Dear Heart, You Screwed Me

Walking back into the office with a full belly and a head of bubbles from the one-to-many glasses we had at lunch, true to her word, there was a mac laptop and blackberry sitting on Julianne’s desk for me.

I felt a little overwhelmed suddenly.

Okay, so I was going to be Adele’s bitch for a while, but once I showed her what I am capable of, I will hopefully be moved up to working with a client and alongside them. But it was early doors. I needed to just keep my head down and do my work.

I sat opposite Julianne as she opened my laptop and began tapping away. My thoughts went back to lunch when she explained that Adele liked to play with the investors a little, giving up the goods to seal the deal as such.

I couldn’t understand how women, and men for that matter could act like that. I felt cheap and dirty after my one-night stand with Colt. I internally shudder. Never again.

Even thinking it gives me the ick.

“Okay, you are all set up.” Julianne smiles as she spins my brand, spanking new laptop round to face me.

I felt so grateful.

“Thank you,” my voice is barely a whisper.

The silence falls around us as I skim my finger across the sensitive track pad. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. I jumped at the sound of the high piercing ring of Julianne’s phone.

“Yup.” She sighed, rolling her eyes once she heard the voice on the other end of the phone. Placing the phone back in the cradle, she stood from the desk.

“Come, come.” She chimes as she walks past me. I close the lid down on my new laptop, standing quickly and rushing out of the room following her.

I knew where we were going, we were going to Adele.

Maybe it was for me to meet the investors?

Julianne rolled her eyes, sighing deeply then plastering a smile on her face as she knocked on the glass door, Adele called out for us to come in.

We walked into the room, Julianne closing the door behind us as I stepped aside. I saw a dark-haired man sitting in the seat opposite her, her eyes leaving him as they met mine.

“Reese,” her tone was more of a purr, “meet our top investor, Killian Hayes.”

I stood still, my eyes raking up and down the back of the fine specimen of a man that was sitting in front of me. He turned slowly, standing, his dark eyes trailing up and down my body. A smirk curling on his lips. I felt the air leave my lungs; my eyes widened. It was him.

“Reese,” his tone was low, his eyes dragging up and down my body again. He pushed off his chair and stepped towards me, closing the gap between us. His hand darted out for me to shake; wrapping my fingers round his I tried ignoring the rush of current that swarmed through the tips and down to my toes. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I blushed and quickly pulled my hand from his. I wonder if he felt it too?

“Likewise.”

He smiled before sitting back down opposite Adele, her eyes pinned to him. Then it clicked, the air catching at the back of my throat and making me cough. That’s why I recognised her. My mind flashed back to Friday night when he sent me the bottle of champagne, the blonde lady whose fingers skimmed over his broad, muscular shoulders that rippled under his shirt. My heart pulsed under my skin.

“Reese is my new assistant, for the time being…” she laughed, but it was over exaggerated.

I raised my brows, my own laugh softly chuckling out of me.

“Well, I look forward to working a lot more closely with you.” Killian said as he looked over his shoulder at me.

I just nod, dropping my head and rubbing my lips together.

Killian and Adele fell into light chatter between themselves. Me and Julianne just stood there eyeing each other.

“Was there anything else you needed?” I couldn’t help but notice the clipped tone that Julianne had with Adele when she asked.

“No, that’ll be all.” She smirked; her eyes pinned on Killian. I mean, who could blame her. He was a work of art.

Julianne nodded, turning, and walking out of her office.

“Oh, and Reese.” I heard Adele call out just as I stepped over the door threshold.

“Yup.” I spun round and smiled wide as our eyes connected.

“Just so you know, it’s company policy that no staff members are romantically involved with anyone else in the business, or investors for that matter.” She nodded curtly.

“Noted.” I sniped before turning round.

“Close the door behind you please.”

I didn’t respond, just done as she said.

“So that’s how you want to play it…” I muttered under my breath as I caught up with Julianne.

Sitting in a little Italian restaurant just a few blocks down from the hotel, I sipped on my red wine.

“She is obviously just trying to warn you off, she must see you as a threat.” Connie smirked as she twisted some spaghetti onto her fork.

“I don’t think she sees me as a threat per se, I think it’s more she wants to make it clear that I am not to touch what is clearly hers.” I shook my head from side to side softly. “Not that I would be interested in him at all, he is too old for me.” I crinkle my nose up in disgust.

“How old is too old?” wiggling her eyebrows, “asking of a friend of course,” she rolls her eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

“I would say easy mid-forties?”

“Not too bad, that’s around my dad’s age and let me tell you, my dad used to have some fit friends,” she winks.

“Connie!” I lean over the table and swat her.

“What?! I’m not close to my dad, I see him once, maybe twice a year if I am lucky.” She sits back in her chair, “but his friends… well, more like business friends,” she curls her fingers over and admires her perfect coffin shaped nails.

“Disgusting.” I stick my finger down my throat and pretend to heave.

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” she smirks, her eyes finding mine again.

“I have never, ever looked at my dad’s friends and thought, ‘do you know what Mr Smith, I want to fuck your brains out’, just no!” I burst into laughter.

“Your dad obviously doesn’t have hot as sin friends, and let me tell you, they know how to treat a woman.” She winks before picking up her wine glass and taking a large mouthful. “They know just how to work your body and what buttons to press,” her tongue darts out as she licks her top lip.

“I actually feel a little grossed out.” I curl my lips in disgust.

“Your loss.” She shrugs, the glass covering her nose as drains her wine.

“What does your dad do?” I ask trying to change the subject.

“Erm, marketing? Money?” she looks around for a waiter, “I don’t pay much attention to be honest, he’s just a sperm donor that pays into my savings for when I am twenty-five. That’s all there is too it really,” she said as if it didn’t bother her, shrugging her slim shoulders up.

“Sperm donor?!” I nearly choke on my wine.

“Yeah, my mum used a sperm bank to have me and contacted the donor to let him know that his sample had been used. My mum is gay, her and her wife wanted a kid and hey presto, egg plus donor sperm equals me!” she beams as she clicks her fingers and points to her glass.

The waiter silently nods at her before scarpering away.

“Wow,” I blow my cheeks out.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool I suppose.”

“How do you feel being a sperm donor baby?” I ask, hoping I am not overstepping the line.

“It doesn’t bother me. My mums were pretty honest from the get-go, my mums are my parents. Not my sperm donor.”

“That’s good that they were honest with you.”

“Why do you ask?” one of her perfectly shaped brows sat higher.

“I am thinking of doing it myself.” I admit, internally hoping the waiter hurries up with the wine.

“What turkey basting yourself?” she looked confused as she sat back in her chair studying me, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“For fuck’s sake,” I breath out, shaking my head.

“Joking…” she giggles, “but I’m curious, why?”

“Well, I wanted children with Elijah,” I swallowed the burning lump, “but that didn’t happen, and I can’t bear the thought of ever falling in love with someone else. I have always wanted children, it’s a big dream of mine. So, I thought that once I was settled with work and the dust has settled, I would do the parenting thing by myself.” A small smile creeps onto my lips, but it doesn’t get very far as I am reminded of the pain.

“Oh,” was all she managed, her eyes glued to me as she watched. “Well, that’s a very brave thing to do and I admire that.” Nodding gently, she reached for her glass and bought it to her lips. “What happened to Elijah?”

I had to tell her sometime, but deep down, I knew she knew. She just wanted the confirmation from me. I took a deep breath, swallowing the lump that was bobbing in my throat back down.

“He died.”