Page 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As Cameron discarded the condom and cleaned up, I remained lying in his bed, too tired to even sit up. When he returned and pulled me against his chest with his arms wrapped around me, it was even more difficult to convince myself to leave.

Comfortable silence settled in the room as my eyes swept around, taking in a few details that I liked. A framed picture of Cameron and his family. Several business and fiction books on his bookshelf. His work outfit for Monday already hanging up on his wardrobe door.

I knew a little bit about him from the small talk we’d exchanged over the years, but there were still so many details I didn’t know. So much could be found out about someone from what was in their home, and this was the first time that I had ever been here.

But I knew I shouldn’t get comfortable here. In his bedroom. In his arms.

Cameron rubbed my upper arm like he could tell that my mood had shifted. “What is it?”

I turned my head to look at him. “This was a bad idea.” My voice was weak.

Cameron frowned. “Do you regret it?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Rationally, I should, but…” I trailed off. Emotionally, I’d wanted this. I’d needed it. “It’s just a lot,” I finished.

The corner of his mouth curled up as he gazed into my eyes, looking at me like I was the only person in the world who mattered. “Talk to me. I can’t read your mind.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure it’s in your job description.”

He smiled. “If we were in the office, that’d be one thing, but this is different.”

He was right. This was way different.

“I never expected you to want me like this,” I admitted.

“I told you. I’ve wanted you from the day we met.”

I blushed. “I remember that day too. I thought you were very handsome.”

Cameron chuckled and gave me a playful squeeze, pulling my bare body even closer to his. “I know. You weren’t good at hiding that.”

My mouth parted. “What?”

Cameron’s laugh deepened, the sound making my stomach flutter. His laugh was lovely — deep and rich, and I was weirdly proud to make him laugh. “You tried to hide it by being all curt with me, but I always caught you staring at me for a little bit too long.”

My face burned. “If I stared, it’s because I found you irritating. Not because...”

His laugh deepened. “Alright, Alison.”

He clearly wasn’t buying it. Oh my god. Had I really been that obvious? I covered my face with my hands. “Oh, God.”

“It was cute!” Cameron locked his arms around me, nudging my hands away from my face so that he could cover it with kisses.

His lips tickled, making me giggle as I tried to wiggle away. My stomach ached. I couldn’t remember the last time that I laughed this hard.

When Cameron finally took mercy on me and released me, I caught my breath and slumped back against his strong chest, enjoying how warm and firm he felt. I could’ve laid there with him forever.

Cameron kissed my temple as we settled, a moment of silence passing before he spoke again. “You’re not just beautiful and incredibly sexy, though. You’re hardworking and determined and clever.”

My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t expected his compliments to mean so much. When Russell had complimented me, it was like rain rolling off glass — no impact, no lingering. But when Cameron did it, his words seeped deep where I could truly feel them.

“I admire a lot about you,” he continued. “Even if I wasn’t crazy about you, I would be grateful for my job just because I got to work next to someone like you.”

His words stole my breath, leaving me speechless for a few seconds. I pulled away from him so that I could turn and face him better. “I don’t know what to do,” I murmured.

Cameron frowned and took my hand, his thumb grazing over my knuckles. “What do you mean?”

“What is this?” I gestured between us. “A casual thing? A one-night — ”

“No,” he interrupted, then gave me a small, shy smile. “I mean, it’s up to you. But I don’t want this to be some random hookup.”

“Then what?” I asked, breathless.

“I want…” for a second, he look uncertain. Even scared. “I want to give this a real try. Us. Dating.”

“I…”

His brow furrowed. “It’s okay if you don’t want to —”

“No,” I said firmly. “No, I…I want to try this too.” My heart was pounding with fear, but excitement too.

In all my fantasies, Cameron had only fucked me. But now he wanted to give an actual relationship a try?

Cameron smiled, and the sight of it made my heart squeeze. “I know things aren’t that simple. I know work me complicates things. ”

Suddenly, my excitement faded. When I thought about us being together romantically, a whole line of roadblocks appeared.

“I worked hard to build Firth Marketing from the ground up. I put everything into it,” I murmured.

He nodded. “I know. I would never jeopardize your career. It’s part of who you are.”

It felt like almost all of me. It consumed my life, and I let it because I worked so damn hard for it. How could I put it on the back burner when I gave up so much for it?

“But this could jeopardize your career too,” I said, not wanting him to ignore the possible repercussions on his side too. He could go far, but it would be difficult if he had the reputation of sleeping with his boss.

“I don’t want to quit,” Cameron said. “I like working for you.”

I squeezed his hand. “ With me,” I corrected.

His expression softened. “With you.”

“I don’t want things to be ruined for us professionally,” I explained, trying my best to find a middle ground. “But I do really like you.”

Cameron sighed and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against mine for a few seconds. “Why don’t we just give things a try? Let’s just not tell anyone.”

“Keep this a secret? Wouldn’t that be difficult?” I asked.

Cameron shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s worth it to me. Just think about it. We date in secret and see how things go. ”

It was a gamble. If we were caught, we might as well throw our careers in the dumpster because the reputation of the boss sleeping with the assistant would follow us forever.

But if we weren’t caught… we could give a relationship a real try. Just the thought of actually dating someone, even in secret, made my stomach flip.

I didn’t really plan on dating anyone any time soon. I let my friends send me on blind dates and entertained the thought of possibly dating, but it didn’t seem like an actual possibility, especially since the one man I wanted was off-limits.

Until now.

“You’re willing to take this risk?” I asked him.

Cameron nodded as he brushed his fingers along my cheek. “For you? Yes. I trust you.”

“I trust you too,” I told him without even having to think. Despite the risks, I knew Cameron would never use our relationship against me. He had grounds to report me, even sue me, but I knew, deep in my heart, he’d never do that.

“Let’s do it,” I said.

His smile brightened as he cupped my face. “Really?”

I couldn’t help but return his smile, happiness swelling in my chest. My hands moved to rest on his wrists as I leaned into him, letting my worries roll off my shoulders. “Really. ”

He pressed his lips against mine, his eyes shutting as our kiss deepened.

When I kissed him, it was like the rest of the world fell away.

“You should stay tonight,” he murmured, his lips lightly brushing mine as he spoke.

“I wish I could,” I said, “but I have to get up early tomorrow. I’m having brunch with some friends.” And I knew that if I stayed the night, then I’d be…distracted tomorrow morning. As much as I wanted to indulge in morning sex with Cameron, I knew I should restrain myself.

“Alright,” Cameron said. “I’ll call you an Uber.”

I watched him use his phone, something warm and light stirring in my chest. I couldn’t believe this had happened. I couldn’t believe I was in this man’s bed right now.

“Five minutes away. I’ll walk you down,” Cameron told me as he shut off his phone. He got off his bed and held his hand out to me, helping me off the bed so that we could get dressed.

After I put my clothes on, a heavy sensation started to grow in my chest. I didn’t want to leave him, but a lot happened tonight. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have a moment alone to think.

Cameron walked up to me from behind, zipping up my dress before placing his hands on my hips. He kissed the back of my head, his chest pressing against my back. “ You’re welcome to come by anytime.”

I turned around and pecked him on the lips, before taking his hand and letting him lead me out of his apartment.

We stood outside on the sidewalk together, streetlights combatting the darkness of night. He put his arm around me as we waited for my Uber to show up, holding me like he didn’t want to let me go.

“I’ll see you on Monday,” Cameron said.

Right. We had to go back to work soon, which meant we had to act like all of this had never happened. It would be difficult to pretend like nothing had changed over the weekend, but I was already used to hiding my feelings.

“Come over to my place after work,” I said, the idea suddenly sparking in my mind.

He nodded and smiled. “Alright,” he said.

I smiled too, but it faded when a white sedan rolled to a stop in front of us. We parted ways, shooting each other a bittersweet look. I wanted to kiss him goodbye, but what if someone saw? What if the Uber driver somehow knew us?

Stop it, Alison. You’re being paranoid.

As I stepped into the Uber and put on my seatbelt, I told myself that I’d have to learn to manage my stress about our arrangement. It would either make or break us in the end. We would either fight hard to have something that worked, or it could end in disaster, burning us both.