Josie Mills is a precocious and straitlaced young woman who is pursuing a career in architecture. The field is very difficult to get a foot into and Josie has been working nonstop to make her dream come true. She's so focused on her slowly growing c...
Somehow, I'd managed to sneak into my office without Peter noticing that I was unforgivably late, even though I was wearing the same clothes as I had to the party last night and they were hardly work appropriate.
It isn't like I had much of a choice, though.
On our second day of working here, one of our coworkers had stopped to tie his shoe just outside the building and walked through the doors only two minutes past seven. Peter had been waiting with a box of things of the guy's things from his office and a red slip.
I comb my fingers through my hair, trying to get it to lay flat against my neck to cover up the love bites peppered there by Luke.
Luke, ugh, even just his name makes me shiver. Of all the people in that night club, I'd chosen the one to sleep with that meant the most to my brother.
I hadn't worked up the courage to call Ben back though I'd sent him a text with the excuse that I was working and couldn't talk. He'd sent back a picture of him in bed eating a cheeseburger and fighting the hangover from hell.
Normally, the picture would've made me laugh. Today, it made me want to cry.
On my brother's big night, I'd slept with his best friend.
Ben is the type of man where loyalty means everything. He'd never forgive Luke for taking me home. He's way too protective. If he were to find out, then it would possibly damage not only the friendship between Luke and Ben, but the core of the relationship between Ben and myself. I'd be the one who couldn't keep it in my pants and destroyed his friendship. He'd say it was all Luke's fault, but he'd secretly blame me too.
Nothing would ever be the same. I can't let that happen. Ben's practically the only family I have to count on.
I'd have to track Luke down later and tell him never to speak of what happened between us to Ben, but for now I would just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that he had the sense enough to do just that until I could be sure.
Luke and I could never, ever spend the night together again. As far as he and I are concerned, we are simply strangers.
How much easier this all would've been if we just never discovered one another's identities... we could've gone months without this stress. A year from now, when I finally had time to attend one of Ben's games, Luke and I barely would've recognized each other. It would've faded to the back of my mind, nothing but a hazy memory of really, really fantastic sex.
Cool chills prickle up and down my arms, memories of the long night we spent together simmering in my veins.
His kiss, his touch, his body against mine... it'd been amazing, and amazing was putting it extremely lightly.
It'd been mind-blowing. He was mind-blowing. And now I could never see him again.
I give a faint grunt and bury my face in my hands. It's just my luck that the most amazing man I've ever met would be completely off-limits. Not that he was probably interested in pursuing things with me. I'm sure I'm the farthest thing from his type that ever was, but even just the option would've been nice.
When I close my eyes, senses dulled, I can still taste him. Or maybe that's just because I didn't have time to brush my teeth before rushing here as fast as I could.
"Well, well, well," says a sly voice from the door of my office.
My eyes spring back open, my face arranging into what I hope looks like a perfectly innocent expression. There wasn't anything innocent about me today, though.
Peter Tullamore stands there, his other eyebrow lifted this time. Just how in the world did he manage to do that? I couldn't even wink properly, but his eyebrows were like living caterpillars on his face, always crawling around and changing positions.
"How was your evening, Josie?" he asks, blinking slowly.
I clear my throat and give a tepid shrug.
"It was... uh... not too interesting," I finally answer, grateful that my voice is hoarse from shouting at the club. At least that will make my feigned sickness a little more realistic now.
"You don't say? Hm. Well that's funny because someone in the office seems to have seen you at a... what was it?" Peter glances over at where the redheaded staff woman is meekly wringing her hands.
"The club downtown," she sputters, shooting me an apologetic glance. "Go Portland Pumas..."
She gives a weak thrust of her fist in the air.
Traitor!
"Want to explain yourself?" Peter asks, shooing away the girl and then stepping towards me. He closes the office door after him, making me swallow hard.
Every inch he took closer to me made me sink farther and farther into my chair.
"While you're at it," he adds, before I can manage to collect myself, "you might as well explain why you came into work late today as well."
Now it's me who's anxiously wringing my hands, my fingernails digging into the sides of my palm with worry. I'd worked so hard to get this job, and now I could stand to lose it. Everything I'd worked so hard for and I could have just thrown it all away for a single night out on the town.
Just how stupid could I be?
"My brother plays for the Pumas. He won an award and asked me to come. I haven't seen him in forever and so I just... I just wanted to go." My head hangs in defeat, but my shoulders feel slightly heavier for coming clean with the truth, "I understand if you have to let me go."
"Let you go?" Peter echoes, giving a dry chuckle that makes me even more worried than I was a few minutes ago. "Oh, Josie, I won't fire you for that. I can tell you feel awful about the terrible choice you've made."
"I do!" I gasp, leaping to my feet in surprise. "I really, honestly do."
"And you realize you risked everything for a single night of merriment?"
Again I nod eagerly.
"Good. Because if you want to keep working here, I own you now. You might as well sell your apartment, you're going to be spending so much time in this office. Every task I need done, you do. Every coffee I crave, you get. Do you hear me?"
Stunned, my once eager nod turns into a hesitant one.
"Good. You can start by getting my dry cleaning and when you get back, you can clean out this office. It's no longer yours."
"But you aren't firing me-"
"No, but I'm demoting you. You're no longer a real part of the staff here. You're a gofer, an errand girl, and you're lucky to even be that. If you prove your worth, then maybe we can consider you joining as an architecture intern later. Now get going."
Peter turns on his heel in disgust, leaving me staring after him with tears welling in my eyes.
In one night, I potentially ruined my career and my relationship with my brother.
What am I going to do now?
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