I nodded once. “Okay.”
He began to move again. He rode me hard and then slow and then fast again. The man was a skilled lover. He knew exactly where to touch and when. By the time the next orgasm blossomed, I felt like I was going to explode. Then I did. He joined me, shouting out his pleasure in a series of vulgar but sexy phrases.
He lay beside me. His hand slid up and down my arm before casually trailing over my breast. I wanted to enjoy the moment. “Crazy,” I murmured.
“What was?” he asked. I could hear the languidness in his voice.
“This. I know you’re a man on the move. You are going to have every wealthy socialite jumping in line to be with you. I’m not exactly a mover and shaker in the city.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I enjoyed this,” I told him.
He grinned and nibbled my chin. “I know you did. I felt every last spasm.”
I pushed at his chest. “Stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“How?” he teased and kissed the side of my neck. “Because you were wet. Hot and tight. So fucking slippery.”
“You are bad.” I giggled.
His hand roamed over my belly. “Bad?” he said in a raspy voice. “Are you sure that’s the word you would use? I think you enjoyed yourself. Could that be bad?”
“Not at all, but you’re not supposed to talk about it,” I said with a laugh.
He rolled on top of me once again. The weight of his body pressed me into the mattress. I never enjoyed being squished but when it was him doing the squishing, it was awesome. “Are you shy?” he asked.
“I am,” I said. I felt my cheeks turning red. “I can’t say I’m skilled at dirty talk.”
“I’ll teach you,” he said and kissed me again.
“I want to learn.”
“I will teach you everything I know because there will be a next time,” he said.
His kisses intensified, and before I knew it, he was riding me again. When we’d both reached a level of satisfaction that left me sated, he asked me to stay the night. I snuggled up against him. “Is this how you normally treat your CPAs?” I teased.
He went up on an elbow and looked down at me. “No,” he said. He was completely serious. “Never. I don’t do this.”
“I would say after that performance, you absolutely do this often enough to be that good at it.”
His cocky smile actually sent shivers down my spine. “I strive for excellence, but that’s not what I meant. I’ve never slept with someone I actually talked to.”
“I have no idea what that means,” I said.
“I mean, you know more about me than anyone else. I opened up to you like I’ve never opened up to anyone else. And then we slept together. That’s new for me.”
I felt so special. I smiled at him. “Thank you. That’s very sweet.”
“No, I’m not sweet. I just wanted you to know this is not a one-time thing for me.”
I wanted to believe him. I could pretend he was being serious for one night. I pushed him to his back and kissed him. Then I lay down with my head on his chest. I closed my eyes and let myself pretend this thing could be real. I wasn’t that naïve. He could say all kinds of flowery things, but I was certain this was not real.
Chapter 28
Nash
Present
I had a moment of clarity. Self-reflection or some psycho-babble nonsense got me to accept I might have been a little hard on Saige and the others. I was frustrated with the lack of progress at the tax firm. I was pissed about the stupid pipes and I was shorter than normal. I was usually able to differentiate between personal stuff and business stuff. Usually. Unfortunately, the stuff with Saige was throwing me off my game.
I felt like I was being pulled in too many different directions. There were things I remembered. Old memories were boiling to the forefront. They’d been buried a long time. I was certain I was long over that crazy time. I was beginning to think I was wrong. My past was coming back to haunt me.
I knew she was a good person. She was one of the first people I ever allowed myself to trust back then. She exuded kindness. After being jerked around by one accountant after another, she was the first one to talk to me like she actually gave two shits about my concerns. She saved my ass back then. She was smart and funny and made me laugh.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered and slapped my hand against the steering wheel. What the hell was I doing? She was making me feel for her. I could not fall for my employee.
“Too late.”
Being with her stirred up all those old feelings. It also brought the sting of regret. I had screwed up back then. I owed her more than an apology for firing the guy.
I had been able to get through the last several years because I never saw her. I was able to bury all of those old feelings and I focused on making millions.
I didn’t see this thing with Saige and I ever getting better if I didn’t make a big effort. I needed to eat crow. Swallow my pride and all the other stuff Davin told me. It wasn’t really what I did, but this felt different. It felt like I needed to change my ways. At least this one time. I would try it Davin’s way and see if it worked. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t do it again.
I decided to pave the way to reconciliation with some breakfast. I went through a drive thru and ordered two breakfasts before going into the tax firm. When I walked into the office, I noticed a palpable tension. It was worse than ever.
That was to be expected after Monday.
I carried my bag of food to her office. Her office was dark. I checked the time and was surprised to see it was after nine. That was late for her, but I expected she worked late last night. I was disappointed but I wasn’t giving up.
I walked into my office, dodging the daggers that were shooting my way. I dropped the bag of breakfast food on my desk. I sat down and that was when I saw it.
I stared at the envelop with my name written on it. It was her writing. I didn’t have to open the letter to know what it said. “Fuck.”
I’d pushed her too far. I snatched it off the desk and practically tore it open. If Davin was here, he would be shouting “I told you so” as loud as he could. I had a moment when I knew I was stepping over the line. I knew it and I did it anyway because that was what I was used to. I expected people to just put up with my shit because they always did.
I began to read the letter. “I appreciate the chance to work at a job doing what I love. I have enjoyed my time with the firm, and I will miss the people I have come to appreciate and think of as friends. After a lot of thinking and wrestling with what is right for me and my family, I am leaving the firm. My son needs me, and I am putting his needs first.”
“Son?” I said aloud. “A kid?”
I remembered she mentioned a babysitter, but I had thought she was being sarcastic. She sure as hell didn’t look like a mom. At least not my idea of what a mom looked like. If she really did have a kid, I knew it was just an excuse. She’d been working all this time with the kid at home, and it wasn’t a problem, but now it was suddenly a big thing?
I didn’t buy it. She quit because of me. My asshole attitude had pushed her out. I realized the office had been awful quiet when I walked in. I wondered just how many others had quit. I got up and casually strolled through the maze of cubicles. None of them would look me directly in the eyes. I wondered if they knew she quit. Did she try to stage a walkout?