Chapter 18 Keaton
Chapter eighteen
Keaton
I
’ve been on this call with Caruso Enterprises for over two hours and I’m ready to fire my newest client.
The excitement of acquiring the huge resort and casino fades with every one of their lengthy follow-ups with some concern or another.
“I understand,” I say for the umpteenth time.
“We will take a look into that right away and I will personally see that your concerns are addressed.”
I hang up just in time for my brothers to saunter into my office because obviously I can’t catch a break today. They both have huge smiles on their faces, and I wonder if I could stand them side-by-side and slap it off them at the same time.
“Have you met your new assistant yet?” Camden asks.
“Haven’t had the time. I’ve been stuck on the call with Vegas for the past two hours.
Next time I’m letting one of you fuckers deal with them.
” This weekend I did catch a glimpse of a blonde moving things into the guest house.
I was probably a dick for not offering my help, but I didn’t have it in me to care.
Honestly, I couldn’t give two shits about the new woman moving in. There’s only one woman I want living on my property and in my home.
“We just had the pleasure. Spoke with her for a little bit and I think you’re really gonna like her,” Cam continues.
Lincoln tags on, “She’s your type, you know. Blonde. Beautiful. Curves for days. You may actually decide to keep this one around awhile.”
Camden nods vehemently. “And if Janine hired her, she’s gotta be smart. Though, I’m sure she’s made some bad decisions in her life."
“Would you both shut the fuck up?” My voice is raised, which isn’t something I do at work except in circumstances when I’m talking to the two dickheads standing in front of me.
“I don’t care what my goddamn assistant looks like.
She could be fucking Miss America for all I care.
I don’t care if she’s good at her job. I don’t care if she’s fucking married to the Pope. I just care…”
“Mr. Fisher.” I’m cut off by the sound of my name followed by the clearing of a throat. Janine, the head of our HR department, is in my office with her signature retired school principal look. “I’m here to introduce you to your new assistant.”
Taking a deep breath and cursing myself for letting these motherfuckers get to me, I look at the woman standing beside one of my most trusted employees.
Her golden hair has the slightest curl through it so that it looks like waves drawn in the sand.
Plump lips painted in a beautiful shade are slightly parted.
My gaze travels down to her ample breasts that show just a tease of cleavage in her cream blouse that’s tucked into a navy pair of pants that have a cute tie at her waist. A waist I remember holding in my grip all too well.
“This is Anna Keith,” Janine introduces me to the woman I’ve been obsessing over for the past month.
I look Anna in her wide eyes as she takes me in. “Nice to meet you Mr. Fisher. I’m excited to be here, but I should inform you my husband isn’t the Pope. He’s actually a real asshole.” Then she abruptly turns and storms out of my office, away from me.
My brothers are still in my office, Lincoln snickering and Camden masking his laughter behind his hand.
“You knew?” I growl at the pair of idiots.
“You knew my wife was hired as my fucking assistant? You knew that the woman I have been obsessing over was steps away from me, just on the other side of that door and neither one of you fucking told me?”
Camden holds his hands out like he’s Chris Pratt and I’m a raptor. “Calm down, Keaton. We had no idea Anna was your assistant until this morning. We would have told you if we had known.”
“Would we have?” Lincoln’s smug smirk has an intense rage building up inside me. I take a step toward him, but then he throws his hands up, not wanting to deal with my fury this morning. “Well, are you gonna go get your girl?”
“Yes, Mr. Fisher, I think it would be best if you go see if you still have a freshly hired assistant who stood out among all the other applicants and would benefit both you and the company. Then maybe the other Mr. Fishers won’t mind filling me in on what exactly is going on here.”
Shit. I forgot Janine was still standing there and she not only saw me almost punch my chief financial officer but now she knows about my marriage to Anna.
Not that I want to keep it a secret. If Anna would let me, I’d send an email out informing my entire staff about our wedding and even include the pictures the chapel emailed me thanks to the package we purchased.
But I can’t do that if I don’t have a wife, and that’s going to be the case if I keep fucking things up with her.
I leave my brothers, who have been smirking at one another like a couple of schoolboys who just pulled a prank on their teacher, to Janine. My human resources manager has her arms crossed, her hip popped, and a look that tells me she’s about to knock them down a peg or two.
Couldn’t happen to two better people. Those two dumbasses deserve to be incurring her wrath today. I have more important things to deal with. Like making sure my wife doesn’t leave me. Again.
A few of my employees pointed out the direction they saw a small, blonde woman huff in and now I’ve been standing outside this bathroom door for about ten minutes.
Usually, I’d be running through my neverending to-do list in my head, but the only thing I can think about right now is making sure Anna is okay.
When I hear the click of the bathroom door, I straighten and smooth down my shirt.
Do I smile? Where should I put my hands? Why is this awkward?
Anna steps out with her head down, bumping right into me.
My arms raise to grip her shoulders and when she looks up at me, her eyes are rimmed in red and puffy.
Even still she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“Anna, Baby, I’m so sorry.” She brushes my hands off, then taking a deep breath, she straightens up to her full height, fixing her eyes directly in front of her at my chest. “Mr. Fisher,” she begins.
“It’s Keaton, please. Please, Anna, call me Keaton.
” I’m begging to hear my name from her lips again.
Her eyes flick up to mine briefly before she centers them so that she’s staring at my chest. Her chin lifts and even though I know she’s probably about to say something I don’t want to hear, I’m so damn proud of her for being so strong in this situation. This shitty situation I’ve put her in.
“Mr. Fisher,” she starts again, “I want to thank you so much for the opportunity to come and work for your company.” A sniffle escapes her but she’s able to compose herself quickly.
“But I think it would be best if I go ahead and decline the position. This position just turned out to be something I wasn’t expecting.
” Her voice turned squeaky towards the end as she tries to hide her pain from losing this job that I know she was excited to begin.
My head and heart both feel like they’re splitting in two while yelling at me to pull my head out of my ass and figure something out fast that will keep this woman in our life.
“Anna, Baby, you can’t quit. You were excited about this opportunity, and I won’t let you leave on account of me. You just moved here.”
“Stop calling me Baby,” she grits out between her perfectly white teeth.
“And yes, I did just move here. Into your guest house. I will have to see you every day at work and then when I can finally go home, there’s still no break from it because you’ll still be there.
” Her voice comes out in sobs and those big, beautiful eyes stare up at me, shiny with the tears she’s holding back.
“I can’t do this,” she whispers.
I need this woman to know that she can do anything she puts her mind to and that I will be the man standing beside her cheering her on. “You absolutely can do this. I have no doubt that you are capable of doing anything. This was my fuck up, Anna. What do I need to do to get you to stay?”
“Sell your company,” she snorts. I know she doesn’t mean it, but it doesn’t stop me from taking a second to think.
Am I seriously considering selling everything I created in order for this woman to take a chance on me?
That’s fucking terrifying and I guess my face doesn’t do a good job of hiding the fear because the next thing she says is, “Oh my gosh, Keaton, I’m not serious. Calm down.”
I shake the thought of turning over my company from my head. “Anna, we can make this work. I’ve been wanting to talk to you every day since we met. I need to explain. I had a meeting…” She throws her hand up and cuts me off.
“I’m not interested in hearing your explanation.
You could have had a meeting with the Pope for all I care, there’s no reason for you to have just left me there without a single word.
I sat in that hotel room like a fool waiting, finally coming to the realization that everything from the night before meant nothing to you.
That I meant nothing to you.” She whispers her next words, “I’m so sick and tired of being the fool. ”
Her defeated tone has my already broken heart breaking down even more. It kills me that this woman sees herself in that way, and I know it’s all my fucking fault.
“You are not a fool, Anna. You are a beautiful, intelligent, and talented woman. You are thoughtful, kind, and funny. If anyone’s a fool here, it’s me. And I’d be an even bigger one to let you walk away from this job.”
To let you walk away from me.
Anna sniffles and appears to be contemplating my words.
Her bottom teeth pull her plump lip into their grasp, and it takes everything in me not to pull it free and place a kiss on it.
We stand there in silence for several moments before she finally looks up at me.
My breath catches as I await her response.
“I need to go.” I start to interject, but she shakes her head at me.
“Apparently my new boss has a thing against essential oils and being late and I happen to share those sentiments.” A small smirk briefly crosses her face but disappears way too quickly. “I will be at my desk if there’s anything you need, Mr. Fisher.”
As she turns to the direction of my office, warmth spreads in my chest. Anna’s here. And she’s staying. Now to just let her know that the only thing I need is her.
“Let me get this straight,” the woman whose job it is to make sure our people here are just as secure as our tech looks at me with a raised eyebrow, “you went on a work trip to Vegas. And while there you got excessively drunk and married your new executive assistant?”
“I don’t know that I was excessively drunk,” I mutter.
Janine leans over and taps the ring on my left finger.
The ring I haven’t taken off since the night Anna put it there.
“Fine, that’s fair. But she wasn’t my assistant at the time.
In fact, I didn’t even know she had applied.
And even if I did, I didn’t know her last name when I married her. ”
“I don’t believe that’s the flex you think it is,” Janine quips.
“Mr. Fisher, I am just trying to look out for you. While we don’t have a non-fraternization policy in place, you are in a position of power over her.
And while I’m not trying to pry, from an outsider’s perspective, your relationship doesn’t appear to be in good standing. ”
The words ‘position of power’ have me picturing myself straddling a very naked Anna while she’s tied up to my headboard, and I’m plunging into the tight pussy I haven’t been able to stop thinking about for weeks.
I shake off the thoughts before things get super inappropriate in front of my personnel manager.
“There will be no issues between Ms. Keith and myself while she’s employed here,” I assure Janine. “I am sure Anna will find she loves working here at Phisherman’s Cybersecurity.”
She offers me a soft smile. With her no-nonsense attitude, they are few and far between, but that makes them even more genuine.
“I’m sure she will find many things she loves here, Mr. Fisher.” Janine turns and walks out of my office.
I hope like hell she’s right.