“I see.” But she didn’t. She had no clue what was going on. “You know I still have a semester left in school right?”
“You’ll postpone it.”
“What?”
“I won’t repeat myself twice.” He frowned at her. “So listen very carefully Sophie.”
“Ok.” She swallowed. This was a very different Max than she was used to.
“Read through the papers and tell me your answer.” He sat on the table in front of her and unzipped his pants, pulling his cock out. She looked at him in surprise and with lust wondering what he wanted to happen next. “Read the papers Sophie.” He commanded her while playing with himself.
Sophie nodded her head and tried hard to concentrate on the words as he grunted and moaned while jerking himself off. She could barely read the papers when he patted her on the shoulder. “What do you say?” He grunted and for some reason unbeknown to her she muttered, “Yes.”
The next thing she knew he was pushing his cock in her mouth and coming. She tried not to gag as his sperm flooded her mouth. She managed to swallow everything and lick his cock clean.
“Good girl.” He smiled at her and got up. “I think we are going to have an excellent working relationship.”
She sat there feeling stunned and confused, unsure of what she had just agreed to.
“Be sure to go on the patch.” He ordered her. “The pill is too unreliable, way too easy to forget.”
She nodded her head in agreement, suddenly feeling queasy.
“We don’t want you falling pregnant now do we?” He laughed at the look of fear on her face.
“No.” She tried to smile at him but felt her heart ticking quickly. “Not at all.” He came over to kiss her and she kissed him back passionately, happy to be in his embrace. But she couldn’t stop worrying and thinking: What if I’m pregnant already?
Chapter 5
The piece of paper flew away quickly in the wind. She watched it go without trying to catch it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to run after it with all of her might. She did. Her head told her to go and grab the paper and hold on to it tightly. It told her to leave Winterside and to never come back again. It told her that Maxwell Van Harkel was bad news. But she didn’t listen to her head; she listened to her head. She watched the paper that contained her school schedule for the next semester float away and she walked back to the house.
Sophie had made a decision. One she wasn’t really sure of, but it was a final decision. She was going to work for Max as his assistant, no matter what the position entailed. She owed it to herself. She loved him. And she always said that love would come before everything else in her life, even her education. Her precious Columbia education. What would her aunt and uncle say? Could she break it to them? They wouldn’t understand what possible reason she could have to take her last semester off. She decided that she wasn’t going to tell them. They were too old to have to worry about her future. She knew that they used their retirement money to help pay her living expenses; no life insurance policy lasted that long.
She walked into the house and stood in the lobby, thinking back to the night a few days before when she and Maxwell had done unspeakable things to each other. She walked over to the large mirror that hung in the hallway and stared at herself to see if she looked any different. Dark brown frizzy hair. Check. Green eyes. Check. Freckles. Check. Average build. Check. Look of terror in the eyes. That was new. She was terrified that she was making a mistake; that somehow she was about to embark on a path that she had been lucky to avoid but was too weak to stop going down. All of a sudden she wished more than anything that she could run up the stairs and ask Ella what she should do. Her wonderful best friend Ella. The one who always had the best advice. The one person she couldn’t ask. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to tell her about the time off. She was scared that Ella would guess that she was in love with her brother. There was no way she could talk to Ella about the way she was feeling.
“Hey Sophie.” The husky timbre of his voice made the hairs on her arm stand on end. She turned around slowly, not wanting to show her eagerness to see his face.
“Hi.” She smiled briefly, taking in his appearance. His face looked unkempt and unlike the Maxwell she knew. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and had a thick layer of stubble, which made him look even more brooding and foreboding.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.” His words were harsh and they made her jump.
“I was just outside Max.” Her words came out high and annoyed. “I was just enjoying the day. Am I able to do that?” She was mad at herself for allowing herself to take his bait. Could they never just have a normal conversation?
“You didn’t tell anyone.” He looked at her accusingly. “I asked Ella.”
“Ella’s not my keeper. I can go for a walk.”
“Do you want Mitch to come and rape you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ll be targets now Sophie. After what happened at the pub. You need to be more careful.”
She looked at him in shock and astonishment. He was crazy. Really crazy. Why would Mitch stalk her down just to rape her?
“Well, I’m fine.” She looked at him coldly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go to the kitchen and have a glass of water now.”
His gaze softened and he sighed. “That’s fine. Come find me in my study afterwards so we can talk.”
“About?” She was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
“The job.” He frowned at her. “Did you finish reading all of the papers I gave you?”
“Yes sir.” She thought about bowing but didn’t think he was in the mood for a joke.
“Good.” He stared into her eyes and she felt herself getting lost in the blueness of his eyes. How funny that they looked as blue as the sky today when the previous night they had looked almost black. There was a glint of excitement in her eyes that was reflected in her stomach and she felt a ball of nervous anticipation well up inside of her.
“I’ll see you in about an hour then.” He broke their gaze and strode off to his study. Sophie stared after him breathing deeply before she went to the kitchen. Part of her was still unsure of what she was getting herself into. She clutched the gold cross that hung from the necklace around her neck and she prayed that she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
She walked to the kitchen slowly thinking about how quickly her relationship with Maxwell had changed. He had been her rock growing up. He hadn’t known it but he had been the catalyst that had helped her to heal from her heartbreak. When her parent’s had died, she had become numb inside. Her Aunt and Uncle had done their best to welcome her into their home; but they hadn’t known how to understand and comfort her. 15 year-old Maxwell had broken through her barriers with his brutish and cocky teenage self in ways he would never be to know. She had looked up to him as a teenage God; handsome and confident, yet still unsure of himself as teenagers are. And in the days and evenings when it was just the two of them, he would be soft and gentle and kind. Kinder to her than he was to his own sister Ella. Maybe it was because he knew that she was an orphan, and she always had a lost look in her eyes. Her friends used to tease her and say she could give Little Orphan Annie a run for her money but Sophie had never realized the sad air she gave off.
Maxwell had brought her out of herself with his games and stories. He had told her of dates and pranks he had pulled because he needed a confidante and he was too scared that Ella would tell their parents. Their friendship had blossomed throughout the years, as she had spent most of her summers with the Van Harkels. But everything had changed in her 17th year. She had been excited to show Maxwell that she had finally blossomed and had immediately ran to his room when she and Ella had arrived at the train station. He had been sitting at his desk writing something and she had squealed and hugged him from behind. He had gotten up and twirled her around and she had giggled as he kissed her on the cheek. At 25 Maxwell was already on his way to being the brilliant businessman that he currently was and he had already embarked on his trip down stony junction. He had an almost impenetrable wall around him to most people and he didn’t let people get too close.
“Sophie.” He had smiled at her with genuine happiness in his eyes. “It’s great to see you.”