Unbound: The Pentagon Group, Book 2 (29 page)

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re not done. I told you I won’t get over you.”

“How do you expect this to work? I have a lot of resentment. The only thing I want is my independence.”

“And to date others? Nickel, perhaps?” He responded curtly.

“There’s nothing between us. He worked for my family . . . my former family, thanks to Pentagon.”

“It didn’t look like that to me.” Matt chided.

“Was he looking at me a certain way Matt? Are you going to fuck me here and claim me because you’re threatened by Nick Salter?” I accused with raised voice.

“I just might.” He said gruffly, moving toward me. I turned and walked a safe distance away. “I’m kidding.” He offered after my reaction. I looked at him, seeking sincerity, but I wasn’t sure I found it.

“It’s hard being near you and not be able to touch you the same way I did months ago. I can’t shut off my feelings, babe.” Matt revealed gently. I felt a sharp stab to my heart at his words. He ran his fingers through his shorter hair, and rubbed at his smoothed chin.

Matt sat down at one of the plush leather chairs in front of my desk. I felt uncomfortable in the silence. “How’ve you been?” He asked.

“Well.” I shrugged as I sat behind my desk. “Things are rolling along at Pentagon. I’m meeting a lot of people, working through a lot of issues and plans. It’s an efficiently run corporation. There were a few issues I worked through with Kent and Zipper. The board accepted my new business proposal for Pentagram, and I’m working to institute my changes into the final design plan. It’s been really great, albeit for all of three days.” I said honestly. He nodded intermittently as I spoke.

“How’s your assistant working out?” He asked, motioning his head toward the area where Andrea was located.

“Andrea? She’s efficient. We haven’t cultivated a relationship, yet, but we’re working well together. Why?”

“Did you interview her?”

“No. I was assigned two assistants and Andrea is one of them.” I responded.

“Do you know who assigned Andrea to you?”

“No.” I shrugged getting annoyed at his interest in Andrea. I’d already felt insecure by their little interaction. “I just gave Zipper a list of my needs, and I was given two assistants. Andrea is my executive assistant and I have Gill who is my personal assistant. “Is there a problem?” I raised an eyebrow, hoping he would get to the point instead of asking me twenty questions.

“I think you should ask to hire your own executive assistant.”

“Why? Does it have something to do with the way she called you by your first name and looked at you like a filet?” My jealousy seeped out through the crack he opened.

He remained serious. “I want to be honest with you. No more secrets.” He paused. My heart beat wildly waiting for his response which I knew would come. “I had sex with her. It was a while ago, but I did. I don’t want her working with you. It’s a major conflict of interest.” I felt like heaving the small contents in my stomach. I’d been working with a woman who slept with the man I was in love with.

“You slept with her?” I knew he had a history. His sexual prowess was evidence of his experience, but to be confronted with someone he slept with was soul crushing. I refrained from bursting into tears and having my breath become jagged. I was jealous. I knew there was something to her familiarity. I was not going to let the revelation break me.

“I fucked her . . .” I felt a wave of nausea course high in my sternum. “I didn’t sleep with her. It happened once, and meant nothing to me. It was a mistake I made when I was single. It happened a long time ago before she started working at Pentagon. Soon after, she got a job as an administrative assistant here. I’ve been able to avoid her. I didn’t know she would be working for you.” He said. I had so many questions, but I knew I couldn’t handle more of the truth. I braced myself to receive more answers than I could process.

“Do your friends know you had sex with her?” I asked because I didn’t find it so interesting or odd.

“Yeah, they all do.” He replied. I was sure having Andrea placed as my assistant was Brady’s way of sending me a message, or in an effort to hurt or spy on me.

“After she was employed, she made every effort to get close to me. I didn’t allow it, and eventually she backed off. I got married, and I hadn’t seen her since before my engagement. I was surprised to see her today.” He revealed.

I planned on discussing a replacement with human resources immediately. I pulled out my phone and texted Gill to schedule a meeting with the head of HR at two in the afternoon; no exceptions.

“I’m sorry.” He sincerely offered.

“We all have a past, Matt. I’d rather your past didn’t interfere with my life, but it has interfered. I just have to fix how it impacts me.” I shook my head, fading the image of Matt in an intimate embrace with Andrea from my thoughts.

“I will make the change. Thank you for being honest with me.” I looked him in the eyes to show my sincerity.

My phone buzzed, Gill confirmed by text a meeting with the Director of HR herself. I would demand the hiring of my own assistant. I would give Andrea until the end of the week. I wouldn’t allow Andrea to be fired, and would ensure she was reassigned. It wasn’t her fault she was used in the chess game Brady was playing with everyone’s lives.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I have work and you have a lunch date. I’ll see you Friday.” I said aloofly. I stood and walked around the desk toward the door. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me close to him. He tugged me down and with his free hand he pulled me to his lap. My heart leapt in my chest. The blood rushed to my head and I felt a little woozy. Once I was on his lap, he pulled me close. I put the fingertips of my free hand on his chest, pushing him away. Matt would not be deterred. With one arm, he held me close to his chest, crushing my heaving breasts.

“Matt, please let me go.” I sighed, hoping he would accept it in every sense of the phrase.

“I don’t think I can.” He inhaled my scent. “I went away to get over you. I thought I could, but being with you now, I can’t stay away. I miss you. I need you back, baby.” He uttered with hooded eyes trained at my lips.

“I’m not good for you. We’re not good for each other. What do I need to do to keep you away?” I asked desperately.

“Not one thing will keep me away.” He whispered scanning down to my breasts. The tip of his tongue licked over his top lip imperceptibly.

Matt leaned in and lightly traced the outline of my lips with the tip of his tongue. He puckered his lips and gave me a deep kiss. I crossed my legs, containing the moisture pooling in my folds. My clit tingled. He pulled my lower lip with his teeth and wrapped his lips around it, sucking and pulling seductively. I moaned quietly. He released my wrist and caressed my bare legs, squeezing my calves. His fingers slowly stroked in and out the crook of my bent knee, relaxing me into his touch and body. He had ways of defrosting the iciest parts of me.

My palms slipped over Matt’s chest, reveling in the feel of his strong chest. His hand squeezed the flesh above my knee. The long fingers I favored slipped under my dress, daintily touching as he moved his hand up my thigh. When his fingers brushed against my mound, I shivered and parted my legs, inviting him to finger me. Over my thin panties, his fingers lightly drummed one by one over my cleft in repeated, slow succession. His middle finger stroked over the elastic edging of my panties, pulling it over with the tip of his finger. He scratched at the nerve filled skin, seeking entry into my folds. I quivered in anticipation. Entranced by the kissing and fondling, we didn’t hear knocking on the door. A loud rap on the door stopped us.

I pulled away, our breathing irregular, “Yes?” I managed, composing myself. I pulled his hand out from under my dress, lowering my leg to the floor to balance myself before I stood up, immediately missing his hold.

“Perla, Kent is here. He’s looking for Dr. Keene.” Andrea called out. I grabbed a tissue and handed it to him, so he could wipe the lip gloss from his mouth.

“I’ll be out in a moment.” Matt informed. He squirmed in his seat, readjusting his cock which was probably uncomfortably confined within his trousers.

I went to my desk and grabbed my purse, seeking my lip gloss and compact mirror. Once I found it, I reapplied the subtle color. Embarrassed by my lack of restraint, I remained with my back to him.

“How long are you going to keep denying us?” Matt asked. I turned around and saw his frustrated face.

“Until you realize what we feel is really a lie. I’ll email you a restaurant where we can meet on Friday. Good bye, Matt.” I watched him turn around, open the door, and close it gently behind him. With him, went another cracked piece of my heart.

******

At the end of the day, I entered the elevator to walk the few blocks home. My feet ached, and I remembered I slipped my flats into my briefcase. I took one heel off, and slipped on a flat. As I proceeded to do the same with the other, the elevator halted on the eighteenth floor. A blonde woman entered the elevator and looked at the panel. She stood back when she realized the lobby level had already been pressed. I proceeded to put on my other flat.

“Best time of the day is when the heels come off.” She said looking at me.

“Definitely, sometimes, I can’t believe I can walk around in them all day.” I held my heels in my hand.

“I’m Faith Grogin.” She offered her hand. I switched the heels to my left hand.

“Hi, I’m Perla Mercurio.” She smiled.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve seen you walking to work. Do you walk in the morning? I think we live in the same building.”

“Yeah, I remember seeing you this weekend. I think we shared an elevator.” I recalled. She smiled. “So you work here?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m an attorney at Leptor and Michaels. And you?”

“I’m a VP at Pentagon Group.”

“It’s nice to meet you Perla. I’m happy to walk with someone. There’s safety in numbers walking in the city.”

“I detect a hint of an accent, you must not be from Boston.”

“No. I’m from Texas. Waco. I’ve been here a few weeks. It’s been an interesting experience being in Boston.” She said as we exited the elevator.

The guard said “good night” to both of us without haranguing me about taking the executive car. Faith and I talked all the way to our building. It was comfortable to connect with her as two professional women. When we arrived at the elevators, Faith asked if we could walk to and from work whenever I planned on going in and walking home. She said she was still a bit unsure about walking alone as a single woman. After my kidnapping attempt, which I didn’t reveal to the non-native Bostonian, I agreed to inform her. We exchanged numbers and I agreed to meet her every morning in the lobby and would call her at the end of the day on the days I’d planned to walk from work. If I didn’t call her to leave, she would be on her own. We parted when the elevator arrived on the eighth floor, and Faith exited by saying ‘good night’. I sent a text to Gill, adding Faith to the housewarming party Gill planned for the end of the week. Faith was sweet and kind, and having one more friend was necessary to make it in this big, lonely city.

When the elevators closed, I felt everything was falling into place. I was living in the big city again. I entered my beautiful apartment, locking my door, and immediately threw everything down and undressed as I walked to my bedroom. I grabbed my comfy long shirt and put it over my unsupported breasts, and only my panties for bottoms. I reheated some leftovers from the fridge and ate while watching some mind-numbing television.

Without a doubt, my mind wandered to the mind blowing make out session Matt and I had. I could still feel his hard body under me. Matt’s new look took me by surprise, but his smell and taste were the same, reminding me of the extraordinary times we had spent together. My folds quivered, thinking about how softly his fingers caressed them. I would’ve loved for him to have caressed my clit or entered me, wriggling his long fingers inside of me. I needed a release.

‘Damn it!’ I declared. I didn’t want to feel that way. He had a way of leaving a long lasting impression. Neither time nor distance was able to polarize the magnetic pull we had toward each other.

*****

The week was a blur of meetings, planning, and very little breaks. Everything with the new design and marketing of Pentagram was steadily falling into place. Gill was instrumental in pulling double duty as my personal and executive assistant. When I informed Human Resources of the conflict with having Andrea work for me, Andrea was instantly pulled from my area and was returned to her former post. The assistant who replaced her was shifted elsewhere, and I was assigned a wonderful woman, Carolyn Stowe. Carolyn hit the ground running. Her ten years working at Pentagon helped with scheduling and speaking to various constituents, making our work easier. I would’ve preferred to have found someone outside of Pentagon, but the learning curve for working at Pentagon was way too high to get someone from the outside to work with a new executive like me.

I was nervous all morning for my lunch meeting with Matt. Carolyn confirmed my meeting with Matt for noon on Friday. We were scheduled to meet at Sucre Rose, a small French bistro within walking distance of Pentagon. At the appointed hour I needed to walk toward the bistro, I opened my office door and turned to speak to Carolyn who was at her desk speaking to Matt. I huffed, knowing he was there to pick me up.