Chapter 4

Fiona POV

Grabbing the letter, I hurry back inside and tear it open.

“Dear, Ms. Davis.

Thank you for your interest. We have received your background and qualifications and regret to inform you we are not able to offer you the position….”

I don’t bother reading any further because after the twenty-first rejection letter, I know what they’re going to say next. They’ll thank me again and wish me luck. I don’t need luck, though. I need a job, and now I can’t even get a waitress job.

Sighing, I throw the letter down beside the bill on the table. I don’t have much time before I’m kicked out of this temporary housing. If I don’t find a job, I’ll be sleeping on the streets.

My phone ringing makes me jump, and I snatch it up to find Emma’s name on the screen. My best friend’s name brings tears to my eyes, but I blink them back. I don’t want her to think I’m unhappy to talk to her, so I swallow the lump in my throat before answering the phone.

“Hello?”

“Fiona! It’s so good to hear your voice!” Emma cries, bringing tons of memories back.

“You too,” I murmur, closing my eyes. I missed her and hate that I wasn’t able to keep in contact.

She laughs and speaks again, “I want you to come move in with me! I have an extra room and want to see my bestie again.”

Hope fills me at her words. Maybe things won’t be so bad, but then I think about the fact I don’t have a job.

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble, Emma. I think—”

“It’s no trouble,” she barks, “You know I love you, and I saw how Andy married that other girl. That little piece of shit. He can’t just drop you after what he did.”

“Emma, it’s fine. I’ve moved on from Andy. There was… Last night I was with a man. He was amazing, more than amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been with someone who made me feel the way he did,” I blurt, unable to hold it in. It’s killing me inexplicably that I left and won’t see him again.

Emma gasps, loud and dramatic, and I can imagine her clutching her metaphorical pearls.

Then she shrieks on the other end of the phone, “You really had a one-night stand, in a bar, with a strange call boy?” I had always been a good girl to my friends, so her reaction is valid since this is the first time I’ve done something so out of the ordinary.

“Was he better than Andy?”

“Oh, Andy doesn’t compare. It was the best sex of my life, and I’m not just saying that after being alone for three years,” I tell her honestly. Just thinking about his hands on me, his teeth along my neck, and how he used his… my body begins to tingle in all the right places, and I squeeze my thighs together.

“I told you to get rid of scumbag Andy. He must’ve been as bad in bed as he is in person.”

I almost laugh at her words while shifting in my chair. It does nothing to get rid of the ache between my legs, but she’s not wrong. Andy is a scumbag for letting me pay for everything while we were together, for his promises, for leaving me without notice, and for letting me go to prison.

There’s nothing worse than a pathetic man who takes advantage of others.

“Well, I al—”

My phone buzzes with another call, so I stop her, “Hey, I’m getting another call. Let me take this and I’ll call you back.”

“Sure. Love you.”

“You too.”

Hanging up, I accept the incoming call.

“Hello, this is Fiona Davis.”

“Good afternoon, this is Nolan Christian’s office at Regency Pharmaceutical calling to set up an onboarding appointment. Would you be able to come in this afternoon?”

My heart jumps into my throat and I sit up straighter. I try not to jump up in excitement as I answer, “Of course. What time do you need me there?”

***

Smoothing out the skirt of my business suit, I step into the office. Almost immediately, a woman wearing a tight suit with heavy makeup and a scowl stops me. Her eyes move down my body and her nose wrinkles in clear disgust.

“Are you the new secretary?” She snips. “I didn’t think someone so plain could beat the fierce competition for the boss’s secretary. How could a poor rookie get the job unless…” she draws the word out on a gasp. “Did you sell your body to an executive?”

While the woman, Mary, as her nametag says, giggles, the coworkers around us don’t move. They keep their eyes on their tasks, ignoring the bullying. Mary’s hostility is uncalled for and undisguised, but today is my first day, so I don’t respond. I don’t want to do anything that would get me fired before I even have a chance to start.

I move to the desk that the HR officer showed me earlier before I signed my paperwork, and when I sit down, there’s already an email with a list of tasks for me to complete. The first few tasks are simple and familiar, even after so many years.

Sorting emails to the boss’s various folders, arranging them by sender, is easy and quick. After that, going through the latest company contract to look for mistakes of any kind takes a bit longer because it requires me to research the current pharmaceutical standards and policies.

Then, just as I answer the phone, something warm and wet splashes across my back. It seeps into my shirt, making me gasp from the surprise.

Brown stains spread from my shoulders down the front and back of my nice top.

“Oops. My bad,” Mary, the snake, coos. I turn, finding no one paying any attention as she smirks and lets the Styrofoam coffee cup fall to the floor. She smiles with no shame as I stand and look down at myself, finding the coffee has soaked through my shirt and made it see through.

Grabbing some papers from my desk, I cover my chest and glare at the vile woman. Why would she do this? I haven’t done anything to her, and she’s targeting me.

“Why would you deserve to be here?” Mary sneers, looking me up and down with disgust. “You should resign and go home before it’s too late.”

Anger burns in my chest and my hand curls into a fist at my side. Just as I open my mouth to give her a piece of my mind, something falls over my shoulders and head.

I freeze as the familiar scent of snowy cypress fills my senses and wraps around me. It’s almost like someone has hugged me and brought a warmth that pushes away the embarrassment growing in my gut.

“You’re fired!” A low, familiar voice growls from behind me, sending shivers down my spine.

I would know that voice anywhere, and if he touched me… I shake my head. This is not the time to be thinking about that night.

Turning, I pull the fabric off my head and realize it is a coat. His coat. Swallowing the need to sniff the jacket, I set the papers back on my desk and wrap the coat around me so no one can see through my shirt.

“B-but Boss, I was just kidding!” Mary shrieks, darting toward the large group that surrounds Nolan. He looks as gorgeous as that night, if not even more attractive. The gray suit fits him like a glove, displaying the powerful body I know is beneath it.

My libido ramps up, taking note that he’s near, and I have to breathe deeply while looking at the floor. He’s not a call boy. He’s my new boss. I slept with my new boss. This can’t be good. Oh, Goddess. What Mary said about sleeping with my bosses… she was right.

Several questions zip through my mind, making me stagger back and grab onto my desk to keep steady.

Is that why I got this job?

How did he know who I was?

Did he look for me after that night?

“Get out of my sight,” Nolan orders Mary, who breaks down into tears, turns, and runs out of the office.

Another well-dressed man who is typing away at his phone walks over to Nolan. He’s handsome, but nowhere near as good looking as Nolan. Something about Nolan screams regal, cold, and sharp. He’s on a whole different level to anyone in this office.

“King Nolan, you have a meeting in five minutes,” the man says, and my heart drops.

Did he just say…

My mind spins. Not only is Nolan my boss, but he’s also the King?

Another realization hits me seconds later, and I have to sit in my chair. I slept with the King- the father of Andy’s wife.

I had sex with Andy’s father-in-law.