44
It had been three days.
Three full days of routine: emails, meetings, timelines, approvals. Amanda showed up on time, executed every task flawlessly, and didn't flinch when Ericka gave her instructions with that same even tone everyone in the office was used to.
She was good at pretending.
She always had been.
But inside, something was slowly unraveling.
It wasn't just the distance—it was the silence. The way Ericka avoided even brushing her hand when passing her a folder. The way she skipped over small talk. The way she didn't even look up during their shared morning briefings.
Amanda could take a hint.
But it still hurt.
She was at her desk reviewing the revised campaign assets when a soft tap echoed from her side. She looked up to see Ava from marketing holding a file.
"Hey," Ava said. "Can you pass this to Ericka? It's the final copy for next week's rollout."
Amanda smiled, took it, and stood without hesitation. "Of course."
When she stepped into Ericka's office, the usual click of the door behind her felt heavier than usual.
Ericka was at her desk, brows drawn in tight concentration as she scanned the screen. Her posture was a little too straight. Her jaw a little too tense.
Amanda placed the folder down quietly. "Rollout revisions. Ava said they're final."
"Thanks," Ericka said without looking up.
Amanda lingered. Just a moment.
Then: "Are you okay?"
Ericka's hands froze on the keyboard.
A beat of silence stretched between them like a drawn wire.
"I'm fine," she said.
"You don't seem fine."
Ericka finally looked up. Her eyes met Amanda's, and for a second, Amanda thought maybe—maybe she'd crack through that mask. Maybe she'd say something real.
But Ericka just pressed her lips together and looked away. "I'm busy, Amanda."
Amanda nodded, her voice tight. "Right. Of course."
She turned to leave.
"Amanda—" Ericka's voice stopped her halfway to the door.
She turned.
Ericka stood now, still guarded but... different. Like something in her had shifted, even if it wasn't ready to fall apart.
"I didn't mean to shut you out," she said, quietly. "I just... needed space to think."
Amanda nodded. "I get that. I do. But space doesn't mean silence."
Ericka's gaze softened. "I know."
They stood there for a long moment—neither moving, neither sure what to say next.
Finally, Amanda spoke. "You don't have to fix everything all at once. I'm not asking for a decision or a label. But I am asking for honesty. Just tell me if this—" she motioned between them, "—was real for you."
Ericka looked at her, something cracking behind her eyes. "It was. It is. That's the problem."
Amanda stepped closer. "Then let's figure it out. Together. You don't have to do this alone."
Ericka looked like she might say something else—something final.
But instead, she nodded.
The rest of the day moved like molasses—slow, thick with unspoken words and side glances that almost meant something.
Amanda returned to her desk, hands moving on autopilot. She checked calendar invites, replied to emails, fielded a call from the supplier with practiced ease. But her mind kept drifting back to the conversation in Ericka's office.
That single nod.
It had meant something.
Not a promise.
Not a solution.
But something.
The door hadn't shut completely.
And for Amanda, that was enough to keep going.
By the time the office began to thin out, Amanda found herself moving slower, letting the quiet take over her corner of the floor.
The overhead lights were dimmer now, casting soft shadows along the polished tile.
People trickled out, offering tired waves and "goodnights" on their way to the elevators.
She stayed. So did Ericka.
The only sounds were the hum of the HVAC and the occasional clack of keys.
At 6:17 PM, Amanda stood and knocked gently on Ericka's doorframe.
Ericka looked up, surprised—maybe even relieved.
"I was going to ask if you were still here," she said.
Amanda stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "Yeah. Didn't want to leave things hanging."
Ericka leaned back in her chair, eyes tired. "We never really don't have things hanging, do we?"
Amanda offered a half-smile. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean we stop trying."
There was a long pause. Then Ericka sighed and gestured to the guest chair across from her desk.
"Sit with me a minute?"
Amanda did.
For a while, they just sat in the silence. No expectations. No office talk.
Just them.
Ericka finally spoke. "I've spent most of my life controlling every detail. My schedule. My image. My emotions." She glanced toward Amanda. "Then you showed up and ruined that entire system."
Amanda smiled softly. "I'm really good at that."
Ericka huffed a laugh through her nose. "Apparently."
She hesitated, then continued, her voice quieter now. "It scares me how much I want this. You. Us. But it also scares me how easily that could turn into a scandal or a headline or someone's reason to discredit everything I've built."
Amanda nodded. "I get that. I do. And I would never ask you to risk it all. But I'm not a risk. I'm a person. One who wants to stand beside you. Quietly. Carefully. However you need."
Ericka's gaze held hers, steady and raw. "You keep making it harder to keep my walls up."
"Good," Amanda whispered. "Because they're not doing you any favors."
Ericka reached across the desk then, her hand covering Amanda's. No urgency. No heat. Just weight. Real and grounding.
Amanda swallowed thickly, her eyes dropping to their joined hands and then slowly tracing back up Ericka's body.
She felt a rush of heat as she took in the sight before her - Ericka, powerful and put together as always, but with a new softness in her eyes.
A vulnerability that made Amanda's heart race and her core clench with want.
Ericka watched her, a flicker of curiosity crossing her face. "What are you thinking about right now?" she asked quietly.
Amanda's mouth went dry. She shouldn't say it. This wasn't the time or place. But Ericka's question hung in the air between them, an open invitation.
"I'm thinking..." Amanda started, her voice low and rough with desire. "I'm thinking how sexy you look right now. How much I wish I could bend you over this desk and fuck you until you forget your own name."
Ericka's eyes widened, her lips parting on a soft gasp. But she didn't pull away.
Amanda continued, the words tumbling out in a heated rush. "I can't stop thinking about it. About how good you looked riding my dick. How desperate you were for it. How perfect your pussy felt squeezing around me."
Ericka shifted in her seat, her thighs pressing together. "Amanda..." she breathed.
"I know it's not the time," Amanda said, even as she leaned closer, her free hand finding Ericka's knee and slowly sliding upward. "But I can't help it. You're all I can think about. I'm so fucking hungry for you."
But Amanda kept going, unable to stop the words pouring out. "I can't stop picturing it. You naked, riding my dick. That skirt flipped up, your tits bouncing as you take me deep. I bet you look so goddamn good like that."
"Fuck," Ericka breathed, cheeks flushed. She squeezed Amanda's hand almost painfully tight.
Ericka drew in a shuddering breath, her hips tilting subtly into Amanda's touch. "We can't," she said, but it sounded more like a plea than a protest.
"We shouldn't," Amanda agreed, her fingers slipping under the hem of Ericka's skirt. "But I need you. I need to touch you. Taste you."
"I'm going out of my mind imagining it, Ericka. Your thighs squeezing my hips, my hands on your ass, slamming you down. I want to make you come on my dick until you're screaming my name."
Ericka whimpered, pressing her legs together. "Jesus Christ, Amanda. You can't just say things like that."
"Why not?" Amanda challenged, eyes blazing. "Doesn't it turn you on? Knowing how badly I want to fuck you senseless? Pulverize this desk with your tight pussy until 'Amanda' is the only word you remember?"
Ericka trembled, squirming in her seat. "God, yes. It turns me on so fucking much."
With that, she surged forward, claiming Ericka's mouth in a searing kiss. Ericka met her with a low moan, her fingers tangling in Amanda's hair and tugging her closer. They kissed like they were drowning, like they were trying to climb inside each other's skin.
Amanda's hand continued its journey up Ericka's thigh, pushing her skirt higher and higher until she reached the damp heat of her center. She groaned into their kiss as she felt the evidence of Ericka's arousal coating her fingers.
"Fuck, you're so wet for me already," Amanda panted against Ericka's lips. "You want this just as badly as I do, don't you?"
"Yes," Ericka hissed, her hips bucking into Amanda's touch. "I want you so fucking much. Please, Amanda."
Amanda wasted no time in shoving Ericka's panties aside and delving into her slick folds. She stroked and teased, her touch purposeful and skilled. Ericka was responsive as hell, arching and writhing in her chair, her nails digging into Amanda's shoulders.
"It's not enough," Ericka gasped out, her head thrown back in ecstasy. "I need more. I need you to fuck me properly."
Amanda growled low in her throat. In one smooth motion, she pulled Ericka up and spun her around, bending her over the desk. Ericka braced her hands on the cool wood, pushing back against Amanda's hips with a needy whimper.
Amanda didn't waste any time. She hitched Ericka's skirt up around her waist, exposing her bare ass. She kicked off her heels and positioned herself behind Ericka, her dick already hard and ready.
With one hand on Ericka's hip for leverage, Amanda guided herself inside with the other. Ericka was soaking wet, making it easy to slide in. Amanda let out a low groan as she bottomed out, finally inside the woman she'd been craving all day.
The desk shook as Amanda started to thrust, building up a steady rhythm. She could feel every inch of Ericka, hot and slick around her dick. It was better than she had imagined, and she couldn't help but let out a string of curses as she fucked Ericka harder.
Files and papers went flying off the desk, but neither of them cared. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of Amanda's dick pistoning in and out of Ericka's pussy. Ericka's moans grew louder, echoing through the empty office.
Amanda reached around to play with Ericka's clit, knowing it would send her over the edge. She rubbed tight circles around the swollen nub, feeling Ericka's pussy clench around her dick in response.
"Oh fuck, Amanda!" Ericka cried out, her orgasm crashing over her like a wave. She shook and trembled, her pussy milking Amanda's dick.
Amanda couldn't hold back any longer. She thrust a few more times before following Ericka over the edge, emptying herself inside the woman she'd fallen so hard for.
They stayed like that for a moment, panting and trying to catch their breath. Amanda slowly pulled out, feeling a sense of satisfaction she hadn't felt in a long time.
She helped Ericka straighten herself up and they both got dressed, giggling like teenagers who had just gotten away with something.
"I can't believe we just did that," Ericka said, her cheeks flushed.
"Believe it," Amanda replied, grinning. "Because I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
Ericka looked at her, a soft smile on her face. "I know you would."
They tidied up the office, putting everything back in its place. Amanda couldn't help but steal glances at Ericka, still in awe of what had just happened.
______________________________________________________________________________
The city was cloaked in twilight when Amanda and Ericka finally stepped out of the building together. They didn't speak much on the elevator ride down—just exchanged the occasional glance, soft and knowing. Not everything needed to be said, not anymore.
Outside, Ericka's car waited, sleek and silent at the curb. The driver opened the door without a word, and the two women slid inside.
For a few minutes, they sat in that familiar, muted quiet—the kind that stretched between them when words weren't enough, when emotions sat too close to the surface.
Amanda turned her head, watching Ericka in the fading light. Her features were unreadable, like always—but Amanda had learned to see past that. She saw the tension in her jaw. The flicker of doubt in her eyes. The internal push-and-pull she never voiced aloud.
"You don't have to decide anything tonight," Amanda said gently. "We don't have to define it. I'm not asking for a declaration."
Ericka finally looked at her. "Then what are you asking for?"
Amanda shrugged, but her voice was clear. "Dinner. A glass of wine. One night where we're not pretending we're just coworkers."
Ericka didn't answer immediately. But something in her shoulders eased.
"Back to my place?" she asked softly.
Amanda smiled. "Only if you let me pick the wine."
Ericka's lips quirked. "Deal."
The apartment was quiet when they arrived, bathed in warm light and carrying that same soft scent Amanda was starting to associate with safety.
Ericka slipped out of her heels by the door. Amanda moved toward the kitchen, already reaching for the wine glasses.
"Red or white?" she called over her shoulder.
Ericka leaned in the doorway, watching her. "Red. Something strong."
Amanda glanced back with a smile. "Bold. Like you."
"Not always," Ericka said, voice low.
Amanda paused, then walked over with two glasses, handing one over gently. "No one's bold all the time. That's what makes it real."
They clinked glasses, and Amanda took a sip before sinking onto the couch. Ericka joined her, but not too close—just enough. The air between them buzzed with something soft, something uncertain.
"I keep thinking about the consequences," Ericka admitted, staring down into her glass. "What this could mean for the company. For you."
Amanda set her drink down. "I know. And I appreciate that you care enough to worry. But I'm not just your assistant, Ericka. I'm me. And I know how I feel."
Ericka looked at her then. "And how do you feel?"
Amanda didn't flinch. "Like I'm falling for someone who's terrified to let herself be happy."
That landed. Amanda could tell.
Ericka didn't pull away. She didn't deflect. She just... breathed.
"I haven't let anyone in for a long time," she whispered.
"I'm not asking to move in," Amanda said with a soft smile. "I'm just asking to be let in."