“No!” I exclaim, then laugh a little. I can’t help it. “That’s not the point, Cassius.”
“What is the point? It seems simple enough for you to stay here. I have the spare room. The twins are all right in that crib, yes? Or should I buy a second one.”
“They’re fine.” I let out a huge sigh. “It’s just… Why are you doing all this for me?”
“I want to,” he replies simply.
We stare at one another for a long moment, over the roof of the car. The tension we felt earlier in the kitchen is back again, palpable. His eyes dilate, and I’m sure my face is flushed, what with how much heat is flooding to it right now.
I swallow hard, to try and wake myself up. “Are you looking for a live-in assistant?” I finally ask. “You didn’t mention that in the ad…”
He seems to shake himself, too. “It’s the only way to make sure you can get enough work done to justify hiring you.”
He sets the keys on the hood of the car and walks out of the garage. I stare after him, my mouth wide open once more. I feel like I keep doing that around him, but I can’t help it. He confuses the shit out of me.
What now? He’s hot and cold, warm and frigid. I can’t keep track of these mood swings, much less figure out what on earth I’ve done to cause them.
Worse, he didn’t give me a chance to decline this invitation.
I can’t lie, the thought of staying with him another night, in this gorgeous, cozy apartment, with my twins close by, and a huge stocked kitchen full of food just outside, is tempting.
When you factor in the ridiculously sexy man just down the hall, sleeping in his own bed, probably naked, his muscular body twined in the sheets, his handsome face relaxed…
Yeah, okay, I really do want to stay here. Especially if it means another moment like we had in the kitchen. Or finding out what would happen if we kissed and the twins didn’t start to cry…
A shiver runs down my spine, and another pulse of desire throbs in my stomach, twining down through me until my pussy clenches with it.
Fine. He wins this round. I buckle the twins into their car seats, climb behind the wheel, and enjoy the crazy smooth drive out of the garage, toward my shitty apartment, and the old life I want badly to just leave behind.
7
I get back a few hours later—it took me a while to find all of the twins’ supplies for a few nights, since I figure if Cassius was this weird about letting me leave tonight, he’ll probably want me to stay the rest of the week. But finally, I have everything together, including some semi-appropriate professional clothes for myself. Judging by Cassius’s suit this morning, he’ll appreciate if I put in an effort and wear a skirt and a nice jacket, even if I am just commuting from his spare room to his spare office.
The whole drive back to his place, I can’t stop wondering about my new mystery boss. His changeable moods, the way he seems too happy and content to have me and the twins around one moment, and the next he seems annoyed that I haven’t done enough at work, or sometimes he seems almost angry with me.
Plus, I cannot stop thinking about our one, searing, unforgettable kiss… The feeling of his hard body against mine, his strong arms around my waist… and of course, his thick cock digging into my hip.
Okay, so it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten laid. But also, there’s an undeniable attraction between us. Every time we’re in the same room, the air feels magnetized, charged with electricity.
All day at work I kept catching myself drifting into fantasies, thinking about him barging in to finish what we started. Picking me up and laying me down across that desk, tossing all the papers to the floor as he hikes up my skirt and draws down my panties with his teeth… I shiver, feeling a growing dampness between my thighs as I think about how he’d take me. He seems like the kind of man who would make me come first, licking me wet before he fucked me, hard.
Get your head on straight, Manila, I scold myself. He’s my boss, after all, for all that he doesn’t act like it. What kind of boss wants their personal assistant to live down the hall with her twin kids, after all?
By the time I pull up in front of his complex, it’s dark out. I pull into the garage, busying myself with the twins’ car seats.
“Let me help,” someone calls.
I bump my head on the roof of the car and wince, rubbing it, as I turn around to see Cassius’s doorwoman hurrying my way.
“I saw you pull in,” she says as she reaches me, and points overhead. Of course. Security cameras. “You shouldn’t be stuck with these two adorable babies all on your own,” she’s tutting as she expertly unbuckles Luca and unfolds his stroller from the trunk. “Next time I see Mr. Anderson, I’m telling him he needs to treat his new woman better,” she adds, shaking her head.
“Oh, I—” My cheeks flare red-hot. “We’re not… Uh. I’m Mr. Anderson’s assistant,” I finally managed to stammer.
She stops in the middle of preparing the stroller to blink. Clearly she’s surprised, though she’s too polite to say so. “My apologies,” she says, after a long pause. Then she glances back and forth from me to the kids and the car again, doubtless wondering the same thing I am—why is Mr. Anderson’s assistant coming to his house at night with her children, clearly ready to spend the night?
Lady, I wish I could tell you.
“I’m Manila, by the way,” I tell her as I lift Luca out of the car and buckle him into the stroller. “What’s your name?”
“Amy.” She smiles. “You’re lucky—you’ve got a good boss. Mr. Anderson is my best tenant. Not to mention the most attractive.”
I flush again as I lean across the backseat to grab Lucie. I’m glad my head is buried in the car so she can’t see my face just now. When I slide back out with Lucie in hand, I’ve gotten the blush under control. “He’s good looking, I suppose,” I agree, reaching for the twins’ overnight bag.
Amy beats me to it, and shoulders the bag, leading me toward the elevator. “Oh, you more than suppose.” Her eyes catch mine, twinkling with amusement. “That or you must not swing his way, because anyone with eyes can tell he’s a catch.”
I swallow hard. Here it is. My chance to ask her about Cassius’s life. Maybe there isn’t a woman involved. If his doorwoman thinks I’m the new girl, then he must have gotten rid of the old one by now. Or maybe Amy is just too professional to break the news to one girl that he’s got another on the side. He could be a regular player, the kind of guy with a different girl every week, plus a few bonus chicks in different zip codes…
Before I can decide how to broach the topic, or even what to ask Amy, the elevator doors ping open, and Cassius steps out.
“Finally,” he says, glancing between me and Amy.
“Mr. Anderson,” Amy greets him with a broad smile as she hands over my overnight bag, “I was just getting to know your charming new assistant. She’s quite lovely.” Amy grins up at him, and oh my god, is she pulling the same thing on him that she just did on me?