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2024-11-22 08:34:23Brandon
“Gina is here,”Shelby said as she entered my office. “What do you want me to get her to start doing first?” I sighed and looked around the office. I didn’t think it through when I told Amalia I would help her friend. I would do anything for my daughter, but there isn’t much for an intern to do around her. Especially not one I’ve seen dancing around my house drunk in skimpy shorts and a shirt. “Bring Gina in here. I’d like to have a word with her, and then I’ll get her started on the filing that needs finishing.” Shelby arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “You wouldn’t mean the filing you’ve ignored for the last year. The same filing that you insist you need to sort through, and that’s why you won’t let me do it.” I shrugged and looked down at the papers on my desk. The top sheet listed things Gina could do to keep herself busy. It should keep her alive for the week. After that, I wouldn’t have to think about anything else for her to do until next week. “Brandon, she’s brand-new, and she seems nice enough. Are you sure that trying to scare her off on her first day is how you want to go?” “I’m not trying to scare her off. I have other things that I need to be doing.” And those things do not involve having my daughter’s best friend follow me around from showing to showing while I think about undressing her. “Alright,” Shelby said, rolling her eyes. “But when Amalia comes here pissed off because you’re not giving her friend a chance you said you would, I don’t want to hear about it. So you’re on your own with that one.” “It’s going to be fine. Gina can work on what I need her to do if she wants to get paid.” Gina appeared in the doorway at that moment, a stack of papers in her hands and a strained smile on her face. She looked at Shelby, who had the decency to look mortified for both of us. “Gina, we’ll get you to file some paperwork, but Brandon wants to meet with you first.” She smiled and headed over to Gina, taking the paperwork from her. “I’ll sort through this and ensure we have everything we need.” Gina watched Shelby leave, the door closing behind her. When she turned back to me, she smiled politely, but something was unreadable in her eyes. “Take a seat.” I nodded to one of the chairs in front of me. She crossed the room, her pinstripe slack showing off her long legs and the curve of her ass. Gina sat down in front of me, the low neckline of her black shirt dipping a little lower. I tried not to think about how she looked at me with those warm brown eyes when we were in my kitchen last week. Everything about her that night had screamed a bad idea, but there was no way I could have kicked her out and told her to go home. Not after Amalia told me what had been happening in Gina’s life. She needed a safe place to land for a while, and I had one I could give. “I thought that you and I should discuss this before you start working here,” I said, drawing myself away from the thoughts of her in my kitchen and dancing around my living room. “We need to set some rules.” “Okay.” Her tone was hesitant, and her eyes narrowed like she wasn’t sure where this was going. “How are you liking the apartment now that you’ve had time to settle in?” “It’s more than I needed but thank you. I know you could have rented that property to someone else for more money.” “That brings us to my point. While you are working here, Shelby is the only other employee who knows how much I am helping you. So please keep it that way. I don’t need the others thinking that favoritism is happening when I only do what I can to help my daughter.”Related chapters
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She gritted her teeth, her polite smile turning slightly feral. “I wouldn’t tell anyone how much involvement you have in my life. It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest.”“If that’s the case, then why didn’t you talk to your family when your life started falling apart?”“That’s none of your business.”The fire that was in her eyes only made her more attractive. It was good to see that she had a backbone. Amalia told me her friend had a horrible history of letting people exploit her.Too kind for her own good, most likely.“Even though you are Amalia’s friend, I will not tolerate anything less than you doing your job to the best of your ability. I will not hesitate to fire you if you cannot do the work.”Gina’s eyebrow arched, and she looked like she was trying to hold her tongue. A red tinge on her cheeks only made her look more beautiful.Having her work here was going to be hell on my head.“Wow.” Gina shook her head and got up. “You’re judging me without knowing me. I graduated vale
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Nope, I am not going there.“I thought everyone had left for the day,” I said, my tone gruff.“I was on my way out in a few minutes. So this was the last file I had.”She crossed the room and opened one of the filing cabinets, thumbing through several files before sliding the one in her hand away. It was only then that I noticed she had kicked off her boots.“Making yourself comfortable?”Gina looked over at the ankle boots on the ground before shrugging. “If I’m going to spend an entire day filing, I may as well be comfortable while doing it.”I bit back what I wanted to say. I didn’t want to tell her she had completed a task that would take several days. The last thing I would do was admit that I had misjudged her.Which I would admit only doing in the privacy of my mind. People her age didn’t often like to work. They were usually more involved in what was happening with their social lives than getting a job done.She had moved quickly and gotten more work done than I anticipated. O
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I was turned on and pissed off as he carried me out of the bar. I looked around, seeing if the bartender would say something, but Brandon’s friend was already talking to him.The blond man who had asked me to dance was already dancing with another woman, his tongue halfway down her throat.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted over the music as Brandon carried me to the door.“Taking you home.”He stepped outside into the air as I tried to wiggle free. His grip around me only tightened, and I didn’t bother to fight harder. I would either fall or fall on my face, and he would fall on top of me.His falling on top of me doesn’t sound so bad.The door to the bar swung shut behind us. The cold night air prickled against my skin. Brandon’s hand drifted across the backs of my thighs, sliding higher. Heat pooled between my legs until he gripped the hem of my dress and pulled it down.It wasn’t what I hoped for, but I suspected it was all I was getting from him tonight.Brandon
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He must have had the same thought. Brandon’s mouth pressed against mine in a searing kiss, his teeth grazing my bottom lip, coaxing my mouth open. Our tongues tangled together as his hands slid down my body.When his rough hands gripped my thighs, I moaned into the kiss. He lifted me, pressing me back against the car while my fingers weaved through his hair.Groaning, he pressed against me as wetness pooled between my thighs.“Holy shit, we have to come back here next Friday when they have a live band!” a voice said, breaking through the little bubble Brandon and I were in.Brandon looked at me, his eyes wide. I locked my legs around his waist as a drunken couple stumbled past us, heading straight for a taxi waiting at the other end of the lot.“We need to talk about this. Get in the car,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.He put me down and opened the door to his backseat. I climbed inside, and he followed me, but the doors were closed no sooner than I was in his lap.“
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“I like my building. However, it was easier to build a new building than to try and renovate an old one into exactly what I needed.”She shrugged. “I didn’t say that I didn’t like your building. I just said that it’s out of place in the town. Although, if you sell it to someone younger once you retire, it might do better on the market.”“When I retire?”She smirked. “You have to be pushing eighty at this point.”My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as she laughed. I was thankful that the clients weren’t here yet to hear her taunting me. Although, that relief was immense because everyone in Silverlake knew everyone else.Gossip spreads like the plague around here.“Forty-five, if you must know.”“Close enough. I mean, once you’re that old, it stops Mateoering, doesn’t it?”I ground my teeth together, trying not to let her get to me. However, reminding me of the twenty-one-year age gap between us only made me feel worse about the other night.“Let’s go inside, and you can take a look in
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When Brandon looked back over at me, there was a slight smile on his face. “Have dinner with me.”“What?”My heart skipped a beat as he watched me, his gaze dropping to my mouth before moving back to my eyes.“Have dinner with me.”“How did we go from talking about a potential promotion to you wanting to get dinner with me?”He shrugged. “I’ve decided it’s time to stop pretending you aren’t the most intriguing woman I’ve ever met. I want to get to know you, which isn’t happening in this town.”“So, what, you want to run away to another town for dinner like a pair of teenagers trying to avoid their parents?”He smiled. “That could be fun. But no, I was thinking more like two adults tired of dancing around each other.”“Who doesn’t want Amalia to know.”Brandon’s smile dropped. “No. I don’t want Amalia to know yet. I want to get to know you and see if there could be something there before we figure out how to tell her.”“And you think keeping a secret from her is right.”“I think it’s t
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BrandonA trip to my beach house with Gina wasn’t enough to get her out of my system. After spending that long together, I thought I would have grown tired of her, but when we returned to town, I only craved her more.I wanted to get to know the parts of herself that she didn’t show to anyone. I wanted to see the things about Gina that made her tick. She interested me in a way that only my wife ever had.The last thing I was expecting was anyone like her to walk into my life, but now that she has, I know I’ll be lost if she walks right back out.Maybe that’s why I was at the bar with my friend, Mateo, hoping to glimpse her. But, instead, Amalia told me that they were going out tonight. I knew it was risky to follow them to a bar and hope that I could see Gina, but my slight sense of self-preservation was gone.“I thought you would be finished with bars after the other weekend?” Mateo asked, handing me a bottle of beer.I shrugged and leaned against our table, sipping my beer. Mateo wa
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“It’s nothing, really,” I said, trying to figure out how much I could tell him. I didn’t want to get into too many details and potentially reveal Gina as the woman I was seeing.“If it’s nothing, why did you call her your girlfriend? Who is she?”“She’s just someone I met. It’s still too new to tell you much, but I like her.”Mateo chuckled and took a sip of his beer. “So, there is something to tell then.”“Not really.” I listened as the band finished their first song before moving on to the next. “We’re just talking right now. I don’t know if it will go anywhere right now, so it didn’t seem worth mentioning.”Mateo smirked and drummed his fingers on the table. “If you say so. You can sit here, dreaming about this mystery woman, but I will find a woman to take home for the night.”He slid out of his seat, taking his beer with him as he entered the crowd. I shook my head and sat in the darkness, watching through the dim lights as Gina danced with Amalia.It’s going to be a long night;
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“That’s for me to decide.”I nodded and took a deep breath. “I do love you, Gina, and if you want me, I’m in this for the rest of our lives.”“I should be mad at you,” she said as she stood up and approached me. She reached up to cup my face with her hands. “But I love you for putting aside your happiness for your family.”“Does that mean that you’ll take me back?”Gina smiled and leaned into me as I wrapped my arms around her. “Of course.”I grinned and stood, picking her up and spinning her around in a tight hug. She laughed and wrapped her legs around my waist.“I love you, Gina.”“I love you too.”When I captured her mouth in a searing kiss, all felt right with the world. Her hands sank into my hair, holding me to her as I carried her across the beach and into the house.I nipped at her bottom lip, and our tongues tangled as I took her down the hall. She moaned as I spun and pinned her against the wall, rolling her hips and grinding her core against my hardened cock.With a groan,
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BrandonAmaliawatchedmeasI carried plates of food to the kitchen table. I sat in front of her before taking my own and sitting beside her. She sighed and picked up her fork, moving the roast potatoes around the plate.“You know, she loves you,” Amalia said.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” So instead, I focused on slicing my chicken into small pieces. I didn’t want to be having this conversation right now.“And I know that you love her. What I’m struggling with right now is why you still haven’t told me I will have a sibling.”I nearly choked on the chicken I had just put into my mouth. I reached for my water glass and took a long sip before looking at Amalia. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.“Where the hell did you hear about that?”“Gina told me. I’ve been talking to her a lot the last couple of days. Did you know that she’s thinking about leaving Silverlake? She might move back to the city.”I froze, my entire body stiffening as I looked at her. While I k
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Gina“You’regoingtohaveto talk to me sooner or later,” I said as I stood beside Amalia in a coffee shop. It had been nearly a week since the breakup, and she had ignored every call.I tried going to her house when I knew Brandon wasn’t home to see her. During the first visit — when she didn’t think I was coming — she had answered the door.Talking to her since then had been nearly impossible.Amalia sighed as she approached the counter. She gave the barista a small smile. “Two large mochas, please.”I smiled, but my stomach was tossing and turning. I felt like I was going to be sick. This was the first chance that she had given me all week.“I don’t want to throw our friendship away over this,” Amalia said as she looked at me.“Then there’s something else you should know before we get into everything,” I said, knowing I couldn’t keep the baby a secret.Amalia needed the whole truth before deciding whether to forgive me.As soon as our drinks were made, Amalia led the way to a booth in
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“And what did you do? You hurt me anyway.” Amalia’s eyes were glassy as she glanced away from me. “I want you to end it with her.”“Then I’ll do it.”The words hurt me to say. It felt like I was ramming a knife through my chest, but my daughter was the only family I had left. I wasn’t going to alienate her. If breaking up with Gina was what it took to keep my daughter in my life, then that is what I had to do.“You’re too old for her. What the hell happens when you get even older? Will she spend the last good years of her life changing your diaper?” Tears tracked down Amalia’s cheeks. “And what about you? Are you going to spend the next few years trying to keep up with someone as young and ambitious as Gina?”As much as I hated to admit it, Amalia was making all the points that had spent the last several weeks circling through my mind. I knew that there was no way I would be able to keep up with Gina forever.That was supposed to be a problem when we got older.“Break up with her, Dad
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“My dad asked me a while ago if it would be okay for him to start dating again,” Amalia said as she looked at me.A wave of panic raced through me. Does she know that I’m seeing her dad?“I think he’s ready to get out there and try again. It makes me feel better about maybe moving away from Silverlake. I didn’t want to leave him here alone, but if he’s ready to start seeing someone, maybe he won’t be as lonely as he has been.”“You’re okay with him dating again?” I swallowed the lump in my throat and hoped I didn’t look guilty.“It’s not the easiest shit I’ve ever thought about, but I know Mom would want him to move on again and be happy.”“What if you don’t like the woman he’s with?”Amalia shrugged before lifting her hands and swaying to the music. “I don’t think I get much of a choice in it. My dad isn’t the kind of man who would date a woman if he didn’t think it was serious.”I nodded. “That makes sense. He seems pretty rational.”“He is.” Amalia grinned and stopped dancing long
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Mateo shook his head. “There has to be more to it than happiness. Let’s pretend that the potential career damage isn’t a factor. Have you ever thought about what your daughter will think about this?”“Don’t drag Amalia into it.”“You need to weigh all the options and stop thinking with your dick.”My hands clenched into fists as I bit back the words on the tip of my tongue.“Consider what you’re doing,” Mateo said as he stood up. “The cleaners are only here once a week. You’re lucky that they found it before someone else did.”I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow. “Do I need to worry about you?”“Me? Telling people about your little office affair? No. I may not support your actions, but you have been in a better mood since you started seeing Gina. And I like her. She’s got a backbone.”Mateo grinned and left the office, closing the door behind him. I sighed and ran my hands down my face when he was gone.Keeping my relationship with Gina a secret would be more complex than expected
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“I don’t know if this is the kind of thing you can get over.”He took my jaw in his hand and tilted my face up to his. His lips are soft as his mouth brushes against mine in a tender kiss.It was easy to lose myself in Brandon instead of thinking about everything else in our lives, so I did. I nipped his bottom lip, deepening the kiss. His tongue tangled with mine as I moved to straddle his lap.My arms drape over his shoulders, my fingers sinking into the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Brandon’s hands slid beneath my shirt, his fingers setting fire to my skin as he worked his way up to my breasts.He cupped them, his thumbs brushing over my nipples as I rolled my hips. My back arched as his hardened cock pressed up against my core. I rolled my hips again, trying to build the friction between us and relieve some of the tension building.Brandon groaned, his tongue sweeping through my mouth as he pulled my shirt over my head. His head dipped forward, and he sucked a nipple into his
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GinaOver the last two months, hiding my relationship with Brandon has been getting harder and harder. Nevertheless, we do our best to keep our relationship a secret.However, Amalia has nearly caught us a few times.I snuck out Brandon’s window more than once and ran to my car parked down the street. The next day I would have to listen to Amalia telling me about her theories on her dad’s dating life.She was sure he was seeing someone, which made me feel worse. Amalia would lose her shit if she found out that I was the mystery woman sneaking out in the middle of the night.It was getting too stressful to hide it from her, but it was too late to turn back.I’m falling for Brandon.Hell, I’ve already fallen. He had me at hello, and I’ve been enamored by him every moment since, even though it would have been better for the both of us if I wasn’t.I sighed as I leaned over the sink in my bathroom, my stomach tossing and turning.I had been holed up in my apartment for the last week, feel
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BrandonAmalialeanedbackinher chair, tilting her face and closing her eyes as she soaked up the sun and the salt air. It wasn’t often that I got to see her this relaxed as she lounged by the ocean.We tried to make time to get lunch together once every couple of weeks, but with both of us having careers, it could be hard to find the time. She had her career, and I had mine.Throw sneaking around with Gina into the mix, and I had even less time than I used to spend with Amalia.“Okay,” I said after our food was delivered. “How is work going? Do you have any shows coming up?”“I’ve signed on for New York Fashion Week next year.” Amalia took a bite out of her lobster roll and shrugged. “Other than that, there’s not a whole lot going on. I’m building a new line, but some designs aren’t coming together quite right yet.”“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. New York Fashion Week is huge, though. We’ll have to have a party to celebrate. Congratulations.”“I don’t think that I want to do anything
