AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 8
Keri
One year later
I regretted everything. It felt like I had walked away from him forever and that tore at my insides with every waking moment since I’d peeled out of his driveway and hadn’t looked back.
Even though I had told myself that I wouldn’t think about Jaxon Blackwood again, I broke that promise. He slipped into my thoughts at least once a day and into my dreams just as often. I stopped dating entirely because no one could compete with him. Ashleigh even set up a blind date for me, but I’d cancelled that at the first opportunity I could.
There was no one other than him.
Daddy.
Did he think about me? Was I just some chick that he’d spanked and had suck his cock? Did that mean anything to him? Did I mean anything to him?
Men asked me out. I said no. Soon, they stopped even approaching me at all. Perhaps I’d finally perfected my resting bitch face and that scared them off. None of them even remotely came close to the type of man Jaxon was. Not a single one of them could stand toe to toe with me and come out the victor. He pushed me and he wasn’t afraid to do it.
He’d conquered me in a way that no one else could.
I blinked hard, trying not to think about the way his touch had lingered on my skin. I tried not to think about the fact that I was actually sad when the redness from his palm had faded to pink and how empty I’d felt when there was nothing left behind at all. I almost wished he had spanked me hard enough to leave marks because those would have taken much longer to fade.
I sat back in my office chair, looking out at the bright green treetops of Central Park. I was here because of him. I knew that.
Not only had Miranda Parker been transferred out of my department, she had been relocated to Alaska. A set of risqué pictures had been leaked online the day after I visited him of her with one of the higher-ups and they’d both lost their positions here once Human Resources got word of their affair. I no longer answered to Colin Harrington either. I had a new boss now and I adored her. Her name was Evangeline Masters, and she was a powerhouse. I was proud to work for her because she didn’t let petty nonsense get under her skin and she never let any of the men working in government get a leg up on her. She worked harder and often much smarter than all of them combined.
I hadn’t gotten the promotion I was vying for. I’d been promoted several levels above that and when they’d seen the product of my work, I’d risen again. I was in a position I’d only dreamed of right now, and I knew deep in my heart that it was because of his help. Sure, I’d excelled because I had the skills and intelligence to make it, but he’d been the one to open that door in the first place.
I’d gotten a new office on a different floor far away from those I used to work for, as well as a massive salary bump too. I wanted for nothing except for one single thing.
Him.
I swallowed and grasped at my coffee mug. I took a long sip of the mocha latte and sighed. There was a knock at my door, and I looked up to see my young assistant’s smiling face. I’d hired her only a week ago, but she’d already proven to be indispensable in organizing my schedule and planning meetings between organizations that I’d been trying to nail down for months.
Her pretty blue eyes sparkled, and I grinned in her direction.
“There’s a call for you on line one. Sounded pretty important so I figured I’d come in and tell you myself,” she explained.
“Thank you, Jenny. I appreciate it,” I grinned.
“Need any more coffee? I can go out and pick lunch up for you too if you’re getting hungry,” she offered.
“No coffee. I’m still working on this delicious latte you made this morning, but lunch sounds fantastic. I’ve been thinking about that chicken curry and rice from that Chinese place down the block,” I murmured, drilling my fingers against the heavy wooden surface of my desk.
“Right on it, boss,” she grinned.
“Keep up the good work,” I winked, and she smiled even wider.
“I will. I’ll leave you to that call now,” she replied.
I turned my eyes to the blinking phone in front of me and picked up the receiver. I cleared my throat and pressed on line one.
“Keri Esposito speaking. How may I help you?” I began.
“Keri…” a male voice sounded on the other line and my blood ran cold.
I knew that voice. I hated that voice with every fiber of my being.
It was my father.
