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He opens his mouth and closes it before he says what he wants. He’s fuming, but I suppose he knows better than to mess with her. After another second, Blake slams the door and leaves us alone.
“Alyssa, that’s insubordination. I have to do whatever he asks.”
She grabs my tie and pulls me to her lips. “You’ll do whatever I tell you to do, Travis. And I want that dick soon. Whenever you’re ready.” She pushes her lips against mine, and I force myself to kiss her back. Relief washes over me, and I know that I’ve bought myself some time, but I’m not sure how much.
We walk over to the oval table, and I give her a rundown of what I’ve accomplished. To my surprise, Alyssa actually did her half. She’s not well rounded in foreign policies either, and I almost verbatim tell her what Viola told me. Our meeting ends on a positive note, and I’m feeling a little better about our project with a little hope that she might actually pull her weight.
I grab a granola bar from the break room and decide to skip lunch.
When I return to my office, two stacks of papers are sitting on my desk. There’s a note on the top, from the office of Blake James, and all it says is:
Have this done by the morning.
Instead of giving me one, he’s doubled my workload again.
I check the time and know that I’ll be here later than I want.
The rest of my day is fucked, just as I predicted it would be.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
VIOLA
The sun is settingover the horizon, and I mark another day off my mental calendar. Only eleven more days and I’ll be back to my dorm, in my bed where there’s no Travis or rules or temptation.I’m actually looking forward to it, or so I’ve been telling myself between reading economics and finance books and trying to convince myself that Travis King is the plague. But all I can think about is how sexy he looks shirtless and how his tongue brushes against his lower lip right before he says something he knows he shouldn’t.Ugh!
Back in high school, Travis was part of the “in” crowd. A jock, good-looking, always a too-good-for-you attitude. He’d smart off to the teachers, get sent to the principal's office, but rarely had to pay the consequences. Ms. Klein was a young principal, so I’m sure she didn’t mind having a guy like Travis in her office as often as he was sent there. Being the basketball team starter didn’t hurt either.
Needing a break from my thoughts, I decide to order a cheese pizza. As I’m waiting for the delivery to arrive, there’s a knock on the door. I check the peephole, but the porch is empty. I think nothing of it and go back to reading. Just as I’ve finished reading another chapter, the doorbell rings again. This time, it’s the pizza deliveryman, and as soon as I hand him some cash, he bends down and picks up a small box with a cute little red bow on it.
“I think this is for you,” he says, placing it on top of the pizza box.
“Oh…thank you,” I say, staring at the box with confusion. He nods and walks back to his car.
I close the door behind me and place the pizza on the table. Staring at the box, I chew my lower lip, wondering who it could be for or who it’s from. There’s no tag or name on it and the more I stare at it, the deeper the temptation to open it gets. I can’t even think about food anymore because curiosity has gotten the best of me. I check my phone and see that it’s already after eight. Travis isn’t home yet, so maybe just a small peek?
I want to rip off the bow and see what’s inside. I pull the neatly tied ribbon from the package, but then hesitate for a split second before talking myself back into opening it. I tear the corner of the brown paper and push my finger under the tape and pop it from the box. Slowly, I unfold the flaps and inside lays a pair of lace panties and an envelope. I hook the panties on my finger and place them on the table hoping not to catch some sort of disease from them.
I turn the envelope over and see the wordsTo My Babywritten on the front. My heart hammers in my chest as I peel it open. I’m certain this gift isn’t for me and I should stop, but the rational part of me isn’t strong enough to look away, especially if it’s from one of Travis’s bimbos.
I pull a handful of pictures from the envelope and begin flipping through them.
“Oh my God…” I murmur to myself, unable to look away. They’re all of the same busty blonde, posing naked on a large bed in only a pair of bold red heels. Realization sets in that I recognize her, which really isn’t surprising, considering how many of Travis’s one-night stands I’ve come face-to-face with as he not-so-casually kicked them out.
Except the more I stare at her features—the flash of recognition isn’t from meeting her at the house.
The girl from his office…she was walking out of his office one of the days I brought him lunch. The longer I think about it, the more I remember. Had I walked in five seconds sooner, I’m almost positive I would’ve witnessed something that would’ve scarred me for life.
I notice she changes her poses in each photo but leaves nothing to the imagination. Toward the end of the stack, there’s a series of photos with her and a guy whose face is shielded.
Against my better judgment, I bring the picture closer and immediately recognize the ink layered on his arm.
They’re of her and…Travis.
I swallow, feeling a huge lump in my throat.
The photos with him aren’t Polaroids like the others. They’re almost grainy as if printed from a security camera, and upon closer inspection, I see she’s written on the back—Alyssa + Travis.
The lump in my throat grows larger as I put the pieces together in my head. He’s been driving me absolutely wild, touching me, kissing me, crossing every boundary I’ve set in place, and he’s been messing around with this Alyssa girl from his work, giving her the same hope I once felt.
