"I don't understand why you seem upset," Shawn says. "If you don't like the watch — ""I don't like the sex," I cut him off. "I mean, I don't want us to have sex anymore."His eyebrows arch. I stand up."Tonight was the last time," I tell him with a voice that I try to keep from quivering. "When we get back to Chicago, I'll just be your assistant. And your friend. We'll carry on as before. We'll pretend we never had sex, and we never will again.""Never?"I swallow and try to keep a straight face. "Not even when we go out of town or out of the country."Shawn's eyebrows drop. His expression turns serious as he falls silent.Is he upset? Why doesn't he try to change my mind, then? Why won't he say anything?"Do you understand?" I ask him."Yes." Shawn answers. "I understand perfectly."No, he doesn't. He has no clue I'm breaking into pieces right now. And it's better to leave it that way.He doesn't really care about me anyway. Not in the way I care for him. "Good."I walk to the bathr
"Welcome back, son," my father greets me from the top of the stairs.I look at him. I haven't even been at home for ten seconds and he's already showed up. It would be nice if this was a warm welcome, but I know that's not the case."Everything went well," I report to him. "We have Odermatt Corp."It may not have gone according to plan, but in the end, we were able to get the result we wanted, thanks to Ryker and Asher's presentations, the strings I pulled to get the missing files back, and Simone Odermatt's full cooperation.I was able to get the result I wanted."Odermatt signed the papers?" Dad asks as he starts to descend."Yes, but there is still more paperwork to be done before everything becomes final and official," I answer.My father reaches the bottom of the stairs. "But you have the program files?""Yes."I already have them in a secure location."And you're sure no one else has a copy of them? Like Preston or West Cove?"I let out a breath. I should have known my father al
Or so I thought. But I was wrong.I can pretend that I never had sex with Felicity, but I can't forget about it.It's been a week since we got back from Switzerland, and yet each time she walks into my office, all I can think of is how amazing she looked in bed. Or on the couch. Or in the shower.Like right now.Fuck.Why did I agree never to have sex with her again? I can't remember."Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave, sir?" she asks.Sir. She's been calling me that since we came back, even more than before we left for Switzerland. Why? To remind me about our agreement? Of the fact that I can't have her?If only I could."Let me check," I say as I go through the papers on my desk. In truth, I'm just stalling because I don't want her to leave.Anything else she can do for me? She can climb onto my lap and let me kiss her. Or kneel beneath my desk and suck me off. Or let me lift that burgundy dress of hers and fuck her on top of my desk.Damn it, Shawn. Are you a s
I want Shawn. I want him not just as my boss or my lover but as my boyfriend, my husband. I want to be by his side not just at work. I want to fall asleep on his shoulder after a longconversation every night and wake up next to him every morning.I want him in my life.That's why I couldn't help but ask if he was fine. I couldn't stop myself from talking to him even though I said I wasn't ready for the chats we used to have. And when he gave me that unexpected compliment, when he looked at me like he wanted to fuck me, I nearly threw myself at him.I slap my forehead as I lie down on my bed."Oh, Felicity, what are you going to do?"Seriously, I don't know. I don't know what I can do. But I know this: I can't keep crying every night.I sit up and pull out a few sheets of tissue from the box on the nightstand. As I blow my nose, my gaze falls on the box of chocolates from that shop in Zurich.I wasn't lying when I said I haven't eaten all of them. In fact, I've only been eating one pi
I can't believe Felicity has moved on to another guy.I gulp down my Scotch, hoping it will burn the image of Felicity flirting with a guy in a bar out of my head. Or at least blur it. It doesn't. I set my empty glass down with a thud, my temper still glossing over.Fuck.I dropped by her apartment because I was worried about her. I was afraid she'd be feeling lonely again, crying while scribbling in her journal or staring at the picture of her dead parents. I was just going to check on her but then I saw her coming out of the building. She looked like she was in a hurry.She hailed a cab around the corner. I had my driver follow it. Five minutes later, she got off in front of a bar. I got even more curious.I thought Felicity didn't go to bars.I follow her inside, half expecting to see her sitting alone at the bar. To my surprise, she's at a table with four other people — two women and two men. I'm only interested in the man she's talking to. Tall, with dark hair just like me but wi
Where are we?I follow Shawn past a pair of doors and find myself in a luxurious space with crystal chandeliers hanging from a high ceiling and red velvet curtains on the fringes of huge glass windows that look out into the city. The carpet that covers the floor is red as well, but a deeper shade.At first, I think it's a restaurant because I spot a man in coattails and white gloves with a silver tray, but then I realize that the chairs are not arranged around tables like in a dining area.Rather, there are small round tables in between large, cozy armchairs, some with lamps perched on them. There are also low tables in front of divans and couches just like in a living room setting.Is this some kind of lounge?I follow Shawn across the room and up a winding staircase. At the top, another man in coattails leads us to a door. He opens it and I see a large table with a spread of food. There's a smaller one with two chairs right next to the window that has just a bottle of wine and two g
I start reading the eleven pages of the contract on top of my dining table.Eleven pages. Wow.I was going to read them earlier at that restaurant or club or whatever that was, but Shawn told me not to. Not that I would have been able to digest it with Shawn sitting right across from me staring. He said I should read it very carefully at home and then give him my answer on Monday.I guess that's what I'm doing now.I read it from start to finish even though some of the legal jargon is hard on the brain, even though at times I have to pause to let out a gasp or a curse. Then I read it again. All eleven pages.When I'm done, I stare at the front page in disbelief.A baby contract.Yup, that's exactly what it is.Basically, it says that I'll agree to have Shawn's baby, and take care of that baby — that child — in secret. In exchange, I'll get a huge amount of money, a house here and a vacation villa in Switzerland.Wow.I leave the papers on the table to get a drink of water. I keep the
Felicity can't be serious.Long after she's given me her answer, I still find myself glancing at the brown envelope on my desk in disbelief.I had the contract crafted carefully. It was rushed, yes, but my lawyer's good. He put in everything I asked him to, and I asked him to put in a lot of things, including a very generous sum of money.So why didn't Felicity sign it?Didn't she say she wanted to be a mother? Has she changed her mind?I want to summon her back into my office, tell her to cancel all my appointments and just have her tell me what's on her mind so she can make me understand why she said no, so I can convince her to say yes. But I wait until my work is done."Is there anything else I can do for you before I go home?" Felicity asks me when she pops into my office at the end of the day."Yes."I leave my desk and sit on the couch, brown envelope in tow. I place it on the table and gesture to the other couch."Sit."Felicity sits. She crosses her legs and clasps her hands