AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t always give Stella a ride home from work. I would love to, given half the chance, andtowork as well, but we have to create a little bit of distance between us to prevent suspicion. Tonight, though, I’m giving her a ride so we can talk more about the business trip that we’re going on. Stella is incredibly excited and has a lot to say about it. The fact that she’s so thrilled makes my head spin with ideas. It might be a business trip, but I want to make it as special as possible for her as well.
“So, we leave Thursday morning?” Stella claps her hands together excitedly. “I’m going to have to pack all my nicest clothes.”
“Not just your nicest clothing, but your best underwear as well,” I remind her. “For any me and you time.”
The chemistry sizzles between us, amping up with every second that passes. It’s really challenging for me not to pull over on the side of the road to take her right now. But we have our plans now, so I can wait. The anticipation will make it better. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to kiss her, though, so as we pull up in the driveway, I almost lean down to kiss her, to take her cheeks in my hands and take her lips with my own. Luckily, just as that urge is about to claim me, I stop. I don’t know what it is that makes me halt, but as there is a bang on my car window, I understand completely.
Thank God.My God, if I had just caved then, Stella and I would be in a whole world of pain right now. Everything that we fear could have come to life in front of us. It’s a stark reminder that all of this isn’t as straightforward as it feels.
“Bill!” I unravel the window and force a bright smile on my face. “How are you? What’s going on?”
“Oh, Finn, I just wanted to come and talk to you. To thank you.” He grins. “For everything that you have done for Stella.” He catches sight of his daughter in the passenger’s seat of the car, but he doesn’t seem to think this is strange. “You have given her so many opportunities already, but she’s let me know today that you’re taking her on a business trip to expand her knowledge more. I’m just amazed. You are really giving her a brilliant start in her career and life. When I asked you to give her an internship, I never thought that you would be so great.” Oh, God, now he’s almost getting emotional about this. “Thank you so much.”
Stella doesn’t say anything, but I can tell how she’s feeling. The humiliation is rolling off her in waves. She slides out of the car and exits the vehicle, practically storming toward her house in an attempt to get away from this conversation. Maybe because ofthe heat between us or perhaps because her father is interfering with her work life, which she doesn’t seem to like. Or perhaps it’s just because this is a terrible reminder of everything that could go wrong between us in the end.
“Well, I just want to say thank you,” Bill continues as if he hasn’t noticed Stella storming off. “It means a lot to me.
“You’re welcome.” I force myself to grin some more. “Like you said, she’s a good worker and she clearly wants to learn. She deserves the opportunity to learn as much as she can. Then I hope that she will be able to use what she learns in her future career. Seeing meetings and being involved with all the different aspects of business can only benefit her.”
I feel like a bit of a shit as I say all of this, like I’m lying. It’s the truth, but not the whole truth. There is an omission underneath the surface, isn’t there? I’m hiding from him that his daughter and I are starting to really fall for one another.
“Stella is lucky. We all are,” Bill assures me. “We know how lucky we are to have you do all of this. If there is ever anything that I can do to repay you, please let me know. I keep trying to think of ways that I can make this up to you.”
“Oh, no.” My blood runs ice cold. This is getting even worse. He can’t do anything to repay me when I’m stealing his daughter from underneath his nose like an absolute asshole. “You don’t need to do anything. Don’t worry. She’s working hard. Having Stella in the office, working as well as she’s doing, is payment enough. Please, don’t worry at all, Bill.”
Bill and I talk for a little while longer about nothing in particular, which only brings with it another round of guilt. In all of this, I have neglected my friendship with Bill a little bit. I mean, wemight just be neighbors. We aren’t the sort of guys who are best friends and hang out every single day, but I have been avoiding him a little. Focusing on Stella has been easier for me.
I’m digging myself into a hole, I know I am. I’m sinking deeper and deeper and struggling to get myself out of it, but that’s probably because I’m not even trying. I want to be in this hole because Stella is in it as well. Even with the risk staring me in the face, I can’t seem to stop myself from sinking into it. She’s worth everything that will come my way.
It’ll be fine,I convince myself anyway.We have the business trip coming up. Everything is going to be awesome after that. One way or another, we will know what’s going to happen next and everything will be so much clearer.
Eventually, Bill and I say our goodbyes and go into our respective houses. Once I’m inside, I let out a deep breath of relief. Talking to my friend has brought a bubble of stress to my shoulders that I can’t seem to fully shake off. It’s hard work, it’s stressful, it’s kinda painful, to be honest. The pain that we will potentially cause is just too much. I can just imagine how agonized Bill will be when all of this unravels, and it scares me to the core.
I grab my cell phone, wondering if I should text her to try and discuss this with her, but I don’t know what to type. I don’t know where to start, never mind what to say. I know as well that even with this little wobble because of Bill, as soon as I see Stella again, it will all fall to the back of my mind and I won’t care any longer. So strong is my addiction to her that it won’t matter.
I huff softly and decide to say nothing. I’m just going to have to hold on to this guilt and keep it inside because it’s a big part of having an illicit affair with someone I shouldn’t. I’m sureeveryone who’s doing something wrong like this has the same feeling. I can live with it if I get to have all of the positives that come with Stella and me, because they are worth it.
Instead, I look through the photos of Stella on my cell phone, snapshots taken during our time together of her smiling, blowing kisses my way, even half dressed in some of them… my God, that beautiful smile is enough to have my heart fluttering with excitement and need all over again. Yep, I’m in a mess. But it feels so good, it can’t all be wrong, can it?
12
STELLA
“Thisis the plane we’re taking?” I gasp as the car pulls up to what looks like the fanciest jet I have ever seen in my life. It’s the sort of plane I have only ever seen behind celebrities in magazines before, not the sort of plane I ever thought I would see in real life. Much less go on. But Finn is looking at me with a cheeky smile on his face which suggests I’m about to experience everything. “Oh, wow, is this yours? Are we really going on it? For a business meeting? This is insane, Finn.”
He lets out a little laugh. “Only the best for my company… or maybe it’s only the best for you, I’m not sure.”
My heart pounds in my throat as I realize that this actually is only for me. He can play it off as a business thing as much as he wants, but I can see from the glittering in his gaze that it’s all about romance. It’s all for me. God, as if I’m not in enough danger of falling in love with him as it is. Does hereallyhave to do all of this for me as well? Holy shit, I’m blown away.
This isn’t my life. I’ve never even thought about it beingmylife. But I guess it must be Finn’s. I suppose he is a successfulbusinessman with fancy cars and nice things, but I’ve never really thought about how much he must have. Maybe this should make me feel a little self-conscious and like I’m not good enough to even be here with Finn, but I’m far too exited to worry about that. I’m like a kid bouncing up and down in my seat, wanting to get on the jet already so I can explore it all.
“Come on, then.” Finn laughs and holds out his hand to me. “Let’s go and see the plane. I’m sure you’re going to love it.”
I take a walk on the other side of life, seeing what it’s like to be someone really important. To have luxury and fancy things surrounding me. I feel incredible to be on Finn’s arm, walking up the stairs and into a plane which has my head spinning with beauty. The red carpet down the aisle of the plane, in between the plush seats that are more like couches than chairs make me feel like a VIP. I’m the luckiest Very Important Person in the world, about to experience comfort like no other.
Finn takes me around the whole plane, showing me everything, and I suck in and hold a breath the whole time. I become a little dizzy as we walk because of this, which makes the luxury that much more overwhelming for me. I can’t stop myself from snapping a few photos as we go around so I can show my college friend, Erin, how far my life has come. She won’t be able to believe it. I know she’s working in an office at the moment, probably quite similar to the one I’m in, but I highly doubt that she’s on a private jet with her gorgeous boss, about to have the time of her life, about to experience something incredible…
“Come and sit with me,” Finn purrs as he takes his seat. “There is plenty of room for the both of us to sit here.”
