Sexiled: an enemies-to-lovers standalone Read online

  “Honestly, I’ve thought about both. I haven’t considered my wedding in a long time though. What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Never mind. That’s neither here nor there. The point is, here at Murphy Capital we send out paper, handwritten invitations, signed by me. These need to go out this week. Did you not read the email I sent you?”

  I freeze, feeling some passive agression coming from him.

  “If you’re my mentor, shouldn’t you be, you know nice about it?” I spit back. “It was an honest mistake.”

  “Would you like me to pull up the email?”

  He turns to his computer and pulls something up. “It’s the last bullet point. If you come over to my desk, I’ll show you.”

  I get up and cross over to his side of the desk and lean across his keyboard. Being able to feel his body heat makes my heart hammer.

  I read it out loud, humoring him. “’Please send out the typed invitation packet with a handwritten note, then pass to Mr. Kennedy to be signed.’ Oh, wow. I must have missed that.”

  “Miss Murphy, excuse you.”

  I spin my head, and my face is inches from his as he sits in his desk chair. “Excuse me?”

  He flickers his eyes down to my blouse. “Your cleavage is directly in my face.”

  “Well, maybe you should stop looking.”

  He snorts. “I’m not going to apologize for having fucking eyes.”

  I glance down, then back at his eyes. “Oh, am I an H.R. nightmare right now?”

  He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Christ. Is your internship over yet?”

  I stand up straight and put a hand on my hips. Noticing his discomfort, I figure why not have a little fun. After all, he is being passive agressive about this paper invitation mistake I made.

  I lean in and whisper in his ear. “Are you thinking about these nipples, you know, the ones that you’ll never get to bite again?”

  I notice his body stiffens. “Don’t start.”

  I grin mischievously. “Fine. I’ll stop. I definitely won’t bring up the time I rode your face.”

  He stands up, and my heart beats double time.

  Morgan continues, “You want to play with me? You want me to admit that you still turn me on, April? Is that what you want?”

  My core heats, and I back into the glass wall. I get the feeling like I might fall, even though I know it's not possible. I stare up at his darkened eyes. I notice the vein in his forehead is popping. “Do I make you angry?”

  “Yes,” he grits out. “You infuriate me.”

  I get on my tippy toes, lean my mouth up to his ear, and whisper. “Then why don’t you do something about it?”

  He takes me by the hip and spins my body around so I’m facing the city, and his chest is to my back. The length of his hard, tall body presses into my backside.

  I can practically feel his lips on my ear when he speaks, his voice lowered. “Do you think I wouldn’t love to pull your skirt up, your panties down, and punish you for all the problems you’ve caused me? Because you really have.” His voice is a low chuckle. “Ever since you walked into my life, you’ve given me nothing but trouble.”

  “Really? You didn’t even enjoy that one night?”

  “Shush.” I feel one of his hands slide slowly up the material of my blouse, dangerously close to my breasts. “I know better than to sleep with the CEO’s daughter who is very fucking off-limits. If the world was mine, I would fuck you so hard against this glass wall, it would be all you could dream about for months.”

  I swallow as his other hand works its way down my backside.

  “If you want to, why don’t you?” I whisper.

  “You know exactly why. I’m your boss, April.”

  Wow. It’s actually a turn on that we can’t do this. I can feel my core heating just thinking about crossing a line with my boss. Is that bad?

  Yes, that’s bad.

  He pulls himself away from me, and I cock my head.

  Morgan runs a hand through his hair and grabs the baseball off of his desk.

  I should be mad. I should be infuriated at him, thinking he can touch me after never calling me, and being dismissive of me, almost to the point of being rude. But I'm not mad, I'm on fire, and in a way that only Morgan Kennedy can make me. I thought I came in to resolve a simple problem about being silly spinning around in my office chair. Looks like I have a much bigger problem to solve: Why a man I hate, with the swipe of a finger across my skin, can make me this wet. I pull myself together, straighten my skirt, and turn to face him.

  “Just send the freaking invitations out, okay?” His voice is business-like again. “Staple the packets together. Send them out. Easy peasy. You have a stapler, right?”

  “Of course,” I sigh. “I can’t help but think there’s a miscommunication going on here though.”

  I smooth out my clothes, and head for the door. “You know, I always liked you. I was open with you. Too bad we couldn’t have been more, Captain.”

  “Yeah, you were real open with me,” he grits out. “Now go.”

  I slip out of the door, and a few seconds later I hear it slam behind me, which makes me jump.

  His tone was extra sarcastic just then, and I’m not sure why.

  Gabe gives me a funny look as I make my way back to my desk. “Everything okay?”

  I nod, heaving a sigh. “It’s fine. I just have to send out these personalized invites.”

  “Oh yeah. That is company policy.”

  “Okay, thanks. I don’t need a lecture twice.”

  “Sorry.” Gabe frowns, following me to my desk. “Are you ready for the cocktail party tomorrow at Morgan’s?”

  “Oh, right. The party at Morgan’s tomorrow. Is everyone going?”

  “Oh yes. And we are, obviously.”

  “Obviously.” I grin deviously. “Maybe you can help me pick out my outfit beforehand?”

  Just then, Derek, one of the finance guys, walks out of the office and stops at my desk.

  “Hey, heard you were going to the party tomorrow. See you there?”

  Gabe interjects. “Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”

  He shrugs. “Sorry.”

  Morgan comes out of his office to do a lap around, like he does every once in a while. He steels Derek with his gaze.

  “Derek, fraternize on your own time, not the company’s time. Come on. Those trades aren’t going to monitor themselves.”

  “Yes, boss,” he says.

  “See you two on Saturday,” Morgan says.

  17

  April

  “You have your dress all picked out yet for tonight?” Gabe asks.

  It’s late Saturday afternoon, and Gabe is hanging out after being at the orphanage with me today, so we can enjoy the beach before putting on our game faces again.

  We’re focusing on non-work things today.

  Sunshine. Beach. Relaxation.

  Seventy-five-degrees Fahrenheit and perfectly sunny weather is simply another day in Puerto Rico in February, and I feel a little bad for my friends back at Greene State, considering the texts I’ve been getting of the snow and the cold. Not so bad, though, that I don’t send them pics of my current surroundings.

  Gabe takes another sip of his margarita. “April, I have a serious question for you.”

  “Oh? A serious question?” I lie on my back and enjoy the heat of the late afternoon sun hitting my skin, heating up my body and emphasizing my freckles.

  “Yes. Super serious.”

  Gabe is looking at the ocean for a moment.

  The waves lap gently at the shore, and I exhale a soft breath.

  He seems to be thinking very hard about something, and I wonder what.

  “Well, what’s the question?” I ask on pins and needles.

  He lifts his sunglasses and looks over at me.

  “What percentage of women, would you say, masturbate?”

  I die laughing so hard that the bartender from the
tiki bar behind us cranes his neck to look at me, to see if I’m alright, I guess.

  “That’s the question keeping you up at night?”

  Gabe’s face is serious. “This is important. Free sexual expression is a sign of a person’s overall well-being. This is not a trivial matter. You should feel good that I feel comfortable talking about this with you…it’s a sign that we’re becoming besties.”

  “Well, thank you, Gabe. I think so too.”

  “So…?”

  I grin and take another sip of my drink. “You really need to meet my friends when they come for the company cruise in March. They’d die at this conversation.”

  “Really?! They’re coming here?”

  “Yes! They’re taking their spring break here.”

  “That’s amazing. This is the first time we’re doing the cruise, as a way to sort of inaugurate the Puerto Rico office. It’s going to be out of control.”

  “I know.”

  An older couple walks by on the beach, holding hands. “You still haven’t answered the question,” Gabe says.

  I sigh. “Of all women? I’d say like seventy-two percent, I bet.”

  Gabe rolls his eyes. “Seventy-two? That’s quite an exact number.”

  “I’m an exact kind of girl.” I wink.

  “How did you come up with that?”

  “I don’t know. It just seems to be a good number. I bet some have repressed sexuality or just don’t want to do it, maybe?”

  “What about you?”

  My hair stands up on the back of my neck. “What do you mean, what about me?”

  “Do you…ya know?” Gabe wiggles his eyebrows.

  “Gabe, we’re colleagues.”

  He waves a hand. “Oh, come on, we’re not at the office. So it’s okay when we generalize, but we can’t talk about you?”

  I hesitate, and Gabe fills the space. “I do it every day,” he says. “I have to. This is a high-stress job. Some days, I don’t even want to, but I still do.”

  I crack up. “Liar. You want to.”

  “Okay, well, that’s true. I wish I had a partner, though. Makes things a little mundane at times. I just haven’t found the right guy yet. So, tell me now! I have revealed all to you!”

  I sigh. “Fine. I haven’t…yet.”

  “Ever!?”

  “Oh, God, no. In Puerto Rico, I mean.”

  He furrows his brow. “Why?!”

  I shrug. “I don’t know…the moons aren’t aligned? Or something? I’ve just felt a little off, to be honest.”

  “Off in what way?”

  I lean my neck back on my beach lounge chair.

  Do I want to become the girl who holds all of her cards so close to the vest she feels the need to keep things from her co-workers?

  Gabe’s a friend and a good person, and I have no reason to believe he wouldn’t keep what I say between us.

  He hasn’t told a soul that my Claddagh ring is fake, and even asked me about my boyfriend “Todd” back home when creepy client Max tried to hit on me this week at the office.

  I’ve been holding this secret down for too long, and it needs to come out.

  “I’m going to tell you something,” I finally say. “But you can’t tell anyone, and I mean it.”

  Gabe flicks his sunglasses up. “Oh my God, is this new gossip? I think I just got a gossip boner.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’m serious. I’m telling you this, Gabe, because you’re a good friend and I really need someone I can talk this out with.”

  “Thank you. Of course, you can tell me. I’m a lockbox.”

  “The only souls on this earth who know what I’m about to tell you are my best friends from college. Now you’re in the circle of trust. Don’t make me regret this, Gabe.”

  “Just say it!”

  I blow out a slow exhale. “Last spring, I slept with Morgan Kennedy.”

  Gabe doesn’t react. Instead, he sets his drink down and puts a finger in his ear.

  “Uh…Gabe? Did you hear what I just said?”

  He picks his drink back up. “No. I think my ears must be deceiving me, because I thought you said you slept with Morgan Kennedy!”

  “That’s exactly what I said.”

  He blinks a few times, his eyes flutter. “Tell me everything, you lucky bitch! Do not leave out a single detail.”

  I hold up a finger. “Not lucky.”

  “Oh, that’s up for debate. What I wouldn’t give to have his sexy hard body pressed up against…oh, sorry. We’re on you.” He holds up his drink. “I’m all out. You need another?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Yes, this sounds like a refill conversation.”

  “Refill and walk along the beach?” I offer.

  “Perfect.”

  With fresh drinks in hand, we walk barefoot down the beach feeling the sand in our toes.

  I give him the rundown of everything that happened that night.

  “I was with Matt for six years, and when I found out he was cheating on me, my world exploded. When I met Morgan, I thought he was too good to be true. And, well, he was. He’s a no-calling prick.”

  “I gotta be honest, April. You’re not the first guy, or girl, not to get a call back after a one-night stand. It can be for a million reasons.”

  My gut sinks. “I know. Maybe I’m an idealist. But I felt like we really connected on a soul level that night. Like, he was going through grief with his brother. It was my mom’s birthday. It felt like I knew him and he knew me. I know that sounds impossible, but it felt real. More real than anything I have ever felt before.”

  “Wow. You had some deep conversations? That’s surprising considering whenever I try to talk to Morgan, it feels like I’m banging into a brick wall.”

  “Yes, I mean, I really felt they were deep. They felt real. And it’s honestly been affecting my ability to connect with other people since I now know that someone could fake their way through that just to sleep with me.”

  “So a real connection?”

  I nod. “Everyone says to listen to your gut. But what if your gut sucks! I stayed with Matt for six years, and that was obviously a lie. Then the next thing I did was lose my virginity to a man whom I truly believed I had a special connection with. Also, a lie. Even if he didn’t want to see me again, he could have just texted me and said, ‘Hey, that was fun, I had a change of heart. But I actually don’t like you as a person, so see you never.’”

  Gabe laughs. “And what would be the point of that message?”

  “I don’t know, closure?!”

  He shakes his head. “I hate to tell you, April, but ghosting is a huge part of our generation’s social behavior. That’s just the facts. Wait. Did I hear you right saying you lost your virginity to him?”

  I nod.

  “And then he never called you?”

  “Well, in his defense, I never told him he’d taken my v-card. I tried to play it cool.”

  Gabe sighs, and shakes his head. “Playing it cool might work for a short time, but in the long run, honesty is the best policy.”

  “It’s not a huge deal,” I try to shrug it off.

  “Well, it’s not not a huge deal,” he says.

  I sigh, and we reach a stopping point close to a rock.

  “So this is why you’re not caressing your kitty, eh? Every time, you do, Captain’s in your head?”

  I giggle. “Never heard that one before. But I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with it.”

  “Oh, it definitely has something to do with it. Clearly, you’re going into work every day, seeing him, it’s on your mind. He’s got your number. Symbolically speaking.”

  Gabe grins, and chuckles to himself.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  “You made fun of me when I asked you about masturbation. You said it was a frivolous topic. Well, not so frivolous anymore, is it? It’s a huge block for you.”

  A surge of emotion comes through me. “I think another thing is, I don’t feel comfort
able talking to my dad about these things. I used to chat with my mom about boys all the time. Even though I was on the younger side, she’d tell me what to do and guide me through. I think she knew since her time was limited, she wanted to impart all the wisdom she could. Now, I don’t have anyone to go to.”

  Gabe lifts up his sunglasses. “Oh, honey. Come here. You’ve got me. I’m here for you.”

  He gives me a hug.

  “Why are you taking this so seriously?” he adds when he pulls back. “You had fun with, let’s be honest, one of the hottest guys on the planet. You should be proud of yourself, not disappointed or whatever. What, were you thinking you were going to marry the guy who took your virginity? Like that happens anymore.”

  Realization burns through me. “Holy shit, you’re right. I’m sulking.”

  “You are sulking. I mean, let’s be clear. You’re still crushing it in this job. In life. But in your sex life, you’re sulking. Cut it out!”

  “Cut it out!” I say, doing that gesture that Joey from Full House used to do.

  The sun starts to set. I walk to where the sand meets the ocean and wade out a little bit into the water.

  “Hey, stop right there,” Gabe says. “I’ve got an idea.”

  “An idea for what?”

  “For how we can get back at Morgan for never calling you back. Clearly he liked you once. Well…this might not be company approved. But give me your phone.”

  I do. He points toward the shore where I’m standing. “Now stay in the water like that…a little deeper.”

  I wade out into the water as Gabe points the iPhone at me as I stand in the water in my white bikini.

  “Perfect angle. You look fantabulous. The lighting is perfect right now.”

  “Your idea to get back at Morgan is by having me send him a sexy picture?”

  “There’s more than that. We’re going to mess with him a little. Give me a few looks, baby.” He winks.

  “Hang on, I have an idea, too.”

  I dive into the water and come back up, pushing my wet hair back.

  “Yes! You’re glistening. Perfect.” He pulls back and looks at the phone. “Damn. Who is that?”

  I come over and take a peek.

  In one, I’m biting my lip, looking over my shoulder, with my hand on my side.