003— The Devil's Invitation.

...RILEY...

****

TWO WEEKS LATER…

Days later and Soren is still living rent free in my head.

I don’t even know how I got here. One minute I was supposed to be drafting reports, the next I was locked inside the office bathroom, sitting on the closed toilet seat like some lovesick fool, phone glowing in my hand.

Cassidy’s face filled the screen—she had just posted a video on her and her husband on I*******m.

Soren stood beside her in a navy suit, tall and calm, eyes full of that kind of love that makes people believe in forever. My hands instinctively went to my skirt.

I hiked my skirt up to my waist, pushing my panties down, my thighs parting slightly as I watched the footage of Soren sweeping Cassie off her feet and kissing her deeply in front of the cameras.

“Fifteen years, Cass,” he said, warmly. “Fifteen years of you, of laughter, fights, long nights, and everything in between. You’ve made every day feel like home, even when life wasn’t kind. You were my calm, my reason to breathe. If I could do it all over again, I’d still find my way back to you… every single time.”

It's hard to believe this is the same man that complained about his wife. Such a great actor.

As he kept on talking, I couldn't control myself, my fingers spread myself open, pushing two inside roughly.

I was silent, except for the quiet whimpers that escaped me as I watched Soren nuzzle Cassie’s neck, making her laugh, and my fingers moved faster, harder inside my pussy.

Soren was still talking and my eyes rolled back as I watched them kiss deeply.

I cumed suddenly, my pussy clamping down hard on nothing. Thick ropes of cum shot out onto the bathroom floor as I imagined Soren's tongue down Cassie's throat.

“Fuck!"

It shouldn’t hurt this much to watch. But it did.

A knock rattled the bathroom door.

I froze.

“Riley? You in there?”

I jerked upright, nearly dropping my phone into the sink. Perfect. Just perfect. This isn't happening.

“Yeah,” I croaked, clearing my throat fast. “One sec!”

I shoved my phone into my back pocket, hurriedly wiped the floor. After I finished, I ran a hand through my short hair, and stared at my reflection.

My eyes were slightly red, my cheeks flushed — perfect. I looked like I’d been crying, which was a far better excuse than admitting I’d just been staring at my sister’s husband like a fool while touching myself.

I splashed water on my face and pasted on the kind of smile you wear to funerals. Then I unlocked the door.

Three of them stood there. The holy trinity of corporate evil: Tasha, Kim, and Lila.

Tasha tilted her head, chewing her gum loud enough to set off alarms. “You okay, Riley? You’ve been gone, like, fifteen minutes. Didn’t know if we needed to call security or a plumber.”

Kim snorted. “Probably both.”

Lila—my ex-best friend, now newly promoted mean girl—crossed her arms. “Boss wants you, Riley. He said something about the client report being late again.”

I forced a grin. “Oh, thank God. I was worried he’d forgotten about me. What would I even do without his constant supervision?”

Tasha smirked. “Maybe finish your work on time?”

“Or maybe,” I said, stepping past them, “I’d teach a class on minding your own damn business. You girls could audit.”

I was sick of these girls. Especially Lila who just fucking avoided me like a plague for no reason.

Lila called after me. “You’ve got ink on your sleeve, by the way.”

I didn’t even glance back. “Yeah, it’s called style. You should G****e it.”

Their laughter followed me down the hall. Only Lila didn't laugh. I rolled my shoulders, exhaling the tension.

The moment I stepped into Mr. Graham’s office, I knew it was bad. The man didn’t even glance up at first. He just sat there behind his desk, his pen stabbing a stack of papers angrily.

“Close the door,” he said.

I obeyed, slowly, like walking into my own execution.

“Sit.”

I stayed standing. “If this is about the client report, I sent it—”

He slammed his hand down. “Don’t play dumb with me, Riley.” His voice was cold enough to freeze blood. “You think I don’t notice how you spend half your shift in the bathroom scrolling through social media? You’ve become a joke in this department.”

My pulse stuttered. “That’s not fair. I’ve been pulling extra hours—”

“Really?” he snapped. “Because it looks like you’ve been pulling something else entirely.”

He yanked open a drawer and dropped a small clear bag onto the desk. White powder dusted the inside. My stomach dropped through the floor.

“What the hell is that?” I whispered.

“Don’t act surprised.” His eyes cut into me. “Lila found it in your desk this morning. And then I checked your emails.” He held up printed screenshots. “Care to explain why company funds were transferred from your account to an unknown address?”

My heart pounded so hard it hurt. “That’s not…That’s impossible. I didn’t..”

“Save it,” he barked. “You’re done here, Riley. I can’t have another scandal under my watch. You’ve already made this place look unprofessional enough.”

The room spun.

This wasn’t happening.

“Mr. Graham, please,” I tried, voice breaking before I could stop it. “Someone’s setting me up. I swear to God I didn’t do this.”

He just shook his head. “There’s always an excuse with you. Always some story. I gave you another chance after that mess from your last job—”

My throat closed. That mess. The one that wasn’t even my fault. The one where Cassidy’s perfect friends “found” pills in my car and called the cops. The one that got me arrested, humiliated, branded a junkie before I’d even had the chance to defend myself.

And here it was again. History, on repeat.

“I can’t get fired,” I said quietly. “My mom’s bills—she’s in the hospital, and..”

Soren had offered me money and I refused.. now I'm stuck. Shit!

“I’m sorry,” he said, but he wasn’t. He wouldn’t even look at me. “Collect your things. HR will handle the rest.”

Something inside me cracked. I wanted to yell, to throw something, to demand the truth, but I couldn’t even find the strength. “Of course,” I said. “It’s always me, right? Riley the screwup. Riley the addict. Riley who ruins everything.”

He said nothing.

I stepped out and my phone rang. I didn’t even look at the screen. I was ready to hurl it into the goddamn bushes. But then I saw the name.

Cassie.

My heart dropped to my knees.

Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

For a full five seconds, I just stared at the screen, praying it would stop ringing. It didn’t. Damn, my sister had the worst timing on Earth.

I forced myself to swipe up. “Hey,” I said tightly.

“We need to talk.” She said calmly.

Oh shit.. did she already find out??

Every nerve in my body froze. My throat went tight. “What about?”

A pause, then, softly: “I know we’ve not really been talking.”

I couldn’t help the small, humorless smirk that twisted my lips. “You mean for the past year? Yeah, I noticed. You must’ve been really busy perfecting domestic bliss.”

She sighed. “Look, Riley, I’m not calling to fight. Things are just… hard right now. For me. For everyone.”

Hard for her. Right. The woman had a husband who adored her, three kids, a mansion, a goddamn golden life.

Meanwhile, I had debt, a dying mother, and an eviction notice brewing.

Still, I bit my tongue. “So what do you want?”

“I heard about your job,” she said, sympathetically.“I’m sorry, really. But I might be able to help.”

Wow. Word spread fast. Isn't that weird?

I barked a laugh. “What, gonna put in a good word for me at the unemployment office?”

“Don’t be sarcastic, Riley. I’m serious.” She hesitated. “If you don’t have a job right now… I’d like to hire you.”

My brain short-circuited. “Hire me?”

“As a nanny,” she said. “For the kids. It’s been chaos lately. Soren’s always traveling, and I could use the help.”

I blinked.

Cassidy—the self-proclaimed perfect mother—wanted me, the family disgrace, to watch her kids?

I didn't think twice. “Fine,” I said, softly.“I’ll take it.”

Cassidy exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath for hours. “Good. Come by the house tomorrow morning. We’ll talk details.”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Can’t wait.”

When the call ended, I just stood there, staring at my reflection in the glass door of the office building.

I should stay away.

I promised myself I would.

Well, fuck it.