LOVE AND LUST

Leila Baker let out a deep breath as soon as Gavin Hasters walked out of the office. The air around her still held the faint trace of his cologne, a deep, musky fragrance that spoke of sophistication and wealth. She realized her hands were trembling slightly, and she clasped them together to steady herself. It wasn’t just his looks, it was more of the way his perfect eyes stood out in their blue shade, and the way he kept touching his jaw unconsciously and the way he licked his lips like three times while he was in the office and the way his perfectly chiseled chest looked in the clothes he wore. The list could go on and on. Although she could not deny how stunning he was, it was the commanding presence he exuded. Her cheeks felt hot all of a sudden and she had to pinch herself to bring her back to reality. How could she have a crush on her boss.She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to process her first encounter with her boss. “Get it together, Leila,

Leila stared at her phone, the headline glaring back at her. Her head was blank, Her heart raced as she skimmed the article, reading every word. Blurry photos of her and Gavin leaving the afterparty together filled the screen. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out that she was the one in the pictures. One showed Gavin’s hand resting on her lower back; another caught them stepping into the elevator.Her voice was barely a whisper. “This can’t be happening.”Gavin, now fully dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, stepped closer and plucked the phone from her trembling hands. He scanned the article, his jaw tightening with every line.Leila ran her hands through her hair, “And Adele… oh my God, what if she sees this?”Gavin’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Adele and I have an understanding,” he said, his tone clipped. “She knows how the media operates.”Leila blinked at him, incredulous. “An understanding? Gavin, they’re calling me your mistress!”He held up a

“Miss Baker? Miss Baker!?” The flashback ended as quickly as it came, her head was throbbing, she was not over the whole travel sickness, she had been suffering from it for a long time, ever since she left Cali. Her head flew back to the voice that called her name. It was Armstrong.Leila smoothed the lines on her dress and smiled, She nodded like nothing had happened. “Yes? Can we begin?Gavin sat at the edge of the conference table. As usual, his whole presence was intimidating but she was prepared for it. The whole room was silence, He broke the silence. “The Almighty Leila Baker, to what do we owe you the pleasure?” It took Leila all she had not to break into laughter, Gavin Hasters was trying to break her and she was not going to stand for it. He did it once and he would not get the chance to do it again, “You should not believe everything you read online, take it from someone that has been involved in one too many scandals” The moment she said it, she wished she could take i

Leila stood frozen.Her hands curled into fists.Adele Cooper had just declared war.Leila sat down on the couch, her mind was not focused on the accounts she was writing, the only thing she could think of was Adele Cooper and how she had openly threatened her. If there was one thing Leila had learned from watching soap operas, it is that the guy’s first girlfriend is usually dangerous. And Adele did not seem like the kind of person to make empty threats. Leila had to do something and she had to do it fast. She could not put all her trust in Gavin. Fine, she liked him and it was obvious that he liked her also but she already knew that their love story would not work out. It was just too magical to be true. A billionaire into her? Leila? It was not even believable at all. She had decided to take the next few days off in case things spiral out of control. But she was starting to get tired and irritated in the enclosed place she called home, she was not used to spending her whole day at

Leila’s head hurt, she felt a weight on the other end of the bed, that was when it dawned on her that Gavin was still at her apartment. She smiled like a teenager that just saw her crush. She was not the best judge of character but she knew that there was no other way to sugar coat it, ‘Gavin cheated on Adele with her for the second time’, she actually felt bad. If the tables were turned, she would have probably hated on the girl that was sleeping with her man too. She shrugged off the thought, it had happened and she did not actually regret it. Gavin slept peacefully beside her, she watched him sleep for a few minutes, while resisting the urge to plant a kiss on his forehead, it was probably too lovey dovey and since they were technically not in a relationship, she basically did not have the right to plant forehead kisses, it felt too personal and intimate. His eyelashes were too long for a guy and it took all she had to not brush her fingers on it. Gavin stirred in his sleep and s