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Sixteen
archer
Did I mention I was fucked?
It’s been a week since that night in Santa Cruz and my desire for my assistant hasn’t tempered at all. In fact, I’m now practically consumed with thoughts of her. I haven’t touched her silky smooth skin even once since I woke up in that bed alone the next day with only my morning wood to keep me company. She’s made it quite clear through her almost complete avoidance of me that our relationship is staying professional. Apparently, as far as she’s concerned, what we did was a one-time thing, just like I wanted.
Then why am I so pissed off?
The problem is that when thoughts of Hollie invade my mind, it’s not only the memory of us fucking like animals outside under the stars. Nope, there’s also holding her hand at the wharf. Us laughing over lunch. Her opening the door in that dress that was created in heaven just for my angel. As inexplicable as it seems… I think I’ve caught feelings.
Unfortunately, those feelings seem to be one-sided. She’s the epitome of the consummate professional at work. Even if I try to have a friendly conversation with her, she deftly moves the topic back to something work related. It hasn’t been like this between us since she first started working here. She’s right in front of me but, somehow, I still miss her.
I’ll admit, my ego is a bit bruised. I know what we shared was something special. She may not have much experience, but I do. The electricity between us is something rare. I’ve experienced nothing like it before. Hands down, it was the best sex of my life. Yet somehow, she so easily pushes it aside like it never happened.
I hadn’t wanted to be cruel to her, but I distanced myself from her after we fucked. I didn’t want her to think there was more to it than two people mutually enjoying each other’s bodies, so I went to my room alone, trying to think of anything but Hollie Simmons. It didn’t work.
By the time I had shucked my clothes off and stepped into the shower, my cock was ready to go another round with her. Instead, I jerked off thinking about coming inside Hollie’s tight cunt rather than my fist.
I laid in bed restlessly for a long while before finally drifting off to a troubled sleep. I don’t know if it was because I was in Santa Cruz or if it was because I had been speaking about my parents to Hollie today, but the old familiar nightmare visited me once again, causing me to awaken in a cold sweat.
If you were to ask me during the day if I was responsible for the death of my parents, I would give a resounding no. I’ve had years to dwell on their passing and realize that in life, anything can happen. There’s no way to know if there would have been a different outcome if I hadn’t gotten suspended. It was the drunk driver’s fault, not mine.
Ask me the same question again in the dark and I’d have a different answer. No matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, my subconscious knows that it’s my fault. I wouldn’t have those dreams if it didn’t.
After another thirty restless minutes in bed, I gave up on sleeping entirely. I was exhausted and didn’t want to be alone. It had only been a matter of hours since I satiated my lust with her body back on that beach, and I already missed her. This girl had torn all my resolve and bachelor ways to shreds.
I barged into her room and pulled her into the bed with me. Of course, the minute I did, I was hard all over again. My dick was a hopeless cause when it comes to Hollie. I thought that fucking her would get her out of my system. Ha! I already wanted her more than I ever had. She huffed and puffed, playing annoyed in my arms, before drifting off to sleep. I laid there and watched her features relax into a peaceful slumber before my exhaustion took over and let the darkness slowly overtake me into a dreamless sleep. I hadn’t slept that well in years.
Waking up the next morning came with a crushing sense of disappointment. I was alone. Hollie had already dressed, and according to her note, was downstairs having breakfast. I had to talk myself out of barging downstairs, throwing her over my shoulder, and bringing her back to bed so that I could ravish her properly in the light of day.
The rest of the trip home was filled with an odd formality between us. It wasn’t awkward or cold exactly, but it was a far cry from how we had spent the day before together. There was no teasing, laughing, or touching and damn, did I miss it.
When Monday rolled around, I thought perhaps she regretted what we had done, but I never once saw a glimpse of regret or embarrassment cross her face when she looked at me. Instead, she seemed to move forward, leaving me in her dust. It was a past event that didn’t factor into the future. And that makes me want to put my fist through a wall.
She’s been treating me with a cool professionalism. I’m back to being Mr. Clarke, and at this point, I’d give every last cent of my fortune to hear her say my name. I decided I could wait her out. She would realize eventually that what we had together was too good to throw away on a one-night stand, but after a week of her cold shoulder, I’m not so sure anymore.
I’ve spent most of my days holed up in my office with Richard, going over every detail of our Santa Cruz proposal. After some strong-arming, I got the board to agree on a price increase. We also have everything in place for not only the charity donations but the local discount program that Hollie came up with.
I was feeling optimistic, even if I didn’t know what Shaw had up his sleeve. I couldn’t imagine what he could offer that would make Caroline DuPont sell her family property to him. But I still don’t know why the man wants it in the first place. It’s probable he just hates me that much.
“This is the last set.” Richard leans across my desk and hands me the final stack of papers. We’ve spent the last hour going through the proposal one last time. Three official copies need to be sent out. The first needs to go to Caroline DuPont and needs to be there tomorrow by 3 p.m. in order to meet her deadline. The other two copies need to be signed and go to both my legal counsel and the director of the board.
I leaf through the pages, signing and initialing where the sticky notes Richard has placed indicate. With one last flourish, I set down the pen and lean back in my chair.
Placing each copy in its pre-addressed FedEx envelope, Richard comments, “Now we just need to get these out. I hate waiting until the last day to send paperwork, but I guess it can’t be helped.”
“All we can do is wait. I’m just happy it’s finally almost over.”
“Are you still worried about Patrick Shaw swooping in with a better offer at the last minute?”
Am I still worried about Patrick Shaw? Probably not as much as I should be. Between getting the last offer prepared and my obsession with Hollie, there hasn’t been much time to think of anything else. “Not really. I think I would be more concerned if it was only about the money for Caroline DuPont. Even if he comes in at the last minute with a better offer, I honestly don’t think she will sell to him. I can’t imagine what he would build there that she would approve of.”
Nodding, Richard places the set of envelopes on my desk. “Yeah, it’s about time we beat Shaw out for once. I’ve been getting really tired of losing out to him lately.”
“You’re preaching to the choir here, buddy.” I laugh and come around the desk, slapping him on the back and walking him to the door. As he leaves, I glimpse Hollie working at her desk, completely focused on the computer in front of her. I can’t help the smile that creeps onto my face. Even though I can’t stop thinking about getting her on her back, I’m genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. The Village is practically mine and I get to spend my days in the heat of Hollie’s sunshine. I quickly duck back into my office before she can catch me mooning over her like some kind of teenage Romeo. Spying the envelopes ready to go on my desk, I snatch them up and hand them over to Hollie.
“Are these it?” she asks with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. “Are you guys finally done?”
