His Brother’s Wife

 

Blurb:

Jason Banks always gets what he wants. 

And this time, he wants his brother’s wife. 

I knew it the first time I looked at those delicious curves, 

Until she decided to walk down the aisle with my brother. 

I knew it from the look she gives me, 

That she wants to submit…give in to what I want. 

But she’s a good girl, plays by the rules. 

I? I say f*ck the rules! 

The only rule I wanna play by is, ‘If you love someone, love HARD. Fight HARDER’. 

Tiffany Baby, Care to bend down on your knees…for me? 

Chapter 1

Jason

The last place I wanted to be was here, sitting at this bar, waiting for my brother to come in, but it was our routine and I wasn’t about to make trouble between us—well, at least not more trouble than there already was. I was starting to feel like working for the family business had gone a completely different way than I’d anticipated. My father had created this media company with just the pennies in his and my mom’s pockets. Through the years and with some serious hard work, Banks Media had become a force in the business. We spanned seven countries and pretty much took over the media relations sector of journalism. Of course, it was destined for my brother Jordan and I to work at the company and then eventually run it together. On a business level, Jordan and I saw eye to eye, so running a company with him wasn’t what I was worried about. It was his private life that had come into question on a daily basis.

I saw the man every single day, including weekends when we went to our parents for events and cookouts. Spending that much time with my brother was a bit overwhelming in nature, especially when he had become the biggest douchebag I ever met. I was no saint, by any means, and never really had a steady relationship with any woman, but I was upfront and honest about it. He dragged his wife, Tiffany, through the mud and back. Jordan had fallen for Tiffany before they had ever spoken a word, not that I could blame him with her gorgeous blond hair, green eyes, and a body that belonged in a pinup ad, but it wasn’t until his father hired her on that he really got close to her. Everyone was ecstatic when they announced their engagement, she was one of the sweetest girls I’d ever come across, and Jordan actually seemed like he was settling down and becoming more patient and caring. Well, that lasted an entire three months, and now, we had to deal with this divorce that literally came out of nowhere.

The door swung open behind me, and Jordan’s smug laugh rang out as he greeted the bartender before slapping me hard on the shoulder. He pulled up a stool next to me and ordered a beer, a maniacal grin on his face. It was late, I was tired, and the last thing I wanted was to listen to him gloat about his impending divorce. I hoped he was worn out from the day, but that was too much to wish for.

“It’s almost over,” he chuckled. “On Monday, we will officially not be married any longer. Thank God, I have some good lawyers.”

“You mean dad had some good lawyers,” I grumbled, scooting his hand off my shoulder. It looked like I wasn’t going to be very good at holding back my opinion.

“What’s up with you? You seem a bit more tense than usual,” he said looking over at me. “And that’s saying a lot for you.”

“Just tell me,” I said turning quickly toward him. “Why the fuck would you give up on this girl after chasing her for so long?”

“She can’t have kids,” he said smugly. “I didn’t sign up for that shit.”

“You’re a fucking dick,” I said nodding to the bartender for my tab.

“How?” He turned to me angrily. “When I wanted a kid, to carry on this legacy because God knows you don’t have any prospects, she wouldn’t be able to give me that. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, so how is our marriage supposed to even work? What’s the fucking point of it?”

“So, what? You just said the vows and didn’t think about what they really meant? You know there's more than one way to have a child, dickhead. You could adopt. There are thousands of children out there who need a good home.” I threw cash down on the bar and stood up, drinking the last gulp of my beer.

“What the fuck does it matter to you? Why are you so bent out of shape? Do me a favor, Jason,” he said, glaring, “shut the hell up and stay out of my damn business.”

“You never deserved that girl anyway,” I said grabbing my jacket and walking toward the bathroom.

My brother was such a dick, and here I was, giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking she had cheated on him or something. But no, he’s broken up a home, ended a marriage, and broken a girl’s heart over something she had zero control over. I really felt for Tiffany. She didn’t deserve any of this. He was so stupid for throwing away a life with this girl. She would have done anything for him, and she’d kept him in line. Maybe that’s what it really was. He didn’t like someone else being in control, not that she was in control of this situation either. She couldn’t have kids. It was probably devastating for her to find out, and then, she goes to her husband, who is supposed to be caring and supportive, and he turns his back on her. I suddenly felt embarrassed that cocksucker was my brother.

I washed my hands and walked out of the bathroom, stopping suddenly at the sight of Rose, the girl I had been messing around with for months. She was a hot little number and instantly all my cares flew right out the window. There was nothing better than getting some frustrations out through some tight ass and a little playtime. She had no misconceptions, and in reality, I was pretty sure she didn’t want to be any part of our fucked up family.

“Hey there,” she said, grabbing me by the shirt and yanking me forward. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah? What for?”

She bit her lip and looked up at me with her dark brown eyes. I chuckled at her lack of subtlety and looked around quickly as she reached down and cupped my balls. I pressed my hand to the wall behind her head and leaned in, dipping my tongue between her soft, poised lips.

“Where are we going this time?”

She giggled and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me into an old stock room in the back. It was obvious no one ever came into this place, and it was the perfect scenery for our normal debauchery. She clicked the lock closed and turned to me with trouble written on her face. She grinned, biting her lower lip and pulling her shirt over her head. I put my hands up chuckling at how forward she always was. She reached back and undid her bra, letting her big, round tits bounce all over the place. She pulled my shirt from my pants and dropped down on her knees, unbuckling them and yanking them down to my ankles. I leaned back against the dusty pillar and put my arms over my head, waiting for her lips. She pulled my boxers down and grabbed my shaft as it bounced free from the fabric. This girl had me going before she ever took her shirt off, but then again, I knew what she could do with those lips and those hips.

She wasted no time going straight to work, gliding her mouth over the tip of my cock and down my hard shaft. I groaned at the feeling of her tongue whipping wildly around my erection and looked down at her bright red hair as it bobbed back and forth. She slowly reached up and massaged my balls while sliding her head all the way down, taking the entirety of my cock into her throat. She pressed down hard, her lips touching the base, and I could feel her sucking at the back of her throat. She was so fucking hot, and to make it even hotter, she had a tongue piercing, leftover fashion from ten years ago. The soft gel ball rolled along my shaft and pressed right underneath the head of my cock, sending waves of pleasure through my body. I groaned as my hips moved forward, meeting her mouth and then pulling back. I grabbed onto her red hair and shoved her down, watching a smile curl at the edge of her lips. Her eyes gazed up at me, watering and wild as I continued to push my hips toward her face, fucking her mouth hard. She reached her hands up and groped her breasts, bouncing them up and down as I pleasured myself with her mouth. She spread her legs apart and reached up under her skirt, rubbing her clit, rolling her eyes, and moaning with my cock in her mouth. I could feel the vibrations of her voice against my shaft, and immediately, all I wanted to do was fuck the hell out of her.

My eyes moved around the dusty old room looking for a good place to bend her over. Finally, my eyes came to rest on an old oak desk in the corner. I smiled lecherously as I pulled her head back and off my cock. I motioned to the desk and she laughed, not seeing me reach down and grab her by the waist. I pulled her to her feet and turned her around, shoving her toward the desk. I pushed her down over top and flipped up her skirt, happy to find she wasn’t wearing any panties. She looked back and giggled as I shoved three fingers into her pussy and leaned forward over top of her. I moved them in and out fast and watched as she groaned loudly.

“I’m going to fuck the hell out of you,” I whispered into her ear.

“What the fuck are you waiting for?” she moaned.

I smiled, pulling my fingers out of her and grabbing a condom out of my back pocket of my pants. I ripped it open and threw the package to the side, pulling the condom down over my cock. It twitched and pulsated, waiting for her soft, wet pussy. I grabbed her by the hips and slowly slid my shaft through her juices. She reached forward and grabbed the edge of the desk, spreading her feet apart and bracing herself. I teased her at first, going slowly in and out, feeling every ripple of her wet, soaking pussy. She groaned and pushed her hips back, reaching for more.

“Harder,” she pleaded.

I widened my stance and grabbed her by the hips, the anger from my brother earlier still surging through my chest. Instantly, I thrust forward as hard as I could, driving my cock deep inside of her. She screamed out, lifting her hand to her mouth to stifle the sounds from the bar outside the door. I closed my eyes and started to pound her deep and fast, feeling her tight ass in my hands. I slapped her cheek and listened as she moaned over and over to the rhythm of my thrusts. Her pussy grew wetter and wetter, and I knew she wasn’t far from coming all over me. I leaned forward and pushed my hips short and fast into her pussy, wrapping my arm around her waist and giving it to her real good. As my thrusts shortened but grew in intensity, I could feel her body lurch, and she screamed out, throwing her head back, reaching her peak. Her warm juices flowed steadily over my shaft, and I stood up, took hold and fucked her as hard and fast as I could until I felt my raging cock grow even larger. I leaned over and grabbed the other side of the desk and pushed up on my toes, lunging deep inside of her. I took in a deep breath and let my cock explode, ripples of pleasure surging through my entire body.

As my orgasm began to recede and my hips stilled from the movement, I could hear her giggling under her breath. I pulled out and slapped her ass, smiling as she turned around. She leaned back on the desk and crossed her legs.

“What got into you?”

“Just a little family quarrel,” I said, zipping my pants.

Chapter 2

Tiffany

Three months, that’s how long my marriage managed to last. Every other couple in the world was still having sex three times a day, snuggling in the honeymoon period of their relationship. But me? I was sitting in a meeting room at the courthouse, waiting to finalize my divorce. I still couldn’t wrap my hands around how I got here. A couple years ago, I was beaming, being hired by the hottest media company in the world, working my way up quickly to supervisor of the management department, and falling in love with Jordan Banks, the most eligible bachelor in New York. It was like my life had turned into a fairytale, something definitely different from my life growing up. I was born and raised in New York, but my parents had been junkies, and they did nothing but steal to get high and leave me and my brother to fend for ourselves. My brother pushed me to be better than that, showed me every single negative thing about their lifestyle, and made sure I got good grades in high school. When I graduated second in my class, I was offered a full ride to NYU, and though I wanted to get away from the city and all its bad memories, I couldn’t afford not to go to NYU. So, I stayed, working through college so I didn’t have to live with my parents. My brother joined the Army and shipped off immediately, after making sure I was safe and secure.

After that, it was like one amazing thing after the other. I kicked ass in school, I had amazing friends, I was offered the internship that would eventually turn into the career at Banks, and I, in my Senior year, met Jordan. He was so sweet and loving and was absolutely gorgeous on top of it. He had told me he had a crush on me since Freshman year, and I couldn’t believe the son and heir of Banks Media Corp wanted me to be his girlfriend. Of course, I jumped at the chance, what girl wouldn’t? After a few months, I realized I had fallen in love with him. His ambition and charm were intoxicating, and his family was amazing. His parents, Lily and John, took me into the family immediately, and for the first time in my life, I got to experience what a real family was like. We had Thanksgiving dinners, weekends at their estate, Christmas morning presents, and everything else. In a way, I didn’t just fall in love with Jordan, I fell in love with his entire life. That made all of this so much more difficult. Not only was I mourning the end of my marriage, but I was also mourning the loss of an entire family as well, all because of something I couldn’t help.

I guess I should have seen the signs when a month into our marriage, Jordan was hounding me about getting pregnant, but in my love haze, I just thought it was him wanting a family with me. So, I agreed and set an appointment to have a full work up done at the doctors to make sure I was physically ready to carry a child. I remember not feeling nervous at all as the doctor came back into the room, a somber look on her face. She showed me pictures, spouted off numbers, gave me possible treatments, but in the end, all I could hear were my dreams of a family slipping down the drain. Apparently, I had some rare condition that made getting pregnant almost impossible. Everything stopped dead in its tracks, and I rode back to our home in silence, just wanting Jordan’s arms wrapped around me. Little did I know, that would not be his reaction. Instead, he lashed out, screaming that I had tricked him into a childless marriage, that I couldn’t give him what he wanted, that I was a failure and less of a woman.

He moved out that night, packing up to stay at his apartment in the city. I sat quietly in shock in my living room, watching the flames of the fire trickle down to nothing, just like our relationship had done in the blink of an eye. The next week was like a dream, where I was floating in and out of emotional states, trying to get a handle on my life. Just two days after that, I received the divorce papers, which were embarrassingly delivered to my office instead of our home. I signed for the papers, looking up to see Jordan scowling at me from the corner. Since then, it’s been nothing but hell, and though I was completely heartbroken that the man I loved ditched me over something I couldn’t control, I just really wanted everything to be over. I looked up at the clock and sighed. Jordan was late as usual. The silence in the room was deafening, and his lawyer looked up at me with a half-smile. I focused on keeping it together, not breaking down, and not letting him see any more tears from me. He didn’t deserve to bask in my pain, and I realized I didn’t even recognize the man who wanted to end our marriage. I wanted to go home and be alone, where I could start to reassemble my life and get back to normal, whatever that was.

The sound of the clock ticking on the wall was echoing through my brain. Where the hell was he? He was the one who wanted this divorce in the first place. Why he couldn’t be here on time was beyond me. Technically, he wanted an annulment, and I wasn’t sure what the difference was. It didn’t matter to me what the title was. All it boiled down to was that I wasn’t the girl he wanted because I couldn’t give him children. I felt like the King’s wife, having been found sterile, banished to the towers to live her life out in shame.

“We’ve waited long enough,” my attorney said. “I think we should just go ahead and move forward.”

“Agreed,” the other attorney replied.

Just then, the door opened and in sauntered Jordan, no hurry or worry on his face at all. I shook my head at his arrogance and placed my hands in my lap. I didn’t want to even look at him, and I realized quickly how anger toward him had turned him completely undesirable to me. Besides, I knew he wasn’t out there mourning the loss of his marriage. He was a playboy through and through, and he had probably started sleeping around before I even got the papers. I grimaced at the thought of being married to a man like that.

“Sorry I was late,” he said arrogantly. “I had a meeting.”

“A meeting you didn’t need to go to,” I replied. He had forgotten I was the supervisor of his floor.

I kept my eyes glued on the table in front of me, not wanting to look at him for even a second. I could feel his eyes darting back and forth across the room as he, too, tried to avoid all eye contact with me. It was horribly awkward and painful to sit through, especially when, three months before, we were gazing into each other’s eyes and committing our lives to one another. I shook my head, thinking about our wedding day, wondering what had happened to make the sweet and kind man I had married turn into an obnoxious primidone with no heart. Then again, maybe it was all for show. Maybe he was never that kind loving man I thought I knew, and after getting married, he realized it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I had heard stories about Jordan before we started dating, but his personality and those stories never seemed to match up. I shrugged them off as nothing more than gossip or jealousy. Now, though, looking back and comparing the stories to this stranger sitting across from me, it all made perfect sense. He was a coward, and I couldn’t believe I’d fallen so hard for his ridiculous lies. There was no way you could love someone the way he said he loved me and then dump them on their ass the next day as if they never meant anything to you. It was cruel and harsh, and I was tired of being treated with no respect.

“Alright,” his lawyer began. “Both parties have agreed this marriage has reached its finality. In regard to their personal belongings, seeing as the couple was married three months prior, they have agreed to the following terms: The house in the Greek District, purchased by Ms. Wells prior to their marriage, will stay in her possession, including all items minus Mr. Bank’s personal effects. The apartment in Manhattan, purchased by Mr. Banks prior to marriage, will stay in his possession, including all items minus Ms. Well’s personal effects. Each will continue to possess their personal vehicles purchased before the marriage. In regard to the joint bank account started two and half months ago, Mr. Bank’s has relinquished all rights, and the money has been signed over in the form of a cashier’s check to Ms. Wells.”

The attorney slid an envelope across the table, and I put my hand over it, shutting my eyes, and trying to remind myself to keep it together. I bet giving me that bank account made him feel good, like he had done the right thing. All twenty-two thousand dollars of it, a price he found fair for putting me through so much grief and agony. I didn’t want the damn money that had been put in there to start a fund for our child’s education, the child we would never have. It was almost like he was taking a jab at me for not being able to have children. I grasped my hand around the envelope and slid it into my purse.

“If all parties are in agreeance,” the attorney continued. “Ms. Wells, you need to initial in these three spots and sign at the bottom. Mr. Banks, you will do the same.”

I clutched the pen tightly as I scribbled my name through the legal document. As he pulled the papers toward him, I could hear the tip of the pen scratch across the paper. With every curve of his name, my heart sunk lower and lower, until the tears were burning at the corners of my eyes.

“Well, if that is all,” my attorney said.

“That was easy,” Jordan said in a jovial tone.

I slammed my hands on the desk and shoved the chair back behind me, looking up and staring deeply into his eyes. He looked taken back, almost scared for a moment, but he wasn’t worth the extra breath to explain what he’d done to me. I turned and walked from the room before he could even stand. I sped through the courthouse, tears beginning to blind me as I pushed out onto the sidewalk and jogged toward the garage where my car was parked. Fumbling with my keys, I dropped them twice before finally getting the car open. As soon as the door slammed shut, I grabbed the steering wheel and let my resolve release. Tears dampened my face as the pain in my chest plummeted to my belly. That was it, the love I thought I had for a lifetime was gone with the stroke of a pen.

Chapter 3

Jason

The day was moving by at a glacial pace, and for some reason, I couldn’t get my brother’s divorce from Tiffany off my mind. Everything had gone down the day before, and I had made sure to steer clear of the family dinner. I knew if I heard him gloating about his divorce, or celebrating in any way, I might not be able to keep myself from jumping over the table and hitting him in the head with one of mother’s silver platters. Instead, I propped my feet up on the couch and watched television until it was time for bed, something I didn’t do very often. Laying there, my mind had wandered all over the place, trying to imagine what Tiffany was doing. I knew she was struggling. I mean, how could she not be? She had been blindsided by her husband during a time in her life when she’d needed him the most, and then, he’d cast her aside, leaving her to clean up the mess. I shook my head as I stared at my computer screen, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was done so dirty and done so by my own blood. It was almost embarrassing to think Jordan and I were related.

Growing up, we’d gotten along well enough, both knowing our lives were pretty much mapped out for us. In college, I distinctly remembered Jordan pulling me to the side and pointing Tiffany out to me. She was just as beautiful then as she was now, if not more. Her long blond hair would blow in the wind whipping across the campus courtyard, and her smile lit up my world. Apparently, it lit up Jordan’s too because from then on, he was determined to get this girl. When our father announced the new pool of employees for the company, I thought my brother’s head was going to pop off. Tiffany was strong, assertive, and just the woman this company needed to propel us forward. She had worked her way up quickly, and though the whispers said it was because of her relationship with Jordan, those of us who knew her understood it was because of the type of woman she was. My brother had started to change, calming down a bit, staying away from the bars and clubs, and devoting his time to her. I thought about how lucky everyone was that Tiffany had come into our lives, especially since she had a way with Jordan that no one else did. Part of me couldn’t help but think this was all more because he wanted to be single than it was over a family, but either way, he had used that as his cause. It had hit home hard.

I could hear Jordan out in the hallway flirting with the new secretary and for some reason, it fucking pissed me off. I scooted back from the desk and stood in the doorway staring at him as he leaned over her, showing her something in the paperwork on her desk. I strolled over to the desk and tapped on the wood, drawing both of their attention.

“You seem pretty happy,” I said looking him in the eyes. “I thought since you just got divorced yesterday, you might be in a bad mood, or sad, or any of those human emotions we tend to have.”

Jordan’s face faded from smiling to irritation as he stared over the desk at me. I smiled back at him, my hands in my pockets. He looked down at the secretary and smirked, pointing one more thing out before standing up. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie.

“Sorry about that,” he said to the secretary before moving forward and grabbing me by the arm and dragging me into my office. “What the hell? What is your damn problem?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said smartly. “The fact that you broke it off with your wife for something she couldn’t control? The fact that it was one of the biggest dick moves I have ever seen, which is saying something.”

“Look,” he whispered angrily. “It’s none of your God damned business, but if you must know, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. I know you are sitting over there imagining this evil nemesis making plans to completely ruin Tiffany, but that is not at all how it went. This was hard on me. I’m just not going to walk around wearing it on my face. I sat on this information for a while before I decided to divorce her. I was miserable, beat down, and didn’t know what to do. I did know I wanted a child of my own, a baby that came from me, and she couldn’t give that to me. I knew if I continued in that relationship, no matter how much I loved her—which I do love her very much—then I would just end up resenting her in the end. I thought it was better to end it upfront than wait until years down the road, when it would get harder to walk away. So there, I hope you are happy.”

He dropped his hand to his waist and walked out the door, slamming it as he left. Maybe I was being a little too hard on Jordan. Maybe I wasn’t there to help him through this when I should have been. Everything he was saying made perfect sense, and I couldn’t fault him for ending something he knew would eventually end in a fiery blaze anyway. I guess in a way he saved Tiffany years of disappointment, fighting, and ultimately, a really nasty divorce. Still, I couldn’t help but think he didn’t really let the news sink in before making the decision to get divorced. I felt like he did what he always did, which was making a major life choice based on emotion, not rational thought. Unfortunately for everyone around Jordan, when he thought with emotions, he was the only one who didn’t get the shit end of the stick. I took a deep breath and walked out into the hall, looking both ways but not seeing Jordan. I turned right and walked down the hallway, glancing into Tiffany’s empty dark office. As I turned, Tiffany’s secretary walked up behind me.

“Hey,” she said cheerfully. “Hey. Um, do you know if Tiffany will be coming back anytime soon?”

“I don’t really know,” she said shaking her head. “She is on sick leave right now.”

“Okay,” I smiled letting out a deep breath. “Thanks, I’ll just try to give her a call.”

I walked back to my office and closed the door, turning my phone over in my hands. I didn’t know whether I should call Tiffany, this family probably being the last people she wanted to talk to. I didn’t even know what I was going to say when she answered, but I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going through this alone. I also wanted her to know no one in the family stood beside Jordan’s decision. In fact, I was pretty sure my parents didn’t know why Jordan was divorcing Tiffany because that would have made him look bad to our parents. Instead, he was a coward and joked his way through the conversation until my mother finally changed the subject. I did know that my mother and father loved Tiffany like their own daughter and were really worried about her. They didn’t want to intrude, knowing their son was the culprit behind her disappearance, but they were constantly whispering to one another about how she was doing. If nothing else, maybe I could be the middle man between them.

I scanned through my contacts and pressed call when it landed on Tiffany. I pulled my cell phone to my ear and listened to it rang on the other end. After several rings, the voicemail picked up, but before the beep, I hung up, not knowing what I would say on an answering machine. Tiffany and I weren’t close by any stretch of the imagination, but I had never called her and not gotten an answer. We always were in contact with the business, and she was very serious about her career, something I admired in her. So, anytime I called her, she immediately picked up, knowing I wouldn’t call unless it was important. I guess today she wasn’t in much of a mood to care about whether the business needed her help or not, and I really couldn’t blame her. She was employed at a company soon to belong to her ex-husband, working alongside him at every turn. If I were her, this would be the last place I would show up and deal with Jordan flirting with girls right in front of her.

Still, there was something that really worried me about the fact that she wasn’t answering the phone. She was in a very fragile state, and from the way my brother phrased giving her their joint bank account as a parting gift, I could only imagine how that slap in the face must have felt. To really think about it, I probably would stay away from the office too, but more so that I didn’t try to murder Jordan in his designer suit, at his own mahogany desk.

I leaned back in my chair, trying to put Tiffany out of my mind, still perplexed as to why all of this was affecting me so damn bad. Sure, I thought Tiffany was gorgeous, kind, sweet, and intelligent, but she was now my brother’s ex-wife, and not really someone I should be comforting during a divorce. I may have a big heart, but I also knew the very important value of family and support. In Jordan’s case, it was difficult for me to show support when I didn’t agree with anything he did. When you felt like your own blood was out there completely obliterating a woman because she couldn’t have children. The thought itself was absolutely mind-boggling, and I needed to make sure she was okay. She deserved so much better than that on so many levels. It probably wouldn’t make anything easier, but I thought she should know she wasn’t alone. Before I could give the thought any more attention, my father stuck his head into my office.

“Can I come in?” He smoothed the lapel of his thousand-dollar suit, a charcoal gray that paired well with his perfectly coiffed black peppered hair. I only hoped I aged as well and looked as good as my father when I got older.

“Sure, Dad, come on in.” I cleared my desk and shut my laptop. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” he said smiling. “I know with the divorce and everything else going on with Jordan and Tiffany, he may not be the most reliable person right now. And she won’t be back for about a month, which kills me because she’s my right-hand woman. Don’t get me wrong. I completely understand why she would want to be at home. She has handled all of this with grace and dignity, and I want to make sure we do the same with her.”

“Absolutely,” I said nodding my head. “And I am all here, so anything you need you just come and grab me.”

“Thanks, son,” he said tapping his fist on the desk. “Oh, your mother wanted to know if you were coming to dinner Friday?”

“I have plans right now, but I’m not sure what time they start,” I replied. “I’ll let her know as soon as I can.”

“No problem,” he said. “We missed you at the last dinner.”

“Missed you, too,” I said, watching him walking from the office.

In all reality, missing me was probably the farthest thing from their minds. They missed Tiffany and the light she brought to the table every time she approached. I wasn’t going to lie. I missed her, too, maybe too much.

Chapter 4

Tiffany

I pulled my soft plush blanket from the dryer and wrapped it around my shoulders, soaking in the warmth it brought to my body. I sighed, rubbing the fabric against my cheek and dragging myself to the couch. I looked at the display I had laid out on the table in front of me. There were several bottles of wine, some snacks, a lot of junk food, and about five cheesy romance movies. It was like the divorced woman’s starter pack, and I had bought right into it. I had spent the week pretty much asleep most of the time and decided it was time I take the next step, moving my body from the bed to the couch and shoving useless calories, hand over fist, into it. I knew it was pathetic and not grown up of me at all, but my heart was broken, my brain was tired, and I still hadn’t had the chance to come to terms with being infertile, with not bearing my own children. It was extraordinarily depressing and read like one of the movies I was about to watch, except there was no happily ever after in my case.

I groaned as I reached across and grabbed the remote, laying my head down on the pillow and pressing play. I pulled the blanket farther over my head and placed the wine glass I was drinking from down on the floor below me. I plopped a straw in it and sipped slowly as my face still rested on the couch. It was probably the laziest thing I had ever done, and though I knew I had pretty much hit rock bottom, I didn’t really give a damn. While I was here, eating my twenty-thousand-dollar check in the form of Twizzlers and wine, Jordan, my now ex-husband, was out perusing the bars, looking for the next Mrs. Banks who could produce an heir to his pathetic and sad empire. I chuckled to myself wondering how he would ensure his next bride was fruitful. Would he require a gynecological examination as terms for the marriage? Would he make them sign a waiver saying they could produce human beings from their loins? I guess, for the right girl, especially one looking for the money, they would jump at the chance to give Jordan Banks a child. That would seal the deal and create a comfortable living situation for the rest of their lives. I guess I had been the guinea pig.

I knew I should get up, shower, get functioning, but I gave into my desire to spend my Friday night, Saturday night, and possibly Sunday into Monday, lying here on the couch crying away the minutes. Hell, I had accrued enough sick time and vacation that I could stretch this self-pity party out for an entire month if I wanted to. John, Jordan’s father had been so kind and sweet to me, knowing his son decided to skip out on our marriage but not knowing why. I was pretty sure if he knew why, he might punch Jordan over the head and as much as I would love to see that, I also knew it would completely destroy Jordan’s relationship with his parents. I was angry, but I had never been a vindictive person, truly believing that those who did harm to others would find their penalty later in life. I guess you could say I believed in karma. And Jordan’s karma wasn’t racking up too good in the background. I almost expected to see a nuclear explosion when all his bad deeds came rolling around back to him.

I had been so thankful for Jordan’s family, for their love. They’d sent me flowers throughout the week and insisted I not use my vacation time and sick leave when taking a month off. I loved my job, and I loved working for Mr. Banks. He was like family to me, and up to five days ago, legally, he was family to me. I didn’t know what to expect when Jordan first served legal papers about the divorce and was afraid the Banks would take his side, firing me from my job, and demeaning me to everyone. However, just as I knew it would be deep down, they reached out to me, and I couldn’t have been more thankful. Still, as I laid on my couch searching for an answer to my heartbreak, part of me didn’t even know if I wanted to go back to the company when the air had cleared. It was one thing to work for your ex-in-laws, it was another to work side by side with your ex-husband. I just didn’t know if I could sit back and deal with being around him on a regular basis like that. And God forbid the day he started dating someone else who worked in the office. I would have to endure the hell of watching him flirt and talk to another woman the way he used to with me. Just the thought of it made me sick to my stomach, and I tried to push the thought from my mind.

I sipped harder on my straw, bleeding the glass dry and looking down into my empty glass. It kind of resembled how my soul felt, sucked dry and left to wonder where to go from there. Luckily, as far as my wine glass was concerned, I knew exactly where to go from there. I pulled myself up and situated the blanket over my shoulders, reaching for the next bottle of wine, or what I liked to refer to as, my next victim. I chuckled to myself wondering if that was how Jordan referred to the women in his life. Did he number them? Victim one, victim two, and so on? Did he sit back and laugh evilly from the throne room of his castle in Manhattan, looking down at all the “little people” of New York? I shook my head, realizing I really needed to put down the bottle, my imagination was starting to get away from me.

As I popped the cork on the next bottle of wine, watching it fall to the floor and roll into the kitchen, I heard a knock on the door. I rolled my eyes and groaned, wondering who in the world would come knocking, willfully destroying the flow of alcohol into my veins. I dragged myself, still wrapped in the blanket, to the door and opened it wide, staring at Mona, my best friend.

“Oh,” I said turning and walking back toward the couch.

“It’s good to see you too,” she said, shutting the door behind her.

“I was hoping you were the grim reaper, come to take me to the land of plenty,” I said sarcastically.

Mona looked down at the array of junk food on the table and poked at the stale pizza sitting in the box. “Appetizing,” she said, looking down at my glass and straw. “Oh, that’s very inventive of you.”

“Yeah, I thought about just going in one hundred percent and starting an IV, but I figured I’d probably screw it up,” I replied, pouring the wine into the glass. “I didn’t want to be found with one lung full of chardonnay and be labeled the old lonely divorced woman with a thousand cats.”

“You don’t have any cats,” she said flatly.

“Yeah, but when I had finally died, I’m sure they would sense me and come crawling through the windows,” I replied, lying back down on the couch and sipping my wine through the straw.

“Girl, I think it's time for an intervention,” she said, picking up the empty bottle of wine and grimacing at the label.

“What? I’ve only had one bottle this afternoon,” I whined.

“No, not the wine,” she chuckled. “You need to stop moping around like this. You are starting to freak out the neighbors.”

“Whatever,” I replied. “I don’t even think they know I still live here.”

“Well, from the looks of your yard and the papers stacked up out front, they might think the house was taken over by squatters,” she replied.

“You do remember it’s only been five days since I signed away my future,” I said, feeling my heart drop back down into my stomach.

“Yes, I remember. But I also remember it’s been a month since you found out about it,” she reminded. “This guy is such a loser. Like, grade A loser. Seriously, on the women’s timescale chart, you seriously should have only spent twenty-two hours and thirteen minutes of grieving on him. That makes you, like, I don’t even know how many hours behind.”

“Why is everyone on my ass?” I was starting to get irritated, and Mona quickly caught on.

“Hey, weirdo, calm down,” she said, throwing a cork at me. “I was only kidding. Well, mostly kidding.”

“So,” I said taking a deep breath and changing the subject. “What can I do for you?”

“I came to get you out of the house,” she said triumphantly. “You need some air, some fun, and you need to take a damn shower.”

“No,” I groaned. “I have plans.”

“With what? These cheesy romance videos? Come on, girl,” she said pulling me up to a sitting position. “You are so much better than this. I promise Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise will be waiting for you here when you get back. I’ll even chill your shitty-ass wine so you don’t have to continue to drink it warm.”

“I don’t know,” I said, flinching at the thought of getting off the couch, much less moving toward a bar or club.

“You know I’ve never steered you wrong,” she said smiling. “And you’ll get to spend some of that hard-earned divorce money on booze and hot men, just what it was intended for.”

My eyes opened wide, and I smiled at the thought of spending his money on clubs and bars. “Fine,” I said, finally convinced. “But you have to let me get myself together.”

“Deal,” she said. “You go shower, and I’ll move this garbage around so it’s in neater stacks.”

I stuck my tongue out at Mona and headed back to the bathroom, letting my blanket fall from my shoulders halfway down the hallway. I stood in front of the mirror, waiting for the shower to heat up, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Mona looked like a human being while I looked more like something from a zombie movie. Mona was the voice of reason between the two of us and always had been. She had no problems sticking up for herself, and I always chalked it up to the fact that she was barely five feet tall. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back, and her cute little features magically turned seductive when you put some makeup in her hand. She was that friend who was loud and slightly embarrassing, but you couldn’t imagine a life without her in it.

As I let the hot water of the shower wash the last few days of wine and sleep away, I could feel my body begin to react. I did not want to go out to the bars, nor did I have any intention of picking up a man, but I guessed Mona was right, it was time I started acting like a human again, at least for a few hours. I knew I would have a good time, dancing, drinking, and laughing, but I also knew I had the ability to come home and hide out again if I really wanted to. Jordan had completely twisted my life upside down, and I needed to start taking back my control. He was no longer part of my life, and I didn’t need to let him affect me even more than he already had, no matter how hard it was to see that.

Chapter 5

Jason

Desperately needing to get out of the house and have some fun, I agreed to join my buddies at one of the clubs in Manhattan. I really didn’t like clubs because they were so packed and you could never really see the girl you were talking to between the dimly lit room and the strobe lights, but I thought it would be a good change of pace from the bar and Rose. Don’t get me wrong. She was fucking hot, and I never got tired of dragging her off to the back room, but a little variance in my life would be nice. I just second-guessed hitting on girls because while I was not looking for serious, they didn’t know that, and it wasn’t often you found a girl like Rose, who was more than willing to screw your brains out and not want anything more than that. Sometimes, I wondered what her life was like outside of the bar, but then I stopped myself, remembering the rule to these kinds of relationships was never asking too many questions. I had gone to my loft apartment in SoHo to shower and change clothes before going out.

In the shower, I thought about Tiffany, wondering what she was doing in that house in the Greek District. I remembered when my brother found out she wanted to live there and not the penthouse he had bought the year before. He was pretty damn irritated, but he seemed like he loved her so he agreed as long as he didn’t have to sell his place in Manhattan. She didn’t care, as long as he came home to her every night. I didn’t know what he did with the place since they seemed to be pretty much attached at the hip until he’d left her. Well, it turned out it was a good thing he kept his place, and Tiffany got to keep her house. I guess in a way, it would be nice to leave the city every day, get out into the suburbs where you could enjoy some peace and quiet for a little while. I thought her house was awesome with all the amenities Jordan would love, like a big screen television and pool in the backyard, but with the same feeling you get when you went to your aunt’s place out in the country for the weekend.

When I got out of the shower and dried off, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and shook my head. As usual, I was still thinking about Tiffany. It was starting to drive me nuts, but I guess I cared about the girl and took personally the fact that someone with my name screwed her over. I had always had a small sort of crush on her, but I figured everyone did. I mean, how could you not? She was intelligent, beautiful, forward, and caring toward everyone around her. I saw what Jordan was talking about when he would gush over her for hours when they had first started dating. It was the first time in my life I had listened to Jordan talk about someone other than himself. He had obsessed over Tiffany for years, and when he’d finally caught her, he was smitten as hell. I thought it was good for him, since his taste in women outside of her were usually blond bimbos with very little brain power.

I walked back to my room and pulled out my outfit for the night, putting it on and looking in the mirror. Immediately, I took the shirt back off and tossed it in the corner. I looked like my brother, and it was not what I was going for. Sure, we had a lot of similarities, but it was mostly aesthetic. When it came to business, though, we tended to agree more often than not, and we saw the company going in the same direction. That probably had more to do with having the same educational background and being raised by the same father, but I put a mark on the positive side for our relationship. When I was done getting ready, I checked my hair one last time and gave my reflection a charming smile. I grabbed my keys and took the elevator down a floor and hopped out, glad to see the car I called was already parked out front. The driver opened the door for me and then climbed into the front. He already had my destination, so we pulled off, watching the apartment fade into the background. I looked around as we drove, watching all the people getting out of their cars for an evening out in town. You could tell who the clubbers were and who the rich people on their way to dinner were. The excitement was a completely different level, and with winter quickly approaching, the rich bitches had pulled out their mink stoles and fancy jewelry. Driving through Manhattan on a Friday night offered more glittery sights than a jewelry store.

We pulled up in front of the club, and I hopped out, giving the driver my card so he knew my number when I called for a ride home. The doorman greeted me with a hug and a hand shake and opened the ropes to let me straight into the club. I winked at the blond girl standing in the front as I passed and laughed as she blushed and giggled with her friends. When I got inside, I went straight to VIP, finding my friends pulled up around a table, gawking at the girls on the dance floor and pounding back shots of vodka. I ordered a whiskey tonic from the server and pulled up a chair, listening to their mindless chatter about who they were going to be banging in the bathroom at the end of the night. I didn’t really like these guys very much at all, but now that hanging out with Jordan made me sick to my stomach, I had called up my old college buddies and got them into the good clubs. We were all relatively successful, but I was the only billionaire of the group, and they knew I could get them in the good spots. I was pretty sure they used me just as much as I used them to not feel like a loser coming to a club by myself. I didn’t want to be that creepy guy in the corner staring girls down while I sipped my drinks and picked my next victim. I was an ass, but I was not a creepy asshole.

As I took a sip of my drink, I choked. Was that—? Yes, that was Tiffany standing there with her best friend. Immediately, I was floored at how absolutely stunning she looked. She was wearing a short, tight black skirt that barely came over her ass and a low-cut top that was open in the back. Her long sexy legs ended where her six-inch heels picked up. Her long blonde curls fell over her shoulders in ringlets and her smooth fair skin was highlighted with subtle makeup. She was laughing at whatever Mona was saying, but she didn’t look like she was being genuine. I had this overwhelming feeling driving me to go and talk to her. I set my cup down and straightened my shirt, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows to look more comfortable and relaxed. I pushed the chair back and took a big gulp of my drink as I walked forward toward her. As she fake laughed again at whatever the douche in the group was talking about, she turned her head toward me, her fake smile forming into a genuine one. She stepped away from the group and met me across the floor. I leaned in and half hugged her, stopping to kiss her lightly on the cheek. She didn’t think anything of it because that was the normal greeting in our household, but I felt the electricity surge through me as my lips touched her skin.

“How are you?” I had to yell over the music.

“Okay,” she said shrugging. “You?”

“I’m good,” I said nodding. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“Yeah, I saw you called,” she said, smiling awkwardly. “Sorry I didn’t call you back.”

“It’s alright. I understand. I’m just glad you’re doing good,” I replied. “The office hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Yeah, right,” she chuckled. “I bet no one has even noticed.”

“I noticed,” I said feeling an awkward silence coming on. “Look, I just want to say that what my brother did was wrong.”

“It’s okay,” she said taking my hand. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but still, he’s my brother,” I replied. “Even after all the stupid shit he’s done, I thought he was a better man than that.”

“I guess that makes two of us,” she yelled, laughing.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure.” She shrugged her shoulders and followed me over to the bar.

She ordered a Jack and Diet and I got another whiskey tonic. We stood there, looking at each other for several moments. I thought it would be awkward, but that wasn’t really the vibe. Instead, I felt comfortable around her.

“You remember the time we came here and Mona got wasted and fell off the bar?”

“Oh, my God.” She laughed. “That was like twenty-three stitches. She felt right on that bottle of vodka those guys bought. They were so freaked out by the blood on the table, they wouldn’t let us buy them a new bottle.”

We stood at the bar talking and reminiscing about when we all used to go out together to the clubs. When I thought back to those times, I realized that most of the evenings, Tiffany and I spent together with Mona and whoever she was dating at the time. Jordan was usually off hobnobbing with the rich dudes and secretly scoping out all the women he wouldn’t be taking out that night. Tiffany never noticed, and if she did, she handled it with so much class that no one would have ever known. We walked over to the VIP area and sat down at a booth. She looked relieved to be off the dance floor and out of the view of everyone around her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I just really didn’t want to come out tonight. I mean it's good for me, but I’m already tired.”

“Well, now you have this booth to hide out in,” I said.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, and I hugged Tiffany goodbye before closing her cab door and watching it drive off. When I climbed into my own car, I couldn’t help but think about those long, smooth legs and the ripe curves of her body. I had tried to ignore the fact that she looked so fucking hot all night, and now that I was alone, I let it flow. By the time we pulled up to the apartment, I had more than a hard on, and I adjusted myself before I got out of the car.

Up in the apartment, I stripped down for bed and pulled the covers over me, suddenly not as exhausted as I had thought. As visions of Tiffany’s short skirt raced through my mind, I didn’t even realize I had my hand firmly placed on my cock. I closed my eyes and leaned back, imagining what it would feel like to slide my hand up her thigh and under the edge of her skirt. I could almost feel the warmth of her skin as I rolled my fist up and over my dick. In my mind, I slowly pushed her skirt up to reveal her tight wet pussy, throbbing and waiting just for me. I didn’t want to wait a second so I grabbed her by the waist and laid her down on the bed, rubbing my shaft against her clit.

I reached over next to the bed and grabbed the lube from the drawer, squirted it into my palm, and rubbed it over my shaft. I closed my eyes again and imagined pushing hard into Tiffany, feeling her wetness glide me through, deep inside of her. I could hear her raspy moans as her tight wetness pulsated around my erection. My hand tightened as I imagined her face, her big blue eyes staring up at me in lust as I massaged her tits and thrust deep inside of her. I threw the covers back and gave myself some room as my mind moved over every part of her sexy little body. I grabbed tightly to my cock as my hips moved up and down, picturing her now on top of me, grinding against me, and screaming out in pleasure as I filled her completely up. She was so fucking hot lying above me, rubbing her clit with her fingers as her hips began to move faster and faster.

“Yeah,” I groaned through gritted teeth as my hand fisted my cock at a rapid pace.

I grabbed Tiffany around the waist and started bouncing her up and down on my cock, slamming her down hard and hearing her scream for more. I pushed her legs out to the side and pulled her down again, the sound of our skin slapping together, echoing through my mind. As I pulled her down again, I moved her hips back and forth repeatedly, feeling the juices inside of her running down my shaft. I groaned loudly in my bed as I could feel the orgasm approaching. I clenched my eyes shut and watched as Tiffany put her hands down on my thighs and moved faster and faster, her body reaching its peak. She threw her head back and screamed out, her pussy vibrating around my cock as she came hard and fast.

I gripped my shaft and pulsated my hand, imagining her wetness vibrating around me. I sat up straight on the bed and groaned loudly as I too reached the top of ecstasy. My hand moved fast and hard up and down and as Tiffany’s coy smile flashed through my head, my cock exploded, my warm seed flowing out of the head and down my hands. I groaned loudly as the orgasm flushed through my body, and then, I slowly released the grip of my hand. I opened my eyes to an empty bed, but I still felt Tiffany’s presence there as I grabbed a towel, cleaned up my mess, and threw myself back into the bed. Hopefully, I’d have some really good dreams about that blond beauty tonight.

Chapter 6

Tiffany

It was Monday, exactly one week since my marriage had been signed off as dead by a judge. That was exactly what I had been feeling, like someone had died and I was left to mourn their end. I stared up at the ceiling thinking about the last week and everything I had been through. Immediately my thoughts shifted to Saturday night. I’d been more than surprised to spend the evening talking and laughing with Jason. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and we had so much fun talking about life, reminiscing about the fun we all used to have, and just relaxing. It wasn’t a surprise to me that I had a good time with him. He had been one of the people I spent most of my time with when we were all out partying right after college. It did, however, surprise me that I was lying there thinking about how sexy he looked when he had approached me in the club. When I looked over and saw him, I almost didn’t recognize him and had initially wondered who was the hot guy walking toward me. I was a little embarrassed when I realized it was my ex-brother-in-law. I tried not to think of him that way, though, since Jordan and I had only been together for three months before ending the marriage.

I had always thought Jason was handsome, even more handsome than Jordan, though I liked Jordan for way more reasons than the way he looked. I guess, in a way, I always had a tiny little crush on Jason, but it wasn’t something I could ever talk about with anyone. He was the brother of the man I married. It would have been frowned upon. But what about now? What about when I was no longer married to his brother? I shook the thought from my head, chastising myself for even thinking it. Was I crazy? Still, thinking back at Saturday night, I couldn’t help but feel like we were more than having a good time. In fact, after a few drinks, we were kind of flirting with each other. I could still feel his hand touch mine as we laughed, sitting at the table. There was a spark in my chest when our skin touched, and from the way he looked down at our hands, I knew he had felt it, too. I caught myself hoping he wouldn’t let go, but as soon as he spotted Mona heading over to us, he pulled his hand back and stuck it in his lap.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand and rolled it around in my hands, thinking about texting him and seeing what he was doing. I flipped to his number and opened a new text typing out the words before deleting the whole thing and switching over to Mona’s messages. I knew that whatever I was feeling toward Jason had to be some kind of residual feelings for Jordan or some crazy idea at a rebound fuck. I texted Mona that I needed to talk, and she instantly responded back that she would be over ASAP with a huge pizza. I drug myself from the bed, brushed my teeth, and did my hair, not wanting to hear her complain that I looked like hell again.

When she got there, I grabbed some plates and napkins, and we sat down, chowing down on the first thing I had eaten all day. I knew Mona was curious as to what I wanted to talk about, but she was letting me gather the courage to bring it up first. I glanced over at her as I took a bite of my pizza.

“So,” I said with a full mouth. “I kind of caught myself lost in thought about a guy this afternoon.”

“Oh, yeah?” she said excitedly. “Wait, we aren’t talking about Jordan, are we?”

“No,” I said with a disgusted face. “It's absolutely nuts, and I’m pretty sure it's like my mind being an asshole, but I was thinking about Jason.”

“Okay,” she said with a shocked face. “So, what does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I mean it's impossible for me to have a crush on him, right?”

“No, he’s freaking hot, and you spent more time with him than Jordan at the beginning of your relationship,” she said chuckling. “But you tell me. Is it crazy, or do you have an actual crush?”

I sat there for a few minutes, chowing down on my pizza and allowing my mind to bring up visions of Jason. The first few were my mind thinking about how sexy he was in almost every way. Then, without knowing it, I started thinking about how funny he was, how sweet he was, and all the little things we talked about on Saturday night. I pulled myself from the thought and ran my hand over chest, shaking my head.

“Oh, God,” I gasped. “It’s an actual crush. What do I do?”

“Whatever you want to do,” Mona said leaning forward. “Don’t you see the beauty of this? You are a single woman with no ties to anyone. You can crush on whoever you want, whenever you want. You can ask a guy out, you can date someone, you can fuck someone, you can date five someones at one time if you wanted.”

“But this is slightly different,” I said putting down my pizza. “This is my ex’s brother. This is Jason Banks we are talking about here.”

“So?” Mona laughed loudly. “God, this is so perfect. Most people who go through a divorce are already in another relationship. Hell, my father was already engaged when the divorce went through with my mother. There is nothing wrong with scoping someone out already, even if he happens to be the douche bag’s brother. Who knows, maybe you were meant to be with Jason and you just got your j’s mixed up.”

“This is crazy,” I said shaking my head. “Like, Jerry Springer crazy.”

“Call him,” she said with wide eyes.

“No,” I gasped. “And say what?”

“I don’t know.” She laughed. “Wanna have lunch? Wanna talk? Wanna have wild, blow me away, passionate sex?”

“Get serious, Mona,” I said with blushed cheeks.

“Oh, my God,” she screamed, seeing my red face. “You do want to fuck his brains out! I love it!”

“Stop,” I said, laughing and holding my cheeks. “He’s hot. I mean, can you blame me?”

“Absolutely not,” she roared. “Call him. Do it. Do it now. Come on.”

“Fine,” I said putting up my hand. “But you have to be quiet.”

“Scouts honor,” she said holding up two fingers.

“You have a vagina. You couldn’t have been a scout.”

“Fine,” she responded, holding up a v. “Vagina honor.”

“That’s some serious shit,” I said as I scrolled through my phone.

“I know,” she said with a serious face.

I found Jason’s number on my phone and sat there with my finger hovering over the call button. I was completely freaking out, not knowing whether I should do it or check out and just go back to imagining him naked in my head. I tapped my foot loudly on the floor and closed my eyes, pressing the call button and holding it up to my ear. I looked over at Mona who was covering her mouth with her hands and squealing. I put my finger to my lips and shushed her as the phone rang in my ear.

“Hello?” His voice was deep, and I immediately thought about hanging up.

“Hey,” I said as Mona moved her hands to get me going. “It’s Tiffany.”

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good.” Not really. Not at all. I was feeling awkward. “I actually was calling to find out if you wanted to have lunch tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” he asked. I held my breath waiting for his response. “Yeah, that actually sounds perfect.”

“Oh, great,” I said, surprised.

“It’s funny,” he chuckled. “I was actually getting ready to call you and ask you the same thing.”

“Ha,” I responded with wide eyes.

“So, I’ll meet you at the Frisk? Like twelve thirty?”

“Yes,” I said excitedly. “That sounds great!”

“Awesome,” he said nervously. “It was good hearing your voice, Tiff.”

“You, too,” I said before hanging up the phone.

I looked over at Mona who seemed like she was holding her breath. I smiled and nodded my head, watching her jump from the couch and basically run me over. I laughed as she screamed loudly in excitement. I couldn’t believe I had just asked Jason out on a date. Well, a kind of date. I didn’t know what to call it, but my heart was racing and butterflies were pushing through my entire body. I didn’t know if this was right or wrong, but at that moment, I didn’t really give a damn.

Chapter 7

Jason

I sprung out of bed as soon as the sun came up, completely awake and ready for the day. Knowing I was going to have lunch with Tiffany was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I had never been this excited for lunch in my life, and I shook my head at the clothes hanging on the door. I had picked out my outfit the night before like some excited school girl. She was just a girl, but there was something more to it than I could explain. At that moment, I wished I had a friend other than my brother to talk to. I couldn’t tell him I was having lunch with Tiffany, and I no way in hell could I tell my dad, though I was completely unsure of what his reaction would have been. Instead, I had to keep it to myself, and I felt like I was going to burst. I hopped in the shower and let the water calm my nerves, using the aromatherapy body wash my mom had sent home with me because she thought I was too uptight and stressed out. To my surprise, it helped calm me, but only until I was out of the shower and staring at myself in the mirror.

I fixed my hair carefully, putting every single piece in the right place. My face was shaved the day before, so I still had that smooth but not too smooth look. I never liked how I looked right after a shave, like I had taken ten years off my face. I guessed I would enjoy that later in life. I sprayed some cologne on me before pulling on my suit and straightening my favorite silver and burgundy tie. I stopped as I passed the mirror, impressed with how professional I looked. Maybe I should force myself out of bed this early every day. Maybe my mother wouldn’t feel the need to buy me stress therapy products. I grabbed my keys and headed out of the house, grabbing a cab and plopping down in the back seat, slightly out of breath. As we drove along, I could feel the warmth of the holidays approaching and thought about the fact that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have to spend them without seeing Tiffany’s beautiful face. I shook the thought from my mind, realizing I was getting about fifty steps ahead of myself.

When I arrived at the office, I greeted everyone happily before realizing I needed to tone it down a notch, judging from the surprised looks on people’s faces. They were going to start getting suspicious, and the last thing I needed was to have my father come in and start asking me questions, or worse, Jordan. I knew I should probably feel guilty about having this feeling about his ex-wife, but for some reason, I didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt. Maybe it was because he treated her like complete shit, and she deserved so much more. When I sat down at my desk, I realized I had several hours before meeting Tiffany and needed to find something to take up my time. Luckily, there were meetings scheduled all morning, so I happily trotted down to the conference room and listened intently to each person’s presentation. My father looked over at me and furrowed his brow, noticing my happy, awake status. He was used to my normal scowl and twelve cups of coffee. Slowly, I picked up my cup and took a sip, trying to wipe the look of excitement off my face.

When the meeting was over, I finished up my notes and looked down at my watch. It was noon, and time to head over to the restaurant. I had picked one several blocks away to avoid running into Jordan or anyone from the office. As I turned into my office, my father poked his head out of his.

“Jason,” he said, making me freeze in place. “Jordan and I are going next door to the deli for lunch. You want to join us?”

“Oh,” I said letting out a deep breath. “Um, not today, Dad. Thanks.”

“You got a hot date?”

“Ha,” I laughed awkwardly. “Maybe.”

I laughed like it was a ridiculous sentiment and heard my father laughing as well. I shook my head as I grabbed my jacket off the chair and headed out to the elevator. As the doors flew open, Jordan stepped off and looked at me suspiciously. I smiled and stepped around him into the elevator. He looked back at me curiously as he made his way to my father’s office. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I leaned back against the wall and let out another deep breath. Why did it feel like I was on some secret mission from hell?

I grabbed a cab and headed over to the restaurant, nervous and excited all at the same time. I still couldn’t believe what had happened yesterday. I sat there with Tiffany’s number on my screen and my finger hovering over the call button when she had called. At first, I thought I’d pressed the button, but when I put the phone to my ear and said hello, her sweet voice came through on the other side. I wasn’t a big signs kind of person, but there had to be something more than just coincidence to that. It had to be some kind of sign, even though the thought of me dating Tiffany seemed strange and taboo. Maybe, just maybe, in some sort of lightning strike of good luck, I somehow managed to get myself in a position where Tiffany and I could be in a relationship with each other. I took a deep breath and shook my head, realizing how crazy I sounded. That was nuts, I needed to keep my head on straight and not go running around with these silly fantasies in my head. We were friends, meeting for lunch, and nothing more.

The other night, sitting next to her in the booth at the club had been amazing on many levels. We laughed, we talked, we reminisced, and I even found us flirting quite a bit. Every time her leg had brushed up against mine, electricity had jolted through my stomach. And my crotch. I hadn’t even realized how one person could want someone as much as I did at that moment and not even realize it until I had gotten home. Sure, at first, it was complete and total animal magnetism, but then my thoughts turned her sexy laugh, her enchanting eyes, and her fragile sensibility that she kept hidden underneath a strong and tough façade. Regardless of whether this was a date, or just two friends having lunch, no one could deny the amount of sexual tension that had built between us in that booth the other night.

I pulled up in front of the restaurant and hopped out, pulling my coat closed and shivering. The weather had taken a turn and the air was almost frigid. I loved New York, but the winters could sometimes be brutal on the senses. Shockingly, it was only October but felt more like December than anything else. I pulled the door open and approached the hostess.

“Hi,” I said smiling. “I’m meeting a woman named Tiffany.”

“Yes,” the hostess smiled. “Right this way.”

I looked up as we moved through the restaurant, spotting Tiffany in the back corner. She was looking down at her hands and seemed nervous. She looked absolutely beautiful in a warm, off-white sweater, jeans, and flats. Her hair was pulled halfway up with curls cascading over her shoulders. Her fair skin was offset by her rosy cheeks, and her eyes glimmered as she looked up and saw me walking toward her. She smiled wide and waved as I approached. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek, lingering longer than I probably should have. I took off my coat and hung it on the chair, thanking the hostess and sitting down.

“You haven’t waited long have you?”

“No,” she said. “I just got here, too. See my hands are still cold.”

She reached up and put her fragile, sweet hand against my cheek. She smiled and held it there as we stared at each other across the table. As if noticing we’d held gazes a little too long, she blushed and pulled her hand back into her lap. We looked over the menus and ordered some coffee to warm us up. I watched Tiffany as she poured cream and sugar into her coffee, stirring it and then licking the spoon. Her pink lips were drawing me in, and I had to take a deep breath and clear my throat to get my mind back on track. We started talking about our day, and she listened intently as I talked about work, forgetting that she worked there, too.

Her laugh was intoxicating, and I soon lost myself in our conversation, not paying any attention to the time. She told me about her parents and their problems, about her brother and how he had made it out safely from his time in Iraq. She spoke about her brother like I hoped she talked about me, with warmth, love, and admiration. The fire in the restaurant’s fireplace crackled as we ate and continued talking for about an hour after our lunch was done. I couldn’t tear myself away from this woman, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, my phone cut into the conversation, and I apologized, looking at the text message. It was from my father, letting me know I missed the last meeting and that everyone was headed home. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I stared blankly at the message. Why was everyone heading home? Then, I saw the time. Wow, three o’clock.

“Wow,” I said laughing. “It’s almost three.”

“Oh, no,” she said, panicked. “Did you miss anything important at work?”

“Nah.” I laughed. “Just that normal marketing meeting that puts everyone to sleep. No big deal.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work,” she said smiling. “I have some things I need to take care of in town before heading home, anyway.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.” I stood and came around the table to pull her chair out.

As she put her coat on, I placed cash in the bill holder and turned to her, entranced by the way her hair swished around her as she buttoned her jacket. She was stunning, and I didn’t want the date to be over yet. I walked next to her through the restaurant, my hand on her lower back as we moved toward the door. We stepped out into the cold air, and we both pulled our collars closed around our necks.

“Gosh,” she said, shivering. “Winter just got here out of nowhere. Pretty early for these types of temps. I’m going to have to turn on the heat at home.”

“I know. I’m used to this weather in December, not October,” I replied.

We continued talking about the weather as we took the elevator up the parking garage to her floor. I followed her out and across the garage to her car parked in one of the spots. The place was pretty much empty, and I watched her standing next to her car and got the impression she didn’t want to part ways either. She pulled her keys out and looked up at me, a shy smile on her lips.

“Thank you for lunch, “ she said kindly. “It was really good seeing you again.”

I looked at her for a moment, and though I knew better, I stepped forward, framed her face with my hands, and pressed my lips firmly against hers. She stood tense for just a moment before her body released, and she leaned into me. Her hands pulled around my waist, and she stepped closer, opening her mouth and allowing me to taste her. Passionately, we kissed for several moments before she opened her eyes and pulled away, running her fingers over her lips.

“I’m sorry,” she said, putting the keys in the door. “I just don’t know if I can do this.”

Chapter 8

Tiffany

The last place I wanted to be was anywhere near the office or Jordan for that matter. John had sent me a text, begging me for help. Their agency temp was not cutting it—well, at least not in the way I always got the work done. I had woken to the text notification and seriously thought about going back to bed. I knew Jordan didn’t know anything about this because he would have never let them ask me for help. He would have taken everything on his own shoulders, even if it meant he slept at the office. His pride was always one of those things that caused way too many fights in our relationship. The man just could not let go.

On top of all of that, I couldn’t get Jason off my mind. We had an amazing lunch and everything was perfect, even the kiss. That was the problem, though. It was perfect. Kissing my now ex-husband’s brother should not feel so right, without any of the wrong. No, I didn’t think I was ready to jump into another relationship, but at the same time, I couldn’t seem to get Jason out of my head. It had been the first time in forever that anyone had listened to me, really listened. Jordan had always seemed to be waiting for his turn to talk or to have half his attention on other matters. Ultimately, I blamed my relationship fears on bolting from the parking garage, but I had to admit, I was worried about whether I could resist Jason or not. One touch of his lips and I was a damn puddle on the ground. The last thing I needed was another playboy in my life who would dump me when I became an inconvenience to his lifestyle.

I picked up the phone and dialed John’s number, not wanting to take the chance of Jordan intercepting my call on the office line. We hadn’t spoken since we finalized the divorce, but I knew him all too well. If I caught him at a moment where he no one else to charm, he would get on the phone and make me feel so small. He had a way of doing that without making himself the obvious bad guy. It was part of his gifts, I guess, if you considered it a gift to be an underhanded kind of asshole. Part of me hoped John wouldn’t answer the phone. I had agreed to do a little bit of work, but even that made me feel bogged down and heavy. Sadly, to my dismay, John answered.

“It’s so good to hear your voice,” he said kindly. I could hear his personality in his tone, and instantly, I missed the family.

“It’s good to hear yours as well,” I replied with a smile. “So, you have some work for me.”

“I do and thank you so much for helping. I have arranged a car to pick you up in an hour if that’s okay,” he said wearily.

“That’s fine,” I replied.

“I’ve also arranged for Jordan to be out of the office at that time,” he said. “I didn’t want things to be harder on you than they already were.”

“Thank you, John. I really appreciate that ” I said with a relieved sigh. “It was what I was worried about the most right now.”

“Not a problem,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.” I ended the call, a little relieved to know John had thought about my working conditions in advance. Knowing Jordan wouldn’t be there lifted some of the weight of my fears.

No matter what happened between Jordan and me, I would never stop loving his mother and father. They were always welcoming, but when they found out my parents had been neglectful junkies and I didn’t have anything to do with them, they doubled down on making me feel like part of the family. I was really treated like how I’d always imagined a daughter would be treated, including shopping trips with mom, fishing trips and days on the golf course with John, the whole nine yards. They hadn’t forgetten me during Christmas from the get-go, even before Jordan and I were married. I was part of that family from the first word, something that was going to take a lot of time to get past. When you break up with someone, you’re not just mourning the loss of that specific person but the entire world you built around that person and everyone in it. For me, it was like losing the family I always wanted. Maybe the fact that I’d been so absorbed with his family was one of the reasons I’d been so blind to who Jordan really was. Either way, I needed to get over it and move forward, and maybe a little work was the thing I needed to do that.

When the car arrived to pick me up, I was ready to go, my coat pulled on tightly, my bag over my arm, and my nerves simmering in my chest. These nerves weren’t for Jordan, though. They were for Jason, who I knew would be there today. It had been two days since our lunch date, and I hadn’t called or texted him. I knew he was giving me space, but I couldn’t tell whether the butterflies in my stomach were nerves or excitement. When I pulled up out front, I took a deep breath, not ready to walk back into my old life. The guard greeted me kindly, always remembering me, before I hopped in the elevator and made my way up to the floor my office was on. Everyone greeted me equally kindly, but I could see the look of pity on their faces. Great. Apparently, everyone had heard about the divorce. I made my way swiftly to John’s office, grinning as I knocked on the doorframe.

“Hey there, mister,” I said in a friendly tone.

“Tiffany.” John hurried over and hugged me tightly. “Come, sit down.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking a seat and looking around.

“How are you?”

“I’m doing okay,” I said with a sigh. “Just putting things back together.”

“Lily and I want to say how sorry we are for the way Jordan handled all of this,” he said diplomatically but with feeling.

“Everyone needs to stop apologizing for him,” I replied. “He is the only one who hasn’t apologized for himself. It will be okay. We just didn’t work out.”

“May I ask what happened? He isn’t really talking to anyone about it.” John didn’t sound very surprised about Jordan’s lack of communication. I wanted to push Jordan in front of that train he was avoiding, but I also didn’t want to sink to his level.

“It’s personal,” I said with a smile.

“Understood,” John said shaking his head. “I’ll never ask again.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“No. Thank you for not leaving. No one would blame you if you had.” He walked around his desk and sat on the edge. “This place wouldn’t run the same without you, as you can see. The temp is good, but she’s not you. We have gotten behind on these client marketing workups, and I want to take some stress off the poor girl before she has a mental breakdown.”

“I understand,” I chuckled. “It definitely takes a different kind of person to handle this position.”

“Well, I just want you to get back to feeling good,” John replied. “We miss you here and don’t know what we would do if we lost you.”

I smiled. It would have been nice if Jordan had taken that approach during their marriage. Things would be a lot different if he hadn’t thought of me as disposable when I didn’t turn out to be that “perfect wife” he was looking for. At that point, though, it didn’t seem like it was all that important to me anymore, especially with Jason on my mind.

“We put the files on your desk,” John said, interrupting my thoughts. “Let me know if I can get you anything or if you have any questions.”

“Thank you, John.” I stood and hugged him one last time. “I’ll be in touch with updates.”

I walked out of John’s office and down the hall to mine. They had put the temp up in another location, leaving my office calm and quiet. I walked over to the desk and reached to pick up the files, seeing the picture of Jordan and me on the desk from our wedding day. I shook my head and grabbed the picture, tossing it into the garbage bin next to my desk. There were quite a few folders with loose papers, so I walked across the hall to the lounge to grab an empty box. As I rounded the corner, I ran straight into Jason, surprising myself at how happy I was to see him.

“Hey,” he said with an awkward smile. “How are you?”

“Good.” I grabbed a box and motioned toward my office. “Just picking up a little work to help you guys out.”

“I know. My dad told me,” he said. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” I tossed the files in the box and lifted it up. We stared at each other for several moments before Jason took a deep breath, breaking our gaze.

“Can I walk you to your car?”

“Sure, whatever,” I said nonchalantly. He took the box from my hands, and we walked quietly to the elevator. Once the doors closed, I turned toward Jason. The intensity inside that small space was overwhelming. Jason dropped the box and moved toward me, matching my needy steps toward him. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his, feeling the heat between us. Immediately our mouths ravaged each other, as our hands moved over one another’s bodies. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and I moaned quietly, feeling him searching for something, something I felt the exact same need to search for. Jason’s hands slid around my waist, and he pulled me close, rubbing his hard cock against my body. I could feel every inch of him slide against me, and instantly, I wished the elevator ride was a lot longer.

I pulled my hands down his chest and over his stomach, holding back from reaching down and taking him into my hands. His kiss began to slow as the floors ticked past. I pulled back and stared deeply into his eyes, our breath matching, and our arousal more than heated. As the elevator hit the bottom floor, I pushed back, reaching down and picking up the box. I wiped my lip gloss from the corners of my mouth and giggled to myself as he straightened his clothes, reaching down and groaning lightly as he shifted his hard erection into the band of his pants. As the doors opened, I stopped, wiping the smile from my face as I stared directly at Jordan. He was looking at the two of us suspiciously, and I just rolled my eyes at him, turning to Jason.

“Thanks for walking me this far,” I said before turning and pushing past Jordan.

“Good to see you, too,” Jordan yelled after me. I put my hand up in the air and considered flipping him the bird but just waved it condescendingly instead.

As if on a mission, I headed straight for the car without slowing my pace as I’d sped from the elevator. I set the box down on the trunk and clicked the button to unlock it. Opening the trunk, I realized I hadn’t looked in it since I had moved everything back into the house. However, where there would normally be a sinking feeling when staring at the things remaining from my marriage with Jordan, there was something else this time. I shifted the contents of the trunk and put the box in, glad to be getting out of there before Jordan had me cornered in the office. As I unlocked the other doors and reached out to grab the handle, I stopped, butterflies whirling around in my chest. I couldn’t help the smile that instantly curled at the edge of my lips just thinking about my encounter with Jason in the elevator. My knees were still shaking, and my heart was beating like crazy.

I don’t know what I had gotten myself into, but at that moment, I liked it.

Chapter 9

Jason

Seriously, if I had to sit through Jordan’s rambling and accusatory questioning for one more minute, I swore I was going to knock him out and take off. I knew what he saw was exactly what he thought it was, but I couldn’t tell him that. Shit, I could barely recognize what happened myself. It was all so sudden, so natural, and I didn’t even think twice about dropping that box and grabbing onto her. Tiffany had come into the office to pick up work, and we had sent Jordan out to avoid any discomfort for her. Well, it seemed that he happened to walk in on the tail end of the most exciting part of her visit to the office. I looked down at my phone and held back a grin. It was Tiffany. We had been texting since she left the day before, and what started as simple, coy flirting had become a full-fledged sexting session. In all reality, it had become that by nightfall and now had carried over into the next day. I did not have a problem opening my phone to erotic pictures of Tiffany’s sexy ass body, but it was only slightly nerve racking when I was standing in front of Jordan, trying to pay attention to his incessant whining.

“So, what was going on in that elevator?” He was being so persistent.

“For the thousandth time, Jordan, nothing. I was helping her carry her stuff down to her car,” I replied. “You spooked her so bad I didn’t even make it to her car.”

And there he went again, off on another rant, another speech about brotherhood, something he hasn’t thought about one day in his entire life. Sure, it was probably taboo and wrong as his brother to be getting naked pics from his ex-wife, but there was something about this girl that I couldn’t shake. She was sexy, curvy, bright, and those lips made my dick twitch. Every single picture she sent was crazy hot, but I really couldn’t wait to see it all in person, put it right in front of me so that I could put my hands on her, feel her breathing heavily, watch her face as I pleasured her. I shifted in my chair, my cock getting harder by the minute. It was yet another awkward thing to add to the list of awkward moments in this office today.

I pulled my phone into my lap and clicked open the picture Tiffany had just sent. She was standing in front of her mirror completely naked, her tits round and vibrant, her hair trickling over her shoulders, and her pussy plump and ready for me. I could already imagine sliding my finger between her folds while I massaged her breasts. I seriously felt like I didn’t have enough hands. There were just too many places I wanted to caress, and no patience to wait. I clicked open the message and told her I would be over at lunch. She sent back a winking faced emoji, and immediately, I started to get nervous. Well, maybe nervous wasn’t the right word for it, maybe excited would better describe the raging hard-on I was hiding underneath my desk.

“Jason,” Jordan shouted. “Are you even listening?”

“Oh,” I said putting my phone down. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Are you going to be done with the ice cream company’s report by tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said looking down at the file. “No problem.”

“Damn, dude, I asked you three times.” He rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, man. I’m a bit preoccupied today,” I said, shaking my head and leaning forward.

“Whatever,” Jordan said with a sigh. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking back at my phone.

I clicked open another picture and laughed. At that moment, I had never been so happy that I bought her that selfie stick two years ago for Christmas. She was lying on her back on the bed, her legs spread open, with her fingers rubbing her clit. God, I was going to fuck the hell out of this girl. Her caption read, “Hurry up, I need you inside of me.” Talk about wanting to take an early lunch. But it was only ten in the morning. There was no way I could sneak out that early, though I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it back that afternoon. In fact, I was pretty sure if I had it my way, I’d have Tiffany naked for the rest of her time out of work.

I tried to focus on the file in front of me, but with texts coming in every few minutes, Jordan giving me the death glare from outside my office, and my constant shift from semi-chub to full on massive erection, there was no way I was going to get anything done. I put my phone in my pocket and breathed deeply until I was okay to walk out into the hallway. There was really no hiding this kind of boner, and it was starting to ache, it was so ready for her. I grabbed a cup of coffee, put my cream and sugar in, and went back to my desk. I pulled open the file, knowing if I wanted to waste the rest of the day with this girl, I was going to have to at least finish this file. By the time I was done, it was a quarter to twelve and immediately my heart started racing. I dropped the file on my brother’s desk, glad he was not there, and grabbed my jacket. I wanted to get out of the office without too much questioning, and it proved easier than I thought since my father was in a client meeting when I left.

I decided to take a cab, so my brother wouldn’t try to interrogate our drivers and so I wouldn’t blow my cover. While I knew I should feel guilty for sneaking around, I didn’t. Instead, it was pretty thrilling to be jumping in a cab to give it to this girl who was way out of bounds. Not only that, but Tiffany was amazing, and after I got this arousal out of my system, I wanted to talk with her, really see where her mind was at. She was still reeling from the change of life she was experiencing, but she also seemed to be right where I was when it came to seeing each other. In fact, it shocked me that she was all about me coming over to her place, something I thought she would push off. But I wasn’t going to argue with the girl, those pictures were enough for any man to throw caution to the wind and say screw it.

When I pulled up in front of the house, I started to get nervous. The last time I had been there, things were fine between her and Jordan, though I still didn’t feel that guilt I probably should. The amount of intense sexual desire between us, both in the elevator and through these messages was beyond anything I had felt with anyone else. As I walked toward the door, a level of excitement bubbled in my gut. I couldn’t even begin to know what to expect. I knocked on the door and waited, listening to Tiffany’s footsteps as she approached. She cracked the door and smiled at me, opening it and stepping to the side. I walked in and looked around, realizing she had done some redecorating since the last time I was there. She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, sending heat into my belly. She turned and walked toward the living room, wearing tight spandex shorts and a low-cut sweater. She looked fucking smoking hot.

When I turned the corner in the living room, I felt Tiffany’s body press hard against mine. She ran her lips up my neck and breathed heavily into my ear. Instantly, my hands ran up underneath her sweater, remembering what her body looked like underneath. She was wearing a strapless bra under her top, and I pulled it down, massaging her firm perky tits. She pushed her open mouth against mine, and we kissed deep and longingly. She pulled back, breathing heavy as I pushed her against the wall.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” she said breathlessly. “It’s only been a couple of weeks.”

“Maybe.” I kissed her neck and watched her bite her lip and lean her head against the wall.

I put my other hand under her shirt and pushed hard on her breasts, massaging them deeply. My hips moved forward, and I ran my hard cock against her, my pants becoming painfully tight. She pushed back with her hips and moaned as it ran over her pussy. She reached forward and took my shaft into her hands through my pants, squeezing hard. I reached around to unclasp her bra and then pulled her sweater over her head.

“This is going so fast,” I groaned as she unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it off my shoulders. “Maybe we should slow down.”

“Mmhmm,” she moaned as I pulled on her tight spandex pants. “Maybe we should.”

She unbuckled my pants and pulled them down to my feet. I flipped my shoes off and stepped out of them, my cock finally getting a bit of breathing room in my boxer briefs. Tiffany trailed her fingers down my stomach and reached down into my boxers, staring me in the eyes as she pulled my dick out and began to jerk it fast and hard. I reached forward and pulled down her panties, spreading her legs with my knees and cupping her wet pussy. She moaned loudly as I rubbed back and forth between the folds, matching her intensity.

“You like that?” I whispered into her ear.

“Mmhmm,” she moaned.

“How about this?” I pushed two fingers deep inside of her and watched as she arched her back and spread her legs wider.

“Yes,” she screamed out.

She turned her hand over on my cock and rubbed it hard and slow as she moved her hips in rhythm with my hand pushing in and out of her. I took my other hand and continued to massage her tits, feeling her nipples harden as soon as my hand brushed over them. I looked at her body writhing at my touch, and my cock instantly got harder. Her curves and dips were so fucking sexy, all I wanted to do was wrap her legs around my waist and fuck her right here against the wall. But then, it would be over quickly, and I had no plans to make this a quick thing. I wanted to savor her, make her come over and over again, taste her, and finally, when she was satisfied, I wanted to fuck her so hard she begged me not to stop. I wanted to see those tits bouncing up and down as my body slammed into her over and over, bringing her to the edge of orgasm, and then pushing her further over the edge. I had never wanted anyone as much as I wanted her right then, and from the juices running down my hand, I could tell the feeling was mutual.

I took my fingers out of her pussy and rubbed the head of my cock through her folds, letting her feel it for just a second. She moaned and grabbed at me, trying to get it inside of her, but I wasn’t ready, knowing once I was all the way in, there would be no stopping. She breathed heavily, waiting to feel my shaft inside of her. I grabbed my cock and hovered the tip just over her pussy. I pushed in just about an inch, letting her get just a taste before pulling back out and smiling.

“Fuck me, damn it,” she growled.

“Not yet,” I whispered. “First, I want to taste you.”

Chapter 10

Tiffany

I pressed my back against the wall, my hands holding my breasts and the air leaving my chest as Jason dipped down on his knees and moved his tongue through my wetness. I had never been in a situation where I felt so much want and need for anyone. I couldn’t even start to come to terms with what was going on with Jason and I, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was let go and let him take my body. The plethora of text messages that had been sent back and forth over the last day had gotten me hot and bothered, and though part of me wanted to take care of it myself and not get involved in anything complicated, I knew my own fingers were not going to do the trick in this situation. I needed Jason, all of him, every damn inch of him to make me feel better, and I was determined to give him the time of his life.

There was something so hot about Jason’s face pressed between my legs, almost as if I had wanted him there a lot longer than I realized. He reached up and tugged at my waist, pulling me down to the floor. I leaned my upper back against the wall as he pushed my thighs wide apart and dove down with his mouth. I could feel his lips caress my mound like they did my own lips just a day before, and I moaned loudly as his tongue did circle eights over my clit. My hands moved down to Jason’s head, and I pushed my fingers through his dark hair, feeling his head swivel as his intensity increased. I gasped as he slid two fingers inside of me and began to push in and out, his mouth firmly planted on my nub, sucking and nibbling me closer and closer to orgasm. I breathed deeply, trying to keep myself under control but there was no way I could at that point, the wanting had been there for so long.

The heat of the moment bubbled up in my stomach as I began to grind my hips against his face. Sensing how close I was, he picked up the pace, moving his fingers deeper and harder, and pressing his mouth firmly into my wetness. I cried out, throwing my hands to my side and grinding my hips. He clamped his hands around my waist and moved me with his mouth, bringing a feeling of pleasure surging through me. Like the fire that ignited the bomb, that pleasure pushed my orgasm over the edge. I screamed again, tightening every muscle in my body, arching my back and taking in a deep breath. The waves of orgasm hit me like a ton of bricks, and I could barely keep my composure. As the juices flowed, Jason moved his mouth over my pussy fast, lapping up my taste and groaning. As my muscles relaxed, and I let out a deep breath, I could feel a smile pull at the edges of Jason’s lips. I leaned forward, pushing him back and climbing to my knees.

“Stand up,” I said, biting my lip.

He scrambled to his feet and cleared his throat, ready for what was going to come next. I raked my fingers down his sides and grabbed onto his ass, pulling his body toward me. I reached up and wrapped my hand around his long hard shaft, almost taken back by how big it was. I looked up into his eyes and grinned as I closed my eyes and took his cock deep into my throat. He lurched and groaned as I deep throated his shaft, pressing my lips against his skin at the base. His eyes got big as I sucked hard, pulling it back out and then diving back down. He wrapped his fingers gently through my hair and pushed gently against my head, taking only slight control. As I pulled my head back up, I wrapped my tongue around his shaft, sucking hard. He moaned out, grabbing harder at my hair. His hips began to thrust forward as his hand held my face still. I opened my mouth wide and allowed him to push deep down into my throat. My eyes watered as I looked up at him, his face dark with desire. I reached my hands up and coddled his balls, gently massaging them as he picked up the pace.

I moaned quietly, the arousal simmering in my belly while I watched him fuck my mouth. It was as if we couldn’t get enough of each other in those moments. He pulled back, loosening his grip on my hair and taking a calming breath as he looked down at me. Slowly, he reached down and scooped me into his arms, carrying me back toward the bedroom. I ran my lips across his neck, feeling his strong hands gripping my thighs and his muscular arms beneath me. He gently laid me down on the bed, and I pulled my head up on the pillow. As he hovered over me, I could see the passion in his stare and despite my assumption that he would dive right in, he ran his fingers through my hair, resting his body to the side. His face pushed down toward mine, and he kissed my lips, gently at first, but then turning deeper and needier. His hands slipped over my breasts, and he grasped them, massaging with his hands as his tongue explored my mouth. I gasped as his hard cock rubbed against my side, making more wetness pool between my legs. I wanted him so badly, but this touch was something I had not experienced before, his emotions spilling out over my skin. The men in this family were never very good at verbal expression, but Jason had found an outlet to express his.

Slowly, he rolled over on top of me, pushing my legs apart, his eyes still focused on mine. My breath picked up from the intensity of the contact, and I gasped as his cock slowly slid through my juices. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, feeling every inch of him fill me up. His lips trailed down my throat as his hips began to push forward slowly until our bodies connected. I opened my eyes and found his stare still steady, and I locked on as if our gaze was what held us together. He penetrated me to the core, groaning into my mouth as our lips hovered closely together. I could feel the bulge in his cock as he took his time, wanting more but holding back. His restraint was almost more than I could handle, and my fingertips danced across his back, secretly begging him for more. As if he could read what was in my mind through my eyes, he started going faster, his hips moving in a wave as his body swiped across my clit. I pulled my legs up to the sides of his body and held tightly to his neck, pulling his body close to mine.

I could feel the muscles tense and release as he pushed forward with his legs, holding himself just inches with his massive trembling arms. My body reacted in every way to his lustful gaze and all-encompassing coverage. My hips tilted upward and my thighs relaxed, opening myself to him fully. It was the first time I had ever felt that comfortable with a man before. I wanted all of him, and I yearned to feel him come inside of me, knowing it was safe since my condition didn’t allow me to have children. The feeling was free with no attachments of stress or anger. It was just two people connecting on a level beyond cosmic, and it seemed the world had stood still. I moaned quietly with my breath as the buildup of another orgasm brewed inside of me. The feeling of his soft warm skin brushing against my wetness sent ribbons of arousal through my body.

Jason’s movements grew stronger and more powerful, showing me he, too, was reaching the edge of his climax. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought to control his muscles. His body yearned to let loose while his mind concentrated on the deep steady movements inside of me. I knew I needed to give him permission to free himself from the constant need to fill me with his shaft and allow himself to feel the orgasm fighting to break through. I leaned my face to his ear and whispered.

“I want to feel you come.”

He groaned loudly and let out a deep breath, pushing his arms up and grabbing my thighs. He hooked my legs over his arms and began to thrust deeper and harder. His speed quickened and the strained look from before was replaced with determination. He bit his lip as his hips moved faster and faster, his cock throbbing for release. I reached my arms over my head and grabbed the edge of the mattress moaning loudly as he pushed into me hard and deep. My muscles began to tense as the feeling of skin on mine pushed me over my edge. I arched my back and tilted my head, screaming loudly as ribbons of pleasure flowed through my body, taking over my senses and blinding me with passion. I could feel him sit up and grab me under the back as he pushed several times short and hard inside of me. With the final push, his fingers grabbed at my skin and his muscles tightened. His eyes closed as his head tilted backward, and I could feel the explosion of his seed inside of me. I screamed out in pleasure as his cock pulsated against my already shivering walls. Deep groaning sounds escaped his throat as he twitched in front of me, letting the last of his orgasm simmer out.

For several minutes he sat there, holding my exhausted, heaving body in his arms as one by one, his muscles relaxed. He laid me down gently on the bed and let out a deep breath, pulling his still hard cock from inside of me and collapsing on the bed next to me. We laid there in pleasured silence for several minutes before he turned on his side and propped his head up on his hand. He moved the hair from my face and pulled the sheet up over my exposed body. I smiled as he leaned down and gently kissed my lips. I glanced over at the clock and chuckled.

“I think I made you late for work,” I whispered.

“I’m not going back,” he said grinning. “I can’t leave this. Hell, my father is the owner of the company. I’ve never used that to my advantage to miss work, but today, I think it will be okay.”

“Good,” I said touching his face. “I like you here.”

“I like being here, with you,” he said kissing my cheek. “And I want to talk to you about your medical condition.”

“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath. “Well, it's called PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. I grow a bunch of small cysts on my ovaries, and in turn, it makes it pretty much impossible to get pregnant. It’s been a bit to take in. I mean I lost any chance to have a child and lost my husband all in one month. It’s been overwhelming, to say the least.”

“I know,” he said looking at me in a way no other man ever had. “I’d like to help if you’d let me. I have some contacts with some amazing doctors, and I’d like to set you up for a second opinion.”

“That would be amazing,” I said. I bet he didn’t know just how awesome he was.

“Good,” he said, smiling. “That was easy.”

“I’m not one to fight someone looking out for my best interest,” I laughed.

“I’ll always look out for your best interest,” he replied.

And I was going to hold him to that.

Chapter 11

Jason

My home office looked like the inside of a doctor’s office with printed medical journals sprawled out all over the place. I had a bucket of highlighters sitting next to me, and the pages I printed were highlighted according to the type of information. By the time I was done with one sheet, it looked like a rainbow and the paper had become flimsy from the amount of ink that was saturating the fibers. I had decided that since Tiffany was busy this weekend getting stuff moved around in her house and spending time with her best friend Mona, I was going to get myself up to speed on her medical condition. I couldn’t really be there for her or find her the best doctor for a second opinion if I didn’t know everything there was to know about this disease. The internet, as always, was peppered with information that I had to sort through from medical journals to personal stories of women who suffered from the condition. There were your normal fairy tale stories of women who were told they would never get pregnant and then, poof, they had triplets, to women who suffered almost debilitating depression because of the lack of fertility. Thinking about Tiffany having to feel even an ounce of the pain these women did made me uneasy, and I was determined to make her into one of the success stories.

After I understood what the condition was and what it scientifically did to her body, I started looking up treatments. There was everything from invasive surgeries to holistic remedies, and by the time I was done sorting those out, my head was spinning. I knew treatment was not up to me at all, but I wanted to give Tiffany the best options, the ones she would feel most comfortable with and would offer her the best chance of recovery. Just knowing the woman for five seconds, you could tell she was meant to be a mother. Her nurturing nature and huge heart were some of the things I had admired for years. She was everything you expected a woman holding a baby in her arms to be. How had she managed to escape college without becoming a teacher or a caregiver? I knew how her life was growing up, though, with parents who were dependent on drugs, and I wondered how much that affected her want for her own children. She had been independent since she was a small child, having to take care of her parents when they were all drugged out. From that, her brother had protected and shielded her until she could break free of the chains and become the woman she was.

It was already an adult fairy tale, and I figured if anyone could work past this condition, it would be Tiffany. I took a break, grabbing a beer from the fridge and walking out onto my balcony. I didn’t live in a high-rise like Jordan but, instead, hung out in a three-story SoHo loft with a walk-out onto the roof sanctuary that also housed a swimming pool just for me. It was like my break away from the business of Manhattan, while still being able to walk outside and see the chaos of the city. I absolutely loved every part of it. I pulled my phone out and smiled, looking down at the message from Tiffany. We had been talking ever since I left her house late Friday night. Everything in me wanted to stay, but Saturday morning was the annual fall breakfast at my parents’ place, and so, I’d gone home to get changed and ready for that. It felt weird not having her there, and even my mother had commented on her absence. Jordan simply rolled his eyes and passed the potatoes, not wanting to talk about it, irritated that his family wasn’t going into woman-hater mode with him.

The entire time at breakfast, I had thought about Tiffany and the amazing sex we’d had the night before. Her body was so tender, so soft, and it felt like more than just a roll in the hay like I thought. I had years of emotions behind it, having watched her from afar for many years, envious that my brother could be with such an amazing creature. For her part, I don’t know how she felt, but she seemed to be just as emotionally vested as I was. Physically, though, our bodies connected right away, and it was like I knew just how to pleasure her, the knowledge that would normally come later in a relationship when two people had fully brought their bodies together, over and over, learning each other’s pleasure zones and arousal buttons. Not so with Tiffany. She and I, once close, were like magnets, rubbing against each other, drawn closer and closer, and feeling every single inch of each other’s bodies. I couldn’t wait until the next time I got to be alone with her. There were several other things I had in mind for that sexy body.

Tonight, though, was the regular Sunday night dinner where I would get to sit across the table from Jordan and keep my secret to myself. I was even more disgusted by the way he had treated Tiffany, especially now that we had given ourselves to each other and now that I understood her on an entirely new level. I was disappointed the situation was as it was and I couldn’t keep her close to me, bringing her along to my parent's house to show off and hold hands with her. Jordan had been the only one to regularly bring girls to my parents while I had reserved that for a time I knew the girl was the one. I knew it seemed crazy, but that was how I felt about Tiffany, regardless of where her feelings for me were. That was something I wasn’t going to push, especially since the ink had hardly dried on her divorce.

However, I wasn’t going to lie. I didn’t hesitate to torture my brother, knowing he was wondering about the girl who was taking my attention away. He had stopped hounding me about Tiffany, though I knew it was still on his mind. He would just have to wait like everyone else until the time was right. In the meantime, I would get to keep my feelings for Tiffany private and just between the two of us. Our time would be our time, and I felt it would make it even that much more important to the two of us. It wasn’t very often, especially in my family, when something special came into your life that you got to enjoy in privacy before everyone wanted to be a part of it. I wasn’t sure how my family would react, but I knew in time, no matter how they felt at first, they would be happy to have Tiffany back into the fold.

I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing the notes into folders and putting them together. I figured eventually Tiffany might want to read some of the information, but for now, I had a pretty good understanding of the disease, what the symptoms were, and what to talk to the doctors about. I would be making phone calls first thing in the morning from the office. I wanted to get on top of this as fast as possible so Tiffany could put her mind at ease for the future. I had no idea how she felt, but I did know that the less stress she had, the quicker she could come back to work, and the more relaxed we could be around each other. The best thing I knew how to do was get her in to see a doctor and be there for her, no matter what the end result was. I couldn’t help but think there wasn’t something we could do to get through this, even if she didn’t end up with me in the end. I just wanted her to be happy. Everything else would work out how it was supposed to after that. I flipped my office light off and headed to my room to get changed and get ready to go to my parents’ house for dinner. It was going to be a fun night, watching my brother act the douchebag like he usually did, knowing in the back of mind, I saved Tiffany from a miserable existence in his shadow.

My parents always sent a car for me on Sundays. They wanted me to enjoy wine with dinner and whiskey afterward without worrying about me getting home. They had moved outside of the city when we were young teenagers, into a large mansion on the edge of town. I hopped in the car and sat back, watching as I passed the changing colors of the trees and texted Tiffany on my way there. She was eating pizza and drinking tequila with Mona, and it made me a little jealous, but only because I wanted to be there with her. When I arrived at my parents, I shoved my phone in my pockets and walked up the large front staircase. My mother had already pulled out the fall decorations, and there was a large wreath covered in orange, red, and brown leaves hanging from the front door. The maid opened the door before I could even reach for the handle, and I smiled as I walked in, smelling the scent of Sunday evening dinner. It was really the only time my mother cooked anymore. Instead, she’d hired a chef and spent her days and nights between the office and doing her crafting with her friends from the club.

At the start of dinner, I looked down at my phone and smiled at a picture Tiff sent of her and Mona sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by tequila and pizza. They were ridiculous, but I was really pleased to see Tiffany starting to act like her old self again. She was way too precious to be caught up in heartbreak, and I was happy to be part of the solution.

“That your new girlfriend?” Jordan looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. “Where’d you meet her?” He sounded suspicious, but I ignored his tone.

“I met her at a bar a few weeks ago,” I said smiling. “She’s pretty awesome. You’d really like her.” I stared right at Jordan with a cocky smile. He squinted his eyes at me with curiosity.

“Is that why you didn’t come back to work on Friday?” My father interrupted our stare-off, and I switched my gaze to him, taking a deep breath.

“Um, yeah, actually,” I chuckled. “She had some stuff going on, and I wanted to be there for her.”

“Well,” my mother said. “I need to meet this girl. We need to meet this girl. You haven’t talked about a girlfriend since that flakey girl you dated in eleventh grade.”

“I know.” I laughed, thinking about little Marcy from school. She was sweet but not too bright. “When the time is right, you will all meet her.”

That seemed to appease my mother and father, but Jordan kept his gaze fixed on my face. I knew he had his suspicions, but I couldn’t have cared less about what he thought. I was going to make the best decision for Tiffany in all of this, something he neglected to do from the get-go. If he wasn’t going to cherish her and treat her right, I would make sure that I did.

Chapter 12

Tiffany

I looked in my bathroom mirror after applying the last of my makeup and my cherry lip gloss. My hair looked silky smooth and flowed over my shoulders in ringlets. I was nervous, and I didn’t really know why. The other night was amazing with Jason, and we had talked non-stop since then, sending silly texts back and forth and staying up until the wee hours of the morning talking on the phone. He had a great dinner with his parents and laughed at how they noticed his attention was elsewhere. Everything seemed perfect, except that our relationship was a huge secret. I didn’t know where it was going or if I should even be thinking about that, but I couldn’t help but let it plague my mind. I just wanted everything to go smoothly. I wanted his parents to accept that we were dating, Jordan to get off his high horse about thinking I was still his property, and this medical stuff to be lifted off my shoulders. The only thing I could tell myself was to be patient and let it play out. Nothing was going to come from worrying so much.

I had gotten a lot of work done on Saturday and was ready to turn it in for more, but that meant going to the office. This time, however, I wasn’t as nervous as before, knowing Jason would be somewhere in the office. John would be pleased the files were done, and I knew there was plenty of work to keep me busy for a while. I wasn’t quite ready yet to get back to my office, but I didn’t mind having something to keep me occupied during the day. I knew, too, when I got there, I would be able to stick my head in Jason’s office and surprise him since he didn’t know I would be coming in today. I finished getting ready and grabbed my phone, dialing John’s cell phone number.

“Hey there,” he said happily.

“Hey, John,” I replied. “I finished up those files and was going to come trade them for some more. I wanted to ask—”

“I’ll make sure Jordan is out of the office,” he interrupted kindly. “I have some errands I can actually send him on right now if you're ready to come over.”

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.

“Great,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up the phone feeling better that he wouldn’t be there. The last thing I wanted was for Jordan to ruin my good mood. I hopped in a taxi and headed over to the building, excited and nervous to see Jason’s smiling face. He texted me on the way, but I didn’t answer back, figuring dropping in would be better than a text. When I arrived, I took the elevator up and smiled at the receptionist who seemed happy to see me. I wondered what kind of chaos was going on while I’ve been gone but pushed the thought from my mind, not ready to jump back into anything stressful. I walked to Jason’s office and poked my head around the corner, smiling as he looked down at his phone with a concerned look.

“I’m okay,” I said smiling.

“Hey,” he said excitedly. “This is a surprise.”

“I know,” I replied. “I mean it to be one. I just came to grab some more work. I’ll poke my head in before I leave.”

“Please do,” he said happily. “I’ll walk you out.”

I nodded and walked merrily down the hall to John’s office. He was equally as pleased to see me and was very gracious for the expediency in which I prepared the files. I stopped by my office and refilled the box, noticing that only one or two folders had been taken since the last time I was there. The temp must really be struggling since a pile like the one on my desk would normally have been done in two working days. I shook my head and headed back to Jason’s office, standing in the doorway with a smile for him. He got up and walked over, taking the box from my hands.

“Walk me out?”

“Of course,” he replied with a wink.

We walked to the elevators, ignoring the blank stares from the people around us. Once inside, I reached over before he could press the button and hit the seventh floor button. He looked at me strangely, and I chuckled.

“Are we doing some construction today?”

“The crew is off on Tuesday,” I said as we rode down to the seventh floor.

When the doors opened, I walked out backward, giving him a knowing look. He laughed, carrying the box with him and setting it down on a pile of wooden beams. The floor was being renovated, so it was slightly dusty, but I knew we could be alone there. I watched Jason as he looked around the floor, still unsure of what we were doing there. All I could think about was getting him out of those clothes. I walked over and grabbed him by the tie, mashing my lips against his. He stepped forward, putting his arms around me and kissing me deeply. I could feel the warmth between my legs as his cock began to grow hard in his pants.

“Take me,” I whispered into his ear, pulling his jacket down and tossing it to the side.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a coy smile.

Instantly, we were on each other, pulling at each other’s belts. I could feel the passion ignite as we stumbled across the room toward the windows. Pressed against the window was a desk, covered in a white drapery. I pulled the drape off and watched as Jason undid his pants and pulled his cock out the top. He stroked it hard with his palm, staring me in the eyes. I immediately took my pants off and backed up to the desk, sitting part way on the edge and reaching down between my moist folds. He gritted his teeth and jacked his cock harder, watching as I rubbed my fingers through my pussy, my eyes fixed on his. I wanted him so bad, but I loved watching him want me even more. I lifted my fingers to my mouth and sucked on them, pulling them back down to my clit and then pushed them deep inside me. I gasped with a small whine as I began to finger myself, watching his cock get harder and harder.

He groaned as his hand slipped over his cock, but he stood steady, watching me bring myself closer and closer to orgasm. I pulled my fingers out and rubbed my clit fast and hard, feeling his eyes rolling over me in the heat of the moment. I lifted myself up and leaned back slightly to give him a better view as my fingers circled around my nub, bringing me closer to the edge of ecstasy. I tilted my head back as I rubbed my pussy, moaning loudly, not caring if anyone could hear me. The cold bare wood beneath me squeaked as I lifted my hips and moved them around, my hand still rubbing hard against my skin.

“I want to see you come,” he growled.

I smiled in agreeance, knowing the sooner I came, the sooner I could have that large, hard cock inside of me. I licked my fingers again, watching his hand tighten around his shaft and then plunged them deep inside, moaning as I moved my hand faster and deeper inside of me. He stepped forward, pushing my thigh open, a serious and determined look on his face. I could feel myself at the tipping point, and I reached up with my other hand and grabbed my breasts, squeezing hard as my fingers moved over my nub. I arched my back and continued to grind as the orgasm in my stomach flowed over, sending waves of pleasure through my body.

Jason stepped forward, groaning, and yanked me off the desk, turned me around, and bent me over, shoving his cock into my pulsating pussy. He growled as the juices flowed over his hard shaft, grabbed me by the waist, and began to fuck me deep and hard. He reached back and slapped my ass with the tips of his fingers, the pain mixing with the pleasure. I reached forward and grabbed the other end of the desk, still feeling my clit pulsing from the orgasm I had given myself. I could feel every single inch of his dick sliding in and out of me, and I screamed out loudly as pushed in hard, our bodies slamming into each other.

“Yes,” I yelled out, flinging my hair back out of my face.

Jason reached one hand up and grabbed my hair pulling my head back slightly as he used my waist to push and pull from. I could feel his unexpected erotic emotions pulsing through the air as he slammed his cock into me over and over. The sound of the desk bouncing into the beams on the windows echoed through the empty office, accompanied by my loud moans. He let go of my hair and pulled my body toward him as his hips thrust forward. I looked back at him, gritting my teeth, and watched as his face showed determination and lust. I could tell he was on the edge of orgasm, and immediately, that turned me on. I spread my legs apart and reached down, rubbing my clit as his cock filled me over and over again. The vision of his face and the sound of his groans brought me to another peak very quickly.

I rubbed hard, screaming out as he leaned forward grabbing my shoulders and thrusting deep. I came all over his dick, and he dug his fingers into my shoulders, his breath on the nape of my neck. His hips moved melodically as his body tensed and his cock twitched inside of me. He growled loudly as he lurched, his orgasm shuddering through his body. I could feel him release inside of me, and even after it was done, he continued to gently push in and out with his hips until finally, he slowed to a stop. He leaned forward against me and breathed heavily, his heart beating so hard I could feel it on my back. I pressed my face against the cold wood of the desk and relaxed for a moment, feeling the closeness of our skin. Slowly, he stood up and pulled his pants up, reaching over and helping me to my feet.

Quietly we got dressed, smiling with blushed cheeks when catching each other’s eye. When he was done dressing, he walked over to me and wrapped his hands around my neck, kissing me sweetly on the lips. He looked into my eyes and smiled, a small chuckle shaking his chest.

“What?” I said smiling.

“That was the best work surprise I have ever gotten.” He laughed again.

“I thought you’d like that,” I said. “But you need to get back to work.”

“I do,” he groaned. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

We stood close in the elevator, our shoulders touching and our breath matching. I checked my hair in the mirror and wiped the cherry lipstick from his cheek, turning back and grasping the box in my arms as the doors to the elevator opened. I looked up to once again find Jordan staring at me, an irritated look on his face.

“Hey,” I said, walking past. I turned and winked at Jason before heading out to catch a cab.

As I climbed in, I realized something. I didn’t feel anything when I saw Jordan. There was no wrenching feeling in my chest or drop in my stomach. It was like seeing some random person from the office. At that moment, I understood there was a reason for that. My heart had never actually belonged to him in the first place, something I knew all along but never allowed myself to see. Finally, I felt free from his clutches, free to feel however I wanted to for Jason.

Chapter 13

Jason

I stirred my drink, thinking about how I hadn’t seen Tiffany since the day in the empty seventh floor. She was so hot, looking at me with wanting eyes as she rubbed her fingers over her pussy. I wanted to fuck her so much but watching her play with herself was the hottest things I had ever experienced in my entire life. I couldn’t help but stand there and stare, stroking my shaft and waiting for those juices to start flowing. Diving into something with Tiffany had become an adventure that I hadn’t quite expected. She was smart, beautiful, charming, and fucking sexy as hell. I had always wondered, in the back of my mind, what kind of girl she was in bed, and though I expected more than a timid mouse, I wasn’t expecting a handful. But I was not complaining, because everything she did drove me absolutely wild. We had been texting all week, and it was finally Friday. She would be coming to this bar with Mona. We had staged a happy “run-in” with each other. It would look casual, but we could be out in public together. After the video she’d sent me two nights ago, though, I wasn’t sure I would be able to contain myself. I might just have to pull her into the back room and bend her over a box in the stocking area. I looked down at my drink, smiling at the thought.

“You look happy,” Jordan’s voice caught me off guard.

“What are you doing here?” I was more than a little irritated he was here. It was like he was still hounding me about seeing Tiffany and me together again in the elevator. Little did he know, we had just come back from fucking the hell out of each other a few floors up.

“Don’t sound so excited to see me,” he said grumbling. “Listen, man, I have to ask, is there something going on between you and Tiffany? You guys looked awfully cozy in that elevator again.”

“Dude,” I sighed. “Will you please give it a rest? There is nothing going on. Tiffany is not my type, and I have other things on my mind than dating your ex-wife.”

“All right,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll leave it alone.”

“Thank you,” I said with a sigh. “So, what’s up, dude. This was never really your scene. Why are you showing up at the bar so much lately?”

“Gotta take advantage of the single life,” he said, laughing. “You haven’t seen me here because until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t allowed to be here checking out chicks. Now, though, I gotta soak it all up. I’m starting to understand why you’ve stayed single for so long. There are so many choices. It's like an amazing buffet in Las Vegas.”

“Yeah.” I snorted. I watched him as he looked down, stirring his drink. The excitement left his face, and he looked like he was contemplating his words. Part of me felt incredibly bad about what was going on between me and Tiffany. I had been fine the entire time, no guilt, no bad feelings, but now with that look that screamed lonely, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad about what had been going on. I slapped Jordan’s shoulder and smiled, watching his eyes move up to the bar and then across the crowd.

As I slumped down, feeling the guilt creep in, I looked up at the door and watched as Tiffany walked through into the bar. Instantly, that guilt disappeared with the reminder of how absolutely amazing she was, and how badly my brother had treated her. Her blond hair was pulled back into a curly ponytail. She was wearing a low-cut sweater and a pair of jeans tucked into knee-high black boots. She took off her peacoat and draped it over her arm, looking around the bar until her eyes met mine. Immediately, her smile lit me up inside, and I watched her body move with grace, her luscious hips swinging side to side, and her breasts heaving as she made her way toward me. My cock started to twitch in my pants as I imagined pulling her pants down, spreading her legs, and fucking her hard against the bar, watching her face in the mirror in the back. She could grab onto the service railing as I plowed into her. I shook the idea from my head as she got closer and scooted past Jordan, barely looking at him. She took a seat next to me with Mona and they ordered a drink.

“Hey,” she said looking at me and then up at Jordan. “Hey, Jordan.”

“What’s up?” He tried to play it off like he wasn’t surprised to see her. Instead, he stuck his mini straw in his mouth and looked around at the women in the bar. She laughed to herself and turned to Mona, giggling and whispering as they chimed their glasses together. Under the stool, she moved her leg near mine and secretly ran her foot up my calf. I could feel the goosebumps running down my arms, and I rubbed my body, pretending I was cold. Jordan kept his vision fixed on the back of the bar, not wanting to show his interest in Tiffany. I thought it would bother me how he reacted, but I quickly realized it wasn’t going to be his reaction I cared about. Instead, it would be hers.

“That girl is fucking smoking,” Jordan whispered. “You guys have fun.”

We all watched as he walked over toward a busty redhead in the back corner. I watched Tiffany’s face, wanting to see how she would react to Jordan hitting on another woman, but her gaze stayed fixed on the television screen above us, and I didn’t see even the slightest hint of jealousy. My heart fluttered at the thought that her attention was so tuned to me that Jordan didn’t even affect her any longer. She turned her stool toward me and smiled, her hands quickly running over my thigh and across my crotch. My cheeks heated quickly, and I wanted to grab her and take her out of the bar.

“So, when we saw Jordan at the elevator when it opened,” she said, looking me in the eyes, “I realized something.”

“What’s that?” My heart was racing, terrified she was going to say she wanted him back.

“I realized I didn’t care anymore.” She smiled. “I didn’t feel anything when I saw him. I realized my heart never actually belonged to him. I had tricked myself into thinking it did, but I knew from the very beginning I would never fully be able to give myself to him. I don’t know why I lied to myself like that, but now I realize it, and it's freeing.”

“I’m glad,” I chuckled with relief. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Me, too,” she sighed, looking down.

“I really like you, a lot,” I said, staring at her until she reconnected with me.

“I really like you, too,” she said, blushing and biting her bottom lip.

We drank our drinks and turned to Mona, listening to her talk about the dating scene and her hilarious yet really sad experiences recently. I was relieved that, for at least the current moment, I didn’t have to deal with that world at all. I felt comfortable knowing that I had Tiffany by my side, even if I couldn’t show it to the world. I caught my brother glancing over several times, but he ended up leaving halfway into the evening, the redhead in tow. Tiffany didn’t even act like she noticed but continued to tell stories and laugh loudly at how amazing she thought Mona’s dating life was. I scooted my stool a little closer to Tiffany, running my fingertips over her lower back. She turned and looked at me with blushed cheeks, her eyes telling me she was thinking about more than just a few drinks at the bar. Had she not been out with her best friend, I would have taken her back to my place and gotten her naked in my bed, but as it were, I just dealt with being out and tried to enjoy some public time with her.

I kept the alcohol flowing for the girls, knowing the drunker Mona was, the less likely she would notice as our PDA steadily increased. It was almost thrilling, trying to hold hands, be close, and still keep it unknown to anyone around us that we were seeing each other. From the way Tiffany acted, she hadn’t even told Mona the whole truth yet, and so there we were, sneaking kisses by the bathroom, secretly rubbing each other’s legs under the cover of the bar ledge, and sitting very close, feeling the electricity move between each other. By the time I got this girl in bed again, which wouldn’t be tonight, I was going to explode before she could even get it out of my pants.

When the end of the night came around, I paid our tab and helped direct Mona, who was now pretty lit, out of the bar and toward the cab waiting on the corner. I held the door open as Mona slid in, and Tiffany bent over to make sure she was strapped into her seatbelt. Before Tiffany climbed in, she stood back up, smiling at me thankfully. Before she could say a word, I grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her in for a deep sensual kiss. She leaned into it, whimpering at the surprise of it. When we parted lips, she kept her eyes closed for a moment, and I couldn’t help but think she looked like an angel. When she opened them, she smiled, mouthing the word “goodnight” before climbing into the cab. I shut the door and tapped the roof of the cab, watching it drive off down the road. They weren’t that far from Tiffany’s, but I didn’t like the idea of them walking back. I’d talked Tiffany into taking the cab.

I stuck my hands in my pockets and meandered down the sidewalk, breathing in the cold air of New York as I strolled. There were plenty of cabs out on the strip, so I decided to go for a little walk before retiring for the night. There was something amazing about love and the smell of the city around you. I hadn’t ever been in that situation before, and it was almost intoxicating. I now was starting to see New York City’s obsession with love and dating. It was almost like a drug. I walked along the sidewalk watching other couples, whether they were together forever or just met each other, stumble out of bars and clubs. Some held hands, some made out every three steps, while others argued in the shadows, the troubles at home seeping out into their public lives.

Tiffany was an amazing girl, someone I now could not even think about not having in my life. It was no longer a question of whether we were going to miss her at my parents or not. It was now a question of when the right time would be to bring her out to the family. I needed to talk to her, knowing this was a joint decision. After seeing her face when Jordan walked off, I knew she wasn’t thinking about anyone other than me. I couldn’t be happier about that.

Chapter 14

Tiffany

The birds chirped incessantly outside my window, but I didn’t want to open my eyes, knowing I had drunk way too much the night before and was destined for a hangover. Slowly, I cracked one eye open, quickly shutting it at the pounding it let into my head. I pulled the blankets over my head and laid inside my cocoon, feeling the warmth of my own body heat seeping through me. I laid there for several minutes with my head on the pillow, thinking about Jason and how he had acted at the bar. He was warm, loving, and I could tell he wanted to be able to show just how attracted he was to me. Hell, I’m not a fan of PDA, but last night, all I’d wanted to do was feel his arms around me and kiss him in public. I guess you always want what you can’t have, and with Jordan across the room for most of the night, there had been nothing I could really do. I was still shocked at how much I did not care about Jordan. Nothing he did was affecting me at all, even the fact that he had been hitting on the redheaded slut in the corner and ended up leaving with her. Anyone else in my position would have run out crying, but it seriously did not bother me at all, especially with Jason sitting right there, his hand secretly on my thigh. There were definitely a few times there that I thought about taking him in the bathroom and having him fuck me in a stall.

However, I wasn’t really the bathroom type of gal, and I was trying to keep things under wraps, so I kept my fantasy to myself, knowing if I told him, it would have just been false hopes for him. It was one thing to bang on an empty floor under renovation. It was another thing altogether to screw someone in the bathroom of a dirty New York City bar. I had to draw the line somewhere, and last night, it was with that. At the end of the night, after getting Mona safely in the cab, I couldn’t help but be completely smitten when he grabbed my face and planted one on me. It felt so good to be kissed like that, by him, in the middle of the city. I knew we would still need to hide things for a little while, but allowing ourselves that one moment really made me even more excited for what our future had in store. I wanted to make things official with Jason, but I also wanted to keep things moving slower than they seemed to be going. The biggest problem was that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, which kind of defeated the purpose of taking things slowly.

I listened carefully, hearing Mona in the kitchen. She had stayed the night at my place since I lived close to the bar. Every time she stayed over, she would wake up in the morning and make breakfast, no matter how hungover she was. She always said it was because she was hungry, but I knew part of it was because she really did care about me and wanted to say thank you. Most of the time, even when I was wasted, I had to look out for Mona. I guess it was a fair trade-off since she was the best giver of advice that I had ever met. I could tell her anything, and she would tell it to me straight. That was how I knew she loved me. She didn’t just agree with everything I had to say because I was her friend. She agreed with some things, but others, she didn’t cut me any slack on.

I pulled myself from the bed and wrapped a knit sweater around my shoulders, feeling the chill in the air. It was about time to start using the heat in the apartment to keep it warm. I shuffled out to the kitchen, feeling like complete hell, and sat down at the breakfast bar. Mona’s hair was a mess, and she turned around, poured me a glass of orange juice, put a cup of coffee in front of me, and slapped two aspirin down on the bar. She cracked a pained smile and nodded her head, telling me she felt just as bad, if not worse than I did. I guess when we’d been at the bar, she’d been drinking faster than I had, my mind constantly being torn from my drink to wherever Jason’s hands were secretly touching me. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure she was drinking two for my every one, and I hadn’t really noticed since I constantly had the straw in my mouth. It was a way to control the butterflies floating around in my chest. I’d had to do something to distract myself, or I might have jumped him right there in the middle of the bar.

I sipped my coffee and closed my eyes, letting the aroma float up through my nose and into my brain. I seriously wondered what I ever did without coffee. Mona put down a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me, and I winced at the thought of eating anything.

“Eat,” she warned. “Promise it will make you feel better.”

I sighed like a child and brought the fork to my mouth. Once they were in my mouth, I instantly realized just how damn hungry I was in the first place. I smiled and shook my head, thinking about how, again, every piece of advice Mona gave me was helpful. I wanted to tell her the rest of the story with Jason since she already knew I had seen him out and about several times. She’d been the one to convince me to call him and ask him to lunch, but I was nervous at what her reaction would be.

“So,” she said sitting down next to me. “What’s up with you and brother number two?”

“Ha,” I chuckled at the thought of that as Jason’s title. “I don’t know. I guess I really like the guy. A lot.”

“I knew it.” She smiled. “But . . .”

“But what?” I rolled my eyes. “There is always a but with you.”

“Well, life isn’t black and white, sweetie,” she said with sass. “I just know this is a very tricky situation, and you have to remember that sometimes blood is thicker than water. I just want you to be careful.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh. “It just feels so good to look at Jordan and feel nothing. I mean it did not bother me one bit to see him walk off with that redhead. It was like I was watching someone I didn't even know.”

“And I am so glad.” She smiled. “That should tell you something about your real feelings toward him. I just want you to be careful. We’ve all heard about the rebound. I know you care about Jason, but when we get out of serious relationships, we can be blind to the things we normally wouldn’t be blind to. I’m not saying Jason is a bad guy. I’m just saying it's very complicated, and you need to take your time going into it. You might find out a lot of people are hurt by this relationship.”

“I understand,” I said, really taking what she said to heart.

“Good,” she said. “Now, eat your eggs and relax. We had one hell of a night last night. It was fun, but I feel like I was hit by a truck.”

“Me, too,” I said, biting into a strip of bacon. “At least you didn’t go home with that creepy guy at the bar last night.”

“Oh, my God.” She laughed. “Mr. Plaid-Shirt-and-Matching-Socks? My drunk goggles were on high alert last night. I am positive I would have come out of his apartment this morning as a brand new lampshade. That dude was crazy weird. I wouldn’t have cared if you lived in New Jersey, I was determined to get to your house and not to his.”

“I do have to say he was persistent.” I laughed.

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “Looking for his next victim to show his comic book figurine collection to.”

“You could have been the next cosplay girl at the Star Trek convention,” I replied.

“God, could you imagine me in that scenario?” She laughed loudly. “I would totally have been wasted, stumbling across the stage in purple body makeup and fake ears.”

“It would have been amazing.” I giggled.

“Ahh, yes, so much for lost chances,” she said sarcastically.

We talked at length about the evening, the crazy dude at the bar, and the kiss that she apparently didn’t miss, even though she had been completely wasted. We touched a little more on Jason before we both made our way back to the beds in my room and the spare room and collapsed. She fell asleep almost instantly, but I laid there awake thinking about Jason and what Mona had said to me. I knew she was right, but it was so hard to admit since it felt so good to have him wrapped up in my life. At first, I’d thought it was just the familiarity of the family, having him around just like I did when I’d been married to Jordan. As things progressed, I knew that wasn’t true. I knew it was more than that, and life seemed totally different when he and I were with each other. When we were alone, I didn’t even think of him as a Banks. I thought of him as Jason, the incredibly sweet man who I couldn’t keep my hands off of. After the initial attraction had been satiated with hot sex, then had come the rush of emotions I hadn’t expected at all. I hadn’t even imagined I could fall for him in any way, shape, or form.

I turned over and looked at my phone as it began to ring, smiling at Jason’s number popping up on the screen. I cleared my throat and pressed the button, excited to hear from him. I tried to keep Mona’s words present in my mind as I answered.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, obviously wide awake.

“Hey there,” I said sleepily.

“I won’t keep you long,” he said. “I know you guys are probably hung over, but I wanted to see if you wanted to go to dinner at my parent's house tomorrow evening.”

“Oh,” I said, Mona’s words echoing through my head. “I think that may be too much too soon.”

“Okay,” he said with hesitation. “No problem. I’ll talk to you later.”

“All right,” I replied, getting the impression he might be upset with me turning him down.

We got off the phone, and I laid there, thinking about my choice. I tried texting him a couple of times, feeling bad about possibly hurting his feelings, but he didn’t answer me back. As soon as Mona had gotten up, I raced out to talk to her. She listened carefully as I explained what happened, telling her I thought she was right about everything, and I was trying to take it slowly. She smiled at me and rubbed my back, trying to make me feel better.

“All I have to say, sweetie, like I said before, is you just need to be careful,” she whispered.

She was right. I had gotten so wrapped up in the romance of it all that I couldn’t help but want to jump headfirst into everything. I needed to slow down and take my time, even if it affected us. Still, knowing that I had possibly hurt his feelings left me feeling slightly off. Being careful was proving to be much harder than it seemed.

Chapter 15

Jason

It was Monday, and I was sitting at my desk staring at my computer screen. Work was the last place I wanted to be that day, but I really didn’t have any choice. I needed to be functioning and awake, ready to take on the challenges of the day. Instead, I was sitting there thinking about Friday night, Saturday morning, and Tiffany. Everything had seemed so perfect, and after that kiss, I’d thought for sure she would be ready to come out to the family that we were together. After she told me it was all too much too soon, I had sunk down into my thoughts and hadn’t even texted her back yet. There were several times I picked up my phone and stared at the messages, knowing I didn’t want to leave her hanging, but my pride was hurt, and I couldn’t seem to gather my thoughts well enough to get the words out. I probably wrote out ten different messages over the course of two days and never sent any of them. I was hurt and worried at the same time, something that was more than a bit confusing.

I knew it was probably hurtful to her that I had bailed like that. I had worked so hard to protect her from getting hurt that I felt terrible about blowing her off, but I needed time to think about everything. I guess I had gotten ahead of myself in my thoughts with us and my family. I ended up not even going to dinner, telling everyone that I wasn’t feeling well. When Tiffany said she didn’t want to go with me, I couldn’t help feeling rejected, having tried so hard to make her feel comfortable and loved. It crossed my mind that it could have something to do with Jordan and how he’d picked up a girl at the bar that night. She hadn’t responded in any way and had even told me about her revelation about their relationship, but I couldn’t help thinking maybe her lack of reaction had been my wishful thinking. I never thought I would be in a relationship with a girl where I was worried she could be thinking about my brother. I was starting to understand how tricky something like this could be. It wasn’t just about how other people viewed our relationship. It was also about how we viewed each other in the situation. As much as I didn’t want to find out she was thinking about Jordan, she probably, equally, didn’t want me to worry about it. I hadn’t really given a lot of thought about how all of this could affect us on the inside. Not everything was peaches and roses in this situation, and eventually, we would have to face that head-on.

However, even if she had denied my invitation because of Jordan, I couldn’t really be mad about it. It was really wishful thinking, hoping that I could stepped into the picture and, all of a sudden, she no longer cared that she had just been brutally dumped. I guess it was hard for me to understand how any of that felt. After all, I was coming in with a fresh viewpoint, a fresh heart, and no hard feelings toward anyone. Well, at least not the kind of feelings that would hinder me from being in a relationship with someone. The last thing I wanted to do was push her further than she was ready to go or end up the rebound guy. If she did have leftover feelings for Jordan, which was completely possible because she’d thought she was in love and had been married to the guy, even if it was only for a short time, then we would handle those feelings as we went. I had to be open to the understanding that, as much as her revelation sounded great, it may have been a combination of her wanting to move on and the excitement of our relationship just getting started. I would need to understand that part of our lives and be able to handle it without taking it personally or assuming it was in any way showing of her lack of feelings for me. It was such a tricky situation, and I also didn’t think about how I needed to put Jordan’s feelings into the mix either. After seeing his lonely face at the bar, I had felt my first real tinge of guilt. Yes, it was quickly extinguished when Tiffany walked into the room, but that didn’t take away from the fact it was there for at least a moment. He had to be feeling something, and as much as I wanted to paint him as the evil guy, I knew my brother wasn’t a complete asshole. He put up a façade to make people think he didn’t care at all, but beneath the surface, I knew there was more going on in his head than any of really understood.

I sighed and got up from my desk to grab a cup of coffee. Luckily, the office was quiet since my father had investor meetings all day and almost everyone was on call for him. I was left to man my station and get some work done. Work, however, was the last thing on my mind, and I had paced the hallways at least five times since everyone had gone to the meetings. My brother would be back soon to take a break. He hated those meetings even more than my father and would use any excuse to nab a few minutes away. As I fixed my coffee, I glanced over at Tiffany’s dark office, wondering if she would ever actually come back to work. It was going to get interesting once she did. How the hell would that dynamic actually work? I guess either we would be faking it while at work, or everyone would know and hopefully all the kinks would be worked out. Either way, I hoped she came back soon, for both personal and professional reasons. She really did keep the office on its toes, and without her here, things were lagging behind. I knew my father saw it, especially with the temp having a hard time filling her shoes and taking three times as long to get the files together. Tiffany had spoiled the company with her determination and dedication, and that would be a really hard thing to find a replacement for.

When I got back to my desk, I saw that I had received a new email from HR talking about the upcoming cocktail party the company was putting on. It was on Thursday, scheduled in celebration of the quarter ending, an impressively successful quarter. It was going to be a formal event in one of the large hotels in the city. Everyone from the office, the investors, and several of our biggest clients would be invited. There would be booze, food, dancing, and a lot of friendly conversation. I really wasn’t looking forward to it because I often spent most of the years past events explaining why I hadn’t brought a date. I was getting tired of the jokes made about it being past time for me to get on the marriage train. Obviously, marriage wasn’t a foolproof plan to happiness, and even Jordan, who had gotten married, wouldn’t make it to the cocktail party with a wife on his arm. No doubt that he would at least come with a date, though. He was smart enough to know that taking some girl with him was less of a headache than listening to the clients joke about your lack of matrimonial support.

I sighed and tapped my finger on the button, knowing I would have to RSVP before my father caught wind that I hadn’t. Immediately, I thought about Tiffany and wondered if she already had plans to go to it. I took a deep breath and fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed Tiffany’s number. I hoped she wasn’t too angry at me for not returning her text messages. I was being a little bit sensitive about everything, and I knew I shouldn’t have been. To my surprise, she picked up on the first ring, her voice sounding relieved and settled. I guess I had affected her more than I thought I would. I started to feel bad about it.

“Hey,” I said with a sorrowful tone.

“Hey,” she replied with a happy voice.

“I want to apologize for getting upset about you not wanting to eat with my parents,” I said. “It was really insensitive of me to not think it might be a little strange and maybe too much.”

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “I’m sorry I was so blunt and short about it.”

“You weren’t,” I replied. “I was just being sensitive. I blame the booze and lack of sleep.”

“I can accept that,” she laughed. “So, what’s up?”

“I wanted to see if you wanted to go the cocktail party for the end of the quarter?”

“Of course,” she said. “I’m already signed up to go.”

“Am I going to fight your date?”

“No,” she laughed. “I am going solo with the hope there is a hot man waiting for me there. Preferably named Jason.”

“That’s pretty specific.” I chuckled.

“Yeah, you know me.” she giggled. “I like to plan out everything perfectly.”

“I don’t blame you,” I replied, walking around the office. “Okay, well then, I will see you there.”

“Absolutely,” she said before hanging up.

I clicked the phone off and stood staring out the window, clutching the phone to my chest. I was relieved she wasn’t upset with me, but at the same time, I still wondered what was going on in her head. Was she really okay with my apology? Had she said no to dinner because of the speed things were going or was it because of Jordan? Speaking of Jordan, my attention turned quickly as I heard him clear his throat behind me in the doorway. I turned quickly and smiled, wondering how long he had been standing there.

“So, is the new girl coming to meet us at the cocktail party?”

“I hope so,” I replied, thinking about Tiffany’s sweet face.

“Good,” he said suspiciously. “I can’t wait to meet the girl that has taken my brother’s attention from everything.”

I smiled nervously as he tapped the doorframe and walked from the room, looking me in the eye as he passed into the hallway. Fear dropped into the pit of my stomach wondering why he was acting so strange. Was it possible he knew what was going on but just wanted to confront it head on? The last thing we needed was for Jordan to lose it at the cocktail party. Not only would he embarrass the company, but he would put Tiffany through even more crap than she had already been through with him. On the other hand, the sooner he knew, the sooner he could start to work it out in his head. If Tiffany truly felt she and Jordan had not been meant for each other, then somewhere deep down, he had to have felt that, too. But knowing my brother, he was not looking deep down inside. Instead, he was looking only surface deep where anger and jealousy were mounting.

I had always looked forward to the cocktail parties, mostly because I could remember going to them as a child and dancing the night away with my mother. My father had always turned these events into fun outings for the family, and he didn’t stop just because we had grown up. Now, I was going to get to share that with Tiffany, even if no one else knew about us. Sure, she had been to them before with Jordan, but he’d always left her sitting alone at the bar while he went perusing through the crowd, trying to make a name for himself. This time, she would be there with me, and I wanted her to have a blast.

Chapter 16

Tiffany

My dress was sparkly and daring, unlike the extremely conservative dresses I had worn in the past. This year, I chose a short, black dress with a sparkling black lace overlay that showed not only cleavage but gave the illusion of an open back. My hair was wild and curly, tossed to the side and left to spiral down over my shoulders. I had done my makeup in a dark, sultry style with deep eyeliner, smoky eyeshadow, and a bright red lipstick to set off the entire ensemble. I’d encased my legs in silky, barely there thigh-highs and donned my black, six-inch heels, the ones that made my legs appear even longer. I wore a long over coat over my dress, and I couldn’t help but smirk as everyone stared when I took the coat off and checked it. In front of me, I clutched my small purse in my hands but tried not to fidget, wanting to look as calm and collected as possible. This was the first one of these I was coming to without a date since I had dated Jordan for pretty much my entire career at the company. It was nerve-racking, mostly because I knew what these people were whispering behind my back. I was the woman scorned, tossed to the side, and now, I was back, with a little sexy black dress. If it weren’t me they were gawking at, it would be almost comical.

“Tiffany,” Lily called, waving and grabbing John by the hand. They maneuvered over to me, and Lily immediately hugged me. “John said he had seen you. You look absolutely amazing. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” I smiled. “Getting back on my feet. I feel better every day.”

“I’m so glad.” She took me by the hands. “I’m sorry my son is such a jerk. We miss you so much.”

“Awe, I miss you guys, too,” I sighed.

“You need to start coming back to Sunday dinners,” she said. “Even if I have to kick Jordan out of them.”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t ever expect you to do that. I think we are starting to come to a better place, so hopefully, one day soon, he will feel comfortable enough to have me around for them.”

“Hey there,” Jason said, walking up in his black tuxedo. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s good to see you again. You look wonderful.”

I blushed, looking down at how delicious he looked in his outfit. All I could think about was ripping his clothes off and doing him right here in the middle of the floor. I could feel the heat between my legs growing deeper and deeper, and it was excruciatingly hard for me to smile and play it off like I hadn’t just seen him last week fucking me from behind while I screamed out in ecstasy. But, knowing Lily was right there and everyone was watching, I smiled politely and thank him for the compliment, trying to turn my attention back to Mr. and Mrs. Banks. As they greeted other guests, I watched, standing next to Jason still, feeling the pull to be closer and closer to him. I moved to the left, my arm brushing his, and I could feel the electricity surging through my body. I hadn’t wanted someone that much in ages. This was proving to be a bit more difficult than I had thought it was going to be. Thankfully. they had an open bar at this event. Just as I was about to turn for a glass of champagne, Jordan walked in the room. He was arrogant as ever with his always-charming smile and walk that screamed superiority. I just wanted to punch him in the chin. Trailing behind him was the redhead we had seen leaving the bar with him, but this time, she was a bit more clothed, though not by much. She seemed timid and overwhelmed by the number of people who flocked in Jordan’s direction, and I immediately remembered the first time I had been in her shoes, though I think I handled it with a bit more class and without see-through stripper heels.

I spent several hours mingling around the event, talking to different employees, meanwhile looking up across the room to catch Jason’s lustful gaze. Every time I saw him and our eyes met, I felt like the only girl in the entire room and was immediately flushed. There was even one moment where the person I was talking to asked if I was feeling alright since my cheeks turned red so fast. I laughed and excused myself to the bar to grab another drink. I didn’t want to be completely wasted but getting through these events on a normal basis was already nerve-racking. Add in my secret love affair, my ex-husband, and his slutty date, and I needed more than a glass of champagne. I ordered a glass of wine and a shot of tequila from the bartender and smiled as he handed me salt and a lime. I licked the salt off my hand, took the shot, and bit down on the lime, looking up as Jordan walked in front of me. I choked a bit and pulled the lime from my mouth, placing it on the napkin and sliding it toward the bartender.

“Hi,” I said, wiping my mouth and hand.

“Hey.” He turned toward me and leaned against the bar. I took a step back, feeling crowded. “You look very beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks.” I laughed. “So do you.”

“You know, I’m really glad we have reached a place where we can do these events together,” he said, arrogantly looking around the room.

“Yeah, sure,” I said nonchalantly.

“I want us to get to a place where it’s not awkward at all,” he said. “No hard feelings.”

“No hard feelings?” I laughed. “You mean about your downgrade?”

He stopped and looked down at me, processing what I just said. I glanced over, seeing Jason approaching us. Anger flashed over Jordan’s face and he stood up straight, buttoning his jacket. He looked over at Jason and back at me.

“What’s wrong, dude?” Jason slapped Jordan hard on the shoulder. “What are you guys talking about?”

“She just called my date a downgrade,” he said, shocked.

“Is that true?” I could see Jason was holding back laughter and forcing himself to sound upset.

“Sure,” I said shrugging. “But it’s okay because I upgraded.”

I winked at Jason before Jordan looked back over at me. He huffed and puffed, not knowing what to say back to me. He looked to Jason for guidance, but Jason put up his hands and shrugged his shoulders. Finally, Jordan grabbed his beer from the bar and stomped off, tripping over the chair leg sticking out from one of the tables. He said something to his date, and she sent him a worried look before tagging along behind him. When he was out of ear shot, Jason and I both turned our backs to the crowd and burst out into laughter. Oh, it felt so good to let all the stress out like that. I hadn’t meant to piss Jordan off, but when he had come over so haughtily, I couldn’t help but put him down hard. The words just purged from my mouth, and I didn’t even have a chance to stop them.

“That was amazing,” Jason said, still laughing.

“I had to.” I giggled. “ I mean I saw the opportunity, and he came at me with the ‘no hard feelings’ comment, and it just spewed out.”

“Are you serious? He actually said ‘no hard feelings’? What a dumbass.” He laughed, turning back to face the crowd.

I looked at him standing there under the dim lights, his hair perfect, his dimples deep, and his tight body covered up, making him look like James Bond. I wanted to get him out of that tux so bad I could hardly contain myself. Heat pooled in my panties as I stood contemplating my next move. I stepped a bit closer and faced the bar, feeling his breath as it hit my neck. I tightened my fists, trying to restrain. We both should stay longer to cultivate social ties for the business, but ultimately, it held little appeal to me compared to the passion pulsing through me. I could no longer hold back.

“You want to get out of here?” I turned to look him in the face and gauge his reaction. “I really want to fuck you.”

He looked at me with a small smirk pulling at his lips before grabbing my wrist and tugging me up the side of the room, out of the view of everyone. We moved quickly through the tables and out of the room. I followed him up the escalator and into the hotel lobby, looking around as he stopped and turned to me. None of the guests were up here yet, so I leaned in and kissed his lips softly.

“I got us a room,” he whispered.

“Presumptuous of you, sir.” I laughed.

“Hopeful,” he said with a chuckle.

I followed him past the bank of regular elevators and to the golden elevator at the end of the hall. He pulled out a thick black key card and put it into a slot where there would normally be buttons. We stepped inside and turned, holding our breath as Jordan walked around the corner with his date. He didn’t see us, but we saw him, and he looked really pissed. The doors closed in the nick of time, and we let the air out of our lungs, laughing the entire time. As soon as we turned toward each other, it was hopeless, and I broke all control that I had been preserving. In two seconds, we were in each other’s arms, our mouths pressed against each other in a heated entanglement and our hands running over each other’s bodies. Immediately, we were breathing heavily, and I was pulling at the bow tie, as his hands reached up under my skirt and grazed the top of my thigh-high stockings. He grinned when he felt the garters and moved his hand over to brush the outside of my panties. I moaned into his mouth, wanting more and feeling his fingers pry at the edges, looking for the prize beneath the satin fabric. He pressed his hips toward me, his long hard shaft rubbing against me.

I reached down and grasped his cock through his pants, listening to him groan loudly. I pressed my body hard against his, pushing him against the wall. He ran his hands down my back and grabbed my ass, lifting me up in the air and biting at my neck. He sat me back down and pulled my skirt up to my waist, switching positions and pushing me up against the wall. He stepped back, pulled my panties to the side, and slipped his fingers through my juices. I spread my legs apart and let him glide his fingers inside of me, holding tightly to the railing around the elevator. I screamed out in pleasure as he fingered me, forceful and fast, pulling his fingers out and sticking them in my mouth. I sucked them and then leaned my ass against the railing as he pushed them back inside of me, pressing his firm mouth against mine and licking the taste of me from my lips. I moaned as his fingers slammed into me, and he wiggled the tips of them as he pushed deep inside of me.

“God, I want to fuck you so hard,” I growled.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered breathlessly as he pulled his fingers out and pulled my dress down. “You’re going to get it, but first, I’m going to blow your mind.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the suite as the elevator doors slid open, our bodies gliding into each other as he led me toward ecstasy.

Chapter 17

Jason

Everything about this woman was the sexiest thing I had ever encountered. From the moment she had walked into the ballroom, I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her. It took everything in my body not to stay as close to her as I possibly could, but I knew I had political responsibilities at the event. Staying close to Tiffany would have kept me distracted, but still, looking out over the crowd and seeing her standing there, her legs going on for days, the lace top of her silk stockings peeking out every time she leaned into the bar, and her dark sultry eyes staring back at me, I couldn’t help but try to find a way to get close to her. When I saw her bored face and Jordan’s arrogance across the dance floor, I knew I needed to get in there to intercede and at least play referee. I was shocked at what she had said to him, but I was so proud when she replied that she had upgraded. She at least let him know she was no longer sitting around thinking about him. Instead, she admitted she was, without a doubt, with someone, a someone she thought was even better than him. That, in itself, made the intrusion all that much better.

Now, standing in the dark comfort of the hotel’s penthouse suite, looking down at this amazing woman, I had to kick the night’s thoughts from my head. We were finally alone, and I wanted to experience every part of her body in detail. It was like being on a small vacation away from the stresses of real life, surrounded by lush blankets and unfamiliar furnishings. I looked at Tiffany in the dim lighting of the penthouse, the city lights shining through the windows giving her a surreal glow. She reached up and unzipped her dress, pulled it from her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor. She stood in the wavering shadows, her black lace bra and matching panties instigated the tenting at the front of my pants. Garters held up her soft silk, thigh-high pantyhose, and her black, impossibly-high heels glistened. I walked forward, pulling my jacket off and tossing it to the side. As my hands slipped around her waist, she pulled the bow tie from my neck and dropped it to the floor, following with her hands manipulating the buttons of my shirt. Slowly, she undressed me, taking time to kiss my body as she removed each piece. My muscles tensed as her lips rubbed down my neck and as her soft skin pressed against mine.

She pulled back and looked at me with her sultry eyes, a patient wanting covering her face. She took my hand and turned, leading me back to the bedroom. As we entered, she let go of my hand and turned around, reaching back and unclasping her bra. I watched as her large, perky breasts spilled out of the fabric, bouncing lightly as she reached down to unclasp her garters. I reached forward and grabbed her hand, wanting her to leave them on. She smiled mischievously as she hooked her fingers into tiny ribbons on either side of her black silk thong and lightly tugged, letting them fall away like gift wrap before stepping out of them. I pulled my boxers down to the ground and let my hard, raging cock spring free, watching as she back up and scooted up on the large, king-sized bed. Her body almost disappeared into the billowing blankets and pillows covering the surface, and I walked forward, crawling across toward her, our eyes locked in lust.

My hands moved up her legs and onto her warm thighs, and she wriggled and gasped at my touch. I watched her face as I moved her thighs apart and looked down at her bulging, wet mound. I licked my lips, wanting to taste her juices and lowered my head toward her. She reached down and stopped me, shaking her head.

“Lie down,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip.

I turned over on my back and laid into the soft blankets, watching her turn over, facing down my body, and scoot back toward my face. She pulled her legs across me and straddled my lips. The smell of perfume and lust pushed desire through my chest. I reached up and grabbed her hips, pulling her down onto my face and rubbing my mouth through her folds. She sat up straight, grasping her breasts and moaning as I pushed my tongue out and licked every inch of her sopping wet pussy. Slowly her hips began to grind, her body giving in to the pleasure of my mouth. She reached her arms back and grabbed the heels of her shoes, crying out in pleasure as I moved her back and forth over me. For several minutes, I lapped at her clit, the taste of her taking me over, wanting more and more of her. I pushed my tongue inside of her and listened to her low, growling moans. She let go of her heels and bent forward, taking my cock into her mouth, licking up and down the shaft, before plunging down. I groaned into her pussy as her desperate cries were muffled by the long shaft deep in her throat.

She pushed her head down, deep throating my cock and holding steady at the base as she clutched and retracted the muscles in her throat. She bobbed up and down at short intervals for several seconds before retracting, sucking her the entire way up my cock. Heat spread through me, and I pulled her down, reaching around and rubbing my thumb over her ass. She screamed out in pleasure feeling me taking all of her in, her hips still moving slowly against my face. I wanted so badly to taste her come, to feel her writhing and shaking on top of me. I pushed my face in harder wildly moving my tongue over her clit. She pulled up to a sitting position and cried out as I pushed her toward the edge of orgasm. Her hands moved up her body and grabbed at her tits, and her muscles began to tense. I slid my hand under her and pushed two fingers in, watching her start to fuck my mouth. I loosened my grip and allowed her to take control, watching as she eclipsed, her body clenching and shaking on top of me while she screamed out, throwing her head back and climaxing. Her warm juices trickled from her body, and I continued to lick, even after she had come down. Her body twitched as I flicked my tongue against her nub, and she moaned and giggled at the same time.

I pushed her down my body, still facing away from me and she looked back, her finger hanging from the edge of her lip. She reached down and grabbed my cock, pushing down slowly through her juices until I was deep inside of her. I growled loudly at the feeling of my hard cock sliding deep inside and watched as she bent forward and began to move her hips up and down my cock. I could see her moist pussy glistening with wetness as she slapped her body up and down, taking me deep then pulling up slowly before thrusting back down again. Her round ass bounced in front of me, and I reached forward, grabbing her cheeks and digging my fingers into her skin as she rode me reverse cowgirl.

I pulled myself to my elbows and then to a sitting position, running my hands over her back and pulling her up against my chest. My hand ran up through her tits and I lightly grasped her neck, feeling her head lean back ward and her hips begin to grind. She whimpered as my right arm moved over her thighs and my fingers began to dance over her clit. I held her still, feeling her wiggling as I rubbed her pussy, my cock stuck deep down inside of her. She reached around my hand and massaged my balls as I pushed down on her clit and moved my fingers in a circle. My hips thrust forward slightly, and I could feel my wet shaft moving just slightly inside of her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, her hand sliding from my nuts to my hand. Together we massaged her nub, my fingers slipping inside of her just above my cock. Her hips moved forward and back again, amplifying the feeling of my cock sliding in and out just enough to send heat to my belly.

“Fuck,” she moaned. “Don’t stop. Fuck, don’t stop.”

I choked down the urge to push her flat on her belly and slam into her hard and, instead, continued to fuck her with my hands. She sat up and leaned forward a bit, pushing her ass further into me, but I didn’t let her get away. Instead, I leaned forward, my hand still on her pussy, and held her there while I pushed her closer to another orgasm. She screamed my name as she clawed at the bed in front of her, her body twisting and turning, trying to feel my long shaft sliding in and out. Just as her screams reached a fevered pitch, I pulled my legs back and slammed her down against the bed, picking her up at the waist and slamming my cock inside of her. She reached her hand underneath and continued rubbing her clit.

“Yes,” she screamed. “Harder.”

I spread her ass and slapped her cheek before grabbing her hips and thrusting fast and hard inside of her. She moaned loudly to the rhythm of our skin slapping together, the sound filling my ears and pushing my orgasm to the brink. She began to meet my thrusts, pushing her body back as I pushed forward, creating a deeper and stronger force. She scratched at the bed in front of her, trying to grab hold. I growled loudly, plunging over the cliff of ecstasy. I slammed into her deep and hard and pulled her close, watching her hand rubbing her wetness faster and faster. I closed my eyes as she erupted and allowed the orgasm to take over. My cock pulsated and pushed as her pussy vibrated against my shaft, our juices swirling around inside of her. She screamed out as I groaned loudly, thrusting short bursts until, finally, my body began to relax.

I rolled over on the bed and looked over at her as she laid down on her stomach, breathing hard and smiling. She leaned over and kissed me sweetly, pulling the pillow under her head and watching as I recovered from my orgasm. My heart began to slow and my breathing returned to normal as I turned onto my side and ran my fingers up Tiffany’s back. She smiled at me, her eyes looking sleepy.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she whispered.

“Are you really over Jordan?”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes opening wide. “The only reason I took that jab at him tonight, besides it being hilarious, was to let him know that I had moved on. I wanted it to be very clear I had someone else in my life. It was closure for me and, hopefully, for him as well. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he is wandering around like a lost dog with a crazy gutter rat trailing behind. He needs to get himself together.”

“Very true,” I replied, feeling so much better after her response. “I’m glad you let him know you're taken. Now, when do I meet the lucky guy?” I laughed and poked her nose with my finger.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said with a smile. “Maybe in the morning. He’ll probably come looking for me.”

“I should be ready,” I said with a serious face before tickling her sides.

I reached down and pulled the blanket up over the top of us, snuggling in next to Tiffany. She kicked her shoes off the edge of the bed and rested her face on my neck. It felt so perfect having her right there with me. Knowing she was mine and I was hers was incredibly liberating, and now all we had left to do was wait for the right time to tell the rest of the world.

Chapter 18

Tiffany

The bed was the most comfortable thing I had slept on in weeks. The soft Egyptian cotton sheets wrapped around my naked body and the warmth of the down comfortable were so inviting, I couldn’t even start to think about moving from my position. The daylight seeped in through the blinds, but I didn’t move a muscle, thinking about the night before and everything that was ahead of me. Waking up was so hard to do when you were exactly where you wanted to be. Though, with my eyes now open, I realized Jason was no longer asleep in the bed next to me. I groaned, reaching my arm out and stretching my body, not concerned at all at where he was. I knew he was close. I could hear his footsteps outside of the room. As he approached, I rolled over and looked at the doorway, smiling as he walked inside carrying a tray. I pushed myself up onto the bed as he set the tray down on the fluffy surface and leaned in to kiss my lips. I had thought I heard someone at the guest door. It must have been room service.

I scooted myself up in the bed, the sheet wrapped around me, and looked down at the large tray. There were two plates on the tray, one for me and one for Jason, but they were both empty. I looked at Jason with confusion and he smiled, walking back out of the room and wheeling in a large tray with all kinds of food on it. There were pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit, syrup, butter, and pretty much everything else you would ever want for breakfast. I laughed as he stood with a towel draped over his arm, ready to serve me breakfast in bed. I was so glad Mr. Banks had given everyone the day off since he knew between the hangovers and the fact that it was Friday, no one was going to get anything productive done. Jason piled food high on both plates and handed me mine, setting a hot cup of coffee on the night stand. He walked around the bed and plopped down next to me, smiling as he shoved a pile of eggs in his mouth. He looked like a child that had found the secret stash of candy.

We sat quietly scarfing down our breakfast. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the smell of bacon hit my nose. I was absolutely starving, which made sense, since I’d been too nervous the day before to eat anything. When our plates were cleared, Jason took mine and stacked it with the rest of the dishes back on the tray, wheeling it out into the living room so it was out of the way. I stretched and looked around the room, not wanting to put my dress back on, but I hadn’t thought ahead to bring a change of clothes.

“I thought you might want some fresh clothes,” Jason said, as if he were reading my mind. “So, I took the liberty of having some sent from the shop across the street.”

I smiled and hopped out of the bed, still wrapped in the sheet, and took the fresh change of clothes from him. I reached up on my tip toes and kissed his cheek before turning and taking off the garter and stockings I had fallen asleep in. I put on the white satin panties and bra and pulled on the jeans and sweater. I looked adorable as I stood in front of the mirror pulling my hair back in a ponytail. On the dresser was a new pair of Chuck Taylors, and I smiled remembering how much I loved wearing them in college.

“The first time we all went out to the bar, you were wearing something similar.” Jason sat on the bed behind me, watching me do my hair. “I thought it was the most beautiful you had ever looked.”

“You are so sweet,” I said with a wide grin. “Thank you.”

“There is something we need to talk about,” Jason said pulling out his phone. “I woke up to a text from Jordan this morning.”

“What did it say?”

“It said, ‘I know who she is,’” he said, looking up at me.

I reached down and grabbed my phone off the dresser, pushing the button to open the home screen. I winced when I saw that I had one new text, and prayed quietly that it was Mona checking in and not Jordan. My stomach dropped when I saw his name and read the message.

“’I know who he is,’” I read out loud. “What do we do now?”

Jason opened his mouth to say something but stopped, hearing a loud knock on the guest entrance to the suite. He looked up at me and shook his head, taking in a deep breath and pulling himself from the bed. I followed closely behind him but stopped in the middle of the living room, nervous that if it were Jordan, it would be a fight and not a civil conversation. Jason opened the door and stood back as Jordan barrelled through the door and into the living room. His fists were clenched and his shoulders tight as he stared back and forth at the two of us. I didn’t know what to do, I was frozen like a kid caught sneaking out of their parent’s house.

“I knew it,” he shouted. “You two think you are smarter than everyone else. I saw you kissing at the top of the stairs last night. I acted like I didn’t notice you getting into the elevators because I was with my date, but I knew it. You lied to me, both of you.”

“I never lied to you,” I said calmly.

“Hell, you didn’t,” he said walking toward me, pointing his finger. “I bet you made up the whole damn story about not being able to have a baby just so you could leave me for him.”

“First of all, Jordan, you are the one who left me for something I couldn’t control,” I shouted. “Secondly, nothing between Jason and I started until after our divorce was final. It wasn’t planned nor held a secret. It was a surprise. How dare you march in here after abandoning me because of a medical condition?”

“You know there was more to it than that,” he said, dropping his hand. “You don’t have to sit there and make me sound like a complete asshole.”

I stood looking at him, feeling my anger fade away, and guilt for calling him out start to rise in my chest. I dropped my hand and shook my head, letting out a deep sigh. I walked forward and looked up into his eyes. His expression softened and smiled slightly.

“You were right to divorce me,” I said quietly. “You know as well as I do that we were never meant to be together. I didn’t realize it until afterward, but you know in your heart it really wasn’t that hard to make the decision. You knew it before I did. I’m sorry for being an asshole, and I’m sorry you had to find out about Jason and I like this.”

“Yeah,” he said sighing. “I won’t lie that this kind of sucks. But you’re right, we were never meant to be. I think I saved both of us from quite a bit of hell.”

I looked at Jordan kindly and watched as he turned and walked toward the door. He stared at Jason for several minutes with an angry but calm look. Jason looked down at the floor, and Jordan shook his head, walking back out and slamming the door behind him. I stood staring at the closed door, hoping that I had done the right thing. Hoping that I hadn’t just become the enemy. Jason walked over and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest and hugging me hard.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Not really how I wanted to break the news, but at least it's out there now. We can stop walking on eggshells.”

“Very true,” Jason replied. “You want to come over for Sunday family dinner and break the news to my parents?”

“Sounds good,” I said taking in a deep breath. “I mean, how bad could they possibly react?”

“Well, if my brother reacted like that, I’m pretty sure my parents are just going to be happy,” he said kissing me on the cheek. “Come on, let’s grab our stuff and get out of here. We can go to my place and relax on the terrace.”

“Sounds perfect.” I watched him walk over to start collecting his things.

I grabbed my dress, undergarments, and shoes and stuffed them in one of the plastic laundry bags folded on the counter. My purse was too small to fit them, and the last thing I wanted was to drop my underwear in the hotel lobby as I walked across. I had felt enough shock and embarrassment for the day, and I didn’t need anymore. I walked back out into the living room, and Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. He held one finger up to me and I smiled, meandering over to the breakfast cart and pulling fruit from the tray. As I snacked, I turned and watched Jason talking. He seemed to be excited, and whatever he was talking about, he kept referring to a “she” in the conversation. Either it had something to do with me or something to do with work. Either way, he had definitely sparked my attention.

“Okay, great. Thanks so much.” He hung up the phone and looked down at the blank screen.

“You okay?” I said around a mouthful of melons.

“Yes.” He smiled and turned toward me. “That was one of the best medical offices in the country. They have an entire sector dedicated to research and treatment of PCOS. They want to see you. They think they can help you. There is an appointment set for Monday morning, if you want to go.”

“Are you serious?” I walked over and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Oh, my God, that is so awesome. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble for me. Thank you.”

“It was no trouble,” he whispered into my neck. “I did a bunch of research on your condition, and I came across the facility. I couldn’t not call and talk to them. I didn’t have all your details, so they couldn’t tell me anything definitive over the phone, but with your age range and your health, they really want to see if they can help you.”

“Thank you so much,” I replied, tears welling up in my eyes. “No one has ever taken the time to do anything like this for me before. You are truly the sweetest man I have ever met.”

“I just want to know you’re taken care of,” he said pulling back and looking into my eyes. “I want to know, whether we’re together or not, that you’re safe and happy. I know this is something that can be really devastating to you mentally, and I want to do everything I can to help you.”

I pulled him back close into my arms and hugged him tightly. I never knew that I could feel so intensely for another human being, but I was blown away by how I felt for Jason. He not only took me into his arms at a time no other man would have dreamed of, but he reached out and did everything he could to help me with a condition I didn’t even realize yet weighed heavily on my mind. If these people could help me, I would be forever grateful to this man, a man I could no longer imagine not having in my life.

Chapter 19

Jason

Nervous didn’t even cover what I was feeling about revealing Tiffany to my parents. They knew I was bringing this mystery girl to dinner, but they had no idea that it was Tiffany. I had dressed in a polo and jeans to lighten the mood of the event and stood staring at myself in the mirror. Tiffany was everything I had ever wanted in a woman and more, and I wasn’t about to let her walk into a bad situation. I knew if my parents didn’t approve, they would at least be somewhat diplomatic about it since they really did love Tiffany. I hoped for the best but was completely prepared for the worst, something I wasn’t sure whether Tiffany had prepared herself for. She had been through so much heartbreak over the last several months that the last thing she needed was for the only family she ever really knew to turn their backs on her for good. The fact of the matter was, you couldn’t pick who you fell in love with, and I had loved Tiffany a lot longer than I really realized. She had infatuated me ever since I met her, but she had been with Jordan, so I put it out of my mind and went on with my life. When Jordan broke it off with her, I didn’t even understand it then. Instead, I was just furious and protective over her, wanting to fix her broken heart. It wasn’t until that first date at the restaurant that I realized there was more to my feelings than protection.

I took in a deep breath and reached down to grab my toothbrush. The house was quiet, and after spending almost the whole weekend in my place with Tiffany, I kind of hated the silence of it all. My house was comfortable but eclectic, just like you would imagine a SoHo loft to be. But with Tiffany standing barefoot in my kitchen and swimming in the heated pool on the roof, it made everything feel like home for the first time since I bought the place. The smell of dinner cooking on the stove, the sound of her laughter echoing through the halls was intoxicating, and I almost hated being here by myself now. I had taken her home early in the morning so she could get ready for dinner tonight. She seemed calm and collected, but I could tell there were quite a bit of nerves floating around in her chest. She had kissed me on the cheek and bounced off down the walk into her house. I couldn’t bring myself to drive away until I’d watch her blond hair flowing behind her as she headed down the walkway, smiled, and waved before closing the front door.

I tossed my toothbrush back in the holder and walked out, grabbing my jacket and checking the street for the car. As usual, it was sitting out front but this time, I would be taking a detour to the Greek District to pick up Tiffany before we went over to the house. I didn’t want to give the address beforehand because I didn’t want my parents to recognize who the address belonged to. We drove through the city, watching as tourists flocked the streets, and the city workers got ready to decorate the city for the holidays. It was my favorite time of year, and there was a bit of relief knowing I would get to spend them with Tiffany.

When we pulled up, Tiffany came out front, her hair pulled back halfway, wearing a pair of wide legged, flowy white pants and tucked in button up silk top. She walked carefully in her heels and pulled the hair out of her dangling diamond earrings. She looked at me and smiled as she climbed into the car, pulling her peacoat closed and kissing me on the cheek with her cherry stained lips. She looked amazing, like the woman I had seen so many times walking around the office with confidence and allure. I didn’t know if it were me or just the way time healed all wounds, but for the first time since everything started, she looked like her old self again. Her cheeks glowed in the evening light, and she had even painted her fingernails a light pink. She clutched a bottle of wine she had bought my parents and her clutch that I recognized from the party. She was absolutely stunning in a way I had never thought of a woman before.

“You think they will freak?” She looked at me, slightly worried.

“No,” I laughed. “Freaked would be if I brought home a goth girl or someone from the Bronx. Surprised, probably, but no matter what, I want you to know how absolutely beautiful I think you are.”

She smiled and turned to watch the passing scenery out the window. I wanted to protect everything about this girl, and as far as I knew, my parents were still unaware of who my mystery girl really was. I assumed there was a possibility that Jordan had told them, but I didn’t think he would have. However, I did duly note to myself that there weren’t very many things I could actually trust when it came to my brother anymore. For all I knew, he ran right over to their room after Saturday morning’s explosion and told them what happened. At the same time, he didn’t want them to know why he had divorced Tiffany, so he was probably keeping as much to himself as he could for as long as he could. He knew my parents would chastise him for it. I was almost glad he did what he did, not that Tiffany had gotten hurt but because it gave me the opportunity to be with her, show her what love was really supposed to be like and have her show me the same.

When we pulled up, my parents were standing on the front steps, holding each other’s hands. They couldn’t see through the tinted windows of the car, and I looked over at Tiffany, grasping her hand, reassuring her that no matter what, everything would be okay. She smiled through the nerves that we were both feeling and grabbed onto her bottle as I stepped from the car and greeted my parents. My mother hugged me and my father shook my hand before turning to the darkened area of the open door.

“I’d like you to meet my date,” I said as Tiffany emerged smiling at them. “I think you know Tiffany.”

There was a brief moment of silence where everyone stood stunned.

“Oh, my God,” my mother said excitedly as she ran forward and hugged Tiffany tightly. “You are the mystery girl! This is beyond amazing. I just love you so much.”

Relief flew through me, and I let out a deep breath as I read the happiness growing on my father’s face. He walked forward with his arms out, laughing and shaking his head. He embraced her and hugged her tightly.

“This is just the best surprise,” he said quietly. “Seriously, we missed you so much.”

My father turned to me as my mother talked and laughed with Tiffany. He shook my hand and slapped me on the shoulder. We both turned and looked at Tiffany and my mother.

“Does he know?” My father asked the question I’m sure was plaguing his mind since the moment Tiffany stepped from the car.

“Yeah.” I sighed, and we exchanged a meaningful look. “We never meant to hurt him. It was a hard discovery for him.”

“Well,” my father said, putting his arm around my shoulder. “Maybe he should have held on tighter and not made rash, unfair decisions about Tiffany. Everyone deserves to be happy. He’ll get over it. Besides, he brought that redhead from the party the other night. She is sitting uncomfortably in the living room. I had forgotten to take that last wedding photo down, and she saw it. It's in the drawer now.”

My father chuckled as we turned and walked toward the house, my mother and Tiffany trailing behind us. As we entered, I could see the girl stand up and reach for Jordan’s hand. Jordan walked into the light and looked over at me, a stern look on his face. As I approached, he reached out and shook my hand, nodding at Tiffany kindly.

“Jason,” he said. “This is Rosalie. I don’t think you had a chance to meet before.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand. “This is my date, Tiffany.”

Tiffany smiled kindly and nodded her head at Rosalie who crinkled her forehead, confused. She looked up at Jordan and back at Tiffany, not understanding at all why his ex-wife was standing in front of her. Tiffany took in a deep breath and winked at Jordan, walking forward and taking Rosalie’s hands in hers.

“I know it’s strange,” she whispered. “But don’t feel uncomfortable. Jordan and I were never meant to be together. And yes, I’m dating his brother. Just let it all out. You’ll feel better about the situation once you accept it.”

I watched as Tiffany tried to console Jordan’s date and thought about how adorable it was. It was just another example of how amazing of a woman she really was, always looking out for other people’s feelings. She sat down next to Rosalie and poured her a shot of whiskey, handing it to her and watching as she took it back. When Rosalie had swallowed, she looked at Tiffany and burst out in laughter. I had to admit, if I were here, I’d probably have reacted the same exact way. Jordan rolled his eyes and shook his head, walking over to the mantle and looking at the pictures of us as kids that lined the shelves. I turned toward the dining area as my mother cleared her throat. It really was impressive, the amazing amount of food she had spent all day cooking.

I sat down next to Tiffany, and we stared across the table at Jordan and Rosalie. There was a slightly awkward moment, but just like Tiffany always did, she poured some wine and broke into the conversation, trying to make Rosalie feel comfortable. If anyone knew how nerve-racking it could be there for the first time, it was Tiffany. She hadn’t come from an affluent background so just sitting at the huge mahogany table in the grand dining room of my parent's mansion could be extremely overwhelming, not to mention that the situation wasn’t quite normal these days. My mother smiled and winked at me as she passed the potatoes, knowing I was happy for the first time in a very long time.

I gazed over at Tiffany as she laughed loudly and talked about life with the other people at the table. Her fair skin and rosy cheeks sparkled in the dim lights of the chandelier, and I couldn’t help but notice just how amazing she looked. She turned and caught me staring at her as I sat back from the table to listen to everyone. She winked at me and squeezed my hand before turning back to Jordan and Rosalie who were telling the story of how they met. We hadn’t realized that the night in the bar when he’d left with her wasn’t the first time they had met. Either way, I didn’t care, I was mesmerized by the beautiful woman sitting next to me, laughing loudly as Rosalie talked about my brother’s clumsiness. She really could make anyone feel comfortable in any situation. She was the light that lit up every room she walked into. I squeezed her hand as they continued to talk through the evening, so glad that everything had turned out the way that I wanted.

There was no shaking it, I was falling in love with this girl. Head over heels in love.

Chapter 20

Tiffany

I always hated doctor’s offices, and especially with the rash of news that completely turned my life upside down recently. I knew that turning my life on end was a good thing since I had realized I shouldn’t have ever been with Jordan, but the baby things were still really numb in my chest. I had spent so much time over the last month dealing with the end of my marriage and the beginning of whatever it was Jason and I had, that I had put the fact that I couldn’t have children in the back of my mind. However, sitting here in this paper gown with my feet dangling over the edge of the paper-covered doctor’s chair, brought a striking feeling to my heart. I always thought by now, I would be pregnant, getting ready to start a family with my husband, but instead, I was divorced and I didn’t even know if I’d ever have my own child. I looked around the room at all the pictures on the walls, staring at the happy mothers, staring at the happy fathers, and looking past them to the baby that always seemed so perfect. In reality, those women were the lucky ones, the ones who got to enjoy their time with their families, enjoy getting pregnant, prancing in and out of doctor’s appointments, in awe at the life dancing across the sonogram screen.

I was jealous, there was no two ways about it. These women had everything they ever wanted, and I was struggling to even think about having a child at all. I hopped down from the chair and walked around the room, the tiled floor cold underneath my bare feet. I looked at the different pictures on the walls depicting a woman’s uterus. I ran my finger down to the ovaries and thought about the disease that plagued mine. I had been healthy my whole life. Nothing even as much as a strong cold ever kept me down. My mother hadn’t become a junkie until after I was born, so I’d managed to skirt any complications from her drug use, except for the occasional emotional issue that I had being left without a family. It was times like these, I wish I had a mother to run to, to talk to, and to feel comforted by. Sure, Lily would be more than happy to be there for me, but until I knew Jason and I were going to be long-term, I didn’t want to get close with her again. I knew if I had no real ties to the family, eventually, they would lose interest in me, and I didn’t want to feel that heartbreak all over again. I sat back down on the chair and looked up as the doctor walked back in.

“Okay, Tiffany,” he said with a kind smile. “I got all your tests entered in, and now, we wait. It should only take a day or two to get the results, and then we can go from there. You are free to go, and we will call you as soon as we get the results.”

“Thank you,” I said with a shy smile. “So, what does that mean? Do you think there’s a chance I will have options?”

“I think that if your blood work comes back clean,” he said, shrugging, “we will have a ton of options to discuss. I've seen cases much worse than yours end up happy in the end. Just relax, breathe deeply, and let’s wait for the results. Once I have those in my hands, I’ll be able to really give you a definitive answer.”

“Okay,” I said, forcing a smile.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days.” He left the room, shutting the door behind him to give me privacy.

I wanted to get dressed, but I couldn’t seem to force myself to move from the spot where I was. There were so many things to think about, and my mind was all over the place. What if I could have children? What would Jason say? What would Jordan say? I knew I didn’t want him back. I had already decided we weren’t right for each other, but I still couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had taken the time to look up doctors, do research, and wait for this amazing second opinion. Just the thought of it made me realize even more that Jordan wasn’t right for me. He gave up before there was any definitive proof of anything. He ran without a thought in his mind, and honestly, it might have been the best thing in the entire world for me. But now that I had options but no husband, it was kind of a moot point. I mean, I could have a child on my own, but I didn’t want to. I wanted a family with someone I loved. I guess having the knowledge that I could even have children when I was ready was enough peace of mind to fully move on from all of this and look forward toward the future. That’s exactly what Jason wanted for me, and that was what I was going to take from all of this.

I got dressed quickly, not wanting to spend any more time in the doctor’s office than I had to. I texted Jason that I was done, and he asked to meet me at the café by work for lunch. I smiled at the thought of drinking a hot coffee, snuggled up in a booth next to him. I pulled on my jacket and left the office, grabbing a cab and heading toward the café. The entire time in the cab, I thought about the tests. Would this doctor tell me the same things everyone else had? My biggest fear was that all of this was for nothing, and I would have gotten my hopes up just to have them shot down. I guess knowing was better than going the rest of my life wondering, but I wasn’t sure if I could take another blow, especially for something I hadn’t really come to terms with yet. I took in a deep breath and pushed the thought from my mind, deciding that I needed to be positive. And for God’s sake, I had taken a long enough break from life. It was time to jump back in and move forward instead of just standing still.

When I arrived, Jason was waiting and he opened the cab door for, taking my hand and helping me up onto the curb. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck, taking in a deep breath of his cologne, which calmed my nerves. He pulled back and smiled, kissing me on the forehead and looking deep in my eyes for some kind of answers. I smiled softly at him, letting him know I was okay. He took my hand, and we walked into the café, grabbed a table at the back, and waited for our lunch to be ready.

“So,” he said smiling. “How did it go?”

“He seems to think that as long as my tests come back the same as before, there are options for me to get pregnant when I’m ready,” I said excitedly. “I mean I’m trying not to get too ahead of myself, but this is just such amazing news.”

“That is amazing news,” Jason said, clinking his coffee cup against mine.

“I just don’t want to be let down,” I said with a sigh. “So, I am trying to keep my mind busy. I decided that I am coming back to work. I want to start back tomorrow and hit the ground running. I’ve had too much time off, and I’m ready.”

“Well, I will be more than happy to have you back,” he said, kissing my cheek. “I just want to know that you’re doing everything at your own pace.”

“I am.” I smiled. “You are always looking out for what’s best. You are so good to me.”

“You deserve it.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped himself and took a sip of his coffee instead.

We spent his lunch hour talking about me coming back to work, what that meant for me, and what that meant for the company. He was genuinely excited to have me back at the office, and to be honest, I was just as excited to be back. I still needed to call John and let him know, but there was no way he would argue with it, especially with the piles of files that seemed to be increasing every time I walked into the office. Not only would this get everything off my mind, but I would also get to see Jason every day, which was a really awesome bonus to all of this. He had been my rock, and I hadn’t even expected it. Each time he looked at me, touched me, or was even in the same room as me, I immediately felt better. A crazy calm would roll over me like a wave, and I loved every second of it. He reached over and touched my hand, sending chills down my back, and I smiled, feeling safe and secure. When he looked down at his watch, signaling he was running out of time, my stomach almost dropped, but I told myself it was okay. I just needed to make it through the night, and I would be back in action, lots of things to keep my mind busy.

“I have to get back,” Jason said with disappointment in his voice. “We have meetings today, and now that you aren’t the mystery girl anymore, they aren’t really cutting me any slack.”

“Aw.” I stuck out my bottom lip. “I understand. Text me later if you aren’t busy.”

“Of course.” He stood and leaned over to kiss my forehead. “Do you want me to get you a cab?”

“No,” I said, looking down at my coffee. “I’m going to hang out here for a little bit and enjoy my last afternoon of freedom before it’s back to the grind. I have to call your father anyway and tell him.”

“I can tell him for you,” he said, smiling.

“No, I better be the one to make that call,” I said. “We have to at least give the illusion that we’re going to try to be professional at work.”

“Pfft,” Jason laughed. “No problem.”

He kissed me again and walked out of the door. Once he was no longer in sight, I picked up my phone and dialed Mona, wanting to let her know how the doctor’s appointment went. I knew she was waiting for my phone call, almost as excited as I was to know that I had options.

“Hey,” I said when she answered.

“So,” she said impatiently. “How did it go?”

“It looks like there is a good chance I might still be able to have a baby,” I said excitedly. “The doc is going to call me as soon as the test results come back.”

“Oh, Tiff, that is so amazing,” she said with a deep breath releasing from her lungs. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah.” I sighed, part relief and part exhaustion. “It’s a lot to process.”

“Do you think you will get back with Jordan if babies are possible?”

“What? No.” I laughed. “I realized very quickly that Jordan and I weren’t meant to be in any shape or form. If I can have children, they will not be his. He lost that shot when he walked away before he even tried to see if anything could be done.”

“I understand,” she said.

“To be honest,” I said with a pause. “I am pretty positive that I’ve fallen in love with Jason.”

Chapter 21

Jason

I got to work extra early, setting up Tiffany’s desk and putting a dozen white roses on her desk. I made sure the dust had been removed, the trash can was empty, and her pictures of Jordan in them were replaced with pictures of cute dogs and cats. I knew the last thing she needed when she came to work was to stare down at her past and feel like it was haunting her everywhere she went. I went back to my office and sat at my desk, looking up anytime anyone walked past in the hallway. Her office sat diagonally from mine, and I could see right into her desk. I was looking forward to having her distract me all day long and flirting across interoffice messaging. I felt like I was back in school passing notes back and forth and trying not to get caught by the teacher, who would be either my father or my brother in this circumstance. I was more scared of my dad than my brother, though the former was more like a hall monitor than a teacher.

At a quarter to eight, the normal time Tiffany usually showed up at the office, I watched her walk past my door, her tight, calf-length pencil skirt hugging every curve. Her white silk blouse was tucked in and the first three buttons were undone, giving me just a hint of cleavage. Her five-inch black heels made her look long and tall, and I immediately developed a chub in my pants. She was talking to the temp as she walked around the corner into her office. I peeked up as she looked at the note I left in the flowers. She smiled, glancing up at my office and nodding to me. She finished her conversation with the temp and went back to her desk, sitting down and looking at the pictures I had replaced in their frames. She threw her head back and laughed, looking over at me and blowing a kiss. I was glad I had started her day on a positive note.

For the next several hours, I tried to concentrate, but every time I thought I was on the ball, I would look up and catch her eye. She was so damn sexy with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and her black-rimmed glasses scooting down her nose. She twirled a pencil in her fingers and landed it between her lips, making me immediately think back to when my cock was between those lips. I pulled up the messenger and sent her a winking face. She smiled and glanced up at me, pulling at her bottom lip with the pen. She sent me back a message that read, “Lunch?” I looked at the clock and knew I had an hour left. I thought about my answer for several seconds before typing back.

Noon. Seventh floor?

A smile curled at her lips as she read the message, but she quickly sobered as my father walked into her office. I stifled a laugh as she tried to get herself together and answer some questions for him on a file. When he walked away, I looked down at the screen and saw that she was typing back. I waited impatiently for her answer and then blushed when I received it.

You’re on. I’m thinking you bend me over the rafters this time.

I looked up at her and smiled, nodding my head. I wasn’t sure how much of the messaging could be read by the company, so I decided we would need to start coming up with code words to type to each other. We could text, but that would be too obvious. This way, at least we could look like we were working while we sluffed off our responsibilities and took the entire morning to flirt back and forth across the hall. When the clock hit noon, I stood up from my desk and walked across to her office, watching her finish shoving a file in the filing cabinet and turn toward me, her white lace bra peeking out from under her silk shirt. We walked quietly down toward the elevators and climbed in, standing feel apart until the seven was pressed and the doors had shut.

Immediately, we were on each other, our mouths pushing over each other, our bodies writhing up and down against each other. She was so fucking sexy, and I looked up at the numbers as she kissed my neck. At this rate, would I even last until we got to the seventh floor? I stepped back away from her as the doors opened to the construction, just in case there were still workers on the floor. We peered around the open space, and once realizing it was all clear, we were right back on each other. I pushed Tiffany up against the wooden planks on the wall, running my hands over her waist and pulling her skirt up over her hips. She was wearing sexy thigh highs again, and I growled at how sensual she was. I looked around again, just in case. Did anyone ever work on the seventh floor? Shoving the thought aside, I spun Tiffany around and pulled her skirt up over her ass. I stepped back and grabbed her cheeks, massaging them in my hands. Her black thong was the only thing standing in the way of me and that beautiful wet pussy, but I needed to be gentle since we had to go back to work afterward.

Tiffany reached her arms up in the air and grabbed onto the poles above her, sticking her ass out toward me. I slapped her cheek and unbuckled my pants, knowing we didn’t have a ton of time. I reached down into my boxers and pulled my rock-hard cock out, running the tip over her ass. She shook her hips, making her firm round cheeks bounce up and down. I chuckled as she looked back and smiled at me mischievously. I pushed down on her back and she spread her legs wide, her juicy mound coming into view. I pulled her panties to the side and stepped forward, running my cock through her folds before pushing deep and slowly inside of her. God, she felt so damn good.

I reached one hand up and braced myself against the wall, using my other hand to hold her waist and thrust inside of her. She covered her mouth, not wanting to make too much noise. Her muffled moans sent shivers down my back, and immediately, I started pushing harder and faster. She reached down and pulled her panties all the way to the side, rubbing her clit with two fingers as she pushed her hips back to meet my thrust. I spread my feet wider and grabbed onto her tightly with two hands, pushing and pulling her up and down my cock. Her juices glistened on my shaft as I watched her pussy swallow me whole. Our skin began to slap loudly together and the wood beneath us creaked in protest.

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “Fuck, that feels amazing.”

Her voice was high pitched and needy and just the sound of it made my hips move faster and deeper. Suddenly, she stepped forward, pulling me out of her and turning around. She took her leg and put it up on a stack of tiles next to us and wrapped her hands around my neck, guiding my cock back inside of her. I pulled her close and lifted her into the air, pushing her back against the wall and thrusting upward inside of her. She moaned loudly, no longer caring who could hear, and I groaned as my cock got harder and harder. My movements began to get short and deep, and I looked into her eyes, seeing the intense passion. She dug her fingers into my neck as my body moved up and down hers, massaging her clit with just the motion of my hips. She threw her head back and bounced up and down, giving it to me faster and harder than I was going. I could feel her go from needy to frantic as her body opened up and took every inch of my cock. I could feel her body tensing against me, and then she arched her back, covering her mouth as she screamed out in ecstasy. Pleasure flowed over her face, and I could feel the explosion of her warm juices all down my shaft. The feeling was almost too much to take.

I grabbed her waist and bounced her up and down on my cock as fast as I possibly could. My cock was throbbing, and I just wanted to feel the release of an orgasm. As her screams matched the motion of her body, I thrust harder and deeper until I could no longer hold on. I stepped forward and slammed my cock inside, holding her down on it as I erupted in ecstasy. She watched my face as my cock pulsated inside her, coming hard, and forcing my body to shake and twitch. Slowly, I lowered her until her face was near mine. I pressed my lips hard against hers, trying to catch my breath. She opened her eyes and looked at me, smiling, before she kissed my nose and put her feet down on the ground. I held myself up against the wall, still gripping the base of my cock as I recovered as fast as I could.

I tucked my dick back into my boxers and pulled my pants up, shifting it around since it was still hard as a rock. I tucked my shirt in and fixed my tie before turning to her and smiling as she tucked her blouse back in, zipped up her skirt, and pulled her thigh-highs back up. She laughed and wiped her lip gloss from my face, grabbing my tie and pulling me in for a kiss. I shook my head at her as I looked deep into her eyes, wondering how I got so damn lucky. Not only did I get to claim this woman as my girlfriend, I got to see her every day and fuck her on my lunch break. Normally things like that happened when someone like Jordan was fucking the secretary, but this came with strings attached and that made me more than happy.

As we walked back to the elevator, ready to take our actual lunch break, she took my hand and leaned up kissing me on the cheek. She smiled as I pressed the button to the bottom floor, my heart still racing in my chest. As the doors closed, she started laughing.

“We totally could have gotten caught,” she said. “That was their lunch break.”

“Wow,” I said chuckling. “You might have told me that.”

“Whoops.” She laughed even harder.

“So,” I said, looking down at her. “Do you like being back at work?”

“Hell, yeah,” she said. “I get to do this every day? And get paid for it? Count me in.”

“Yeah, until the seventh floor is finished,” I replied.

“Then,” she said, walking backward out of the elevator and smiling at me, “we’ll just have to find a new place.”

“Maybe I’ll convince my father to renovate the eleventh floor.” I wasn’t entirely joking, either.

“Wasn't that done like a year ago?”

“You gotta stay with the times,” I said. “I mean, he probably doesn’t even remember it was renovated.”

We laughed as we walked out of the building and down the street to grab a sandwich at the deli. Tiffany wrapped her arms around her and shivered, having forgotten her jacket in the mad dash to the seventh floor. I pulled my coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was so gorgeous, and I was in absolute heaven. I didn’t want anything to change, not one single thing.

Chapter 22

Tiffany

Though we had missed our chance to have our seventh-floor romance since our lunches didn’t coincide, I still couldn’t get Jason off my mind. Maybe it was bad that my boyfriend’s office was right across the hall, but in all reality, I almost worked better knowing if I got everything done, I could send him messages and harass him throughout the day. I watched as he got up from his desk and began filing a bunch of paperwork that his secretary normally did. The flu was going around the office, and though I didn’t often catch stuff, my stomach wasn’t feeling too hot. I shook it off and went to grab a cup of coffee, exhaustion seeming to be taking over more in the last couple of days than normal. It was probably all the time I had taken off. It had made me lazy. I poured the coffee in my cup and put sugar in it before walking back to my desk. As I entered through the doors, my phone rang. I set the coffee down and hurried around, pressing line two and answering.

“Hello, this is Miss Wells.”

“Tiffany, it’s Doctor Hartford,” he said seriously. “I wanted to call and see if you could come back in this afternoon. I want to take another blood test from you.”

“Is everything okay?” I sat down in my chair, slightly alarmed.

“Well, all your results came back, and they were correct. It doesn’t come as a surprise that you do have PCOS,” he said. “But we took a blood test because you indicated you’d had intercourse since your last period, and the results are a little confusing.”

“How so?”

“Well, we gave you a pregnancy test with that blood sample,” he replied. “And it came back positive.”

“Wait, what?”

“I know,” he chuckled. “It was a bit of a surprise for all of us.”

“I mean, that can’t be right,” I said shaking my head. “My last doctor told me it was impossible for me to get pregnant. Like, he literally said I had a better chance at winning the lottery.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’d like you to come by and give me another blood sample. Can you come in this afternoon?”

“Sure,” I said, glancing up at Jason who was staring down at his screen. “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

I hung up the phone and sat in complete amazement for several minutes. Jason scrunched his brow in concern when he looked over across the office. There was no way I could be pregnant. We had just started sleeping together not that long ago, and my chances were slim to none. Specifically, none, at least according to my previous doctor. If I’d thought there was a possibility, we would have used condoms.

I felt like I was in a dream, and everything around me was moving in slow motion. The doctor had to have made some kind of mistake. All I needed to do was to go down and give them a blood sample, and they would see they had made a mistake. I stood up from my desk and walked out of the office, so much in a trance that I didn’t even see Jason standing in his doorway. I knocked on John’s door and entered as he signalled for me to come in, finishing his phone call. I stood there in a daze until he hung up and looked over at me.

“How can I help you, Tiffany?” He said looking at me concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” I replied. “Just not feeling too hot. Would you mind if I left a little early? I just had my doctor call, and he needs me to come in and give another blood sample. I am not sure how long it will take, but if I can make it back in time before the day’s over, I will.”

“Sure,” he said, smiling. “Should we be worried about anything?”

“No,” I scoffed. “It’s just some routine stuff.”

“Okay, good,” he replied.

I walked out of his office and back to mine, my eyes still fixated off in the distance as if I could see everything changing in front of me. I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my purse, walking out and to the elevators before Jason even realized I was gone. I wanted to make one hundred percent sure the doctor was right before dropping that kind of information on him like that. I stared up at the numbers on the elevator as they dinged by until I had reached the lobby. I walked out of the building and grabbed a cab, giving them the address after sitting down and closing the door. My mind was racing, and I couldn’t even get my thoughts together before we reached the doctor’s office. I was walking around like I was some sort of zombie. What if I was pregnant? What would Jason do? What would he say?

I paid the cab driver and walked into the building, unbuttoning my jacket as I approached the front desk. I told them who I was, and they took me straight back to an exam room. The nurse came in and took my vitals, and then the doctor came in to talk to me. I had so many questions, but I didn’t even know where to start. He smiled at me, flopping my file on the desk and leaning back against the sink.

“So, does all of this mean I’m actually pregnant?”

“As far as it looks right now,” the doctor replied. “Yes, you are pregnant. We are going to take another blood sample and double check that the HCG levels are going up, and then, I can officially stamp it that you are indeed pregnant. You scared that sperm so bad that they made a baby before I could even recommend a treatment for you.”

“Ha,” I laughed. “This is crazy.”

I sat silently as the doctor took down some notes. He stood up and walked over to me, grasping my shoulder. I was quiet, and my face must have shown how stunned I was at the news. The doctor was smiling, though.

“Relax, and take a deep breath,” he said. “Remember, this is what you wanted. Congratulations. I’m going to send in the nurse to take that blood sample. We should have the results back in a day or two. As soon as we have confirmation, we’ll get you over to your regular doctor and start preparing you for this amazing journey.”

I nodded my head, words unable to make it out of my mouth. I sat there with my feet dangling from that same chair I had wanted to get out of so quickly just a couple days before. I looked up at the pictures on the walls, and they had a completely different feel to them. I could picture my face on the woman’s, Jason’s face on the man’s, and a beautiful little baby looking back at us. Immediately, fear followed, flooding my chest with dread. I was going to have to tell Jason we were going to have a baby. We had just started dating and hadn’t even told each other how we really felt about each other. Now, I was going to be telling him I was pregnant before I even told him I loved him. I knew this was what I wanted at the beginning, but my life had changed. I wasn’t in the circumstances I’d planned for a pregnancy. It just wasn’t time yet. This was so unexpected, and my mind was whirling around me. I ran my hands over my face and took in a deep breath, trying to get control of my emotions.

I looked up as the nurse walked in, carrying a syringe and a couple of tubes to put my blood in. I rolled up my sleeve and stuck out my arm, staring blankly at the picture on the wall as she tied the rubber band around my arm. I flexed my fist, trying to make enough pressure for her to get a good sample. She released the band after pushing the needle into my arm. Usually, I winced, but it was like my mind wouldn’t even let me react to the needle she stuck in my arm. I looked down as she filled the vials with blood and then removed the needle, putting a bandage in its place. She walked over and wrote down some things on my chart and stuck stickers to the vials. She turned back toward me, but I was too lost in my thoughts to even notice until I felt her warm hand against my skin.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, shaking myself back into reality. “I’m okay.”

“These tests shouldn’t take too long,” she explained. “If you need anything between now and then, just give us a call. If it is after hours call your physician, and as always, if it is an emergency, just head into the hospital.”

“Okay.” I shook my head and smiled.

I pulled my sleeve back down and hopped off the examination table. I pulled my coat around me and walked out into the hallway, moving to the side as a very pregnant woman passed me. I looked down at my own stomach, quickly pulling my jacket closed and heading out to the street. I took in a deep breath of the cold air and looked down the street to where there was a small café. I walked over, knowing there was no way I could go back to work, and ordered a hot chocolate. I took the cup to a back booth and slid in, pulling my coat collar up to block the breeze from the opening and closing door. I held the hot chocolate in my hands and let the warmth move over me. I couldn’t even start to believe that I was going to be a mother.

I sat in the café for a couple of hours, ordering a second hot chocolate, more for the warmth than the actual drink. I watched as people walked in and out of the café, most in scrubs belonging to the hospital adjacent to the coffee shop. I thought about everything from the news in front of me to my future as a mother. I wondered what Jason was going to say about everything, thinking it funny that he was the one who had set me up for the appointment in the first place. I was relieved to know I could have children, but I never thought I would find out this way. I ran my hand down over my belly and closed my eyes, searching for any answer as to why life had worked out this way. Immediately Jason’s face popped up in my thoughts. I needed to at least call him.

I pulled out my phone and read the missed messages from him. I had bolted from the office without even a word, and I felt guilty for not saying something to him before I left. He seemed to be nervous and worried about me. I dialed his number, my hands shaking, and put the phone to my ear, waiting for him to answer.

“Hey,” I said when he answered.

“Hey, I’ve been worried sick about you,” he said. “My father said you had some kind of doctor’s appointment to get to.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “It’s a long story, but we have to talk.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m leaving here in the next twenty minutes. You want to meet me at my place?”

“Sounds perfect,” I said, softening my tone so that he wouldn’t worry too much.

We hung up, and I stayed sitting in the booth for just a few more minutes, thinking about how I was going to break the news to Jason. Something inside me told me not to be worried about telling him this, but I couldn’t help my nervousness. At the very least, this could end my relationship with Jason, and as I stood and walked toward the door of the café, I braced myself. This news was about to change Jason’s life forever.

Chapter 23

Jason

I finished up everything at work and rushed to get out of the office. Tiffany was strongly on my mind, and I really hoped the doctor hadn’t given her the bad news. She didn’t need any more stress or sadness in her life. She had endured enough over the last few months. I hopped in one of the company cars and had him stop for flowers on the way. Whatever it was she had to tell me, I wanted to be ready to catch her, be there for her, and make her feel better the best I knew how. When I got home, she wasn’t there yet, so I went inside and changed my clothes. I pulled on a pair of jeans and sweater, stopping at the thermostat to turn on the heat. It had gotten freezing cold outside lately, and I wanted everything to be comfortable for Tiffany when she arrived. I had no idea what she was on her way to tell me, and my nerves bubbled in my stomach. What if she’d found out there was nothing they could do? What if she’d discovered it wasn’t PCOS but something else instead? Whatever it was, I would be there for her, and we would take the next step together, whatever it may be.

I walked through the house, pacing as I checked out the window for a cab every five seconds. I was assuming she was coming from the doctor’s office, which was across town, so she probably got stuck in traffic. I went into the kitchen and started the coffee maker, wanting something warm to heat up my hands while the heat in the house caught up enough to take the chill out of the air. At the same time, I didn’t know whether it was the house or my nerves causing me to be so cold and shaky. Everything had been going so well between us, and I was determined to help her get to a place with this condition where she felt comfortable, satisfied with her results, and resolute to move forward. The last thing I wanted was for her to be all alone, receiving some bad news from a doctor, and then have to repeat it all over again when she got to me. It wasn’t my place to go with her to the visits, but at that moment, I wished I had forced the issue.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and put the cream and sugar in, just how I liked. I wrapped my hands around the mug and carried it over to the window, leaning against the wall as I watched different cars pass back and forth down my road. Finally, a yellow cab pulled up out front, and I quickly made my way to the front door where I greeted Tiffany with open arms. I wrapped myself around her and squeezed her tightly, trying to gauge the look on her face. She didn’t look like there was anything seriously wrong, but it was more like her mind was on another planet. I took her hand and led her inside, closing the door behind us and following her into the living room. She took off her jacket and sat down on the couch, leaning her head back against the seat.

“Can I get you anything? I just made coffee,” I said, pointing to the kitchen.

“No.” She sent me a shaky smile. “Just come sit down.”

“Okay,” I said, taking a seat across from her. “I’m really nervous.”

“It's not completely confirmed yet,” she said, clenching her hands together. “But it looks like I’m pregnant.”

“What?” I blinked at her trying to wrap my head around those words. It was like she was talking in a different language. “You’re pregnant?”

“That’s what the blood tests said,” she replied. “I got a call earlier today from my doctor who said that my blood test, which they did since I had sex between periods, came back positive during the pregnancy test. They said I do have PCOS, but it seems that my body was willing to give this a chance without me having to jump through hoops. The blood test is going to make sure my HCG levels are rising like they are supposed to. Once they have that confirmed, then I go back to my regular doctor and go through this pregnancy like any normal person, with just a tad bit more attention because of the PCOS.”

“Wow,” I said standing up and walking around the room. I started laughing. “Wow, that is just absolutely amazing. This is beyond anything I could have imagined. I am more than thrilled.”

“Really?” She acted as if she expected a different reaction. “We only just started dating.”

“I know.” I sat next to her and took her hands in mine. “I don’t care how long we’ve been dating. I’m really excited to have a child with you. I want you to be happy, no matter what that means. I’ve always wanted children, and I have some very serious feelings for you. I mean nothing ever truly happens when we want it to, right? This baby is a miracle and a gift, and I couldn’t imagine sharing that with anyone else.”

She smiled wide, and I reached over, pulling her head toward mine, and pressed my lips against hers. She kissed me passionately before pulling away to rest her forehead against mine and look deep into my eyes. Tears pooled at the edges of hers, and I reached up and brushed my hand over her cheek. She was so beautiful and full of life, and with just those words of support, I could see her letting go of the fears and starting to allow herself to get excited over the news.

“So,” I said, leaning back and turning toward her. “Life is going to change so much. It's really exciting.”

“Gosh,” she scoffed. “More change, just what I need.”

“Yeah, but this is a good change,” I said excitedly. “I mean, we are really going to have a baby. I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl. I wonder if it will laugh like me or smile like you? I hope whatever gender it is, it has your wonderful, beautiful heart.”

She laughed, throwing her head back and sniffling. I leaned my head against my hand and smiled at her, loving the way she was starting to open up about everything. She relaxed a bit and pulled the throw on the edge of the couch around her shoulders. She looked deep into my eyes, her thoughts dancing across her face.

“When I was a little girl,” she began, “and my parents were all drugged up in the living room, I would lock myself in my room and dream about being a wife and mother. I imagined myself being the best mother ever. I knew I had to give my child lots of hugs, lots of kisses, and lots of love, more love than my parents had ever given me. I imagined my husband to be kind and sweet but strong and protective. He would take care of us, hold us, and be the kind of father I always wished I’d had. When the doctor told me I would never have children, it was almost as if I saw that memory shatter into a million pieces right in front of me. But now, now everything has changed again.”

“When I was a child,” I said, rubbing her arms, “I always knew I wanted to be a father one day. I knew I wanted to be a father to my child like my dad was with me. He was caring and soft but. at the same time, pushed me to be the best man I could be. He made us remember that having pride in ourselves, always being truthful and valiant, and being able to love would open so many doors in our life, not just romantically. I always wondered what he would have been like if one of us had been a girl. I had seen his soft side on a daily basis with the way he handled my mother. He has always been so gentle and kind with her, making sure she never wanted for anything, making sure she was completely taken care of. His family always came before the business, and part of me believes that was why he did so well.”

“Your dad is a wonderful father, and he is going to be an amazing grandfather.” She shook her head. “Part of me really wished my father was responsible enough to be a grandparent, but since I know that will never happen, I couldn’t be happier to have your father there as the solo grandpa.”

“My mom and dad are going to freak.” I laughed at the thought of telling them. “In a good way, of course. They have been waiting forever to become grandparents.”

“Jordan might be another story.” She cringed and shook her head. “He still thinks I can’t have children at all. It’s going to be interesting breaking the news to him.”

“Just shows he gave up too soon, but I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I replied, standing up and reaching down to pull Tiffany to her feet. “Come on, let’s go get comfy and watch movies in my bed. We can just relax for tonight and enjoy this news between the two of us.”

“That sounds perfect.” She followed me back to the room with a satisfied smile replacing the lost expression she’d arrived with.

It was almost shocking how easy that went and even more shocking that there wasn’t an ounce of fear inside of me when she’d told me I was going to be a father. So many men would have taken that very poorly, especially having only dated someone for not even a full month. But with Tiffany, it was different, we were different, and I had never felt closer to her than I did then. She was so beautiful and so complete that I couldn’t imagine having a child with anyone else.

We threw on some warm comfortable clothes and pulled the covers up over us. At first, she laid her head on my chest, watching the old black and white movies that were playing, but she quickly sat up and continued talking about her childhood. I turned the sound down on my television and listened to her intently, wanting to hear every single story she had. I knew her childhood hadn’t been easy, but I was so glad that she and I could provide a life for our child that was comfortable, loving, and protected. My mind was whirling around like crazy at the thought of a baby growing inside of Tiffany’s stomach.

We sat up and talked almost all night long, turning off the movies after about an hour, recognizing we were more interested in discussing all of this and getting to know each other more than we already did. Luckily, she knew my parents and what kind of upbringing I’d had, so she felt comfortable talking about hers. A little after two in the morning, I got up to get a glass of water, but by the time I had come back, Tiffany was sound asleep in the bed. I turned on her alarm so she would have time to go home and change, and then curled up under the covers next to her. She was so warm and calm, and I couldn’t stop watching her sleep. With each breath, I knew that she was growing a child inside of her body, and not just any child but my child. I loved this woman more than anything, and I couldn’t wait to become a father with her by my side.

Chapter 24

Tiffany

I opened my eyes, unsure of where I was for a second. As my eyes adjusted, I remembered I was in Jason’s bed, warm and snug under the covers. I pulled my phone quietly off the desk and looked at the time. I had woken up about an hour before my alarm was scheduled to go off. I opened the settings to check and saw that Jason had set the alarm for me. I must have fallen asleep when he went to get water in the middle of the night. I hadn’t meant to sleep over, but we were having a fantastic conversation, and I guess the excitement of the day and the news just got the best of me. His bed was so comfortable, I could literally stretch out in it for the rest of the week and not get up. I put the phone back on the nightstand and slid back down, pulling the covers over my shoulders and snuggling into the pillow. My body was tired, but mind was wide awake, something I wasn’t used to. It was usually the other way around, where my body was ready to go but my mind was so tired, I could barely think straight.

As I relaxed in the bed, my mind replayed the day before, especially the news the doctor had given me. I pressed a hand lightly to my belly. It was still so unbelievable to me that there was a baby growing inside of me. I had dreamt about it forever, but after the last news, I’d never thought it would actually happen. Both fear and excitement ran through me, and I was pretty positive I was not going back to sleep anytime soon. Jason rolled over on his side, scooting in close to me and wrapping his arms around me. The smell of his cologne hit my nostrils, and my memory pushed me back to the night in the hotel after the cocktail party. The sex was so hot that night that I could almost feel him inside of me right then. Immediately, heat pooled between my legs, and I was so horny, I could barely wrap my brain around it. My hormones must already be going crazy, and it didn’t help that I could feel Jason's hot skin against my back and his morning wood poking into my ass. I wiggled my body against him, and he pulled me closer, pushing his hips forward into me. I knew he was asleep, but even in his dreams, he reacted to my body.

I tried to push the feeling to the back of my mind, switching my thoughts to the day ahead, but it was no use, I was already ready to go. I knew if I rolled over, it would be a challenge waking him up because he was a hard sleeper. But if I could sneak under the covers and wrap my mouth around his cock, he just might wake up a little bit quicker. I contemplated it for several minutes before deciding it had to happen. There was no way I could get through a day staring at him across the hall without jumping him in the break room if I didn’t do something about the lust bubbling over in my chest. Slowly, I lifted his arms and put them on his side, his body rolling over on his back out of reflex. I turned over and inched down under the covers, moving over between his legs. I ran my fingers down his sides, pulling a slight groan from his throat before reaching down inside of his boxers and pulling his cock out. Just with the touch of my hands, he was immediately rock-solid, and I smiled as I dipped my head down and took his cock into my throat.

He moved slightly underneath me, growling as his hands dipped under the covers and ran across the top of my head. I knew he was awake from the way his hips thrust upward toward my face. I took my tongue and licked from the base of his shaft, all the way up to the tip of his head, my other hand caressing his balls. His fingers went through my hair and grasped down, as he moaned loudly on the other side of the covers.

“Mmm, good morning.” He chuckled.

I smiled before diving my head back down his cock, taking it deep and fast. He pushed his pelvis forward as my lips touched the base of his shaft, bouncing back upward. I swirled my tongue around his dick and bobbed my head up and down, the covers still over my head. I reached up to run my hand down his chest, scratching my nails into his stomach while I deep throated his cock. He growled and groaned above me, moving his hand up and down with my head as I sucked his long, hard dick. It grew harder and harder in my throat as his mind became more awake. He flipped the covers down, revealing my head, and smiled as I gazed up at him, my mouth full of his manhood. My eyes watered as I moved faster, wanting him inside of me. I reached down and ran my fingers over my wet mound, letting out a slight whimper as I licked the head of his cock.

“Yes.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

My mouth opened wider as I went down, sucking hard on the way back up. He pushed his hand against my head wanting more as I pulled my hand up his shaft and back down before putting my lips back on it. My heart was beating fast as I sucked harder, hoping that he would soon flip me over and fuck me with everything he had. Finally, he reached down and grabbed my face, pulling me up his body. He kissed my lips and leaned into my ear.

“Ride me,” he whispered.

I pulled my legs from between his and straddled him, pulling my panties to the side and reaching back to grab his cock. Slowly I pushed downward, feeling every inch of his shaft gliding through my juices. He reached up and pulled my shirt off and grabbed onto my bouncing tits. I could feel his fingers moving over my nipples, which seemed even more sensitive than normal. I moaned loudly as he flicked the tips of my tits, bringing electric waves through my body. If he kept going, that alone could make me come. I sat down hard on his cock, feeling it pressing against my limits before moving my hips and grinding against him. He reached down and opened me up, running his thumb over my clit as I ground down harder. I put my hands down on his chest and lifted my hips, feeling him slowly sliding out of me before I pushed back down and let him fill me up again.

By that point, my hips were moving so fast I could barely control it and he grabbed my waist, holding me still as he thrust his hips up and down, slamming his body against my pussy. I screamed out, pulling my hands up to my head and yearning for release. As his body slapped against my clit, I could feel myself lose all self-control. The orgasm simmering in my belly released, sending waves of pleasure through me. I arched my back and gritted my teeth, taking in a deep breath and feeling every single ounce of energy running through my veins. Jason sat up and pushed me over onto my back, climbing up and wasting no time in pulling my legs over his shoulders. His cock pushed deep inside of me, sliding in and out. I could feel my juices trickling from me and covering his rock-hard dick. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, the feeling of morning sex invigorating and arousing. His fingers dug into my thighs as he thrust in and out repeatedly, bringing himself closer to orgasm.

Moans escaped my lips, and I reached down to rub my clit while his body slammed against mine. He moved my legs off his shoulders and leaned down over me, staring me deep in my eyes. His hips moved in and out quickly, his teeth clenching and muscles tightening, signs he was close. He thrust several more times before pushing in deep and hard and stopping, his cock pulsing inside of me. He exploded, his body shivering over top of me as pleasure shook his body. His hips thrust forward trying to get deeper as his body released his seed inside of me. I watched his face begin to relax, running my fingers over his shoulders and down his arms. As his eyes opened, the alarm went off, and we both began to laugh.

“Perfect timing, as always,” I said.

He leaned down and kissed my lips before pulling his body away from mine and out of the bed. He stood stretching, his cock still hard and sticking straight out in front of him. I smiled as I reached up and switched off the alarm, grabbing the pair of shorts from the floor that he’d let me wear and pulling a sweatshirt over my head. I had to go home to change my clothes, but he was going with me, so I waited while he hurriedly got dressed. He was so handsome in his suits, but I’d take him naked any day. That was probably one of the reasons why I was pregnant. I smiled to myself as I thought about the change in our life, and how Jason was now a permanent part of me.

When he was ready to go, we went down to the street and jumped into one of the company cars. I shivered considerably, having left the house in a pair of shorts. There was frost over everything, and it was getting very close to winter. We pulled up in front of my house, and I got dressed while Jason made us a couple cups of coffee for the road. I pulled out something comfortable to wear, not feeling like fighting the tightness of most of my business attire. When I was done pulling my hair back and brushing my teeth he handed me a mug of coffee and kissed my lips as we made our way back out to the car. This time, I remembered my coat and felt a lot more awake with the coffee already coursing through my veins.

We made it to the office in record time, and I leaned into Jason as we moved up the elevator to our floor. My cheeks blushed slightly as several workers got off the elevator on the seventh floor and as soon as the doors shut, Jason and I both burst into laughter. We were still laughing when the elevator doors opened, and I didn’t even notice the stares and whispers until I was almost all the way down the hall and to my office. I had never even stopped to think about the fact that our relationship was going to seem weird to anyone who didn’t know us or our situation. However, working in a professional environment, I didn’t think I was going to have to deal with the kind of childish behavior that the other employees were exhibiting. At first, it made me angry, so angry in fact, I thought about going out there and defending myself. But, after taking a deep breath and laughing at a picture Jason sent me through text, I decided the best course of action would be to ignore them. Well, at least as long as I possibly could. My coming baby bump wasn’t going to make that situation any easier at all.

Chapter 25

Jason

Waking up was not nearly as exciting as the day before when my alarm clock had been replaced by Tiffany’s luscious lips around my cock. What a way to start a day, and in fact, I even considered having her stay the night so I could wake up again to some blazingly hot sex. I was currently sitting in a marketing meeting thinking about my most-likely pregnant girlfriend’s wet pussy, something I knew my father would frown on if he could read my mind. Anybody in my position would feel the same way with an amazing woman like Tiffany. Not only was she now my girlfriend, and future mother of my child, she was going out of her way to make our love life as spicy as it possibly could be. I didn’t know much about pregnancy, but she had clearly become more hands on in recent days, something I was not going to complain about, not even for a second. I could barely keep my hands off her as it was, but now, she was going to make it way more difficult for me.

When the meeting ended, I stood up, stretching my arms over my head. My father looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, obviously noticing my severe disconnection from the things going on around me. I smiled wide at him and flipped my binder shut, knowing that if he were in a similar position, he would be just as distracted from work. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile as he collected his things and walked out of the meeting room. I grabbed my mug and discovered I was out of coffee, which was no big deal since the office kept a pot constantly brewing. I picked up my pen and notebook and headed out of the office toward the break room. I smiled at my father’s secretary as she walked past me, carrying my father’s usual coffee with light cream and no sugar. He used to load it up with sugar, but my mother put a stop to that really fast, calling Shirley and letting her know how he needed to have his coffee made each morning.

After Shirley passed by, I walked into the breakroom and smiled, seeing Tiffany standing at the back corner talking on the phone. She was wearing flowing black dress pants with a black and white polka dotted silk button-up shirt tucked into the high waist. Her black pointy-toed heels poked out from beneath the hem of the pants, and her hair was pulled back into a curly ponytail. She was still wearing her reading glasses and looked kind of like one of those secretaries in cliché porn movies. I didn’t know who she was talking to, but she seemed like she was whispering. I walked over, trying not to intrude and poured my coffee, fixing it with cream and sugar before turning back around and waiting for her to finish her call. She looked over at me and smiled as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. I smiled back and leaned up against the counter, fixing my tie so it wouldn’t land in my coffee mug like it had done so many times before. Maybe all those tie clips I had gotten for Christmas weren’t useless after all.

Tiffany finally pulled the phone from her ear and hung it up, slowly looking up at me with flushed cheeks. She walked forward, looking around to make sure no one else was in the room. I already knew she was going to give me news from her doctor, and I could feel the nerves in my stomach doing flip flops.

“What is it?” I smiled and reached my hand out for hers. She walked in close and looked down at her phone.

“Well, I’m definitely pregnant,” she said happily. “And they said the time of conception was about three weeks and a day ago.”

“Wow,” I said thinking back. “Wait. Holy Shit. That was like our first time.”

“Yeah,” she giggled.

“Well, if that’s not fate, then I don’t know what is,” I said, absolutely floored. “Congratulations, momma.”

“Congratulations, daddy,” she said happily. “We really know how to throw a party.”

I couldn’t believe it, not only had it been confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, we had managed to knock it out of the park before we even knew we loved each other. Talk about a twist of fate walking into a hot and sexy lovemaking session. Most other men might be upset, but I was extremely excited and almost felt like I had hit the jackpot. I set my coffee mug on the counter and reached forward, grabbing Tiffany around the waist and pulling her in close. She smiled as her lips moved to mine, kissing me gently before pulling up and kissing my forehead, too. Her touch was gentle and sweet, and it made me love her even more than I already did. Her belly was pressed against mine, and I couldn’t help but think about the baby growing inside. I glanced up as Jordan walked into the break room, stopping for a moment to roll his eyes and shake his head at our public display of affection.

“Talk about weird fucking timing,” he mumbled. “Get a room, preferably in another city.”

I looked up at Tiffany and smiled, ignoring his ignorant ass statements. I was not going to let him take this moment from us. He had ruined so many things for Tiffany, and I could tell by her face that she was not going to let his petty words ruin this one, too. I kissed her nose and took in a deep breath, letting the news wash over me.

“Would you come to dinner with me on Sunday at my parent’s house?”

“Of course,” she said, smiling wide.

She backed up and stuck her phone in her pocket, her face beaming with excitement. I wanted to talk about everything, be super excited with her, but we weren’t ready to tell anyone yet. It had to stay a secret, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing stressful about any part of it for her. I knew with the PCOS, pregnancy could be tricky, and I wanted her to get through everything with as little stress as possible. She was carrying my child now, and I was feeling ten times more protective than I had been at the beginning. Part of me wished I could stick her in a bubble and keep her safe until the baby arrived. She shivered, goose bumps rolling up her arms, and I reached forward, rubbing my hands down her arms and warming her up. She looked like she was on another planet, but instead of worry like the other night, she looked completely infatuated by the whole realization that she and I were going to have a baby.

“So, since your coming to dinner on Sunday,” Jordan said, walking over to us. “Just want you to know Rosalie won’t be there for you to bond with. We broke up. Things were just getting too serious too fast, and I needed to stretch out and weigh my options. It would be dumb of me to end my marriage and shack up with the first broad I found. Besides, she was weirded out, kind of like everyone else, with this whole my-brother-dating-my-ex-wife thing.”

“Mmhm,” Tiffany said, not hearing anything Jordan had to say.

“Sorry to hear that, man,” I replied, refusing to acknowledge his weak attempt to sound like he was playing the field. In all reality, the poor girl probably knew exactly what was up, how much of a D-bag Jordan could be, and ran for the hills, just like Tiffany should have done. But then again, if she had never married my brother, it was unlikely I would have ever gotten to know her the way that I did, and we wouldn’t be standing here daydreaming about the child we were about to welcome into the world.

“What is up with you two?” Jordan wrinkled his nose and stared at our blank expressions.

Neither one of us answered, still standing there staring off into space. It seriously felt like I was part of another world there for a second. It wasn’t that I didn’t hear my brother talking. It was that he wasn’t important enough to interrupt the amazing thoughts I had going on in my head. The baby, Tiffany, and dinner at my parents had filled every crevasse of my mind. My brother’s voice ended up just being background noise for me. It was the kind of noise you know is there, but you train your body to ignore so it doesn’t drive you absolutely mad. My brother had a way of doing that. To be fair, the fire alarm could have gone off, a space ship could have crash-landed on the roof, and I could have been surrounded by little green men and still wouldn’t have paid any attention to what was going on. It was like we were both stuck in a trance, not giving two shits about coming out of it. All I wanted to do at that point was run away, so I didn’t have to hide anything in our lives anymore.

“Hey, earth to asshole,” my brother said, tapping on my head. “Did you hear me?”

“Yeah,” I said, pulling myself from my happy place and taking in a deep breath. “I heard you.”

“So, what’s going on?”

I looked at Jordan for a moment and turned back to Tiffany who pulled herself out of the clouds as well. I picked up my coffee and took a sip, trying to decide whether to tell him or not. I knew Tiffany didn’t want to tell anyone anything yet, at least not until the dinner. I looked back at Tiffany who had just completed processing what Jordan was asking. She shook her head no to me and winked. I understood why we needed to keep the information to ourselves, but I just loved watching my brother completely deflate when he was in a mood like the one he was currently in. His cockiness had reached an entirely new level, and news like this would deflate him in about two seconds flat. But I let out a deep breath as she shook her head, knowing I had to respect her decisions on this one.

“Sunday,” she said staring into my eyes.

“Gotcha,” I replied. “Sunday.”

I looked over at my brother and shrugged my shoulders. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, pouring more black coffee in his cup and walking out of the room. I was glad he left us alone again, but I had to tear myself away from Tiffany in order to get any work done. It was bad enough that I was going to be sitting there processing the news, but on top of that, I wanted to hold Tiffany and care for her. I knew if I was nervous about all of this, she was, too. And I knew if I was happy about all of it, she would be, too. So, I mustered up my strength of focus and leaned in, kissing her on the chin before heading back to my office. From my chair, I watched her walk down the hall and turn into her room. She looked kind of like a sleepwalker, her eyes glazed over and her steps not as graceful as usual.

I guess I couldn’t blame her. She was pregnant, and we were about to unleash that information on everyone we loved the most, including my brother Jordan. It was his response that I feared more than anything. Hopefully, he could keep his cool.

Chapter 26

Tiffany

I’m pregnant. I’m freaking pregnant. I just kept telling myself that repeatedly all day long. It didn’t matter what I was doing, from brushing my teeth to putting gas in my car, the feeling of knowing I was growing a person in my body was completely blowing my mind. I had never gotten a piece of news that affected me in the way this was affecting me. I just couldn’t believe after all of that, one lunchtime sex session after days of sexting, led to me being pregnant. Jason was really impressed that we knocked it out after just the first time. I was impressed that after being told that I had a higher chance of hitting the lottery than getting pregnant, I knocked it out of the park. Either I needed a new doctor, or I needed to start playing the lottery because the reality was, I was pregnant. Until now, I’d never really understood what a woman felt like when they found out they were expecting. I was in shock and awed at how amazing all of it really was.

I was sitting at the table at John and Lily’s, chewing the steak that Lily had prepared. Was the baby supposed to even have steak? I suppose I’d have to learn all this now. I knew very little about pregnancy, having never been around any pregnant women or small children for that matter. I knew that my doctor would fill me in on everything I was and wasn’t allowed to have, but the thoughts kept popping into my mind. I didn’t mind it, though, since it kept my mind off the fact that we were about to reveal our big secret to everyone, including Jordan who was sitting across the table scowling at me as I ate. I didn’t know what his problem was, but if he thought he was pissed at me now, just wait until he finds out the news. I was almost nervous about letting him know. I shouldn’t have been because he was no one to me anymore other than my baby’s uncle. Still, the idea of letting everyone in on our secret was more than a little terrifying.

“So,” Jason said putting down his fork. “Tiffany and I have something we’d like to tell you.”

“Sure, honey,” Lily said, giving him her attention. “What is it?”

“Well,” he said, taking in a deep breath. “It wasn’t planned, and we had no idea it could even happen. This took us completely by surprise, but we found out recently that we’re having a baby.”

Lily put her hands to her face and smiled big, letting out a gasp. John shook his head and laughed, reaching over and taking Lily’s hand. There it was. We had told everyone the big news. I smiled at Lily, who seemed more than excited to be becoming a grandmother. Jason reached over and took my hand, pulling it into his lap and looking over at me in awe. All that stress and worry and in two seconds, the news was out. We apparently didn’t like to do anything in our relationship without having a bit of shock value to add to it. I looked down in my lap and then up at Jordan who looked like he was still processing what was just said. I was nervous for his reaction and sat there squeezing Jason’s hand as the table quieted and Jordan responded.

“What the hell?” he yelled.

“Jordan,” Jason said, putting up his hand.

“No, fuck you,” Jordan interrupted, very angry. “You are just a crazy whore trying to ruin everyone’s life. I wasn’t good enough to watch ruin, so you latched onto my brother.”

“Hey,” Jason yelled standing up. “Shut your damn mouth about Tiffany. You’re the one who left her when you thought she couldn’t have kids. You just dropped her on her ass because she didn’t fit into this crazy mold you have in your head on how you think a woman should be.”

“How do you even know she’s telling the truth? She could be lying about the whole damn thing,” Jordan screeched, standing up and pushing back his chair. “You are a disgrace.”

“Hey,” John said loudly, hushing the crowd. “Jordan, that is enough from you. Don’t think you can sit here and ruin something so beautiful. If she was told she couldn’t have children and she got pregnant, it is something to celebrate, not belittle her because it didn’t happen the way you wanted it to. This is not your life. It is Tiffany and Jason’s. You either get past it or keep your mouth shut. I won’t have you disrespecting anyone at my dinner table.”

Jordan pushed his chair backward so hard that it fell over. He turned from the table and stomped out of the dining room. I could hear his feet slamming against the floors as he made his way toward the door. I flinched as he slammed the front doors behind him. I looked over at Jason, who was shaking his head and rubbing his face.

“I’ll take care of it,” Jason said, leaning down and kissing my head before he walked out of the room and to the front where Jordan would be.

My mind raced with thoughts and emotions. On the one hand, I was upset about the fact that Jordan took our news so personally. On the other hand, I could not help if they told me I couldn’t have children and then, poof, I ended up pregnant. Jordan had never given us a chance. It was not the ideal situation, but I loved Jason, and I loved this baby. I wasn’t going to sit there letting him talk to us that way and ruin our happy moment. I was glad Jason was there to handle it, knowing Jordan would make me angrier than what was safe for me. I watched as Lily stood up and walked around the table, reaching over and wrapping her arms around me. The look on her face was pure excitement, and immediately, I started to feel better about what just happened.

“This is such amazing news,” she whispered as she hugged me. “We have to celebrate. Put Jordan out of your mind. He will come around, eventually. Right now, we should be thankful for the abundance of gifts and celebrate the coming arrival of our very first grandchild.”

“I’m so glad you feel that way,” I said, hugging her back. “Jason and I are absolutely thrilled with the news. It is a miracle I ever got pregnant in the first place.”

I looked up as Jason walked back in the room, hugging his father and smiling at me. John looked excited beyond himself, and I saw Jason let go of his irritation from Jordan and allow himself to enjoy the celebration his parents were trying to put forth. John walked over as I stood and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. I could feel the fatherly love emanating from him, and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel it for the first time in my life.

We moved into the living room where the service staff brought out a bottle of champagne and a bottle of sparkling cider for me. Jason opened both bottles and poured the bubbling liquid into the glasses, handing me the sparkling cider. He raised his glass in the air, and we all followed suit.

“To a life of happiness and love,” Jason said.

“To our new beautiful grandchild,” Lily said.

“To many days and many nights chasing little bare feet through the house,” John said.

“To miracles moving us beyond celebration and into a time of healing,” I said, looking over at Jason.

I was so excited that everyone wanted to celebrate, and I smiled and laughed right along with them, but in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but feel bad. I knew that I had a right to feel however I wanted and so did Jordan, but I couldn’t fully put myself into the celebration, knowing how upset Jordan was and how badly Jason and I had hurt him. I sat there quietly, listening to Jason and his parents talking excitedly about the new baby, trying to shake the feeling of guilt I had.

Sure, Jordan had treated me terribly, and for all intents and purposes, I didn’t owe him any explanation for my choices, but that didn’t mean it was right of me to completely bash his heart. I didn’t have those kinds of feelings for Jordan anymore, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t a human being, capable of understanding when certain news should be delivered in a different way to different people. I should have sat down with Jordan and explained things better. I should have told him about the doctors I was going to and how they were already under the impression that my last doctor wasn’t completely correct in my diagnosis. With as angry as I wanted to get at him, I knew that he had cared for me at one point and wasn’t as ruthless as I told myself when deciding to divorce me. It was difficult information to handle, thinking you would never have your own children. He probably felt especially cheated now that Jason and I were expecting.

We stayed for another hour or two, talking and celebrating before my constant yawning caught Jason’s attention. He took me home, so I could get some good rest in my own bed, and though I would miss being by his side, it felt really good to be home. I went to the fridge and grabbed a big glass of juice and some fruit and sat down in the living room. I picked up my phone, realizing I had missed one incredibly important person in the announcement process. Mona.

“Hey, slut,” she answered, making me laugh.

“Hey,” I said. “I have news.”

“I like news,” she said. “Unless it's bad, then I don’t like it.”

“Guess who is pregnant,” I said.

“Hmm, Angelina Jolie? I knew that slut had a lover on the side. Poor Brad,” she said, laughing. “No? Is it someone I know?”

“Yep,” I said cheerfully.

“Dude, I have no idea,” she replied. “I could—wait. Is it you?”

“Ding, ding, ding.” I laughed.

“What? You’re pregnant?” The tone of Mona’s voice was more excited than any other time I had ever talked to her. “I can’t believe this! Are you happy? Is Jason happy?”

“We are both really happy,” I said, pleased with her enthusiasm.

We talked for over an hour after that as Mona went on and on about how excited she was. I could hear her on the other line typing on the computer as she talked about planning the baby shower, picking out furniture, and all the other exciting things I hadn’t yet had a chance to really think about. She had some crazy ideas for a gender reveal party, and I just sat back and let her get even crazier talking about everything. It was nice to have someone to talk to who didn’t make me think about all the stressful aspects of this pregnancy. Still, in the back of mind, hiding in the shadows was that guilt about how Jordan had found out. I couldn’t help but think that everyone should have stepped back for a second and given him a little extra room to understand what happened. I was worried he would never come around, and Jason would be left with a rift in his relationship. Our child wouldn’t have an uncle to grow up with. For all of Jordan’s faults, in the end, he was not a bad person, and I really needed to start thinking of a way to repair the damage everything had done to our relationship. If not for me, then for the father of my child.

Chapter 27

Jason

I walked into the office with a new pep in my step, greeting everyone with a good morning, and making my way to my desk. It was the first time I was this excited about being at work. There was something invigorating about becoming a father, and it filtered down into everything around me. I had a brand new purpose in life, a meaning to everything I was working for, and it no longer just affected me. Though the pressure was a lot to handle, I took it and turned it into a positive, almost a challenge to myself to be the best man I could possibly be so that I could set a good example for our child. I wanted to show my child that hard work paid off, that treating others with fairness and respect was something that should be done on a daily basis, and I wanted to provide a life for my new family that was more than ideal. I wanted to never need for anything and only want for something out of choice, not out of necessity. But still, sitting down in my office chair and staring over at Tiffany, I couldn’t help but notice she had been acting weird since the night before at my parent’s house.

Jordan had been an extremely important part of Tiffany’s life, and she was revealing to him that she had acquired a dream with someone else, the dream that happened to be what split them apart in the first place. I understood why Tiffany felt we should have sat down with Jordan and really explained things, instead of including him in with the celebrations, understanding that it may not feel like an exciting thing to him. He wanted children of his own. He had the understanding of pride and accomplishment that went along with having your own family, and he had made a decision, not based on love but based on those wants, that had left him alone. He had to stand on the outside and watch his ex-wife become pregnant by another man, the thing that kept him from staying with her in the first place. I couldn’t even imagine how hurtful and angering that must be for him. However, having given him that due respect, there was still no reason for him to act and behave the way he did toward her at my parent’s house. He had said some horrible things to Tiffany, and everyone noticed that it really did affect her. I tried to talk to him, but by the time I got out there, he was racing off in his sports car, waving his hand at me as he passed.

I looked over at Tiffany as she sat at her desk, going through files and typing on her computer. She had been very quiet during the celebrations and had insisted on sleeping at her own house the night before. I wanted to keep her close, but I also understood I needed to give her space when she was feeling overwhelmed and understand that I couldn’t fix every single issue she had. Still, I couldn’t help but be worried at how withdrawn she had gotten after Jordan’s outburst. I could tell there was more going on in her head than what she was saying. What I didn’t know was whether she was just hurt or if she really felt bad for getting pregnant with me and not him. I was trying to be as understanding as I possibly could. This had to be a bit confusing for her on that front. However, as I sat there watching her sullen face, I started to worry that I was going to lose her. I had this perfect picture of our lives, with her as the wonderful and amazing mother and me as the doting father, but those were my dreams. I really wished she would talk to me so I could head off whatever might be coming from the thoughts going on in her head. I loved her more than anything and the thought of losing her and the baby was so crushing, it almost made it hard to breathe.

After about an hour, I got up from my desk and went looking for Tiffany. She had left her office earlier and had yet to come back. I didn’t want to smother her, but seeing as she was in a bit of a fragile position, I couldn’t help worrying about her. On top of all of that, I knew there was something going on in her head, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it, for her peace of mind and mine. I needed her to know that whatever she was feeling, she could talk to me about, even if it hurt me, and even if I had to open my mind to a broader perspective. I felt like she was pushing me away at every single turn. I walked into the break room and smiled, watching her standing in front of the coffee machine, her cute little dress blowing back and forth as she moved. She reached up for a cup and poured some coffee into it.

“Are you allowed to have coffee?” I asked the question in the nicest tone possible, truly unsure of what was allowed.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “My doctor said I could have up to 100 mg of caffeine per day, so one cup of coffee isn't going to hurt. Especially since we stock the office with the crappiest coffee we can find.”

“I always thought it was punishment.” I laughed, walking over next to her. She smiled at me and looked back at her cup, stirring it slowly.

“Hey,” I said, putting my hand on hers. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange ever since last night.”

She sighed and looked up at me, tears tugging at the corners of her eyes. I turned her toward me and pulled her in close, rubbing her back with my hands. Whatever it was, I needed her to get it off her chest and let it out, even if it was something I couldn’t fix.

“I feel terrible,” she said, pulling away. “To be completely honest, the way Jordan reacted last night made me feel absolutely horrible. It wasn’t what he said as much as how much pain I could see in his eyes as he looked at us. I wish we had pulled him aside and really explained what happened. I think we were reckless just including him in the announcement. How could we possibly think he would be happy for us? No, he didn’t act on the best choice possible, but it’s Jordan we’re talking about here. We all know he lashes out when he’s hurt by something. I feel awful for being so negligent with his feelings. I really felt like it made us no better than him. It was almost like we did it on purpose to make him feel terrible. If you look at it from his perspective, you have everything he was trying to create and with the woman he tried to create it with.”

“Baby,” I said kissing her on the forehead. “I know you feel guilty, and I would be lying if I said part of me didn’t completely agree with you, but you have to remember what happened. He left you, without giving anything a second opinion, a second look, or really understanding anything about what was going on. He didn’t want to stick around when things got even the tiniest bit rough, so to me, his pain is brought on by his own regret. I agree, maybe we should have handled it a better way, but are we going to have to tiptoe through the rest of our lives so that Jordan doesn’t get his feelings hurt? Where does it end? Do we not invite him to our baby’s first birthday party? Do we continue to hide our feelings for each other for the rest of our lives? You cannot put this on yourself.”

“I know,” she sighed. “You are right. I just really started to feel terrible when he ran off like that. I know that when Jordan is really hurting, he runs. It's that fight or flight reflex, and he always chooses flight. Thank you for listening to me and talking me through all of this. It has been a crazy ride so far, and I’m looking forward to the days when everything starts to calm down. I just want to make sure there are no rifts between you and your brother.”

“If there is a rift,” I whispered, “it is one he creates on his own.”

She hugged me tightly and pressed her face into my neck. I could feel her tired body in my arms, and all I wanted to do was carry her out of here and take her home. She needed to rest, but instead, she was here, working her ass off like she always did and shouldering guilt for Jordan like she always did. She pulled back and kissed my cheek, grabbing her cup of coffee and heading back to her office. I stood there for several moments thinking about what she said and how she felt. I understood her feelings because I’d had them, too, but in the end, we gave our happy news to the entire family, not just Jordan. Our intention was never to rub it in his face or hurt him. We had handled this entire situation with as much care and fragility as we possibly could, and all so that Jordan could ease into the thought of Tiffany and I being together, as a family. The pregnancy thing was as much of a surprise to us as it was to him, the difference being we were happy about it and he was jealous and remorseful. I still couldn’t get past the things that he said to Tiffany in anger. I wanted him to feel comfortable, but I refused to spend my life sneaking around him to spare his feelings. I sighed and picked up my mug, making my way back to my desk.

I sat down in my chair and stared down at the files peppering my work space. I had a ton of work to do, but my mind was plagued with what Tiffany had just told me. It really bothered me that she was so upset by Jordan and his reaction to the pregnancy. I couldn’t help but feel that there was something off about everything, and it made me more nervous than fatherhood alone made me. I hoped that everything Tiffany said was everything she was feeling, but part of me worried she had more feelings for Jordan than she was letting on. I tried to push the thoughts from my mind so I could work, but every time I looked up, I could see the pain in Tiffany’s eyes. She sat there, staring off into space, her thoughts a million miles from this office, and even though she said I had made her feel better, I knew with one look of her, that wasn’t true in the least.

My brother had been a thorn in this relationship since the beginning, and he would continue to be that, until I felt comfortable Tiffany wasn’t still in love with him. I was terrified I was going to lose Tiffany. I couldn’t sit around and watch her go back to Jordan, especially with the child in her belly being mine. I didn’t want to lose her, but I was starting to feel that it might actually be something I need to worry about. I loved that woman, and I would do anything I could to bring her back to where she used to be.

Chapter 28

Tiffany

Everything that happened was exactly what I knew or thought or suspected would happen in the situation that I was in. I never thought Jordan would come running over and congratulate us for getting pregnant just a month after he divorced me. I never thought that Jordan would be excited that his brother and I fell in love with each other. Nothing about the way I saw things working out was cloaked in naivety or a fairy tale expectation, but still, I was sitting here thinking of how bad I felt. Jason was right that I should not be so bothered by what happened or how Jordan reacted, but there was something inside of me that just couldn’t push it to the side. I felt terrible, point blank. I knew that most of that feeling was because I had spent my life making sure I was genuinely a nice person. I opened myself to empathy but in a way that allowed me to feel what other people were feeling. This way, I could better relate to them. This situation, however, I wished I wasn’t so empathetic about. I was completely missing out on the excitement of becoming pregnant because I felt bad for my ex-husband. It sounded ridiculous and twisted, even to me, but I knew until everything was worked out, I would continue to feel this way.

Around the midafternoon, I finished up the new quarter folders for all the employees. I put them all neatly together in a stack and got up from my chair. There was going to be a meeting in the conference room in about a half an hour, so I figured that would be a good place to distribute them. I picked up the stack from my desk and walked into the conference room, stopping dead in my tracks as I walked around the corner and saw Jordan already there. It was the first time I had seen him since dinner at his parents, and from the angry glare on his face, I knew that he hadn’t gotten over it. At first, I wanted to turn around, his arrogant stare pissing me off, but then I turned back, knowing if I never faced this head on, I would spend the rest of my life feeling guilty for something that I shouldn’t feel guilty about. I set down the stack of papers and put my hands on my hips, stepping in the way of the exit.

“You can’t continue to treat me this way,” I said assertively. “I didn’t do anything wrong, and you are acting like everyone is against you. It isn’t fair to me that you have chosen to take your anger out in this manner.”

I stared him down, waiting for a reaction. He looked down at his watch before setting his briefcase on the table and looking back at me. His face was pure anger, and it made me slightly nervous, so I took a step back.

“You lied to me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“No,” I said sternly. “I never lied to you. You just refused to see things as more than just black and white. I told you exactly what my doctor told me. I do have PCOS, and it was confirmed with my specialist. You only heard what you wanted to hear. The doctor told me there was a slim chance of me getting pregnant, which didn’t mean that it was a hundred percent no chance of me ever getting pregnant. Do you know how much time it took for me to figure that out? It took one extra doctor’s visit, Jordan. One. You didn’t care enough to stick around and even find me a second opinion. You didn’t care enough to push forward and see what could be done to correct the situation.”

“You pretty much told me you were never going to be able to have children,” he argued back. “I don’t remember you ever saying anything about slim or maybe.”

“Because you only heard what you wanted to hear,” I said angrily.

I watched as his face changed from contemplative back to angry. One thing about Jordan that made arguing difficult was the fact that he never wanted to admit that he could be wrong for even a second. He would argue his point beyond all sense, rationality, or reason. It was very frustrating.

“I never said there was a hundred percent chance that I would never get pregnant. I never said never,” I argued quietly. “Do you think that finding out that I couldn’t have children was easy for me? Did you think that maybe when I came home to talk to you, I was feeling confused, angry, and upset? You didn’t even try to be there for me. You didn’t even try to listen to what I had to say, a lot like right now. You are so damn stubborn that you won’t open your ears and really listen. I never, not once, said there was no chance at all. You heard what you wanted to hear, and you took that information and left me all alone. You broke my spirit, Jordan. You sent me packing without any explanation or caring, and after all the years we had been together. I didn’t just lose a husband that day. I lost the possibility of having children, I lost my best friend, my relationship, and the only family I ever knew. What you did was so wrong on so many levels. I can’t even begin to tell you what you put me through. While you were out there picking up chicks at the bar, reveling in your freedom, I was at home picking the pieces of myself off the floor, all while keeping the secret as to why you chose to end the relationship so people wouldn’t look poorly at you.”

I didn’t know why, but at that moment, my emotions kicked into high gear. Maybe it was the hormones from the pregnancy, maybe it was the pent-up anger I had for Jordan, but either way, I was on a roll, and I didn’t see myself stopping. I slammed the folders on the desk, drawing the attention of the people in the surrounding areas. Tears began to run down my cheeks as anger simmered in my belly, beginning to bubble over. I pointed my finger at Jordan and walked forward, my voice raising three levels as I continued.

“If you thought for one second that I would come running back to you after what you put me through, you were dead wrong. You keep telling everyone that I left you, but that is complete and total bullshit, and you know it. The day I told you about my condition, you bolted, leaving me alone to grieve it. Well, you know what happened? I never did. I was so wrapped up in the fact that my new husband of three months had left me. Abandoned me when I was in pain. I actually started to think up ways to make myself better so you would come back. I actually thought I wasn’t good enough for you. In the end, though, the truth was, you weren’t good enough for me.”

I turned around, wiping the tears from my cheek and looking at the crowd that had gathered. People were already talking about me behind my back, and now, they had all seen me completely lose it on Jordan. Great, even more for people to whisper about behind my back now. Just what I needed. I paused for a moment and gathered myself before pushing through the onlookers and making my way to John’s office. I just didn’t see how I was going to be able to continue to come to work every day and be ridiculed by the staff over a situation they knew nothing about.

I knocked on John’s door and entered, closing the door behind me. I sat down in the chair across from his desk and took a deep breath, feeling my emotions getting the best of me. John looked up at me and alarm shot across his face once he saw my bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

“I wanted to know if there was a way that I could work remotely,” I asked.

“Is everything okay with the baby?” He sat up in his chair with concern.

“Yes,” I said, shaking my head. “Everything is fine with the baby. It’s just that coming to this office is starting to become more stressful than I think I could handle. There are rumors flying everywhere, and though I know that I am responsible for those rumors with my break up with Jordan and my relationship with Jason, it isn’t fair, and it is making for a hostile work environment for myself and for Jason. I don’t speak on his behalf at all, but the whispers and stares are really hard to withstand day in and day out.”

“I understand where you are coming from, but I need you in an office, not at home,” he said kindly. “I could transfer you to our San Diego office and have you fly home on the weekends if that would help.”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “That’s an eight-hour flight both ways. Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Of course,” he said with a kind smile. “Take all the time you need. But know that it isn’t a permanent solution to your problem, and with the pregnancy, I don’t know how healthy it would be to take that option. You should take a deep breath and think about. Talk to Jason, he’s a level-headed person who can give you some really good insight.”

“I will.” I smiled at him, though it felt rather forced. “Thank you, John.”

“Anytime,” he said as I walked toward the door. “And remember my door is always open.”

I nodded and walked out of the office feeling completely torn about what to do. On one hand, going to San Diego would keep the stress of this whole thing off my shoulders, but it would only be temporary. I was in a relationship with Jason, and I loved him. We were getting ready to start a family together and jetting off to San Diego to run away from my problems would just make things worse. But this situation seemed ridiculous and hopeless, and the people in the office were ruthless. As I turned the corner, I could see several of the women huddled together staring over at me. I rushed past and into my office, shutting the door and leaning back against it. I was so damn confused, and I knew I could talk to Jason, but without a doubt, he would never go for me flying back and forth between here and San Diego.

I sat down at my desk and put my head in my hands. I felt completely helpless and lost with no clue of what I should do. There was no way I was going to be able to continue to fight with Jordan. I refused to spend my life making all my decisions based on whether Jordan would be happy or upset. I was no longer his wife and shouldn’t have to deal with his attitude and disregard for the truth. He was Jason’s brother, which meant I couldn’t completely cut him out, but something had to happen and it had to happen fast. I did not want to be the reason that he and his brother didn’t have a relationship. I refused to be the piece of the puzzle that broke the entire thing. I shook my head, thinking about my life three months ago, wondering how everything had gotten turned so upside down. I wanted to talk to Jason about it, but at the same time, I knew he was fearful that I was going to leave him for Jordan.

I was completely at a loss of what to do.

Chapter 29

Jason

I sat back in my chair, rubbing my eyes and thankful that the work day was finally over. I had spent all day worried about Tiffany, and though she wasn’t coming back to my place that night, I just was glad she was going home to rest and take a deep breath. By the end of the day, she had seemed almost worse than when I saw her in the breakroom. I hugged her and caressed her before walking her out to her car. Something serious was plaguing her, and it most likely had something to do with the argument with Jordan in the conference room. I hated the gossip in my office with a passion, but it did allow me to know what was going on without trying to force it from Tiffany. The women in the back near the conference area told me what Jordan said. They also told me how upset Tiffany had gotten and how she was crying and yelling before slamming down her folders and marching off to my father’s office. I tried to ask my dad about it, but he told me it was something I was going to have to take up with Tiffany. I decided to give her the evening to recover, and I would bring it up to her later. At that current moment, though, I gathered my things quickly and took off toward the garage, hurrying to catch my brother. I wanted to confront him about the things he said, but I didn’t want to start the day off on the wrong foot. I waited until work was over.

There was a lot to be said between the two of us, but first, I needed him to come to the realization that he was no longer in charge of Tiffany. He had to start understanding that he couldn’t destroy every single good thing we had every time he felt left out, lonely, or jealous. He had ended his life with Tiffany, and I had begun one, no matter how unusual or taboo it seemed. There was something special between Tiffany and I, and I had never felt the way I did about her toward anyone else. I had a beautiful girlfriend, a baby on the way, and so many things to be happy about, but instead, I was sitting here chasing down my brother so I could tell him exactly how it was. I should be at home with Tiffany, planning a nursery, talking about the baby, and basking in that feeling of excitement that I had been forced to hide away for my brother’s sake. Well, it was going to stop, and it was going to stop right then. I did not want to go through another day where I had to worry about my relationship and how my brother was guilt tripping my girlfriend because he had made a choice to divorce her over something she couldn’t control. Enough was enough.

“Hey,” I yelled out jogging toward my brother’s car. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

“What?” He was irritated, and I could tell I was the last person he wanted to be talking to.

“I want you to leave Tiffany alone,” I said sternly. “You have put her through enough, and I’m tired of you taking every special happy moment she has and turning it into a battle. You aren't the victim that you are trying to play. All you’re doing is making life really hard for her, and it is starting to piss me off.”

“Look,” he said sternly. “I’m not in the mood to have a conversation with you. In fact, I’m not in the mood to look at your face at all. You stole Tiffany from me, and I’m tired of bowing down to your perfect little life.”

I gritted my teeth and stared at him angrily. How dare he turn this around on me. First, he makes Tiffany into the villain, and now that he has run out of steam on that one, he’s trying to make me out to be the villain. It pissed me off so bad that he could never take responsibility for his own actions. It pissed me off that he used these twisting tactics so that he didn’t have to feel guilty for his actions. He was becoming a severe scab on my life, and it was about time it ended.

“You seem to have forgotten how all this played out,” I said, stepping forward. “You divorced Tiffany, not the other way around. I know you like to play the victim here, but you are the one who started this whole mess to begin with. I never stole your girl. I met a woman who you tossed out in the trash as if she was nothing to you and helped her build herself up to become a strong, independent person again. It took me twenty minutes to find the clinic that she went to, twenty freaking minutes. Something you could have easily done, but instead, you walked around like you were all high and mighty. Now you have the nerve to act like you didn’t do anything wrong, and I stole her from you? Fuck, dude, you have some serious issues going on upstairs. It is very obvious that you never loved that girl in the first place.”

“You need to seriously start to curb the way you talk to me,” Jordan said angrily.

I looked at him with rage, taken back by how he thought he could tell me what to do. He truly felt like I was supposed to respect him when he hadn’t even started to earn that trust in the slightest. He was such a jerkoff and somebody really needed to give him a taste of his own medicine and bring him down a peg or two. In fact, someone needed to take his smart ass and give him the ass beating he deserved from the beginning.

“What are you going to do about it? You can’t even keep a marriage together,” I said, taunting him.

“Yeah? Well I may not be any good at marriage but I can sure as hell beat your ass,” he responded with a furrowed brow.

He stepped forward and swung hard as I leaned back. I could feel the air from his fist blow my hair up in the air. I lunged forward and punched him in the stomach, pushing him back against his car. I breathed heavily, stepping back and waiting for him to come at me again. He smiled, rubbing his gut before clocking me right in the face. I went down on one knee and held my cheek, feeling blood trickling down from my lip. I smiled and stood back on my feet, running forward and tackling Jordan to the ground. We rolled around on the ground, taking turns punching each other in the face. I could hear running footsteps behind me, but I didn’t care. Jordan’s cocky ass smirk kept me locked in on this fight. I rolled over on top of him and reared back, punching him across the face. We were both bleeding at that point, but my adrenaline was running so high, I didn’t feel an ounce of pain.

“That’s all you got,” he chuckled, wiping the blood from his lip. “Come on, little brother, I taught you better than that.”

His voice made me so angry, I could see red, but before I could get another shot off I felt someone grab me under the arms and pull me off the top of Jordan. It was my father and the look on his face was a mix of anger and concern. He stood between us with his arms out as Jordan pulled himself to his feet. Jordan looked over at me as he spit blood onto the concrete. My father shook his head and put down his arms while I bent over to catch my breath, the pain starting to make an appearance.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” There was a crowd gathering behind us. “This has gotten completely out of hand.”

He was right. It had gotten completely out of hand, but I didn’t feel bad in the slightest for throwing down with him. He deserved every punch he got, and I was so sick of Jordan playing the poor little victim, making Tiffany and everything she did look like the worst thing in the world. He was the one to blame for all of her heartache and stress, and I wasn’t about to let that go. My father shook his head and stepped back, gathering his thoughts.

“You two need to get your shit together,” he said, straightening his tie and wiping at the blood on his sleeve. “You need to work this out, or I’m going to be forced to fire one of you. I can’t continue to have this kind of disruption in my office. This is a business, not a school yard.”

“You know what? Fuck this shit, I quit,” Jordan said throwing his hands up in the air. “You and Tiffany can go live your happy existence without me in it. I’m tired of all the bullshit.”

“There wouldn’t be bullshit if you hadn’t brought it to the table,” I shouted.

“You think you are so perfect,” he laughed. “You think Tiffany is so perfect, too. Well, both of you can kiss my ass. I’m tired of trying to get out of your perfect little shadows, watching you walk around gloating that you have the life that I was trying to make. Yeah, I divorced her, but that didn’t mean she was there for you to go scoop up and save the day. I don’t have to play the victim. You make me look like it all on your own. If you don’t want to be the villain, then stop thinking with your dick and act like a real man.”

“Yes,” I said laughing. “Because you know so well how to act like a real man. Give me a break. There you go telling your bullshit sob story like we planned any of this. Like we worked so hard to deceive you. Open your eyes, Jordan. You did all of this on your own, and now you're angry because Tiffany is finally happy in life, and you're stuck looking for your next dumb broad at the bar down the street. You could have had the happy ending, but you picked the hard road.”

“Go fuck yourself,” he said, getting in his car.

We backed up and watched as he drove his car out of the parking garage, only stopping for a moment at the exit before speeding off into the city. He never could take an argument, and he was so damn stubborn that he was willing to give up his entire career just to prove a point. This time, though, I wasn’t going to go running after him, begging him not to go. This was his choice, and the repercussions were completely on him. I looked over at my father who was still breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” I said, watching everyone disperse back to the building. “I didn’t mean for him to quit like that. I didn’t come down here for a fight, either. It just kind of happened.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said patting me on the shoulder. “Your brother has always been a little asshole, ever since he was a little boy. He will either come around and come back, or he won’t. That choice is completely up to him. I just hope that you guys don’t stay mad at each other forever. The family is important.”

He was right, family was important, and while I was here beating up my brother, Tiffany was at home, contemplating her new family. A family that I was part of. Well, at least I had been an hour ago. I knew how she felt about Jordan and me, and I also knew she was going to lose it when she found out we got into a fight.

Chapter 30

Tiffany

Jason’s door was open, so I walked around the corner and stopped in his doorway, looking over at him sitting at his desk. He looked angry, and he had several cuts and bruises on his face. I knew I should ask what the hell happened to him, but I already had a feeling that I knew. Everyone had been talking about a fight the night before in the parking garage, but I didn’t listen long enough to find out who it was between. Now, looking at Jason’s battered face and not being able to find Jordan made me think I missed out on more than after-work drinks when I had gone home after work. I cleared my throat, grabbing Jason’s attention.

“Where is Jordan?”

“He quit,” Jason said, looking back down at his file. “Why?”

I took two steps into the office and closed the door, lingering there for a second before turning back around. I walked over, squinting my eyes at Jason, wondering when he was going to look up at me. Whatever happened when I wasn’t here had put him in a foul mood, and to be frank, I was just completely fed up with everything going on. Right or wrong, I needed to work through these issues with Jordan if I ever wanted to have a chance at a happy relationship with Jason.

“Things will never be okay between Jordan and me if he and I can’t figure out our own shit,” I said sitting down on the edge of the chair.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I want to be on okay terms with Jordan. Not for me, not for the baby, but for you. If you and your brother continue like this, you’re going to end up hating each other. And then one day, you are going to end up resenting me for driving a wedge between the two of you,” I explained. “I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

“That’s just not true,” he said angrily.

“It is,” I replied. “Whether you can see it or not.”

I stood up and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind me. I grabbed a cup of coffee from the lounge and went to my desk, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes. The last thing I wanted was for Jordan to quit. He loved this job with every fiber of his being, and I did not want to be the reason he walked away from it. I knew that Jason was worried that I wanted to get back together with Jordan, but that just wasn’t the case. I still wanted Jason just as much as I did at the beginning of all of this, I only wanted him and Jordan to be okay in their relationship. I would never be fully comfortable moving forward if I knew that I had been the root cause of them never talking again. It would change the entire dynamic of the family and cause tension in our relationship.

I went through the rest of the day trying to focus on my work. Jason didn’t come back out of the office after our talk, and I was almost sure that was a good thing. Everyone needed to cool off and take a breather. Even John had stayed locked in his office all day, and after what I heard went down in the parking garage the day before, I was surprised I wasn’t hearing it from him. I knew that it was me driving a wedge in their family, but I didn’t know what to do about it. When work was over, I grabbed my things and headed outside, hopping in a cab and heading over to Jordan’s penthouse. As I stepped out onto the curb, I looked up at the tall building, remembering just three months ago spending my first few days as a married woman tucked away in the rooms on the top floor. It was a strange feeling walking back in and having to ask the front desk guy to let me up the guest elevator. When I got to his floor, I walked over and knocked loudly on his door, assuming he would be there since he didn’t have a job anymore. When Jordan opened the door, he looked down at me with a stern face, a face I had only seen one other time, and that was when he had left me.

“Can I come in?”

He nodded his head and stepped to the side.

I looked around the penthouse, realizing that he hadn’t even moved one thing. Pictures from our wedding still peppered the fireplace, and I wondered if he had ever had Rosalie over to his place. It was a strange feeling standing in the living room of the apartment I used to feel at home in.

“Sit down,” he said gently, pointing to the chair across from the couch he was sitting on.

“I just want to talk,” I said sitting down. “When you left me, and I was all alone, I had zero plans to ever start dating anyone again. I saw your brother in a club that Mona dragged me out to, trying to pull me out of my depression. I had literally built a straw for my wine glass so I could lay down and drink.”

He smiled and chuckled, making me feel more comfortable.

“The next day I asked Jason out to lunch,” I continued. “We had a great time, and it was very unexpected. One thing led to another, and I found myself seeing him almost every day. He found this specialist for me to see. I gave them all my samples, but when the results came back, they told me yes, I had PCOS, but I was also pregnant. It caught me so off guard you could barely talk to me for days. Then it all settled in, and Jason was so wonderful about everything.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes,” I said after thinking for a few moments. “I do love him, very much.”

“Look,” he said leaning forward and taking my hand. “I know you didn’t do any of this on purpose. You don’t have that kind of anger or revenge in your body. I knew from the first moment I found out that it was literally one of those fluke things that happen that catch you off guard. But I couldn’t help but feel completely enraged by it. It felt like a betrayal on both of your parts, and it was hard to come to terms with the fact that you loved each other. I felt like I had been cheated, but I knew it was because I had walked away. After sitting here today, just staring off into the distance, I realized that you and I were never meant to be. We had a hell of a time together, but we weren’t meant to grow old with each other.”

“I completely agree,” I said, smiling and squeezing his hand. “It was really hard for me to realize that in the beginning, but when I moved past you that day at the lobby of the office, I knew the pain had all gone away. I still cared for you very much. I want what is best for you, and I don’t like to see you hurting. I want you in my life and the baby’s life.”

“And I want to be in the baby’s life.” He smiled. “It just might take me a little bit of time to get used to everything.”

“Well, you have eight months until it’s here, so I think that is plenty of time.” I laughed. “You know, if I had known that I could get pregnant, and it would only take a couple of months, I would have pushed you to try harder. Despite whether we were right for each other, I loved you very much, and I considered you my best friend. I had planned our family out in my head for so many years that I can still see the child I imagined we would have. I know it’s weird, but I’m a girl, so what can I say?”

“You aren’t the only one.” He chuckled. “I thought about what our family would be like and what our children would be like. I imagined a little girl who had your blond hair and pretty green eyes and a little boy with dark hair and dimples like me. I think, though, in the end, it was harder letting go of those dreams than it was letting go of each other. We were living our lives based on dreams of the future not based on our love for each other. It was bound to end at some point.”

“Well, I can admit that I didn’t try to convince you to stay,” I said. “I let you go without a fight and just slunk down in my depression, not even sure what I was depressed over. I didn’t fight for you to stay, and though it wasn’t on purpose, I know it was something in the back of my mind. I think I knew it wouldn’t work no matter how hard I fought, so I didn’t.”

“I know,” he said sitting back. “I noticed that right away. I realized that on about day three that you weren’t going to try to fight for me. I wasn’t playing games, but I guess when you’re in a relationship and you suddenly break it off, you wonder how much they will really fight to keep you. It made me bitter that you had given up just as easily as I had, but I was made out to be the terrible person. People on the outside, especially the ones who have never been married or in a serious relationship don’t understand how marriage is a two-way street. Why would you fight for someone who didn’t even show a tiny amount of sadness when they no longer had you in their life? I knew then, our relationship had never been as strong as we liked to try to make it out to be.”

“I agree with you,” I said. “For me, I just didn’t have anything else in me at that moment. My heart was completely broken, and I didn’t know where to go next, so I just gave up.”

“Well,” Jordan said, standing up and reaching down for my hand. “We had some really good times together, and I want to keep our friendship alive. I want to be an uncle for that baby, too, but you just have to give me some time to adjust.”

“I can do that,” I said, leaning in as he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed, kissing me on the top of my head.

Jordan walked me to the door and smiled as I walked out feeling so much better about everything. I was finally able to sit down and have a conversation with him that didn’t include yelling, screaming, or name calling. In the end, I realized that neither one of us thought we were meant to be, but in the end, we both did things that really hurt the other person. I felt bad about that fact and realized that I truly did give up on Jordan as soon as the waters got rough. I took the elevator downstairs and hopped in a cab, giving them Jason’s address. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number, listening to it ring and ring until the answering service picked up the call. I hung up feeling frustrated at the fact that he wasn’t answering my calls. Where was he? I could feel my emotions start to simmer up in my chest, and immediately, I was worried that after all of that, he was going to be the one to give up on me. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

Chapter 31

Jason

My brain was completely wired, and all I could do when I walked in the house was drop my bag on the floor and plop down on the couch. I sat there drinking a beer and flipping through the channels, not actually focusing on anything. Instead, I was letting my mind simmer, forcing my unconscious to do the work my conscious mind was too tired to take on. After a few hours, I yawned and flipped off the television. I tossed my bottle into the trash and grabbed another out of the fridge. As the door shut, I heard a knock at the door. I groaned. Who the hell would be showing up at the house at night without letting me know first? I opened the door, and my gaze fell on Tiffany. She was shivering from the cold, and tears were running down her cheeks. I immediately pulled her inside and wrapped my arms around her, the look on her face shocking me back to reality. I pulled back and looked into her weepy eyes.

“What happened?”

She shook her head and walked into the house, taking her coat off and rubbing her arms up and down. She looked around and then turned back to me, still crying. I was completely at a loss and had no idea what could be wrong with her. We had just left work a few hours before.

“Why are you so upset with me?” She was almost sobbing at that point, and I had no idea what she was talking about. I walked over and hugged her again, not even knowing what to say. “I called you several times.”

I looked around the room searching for my phone, but I didn’t see it on any of the surfaces. I patted my pockets trying to find it until my eyes rested on my bag by the door. I hadn’t even thought about my phone when I got home, instead, I had walked in and dropped my bag, leaving everything from the day barely inside the house. I shook my head and chuckled at the ridiculous of the situation, quickly straightening my face as she looked up at me angry.

“I came home and was so tapped, I just dropped my bag by the door,” I explained. “I went over and sat on the couch and channel surfed. My phone was inside my bag, and I didn’t hear it ring. It’s probably still on silent from work.”

She turned and looked at the bag on the floor and then back at me, sniffling as she let the information process. She let out a deep breath and walked into the living room, plopped down on the couch, and pulled the throw around her shoulders. She was freezing cold, and I wondered why she was out so late. She should be tucked warmly in her bed by now, not knocking on my door in tears.

“I just came from Jordan’s house,” she said. The words shot right into my chest, and I was almost afraid to ask why. There was plenty of time for her to go talk to Jordan. Why did she feel the need to go over there right after we had an argument about it? I could feel my jealousy start to bubble up in my chest, and I tried to push it down so I could hear her out.

“Why?”

“I needed to hash all of this crap out with him,” she explained. “For you and for the baby. I don’t want to bring this child into a family that can’t even be in the same room during holidays. I needed to explain to him what really happened. We never had that conversation after he left, and it's important. It kind of helps break that tie that is there when you’re married to someone.”

“I understand all of that,” I said, sighing. “What I don’t understand is why it was so important that you had to rush over there tonight to do it. Jordan wasn’t going anywhere, regardless of whether he quit or not. I just don’t understand why he is so important to you.”

She sat there for a minute, looking at me like I was crazy. I thought that was a pretty straightforward question, but apparently, it was the wrong one. I took in a deep breath and braced myself for her answer.

“Because I wanted this shit figured out right now, not tomorrow, not six months from now, right now,” she said angrily.

“I understand,” I said. “But it still bothers me.”

“Look,” she said standing up and pulling on her jacket. “I don’t know what the hell you want. Would you rather sit around and let this go on and on forever? You know that isn’t going to work, and it's only going to continue to push us further apart.”

“Tiffany, I only mean—”

“I know what you mean,” she said interrupting me. “Think long and hard about us, your life, our family, and this baby. You need to understand what you want before you go getting angry at me for trying to fix this giant mess.”

She stomped across the apartment, buttoning up her coat. She walked down the steps and out the front door, slamming it behind her. I walked over to the window and watched as she hailed a cab, climbing inside and taking off down the street. She was so angry, but I didn’t understand why. Everything was going to work itself out in the end. I knew it, but I didn’t need to picture the woman carrying my baby rushing over to her ex-husband's house to make things right with him when she left me sitting in the office reeling after she and I got into it. I felt like I was being chosen last for the game, and I didn’t like it at all.

I walked over and sat down on the couch, left alone again, but stunned at what just happened. My mind was going crazy thinking about what she said before she left. I knew what I wanted. I had always known what I wanted, and it was her. I had spent years pining over Tiffany, even when I didn’t consciously realize I was doing it. Then, after all that time, I had finally gotten her in my arms and to make matters even more exciting, we were expecting a baby together. She was the girl of my dreams and always had been. I had just gotten her, and now I was sitting alone in my house terrified that I was about to lose her, and I really didn’t understand why. I knew it was important to her to hash all of this out, but it had only been a day since my brother and I had duked it out in the parking garage at work. Now, I was faced with the idea that I could lose her and my brother at the same time. This was not at all what I thought of when I pictured myself taking time to really let my mind rest tonight. I should be curled up in bed with Tiffany, not watching her run from my house, wondering if I’ll ever see her again. Either way, I loved that woman, and I wanted to be with her and my child, and I was not going to let anyone take that away.

I walked over and pulled my phone from my bag, looking at the calls I had missed. They were all from Tiffany and all while she was probably on her way over to my house. I flipped through my phone and pressed call. I needed to talk to Jordan, really work this out if it were at all possible. I completely expected to get the voicemail, but was really surprised when he picked up after the first ring. The first few seconds of the conversation was awkward, so I cut through the bullshit and just started talking.

“Look, man,” I said with a sigh. “I love you. You are my brother. I never meant to hurt you with this whole Tiffany business. I never planned to fall in love with her. I never planned to start a family with her. In the beginning, I was simply checking up on her because I knew what she was going through was probably fucking hard and painful, and we were the only family she knew. I didn’t even see it coming.”

“Jason,” he said cutting in. “I know. Take a deep breath. Look, I’m not saying this is always going to be easy for me, especially at the beginning, but I don’t want to lose you or Tiffany in my life. Both of you are extremely important to me. I am not trying to get Tiffany back. I realized that we were definitely not meant to be. It was extremely obvious when neither one of us fought even in the slightest to save our marriage.”

“Will you come back to work?”

“Yeah,” he said chuckling. “I already called Dad. One day off was enough for me. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I went through the apartment and started taking pictures down. I only got halfway through before giving in and calling Dad. I told him that we would be okay. To be honest, I didn’t really know if we would be, but now that we’ve talked, I’m looking forward to coming back and working with you. I just ask that when you guys want to go announcing huge life events, maybe you could pull me aside and tell me in private first, that way the shock value is lessened.”

“That’s fair,” I replied. “And I just ask you try to refrain from cussing Tiffany out.”

“I promise,” he chuckled. “Thanks for taking the step and calling brother.”

“Absolutely,” I responded.

“Oh, and Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“You hit like a girl.”

I laughed loudly as we hung up the phone, sitting back on the couch and closing my eyes. I felt better knowing my brother and I didn’t have to be at odds anymore, at least over all this crap. Tiffany was right. It needed to be handled, and the longer we waited, the worse it got. I also was relieved knowing that this would help patch things up between Tiffany and me. I really hoped that she could see just how important she was to me. I felt a lot better thinking about the next course of action between us, and I was pretty sure that now I could feel comfortable knowing I wasn’t going to completely lose her. I needed to stop being so stubborn though because I was only hurting myself.

I thought about texting Tiffany and asking her to come back or showing up at her place, but after the state she was in when she had left, I thought maybe it would be better to leave her alone with her thoughts. If I knew her like I thought I did, as soon as she got home, she probably passed out in her bed, exhausted from the day she had gone through. Her hormones were all crazy from the pregnancy, she was going through some seriously crazy stuff, and she had been all over the city in one day trying to fix everything in her life. I had to hand it to her, she knew how to solve a problem, and it wasn’t by sitting back and letting it take its own course. I was pretty sure if she hadn’t done that, it would have been a nightmare to work with Jordan when he came back, and I knew my father was not going to put up with any more bullshit like the other night. It was important to him that we work things out, but he was going to let us do that. Tiffany was the light that had brought us together.

I may not be calling her tonight, but I was anxious to see her face in the morning, hoping that she had calmed down.

Chapter 32

Tiffany

Sitting at my desk tapping my foot and waiting to understand what was going on was not going to cut it for the rest of the day. I could see Jason sitting at his desk across the hall, but we hadn’t even greeted each other yet. I watched him pass by Jordan when I first came in, tapping him on the shoulder and smiling. It looked like they had finally worked things out, which made me feel a lot better. Still, we hadn’t hashed anything out yet, and it left an empty feeling in my chest. What if he had decided that family was more important? What if I was sitting here like an idiot thinking we would work everything out between us, and he was sitting there completely done with us? I was overthinking things as usual, and my hormones were playing some serious games with my emotions. I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but every time I looked across the hall at Jason, my nerves hit me all over again. I knew the best thing for me to do would be to focus on getting these files out, and then I could decide what my next course of action was. Maybe by then, he would look more interested in having a conversation with me.

I opened the files and began to work, forcing myself to not look up, even when it felt like he was looking over at me. I stared relentlessly at the messenger and then down at my phone, wondering why he wasn’t even trying to start the conversation. I shook my head, trying to force myself to focus, wanting nothing more than to hear his voice in my doorway. When I was done with the files, I walked them down the hall to John’s office and placed them in the box on his secretary’s desk. I really didn’t want to face John today, knowing he knew what all the trouble was over, and I had been at the center of it. I could feel the eyes of the other people in the office burrowing into my neck as I walked. Instead of music playing from the speakers, I could hear the low whispers of my peers as I moved quickly back toward my office. I hated the fact that people were still talking about me like my life was some television show. I didn’t give a damn what they thought about me personally, but it was really starting to take a toll on me, constantly having people give me pity smiles or nasty looks. I felt like pulling up a chair and just screaming the story to everyone in the office so the stupid rumors could stop. I had heard everything from me having a secret lover and the child not being Jason’s or Jordan’s to the reason I got divorced was that I had always been secretly in love with his brother. It was insane that these people didn’t have anything better to do with their time.

I looked across the hall, but Jason wasn’t in his office. I sat down in my chair wanting to wait for him to come back. I assumed he had some kind of meeting this morning, but I wasn’t sure of the schedule at that point. I grabbed my coffee mug and rounded the corner, needing my one cup of coffee allowance already. As I turned the corner, I faltered, seeing Jason standing next to the coffee pot. He looked just as charming as ever, and he looked up at me and smiled kindly as I approached. The other people standing around talking whispered as they passed me, and I put my head down and headed straight for the coffee. I poured a cup and faced the wall, waiting for the rumor mill to leave. Once they did, I let out a deep breath and turned toward Jason. He hadn’t moved an inch, and I found him standing and staring at me as I fixed my morning brew. My cheeks blushed a bit when I figured out he had been watching me the whole time. I still didn’t understand how he went through every day ignoring everyone’s stares. I guess when you aren’t being labeled the office whore, it didn’t really affect you that bad.

I stared up at Jason, the butterflies in my stomach getting stronger. He tilted his head as he gazed into my eyes and reached up, pushing a piece of hair from my face. The feeling of his warm hands against my skin sent electricity barreling through me. He was so calm and sure of himself, and it felt oddly arousing. I opened my mouth to speak, but he pressed his finger against my lips and shook his head. I tilted my head confused as he took my coffee from my hand, set it on the counter, and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward the door. Everything about him moved in a smooth fluid motion, and I couldn’t help but just follow him out of the lounge and toward the elevator. We stood waiting for the elevator to arrive, and it seemed to take forever. He stared down at me, and I nervously fidgeted with my hands, pulling my shirt down lower over my pants. I looked over as several people walked by, watching us and whispering. I rolled my eyes and sighed deeply, happy to hear the elevator doors finally slide open.

We stepped inside and stood on opposite ends as he pushed a button. I looked up and watched as the mirrored doors of the elevator slid shut and the room shimmied before lowering us down. I turned toward Jason and watched as he took two large steps toward me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked deep in my eyes and pressed his lips hard against mine. Immediately, passion flew through my body, and I reached up to grab the front of his shirt and kiss him wildly. Our hands moved quickly over each other’s bodies, and I glanced over with a grin, seeing that he had pressed the seventh-floor key. As the elevator slowed down, we separated ourselves and watched the doors slide open. Several men in hard hats walked past and nodded, and I looked over at Jason.

“Roof?” I thought it was a dumb idea, but it was the only one I had.

“Perfect,” he said calmly, pulling out his key and putting it into the roof slot. Only the owners of the companies in the building got to have roof access. I wrapped my arms around myself as I prepared to step out onto the roof, knowing the wind would be hard and cold. Jason stepped close again and reached down, grabbing me around the waist and picking me up. His lips grazed over my neck, and I moaned softly in his ear. As the elevator reached the roof, the doors slid open, and he carried me out onto the dark surface. My hair whipped wildly around me but between the black surface and the heat in my arousal, I didn’t feel cold at all. We walked to the left corner and he sat me down, turning me toward him with force, and quickly unbuttoning my top. He didn’t waste any time pulling up my skirt and running his fingers through my pulsing wet mound. I reached forward and groped at his hard shaft, sticking out from his pants.

He pulled his jacket off and laid it down on the ground, pulling me down on top of it. He dropped down on his knees and pushed my skirt all the way up to my hips, pulling my panties down and putting them in his pocket. He reached down and grabbed my thighs, lifting my ass in the air and pushing his lips into my pussy. He moved them in circles through my wetness, pushing me to moan loudly. My hormones weren’t just affecting my mood, they affected my arousal, too, and I could already feel myself getting ready to come. He lifted his head up and looked me in the eyes as he plunged two fingers inside of me. I leaned my head back and let out a whimper, feeling him deep inside.

“You like that?”

“Mmhmm,” I whined.

“You going to come for me?”

“Yes,” I groaned loudly, feeling the heat in my stomach increase.

I looked up and met his gaze as he pushed his fingers in and out of me fast and with force. He steadily watched my face as I writhed and wriggled in his hands. He turned his hand over and rubbed my clit with his thumb as he fingered me deeply. My whole body tensed and began to shake as my first orgasm blew through my body without warning. I reached up and grabbed onto the ledge feeling the waves of pleasure coursed through me. He smiled slyly as he slowed down with his hands and reached over, undoing his pants and pulling out his hard cock. I licked my lips, wanting to feel him inside of me so bad. It was like my body was refusing to recover from the first orgasm before starting to build another one. He pulled his pants down to his ankles and slipped the head of his cock inside of me while I wrapped my legs around his waist.

I arched my back when he pushed hard and deep inside of me, and I was so sensitized, I swore I could feel every single wrinkle and fold on his cock. His body slammed against mine, and my moans were carried away by the winds whipping across the roof. I reached up and ground my fingertips into his shoulders as his body rubbed against mine. My clit tingled as his skin touched down on it, his hips moving in circles as he plunged inside of me. I reached up to squeeze my nipples, feeling the race to the orgasm begin. I flicked my fingers over their sensitive bulge as he fucked me hard. My fingers moved in the same motion as his hips until finally arched my back high in the air, and I whined, another orgasm taking over and flooding my body with ecstasy. At that point, I would have thought my body would be exhausted, but it only wanted more.

I pushed him off me, and he sat with his back against the ledge. I lowered myself down onto his long, hard shaft and wrapped my legs around his waist. I moved my hips and leaned back against his thighs as he bounced me up and down on his cock. I hear his low growls as his fingers dug into my thighs. My juices were running down his shaft, and with every lift and lower of my body, the cold air hit the wet skin, sending goosebumps up my neck. I tilted my hips slightly and let my clit rub up and down his stomach as he began to push and pull at a fevered rate. I could tell he was getting close, and I wanted to feel him come inside of me so bad. I leaned my head back and rubbed my tits through my open shirt as he picked me up and slammed me down on his cock. His arm muscles bulged underneath his white button-up dress shirt, and he bit down on his lip and groaned. He lifted me up one last time and pushed down deep, holding me and thrusting his hips upward. Just from the feeling of his cock swelling inside of me, I exploded, my pussy pulsating around his shaft and my warm juices mixing with his. We both screamed out into the wind before I collapsed on top of him, exhausted but completely satisfied. I let out a sigh and kissed his neck.

I guess things weren’t as bad as I thought they would be.

Chapter 33

Jason

We got dressed and moved over to the center, sitting down behind a large wall that helped block the wind. I leaned my head back and wrapped my arms around Tiffany, glad to finally have her back in my life. I knew this was how I wanted to show her that I knew what I wanted, but it had been more than hard getting through the first part of the day without letting on that all I could do was think about her. I could sense her look over at me from across the hall, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at how anxious she seemed, trying not to let me notice she was staring over at me. I felt kind of bad for putting her through that, but the look on her face when I pressed my fingers against her lips and led her toward the elevator was absolutely priceless. She didn’t know what to do with herself. I looked over at her and smiled, still recovering from some of the hottest sex I had ever had. Her body was like a board of buttons and with these pregnancy hormones surging through her, every button was a winner. I decided that, later on, I might find out how many times I could make her orgasm. She was so beautiful with her rosy cheeks and wide eyes looking out over the city.

“I’m sorry,” I said, whispering in her ear. “I got too caught up in holding a grudge and being stubborn to see that I was hurting you and our family. I want you to know I love you so much, probably more than any woman I have ever been with before. I love everything about you from your beautiful smile to your enchanting and amazing heart.”

She looked up at me with a wide smile, her eyes twinkling. I leaned forward and kissed her lips softly, taking in the heavenly scent of her perfume. I reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling it to my lips. She bumped me with her elbow and smiled widely.

“I love you, too,” she said. “You have shown me what it’s like to be genuinely in love with someone. I’ve never felt this way about a man, and I’ve never had someone love me enough to admit when they were wrong. I promise that as we go through life, I’ll try to do the same for you.”

I moved the hair out of her face and kissed her once more, feeling the electricity of love pulsing through my chest. She really loved me. It had to be the best feeling I had ever felt, like I was on cloud nine and I never had to look back. I had waited a long time to find a woman like Tiffany, never realizing my true love would one day be her. I held her hand tightly and looked out over the cityscape, thinking about family.

“I called Jordan last night,” I said. “We talked, and it was actually a good conversation, probably the most productive we’ve ever had. I promised to be more sensitive when it came to us and him. He promised to not fly off the handle and call you names. I realized you were right, that it was important to made amends. We have a baby coming and family is so important in that entire process. I want our child growing up in a place where everyone shows their love and support for each other. It feels really good knowing I have Jordan back on my side.”

“I’m so glad,” she said with a sigh. “You guys love each other very much, and I just couldn’t keep going forward so quickly with our relationship without knowing that your family relationships stayed intact. I knew one day you would really wish you had made amends, and by then, it might be too late. I know firsthand how hard it is to be without your family. Having them right there at your fingertips but not being able to call on them. I wish all the time that there was something I could do to help my parents, so I could show them they are going to be grandparents. I know it's just wishful thinking, though. This was so much simpler. All you both had to do was open your hearts and remember that you are brothers. It's easy to forgive someone you really love.”

I ran my hand down her arm and across her stomach, watching her face light up as I bent down and lifted the edge of her shirt. I pressed my lips to her belly and turned to lay my head down. She ran her fingers through my hair, and I listened to her heart beating. My child was in there, right underneath me, growing and striving. I couldn’t wait until I had the chance to meet him or her. This woman and this child had become my life before I even had a chance to think about it. I loved her, and I loved the baby I hadn’t even met yet. There was no way, after everything we had just gone through, that I would ever let her go again. I wanted to protect her in every way I knew how, and I could feel how much she loved me as she cradled my head in her arms. I moved up and pressed my lips against hers, feeling her smile fade as I pulled back. I looked at her with curiosity.

“I want to talk to you about something,” she said. “I might end up transferring to San Diego.”

“What? Why?”

“I just can’t deal with all the rumors, all the whispering, and all the snide comments,” she sighed. “It really bothers me that I have been branded the office whore. No one truly understands what has been going on, but they have been quick to judge me. You guys don’t feel it as much because you are the owner’s sons, or maybe it’s because you’re men and don’t get as much of it, but it’s constant. I don’t even want to leave my office anymore.”

I sat there for several minutes mulling her words over in my head. I knew there would be talk in the office when all of this happened, but I hadn’t realized it had gotten so bad. In fact, the thought of these people having nothing better to do than sitting around and talking shit infuriated me to no end. How dare they put pressure on Tiffany to the point to where she was considering flying halfway across the country to get away from it? Damn bullies. I pulled myself to my feet and reached down, helping her up. She looked up at me with curiosity.

“Come with me,” I said pulling her back toward the elevator.

We walked into the elevator, and I pulled her close as the doors shut. She turned toward me and gazed into my eyes as the elevator moved down toward our floor. I kissed her lips and brushed the hair from her face, looking deeply into her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met, and my job of protecting my new family was going to start right now. There was no way I was going to sit by and lose the love of my life because these no-good idiots in my office wanted to be fools. If they wanted to stay working for the company, they had better get their shit together and start sucking up to Tiffany like they did me and my brother.

When the doors opened, Tiffany tried to pull her hand away, but I grasped on to it, pulling her toward the bank of desks near the back. I grabbed a chair from one of the side tables and hoisted myself up onto it. I cleared my throat and looked down at Tiffany, winking briefly to try to calm the nerves I knew she had at that moment.

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” I shouted, causing the entirety of the office staff to turn toward me. “Unless you are ready to hand over your letter of resignation today, I would suggest each and every one of you learn to shut your mouths. If you have time to sit around and make up stories about a woman who is not only your supervisor but a hell of a business woman, then we don’t have time for you to work here. This woman is pregnant and who knows what she might do to you if you continue to fuck with her. I know a lot of you on this floor, and I can promise you that most of you have zero room to be talking shit about anyone else. From this day on, there is a zero tolerance for your petty asses. If you are wondering who gave me the right to say this, well I’ll just come out and say it, my family owning this company did, and I can promise you my father will back me up in firing any one of you for stupid high school drama.”

“That’s right,” my father said from behind me. “This is a professional company. We have zero time to deal with things like this. Tiffany is the most important employee I have, and I will not think twice about putting you out on your ass if I continue to hear that you can’t keep your noses out of other people’s business. So, to reiterate, I will fire anyone who continues to harass my future daughter-in-law as well as help her sue your ass. Trust me, if you get fired from here for harassment, there is not another company in this city that will touch you. You can kiss your pension and your salary goodbye. I hope that makes this perfectly clear for everyone.”

I looked back at my father and shook my head, glad to see that he was behind us on this. I glanced over at Jordan who was standing to the side with his arms crossed in front of him. He looked at me and nodded, giving me the thumbs up. Everyone was on the same page with this, and I was putting my foot down. I was pretty sure every single person in that office knew that when we made a statement like that, we were not playing around. Business was business and in this case, it was affecting the flow of our work. Not to mention the fact that it was upsetting my beautiful girlfriend who was carrying our precious little baby. I didn’t care if I had to fire my own secretary, I would do it. Hopefully, though, since everyone knew how serious we were, we would have no other problems with this issue. I stepped down off the stool and turned to Tiffany who was covering her face and shaking her head. She looked at me and smiled, leaning in and kissing me softly.

“You are my hero,” she laughed, holding onto my jacket. “Now I just have to make sure none of them kill me in my sleep.”

“I think you will be safe.” I laughed. “And don’t ever hold something like that back again. You had to know there was no way I would ever let you go all the way to San Diego.”

“I hope that changed your mind about California,” John said when he leaned over.

“Yes.” She laughed. “Thank you so much, John. It really means a lot to have everyone’s support.”

“Alright.” he clapped his hands. “Let’s get through this hump day misery and get back to our homes so we can relax. I’m ready for some relaxation and a nice warm fire.”

“Hump day,” she whispered, raising her eyebrows. “We got it right.”

“We sure as hell did,” I said, laughing and tickling her waist.

The rest of the day went by quickly, with Tiffany back to messaging and texting erotically with me. I even got a sexy titty picture from her when she excused herself to the restroom. Everything seemed to be back in working order. All there was left to do was start looking toward the future.

Chapter 34

Tiffany

My phone rang and I picked it up, saying hello instead of my normal greeting because the call was coming from inside of the office. I was surprised to hear John’s voice on the other end asking me to come to his office. I hung up the phone and walked out of my room, winking at Jason as I passed. When I got to the door, I knocked, smiling as I leaned around the corner. He motioned for me to come in and I did, closing the door behind me. I walked over and sat down in the chairs opposite his desk, placing my hands on my knees and raising my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he had a pretty serious expression on his face.

“I wanted to see if you had any more problems with the staff since Wednesday when we made our announcement,” he said, smiling.

“Ha.” I rolled my eyes and relaxed. “No, quite the opposite actually. People are going out of their way to be nice to me. I think they think I am keeping points or have some secret roster. It’s almost hilarious watching the worst offenders scrambling around when I walk into the office. Sometimes, they even chime good morning in tune with each other. Half the time, I don’t even know what to say, so I just smile awkwardly.”

“I’m not sure which is worse.” He grimaced. “I was never a fan of that one person who was damn sunshine all the time. That’s probably why my office is filled with condescending assholes. I won’t hire the sunshine and daisies employee because I know I’ll kill them on one bad Monday morning.”

“Well, I’d rather deal with sunshine because the fake ‘hello’ is so much easier to handle than people constantly talking trash about me behind my back,” I said. “It really hurt my feelings because I thought I’d tried really hard to be a good person, and still, no one wanted to give me the time of day. It was almost depressing at some points. But I don’t have to tell you that. I was the one ready to jump on a plane and fly across the country to get away from it. I really do appreciate everything you guys have done. You have treated me like family, no matter how awkward the situation got. I never what having a family was like until I came here to work and met everyone. You stuck by me even when I wasn’t technically family anymore. My own family can’t even stick by me, and we share the same DNA. Sometimes, I think the world is absolutely hopeless, and then, I come to work and remember it's not hopelessness, it’s sarcasm and it originates from my office.”

We both laughed loudly as people scurried past the windows, realizing I was in with the boss. They really had been almost nauseating with how nice they were being to me. I had never seen a group of people react like that to their bosses. I had never seen any of the guys ever come down hard on anyone, so I wasn’t sure where the fear came from, but I was definitely thankful I didn’t have to deal with the crap anymore.

“Well,” John said leaning back in his chair. “I don’t want thanks. You just make sure you take care of yourself and provide me a grandson or a kick ass granddaughter to be the heir of the company. God knows I’m not sure either of my boys will quite get the hang of it.”

We glanced out the window and watched as Jason and Jordan play fought as they walked by the window. Freezing halfway past and looking over at us slowly before running off. John shook his head and threw his hands up in the air while I laughed hysterically at how ridiculous those boys could be, and that was perfect timing for the conversation we were having.

“I’ll do my best, but I’m pretty sure with Banks blood coursing through its blood, this baby will come out crunching numbers and putting up marketing schemes,” I said, chuckling. “Or we’ll get a dud, and they will do cartwheels out, and we’ll have a new generation of Banks circus performers.”

“I got enough of those already,” John grumbled with a smile.

We talked another few minutes about nothing important, and I excused myself from his office. Slowly, I meandered through the hall until I reached the break room where I went over and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Jordan turned from the coffee maker and smiled at me. It had been the first time we had been alone since I had gone to talk to him at his apartment. It was nice seeing him and being able to have a comfortable conversation without the fear that we were going to break out in a screaming match. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, feeling his muscles tense at first but then relax into it. I pulled back and stepped backward, looking up at his blushed cheeks. I had never known Jordan to get embarrassed, but it looked like my hug sent him right over the top. I laughed to myself trying not to embarrass him further and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the table. I was starting to feel like all I did was eat, even though it was only tiny portions at a time. My pants still fit the same, and I didn’t really notice anything different when I looked at myself in the mirror, but I knew it would be coming soon enough. In just a few months I would be carrying a basketball around in front of me, something I was oddly excited about.

“How are you?” He seemed genuinely interested for the first time in a very long time.

“Honestly?” I looked at him and smiled. “I’m doing amazing. I feel so much better now that you guys have worked things out. Everyone has stopped treating me like the woman with the red letter on her chest, and I’m really super happy with Jason. I really thought there for a second that my best course of action was to go to San Diego and have this baby on my own. I was scared, but everything worked out just like I wanted. And I am so happy you and I can talk like this.”

“I’m really glad that you found someone like my brother,” he said smiling. “Or exactly my brother to be specific.”

“Why?”

“I have known both of you for a really long time, and I can’t think of anyone more perfect for you than Jason,” he said, nodding his head. “Even me.”

“Thank you,” I said with a bright smile. I leaned in and hugged him again, relieved that he had moved past the hurt and the anger. It had only been a few days, but I knew if he could come this far in that short amount of time, we were all going to have an amazing relationship. This was the family I had always wanted and never thought I would have. Sure, I missed my brother, but we talked on a regular basis, and he was extremely supportive of my life. This, though, this was even better, having everyone I needed right there.

“Thanks, man,” Jason said walking around the corner. “That was probably the nicest thing you’ve said about me your whole life.”

“He heard me,” Jordan whispered. I laughed and pulled away watching as the two brothers embraced. I loved the fact that they had been able to move past all of this, and they even seemed to be closer than they were when I had first came into the picture. Even Jordan had seemed to change, and I just couldn’t get over how down to earth they acted toward each other.

“You still hit like a girl,” Jordan whispered as Jason pulled back.

“I don’t know, man,” he said, walking over to me. “That’s a pretty tough girl. I distinctly remember blood spilling from your mouth and nose.”

“I bleed easily,” Jordan replied. “Besides, I was smiling the whole time, so it couldn’t have hurt that bad.”

“Didn’t you end up getting like two stitches?” I had to throw in my two cents.

“Where did you hear that? Damn office drama. I’m going to fire someone.” He laughed.

“They can’t pick on me anymore, so they chose a new target,” I replied. “Better you than me, any day. Instead, I get the hoard of creepy smiling zombies every day. I am waiting for them to start leaving gifts on my desk, so I don’t have to buy my own snacks every day.”

We all laughed, and I looked at Jason as he slid his hands gently around my waist. He pulled me in close, his eyes sparkling, and pressed his lips deeply against mine. I let out a deep breath as his lips glided sweetly across mine. He kissed the corners of my mouth, my cheeks, and both of my eyes before pulling back and looking deep into my eyes. I loved this man so much, it was insane. It hadn’t been very long, but we had decided to take our relationship into turbo mode, sex, baby, and love all in the span of a month. If it had been anyone else, I would have been freaking out, but Jason had stolen my heart a long time ago, and I hadn’t realized it until our first kiss. He was the man I was meant to be with. I had just taken the long route to get there.

Jason pulled me in for a hug and squeezed me tightly, his face pushed into my neck. I could feel him taking deep breaths of my perfume as I stood there holding tightly to him. I looked up at Jordan who was looking at us adoringly. He smiled and took a deep breath, diverting his eyes to the drink in his hands.

“So,” he said, stretching. “When are you two fools going to get married?”

Jason lifted his head and leaned back, kissing me on the nose before letting go. He turned toward Jordan and smiled, looking back at me as he stuck his hand in his pocket. I watched him pull a small box wrapped in a red bow from his pants, and I looked up at him in confusion.

“Speaking of,” he said turning toward me and walking over to the door. “Can I have everyone’s attention? Everyone, please come to the break room immediately.”

He walked back over to me and watched as everyone funneled into the break room. Once the place was full, he turned back toward me and smiled. Slowly he bent down on one knee and opened the ring box. I put my hands over my mouth and gasped as he cleared his throat.

“Tiffany, you are the most amazing, the bravest, the strongest, and the sweetest woman I have ever met. You are carrying the only other thing in this world that could match the importance of you. I could not go another day without knowing you were going to be with me for the rest of my days,” he said, gazing up at me. “Will you do the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”

I threw my head back and laughed, completely and utterly surprised by the whole thing. I nodded my head, answering yes, and walked forward as he stood up and took the giant stone from the box. He slid the ring across my finger and pulled me in close, pressing his lips firmly against mine. It was the perfect day. I had pulled my family back together, and now, I was going to get to spend my life with the man I loved. Everything had worked out just as I thought it would. Absolutely perfect.

Epilogue

Jason

“Jason,” Tiffany said, slapping me in the chest and raising me from a dead sleep. I jumped up on the bed and looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. My breathing calmed, and Tiffany switched on the light. She was standing on the floor, bent over holding her very large belly.

She was officially three days past her due date and that baby had seemed like it was perfectly content with just hanging out inside of her. We’d moved into my SoHo apartment, not wanting to share the same house that she’d had with Jordan, but had ended up going to the Greek District to avoid the stairs at my place. I was terrified she was going to fall down the stairs while I was at work, and though she fought me on it, being stubborn as hell, we moved over to her old place and had Mona staying in the spare room while I was at work. My father had said she wasn’t allowed to work when she reached 38 weeks, so she had been sulking and waddling around the house, trying to keep herself busy. She was probably the most adorable pregnant woman I had ever seen.

“Baby,” she said in a panic.

“Yes, sweetie, what do you need?”

“No! Baby. I got up to get something to eat and my water broke.” She pointed at her soaking wet clothes.

“Oh.” I ran over and grabbed her bag. “Let’s get you changed really fast.”

She nodded her head, and I helped her pull on some dry clothes before making our way out to the car. She breathed deeply, the contractions hitting her hard. I reached over and grasped her hand, laughing as she forced a kind of terrifying smile. I whipped through the streets and pulled in front of the hospital. As soon as I got out, I helped her out of the car, grabbing a wheelchair and pushing her into the front. The nurses sent us directly upstairs to the maternity ward, and before we knew it, she was lying on the bed in a hospital gown and with a monitor strapped across her big, round belly. I could see the baby kicking, pushing on her skin like something from a horror movie.

The doctor came in and checked her, looking surprised and then running from the room. I watched the monitor and grasped her hand as another wave of contractions moved over her. She breathed in and out just like the class she went to taught her, groaning as the contraction hit its peak. She was in so much pain, but she held tightly to her beliefs, refusing the epidural they offered her. When the doctor came back, he was dressed in a coat and was wearing gloves, the nurses scurrying along behind him.

“It looks like this baby is ready to get moving,” he said with a laugh.

They lowered the bed, and she scooted forward, sweat beading on her forehead. I held her hand while the doctor told her to keep breathing and not to push just yet. The nurse watched the monitor as the spikes began to rise, looking over at the doctor and nodding. He moved forward on his stool and reached his hands below her gown.

“Okay, when I say so, I want you to bear down and push,” he instructed.

Tiffany shook her head and breathed deeply, feeling her belly begin to contract. As the waves moved up on the screen, the nurse nodded again and the doctor took his position. I leaned down and pressed my head against her forehead and whispered “I love you” into her ear.

“Now,” the doctor said.

Tiffany grabbed tightly to my hand and held her breath as she pushed down hard. She screamed out as the doctor put his hand back in the air to signal her to stop.

“Okay,” he said. “The shoulders are out, one more good push, and you will be a new mother.”

She looked at me with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. I kissed her lips and nodded my head, waiting for the doctor’s orders. As soon as he said push, she began, and after a few short seconds, he lifted a beautiful baby boy into the air. The baby began to cry immediately, and they rested him on her chest, cleaning out his airways and cutting his cord. Tears filled my eyes as we huddled together, just the three of us.

“I love you,” I said, crying.

“I love you, too,” she replied through laughter and tears. “I am thinking Justin is a perfect name.”

“I love it.” I watched the nurses take him and start doing their weighing and blood work.

They cleaned up the baby, wrapped him in a warm blanket, and handed him to me as they finished up with Tiffany. I walked out of the delivery room and down the hall where my mother, father, and Jordan were all waiting nervously. They looked up as I rounded the corner, and my mother burst into tears, looking down at the sweet blond-haired boy in my arms. He looked just like Tiffany, and even Jordan joked about making sure I was the father. My family took turns holding him before I could take him back to the room. It was late at night, so they kissed us both and went home, promising to come back the next day to give Tiffany love and see Justin again.

By the time I got back, they had moved Tiffany to her room where she was patiently waiting for me to return. I put Justin in her arms and stood back, completely in awe of the two of them. The nurse had her feed the baby before she could finally rest, leaving him to fall asleep in my arms. I looked down at his little cheeks and back up Tiffany, who had fallen asleep right away. I leaned back in the chair in the room and soaked it up, knowing that life wouldn’t be this simple again for a very long time. Justin cooed and smacked his lips, looking up at me as I held him close. The nurse turned the lights down low, and I rocked Justin slowly until his eyes closed and he slept quietly in my arms. At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking about how lucky I was. I was sitting here with a healthy baby, a healthy wife, and the best life I could have ever dreamed. Justin was even more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I couldn’t believe how much you could love someone. My heart was bursting, looking down at his absolutely perfect little body. He had been made with love and brought into the world to two parents who couldn’t have been more excited to have him join the family. Even his Uncle Jordan teared up while holding him, which is something you didn’t see often. Life was perfect. The silence of the hospital was peaceful, but holding him like this, I didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a thing. Instead, I hummed a nursery rhyme to him and waited for his mom to wake up again. She had been through hell, so I wanted to make sure she got enough rest.

Suddenly Tiffany gasped, sitting straight up in the bed and looking around frantically. Carefully, I stood up and walked to her side, taking my free hand and stroking her head. She focused in on me and looked down at Justin in my arms. Her face went relaxed, and she put her hand to her heart, letting out a deep breath.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I woke up thinking I fell asleep with Justin in my arms. I just about had a heart attack.”

“Say, no, Mommy, I’ve been sleeping in Daddy’s arms.” I walked back over to sit down with him.

“It is so amazing watching you bond with our little boy,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine a better father for him. He is going to be so spoiled.”

“Haha.” I laughed. “Maybe not by us, but definitely by his grandma and grandpa.”

“And probably Uncle Jordan, too,” she added.

“Oh, yeah.” I shook my head. “They probably already have a car full of goodies and a lifetime membership to the candy company.”

“Oh, Lord,” she sighed. “Can we make a rule that if you feed him candy, you have to keep him for the night?”

“Sounds legit to me,” I said, looking over at her and laughing. “You give him a sugar high, you pay the price.”

“Done.” She laughed again. “Gosh, what a day. That definitely happened a lot faster than I expected.”

“You were amazing,” I said. “Seriously, I love you so much and you were a freaking rock star.”

“I thought I was going to break your hand there for a second.”

“Me, too,” I scoffed. “But all is well. I love you, Tiffany, so very much. I’m so proud of you. You did such an amazing job.”

“Meh.” She waved a hand. “It was easy being a human incubator—said no one ever.”

“You’d do it again.” I winked at her, knowing I was right.

“Maybe once I can walk straight again.”

I stood up from the chair and walked over to her, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. I gently placed Justin in her arms and stood back watching as she fed him, humming the same tune I was humming earlier but with much better vocals. I stared at the two miracles in the room with me and just couldn’t believe how lucky of a man I really was. I had the most beautiful wife and child I had ever seen. My life had been so empty before they came around, even though I didn’t realize it until now. Before Tiffany, I didn’t really live. I had simply gotten up every day, went to work, drank, and went home. I’d had nothing substantial to look forward to. When Tiffany came barreling through my world, it was like she shined her light into every dark corner of my life. Even the days I wanted to sit and mope, she was there to lift me up and bring her amazing smile to my world. In the ten months we had been together, my entire life had turned completely upside down and in such a good way.

I pulled the chair over to the bedside, and Tiffany and I talked as she nursed the baby and rocked him to sleep. We talked about life changing, we talked about what we wanted to show and teach our son, we talked about his future and our future, and we sat there bonding until the sun came up the next morning. She looked over at me and smiled as I poured her a cup of decaf and unwrapped the sandwiches I had grabbed from the cafeteria. Her eyes were light and hopeful, and she giggled as the baby grasped onto her finger.

“I love you more than anything little man,” she whispered to Justin. “And I love your father that much, too. I can’t wait to get you home and all comfy in your new pajamas.”

Looking at these two, I felt like the luckiest man in history. I couldn’t wait to get them home as well and all settled into their new life. Tiffany, Justin, and I were a family now, and I would never let anything come between us. It was the best gift I had ever been given, and I couldn’t imagine life getting any better than it was right then. No matter what sleepless nights, temper tantrums, or fits came our way, I had the most perfect family in the whole world.