Chapter Seven
Kayla
I checked my phone on the way home from work and saw that he had texted me.
Nine, my place.
My brain buzzed with the thought of Oscar’s body, even though I was tired. It had been a long day at the office. At work, it was all business, and thoughts of us lying in bed together usually escaped my mind. It was only when I was away from him that the memories resurfaced.
We had fallen into a pattern now, he invited me to his house every alternate night. It had been going on for ten days and I had still not grown tired of him.
I arrived back at my apartment and stepped in for a quick shower. I dried my hair off with an old towel when I got out, patting my body down as I stood in front of the mirror. I remembered where he touched me, the grip of his hands on my hips when he pushed into me. He didn’t shy away from looking into my eyes as he entered me, and the very thought of it made me get wet.
He was a man like any other, I tried to remind myself, but I could feel myself growing excited now that I knew I was going to see him soon.
It was always the same. He opened the door for me, I entered and then we either fucked in the living room or the bedroom. We spoke very little, I asked him no questions and he had stopped offering me drinks or dinner. Within an hour I was out of his house and on my way back home. Then I’d spend the night in bed, trying to sleep with a smile on my face. Hungry and satisfied and looking forward to seeing him the next day at work.
I put on a dress, the same black leather one he seemed to like peeling off my body. I tied my hair up tonight, tightly in a neat bun behind my head. I wanted to feel the swoosh of my locks cascade down when he undid it.
I made sure I was on time.
I rang the bell outside his door and instead of being greeted immediately, my eyebrows furrowed when I realized I had been waiting longer than usual. What was taking him so long? The door cracked open and Oscar stood before me, the look on his face distracted. He wasn’t smiling this time.
“Kayla…,” he began but was interrupted by a woman’s voice from behind him.
“Who is it, honey?” the woman asked and then I heard the sound of heels clicking behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and her face appeared. A beautiful middle aged woman, with Oscar’s blue eyes and curly blonde hair.
“Hello, there,” she said to me, eyeing me from head to toe. I felt naked under her gaze. My face must have displayed the confusion and embarrassment I was feeling because she suddenly smiled and extended her hand to me.
“I’m Janet, Oscar’s mother,” she said, in a warm understanding voice.
“Kayla Edwards,” I said, shaking her hand. I hoped I didn’t come across as nervous as I actually was.
“Kayla Edwards…you work at the office, don’t you? My husband mentions your name all the time,” she said, sidestepping Oscar as she stood in front of me. She was wearing a pair of cream trousers and a black ruffled blouse. Her hair was neatly styled into a side chignon and she had expensive jewels on her neck and dangling from her ears.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Mr. Connell’s PA,” I said, exchanging a look with Oscar. I could see that Janet was studying me closely, probably wondering what I was doing at her son’s apartment at this time of the night, and dressed like this.
“Oh well, come in then. We were just about to sit down for dinner. Maria has been very kind and cooked us up something.” Janet held the door open and I had no other choice but to follow her in. I avoided looking at Oscar, feeling the heat climb up the back of my neck.
“Mother, I’m sure Kayla has plans. Don’t force her to stay,” I heard Oscar say, but we had already walked into the living room, where Oscar’s father, Richard Connell was sitting.
“Oh, nonsense honey. Kayla will stay,” Janet said, walking over to her husband. Richard Connell stared at me, a slight look of surprise coloring his face.
“Good evening Mr. Connell,” I said. His face broke into a smile.
“How many times do I have to tell you, Kayla, stop working so hard. I hope Oscar isn’t pushing you too much,” he said, looking at his son as he entered the living room.
“Not at all Mr. Connell, I was just here to pick up a report and then I’ll be on my way,” I said, trying to smile as genuinely as possible.
“I’ll get that for you right away,” Oscar said and our eyes met. He looked truly apologetic, and I looked away from him.
“Oscar, Kayla should stay for dinner. It’s the least we can do. I apologize on my son’s behalf for making you come all the way for a piece of paper at this time of the night,” Janet interrupted him and turned to look at me, with kindly welcoming eyes.
“Yes, of course, Kayla, you have to stay,” Richard said and stood up from the couch.
“Now, Oscar, pour Kayla a glass of wine and the two of you join us in the dining room. Richard, come with me,” Janet said, leading her husband away.
Oscar and I stood staring at each other in silence till we heard the scraping of chairs in the dining room, telling us that they had sat down.
“I apologize, Kayla. They surprised me by showing up here.” Oscar took a few long strides towards me. I licked my lips and looked up at him. My heart was still racing. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this embarrassed.
His parents weren’t stupid, especially Janet wasn’t. The amount of cleavage my dress was revealing made it pretty clear why I was here. They were just being polite. I felt dirty and disgusted with myself. How could I have let this happen? My purpose with this deal was to use and throw away Oscar, not to make a fool of myself. Did they think I was stalking their son? That he was buying my body? Would they fire me from my job tomorrow morning?
“I have to go, I can’t stay,” I said in a whisper as he came closer to me.
“They’re sitting at the table, expecting you to join us for dinner. You can’t just leave now,” he said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He looked gorgeous, more casual than I had seen him before. A polo shirt and simple blue jeans. I wanted to see him naked, of course, feel those hands on my body, but my feelings of shame overrode my desire for him.
“I can’t sit there and pretend to eat, Sir,” I said, emphasizing the last word, reminding him of what our relationship truly was.
“Just pretend it’s a work dinner. My father used to be your boss, I’m sure you wouldn’t have been uncomfortable being invited to dinner with his family,” Oscar said, looking deep into my eyes.
“I can’t. Not dressed like this, not when they’ve just caught me out,” I said, intertwining my fingers and pulling them apart again. My shame was building up, I hoped I wouldn’t break into tears.
“Kayla, it’ll be fine. They’re not thinking anything of this. I know my parents.” His voice was soft and gentle, showing me a different side of himself. But I was grounded in my resolve. I wasn’t going to spend time with him in this kind of social setting. I had to avoid it at all costs.
“I don’t care what you think is going on. I can’t do it. This wasn’t a part of the deal so you can’t force me to do it,” I hissed at him through gritted teeth. His eyes widened and he looked like he was shocked that I would ever speak to him this way.
“I’m not forcing you to do anything, Kayla. They’re waiting for us to join them for dinner, that’s all,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest. He looked more sexy than ever and I wanted to pounce on him, rip his clothes apart and devour him.
“It’s not my problem, Sir. They are your parents. You deal with them the best way you can,” I snapped at him and brushed past him. He didn’t call out to me or follow me to the door.
I softly shut the door behind me and then I ran. Down the stairs, instead of taking the elevator and out of the front doors till the fresh night air gushed into my lungs.
I don’t know what I was running away from. Oscar might have been right. They might not have thought anything of it. But I couldn’t bear to handle the thought of what might happen if they did. What if I had walked into the same trap as my mother did? What if I was being judged for sleeping with my boss? What if I lost my job?
I walked all the way back home. It took me over an hour. I had kicked my heels off and walked in silence. It gave me time to think. Slowly, I was beginning to feel bad. I had abandoned Oscar in a sticky situation, left him to deal with the awkwardness of the circumstances. But the justification was that I did it to save my skin.
My emotions wobbled. One moment I was feeling sorry for my actions, the next I was trying to justify them. He deserved it. Men deserved it. He should have felt as uncomfortable as I was. But he was feeling uncomfortable, I had seen it in his eyes when he looked at me. Confident, suave, successful and handsome Oscar Connell, was uncomfortable and upset at what I was going through. He wanted to save my face in front of his parents. I hadn’t expected him to care. What I had expected from him was to throw me out of his house. But he didn’t, he was trying to convince me to stay for dinner. Why would he do that?
I pushed open the door of my apartment and sat in my tight leather dress on the couch in the dark. I felt lonely, and I wished Oscar was here with me.
I couldn’t claim I knew him. I knew nothing about his childhood, his likes and dislikes, his bad habits, how he liked his eggs or if he ever had any pets. What I did know was that he was strong, that he held me like he was afraid I was going to fall, that he felt responsible for my reputation, that he respected his parents, that he wanted to save his company from downfall, that he was scared and new to the business and that a lot of what the world saw of Oscar Connell was just a facade.
But I didn’t want to know anything else about him. That was not a part of the plan. The plan was going smoothly till I started thinking about him when he wasn’t there. I knew that he was going to stick to the contract; because I knew Oscar Connell kept his word.