Boss with Benefits_An Office Romance Page 25

  I closed my eyes, remembering my wedding last year. It had been a small, intimate affair, with no expense spared. Seth had gone crazy with the food and wine, making sure we had nothing less than five-star cuisine for every one of our guests. With Nana as my maid of honor and Christian as the ring bearer, the whole thing had been, well, sublime. And then our honeymoon, wandering in Greece and Rome with nothing but our eyes and an outdated map to guide us. It had been nothing short of a fairy-tale. As if that wasn’t enough, then came the post-honeymoon news when we went to the doctor.

  I opened my eyes and smiled at my husband. Yes, he was the kind of catch, the larger-than-life stud who didn’t only exist in books or on TV. And yet, here I was, with Seth Jackson as my ideal husband. The impossible had happened to me. I was the luckiest woman in the world.

  “What are you thinking about, sitting there looking so happy?” Seth asked as he strode up to sit beside me, looking incredibly happy himself.

  “You,” I answered truthfully, and he grinned.

  “You still up for that dinner tonight? I have something important to tell you.”

  I glared at his sly smile. “Yeah, you said that, and the suspense is killing me, by the way. Can’t you just tell me now?”

  Seth’s face changed into a look of mock irritation.

  “God, Alisha, most women would kill for a nice fancy dinner and forget all about the important news. Why can’t you be more like them?”

  I raised my brows. “You really want me to be more like other women?”

  His face fell. “God no, please. I married you because you were you.”

  “He says I can drive it home today!” Christian crowed as he strode up to us, the short car dealer waddling close behind.

  “That’s great, Christian,” I said with a smile, “I’ll just—”

  “Be riding with me in the SUV,” Seth cut in. He patted my belly affectionately. “Don’t want the baby getting carsick with your ambitious moves.”

  I kissed Seth’s cheek then leveled my razor-sharp gaze at Christian. “Speaking of ambitious moves, Christian, I don’t want you doing anything risky or illegal, okay?”

  Christian sighed the sigh of an incredibly put-upon youth. “Yes, Mom.”

  The ride home was as uneventful as I could’ve hoped for. Christian didn’t pull any wild stunts, probably because he was so overjoyed to have the shiny new Porsche in the first place. Once we got home, in fact, it was only minutes before he was racing off to show one of his friends his birthday present.

  Nana, meanwhile, was soon to be out the door, too.

  “Don’t you two go worrying about me,” she said, with a firm smile on her lips freshly adorned in pink lipstick. “Seth told me all about your special night, and I made plans to play bridge with the girls.”

  As the door swung shut behind her, I turned to Seth with a rueful smile. “You’re just leaving me no choice but to go to the restaurant, aren’t you?”

  Seth gave me a great smacking kiss on the lips before patting my bottom. “You know it.”

  As soon as I set eyes on the restaurant we were going to, I turned to Seth with a sigh.

  “Vincenzo’s? Really?”

  “What?” Seth said, “It has a special place in my heart. It’s where you rejected me—the first time of many.”

  “Ah yes,” I said, as he helped me out of the SUV. “That time you made the flattering request that we sleep together with no emotional attachment; how could I forget?”

  Seth couldn’t resist a roguish grin at that. “And look how well it ended up for us, eh? No emotions whatsoever; just a baby or two.”

  I smacked him with the back of my hand, then paused. “Or two?”

  Seth shrugged, his eyes going to my belly. “I really like this one so far. It seems like this baby thing is something I could get used to.”

  I laughed. “Speak for yourself. I’d wait until they were born before I made any sort of grand proclamations if I were you.”

  Seth’s smile, however, was indefatigable as he opened the restaurant door for me. “Just you wait and see.”

  This time, Seth had them seat us on the balcony outside, where we had a stunning view of Boston, all lit up with nighttime buzz. You could easily make out the Prudential and Millennium towers, while the whole sky was bathed in the glow the city gave off.

  After the waiter had delivered our wine and left with our orders, Seth finally took my hand.

  “Okay, babe. You’re probably wondering why I brought you here.”

  There was a far-away look in his contented blue eyes. I nodded.

  “Well,” he said, drawing close, “It’s because I love you.”

  He leaned in to kiss me. As we drew apart, I scanned his face.

  “Seriously? Can you just tell me what it is?”

  Seth sighed, throwing up his hands. “What? It’s true.”

  I took his hand and squeezed it affectionately.

  “Which I don’t doubt. These past few years, you’ve made me the happiest woman in the world, but you can’t keep on holding back whatever it is you brought me here to tell me. I know you, Seth. I know when you have something to tell me.”

  Seth smiled ruefully. “You know me too well. It’s just a hugely big deal to me. I know I’ve been slower to pull back from work than you’d like, but making the final step—selling the company—seemed just that: very final.”

  I nodded.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “I realized I was just being a coward. My real fear was that if you ever left me for some Godforsaken reason, then I’d be all alone, and I’d have nothing.”

  “Seth,” I said.

  He took a sip of the wine, nodding as he did. “I know, it’s ridiculous. It’s leftover bullshit from my dad, I know. So anyway, I did it. I sold the company. To Bryer and Co., and you won’t believe the price I got. And you want to know why? Because if there’s anything worth taking a risk for, it’s you.”

  I pulled away when he tried to kiss me. “Seth.”

  “Okay, now I can spend as much time with our family as I want, and that’s what’s important.”

  I grinned and let him kiss me. “Nice save.”

  He grinned back. “Thanks, I do try.”

  “What happens now, though?” I asked, gazing into his eyes.

  He looked at me with more love than ever, our legs touching under the table, our lips nearing until they were locked.

  “What happens now is,” he said as we drew apart, “is that we enjoy our dinner. Then we’ll have dessert in an undisclosed location.”

  “Can I guess now?”

  “No,” Seth said, deadpan.

  So we enjoyed our meals and dug into the succulent lamb chops with the clementine marinade, forking as many garlic potatoes in our mouths as would fit. Despite my incessant pestering, Seth refused to divulge where dessert was to take place.

  Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. We literally gobbled our dinners down, although we took some time to chat and marvel about how far we’d come. Talking baby names lasted us the rest of the ride home.

  “So you really won’t name it Clarence if it’s a boy and Clarissa if it’s a girl?” Seth asked, his blue eyes narrowed with seriousness.

  “No and no,” I answered, shaking my head, “I already have one C-named child, I don’t need another. And you may want our child to sound all ready for prep school, but I’d prefer something more down to earth. Like Gareth or Hazel.”

  Seth snorted. “Oh God, these again. Anyway, we’re here.”

  It was only as we were making our way back to the house that I remembered.

  “Hey, what about dessert?”

  Seth sighed.

  “Oh crap, yeah, I just remembered.” He grinned, “We’re right where we need to be.”

  He took my hand, pulling me along through the house and out the back door.

  “Just trust me,” he said before I could protest.

  Now it was my turn to sigh, although I wore a rueful smile on my
face.

  “The things I trust you for—”

  My words died in my throat, however, because now we were nearing the hill, whose willow tree was covered, from the trunk to the tiniest branch, with white Christmas lights.

  I turned to him with shining eyes.

  “Seth, you—”

  “Yes, it took forever. And yes, it was worth it. I meant what I said back there; I love you.” He took my hand and squeezed it as we neared the top of the hill. “And yes, you ruined the surprise by making me tell you at the restaurant.”

  Now we’d reached the summit, and Seth was sitting down, patting the patch of grass beside him.

  “I guess I wanted to take you here because this place still means a lot to me. It’s where I used to dream of the life I wanted. And now, it’s where I go to reflect on just how lucky I am to have gotten that life.”

  “Oh, baby—”

  He put a finger to my lips.

  “Shhh, you haven’t had the brownie.”

  He extracted a packaged little brown thing and handed it to me. I took a bite, then passed it to him.

  “Nah, got that for you,” he said.

  I pressed it against his lips, so with a sigh, he took a bite.

  “You’ll be the death of me yet, Alisha Jackson.”

  I didn’t answer, casting my gaze over the black expanse of trees ahead of us, the navy, star-studded sky.

  “So, if I ruined the surprise,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder, “what happens now?”

  Seth took my hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.

  “What happens now is that we live together happily ever after for the rest of our lives.”

  “I could get used to that,” I said.

  A silly grin came onto Seth’s face.

  “I already am,” he admitted.

  We laughed. As I took his hand, the wind played with my hair, and as I craned my head to look at my home, my gaze returning to my big-hearted husband, there was no doubt in my mind that we would do just that, live happily ever after.

  Here’s Your 2 Never Released Novels

  BULLY BOSS

  By Tyler Grey

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter 1

  Jacob

  “Look at you; you’re so tall already.”

  I looked up at my mother and grinned. She was right. At 13, I was already far taller than the other boys in my class. I’d noticed it myself that morning, and I wondered if I’d perhaps shot up in the night. They said that could happen. I didn’t mind. There was no such thing as being ‘too tall’ in my books.

  “I know! I’m like a giant,” I said, and grinned at her.

  “A gentle giant,” she said, and smiled lovingly at me.

  I preferred her not knowing what sort of a boy I was at school. To me, home life and school life were very different from each other. I was one person at school, and someone very different at home, and that was the way I wanted it to stay. My mother had caught wind of something I’d done once, by someone who told their parents, who then told the teacher, who then told her. Thankfully, my mother hadn’t believed a word of it. I’d told her that they were lying, and she’d taken my word for it. After all, why would her little boy lie to her? In her eyes, no matter how tall I became, I’d always be little to her.

  “You ready to go to school, Mr. Giant?”

  “I’m ready.”

  “Good. Let’s go. I’ll be home early tonight, so I’ll make your favorite meal.”

  “Mom, you’re the best!” I said. I loved it when my father was away. My mother was always in a much better mood. I also liked feeling like I was head of the household for a change because when he was home, it was pretty clear that I wasn’t. I couldn’t wait to be an adult sometimes. I sure felt like it when I was at school. Ever since I’d turned 13, I had felt more and more like the adult I wanted to become, but as soon as I was at home, I was reminded that I still had a long way to go. Home was a strange place for me. A place of order and control. I liked to be in control, but I hated being controlled. But while I was under my father’s roof I knew I couldn’t do anything about it.

  My mother dropped me off down the road and kissed me goodbye. It was a request I’d asked of her about a year ago, and she hadn’t taken it too badly. I thought she’d be upset, but I told her that it was a little embarrassing to be kissed by your mother in front of everyone. She had just laughed and told me that she understood. That was the thing with my mother. We liked to pretend a lot with each other. We smiled and laughed when sometimes all we wanted to do was cry or scream. We both knew that we were never going to change my father’s ways. It was easier to just pretend and to make the most of the moments when he wasn’t around. They didn’t happen all that often, so we enjoyed them while we could.

  I got out the car, waved at her, and headed towards the school. Once I got there, I couldn’t help but feel relieved. I loved school. It was the one place where I felt better than everyone else. I liked the way they all looked up to me, and the way so many of them feared me. It made me think that one day I could become the leader of the world. I would be a good leader. They would listen to me and do what I said. School made me see the sort of man I could one day become. Not a boy that cowered when his father walked into his room, but a man that took control and who never let anyone stand in his way. I was only 13, but I had more ambitions than most kids my age. That was why I was the one they feared.

  “Hi, Jacob,” said a boy from class. I didn’t even know his name, but I always referred to him as ‘Pimples.’ He was running towards me with a stupid grin on his face. Every few weeks I would choose one of the smaller kids to favor. This meant giving them the chance to walk with me, talk with me, and even carry my bags. The chosen kid would never have to worry about being bullied. At least, not for the week or so that he was with me. I’d announced my plan a few months ago, and ever since then, I had all the kids practically bowing at my feet for the chance to be chosen. I hadn’t yet decided who I was going to pick that day, but I was sure it wasn’t going to be Pimples. He was too annoying, and he tried too hard. I decided to ignore him, and I heard what sounded like a small whimper come out of his mouth. It amazed me sometimes how weak these kids were. Sure, I wouldn’t want them to see how I was at home, but it was different with my father.

  When I looked behind me, I saw that I had a group of kids now following me. I could tell just by the look in their eyes that they were frightened of me, and I tried not to chuckle. I knew that a lot of the kids thought of me as a bully, but I didn’t mind. I was sure that they respected me too, and even surer that they were scared of me. I was more than happy to be a bully if it meant walking around school without fear. I wore the title like a badge of honor.

  I walked into the classroom and made my way to my desk. Once there, I turned to Barry, one of the boys I actually did consider to be one of my friends. He was only a bit shorter than me, and I worried that he was going to one day catch up to my height, or even pass it. There was something scary about Barry that made me think I should rather have him on my side. Thankfully, he seemed to want to stay friends with me too. I guess we both figured we would be better together than alone.

  “Did you do the English homework?”

  He grinned. “Pimples did it for me.”

  I laughed. “Clever. I actually did this one myself. Was such a pain, though. I think I’m going to have to get someone to help me next time.”

  “I’ll do it,” Pimples said. He had clearly been listening in on the conversation. It blew my mind how he wanted to help despite us calling him Pimples all the time. Had the boy no shame?

  I turned to look at him. “Hmm, as long as you promise not to fuck it up? I
want good grades, and I also don’t want it to be the same as yours. It can’t look like I’m copying your work.”

  “It won’t be the same. I’m also really smart. I promise. You’ll see. Barry is going to get a great grade because of me. And I won’t tell anyone.”

  I grinned. “Well then, we’ll have to wait and see.”

  I was just about to say something else when I saw Alice Bozeman walk into the room. Alice was a small girl with red hair. I wasn’t sure what it was about her that had made her the center of my bullying lately, but I couldn’t help myself. It was probably because she was the one person that had tried to stand up to me. I’d told her that her red hair made her look like a clown, and she’d bitten back and told me that I was a clown. She also said that her hair wasn’t red, but that it was brown, and that I needed to get my eyes tested. The whole thing had made me laugh, but while I was mildly impressed by her backchat, it also only made me want to tease her more. Her hair was actually more brown than red, but she didn’t need to know that I thought that. I chuckled when I saw her walk in, clutching her books with defiance. She was doing everything in her power not to look at me.

  “Oh, look! The clown has just walked in. Hi, Clown! Have you got any cool tricks for us today? Are you going to pull a rabbit out of a hat? Or are you one of those clowns that are more sad than funny?”

  The whole class burst out laughing, but she continued to ignore me.

  “Hi Clown, hi Clown, hi Clown,” I began to chant until the entire class was chanting with me. It always amazed me how easy it was to do this. Soon, even some of the kids that didn’t like me were chanting too. Even people that called themselves her friends. I knew that they just didn’t want me to turn my attention to them. It was much easier and safer to simply stay on my side.

  I noticed that Alice’s head was down, and I swear I could see a few tears falling down her face. For a brief second, I felt bad, but I didn’t want anyone else to see that I was affected by this, so I continued to chant. Then, just to amplify things, I called out. “Don’t cry, Clown!” Of course, as I did so, the teacher walked in. Mr. Jenkins stared hard at me, and I quickly sat back down and chuckled. The rest of the class chuckled too. He looked from Alice and then back at me, and sighed. It wasn’t the first time he’d walked in on me doing something like this.