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“No one is supposed to know what’s going on, but it’s impossible to keep secrets here.”

  “So, he is going? Am I going to be up for the position? Because you know that I want it…”

  “You will be considered, along with other people in this office, and we will open it up to outside candidates as well because you know that’s something we have to do. It’s company policy.”

  That isn’t the reassurance that I would like to hear, but I suppose it’s enough. “So, who else? In the office, I mean. I would like to know who I am up against. I think that it’s only fair.”

  “The people who are at the same level as you,” Andy replies diplomatically.

  “So, Zoe.” He can beat around the bush as much as he likes, but I know the truth. “That’s great.”

  “She is as good at her job as you. I just need to work out who will be better at managing people. Old Bill is a great guy and he has kept the operations running smoothly the whole time. He has big shoes to fill.”

  “I know, and I can do it,” I insist. “I prove myself every single day, Andy.”

  I think that we both know I will be kicking up a stink if I don’t get this job. I have been working towards it for a long time and I know that I deserve it. Zoe might be good as well, but I will be better.

  “I know that you do, and I see it all the time.” Andy nods knowingly. “Don’t think that your hard work is missed here, because I am very aware of it. But it isn’t just about that. Not at all.”

  “So, what else do you need from me?” I practically beg. “Because I want to show you that I can do it. Whatever you need. I might be young, but I am ready for this promotion. I can do this.”

  “I’m not doubting you at all. I just have some time to think about it.”

  That pisses me off. It really does wind me up because I want him to just tell me that everything that I have put in to this company is worth it. I want to know that I am going to get what I want, what I have been working towards. I’m worth it, and I can do it. I just need the chance to prove myself.

  “Well, fine.” I stand back up suddenly. “If you aren’t going to let me have more then I will get back to it.”

  “I will let you know what we’re doing as soon as I know…” Andy calls behind me as I walk off.

  I head straight towards the bathroom to calm myself down because I really can’t lose my shit in the office again. Not after yesterday, not if I am up for a promotion. I need to spend every moment continuing to prove myself and yelling isn’t a great way to show that I can manage people.

  Zoe wouldn’t do this; I tell myself firmly. She probably doesn’t even know about the promotion.

  I mean, I didn’t so it’s possible. Even if she is close to Old Bill. And there is a baby in the mix anyway, one that neither of us were expecting, that was conceived months ago. That couldn’t be planned. Plus, it was me who came on to her anyway. She didn’t make the first move. This can’t all be some tactical bullshit. It just can’t.

  I make the decision to not believe the rumors, to accept that what me and Zoe have shared is nothing to do with the promotion, just because I can’t believe that about her. I’m not going to get all up my head about it and run something that could potentially be amazing. In fact, what I’m going to do is talk to her about it like a damn grown up. Yes, that’s the right thing to do. Keep on having this open and honest communication. That’s been working for us and I don’t want to stop that now.

  Chapter Eight

  Zoe

  “Don’t you care?” Hannah demands in a sharp tone of voice. I don’t even know why she’s talking to me about this, I thought that she was pissed off with me. But I guess the idea of more gossip has pulled her back in. To be perfectly honest, I would much rather work in a place with less toxic people, but the job is good. “Old Bill is retiring, and you could be running the department. Isn’t that awesome? You’d be a boss.”

  I smile and nod. “Yeah, I guess it would be cool. I don’t know why I’m being considered though. There are people who have been here for a lot longer than me. They should get the job, right?”

  “Oh, Andy doesn’t work that way. He will give it to the most talented and deserving person.”

  “What? And you think that’s me?” I cock a curious eyebrow at Hannah. “Really?”

  “Of course.” She shrugs as if this is obvious. “But I’m sure that Wesley will put himself forward for it as well. He likes to think that he’s the best of the best and he will see this as a way to prove that.”

  Hmm, that will be interesting. It might well bring out Wesley’s hyper competitive side once more, but I’m sure that after last night things will be different between us. It isn’t going to be just me and him worried about work anymore, is it? We have our up and coming little family to think about. It will be good if either of us get the job, especially if it comes with a pay rise because that will benefit our baby.

  “Oh look,” Hannah hisses. “He’s coming over here now and he looks mad. Don’t let him talk you down and put you off the promotion because that’s what he does. He rules the roost with bullying.”

  I roll my eyes as Hannah stalks off, but she doesn’t go so far that she can’t hear what’s going on. She will want to gather up every nugget of this conversation so she can use it amuse her throughout the day.

  “Hey, Wesley.” I smile openly at him, trying to ignore the expression that Hannah noticed. He does look a little angry. “What’s going on? Have you heard about all the gossip going on today?”

  “About Old Bill? Mhmm. I sure have. I have actually just spoken to Andy about it.”

  “Oh!” Yep, clearly he is taking this far more seriously than I am. “What did he say?”

  “Basically, that it’s between me and you.” He shrugs. “They will open it up to outside candidates as well, but that’s more of a company policy thing. He prefers to promote internally if possible.”

  “Well, you will obviously get it.” I grin. “Not only have you been here much longer than me, but you are far more organized and better at dealing with people than I am. So, I guess congratulations are in order.”

  But he doesn’t return my happy smile. “I can assure you that it definitely isn’t guaranteed.”

  “Er, right.” I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Well, I don’t want the promotion. It definitely isn’t really the right time at the moment.” I glance downwards towards my belly. “So, I will step down.”

  “Oh no.” He hangs his head low. “No, I’m not going to be one of those guys who is threatened by the success of the woman in his life. That isn’t me. It isn’t that, I just want it so badly, that’s all.”

  “If you want it, you have it because I really don’t need the added stress.”

  “If I get it, I want to earn it. I want to get it because I’m the right person for the job.”

  I don’t know what to say. Right now, I’m confused as to what Wesley wants from me. It doesn’t help that we’re in the office so I can’t exactly be open and honest anyway. I wish that I could find the right words, but they are lost inside of me somewhere. So, all I can really do is to nod as if I get it.

  “Urgh, well I better get back to work.” Wesley finally seems to notice that everyone is watching us. It seems like we’re the talk of the office which I half blame Hannah and half blame Old Bill for. Still, at least they are worrying about which one of us is going to get promoted and they aren’t looking any deeper in to me and him.

  “Yep, okay. Well I will see you later on then.”

  He walks off without answering me which leaves me a little cold and confused. I know that we haven’t yet made any specific plans to meet up tonight, but we are going to, aren’t we? Especially now when we have so much to talk about. I refuse to just sit back and wait to see what he’s going to do. I’m not the sort of woman who will just leave it and let him make all of the choices. He must know that about me. I don’t know what sort of woman he is accustomed to, but I refuse to change for a
nyone. If my Grandma, and my failed engagement, has taught me anything, it’s that. I am always going to be myself no matter what.

  I grab my cell phone out of my bag and massage him, asking him to come to mine for dinner tonight. I don’t want us to have this weird atmosphere between us because of work, that isn’t right. Not when we have finally gotten to a good place with our personal life. Particularly over a promotion that I don’t even want.

  It takes a while, but he finally messages back and agrees to come over, which I decide to take as a good sign. Whatever the hell is going on, we can sort it out tonight. I’m pretty sure that we can overcome everything.

  * * *

  Knock, knock. The sound of someone arriving makes me nervous. Genuinely fearful. I don’t think that I have ever been so flooded with anticipation before, but there is just something about Wesley that makes me feel this way. Before I can even rush to the door, I have to check my appearance one more. Knock, knock.

  “Coming!” But as I tug the door open with a smile on my face, it isn’t Wesley. It’s the take out delivery guy with the food I have ordered for tonight. It isn’t me cheating, I am going to be honest, I just haven’t had the time to get anything cooked. It has been one hell of a manic day. “Oh right, thank you.”

  I take the bags and pay, but just as I am about to close the door, I see a familiar face grinning at me. It’s Wesley, but he doesn’t look like himself right now. He’s in a blood red tee shirt and jeans rather than his usual uniform of a suit. I have to admit this change in him is sexy as hell. He’s really hot all casual.

  “Wesley.” I extend my arms out to him. “Come inside. How are you?”

  “Good,” he replies, thankfully looking much more relaxed than he did before. It seems that he has left the stress of work behind him which is good because I don’t really want it to be a problem. “You look nice.”

  “Oh, thank you,” I shoot back with a coy smile. He leans down and kisses me softly on the lips as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. The funny thing is it actually feels that way. “So do you.”

  He comes inside and waits in the kitchen patiently while I get all the food plated up for the pair of us. He’s leaning against the counter looking sexy as hell, causing bolts of anxiety all the way through me. I want to be cool and calm, so he doesn’t see me freaking out, but I don’t know if I’m pulling it off.

  “I love Chinese food.” He inhales deeply. “Thank you for sorting this for us.”

  “I know. You always order the same thing when we stay late and Andy orders for us.” I laugh and send a wink a wink his way. “So, I knew that I would at least be on the safe side to order all of this.”

  “You noticed?” He smiles at me. “I never knew that you were looking at me.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I notice everyone.” I roll my eyes. “I don’t know why, I just do.”

  Actually, I do know why. I’m an observer because I haven’t ever felt like I am on the inside, so it’s become a part of my nature. But I don’t exactly need to get in to that with Wesley. He doesn’t need to see the sadder parts of me that I prefer to keep hidden away from the rest of the world.

  “I like your place,” he comments as we take a seat. “It’s nice. I didn’t say that to you before but it’s very you.”

  “Thank you,” I giggle. “Most people don’t like it because it’s too cluttered, but I like all my stuff.” I give him a look. “But I bet your place isn’t like this at all. I bet it’s all clean and minimalistic.”

  “Actually, it isn’t,” he admits. “If I lived on my own then it would be, but I live with my brothers.”

  “Brothers multiple? I didn’t know that you had brothers. I didn’t know you had one.”

  “I have five.” he shocks me by replying. “I’m the second youngest of us all.”

  “Wow… that must have been a nightmare for your parents as you grew up. Five boys all fighting!”

  As soon as I say that I realize that it’s a mistake. His face falls which fills me with guilt. I should know not to speak about families because it can be a very complicated topic. What a fool I am.

  “Actually, my parents were killed in a car crash when I was young, which is why me and my brothers are so close. We grew up just us, with my oldest brother, Brad, taking all the responsibility.”

  “Wow… that’s…” I’m shocked to learn this about Wesley. It just proves that you don’t ever know what is going on in someone else’s life. Not that I have ever thought much about it, but now I can’t stop. I wonder how this must have affected Wesley, and the rest of his brothers too. “It’s just me and my grandma these days. Not that it’s the same thing, but I guess I kind of understand in a way.”

  He smiles at me in a really sweet way. “I bet your grandmother is an absolutely amazing woman.”

  “She is.” I nod emphatically. “She’s a tough cookie and I don’t think she likes me taking care of her, but she needs me. I need her as well though, so we help one another out.”

  “That sounds like such a sweet relationship. I can’t imagine you being sweet.”

  “Shut up.” I push him playfully. “I am sweet. You’re the one who isn’t.”

  “Well, that’s because you haven’t heard about all the sweet things that I have done for my family yet. Just you wait until I tell you about my super nice side…”

  “Oh, I can’t believe that you have a nice side, Wesley Smith. That just isn’t you.”

  Just talking about our families brings us that much closer together in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I guess that will keep on happening the more that we learn about one another. God, this could actually turn out to be something really good for the pair of us. Maybe in a strange way, we are meant to be, and we just never knew it. Wouldn’t that be odd? For all that arguing to be a sign of good things to come…

  Chapter Nine

  Wesley

  I can’t stop smiling. I feel like I have a coat hanger between my lips because I can’t stop grinning. Every time I look at Zoe, that sensation deepens. I don’t know why I have spent so longer fighting my feelings for this woman when I should have been embracing them instead. Tonight, has been incredible, I feel like I know her so much better now, and everything that I learn only brings us closer together.

  We might be very different, there is no denying that, but there are things that we share as well. Family struggles that we have been through, challenges that we have faced, the way that we view life… it bodes well for our future as parents. I really think that we might actually be able to make this work.

  “You want to go to the bedroom?” she asks while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Or is one sleep over too much for you? Just know that I won’t be offended no matter what decision you make.”

  I think about Court suggesting that people saw us arrive at work together and I have to admit that the idea of making that happen again is a little overwhelming. The other staff will be looking at us more now, wanting to know how everything is going to affect us, so any little differences will be examined… but at the same time am I really going to give up a night with this amazing woman because of other people? No way.

  “Of course I’m staying.” She offers me her hand and I take it willingly. “I would love to, if you’d have me.”

  She doesn’t answer that with words. Instead, she grabs me and kisses me hard, letting me know just how much she wants me around. A groan of pleasure vibrates in her throat and shoots all the way down to my cock. I knot my fingers up in her hair and keep her right by me as the kiss deepens and our tongues massage one another.

  “You are so sexy,” I murmur as I spin her around, taking her a little closer to the bedroom. “So stunning.”

  She runs her tongue along my bottom lip and nibbles a couple of times, setting me alight all over again. Immediately, I know that I want to taste her, really taste her this time around, so I start by pulling my mouth away from hers and running it down the exposed skin of her throat. Beads
of perspiration stick to my tongue, making my pulse pound. My rock hard cock strains against the material of my jeans, begging to be let free. But I can’t. Not yet. First, I want to run my lips over every single part of her body. I need to, I can’t resist.

  Her top flies off. I don’t know if it’s me shedding it or she’s peeling it off herself, but it allows me to take more of her skin between my lips. I lick and suck her collar bone, her shoulder, her chest… eventually stripping her bra off and popping her nipple in my mouth. I gasp in pleasure, my hands massage where my lips can’t reach, every part of Zoe’s body is just incredible. It’s no wonder I feel like I’m falling when I’m around her. Tumbling in to an abyss that I haven’t been in before, that I don’t know where it will lead.

  Her fingers catch up in my hair as I move my lips down over her belly and towards her trousers. Those sexy harem trousers that have always irritated me before but now have my head spinning like crazy. Every time I kiss in an erogenous zone, she tugs at my locks, which urges me lower and lower down.

  My fingers curl around her thighs as my knees hit the floor and I glance up at her. I want to make sure that this is exactly what Zoe wants before I move forwards with her. She is in absolute heaven, I can see it in her face, and of course I want to make this even better for her. So, without another moment of hesitation, I yank those trousers down with ease and admire her smooth soft skin. I inhale deeply and the smell of her sets me wild. I can’t resist for another second longer, so I peel her lace panties off as well, so I can see all of her.

  “Oh, you are beautiful,” I groan against her core, blowing my ho breath in to her. “Every part of you.”

  She shudders, trembling with need, luring me in closer to her. She’s wet, needy for me, I can see that from here, and it has me throbbing desperately. Fuck, I don’t know if I can hold back for even another second. My pulse races as my nose presses against her soaking wet slit, nudging her thighs apart for me. Then I grab one of her legs and I toss it over my shoulder so that I can really see every inch of her.