"I was in an orphanage till I was 7. I don't have much memories about the memories except the very kind nun who cared for us, the kids. After I turned eighteen, I would go visit her every year on my birthday. I stayed in three different foster homes till I was about 15. The kindest foster mother I had died when I was 11. I was so bitter when she died. The other foster parents were not ready to care for any kid who wasn't theirs. At fifteen, I hopped on every job I could find. Which included swiping people's wallets and attending parties I wasn't invited to just to find what to steal to resell." Her mouth fell open and he hurried to finish the story. " I did menial jobs for years and eventually had enough money to pay for a one-year accounting program at a university. That's not exactly a college degree. Not having a degree used to be a big insecurity for me. I worked as a tour guide some years back and that was where I met Anna's grandfather. I saved him from an accident and he was s
"What are you doing?"Helen swiveled around in her chair to face him, her cheeks flushed at his sudden presence. She could also tell from his gaze that his question had been rhetorical. She had been so engrossed in her research of customer reviews on Amazon.She didn't notice Henry at first, her focus completely on the insight into women’s experiences with the various drinks. One amusingly called the majority of energy drinks, sugared down battery acid, but she was a bit disheartened to hear what attracted her to the brand she was currently hooked on.It had been her companion all through college and now the daily ‘oomfs’ that she needed to power through her job, and deal with her kids, was the pink color of the can.Vita 500 was orange, and in a bottle, so she jotted down notes on how to use this point to the brand's advantage. The more common plays of the brand’s contribution to cancer research were recurring, but before she could go any further, Henry’s icy tone gripped her. “Didn
The moment Helen walked into his office, it felt just a bit warmer and brighter. “It’s quite dark,” she commented.Aaron watched her from behind his desk. Strolling across the room, with her hand brushing the shelves, she turned to face him. “And it feels a bit cold." "No." He smiled. “It’s a bit warmer, I think.”“How so?”"Because you came in"She gave him a weary look, amusement dancing in her eyes."C'mon. You know what I mean you don't have portraits or pottery or nice art in your office. It makes it look so... bare""Not true. For one, my awards and books are on the shelves""And?"“The walls are grey, the furniture is white... the wood is warm.”“Hmm, that does seem better.” Helen's grin was electric, and it glued his eyes to hers as she walked towards him. She then took her seat atop his desk.“No pictures?” She asked.“I don’t have anyone to frame pictures of.”“You could frame one of yourself,” she suggested.He laughed out, leaning back into the chair. “Sure, that’s not
Later that night, she leaned against Aaron under the warm, soothing, cascade of the shower, as she filled him in on how the meeting had gone.He took the soapy washcloth up and down her arms, and across her back.“So what new direction will your team be exploring now?” he asked.“Publicity events at colleges, and sponsoring local television shows. To be honest, I don’t think he was as upset about the band and celebrities we picked, as much as he was upset that their company couldn’t afford them.”He slipped the washcloth between her thighs, and her head fell backward.His lips lowered to nibble on her ears. “Call Tracy,” he said, his tone low and raspy. “So that you can work a bit more on your idea. Flesh out something substantial, and it might have the opportunity to come to light at the end of the day.”“Hmm…” she responded, and those were the last coherent words that they were able to utter. *********“I can’t believe you got him to come.”Helen turned t
She quickly found Aaron to ask for his keys.“I’ll come with you,” he said. “I need a break.”“I thought you were having a blast with your new girlfriends,” she teased.He gave her a sour look as he politely excused himself from the adorable little girls, much to their protests.They headed out together, with the women saying extreme flirtations hellos to him as they walked by them to get to the front door.“I feel like there’s a story here,” he commented. “But I don’t want to hear it right now. What I need is a kiss from you.”Before she could protest, he dragged her away with him, and soon they found a bathroom. He shut the door and in the next moment, his tongue was in her mouth.“Aaron, I’m working,” she tried to say, but he wouldn’t let her go, and the moment his hand found his way underneath her dress, into her sex, her knees gave out. Two of his fingers shoved into her, and all she could do was hold on to his thick biceps, as her eyes rolled back into her head.“I would fuck yo
Just before lunch, however, Aaron received a text message from Helen. ‘Our prep for the meeting is complete. Just in time for lunch.’‘That’s great,’ he texted back and continued with the performance evaluation report he was looking through.Soon, another text message arrived. ‘I’m thinking of trying, one last time. I’ll just head over to Henry’s office and give the proposal to him. If he thinks it’s good, then perhaps he can use it as a backup in case the client is still unsatisfied with our current proposal.’With a sigh, Aaron put the papers down, and leaned back into the chair, rereading the message over, and over again. He could tell this affected her, and it was making it harder for him to turn a blind eye towards it. His gaze went over to her smiling, paint-smeared face on the frame before him, his hands encircling her shoulders, and her eyes shut tightly in excitement, as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.She was his girl… but he was also her boss. He had the responsibility of
It was at that moment that she knew she would never recover from this. This was going to haunt her until she decided to quit her job out of shame. The VP slammed the file she recognized all too well on the table and she flinched. “The purpose of a team, Helen, is for all its members to work collectively towards a goal. One goal, not two. Did he help you out? Give you the idea during pillow talk so that you could come back here to flaunt your genius idea?”Her lips moved then, “That is very inappropriate… sir.”He took a step back from her, his gaze condescending. “What you have done is inappropriate. Your idea was rejected during the last meeting wasn’t it? Then why did you keep pursuing it, and run over to your boyfriend to plead your case for you? What exactly is your intention in going this route? What exactly are you trying to say? That the rest of us are morons? That we don’t know how to do our jobs? That you’re the only one on this team with a brain?”She couldn't believe his a
Aaron was seething with anger and he couldn't wait for the meeting to end. He hadn't said a word and he held his peace until the meeting ended. When the meeting ended, he rose to his feet. "Coghlan, see me in my office." He said and walked out. A few minutes later, Coghlan was seated across from him and allowed a few moments for the restraint against breaking his nose to take effect on his nerves. When he was calmed, Aaron asked him, “Do you truly not see the problems that this client is stirring up or are you choosing to ignore it?”He went quiet, so he became more specific.“You’ve been working on this brief for a month now, and there has been no significant progress. The client is not clear on a concept in mind, and yet he doesn’t have any faith in those we’ve submitted to him thus far. Does the morale of the team mean nothing to you?”“Sir…” he beganAaron leaned back into the chair. “Go ahead,”He shut his mouth, and had nothing to say except, “We’ll do better to move things alo