AstonWhen I looked up from the computer, I saw Blake crossing the lobby. He’d taken off his waistcoat, jacket and tie and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. If I were in a cartoon, my tongue probably would have rolled out of my head.It was unfair for one person to be that beautiful. The crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and, now uninterrupted by the blue tie and black suit, contrasted perfectly with his tanned skin and pitch black hair.I watched him walk up to us, admiring his perfect bone structure, angular jaw and the precisely measured way in which he moved. His gait was long but graceful, and his eyes, while seemingly focused on mine, still seemed alert to everything going on around him.Whatever the man did for work, I doubted he ever missed a trick. The corners of his lips turned up into a smile when he got to the desk. “I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer of telling me where I could go grab a bite to eat.”Despite his intimidatingly good looks
BLAKESifting through thousands of unanswered emails, I waited for the conference call from my father and my brother to come in. It was a beautiful, typical California day outside with clear blue skies and warm weather. I, however, was cooped up in my hotel room waiting for our weekly briefing to begin.It was day four of my weekly hostage situation, aka Thursday. I worked almost every weekend, but I was looking forward to taking this weekend off. Danny and I had been at loggerheads more often than not this week and I needed some space away from him, or away from my computer rather—which is where it seemed he lived when I wasn’t physically close by.The call came through when it was supposed to, almost to the minute. My father was nothing if not punctual. His face popped up on my screen first, followed shortly by Danny’s, in its own window. As far as I knew, my brother was in Arizona this week.“Blake. How’s California?” My father asked.“Still standing. The hotel is doing well, but I
BlakeDad nodded, smiling like a professor who appreciated a question from a student. “Yes, we have everything handled on our end. But you have an excellent network of people on the ground level you can reach out to. I want you to help us gauge how the branches are reacting.”Technically, this wasn’t part of my job description. But hey, it was our company and I often had to do things outside of my regular duties. “Fine, I’ll make a couple of calls and send through reports as I get them.”“Fantastic. I want to know how people are responding to this.” My father liked having his ear on the ground. He was a respected CEO not only because of his business sense, but also for the way that he treated his employees.His eyes slid to Danny’s screen on his computer. “Blake and I need to talk about a few more things, Dan. You’re excused. I’m sure you have a lot of preparation to do before the conference this afternoon. Keep me in the loop.”“Fine, we’ll talk later. Bye Dad. Cheers Blake, try not
ASTONTiffany and I gathered in front of the TV. Blake came to stand next to us. A handsome man appeared on the screen and most of us in the lounge went quiet. Tiffany gasped. “Oh my God, that’s Danny McAllen, the big boss’s son.”I frowned, wondering what could be so important that one of the McAllen’s themselves would be making the announcement. I didn’t follow society gossip much and I hadn’t met any of the family in person since I started working for the McAllen group. “Have you met him?”Tiffany shook her head. “Can’t say that I wouldn’t like to. He’s damn good-looking isn’t he? And can you imagine how rich he is?”I suddenly became very aware of Blake standing right next to me. He probably hadn’t known who Danny McAllen was either, but he still didn’t need to hear Tiffany make those kinds of comments about the guy. “Tiffany!”She glanced at Blake, but shrugged. “What? I bet he’s loaded. I would sleep with him for a portion of his money, even if it was just a small portion.”Seri
AstonWe turned our attention back to the TV just as Danny started talking again. “This is an exciting time for the McAllen Group. We urge all our employees to join us in celebrating these new developments and we hope to be seeing you all in a McAllen Hotel someday soon.”When he started taking questions from the reporters at the press conference, Tiffany stuck out her lower lip. “I take back what I said. I wouldn’t sleep with him for all the money he has.”“Really? If Danny McAllen were to walk through our doors right now, you wouldn’t be interested if he offered you say, a million dollars?” My teasing question was out before I could stop it.Horrified to have spoken that way in front of a guest, I turned my head to apologize, but when I saw Blake chuckling into his drink, I decided it was okay to have slipped just this once.Tiffany feigned a shocked expression, letting her mouth hang open and bringing four of her fingers up to cover it.“Me? Sleep with someone for money? Never. I’m
BLAKEGoing to dinner with the managers of our hotels was something I did quite often. It was one of the tools I used to gauge how they really felt about the company. But this was the first time I’d found myself trying on my third shirt before heading out.Getting dressed for dinner with Aston felt different than it usually did when I was grabbing dinner with a manager. That felt like work, this felt like a date.One of the girls I’d dated once told me blue shirts made my eyes ‘pop.’ Looking in the full-length mirror in my walk-in closet, I decided I agreed with her. The color of my shirt did bring out my eyes.And you sound like a fucking girl.Fuck it, I decided. I was wearing the shirt. The other two looked just fine too, actually. I didn’t even know why I cared. I shouldn’t have cared.This was a business dinner. Aston was coming to the restaurant after her shift. She might not know it was business for me too, but that hardly mattered. I wasn’t lying to her, and I wasn’t interview
Blake“I’ve only been in my current position for a few months. I’m doing really well at it, I think. I’m happy and challenged. I don’t know if I’m ready for another change yet,” she admitted. “Enough about me. Tell me about you. Do you enjoy quality assurance and finance?”“Does anyone enjoy finance?” I grinned.She bounced her head from side to side. “Probably not. I enjoy having finances, if that helps.”“That’s the only part anyone enjoys, I think.” I told her honestly. I was good at numbers, I always had been. It didn’t mean I particularly enjoyed them. “The quality assurance part of my job isn’t so bad. I enjoy that.”“Really?” She leaned forward, nodding when a waiter appeared and offered her water. We ordered our drinks and the man left to get them. Scotch for me and white wine for her.When he was gone, she turned her focus back to me. “What exactly does quality assurance entail? I’m sorry if that’s a stupid question, but I just don’t really know. I’ve never met anyone in that
ASTONBlake followed me out the back entrance of the hotel with no questions asked. I appreciated his trust, but I was confused by it. Despite having asked him why he really asked me to dinner, his answer didn’t make sense to me.He just wanted to get to know me? Why?I was hoping that showing him my happy place would make him open up a bit more. Though we talked all through dinner, I got the feeling he hadn’t really wanted to talk about himself. I didn’t get any bad vibes from him and I didn’t think he was lying to me, but I suspected there was more to it than just wanting to get to know a hotel manager in a city he was skipping out of in a couple of days.Traffic was light on this side of town after sunset, but we could hear horns blaring and cars racing by on the main street in front of the hotel. Soundlessly, we made our way up the path that led through the hotel’s gardens and to the trail leading up the hill beside it.The path and trail were lit by domes of light on knee high st
AstonEverything further away than what could be reached in two or three hours by plane, he let Danny handle. Blake had been my rock, my constant. With him as the dad, I could see myself having a lot more children. He certainly seemed to be on board.A nurse came in to check on us, as they did every so often. This was one who must have just started her shift, since I hadn’t seen her around earlier. She was an older woman with bright red hair and a kind smile. “Is everything okay in here? I need to take the baby for observation, it won’t be more than a few minutes before she’s back.”Blake’s eyes widened comically. “You’re taking her away?”“Just for a few minutes, sir.” The nurse smiled sympathetically. “I won’t take my eyes off of her for a second, you have my word. I know it’s hard for you to let go of her right now.”“She has to go?” Blake asked, not looking like he was inclined to hand her over at all.The nurse nodded. “A few minutes, sir. She’ll be back before you know it.”Relu
ASTONOn a rainy Saturday morning, Blake and I welcomed baby Emma Rose McAllen into the world. She was a pink, healthy little angel that had both of us wrapped around her little finger the very first second we laid eyes on her.The hospital was busy. I could hear people milling around outside, some running to take care of patients and others here to visit friends and family, and to meet the new arrivals. Emma was only three hours old, but I was sure Blake’s family and Tiffany would get here soon.Both Tiffany and Blake’s mom had wanted to be in the waiting room when she was born, but I went into labor in the early hours of Saturday morning and in our rush to get to the hospital, we hadn’t wanted to disturb them in the middle of the night.For now it was just us and our little cherub in our bubble of the most perfect, serene happiness I’d ever known. With Emma’s tummy full for the first time, she was dozing in her daddy’s arms and the scene in front of me was as precious as I’d known i
BlakeTiffany led us into the smaller of the conference rooms at ground level, one where Aston and I had shared dinner not so long ago, yet it seemed like a different lifetime now. Aston walked over to the window, releasing a happy sigh to be looking out over the ocean. “It feels like I haven’t been here in forever.”“For you and me both, girl.” Tiffany sighed. “Welcome back.”“Thanks,” Aston replied softly. “You should come visit us in Florida sometime. We’ll be happy to have you.”“Once the baby is born, try keeping me away,” she said, reaching out to pat Aston’s belly again.The two friends shared a moment. I hung back, getting settled at the table. When they sat down, Aston joked, “Oh, you’ll only visit once the baby is born? That’s still months away.”“Good point,” Tiffany said. “Maybe I’ll come out there sooner. Is your nursery set up yet? I can come help with that.”“We’ve been settling into the house,” Aston told her. “We haven’t gotten to the nursery quite yet. It would be gr
BLAKEThree months after the last time Aston and I walked out of the hotel in California, we were back for a visit. It had been a long three months. We had meant to pop in for a visit weeks ago, but we never got around to it.As it was, we’d almost had to cancel again. Aston managed to dodge the bullets flying her way, with Danny’s help, and we’d hopped on the jet as soon as our meetings let out. We were like kids fleeing from school on the last day, excited to be getting away from the head office that took so much of our time.Our visit to California wasn’t a vacation though. Soon, I would whisk Aston away for a break before the baby was born, but for now, we were working.It didn’t make Aston any less excited to be headed back to her hometown. She missed her friends and had been looking forward to spending time with them, even if we would have to get some work done at the same time.Dressed in a soft, flowing red dress that clung to her newly rounded stomach, she looked more beautif
ASTONBefore I knew what was happening, Blake flipped us over and was rolling my pants down my legs. My panties followed quickly.He yanked both items over my bare feet and dropped them to the floor. Heat spread through me as his bright blue eyes drank in every inch of me.He sat between my legs, spread open so there would be space for him. Completely on display for him, I was surprised by how much it turned me on. The raw lust in his eyes told me he felt the same. “I was an ass. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much I was upsetting you, can I make it up to you?”“Please,” I breathed, reaching for his shirt.Catching my hands in one of his, he used the other to reach behind him in a fist and pulled it off in a smooth slide. As his body came into view, I wished he wasn’t sitting between them so I could clench my thighs together to ease the need building there. Seeing me squirm, his hands went for my bare legs, running up and down my thighs.“You’re gorgeous, Aston. And the best thing that ha
Blake“No buts. If that’s what you want, I’ll go. I understand that you need someone there and that logistically, it can’t be Aston. I can be a team player again and if that’s what this team needs, I’ll take one for the team and go.”Taking a deep breath, his eyes darted up to the ceiling like he was slightly embarrassed by what he had to say. “But if you’d consider keeping me on in Florida though, I could work under Aston.”Shocked, my eyes widened. “You’d be her subordinate?”“Yeah.” His eyes drifted to Dad before he nodded and looked back at me. “It’s not easy for me to face, but I know I brought this on myself. If I stay, I’ll work as her second. Help her, learn from her, whatever.”“You would do that?” To say I was surprised was an understatement. My brother, or at least the brother he’d become, lacked the astonishing maturity it took to come up with a plan like this. “You realize it wouldn’t be temporary.”“I do.” He held onto my gaze, sincere in what he was saying. “I’ve been a
BLAKEWalking out of Dad’s study, I bumped into my mom in the hall. For a guy who spent years seeing only one family member, two at most, once every couple of weeks, I was surrounded by them now. I didn’t know how much I liked it yet.“Have you seen Aston? I asked Mom, who smiled as she jerked her head in the direction of the front door.“She left in a cab a few minutes ago,” Mom told me. “I saw her out there from the kitchen window, but it looked like she could use a couple of minutes alone. Next thing I knew, there was a cab and she was getting into it.”My heart sank to my shoes. “What?”I knew Aston was upset by my offering her Danny’s job, but I never thought she would leave. Panic crept in and gripped my heart. She didn’t know anyone in Florida as far as I knew. I didn’t even know where to start looking for her.“Fuck,” I mumbled, ignoring my mom’s chastising look. It was a little fucking late for her to try have any say about my language. I was getting used to having her around
Aston“I’m against it because I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. “Danny’s position isn’t some random spot. It’s a very important position in the company.”“Exactly,” Blake snapped. “It’s not good enough to put some random person into that position, don’t you think I get that? That’s one of the reasons why I need you, Aston. You’re all I’ve got. I don’t have any other options that are good enough.”“I’m a last resort?” My head reared back like he’d slapped me. I didn’t know what was going on with me, but my emotions were all over the place. Maybe it was the pregnancy after all, but knowing he only wanted me because there was no one else was somehow more hurtful than people thinking he’d only put me into that spot because he was sleeping with me.Staring at me like I’d grown a unicorn horn or turned green, Blake shook his head. “You’re not a last resort. It’s not like that at all. Think about it this way, my dad supports me in this decision. About Danny going
ASTON“Excuse me.” I pushed my chair back from the kitchen counter and glanced at Blake’s family before letting my eyes come to rest on him. “Could I talk to you outside for a minute please?”“Sure.” Exchanging a look with his father who nodded encouragingly, Blake followed me outside. I didn’t stop walking when we hit the deck, heading over it and onto the expansive green lawn.The sparkling swimming pool was blue and inviting. I briefly considered stripping off my clothes and taking refuge in the silence of its depths, but I doubted very much that Blake’s father would appreciate a half-naked pregnant girl sitting at the bottom of his pool.When I hit a patch of trees at the back of the property, I paced in the shade beneath them. Without having to look, I knew Blake was standing there watching me. He let me blow off steam for a few more seconds before planting his hands on his hips. “Before you say anything, hear me out.”“I told you I didn’t want that spot, Blake.”Walking toward m