The Company You Keep

“You know what I mean. I want to meet a woman.”

Just then the waitress comes up and takes our order. I go with the chicken fettuccini alfredo while he goes with a small deep dish. As soon as she’s gone, I get back to our conversation. “Well if you stay long enough, my Christmas party is Wednesday night, and we can bring a plus one.”

“What about your boss?” he questions. Damn that was loaded.

“Oh hell. What did my grandma tell you?”

“Nothing except you’re having a hard time at work and that you could use a visit.”

“Oh, so this is a pity visit,” I challenge.

“You know that’s not true. I’ve missed you,” he adds with a smile.

“I’ve missed you too. We barely get a moment to talk.”

“Well now that we have it. Tell me about that jackass boss of yours.” I go into the story leaving out the nasty things he snarled at me before the fire alarm went off.

“So he’s been avoiding you even during the day?” I nod and take a drink of my water. “Damn, I would tell you to start looking for a job soon. If you want you can come back and be my office manager. I could really use one.”

“Thanks, but I’m still going to bust my ass. If he cans me, I’ll find something else. It’s kind of weird to have time on your hands with nothing to do.”

“Well, I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks.”

We finish up our meal, and he drives me back to my place.

He waits until I’m inside before he drives off to his hotel. I offered to let him stay in my apartment, but I’m guessing a king-size bed is better than my sofa.

As soon as I get inside, I get a ping on my phone. It’s from James. He’s holding the cutest baby. The message says: Wanted you to see Little man before he went to bed.

He has a son? Wow, what? I don’t know if that picture was meant for me, but I respond even as my heart breaks: He’s adorable with a heart emoji.

I’m ready for bed even though it’s only five. My phone rings and I see Mr. Smith on the ID. I hesitate but answer before it ends. “Hello,” I say with a distracted tone.

“Sorry to bother you, Piper. I meant to send that to my sister. I’m babysitting my nephew while they go Christmas shopping.”

I turn beet red and grateful that I’m only talking to him. The misplaced jealousy feels foolish which is what I always am when it comes to thoughts of him. “Oh, I forgot that you had a nephew. Silly me. I thought he was yours.”

“No, no kids yet, but I plan on having a baseball team worth soon,” he adds with confidence in his voice.

“Really?” So he is seeing someone special, and my heart is breaking.

“Yes,” he grunts out. Then a loud wail comes from the other end.

“Sorry, Piper. He needs me. See you Monday.”

“See you,” I whisper, hanging up before he can hear the cracking in my voice. Maybe Donovan is right. I should be looking for another job.

Chapter 5

James

I walk into the office, and she’s standing there in the tightest fucking skirt, hugging her round ass just right. I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from bending down and sinking my teeth in her sexy ass.

I pull away and walk to my office before I lose my shit. I lean against my office door and sigh. After getting control of my raging hard on that just exists the second I see her, I push off the door and take a seat behind my desk. With two days left of work, I have a lot to handle, but as soon as I sit down, my mind goes back to Piper and wondering if she’s wearing that skirt for someone else. Every night I have a reoccurring nightmare, waking up covered in sweat after imagining her with someone else.

Fuck, I can’t do this for much longer. My hand no longer does the trick. Fantasies of Piper only frustrate me, and I’ve ended up with a dozen damn cases of blue balls these past few days. It’s been two weeks since I stopped having her stay to “help.” I didn’t need her to work late. I craved her at my side. It’s been brutal, and I can’t stop the urge to demand she stay.

“Mr. Smith, here’s your mail and this is the information for the Christmas party. The staff is super excited for it.”

“Okay, I’ll go over these. How are things going, Piper?”

“Good,” she answers, pushing a strand of her luxurious hair behind her tiny ear. Fuck, I ache to stand up and do it myself.

“I bet you love having a life again.”

“Well, you know my family lives in Iowa, but yes it has been a bit relaxing.” I picture her soaking in a hot bubble bath and my dick throbs against my zipper.