Chapter 9

Mona

I yawned and pushed myself back from my desk, stretching broadly and releasing a tired groan. I had been getting up extra early since I started my job. I wanted to make a good impression by being first to arrive and preparing for each day before the others wandered in around nine, but I wasn’t used to it yet at all. I felt as though someone had peeled me straight from the sheets and deposited me at the desk before I’d even had time to fully open my eyes.

I was exhausted, but it was what Oliver needed from me right now. He was obsessed with landing this account he’d apparently been working on for ages.

I respected his hustle and I had to keep up. Even if I was wiping the sleep from my eyes three hours into the work day.

I could hear him talking on the phone to someone next door, and he was making a concentrated effort not to sound overly excited. He was closing in on the deal. I had picked up that much, but I had no idea how it would play out.

I felt like a voyeur, watching from the outside, and it was frustrating not having a good grasp of what was actually going down. I hated being out of the loop. I was used to being part of the action.

Still, the peace and quiet gave me a little time to get things organized and catch up on some much needed rest. As I went through a handful of new emails, my eyelids felt heavy and I caught myself zoning out a couple of times I had to stop myself from falling asleep at my desk.

I was typing away, sending out form responses to the few people I knew Oliver wouldn’t be interested in speaking to, when the phone rang.

“Hello, Oliver Paulson’s office.”

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice came through the line, and she sounded distressed.

“Can I help you?” I kept my tone as neutral as I could, but I shuffled in my seat a little, settling in. No doubt, this was one of Oliver’s women, ready to drop some drama straight into my lap.

“Is that Oliver’s assistant?” the woman asked, and I cocked my head to the side, intrigued.

“Yes, it is,” I confirmed. “Can I help you with something?”

“What’s your name?” she asked, and I furrowed my brow.

“Mona,” I responded. “My name is Mona.”

“Mona,” the woman repeated, as though she was affixing the name to her memory. “And you work for him? For Oliver?”

“Yes, I do,” I confirmed, I was beginning to doubt that this phone call had anything to do with business. Leaning back in my seat, I waited for the woman to continue.

“Don’t let him fool you,” she warned, her voice dropping slightly, and I felt a jolt run through me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, sitting up in my chair.

“I know he’s charming, but you can’t let him fool you into thinking there’s actually something between you,” she went on, and it sounded as though she’d rehearsed what she was going to say to me.

“Who are you?” I demanded, but I already had a good idea.

“I’m his last assistant,” she snapped without a hint of amusement. “Jeannie. Haven’t you heard about me?”

My stomach dropped. I closed my eyes and swallowed, bracing myself for the rest of this unpleasant exchange.

“How did you get this number?” I asked, stupidly, then quickly corrected my question. “Why are you calling?”

“I wanted to warn you,” she replied, as though it should have been obvious. “I know what he’s like. I was there too, and when I found out he had hired a pretty, young girl to be his assistant.”

“How do you know he hired me?” I demanded.

“I still have friends there, Mona,” she reminded me, and I shivered, wondering if she had been keeping tabs on me the entire time.

I looked around, as though someone might be watching me at that very moment.

“And they told me that you’re exactly his type,” she went on. “I was, too, and after we hooked up-”

“You guys were sleeping together?” I interrupted. I guessed I had suspected that was what had happened between them, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach.

“Of course we were,” she scoffed, and I was beginning to get irritated at the way she was speaking to me. “He was pretty much the best I’ve ever had. I got hooked on him.”

“Right.” I allowed her to my stomach turning somersaults inside me.

“After we had sex, everything changed,” she sighed sadly. “I knew it would, but I thought we could overcome it. God help me, I thought he actually wanted to be with me.”

“And he didn’t?”

“Well, I think you’d know about me if he did,” she shot back, sarcastically.

Why was I still on the phone with this woman? I could have hung up ages ago, but I didn’t want to. I had to hear what she had to say.

“And what happened?” I pressed.

I had no idea how long it would be until I’d get called away by something or someone else, and I felt like I had a right to know.

“They got rid of me, of course,” she went on, as though it should have been obvious. “Or else, you wouldn’t have my job, right?”

“Right, right,” I spoke carefully, suddenly aware that Jeannie might just be pissed that she had been fired and was hoping to sabotage my job here, as well.

“Don’t let him near you,” she warned. “Don’t let him seduce you. Don’t let yourself fall for him because all you’re going to end up with is an unemployment check and…”

She trailed off, falling quiet for a moment and then continued, “Memories,” she said at last. “No job, just memories. It’s not worth it. Trust me.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” I replied, trying my best to appear neutral.

“Promise me,” she begged. “Please.”

I could have promised her nothing would happen between Oliver and I. They were just words, after all, and the chances of her ever finding out one way or another were slim, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t promise her. I wouldn’t.

I hung the phone up, my mind swirling and my heart pounding in my chest.

What did it say about me that I couldn’t just tell her nothing would happen? I knew why. It was because somewhere at the back of my brain, I knew I hoped it would.

Was I so desperate for a man that I would go against the advice of someone who knew from recent experience that it would be in my best interest to stay the hell away from him?

There was just something about Oliver. From the second I’d laid eyes on him I wanted him. I wanted him badly, and not just physically because if it were only that, I would have had no trouble getting him into my bed. I was not without my charms as they say. No, it was a hell of a lot more than that, and there was no denying it any longer.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, forcing myself to slow down. My thoughts were humming at record speed, so fast I was sure I might start levitating if I let them go on any longer.

Nothing had changed. It wasn’t like Oliver knew how I felt. Only Jeannie, a woman who had sat in this seat before me knew what I was feeling. She was the only person who could fully understand what it was like to be next to Oliver day in and day out, seduced by his charms.

Maybe I should take Jeannie’s advice. She ended up losing her job. It was so unfair. Did the company made a habit of canning anyone who got too close to the higher-ups? I had no clue, but it definitely happened with the last woman who occupied this office.

Things wouldn’t happen like that for me. I had to strengthen my resolve. I had to harden myself to his charms, to ignore those looks he gave me when he was sure I wasn’t looking. I had to make sure he knew nothing would ever happen between us.

It would have been simple but Jeannie’s phone call only served to pique my interest. I knew I was being reckless for even thinking it, but if there was any way to get me interested in a guy, it was to hear from his ex-lover that he was the best they’d ever had.

This woman had ruined her career to be with Oliver. What kind of genius in bed must he have been for her to have risked her career, and how could I not be thinking of all the tricks he could pull between the sheets?

I realized with a start that Oliver had finished his phone call next door. I had no idea how long ago he’d hung up, but I got to my feet at once, as though he was going to burst in the door and scold me for slacking.

To my surprise, I heard a knock. He didn’t normally come into my office, and I stumbled over my words for a second before I responded.

“Uh, come in,” I called, sounding a bit frazzled.

He opened the door and walked in, and there was an odd expression on his face, as though he had somehow been privy to the conversation I’d just received.

“Everything alright?” I asked, smiling.

I knew I looked flustered. I was reddening from the chest up, and I wrung my hands together in a way that probably looked neurotic to him.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, nodding and eyeing me curiously, as though trying to put his finger on what was off. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I am,” I assured him, taking my seat back behind my computer and looking up at him expectantly. “What can I do for you?”

“Could you push back the meeting I have with Neil ’til five thirty?” he asked. “I need a little more time to put my proposal together, and I don’t want to rush it.”

“Of course,” I replied, smoothly, checking his schedule and pulling up Neil’s email so I could let him know. “Anything else?”

“Were you just on the phone with someone?” he asked, cocking his head at me.

I froze. Would it be better if I told him? I brushed my hair from my face, buying time, as I tried to come up with an answer.

“Oh, yeah.” I replied. “My Mom, she was calling in to check on me.”

“Oh, okay, he said, shrugging, even though he looked at me with a cock-eyed glance that suggested he didn’t buy it for a second. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, certain,” I replied as firmly as I could. “I’ll rearrange that meeting for you.”

“Thanks.”

He ducked out, and my shoulders softened with relief. Being in a room alone with Oliver was even more difficult knowing what I now knew.

I undid my hair and let it fall down over my shoulders. I massaged my scalp, as I attempted to force the thoughts of Oliver from my head.

I just hoped that he had more restraint than I did.