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Panting, Gabriella threw her body back on the furniture as a post-orgasm glow left her tingling with ecstasy. She felt dizzy with desire and a longing to hold Sofie close. “Mmm, come here. I want to hold you.” She pulled Sofie against her as the women melted into each other’s arms.
While holding Sofie, Gabriella briefly dozed under the hot afternoon sun. She awoke to Sofie gently whispering, “Hey, are you okay? Did you want me to leave you?”
Blinking, Gabriella looked around lazily, “Oh! Goodness, I didn’t realize I fell asleep for a minute.” Untangling herself from Sofie’s limbs, she brought herself to sitting. “No, you’re fine. Sorry about that. I guess you wore me out!”
Sofie giggled, appearing pleased. “Don’t worry; I napped for a few minutes as well. I was up early for the gym, so I guess I needed some rest. Are you sure you still want company? I can go if you are tired.”
Gabriella gave Sofie a playful look. “I may be old enough to be your mother, but I still have enough energy to enjoy the day. It’s beautiful outside; do you want to take a swim? The pool is heated, so I promise it won’t shock your system.”
Shrugging, Sofie replied, “Sure! I don’t have any other plans today. Well, actually, that’s notexactlytrue. I was thinking about working on some fashion designs, just my own personal stuff, for fun.” Leaning into Gabriella, she placed her hand on Gabriella’s knee to emphasize, “But I’m happy to hang out with you. Iwantto.”
“Hmmm, that’s interesting! I didn’t realize you were still designing.” Gabriella stood up, stretching as she looked to thesky. “Honestly, I think it’s great that you are doing your own thing on the side. It’s important to maintain your vision and creativity.”
Sofie rose from the lounger, taking a few steps towards the pool. Gabriella watched as Sofie dipped a toe. Her body looked beautiful in the sunlight. Her skin was luminous. She turned over her shoulder, remarking, “I learned that from you. Your work is so inspiring, and you’ve been my mentor. I really look up to you, Gabriella.”
“Please, while we’re here, call me Gabby. We aren’t in the office right now.” Gabriella’s tone was light rather than scolding, and she was grateful for Sofie’s company. As she sauntered over to join Sofie by the edge of the pool, a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Listen, let me ask you something. And please, be honest.”
Sofie bobbed her head. “Yes, of course. What’s up?”
Keeping her eyes on the water, Gabriella asked, “What do youreallythink of the magazine’s new guidelines? I’m talking about the new points put in place by our chairperson, Ms. Rutherford. Do you think that will help the magazine succeed or not?”
Gabriella shifted her glance to study Sofie’s face. Sofie appeared conflicted, pausing before answering, “Um, well, I don’t understand the reasoning for the changes. Deluxe Redux had always been such a cutting-edge magazine, pushing societal boundaries that paved the way for creative genius. But these new guidelines seem so conservative, almost backward. Do you know if these are permanent? Will there be more restrictions to come?”
Gabriella sighed and shook her head, her gaze returning ahead. “I’m not sure. I didn’t even see them coming. It all happened while I was on my leave of absence.” Turning to look at Sofie, the CEO commented. “You know, I’ve wondered what it would be like to start my own magazine from scratch. Noinvestments; it would be funded independently by me. I’ve got the money, and now that I’m on my own, with no wife, no kids, and no dependents, I think it could be a viable venture for me.”
Sofie put her hand on Gabriella’s shoulder. “What? Are you serious? Are you planning on leaving Deluxe?”
“No. I mean, notnow.It’s just something I’ve been toying with in my mind.” Realizing that her statement could alarm Sofie, as an employee of the company, she reassured her assistant. “Don’t worry. If I ever was to leave, you’d have ample notice. And my departure wouldn’t mean the termination of your job. You would report to the next director.”
Gabriella watched as Sofie furrowed her brow. “But I don’t want to work for someone else. I want to work foryou.” Something in Sofie’s voice tugged at Gabriella in a way she couldn’t fully process. Without thinking, Gabriella blurted out, “You could always join me if you want!”
A gasp of surprised laughter emitted from Sofie. “What? Are you serious? I mean, I don’t want to quit the magazine. But, of course. I would follow you anywhere. You are incredible.”
Until the words had left her mouth, Gabriella wasn’t even sure she was serious. But the thought of sinking her teeth into a new project, with the help of her creative and devoted assistant, was highly appealing.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed by her excitement, she decided to scale back the conversation. “Listen, I have no doubt that we would make an excellent team. For now, there is a lot for you to do at Deluxe, and I still need to run this company. It’s merely a thought I had, but I’m glad you would be on board. But let’s keep this chat between us, okay?”
Nodding, Sofie agreed. “Of course. Now, didn’t you mention something about swimming? The sun is hot today! Do you have a suit I could borrow?”
Turning to face Sofie with a wicked grin, Gabriella replied, “Oh, you don’t need a suit to swim in my pool, darling. In fact, bathing suits are banned!”
Bathing suits are certainly banned for women who look like you, that’s for sure little Sofie.
18
By the time Sofie returned home, the sky had turned dark. Holding a takeout food container, she unlocked the apartment door, quietly entering their shared space. Checking her iPhone, Sofie was shocked that it was already 11:30 p.m. Knowing she and her roommates needed to get up early Monday morning, Sofie tiptoed into the kitchen to put her food in the refrigerator.
“Hey! You’re home late. What did you do all day?” Startled by Rory’s voice, Sofie jumped from where she stood, still holding the refrigerator door open.
Clutching her chest, Sofie exclaimed, “Oh my god, you scared me! Sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you when I came in.”
Rory chuckled, “No, I was still awake, although Ash is sleeping. Did you have dinner somewhere? I see you’ve got some leftovers.”
Blushing slightly, Sofie shook her head, looking away. “Um, yeah, I was, um, out for a while, andwedecided to grab a bite. I couldn’t finish all of it, though. Did you want the rest of my pasta?” She hoped to skip over her afternoon’s details, but her roommate was curious.
“I’m fine, thanks. But wait, I want to hear about your day. I last saw you at 6:30 a.m. this morning, before you left for the gym.” Sofie watched Rory grab a seat at the kitchen table, knowing she was in for a friendly interrogation. Sofiewantedto talk to Rory about her afternoon with Gabriella, but she felt as though her head was spinning; Sofie had yet to sort out her feelings about the day. Still, it felt good to know that Rory was there for support, so Sofie joined her at the table.
With a sigh, Sofie began, somewhat sheepishly. “So, I ended up spending the day with Ms. Galena. It wassoamazing!” Grabbing Rory’s arm, she leaned in with a lowered voice. “We had the most incredible sex on the rooftop patio of herpenthouseand then enjoyed the afternoon. We swam in the pool, and later, we stopped for a bite to eat.” Shaking her head in disbelief, Sofie added, “I had the best day; I didn’t want it to end.”
