A Workplace Affair (13 page)

“Sure, I’ll be downstairs.” She leaves, abandoning me alone with Leland. Neither of us speaks right away, seemingly both collecting our thoughts.

“I’m sorry.” He startles me, breaking the silence with the simple words. “Victoria, I know that I hurt you and Sage, and I’m sorry. I promised you I would make it up to you, and I hope that this helps a little.”

“What was in the envelope?” I can’t very well forgive him, when I don’t know all that he’s done to make it better.

“An investment. I did a lot of thinking about how I could fix this, and since the deal was done I decided to make the best of the situation. I am personally investing in Sage’s Sweet Delights. Instead of putting in a restaurant downstairs we are going to leave the bakery there, and with my investment Sage will expand into the space next door to her existing space. Not only will it benefit our investment into the building, but Sage will benefit with all the added foot traffic.” He sounds like he’s really thought about this a lot, and it does seem like a good plan.

“Thank you.” The smile I give him is genuine.

“I never meant to hurt you, Victoria, but I think it worked out for the best. This was I can make sure no one will make Sage close her doors.” He had a point, but I just can’t manage to put my hurt aside.

“Maybe you’re right. We should get downstairs so that you and Sage can talk about things.” I start to leave but Leland stops me.

“Victoria wait, can you please forgive me?”

“I’m sorry, Leland, I don’t know if I can.” I leave him standing there, but I don’t get very far. Outside the door I stop and finally let out the tears I have been holding in. I didn’t notice at first, but Sage was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“I thought you might need a shoulder when you were done.” Through my tears I laugh.

“I can always count on you.” I rush down the stairs and give her a huge hug. Together we walk to the bakery and she hands me a cupcake.

“I don’t have to take the money, Vie.”

“Yes you do, and I want you to. This is your dream, and I will never let you give up on it.” Just then Leland walks in, it looks like he’s been crying but I think that’s just wishful thinking.

“I’m going to give you two a little time to talk about things.” I just can’t be here right now, so I step outside to catch my breath.

Chapter 38

She just walked out again. I don’t understand why she can’t forgive me. I have turned everything around for her and she still can’t forgive me. I didn’t even do anything wrong to begin with. I know that Victoria is hurting, but damn, she’s being unreasonable. One thing is for damn sure, I’m not going to fall down at her feet and beg her to forgive me. I take a minute to calm myself, I was so sure this would fix things with her, but now, I just have to suck it up and deal with it. Walking out of the apartment, I lock the door behind me and head down the stairs to the bakery. When I enter, Sage and Victoria are sitting at the counter talking.

“Yes you do, and I want you to. This is your dream, and I will never let you give up on it.” I only catch part of their conversation, but it just proves how much Victoria loves her friend.

“I’m going to give you two a little time to talk about things.” She rushes out quickly leaving Sage and me alone to discuss business. The moment the door closes behind her the room feels empty.

“So, did you have any ideas for the expansion?” Sage looks at me for a moment before saying anything.

“So how do you plan to get her back?” Her question catches me off guard.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Then yes, I do have some ideas for the expansion. First idea being that you will be very hands on with the whole process.” Before today I though Sage just tolerated me for Victoria’s sake, but as we start to discuss the plans for expanding the bakery I realize that she was just protecting her friend.

Chapter 39

Today marks day fifteen of our remodel of Sage’s Sweet Delights, which means day fifteen of working side by side with Leland. A sweaty, shirt off, muscles rippling, sexy as hell Leland, who barely even looks in my direction. Not that I care, I mean, I’m still mad at him, I think. At the moment, Leland is bent over a sawhorse sawing a piece of wood for the new counter, and I am doing my best not to look. I’m failing miserably. This isn’t the first day of this either, every day that we’ve been here remodeling Sage has delegated some task to him that makes him even sexier than he already is. I think she might have gone Benedict Arnold on me.

Sage insisted that in order to save money, we do as much of the labor as possible. Turning back to my wall I realize that I’ve spent more time looking at Leland than I have painting, and get to work. The new bakery is going to look amazing when we’re done, which with the schedule the way it is now, should only be a day or two more. It’s amazing what money can accomplish. Leland invested one million dollars, of his own money, into Sage’s bakery, and the company was spending a lot more than that to ensure that the apartments are ready to open when the bakery does.

Since we started the remodel I have been staying with Sage in her new apartment so that we could get an early start every day. It’s been really nice being so close to Sage, but I will be very happy when I we can go back to being just friends and not roommates. Not that I don’t love her, it’s just that I am kind of a neat freak, and Sage is not. Lost in thought, I barely notice that my bright yellow wall is painted.

“You know, the second coat goes on after the first one is dry.” It’s the first words Leland has spoken to me in over a week.

“What? Oh, guess I was somewhere else.” Setting my paint roller down I step back and make sure there aren’t any spots I have missed. Satisfied I wrap my roller in plastic so it doesn’t dry out before the second coat.

“Things are going pretty well so far.” I didn’t notice that Leland has walked with me to the sink.

“Yeah, it looks really good. Look, I know I said it before, but I just want to thank you again.” Looking over at Sage I see her looking through a catalog of bakery equipment, circling items like a kid with a Christmas catalog. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen Sage this happy.”

“You’re welcome.” I turn to walk away but his words catch me. “I miss you.” I almost don’t hear him say it, and almost walk away, but I know this has been hard on him, too.

“I miss you, too.” I don’t think I’ve ever missed anyone so much. Not wanting to say anymore I head over to see if there is anything else Sage wants me to do before I call it quits for the day. She simply waves me off saying dinner will be here in twenty minutes. Knowing I don’t have enough time for the kind of shower I would like, I head upstairs to change, calling dibs on the shower after dinner.

Chapter 40

When I get upstairs I just can’t wait until after dinner to take a shower, so I grab a towel and head to the bathroom. Turning the shower on, I undress and take my hair down before stepping in. The water, which is almost too hot, feels amazing on my dirty skin. I stand there for a while under the hot spray and enjoy the feeling of the sweat being washed away. I turn to grab my body wash and hear something that sounds like the door opening.

“Sage, is that you?” Getting no response from the shadow on the other side of the glass, I shrug it off. If there is a murderer here to kill me I might as well be clean before I die. After about two minutes the shower door opens slightly and Leland peeks in.

“Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look in the shower?”

“What the hell are you doing, get out!” I yell at him and do my best to hide my exposed skin.

“Sorry, dinner will be here in ten minutes, and I have orders to be clean and presentable or I am not allowed to eat.” Opening the door wider, he steps into the shower with me. “Don’t worry, I’ll behave, I just want to take a quick shower.” He sounds pretty convincing, at least to my distracted mind he does. Figuring I can wash off and get out in a matter of seconds I turn quickly to wash my body and rub against him in the process. I’m not used to being in such a small shower with another person. Doing my best to ignore the burning that has started inside me I scrub my body.

“I can wash your back if you need me to.” I am just weak enough to accept and hand him my loofah. He begins to wash my back slowly, and after a few seconds I realize he’s washing me with his hands. Instantly I feel the need inside me grow, and yell at myself to not give in.

“I never did get a chance to show you the right way to have shower sex.” His hands come around to cup my breasts, pulling me into him as he whispers in my ear. My will to fight is not nearly as strong as I need it to be, and a small moan escapes my throat. Traitor. I can almost feel his smile as he tweaks my nipples hard.

“We shouldn’t do this.” I don’t sound nearly as convincing as I would like to.

“Then tell me to stop.” One hand sneaks down to cup me, and my legs go weak. He supports my weight as he slides two fingers into me and massages my g-spot. Leaning forward, I brace myself on the wall of the shower as the first waves of the orgasm hit me. Leland leans with me and keeps my orgasm going until I go limp again. “Now, here’s the fun part, no matter how much you want to scream, you have to stay quiet. Unless you want Sage and everyone else to know what we are doing in here.” I shake my head and shout in my head for him to enter me. Understanding, he leans back and pushes into me from behind, using the water as lubrication as it runs between our bodies. At first, I’m talking a big game in my head, of course I can stay quiet, I am a pro at staying quiet, and then he picks up speed. The only noise, besides the water, is the sound of our bodies slamming together as he takes me roughly. I have to hold my breath to keep from screaming out. Leland adjusts slightly placing one hand on my shoulder for leverage, and putting the other over my mouth, understanding my struggle. As the water starts to turn cold he moves the hand on my mouth to massage me, sending me over the edge once again. As soon as he feels me start to come, he lets go and comes with me. As soon as the euphoria leaves me, clear thought returns. This was a mistake.

“I told you that you were doing it wrong.” I dry off quickly and sneak to my room to get dressed. As I close the door I can hear at least two voices in the kitchen. Finding clothes quickly I pull my wet hair into a bun and take a deep breath before going to face the music.

Entering the kitchen, I find Sage, Nick, Carter, and Leland all fixing plates of Chinese food.

“Victoria, come and get some food before it’s all gone.” Sage passes me a plate. Exchanging a look with Leland, he shakes his head, no one heard us. Breathing a sigh of relief I start piling food onto my plate.

Chapter 41

I take a moment alone in the bathroom after Victoria leaves. I don’t remember sex ever being that good. All I want to do now is follow her into her room and throw her on to the bed for round two. There have not been many women I have been able to be rough with, but from what I just saw she enjoys a little bit of roughness. I can’t wait to find out how much. I make sure to towel dry my hair before I leave the bathroom, then I head out to enjoy the rest of my evening.

I join Sage, Nick, and Carter, who have all started filling their plates with lo mien, and sesame chicken. Filling a plate, I dig in and wait for any of them to mention what just happened, but if any of them know, they keep it to themselves.

“Victoria, come and get some food before it’s all gone.” Sage passes Victoria a plate as she walks in. The look on her face reminds me of the first night I saw her at the bar, she is mortified. She looks to me quickly and I shake my head, letting her know that we have not been found out. Relaxing, she fills her plate and joins in the conversation. Everyone talks about the remodel and the progress until the beer starts flowing, then the conversations break up. Sage and Carter are talking about the party for the grand re-opening. Nick and I are going over plans for the new counter, and Victoria is sitting alone, deep in thought. I can’t help but watch her and wonder what is going on in her head. The night can’t end soon enough for me. All I can think about is lying with Victoria again.

Around 11:00, everyone starts winding down. Carter and Nick both say their goodbyes with plans to be back at 7 am. Victoria starts cleaning up the plates and cans in the living room, and Sage excuses herself to go take a shower. I sit for a moment and watch Victoria as she moves, there’s something mesmerizing about the way she does things.

“Here, let me help you.” Standing, I take the plates out of her hands.

“Thank you.” She smiles at me and, grabbing a few more cans, leads the way into the kitchen. The plates were made of paper, so I toss them in the trash and stop her before she dashes from the room. Standing between her and the doorway, I block her path. “Please move.” I do as she asks and move closer to her until she is standing against the counter. I lean in so that our lips brush when I talk.

“Let me stay with you tonight.” The words are only a whisper.

“I can’t, what happened earlier, it was a mistake. I forgive you, Leland, I do, but I just think too much has happened for things to go back to the way they were.” I’m stunned; I really thought that we were going to be ok. I don’t know what to say, so I just turn around and leave.

Chapter 42

The moment Sage leaves the room, I know I’m in trouble. Leland is still here, and I can tell he thinks things are going to be the way they were before.

“Here let me help you.” He takes the plates out of my hands.

“Thank you.” I smile and grab a few more cans; maybe if my hands are full he will leave me alone. He follows me to the kitchen, and tosses the plates in the trash. Moving quickly, he stands between me and the door, blocking my path. “Please move.” He moves, but instead of moving out of my way, he moves closer to me. I back away, but stop when I hit the counter. He leans towards me and my body responds as he gets close enough to kiss me, but he stops short.

“Let me stay with you tonight.” The words are only a whisper, and I can feel the heat of his breath on my lips. I want so badly to say yes, but I know it’s not smart.