Chapter 17
Monica
I showed up to the office early with Troy’s coffee in hand. Despite feeling disappointed by not hearing from him last night, I still had to put on a happy face and be his assistant. We hadn’t spent a night apart in a while, and he had promised he would call after his aunt’s party. I tried not to let my insecurities get the best of me, especially if he was at a family function. But he was Troy. The most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on, and he was a freaking billionaire. Everyone wanted him. I was still unsure of why he wanted me.
Maybe it was because I was easy access for him, given my job as his assistant. It meant a lot of time together, making it easy for him to get whatever else he wanted from me. I didn’t hate it though. I wanted him just as badly. I couldn’t get enough. There was an ease in knowing we could have each other every single day, whether at his place or in a private dressing room. That was something we had tried a few days ago at Bloomingdales as he tried on suits. It was incredibly risky, but mind-blowing. It took everything in me not to scream into his hand as he cupped my mouth trying to keep my moans at bay.
As I rode in the elevator up to my floor, I wondered if I would get used to compartmentalizing my feelings. Knowing when to turn them off or lower my expectations. I checked my reflection in the mirrored wall of the elevator, fixing the red lipstick I had applied to match the strappy mesh lingerie I wore underneath this black dress Troy had bought me that day at Bloomingdales. The bell dinged and the elevator doors opened.
I saw Kathy at her usual post, as if she was checking to make sure I was on time. I had been here for weeks now and was never late, despite Troy often begging me to stay with him in his California king cloud of a bed. I always felt like I had something to prove to the nosy office manager, even though Troy was the one I reported to. He was her boss. I gave her a curt nod and strode down the hallway.
I opened the door to Troy’s office and was surprised to see him sitting at his desk. I did a double take as I held the frosty plastic cup of coffee in my hands. He looked up and gave me that smile that felt like it was just for me.
“Close the door,” he said.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. In what seemed like one swift movement, he was up from his desk and already pressed against me. His arms encircled me and his hands gripped my lower back. It took me by surprise.
For one, he was usually never early for work. And second, he never showed this much affection first thing in the morning, especially when the office was full. I looked around warily, but the door was closed and the shades were drawn. I sank a little more into his arms and looked up at him.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“You didn’t call,” I said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
He sighed. “I know. I got caught up. My family…they’re…” He furrowed his brow. “Frustrating.”
I stood on my tiptoes and nipped his bottom lip with my teeth.
“Don’t do it again,” I whispered against his mouth, surprised by my tenacity.
I felt him grow hard against my lower stomach and heat flooded through me.
“Is that an order?” he asked, his voice low and rumbling.
His hands slid to my backside, cupping my curves through my dress. I pressed even further into him and nodded slowly.
“And here I thought I was your boss.”
He gave me a squeeze before bringing his mouth to mine. I willfully opened and let his tongue slide into my mouth, slowly whirling around as if he was tasting every part of me. I groaned and wrapped my hands around the back of his neck, breathing him in. I pushed him against the wall near the door, so I could close the distance between us even more with something solid behind his back.
“You are feisty this morning,” he said, catching a quick breath before I devoured him again.
I felt his erection twitch against me, and my God, I wanted him right there. My hands flew to his hair, grabbing it in tufts as I rubbed my body against him, feeling his generous length. He let out a low groan, quiet but enough to fill my body with its quiet power.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and we quickly pulled apart just before it opened. I took a few quick steps toward his desk and grabbed some papers to look busy, while Troy reached up and smoothed his hair. Kathy poked her head in before Troy could even say “come in.”
“Yes, Kathy?” asked Troy. I could tell he was exasperated as he ran a hand through his dark hair.
I stood a few feet away, pretending to busy myself with papers at the edge of his desk. She looked from me to him, a noticeable suspicion in her gaze. I tried to ignore it and gave her a warm smile, even though my insides were shaking. Had she seen us? Heard us? My eyes quickly glanced at Troy and the erection that pressed against his dark pants. I bit my lip nervously, wondering if I was just hyperaware and maybe she wouldn’t notice.
“I just wanted to check in on those final reports for the month,” said Kathy, looking at Troy who was standing uncomfortably by the wall I had left him.
“They’ll be done by lunch,” said Troy curtly.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, grabbing Kathy’s attention as Troy slipped behind his desk and sat down. “I have to use the restroom.”
She gave me a single nod, and as I stepped past her realized she made no signs of leaving Troy’s office. He could handle her on his own. I let out a shaky breath and walked down the hallway to the women’s restroom. Even though this lipstick claimed to be smudge-proof, I needed to be sure. I needed to see what Kathy saw just now.
I pushed open the door and walked to the countertop mirror, placing my hands on the ledge and gripping it tightly to steady myself after that close call. I assessed my hair, which was still in place, although I couldn’t say the same for Troy’s after my fingers had run through it in desperation. My dress was only slightly shifted out of place from the friction between our bodies. The lipstick, thankfully, lived up to its claims and remained where it promised to.
Phew , I thought as I turned and leaned my back against the counter. I figured I should give them a couple more minutes before I went back. As I waited, the door to the bathroom opened and a woman in a light blue sweater dress and thigh-high boots walked in. She looked like she was straight out of a magazine. In fact, I was pretty sure I had seen her in the glossy pages of Cosmopolitan before.
“Hello,” she said, eyeing me.
“Hello,” I replied, watching as her gaze fell to the nude patent pumps I wore, up the black dress, and to my hair that hung in bouncy curls. If I had thought I looked good when I left this morning, this woman had made it her mission to assure me I did not. I could have been picking up dog poop with the way she looked at me in a judgmental, fleeting moment.
“Are you the bathroom attendant?”
I let out a small laugh through my nose. She could not be serious.
“Uh, no. I’m not.”
She rolled her eyes and strode past me, placing her small designer bag on the counter. She pulled out a tube of lipstick and applied the rosy shade to her lips which formed into a perfect pout.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked, shooting me a look.
I hadn’t realized I was staring and now I was called out on it.
“I’m sorry. You just look familiar…”
“Veronica. Veronica Mews,” she said, rubbing her lips together and placing the tube of lipstick back in her purse.
She must have seen the confusion on my face because I didn’t recognize the name.
“The model.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, right. That’s it. Nice to meet you.”
She let out a little huff and walked out of the bathroom. I followed her out, figuring Kathy had to be gone by now. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed Veronica was walking the same path as I followed behind her, trying not to notice how long her legs were. I had never seen her before. I wondered why she was here.
I started to get a sinking feeling as she kept passing each door, continuing in the same direction toward Troy’s office. Maybe she was an investor. It wouldn’t be surprising that a famous model had a hedge fund. Still, something in my gut told me that wasn’t why she was here.
“Um, excuse me,” I said from behind her as she approached Troy’s office. “Do you have an appointment?”
She turned and looked at me like I was a bug she had just squashed. She completely ignored me before rapping her knuckles on the outside of Troy’s door. Bitch .
I slid into my desk chair, hoping to get a grasp on how they knew each other. Kathy was still in his office, looking tense, but she always looked like that. Both she and Troy looked up at the same time to see Veronica standing there, leaning against the doorframe in her thigh-grazing dress.
Kathy’s eyes grew more beady than usual as she assessed the woman interrupting. She lifted her chin slightly and walked out of the room, making a face at Veronica as she passed. I was taken aback by it because it was so unlike her. She hardly had any expressions aside from her usual resting bitch face. But this was different. This was a look of despise and disgust.
Veronica closed the door behind her with the heel of her black leather boots. I swallowed hard. That was not his client. No professional would ever act like that. This was personal.
Kathy shook her head as she began to walk away.
“Kathy,” I called after her.
“Yes?” she asked, turning to face me.
“Who is that?” I asked nodding to Troy’s office, trying to seem casual.
“That is Veronica Mews. Troy’s ex-wife. And a total bitch.”
Kathy turned on her heel and left me there with my mouth open as I looked at the closed door to Troy’s office, wondering what was going on inside. The shades were still pulled from when we had just been making out like horny teenagers. That now seemed like a lifetime ago with this new information. I couldn’t see anything, which gave me a little relief, but I was more so annoyed that I couldn’t see the interaction between the two of them.
I hadn’t expected those words to come out of Kathy’s mouth. Troy had been married? To a freaking supermodel, nonetheless. He had never told me that. It wasn’t like we talked about anything personal really. We talked about work and then we took our clothes off. Still, that seemed like a big thing to keep from me. I had so many questions. Questions I didn’t know if I had the right to have answers to.
Married .
The word repeated in my head like an echo that wasn’t drowning out.