Authors: S.H. Kolee
Fated
Fated
by S.H. Kolee
Copyright
© 2012 S.H. Kolee
All
Rights Reserved.
This
book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission from the author.
The
characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to
real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover
design by Humblenations.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
"Shit."
Macie Spire's one-word expletive shot out of her with the force of a small
explosion as she walked back and dropped her cell phone on the table in
disgust.
"What's
wrong?" I asked, looking up from my menu. She had ducked outside to take
the phone call and I was hoping she hadn’t gotten in trouble for squeezing in
lunch with me on a busy workday.
"I'm
going to kill my friend Sandra. She was supposed to fill in for me at work
while I'm away, but she just told me that she decided not to wait to move to
Virginia. She was supposed to leave in August to move in with her boyfriend but
now she's leaving this weekend. I'm screwed!"
I clucked
sympathetically, knowing this was going to throw a serious wrench into Macie's
plans. She was going on a three-month tour of Europe and Asia with her
boyfriend, who was a photographer for a travel magazine. The only way she had
gotten her boss to agree to give her such an extended period of time off was
for Macie to find a temporary replacement.
Macie
clutched my hand in desperation. "Lauren, you haven't found a temp job
yet, have you? You'd be perfect for it!"
I
shook my head slowly, steeling myself for Macie's imminent plea. "Can't
you find someone else? You don't leave until Friday."
"Today's
Wednesday!" Macie wailed. "Caden is going to kill me! The only reason
he agreed to give me three months time off is because I was able to get Sandra
to fill in for me. He trusts her since she covered for me last year when I had
to go home because my mom was sick."
"What
makes you think he would trust me then?" I frowned. "I'm a stranger.
Plus, I have no experience as a personal assistant."
"
I
trust
you," Macie said emphatically. "And you have plenty of experience as
an administrative assistant. It's not that different, you just run a lot more
personal errands."
I
sighed, knowing the real reason why I hesitated in helping Macie out. I really
had no valid excuse. I was staying at Macie's apartment while she was away and
I still hadn't found a temp job. When she had mentioned on one of our frequent
phone calls that she was looking for someone to sublet her apartment while she
was abroad, I had jumped at the chance. Chicago was starting to feel
suffocating and it seemed I could never escape my past. The thought of living
in New York City, if only for a few months, had been irresistible. I hoped I
would be able to find a job and a place of my own before Macie returned from
her trip so I could stay in New York permanently. In the meantime, while I
looked for a full-time position, I was planning to temp through an agency.
So
filling in for Macie while she was traveling seemed like the perfect solution.
But the thought of working for Caden Riley made me hesitate. I had never met
him before, but I was well aware of who he was. He was a superstar of the art
world, a veritable prodigy who’d had showcases devoted entirely to his
photographs when he was just a teenager. Now at thirty-two, he was a media
sensation with his controversial photos that often garnered both critical
acclaim and condemnation for his inflammatory subjects. His latest collection
walked along the edge of pornography; a series of photographs that captured women
in the midst of violent orgasms. It was often rumored that he was the one to
drive the women in his photographs to climax before taking their picture.
Caden
Riley was exactly the type of man that made me feel uncomfortable, anxious even.
The thought of his raw, unleashed sexuality made me shudder, but not in
pleasure. It didn't help that he was so handsome. I had seen plenty of pictures
of him in magazines and newspapers, and there was a virility to him that jumped
out even through the pages. I had spent most of my life avoiding men like Caden
Riley.
"Lauren,
please!" Macie begged. She looked at me plaintively. "Just come and
meet him." She bit her lip before continuing. "Honestly, he might not
even want to hire you. He's a bit difficult when it comes to trusting new
people. But he trusts me, and I'll vouch for your skills and credibility."
I
reasoned with myself. There was no logical rationale for refusing this
temporary job that was falling in my lap. Throughout my life, I had continuously
striven to tamp down my irrational fears of men. I was tired of being afraid,
tired of passing on opportunities because of my anxiety. I was tired of letting
my past control me.
"Okay,
I'll meet with Caden but I'm not promising anything."
"Great!"
Macie beamed with relief and I couldn't help smiling in return. Macie was the
type of person whose good cheer was infectious, and it had been what had drawn
me to her when we were both students at DePaul University. She was my total
opposite and everything I aspired to be. Happy. Carefree.
Normal.
After
the waiter took our order, Macie chattered endlessly about how she knew I would
be a perfect fit for the job.
"You'll
like Caden. He's demanding but fair. Fortunately, his schedule is clear for the
rest of the day so you can meet him after lunch."
I
glanced down at my casual outfit of jeans and a turtleneck. Even though it was
April, there was still a bit of chill in the air. My unruly brown curly hair,
which was always a hassle to deal with, was tamed into a ponytail. "I'm
not exactly dressed for meeting a prospective employer. Maybe I should go home
and change first."
"You
look fine. This isn't like working in a regular office. You can dress casually
as long as you look neat and presentable."
I
frowned. "Isn't it weird working in someone's home? What are your hours
like?"
Macie
shook her head. "Caden's townhouse is huge and he converted the first
floor into a studio and an office. It doesn't even seem like you're in his
house. The hours can vary. Unfortunately, it's not like a nine-to-five job and
you're basically always on call." Macie smiled brightly, seeming to
realize that she wasn't putting the most positive spin on the job. "But
Caden doesn't make crazy demands and he's pretty understanding about his employees
having a personal life."
"Have
you ever been to one of his photo shoots?" My voice dropped to a hush, not
wanting anyone to overhear our conversation. "Is it true what they say
about him and his models?"
"Caden
keeps his photo shoots very private so I've never been present for one."
Macie shrugged. "As for the rumors about him getting his models off, who
knows? As long as he's a fair boss and I get my paychecks on time, he could be
reenacting the entire Kama Sutra in his studio, for all I care."
I
breathed a little easier knowing that I would be closed off from Caden's photo
shoots. The last thing I wanted to witness was any sexual acts between him and
his photography subjects. But I still couldn't help being a little curious.
"But don't you...hear things?"
"I'm
pretty sure his studio is soundproofed." Macie grinned. "Or else the
women are really, really quiet."
Macie
spent the rest of lunch filling me in about the various duties of her job, and
before I knew it, it was time to meet Caden. I had met Macie for lunch around
the corner of Caden's townhouse on the Upper East Side to make it convenient
for her, so we didn't have far to go.
I
was a bundle of nerves as Macie unlocked the front door, but I was determined
to not let my phobias control me. I trailed behind Macie as she stepped through
the entrance and opened another door immediately past the foyer, across from
stairs that presumably led to Caden's home. The office was spacious with two
large desks on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Macie dropped her
bag next to one of the desks and sat down.
"This'll
be your desk. The other is Caden's, but he doesn't use it that often. He has a
personal office upstairs that he mostly uses."
Macie
checked her watch and then indicated for me to pull over a chair and sit down
next to her. "Caden should be back from his lunch meeting pretty soon. Why
don't I start going over his schedule with you?"
I
watched as Macie opened up his schedule on her computer, listening to her go on
about appointments I was responsible for booking and errands I was supposed to
carry out on a regular basis. My head was filled with the names of a dozen
important contacts as well as how often I was supposed to drop off his dry
cleaning, when I heard the door open.
My
breath caught when I saw Caden step inside the office, his presence making the
office suddenly seem small. The pictures I had seen of him hadn't done him
justice. He was well over six feet tall with dark brown hair that was almost
black. His strong features graced a decidedly masculine face that was equal
parts male beauty and rugged handsomeness. Caden's gray slacks were perfectly
tailored for his body, his black belt showing off a trim waist. His white shirt
was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the tanned column of his strong neck.
But his eyes were what drew me in. It was hard to describe their exact color.
They were a tawny golden brown, reminiscent of warm honey. Amber, I would call
it. Most women would be captivated by his gaze, feeling a tingle of pleasure as
his eyes drifted up and down their body with interest. But I just felt
displeasure coursing through me at his obvious look of assessment. I couldn't
completely suppress the frown on my face.
"Caden!"
Macie waved him over to her desk, as if she were the boss instead of him. I was
surprised when he just sauntered over at her imperious demand, but I was also
relieved when his gaze shifted from me to Macie.
"Caden,
this is Lauren Sloan. I need to talk to you about Sandra."
Caden
held out his hand, scrutinizing me with an intensity that made me
uncomfortable. I reached up and watched as my hand disappeared into his grasp,
his hand tightening as we shook.
"Nice
to meet you, Lauren." His voice was deep with a gravelly timbre, igniting
all my nerve-endings. I felt an unfamiliar pull inside my chest as I forced a
smile on my face.