When Andy starts a complex and steamy love affair with her new boss, she discovers there's more to his arrogant facade than she originally thought.
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Having secured her dream job at Kelex, a company she's long admired, An...
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The drive to Portland happened without an issue, the roads were remarkably calm on this Saturday afternoon. As agreed, Lex had dropped me at my place, and after I'd profusely apologized again for ruining our weekend together, we had parted with a kiss. I had quickly gone up to remake my bag with less lingerie and more actual clothes. Since Tammy wasn't home, I'd texted her to explain the situation.
During the entire ride, my rage against Stefano hadn't diminished. On the contrary. Not only had the asshole threatened my Kate, but he'd also ruined what would have been a perfect weekend of sex, bonding, and watching movies with Lex. The fucking dream. But instead, I had to come down to Portland to take care of the problems he had caused.
Now, as I was making my way through the familiar streets of my birth city, I realized I'd missed it. In a little over two months since my move to Seattle, I hadn't even taken a weekend to come back here. I'd talked with my parents, abuela, and Kate a lot, but hadn't been back.
I parked in front of Kate's place, a small suburban house in the neighborhood we had grown up in, and quickly exited my Ford before taking my bag in the trunk and locking the car. The few steps to the patio were quickly climbed, and as I was about to knock, the door flung open.
Kate was standing behind it, her eyes red and puffy, wearing a pair of pink pajama shorts and an ample white top. As soon as we saw one another, we fell into each other's arms. A series of sobs suddenly overwhelmed her, and I held her tighter in my comforting embrace. We stayed like this for a while as I whispered reassuring words in her ear.
"I'm so sorry this is happening to you, Kay. I swear he won't get away with this. I'll take care of it."
Little by little, her anxiety decreased until her breathing came back to normal. When I sensed she was well enough, I let go of her after one last squeeze. We moved inside, and she locked the door behind us.
Her house wasn't overly large, although she had two bedrooms and a home office, but it was very nicely decorated. Kate had a whole Scandinavian aesthetic going on, with soft and elegant pastel tones. I'd always found her place to be soothing and homely. It was clearly a woman's house, but it wasn't overly girly. Although I wouldn't come up with an interior like this for myself, I found it to be very suited for her personality.
"I'm so sorry you had to come," she told me, a disappointed expression on her face.
"It's okay. Lex was fine with it. He practically wanted to drive me all the way here," I reassured her, remembering how he had kindly offered the option, upon remembering the pile of rust I would be driving in.
"I didn't know who else to turn to. I didn't want to tell anyone. I was so worried when I received his text."
"It's okay, I'll always be here for you, blondie," I insisted.
We moved to her living room and sat next to each other on the light teal sofa. I was just settled when Mr. Fluffybutt came from his hiding spot to greet me. The old, overweighted, and lazy Persian had been with Kate for over sixteen years. He was her loyal companion, the one male in her life who'd never leave her. He and I had a love-hate relationship, in the sense that he'd never really liked me since that time I had woken him from a nap with a garden hose.
