Seducing My Assistant (9 page)

“And then I did something even more terrible.” The words rushed out of her mouth. “I went to a bar. And I got drunk, more drunk than I’d ever been in my life.” She started sobbing as she spoke and I could see Lacey walking towards us, concern all over her face. “And Lacey’s boyfriend at the time, Steven was in the bar. And he said he was going to take me home.” The words tripped out of her mouth clumsily and I could feel myself stilling as Lacey stopped in the middle of the room to listen. I wanted to stop Elizabeth from continuing, but I didn’t know what else to say. “So I got in his car.” She said, almost choking on her words as she cried. “And we had sex. We had sex in the backseat of his car. And as soon as I realized what I’d done, I screamed and jumped out of the car.” She sobbed hysterically. “I couldn’t believe I’d done that. I couldn’t believe it.”

“You slept with Steven?” Lacey almost screamed as she stood in the middle of the room. “You slept with Steven?”

“Lacey?” Elizabeth’s eyes flew to the middle of the room. “Lacey.” She jumped up off of the bed and ran over to her friend. “Oh my God, Lacey, I don’t know what to say.”

“You slept with Steven?” Lacey’s face was pale and she started crying. “You slept with Steven?”

“Please Lacey, you don’t understand. I’m so sorry.” Elizabeth grabbed onto her friend. “Please Lacey, let me explain.”

“I can’t right now.” Lacey shook her head. “I just can’t.” She turned around and ran out of the room. Elizabeth made to go after her and I jumped off of the bed.

“Don’t.” I said softly. “Let her go.”

“I can’t just let her go.” She turned to look at me, a wildness in her eyes. “I betrayed my best friend. I have to tell her. I have to explain. I have to let her know why, what happened.”

“Not now.” I shook my head and walked over to her and pulled her into my arms. “She won’t want to hear it now. You might make things worse. Give her some time to process this.”

“What if she never forgives me?” She gulped. “What if she never talks to me again? I’m a horrible person. Oh my God, what did I do?”

“Elizabeth.” I grabbed her head and looked into her eyes. “It’s going to be okay. You’re not a horrible person. I promise you that. You made some bad decisions. That happens in life. We’ve all made mistakes. Lacey knows you love her. Lacey knows what you went through. She’ll understand.”

“I don’t know that she’ll ever forgive me.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’d ever be able to forgive me.”

“Oh Elizabeth,” I kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to lie and tell her everything was definitely going to be okay between her and Lacey because I didn’t know that it would be. What she’d done had been a betrayal. And while she had her reasons, I could understand if Lacey never forgave her. There were some lines you just didn’t cross and well, sleeping with your best friend’s boyfriend was one of them.

“Do you hate me?” She looked up with red eyes, her lips trembling. “I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again. I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was a piece of trash...” Her voice trailed off and I could feel the pain emanating from her.

“Elizabeth, stop it. Stop it, now. You’re not a piece of trash. You’ve had a hard life. You have emotional issues. We all have some issues. Yours are a little deeper than some people have. That doesn’t make you a horrible person. It makes you a human.”

“I wish I’d never done it. I wish I could take it all back. Oh how badly, I wish I could take it back.”

“I know you do.” I pulled her into a hug and just held her close. “I know you wish you could change the past. We all do. It’ll be okay though. You didn’t do it on purpose and you’re not an evil person. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I just can’t believe I did that to her.” She looked up at me. “And I wonder why no one loves me.”

“I love you.” I said softly, not knowing if now was the right time to admit my feelings to her, but not wanting to hold back any longer. “I love you, Elizabeth Jeffries and I will never forsake you. I’m here for you. Cry to me. Let it all out. I won’t judge you.”

“You love me?” She looked at me in shock, her eyes wide as they searched mine and I nodded. I knew in my heart that I loved her. I knew she was the one. She was my everything.

“I'm in love with you, Eliza. I'm in love with everything about you. You're the first thing on my mind when I wake up. The last thing on my mind before I go to sleep. Your smile fills my dreams. Your eyes haunt me in the dark. Your touch taunts me when I'm alone. My days are spent thinking of when I can be with you. My nights are filled with constantly wanting you. When you're near, I feel like I'm in top of the world. When you're not around, I feel lonely, no matter how many people are around. My soul feels empty. I call you just to hear the sound of your voice because it makes me happy. It makes me feel like I want to fly. You make me feel like I'm on top of the world. And I'm not going to lie, you've hurt me, Eliza. You've really hurt me. You've made me doubt myself. My feelings. My love. But then I realized that you were pushing me away because you were lost, you were hurt. Not because you didn't love me. Because no matter what you say, no matter how many times you tell me to go away or that you don’t know if you want me, I know the truth. I know that you do. I know that you love me. I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your voice. You love me as I love you. You love me and you're scared. You're scared that what we have will end. You're scared that I will stop loving you. You're scared that I will walk away, like everyone else. But, I'm not your dad. I'm not Shane. I'm not going to leave. I'm never going to stop loving you. I'm never going to betray you. There is nothing that you can do that will make me stop loving you. I will love you until you're old and gray. I will love you when you take your last breath. I will love you when we're both in the ground. I will love you when we're spirits floating around the earth. I will spend an eternity loving you. My heart beats for you. You're the oxygen in my lungs. Never doubt that. And I will be here for you through thick and thin. I will be here for you no matter what happens in your life. Trust me. Trust in me.” I kissed her gently on the lips and she gave me a big beautiful smile.

“I don’t deserve someone like you.” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t deserve someone that loves me as deeply as you love me, but you’re right. I do love you. I’ve loved you for a while now. And I was scared. I was scared and ashamed of my past and the things I’ve done. And I’m still ashamed. And I’m still worried that you will fall out of love with me as well, but I do trust you and I trust us. I trust that what we have can be, will be everlasting.” She looked at me sheepishly. “Does that sound scary to you?”

“Not at all, my darling. Not at all.” I laughed at the look of happiness on her face. I could barely believe that we were here in this moment. I could barely believe that she had opened up to me, really let me in and really trusted me.

“Do you still want me to be your assistant?” She asked with a small smile. I could still see some sadness in her eyes, but I knew that couldn’t be helped.

“Well of course.” I laughed. “How else am I going to be able to seduce you?”

“Scott.” She rolled her eyes at me.

“I’m joking.” I said quickly and she just shook her head and leaned in to kiss me.

“No, you’re not, but that’s okay.” She grinned at me and kissed me again. “You can seduce me as much as you want, Scott Taylor. In fact, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Chapter Eight

Elizabeth

Two Weeks Later

“I can’t believe that Lacey still won’t talk to me.” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I glanced at Scott. He looked so handsome in his work suit and so powerful sitting behind his desk. I wondered if I should hike my skirt up a little bit, in an attempt to get him to push me over his desk again, for an afternoon quickie.

“Give it time, Eliza.” He gave me one of his comforting smiles that made me melt inside. “These things take time.”

“I guess so, but I don’t even know what she’s doing or where she is. I’m worried about her.”

“Don’t be worried.” He shook his head. “I told you that I heard she’s accompanying Henry on a business trip or something.”

“That’s why I’m worried.” I made a face. “I knew it was a mistake to go to his place that weekend. I knew he couldn’t be trusted.”

“Well let’s be fair, Eliza, we don’t really know what he’s up to.”

“She hasn’t even been by to collect any of her clothes or belongings.” I made a face. “What is she even wearing?”

“Maybe nothing.” Scott joked and then he put up his hands at my glare. “I kid, I kid, I’m sure she bought some new clothes.”

“Or he bought her some new clothes, you mean. She doesn’t have money to buy any new clothes.” I made a face at him and then moved over to his desk. “I hope he’s not going to try and become her sugar daddy or something.”

“I don’t see that happening.” Scott said as he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me onto his lap. “Lacey doesn’t seem like the sort of girl that would end up with a sugar daddy.”

“She’s not, but what if she’s so upset with me that she isn’t thinking properly?” I gasped as I felt Scott’s hand creeping up my thigh and under my skirt. “Scott!”

“What?” He laughed. “I saw you pulling your skirt up. I know what that means?”

“What?” I feigned ignorance.

“You know.” He pulled me up off of his lap and then jumped up himself. He pushed me forward over the desk and then pulled my skirt up. I heard him unzipping his pants before his fingers slipped my panties to the side. I felt the warmth of him behind me as he pushed up against me and I moaned as he slid into me quickly, thrusting hard.

“Scott.” I groaned against the desk as I felt him sliding in and out of me, his cock filling me up completely.

“Yes honey?”

“Don’t stop.” I moaned, wondering how I got so lucky as to have a job with perks as good as this. “Oh my gosh, why does this feel so good?” I moaned as I could feel myself already close to an orgasm.

“Because we’re in love.” He said sappily and I felt my whole body warming in pleasure at his words. I grabbed onto the table tightly as he slammed into me, his body close to an orgasm as well. We both came within minutes and when he pulled out of me, I turned to him with a small smile.

“That was a good afternoon treat, thank you sir.”

“You’re welcome.” He grinned at me. “Have you called your dad back yet?” He asked me hesitantly and my heart stilled at his words.

“No.” I shook my head. “I have nothing to say to him.”

“Maybe you should just hear him out.” He said softly. “It might be cathartic for you to hear what he has to say.”

“I doubt it.” I looked away from him. “I don’t know what he can say to make me feel any better.”

“Maybe it will give you some answers.” He clasped my hands. “Maybe he wants to ask for your forgiveness.”

“I don’t know if I can forgive him.” I said and then I paused. I looked up at Scott and sighed. “I need to call him. I guess I can’t expect Lacey to forgive me and want to talk to me if I’m not willing to do the same for my dad.”

“That’s not what I was getting at, Eliza.” He said with a worried expression and I reached over and touched his lips gently.

“I know it’s not what you were getting at, but it’s the truth. I can’t expect for Lacey to just forgive me and want to hear what I have to say if I’m not even willing to do the same thing. My dad and I have both hurt others. And you know what, maybe he won’t have anything good to say, but maybe he will. I guess I owe it to him and to me to find out.” I grabbed the phone on his desk and gave him a determined look. “I’m going to call him now.”

“Are you sure?” Scott looked nervous. “Are you mentally prepared for this?”

“Yeah, I am.” I said and I didn’t feel like I was lying. “Being here with you, having your support, it makes me feel stronger inside. It makes me believe that I can get through anything.”

“You know I’ll always be here for you.” He said sincerely. “But you know I can’t fix you inside. I can’t take away the pain that your dad might cause you. I can be someone to depend on, someone to love you, but I can’t take away the anxiety and the pain.”

“I know that.” I leaned forward to kiss him. “I realize that now. No one can take that away. That’s something I have to fix within myself. I can’t and don’t expect anyone to make me feel whole anymore. I know that wasn’t fair or realistic. And actually what we have is so much better. What we have is so much healthier. We’re here for each other and we both know that we can be our real selves and that we’re going to mess up and that’s okay. That’s real. We have a real relationship. A loving, sexy, exciting relationship. I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

“I love that you said that.” He grinned at me and kissed me deeply. “I love that you’re growing. That you trust me. I love who you are, Eliza. You’re my everything. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t.” I smiled at him. “Now let me call my dad.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what he’s going to say!” I picked up the phone and called the number that I had memorized years ago and waited for him to answer.

“Hello?” His voice sounded unsure and I didn’t know what to say. “Hello?” He said again.

“It’s Elizabeth.” I said, this time, not hanging up like I normally did.

“Elizabeth, so good to hear from you.” He sounded genuinely happy and for a few seconds I felt confused inside. “I’ve been hoping you would get in touch with me. I’d love to talk to you. Can I take you to dinner?”

“I’d rather talk on the phone for now, if you don’t mind.” I said softly, knowing I couldn’t emotionally handle seeing him in person right now. I was doing better, but life hadn’t worked any miracles on my emotional state yet.

“That’s okay, maybe another time.” He said hurriedly. “I’m just glad you called.”

“So what did you want to say?” I asked, my voice sounding colder than I wanted it too, but I couldn’t stop myself. I looked up at Scott and he pointed towards his chair and told me to take a seat, which I did. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to sound abrupt.”

“That’s okay.” My dad said, his voice sounding strangely emotional. “I’m lucky you’ve even called me.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” I said and then fell silent.

“I don’t know how best to say this.” My dad said after a few seconds. “So I’m just going to come out and say it. I’m dying of pancreatic cancer. I’m not sure how long I have to live. I’ve been trying to contact you because I want to leave you my estate. It’s not much, maybe a couple of hundred grand, but I wanted you to have it. I wanted you to know how sorry I am for not having been in your life. I don’t have any good excuses or reasons why, I was a selfish man. I know that. I regret it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just wanted you to know that. I wanted you to know that I regret abandoning you. I regret not having you in my life. You’re beautiful. And I wish we had a real relationship.”

“You’re dying.” I squeaked out, my mind not able to take in all that he was saying.

“Yes.” He said simply. “I contacted Shane because I wanted to get in contact with you and I didn’t want your mother involved.”

“Wait, you contacted Shane?” I frowned. “He didn’t contact you?” I was confused. Hadn’t Shane said he had gotten in contact with my father, so he could bring him to me to prove to me how much he’d loved me?

“No, well many years ago, when you were in college. He contacted me, said he was your boyfriend and that I’d really fucked you up and that I should apologize to you.” He sighed. “I slammed the phone down on him, but I kept his number, all those years. I wasn’t really sure why. I guess now I know.”

“He called you when we were in college?” I asked softly, my heart softening towards Shane slightly. Maybe he had loved me after all, before it had all gone badly. Maybe it hadn’t all been a lie.

“Yeah, but it was me that contacted him recently. I told him I needed to get in contact with you, that I was dying and wanted to leave you my estate.”

“Oh” I frowned. “He never told me you were dying.”

“He’s a piece of scum.” My father sighed. “He tried to get the money out of me, tried to tell me that you and he were still together and that you wanted nothing to do with me. I told him I needed to see you and talk to you. That I wasn’t passing over any money until I got to see you. That’s when he took me to you.”

“Oh.”

“I found out later he has a gambling problem.” He sighed. “That he just wanted the money to pay off his debts.”

“And that’s why he said he wanted me again.” I sighed. It was all clicking into place now. “That’s why he pretended he still loved me and wanted to marry me.”

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t mean to bring this guy back into your life. I didn’t mean to cause you any more pain.”

“It’s okay, dad. It’s not your fault.” And I knew as soon as I said they words that they were true. I didn’t blame him for bringing Shane back into my life. I didn’t blame him for the drama or for it leading to Lacey and I falling out. In fact, I was glad that it had happened. I was glad that everything was finally out in the open, even if that meant that I had to live in limbo for a bit.

“It is my fault. I feel like I’ve ruined your whole life.” He sounded like he wanted to cry. “I’ve been such a selfish man my whole life and I just don’t even know what to say or do. I don’t know how I can ever build any sort of relationship with you.”

“Oh dad.” I said, my heart breaking for him and for me and the complicated position we found ourselves in. “I don’t even know what to say, I’m sorry.”

“I know I can’t ask you to forgive me, but I was hoping, that maybe, maybe one day you can find it in your heart to understand that I’m only human and that I messed up. I messed up and I’ll regret it to the day that I die. I’m so so sorry, Elizabeth.”

“It’s okay, dad.” I said the words, knowing that while it wasn’t really okay right now, it would be okay one day. “Why don’t we try and grab dinner this weekend? You and me and my boyfriend, Scott. Would that be okay?” I looked over at Scott and I could see him studying my face, glancing at me in concern, worried for me. Worried about me. My heart filled with love for him as I gazed at his handsome face. This man loved me. He loved me so much and I knew that I would never doubt it.

“That would be great.” My dad said softly. “Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you for giving me the chance I never gave you.” We hung up then and I as I put the phone down I could feel Scott coming up close behind me.

“You okay?” He whispered gently into my ear as he played with my hair.

“Yes, though I feel guilty about it.” I said honestly. “I miss Lacey. I’m worried about her. My dad is dying and I don’t know how I feel about that, but I’m okay. I’m okay because I have you. I’m strong because I have you. I know I’m going to get through this with you by my side.”

“I love you, Elizabeth.” He said simply. “And sometimes, love is enough. No matter what they say. When you have a love like ours. When you feel it in your soul like we do. That’s enough. We are enough.”

Thank you for reading Seducing My Assistant, the novella sequel to Falling For My Boss. The final book in the series, featuring Lacey and Henry’s story is called
Falling for the Billionaire and is now available for preorder
. Falling for the Billionaire is a full-length standalone novel. You can read some exclusive excerpts from Falling for the Billionaire below.