, I remembered that night – the way his muscles glistened with sweat as he pounded himself into me, the way he'd felt inside of me. I was a virgin and oh god it had hurt – but not for long. After my body had adjusted to him, it felt so good.

  And truth be told, I'd yet to find a man who made me feel the way he had that night.

  “I'm heading to the store after I drop Xavier at school,” Lupita called out to us from the car. “Do you need anything?”

  We both turned away from one another, and I knew I'd felt guilty just staring at Dominic and prayed it didn't show on my face. Lupita was standing there with her purse in hand.

  “It's time for the weekly shopping,” she said. “I have the list you gave me, but wasn't sure if there were any last minute additions?”

  “No, but thank you for asking, Lupita,” Dominic said.

  I noticed he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye when he spoke. He looked like the kid who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar and it made me wonder if he too, was having naughty thoughts about me. About that night we'd shared.

  Lupita was leaving, which meant that no one else would be in the house for a while. Just me and him. For some reason, the idea excited me more than it should have. Not that anything could happen, not again. We most certainly couldn't let it. This was a professional relationship now, after all.

  But somewhere in the back of my mind, I was still hopeful.

  And not for the first time, I realized that this job was going to be really difficult if I couldn't stop thinking about fucking my boss.

  Chapter Five

  DOMINIC

  As much as I hated to admit it, it wasn't Xavier who'd talked me into hiring Eve. It wasn't even the fear of telling her father I didn't hire her that had made me do it – because honestly, I would always do what was best for my business. And Eve was good. She was a damn good fit for this job.

  But even that wasn't the reason I'd decided to hire her.

  My actual reason was much more primal, more forbidden and a hell of a lot more dangerous.

  As we stood there in awkward silence, watching Lupita drive away, I couldn't stop the guilt from consuming me. It was overwhelming and suffocating. But something I was going to have to learn to live with.

  “Mr. Weston – ”

  “Dominic,” I corrected her.

  She gave me a sheepish grin, but nodded. “Fine then, Dominic – is there anything you'd like me to do?”

  As I turned my attention back to her, the only answer I could think of in that moment involved “getting down on your knees,” but I didn't say that. Couldn't say that. Instead, I took in her beauty. The way her skirt hugged her hips, and her blouse puckered at her breasts – they had to be at least C cups by the look of them. Larger than before. I'd meant it when I'd said she'd filled out. Nicely.

  But it was more than just her body that captivated me.

  Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds, her reddish brown hair brought out the freckles dotting her nose, and of course her perfect cupid's bow pout that just begged to be kissed.

  “Dominic?” she asked again, this time laughing.

  Shaking myself out my temporary stupor, I said, “Yes?”

  “You never answered my question,” she said. “What should I be doing? I'm here to work, I don't want to start off on the wrong foot or anything.”

  “You could never start off on the wrong foot, Eve,” I said softly.

  I could feel the erection growing in my pants, pressing against the zipper painfully. I closed my eyes, tried to think of anything – anything at all besides the gorgeous woman standing in front of me. Though that was exceedingly difficult. To say the least.

  But I went through some financial calculations in my head, figuring out stock prices for the day and what I had to do with that information. And that seemed to do the trick. I could feel the swelling in my groin going down, so I opened my eyes and decided to face her again.

  But she'd stepped closer to me, close enough that I could smell her. She smelled like jasmine and orange blossoms, a delightfully sweet and musky scent that seemed to fit her well. Sexy, but sweet. Just like her.

  She stared up at me with those big doe eyes, and that's when I noticed that the first few buttons of her shirt had been left open, giving me a view of her cleavage. My gaze fell upon her breasts and once again, I felt myself growing hard.

  Was she playing games with me? Was she trying to arouse me? She stared up at me with a wide-eyed innocence and it was hard to believe she planned any of this. Yet, she was standing so close to me. Too close for comfort if we expected to get any work done at all.

  “Oh yes, let's go to my office,” I said, clearing my throat. I turned away from her, but her scent lingered in my nose and I couldn't deny that I enjoyed it quite a bit. “We can get started in there.”

  Eve followed me without saying a word, and as we entered my office, she shut the door behind her. She smiled at me, a coy look on her face.

  “What?” I asked her, feeling myself smiling as well.

  “Oh nothing,” she said, eyeing me with that expression of innocence while nibbling on her lower lip.

  Her face turned bright pink, and without her saying a word, I knew exactly what she was thinking. Probably because the same thoughts weren't far from my own mind.

  “Maybe we should address the elephant in the room,” I said, steeling myself for what I assumed would be an awkward conversation. “Yes, I remember what happened in here that night. And no, I don't regret it Eve, but – ”

  I started to say “but it can't ever happen again” but I stopped myself. I don't know why, but I did. I just couldn't bring myself to speak those words. Perhaps it was a shred of hope still burning within me.

  “I remember it too,” she said softly. “In fact, I think about it a lot.”

  For some reason, that surprised me. A pretty young thing like her recalling a night with an old man so long ago? She
was bound to have men throwing themselves at her. Younger men, men more in her age range.

  “You do?” I asked softly.

  “Of course I do, Dominic. I mean, I've had a crush on you ever since I was a teenager. Back then, it had always been one of my biggest fantasies to be with you.” She seemed surprised to be admitting that, but she continued, as if she couldn't stop now that she'd gotten started. “I mean, since we're being open and honest about everything, I felt like I should disclose that. Besides, I assumed you knew.”

  “I knew you had a schoolgirl crush on me, sure, but I didn't know how far it actually went.”

  “Oh, it went very far, Dominic,” she laughed. Her hair was down today and it fell over her shoulders in soft tendrils as she laughed. “And to put your mind at ease, I enjoyed myself and never regretted what happened either. I enjoyed myself very much actually.”

  That was it. I was developing the worst case of blue balls in history. I tried to steady myself, tried to take my mind off of Eve, but it was too much. I just knew I'd wake up from this dream at any moment to find out it was nothing but a wet dream. But alas, no. This was real.

  This was real life.

  And Eve had just admitted to me that not only had she enjoyed fucking me, she had always wanted it too. All these years, I'd worried that I'd taken advantage of this sweet girl. Had been little better than a sexual predator. And yet, there she was, being open and honest, allowing me to release all of that guilt at last.

  Chapter Six

  EVE

  I didn't know why I'd said the things I did to him. But I had to admit, it was nice getting it off my chest after so long. All these years, I'd wondered if Dominic regretted what happened between us. I worried that it was just some drunken mistake he'd made. Something he'd try to push away and never think about again.