Secret Affairs

TWO

I had no clue what Daniel and Peters discussed after I had left his office, and it was eating me up inside. Daniel refused to tell me, saying that it was nothing serious that I should concern myself about. We may have been occasionally sleeping together, but that didn’t mean that he shared all his secrets with me. I didn’t mind for the most part. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea by thinking that we were that open with one another. So, I let it be, at least for now.

I had been tirelessly working on a new plan to expand into a new market. If I had to work alongside Peters, then I’d prove that the board didn’t make a mistake by keeping me as well. Better yet, I’d prove that they should have only kept me.

“You should go look at the new building.” I looked up to see my father standing at the entrance to my office. He was still acting CEO until we finally transitioned into the new entity and I took over. But honestly he had been lounging around half the time. There was nothing for him to do. He was the face and I took care of everything. That was honestly my fault, allowing myself to be used in the name of the company without any recognition.

I turned my attention back to my screen and continued working on my plans. “Why would I do that, it’s a building. I’ll work there then go home.” It probably wouldn’t be much different than this floor, any office would do.

“I thought you might like to choose your office first since you’ll be sharing the floor with Nathaniel.”

Fuck.

At the mention of Peters, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I was overcome with this innate competitiveness. Now I had to go choose an office before he did just to spite him.

Ever since our first and only meeting I had imagined throttling him. His arrogance oozed out of every pore in his well sculpted body. The mere fact that I could acknowledge how attractive he was only infuriated me all the more. He didn’t deserve to look that good.

“Fine,” I hugged as I turned my computer off and grabbed my belongings.

On my way to the new building, I called Sam my best friend. If anyone could help, it would be her. She was talented and smart and would tell me how it really was. Perhaps she could bring me down from this level of pettiness I’d been feeling over being snuffed. Some of it was warranted, I had been working hard this entire time to take a position, only to be told I’d have to share once I reached the finish line.

“Hey Ro what’s up?” Sam’s sweet southern accent rang through the car. How a girl like her made it in the city I had no clue. She was all soft and loving. I thought she would get taken advantage of, she proved to be anything but a damsel in distress with a sting of a viper.

“Meet me at the address I sent you,” I told her. I only now realized how demanding I sounded instead of asking for her help.

“What for?”

I toned down the bitchiness and adjusted my pitch a bit. Sam never had any trouble with deciphering when I was throwing orders or when I was asking for favors, but that didn’t mean I had to sound like an utter dip either. “It’s the new office building, I could use your eye for design,” I answered honestly.

After we graduated, Sam had moved on to start her own interior design business. I had offered to invest, but she said she wanted to build it from the ground up. And she had, now she was a successful business woman sought out by the city’s elite.

A short drive later and I was finally pulling into the parking garage of the new building. The only other car there was Sam’s, she must have been nearby if she beat me here.

“Hi pumpkin,” she greeted me with a hug. As much as she had tried to rid herself of her Tennessee drawl, she could never truly let it go. It was deep rooted and I loved it.

“Hello gorgeous, are you ready?” I asked her holding out my arm for her to take. We walked inside and made our way up to the top floor talking about how busy she had been lately.

Once we made it to the top floor, I looked around and chose my new home away from home. I needed something that would be discreet, I didn’t need anyone walking up here thinking they had free access to my office. I chose the corner office, simply because it had two walls that separated it from the rest of the floor, with two glass walls that gave a breathtaking view of the city. Closed off yet open at the same time. It was perfect.

“This place is amazing, I have so many ideas,” Sam squealed. Her eyes lit up every time she saw a new space, it was her blank canvas.

I was looking over the city while Sam wandered around the space taking notes. All I could think of was how I was looked over once again. Now I would have to share my title with Nathaniel Peters. As much as the board loved me, they would always go to him first. I’d just be considered Peters assistant.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies, but this is my office,” the one man I didn’t want to see spoke up behind us. I turned around to see Nathaniel Peters lording over us by the door. His hands were in his pockets as he casually took in the sight before him. I looked at Sam and she looked star struck, her mouth was gaped open like fish.

“I don’t think so,” I responded. I was here first and Sam was already working on designs he could have the other one. This one thing, that’s all I asked for.

His head tilted to the side facing Sam. He gave her a small smile that had her nervously giggling like a school girl. “And why is that?” He asked me without breaking eye contact with Sam.

“I already chose this one, you can have the other one. Sam here is already getting started on the design,” I told him. Sam held up her tablet showing the notes she had already taken on my office with a slight chuckle. I had no clue what was happening to her, but I didn’t like it one bit. She prided herself on the fact that she could see straight through bullshit, but somehow a pretty smile had her bursting at the seams within seconds.

“I see. Well Sam,” he started emphasizing her name. “why don’t you go take a look at that other office and let me know if you have any ideas for it.”

I looked at my friend pleading for her not to leave me alone with this arrogant bastard, but I couldn’t stop her from taking a job either. The way she nodded her head happily told me that she’d probably do anything this man asked. Nathaniel stepped aside letting her pass through. “I’ll see you in a bit Ro,” she called out as she walked away from me.

Nathaniel turned his attention towards me, as he took long strides reaching me in seconds. I spun around to face the outside world once again so that I wasn’t suffocated by his mere presence. He stood a few feet away from me, the deafening silence was palpable. “So Ro, how does it feel to inherit your father’s empire?”

Fury passed through me like a riptide pulling me under. I had to remember that I would be working with this man in the foreseeable future. Composure, I repeated to myself. I took a deep breath and softly answered his snide comment. “I’m not inheriting anything. I worked hard to earn this position.”

For how much longer would I have to prove myself before people began seeing how hard I’d worked to achieve greatness. I understood that it looked like I was simply an heiress, but my achievements spoke for themselves. I graduated from Yale at the top of my class. I started from the bottom at this company, and worked my way up. How could no one see that?

He chuckled lowly as if what I had said had really amused him. The fact that Nathaniel was taking everything I said as a joke was provoking, he really thought so little of me. “From my standpoint, you’re just a pretty face.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” I warned. Many people had, but not many had come out on top. I took them down just as hard as they tried tearing me apart, and I didn’t regret a single thing.

Nathaniel leaned on the glass with his shoulder, crossing one ankle over the other in a lackadaisical stance. “I don’t see how I can. I think people are overestimating you. I’m wondering how long it will take for you to step down once you have the position.”

“Is this how you win people over?” I asked questioning his incredulity. What he was attempting to achieve by nipping at me was still unknown, but not unnoticed. Was he trying to get a ride out of me? Or simply have me act out of emotional rage and get me fired?

“I don’t need to win them. I’ll buy them,” his response was presumptuous. I was well aware that some people could be bought, but the ones worth having on your side weren’t so easily swayed. At least, I hoped to believe that.

“Charming,” I said dryly. I had no inkling as to what he thought of me, but I’d make sure that I clawed my way out of the small box he’d placed me in. I wouldn’t be so easily tamed.

There were no more words left to speak on, he made himself somewhat clear on what he thought of, or at the very least that he didn’t think much of me. But I was done listening to him. I walked out of the empty office to find Sam taking pictures of the small lobby space, “Sam, it’s time to go.”

She looked over at me with a furrow of her brow from the amount of concentration she was putting into her note taking and nodded.

“It was nice to meet you...” Sam waved at Peters who was standing awfully close, but halted when she realized she didn’t know his name.

“You can call me Nate.”

With a quick wave goodbye. I rushed Sam into the elevator and pressed the button for the garage before Peters could stop us. “How will you ever get work done with him on the same floor?” she asked me while fanning herself from the nonexistent heat.

Sam was f*****g brain washed. I was well aware that he was attractive. But his arrogant disposition did nothing but drench me in a bucket of iced water. “I’ll manage,” I answered coolly.

“Do you think he’s single?”

How she could find him irresistible was beyond me, I couldn’t get past the hubris that spewed out of his mouth. “I don’t see what woman would be interested in his aggrandized self-importance.”

“Oh my god! You think he’s that big?” She all but yelped.

“Not close to what I meant.” I couldn’t deny that her excitement had me wondering how big Peters’ peter was. A man like that had to have something to back up his claims. Nathaniel was so sure of himself, either he was more than enough, or women chose not to hurt his male ego.

Once we reached our cars, Sam tossed her purse in the trunk and turned to face me before I hopped in mine. “Do you want to grab lunch; we can go over some of my ideas?”

“I can’t. I have to meet with Daniel.”

“You mean go blow off some steam?” She corrected with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Sam may have looked like the perfect southern belle, but everything that came out of her mouth was anything but sweet and innocent.

I shook my head at her comment, not able to meet her eyes. She knew me all too well, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that. “I mean, I have a meeting to discuss the company’s financials before the merger is official.”

“And then you’re going to get into the forbidden hot steamy s*x,” she moaned. I almost cried as I looked around the parking garage to ensure no one was around. Give it to her to be brutally honest.

“And then maybe I’ll give Daniel the pleasure of f*****g me,” I whispered trying to avoid my voice from carrying throughout the empty lot.

Sam held my door open, waiting for me to climb in. “You know he’s in love with you,” she said tilting her head to the side.

I scoffed at her comment. Daniel was not in love with me. Yes, the sec was amazing, but that’s all that was. “He is not. I’ve made myself clear as to what this is.”

“And what is this exactly?” Of course, she wouldn’t let it go. No matter how many times I’ve tried telling her that Daniel and I were nothing serious she wouldn’t believe me. And I couldn’t blame her. This was messy to say the least. We worked together, I was his superior and we did a lot of inappropriate things during office hours.

“We’re simply friends with incredible benefits.”

But deep down, I knew that was anything but true. I got extremely jealous when I saw him speaking to other women. There was no reason for me to feel that way. I didn’t want a relationship, but I also didn’t want him to be available to other women. Daniel never made the effort to speak to other women, but that didn’t mean he didn’t attract them like moths to a flame.

“You’re so full of s**t your eyes turned brown,” Sam chastised me. She shut my door with a quick goodbye kiss, got in her car, and drove off.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that she had said. Maybe my friend was right. But then wouldn’t I feel something? It was selfish of me. Daniel was already in his thirties looking to settle down, and start a family. I was only 27, I just wanted to enjoy myself for as long as I could. There was still so much I needed to do. I needed to continue the legacy my father built.

And I was so, so damaged. I didn’t think I could ever get to the point where I would willingly allow myself to settle down. Once I grew tired, maybe I’d adopt a cat or two.