Lexi
It was never meant to go that far. He was never supposed to get on his knees in front of me. Ms. Jackie was late, and I didn’t know what to do. I should have backed away from him—I know I should have backed away, but he surprised me when he took his dick out. It took all my power not to lick my lips when I saw it. God, it was long, thick, and hard, and I wanted to touch it. I wanted to lick it, but then I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop. I wanted him to kiss me; wanted to taste his mouth. He’s teasing me. I’m teasing him. This is going to detonate soon, I can feel it.
When Ms. Jackie called, needing me to go away with a client, I was happy. I’ve missed getting dressed up and being shown off. Ethan hasn’t taken me out once and it’s starting to get to me a little. Being trapped inside is not the way I like to live my life. I was surprised when Ethan said yes to it. It looks like I’m not the only one that can’t say no to her.
Ethan asked me to come straight to his apartment when I land on Monday. I messaged him this morning, to let him know what time I would be there. He has a family dinner on Wednesday, which should be fun… Not. He messaged me a few times during the weekend, informing me of the plan for the week.
After parking my car in the parking garage, I take out my small suitcase and head into the building.
“Hey, Joe.” I walk over to the desk to talk to him for a minute.
“Hi, Lexi. I’ve been talking to the wife about you, and she made a coffee cake for you.” He puts it on the counter.
“Aww, thanks, Joe,” I say, looking at the cake. “Did you have a nice weekend?”
“I did. The wife and I went to the beach with the grandkids. Mr. Knight seems a little on edge this morning.” Joe makes a weird looking face which makes me laugh.
“When is he ever not on edge?” I ask, still laughing as I walk over to the elevator.
“I like you, Lexi. Don’t let him push you around,” Joe shouts to me as the doors start shutting.
I don’t see Ethan as I walk through the door, but I can hear him yelling at someone. Putting my suitcase to the side, I walk into the kitchen to grab a handful of candy before heading to the spare bedroom. I’m in real need of a shower. I go to grab my suitcase, but stop when I feel Ethan’s hand on mine.
“Hello.” His smile is something that makes you feel special because you know he doesn’t let everyone see it. “I can take that for you,” he says as he takes the case from me. He looks tired today.
“I was just about to take a shower,” I say as I walk past him, putting some candy in my mouth.
Ethan puts the case on the bed. “Would you like some help?” There's the man that likes to tease me.
“I think I can manage, thank you.” Opening my case, I pull out my jeans and a tank top. Ethan stands behind me, not touching me, but still close enough that I can feel him moving. “Do we have plans for today?” I ask. I’m tired and want to sleep, but I would like to finally go out somewhere with him.
“Well, I thought we could do some cardio. With the amount you eat, I thought a workout might be good. Or we could go out to eat.” He grasps the zipper on the back of my dress.
“I would like to go out. Dress fancy or casual?” I ask as he slowly drags my zipper down.
“Casual.”
After he removes his hand, I turn to face him. “Thank you for helping me with my zipper,” I say as I walk past him on the way to the spare bathroom. “Casual smart, or jeans and tee?” I stop outside the bathroom and turn to face him.
“Jeans and a tee are fine,” he replies as he's pulling his phone out of his pocket. “This better be good news…” He walks out of the bedroom, distracted with his call.
Something must have happened while I was away, but how would I know? I’ve never asked him about work. Today, I’ll ask him about work, maybe get to know him a little.
***
Sitting outside, the waiter pours me some wine in my glass. Ethan ordered whiskey and I think about all the times I‘ve been with him. He always seems to be drinking. It makes me wonder if he has a drinking problem.
We have been here twenty minutes, and Ethan has not put his phone down once. As the waiter walks away, I snatch Ethan’s phone. “Am I not good company?” I ask, smirking at the funny look he gives me.
“You are, by far, the most beautiful company I’ve had in a long time, but—”
“But, nothing, Ethan. We’re out, so let’s talk.” Putting his phone in my bag, I continue. “How about we start with what's so important that you can't put your phone down?” The waiter drops off our food and I thank him without looking away from Ethan, who's sitting across from me with a smug smile on his face.
“Work isn’t going as I hoped, and my lawyers are idiots that can't do a job correctly without asking me everything first. I have no idea what I pay them for.” He takes a deep breath in and watches me.
I keep my gaze leveled on him. For the first time, I look at him without hatred or anger. I didn’t think that would happen, but I can see he’s a man who's stressed with work all the time.
“Okay, let’s not talk about work. We can talk about other things.” I grab a piece of bread from the basket on the table. “So, start talking, Mr. Knight.” I sit back and study him. I like that he’s never clean shaven. The rough look suits him. His chestnut colored hair seems to be getting a little longer as well. It’s all pushed over to the left side of his face. His best feature is his big blue eyes.
I look at my bag as Ethan’s phone rings for the fifth time. Shaking my head, I pass him the phone. Someone really wants to talk to him.
He answers the phone. “You don’t get to call me anymore… I don’t give a shit what you want, don’t call me again.” He puts the phone down and starts eating his food. Looking up at the waiter, he orders himself another whiskey.
“Do you think drinking this much is a good idea?” I ask him. He stopped talking altogether since hanging up. I thought I might get the playful Ethan for lunch, but it looks like whoever was on the phone put an end to that hope.
Ethan looks up at me and just stares for a moment. “Did you enjoy your weekend?” he asks.
“I did, thank you. I did some shopping, then we went to an event,” I tell him, sipping on my wine. I feel a cold breeze hit the back of my neck, and the old feeling of fear runs through me. I look around the restaurant and to the street to see if I can see anyone. If I can see him.
“Hey, you okay?” Ethan asks, bringing my attention back to him.
“Yeah, so what did you do this weekend?” I ask, putting the feeling to the side. I look at my phone as it beeps.
Ms. Jackie– We need to talk.
Lexi– I’m at lunch with Ethan.
Ms. Jackie– Come to the office after.
Lexi– Okay.
“I have to meet Ms. Jackie after lunch,” I say, looking at my phone. I still have a bad feeling. Looking around again, I just know he’s nearby. I eat my food a little quicker than before. “Can I just go straight from here?” I ask him.
Ethan stays quiet and I look up at him to see him staring at me. His eyes move to my lips, then down to my neck and he holds his gaze there for a moment. “I can take you,” he says, bringing his eyes back to mine. I stare into his eyes for a moment and wonder what he's thinking. “Now eat.” Please.
The rest of the lunch was quiet between us—not even any small talk. Ethan's phone was ringing non-stop, and he answered every single call. He was angry at most of them, except for someone named Travis.
***
Ethan dropped me off at the office and told me to call him when I was ready to go back to his place. He said he has something special planned for me, and it was in a tone which had me smiling as I walked away from him.
“Look who it is,” Helen says, kissing me on the cheek.
“I know, I’ve missed you guys.” It’s true, I’ve missed our morning chats and gossiping about our clients. “Where have you been?”
“I’m going to Italy for a week.” She claps her hands together, and I’m so jealous of her.
“Oh my God, that’s amazing,” I say, and even I can hear the jealousy in my voice. “I want pictures—a lot of pictures.”
I look at Ms. Jackie waving me into her office. Giving Helen a kiss on the cheek, I walk over to Ms. Jackie. Taking a seat, I wait for her to talk to me.
“How’s Ethan?” she asks.
“He’s an asshole.” I smile at her.
“Is your home security system—”
“He’s here, isn’t he?” I ask, and my body quakes. I left my house to escape him. I left my house to hide.
“I don’t know for sure yet, so I just want to make sure that you're safe,” Ms. Jackie says as I look at my beeping phone.
Dan– I’m in town tomorrow, coffee?
Lexi– You bet.
“Everything is the same,” I tell her, throwing my phone in my bag. “I just…” I wipe the tear from my cheek. Is this tear of sadness? No, this tear is from fear. “I thought I could finally live… I didn’t have to look over my shoulder,” I say, my voice shaky.
“Do you want—”
“No, the point of not having clients where we live is so we can keep things to ourselves. You broke your rule, and now I’m screwed. He doesn’t need to know everything about me,” I shout. I’ve never yelled at Ms. Jackie before, but I’m scared, and now I have to hide again. Problem is, Ethan isn’t going to let that happen. “I’m sorry.” I shake my head and cry.
Ms. Jackie walks over to me. “You message me when you leave, you message me when you get back to Ethan’s, or to your house. Wherever you are or go, you keep me in the loop!” She cups my face and gives me a look full of love and worry. “You’re the closest thing I have to a daughter and I'll look after you, always,” she tells me.
Giving her a nod, I take a long deep breath to calm myself. “He’s taking me to his mom’s house for a family dinner on Wednesday. Should be interesting.” I smile at her. I won’t let him win. I can’t let him win. I can’t worry about what might happen. I need to keep myself busy. I need to stay focused.
“Yes, I'll be there. Finally get to see my girl at work.” She smiles at me, then sits in the chair next to me.
“Now that makes me nervous.” I give her a small laugh. “You will able to see how intense that man is.” Taking my phone out, I send Ethan a message asking him to pick me up. “He's playing games with me, and you will get to see it for yourself.” I stand up and give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Don’t forget to message me.” Walking out with me, she gives my arm a pat as she passes.
I see Ethan’s car pull up outside, and I turn and smile at Ms. Jackie. Seeing me walking toward the car, Ethan steps out and opens the door for me.
Why does a man look ten times sexier with their shirt sleeves rolled up to their elbows? Licking my lips, I look at him from the corner of my eye.
“Put your hair up.” Please. Taking the clip out of my bag I put it up in a messy bun, letting some strands of hair hang loose. “I have some meetings. What would you like to do while you're waiting for me?”
“Can you take me home, please?” I don’t see the point of staying at his place while he's in meetings. “Let me know when you want me to come over,” I tell him. This works out better for me. I can check my house over to make sure everything is as it should be and that my security system is still working right.
“I think it'll be late, so just come over for breakfast,” he says.
I’ll message Dan, telling him that instead of tomorrow, I’ll wait and meet him for coffee on Wednesday before I go for dinner with Ethan and his family. “Okay, I hope your meeting goes well,” I say.
He didn’t speak to me for the rest of the time we are in the car. His phone never stopped ringing but he told them all he would call them back. The more time I spend with him, the more I understand why he drinks the way he does. The amount of work he does would drive anyone to alcoholism.
“Goodbye, Ethan. I’ll see you in the morning,” I say to him after he walks me to my front door. “I would ask you to come in, but you have calls to make and I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m not that type of girl,” I say. Giving him a wink, I close the door behind me.