Richard POV
“Richard, you have your mother on line two,” I hear Esther say through the intercom. I sit back in my chair, lifting the phone from its stand and pressing line two. I have to prepare myself for this mentally.
“Mother,” I can hear the back noise. I can tell she is not home, but that woman is so productive during the day that she would have to be sick to be home, almost dying. I have never seen her just staying at home. She is always out, full of appointments and commitments. She could easily be busier than the first lady.
“Ricky, I am near your office today for a meeting. Join me for lunch”, she says straight away, and I roll my eyes, looking at my watch. It’s only nine in the morning. As much as I would like to say no to her, I wouldn’t dare. The woman is a bloody saint, and it doesn’t really hurt to have lunch with her. The only thing she tends to do is pry into my love life. Or better saying my non existing love life.
"I'm having Esther arrange a table at your favorite place," I said, and I heard a giggle.
“Lovely darling, I will see you there at one, don’t be late,” she says, and I can’t help but roll my eyes, sitting straight in my chair.
“When have I ever been a late mother?” I ask, but too late because she is already chatting with someone about one of the many charities she is involved in. My mother is one of the most productive people I have ever met, and my father says I am just like her, focused, and I can't relax until I sort everything around me.
I put the phone down, pressing the buzzer to call Esther in. A few seconds later, she opens the door, striding into my office.
“What can I do for you?” she asks as she opens her notepad and looks at me. I point at the chair in front of me, and she sits as she watches me through the thick lenses. Her glasses are old and thick. Geez, Esther is old. She will be retiring soon and is trying to find her replacement. I took over the company’s CEO from my father, and I inherited Esther from the company.
I don’t know what I would’ve done without her when I first started eleven years ago. I was only twenty-five when I took over, and Esther ensured I knew what I was doing. After all, she was my father’s secretary for the past thirty years before me. She knows the job better than I do.
“How’re the interviews going?” I ask as I sit back in my chair, smiling, watching her relax on her chair.
“Oh dear, there are some good ones. There’s this one girl that is absolutely perfect, but I think she will be taking a job at the Times,” she says, and I frown, looking at her. If she is that good, we can’t have that happening, right?
“Offer her more money if you think she will be the perfect candidate. Make sure to do whatever it takes to get her in”, I say, and she smiles softly as she writes on her notepad. I can’t just have some stupid and underqualified person as my secretary and personal assistant. I have filled my life with too many commitments and complexity. Someone that can keep up is what I need.
“I need you to book lunch for one at my mum’s favorite restaurant,” I say, and Esther smiles as she looks back down at her notepad. I really need someone a little more connected to technology. Someone that isn’t averse to it would be doing everything straight away on an iPad and having most of the tasks done before even getting back on their desk.
“How is she?” Esther asks, and I smile back at her.
“I assume she is fine; otherwise, she would be barging in through those doors, “I say, and Esther nods in agreement.
“Your brother wants to see you,” she says, and I nod before she stands up, losing her balance. I stand up, immediately walking around my desk to give her a hand. Her hand immediately holds onto my arm as she pulls herself up.
“Are you okay?” I ask, and she nods, placing one hand on my cheek and smiling. I wouldn’t allow anyone else to behave like this with me, but Esther is unique.
“I am fine,” she replies before leaving the office. I grew up watching Esther help my father with everything he ever needed here. She used to keep crayons on her desk for when we came here with my mom, and the woman was like a second mother to us.
I grab my phone and my jacket from the back of my chair. Before throwing my jacket back on, I pull my sleeves down and do the buttons. I walk out of the office to see Dylan. What the hell does he need me for that? He refused to walk into my office.
“Richard, Dylan is on a phone call,” his secretary says as I approach his office. I always forget her name and try to scramble around to find it, but I can’t. I know it starts with a T. Tina. Tara? Fuck that, and I don’t know. I nod, but I open the door and walk into his office.
He is standing with his back turned to the door with a hand on the glass supporting his body. He pulled his shirt out of his trousers and the sleeves up to his elbows. I can see a set of knees between his open legs, and I shake my head. My brother is getting sucked at work, so I stop walking and smirk. I clear my throat, catching both of their attention. Dylan’s head turns around, and when he sees me, the girl on her knees stands up, clearing both sides of her mouth. She strides out of the office, but she can’t help herself but wink at me while she walks past. Gross.
“Classy,” I say as soon as the door closes behind me, and Dylan is sitting on his chair behind his desk.
“No fun leaving me with blue balls.” He says, and I can’t help but laugh. Tough luck, buttercup.
“This is a workplace, not a fuck room for you to fuck everything that moves while you should be fucking working,” I say, and he offers me his biggest smile.
“Yeah yeah, okay, now look, I need your help at the meeting tomorrow,” he says, and I frown as he offers me the papers that were in front of him in a folder.
Dylan is responsible for the advertising department of the company. He deals with every request to advertise in our newspapers and magazines, and we are now the biggest in the world.
“Pamela again?” I ask as I rub my chin. I hate that woman, and she has the power to drive me insane. No wonder we ended up getting divorced only two years after we got married.
“What can I say? She always pays on time, but these meetings are always so painful”, Dylan says as he rests his feet on the edge of his desk, leaning back on his chair and offering me a smile. I stand up, walking to the bar that Dylan is proud to have in the corner of his office.
“A bit early for a drink, isn’t it?” he asks, frowning, and I shake my head.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere in the world,” I let out, pouring myself a glass of whiskey when his door bursts open with Mia walking in.
“Dylan, I fucked up. I need your help”, she says, striding to the chair in front of him while he goes wide-eyed and tries to signal her to shut up. I clear my throat, and my daughter’s panicked eyes meet mine.
“Shit,” she curses under her breath.
Richard POV“Dylan, I fucked up. I need your help”, she says, striding to the chair in front of him while he goes wide-eyed and tries to signal her to shut up. I clear my throat, and my daughter’s panicked eyes meet mine.“Shit,” she curses under her breath.“Language,” I blurt out, and she stands up immediately. I’m not close to Mia, which is all my fault. Whenever she needs something, she always asks Dylan. She has a connection with him that I could never form with her. I was twenty when I got Pamela pregnant. We were in college, and I owned up to my mistake. I decided if I was mature enough to get a girl pregnant, I had to deal with the consequences.“Dad, I can explain,” she says. I raise my hand, and she stops speaking automatically. Her eyes meet the floor, and I walk to her.“Ricky, come on, man,” Dylan says. I look at him, and he immediately raises both his hands in an apologetic way. He stands from his chair and walks around, kissing Mia on the top of her head before exiting
Layla POV“Are you shitting me right now?” I curse out loud as I look in the full-body mirror to see that I ripped my favorite tights all the way from the toes to the middle of my thighs. “Argh,” I said in frustration before taking them off again and throwing them into the trash.I walk back to the drawers where my lingerie and tights are. I open the middle drawer and start moving around, looking for another one, but I can’t find any. “Fucking great,” I curse, walking out of my room and knocking next door into Jo’s room.“Jo, open up,” I say as I pound on the door, and she opens it, one eye still closed and messy hair in front of her face.“Who died?” she asks, and I walk past her into the bedroom.“Hey, Leo,” I say as I walk past the bed and into the small closet she has at the end of her room.“Hey, Layla,” Leo says, pulling his head out of the covers and watching me walk around in his girlfriend’s bedroom half-naked.“What are you looking for?” Jo asks before she jumps back in bed
Layla POVIt’s finally the weekend, and I can’t wait but to relax. I am wearing my most comfortable yoga pants with an oversized t-shirt that hits me almost on my knees. I am lazily lying down on the couch watching tv when Jo comes out of her room with tears in her eyes.“That bastard,” she curses, sitting on the end of the couch, moving my feet and resting them on her legs. I raise an eyebrow, looking at her, and she takes a deep breath, cleaning her tears with the back of her sleeve.“We’re going out,” she says, and I can’t help but laugh out loud. She must be on drugs or something. There’s no way in hell I am going out tonight. She looks at me, and it seems like she is reading my mind.“Come on, Layla, I need this,” she says, and I sit up on the couch, moving my knees against my chest and hugging my legs as I look at her.“And why is that?” I ask, and she bites her lower lip, looking at me. I keep looking at her, waiting for the bomb to drop. And fuck me, and it does drop.“I caugh
Richard POV“Come on, we have to go,” Dylan says, and I put my glass back down on the coffee table in front of me, “Jude is already there, and Fred should be arriving soon,” he says as I roll my eyes. If it weren’t for Dylan, I wouldn’t be going. Today is his birthday, and as the bohemian playboy he is, he decided to have a masquerade sex dungeon kind of party. I shake my head mentally. When is he going to fucking grow up?“Who thought that a sinners’ party was a good idea?” I ask dryly, and Dylan laughs.“It’s fucking genius. There’s nothing better than sex, brother”, he says as he puts a hand on my shoulder before he starts walking out.“You need to chill and get fucking laid,” Dylan says, and I shake my head. The thought of a random woman touching me makes my entire body shiver. I push away the idea and follow him out of my house. We walk straight to Nando, who is waiting for us by the car with the back door already opened.“Nando, my man, how are you?” Dylan asks, shaking his hand
Layla POVOnce inside, I look around. This is the craziest place I have ever been to. I look at the entrance wall, and it has a map with all the different rooms and what happens in them. I smile, realizing that quickly this is becoming a sex party and not just an ordinary party. Whoever came up with this party is a freaking genius. I have never done anything like this before. People might think I am outgoing because of my looks, but I am kind of an introvert. I like staying home cuddled up with a pleasant set of comfy pajamas and watching TV. “This is insane,” Jo whispers in my ear, and I nod in agreement. It really is. She holds my hand, and we walk inside. I can feel the butterflies dancing in my stomach. “Ladies,” a man dressed all in black with beautiful green eyes approaches us and smiles, “There are some rules I need to explain,” he says, and we both nod. “Rule #1, your phones need to be turned off, and a sticker will be placed in front of your cameras.”“Rule #2, Masks need
Layla POV“That is something I have never been called before,” he whispers, and I smile as his hands keep moving up and down my body, exploring every inch of it.I gather the courage and move my hands down his arms and then up again, moving them to his chest and undoing the buttons from his shirt, exposing his tanned skin covered in a small layer of chest hair. I can’t help but pass my fingers over them. His skin is hot, and his chest is hard. I move my hands to his shoulder and peel his shirt off, leaving him completely exposed to me. His skin is clear of tattoos, and I can’t help but kiss his shoulder.His hand moves further along my pussy. He can feel how wet I am because slowly, he slides one finger inside of me, making me squirm, while with another finger, he plays with my clit. I close my eyes, moaning, and he covers my mouth with his hand. I can’t help but lick him, and he smiles. Too bad it is so dark I can barely see his facial features. But let’s be honest, and I don’t need
Richard POV "Good morning," I hear Mrs. Nichols say as I walk into the kitchen. I smile at her as I grab a cup from the cabinet. "Good morning," I reply as she pours me coffee. It smells amazing. I grab my cup and walk to my office. I put the cup on the coaster, sit on my chair, and turn on my laptop. I open my email and immediately regret doing so, I have already thirty-two, and it's only six thirty in the morning. There's one from Dylan and another from Jude. I decide to open those first and regret immediately opening Dylan's. "Hey bro, I thought you would like to have a look at these pictures that I got my hands on. Don't worry; I took care of them, and no one got to see them, but damn…." I open the attachments to find two pictures of me and the mysterious brunette at the party. The first photo is of her pressed against the wall while I fucked her from behind, and the second one is of
Layla POV He's a dick. I shake my head as I walk to the elevator. I press the button and realize I have no idea what floor IT is. I walk back to the desk to ask Esther, but she is not there. I looked all around the floor, and I couldn't find her. Is she in there with him? I take a deep breath and walk to the door stopping a few inches away, my shoes almost touching the door. As I raise my hand to knock, the door slams open, and a big Richard Ashford slams his massive body against mine, making me take a few steps back. His fist grips my arm, keeping me in place, and the warmth of his hand irradiates through my arm. My eyes lock on his deep blue eyes, and he is very serious. "Where have you been?" he asks, and I blink a couple of times, trying to make my brain function again. I open and close my mouth like a fish out of water, and when I realize he is looking at me with a death stare, I take one step back, making his hand fall on his side.