Chapter Three
Amber
As much as I would have liked to hide in my apartment all day, I couldn’t. I had to go to work. Unlike the Martin family, I hadn’t been born into wealth. I had to work every day to keep a roof over my head. I had to be a grown-up.
“Suck it up, Amber. He was never yours. You can’t lose what you never had,” I reminded myself as I walked through the doors of the tall building that was home to Martin Inc.
“Good morning,” I greeted the various staff members as I headed for my cubicle.
“You look a lot better this morning,” one of the girls said.
I nodded. “I feel better. A little queasy, but I’ll be okay.”
I dreaded the moment I had to face William. I didn’t have to wait long. He wasn’t three minutes behind me.
“Hey,” he said, looking at me with concern.
“Good morning,” I said coolly.
“You okay? You didn’t say good-bye yesterday.”
“Yes, fine. I had a touch of the flu. I’m fine now.”
“I’d like a minute when you have some free time,” he said casually.
I looked him in the eye. “I’m busy this morning. Maybe this afternoon.”
He looked at me with shock. I never told him no. That had clearly been the problem. I should have kept telling him no. Instead, I had caved to his advances, and now I was regretting it.
“I have to make a phone call. Can you bring me a cup of coffee?” he asked politely.
I gritted my teeth. He only asked me to bring him coffee when he wanted some alone time. I considered saying no, but the other girls were listening. He was my boss, and fetching him coffee was something I usually did. It wasn’t exactly in my job description, but I had never minded in the past.
“Of course. I’ll bring it right in,” I said with a bright smile.
I turned and headed down the hall to the fancy break room with a variety of upscale coffees to choose from and several Keurigs. I was not happy with the Martin men right now, but they did treat their employees well. Of course, he benefited from the gourmet coffee as well.
I made the coffee and reluctantly carried it into his office.
“Close the door,” he ordered.
I hesitated but did as he asked. I didn’t exactly want the entire office to know I had been dumb enough to sleep with the boss.
“What do you need?” I asked.
“I think I may have given you the wrong idea.”
I glared at him. The hot coffee was in my hand.
“It’s fine.”
He reached out to touch me, and I flinched. “Don’t,” I warned him.
“Amber, this doesn’t mean what you think,” he said softly.
My mouth dropped open. He was a pig. How could I have ever thought he was a decent human being? Without thinking twice, I dumped the coffee in his lap. He yelled and shot out of the chair.
“Oops. I’m so sorry,” I lied.
“Amber,” he said, growling.
I put the coffee cup on his desk and left. I dared him to explain that. Explain why his faithful assistant of two years had dumped coffee in his lap.
I went back to work at my desk, doing my best to ignore the chatter around the office. Everyone was talking about the engagement and how gorgeous Tiffany was. I ignored it. She was pretty, but she wasn’t right for him. For one, she was an idiot and everything I wasn’t. I knew how hot I could make him. How could a man who had been so turned on for me ever get excited about Tiffany?
It was as if thinking about her conjured her. She breezed down the wide path that led to our cubicles and William’s office. Everyone stopped working and stared at her.
“Hi,” she said to me in her fake sweet voice.
I wanted to punch her in the throat. I knew it was wrong. I didn’t care. She was undeserving. The only reason William was marrying her was because of her name and how much money she had. I knew it wasn’t a match made in heaven.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Is William available? I wanted to surprise him and take him to lunch,” she said with a thousand-watt smile that nearly blinded me.
“Go right in,” I said with a smile.
She spun around and let herself into his office.
“I’m headed to lunch,” I grumbled and grabbed my purse.
I was meeting my mom and Courtney for lunch. They both knew about my affair with William. I needed to tell them what had happened.
When I walked into the diner my mom and dad owned, Courtney was already there, sucking down a chocolate milkshake.
“I need one, too,” I said, letting out a big sigh.
“Uh-oh. What happened?” my mom asked.
“I’ll tell you, but I need chocolate first.”
My mom quickly made the shake and then slid into the booth beside Courtney. I took a deep breath and unburdened my soul.
Courtney was shaking her head. My mom reached out and put her hand over mine.
“You can do so much better than him,” Courtney said.
I laughed. “Yeah, because there are so many gorgeous billionaires out there waiting for me.”
“It isn’t always about money,” my mother scolded. “Money doesn’t make you happy. Love does, and he doesn’t love you.”
“I think he does,” I argued.
“If he loved you, he would ask you to marry him and not this other woman,” my mother pointed out.
“It’s not that easy. His family is putting pressure on him to marry the right girl.”
Courtney rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the Dark Ages. Any man that has a pair of balls can tell his parents to suck it up and marry the woman he really loves. He’s trash. You don’t need him.”
I sighed. “Regardless, there is no way I can keep working there.”
“It will be awkward. You should look for another job. He doesn’t deserve to have you,” my mom said.
I smiled. “I agree with you on that. I can’t work for him and see that woman prancing around all the time.”
“You can find a new job, maybe even a better one,” Courtney agreed.
I sighed, thinking about what could have been. “He was so perfect. We were so happy.”
My mom smiled. “There are other men.”
I shook my head. “Not like him. He was everything I could have asked for. He was good-looking, kind, sweet, and doted on me like I was his princess. And did I mention he is really handsome?”
Courtney laughed. “I think you mentioned that once or twice.”
I thought about the time he had taken me to a black-tie event in New York. We had taken the company’s private jet. He had looked so good in a tux. I had felt so special wearing my borrowed diamonds and gorgeous dress.
“We literally danced the night away,” I mused aloud.
“What?” Courtney asked.
I told them about the trip. “He was so graceful, so chivalrous. We danced and danced. He was perfectly content to hold me close. I can’t explain it, but it felt so right. He is perfect in every way,” I said with a sigh.
“There is so much more than looks and money, Amber,” my mom said in her typical mother voice.
“I know, and he was so much more. You guys never got to meet him. He’s a really good guy. He’s smart and funny and actually likes talking.”
Courtney crossed her arms. “We’ll find you a new man, one who won’t be afraid to take you home to meet the parents. I’m sorry, hon, but it sounds like William values his money more than you. You don’t need that.”
I let out another long sigh. “I don’t know if it’s only the money he values. I think it’s his family. I couldn’t ask him to give up his family and money for me.”
My mother looked at me. “Amber, any family that makes that kind of ultimatum is not worth being a part of. There are plenty of men out there, literally millions. Dallas is teeming with gorgeous, young men who would treat you like a queen. Don’t let this one guy ruin your hopes for finding true love.”
I nodded, not sure I believed that. I couldn’t imagine ever finding a man who came close to measuring up to William. He was everything I could have wanted. He told me how much he enjoyed spending time with me. The man doted on me. I knew he cared about me. We had never gotten to the point where we actually talked about our feelings. We never needed to. He enjoyed spending time with me, and I thought I had made it very clear I enjoyed being with him.
A sudden thought occurred to me. What if he didn’t know I loved him? I had to tell him. That would change everything. He probably assumed I didn’t want a real future with him. That wasn’t the case at all. I had been a fool for thinking I had time and could feel him out before I poured my heart out. I hadn’t told him, and now he was going to marry someone else.
I knew he would rather marry for love than convenience. I had to tell him before the whole engagement thing went too far. If I could tell him before it was officially announced in the papers, it would be much easier for him to break it off. Then, maybe down the road, we could announce our engagement. I smiled, thinking of becoming Mrs. William Martin. I could get used to that.
“Hello?” Courtney snapped her fingers in front of my face.
“What?” I asked, trying to pull my head back to the conversation and out of the nice fantasy I had conjured up.
“I asked if you were going to start looking for a new job.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I like my job, and I am good at it. I make good money. I’ll try to keep moving up in the company faster to get out of this position. I’m not going to let him ruin my future personally and professionally.”
My mom raised an eyebrow. “And what if his future wife finds out you two had a thing? She isn’t going to want you working there.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think he’ll tell her, and I know for a fact there aren’t any rumors about the two of us.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s going to be easy for you—and don’t you dare think about becoming his mistress,” my mom said, pointing her finger at me.
“I would never do that,” I stated firmly.
I had already made that clear with the coffee in his lap. I had made up my mind. I was going to tell him I loved him. Now I just had to find the right time to tell him. Scratch that. I couldn’t wait for the right time. That was what had gotten me into this mess. I needed to get him alone and put my heart on the line. I didn’t want to tell him at the office. Maybe I could call him and ask him to meet me for a drink.
I smiled. I had a plan.
“Oh no,” Courtney said. “She’s up to something.”
I chuckled. “I am not.”
My mom took one look at me and sighed. “Be careful, please.”
“I will, Mom. I promise.”
They didn’t look like they believed me, but we did manage to get through the rest of our lunch without bringing up the William subject again.