AstonTiffany glanced at the clock on my wall and jumped up. “Look at you, overthinking it again, right? Next time, just take the opportunity when it presents itself. Okay?”“Okay,” I said, determined that on our next date I would find out once and for all if he did want to kiss me back. “Are you walking back to the lobby now?”She nodded, sighing deeply. “Sadly, I have to get back to work.”“I’ll walk with you. I need to check up on a few guests before I go to my meeting with the IT department.”“The IT department?” Tiffany asked, looking confused. “We have one of those?”I gave her a sidelong look. “Calling it a department may be a stretch. We do have two IT guys who work in the office behind the business lounge. You honestly didn’t know?”She shook her head. “That feels like something I should have known. Do you know how many times I’ve taken my cell phone to the shop for them to help me? If I’d known we had our own nerd herd, I never would have done that.”My reply died on my tong
BLAKEMotherfucker. I was going to ring my damn brother’s neck the second this plane touched down. Fuck being mature or professional. I was knocking him on his ass before the sun set on Florida today. He was crossing a line he shouldn’t have crossed at this time.When I woke up this morning, I was actually happy for the first time in a long fucking time. And then I checked my emails. The fucker knew I was in California, but I wasn’t letting him get away with what he was proposing now.My rage kept simmering until I reached my father’s office. I knew he and Danny were in a meeting, but I didn’t give a fuck what I was interrupting. I burst through the doors like a hell hound on fire.“What the fuck are you thinking?” I asked, as I stepped into my father’s office. My gaze zeroed in on Danny’s. While he looked surprised to see me, he didn’t look surprised by the hostility of my question.“I’m thinking about what’s best for this company. What are you even doing here?” Danny had the nerve t
Blake“Oh, I’m going to destroy it?” Danny yelled. “If there’s anyone who’s going to be responsible for the company’s downfall, it’s your lying ass. We’re going to get sued for millions the way you’re running your mouth about good people stealing from us.”“Let Dustin try to sue us. I know I’m right. Soon enough, you’ll know it too. Mark my words. If anyone is going to lose us millions, it’s you for proposing to cut a branch that’s doing well and costing us good people who can help us make more money unless you fire them for no good reason.”“It’s for a great fucking reason. Our expansion is the best reason to get rid of people. It’s us or them, Blake. What don’t you understand about business? You stay ahead of the curve, or you’re out.”“Yeah,” I snorted. “I get that, but we’re already ahead of the curve. If you start treating employees like chess pieces instead of people, you’re in trouble. Callously cutting people from a branch where they’re still needed? That will get us in real t
ASTONLying in my bed last night, I decided to put Blake behind me. The chances were overwhelming that I would never see him again, despite him saying he would be back soon. In the months since I started at the McAllen Group, this was the first time he’d been in California. It could be months before his business brought him back.As hard as it was, I was going to have to relegate him to the far recesses of my mind, and pull him out as a fond memory from time to time. No doubt I would be seeing him in my fantasies on the occasions I brought my vibrator out to play.But I couldn’t spend my days thinking, wondering or wishing things were different. I had work to do. The furniture I had procured last week was arriving today and there were lots of special guests checking in, not the least of which was the elderly couple standing in front of me in the lobby.The man was slightly hunched over, but he beamed at his wife like it was their wedding day. “It’s our sixtieth wedding anniversary thi
Aston“I believe you.” And I really did. Maybe it made me an idiot, but I wanted to believe he was telling me the truth. I believed he wouldn’t have left so abruptly if he didn’t absolutely have to. He’d given me no reason to doubt him, especially now that he was back.“Good.” Relief seeped into his expression. He stood his wheelie bag up beside him, resting on its handle. “Does that mean I’m forgiven?”“There was nothing to forgive.” I meant it. He was a businessman. It made sense that business would drag him away. He said goodbye, told me he would be back, and here he was. “How long can you stay this time?”A thundercloud passed over his features, settling as a strange fire in his eyes. “Two weeks at least, but they’re going to be busy. Speaking of which, we need to talk.”What? Fear took root in my stomach. Something about the way he said it alerted my ‘spidey senses’ which was troublesome. We weren’t dating, so ‘we need to talk’ couldn’t mean he wanted to break up with me. But I k
BLAKEAston wasn’t in the lobby when I got there. Fuck.I scanned the room again. There was an elderly couple holding hands on a bench near the front doors. The man kept glancing at the doors like he was waiting for something, then looked back at his wife. Well, presumably she was his wife. Both of them wore plain gold wedding bands and the way they looked at each other was sickeningly sweet. She had to be the wife.There were a few other people milling around, but none of them was Aston. She said she forgave me for leaving so suddenly, but maybe she hadn’t. Damn.I really needed to talk to her. We were already a day into the two weeks we had, there wasn’t any time to waste. I was also anxious to see her. Being away from her these past two days had me on edge, for some fucking reason.So, I had to see her, then somehow find a way to talk to her about what needed to be done. Preferably without telling her who I was, because I couldn’t afford to have her losing trust in me or needing a
Blake“Really?” Surprise filled her eyes. She picked up her glass and took a big gulp of her wine. “Okay.”“I’ve been looking over the numbers for the company, for this branch in particular.” She sat back in her chair, eyes locked with mine.“Okay. I don’t really know how I’m supposed to respond to that.”“You don’t have to. I just need you to listen.” Here goes nothing. “The California branch is the lowest performer of all the big branches at the moment.” Her voice cooled. “I looked over our numbers just the other night when our quarterly report came in. We’re not under performing.”“I know, but given the possibility of cuts like we talked about the other night after that announcement was made, I thought you should know. Overall, the branch is doing well. But it’s not doing well enough.” “What are you saying? I compared our numbers to other hotels in the area. We’re on par,” she said stubbornly, but I could hear a hint of fear creeping into her voice.“I’m saying that if you want
ASTONBlake blinked up at me. “What?”“I’m a virgin.” Electricity crackled through my entire body as soon as his lips hit mine. I’d almost decided not to tell him, but he had to know before things went any further. Desire flowed like a living thing between us, taking hold of every rational thought. But then Blake pulled away abruptly, sliding out from underneath me. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Good night, Aston. I’ll see you tomorrow.I grabbed his wrist when he started to get up from the carpet and his eyes snapped to mine. No more than a second passed before he was on me again, kissing me like he couldn’t stay away. When we broke apart, I cupped his chin in my hand. “No, please don’t be sorry. I want to—do this. With you. I just thought you should know.”He drank in my expression and then Blake tugged me towards his strong chest and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. Without breaking the kiss, he picked me up off the floor and carried me over to the bed. It was only once my back