waved him off. He had to give me a chance. I was eighteen, but I could be mature and work at the same place as he, even if this place sounded like it offered pleasurable services. I’d seen those women touch him in ways I had wanted to, but it turned me on, not fuelled jealousy. He had a lot to learn about me if he thought I couldn’t handle it. I wanted to show Rick I was stable enough for him, for us, and to handle anything.
“Why don’t you follow me to my office? I’d like to have a chat if you would?”
The three of us were standing in a triangular shape, Amber near the door, me a metre or so farther, and Rick to the side of the room. It felt like a standoff with the tenseness rolling off Rick’s chest.
“Fantastic.” She widened the door and smirked. “I came in here to see who was snooping on my property and I find you. Follow me.”
She headed out, and Rick rushed to my side, hands on my forearms. “Vee, what on earth are you doing? You’ve got no idea what this is.”
Sure, I agreed with him there. However, I had nothing to lose and everything to possibly gain. That aside, it also meant a reason to learn more about him. I didn’t want another relationship where we hid things from each other. And he was pushing me away. I doubted I’d see him again if not for tonight’s accidental run-in. Even as he gave me his number, I felt something off.
“But I want to know. I have responsibilities, and I don’t see myself getting a well-paying job anywhere else in a hurry. I just want to learn more, okay? I don’t care what I hear. I won’t hate you for it,” I said, and then added, “I promise,” for extra reassuring.
He flicked his gaze outside where Amber had well retreated toward her office and then over my body. His hands were still clinging to my forearms, and when he returned to look at me, his eyes slightly rolled, and he tightened his grip, pulling me in. His pants brushed my stomach and from the contact, a slight hardness.
I pulled my arms back, and he released, letting me follow Amber.
I didn’t look back. If I had, I’d have stared long and hard at the want in his pants. The idea of where it had come from—what it meant for us—both scared and thrilled me.
And I had a job interview to attend.
I caught up to Amber and followed her around corners into a couple more hallways before the final one opened to a wide foyer area. Lavish, deep red carpet with a diamond pattern covered the floor. There were glass automatic doors at the front entrance, and on the opposite side of the room was a reception. She led us past and to the next-door down.
Her office was medium to large in size, had only one portrait of a pretty, young woman on her desk, and otherwise covered with snacks, a used coffee mug, a dangling whip from a wall-mounted bench, and papers and files.
She brought over the spare chair in the corner near her desk and I sat in wait while she retrieved a water jug and two glasses from inside a cabinet. She filled the jug with the water fountain and laid it out for us on her desk. She held up the jug to me, but I shook my head, so she poured a glass for herself, sipped, and then cleared her throat. “Are you friends with Rhett?”
“Old school friends,” I clarified, feeling it summed us up pretty well minus the messy details she didn’t have to know.
“ School.” She cocked her head and smiled wide. “Are you in school, Vee?”
“Oh, no. Sorry for the confusion. I’ve finished, but we used to talk a while back.”
“You’re not twenty-one.” It was a statement, and it, like everything else Amber had said, cemented the authority she had in this place.
“I’m eighteen. His brother was in my year level, so we eventually became friends, too.”
“Lovely,” Amber said although she didn’t seem to mean it. She was looking at her computer and looking at something on it. It was on an angle from where I sat so I couldn’t look discreetly.
“Okay.” She slapped her
“Why don’t you follow me to my office? I’d like to have a chat if you would?”
The three of us were standing in a triangular shape, Amber near the door, me a metre or so farther, and Rick to the side of the room. It felt like a standoff with the tenseness rolling off Rick’s chest.
“Fantastic.” She widened the door and smirked. “I came in here to see who was snooping on my property and I find you. Follow me.”
She headed out, and Rick rushed to my side, hands on my forearms. “Vee, what on earth are you doing? You’ve got no idea what this is.”
Sure, I agreed with him there. However, I had nothing to lose and everything to possibly gain. That aside, it also meant a reason to learn more about him. I didn’t want another relationship where we hid things from each other. And he was pushing me away. I doubted I’d see him again if not for tonight’s accidental run-in. Even as he gave me his number, I felt something off.
“But I want to know. I have responsibilities, and I don’t see myself getting a well-paying job anywhere else in a hurry. I just want to learn more, okay? I don’t care what I hear. I won’t hate you for it,” I said, and then added, “I promise,” for extra reassuring.
He flicked his gaze outside where Amber had well retreated toward her office and then over my body. His hands were still clinging to my forearms, and when he returned to look at me, his eyes slightly rolled, and he tightened his grip, pulling me in. His pants brushed my stomach and from the contact, a slight hardness.
I pulled my arms back, and he released, letting me follow Amber.
I didn’t look back. If I had, I’d have stared long and hard at the want in his pants. The idea of where it had come from—what it meant for us—both scared and thrilled me.
And I had a job interview to attend.
I caught up to Amber and followed her around corners into a couple more hallways before the final one opened to a wide foyer area. Lavish, deep red carpet with a diamond pattern covered the floor. There were glass automatic doors at the front entrance, and on the opposite side of the room was a reception. She led us past and to the next-door down.
Her office was medium to large in size, had only one portrait of a pretty, young woman on her desk, and otherwise covered with snacks, a used coffee mug, a dangling whip from a wall-mounted bench, and papers and files.
She brought over the spare chair in the corner near her desk and I sat in wait while she retrieved a water jug and two glasses from inside a cabinet. She filled the jug with the water fountain and laid it out for us on her desk. She held up the jug to me, but I shook my head, so she poured a glass for herself, sipped, and then cleared her throat. “Are you friends with Rhett?”
“Old school friends,” I clarified, feeling it summed us up pretty well minus the messy details she didn’t have to know.
“ School.” She cocked her head and smiled wide. “Are you in school, Vee?”
“Oh, no. Sorry for the confusion. I’ve finished, but we used to talk a while back.”
“You’re not twenty-one.” It was a statement, and it, like everything else Amber had said, cemented the authority she had in this place.
“I’m eighteen. His brother was in my year level, so we eventually became friends, too.”
“Lovely,” Amber said although she didn’t seem to mean it. She was looking at her computer and looking at something on it. It was on an angle from where I sat so I couldn’t look discreetly.
“Okay.” She slapped her
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