Page 2 of High Rise Secrets
The waiter comes over just in time to avoid a disaster that's waiting to happen. Pretty girls like Brittany are all the same, in my experience anyway. If there is another woman who's caught my eye, she gets jealous. We place our orders, and I distract her by asking about work and the charity work she's involved in.
The evening seems to be dragging on, and I've barely said two words to her, my focus on the table three spots away. Thank God Addison isn’t facing me. I wouldn’t be able to pretend to be enjoying this date if she was.
“Brittany, this was a mistake,” I cut her off as she drones on about the latest gossip in her social circle. I wince at the bite of my words. I sound like the biggest asshole, and I know she’s going to cause a scene.
She scoffs and grabs her purse. “A mistake?” she seethes. “You’re right, this isn’t working out. Fuck you, Ethan.” She stands and storms away from the table. A few people are looking at us, but I don’t care. I only care when Addison turns to look at me, and I motion her over to the table. When she willingly stands and saunters over to me, I feel like the luckiest man alive.
“Ms. Snyder,” I say coolly as I point to the empty seat in front of me.
“Mr. Freeman, it appears you lost your date for the evening.”
“I have. I’d love it if you’d join me.” She glances back at her friends and bites her lip. I lower my voice. “Don’t make me beg, Addy. I just lost my date for the night. Show a guy some mercy on Valentine’s Day.”Oh yeah, I’m laying it on thick.I take a moment to appreciate her amazing body before she smiles and sits.
“To see a big bad CEO beg, that would be a sight to behold.”
“Deny me, and I’ll have no option.”
Her smile widens and I catch a mischievous glint in her green eyes. I wonder where her mind just wandered to.Does she think about me the same way I think about her?Unlikely.
“I can’t stay too long, I have a date in a little bit,” she says.
“Well then, he’s one lucky guy to have caught your attention. Just stay with me long enough to have a drink, and then I’ll let you get back to your friends. I don’t want to keep you.”
She reaches across the table, placing her small hand on top of mine. My flesh buzzes where her hand is, and it takes everything in me not to trap her against me by covering her hand with my own. “You’re not. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Brittany ran out of here so fast.”
“Yeah, well, she caught me staring at a pretty girl.”
She pulls her hand back. “Oh, well, why isn’t she sitting here then?”
She is.Not that I can tell her that. I can’t date my assistant, no matter how much I want her.
Chapter 1
Addison
My feet are killing me from all the running around I’ve done today. I haven’t figured out why normal high heels are so uncomfortable, yet stripper heels I can stand in all night and not fuss at all.Go figure.I push my dark hair over my shoulder and review Mr. Freeman’s schedule again.
The light in his office is still on. I glance at the time on the corner of the screen and huff in annoyance. It’s already half past seven. This man sure does like to burn the midnight oil. He’s been like this ever since I started atEmulationfive years ago. Mr. Freeman is the owner and CEO of the company. He took over two years ago from his father. Don’t let that fool you though; he is one of the hardest workers I know and deserves it all. Nepotism only goes so far with him.
When I started here, I was an assistant to one of the developers and have worked my way through the ranks. While I’m lucky to have received the position, I also worked my ass off to get it. Mr. Freeman’s old executive assistant quit a year ago—something about his being too demanding and the job being too hard.
That’s the story circulating, anyway. Apparently, Janice, his old assistant, wanted to sleep with him. So, instead of concentrating on her job and helping make his life easier, she paraded herself around here trying to catch his eye. She caught it all right, especially when he walked in on her pleasuring herself at his desk one night after she thought he was gone.
Stupid girl... everyone knows you use the bathroom if you’re going to do that.
How do I know this, you might ask? I’m good friends with Aiden in human resources, and I may have gotten him drunk one night and dragged the information out of him. It doesn't help that I gave him a lap dance and promised to get him off if he told me. Easiest night of my life. I can do that move in my sleep; I’ve been doing it for so long.
That makes me sound horrible, doesn’t it? Let me take you back a ways. I have an alter ego as Madam Ember at the gentleman’s clubRISEoutside of Atlanta. I got my start atThe Devil’s Playground,which was in a shady part of town and owned by an even shadier man before it burned to the ground with him in it.
Nine years ago, my girls and I decided to openRISEas a way to allow women to support and protect themselves. Best decision of my life. I get all the sex I want while knowing I won’t get killed in the process. The club is half the reason I wanted to get my MBA. The other half is the man I work for.
“Addy, can you come here for a second?” The deep timbre of his voice sends a chill down my spine. I could listen to him talk all day and never get bored. I stand and flinch as my shoe pinches my baby toe.Son of a bitch!For eight-hundred dollars, these Jimmy Choo’s should feel like I’m walking on clouds. Note to self, bring extra shoes next time.
I smooth out my skirt and step into his oversized office. The shades are drawn, blocking out the darkened city view behind him. He’s wearing a pair of navy chinos, a crisp white shirt with the top two buttons undone, and his hair is styled to perfection. Even under tremendous stress, his appearance is pristine.
Memories of the amazing sex we had so many years ago infiltrate my mind, and I try to pull my thoughts back before I get myself in trouble.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Freeman?”