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For a long moment, I stood at the door before I summoned enough courage to press my finger against the doorbell. The butler answered the door and I realized it was the same one that had greeted me the same way so very long ago. If he recognized me, he didn’t let on though, and for that I was grateful.
“Hi. I’m a friend of Jaxon’s. My name is Keri Esposito,” I said bravely.
“Come in. Jaxon is currently engaged, but I’ll let him know that you’re here to see him. Follow me,” he directed. He opened the door even wider and motioned for me to come inside. I smiled politely and strode into the foyer. He took the lead as we walked a familiar path into the study where he had me sit down and wait.
The room hadn’t changed since the last time I was here. I stared at the couch where Jaxon had sat across from me, swallowing deeply when I recalled exactly what had occurred over it. I turned away and pulled my phone from my purse. I opened my Facebook app and started to scroll, wanting any sort of distraction from the images branded into my head of how our last meeting had gone.
I heard male voices outside the room and then the front door opened and shut again. A strong set of footsteps clicked against the marble tile and I looked up to see the man I’d thought about at least a billion times over the past seven years.
Jaxon Blackwood.
I licked my lips as the memories of all the times I’d pleasured myself with his image in my mind. I felt my face heat and I smiled warmly, trying to cover up the effect just his simple presence had on me. If he saw any indication of what I was thinking, he didn’t let on and I allowed myself a very small sigh of relief.
“Miss Keri Esposito,” he purred. I swallowed, trying to ignore the seductive gleam in his eyes and the way my pussy clenched tight at the sound of his voice.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jaxon,” I answered, keeping my voice level and devoid of emotion.
“To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Keri?” he asked.
I don’t know why, but the sound of my name on his lips was unnerving. I almost expected him to call me little girl again, but he appeared to be keeping things professional despite everything between us.
“I was hoping that you might help me. I have a really big problem at work, and I don’t know how to fix it,” I began. I softened my tone, hoping to give off a very mild ‘damsel in distress’ vibe in hopes of playing on the fact that he enjoyed helping a woman in need.
“You want my help in solving a problem of yours?” he asked carefully, his eyes searching mine. For a moment, they darkened considerably before they returned back to normal. He sat down on the couch across from me and leaned backwards, cocking his head arrogantly to the side as he did so. He folded his arms together and looked back at me expectantly. Since I’d seen him last, his hair had lightened, giving him a peppered and distinguished air that made him even more intimidating than so long ago.
“Yes. I was hoping to tell you about it and ask for your help in making the problem disappear however you think it should,” I ventured, ensuring that I kept my voice steady.
His lips tensed into a thin line before he narrowed his eyes and appraised me more closely. For one long moment, we stared at each other as if we were combatants on the battlefield before he nodded once decisively.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” he said firmly, and I smiled cordially, grateful for the fact that he’d decided to at least hear me out.
I took a deep shaky breath before I started to speak.
“I work in the department of education now and I’ve been doing pretty well for myself there, at least for the most part, but there are two people that are standing in my way, the first being Miranda Parker. The second is my boss Colin Harrington,” I began.
I told him the truth about Miranda. I didn’t need to embellish anything about how she’d taken an instant dislike to me and had been at my back at every turn. I described how she’d come up with one lie after another about me and when I got to the part about the affair she had fabricated, his face tightened with annoyance and something else that I couldn’t quite discern. I told him she’d made up the whole thing and then I explained what really happened at the coffee place.
When I got to the part about Colin, I started to exaggerate the story a little bit. I made him out to be more of an asshole than he really was, telling Jaxon that my boss was judgmental of women and had taken an instant dislike to me because he had a thing for Miranda. I thought that if I told Jaxon that Colin treated me like dirt, he’d be more apt to help me in the end, so I played it up as much as I could.
Instead of telling him about the whole coffee fiasco at the office, I conveyed a story where Miranda was more at fault, one where I hadn’t given into my anger, yelled at her, and then proceeded to ruin my boss’ suit. I just told the story as if it was her fault entirely. By the time I finished, his expression was both curious and a bit perplexed, both indications that I had done a good job in spinning a tale that would make him want to help me.
“It’s unfair that her jealousy is about to ruin all of my hard work. I shouldn’t have to answer for that. She should,” I said, and he grunted in agreement.
“Why is this all important now?” he asked.
“I’m up for a promotion in a few weeks. With the whole thing with the two of them, I think there isn’t a chance in hell that I’ll get it. If anything, I’ll probably be fired when I go in on Monday,” I offered quietly.
“What would you have me do?” he asked. I chewed my lower lip. I hated her, but I didn’t want to ask for anything unreasonable. I just wanted to be rid of her and I hoped that he would at least be able to do that.
“Maybe have Miranda transferred somewhere else? Another field office or another state department? Across the country even?” I suggested hopefully.
“What about your boss?” he pushed. He was so hard to read. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking and that was more than a little unnerving.
“If I was granted the promotion, I’d have another boss. I’d technically be at the same level as he was, so I’d be free of him if it went through,” I replied.
He studied me for what felt like forever and I couldn’t help but squirm anxiously.
“If you can’t do anything, I understand. I just wanted to ask,” I murmured. I went to grab my purse and leave, but he cleared his throat and I relaxed back against the couch, nervously looking up at him to see what he had to say.
