Why did everything have to be so complicated?

I dabbed some more foundation underneath my eyes in a futile attempt to cover the bags and darkness there. The rest of my face was pale, devoid of color despite the blush and bright red lipstick. I looked like a damn zombie from the lack of sleep all weekend. I’d been reliving what happened Friday evening over and over again, and processing the look on Cole’s face in the jazz club Michael had insisted on going to.

It was jealousy. I knew that look better than anyone else because I had felt it every single time I had heard about the women Cole brought home with him.

Except, nothing had happened. Michael was a good guy, but not someone I was interested in. I had accepted his invitation to get out and have some drinks to forget about what happened. Not to hook up as I had explained on the phone to Michael.

Cole had drawn his conclusions though. I knew it the moment he walked briskly by my office desk earlier without even a good morning or a hello. Instead, he barked out orders for me and texted me furiously with demands that I did my best to follow over the next couple of days. I could see why he never kept personal assistants. They were the ones who personally dealt with his dark moods.

The sound of chatter and phones ringing echoed in my ears as I walked back from the bathroom to where my desk was situated. Cole’s office door was still firmly shut. There were no new messages on my phone either. I cradled my head in my hands, fighting back the tears. What could I possibly say to him now? He was furious with me for making a move on him, but then he was also angry at me for being out with Michael. What did Cole Crayton fucking want from me?

“You okay, honey?” Cheryl asked.

I wiped away the few tears that managed to escape from my eyes to look up at Cheryl who stood in front of my desk with a concerned frown.

“I’m fine,” I said, voice hoarse from crying in the bathroom. “It was just…a rough weekend. I didn’t get a lot of sleep.”

“It has nothing to do with our fearless leader in there, does it?”

I looked down at my desk to hide that it did. “No. It has nothing to do with him.”

“Oh, Violet.”

A hand smoothed itself through my hair, warm and maternal. It brought on another fresh wave of hot tears.

“Don’t let Mr. Crayton’s foul mood bring you down,” Cheryl said softly. “He’s testing you. He’s seeing if you’re able to keep calm under pressure. That’s all he’s trying to do.”

I didn’t bother correcting her. No one would, or could, know what was going on. I wanted to tell her that it had nothing to do with my job as his personal assistant. It had everything to do with our relationship and my wanting to go further. But he was resistant to it for several reasons. Good reasons, if I really thought about it.

My parents would flip out if we ever began a sexual relationship. My mother would raise hell because she knew I was still a virgin, but this was what I’d wanted for so long. A man like Cole knew what to do in bed. I didn’t want that awkwardness. I just wanted that huge moment in my life to be over with already. I had fantasized enough about it, but now I had to figure out a way to get back on Cole’s good side again.

“I suppose it’s a good sign he hasn’t fired me yet,” I remarked, raising my head to look up at Cheryl. “Although, he’s probably keeping me here out of fear of my father’s wrath. Or pity. One of the two.”

“He likes your work, Violet. That’s why he is keeping you here. This is why he is testing you too.”

I sucked in a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Maybe. I need to get focused on the meeting in thirty minutes.”

“Right,” Cheryl said, nodding at me. “I’ll let you get in the zone. Come get me if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

I glanced down at my notes for the meeting that Cole had sent me via email. I squinted down at the small text, trying to memorize names and numbers. After several long minutes, I looked up from the email with a sigh. There was no doubt in my mind that this meeting would not go well. I could feel it deep in my bones.

“Violet.”

I bit back a sigh of irritation when I heard Michael call out my name. I turned to look at him as he approached with a frown.

“You’re not supposed to be up here,” I said wearily. “You better go back down before Mr. Crayton sees you up here. He’s going to come out of his office at any second.”

That didn’t seem to even phase him.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said. “Cheryl called me to ask what happened over the weekend. I told her that I wondered the same thing too.”

“You’re a nice guy, Michael. You really are, but there are things that you don’t need to know.”

“If you’re in trouble, or--”

I held up my hand to stop him. “I’m not in trouble, I promise. I was just uncomfortable this weekend.”

“Because I tried to kiss you?”

Guilt filled Michael’s eyes when I nodded at him. That had little to do with what was really bothering me. Michael really was a good guy, a decent date, but I had turned away when he tried to kiss me. There was only one person I wanted to kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sincerity lacing his voice. “I just think you’re a beautiful woman. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I know. I just have feelings for someone else, and it’s complicated between us.”

Michael seemed to accept the explanation. He didn’t press it any further and didn’t get the chance too. The door to Cole’s office opened. He strode out to stop and look at the both of us. The chill in Cole’s eyes was enough to freeze hell over, but I couldn’t back down just yet. If Cheryl was right, he was testing me to see how well I could handle pressure.

“Back to your department, Foster,” Cole snapped out and stalked off in the direction of the meeting room. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his message was received.

“Fuck,” Michael said, visibly paling. “I feel sorry for you dealing with that all day. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” I replied, feeling my stomach sink. “I’m going to need it.”

Luck was not on my side, though. Not in that damned meeting room with Cole and three other men in suits glaring at me when I said the wrong names and numbers.

“You’re dismissed from this meeting,” Cole told me, turning his back to me. “Get out of the room.”

I ducked out, barely holding my tears in. I could feel their eyes burning holes through my back as I hurried away to the safety of the bathroom again. Huddling in the stall, I sobbed into my hands while I tried desperately to regain control of myself. What was wrong with me? My internship was on the chopping block, but all I could do was feel wounded and cry that my other plans were ruined.

It wasn’t until 5:00 pm that Cheryl came to the bathroom to inform me that Cole wanted to talk to me privately in his office.

“Be careful,” Cheryl warned me, handing me a tissue. “Cole hates it when females cry. That’s just how it is with him.”

My stomach churned as I stepped into Cole’s dim office. The shades were drawn down over the windows as Cole glanced up from a few documents he was looking over. The stern expression on his face glued my feet to the floor as I let the door fall shut behind me.

“Lock it,” he said.

I reached behind me to lock the door. Before I could even try to explain anything, it was Cole who rose from his desk to walk up to me. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants as he looked down at me with an aloof expression.

“Those clients I lost today were big money for Crayton, Inc.,” he said, voice low. “You realize that, Violet? I thought you would be able to handle this position. You promised me that much.”

“I’m sorry,” I choked out, hands curling up into fists. “I can’t take you acting like a jerk to me every second of the past few days.”

“This is your job. I am your boss. That’s all it is, and if you can’t handle this, then maybe it’s a good idea for us to reconsider your internship here with me.”

“That’s not what I want! I just wanted to explain to you for the past three days what happened over the weekend. I wanted to apologize, but you never gave me the chance to explain anything. You shut me out before I could even explain that it wasn’t what you thought it was.”

Cole’s face darkened as he twisted away to walk over to the windows. It was his favorite spot, I realized over the past two weeks. He liked to stand there when he was brooding.

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” he said. “It’s none of my business. Michael is a fine young man. I wish the both of you luck in your relationship. I can let this relationship slide because I know the family Michael comes from. Your mother would like them. Your dad would too if I told him about the Fosters. Just promise me to keep your romance out of sight of my other employees. I don’t want to deal with the questions.”

Fury rose in me then. For days, he’d acted like a jealous ex-boyfriend, and he had the nerve to wish me the best. It was as though he thought he was doing me a favor by permitting me to be with someone else.

“I don’t need luck,” I said, fueled by the anger now brewing in me. “I need YOU! I need your cock. And no one else. Yes, that’s what I need.”

Cole’s spine stiffened visibly at those words. He turned sharply around to look me point blank in the eye.

“It’s not going to happen,” he snapped. “Forget it, Violet. I already told you that it wouldn’t happen, and I have a lot of reasons why we can’t be together.”

“I know that you want me,” I said. He turned away at that, proving my observations even more. “I know that you want me. All I need is one night. That’s all I need. That’s what I’ll take. No one will find out either if you’re so worried about it.”

“I can’t do that,” Cole said, gruffly. “You know that I can’t do it, Violet. It’ll ruin us both. I’m not a good man to be involved with.”

Boldened by the cracks I could see in his defense, I slowly slid my arms around his tight waist. He smelt heavenly, of fresh soap and cologne. I could feel those muscles in his back clench through the fabric of his shirt. His hands went to where mine were joined at the top of his stomach.

“I don’t think so,” I whispered, ignoring the way his fingers tried to pull my hands away. “I think you’re a good man who is punishing himself by resisting something that will make him feel good for once.”

“Violet--”

I didn’t heed the warning in Cole’s voice. Standing on tip toes, I pressed my lips against the back of his neck. Goosebumps erupted there. A stab of satisfaction went through me. The blood in my veins surged as a hazy and heart-pounding desire crashed over me.

Cole whirled around in my arms, breaking my hold on him. His hands were clenching my wrists to the point that it was almost painful, but I didn’t care. It was now or never time. I was going to kiss him, damn the consequences.

I leaned forward to press my lips against his own. Sparks went up my spine at the sensation of his mouth pressed up against my own, firm and warm. I could feel the resistance crumbling beneath my fingers as Cole’s hold lessened. I kissed him again with a breathy moan.

That’s when a groan escaped Cole’s lips. A groan of pleasure and defeat. I found myself whirled around to be pressed up against the glass windows with Cole’s mouth hard and hungry on mine.

Yes! I screamed inwardly in elation as Cole’s hands ran down the sides of my body, feeling every single curve. My stomach fluttered wildly. I couldn’t believe that this was happening after so long, after the past few days of shit. I never thought the day would end up the way it did, but there was a least one thing I was glad that I had done now, ever since I started working at Crayton, Inc.

At least, I thought with a pleased smile as Cole kissed me hard again, that I had continued to take the time to wax my legs and private area for his pleasure and enjoyment.