Page 45 of Wildest Desire

“I have to work, Jackie. Where else can I find a job that pays as well as this?” I ask her.

“I’ll talk to Ethan,” she says. Turning, around I see him standing behind me. “Mr. Williams has a charity event in Texas this weekend if—” Ms. Jackie says.

“Book me in,” I say, ending the call before she can talk me out of it. “How long have you been standing behind me?” I ask him.

“Long enough. Do you need money?” he asks.

“I don’t need your money. The last time I checked, I still had a job.” I walk back into the building, stopping at the desk. “Joe, I’m going to make you a chocolate cake tomorrow. I’ll be down at lunch,” I say, kissing him on the cheek.

“Looking forward to it.”

“So, did Selena get the meeting for you?” I ask, standing in the elevator as we go up to the apartment.

“You want to go back to work. Is this to annoy me, or because you think my family believes you are a gold digger, too?” He stops me walking away from him. I like how he ignored my question about how his meeting went.

“I don’t want them to think I am, because I’m not, and I’m not doing this to annoy you. I’m doing this because you want me to stay here,” I explain, and Ethan softens the grip on my hips. "You want me to stay here, so I agreed. I want to stay here, too, but that also means Sam knows I'm here. If I go back to work with my clients, then I'll be in a different place each week. Maybe he will try to follow me there. I just…”

“My mother doesn’t think you’re a gold digger and my sister is just a little hard at times.” Ethan pulls me down as he goes to sit. “Lexi, the last thing I want is to fight over work with you. I know you're safe here with me. If you go to another state, I won’t know if you are.” He lightly moves some of my hair around my neck. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. I don’t want you to work for Jackie like that again, but if you want to work with her in the office, then I'll talk to her about it. The thought of you—”

“But, I need to know that Sam thinks I’m somewhere else. I’m looking over my shoulder all the time, and—”

“Lexi, I’ve got people looking for him, ready to arrest him. I have people willing to make sure he stays in prison for the rest of his life. I won’t let him hurt you.” Ethan cups my face. “I won’t let him come close to you, so please, while he's still out there, stay close to me. When he's in prison, you can go back to work with Jackie—in the office.”

Putting my hands in his hair, I slide them down the sides of his face and look in his eyes. “What are you scared of, Ethan Knight?” The trace of fear that I see in his eyes worries me.

“I don’t know what this is between us, but I do know the thought of losing you scares me more than anything in my life. I know you’re safe when you're close to me,” he says, putting his hand on my thigh. “So please, until he’s caught, stay close to me.”

“I’ll call Ms. Jackie. I hope you know we might end up killing each other if we are together every second of the day,” I say with a smile.

“If you're killing me with sex, I think I’d be happy.” I can’t help my laugh at him. I can’t say he’s sex-crazed, because I want it as bad as he does. I would be more than happy to have him between my legs all day.

“Your pants are vibrating.” I put my hand in his pocket. “Your girlfriend has been missing you,” I say when I see Selena’s name on the screen.

“What does that make you?”

“Well, I’m living with you, so that makes me the wife, and Selena the mistress.” Giving him a kiss, I get off his lap as his phone rings again.

“Lexi,” he says. Turning around, I face him. “Trust me when I say, there's no one even close to you.” Smiling at him, I walk into the bedroom to call Jackie.

Ms. Jackie and I talked for a long time, working on a plan for me. I told her I don’t want to have any clients since Ethan and I are together, and she was happy of us. She offered me a job alongside her, and asked me to come in this afternoon to talk about it some more, as she didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. I told her I would meet her at the restaurant across the road, and that Ethan would more than likely be with me.

* * *

I walk into the restaurant with Ethan by my side. It felt nice to get dressed up again, even if it’s just meeting up with Ms. Jackie. Kissing her on the cheek, I sit down and give the waiter our order for drinks.

“Before we start, I wanted to let you know that I had to tell the girls what’s going on. You haven’t been to the office, and they thought you had been fired, so I told them. Don’t worry, though. They have all signed a confidentiality agreement.” I didn’t want the girls to know what was happening because I didn’t want them to worry about me the way Ms. Jackie, my brother and Ethan do, but it’s too late for that now.

“Thank you.” I smile at the waiter as he puts my wine on the table. Ethan gets up and walks away as his phone starts ringing. I already know that it’s someone he doesn’t want to talk to, by his body language. “I understand why you did it. Have you told them about Ethan and me?” I ask.

“Yes, and I’ve told them that you're no longer a call girl, but will still be a part of the company. They all know what I’m offering you, and are very happy that I chose you.” We both look at Ethan as he joins us. He drinks his whiskey in one go, then looks over at the waiter to ask for another.

The waiter walks over with his drink. “Would you like to place your order?” he asks.

Giving him our order, I watch Ethan as he declines the call coming in on his screen. I look over at Jackie, waiting for her to continue with what she was saying.

“So, once Sam is gone, I’m offering you my job. More like, half my job. You will take two of the girls, and I'll keep the other two. That way, I’ll get to spend time with my family, and you will be able to stay here and do what you know best.” I look at Ms. Jackie in surprise as she offers me this job. This is brilliant.

“See, I told you she would have a job for you.” Ethan leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “Now no one can say you’re a gold digger.”

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