Chapter 43
Gabrielle's POV
I've gotten along with everyone at Helion since I've been working here. It seems like just a distant memory how nervous I was, but now as I go down to the different levels, people pop up when they see me.
My bones are tired. I miss Morris. With all that happened this morning, I had to leave without him. Walking around with him lying down on my cart, staring up at me, blinking slowly as he falls asleep is something I realize gives me peace. I miss him.
My mind goes to last night.
Last night was crazy.
Fabian is so chill, and the one thing I like about him, aside from everything else, is how upfront he is.
After the dinner, we walked around the city for a while, just enjoying the quietest part of the morning, which was technically still night for us, walking like we had nowhere to go, only for Fabian to stop me and tell me, “I don't want the night to end. I want to keep getting to know you, but I know we have to go to work tomorrow. Do you want me to take you home?”
Such a gentleman.
I wanted to stay out a little bit longer.
Part of the reason is because I realized my feelings are still very strong for Lincoln, and if I don't check myself, I'm going to end up falling right back into the pit of hell that I crawled out from.
People always say to get over someone you got to get under someone else, and that might sound like ho behavior but whoever said that told no lies.
“I want to get to know you too. If you want, I can walk you close to your apartment since you said you live close by,” I had told him.
And so that's what we did, until he invited me up and I took the bait, only for us to end up in his home with my hand on his cock and giving him a handjob.
I don't even properly remember how it happened. I could tell that Fabian was nervous, and the both of us were giggling.
Then I figured why not. Why should I hold out? For who? I wasn't going to sleep with Fabian. Absolutely hell no.
But I enjoy watching a man come.
So, sitting beside him on his sofa, I leaned over to the right and kissed him as I slid my hands underneath his pants to rub his penis, already rigid from the anticipation.
It had a nice decent thickness to it. And in that moment, I absolutely hated myself for comparing it to Lincoln's.
Lincoln's very gigantic penis.
It turned me on to feel how much Fabian wanted me, but honestly his penis paled in comparison to Lincoln's.
Fabian's dick at its hardest felt like holding the average toothpaste tube. And it was quite a bit shorter in length.
There wasn't enough girth for me even at his hardest.
Could I feel good and have a good time with Fabian? Of course. There are men with average penises who definitely know how to work it, but it's not like I would know because the only men I've ever been with had a little above average to large sizes.
Lincoln being the biggest. Because of course he was. What a stroke of luck.
I often think what if he didn't? What if I had a crush on him and he had a small dick? Would I have married him? Would it have been a one and done?
I always felt ashamed for that line of thinking but why should I?
There were things about me that Lincoln found attractive and he was unapologetic for them.
I just happened to be one of those people who enjoys having a thick penis.
It doesn't even have to be very long. Just thick enough to give me a good stretch.
And whereas Fabian's dick might have been on the average to below average size in comparison to what I've experienced, Lincoln's dick is almost the equivalent of a water bottle.
At his hardest it was as tall as one and just about as thick, to the point where the tip of my four fingers could not touch the tip of my thumb when wrapped around his cock.
All I could think about in that moment, was a comparison of how easily my fingers overlapped each other going down Fabian's penis as his mouth opened in pleasure, versus the undeniably heady sensation of my ex-husband's large meaty cock sliding through my grip when he used to thrust his hips up with every downward motion of my hand.
“I'm going to end up making a mess,” Fabian had whispered, barely able to speak.
“Shh. Then make a mess,” I had whispered back to him.
“Gabby…” his breath came out in sputters as I stroked him faster and up with the geyser highest it can be.
Fabian's mouth opened in bliss, his eyes fluttered closed, body jerking through the spasms of his orgasm.
I was so wet in that moment but I wasn't going to give him everything. I needed to keep mystery.
Fabian was great and I would really have to like this man for everything else not to matter… but call me shallow because I like me a big dick.
And how the hell am I going to get over Lincoln going under a guy that's not even working with half of what Lincoln's got. Does the penis make the man?
No, but it sure as shit helps. Maybe I put up with as much as I did because Lincoln knew how to put it down.
Yes a big part of that was love but the dick was part of the equation, and with how much I've been thirsting for it and with what happened with us this morning, Fabian is just not going to cut it.
Heading down the elevator, I arrive back at level C. I stack new deliveries to take upstairs, mark everything, and then head on my way.
I’m stopped by one of the women.
“Gabrielle!” the woman calls out.
“Oh hey what's going on honey!” I smile as I pull the woman in for a hug.
The woman is slightly chubby with short natural red hair and bright blue eyes, freckles adorning her face.
Tammy is the kind of woman who is very humble and wouldn't seem very popular because of how shy and humble she comes across, but she is in fact loved by everyone.
She's good people and we get along really well.
Her two best friends shadow her. Mandy and Charlotte.
“I thought I should tell you,” Tammy starts to say, causing me to lean in.
“What's up?” I ask.
The other girls lean in as well.
“I saw that video from Macady's.”
It's so annoying knowing that my co-workers have seen that video. There have been rumors swirling around about me for a while now, but since I've started getting along with everyone at Helion, people are opening up more, especially Tammy, the one person I can count on not to be two-faced.
Tammy leans in closer, Mandy and Charlotte nodding along with her.
“I thought I should tell you,” Tammy starts. “I saw what Sarah was saying on social media and stuff.”
“Yeah,” Charlotte cuts in. “I just now realized that you were the ex-wife. I never even knew you were married to Lincoln.”
I hesitate for a moment.
“Were you not at the Christmas party?” I chuckle.
“No, and I dunno, I might have heard something about it but I never put two and two together.”
“Well, I didn't really want to bring my personal drama into work,” I say.
“Completely understood,” Charlotte says.
“Yeah, we get it,” Mandy adds.
Then Mandy continues. “One of my sisters decided to talk about her husband and the problems they were having, but then they made up and everything. And then as a result all the women from her job made it their mission to try and sleep with him.”
I'm surprised by this. “What ended up happening with her sister and the husband?”
“Yeah it ended up being a whole issue and the husband was screwing several of the co-workers,” Mandy says.
Both Tammy and I shut our eyes and wince as Charlotte giggles softly. Almost as if she’s heard this before.
Charlotte holds out her palm to me. “But continue what you were saying.”
I smile.
“Well by that logic from that story I shouldn't say anything.”
Tammy tilts her head. “What was it like being married to Lincoln and why did you guys separate?”
Then Mandy chimes in. “What did that have to do with Sarah, and what went on with that and why did Sarah say all those things like you were the bitter ex-wife?”
It really annoys me, but at least these women are coming straight to me and feel comfortable enough to even ask.
“Look I don't want to muddy the waters at work and it's very private. Link and I just didn't work out.”
“Aww you called him Link.”
“Yeah, that's my nickname for him. But that's all in the past now. He and Sarah…”
“I knew they were screwing each other I mean it's obvious,” Mandy cuts in. “She tried to make it seem as though they just had a crush on each other but it's so freaking obvious and I heard rumors that they were fucking up there on their floor when they thought everyone was gone.”
Charlotte cuts in, tucking some of her dirty blonde curls behind her ear.
“That's kind of inevitable though. Those two are always working very close together so she's like his work wife. It's like it was bound to happen regardless so maybe it's good you guys split when you did. You guys did split before that right?” Charlotte asks.
“Not everybody who works together becomes work wife and husband,” Tammy cuts in, saving me.
“Yeah but people who work really close together… and like they're really hot, like Sarah, they can't help it though,” Mandy laughs.
“But that's like saying you have no self control,” Tammy cuts in, seeming to take this personal.
“You're just mad because your husband works at an office that's not where you work,” Charlotte laughs.
“I trust my husband 100%,” Tammy says proudly.
“I don't know… if I was married to Link and he worked here I wouldn't trust him. You see the way he looks at Sarah? They're totally in love with each other,” Mandy cuts in.
I fold my lips, not wanting to hear this.
The girls catch me not saying anything.
“But was he at least good to you? I know that sometimes divorce happens and stuff, maybe because of long distance and all of that, but like in the beginning it's a dream,” Mandy asks.
“Um, we… grew up together so yeah but anyway, like I said all in the past.”
I so desperately want to change the subject.
“You're going to let that girl go online and start spreading all these rumors about you?” Tammy asks, outraged on my behalf.
“Who? Sarah? What is me going online and trying to set the record straight going to do? All I'm going to end up doing is getting more hate,” I tell her.
“I'm so confused as to why you're even getting hate in the first place. I mean you both didn't work out,” Charlotte says.
“Obviously there's a piece missing here, like I said to you guys. And I think it's Sarah. Because we were trying to work out like… when Lincoln was married,” Mandy cuts in.
“I so swear to God Gabby that we didn't even know that Lincoln was married. This is crazy,” Tammy says. “I’m still mad we just now found out through the office rumours and online and stuff, through what people were saying that he had an ex-wife. I thought it was a rumor but then that whole thing happened at the restaurant and we saw the video of you being arrested, which is crazy girl.”
This is not how I want to be remembered, and I wonder if Sarah is still going around spreading rumors.
I want so badly to tell them what a piece of shit that woman is, but to do that would incriminate Lincoln, and that's one thing that hasn't gotten out to the public: the fact that he cheated and that's why our marriage ended.
Doing that would ruin his image and it would embarrass me. Even though he made me so angry, even though his righteous indignation made me want to throw sand in his face at times, after peeling back all the haze of anger, all I could see and all that remained was my love.
“Yeah that girl just has a really shitty mouth. She was just rubbing it in my face that I wasn't married to him anymore and that I messed up,” I say.
“Why did you mess up?” Tammy asks.
“I'm not paying you people to stand around there and gossip. We got deadlines to meet. We have work to do,” the CEO cuts in, causing everyone to jump and scatter.
Not me.
Tobias steps up toward me.
“Gabrielle,” he nods forward.
“Mr. Voss.”
The man passes by me stiffly, head held high.
Anyway, finishing up here, I head back to the elevator and find that the CEO is on it.
Why is he the only one on the elevator?
“Are you excited about the official release for Auralis?” I ask him.
He glances at me briefly. “Excitement is tempered by expectations. The market rewards delivery, not anticipation and excitement.”
I tilt my head slightly. “Sounds like you're not confident.”
He lets out a measured breath. “Confidence has nothing to do with it. True assurance comes from rigorous validation, not blind optimism. We've built something exceptional, but success hinges on our execution, Gabrielle. Flawless, repeatable execution.”
He turns his gaze fully on me, like he's measuring every word.
“We don't get there by gossiping and idly standing around on company time.”
Well then.
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