Behind Closed Doors

by Anna Stone

  Emma walked into the new office of Lillian White & Associates. Renovations had just finished, and everything looked modern and new, but not in a sterile way like AG&W had. It was much smaller, and nowhere near the top floor of the building, but it was still impressive.

  Bridget sat at the reception desk typing away, the phone balanced on one shoulder. She smiled at Emma as she passed. When Emma had told her that Lillian was her girlfriend and they’d been having a secret relationship, Bridget had almost fainted. That juicy bit of gossip had almost eclipsed all the other drama that had come with AG&W’s downfall.

  It was just over a month since Lillian had confronted Avery. Lillian had been true to her word. She’d continued working at AG&W for two weeks after the incident and had resigned right on schedule. What Avery didn’t know at the time was that Lillian had been working behind the scenes to set up her new firm, and she’d convinced several her loyal clients to come with her.

  The loss of Lillian’s clients hit AG&W hard. When it became clear just how much trouble AG&W was in, Browne and Associates rescinded their offer of a merger, and the firm went under. It was a ruthless move on Lillian’s part. But, in her words, AG&W was rotten to the core. Their demise was inevitable—Lillian had just helped it along.

  Emma continued through to the offices. The desks were empty, save for Stuart, the new head of IT, who was setting up the computers. In a week’s time when the firm opened, it would be filled with all of Lillian’s employees, most of whom had worked at AG&W. After AG&W went under, Lillian had been more than happy to provide them with jobs. Lillian had poured everything she owned into this new firm. She needed all the help she could get if she wanted it to be successful

  Emma herself had turned down the job that Lillian had found her in order to work at Lillian’s firm. But what Emma hasn’t told Lillian yet was that she had other plans. All the craziness of the past few months had forced Emma to take a good, hard look at her life. She didn’t want to work in a law firm forever, especially not one as hectic as Lillian’s. Emma wanted to find her passion, just like Lillian had. And she couldn’t do that while working for her girlfriend.

  She made her way to Lillian’s office. The door was ajar, and the room was empty. Lillian had told Emma she would be in the office all day, so she couldn’t have gone far. Emma sat down in front of Lillian’s desk and placed the bag she was carrying on the table. Her eyes fell on Lillian’s chair. She wondered what Lillian would do if she returned to her office and found Emma sitting behind her desk. She tried to push the thought aside. Emma was here to tell Lillian her news, not to play games with her.

  But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t do both. A naughty plan began to form in Emma’s mind.

  A moment later, Lillian walked into the room, her phone held up to her ear in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. She wore a dark pantsuit, and her stylish blonde bob practically shone. Emma still wasn’t used to Lillian’s new hairstyle, but she liked it much better than that strict bun Lillian used to sport every day.

  “If you insist on taking this case to trial, that’s fine with me,” Lillian said. “But there isn’t a judge in this whole damn city who’s going to believe your client’s story. So I suggest that you convince him to agree to mediation, or we’ll counter-sue for the emotional distress that this ridiculous lawsuit has caused my client!” Without waiting for a response, Lillian hung up the phone.

  She sat down in her chair and placed the coffee cup on her desk. Without saying a word, she beckoned Emma to her side, then pulled Emma into her lap for a deep, steamy kiss.

  Emma exhaled slowly. “Wow. What was that for?”

  “Do I need a reason to kiss my girlfriend?” Lillian asked.

  “You do if you’re going to kiss me like that.”

  “I’m in a good mood,” Lillian said. “Everything's coming together. The office is ready ahead of schedule. I finally convinced the representative of that class-action suit to continue working with me here. And to top it off, I’ve just heard that Avery was taken into custody.”

  “Really?” Emma asked. “Didn’t you say that there wasn’t enough evidence to make the charges stick?”

  “There wasn’t,” Lillian said. “Not initially. But I’ve been in contact with a private investigator I used on some of my cases. I told him all about what happened. It turns out that PIs don’t like when one of their own breaks the law for money. He tracked down the PI Avery hired. It turns out Avery wasn’t the only client he was doing dirty work for. My PI placed an anonymous tip and had him arrested. He confessed to performing illegal work for Avery, as well as several others, in exchange for a shorter sentence. His confession is more than enough to get Avery charged.”

  “That’s amazing,” Emma said. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll retaliate?”

  “No,” Lillian replied. “Avery isn’t that kind of man. He was just desperate. But when someone as powerful and arrogant as him gets desperate, people get hurt. I wasn’t going to let him get away with what he did.”

  Emma remembered the bag on the desk. “I brought you lunch. I thought you could use a home-cooked meal.” Emma and Lillian had been spending plenty of time together now that their relationship was out in the open. And Emma had quickly learned that Lillian didn’t know how to cook, which explained her diet of takeout and coffee. It was amusing that someone as together as Lillian was so hopeless in certain areas of her life.

  “It smells delicious,” Lillian said. “You’re spoiling me.”

  “I have an ulterior motive,” Emma replied. “I wanted to have lunch with you.”

  “Sure. But first, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

  “Right. My mom called. She invited us to come down for Thanksgiving.”

  “That sounds… lovely,” Lillian said.

  “Don’t worry, I made her promise she won’t give you the third degree again.”

  It turned out that her mother’s interest in Emma’s romantic life hadn’t ended with her last relationship. Once she’d come to terms with the fact that Emma and Lillian were a couple, Emma’s mom had become so heavily invested that it was only a matter of time before she started asking when the two of them were getting married. Although Lillian didn’t say anything, Emma suspected she was intimidated by it all.

  “Tell her I said I’d love to,” Lillian said.

  “Okay,” Emma said. “But that’s not all I wanted to tell you. I know I said that I’d come work for you here, but I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Is that all? I was worried that it was something serious.”

  “You’re not disappointed?” Emma asked.

  “Of course not. I am going to miss having you around all day, but I’ll live. So why can’t you work for me? It sounds like you have something else in mind.”

  “I do,” Emma said. “I’ve finally figured out what I want to do with my life. I want to be a social worker. I’ve spent so much of my life caring for others. Over the last few months, I’ve started to miss it.”

  “Is that why you’re constantly trying to mother me?” Lillian teased.

  “I’m serious, Lillian. Whether it’s because of my family situation or not, I have this innate desire to help people, to support them. It’s what I’m good at, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “That sounds like the perfect career for you. You’ll make a wonderful social worker.”

  “Thanks. I’ve been looking into the requirements, and with community college under my belt, it will only take me two years to get my degree.” Emma said. “And you’ll be happy to know I’ve already found a replacement legal assistant. Her name is Jean, and she has fifteen years’ experience working as a legal secretary, and a long list of glowing references. She can start on Monday. And she always uses Oxford commas.”

  “She sounds perfect. You always know exactly what I need.”

  “That’s why you love me.”

  “Among other reasons,” Lillian said, kissing her again.

  “You
know…” Emma peered at Lillian from under her eyelashes and gave the other woman her sultriest smile. “I’m going to miss working for you. Sneaking away, getting all hot and heavy in that fancy bathroom of yours. Calling you Ms. White.”

  A blue-hot flame sparked behind Lillian’s eyes. “You can still call me Ms. White. And there isn’t anywhere to sneak away to here. But I have this perfectly good office.”

  Emma’s pulse began to race, and her eyes fixed on Lillian’s. She got up from Lillian’s lap, pushed her laptop aside, and sat down on top of the desk. “What are you suggesting, Ms. White?”

  Lillian got up from her chair and seized Emma by the waist, positioning herself between Emma’s knees. She leaned in close, her lips tickling Emma’s ear. “I’m suggesting that I’m going to fuck you on my desk.”

  Lillian’s words flooded Emma’s body with heat. She pressed her lips to Lillian’s, devouring her. Lillian drew Emma in, kissing her back with the force of her entire body. She stripped Emma’s jacket from her shoulders and swept her hands up Emma’s sides, all the way from her hips up to her breasts.

  Emma broke the kiss. “What if someone comes in?”

  “Do you want me to stop?” Lillian asked, her hands creeping up Emma’s thigh underneath her dress.

  “No, don’t stop.”

  Lillian tugged at the straps of Emma’s dress, drawing them down her shoulders along with her bra straps. She pushed the bra and dress down Emma’s chest, exposing her breasts to the cool air. Lillian leaned down and covered one of Emma’s pebbled nipples with her mouth, dragging her tongue over it, then sucking firmly. Emma let out a cry.

  Lillian pressed a finger to Emma’s lips. “Do you want the whole office to hear us?” she asked.

  Emma shook her head.

  “Then don’t make a sound,” Lillian whispered.

  Emma nodded.

  Lillian continued to lavish attention on Emma’s breasts, her hands and mouth working in tandem. Emma swallowed her moans until they began to build up in her chest.

  “Lillian,” she said softly, “I need you.”

  Lillian straightened up and pushed Emma’s shoulders down toward the desk. Emma propped herself up on her elbows and watched as Lillian ran her hands down to the hem of her dress. Her eyes never leaving Emma’s, Lillian pushed Emma’s dress up her thighs.

  Emma lifted her hips, allowing Lillian to peel off her panties. Lillian dropped them on the floor at her feet, then yanked Emma’s hips toward her, sliding her bare ass along the desk until she was right at the edge of it. Lillian bent over and kissed Emma, her thigh pressing hard between Emma’s legs. She glided her hands down Emma’s stomach slowly.

  “Lillian,” Emma said. “I need you.”

  Lillian pushed Emma’s knees apart and traced her hands up Emma’s inner thighs slowly.

  “Lillian, please.”

  Lillian parted Emma’s lips and stroked her silky folds.

  Emma quivered. “Lillian…”

  Slowly, Lillian slipped her fingers inside Emma and began to plunge them in and out. Emma purred with delight. Her fingers still working away, Lillian bent over and stuck her head between Emma’s thighs. She snaked her tongue down to Emma’s nub, licking, sucking, flicking.

  “Oh god…” Emma writhed on the desk, her hands scrabbling at the wood desktop, the fire deep within her growing stronger.

  “Lillian.” Emma straightened up and lifted Lillian’s face back up to kiss her. She wanted Lillian inside her, and against her, and all around her at once.

  Lillian drew Emma close with her free hand. Emma wrapped her thighs around Lillian’s hips, clinging onto Lillian’s shoulders as she speared, harder, faster, deeper. They lost themselves in a haze of passion, their bodies becoming indistinguishable from each other.

  “Lillian…” Emma’s pleasure crested, then surged through her whole body. She bucked against Lillian, riding out the swift, relentless orgasm. Lillian smothered Emma’s wild cry with her lips.

  Emma’s body stilled, and her grip on Lillian’s blouse loosened, but she didn’t let go. Lillian didn’t stop kissing her until both of them had to come up for air.

  A contented murmur arose from Emma’s chest. “I’ve changed my mind,” Emma said. “I don’t want to stop working for you anymore. Not if it means more of this.”

  Lillian smiled. “Don’t say that, or I’ll be tempted to keep you here, all to myself, forever.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if you did,” Emma said. “Keep me forever, I mean.”

  Lillian planted a light, lingering kiss on Emma’s lips. “Emma,” she said. “I’m never, ever going to let you go.”

  Epilogue

  Emma

  Emma left the hospital after the first day of her new job. She’d spent the past two years cramming in all the required coursework so that she could get her degree, and as of this morning, she was officially employed as a social worker at one of the biggest hospitals in the city. Today had mostly been orientation and paperwork. She couldn’t wait to start for real.

  As Emma walked to her car, she took her phone out of her purse. She hadn’t looked at it since lunchtime. Sure enough, there was a message from Lillian.

  I hope your first day is going well. Let me know when you’re on your way home, it read. The message had been sent an hour ago.

  I’m leaving now, Emma wrote back. Surely Lillian would still be at work. Why?

  Lillian’s reply was instant. I thought we could celebrate your first day. See you soon.

  Emma smiled. She rarely got to spend the whole evening with Lillian on a weeknight. Lillian’s firm was booming, and she’d picked up some pro-bono work, so she had her hands full. Emma didn’t mind. Seeing how happy Lillian’s work made her was enough for Emma. And Lillian more than made up for it on weekends, which she reserved for the two of them.

  She wondered what Lillian had planned. An evening out at a nice restaurant? A night at home, cuddling on the couch and watching movies? Either would have made her happy. She was a woman of simple pleasures. All that mattered was that Lillian was with her.

  A half hour in traffic later, Emma reached their apartment. The two of them had moved in together soon after Lillian had opened her firm. Emma parked her car and rode the elevator up to their apartment.

  She unlocked the door and opened it wide. “Lillian? I’m home.”

  She looked through the doorway and gasped. The lights were off, the hallway lit by what had to be a hundred candles. At her feet was a trail of pink, white, and red rose petals leading to their bedroom. Emma followed it, looking around in awe as she walked.

  She crossed into their bedroom. At the end of the trail of petals was a ring of candles. And standing in the middle of it was Lillian. Emma’s heart fluttered. She felt exactly like she had the moment Lillian had walked into her office on her first day at AG&W.

  “Lillian? What’s all this?” Emma asked.

  “This is me showing you how much I love you,” Lillian said. “This is me telling you that I want to be with you forever. This is me giving you that fairytale ending you deserve.”

  “Lillian…”

  Lillian got down on one knee and took Emma’s hand. With her other hand, she produced a small silver diamond ring.

  “Will you marry me, Emma?”

  Emma’s heart stopped. “Is that…” She looked at the ring between Lillian’s fingers. “Is that my mom’s wedding ring?”

  Lillian nodded.

  “How?”

  “She gave it to me months ago. She wanted you to have it.”

  “My dad gave that to her.” All at once, Emma’s emotions began to overflow. Tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Emma?” Lillian stood up and took Emma’s hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Emma let out a sob. “I’m not upset. I’m happy. It’s perfect.”

  “Is that a yes, then?”

  Emma laughed. “Of course, Lillian. Yes.”

  With a smile, Lillian slipped the ring
on Emma’s finger.

  Emma sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I must look like a mess right now.”

  “You look beautiful.” Lillian reached out and wiped away a tear from Emma’s cheek. “As always.”

  “You’re my girlfriend. You have to say that.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m your fiancée. And I’m just being honest.”

  “I’m your fiancée…” Emma looked at the ring on her finger in disbelief. “We’re getting married! And you did all of this?” She gestured at the candles and rose petals on the floor. “It’s so perfect.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” Lillian said. “I wondered if it was too cliché.”

  “It’s very cliché. But that’s why I love it.” Emma kissed Lillian on the lips.

  “Now we have another reason to celebrate tonight. I made a reservation for two at that Italian place you love. Unless you’d rather stay in?”

  Emma shook her head. “Let’s go out.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Lillian said. “Why hide you away when I can show you off to the whole world?”

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  About the Author

  Anna Stone writes lesbian romance. Her novels are equal parts steamy and sweet.

  When she's not writing, Anna can be found browsing thrift stores and markets, or lazing around on the beach with a book.

  Anna currently lives on the east coast of Australia with her girlfriend and their two cats.