Page 19

19

Ella

M ovement against my back draws me from the deepest sleep I’ve had in months. I barely feel the aftermath of the wine, which is probably thanks to the water Jack made me drink and the medicine he gave me when we got home.

I shift and am met with a deep groan. Goosebumps ripple down my arms at the sound and the hardness pressed against my ass. As much as I wanted to have sex with Jack last night, I’m glad we didn’t. I want to be fully cognizant of every detail so I can forever remember our first time, even if we don’t stay together after all of this. I have no doubt having sex with Jack for the first time will be something I think about for years to come.

“Good morning,” Jack’s voice rumbles through my back.

“Morning,” I reply with another wiggle, pressing my hips back into him. Jack’s grip on my hip tightens .

My heart beats harder as his hand slips from my hip down my stomach. His fingers dip under the waistband of my pants.

“Jack,” I moan as his hand dips lower.

He kisses my neck, right below my ear. My skin prickles when his tongue drags across my skin. “I don’t have a lot of time this morning, but I need this.” His fingers gather the wetness between my legs, pulling a whimper from my chest. “I need to get you off before I go into work, or that’s all I am going to be thinking about.”

With another moan, I press my ass harder against his cock when he circles my clit. Jack shifts his hips, rubbing his length harder along my ass as he slides two fingers inside of me.

“Fuck, Gisella. I cannot wait to be inside of you. You are gripping my fingers so damn tight.”

“Do it,” I goad breathily.

His deep chuckle tickles against my hair. “No.” As he pumps his fingers slowly in and out of me, his palm brushes against my clit. The sounds of my wetness and my moans fill the air. Against my ear, his lips tickling my skin, he says, “The first time my dick is inside you isn’t going to be rushed. I’m going to take my sweet time with this pussy.”

A few more swipes of his fingers on my clit have me crying out his name, my muscles pulsing around his fingers as they continue to move in and out of me. When he removes his hand from my pants, the wetness from his fingers leaving a trail on my stomach.

I flip over and flick my tongue over his nipple. His answering groan spurs me on as his fingers, still wet with my arousal, bury in my hair. I kiss my way down his stomach, his muscles clenching under my lips.

Gisella…” Jack moans as I catch the waistband of his bo xer briefs and pull it down past his impressive length. “You don’t have to do that.”

I look up his body to find his eyes. They are dark and filled with desire. “I know I don’t have to. But I want too.”

His grip in my hair tightens and the sting at my roots has me moaning against him as I lick his tip before placing my mouth around it.

I’m already addicted to his salty and masculine taste. I shift so I can slide him to the back of my throat. His guttural groan encourages me to relax so I can take him even deeper the next time. Moaning, I swallow around him before pulling back to take a breath.

“Fuck, if you don’t stop now, I’m coming down that throat, baby.”

With a flick of my tongue along the ridge of the head, drawing more sexy praise from him, I glide my lips down his shaft until my nose almost touches his groin.

His fingers grip the back of my head as the first shot of salty release hits the back of my throat. I continue to swallow until the last drop, and Jack’s grip relaxes. Letting him slip from my lips, I wiggle back up the bed to lay my head on his shoulder. His palm presses to the side of my head as his lips find the top of my head. “Damn, Gisella,” he mumbles against my hair.

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t listen to you when you told me I didn’t have to?”

His laugh shakes me from where I’m resting against him. “Generally, I prefer you listen to me, but there do seem to be some exceptions to that.”

I roll my eyes, but my smile is unavoidable. He gives me a lingering kiss before climbing out of bed.

I lounge in bed while he goes and takes a quick shower, dressing in the same clothes from yesterday. I gave him an unopened toothbrush last night, so I hear him brushing his teeth before he comes back into the bedroom and sits on the bed next to me, a hand going to either side of my waist so he is hovering above, his eyes caressing my face. “What are your plans for today?”

I shrug. I honestly hadn’t even thought that far.

He nods. “I would like you to come to my office today and talk to me and Nate about what happened yesterday. I have a meeting this morning, but I can text you in a bit and send Tyler over to pick you up when Nate and I are available.”

All the apprehension from my work situation comes roaring back, and I take a deep breath to calm it. “Okay.”

Jack leans down and kisses me sweetly. It’s over much quicker than I would like, but I know he has to go to work.

“I hate to make you get out of bed, but I need you to come put the security bar in place after I leave.”

I follow him to the door, and he turns to face me before opening it. Reaching up, he runs his thumb along my bottom lip. “Text or call me if you need anything.”

It’s too tempting to resist when my tongue darts out and flicks across the tip of his thumb. I’m left with a deep chuckle and a smirk as he shakes his head in amusement, then pulls open the door and steps into the hall.

After it clicks closed behind him, I secure the lock and head into the kitchen to make coffee and start my first day as a newly unemployed person, all with a smile on my face.

Tyler is waiting for me outside a few hours later. I hop into the SUV and greet him. I was sad he wasn’t at Becky’s for dinner. But it may have been for the best that he didn’t witness me and his mom getting drunk on too much wine. Despite everything, happiness fills me when I think about how much fun I had with her last night. When I remember the way Jack was watching me with a look of affectionate amusement, my cheeks hurt from trying to suppress the smile.

Then there was this morning…my body heats. I squirm a little in the seat.

“You okay, Ella?”

I freeze and turn toward Tyler, trying to disguise the guilt. I’m sure he wouldn’t enjoy knowing the directions my thoughts just took. “Yep, I’m good.”

“I heard you met my mom last night?”

“Yeah! I had so much fun getting to know her,” I reply honestly.

“She told me that same about you. Are you coming to the party this weekend?”

I hesitate. I know Jack said last night that he would be happy if I came with him, but I don’t want to intrude on his entire life. My issues have already forced him to have to adjust everyone’s work schedule. I decide to go with something noncommittal. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. Jack and I didn’t talk about it much.”

“Well, you should come. Alice is basically everyone’s grandma. You’ll meet her today. You’ll love her.”

“I can’t wait.” And I’m not lying. Maybe it’s just the lack of family in my life, but everyone I’ve met in Jack’s life makes it evident how deeply they care for each other. Even Ian, in his serious, aloof way.

We step off the elevators and are greeted by an older lady who’s barely five feet tall with shoulder-length grey hair.

“Tyler, who’s the pretty lady? ”

“Alice, this is Ella. Ella, this is Alice.” I shake her hand with a smile. “Jack told you about her?”

Alice nods with a warm smile. “He did. It’s so nice to meet you, Ella. I didn’t realize you were coming in today.”

“Yeah, it was kind of last minute.”

“Well, no problem at all. He’s in a meeting, but I think he should be done soon.” She gestures to the couches Tyler and I sat on the night Jack and I went to dinner. “Would you like to have a seat? I can get you some water or coffee, if you would like?”

“I don’t need anything. Thank you so much for the offer.” I take a seat and wave to Tyler when he tells me he has to leave to do some paperwork.

“Gisella.” Jack’s deep, rumbling voice draws me from my thoughts only a few minutes later. He and the man I recognize from the other night cross the open office area toward me. I stand with a nervous smile, and Jack gestures to the man. “This is my business partner and friend, Nate. Nate, this is Ella.”

It’s odd to hear Jack say my shortened name. I think this might be the first time I’ve heard him use it. I move to Jack’s side as they approach, and his hand settles on my back.

Nate has a goofy, knowing grin on his face. It immediately puts me at ease as I shake his hand. “Ella, nice to officially meet you. Third time’s a charm.”

I look at Jack in bewilderment. Nate’s statement seems to indicate this is the third time we’ve been in the same place. “Uh, Nate was waiting in the car the day I dropped off the G-Wagon to you.”

My cheeks heat at the reminder of that day. I can’t imagine what Nate thought while watching us.

Nate chuckles as he gestures to the office they walked out of. “Let’s go talk. I can’t wait to hear more about you. ”

The three of us enter the conference room. Jack leads me to a seat, and after pulling out my chair for me and slowly rolling back to the table once I’m seated, he takes the seat to my left. Nate sits across from me.

Nate addresses me with a reassuring smile in place. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”

I take a deep breath. “Okay, it might be best if I give a little bit of background. I started working at Whole Life Medical Supply when I moved here four years ago. I was hired as a senior accountant. My boss, Craig Melton, was in the role I’m currently in.” I pause and glance down at my hands resting in my lap. “I should say, was in. He became CFO about two years ago, and I was promoted.”

I glance at Jack, and he reaches over and squeezes my thigh in support.

“I started noticing some odd things, maybe around Thanksgiving last year. Regular expenses that increased an abnormal amount month after month. New expenses that were unusual and unnecessary. Payments for expenses that didn’t go through the normal approval process. Payments that didn’t have any documentation, but then would suddenly have it once I questioned it.”

Nate’s chair creaks as he leans forward. “I’m assuming you brought it up to your boss?”

I nod. “Yes, I asked him about it multiple times. I was always shut down, and the explanations he gave always were somewhat plausible. I had never been in this high of a position, so he claimed it was my inexperience that was driving my lack of understanding. And since I was worried about losing my job, I didn’t question it more.”

I take another deep breath. “Then, two months ago, I was sent something on accident that made me re-examine everything. Craig left early for an appointment, and the bank needed approval on an urgent wire that was sent to them that morning. He had forgotten to sign it, and since I’m a secondary approver, they reached out to me.” I shake my head. “I had no idea what the payment was for. There was no indication on the documentation the bank sent me, and I couldn’t locate anything else saved anywhere. So I didn’t approve it and asked the bank to hold it until Craig was back. Craig was furious. He has always been somewhat mean, but that day was awful. He told me how stupid I was and how I jeopardized an important business relationship by not making that payment. He told me I was lucky he didn’t go to Mark, the CEO, and tell him what I did because I would be fired immediately.”

My voice breaks, and Jack’s grip on my thigh tightens. He mutters under his breath, “What a fucking asshole.”

I throw him a soft smile. “That was when I started to dig into things more. I was trying to do it in secret. I wanted to gather the proof before I went to Mark. But I wasn’t able to find anything concrete enough. Just more things that didn’t quite make sense.”

Nate leans back in his chair. “So how did this end in you getting fired?”

I close my eyes briefly before locking my gaze back on Nate. “Mark pulled me into the conference room. They presented me with five payments, which they said were not sent to the company and that the invoices were fake. Craig said he came across them when he found an error I made on a report.” I suck in a breath. “They said I approved all the payments.”

I don’t know if there’s anything they can do to help, but it makes me feel relieved to talk about it. Like having them know what happened allows me to let go of the stress and fear I was holding, no matter how slight.