C HAPTER 1: MAX

I heard the buzz of the crowd as I stepped into the noisy club. The lights were flashing like strobes, illuminating a crowd that was probably fifty percent human and fifty percent ecstasy. It was always like that on Saturday night when the college kids downed their favorite club drug and rolled until dawn. I wasn’t chasing a high—well not that kind of high. I wanted sex and I wasn’t going to wait until the pick of the litter was gone and the hot girls were in bed with someone else. I wanted the best.

“Would you like your usual, Mr. Martin?” The bartender behind the counter leaned over for confirmation, even though he knew the answer would always be the same.

“You got it, Steve.” I tossed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter and my single-malt Scotch was in front of me before he should have had time to pour it. Money could buy anything, even service that was faster than physics.

With the single-malt on my tongue, I scanned the crowd and looked for the right girl. She would stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd of college vagabonds and I would know her when I saw her. She would be the friend, there with someone she thought was prettier than her, or the new girl in town that wandered into the wrong club and couldn’t get to the exit through the sea of dancing idiots. She would be my prey. I would stalk her, take her, and claim her pussy before she really knew what the fuck happened.

“Hey there, handsome.” The aroma of alcohol hit my nostrils even before I heard her voice. “My friends and I saw you come in. Do you want to come hang out with us?”

She was clearly drunk—so drunk that her words were slurred. She had hair that was blonde and as fake as her surgically enhanced tits. Her push-up bra lifted them so much they almost popped out of her dress. She would probably be fun. She looked like the type that would suck my cock and let me fuck her in the ass, but it would matter less to her than it mattered to me. I used to go home with easy girls like her, but I no longer had the patience that. I looked at her friends and they smiled, waving towards me. They were all just like her—so much like her that it looked like someone cloned her and just started changing hair colors.

“Sorry, I’m waiting on someone.” I held up my hand and tapped my wedding band.

“I don’t care if you’re married.” She smiled and reached for my hand.

“I do.” I pulled my hand away at the last second. “Sorry.”

Have you ever heard of a man wearing a fake wedding band to keep women away? I picked up that trick after having it used on me a couple of times. It was just a tool at my disposal. I usually slipped it off and tossed it on the ground before I made my move. I had dozens of them at home in a drawer. I used to put them in my pocket, but I had one fall out right before I got my cock sucked once and learned my lesson. Occasionally, I kept it on and told the story of a tragic divorce and an inability to remove it. That wasn’t a complete lie, even if my marriage had ended nearly five years earlier.

The blonde that tried to seduce me finally gave up and headed back to her group of fem-bots.

“Another drink.” I stared at the crowd and sighed when I pushed my glass towards Steve.

“Right away, Mr. Martin.” I didn’t wait to see if he broke his previous record. I really didn’t care. I had enough booze in me for one evening but I needed to be holding something besides an empty glass.

And there she was.

She lingered at the back of a group of twenty-somethings. She only smiled when someone was looking at her. The instant they looked away, her face retreated to the natural discomfort she was in. She had dark brown hair falling down her shoulders and around her arms. Her dress was so skin tight she constantly shifted and tugged at it. She didn’t buy that dress. She didn’t own that dress. Someone in the group had convinced her to go out with them and loaned it to her. When the waiter brought shots, everyone downed them enthusiastically except her. She took a sip and then held it down by her waist. When the moment allowed, she sat it on a nearby table and walked away.

I had to have her.

She was a good girl. She didn’t know what it was like to ride the cock carousel with a different partner in her bed every time she put liquor to her lips. If I had a fetish, she was exactly what turned me on. I picked up my drink and walked towards her. Her tits were so natural and perfect. They were big enough for me to squeeze, but not big enough to knock her teeth out when I made the bed quake. Her ass might as well have been drawn on her perfect form. An artist would have struggled to draw or sculpt one so perfect without having her right there to serve as the model. When I got closer, I tilted my head to avoid eye contact with her friends. I had to charm her before they tried to talk her out of it.

“Hi, I’m Max—short for Maxwell, but please don’t call me that.” I extended my hand and she nearly jumped out of her sky-high heels when she realized I was speaking to her.

“Uh. Oh.” She turned towards me and blinked a couple of times. “I’m Abby. Are you looking for one of my friends?”

“No.” I flashed her the million-dollar smile—well, I guess it was a billion-dollar smile if you wanted to put a price on it. “I came over here to talk to you.”

Chapter 2: Abby

A few hours earlier

“Abby, come on, it’s Saturday night!” My best friend, Mary-Katherine, was standing in my kitchen with a dress in each hand. “Are you really just going to spend another weekend at home watching movies with your cat?”

“Sebastian likes it when we spend a quiet weekend at home.” I grabbed the orange tabby from the floor and hauled him up into my arms, speaking to him in a baby voice. “Don’t you, Sebastian?”

Sebastian tolerated my attention for a couple of seconds before flipping over and jumping out of my arms. He scurried upstairs as Mary-Katherine extended one dress and shook it at me before doing the same with the other. I hadn’t been out in over a year but the club scene just didn’t do it for me. It was fine when I was in college and had a group of friends to go out with, but doing it as an adult was just annoying. The music was too loud, the drinks were too expensive, and none of the guys ever talked to me anyway.

“Which one is it going to be, Abby?” She held the dresses side by side. “Choose one.”

“You’re really going to make me do this?” I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Yes, because eventually Rolando is going to propose to me and then I’ll be a barefoot pregnant wife who can’t go out when I want to. There’s a group of girls from work going out tonight, so we won’t be alone. You should wear this dress.” She tossed the blue dress on the table and handed me the emerald green one. “Come on, it’ll be just like college.”

That was what I was afraid of.

“Fine, but only because I know it won’t be exactly like college. You won’t hook up with someone and leave me to find my own ride home.” I took the dress from her and held it up to my body.

“That happened one time...” She wrinkled her nose and pondered what I said. “Maybe twice...”

“What time are you picking me up?” I ignored the fact she was clearly forgetting numerous other times in her attempt to gloss over history and rewrite it in her favor.

“Nobody drives anymore, silly.” She shook her head back and forth. “Get an Uber and meet me there at seven.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.” I walked to the door and opened it, giving her a rather clear indication it was time for her to go.

It was the worst weekend to go out. I was just gaining traction with my career and we had an important meeting with one of our clients on Monday. I wanted to find some nugget of information other people might miss, memorize it, and dazzle my boss with a profound question that provoked thought. Everyone seemed to have one on the edge of their tongue at those meetings except me. While nobody really cared how a company’s business ventures were doing in a random territory in the wake of some various economic shift, the person who posed the question was always looked at like they were a genius for thinking about it. If I wasn’t going to find a way to become a genius overnight, I had to fake it.

“Sebastian?” I called out. “Do you want dinner?”

Sebastian appeared like a rocket and ran straight to his food bowl. He sat down and then started meowing at me because I had called him before the food was served. I poured some food into his bowl and walked towards the stairs with the dress over my arm. It was going to take a lot of pushing and prodding to get my figure into the elaborate fabric, but it was nicer than anything I had in my closet. I stripped down when I got to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. A loose curl drifted into my eye and I blew it out of the way.

I wasn’t getting any younger. At twenty-four, I was probably the oldest virgin left in America—maybe even the world. Everyone always said I was so pretty but I just didn’t feel like I had it —whatever it was. Mary-Katherine could walk into a club, shake her ass, and have a line of guys behind her. I didn’t have enough confidence to walk out on a dance floor and shake my ass. I hardly had enough confidence to go to a club in the first place. I hoped I would meet someone nice at the office, but I seemed to have fallen into the crack where every eligible guy was either a newlywed or a man-whore. There didn’t seem to be an in-between.

“Okay, Sebastian. I’m going to take a shower now.” I started the water and watched him scurry away when he heard it bouncing against the bottom of the tub.

***

“W OW, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL .” Mary-Katherine smiled when I stepped out of my Uber. I tipped the driver and turned towards her.

“This dress is way too tight.” I tugged at the hem.

“It fits you perfectly. See, all that yoga and salad-eating paid off. You’re a skinny bitch now.” She laughed and waved to a group of people that waved back.

“I haven’t lost any weight, I just couldn’t fit into your skinny jeans when you made me try them on while I was on my period...” My words trailed off as we got to the group and introductions were made.

The club was just like college, but worse because we were part of the old crowd—the same crowd Mary-Katherine used to make fun of when we were in college. We gathered around a table and ordered drinks. I ordered a martini, thinking I could just hold it and sip it all night, but by the time the waitress brought it to the table, I had lost my stool to one of Mary-Katherine’s work friends. I just stood on the outer perimeter of the circle and smiled when someone looked at me, or nodded like I agreed with whatever the group said. I started to wonder why Mary-Katherine even asked me to come to the club if she was just going to ignore me.

“Here you are, ma’am.” The waiter handed me a shot glass that smelled like tequila. I watched everyone chug theirs and I took a light sip—yep, it was tequila.

I had too many nights purging Quetzalcoatl from my stomach and flushing him down the ceramic to ever dance with that ancient Aztecan again. I took a step towards the table to my left when the patrons walked away, and put the shot glass in the middle of their empty beer bottles. With one quick step to my right, I was back in the perimeter of the group that had become my permanent home until I could make an excuse to leave. The dress seemed to move up my hips on its own, or rub against my ribs in a way that I was sure would leave a mark, so I had to keep adjusting it. The battle never seemed to be won. The next thing I knew, a voice broke me from the war with my attire and startled me.

Chapter 3: Max

“Me?” She looked at me with a bit of confusion.

“Yes, I think you’re beautiful.” Behind my back I gave a signal to Steve and the volume of the music started to get louder.

“You what?” My words were drowned out before she could hear the last word.

“I said, I think you’re beautiful.” I leaned closer to her, my lips nearly against her ear so she could hear my words.

“I’m sorry.” She blushed and stared at me, her eyes blinking. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“Tell me you already know it. Tell me that guys say that to you all the time.” I let my lips drag against her earlobe.

“Guys don’t say that...” She tugged at her dress.

“They should. That dress looks really uncomfortable.” I could see redness in her cheeks and they were already starting to glow with faint radiating blush.

“I borrowed it from my friend.” She pointed towards the table. “She’s over there.”

“You can return it when you pick it up off the floor tomorrow morning.” I put my hand on her arm and let my finger slide down the sensitive skin near her wrist.

“Uh... Um...” She took a step back and tried to say something, but the music drowned her out.

“I can’t hear you.” I mouthed and motioned for her to say it in my ear.

“I said I’m not that kind of girl.” She spoke directly into my ear and I ran my fingers along her arm again.

“Why don’t we just go somewhere quieter and talk then? I really do think you’re beautiful, but it is too loud to talk in here.” I reached for her hand and started walking towards the door.

She was mine.

The music was so loud that it was probably hard for her to even think, much less figure out what I was saying. I flashed a thumbs-up to Steve as I walked towards the door and he started lowering the volume before customers started to complain. He knew my tricks because he had seen them repeated so many times. I could feel Abby’s hand sweating as we walked through the crowd and outside the club. The evening air felt nice after being trapped in a room filled with sweating college students. The second we were outside the club, she pulled her hand away and shook her head.

“I need to get back to my friends. That sip of tequila must have really done me in, because I don’t know you.” She moved her hand in a half-circle wave. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Wait, don’t go.” I stepped forward and took her by the hand, preparing to ooze charisma filled with all the manners I could muster—it was a wonderful mask to wear when I met the kind of good girls I liked best. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m obviously not very good at talking to women in clubs. That’s my fault. I just wanted to get your attention.”

“You seem nice.” Her lips twisted into nervous uncertainty and she looked down at the ground.

Here comes the fucking but.

“But, I’m not really interested in going home with someone I just met and I’m not sure the kind of guy that would want that sort of thing is really my type.” Her smile twisted to one of pity, like she felt sorry for me.

“I came on too strong.” I nodded. “I get that. I’m not upset with you for being concerned. I don’t get out much. I’m just a guy that saw a beautiful girl and got a little ahead of myself. You don’t sound like much of a drinker. Would you like to get coffee instead? There’s a nice little coffee shop right over there. You can see it from here. They’re open all night and we can just talk until your friends are done.” I gave her my best I love you smile, buried behind a remorseful stare.

“I really don’t want to go back inside.” She sighed. “Yeah, coffee sounds good.”

“Awesome.” I extended the crook of my elbow towards her and smiled as she put her hand in it.

“Let’s start over. My name is Abby—short for Abigail and I don’t mind if you call me that.” She looked up at me with a smile forming where I had previously seen nothing but hesitation.

Mine. Mine. Mine. All. Fucking. Mine.

“Hey girl. Don’t go falling in love with him. He’ll break your fucking heart.” I looked to the line of people waiting to get into the club and saw one of the women step out of line. She started walking towards us with a purpose, her high heel shoes slamming on the sidewalk with each step.

God, what was her name. I knew her. I fucked her. Valerie? No, it was Veronica.

“I’m sorry, she’s just a crazy person.” I tried to keep Abby’s hand in the crook of my arm, but she stopped walking and turned around.

“This guy?” She pointed at me with her thumb. “Max?”

“Yeah, Max.” Veronica let out a laugh. “What did he do? Offer to take you for coffee so you could have some time to talk? You may think you’re clever enough to resist his charm right now, but give him an hour. Your panties will be drowning in your pussy and begging him to come save them.”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Veronica.” I gave her a death stare, but I knew it was all over with Abby. The rest of the patrons in line were paying attention as well, and Abby seemed a little nervous.

“We call him Mr. Mistake, those of us that let him in. We fell for his charm, fell for his good looks, and of course the fact he’s filthy rich doesn’t hurt. You can follow him and join our club tomorrow morning—he won’t be there when you wake up. Or, you can go back inside with your friends where you’re safe.” Veronica pointed towards the door.

“Abby...” I let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I should go.” Abby looked down at the ground as she ran back towards the door.

“This place really needs more bouncers.” I sighed angrily. “Are you still that pissed off at me? It’s been what, two years?”

“That’s the problem, Mr. Mistake—you’re unforgettable. Now that she’s gone, why don’t you take me home and I can make that mistake again.” Veronica walked closer and took my hand as the crowd finally stopped staring.

“We’ve had this talk before. It’s not happening.” I turned and motioned towards my driver who was waiting on the other side of the street.

He did a u-turn out of his parking space and pulled up to the curb. I climbed into the passenger door and slammed it shut, watching Veronica stomp her high heel before she walked back towards the line.

Veronica was a bit of an anomaly. I thought she was a sweet, innocent young woman when I first met her, but she turned out to be a freak. It was a fun night but it was never going to be forever. Veronica seemed to have other ideas and she stalked me for a bit, posting shit about me on social media. She coined the term, Mr. Mistake, and even used it as a hashtag for some of her friends. Occasionally, I would run into her and she would try to get me to take her home. It was the first time she had ruined a date for me, and I was angry I had to go home alone because of her interference.

Chapter 4: Abby

Mr. Mistake.

No. There was no way I would have went home with him. That wasn’t even feasible. We would have gone to the coffee shop, had a cup of coffee, and then I would have been in bed regretting my decision to end my evening with a steaming cup of caffeine. There was electricity when he touched me, fire when his lips got close to my ear, and I was lost in those dark brown eyes. He seemed like such a nice guy when we talked. The night was perfect, the moon was hanging in the sky like it was there to perfectly illuminate the moment, and then what I thought was beginning of my life’s romance novel ended with those fateful words.

Mr. Mistake.

I stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Sebastian curled up next to me and tried to share my grief with his gentle purring. It wasn’t the first time I had come close to tumbling head over heels in a matter of minutes. When I was in high school, a hot guy said I was the one, led me on, and seconds before his lips descended to mine he started laughing. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone joined him in the ridicule. It was a prank. I was the butt of the joke, stupid enough to believe someone like Chad Dawson wanted me. I spent months hearing those cackles behind my back from those that retold the story over and over until someone else became a better victim.

“It looks like we’re going to grow old together, Sebastian.” I rubbed his head. “That isn’t a bad thing, right?”

After a few hours of wallowing in self-pity, I started to think of work. I was supposed to prepare for the meeting. I didn’t know a whole lot about the company we were meeting with. I picked up the portfolio and started flipping through it. When I got into advertising and marketing, I thought life would be filled with creativity, but before the creativity ever got started, we had to convince them we deserved to pitch them ideas. The company sold energy drinks and catered to a higher-class crowd, mixing various vitamins into their overdose of caffeine. As I dug through their catalog, I noticed that they were losing ground to the more popular brands with their target audience, but gaining ground with the college crowd. I felt like I could use that to my advantage at the meeting, so I closed the portfolio and rubbed Sebastian’s head.

***

I WALKED INTO THE OFFICE on Monday morning with a coffee in my hand and a fresh idea in my head. I was ready to dazzle everyone in the room with my new business strategy. I stood by my desk and sipped my coffee while the cliques formed around me. I hadn’t yet found my place in the company. They used me as a Jill-of-all-trades. That was going to change when I completely revolutionized our client’s business model, won the account, and secured the admiration of everyone in the office. I tried to forget Mr. Mistake and the moment we shared, but every time the room got silent, the what-if scenarios ran through my head. I sipped my coffee and tried to shake off the thoughts.

“Hey, Abby.” I heard a nervous giggle and turned to see one of our tech guys behind me.

“How’s it going, Paul?” I turned to him with a smile.

“Is the software update working well for you?” He pushed his thin-framed glasses up his nose and smiled.

“Yeah...” I nodded with a raised eyebrow. “It’s working great; is there something I should be concerned about?”

“No, I just wanted to check in with you.” He stared at the floor. “So, I had a question...”

Before Paul could ask his question—I already knew what it was—the boss walked in and motioned for everyone to join him in the conference room. I quickly said my goodbye to Paul, saving him the embarrassment of being declined for a date. I was impressed he had found the courage to finally ask me since I had known for a while that he was interested, but he just wasn’t my type. He was thin, nerdy, and awkward—his genetics were not his fault, but I couldn’t help it if I didn’t have any attraction to him at all. I was glad the meeting had started before I had to break his heart. I hoped it would take him a few more months to work up the courage again—it would be better for us both if he never did.

“Okay, I’d like to welcome the representatives from Energy Enhanced.” My boss, Mr. Hawthorne, turned to them. “Gentlemen, I hope you’ll like what you hear.”

“Before we begin.” One of the men from Energy Enhanced held up his phone. “We have an investor that wanted to join us for the meeting. He’s in the elevator, if you don’t mind waiting...”

“No, not at all.” Mr. Hawthorne nodded.

The doors opened and in walked Max—Mr. Mistake. He was the freaking investor. He walked in like he owned the damn room, oozing charisma when he scanned the audience. I could see Mr. Hawthorne swallow a lump in his throat and several of the people from Energy Enhanced started muttering to each other. It seemed I was the only one in the room that didn’t really know him, yet I knew things about him I was sure none of the people around the table had a clue about. I felt my throat drying out and my tongue going numb as I stared at him. He pulled up a chair and took a seat. When his eyes met mine, I had to immediately look down at the floor.

Chaos.

“My time is limited. Pitch it to me.” He folded his hands on the table.

“Mr. Martin owns eighty-five percent of the company.” The representative from Energy Enhanced presented Max like he was the living embodiment of Jesus Christ sitting in our conference room.

“Right.” Mr. Hawthorne nodded. “We appreciate you joining us.”

The next ten minutes were agonizing. My boss pitched his best ideas, completely laid out with charts, graphs, and everything we would normally use to woo a client. Max just ignored it for the most part, looking at his cell phone and grunting when potential sales figures went up on the screen. I could see the frustration growing on Mr. Hawthorne’s face, even if he managed to avoid verbalizing it. The Energy Enhanced representatives seemed to look towards Max for approval each time a new idea was put on the table and when he didn’t react, they followed his lead. The meeting was going south. Ideas were flying from every direction and crashing before they hit their target.

“I’ve got an idea...” I finally broke my silence. My boss gave me a shake of his head, indicating I was speaking out of line.

“I’m sorry.” Max put down his phone. “Who are you?”

“I’m...” I tried to swallow the dryness in my throat. “I’m Abby Grant. I’m fairly new here but—”

As if he didn’t remember.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Ms. Grant.” Max’s voice dripped with the same sugary sweetness he had when I met him at the club. “I’m not trying to be insulting, but I’ve heard a lot of ideas and none of them have been worth the syllables.”

“You haven’t heard my idea.” My words came out quick, almost as if someone else said them—it almost startled me when I realized they came from my lips.

“The floor is yours.” Max gave me a smile and I could see that Mr. Hawthorne’s brow had erupted into sweat as he stared at me.

“Your marketing strategy.” I started to feel a bit of courage as I began to speak. “You’re trying to cater to high end clients. I’m not sure your brand is built for that. The name Energy Enhanced doesn’t exactly scream high class.”

“Abby...” Mr. Hawthorne walked across the room and put his hand on my shoulder. “Gentleman, I apologize. As she said, she’s new.” His hand tightened on my shoulder.

“I’d like to hear what she has to say.” Max leaned towards the table. “I don’t like hearing problems without a solution, so is there more to this epiphany?”

“Yes.” I shrugged off Mr. Hawthorne’s hand and opened my folder. “I know it isn’t a market share you’re really after, but Energy Enhanced is actually doing very well with the college crowd. They don’t care about all the vitamins you’re infusing with caffeine to make it more appealing than the competition. They’re just drinking it and realizing it gives them a lift. You’re growing in that market faster than any of your competition.”

“Do we follow that market?” Max looked towards the representatives from Energy Enhanced.

“No.” The man who had introduced Max shook his head. “It isn’t the market sector we’re after. Our strategy is—”

“How can we ignore it?” Max drummed his fingers on the table. “Fuck strategy. Business is all about opportunity and Ms.—I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”

“Abby.” Mr. Hawthorne stepped forward with a smile that was glowing. “Abby Grant.”

“Ms. Grant has clearly picked up on something you haven’t been paying attention to. I think they just proved that they deserve our account, wouldn’t you agree?” He stared down the group from Energy Enhanced.

“Yes sir.” Their reply was almost in unison.

***

W HEN THE MEETING WAS over and people started to leave, I slipped out of the conference room and retreated to the break room. It was empty. Everyone that had time to take a break was on pins and needles as they waited to find out how many advertising dollars the account was going to be worth. I knew it would be a lot. I was more confused than ever about Max—Mr. Mistake. He had to remember me, even if he just seemed to feign indifference. I fixed a cup of coffee, stirring in cream and sugar. A few seconds later, I heard someone walking into the break room. I turned around to see Max. Even a few minutes without him directly in front of me had made me forget how attractive he was. He looked like he was sculpted from perfection, staring at me with those oh so mind boggling dark brown eyes.

“Hi, I’m Max—short for Maxwell, but please don’t call me that.” He extended his hand.

“Seriously?” I put down my coffee cup and folded my arms across my chest.

“Okay, fine.” He looked down at the floor. “Yeah, some people call me Mr. Mistake.”

“I don’t make mistakes.” I shook my head.

“Never?” He raised his head and smiled. “Not even one?”

“No.” I shook my head again. “Don’t feed me your crap. I don’t have the stomach for it. I’m not interested in being a one-night stand and I’m certainly not going to ever call you Mr. Mistake.”

“You’re very confident.” He grinned. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Don’t try to woo me. Don’t give me this sugary sweet nonsense. I already know it is nothing but a lie.” I stared at him.

“Fine.” He started walking towards me.

Holy shit.

I didn’t see that one coming. I thought I was telling him to hit the bricks, but he took it as an open invitation. When he got close me and I felt his buzz—that same radiating electricity I felt the night we met—I was practically sweating. I wasn’t the kind of woman to fall victim to charm like his, but he turned the charm off and went straight into attack mode. Before I realized what his next play was, there was an arm around my waist and he was pulling me close. His other hand grabbed me by the back of the neck and tilted my head. Everything in my conscious brain built on rationale thought was saying no, but my head was spinning with the intoxication of his touch.

No. Yes. No. No. Yes...

Nothing came out of my trembling lips as I fought a war inside my head. Before I could really think it through or argue with myself anymore, he pulled me so close I could feel the heat of his breath. That only lasted for a moment. He pressed his lips to mine and my entire body melted as his tongue ravaged my mouth. It was like being suspended in bliss with dynamite going off underneath my skirt. All I could do was open my willing mouth and welcome him as our tongues intertwined. He gave me a taste of his passion, a taste of what he had to offer me, and then he pulled away. When my thoughts returned, he was walking the other way.

“You’re leaving?” I felt my breath come out in a pant.

“You said you weren’t interested.” He waved over his shoulder at me and walked out the door.

Chapter 5: Max

Of course I knew Abby Grant worked for the marketing firm that was trying to get Energy Enhanced’s account. I knew everything about Abby Grant within an hour of her being stolen from me by the bitterness of Veronica’s jilted ego. I couldn’t even remember the last time I bothered to put in a personal appearance at a company we didn’t own outright. Energy Enhanced was just another startup that sounded like they were offering something different than the rest of the products on the market. Truthfully, once I found out she worked at a marketing firm, I knew there was a damn good chance her company would pitch something to one of mine eventually. Happenstance just delivered it to me earlier than I imagined. The fact she was in the room was just icing on the cake. I definitely didn’t expect her to have the only decent idea in the whole damn room.

That fucking kiss.

I’ve used a strong kiss to tame more than one woman trying to show disinterest. It wasn’t a new trick, but it was effective. I didn’t get a fair shot at her, so there was no reason to play fair after the fact. I wanted her. There was no way around that. Her kiss started with fear, hesitation, and then it was as passionate as my own. She might not want to make a mistake, but she was damn sure going to do it anyway. I might not have gotten her at the club, but with the door once again open, I was going to charge into it like the bull I was. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a familiar number. They answered quickly.

“Hello, this Max Martin. I’d like to arrange a flower delivery.” I waited for the young lady on the other end of the phone to pull up my account. “Yes, a dozen roses. I’d like to have them delivered to Abby Grant at West End Marketing. Make it happen today.”

I hung up the phone before I gave them a chance to confirm. I knew they would do what I said. My name had too much prestige for them not to bow down to it. A few hours later, I was sitting in my office, staring out at the city, when I got a text message confirming they were delivered.

I had a lot of work to do but it was getting late. I thought about picking up the phone and making arrangements so I could go out to another club, but I just didn’t have the energy. My laser focus had locked in on Abby Grant and until that itch was scratched, it was going to be hard to find satisfaction elsewhere. That was the problem with my ego—it had to be stroked once I got it worked up.

***

“D ADDY!” I HEARD A voice cry out as I stepped into my house. Tiny feet ran down the hallway towards me.

“Hi, Benjamin!” I scooped up my five-year-old son as he lunged at me.

“Guess what Ms. Ruth taught me today?” He grinned from ear to ear.

“What’s that?” I saw the older lady walking down the hallway, holding her back as she took each step.

“I learned how to divide every number by ten! You just take off a zero!” He seemed overly enthused, like he had just discovered magic.

“Yes, that works with a lot of numbers.” I sat him down and looked over at Ms. Ruth. “Everything go okay today?”

“It wasn’t bad.” Her voice was gentle. “We did have a bit of a dispute over how many cookies he’s allowed to have.”

“I said one.” I looked down at Benjamin.

“I multiplied that by five!” He held up five fingers.

“It doesn’t work that way, son.” I shook my head and laughed.

Benjamin was my heart and soul. He represented everything good about me and didn’t get cursed with any of my awful personality traits. His mother was the only woman I had ever loved but she decided she loved pills and tanned Brazilians more than the life we started to build together. By the time I found out she was pregnant with Benjamin, I wasn’t even sure he would be mine. The marriage was over, held together only by my stubbornness at that point. We signed the divorce papers a few days after he was born, despite the offer I made for us to get counseling and try to work things out. She cashed herself out of my life and for another zero, she signed over all of her parental rights to Benjamin.

“Alright, son. Let’s go make dinner.” I took him by the hand.

“Bye, Ms. Ruth!” Benjamin waved goodbye to his teacher.

“Goodbye, Benjamin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She returned his wave and walked towards the door.

Ms. Ruth had been a godsend. I was a bit nervous about homeschooling Benjamin because I wanted him to socialize with other children, but he was slightly autistic. If he was with people he knew and trusted, he was okay, but if he was put in a room with strangers he would shut down and become almost non-verbal.

I took him to the kitchen and made him a ham sandwich with a side of broccoli. He loved ham sandwiches and he hated broccoli. Thankfully, he was willing to endure the curse of vegetables for a ham sandwich. After dinner was over, I bathed him and tucked him into bed. He wanted a bedtime story, so I read him a story about knights and castles. That was the flavor of the week after he found out dinosaurs were extinct.

Chapter 6: Abby

Flowers? Really?

I stared at the roses sitting next to my computer. I had already ripped up the card and threw it in the trash. The kiss Max planted on my lips left me burning with desire, but after having twenty-four hours to think about it, I was once again firmly opposed to him. The words left behind by the woman at the club resonated in my ear. It didn’t matter if he was hot as hell or if he made me wet, he was nothing more than Mr. Mistake.

I opened my email and stared at the request from Mr. Hawthorne. He wanted all of my analysis and data on the pitch I made because Energy Enhanced was going to fully embrace my idea.

“Abby!” I heard a voice and turned to see Mary-Katherine walking towards me.

“Mary-Katherine...” I blinked a couple of times. “What are you doing here?”

“We have a lunch date. Did you forget? Who sent you flowers!” She turned the vase and pulled a rose close so she could smell it.

“I totally forgot...” I sighed. “Those are from a client. They were happy with one of my ideas.”

“A client?” She grinned. “Is it a guy, because I don’t think clients send red roses unless they’re interested in more than just your ideas.”

“I don’t want to talk about it here.” I grabbed my purse and motioned for her to follow me outside.

***

“M R. MISTAKE?” MARY -Katherine started laughing as soon as she heard the story of what transpired outside the club. “I thought you just went to the bathroom. I didn’t realize someone tried to kidnap you!”

“It wasn’t a kidnapping...” I lifted my glass and sipped diet soda through my straw. “He was kind of charming, but come on—how do I get past that?”

“You don’t.” Mary-Katherine shrugged. “How long are you going to wait to lose your virginity? He sounds like the perfect guy for it. He’s experienced, hotter than anyone I’ve ever been with, and if the condom breaks, he’s rich as fuck.”

“So, I spent my whole life waiting for Mr. Right and I just throw myself at Mr. Mistake because I’m horny?” I shook my head and glared at her.

“It’s Maxwell Martin.” She pointed at me with both fingers. “You have a chance to fuck Maxwell Martin.”

“He doesn’t like being called Maxwell—ugh.” I let out a grunt when I realized I had just repeated what he said to me.

“See, you already know him.” She grinned. “Plus, he sent you flowers. Just take off your panties and mail them to him, because he’s getting them one way or the other.”

“You’re seriously no help.” I paused when the waitress brought our salads. “I wanted you to tell me I shouldn’t hook up with the bastard.”

“All of the good ones are bastards.” She shrugged. “I’m not telling you to marry him—but I mean, if he asks...”

“He’s not going to ask.” I shook my head back and forth. “Based on what the woman at the club said, he gets around.”

“He bought you flowers. He’s going to ask you out again, so just go out with him. If something feels off, give me a call and I’ll come save you.” She dug her fork into her salad and grinned at me again.

Mary-Katherine made it sound so easy to just fuck a stranger. When I was a little girl I dreamed of being romanced and eventually seduced by my husband on my wedding night. I guess I should blame my parents for those old-fashioned values in a world where sex was pretty much mandatory by the third date. Max didn’t seem like the type of guy who made it to the second date—hell, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who even made it to the first date. I knew I should stay far, far away from him, no matter how hot he was, but the kiss was still burning in my mind.

It got even more complicated to say no when I got back to my office and opened my email.

Dinner.

Tonight

Remington’s — 7pm

Wear something sexy.

-Max

Five lines of text. I was only worth one sentence and it was only three words. The whole email was a command rather than an invitation. I hit reply and typed up a diatribe of anger towards him, explaining why we would never work, and why he should leave me the hell alone. My finger lingered over the send button for several minutes as the screen blurred in my vision. I finally pushed the mouse to the right and closed it without sending it. When the office started to clear out, I was still staring at the screen. I had wasted most of the day and still hadn’t responded to Mr. Hawthorne’s email.

“Fuck...” I muttered as I opened Mr. Hawthorne’s email and started explaining why I thought my idea was a good move for Energy Enhanced.

It was five o’clock by the time I got my response together. My eyes centered on Max’s email again. No matter how bad I wanted to just respond and tell him no, I couldn’t stop remembering the kiss. I stood up and shut down my computer. I needed a dress and there was nothing in my closet that wouldn’t look out of place at Remington’s. It was one of the most upscale restaurants in the city. I sent a text message to Mary-Katherine and she immediately responded, telling me I should come to her place. I waved down a taxi and gave them her address.

Chapter 7: Max

She could take the invitation or she could ignore it. I tried not giving a fuck, but a fuck was pretty much everything I had to give at that point. The sizzle of her lips had kept my thoughts on fire since I kissed Abby and there was no way I was going to get her out of my head until I fucked her and made her another victim of Mr. Mistake. Fuck it. If Veronica and her band of merry bitches wanted to brand me with the label, I would own it. It wasn’t like Abby didn’t know what she was getting into. She was more prepared to wake up alone than any of the others I left beside a cold indention in their bed.

“Ah, Mr. Martin.” The Maître D’ at Remington’s smiled when I stepped into the restaurant and walked to the front of the line. “Your table is already prepared.”

“Thank you.” I followed him as he escorted me to a quiet area in the back of the restaurant.

“When will your guest arrive?”

“I told her seven. I think she’s the type to get here early.” I took my seat and reached for the drink menu.

“Excellent, sir. I’ll send your waiter over to take your drink order.” He walked towards the gathering of waiters and started whispering to them.

***

H ELLO GORGEOUS.

When I looked up to see the Maître D’ walking towards the table with a woman on his heels, I had to do a double take. Abby had been transformed. She was no longer the timid looking woman wrestling with her dress at the club. She was an angel, wrapped in a halo of stunning beauty so glamorous I had to swallow some whiskey just to keep my throat from tightening into a knot. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. When I looked into her eyes, I saw the same timidness I witnessed the first and second time we met. The Maître D’ pulled out her chair and once she was seated, I sat down and blinked a couple of times in shock.

“Wow, you look amazing.” I could feel my voice cracking. My voice didn’t crack—what the fuck was wrong with me?

“You don’t have to compliment me. We both know this isn’t going further than the first date.” The waiter appeared and took her order for a glass of red wine before I could respond.

“Then why did you come?” The waiter was out of earshot when I finally responded.

“Curiosity, mostly? The flowers were pretty...” She smiled and shrugged. “We’re business partners now, so we can have dinner together.”

“So, the kiss had nothing to do with it?” I reached out and traced the top of her knuckles.

“No.” She pulled her hand away.

“So, this is just a business dinner?” I reached for my drink and lifted it to my lips.

“This is nothing more than business to you, isn’t it? You’re not looking to form a relationship and you probably won’t even call me in the morning, so why pretend? Buy me a nice meal and you can take my virginity.” She smiled as if her words were normal conversation.

“What?!” I felt my whiskey try to go down my throat and then it erupted into my mouth as I coughed it back into my glass.

“You want me, right? You’re the man everyone looks back on as a mistake. If I’m going to make one, I might as well make it a big one. You get what you want and I can stop worrying about losing my virginity to the wrong guy.” The waiter brought her wine and she sipped it.

“You’re serious about this?” I pushed my glass to the waiter and motioned for him to take it away.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Well for starters...” I felt a bit of my confidence returning as I got over the initial surprise. “I have a twelve-inch cock.”

It was her turn to gag on her drink. “Oh...”

“I normally save that reveal for the bedroom, but since you’re being so open with things...” I let my lips turn into a coy smirk. “...you should probably know that you’ll be walking with a limp tomorrow.”

“Shit...” She looked down at her wine glass and blinked a couple of times.

“I also love eating pussy.” I waited for her to look up at me and let my tongue slide across my bottom lip. “I could eat it for hours.”

“Jesus...” She let out an exasperated sigh.

“And just so you know, I’ll be skipping dessert because you’re the only sweet thing I want to nibble on tonight.” I locked eyes with her, refusing to let her break my gaze.

“Now I see why so many women make this mistake.” She fanned her neck with her hand. “I think...I think I got ahead of myself.”

“Buyer’s remorse? You’re not supposed to get that until I’m done with you.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “And I haven’t even gotten started.”

“I need to go freshen up before I order.” She tried to pull away, but I held her hand tight.

“Or we could skip dinner entirely.” I pulled her hand towards me. “What do you have to eat at your place?”

Chapter 8: Abby

We were already kissing when I climbed into the backseat of his car. The tinted glass between us was raised after I gave the driver my address and Max wrapped his arms around me. I couldn’t even begin to verbalize all of the reasons why what we were doing was wrong because my body craved more. Max’s lips were fire, melting my inhibitions before I could even try to use them as a defense. I felt like my lips were being pillaged and they were tingling when he pulled away from them. He started kissing down my neck and the fire on my lips turned to a surge of chills that ran through my body.

“I want you.” He whispered into my ear as his lips moved up my neck and he teased my earlobes with his breath. “I need to be inside you.”

I didn’t even know how to respond. I felt like clay being molded by his touch and melting into every word he said. Every caution flag my mind would create was burned before I could wave it as he moved back to my lips and continued kissing me. He held me tight with one hand while his other one moved up the front of my dress and squeezed my breasts. I could feel his cock getting hard, pushing against the fabric of his pants when he pressed his body against me. It was going to destroy me. My virgin pussy was so tight I couldn’t even get a finger inside of it when I masturbated. The thought of having his enormous girth inside of it made me tremble with concern, but I was already so wet my panties were slippery between my legs.

“This is a mistake.” I forced my words out between panted moans of anticipation.

“That’s why you’re with me.” He squeezed my breast and moved his lips to my ear. “I specialize in those.”

Max had a magic tongue, fire-coated lips, and a touch that made me struggle to breathe. His driver pulled the car in front of my house. He pushed the door open and pulled me out of the backseat. I fumbled with my purse and when I had the keys in my hand, he took them from me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close again, kissing on the lawn where anyone could see us. I had no idea what the neighbors would think of my behavior. I had known most of them since I shared the house with my parents before they retired to Florida. They had certainly never seen me making out with a guy in the front yard.

“We should go inside.” I motioned towards the house when his lips parted from mine.

“Somebody’s anxious.” He wrapped his hand around mine and started walking towards the door.

“I just don’t want the neighbors to think I’m some kind of slut.” I followed behind him.

The instant the door was closed and we were alone inside the confines of my house, he kissed me with even more passion and started moving my dress up my thighs with his hands. I knew it was going to happen. I was going to lose my virginity to a man I barely even knew. I was going to make a mistake—I was going to fuck Mr. Mistake. I felt my desire dripping from my pussy when he moved his hand underneath my dress and slid it across my thigh. His hand was so close to my pussy that I could almost feel his touch. His lips moved down my neck, up my neck, and he bit down on my earlobe. I was so lost in his touch that I felt like jelly in his arms.

“Is the bedroom upstairs?” He moved his hand back and forth across the bare flesh of my inner thigh.

“Yes.” I nodded quickly.

As we kissed and started moving our way up the stairs, I saw Sebastian watching from underneath the coffee table. He looked absolutely mortified and he scurried away when Max pushed me against the wall, causing the picture frames to rattle. Max wrapped his hand around my panties and pushed them down to my knees. I let out a sigh of anticipation as he moved his hand up my thigh. When his finger pressed against my pussy, I gasped with surprise. The feeling of his finger on my virgin pussy made me quiver. He rubbed along my labia, briefly pressing into my wetness before stroking my labia again. He rubbed it for a couple of seconds and then started to rub my clitoris. My legs clenched and my panties fell to the floor at my feet.

“Oh God...” My breath drew tight in my chest when I felt the surge of pleasure driven by his touch.

“I bet you’re going to taste so good.” He rubbed my clitoris faster as his words escaped in a quick whisper.

For a man that only cared about fucking me and leaving me to dwell on my mistake, he was certainly doing everything possible to make it an experience I didn’t forget. We continued making our way up the stairs, our bodies pressing against each other with the lust of our tongues and the movements of our hands. I ran my hands down his stomach and rubbed his cock through the fabric of his pants. When I felt the enormous girth, I had no reason to doubt that it was every bit of twelve inches—just like he said. As nervous as I was, I still wanted it. I craved the feeling of his cock inside of me. I guided him towards my bedroom and pushed open the door.

“This is where you sleep?” He rubbed my clit again.

“Yeah...” I moaned with pleasure.

“You won’t be getting any sleep tonight.” He attacked my lips, pulling at my dress as he kissed me.

His removed his hand from between my thighs, leaving my clitoris quivering with a need for his touch. He started removing my dress, pulling the zipper down in the back. When it was halfway down, he kissed the left strap off of my shoulder and then did the same for the right one. My dress fell down around my waist, exposing my bra. With a quick snap, he unfastened the clasp and pulled it down my arms. He squeezed both of my breasts and started licking my nipples, making them hard against his tongue. I ran my fingers through his dark brown hair as he did. My body tightened with excitement when he pushed my dress down and it circled my feet. I pushed off my high heel shoes and started pulling on the knot of his tie.

“I want to taste you...” He slid his hand back between my legs and stroked my clitoris with his finger.

I pulled his tie off and started unbuttoning his shirt. I leaned in and kissed his neck as his shirt was removed. His upper torso was a sculpted mountain of muscles. Each time he took a breath, they seemed to flex and bulge underneath my hands. He pushed me back towards the bed and I sank into the mattress. A hand was placed on each of my knees and he parted them, sliding between them as his lips kissed up my thighs. I was overwhelmed with pleasure, my body begging for more as I let my legs spread wide for his tongue to taste my unexplored pussy. He kissed, lightly dragging his tongue against my flesh, until it was on the edge of my labia.

“Don’t stop.” My body quivered and my hips moved against his tongue.

He moved his tongue along the edge of my labia, keeping it away from the spots that tingled the most and begged for his saliva-coated caress. When he got to the top of my pussy, he danced around my clitoris like it was engulfed in fire, moving his tongue down the other side of my pussy without giving me the touch I craved the most. When he had made a full circle around my pussy, he pulled his tongue away and started lightly kissing along the interior of my thighs, pressing his lips to my labia several times as he moved up towards my clitoris. His kiss almost touched it, and then he pressed his tongue to the flesh above it, moving down the side again.

“You’re torturing me...” I squeezed my hips and let out a moan.

“I’m just making sure you enjoy your mistake.” He pulled his tongue away so he could speak and then returned it to my sizzling flesh.

I thought I was going to scream as his tongue circled my pussy, getting faster and faster each time he moved around it. My hips moved, trying to get his tongue where I wanted it most, but he danced around my clitoris each time, avoiding the contact that would satisfy the craving I felt from my head to my toes. After what seemed like an eternity of torment, I felt his tongue finally press against my labia. He separated the flesh and plunged his tongue into my vaginal cavity, pushing against my hymen several times before he slid his tongue up the rest of my labia. He stopped when he was below my clitoris, lingering there for a moment before he finally let me feel the warmth of his tongue.

“Yes...” I felt like I was going to orgasm on first contact.

The anticipation had turned my clitoris into a hard knot of pleasure, with every nerve focused on the lust building inside of me. He started to circle it with his tongue and I grabbed his head, clutching his hair in my fingers as he moved against it with a ferocity I didn’t even realize was possible. I felt the warmth of his breath as my body started to shake and a thin layer of perspiration covered me. He stayed focused on my clitoris, never moving from it once he started to pleasure it with his hungry tongue. I never imagined it could feel so good. The stories I had heard from my friends didn’t do the moment justice. I felt the pressure building from within and I knew I wasn’t going to last long.

“You’re gonna make me cum...” My breath turned into hurried pants.

The proclamation of my impending orgasm did nothing to slow him down. He kept circling my clitoris as the pressure mounted. It felt like my whole body was centralizing all of my passion into a tight ball that was so close to exploding I shook with a thirst for the moment I knew was coming. He squeezed my thighs and kept moving his tongue against my clitoris while the sensation reached a fever pitch. There was no holding back. It was like a volcanic eruption of fulfilled desire, my body seizing and releasing the wave of pleasure. Everything started to tingle, from the hair follicles on my scalp to the tips of my toes. It roared from within me with waves of satisfaction finally reaching a calmness when my orgasm was complete.

“Fuck...” I muttered with tired lips struggling to create words. “That was amazing.”

“We’re just getting started.” He kissed my stomach and looked up at me. “Now I’m going to fuck you.”

Chapter 9: Abby

The afterglow of my orgasm was sending my body into turmoil. He started to unfasten his belt and I stared at him as I waited to see what was underneath the bulging fabric. If I wasn’t mesmerized by the feeling of pleasure I had experienced, I would have been happy to undress him, but I was barely functional. My eyes even started to glaze over as I felt the soothing sensations of my endorphins releasing. All of that changed in an instant when his pants hit the floor and I saw his cock begin to get even more engorged with his lust. My pussy started to tingle with the anticipation of it even as the fear flooded my veins as I started thinking about it actually going inside of me.

“It’s been a long time since I popped a virgin’s cherry.” He climbed onto the bed with all twelve inches of his massive cock moving towards my pussy like a guided missile.

“Wait...” I muttered as the fear shuttered the desire and my legs started to close.

“Don’t be afraid.” He put a hand on each of my knees. “It’ll only hurt for a little bit. I promise you’ll be begging for it before I’m done.”

“Go slow...” I begged as I let the tension in my legs release.

“I don’t do slow.” He shook his head and spread my knees apart.

When I felt the head of his cock against my pussy, I tensed up with concern. My pussy was so saturated with his saliva, my wetness, and my orgasm that the head started to enter before I could even think about it. I felt my vaginal cavity being stretched for his enormous girth. It hurt, but it was a combination of pressure and pain, each of them struggling to dominate my thoughts as the head of his cock disappeared beneath my labia. I closed my eyes and bit down on my lip. I felt the pressure intensify as my pussy adjusted to his size, but then I felt his fingers brushing against my face.

“Don’t look away.” He whispered. “I want you to see how good you make me feel.”

I opened my eyes and looked into his dark colored ovals. A storm brewed beneath the reflection of my face in them. I looked down when I felt his cock being withdrawn and saw him pull the head to the edge of my labia and insert it again. My pussy spread to accommodate him and I heard a grunt of pleasure escape his lips. He was the first man to thrust himself inside of me. He was the first man to ever push his cock inside my virgin pussy. He was Mr. Mistake, and I was certainly making it—I just didn’t want it to stop. Despite the pressure and the building agony of having him stretch me for the pleasure he craved, I was getting wetter and my body was tingling with the same desire I felt when his tongue first caressed my clitoris.

“You’re so tight...” He moaned. “You feel so good.”

He withdrew his cock from me and pushed it in deeper. I felt him against my hymen. The last symbol of my virginity was his for the taking. He withdrew and plunged his cock against it several times as I gasped from the pressure. He gave it a hard thrust and then his cock shattered the thin webbing of flesh. I felt a sting and then his cock moved past it, stretching the tattered flesh until there was nothing left of my virginity. He held his cock there for a moment to let me adjust. For a man who said he didn’t go slow, he was being a lot gentler than he suggested my first time would be. When my vaginal cavity stretched slightly to accommodate him, he started thrusting against the narrow cavity that remained untouched, pushing the head of his cock further with each insertion.

“Jesus...” I let out a moan. “I think you just hit my g-spot.”

“I never miss it.” He grinned as he started to thrust again.

He picked up the pace slightly as he continued pushing his cock inside of me. The size of his cock and the tightness of my pussy kept my g-spot clamped against his cock every time he pushed past it. Even with the pain of having my pussy penetrated for the first time causing it to spasm with discomfort, the feeling of his cock against my g-spot kept me stimulated. The pleasure made the speed of his thrusts bring more pleasure, and even though he continued to slide deeper with every thrust, I was becoming lost in the ecstasy of the moment. I stared at his hips as the last inch of his cock pushed inside of me and I felt the joining of our bodies when his lower abdomen rested against my thighs.

“There we go...” His pants were a little faster and he started to buck his hips against me.

My pussy was still working to adjust to his girth, but the deep thrusts were slowly becoming heavenly. My body began to quiver as he caused the pressure to build up inside of me again. I had already felt the magic of his tongue, bringing me to a mind-blowing orgasm, but his cock was making that feel like an appetizer. My eyes drifted between the image of his cock and the intense stare he had locked on me. He reached up and squeezed my breasts, holding them for a moment as he slammed his cock into me faster and faster each time, making the thrusts even harder than I ever imagined I could sustain during my first encounter with a man. The pleasure continued to build like a balloon that was soon going to be popped by one of his bliss-coated thrusts across my g-spot.

“It feels so good...” I let out a moan and started running my hands up his muscular ribs, feeling his abdomen muscles tighten each time he drove himself deep inside of me.

“I’m going to make you cum,” he said as his hands moved from my breasts and slid around to my back.

His powerful arms lifted me off the bed. He locked on my right hip and held me in the air with a hand on the back of my neck. His thrusts propelled me forward and I started to descend on his cock. Before I got very far, another hard thrust was meeting my hips. I started to push forward against his thrusts, feeling my body craving the magic of another orgasm. My pussy was so tight that it was hard to do much more than wait for his thrust to enrapture me with pleasure again. After several hard thrusts, he pulled me further up until our bodies were pressed against each other. He continued to thrust and I began to rise and fall on his enormous shaft. His lips pressed against my neck and I could smell the scent of his masculine perspiration which covered his torso and his forehead.

“Are you ready to feel me explode inside of you?” He whispered into my ear and bit down on my earlobe.

“Yes...” I nodded against his lips.

Our bodies moved in perfect harmony, building the pressure of our combined pleasure. I could feel his cock throbbing and pulsating against my pussy, causing it to stretch even more. The intensity of his cock on my g-spot erased any pain that would have accompanied it. I knew I was seconds away from another orgasm. It had built up until the balloon of pleasure had nothing left to offer but an explosion. His body started to shake and his thrusts became more erratic. The feeling of him bucking me on his hips caused my pussy to clench and spasm when the first pop of the orgasm-balloon was felt. He squeezed my hips and slammed his cock in deep. The combination of his cock spasming with his ejaculation and the spasms of my own lust caused the eruption of my orgasm to just roll through my body like a never-ending wave.

“Damn that feels so good...” My words were almost trapped in my throat as they escaped in a panted moan.

“Oh God...” He let out a loud growl as another thrust and explosion of pleasure seemed to rip through him, every muscle in his body tightening with the release.

I stared into his eyes as we remained against each other, the combination of our heat resonating and joining together as one. When the final spasms finally settled down, I sank back towards the mattress and he slid his cock out of me. The instant it was gone, there was an intense loneliness from the separation. I was so exhausted I couldn’t focus on anything else except the nirvana of my spent body. He wrapped his arms around me when we were on the bed and pulled me into an embrace. I knew it wouldn’t last. Mr. Mistake didn’t stay the night. I just hoped he would stay there until I was asleep. I could wake up alone, but I just couldn’t go to sleep without the connection of our exhaustion pulling us both towards the calming embrace of sleep.

Just a little longer... Please don’t leave me yet.

***

T HE SUN BROKE THE CLOUDS and slipped between the broken blind that covered my bedroom window. It hit me in the face and I opened my eyes slowly. There was a soreness between my legs that stretched into my abdomen. The images of the event that made it hurt started flashing in my mind and I felt my pussy getting wet just thinking about Max. I rolled to the left and looked at the empty bed beside me. I had been warned not to expect him there, and in a way, I had come to terms with that long before the date was done. He was the one that used and left his victims heartbroken, proclaiming him Mr. Mistake.

“Good morning, Sebastian.”

Sebastian jumped onto my bed and leaned against me. He surveyed the sheets and pressed his nose to the spot where Max spent the night. He looked at me with what seemed like disappointment in his eyes before jumping off the bed and heading downstairs. He was probably hungry and despite the soreness inside of me, I knew I needed to take care of him. I was also in dire need of coffee. I rolled to the side and wrapped my bathrobe around me. Once my slippers were firmly on my feet, I started down the stairs to face the day. I could still smell Max’s scent on me as I descended the stairs. I doubted I would ever see him again unless we randomly met at work, but I was okay with that. I wasn’t going to be a victim.

Chapter 10: Max

I don’t spend the night. I don’t fall in love. I don’t give a shit about anything but emptying the contents of my balls in a condom so I can get on with my life. I woke up early when the sun first peeked through the blinds in Abby’s room. Abby was barely covered in a sheet and the sight of her naked body was enough to get my cock tingling again. I stayed longer than I should have, but with the light in the sky, I knew it was time to go. Her fucking cat gave me the evil eye as I walked down the stairs. He had always been the alpha male in the household and he could see that I threatened his dominant aura.

“What’s up, cat.” I picked him up and before I could even lift him to my waist he hissed and jumped out of my hands.

My driver hadn’t waited, but he was only a phone call away. I didn’t feel like riding in the back of a car, I just stepped off her porch and started walking. It was a rough looking neighborhood, but in the calmness of the morning it didn’t seem as bad as the broken-down houses and graffiti suggested. I got to the corner and looked at my phone. I had a couple of messages from work and a message from Ms. Ruth telling me she had put Benjamin to bed. I was lucky to have someone like her. Normally when I went balls deep in a girl I was home before the sun came up—my night was Abby was definitely an exception. I finally decided that I wanted coffee more than I wanted to go home, so I walked across the street towards a small diner on the corner.

“Could I get a couple of coffees and a couple of your breakfast specials—to go.” I closed the menu and tossed it on the counter.

The waitress gave me every bit of sugary sweetness six in the morning could offer after she took my order. The diner was fairly deserted except for a few people who didn’t look like they ever left. When the food finally came, I paid for my order and gathered it in my arms. I was so off the rails of my normal protocol that I felt like a different person entirely when I walked back towards Abby’s house. As I approached the house and started up the steps, I realized I didn’t have a key. I locked the door out of courtesy when I left, but getting back in was going to be a challenge. After standing on the porch for a moment, I finally knocked.

“I got breakfast and coffee.” I smiled when she opened the door.

“I’m already making coffee.” She let the door hang open and walked towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, but this was made by a professional.” I closed the door when I entered the house and smiled to Sebastian who stared at me as I walked towards the kitchen.

“I thought you didn’t spend the night.” She sat down at the table as I put a coffee and a plate of breakfast in front of her.

“I don’t.” I sat down across from her. “Consider yourself lucky.”

“Oh, I’m lucky, am I?” She laughed and sipped her coffee. “You must have really enjoyed last night.”

“I could always go for round two.” I winked at her.

“I’m good.” She dug into her food and started eating.

I recognized the cold reflection in her eyes and the emotionless tone in her words. She sounded just like me when I was telling an unfortunately woman that the night we spent together meant nothing. Normally, it came after they harassed me and eventually caught up with me. It was strange to be on the receiving end of that sort of treatment. I started feeling awkward as we ate and that wasn’t a feeling I was used to. I needed to leave. It was a mistake to return in the first place. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone, sending my driver an SOS text that meant I needed him at the location he left me. By the time we were done with food, I heard the car outside.

“I guess it is time for me to go.” I looked over at the door.

“Have a good day.” She picked up her coffee and smiled at me.

“Yeah...” I stood up and leaned towards her for a goodbye kiss, but she pulled away.

“Maybe I’ll see you around the office when we get the launch ready for Energy Enhanced.” She pulled her coffee cup in front of her face in what seemed like a defense mechanism.

“Yeah... Probably...” I walked towards the door and slammed it behind me.

Every time I ended an encounter wishing for that very same level of coldness hit me like a brick to the face when I walked towards the waiting car. There was nothing special about Abby. She took a little more work than my usual efforts, but she was still a conquest put to bed and past her expiration date. She was nothing more than a hot pussy that satisfied my cock—an awfully tight pussy. I closed my eyes as my car zoomed towards my mansion. I had to get Abby out of my head and plan for my next conquest. None of my nightly escapades resulted in a repeat encounter and her resistance to another trip upstairs in the morning light was evidence that I should stick to what I knew best.

***

“D ADDY!” BENJAMIN RAN towards me with his bare feet slapping against the hardwood when I opened the door. “Where were you? I didn’t get a bedtime story.”

“I already told you, Benjamin. Your daddy had to work. You really didn’t like my bedtime story?” Ms. Ruth came walking down the hallway behind.

“You don’t read it like Daddy does so it doesn’t count.” Benjamin looked at her as I scooped him up. He hugged me tightly around the neck.

“I’m sorry buddy, I had to work late.” After a hug, I sat him down.

“You smell like flowers...” He looked up at me.

Abby’s perfume—a stain on my story.

“Yeah, I think it was something they were using to clean the office. Why don’t you go watch cartoons?” I pointed towards the living room.

“He’s not going to buy that story forever.” Ms. Ruth gave me a weak smile as he left us. “She must have been special if you spent the night.”

“Thank you for staying with him.” I met her gaze and smiled, but I ignored her insinuation.

“I need to get home. I’ll see you Monday. Goodbye, Benjamin!” She waved towards the living room and Benjamin gave her a wave without looking back from the television.

She was right, of course. Eventually my son would figure out that I wasn’t working when I went out prowling for a victim. Luckily, I had a few years before that realization set in, so I joined him on the couch and watched cartoons. They were a little mind numbing for me, so I checked my email on my phone while he became engrossed in the latest antics of his digital heroes. As soon as I saw an email about Energy Enhanced, I started thinking about Abby. She was sweet, beautiful, and simply amazing. I closed my eyes and tried to flush those thoughts out of my head. A second date didn’t exist in my world and no matter how much fun I had fucking her, I had to let those thoughts go and focus on the next chapter of my sex life. I was sure I wouldn’t even remember her name once I was balls deep in someone else.

Chapter 11: Abby

“So, you did it? You, really did it?” Mary-Katherine sat down at my kitchen table and stared at me with a gleam in her eyes.

“I did...” I nodded. “I’m not a virgin anymore.”

“And you’re fine? You’re not in love with him or anything?” Mary-Katherine narrowed her eyes at me.

“I’m good.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It was sex. It was a lot of fun, but he’s Mr. Mistake. I can’t let myself become another victim pining over what I thought we had. I knew he was an asshole and I knew what he was about before I fucked him.”

“So, you aren’t going to even think about going out with him again?” Mary-Katherine tilted her head and smiled.

“No. He won’t ask and I won’t pursue him. It was a one-time thing.” I nodded, but I was mostly trying to convince myself.

“Good for you.” She pursed her lips and nodded along with me. “Trying to tame a man like that will just lead to heartache.”

When Mary-Katherine was gone, I sat on the couch and rubbed Sebastian’s head after he curled up in my lap. The soreness of being penetrated by Max’s gigantic cock still resonated within me. I was surprised he came back. I was fully prepared to never see him again, outside of a random encounter at the office, and I was a bit surprised when he showed up at my door with breakfast and coffee. It took a decent amount of willpower to say no when he suggested we go upstairs again. I just couldn’t get played by him. I used him—that was the end of the story. I just had to convince myself of that.

***

M ONDAY MORNING BEGAN with all the normal stress of the day. Mr. Hawthorne was buzzing around the office, checking on the progress of our Energy Enhanced marketing strategy. It seemed like everyone had forgotten I was the one who came up with the idea of marketing the product to a different demographic, but I was fine with it as long as Mr. Hawthorne remembered it when it came time for my raise. I worked on the assignments I had been given until lunchtime when Mr. Hawthorne called an emergency meeting in the conference room.

“What is this about?” I leaned towards Gloria, one of the secretaries that always seemed to know everything.

“I don’t know. I think it’s a new hire.” She shrugged and walked into the conference room.

We got settled and Mr. Hawthorne walked into the conference room, flanked by a man I didn’t recognize. The women around me immediately started to comment on him. He stood about six four with broad shoulders tucked beneath his suit. He had blond hair and light blue eyes that scanned the room once he took his place behind Mr. Hawthorne. He didn’t look like one of the fresh-faced interns we brought in and he appeared to be too old for a starting position with the company. Mr. Hawthorne waited until everyone was seated before he raised his hands to get the room quiet.

“As you know, we’ve landed the Energy Enhanced account and it is a huge opportunity for us. I’ve decided to bring in a consultant on the project, someone who has worked with energy drinks and energy supplements in the past with great success. Everyone, I would like to meet Adam Rutherford.” Mr. Hawthorne turned to the stranger who stepped up and cleared his throat.

“Adam Rutherford?” Gloria leaned towards me in a whisper. “He’s a legend.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne. As he said, I’m Adam Rutherford. I got my start in marketing about ten years ago, and after several successful accounts, I started doing consulting work. Some of you may know who I am, but I assure you, I’m just here to be part of the team. I’ll be working closely with some of you as we design a marketing strategy that will put this firm on the map.”

“He can work closely with me.” Gloria fanned her neck and grinned at me.

When the meeting was done and the normal office gossip began, I started to hear more about Adam Rutherford. I seemed to be in the minority with my lack of knowledge about all of his heroic efforts. To hear the people around the office talk, he had single-handedly put numerous companies on the map—and that was after he did a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was in the Army. He made his way around the office, talking with people and discussing strategy. When he came towards my desk, I figured I was next up for a hint of his expertise, but he skipped right over me and started talking with the woman to my right. Eventually he met with everyone he seemed to be interested in and disappeared. I decided that a cup of coffee was the only way I was going to get through the afternoon, and when I walked into the break room, I saw him pouring the last drop of it into his cup.

“Abby Grant, right?” He smiled and picked up his cup of coffee. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I was going to come see you after I got a pick-me-up.”

“You just violated our long-standing office rule of starting a fresh pot of coffee if you finish it.” I clutched my cup in my hand and sighed.

“Can you forgive me? I’m new here.” He grimaced comically and fumbled with the coffee maker.

“I’ll do it.” I walked over and opened the top so I could change the filter.

“I hear you’re the one who pitched the idea for the new marketing strategy.” He leaned against the counter and sipped his coffee.

“Yep, that was me.” I nodded and hit the button to start the coffee maker.

“I’d love to sit down with you and go over a few ideas I’m working on.” He leaned towards me. “Over drinks, maybe? Dinner if you’re hungry?”

“Oh.” I blushed and raised my eyebrows. “I... I can’t.”

“Boyfriend?” He asked inquisitively.

“No...” I admitted with a light sigh.

“Husband?” He raised his eyebrows and his eyes drifted to my hand, clearly searching for a ring.

“No...” I shook my head back and forth.

“So, you just don’t like me?” He nodded and looked at the floor. “I see.”

No, you idiot, my pussy still hurts from getting fucked for the first time.

“It’s not that...” I let my words trail off.

‘So, you do like me?” He grinned and sipped his coffee.

“I don’t even know you.” I felt my face twisting to match my bewilderment.

“That’s generally why people have drinks together and sometimes why they decide to sit down across from each other over food and call it a date—they want to get to know each other.” His grin remained firmly in place on his face and he had dimples along each cheek hiding behind light blond stubble.

“I’m just not ready for that.” I shook my head back and forth, focusing my attention on the coffee pot like it was the only thing I could look at.

“Another time then.” He sighed and started walking towards the exit. “We still need to sit down and talk through some ideas. Mr. Hawthorne has asked me to assemble a marketing team from the current staff and possibly even bring in some people I know to help. I’m nothing more than a consultant, but I was hoping the woman who came up with the idea for this marketing strategy would be the Team Lead.”

I stood there staring at the coffee pot while a tightness spread across my whole body. Adam wasn’t just attractive, he was smoking hot, and he dripped with charisma. He wasn’t forceful like Max and that was a bit of a relief. As I thought about the good qualities I had already discovered, I felt my stomach twisting into a knot. Did I really turn him down for a date? Prior to meeting Max, I was literally hoping against all that was holy for a nice, attractive man to ask me out. I walked back to my desk with my coffee and finished my shift. Adam avoided me for the rest of the afternoon, not even making eye contact. When the clock his five, I was already heading towards the exit, dialing Mary-Katherine’s number.

“Are you at home?” I walked towards the parking deck, stomping my feet rapidly as I tried to beat the crowd.

“Yeah, what’s up? Do you want to come over?” She extended an open invitation, which was exactly what I needed.

“Yes, I’m on my way.” I hung up my phone and hit the button to unlock my car.

***

“H E ASKED YOU OUT AND you said no?” Mary-Katherine’s mouth fell open as I filled her in on Adam Rutherford’s sudden arrival and even-more-sudden request for a date.

“How would I explain it to him?” I sighed and picked up the glass of wine she had poured for me. “Be careful if you try to put your dick in me because I’m still hurting from losing my virginity to a stranger a couple of days ago.”

“Maybe he’s not the kind of guy who likes to fuck on the first date.” She shrugged. “You said he was a nice guy.”

“He seems nice. Max seemed nice at first too.” I let a generous portion of the wine pour into my mouth.

“Are you going to compare every man you meet to Max?” She reached for the bottle and refilled my glass. “He was supposed to be a quick fuck so you could lose your virginity to an experienced man you wouldn’t have to worry about the next day.”

“I’m not comparing Adam to Max...” I took another drink of wine.

“You literally just did that. I bet you’ve already started making a mental list...” She tilted her head as she teased me.

“Fine...” I admitted with a drawn sigh. “It’s hard not to compare. Max represents everything I never want to experience again, so yeah—I guess I’m comparing.”

“Well, then let’s make a list of the things that aren’t the same about them. Max came into the break room at work and forced himself on you, kissed you, and demanded that you go out with him. Adam forgot to make coffee, had a fairly meaningful conversation if you’re not embellishing the banter, and wasn’t pushy when you said no.”

“He was a little pushy...” I ran my finger along the edge of the wine glass.

“Asking if you have a boyfriend or a husband isn’t pushy, it’s fairly normal.” She shook her head as she smiled. “You need to go out with Adam. Hell, if I wasn’t with Rolando, I’d be asking you for his number just based on what you’ve told me. He’s a former soldier? He’s a legend in your industry? He’s hot as fuck? Come on, Abby. This isn’t rocket science.”

“You’re right.” I ran my hand along the back of my neck as the wine made my upper torso warm when the alcohol started to settle in my veins. “What was I thinking?”

“You need to get used to this, Abby. You’re not a virgin anymore. Men will be able to smell the fact you’re down to fuck, so you should expect to have a lot more offers like the one you got today.” She grinned. “It’s pheromones or some shit.”

“Great...” I grumbled even though I knew she was just being silly.

***

I GOT TO WORK EARLY the next morning and started working on a couple of storyboards for Energy Enhanced commercials. It really wasn’t my area of expertise, but if Adam was going to want me to be the Team Lead, I would need to be involved in each facet of the campaign. I was feeling a bit excited when I saw them come together. The soreness was a lot less pronounced than it had been the previous day and it was almost non-existent unless I shifted a certain way. I decided that if Adam asked me out on another date, I was going to accept his offer. There was no reason to reject him. He seemed like he could be Mr. Right—a stark contrast from Mr. Mistake. I emailed the two storyboards to Adam and then started to scan my emails. My stomach flipped upside down when I saw one from Max Martin.

We should get together again. I had a lot of fun.

My fingers froze on the keyboard and I felt the hairs on the top of my head tingle. My throat started getting dry and when I tried to wash away the feeling with coffee, it just seemed to stick against the back of my throat. Max wasn’t supposed to ask me out for a second date. He was never supposed to contact me again. When I regained control of my senses, I hit the reply button and stared at the screen. I started typing a long response, bullet-pointing all of the reasons I didn’t want to go out with him again, starting with how much of an asshole he was and ending with a nice play on the word mistake, but after I read over it, I realized it was just nonsense and babble. I deleted everything I had typed and instead responded with just two words.

Not interested.

Chapter 12: Max

A few hours earlier

It was a tough morning. Benjamin saw a commercial on television for a local fair and got agitated when I said we wouldn’t have time to go. What started as a simple discussion quickly turned into a full-blown meltdown. It had been a while since he had one of those, so I tried to be gentle and understanding. I knew it seemed like the children in the commercial were having fun, and Benjamin believed he could join them, but the last time we took him to a crowded, public place, it had not gone very well. His doctor recommended no more than two to three people at a time while we worked on his tolerance and ability to handle crowds. On top of Benjamin’s meltdown, work was already blowing up my phone, and Ms. Ruth was running late because of traffic.

“I’m here!” Ms. Ruth pushed open the door and her words were barely heard of Benjamin’s screaming. “Oh, dear... What happened?”

“He wanted to go to the fair. I told him it wasn’t a good idea and we probably wouldn’t have time with my work schedule—now we’re here.” I scratched my head and let out a sigh.

“Let me talk to him.” Ms. Ruth walked into the living room and sat down on the floor beside Benjamin.

Ms. Ruth was so good with him. I felt guilty when I watched her easily calm him down with a few gentle words. I was an awful father that had no idea how to help my son overcome his challenges. When he was calm enough to give me a hug, I walked out the front door swallowing a lump in my throat that clenched my esophagus. I had to be a better father—hell, I had to be a better man. Unfortunately, I couldn’t dwell on it too much because I had a lot of things going on at work I had to address. The stock market took a dive when it opened and there were several clients that seemed to be more agitated than Benjamin was. I fired off emails to my staff, giving them directions for handling some of our high-profile clients. By the time I got to the office, things seemed to have settled down.

“Your coffee, Mr. Martin?” My secretary, Amanda, stood and handed me my normal morning request as I walked up to her desk.

“Thank you.” I smiled as I felt the first sip hit my tongue. “Any messages?”

“Nothing pressing. You handled most of it before you got here.” She leaned towards the phone as it rang.

I walked into my office and closed the door. The city spread out beneath my window with a view I rarely took time to appreciate. I started going through my email and then picked up my phone. It suddenly hit me that I hadn’t heard a single word from Abby since our encounter. That was very unusual behavior for someone I shoved my cock into—especially a virgin. My mind started to drift back to our encounter. There was something different about Abby and I really couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was. When I met her at the club, she seemed like every other lost soul that didn’t know what they wanted until I served it up to them on a silver platter. I had already stepped outside my normal routine by pursuing her after being rejected at the club and before I really had time to think about it, I was sending her an email asking for a second date.

***

N OT INTERESTED.

“What the fuck?” I felt my temper rising as I stared at her response.

I hit reply and immediately started typing a response, making it very clear that she belonged to me and I would have her again whenever I wanted her. When my fingers slowed down and I read what I had typed, I closed the email without sending it. I stared at her response, letting it bounce around in my head. The response was exactly why I kept my emotions and my lust separated. I swore to never let another woman tempt my heart after my divorce and the first time I dipped my toe into the water to test the temperature, I got rejected. I sat at my desk trying to remember how real romance worked. What did people normally do after a first date if they wanted a second? Flowers seemed to help me get the first one—maybe that would work again.

You might not be interested, but I am. I think we both know I normally get what I want.

The flowers would be an offline response to her email and a dash of romance, all mixed into a pretty bouquet. I continued working and when I got a notification that they had been delivered, I checked my email constantly for the next couple of hours, waiting on some sort of response. My ego started to get the better of me when the day ended, so I decided to have my driver swing by her office. If she wanted to tell me no, I was going to make her say it to my face. If I could catch her alone, I would let my lips do the talking and see if she really wanted to resist round two. I walked into the building and approached her desk, but it was empty.

“Fuck...” I stared at the roses I had sent her. They were in the garbage and the note was ripped up, scattered throughout the remnants of my romantic attempt.

“Hi, can I help you?” I heard a man’s voice behind me. “Oh shit, you’re Max Martin!”

“And you are?” I raised my eyebrows as I turned to see a blond haired man smiling from ear to ear.

“I’m Adam Rutherford.” He extended his hand. “I’ve done some work for you over the years—well, for your company.”

“You work here now?” I had no idea who he was, but I tried to be civil. A lot of people did work for my company.

“I’ve been brought on as a consultant for the Energy Enhanced campaign.” His grip was strong when we shook hands.

“Well, that is why I’m here. I was looking for Ms. Abby Grant.” I pointed to her desk.

“She went home for the day. I think she got bad news or something, I don’t know. She’ll be back tomorrow. We have a meeting to collaborate on some ideas. She’s the Team Lead, but I’d be happy to help you with any questions you have. The campaign is coming together very well.” He was overly enthusiastic, but he seemed nice enough.

“Actually, why don’t I stop by tomorrow for the meeting? I’d love to see where you’ve put together so far.” I saw his eyes hit the floor when I made my suggestion.

“We’re not really ready, yet...” He stammered over his words. “But yeah, we’ll have something ready for you. Absolutely, Mr. Martin.”

“Eight o’clock?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah. We were going to meet at nine, but I’m sure everyone will be happy to meet a little earlier.” He nodded quickly.

“Good. I’ll see you then.” I walked towards the exit with a smile on my face.

If you want to play hard to get, then you’re about to learn how dangerous it is to play games with me.

Chapter 13: Abby

The roses in my garbage can had started to wilt and shrivel up when I arrived at work the next morning. I had hoped the cleaning crew would take them away before I returned. Apparently, an email response wasn’t enough of a rejection for Max to leave me alone. I noticed the office seemed to be in a bit of a panic when I poured my morning coffee. There was nothing on the agenda that should have caused that kind of reaction. I turned on my computer to get caught up on my emails and I saw Adam in the conference room already setting things up, so I pushed open the door and walked inside. He seemed to be even more enthusiastic than usual, moving things around on the table.

“What’s going on?” I looked around the room. “I thought we were just having a meeting at nine.”

“You haven’t read your emails. Shit, I should have sent you a text. I don’t have your phone number. I need your phone number.” His words were erratic and confusing. He walked briskly towards me and put a hand on each of my shoulders. “Max Martin is coming for the meeting—well, not our meeting exactly. He wants a presentation. He’ll be here in thirty minutes. Can you walk him through your storyboards?”

“What?” I blinked a couple of times in surprise. “Max Martin is coming here? Why?”

“I don’t know. I actually thought you might know why he was here.” Adam tilted his head. “I saw him yesterday. He came by and said he was looking for you. I assumed it was about the campaign.”

“Right.” I nodded quickly. “Yes, we’ve—traded a couple of emails.”

“Good, I’m glad you’ve been keeping him in the loop. Okay, so we need to get some pastries in here and some coffee. I’ll take care of that. You get your storyboards together.” Adam ran out of the room at a jog, wiping sweat from his brow.

Fuck.

There was no way Max was coming to see our presentation because he gave a shit about it. Even the clingy clients didn’t ask us to show them the work-in-progress until we had finished our first draft. Max had come to the office to see me and when he saw the flowers in the trash, he decided to swing his dick around and make my life miserable. There was no way to stop the car crash that was coming, so I just did my best to get everything ready. It would be impossible to ignore Max forever, especially when he was an investor in the product I had to make successful in order to keep my career moving in the direction it was headed. If I blew it the first time I got to lead a team, I would never get the chance again. I had seen shining stars crash and burn after disappointing a client.

“Are you going to be okay handling this meeting?” Mr. Hawthorne pushed the door open and peeked inside.

“Yes, I can take care of everything.” I nodded. “You won’t be here?”

“No, I’ve got a conference call I’m afraid. I trust you though. You already impressed Max Martin, so I don’t think you’ll have any trouble today.” He smiled and let the door close as he left.

If only he knew.

***

W E WERE ALL SEATED around the table when Max arrived. He arrived alone without any of the representatives from Energy Enhanced which confirmed he had no real interest in what we were presenting. Adam greeted him enthusiastically and I walked to the front of the room to go over my storyboard ideas. I had arranged the seats so I could sit at a rounded corner near the back while Max would be at the front. To my horror, Max whispered into the ear of the woman sitting next to my seat and she immediately moved to the front, leaving the only empty seat directly next to mine. I couldn’t focus on that and I certainly couldn’t focus on his eyes, which were practically undressing me as I looked into them.

“Good morning, Mr. Martin. I’d like to show you a couple of storyboards we’re working on. Our plan is to buy advertising spots on some of the college channels. It will hit our demographic, without the cost of a network television.” I pulled the cover off of the first storyboard.

“Ms. Grant, let me interrupt you.” Max’s voice was a low growl.

“Yes sir?” I blinked and looked at him, trying to avoid staring directly into his eyes.

“How do you plan to get the college channels to advertise an energy drink? Most of the big campuses have restrictions on advertisements. No drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and after some of the health scares, no energy drinks.” Max tapped his fingers on the table.

“Energy Enhanced has been marketed as a vitamin supplement since it was released. It’s more than just a bunch of caffeine and herbs from Guatemala nobody can pronounce. We’ve already got the University of Michigan to agree with our branding.” I clenched my jaw as I waited to see how he responded.

“Very good. Carry on.” Max nodded and it seemed like the whole room had a collective sigh of relief.

I ran through both storyboards without any more questions from Max. The first storyboard was aimed at students who were struggling with staying awake in class because they weren’t getting the proper intake of daily vitamins and the second one was aimed at those who loved the word electrolytes . Our focus groups indicated it was a strong attention-getting word because of the prominence in advertisements for several post-workout drinks. The combination of storyboards would be cleaned up a lot by those that specialized in designing commercials. The final product might not even look like what I had designed, but it was all we had to show in such a short time. After I sat down beside Max, Adam stood up to run through some charts and sales figure predictions.

“You did good.” Max looked over at me with a smile.

“Why are you here?” I kept a smile on my face even though I spoke harshly in a forced whisper. I checked my phone and put it on the table.

“I wanted to see how the roses I got you were doing.” He put his phone down on the table and picked up mine before the screen could lock.

“They’re in the trash—that’s my phone.” I struggled to maintain my fake smile as Adam started talking about market shares.

“Yes, I don’t have your number. You’re the Team Lead on a project I’m taking a personal interest in, so I should be able to get in contact with you at any time.” He started punching numbers on my phone and I saw his buzz with a text message.

Max looked up at Adam and nodded along politely to the sales predictions he was presenting. He dropped my phone next to me and I quickly picked it up. I went to my sent text messages and saw he had sent a message that said Abby’s number to what I assumed was his cell phone number. As I stared at it, I saw the three dots at the bottom of the message and could see him quickly typing out a text beside me. I considered blocking his number immediately, but before I could even touch the screen, his message appeared.

I’m going to put my hand under the table and rub your pussy until you cum.

I read the message once—and then read it again. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I looked over at him and then up towards Adam. Max put his hand on my knee and I froze. If I reacted in any way, I would cause a scene. I tried to gently push his hand away under the table without revealing anything to the rest of the people seated around us, but he didn’t budge. He took my skirt in his hand and pushed it up my thighs. I wanted him to stop, but my pussy was already getting wet as I felt the warmth of his hand on my inner thigh. He let it linger there and I grabbed my cell phone. Adam didn’t seem to have any idea and he was the only one who could really see my reactions. Everyone else was focused on the presentation as I started typing. Max immediately replied, typing his message with one hand.

Stop!

You don’t want me to stop.

Yes, I do!

Say it out loud and I’ll pull my hand away.

I put down my phone and placed both of my hands flat on the table when Max’s hand started to caress the edge of my panties. He dug a finger underneath them and felt my wetness, pressing against it. As much as I didn’t want him to touch me, there was fire-fueled desire surging through my body as it reacted to his touch. I spread my legs slightly so he could have better access, even as every rational thought in my head told me to just tell him to stop. He slid up my labia and started to quickly caress my clitoris. I had never tried to have a silent orgasm before and as Adam’s presentation continued, I felt my moans rising in my throat, begging to be released. I swallowed it, just trying to focus every ounce of my effort on making sure nobody knew what was happening underneath the table.

“In our next graph, you’ll see the impact we expect this shift to have on your current market.” Adam switched to a different graph.

Max had a smile on his face—a satisfied grin that made me silently rage against him even as his finger continued to bring me pleasure. His finger got faster, moving around my clitoris in a circle while he remained perfectly still. I felt a bit of sweat forming on my brow and I had to close my eyes for a moment as the intensity of the sensation picked up. I was dangerously close to an orgasm. The pressure was building and causing my hips to shift in my chair. I looked around the room in paranoia, feeling like I was displaced from reality. The only way to make Max stop was to give him the orgasm he wanted, so I let my body focus on the pleasure for a moment and then it was all over. My pussy spasmed and my legs shook. Max continued moving his finger around my clitoris. My eyes closed and I bit my tongue so hard I thought I was going to bite through it.

“And our final graph...” Adam switched graphs.

I sat there in the afterglow of an orgasm as Max pulled his finger away from my pussy and wiped it on my panties. He leaned back with his devilish smile etched on his face and both hands resting on the table like nothing happened at all. I could feel my panties soaked with the mixture of stimulation and lust. When Adam was done with his presentation, I immediately excused myself and walked towards the bathroom. I sat down in a stall and started cleaning my pussy and inner thighs, along with my panties. Thankfully, it didn’t go completely through my skirt and there was no evidence on the back of it. I felt a bit of anger rising as I put myself back together again. I walked out of the bathroom, planning to give Max a piece of my mind.

“Where did Mr. Martin go?” I walked up to Adam who was exiting an empty conference room.

“He said to say goodbye. He had another meeting across town and had to go.” Adam shrugged. “He seemed happy. I think you did a good job.”

“I just put together some storyboards. Your graphs did most of the work.” —and Max’s finger.

I felt like I had dodged a bullet aimed at my skull. I wasn’t sure Mr. Hawthorne would care that I didn’t initiate the encounter if he found out Max had been fingering me under the conference table. I wasn’t even sure how many human resources policies we had violated during that meeting, but I wasn’t eager to find out. The bottom line was that Max had no intentions of leaving me alone and he wanted another date. The asshole Mr. Mistake who never came back for seconds was pursuing me. I had no idea what made me special. I was the one that was perfectly fine with him not calling me. I certainly didn’t initiate contact.

Chapter 14: Max

The scent of Abby’s lust on my finger was enough to make my cock hard when I left the office and climbed into the back of my car. I hoped it would be an appetizer and turn her on enough to actually agree to a second date. Sitting through the entire presentation had made me late for another meeting, so I couldn’t wait for her to return, but she was on my mind when the car pulled away. The rest of the day was boring as I stared at my phone through most of the meetings, hoping Abby would send me a message. When the end of the day was approaching, I finally picked it up and started typing out a message to her.

So, dinner?

My place. Six o’clock.

Her response was brief, but it was all I needed. I instructed my driver to take me to her house. I had a strange feeling in my stomach—nervousness? I didn’t get nervous. Butterflies? I certainly didn’t get those. It had to be nothing more than misplaced anticipation. My driver dropped me off and I walked up her steps, knocking on the door when I reached the top. There were no sounds from within for a moment, but then I heard a snap of the deadbolt and the door was opened. Abby pulled the door open and I grinned when I saw she was wearing nothing more than a thin robe tied at the waist. The top of it was open enough that I could see the top of her breasts peeking out.

“I see we’re going to skip the formalities of dinner yet again.” I slammed the door as I stepped inside. Her cat disappeared around the corner.

“You’re obviously not going to leave me alone until you’re tired of fucking me, so how many days of silence will this buy me?” She dropped her robe to the floor and stood before me completely naked. My cock immediately began to get hard in my pants.

“I’ll tell you what.” I walked over and put my arms around her back. “You let me fuck you tonight and I won’t call you at all tomorrow—but tomorrow night, I’m coming back for more.”

“Jesus...” She drew a breath and stared at me. “What makes me so damn special? You were supposed to fuck me and leave me alone—that was the deal.”

“I never made that deal.” I reached down and squeezed her ass.

“It was implied.” She leaned against me.

“I like you, Abby.” I pressed my lips to her neck. “I like you a lot.”

She started fumbling with my tie as I scooped her up and dropped her on the couch. I climbed on top and started kissing her neck and her ears, finally moving to her lips. My cock was swelling up so tight in my pants that it was starting to hurt. I could see the lust and desire in her eyes as my tie came off, followed by my shirt. She rubbed her hands across my muscled chest and then pulled me back towards her lips. Our kiss was like electricity meeting water, creating a storm of passion between us. I reached down and rubbed her pussy which was already wet again. She unbuckled my belt, unfastened my pants, and started stroking my cock through the fabric.

“You’re in a hurry to have that inside of you, huh?” I grinned and kissed her neck again.

“The faster it is inside of me, the faster you’ll be gone.” She pushed my trousers down along with my boxers and started to caress my naked cock.

“So you just want me to fuck you and go?” I could see goosebumps forming on her neck as she felt my breath on her ear.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Fine.” I stood up and removed the rest of my clothes. “I’ll just fuck you then.”

I pulled her to the arm of the couch and rolled her over. She turned to jelly in my arms as I draped her across the arm and tilted her head towards the floor. Her pussy was fully exposed and glistening with the wetness of her desire. I climbed behind her on the couch and pressed my cock to the wetness after I slid a condom on. She pushed her hips back against it and I started to slide inside. Her pussy still wasn’t used to getting fucked and it started to clench up when I started to push my cock inside of it. I forced my cock inside and made her pussy stretch to accommodate my girth as she moaned with a mixture of pain and pleasure. I grabbed her waist and started quickly driving my girth into her tightness. She fit me like a glove and felt amazing when all twelve inches were buried inside of her.

“Damn, you feel good.” I let out a grunt as I started to thrust.

I picked up the speed and intensity once her pussy was fully adjusted to the first and only cock it had ever felt. There was something erotic about that thought, knowing that no man had ever touched her except me. Fucking her from behind allowed me to hit her g-spot at a different angle than I had the last time I was inside of her and I could feel her body reacting to the sensation. I locked both hands around her waist and held her there, owning her pussy with every long stroke that was driven so deep I could feel the echo of her moans against my cock. Even if it was only our second time together, I already knew exactly how she needed to be fucked to feel the maximum pleasure from my thrusts. I bent her pleasure to my will, giving her slow methodical g-spot stimulations, followed by harder thrusts that brought her to the edge of an orgasm, and then I slowed it down again before she could cum.

“Don’t slow down, please!” Her voice cracked when I gave her g-spot a quick thrust while she spoke.

“You said you wanted me to fuck you, so I’m going to fuck you how I want to.” I lifted my hand and brought it down hard on her ass.

“Hey!” She snapped her head towards me.

“Did you like that?” I gave her another one on the other side while she watched.

“I’m not into that.” She shook her head.

“How do you know? You’re were a virgin until I fucked you. You might be surprised by the number of things I can make you like.” I reached forward and grabbed her hair. “I bet you even like it rough.”

I pulled back on her hair and started thrusting into her as hard as I could. Her whole body contorted and a loud moan of pleasure rushed out of her throat like a typhoon of pleasure. I slammed into her pussy so hard I was concerned I would leave bruises before I was done, and she shook with pleasure that was magnified with more intensity than I had felt from her before that moment. She definitely liked it rough. I kept thrusting as hard as I could until she was on the edge again. I kept her hair pulled tight but I slowed down to keep her on the edge for a little bit longer. My cock was throbbing and begging for a release, but if I had to go once we were done, I was going to make it a damn marathon instead of a sprint.

“You like every bit of that don’t you?” I slapped her ass again.

“Yes!” Her body tightened underneath me as the confession rushed across her lips.

My furious thrusting was making her so wet that her lust was running down her thighs and mixing with the perspiration of our bodies. She was melting into the discovery of her hidden desires—things she probably only read about or saw in movies. It was becoming a part of her real life as I kept impaling her on my cock and pounding her tight, wet pussy. I felt her orgasm get close over and over but I denied her, slowing down before she could erupt. My hand stayed tied up in her hair so long my knuckles were getting numb, but she was still panting with each breath begging for more. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to last much longer, so I started concentrating on her g-spot, delivering hard and powerful thrusts that caused the arm of the couch to creak and shudder against the force of her body being driven into it.

“You’re going to make me cum...” It was there before she finished her sentence.

Her body started to quiver and shake. I loved the feeling of a woman orgasming on my cock. Her pussy clenched against me, getting tight as she spasmed and shook. The sensations of her orgasm flooding through her body caused my cock to throb and pulsate. Cum began to erupt as I let out several hard grunts of pleasure. I could feel it swelling in the condom to the point it felt like the pocket designed to catch it was going to explode if I wasn’t careful. I started to slow my thrusts as my muscles tightened and my body was drained of cum. I released her hair and let her head slump down before I pulled out of her and slumped down on the couch behind her. She let out a moan when our bodies were separated and remained against the arm of the couch, her body still dripping with lust. I removed the condom and tied it in a knot, holding it in my hand as I recovered some of my spent energy.

“I guess I’ll go now.” I stood and picked up my pants.

“Wait...” She muttered, turning towards me. “You don’t have to go.”

“You said you wanted me to fuck you and leave, so I’m leaving. If you want me to stay, tell me that tomorrow before I fuck you.” I leaned over and gave her another hard slap on her ass, but she didn’t react.

I finished dressing and left her naked on the couch. I saw her cat peeking around the corner, probably wondering what the hell I did to his mama. I sent my driver a text message and waited by the curb until he arrived. I tossed the condom in the bushes before I climbed into the back of the car and looked back at her house. I hadn’t fucked a woman like that in years. I had gotten tired of the endless merry-go-round of sluts that wanted it rough and it changed my philosophy. I went after the good girls that didn’t know what they wanted—the kind that could count their partners on one hand. It was rare to find one that didn’t even have one to count. I wasn’t sure what the future held for Abby and me, but I knew that I would be back the next night, and I was going to fuck her again.

Chapter 15: Abby

Holy shit.

My body had been pillaged. The front of my thighs hurt from being slammed against the couch and they were slightly rubbed raw from the fabric. The back of my thighs hurt from the intensity of his thrusts. There was even a light sting across my ass from where he slapped it. My scalp tingled and my hair had just melded with the sweat on my neck. My pussy felt like it had been wrecked. The strangest part of it was that I didn’t care—I felt so much pleasure from the way he fucked me that it was worth every second of the agony I knew I would feel when I walked into work the next day. I finally got enough energy from the afterglow of my orgasm to roll off of the arm of the couch and sink into the cushions. Sebastian walked over and pressed his nose to my hand.

“I’m sorry, Sebastian. Your mommy is becoming a slut...” I closed my tired eyes, unable to keep the lids forced open. “Apparently I like it rough...”

I thought it was going to be about me. I thought I could use Mr. Mistake twice and walk away unscathed. As I lay there on the couch with the air conditioning blowing across my body, I wished he was there with me. I wanted him to stay and put his arms around me the way he did after the first time we had sex. I regretted telling him to fuck me and leave. It was a defense mechanism against having him do it anyway, but I underestimated the need for his touch after my body had been ravaged. It was still early and I needed to eat. Sebastian was likely starving as well. When I thought I was going to fall asleep if I stayed on the couch another minute, I stood and grabbed my robe. I ate a light meal and fed Sebastian before walking upstairs and collapsing in my bed.

***

I CHECKED MY PHONE as I walked into work the next morning. I hoped for a text message, and I had one, but it was from Mary-Katherine instead of Max. The State Fair was coming up in a month and we always tried to make it a point to go. I confirmed I was interested, like I always was, and walked into the office. I blushed when I saw the conference room and remembered what Max did to me the last time I sat at the table. I decided to hold a quick power session with my team to talk over plans and get some status updates. After that was done, I wrote up a report for Mr. Hawthorne, and then I started reviewing some of the work that had been completed by the team. Everything was coming together nicely; I just needed to get through a lot of reports and analyze some data.

“Hey Adam.” I caught his attention and motioned for him to come over.

“What can I help you with?” He walked over and looked at my screen where I was pointing.

“I’m not familiar with these reports here. There’s one from the FDA and some sort of lab analysis?” I opened them up and leaned back so he could read them.

“Oh, that’s nothing.” He waved his hand at the monitor, dismissing it. “Now that we’re moving into the realm of marketing it more as a vitamin supplement than an energy drink to get past the college advertisement restrictions, we’re getting some new tests done.”

“Okay.” I shrugged and closed the emails. “I think that is something for the people at Energy Enhanced to worry about.”

“Agreed.” Adam nodded. “So, we’ve been working together for a little bit. Any chance you’d be interested in that date?”

“I can’t.” I grimaced out of feigned respect for his feelings. “I’m actually kind of seeing someone.”

“Wow, you move fast. Did you already get married as well?” He laughed. “Talk to you later.”

My relationship—or whatever it was—with Max was complicated. I definitely couldn’t explain it to Adam. The day came to a close with a few more emails and I still hadn’t received a single text from Max. I wondered if he would even show up, or if I would end up being another victim of Mr. Mistake with him on my mind when I went to sleep alone. I was actually anticipating his arrival. I was staring at the clock, waiting for the final minute to tick so I could run home and get ready. When that moment finally came, I shut down my computer and headed towards the parking garage. One last look at my phone confirmed it was still silence on his end. I parked my car outside my house and walked inside, where I was immediately greeted by Sebastian.

“Did you have a good day?” I picked him and hugged him tight. “Mommy missed you.”

That was enough affection for Sebastian. He let me hug him for a moment and then he was ready to be released. I decided to go ahead and feed him. If I had another night like the previous one, I wouldn’t want to get off the couch or come downstairs once it was over. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down on the couch wearing nothing but a light robe again. The clock ticked closer and closer to the six o’clock hour. It was time to find out if I was another victim of Mr. Mistake or if he would appear at my door ready to step into my life for the third time. If he didn’t do second dates, the third date was definitely going to be one hell of a stretch. I watched the clock intently and then I heard a car outside. A couple of seconds later the door slammed.

That’s him...

“You’re on time.” I opened the door and took a step back.

“I’m always on time.” He growled as he stepped into my living room and slammed the door.

Before I even had a chance to react to him, he closed the distance between us and took me in an embrace. He put one hand on the small of my back and another one on my neck. His lips came crashing into mine like a wave that I couldn’t prepare for, or escape. The red wine I had been drinking mixed with a hint of whiskey on his breath. The flavors intertwined as my lips parted and he slid his tongue between them. I felt myself melting into the kiss, begging for more before it was even done, but I couldn’t fall into that trap. There were things I needed to say and I wouldn’t be able to say them once our clothes came off. I forced a break and stepped back.

“Before we start...” I held him at arm’s length as he drew panted breaths following the kiss. “We need to set some boundaries, establish some rules, and talk about where this is going.”

“This is going to the bedroom.” He pushed my hand away and wrapped his arms around my waist again. “I don’t do boundaries, I don’t do rules. You belong to me and I’m going to fuck you anytime I want.”

His lips were on mine again as soon as the words were said. My body was burning with my desire for him. He kissed me passionately, moving from my lips to my neck, sending chills through my whole body. He slid a hand into my robe and rubbed my nipple, circling it for a moment before he pushed my robe off. It hit the floor and scooped me up, holding my naked body in his arms. He started walking towards the stairs and our lips met again, pressing together with our hungry tongues continuing to circle each other as we walked up the stairs. He pushed the door of my bedroom open and started to undress while I looked up at him from the spot I landed.

“You won’t even discuss where this is going?” I rolled to the side and reached for his belt.

“You’re the one that wanted me to fuck you and leave.” He removed his tie and started working on his shirt. “I don’t need you to keep spelling it out for me.”

“What about a trade?” I pulled him closer and started unfastening his pants.

“I am a businessman.” He looked down at me as I tugged his pants down and exposed his cock.

“How about I suck your cock and you agree not to leave until I fall asleep?” I opened my mouth and ran my tongue along the head.

“Not interested.” He shook his head. “You don’t get rewarded for sucking my cock, you do it because you’re mine.”

He reached behind my head and grabbed my hair, pushing his cock between my lips. I stretched my jaw as wide as I could, feeling his enormous girth fill my entire mouth. I could barely breathe when he got a few inches in and started sliding his cock across my tongue. The head seemed to swell large as he pleasured it on my taste buds. He finally relaxed his grip on my hair and I was able to start moving my head, sliding my lips down his shaft. I gripped the part that wasn’t in my mouth with my right hand and stroked it while I started to swallow his massive cock. I pushed him a little deeper each time he slid across my tongue and formed a vacuum seal with my lips, which stretched my lips so tight I could feel the muscles in my neck being strained.

“Since you wanted a trade, I got one for you.” He rested his hand on my head. “Swallow my cum and I’ll stay until you go to sleep.”

I moaned and nodded, trying to let him know I agreed. Hearing his words gave me a new enthusiasm and I started moving my lips up and down his shaft faster. I forced more of his cock into my mouth and swallowed it deep into my throat. I pushed his cock so deep I started to gag on it and I had to quickly withdraw it to my tongue. Once my throat relaxed, I swallowed it again and sucked on his length. I felt like a porn star as I took his cock so deep that I felt it colliding with the back of my throat. Feeling his cock throb in my mouth when I ran it across my tongue made my pussy start to get extremely wet. I pulled my cock out of my mouth and made a bend with my tongue, moving up and down the underside of his shaft. He moaned with pleasure.

“That feels really good.” He sighed with a pant of excitement.

I moved my tongue down his shaft and started to run it across his balls. I stroked his length while I licked around the right one, around the left one, and then slid my tongue between them. He started to moan louder and his hips moved forward, grinding his cock into my hand while I stroked it. I worked my tongue back up the shaft and rolled it around the head a few times before opening my mouth and taking it down my throat again. After several minutes of bobbing my head up and down his shaft, I felt my throat start to relax. I swallowed hard and felt his cock go deep into my esophagus, stretching it out as he did. I wasn’t able to hold it there long but he let out a grunt of pleasure when he felt my lips pressed against his pelvis.

“Damn...” He let go of my head and took a deep breath. “I don’t even remember the last time someone swallowed every inch of my cock.”

The sight of seeing my supposed miracle seemed to make him even more turned on than he was before. I pulled his cock out of my throat and pleasure the head for a moment with my tongue before starting to swallow it again. I only took it into the back of my throat so I could move it into my mouth fast, massaging the underside with my tongue as I did. I slid his cock across my tongue over and over until I felt him start to pulsate. I knew he was about to cum. There was a surge of what felt like electricity in his balls and then he let out a loud grunt, driving his cock deep. There was a spasm that caused all of his muscles to tighten and then I felt an explosion of cum in the back of my throat.

“Oh God.” He put his hand on my head again and started to buck his hips, moving his cock in and out of my throat as he started to unload.

I swallowed quickly as I felt thick ropes of cum started to splatter in my throat. He slid his cock back as it ejaculated, dumping some of it on my tongue before he shoved himself deep. It felt like my mouth was coated in the salty, milky eruption of his lust. I felt it draining in my throat and I kept swallowing while he continued to ejaculate. When I thought he was done, I felt him tense and release another pulsation of his thickness. His body finally started to relax and I worked to clean the last bit of it off his cock, pulling it to the edge of my lips and sucking the tip before I finally let it fall loose against his balls. He looked down at me and started removing the rest of his clothes.

“I guess I’m staying until you wake up.”

I smiled and tossed his clothes to the side of the bed. “You’re going to have to find some way to put me to sleep now.” I let my legs spread open. “I already made you cum and I’m so turned on I can barely stand it.”

“Do you think that is all I have?” He reached down and picked up his pants, digging into the pocket. When he pulled out a condom, I saw his cock starting to get hard again.

“You’re ready for round two already?” I blinked as it started to swell again.

“The doctors say I have high testosterone or some shit.” He shrugged. “I’m a machine.”

“I’ve got somewhere for you to park that machine.” I twisted my body towards him and started rubbing my pussy with my finger.

“I bet you do.” He grinned as the condom was slid onto his engorged cock and he slid between my legs.

I couldn’t believe he had anything left, but I was excited when I felt his cock pressing against my wetness. When he started to slide inside of me, my pussy hurt as he stretched the tender areas he had fucked with very little mercy the night before. I was so turned on from what I had done for him that I didn’t care. I reached for him and pulled him close as the pressure of his descent intensified. I could feel my tightness preventing him from thrusting very hard in the beginning, but he slid inside of my pussy until his lower abdomen was pressed against my thighs. It was definitely getting easier each time he pushed himself inside of me, but the tightness still provided a lot of resistance.

“I’ve missed this.” I let a moan pass across my lips.

“You’re a fucking addict.” He laughed as he started to slowly grind himself into me, pulling his cock out and sliding it in again. “It’s barely been a day.”

I started to moan as he picked up the pace once my pussy was adjusted to his cock again. I loved the feeling of being stretched to accommodate him and I certainly loved the feeling of his enormous cock pressed against my g-spot. He started to thrust himself inside of me faster, making my body react immediately. I felt the building pressure inside, the future orgasm on the cusp of delivering an electrical shock of pleasure while it rose to the point of no return. He lifted my thighs and stretched his hands to my ankles, holding one in each hand as he folded them backwards and positioned himself to make my whole body bounce each time he drove his cock deep inside of me.

“Damn, your cock is already throbbing.” I moaned as I felt the quiver of his lust.

“I guess you’re just really good at making me cum.” He let a grunt escape his throat.

The pressure inside of me continued to build as he folded me in half with the thunderous thrusts that caused the slats underneath the mattress to bend against the impact of his passion. My pussy began to tighten on his cock as I saw the lust in his eyes. He had already been satisfied once, but the need was still there and he wasn’t done. I panted with pleasure and desire while he continued to drive himself deep inside of me, stimulating my g-spot each time he did. I knew I wouldn’t last long. He had already ejaculated and he was on the verge of another eruption. I felt the pressure quickly build and then there was no holding back. My pussy started to spasm as my orgasm made my whole body tingle and shake with a wave of pleasure. He continued thrusting into me as I orgasmed but after several seconds, I felt his thrusts change and then his cock started to spasm.

“Oh God.” He let out a roar and his jaw tightened.

He began to empty his cum into the condom and I felt it swell inside of me. My pussy clenched his cock until every drop had been milked. I felt completely satisfied, even if it wasn’t as rough as the day before. He slowly slid himself out of me and sank down on the bed beside me. I was content, knowing that he would at least be there until I fell asleep. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. The heat from our bodies radiated as we lay in a skin-on-skin embrace. I snuggled against him and felt safe in the afterglow of my orgasm. I stared at him until I saw his eyes close and then I felt my heavy eyelids close as well. It was an amazing feeling and I knew I was in trouble. I was falling hard for Mr. Mistake—there was a good chance I was already on the ground with no way to pick myself up.

Chapter: 16: Max

I wanted to stay with Abby for the whole night, but I also wanted to be there in the morning when Benjamin woke up. Ms. Ruth would certainly take care of him if I wasn’t, but his temper had been a little volatile since the last meltdown. I watched Abby as her eyes closed and her breathing started to get softer. There was something almost angelic in the way she looked with the moonlight peeking through her broken blind and encircling her face. I had met my obligation and she was asleep, but I had a few hours to go before I really needed to get home, so I closed my eyes and held her. It was a good feeling, one that brought back memories of happier times before I let the idea of love and relationships turn to ashes in my mouth. When the clock got close to midnight, I pulled free and gathered my things. I took a moment to clean up in the bathroom before heading downstairs.

“Hello...cat.” When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw her cat cautiously approaching. He sniffed my leg and I bent down so he could sniff my hand.

After sniffing my hand for a few seconds, he started to weave in and out of my legs, purring and looking up at me. I reached down and scratched his head for a moment before walking to the door and locking it behind me. My driver was already waiting so I climbed into the backseat and had him take me home. I walked into my house to find all of the lights off and Ms. Ruth asleep on the couch. She had already decided I wasn’t going to be home for the evening, so there was no reason to wake her. I took a quick shower and then pushed Benjamin’s door open to check on him. He was fast asleep so I went to my room and climbed into bed. I curled up with my eyes closed and imagined Abby there, sleeping in my arms.

***

“I WANT TO GO!” I SAT up in bed to the sound of screaming. I tossed the covers off and quickly walked down the hallway.

“Oh, Mr. Martin. I didn’t realize you were home.” Ms. Ruth smiled when she saw me.

“Daddy, I want to go to the Fair!” Benjamin pointed at the television and I assumed he had seen another commercial.

“Come here, son.” I sat down on the couch and picked him up. He sniffled as I placed him on my knee.

“Are you going to take me?” He looked at me with curious ovals that certainly didn’t understand why I wasn’t eagerly agreeing to his request.

“Do you remember what happened when we went to the playground?” I bounced him on my knee as I spoke. “Where all the other kids were?”

“Yeah...” He nodded.

“Remember how upset you were when you had to wait in line to use the slide and all of the other kids kept bumping into you?” I held his hand and looked into his eyes.

“I asked them to stop. They wouldn’t stop, Daddy. That won’t happen at the Fair. I’ll do better, I promise.” His eyes started to well up with tears again.

“The Fair is kind of like the playground, Benjamin, but there will be way more kids there. There will be lines that you have to wait in for a long time.” I squeezed his hand and rubbed his knuckles.

“They have rides that look like fun and they have games.” A tear ran down his face.

“Do you really want to go?” I felt my heart breaking as I realized how set he was.

“Yes.” He nodded quickly.

“Okay, if you promise to be good for Ms. Ruth every day, then I’ll take you when it comes to town.” My face formed a tense smile.

“You will!? I love you, Daddy!” Benjamin leapt from my knee and wrapped his arms around my neck.

“I love you too, Benjamin. You have to be good for Ms. Ruth though. If she tells me you’ve been trying to take too many cookies or not doing your schoolwork, I’ll cancel the trip.” I patted his back as he relaxed his grip and slid to the floor.

“I’ll be good! I promise!” He started running towards his room, yelling something about the Fair the whole way.

“Are you sure this is wise? I know it is what he wants...” Ms. Ruth took a seat and looked over at me.

“I don’t know. Maybe I can take him during the day or early in the evening when there are less people there. I’ll figure it out. How can I tell him no? He doesn’t understand why he isn’t like other kids.” I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyelids with my thumbs.

“I know. He’s such a sweet boy. We should try taking him a few more places and get him used to the crowds. He does well during our weekly grocery store trips as long as he sits in the cart. We’ve even stopped for ice cream a couple of times and he’s been fine with the lines because they weren’t too long.” Ms. Ruth picked up her coffee cup and sipped the steaming brew. “How would you feel about me taking him to a daycare and sitting with him while he spent time with the other kids? I could bring him home immediately if there are any issues.”

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. Thank you.” I stared at the floor.

“We definitely need to let him meet new people and spend time with other kids. With school back in session, most of the daycares will have after-school programs. Letting him interact with some children his own age is going to be crucial.” Ms. Ruth continued to sip her coffee and I nodded in agreement.

I got ready for work while Benjamin ran around the house talking about the Fair, telling me all of the rides he was going to go on and all of the new treats he was going to try. I checked the date and saw it was a month away—it was going to be a long month with an overly enthusiastic child that couldn’t wait to find out what it was like to go to the fair. I certainly remembered my first time going—I was about his age when my father took me. Considering how much of a serious, fun-hating old bastard he was, it was a surprise he took the time. I didn’t want Benjamin to look back on his childhood and see the same thing in me.

Chapter 17: Abby

My life with Max went into cruise control. He showed up on my doorstep every evening at six o’clock to ravage and pillage my body. Sometimes it was sweet, like two lovers that just wanted to enjoy each other, and sometimes it was rough, like a savage caveman who had discovered pussy for the first time. I was too much of a coward to ask where it was going. I didn’t want him to tell me it was going nowhere and the end was around the corner. I enjoyed living in the moment with him—even if I did have to look back on him as Mr. Mistake before it was all done. He never stayed the full night, but he held me until I was asleep. It became so routine that several weeks passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.

***

“T HE FAIR IS HERE TOMORROW !” Mary-Katherine had clearly had too much coffee as she bounced around my kitchen with excitement.

“I know.” I stared at my laptop and looked over some final proofs for the Energy Enhanced launch. “We can’t go the first day though; there will be a million people there. We’ll go later in the week.”

“Why aren’t you more excited? Hey, do you think Max would want to do a double date with me and Rolando?” Mary-Katherine leaned against the counter. “I haven’t even met him yet.”

“I don’t think he’s really the type to go on dates—especially double dates.” My face twisted into a scowl and I shook my head.

“Maybe I’ll just show up here one night when you’re not expecting me and meet him then.” She grinned.

“Don’t you dare.” I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “I’ll send Sebastian after you.”

“Sebastian loves me.” She giggled and looked at my laptop screen. “Isn’t that the company that made that kid in Ohio sick?”

“What?” I turned towards her quickly. “Energy Enhanced?”

“Yeah, I think...” She shrugged her shoulders. “Or maybe it was some other energy drink. I remember something about vitamins...”

“I think we would have heard about it...” I dismissed her concerns and closed my laptop. “Okay, I need to get to work.”

“Working on a Sunday? That’s no fun.” She tapped her fingers on the counter.

“The launch is tomorrow. I need to make sure things are in line.” I picked up my phone and saw I had a text message from Max.

Do you want to go to the Fair tonight?

“Are you sure the Fair starts tomorrow?” I looked over at Mary-Katherine who was gathering her things to leave.

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting a whole year.” She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “Why?”

“No reason...” I shrugged and started typing.

I said goodbye to Mary-Katherine and got dressed in some fairly casual clothes for a Sunday visit at the office. I knew a few members of the team were working through the weekend, so I wanted to at least stop by. I sent a message to Max asking if he was serious about the Fair and he assured me that he was. When I suggested that it didn’t start until the following day, he told me I should just trust him and offered to send a car. His whole demeanor seemed to be off, but I had too much going on with the launch to focus on it, and I knew it was hard to read emotions through a text message. I finished my visit at the office and headed home to get ready for whatever the evening held.

“Mommy has a real date tonight, Sebastian.” I poured him some food after changing my outfit for the fourth time.

I really wasn’t sure what I should wear to the Fair. If it was a date, I wanted to look presentable, so I couldn’t just throw on a t-shirt and jeans like I normally did when I went with Mary-Katherine. I finally settled on a summer dress and a pair of shoes I could walk in. They didn’t perfectly match the dress, but none of the shoes that did would be appropriate for the Fair. I was still applying make-up when I heard the car outside. I rushed through the last bit of it and grabbed my purse. It was getting dark and I could see the last line of the sunset on the horizon. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared out the window as the driver carried me towards my destination.

When we got close to the Fair, I could see that all of the lights were on, but there were no cars in the large plots of land they normally used for parking. The driver took me to the gate and when I stepped out of the car, I saw Max standing by the entrance. He was dressed down from the suit he normally wore with a pair of dress slacks and a button down shirt that was opened at the top. He looked hot as hell and I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me and I felt the same tingle I always did—a literal explosion of bliss that made me immediately desire something more than just his lips. When he finally pulled his lips from mine, he kept his hands around my waist.

“So, what did you do here?” I looked around the fairgrounds and saw a few workers checking equipment.

“I spoke with some local officials and convinced them—for a nice donation—that they should let me have the place to myself for the evening.” He released his grip around my waist and took my hands.

“Did you seriously do that for our date? I don’t mind going during business hours.” I tilted my head towards him.

“No, I have a bit of a confession and it’s a big one.” He let out a sigh. “I have a son.”

“A...” I stammered over my words. “A son?”

“His name is Benjamin and he’s five years old. I probably should have told you sooner, but I’m very protective of my family and my personal life.” He squeezed my hand as I tried to absorb the news.

“Okay...” I looked down as I let that roll around in my head.

“There’s more.” He sighed again.

“More kids?” I looked back up at him and opened my eyes wide in shock.

“No, just one child. Benjamin is autistic. He has a lot of trouble with crowds and he doesn’t always react very well to meeting new people. It’s why I’ve never invited you back to my place and it is why I don’t like to spend the night.” He put the edge of his finger under my chin. “I want that to change. I want you to start coming to my place, and I want you to stay the night.”

Holy shit. Two bombshells at once.

“I’d...” I stammered over my words again. “I think I’d like that, but what about your son? You said he doesn’t like meeting new people?”

“I sat him down earlier today and I told him there was someone very special to me that I wanted him to meet. He’s been so excited about coming to the Fair that I thought this would be the perfect time.” He turned and started walking towards the entrance with our hands still joined.

“So, you convinced them to give you your own private night at the Fair for your son...” It started to make sense.

“Yes, he’s been seeing the commercials on television and he didn’t understand why it would be so bad with hordes of people around. I didn’t want it to be a terrible experience for him, so I made it happen.” He squeezed my hand and pointed at a woman who was holding a little boy’s hand. “That’s him.”

“Who is with him? Are you about to tell me you’re married too?” I cut my eyes towards him.

“No.” He laughed and the older woman waved as well, talking to the boy. “That is his teacher slash nanny slash everything, Ms. Ruth.”

Benjamin was smiling ear to ear when we started walking towards him. He looked like the spitting image of his father and was so cute I wanted to just squeeze his cheeks. Everything started to fall into place in my mind. The existence of Benjamin answered questions I didn’t even know to ask and finally made me realize why Max was the way he was. He had talked about his ex-wife once and how terrible the marriage had been. It was hard to imagine it being that terrible when such a beautiful boy came out of their union. When I got close, Benjamin extended his hand.

“I’m Benjamin Martin. You must be Daddy’s special friend.” He was extremely well-spoken for a child his age. I reached down and took his hand.

“Hi, Benjamin. My name is Abby Grant. Your father is very special to me too.” I squatted down in front of him. “So, this is your first trip to the fair, right? What do you want to do first?”

“Funnel Cake!” His eyes lit up.

“Really?” Ms. Ruth grumbled. “Hi, my name is Ruth Ayers. They both just call me Ms. Ruth.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” I stood and shook her hand. “I have to agree with Benjamin though; I want Funnel Cake too.”

“Let’s go!” Benjamin pulled on Ms. Ruth’s hand and pointed at the Funnel Cake sign.

Benjamin was so excited. He reminded me of a simpler time when all I had to worry about was what was directly in front of me. I really couldn’t tell he was autistic based on our interaction. He seemed a little apprehensive when we approached the people at the stands or the ones operating the equipment, but his excitement definitely seemed to overwhelm whatever hesitations he had. By the time we had went on a few rides and eaten what felt like our weight in Fair food, Benjamin had let go of Ms. Ruth’s hand and taken mine. I looked at Max, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders. I let Benjamin lead me to each ride, explaining everything he knew about it before we climbed inside. There was no way we could do everything, but we kept going until Benjamin was exhausted and Max had to carry him.

“I’ll get a separate car tonight.” Ms. Ruth dug in her purse. “I’ll be by early tomorrow morning so you can get to work.”

“Thank you, Ms. Ruth.” Max leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“Take care of them.” Ms. Ruth squeezed my hand. “They’re wonderful.”

“I know.” I smiled and watched her walk away.

“Ready to see where I live?” Max motioned for the driver.

“If it’s smaller than my place, I’ll be very disappointed.” I grinned at him as we walked towards the car.

Chapter 18: Max

Abby and I in the backseat of the car with Benjamin asleep between us felt right. I reached over and took her hand, squeezing it tight and she smiled at me. I had never introduced Benjamin to anyone I was seeing since the majority of the relationships never lasted longer than one night. Abby was an exception and although we had only been together a short time, she was the perfect exception to every rule I set that led me down the path of being known as Mr. Mistake. Perhaps I was always looking for someone like her—maybe it was why I looked for good girls instead of satisfying my lust with sluts that wouldn’t even care what my name was the next day.

“Let me give you the grand tour.” I walked out of Benjamin’s bedroom and pulled the door closed once he was asleep.

“I think you know what I want a tour of.” Abby walked towards down the hall and wrapped her arms around me.

The timid, apprehensive virgin had developed a fairly voracious appetite for sex in our brief time together. I kissed her lips, pushing my tongue between them as I squeezed her in my arms. I opened the door to my bedroom and pushed her inside of it, closing the door behind me. The house was big enough that sound wouldn’t travel, but I locked the door just to be on the safe side in case Benjamin happened to get up. Abby was going to be the first woman to ever sleep in my bed with me. I sent the mattress I shared with my ex-wife to an incinerator once we were divorced. I pulled Abby’s dress over her head and started removing her bra as she unbuttoned my shirt.

“No wonder you don’t want to stay with me.” She teased as she looked over at the bed. “I wouldn’t want to sleep on my hard mattress either if I had that waiting for me.”

“There’s also no cat hair.” I kissed her neck with a slight laugh.

“Leave Sebastian out of this.” I pulled out of his embrace and crawled on the bed with my ass facing him. “So now that you have me in your bed, what are you going to do with me?”

“Well to start with.” I slapped her ass as she wiggled it at me. “I’m going to take your panties off.”

I pushed her panties down and I saw a wet spot in the middle of the crotch. She moved her legs to let me fully remove them and I finished undressing her. She clearly wanted me to take her from behind since she didn’t move from her knees. She looked back at me with a hungry grin on her face as I knelt behind her on the bed and pressed my cock to her wet pussy. It took me a moment to realize that I was pressing my cock against her pussy without a condom. I hadn’t been with a woman without one since I was married. The raw, wet feeling of her pussy started to make me throb with desire, but I had to resist the urge. I pulled away and she looked back at me with curiosity in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” She blinked a couple of times.

“I need to go to the car. I need a condom.” I growled angrily as I reached for my pants.

“You don’t have to leave.” She shook her head and wiggled her ass at me again. “You can cum inside me.”

“Fuck it...” I dropped my pants and crawled behind her again.

I knew she was clean because I was the only person she had ever fucked. I got tested regularly and had never had an issue. I started pushing my cock into her pussy and was amazed and how good she felt without the condom. Her pussy was so tight that it stretched the tight skin on my cock when it went inside. I never felt that with a condom. The idea of unloading my cum inside of her made me extremely hard and the feeling of her pussy on my unprotected dick enhanced the experience so much I wasn’t going to be able to last very long. I buried my cock to the hilt and wrapped my hands around her hips, moving my cock back and forth inside of her.

“That feels really good.” She let out a moan. “It feels so much better without the condom. I can feel every vein in your cock rubbing inside of me.”

“I guess we’re officially moving past the condom stage of our relationship then?” As I felt her tightness grip my cock, I knew I wanted that feeling every time I was inside of her.

“Yeah...” She groaned and started to pant. “Oh God, yes.”

I had to adjust my thrusts to keep from exploding inside of her after a half dozen hard ones. I settled into a slow rhythm, building up my cock’s resistance to the pleasure she was bringing me. After I got the throbbing to settle down some, I was able to pick up the pace and start fucking her the way I normally did—but damn if it wasn’t amazing to feel it on my exposed cock. I drove myself deep inside of her, stretching and stimulating her g-spot. I felt every spasm of her pussy, every slight reaction to the pressure. I could feel the orgasm building inside of her and I couldn’t wait to feel it released on my cock. My balls were already started to twitch and the sheer bliss of the moment was making me shake with anticipation of the release. I reached up and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back and used it as leverage as I kept fucking her.

“I’m gonna cum...” She barely got the words out before I felt her pussy spasm.

When I felt her pussy squeeze against me, my cock started to throb and pulsate. Cum rushed through my shaft and exploded into her. When my semen mixed with her orgasm, it created so much lubrication I started slamming into her even harder as thick ropes of cum erupted into her pussy. The feeling of my cum made her start to orgasm again and the squeezing of her pussy on my cock started to milk every drop out of it. When she was finally done and her body relaxed, I slowly pulled myself free and lay back on the bed. She crawled over and I took her in my arms, pulling her in tight. There was no reason to worry about rushing home or making sure I was there for Benjamin the next morning. I felt calmer than I had felt in years with my beautiful Abby in my arms.

Chapter 19: Abby

It took me a moment to realize where I was when I woke up. I looked at the clock and realized I needed to get home soon so I could get ready for work. Max was still sleeping and when I pulled away from his embrace, I felt the chill from the room. We had collapsed on top of the bed and hadn’t even bothered with covers. We stayed warm when we were huddled together, but his air conditioning definitely worked better than mine because my nipples were hard as a rock when I started getting dressed. I got my underwear on and started tugging my dress over my head, stumbling around for a moment. I heard the bed squeak and by the time I got it past my eyes, he was sitting up.

“Do I get a show every morning?” He grinned.

“I think that Funnel Cake added five pounds overnight.” I smoothed out the wrinkles in the dress with my hand.

“You know that when you spend the night with someone, you’re supposed to give them morning sex as a thank you for cuddling all night.” He took his cock in his hand and started stroking it.

“Don’t you have a son to take care of?” I stared at his cock.

“Ms. Ruth gets him up if I oversleep.” He reached for me.

“I really can’t. I should go home and get ready for work. Not all of us are able to set our own schedule.” I picked up my purse and reached for my cell phone. My heart sank straight into my stomach when I turned it on. “Uh...something is wrong.”

“What do you mean?” He casually reached for his cell phone on the nightstand and then I saw his eyes bulge out of his head. “Shit!”

I had missed calls from almost every member of my team and several text messages to go along with them. I couldn’t even process the long paragraph Mr. Hawthorne had sent. Energy Enhanced was on the front page of CNN’s website and it wasn’t for a good reason. A child in Ohio had gotten really sick after drinking it. The parents were quoted as saying they thought it was vitamin water. The next paragraph in the article was an FDA report along with a report from a private lab that stated the chemicals in the drink destroyed any nutritional values the vitamins offered and it was basically just the equivalent of taking a giant drink of poisoned caffeine.

“Fuck me!” Max slammed his phone down. “How the fuck did they miss this?”

“I had a report...it was from the FDA. Adam said it was nothing.” I started thinking about the studies we had done.

“You knew about this?” Max looked at me in shock.

“No, I mean...” I stammered quickly. “I didn’t read the report. It was a bunch of complicated jargon. When Adam said it was just a formality, I skipped it.”

“Shit...” Max stormed towards the bathroom. “I have to shower and get to the office.”

***

I STRUGGLED TO HOLD myself together as I walked into the office. I didn’t even bother with a shower. I used the bathroom at the end of the hall to clean myself up, tied my hair in a ponytail with a rubber band, and walked into the office in the same dress I wore to the Fair. My makeup was the best job I could do in the car on the way to the office. I saw my team assembled in the conference room with Mr. Hawthorne and Adam. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, seeing all eyes turn towards me.

“I’m sorry, I came as soon as I looked at my phone.” I looked at the table and sighed. “This is really bad, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Mr. Hawthorne sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t even bother to shave. “This is a nightmare. This is going to bankrupt Energy Enhanced and all of the money we’ve invested—damn it—I don’t know if we’ll survive.”

“I waited until you were here.” Adam stood up. “Because I wanted to tell you instead of having you hear it from someone else. I’m resigning, effective immediately. I can’t have my name associated with this campaign.”

“You’re leaving?” I stared at Adam and opened my mouth in shock. “You are the one who told me we didn’t have anything to worry about with the FDA report.”

“Wait a minute.” Mr. Hawthorne looked up. “You had a report that told you Energy Enhanced was garbage? You didn’t tell me that...”

“I didn’t understand the report.” I shook my head as everyone started to look at me, angry expressions forming on their face.

“You’re the Team Lead.” Mr. Hawthorne stood and I could see his face turning red. “You’re supposed to figure that shit out. If you don’t understand it, ask someone.”

“I asked Adam...” I pointed at him. “Adam, you agreed when I said anything that was in those reports was for Energy Enhanced to worry about.”

“Yes.” Adam nodded solemnly. “I obviously made a mistake. I didn’t read the report and I just assumed it was routine.”

“Both of you—out.” Mr. Hawthorne pointed towards the door. “I don’t want either of you here while we try to clean up this fucking mess.”

“What?” I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

“Yeah, Abby.” Mr. Hawthorne pointed at the door again. “You’re fired.”

My hands shook as I started putting my personal items in a cardboard box. I couldn’t believe my dream was over, ended in an instant because I didn’t read one stupid report. If I had, I would have known Energy Enhanced was dangerous and avoided the inevitable. I felt the weight of the child’s sickness on my chest and my head started to spin. I picked up a picture of Sebastian and cried when I put it in the box. The two of us were going to be homeless and starving if I didn’t find another job quickly. I walked out onto the sidewalk with my box in hand and hailed a taxi. My car was still parked at my house. Once it dropped me off at home, I collapsed on the couch and started sobbing.

Chapter 20: Max

“How bad is this?” I walked into the room with my legal team already surrounding the table.

“You’re the principal investor, so it isn’t good. You don’t technically own the company—that is probably the only good part of this.” The lead attorney for the firm, Carmen King, opened a folder and pushed it towards me. “This is the FDA report. It was recently sent to Energy Enhanced and West End Marketing.

“Why are they doing an FDA report now? This product has been on the market for years...” I sat down at the table and read it.

“It’s the new advertising campaign.” Carmen replied with a sigh. “Energy Enhanced was previously marketed as an energy drink infused with vitamins, so the testing standards were different. Once they started trying to switch the marketing to a vitamin drink, there were more in-depth tests done.”

“I thought the marketing hadn’t really started yet...” I flipped the FDA report to the second page.

“It hasn’t, but they already changed their logo and the wording on the can to match the new campaign. They’re using the name Vitamins Enhanced now. They were hoping to have it all in place by the time the campaign launched. Some soccer mom in Ohio bought it for her son and he collapsed after drinking—three cans.” She sighed again.

“Three cans?” I felt my blood boiling. “Three fucking cans? Who the fuck does that!?”

“Well nobody would do that with an energy drink—well, if they did they would expect the consequences I suppose. It’s a different story with a vitamin drink, but the damage is done.” She closed the folder. “The family has lawyered up so a lawsuit is coming.”

“Does Energy Enhanced have insurance to cover that?” I looked up from the report.

“Not this kind.” One of the other lawyers spoke. “They have product liability insurance, but there’s a clause in the contract that requires them to pull the product if they get a report like this. Failure to do so voids that policy.”

“So why didn’t they do it? They should have read the report!” My anger started to flare again.

“The company is fucked no matter what and they won’t recover from this, but I’m sure the official answer will be to put the blame on someone. That’s what West End Marketing is doing.” Carmen picked up her cell phone.

“Wait.” I held up my hand. “What do you mean West End Marketing is putting the blame on someone?”

“The team leader.” She scrolled. “Yeah, CNN just updated the article with an official statement from West End Marketing. Someone named Abby Grant. They’re saying she was responsible for reviewing the report and failed to do so.”

“Fuck. I have to go.” I ran towards the door as quickly as I could.

I had been short and rude with Abby that morning when I should have been understanding. Energy Enhanced was a small part of my portfolio and I was going to lose some money, but that would be about it. My name might make it into an article somewhere as an investor, but I had little say in the day to day operations. The account was Abby’s whole life. It was the first time she had been trusted to be a leader and the first time she had landed a major account on her own. I was sure they had fired her or sent her home, so I went there first. I found the door barely closed and Abby on the couch with her cat curled up beside her.

“Let’s go.” I reached out for her hand.

“I don’t want to go anywhere...” She pulled away.

“You can’t stay here.” I knelt beside her. “Your name is in the news. Reporters are going to be showing up soon. We need to get you out of here. Trust me, I’ve been through this sort of thing before. You don’t want to be the hottest story in town.”

“What about Sebastian?” She rubbed her cat’s head and he glared at me.

“I guess I’m adopting a cat today.” I smiled and shrugged.

Benjamin was thrilled to hear that his new best friend, Abby, would be moving in. He was even more thrilled to find out we were taking in a cat. Sebastian seemed a little leery of Benjamin at first, but after he had explored his new house and found it to his liking, he actually curled up next to Benjamin while he played with some toys. I sent Ms. Ruth out for some necessities and sat down on the bed next to Abby. I could tell she was still disheveled from the events of the day, but I tried to calm her down. No one would come looking for her at my place, so she was safe. All I wanted to do in that moment was protect her and make sure nobody could hurt her. It didn’t matter to me if she had read the report or not, I was going to be in her corner.

***

“I TALKED TO THE LAWYERS today.” A week had passed since the scandal first made the news and Abby was starting to act like herself again.

“Yeah? What did they say?” She looked out from the kitchen and I saw Benjamin sitting on the counter watching her make dinner.

“It looks like West End Marketing is going to be in the clear. The lawsuit is going to be directly against Energy Enhanced. They obviously wanted to name everyone they could, but your company never launched the advertisement campaign, so they can’t be held accountable for what happened to that boy.” I leaned over the counter.

“That’s good, I guess...” I heard her sigh.

“Well, good and bad. West End Marketing is up for sale now—or was. They’re under new management.” I smiled as I watched her.

“What?” She stopped tending to the food and looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“None of this was your fault. Yeah, you should have read the report, but there’s blame to go around. Mr. Hawthorne should have been directly involved in a campaign like this one and he shouldn’t have turned it over to someone who had never handled an account before.” I shook my head angrily.

“We had the consultant, Adam Rutherford.” She shrugged. “I guess Mr. Hawthorne thought he could pick up the slack since he had experience.”

“Yeah, like I said. There’s blame to go around. Adam Rutherford has been involved in enough advertising campaigns to know FDA reports should be reviewed. He’s worked with numerous energy drink companies.” I tapped my fingers on the counter. “Anyway, I bought West End Marketing and I let Mr. Hawthorne know I was replacing him at the end of year. That should give him plenty of time to get the company past the scandal and find a new job. I’ll bankroll the place until then.”

“You...you what?” She turned the heat off on the stove and helped Benjamin down to the floor before walking around so she we could have a face to face conversation.

“You’re going to run West End Marketing for me, but I think we’ll change the name. I’ve always liked The Martin Agency, but apparently some firm already owns that, so I guess we’ll go with the Martin-Grant Marketing Agency for now.” I shrugged and smiled at her. “We might have to change that name if you end up marrying me though.”

“Um...uh.” She swallowed hard. “Is that a proposal?”

“No.” I shook my head. “It was a hypothetical.”

“Good.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I would have said no.”

“You’re marrying Daddy?” Benjamin came running up to her and grabbed her hand.

“Uh...not yet?” She said her words awkwardly as she looked down at Benjamin.

“Was that a yes?” I folded my arms and stared at her.

“You said it wasn’t a proposal.” She shook her head.

“Well, I didn’t propose but it sounds like Benjamin did.” I reached down and squeezed my son’s shoulder. “It also sounds like you said yes—well, not yet —but that’s basically yes.”

“We’ll talk about this tonight.” She patted my arm and went back into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

I knew what I wanted, even if it was rather sudden by most conventional terms. Nothing about our relationship had been very conventional up to that point, and she was already living with us. Abby was the first person I had really felt anything for in so long that it was clear to me that we were meant to be together. She was so good with Benjamin and he already seemed to adore her as much as I did. I knew we had a lot to learn about each other, but I couldn’t think of a better way to do it than growing old together.

***

“S O ARE WE GOING TO talk now?” I waited until Abby had put Benjamin to bed and closed the door to our bedroom.

“Yes.” She smiled and dropped down into the bed, stretching out with the side of her head resting on her palm. “Were you being serious earlier or just messing with me?”

“If I was serious, I would have given you a ring.” I smiled and reached down, rubbing her leg.

“I see.” She nodded and I saw her lip tense up. “Yeah, that makes sense. I figured you weren’t.”

“I’m still testing you out. I’m not sure I’m ready to buy the whole package yet.” I pushed on her with my finger.

“Wow, that makes me feel special.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I was going to say no—”

While she tried to rationalize my words, I reached under the covers and pulled out the ring box I had hidden there when I came to bed. Before her sentence left her lips, the box opened and a three-carat square cut diamond set in platinum sparkled. She moved her mouth as if she was talking, but no words came out. She looked at me and then back down at the diamond.

“Now I’m asking you to marry me. If you say no, I’m going to close this box and I’ll never ask you again.” I pushed the box towards her.

“Yes!” She leapt into my arms and started kissing me. “Let’s go tell Benjamin.”

“Wait, I was hoping we could celebrate...” My cock was already pressing against the quilt.

“We should celebrate with Benjamin!” She hopped off the bed and ran towards the door.

“Not really the kind of celebration I had in mind—plus he’s in bed.” I heard him let out a cheer when she ran into his room and presumably told him the news.

I rolled out of bed and headed towards his room to celebrate with them.

Epilogue: Abby

We decided to wait a while after we were engaged to actually get married. I was perfectly fine with the engagement, but I still wanted to find my place in his life. Everything happened so fast in a whirlwind of chaos that I wanted to let things blow over a little bit before we became husband and wife. Once things settled down, I had to sit down with my family and explain what happened—both at my job and with Max. They were understanding and supportive, which was more than I felt like I deserved. I also wanted to do something for the family of the boy that got sick. Even though everyone, including the courts that ruled against Energy Enhanced, put the blame solely on the company, I couldn’t stop beating myself up about it. Max agreed to help me establish a scholarship that would send someone from a family impacted by a defective product to college every year. I couldn’t rewind time and prevent it, but I could make one big impact on someone’s life every year as a testament to him.

***

T HE OTHER PART OF MY life that I wanted to get a handle on was the newly formed Martin-Grant Marketing Agency. I sat down with Mr. Hawthorne and told him I understood why he fired me. I really didn’t hold any ill will towards him for it and I even offered to let him stay on with the company if he wanted with the same salary. He decided that he wanted to pursue some other options, which I understood. Most of the team I worked with quit after the Energy Enhanced incident because they didn’t think the company could be saved. Nobody saw Max coming with his checkbook to buy the place, especially after it was hemorrhaging money with all of the capital put up to get the Energy Enhanced campaign ready. Once Max paid for all of that, the rest of the company was still turning a profit. I made the most of the job I was given, even if I didn’t technically earn it through promotion. I took a more active role in every campaign—something Mr. Hawthorne didn’t do very regularly. I also developed a guide for team leadership with some of the more experienced people at the company so we could ensure we had the right structure in place.

***

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE getting married!” Mary-Katherine started adjusting my veil as she grinned from ear to ear.

“Rolando needs to step up his game. I made it to the altar before you.” I smiled as I teased her.

“I’m catching the bouquet, so when you see me out there, toss it my way.” She pointed towards the assortment of flowers I would carry down the aisle.

“Did you see Benjamin when you were out there? I’m a little worried about him.” I peeked out the door, although I wasn’t able to leave with Max wandering around the church.

“Yeah, he’s doing great. I think your idea of having multiple rehearsals so he could get to know everyone was a good plan.” Mary-Katherine nodded.

“Hopefully the people we left off the guest list will understand. I always wanted to have a small wedding anyway.” I sat down and stretched my feet out as I prepared to shove them into my tight shoes.

***

T HE WEDDING WAS BEAUTIFUL . From the ceremony that was mostly just close family and friends, to Benjamin running around with the rings trying to give them as souvenirs to the few guests we had. After the ceremony, we dropped Benjamin off with Ms. Ruth so we could go on our honeymoon. Thankfully, she also agreed to take care of Sebastian. Sebastian and Benjamin had seemingly become best friends, so I think they were fine staying anywhere if they were together. Sebastian didn’t even bother to try to get in bed with us; he always slept curled up next to Benjamin. We only stayed gone a week, even though both of us could have used more time away. We were anxious to get back to our family, and a few months after our honeymoon, I was proud to tell Max he was going to be a father again.

Mr. Mistake became my Mr. Right.

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