Changing Places with Yourself

Chapter 27

Meeting William in person with no sleep was fun, but at least I wasn’t hungover.  I haven’t ever experienced that before and can’t say I really want to.  He was as handsome in person as on the video conference, and oh boy did his voice cause a stirring in my core.  His eagerness to learn, but not make Sean worried about his position was awe-inspiring.  He had people skills and charm radiating from every pore on his magnificent body.  Yes, I’m crushing a bit on my new PA, but it’s not like anything will happen since he sees me purely as his boss.  The next few weeks are spent getting him up to speed on Novell operations as well as party planning.  He has to be able to pick up the slack if Sean calls off and do both their jobs like Dante did.  Oh, speaking of Dante, he was loving his new position over at Stovard, mainly due to the fact he was more competent than any previous PA Adam had worked for him.  By now, Grandpa was fully retired.  Mom and Dad had to go back to Kansas to run the day to day of that office, but the girls stayed here.  They moved into my penthouse with me and I had the codes changed to the door so the guys couldn’t just walk in on me anymore.  Amanda began hosting the weekly Sunday dinners and I was able to use work as a legitimate excuse.  I still spent time with the guys on the roof hanging out in the pool or hot tub.  Adam had contacted Gwen to find out how much the 2 story unit was and bought it outright.  He was already moved in by the time I found out.  Guess I should have made sure that Gwen and Harmony a heads up about not renting or selling any units to him, but I didn’t think he would be interested in living this close.  I guess he has been missing the closeness he used to have with his Mom and brothers.  My guys said that most nights, the group of them are either one of the restaurants or BBQing on the roof for dinner.  The business center I put in on level 39 is busy just with those boys doing work at all hours of the night.  Even though the younger 3 have units lower floors I let them keep the key codes to come up on the private elevator.  Also, I let them park in my private area because I don’t have enough cars to justify the space otherwise.  Amanda doesn’t like to drive so we have a full-time driver available to her, one of my guards, whenever she wants to head out and shop. 

I have been working with the girls constantly trying to get them to see they are just prolonging their own pain and the guys as well by refusing to even just talk to them.  I suggested maybe getting them a burner phone without GPS so they could at least text the boys to let them know they are safe and when they are ready then maybe talk voice to voice.  Allison and Andrea knew it was killing me not being able to help either couple let go of their pain and I hated having to lie by omission to the boys.  I got them the phones and put their man’s number in it as well as mine, Amanda’s, Mom & Dad’s, Grandpa’s, and a few guards, just in case someone starting having baby issues and needed to be rushed to the hospital or something.  Bruce told me that a week after Allison had the phone she texted Asher to tell him that she and Andrea were ok, but had been kidnapped by their dad and forced to do horrible things she couldn’t talk about.  She asked him not to call the number because she couldn’t talk to him without breaking down completely, instead, would it be ok to trade texts back and forth for a time.  After he had her tell him something only she would know because face it, he wasn’t sure this wasn’t a random text or if it really was Allison.  After he found it was her,  they were talking via text night and day.  Andrea followed suit with Tony a day and a half later.  I could see that the girls were becoming happier and those phones were never out of their hands.  I even saw them take a few face selfies to send to their beaus.  When I asked if either had told them about the little girls growing inside their bellies, they admitted that neither had dared to say anything yet.  Since it was getting close to Thanksgiving and Mom was planning on coming back for a huge family dinner, I suggested maybe they might want to give the guys their Christmas presents early.  I had Amanda broached (with a hidden camera) the question of grandchildren now that the boys had their ladies back in their lives and all but Adam were keen to start a family.  Asher had said that he had thought Allison might have been pregnant before she was taken and a huge part of him would love to see her large with his child.  Tony commented that he would give Andrea all the time she needed to come to terms with what had happened and if she wanted to make a baby with him he’d be thrilled or if not maybe they could adopt a child.  Allen admitted he and Andrew were looking into the option of adoption, but many birth mothers didn’t like a gay couple raising their child.  “I swear, some people are just homophobic jerks.  Andrew and I would make sure that any child in our care would be loved, but these people were acting like our lifestyle could rub off on the baby and turn them gay too.  Seriously, some people need to think before they speak, one lady was having a boy and didn’t want us to raise him because she was sure we would molest him.  Of all the horrible things to say, we are not pedophiles!” he sobbed into his mom’s shoulder as she patted his back and told him someone would come along with an open mind to give them a beautiful child to raise, cherish and love.  Even Adam was outraged at the prejudices people come up with completely unjustified against someone whose preferences are different than theirs.  Allison and Andrea watched the video and cried along with Allen at how unfair the world was.  I handed them a box of tissues each and pulled out a folder of the latest ultrasound my aunt had gotten in jail.  “So, how do you think that Allen will react when I give him these pictures and tell him that they can adopt her as soon as she’s born?”  I ask already knowing the answer.  They shrieked as they looked at the 3D pic of her cute little face.  Both agreed that she was going to be one very spoiled little girl and asked me how I would be able to help them adopt her.  “She’s a failed attempt by my aunt to try to get her hands on a company she has no blood relation too.  My aunt is a money-grubbing murderer, who isn’t ever getting out of jail.  I’m her only living relative, which means that when this little girl is born she becomes my responsibility.  As much as I would love to raise my cousin, I believe that a child should know the joy of having two parents.  That way she gets twice the love and protection.  As soon as I found out about my cousin, I got Claude started on the paperwork needed for Allen and Andrew to become her legal parents after her birth.”  came my explanation.  Allison was curious, “Won’t your aunt be able to stop them from adopting her if she wants.  I mean, she is the birth mother.”  “No, she can’t raise the baby in prison and she can’t abort her now she’s too far along.  The only person who could stand in the way is the father and he’s not stepping up so far because it could cost him his job as a guard in the penitentiary she’s housed in by the State of Kansas.  My lawyers there have already prepared the paperwork for him to sign away his parental rights as soon as the baby is born and a DNA test is done on those guards she claims to have had s*x with.  There is about 10, so they will be given a choice either take the DNA test and lose your job because it will prove one of them fathered a child with an inmate or just sign away their rights without knowing if they really are the baby daddy.  From what my lawyer tells me 6 have already signed on the dotted line and the other 4 are coming in next week to sign the documents as well.  What they don’t know is that the cup of coffee they had at the office was sent to get a DNA profile on file, and as soon as Allen’s little princess is born whoever is her biological reason for existence will be compelled to sign a final release form.  Or the proof gets sent to their partner, wife, girlfriend, or fiancé, which I’m sure they don’t want.  That leaves me as the custodial guardian of the infant and I have the right to sign adoption paperwork giving her to Allen and Andrew.” I conclude.  They both rushed forward and hugged me tight, telling me how happy they were to have met me.  After that, they went to their rooms to text their honey bunnies and I headed to the roof for a few laps.  Of course, Adam was in the hot tub, thankfully alone.  I could feel his eyes on me as I jumped in the deep end and began swimming after putting my facemask on.  My suit was a modest one-piece, regardless of how defined my muscles were now I still didn’t feel comfortable in a bikini.   I had only done about 4 laps before I became aware of his presence in the pool.  He was keeping pace with me as I went back and forth, which had to be torture for him because I knew he could swim much faster.  Finally, I was tired out a bit and I stopped in the shallow end to rest.  He came up right in front of me, “Why do you were a diving mask when you swim?”  “I had an incident when I was a small child where I could have drowned.  It made me scared of water for the longest time and now I love it, but I can’t get how to blow air out my nose when I’m underwater.  Hence the mask, I can dive down to get pool toys without freaking out.  That’s why my guards are very strict about the ‘No dunking or tossing our boss in the pool’ rule.  They know if I don’t have time to grab my nose I’ll have a mini panic attack.” I explained, “And before you offer to teach me how to breathe correctly underwater, many people have tried including an Olympic champions coach and all have failed.  There is a mental block hard-wired into my brain, which won’t let me do it.”  “I would be willing to try if you are willing to let me teach you.  It can’t hurt to have another go at it, you’re still young enough to re-train that part of your brain.  Come on, what have you got to lose?  I promise to be gentle.” he crooned softly into my ear.  His body had drifted close enough for our chest to be almost touching.  “Who knows you might even come to like our swimming lessons in time.” he said as his lips found my sweet spot and his arms came to wrap around me pulling my body into his.  I’m human. I caved for about 3 seconds before pushing him firmly away, “Adam, don’t I’m still a married woman and I won’t cheat regardless of his actions toward me.”  “Please tell me you have filed for a divorce.  Tony gave us the whole story about how your ‘husband’ helped try to get you kidnapped.  It hurts me to see such a beauty like yourself being crushed by a soulless creature as he is.” Adam complained about Evan.  “Yes, he got the paperwork from the lawyer a few weeks ago and signed it right off the bat.  Now, we are just waiting for a judge to issue the Decree of Divorce and I’m free of him.” I admit.  “That day I’m taking you out to the finest restaurant in town to celebrate.  No arguments!” he declared sternly as he pulled me close again to kiss my forehead.  “I’m sure we both need to be up early tomorrow so I will say goodnight, my sweet.” with that he climbed out of the pool and wrapped a towel around his waist before heading to the elevator.  I needed to burn off some s****l tension he had created so I swam about 20 more laps before heading to bed myself. 

Adam had been trying for about a week now to get me to come to his place for dinner, but I told him it wasn’t appropriate and kept declining.  I couldn’t look at a man that way until the divorce was completely finalized.  William was picking everything tasks I threw at him with speed and skill.   He was able to get a grasp of both businesses despite how different they were.  Plus, he was so very easy to look at, but we were both complete professionals.  Anyway, he never looked at me with anything but friendship in his eyes.  I could tell I wasn’t his type fairly early on, which made our business relationship great.  I was his boss and he was my employee, but he did act like a protective older brother when we had to go over to Adam’s office to discuss the menus.  Adam was in full-on flirt mode with me, like always.  Bruce told me that William gave him a complete report since everyone knew Adam had been warned off.   Seems most of my employees from both companies know what a manwhore Evan was and Adam is, neither have been deemed good enough for me by anyone.