16. Carter
Carter
T hey didn’t watch the movie; they never made the risotto, either.
By eleven, they’d explored each other’s bodies thoroughly three times, when her stomach growled in protest, so he called for some pizza.
She’d needed the energy for round four. And five.
And the sixth one, when he woke her around four in the morning, too.
His body clock woke him two hours later, but after a couple of minutes of consideration, he was making an executive decision for them both.
“Trick, can you call down to accounting and tell the boss Cassandra Franklin is feeling unwell today?”
His friend sounded smug as shit when he asked, “And you know that before sunrise because…”
“No comment.”
His friend surprised him by keeping the teasing to a minimum.
“I’m happy for you, Carter. You’ve been less of an ass since you started getting pussy whipped.”
Then, he surprised him again.
“Word of warning. Michelle – Cassie’s boss – is going to give her a hard time if you go public. Hell, she’s giving her a hard time now. ”
What the fuck? Why hadn’t she said anything?
“She was against hiring her – I overrode it. Cassie and Michelle went to the same school, only your girl got a double major, and was top of her class. Michelle’s been giving her trouble since day one.
I didn’t intervene because, frankly, I was hoping she’d replace her soon, and managers need to know how to deal with issues like this. ”
“She’s fired. Get her out of the office by Monday.”
He could almost see Trick shaking his head.
“Carter, we can’t fire someone under contract with no reason. She’ll just come at us with a law suit.”
He bit back his retort, willing himself to think clearly, but truth was, he wanted her gone if she was an issue for his woman.
Cassie…
He glanced back towards the half-opened door to his bedroom, where she still slept peacefully.
“I’ll talk to Cass about it and get back to you. But I won’t have her work in a hostile environment.”
“Yep, I called it. Pussy whipped.”
“Go fuck yourself, Johnson.”
He hung up and proceeded to Google recipes for pancakes, like the pussy-whipped boyfriend he was.
Cassie
D reaming. It must have been a dream, right? A delightful, enchanting, exquisite dream…
“Hey, beautiful.”
She opened her eyes to find the most perfect specimen of maleness in front of her, wearing nothing but his boxers, and holding a tray full of pancakes covered in syrup with a side of bacon and coffee.
She definitely was dreaming. Nothing could ever be as perfect as this.
She shifted and immediately realized that every single naughty thing she remembered had really happened: there was a reason why her whole body felt like it had been run over by a love truck.
Ouch. That was sore.
“Morning,” she replied groggily.
He sat down on the bed and put the tray in his hands next to her, before bending towards her.
Cassie hid under the covers, shaking her head in protest.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked sincerely worried.
“Morning breath. I taste of old socks.”
Carter smiled, rolling his eyes before pulling her to him.
“That’s why I didn’t brush my teeth – I taste like old socks, too.”
He moved the sheet and brushed his lips against her.
“Morning, Cass.”
“Morning, Carter,” she replied shyly.
“Let’s eat. Then you can explain just why you haven’t told me that your boss is a dick.”
Carter
T he morning was perfection. Softness, warmth, affection, cuddles – slobbery ones where Buddy was involved.
“I guess I don’t want to feel like what we’re doing is affecting my work in any way,” she’d said with a shrug.
Now he saw what his mother was saying all along: Elena had wanted plenty from him, without giving much in return – Cassie gave everything and expected nothing, which was why she deserved everything.
“I’m firing her.”
“ What? ”
She sounded point-blank offended.
“If she’s bothering a subordinate because she feels threatened, I don’t want her on my team.”
“I’m no fan of Michelle, but she works super hard, and she loves her job. She shouldn’t be anyone’s boss, so by all means, demote her, but don’t fire a loyal employee. That’s just stupid.”
Carter stood there, wondering when was the last time anyone had called him stupid – except maybe his mother.
Then, he laughed.
“Alright, alright, I get it. We’ll see if she can be transferred to finance, working directly under Trick. That’s technically a promotion but she won’t have the power to make anyone feel like crap that way.”
“Sounds good, but you’ll need a head of accounting.”
“Interested?”
She shocked him again, by shaking her head.
“Hell, no. No way, no how.”
“Why?”
She hesitated a little before confessing, “I guess I know my heart wouldn’t be in it, you’ll need someone really focused on their career, and, well, I like my job.
” From the way her face crumpled, she didn’t, “but I love my books, and honestly, I don’t think I’ll stay on as an employee for very long, if my sales stay steady. ”
The entrepreneur in him immediately switched on.
“How much do you make out of the three you’ve got out?”
“The first month, thirteen thousand. Ten on the second, seven on the third. By the fourth, I got paid my first lot of royalties so I invested in some ads, and I was back to ten or so.”
Carter just stared at her.
“And why are you working for me, again? I mean, there’s no way we pay you as much.”
She hesitated.
“Well, I don’t know. Everyone has told me writers couldn’t really make it, and if my sales collapse all of a sudden, what do I do?”
He wanted to say, you rely on me. That’s what partners do. Or he could have gone for, your sales aren’t going to collapse if they’ve held steady for months and you have the capital to maintain the advertisement.
Instead, he said, “I’ve changed my mind. Never mind Michelle: you’re fired.”