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Chapter 103: Money Problems
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The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 104: Midnight Oil
THE FLOOR slowly empties of people, the tap tapping growing softer as the day wears on."Burning the midnight oil on your first day?" Dawn, who I found to be an absolutely wonderful person, says stopping by my cubical. The high-top bun she started the day with has a few flyaway hairs, but her eyes are bright. I want to be her one day.She stopped in today on occasion, making sure I didn't find the training videos too boring.I did, because they were horrible, but I kept that secret on lockdown. It's a golden rule that training videos in a new job have to be the worst things you ever witness in life. I still have nightmares of what they made me watch when I spent the summer working at a hardware store. The small chain was locally owned, and the videos were home produced."Yeah, I'll be leaving as soon as I finish this last video. Have a good night."She waves goodbye and I hear the elevator doors open. I wait another ten minutes to make my move. In one fluid movement I rise fr
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 105: Time to Discuss His Mother
The light kiss on my forehead is the first thing that rouses me from sleep, but the whispered, "Good morning," in my ear causes one eye to flutter open."Hmmm." I roll over, trying to get away from the man working so hard to wake me up, even if he smells of clean aftershave and a fresh shower. "Ten more minutes."The smooth vibration of his laugh fills my soul with something it's been lacking for longer than I knew, but it's quickly doused with water when he flips me over on the bed and reaches across my body to grab ahold of my ass cheek. His wet hair drips on my face and I use a hand to pull the covers up, shielding me from his onslaught. To my dismay Vincent tugs them down easily and then crawls back underneath them, not resting his head on a pillow."My mom likes you," Vincent drags me to him and I nuzzle my head against his chest, preferring that over a pillow any day. His skin is smooth, and he smells of fresh soap and shampoo."Why are we discussing this now?" Sun peeks
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 106: "Oh Shit" is right
I stop in my tracks, my eyes wide, taking in the scene before me. Crap. Crappity crap. For a moment I consider backing up and pretending this hasn't happened, but two sets of eyes find mine before I'm fast enough to move.Vincent leans across the table, holding a stack of papers as his assistant Amy points to various parts. Whatever they've been discussing ends and both stare at my half-clothed form standing in the doorway.Vincent pushes off the counter and crosses his arms against his bare chest, shaking his head. "It's okay. Amy, you've met Mackenzie."She bites her lips together and nods, doing her best not to smile or let her eyes dart back between the two of us. Amy doesn't need a second look to figure out what's happened here.Crappity. Crap. Shit. Fuck.This is exactly what I didn't want to happen and I'm the one who did it. There's no one to blame but me. I've already become too complacent in Vincent's space.My hand clutches at the fabric on my chest. "This doesn'
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 107: Sneaking Home
Most of downtown is deserted as the state employees try to get out of the city early on a Friday afternoon. The warm sun hits my face and I smile up at the bright sky. It's the first time I've been out of Vincent's building in the last three days. The glorious thing about having a mega-rich billionaire for a boyfriend—if he is my boyfriend—is that he doesn't care how much it costs to have food delivered every single night. Between going to work, back to his place, and then back to work I've only viewed the outside through his floor-to-ceiling windows.But now it's time to go home to my own place. Check in on my roommate and maybe institute a girls' night Friday movie-fest. Past the church on the corner of North Ottawa, I turn left, my apartment building looming on the street when my phone dings with a text.V: What do you want for dinner? I'll have it waiting.I palm the phone between my two hands and smile. The one person I didn't warn I'd be returning home this evening was Vinc
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 108: Get it Together
Well, kind of. They don't normally include alcohol. More like ice cream and cookies. Clearly with me not here to stop her from breaking out the whiskey, she's gone way further down the road than ever before in these instances.It's time for supportive roommate love from a best friend."Get it together, whore. You say this every test, but then you always get an A.""No, remember that time with Perpetuities?"Ugh, that was a rough time period. "You're one of the smartest people I know."Ashley always freaked out, but then sailed through school—except for perpetuities and one statistics class her senior year of undergrad. Rough semester didn't do an adequate job describing the turmoil, but she passed. When final grades came out, she printed them off, hung the C- on the fridge, and we celebrated.She'd do the same thing after the bar exam."Not this time. I haven't been studying like I should."Guilt trips my heart and trickles down my spine. How long has she been freaking
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 109: Why am I Surrounded by Morning People
In a routine, which is becoming familiar, I drop my purse in the bottom desk drawer and then take a seat in my padded office chair and flip open my laptop at the end of another work week. It's been calm with Ashley for five full days. Not a drop of alcohol has entered her mouth. I've spent my days shuffling between her and Vincent and I'm ready for a break.Dawn, wearing one spritz of perfume too many, hovers at the edge of my cubicle before I can even turn on my machine. "Good morning. Did you have a good evening last night?"Why does it look like all the employees of Valiant Industries are morning people? Who can be so peppy this early except Vincent himself? The whole thing feels unnatural. Maybe they put something in the coffee."Yeah, it was okay. Amy called a few moments ago and said you're needed on the eighteenth floor. Head there first and then we'll start our morning meeting at ten. Don't be late.""No problem."Dawn walks away, not asking me any other questions aft
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 110: A Birthday Surprise
A single candle burns in the middle of the cake and Vincent's smile deepens when he leans down and blows it out with a quick puff. His employees clap, a few of them looking at their boss the way I found myself doing so many times during our time together and sometimes even when he wasn't around. Admiration. A way I still think of him even if I no longer work in his direct office.It's clear to see his employees love and value their boss—not just because he writes their paychecks but because inside he is a good man. How many of the people in this room has he helped as he did my father and Amy's husband?Vincent steps away from the cake as Marianne, the chief assistant for the other half of the floor, steps up holding a big knife ready to slice it into squares."Make sure I get a big piece when you get finished. I need to talk to Ms. Marshal about her transfer papers," Vincent says loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear.I keep my position at the door until Vincent walks
The Valiant Trilogy Chapter 111: My Bed. No Excuses
The rest of the day goes by quickly, my thoughts continuously falling back to the image of Vincent as he threw his head back in satisfaction and filled my mouth with his essence.I fix my hair in the employee bathroom and then make my way to my floor, looking exactly as I had before I left for his office. I can't help but think everyone in the meeting room can sense what I've just done. It was naughty, dirty, and ill timed, but I wouldn't change it. No one besides the two of us would know what happened so I won't be upset about it.My foot nervously taps against the floor, willing the time to speed up. As a marketing assistant, I won't be helping to design ads or come up with new amazing campaigns. I spend my days in this cubicle, analyzing campaigns for other similar companies and comparing them to sales trends.Honestly, it's boring as hell, especially considering four other recently hired employees are doing the same thing. With Vincent's far-reaching business factions, each o
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