Page 12 of Stained
That sexually frustrating relationship lasted a whole three years and was Alicia’s most serious one.I thought we were going to get married. I thought sex didn’t matter if I found someone I was so perfectly compatible with in other ways.Alicia was a fool, though. Matt was barely out of med school when one of his classmates showed up at her front door with photographic evidence that he was making out with someone behind Alicia’s back. The worst part? He was a cheater whowasn’t even having sex!I don’t know what’s worse.Having the guy who says he’s waiting to fuck you until your wedding night stick it in someone else, or not even bother.A cheater was a cheater, though. Alicia dumped his ass… and proceeded to try to rebound with everyone she met.
She never got lucky. Either potential lovers were such turnoffs that she actually feared sleeping with them, or they were taken, or they had no interest in her.I started to feel like a freak.By twenty-six, however, when she was fully committed to the workforce and acting like a real adult, she stopped caring.
Sex didn’t matter. If it was going to happen, it would happen.
Well, it happened a few nights ago!
Alicia had finished her Americano before finishing the Classifieds. That’s how distracted she was with her own thoughts. I can’t believe I did that. Danica was her first time going all the way with anyone. She was old enough to be mature about it, to even be relieved that it had finally happened and was out of the way, but it was still a big deal. Sort of. Losing her virginity stopped sounding like a big deal after she broke up with Matt.
So here she was. A young woman at the tender age of twenty-eight, reflecting on her first time… a few nights ago. With a sexy billionaire.
On the job.
Which Danica did to get her fired.
A woman sat down next to her at the bar overlooking the highway. Alicia caught a whiff of musky perfume and shivered. No, this woman, with her business suit and clean brown hair, didn’t smell like Ms. Moreau at all. But she was good-looking. Smart in her office clothes. Smart in the paper she asked to borrow, and the tablet he brought. No ring on her left hand. Should Alicia go for it? She was an experienced woman now. Maybe it would be easier to get dates now that she no longerexuded aVIRGIN!aura to everyone in the room. The only ones who went out of their way for virgins were weirdos she had no business sleeping with.
Besides, she needed something to fill the time between jobs.
The woman left before Alicia could drum up the courage to talk to her.Oh, well. Back home she would go. Maybe Candice would come back early and help her look for a new job.
Candice was, in fact, home. She had also made omelets, stuffed with fried rice and fresh vegetables. Slathered in marinara sauce, too!Oh my God, my favorite. Alicia smiled for the first time in a week as she sat down to savor her dinner.
“How were things at the clinic?” Candice asked.
“Boring. Sterile. Got my pap and had them do an STD panel while there. The usual.”
They were halfway through their omelets when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Candice said, tossing her napkin down before getting up. Pete called her a sexy hussy on her way by his perch.Should be calling me that right now. Alicia tried not to think about it. No point thinking about Danica, anyway.
“Uh, Alicia?” came Candice’s voice. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Alicia didn’t like the uncertain tone in her voice. “Coming!” she called, tearing herself away from the delicious omelet. She made sure to straighten out her T-shirt and denim shorts before entering the living room.
Good thing. The person waiting for her was so well-dressed she might as well have been walking right out of a catalog!
“Ms. Colbert.” A nondescript brunette in a designer pantsuit extended her hand to Alicia the moment she walked into the room. “I’m glad I found you at home. This matter is urgent.”
Alicia exchanged looks with Candice, who slowly pretended to be more interested in cleaning the bird cage instead of listening in on this strange conversation.
“Who are you?” This woman seemed vaguely familiar. Or maybe Alicia was losing her mind. Again.
“Sarah Clayborn. While we haven’t formally met before, we saw each other at Midnight. I was with Nigel Clayborn, Ms. Moreau’s other assistant.”
Alicia took a step back. “Oh.Oh.”
This woman had been in Danica’s entourage. As Alicia recalled, Ms. Clayborn spent most of the evening thumbing through a tablet.
“If you would, I need you to come with me.”
“What’s that now?” Alicia scoffed. “No offense, but your boss got me fired from that job. I don’t have anything to do with it anymore. If she thinks I stole something, she’s wrong.”
The woman’s already blank expression did not change. “I do not know why Ms. Moreau wishes to speak with you. All she has asked is that I bring you to her as soon as possible.” Her look changed… and it insinuated that Alicia didn’t have much choice in the matter. What was this woman going to do? Forcibly remove Alicia from her apartment? Like the police?
Worse, perhaps. Her boss was one of the most powerful women around. She probably had more clout than politicians.
“I see no reason to go with you.” Alicia crossed her arms. “I have nothing to say to her. What could she possibly have to say to me?”
