Page 20 of His Stubborn Submissive

“Or you can ask him out,” Carrie countered.

“He’s my boss,” Mina squeaked. The guy behind the counter called her name and she snatched up her coffee, nodding her head at him. She was going to make it back to the office in time if she hurried.

“Well, I hate to remind you of this fact, but my husband is my boss,” Carrie said.

“Yeah, I remember, but not all of us get your fairytale ending, Carrie,” Mina reminded. “But I appreciate the intel on your new brother-in-law. Talk later,” Mina said. Her friend protested loudly over the phone until she ended the call and shoved her phone back into her purse. She’d pay for that later, but right now, she was going to have to hurry if she planned on making it back to her desk by the end of her break. Eli seemed cool about her taking breaks, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Then, she planned on spending the rest of the night trying to figure out reasons why wanting her new boss was a horrible idea. She’d put him out of her head and move on in no time, Mina was just sure of it.

His Rebellious Assistant (Billionaire Boys Club Book 6)—Coming soon!!

If you loved His Stubborn Submissive, don’t forget to check out the rest of the books in the series. Here’s a sneak peek at the book that started it all, His Secret Submissive!

Aiden

Prologue

Aiden Bentley stood in the middle of the boardroom feeling as though he had just been blindsided. He must have reread the text from his wife over a dozen times as if he was expecting it to somehow change. It didn’t and he was left having to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to do next because he’d never in a million years believe that his Allison would leave him. But according to her very short and not at all sweet text, she was leaving him to be with her new boyfriend whom she’d apparently been seeing for months now. She told him she had already moved her stuff out of the house that very morning after he left for work and she left the kids at her mother’s. His favorite part was where she tried to justify the fact that she cheated on him by pointing out how he was always busy with his company and his political run for the vacant Senate seat and she was feeling neglected. Apparently, her new boyfriend gave her the attention she was craving and fulfilled her like no other man ever had. Allison concluded her text by saying she was too young to be saddled down with a husband who loved his company more than he loved her.

He turned his cell off and cursed and when it didn’t help him to feel better, Aiden threw it across the room watching it hit the wall and smash into three pieces. Of course, his assistant would choose that moment to walk into the conference room.

“You all right, AJ?” she asked. Aiden couldn’t help but give her a smile and nod. Rose Eklund was more than his assistant; she was like the mother he never knew. In fact, she was one of the only people to call him by his childhood nickname. Well, she and her son, Corbin. Not too many other people even knew him by that name but Rose did. She was his best friend’s mother and when he and Corbin opened their company together ten years earlier, she agreed to work for them until they got up and running and she just stuck around. They began their little start-up in Corbin’s basement and he was sure Rose agreed to help just to keep an eye on them. They were just kids back then, fresh out of college and with enough ambition between the two of them to be cocky enough to believe they could make something from nothing. Now they were a multi-billion dollar corporation with offices all over the world and he and Corbin had Rose to thank for most of their success. She kept them organized, focused, and most of all—grounded.

“I’m fine, Rose,” he lied. She shot him a look that told him she wasn’t buying what he was selling. Rose could always tell when he and Corbin were being less than truthful with her. As teenagers, they didn’t get away with anything. Looking back now, he had to admit he was thankful he had Rose to keep an eye on him. After his mother left when he was just a baby, it was him and his dad. His father did the best he could with Aiden but he never really got over his wife leaving him. Aiden’s dad masked his sadness with alcohol and wallowed in the pit of self-pity that consumed him. Most of his time was spent in bars and when he was able to sober up enough for a job, he worked nights. Rose made sure Aiden had a safe place to hang out over at her house. She made him do his homework and even fed him dinner. Most nights, he’d crash at Corbin’s house and Rose would feed him breakfast and make sure he had clean clothes and lunch money. Aiden didn’t know where he would have ended up if it hadn’t been for her and Corbin basically taking him in.

“Would you like for me to wait here for the truth or do you want to come and find me after you come up with a better story?” Rose crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow at him. Aiden didn’t hide his amusement especially when she did her best to try to hide her smile.

“You might be part witch,” Aiden teased. “How do you always know?”

Rose shrugged, “Mother’s instinct, I guess,” she said. “So, would you like to try your answer again?”

Aiden wasn’t sure if he should tell Rose about Allison’s text. Hell, he wasn’t sure he understood everything yet and he needed to pick up the girls before Allison’s mother got sick of babysitting them and dumped them off at his office. He knew he didn’t want the news of his wife leaving him for another guy to work its way around the company and he damn sure didn’t need it leaking out into the press. They’d have a field day with the prospective Senator who couldn’t keep a leash on his wife. If they only knew the half of it they’d make minced meat out of him and he could kiss his political career goodbye.

“You can’t tell anyone this—not even Corbin yet. Promise me, Rose,” he said. She looked him up and down as if he lost his mind. Aiden wasn’t sure she was going to make him any guarantees to keep her mouth shut and that would mean he had no one to confide in.

“You can’t expect me to keep anything from my only son,” she chided. Hearing her call Corbin her only child smarted a little. He had to admit he’d like to think she considered him a son too, but he knew that might be asking too much. Rose was right. Asking her to keep a secret from Corbin wasn’t fair to either of them.

“Fine, I’ll tell Corbin tomorrow. For now, can this remain between the two of us?” he asked. Rose gave a curt nod and he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Allison left me. She just let me know, by text,” he admitted.

“By text?” Rose shouted. “How could she do that to you? Oh you poor thing,” she sympathized. Rose crossed the room to pull Aiden in for one of her famous mama bear hugs he and Corbin like to tease her about. But instead of leaving him feeling like he wanted to poke fun of Rose, he felt more ready to cry on her shoulder. She held him with no signs of letting him go any time soon and Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist, knowing resistance was futile.

“She can’t just take the girls away from you, Aiden. Did she tell you where she went?” Rose asked.

Aiden barked out his laugh, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure she went to live with her boyfriend. Apparently, my loving wife has been cheating on me for half a year now.” He pulled free from Rose’s hold and she let him go, seeming to know he needed some space.

“I never liked her,” she insisted. Aiden shot her a disbelieving look and she shrugged. “Well, it’s true, honey. I thought she was just playing you from the start,” she admitted. Aiden knew a good many people felt that way, Corbin included. On the day of his wedding, Corbin pulled him aside and begged him not to go through with it. He tried to convince Aiden that Allison was just out for his money, but he was determined to see marrying her through. Allison was five months pregnant with Lucy at the time and he didn’t want his kid to grow up without both parents like he had. He saw no other way around marrying Allison and when she agreed to sign the prenuptial agreement, he thought for sure Corbin and everyone else was wrong about her.

For a while, they were happy; especially after Lucy was born. Two years later, they had Laney and he was sure he’d never been happier in his life. He had a gorgeous wife and two beautiful daughters—what more could he ask for? The answer to that was a hell of a lot more complicated than he’d ever care to admit. For as much as he wanted to blame Allison, she was right. He spent late nights at the office and at political functions, trying to fundraise for his run for Senate. Maybe it was all a ruse to cover up the fact he wasn’t happy at home, he never really was. He loved Allison and the girls, but he wasn’t being completely honest about who he was with his wife or himself. He needed more and that usually left him feeling like a complete ass. Aiden worried there was something wrong with him. Hell, he even went as far as going to see a therapist to help him get over those feelings that plagued him daily.

He was dominant and his need to control and be in charge didn’t end when he left the boardroom. He wanted to introduce that side of himself into his marriage, but when he brought up the topic with Allison, she shut him down telling him it wasn’t her thing. He tried to tell her they could begin slowly and only incorporate things she would enjoy doing with him in the bedroom but she wasn’t willing to even hear him out. His therapist told him he had two choices—either accept his wife’s denial and his marriage the way it was or leave. Aiden decided to stay and try to work through his needs and desires, for the sake of his family. His girls deserved more than a father who’d walk away from them so easily. The press shoved the idea of his perfect little family to the masses and voters seemed to eat it up with a spoon. On the outside to everyone looking in, he was a normal business owner with the perfect family life. Aiden was the small-town boy who made good and a loyal family man and that was the persona he decided to stick with. That guy got votes. Aiden wasn’t sure if he’d be so public-friendly when everyone found out what kind of kinks he liked in the bedroom. The only people who truly knew who he was were Allison and Corbin.

“I don’t want to get into this now,” Aiden admitted. Rose shot him a sympathetic look and he hated knowing that once word got out, everyone would be looking at him the same way. “I have to go pick up Lucy and Laney. Allison left the girls with her mother. She doesn’t know if she can be a mom to them right now,” he said. He hated how his wife could walk away from their daughters. He knew firsthand what it felt like to know that your own parent didn’t want you. He would never let his girls feel unwanted or unloved. At thirty-two he was still living with the demons of being abandoned by his mother after birth and he wouldn’t let his daughters be consumed by that same darkness.

“She just left those sweet babies?” Rose choked. Aiden nodded his head, too raw from the emotions roiling through him. He needed to get to his girls and make sure they were both all right. God only knew what Allison had told them and it might be up to him to explain their Mommy wasn’t coming home again. He’d just have to find a way to give them the truth without breaking their hearts.

“Okay, you go get the girls and call me later to let me know you are all home safely,” Rose ordered. “I’ll keep this information to myself but you need to tell Corbin. He loves you like a brother and there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for you and the girls.” Aiden nodded again and kissed Rose’s cheek.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll probably be working from home for the next few days, just until I can get the girls settled and make some sense out of all of this,” he said.

Rose shooed him out of the room, “Go, I’ve got this. You just go and fix your family,” she said. Aiden wanted to tell her it was going to take a damn miracle because he was pretty sure his family was broken beyond repair. He just didn’t know how to tell her it was just as much his fault as it was Allison’s.

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