AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You little bitch! You can’t do that!” Beasley yells and jolts up from his seat, looking like he is about to jump over the table and strangle Emily. I stand up, ready to end him if he even thinks to get any closer to her.
I grit my teeth together. “Michael, why don’t you take Mr. Beasley to your office to discuss things,” I suggest, and Michael grabs Beasley by the arms and practically drags the seething man from the room.
“Emily, George, I certainly didn’t mean that the city was not supportive of the school; you know that we are,” Mayor Simplot starts stuttering, trying to shovel himself out of the hole that he began to dig when he agreed to even be in the room this morning. I am not privy to it, but I am sure Beasley offered him money to be here, and Emily seems to have the same conclusion, hence the recording.
“We know exactly where your support lies, Harold. Don’t worry about that,” George spits out in reply, disgusted.
The mayor stands and nods to them both, then promptly walks out of the room with his tail between his legs.
“Em, I am going to go chat with Harold. I will see you at school later,” George says sternly and walks out the door with purpose.
“Well played, Doubtfire, well played.” I cross the distance and stop in front of her.
“Thank you for keeping your client on a leash. I thought he was going to jump over the table at one point there,” she says to me, half-relieved, half-joking. I notice her hands shaking slightly, making me frown.
“Beasley is a little entitled…” I say as I open the door to the conference room for us to walk out, and I put my hand to her back, wanting to soothe her.
“Just a little,” she murmurs sarcastically, and I smirk, glad to see her now relaxing into my touch.
As we step out of the conference room, I hear the familiar voice that pierces my ears like nails down a chalkboard, and my body immediately stiffens.
“Ben! Darling,” Sasha says as she steps into our conversation, and I don’t miss Emily’s eyebrows as they arch in question.
“Sasha, what are you doing here?” I demand, in a tone that implies that she isn’t welcome. Because she isn’t. My stress levels have peaked again. I really need to put a stop to this. It is getting out of hand.
“I came to take you for lunch!” she says, flicking her long locks over her shoulder and pushing her breasts out at me. I cringe at her over-the-top flirtatious behavior, as I see Emily stifle a laugh out of the corner of my eye. It is then that an idea dawns on me. A crazy one. I don’t even pause to think about the words before they tumble from my mouth.
“Sasha, let me introduce you to Emily… my fiancée.” Sasha’s smile falls, and Emily goes rigid in my arms. Turning to her, I meet her gaze. She’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
“W-what?” Sasha stutters, glancing at Emily, then to me and back again.
“Yes. Darling, this is Sasha Davies,” I say to Emily, my eyes pleading with her to act along with me, and I don’t miss the mean glint in her eye before she relaxes into my arms.
“Lovely to meet you, Sasha,” Emily says, her smile now wide, and my arm wraps around her waist, presenting a united front.
“But, what, I mean, when…” Sasha’s not even able to string words together.
“Sasha, we ended months ago. I know you will find someone just as wonderful as I have. Everything happens for a reason, it seems,” I say, pulling Emily into my side even closer. I like the way she feels, tucked against me, like she was always meant to be there. How I ever thought Sasha was it for me, I have no idea. Looking at her now, in comparison to Emily, there really is no contest.
“Well, um… congratulations!” Her voice rises with emotion, her smile fake as they come. “I don’t want to keep you, and I just remembered I had somewhere to be…” she says to me before walking back to the elevator with the fastest steps I’ve ever seen her take. Her freshly blow-dried hair does little to hide her bright-red cheeks or the heavy scowl that now adorns her brow when she faces us again before the elevator doors close.
Emily doesn’t wait a moment longer, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hall. She brings us right into my office, not dissimilar to how I had her last week, and I bite my lip so I don’t laugh out loud at the situation we’ve found ourselves in.
“Hold his calls, Sandra!” Emily says as she pulls me past my assistant, then the door to my office closes on Sandra’s smile, amusement radiating from her. This will be her entertainment for the day.
In the safety of my office, I slump on the sofa as Emily paces the room. I am surprised she went along with me. I said it half expecting her to slap me and walk away.
“Start talking,” she demands, throwing my own words I said to her in this very office last week back at me.
“Sasha is my ex who is not taking no for an answer. Sorry, it just slipped out.” It's a poor excuse, but it’s the best I can do. I didn’t even consider the ramifications before I threw both of us under the bus. I didn’t think any of it through.
“Just slipped out?” she almost screams, her face now contorted in panic.
“It’s fine. Take a breath. No big deal,” I say, standing, my hands raised like I am taming a wild beast.
“No big deal! Are you kidding me? You are Benjamin Rothschild. You being engaged is a very big deal!” she says, bewildered as she gapes up at me. Yeah… I may have forgotten about my status for a second there.
“Fuck.” Grabbing my hair and pulling it, I rack my brain, wondering where the hell my thoughts go around this woman. It is so unlike me to react this way. I am strategic. I plan everything. I am thorough with my work and with my life. This is totally out of character. Not to mention what this will mean for business. I can already see Beasley’s face turning a bright red in anger for being engaged to his current enemy number one. Now I might be panicking too.
