26. Chapter 26
26
Some Aches A Dildo Can't Fix
November 7th
Nothing in my life the past day has made any fucking sense.
Not only did the person I despise the most proposition me with a sex pact, but I’m actually considering it.
Tonight, we’re stuck in the office doing overtime because of this huge presentation. It landed on Imogen’s desk this morning, and the meeting is tomorrow . She left ten minutes ago, needing to get some rest, but the rest of us—Leo, Adam, Rae, Brody, and I—are here until we finish. If it takes all night, it takes all night.
And the only reason she saw it so late was because it got lost in the shuffle of other paperwork, all thanks to Brad. Needless to say, he got sent home for the rest of the week, and his employment is under review because of how much he pissed off the board and Imogen.
“Ella, can you figure out a color palette for their new brand? The rest of us can configure the slides and figure out an order,” Brody tells me, and I nod, immediately opening their social media accounts and seeing what they have going for them already.
It’s fine, I guess. It’s definitely doing…something for them.
This contract is for a local grocery store chain expanding to a few more locations across Virginia. In order for them to do it, they need to ramp up their marketing, so they approached us. We just didn't find out about it until earlier today.
All through their social media accounts, there's a mix of fonts and colors, and nothing is cohesive at all. Most of the time, companies assume bright colors will pop on their ads and social media pages, but this looks like a color nightmare. For a chain like theirs, I think more muted colors would work best—like earth tones. I think some browns, greens, and beiges will look better. I’m also thinking of creating a custom serif font for them. Serif fonts usually look better online, and they’re easy enough to manipulate so it’s still readable.
“So, we have twenty slides that outline a rough draft of the campaign we would run for them,” Rae tells us. “Ella, what color scheme are you thinking?”
“Muted earth tones. They’re a grocery store, and if we make them their own serif font they can use for every post, it might draw more people in.” I swipe on their feed. “Their accounts are all connected, so if we do a complete overhaul and start fresh, it might help to attract more people to their stores.”
“Good.” She smiles at me. “I’ll head home and work on the slide designs and match it to the projected feed we want to create for them. I’ve seen way too much of this office today, and I need a change.” Rae starts to pack her stuff up, gathering her laptop and everything spread across the table.
“Yeah, I hear you,” Brody says, also packing his things up.
“I’ll work on Imogen’s pitch,” Adam says, also grabbing his laptop. “I’ll write it out at home so she’s not reading from the presentation and send it over to you guys to proofread before I give it to her.”
I look at my phone, noting the time—seven p.m.—before I decide if I want to leave with Rae and work from home tonight, or if I should keep chugging along here.
“I can read it for you, Adam. Just send it to me whenever you have a chance.” I can’t go home. If I go home, I’m going to fall asleep, and that’s something I can’t do, at least not until we have a solid foundation and this is done.
“You’re not headed home?” Rae says as she notices I’m not moving to pack anything up.
“No. I’ll focus better here. Plus, the conference room has a bigger screen for me to see if their new social media feed will look okay.”
“Ah, well, whatever works best for you, Ella,” Brody says, his tone condescending as fuck. Sometimes, I wish I could deck him in the face for the way he speaks to the women in this office, but I always refrain. “Leo, do you wanna come grab a drink with me and talk some stuff out?”
Leo—who has been unusually quiet tonight—only looks up at him from where he’s typing. I actually don’t know what he’s working on.
“No, I think I’ll stay here. I’m the new guy, right? I should stay and learn how a last-minute presentation goes.”
I feel two pairs of eyes on me—Adam and Rae.
“Are you sure? I feel bad leaving you two here to do all this.” Adam is looking at me, knowing how I feel about Leo.
“It’ll be fine,” I say to the room. “We’ll get it done. Won’t we, Zimmerman?”
He smirks at me from across the conference room table. “We will.”
“Suit yourself,” Brody says as he opens the conference room door. “See you guys tomorrow.”
As soon as he leaves, I swear, the air in the room is much cleaner. I can suddenly breathe better.
“Ella?” Rae questions me.
“It’s fine, Rae.” I look at Adam. “Send me the pitch, and I’ll proofread it as soon as I can, okay? You’ll have it back by tonight.” I still have so much shit to do, and being stuck here with Leo could end horribly—especially since I still have no idea what to do about his proposal.
“Got it. We’ll leave you guys to it,” Rae says as she leaves, pulling out her phone. Mine buzzes after she leaves.
Rae: If you end up murdering him tonight, call me. I’ll be back in record time.
Ella: It’s fine, babe. We’re civil, remember?
Rae: Doubt it, but have fun. I’ll see you in like ten hours.
Ella: Don’t remind me.
I laugh to myself as I feel Leo’s gaze on me.
“Do you need an instruction manual or something?”
“No. Believe it or not, I’m capable of doing my job correctly.”
I look at him, eyes widened in shock. “It’s a miracle.”
I print some stock photos and go to grab them, wanting to see how they would fit together on their social media accounts, and when I come back, Leo’s laptop connected to the screen is on some sort of food place.
“What’s this?” I say as I drop the stack of photos I have in my hand.
“I figured if we’re going to be here all night, we might as well order some food.” He looks at me. “When was the last time you ate?”
I’m about to argue back at him, but I actually don’t remember. It might have been this morning, and all I had was a banana and coffee. It has been all hands on deck all day since Brad fucked up, and I skipped lunch to work.
“Exactly. I’ll order us some sushi from the place around the corner.”
My stomach decides to rumble at the worst time. “Fine.”
“Do you want your usual?”
“How do you know my order?” I ask him.
“You and my sister get sushi at least once a week. It’s not hard to memorize it.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks.”
“Wow, did I really just hear that?”
“Don’t get used to it.”
For the next hour, the two of us work in a quiet, simple rhythm. I’m organizing their feed for the days leading up to their new launch, and Leo is working on getting in contact with some vendors for the day they open. A launch party for their new stores would be the perfect way to draw people in, and including free shit like coupons and other goodies could also help.
The two of us work well together when we’re not at each other’s throats.
Leo grabs the food from the delivery guy downstairs and puts it in the fridge, since we’re still working diligently. I can’t stop when I’m in my zone. It only takes another hour and a half to bring their feed together and finish it.
Adam also sent me the pitch he drew up, and with minimal spelling and grammar errors, I sent it back to him in half an hour.
Tonight was a success. We just have to hope tomorrow goes smoothly for Imogen with all the work we’ve done today. I’m leaning over the conference room table, admiring my work, when I feel Leo’s hand on my shoulder.
“Sit down and eat, Ella. You’re going to pass out if you don't.”
I turn to meet his gaze. “As if you care. Then you could take credit for all the shit I did tonight.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “I’d never do that.”
You have before . I stop myself from saying that, because I really don’t have much energy left to fight with him. “Fine,” I say as I grab the sushi from his hand. When I open it, my mouth immediately starts to water. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was.
He sits next to me instead of across from me, and I hate how close he is. It was nice having an entire table between us, but now, we don't. And there’s no way he forgot about the sex proposal he made. He did tell me I had one day to think about it, and that day is almost up.
“Alissa told me you talked to your parents the other day. How are they doing?” I ask, trying to break the weird tension in the room. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve been alone all night or if it’s the pact that looms over us, but I need it to go the fuck away.
“My dad is still recovering, but he’s the same stubborn bastard who raised me, so he’s okay.”
“That’s good.” I know Alissa has been struggling with everything going on, and I assume he is too. Their family is close —like most are. I’m not used to that. Sure, I’m close with my dad and my sister, but it’s not the same. There’s been a missing piece my entire life, and now she’s back, and I have no idea what to do about it.
I can’t think about this right now .
“How about you? How’s your family?”
“They’re fine.”
“And it’s just you, your dad, and your sister, right?”
I nod. “My younger sister has been giving me a run for my money lately, but I think it’s just the burdens of being a teenager.”
“Well, it happens to everyone, right?”
“I guess,” I tell him, and as we keep eating, the tension skyrockets. I’m way too focused on his mouth, and I can’t seem to pull my gaze away.
Nobody should look like that while eating sushi. If you told me Leo was modeling for this fucking delivery place, I’d believe you.
He sits in his chair, sleeves rolled up, arm veins bulging, his chopsticks in his hand. The guy works out excessively—every fucking morning—and he has the muscles to prove it.
Stop fucking staring, Ella .
I bet he’s used to it by now. In college, girls used to look at him, and their panties would fall off. Everyone on campus wanted to either be him or fuck him. It was no goddamn secret.
“Have you given much thought to my indecent proposal?”
His question startles me out of my haze. “No, actually. I’ve been trying not to think about it.” I stand to throw out the remains of my dinner, and when I turn around, he’s walking toward me— so fucking slowly .
By the time he gets to me, he reaches around and throws his shit out too. But when he’s done, he doesn't move out of my personal space.
“Don’t lie to me, Ella.”
Ella . For some reason, when he uses my actual name, I get weak in the knees. The way it rolls off his tongue with that damn accent should be considered criminal.
“I’m not,” I whisper.
He looks down at me, his brow cocked at my obvious lie. “So if I bent you over this table right now, you would hate that?” He reaches for where my hair sits in a bun and releases the clip. That light touch drives me more insane than I care to admit.
His hand trails behind my neck and reaches my cheek, his eyes still attached to mine.
“Zimmerman, I swear—”
“Oh, the surname now? God, you want me so bad, Ella. How do you not see it?”
“Just because we had sex one time—”
“Twice. Or did you forget about our college slip-up?” He smirks as he grabs my hair in his fist and pulls it. “We do that a lot, don't we?”
“It’s only happened twice, and it never will again.”
He pulls my head in close to his, and suddenly, I have the urge to kiss him, and I don’t know why.
“I can see you, Ella. I see you more clearly than you see yourself.” His fingers trail across my neck, down my chest, toward my center. “You may not like me, but you like how I fuck you.” He softly bites my neck. “You love when I make you scream, when I fuck you how I know you like it—hard, rough, and dirty.”
“Leo…” His hand wraps around my throat, cutting off my sentence. I’m fucking aching.
“Let me give you what you need, Ella. This pact will help the both of us, and you know it. I haven't seen you take someone home since I moved in.”
Prick. But he does have a point…
“Okay,” I whisper through his hold.
He releases me and takes one step back, staring into my fucking soul as he looks across my face. It’s like he’s making sure he actually heard me say that before he shakes out of his haze. “Thank fucking God,” is all I hear before he smashes his lips to mine and takes control. Good God, this man knows how to fucking kiss.
“I need you right now, Ella.”
“Then take me,” I tell him as I start to unbuckle his belt.
“Bend over like a good girl and let me,” he says between my lips. His plea sounds like music to my fucking ears, and all I can think about is how wrong this is as he rips my shirt off my body, buttons flying everywhere. My bra comes off next, and Leo stares at my tits for a solid minute.
My mind may hate him, but my pussy has never been happier.
There are some aches a dildo can’t fix.
I comply with his directions and bend over the conference table, the glass cold against my body. “You owe me a shirt.”
“I’ll buy you whatever you want, but let me focus on giving you what you need first, okay?”
I’m about to argue with him as he unwraps a condom, and thrusts right into me.
“Keep that quip to yourself, Ella. I’ve learned a few good ways to shut you up, and this is one of them,” he says as he starts to move in and out of my pussy.
Christ, I don’t know if I could ever get used to his size.
“God, you feel like a fucking dream, Ella. See how good it is when we both give in?” His voice comes out strangled.
“It’s fine, Leo. Truly.”
Then he grabs my ass and lifts me higher, his dick hitting an even deeper spot.
“Oh, fuck,” I say before I can stop it. “Don’t fucking stop.”
“Stop fighting me, Ella, and enjoy yourself.”
Then, he speeds up, the only sounds I hear our pants, moans, and his body slapping against my ass. The conference room table is shaking with each thrust, and I would worry about it breaking, but Leo’s dick is holding me hostage.
It feels way too fucking good. I should be scared, but all I can focus on is how hard he’s fucking me. He knows what I need every single time—hard and rough—but I need more right now.
“Leo!” I say as he goes even deeper. He’s hitting spots nobody has hit in years—including myself. “More.”
“I know, darling.” He reaches for my hair and pulls, my neck exposed for his hand to take over and choke me like he did before. “Tell me how much you hate me.”
I can barely speak, but I utter the words. “I fucking hate you.”
“Again.” He loosens his hold ever so slightly.
“I despise you, Leo. You drive me crazy.”
“God, I love how you clench around me when you say that. Does it happen every time, or only while my dick is filling you?”
He squeezes my neck harder, and I can’t respond.
“You might hate me, but your pussy drips for me, Ella.” A moan overtakes his sentence, and I can feel myself teetering on the edge. He leans down to my ear, moving some strands of my hair out of the way. “I hate you too, Ella. I hate you so much, it’s all I can think about sometimes.”
“Glad the feeling is mutual, Leo.”
“Come for me if you hate me so much,” he whispers in my ear.
“Don’t fucking stop,” is all I tell him as I feel myself fly over the edge, his stupid voice driving me insane.
By the time I come down, he is too, and there’s smile on my face from the orgasm he gave me before I notice the blinking red light. “We have to erase the fucking tape or we’re fucked.”
“Shit, I didn't even think about the security cameras.” He starts to laugh. “Oops?”
God, we cannot do this. Neither of us is ever this reckless, and I hate that this spur of the moment sex has clouded my judgment. “That didn't count. We didn't even set rules for however this arrangement is going to work.”
“Rules sound good,” he agrees as he pulls his clothes back on. “Here.”
His shirt is in one hand as I put my bra back on. “Well, it’s the least you could do since you ripped mine.”
“You liked it.”
Yeah, I did . “For starters, this is never happening at work again.”
“Agreed,” he says as he sits next to me.
“And this is our little secret. I’m not losing my job over this.”
“It’s not against the rules, technically, but I get it.”
“Good.” The last thing I need is someone here finding out and me getting fired. Of course, Leo would probably be fine since he’s a man, but neither of us wants to risk it. I look at him, his face twisted with a few different emotions I can’t place. “Something to add?”
“Are you going to be fucking other men?” His voice is tight as he coughs. “Or women?”
Why the fuck would he care about that? “No. At least not while we’re in this arrangement.”
“Good,” he says, a sigh of relief. “I won’t be either, just so you know.”
“Fine by me, Leo. And the pact is for what? Three times?”
“Sure. And whenever our three times are up is when it’s done.”
“Perfect.” I smile at him. Sex with Leo. Three times. I can do that.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“What?”
He stares at me, looking ever so serious when he utters a sentence I never thought I’d hear. “Don’t fall in love with me.”
I burst out laughing. I can’t help it. “Good joke,” I say as I pass by him, patting his chest. “Lucky for you, I’m not looking for anything serious.”
His lips thin into a line. “Yeah, no one ever is when it comes to me.”
I’m about to ask him about the tone of voice he used, but he gets up and beats me to the door.
“I’ll erase the tape. You get home and get some rest.”
“Sounds good.” I head for the elevator. “I want video evidence it’s gone, Leo!”
He turns back around and looks at me. “You don’t trust me?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I trust you with orgasms, and that’s it,” I say as I push the button.
I hear him laugh under his breath as he walks away from me, his middle finger up when I turn around in the elevator.
What the hell did I get myself into?