The taste of Cole was still prominent on the tip of my tongue when I hurried out of his office to get back to my desk before everyone returned from the lunch hour. Smoothing a hand through my tangled hair, I closed Cole’s office door before turning around to stop in sheer surprise to find Michael Foster standing directly in front of me.

There was a strange glint in Michael’s eyes as he peered at me with a frown tugging at his lips. His eyes settled on my blouse that was still rumpled with two buttons undone. I could feel the heat of Cole’s kisses still on my neck, and there was no doubt in my mind that there were red patches there.

We stared at each other for a long time. I tried to read the expression on Michael’s face, but it was carefully guarded.

“What were you doing in Mr. Crayton’s office?” he asked.

The rest of the floor had yet to return from lunch. I struggled to find a reasonable excuse, but I was drawing a blank. My mind was still thick and hazy from the pleasure of being dominant over Cole for the first time.

“I was—” I reached up to wipe at my mouth, unsure of what to say that wouldn’t arouse anymore of Michael’s curiosity. “I was going over some work documents with him for the meeting in a few hours. What are you doing up here?”

“I was going to see if you wanted to get some lunch with me,” Michael said, arching an eyebrow. “You weren’t at your desk, so I thought I would sit here and wait for you to come back.”

“You’ve been sitting here the whole time?”

“Yes,” he said.

Panic filled me when Michael crossed his arms with a knowing smirk on his face.

“It’s not what you think,” I started, but he grabbed hold of my arm.

“Come with me,” Michael said sharply. “It is what I think. You’re fucking Cole Crayton. I know it.”

He pulled me in the direction of the copy and printing room. Closing the door behind us, he turned to look at me with a sneer.

“I knew something was up when you showed up here without any experience at all. Everyone in the office suspected it too, despite Cheryl saying that you are just a family friend.”

“I got this internship because I asked for the job experience,” I said which was partly true. I had asked for the internship to get close to Cole also, but Michael didn’t need to know that. He already suspected it. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Michael. Nothing is going on between Mr. Crayton and me.”

“Really?” he said, scoffing. “I heard the both of you in his office. I heard Mr. Crayton groan out your name.”

My cheeks burned as I gripped the printer to keep control of my panic. I didn’t care if Michael or anyone else knew, but this was Cole’s business. He didn’t want anyone else to know about it or have his reputation as a businessman questioned.

“That’s now what you heard,” I managed to say. “I don’t know what you think is going on—”

“Just admit it, Violet,” Michael said flatly. “You’re fucking Cole Crayton. You’re fucking the boss, and that’s the only damn reason why you got this internship. You earned this through his dick, not through your head. You earned it by a favor while I had to work my ass off to be placed in a role I didn’t want to even be in!”

I winced at the onslaught of Michael’s angry words. He stood in front of me with his fists clenched. His face was patchy red as he gazed at me, waiting for me to say something when words were lost on me. Panic was building up inside of me quickly, and I didn’t know how to respond if Michael had heard us.

“That’s right,” Michael spat, shaking his head at me. “You’re disgusting, Violet. I never thought you’d be the type of woman to sleep your way up the ladder, but apparently, you are.”

He ripped the door open when someone knocked on it. Another employee stood on the other side and drew back in surprise to see Michael’s furious face. He strode past the employee without sparing either one of us a second glance.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled, ducking my head to hide my burning eyes.

I hurried out of the printer and copy room back to my desk. Knocking on Cole’s office door, I opened the door without waiting for a reply to find that his was office was empty.

“He left for a meeting,” Cheryl said. She frowned when I whirled around to face her. “What’s going on, Violet?”

“Nothing,” I choked out quickly. “I just need to talk to him about something, but if he’s already gone for the afternoon, then it doesn’t matter.”

Cole was going to be furious. He was already so touchy about us carrying on in a relationship, but this would send him over the edge. I knew it. Anger filled me as I glanced across the office to where Michael was angrily pounding on a calculator. He looked up sharply when he felt my gaze on him.

“What’s going on?” Cheryl asked, watching the exchange with a concerned frown. “Is there something going on with you and Michael that Mr. Crayton needs to know about?”

It’s the other way around, Cheryl. There’s something going on between Cole and me while Michael knows about it.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

My stomach gave a nauseating lurch at the smell of the chicken wraps that Cheryl had brought back from lunch. I needed to get out of the office before I gave anything else away, or before Michael said something. I had no idea if he would tell anyone else, but Cole needed to know first.

“Do you think it would be okay if I go home for the rest of the afternoon?” I asked. “I’m not feeling too good, to be honest with you. I feel like I might get sick.”

My coffee from earlier this morning threatened to come back up just thinking about my stomach. A headache pounded in my head.

“Of course,” Cheryl said. “I’ll tell Mr. Crayton if he returns before five that you aren’t feeling well.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “I owe you, Cheryl. I know this was supposed to be your week off.”

Cheryl waved a hand airily. “Oh, please. I’m like Mr. Crayton. I wouldn’t be able to handle being away from this place for very long, either. A vacation wouldn’t be a vacation for me.” She shooed me away with a flick of her wrist. “Go on now. Get some rest.”

I shut my computer off before grabbing my purse. After bidding Cheryl goodbye, I took the elevator down with my phone clutched anxiously in my hand. I waited until I was out of the building before texting Cole.

Something came up that you need to know about. Come to my apartment right after your meeting. It’s urgent.

I took a cab back to my apartment knowing that Cole wouldn’t look at his phone until he was done with his meetings in a few hours. My stomach refused to let up with the queasy feeling throughout the rest of the afternoon. I took a long and hot shower before running to the supermarket to grab a few things for dinner. I needed to do something to distract myself from the anxiety that burned in my chest.

It wasn’t until the intercom buzzed from below that the tension in my stomach released. Cole stepped in through the apartment door. His face was stretched into a concerned frown, and he hadn’t even bothered going back to his place to change.

“What’s going on?” he asked when I embraced him with a shaky sigh. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes and no,” I said and took hold of his hand to lead him to the couch. “There’s a problem that I wanted to tell you about before someone else told you. I don’t know if he’d say anything, but—”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you talking about?”

“Michael Foster,” I said. “He knows what’s going on, Cole. He heard what happened in your office today during lunch. He was sitting on my desk the entire time. I didn’t know until I walked out to find him there.”

Just as expected, Cole jerked his hand back to run it through his hair as he always did whenever he was aggravated or nervous. His eyes darted back and forth while he took in my words.

“Shit,” he said. “What did he say?”

“He told me that he had suspected something was going on because of the internship. He accused me of sleeping up the ladder basically, but he knows about us, Cole.” My shoulders trembled as I gazed at him through tears in my eyes. “I don’t know what he’s going to do, but please don’t freak out over this. I don’t want to lose you.”

“He accused you of sleeping your way up the ladder?” Cole repeated, his voice hardening. He yanked angrily at the knot of his tie to loosen it. “That little shit. What the hell is he thinking?”

I blinked in surprise at the fury in Cole’s voice as he tossed his tie at the coffee table with more force than necessary. Every inch of Cole’s body was coiled up tautly, ready to spring at any moment. He was utterly pissed.

“I don’t think he’s thinking of anything right now,” I said. “He didn’t demand anything. He just confronted me.”

Cole turned to look at me. “That’s my point. He should’ve come to me first, not you.” He pulled out his phone from the pocket of his pants. “He’s fired. I don’t care if his family begged me to give this internship to him. The bastard is fired for talking to you that way.”

“Cole,” I said, alarmed by his anger. I rested a hand on Cole’s forearm to stop him from calling Michael. “You can’t just fire him. You know that it would draw too much attention. Plus, it would make Michael say something out of spite.”

“He already knows about it now,” Cole said. “What’s the difference if I tell him he’s fired tonight?”

“You’re not an irrational business man. Think about what you’re doing here.”

The anger in Cole’s eyes didn’t lessen. He stared down at his phone with a cold gaze. Not willing to let Cole ruin his reputation out of anger, I pushed the phone down from his hand.

I straddled Cole’s lap before he could say anything else. A part of me was inwardly thrilled that he felt this protective over me. Every girl dreamed of having a man feel this way toward them, and I tilted Cole’s head back to kiss him thoroughly.

The kiss quickly escalated as I felt his anger shift into something else. It felt needy, even a bit possessive from the way Cole’s hands wandered along my thighs. His hands clasped my ass cheeks as I reached between us to free the hard bulge in his pants.

His fingers went to the knot of the robe I had slipped into after showering. He let out an appreciative growl when his hands cupped my naked breasts. I hadn’t even bothered putting anything on after showering.

Not willing to move, I eased myself slowly down along his hard erection as he filled me to the hilt. A shaky sigh left my lips at the different sensation. Cole’s hands went straight to my hips as he encouraged them to roll up and down. His jaw clenched when I picked up the pace. Our gasps and moans were muffled through the heated kisses as the both of us dashed close to a climax.

I shuddered when my release finally came swiftly under Cole’s fingers rubbing against my core the entire time. Sucking in deep breaths, I rode Cole’s bucking hips as he finally went over the edge into a body shuddering climax as well. His fingers dug into my thighs, leaving little bruises there before he collapsed on the couch with a groan.

“This is what gets me into trouble,” he panted, head resting against the back of the couch. “I know that I shouldn’t be doing this, but damn it, Violet. You feel too good to let go of.”

I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders. Pressing a tender kiss to the bottom of his chin, I pushed back a sweaty strand of hair from Cole’s forehead when he looked at me.

“Don’t let go of me,” I whispered. “I don’t care what happens, or who knows. Just don’t let go of me.”

That conflicted expression crossed his face again. He was still torn between guilt and wanting me.

“I can’t let go of you,” he whispered back, hands rubbing my thighs tenderly. “That’s the fucking problem. I can’t let go of you, and I don’t want to, either.”

“Then, don’t worry about anything. Everything will be fine in time.”

Cole didn’t respond. We spent the rest of the evening making dinner in my small kitchen and eating together as we talked about whatever came to mind. It was moments like these that I could feel the love growing between the two of us. I got the feeling that Cole knew it as well from the times I caught him gazing at me with a puzzled look on his face.

It wasn’t until we were laying in the dark of my bedroom, listening to the city traffic through my cracked bedroom window, that I realized with a jolt that I had fallen deeply for Cole. Deeper than I ever imagined.

I felt Cole’s breath even out eventually from behind me. Reaching down to grab his hand from my hip, I pressed a tender kiss to his knuckles. Everything was going to be okay. Despite what we eventually had to face together.