Page 79 of Mine

Pepper

she/her

CEO of Rosethorn Records

Send.

I snapped my laptop shut and stood quickly, pulling on my jacket. I grabbed my bag from the bottom drawer and checked my phone.

No messages. At least, none I cared about.

Nothing from Salt.

Of course nothing from him. We’d made it clear that our fling was over. It’d been a week since I'd seen him, and over a week since we’d touched each other. Given how many would readily throw themselves at his feet, I knew I was just a forgotten memory.

I’d spent a lot of time getting used to my new vibrator this week, and thinking a little too much about getting back on my knees for him. I’d even done more research on kinks and explored things I might like. There was a whole world of pleasure I’d been missing out on.

More than anything else, I wanted to continue to explore what we had. The idea of starting over with someone else—after my experience with Salt—didn’t appeal to me in any way.

I could find someone older. Someone who fit the picture of who my friends imagined me with. A man who’d already gone through a divorce, too. Maybe with older kids. A career that was set in stone, steady and respectful.

Not a broke, horny songwriter over a decade younger than me.

But, now the contract was signed. If we pursued a relationship, I’d have to inform the board, or risk my position as CEO. And I wasn’t going to risk over fifteen years of work for anyone. It meant too much to me.

And telling everyone…

Well, it would never happen.

I flipped off my office light and headed for the elevators. Ellen pressed the button as I approached and bumped me with her shoulder.

“Do you want to stay over this weekend? We could go to some workout classes. Or the spa. Get facials and deep-tissue massages.”

Ellen’s parents owned a chain of high-end spas through the country, which meant we could go any time. She didn’t need to work as my assistant, which was exactly why she was the perfect fit. Well, and a thousand other reasons, too.

“You know I’ll be miserable company this weekend,” I sighed. “I need to think about my mother for the next forty-eight hours and all the trauma she gave me by being a woman of god.”

I also needed to stew about all the times I’d been told I wasn’t good enough. Tommy’s blunt questions last week still haunted me, so I’d be thinking about that, too.

Either I wasn’t good enough, or I was too good. There was no in-between.

Ellen snorted. “From what you’ve told me, she was not a good mother. I’m sorry, Pepper. You know my parents love you. You can always call my mother and get her off my back.”

I relaxed as we stepped on the elevator and took it down to the lobby. I leaned against her for a moment, laying my head on her shoulder. She rested her head against mine.

“I don’t know how you put up with me,” I whispered.

“Well, we both have our moments,” she said. “The last one was me. Or do you not remember the absolute disaster of me dating that couple from Memphis?”

“Oh god.” I strangled a laugh. “Okay, yeah, that was pretty bad.”

She made a face. “Still bitter about the amount of gas money I wasted. It’s the principle of the thing. Anyway, my point is, you’re having a moment right now. A lot going on while you’re starting to explore yoursexualside.”

My brows shot up. “I should have never shown you my sex toy shopping cart.”

Her laugh rang through the lobby as we made our way out to the street. Her apartment was a few blocks from mine, which made getting together easier if we needed each other.

“Does the wife ever reach out to you?” I asked.

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