Page 53 of Lost Love

“How could you know?” he remarked in a deadly whisper. “You know nothing!” he yelled. Lunging forward, he pushed the stack of papers off my desk, sending them flying to the floor. When my assistant looked inside the glass window, a look of concern shadowed her face. I nodded, reassuring her everything was fine.

“Yes, Alfred, I know about her. Leave me the fuck alone if you want me to run this company.”

He clutched at his chest as his face flushed with anger.

It surprised me how angry he was getting at the mere mention of it.

I walked out, leaving him alone in my office.

My perfect day wasn’t so perfect.

For a man that made it his business to know everything, had he no idea I knew about the affair?I have known since the age of six when I found a picture of a pretty woman who wasn’t Mom in his wallet. So what else was I supposed to do but run and tell my mom? Except when I did, her reaction was completely different from mine. She wasn’t at all shocked. Instead, asking me to forget about what I’d seen. But I couldn’t. It only clicked a few years later when I grew hair on my balls, that Alfred was having an affair, and what he and Mom had was purely a marriage of convenience.

Exactly what they planned for me.

The elevator door shut behind me, and I slipped out my phone, needing to hear her voice.

“Hey!” Her voice lifted me, melodic and calm.

“Pepper, can you come over?”

“I’ll be right there.”

* * *

My driver dropped me in front of my home on Park Avenue. I walked up, and Emilio held open the door.

“Good evening, Mr. Diamond.”

“Emilio.” I gave a curt nod and brushed past him, unwilling to engage in our normal conversation tonight.

Trudging into the elevator, I banged my fist on the penthouse button. Then I dropped my briefcase to loosen my collar, unbuttoning the first two buttons so I could breathe more easily.

After I walked inside my apartment, I roamed around in vacant movement, arriving at the stainless-steel refrigerator. I stared at the fully-stocked meals my housekeeper had prepared, but I wasn’t hungry.

No, I was seething mad.

Fuck him, fuck him to hell.The unwarranted asshole who just didn’t trust me enough to run his company.

The intercom buzzed, and I knew it was her. I took a deep breath and walked over, pressing the button.

“Yes.”

“Sir, I have Ms. Pepper Little here to see you.”

“Send her up.”

I paced toward the elevator, counting down the seconds until I’d see her. As soon as the doors opened, I exhaled, finally able to breathe.

Wearing wooden platform heels, a flowy skirt to the thighs, and a long-sleeve shirt that was unbuttoned, the edges of her lace bra peeked through. Her curls dusted her shoulders, and she looked bare-faced and naturally beautiful, her olive skin glowing.

Fuck.

I wanted her to fuck my troubles away.

“What’s wrong?” She stepped out of the elevator, taking me in. She probably wondered why I was so fucked up.

I stepped forward and held her close. Her floral-scented body wash invaded my senses, testing my self-restraint. My mouth hovered over her jaw, dangerously close to her lips. Like a magnet, she pulled me in, my body screaming with need. It took the pull of the earth to tilt my head and kiss her on the cheek. Reluctantly.

---