ANMELDENMark smiled, relief clear on his face as he laughed. “Thank you,” he said. “From me and my family.”“No promises,” Mandy repeated and stood. “But you’ve totally read Carl wrong. I have little to no persuasive skills when it comes to him, probably even less so if it pertains to his family. But I’ll try, for the sake of your father.”“That’s good enough for me.” Mark stood and moved toward the main office. “My flight leaves in two hours. If he does decide to come back, tell him the address hasn’t changed at all, okay?” He hit the elevator button.Mandy nodded and swallowed. She had no idea if she was even going to see Carl today, or if they would get a chance to talk. “I will.” She felt bad making a promise she was likely unable to keep. She held out her hand as the elevator door opened. “It was nice meeting you, Mark. All the best with your father. I hope we meet again under better circumstances.”“You and me both,” he said and shook her hand.After he left, Mandy sank onto Gina’s desk
ON MONDAY, Mandy SPENT most of the morning in the office on her own. Gina called in sick and Carl sent her a text message to say he was meeting clients out of the office. When she messaged him back to confirm he would be back in so she could let other investors and trade companies know, he didn’t reply.Answering both phones, hers and the front office, had her running back and forth between both rooms and barely able to get anything else done. She had a contract that needed to be written, and a million other things to get done. Busy was a good thing, it kept her from worrying if Carl had taken the meetings out of the office as a way to avoid her after their last encounter in her apartment suite. She had been hoping that things would go back to normal, like when they had slept together.It had taken weeks to find the flow and act normal, and even then they still had lingering looks and unspoken words. Or maybe it was just her. Maybe she was imagining all this shit because she had the h
As she shopped through bra and pantie sets, she picked out a black set, a white one, an incredible sexy lace one she knew she’d never wear, and a soft silky pink set. When she tried them on, they made her feel pretty and even a little sexy in the reflection of the mirror. She had the feeling the shop set the mirrors to give her a skinny look. She wasn’t complaining, she didn’t mind at all. She also bought a couple pairs of silk nighties and a robe to wear inside her apartment. Happy, she stepped back outside with her purchases and walked around the shops again. Nicholas sent her a text to say he’d love to do dinner and whenever she was available, he’d make sure he was as well. She smiled. He seemed nearly perfect. He was charming and handsome, the money side of him was also slightly attractive. She tried to pretend it wasn’t, but the thought of never having to worry about paying a bill, or shopping whenever she felt like it, how could that not be tempting? There wasn’t anything fa
Carl smiled knowingly at her as he brought his head up and forced her to watch him. He tugged down her bikini bottom so he could stroke her bare skin. He slipped a finger inside her again and she cried out as his thumb found her center and began to rub against her. His stimulation, the sensual movement of the water around them, proved unstoppable. She cried out as her body exploded and she came against his fingers. She clung to him as the ripples of sensation subsided. “I’m just getting started.” His hot breath teased her ear. “Strip me,” he ordered. She was putty in his hands. She reached down and pulled down his swim trunks. They were instantly on the pool steps, her bare bottom pressed against the lining as one of the jets teased her thigh. “Take me already,” she begged, stroking him until he was even bigger and harder. Harder than she had ever felt him before. “With fuckin’ pleasure,” he bit out, and grabbed her hips, thrusting into her in one stroke. Mandy cried out again,
Mandy crawled into bed. She couldn’t get the image of Carl in the pool out of her head. Just thinking about his body made her wet. “Get a grip on yourself,” she muttered to herself as she pulled the covers up over her. “He’s your damn boss. Let it go!” But the image of him swimming laps imprinted the backs of her eyelids as she drifted off. It didn’t take long to fall into a restless sleep where dreaming was her only escape.She lay tanning by the pool, enjoying the unusually hot and sunny spring day. She smiled, happy she could now feel comfortable lying by a pool in a bikini. It seemed like the diet and exercise had really worked. Her stomach was completely flat and not even a hint of excess could be seen, a six-pack could be seen through the shadows of the suntan lotion.She moved her sunglasses off her face and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun against her skin.“Enjoying yourself?” Carl’s deep voice rumbled above her in what felt like seconds later.She opened her e
Mandy WAITED UNTIL she got into her car before she allowed the tears to fall. She hadn’t meant to yell at her sister like that. Everything had just boiled up and up and finally over. It was like Claudia’s mission in life was to make her big sister feel like she was nothing. She had been trying to lose weight and it was working. She had a whole new wardrobe to prove it! She was in no way jealous of Claudia marrying Stephen. Or maybe she was. Not of Stephen, but the fact her younger sister was getting married before her. “The marriage won’t last, anyways,” she told herself, and then felt like crap for trying to condemn it before they’d even said ‘I do’. As much as Claudia’s comments hurt, though, she had to admit the sense of relief lifting off her chest couldn’t be missed. She was tired of being spread thin by Claudia’s crises and work and the passive aggressive comments about her weight. She didn’t even want to think about the wrath she’d have to face from her mother, but suddenly Ma
Mandy SIGHED CONTEMPLATIVELY as she looked at the new clothes Carl had bought her. She had no idea how much he had spent. He wouldn’t let her look at the price tags as they shopped. In return, she refused to let him buy her clothes that were non-work related, even though he tried once during the sh
Carl wasn’t in the office the next day. When Mandy checked the office’s messages, he left an abrupt one to say he wouldn’t be in and to take care of things while he was gone. No explanation. No details on how long. No contact information. Nothing. She managed the day, but there was no news from hi
“How’s the new computer?” Carl asked her the next day, his tone having a certain edge to it, like he didn’t want her to snap at him.“It’s nice,” Mandy replied as she sat in his office going through the week’s schedule. She flipped the planner so it would sync up with his. They needed to keep thing
“Sorry you had to leave your family before you got dessert.” Carl stood in his kitchen, his eyes slightly red as Mandy sat at the counter finishing the report he’d asked her to type up.She shrugged. “I knew there was no way in hell I would get cake with my family watching my thighs. They’re on thi







