“I did...” I nodded. “I’m not a virgin anymore.”
“And you’re fine? You’re not in love with him or anything?” Mary-Katherine narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’m good.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It was sex. It was a lot of fun, but he’s Mr. Mistake. I can’t let myself become another victim pining over what I thought we had. I knew he was an asshole and I knew what he was about before I fucked him.”
“So, you aren’t going to even think about going out with him again?” Mary-Katherine tilted her head and smiled.
“No. He won’t ask and I won’t pursue him. It was a one-time thing.” I nodded, but I was mostly trying to convince myself.
“Good for you.” She pursed her lips and nodded along with me. “Trying to tame a man like that will just lead to heartache.”
When Mary-Katherine was gone, I sat on the couch and rubbed Sebastian’s head after he curled up in my lap. The soreness of being penetrated by Max’s gigantic cock still resonated within me. I was surprised he came back. I was fully prepared to never see him again, outside of a random encounter at the office, and I was a bit surprised when he showed up at my door with breakfast and coffee. It took a decent amount of willpower to say no when he suggested we go upstairs again. I just couldn’t get played by him. I used him—that was the end of the story. I just had to convince myself of that.
MONDAY MORNING BEGAN with all the normal stress of the day. Mr. Hawthorne was buzzing around the office, checking on the progress of our Energy Enhanced marketing strategy. It seemed like everyone had forgotten I was the one who came up with the idea of marketing the product to a different demographic, but I was fine with it as long as Mr. Hawthorne remembered it when it came time for my raise. I worked on the assignments I had been given until lunchtime when Mr. Hawthorne called an emergency meeting in the conference room.
“What is this about?” I leaned towards Gloria, one of the secretaries that always seemed to know everything.
“I don’t know. I think it’s a new hire.” She shrugged and walked into the conference room.
We got settled and Mr. Hawthorne walked into the conference room, flanked by a man I didn’t recognize. The women around me immediately started to comment on him. He stood about six four with broad shoulders tucked beneath his suit. He had blond hair and light blue eyes that scanned the room once he took his place behind Mr. Hawthorne. He didn’t look like one of the fresh-faced interns we brought in and he appeared to be too old for a starting position with the company. Mr. Hawthorne waited until everyone was seated before he raised his hands to get the room quiet.
“As you know, we’ve landed the Energy Enhanced account and it is a huge opportunity for us. I’ve decided to bring in a consultant on the project, someone who has worked with energy drinks and energy supplements in the past with great success. Everyone, I would like to meet Adam Rutherford.” Mr. Hawthorne turned to the stranger who stepped up and cleared his throat.
“Adam Rutherford?” Gloria leaned towards me in a whisper. “He’s a legend.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne. As he said, I’m Adam Rutherford. I got my start in marketing about ten years ago, and after several successful accounts, I started doing consulting work. Some of you may know who I am, but I assure you
, I’m just here to be part of the team. I’ll be working closely with some of you as we design a marketing strategy that will put this firm on the map.”
“He can work closely with me.” Gloria fanned her neck and grinned at me.
When the meeting was done and the normal office gossip began, I started to hear more about Adam Rutherford. I seemed to be in the minority with my lack of knowledge about all of his heroic efforts. To hear the people around the office talk, he had single-handedly put numerous companies on the map—and that was after he did a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was in the Army. He made his way around the office, talking with people and discussing strategy. When he came towards my desk, I figured I was next up for a hint of his expertise, but he skipped right over me and started talking with the woman to my right. Eventually he met with everyone he seemed to be interested in and disappeared. I decided that a cup of coffee was the only way I was going to get through the afternoon, and when I walked into the break room, I saw him pouring the last drop of it into his cup.
“Abby Grant, right?” He smiled and picked up his cup of coffee. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I was going to come see you after I got a pick-me-up.”
“You just violated our long-standing office rule of starting a fresh pot of coffee if you finish it.” I clutched my cup in my hand and sighed.
“Can you forgive me? I’m new here.” He grimaced comically and fumbled with the coffee maker.
“I’ll do it.” I walked over and opened the top so I could change the filter.
“I hear you’re the one who pitched the idea for the new marketing strategy.” He leaned against the counter and sipped his coffee.
“Yep, that was me.” I nodded and hit the button to start the coffee maker.
“I’d love to sit down with you and go over a few ideas I’m working on.” He leaned towards me. “Over drinks, maybe? Dinner if you’re hungry?”
“Oh.” I blushed and raised my eyebrows. “I... I can’t.”
“Boyfriend?” He asked inquisitively.
“No...” I admitted with a light sigh.
“Husband?” He raised his eyebrows and his eyes drifted to my hand, clearly searching for a ring.
“No...” I shook my head back and forth.
“So, you just don’t like me?” He nodded and looked at the floor. “I see.”