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Her hair is a mess. It had been down when she came in this morning, but now it’s held up in a haphazard bun with pieces escaping everywhere. She is wearing her glasses, and I realize I’ve never seen her with them on. They are blue—so not what I expected from her—and look great.
I take her in, she is wearing a form fitting white button down with her gold chain and pendant as her only jewelry. She is seated, but because I saw her earlier I know she is wearing a red pencil skirt, black tights, and black heels that make her legs look like they go on forever.
I cough and she looks up, startled. When she sees me, her expression softens, and she smiles at me. She doesn’t stop typing, though, and I hate to break her concentration. But I need to hear the truth from her.
“Hey, Ad.” I walk over to her desk and have to stop myself from kissing her. We haven’t fucked in the office again since that first time, and we have been discreet about our involvement.
This is her last week and it’s important to both of us we don’t do anything to call attention to ourselves.
“I just bumped into Matthew. Are you going to tell me what the fuck happened between you two?”
Her fingers falter and her wary eyes look back up at me. I see the guards go up, and I hate it.
“Can this wait? I really need to get my draft done so that I can send this off to Jack before we leave for Paris.”
Cara left for Paris almost two weeks ago and what a sad scene that had been. She and Addie stood at St. Pancras station, hugging and bawling like babies. Louis rode the Eurostar with Cara and has been over every weekend since.
We’re planning on going over for Thanksgiving. It’s not a holiday here, but Cara and Addie have decided they want to celebrate it together—in Paris. It’s the first time we’ve traveled together and I’m really looking forward to it.
Addie’s been spending a lot of time with Henry. She loves him, and he’s crazy about her.
Last weekend, we took him to the London Zoo. The weather was crap, but that meant the crowds were sparse. Also, there are a ton of fun indoor places for a kid to play and crawl, and Henry had a blast.
I feel like I am experiencing what it means to be a family in a way I didn’t even know existed before she came into my life. Being with her is like standing in a wonderful beam of sunlight. She doesn’t even know how much joy she is bringing to my life.
I know I am falling in love with her. Fuck that noise, I am in love with her. These feelings are new to me. Yet, they are as true as my name. She has become my family. I want to protect her. I want her to protect me. I want there to be an ‘us’.
She is keeping something from me, though, and it’s starting to eat at me.
“The faster you tell me, the faster you can get back to work.”
She sighs and pulls her glasses off. “Fine. But, I don’t want this to become an issue. This is my last week here. When we get back and I give my report, I’m going back to my offices. I need to leave here with my reputation intact. My boyfriend beating up the General Counsel on my behalf won’t really further that effort.”
“Your boyfriend, huh? I like that, baby. And am I going to have to kick his ass after hearing what you have to say?” That shit. What the fuck am I about to hear?
“No. Listen, it was six weeks ago. His ego was bruised. He’s jealous of you and the attention the firm has given you…and the attention he thought I was giving you.”
She stands up then and walks over to me. She takes my hands, linking our fingers as she continues. “He said some things about your heritage, not realizing it’s one we share.”
Understanding dawns and anger spikes—hot and fierce. I have battled this my entire life. People think I’ve gotten to where I am as a result of some quota, or something other than my talent.
I’ve worked hard to prove myself. But fuck if I will let some prick try to diminish the level of my achievement on the project.
As angry as his douchebag antics make me, something doesn’t add up. I look down at Addie.
“So, what happened? How did that turn in to you guys being enemies?”
“Really?” She slaps my chest in indignation. “You think I let him talk about you like that? I told him off. Told him to get the fuck out of my office and not to come back. He’s hated me ever since.”
I pull her into my arms. My anger disappearing at her words. “This happened six weeks ago? Six
weeks ago you hated my guts.”
“No, Simon, I never hated your guts,” she corrects. “I just wanted you to keep your confused ass away from me.”
I laugh. “But you still had my back.”
“Of course I did. You think I would stand here and let him spew racist shit about you, or anyone else, and just smile?” She pulls away from me, looking at me like I just slapped her.
