Page 33 of The Executive Assistant

“I need a full story,” Brooke demanded, tapping the table with her forefinger.

The waitress appeared, dropping off our mimosas. Once she left, I took a long sip, hoping the sweetness would work some magic on me and wake me up. “You know that charity auction I called you guys about the other day?”

They both nodded.

“Well, I took your advice and invited Cameron,” I told Brooke before looking at both of them. “I, uh…I had a bit too much to drink. Cameron had to sober me up.”

“And then what?” Emilia asked, leaning forward.

“We kissed,” I said, deciding to skip the part where he got me on my knees to suck him off. There were somedetails that didn’t need to be shared. “And he dropped me off at home.”

“That’s it?” Brooke asked, looking surprised.

“We kissed again at work,” I said, half-lying again. “I was having a bad day, and he… calmed me down.”

“Hang on,” Emilia interrupted, pointing at me. “Why do you look so flustered about a kiss?”

“Huh?” I pressed a hand to my cheek, and sure enough, it was warm. “Well, you know how long I had a thing for him.”

Brooke and Emilia shared a look.

“No,” Brooke began slowly. “You look way too embarrassed about just an innocent kiss.” Her eyes went big. “You didn’t do anything naughty, did you?”

“Keep your voice down!” I hissed, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard. “Listen —”

“Oh my god, you two totally fucked in your office, didn’t you?” Brooke said.

Emilia gasped. “In your office? At work? No way.”

“No,” I said loudly. “No, we didn’t,” I said in a quieter voice. “We just…he just…ate me out,” I finished in a whisper.

Both of them gaped at me. But instead of looking judgemental, it was more a mix of shock and amusement.

“Alison!” Brooke said. “I would have thought you were way too uptight to do something like that at work!”

“Well, afterwards I told him we had to stop,” I said, thentook a sip of my drink. “And we did, for a while. But I…needed to blow off some steam. So, I decided to catch up with Russell for drinks, but instead I ended up at Cameron’s apartment.”

“So this was last night?”

I nodded. “We decided to keep seeing each other, but in secret.” I covered my face with my hands. “Logically, I know it’s a terrible idea, but…I can’t brig myself to stop it. This is what I’ve wanted for so long.”

Brooke and Emilia were silent for a few moments as they processed everything that I told them. I shifted in my seat impatiently, not knowing what to expect. They always teased me about my crush on Cameron, but they knew as well as I did how risky it was getting involved with him.

They were career women themselves. Would they put their careers at jeopardy for a man?

“You’re happy with him?” Emilia asked me.

I thought of last night. The sex had been amazing, but it had also been so nice and peaceful just laying in bed together, talking.

“It’s early days. I have no idea what we’re doing, but…yes,” I admitted.

Brooke smiled and reached out to squeeze my wrist. “We’re happy for you. We know you’ve liked him for a while, even if you kept trying to deny it.”

I shrugged. “It’s just new,” I said. “It scares the hell out of me, but I like feeling happy like this.”

“You’ll have to be careful,” Brooke said. “One wrong move, and both of your reputations will be ruined. Your business too, Alison.”

I nodded slowly, my stomach twisting. My mind had already conjured up the worst things that people could say. Manipulation. Abuse. Corruption. It could all turn into a soul-sucking fiasco that ripped apart everything that I worked for.

---