IN BED WITH THE BOSS

Bethany invited her to join her and a few other friends for a drink that night and Vivian thought emptily, why not?

When she arrived at the wine bar the place was so crowded she almost chickened out and went away again, but Bethany saw her and waved her over. Bethany’s group of friends were lively and noisy and Vivian was surprised an hour later to discover that she was almost-almost-enjoying herself. Most of them were going on to dinner, then a nightclub, but the thought of eating anything made her stomach go queasy so she declined with a smile and some excuse that was something else she could not recall minutes afterwards.

On Monday morning, she just couldn’t do it anymore. Her head was filled with thoughts of Scott and she couldn’t take it any more. She was sure now that the only reason why she was able to bring herself to work the previous week was because he wasn’t present but she was sure he would be now and she couldn’t face him. Not after his cruel rejection. So, after crying her eyes out, she pulled out her laptop and sent Scott an email explaining that she’d quit her job so could focus on other things things.

After she shut down the laptop she felt a little better, but soon she began to feel down again. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to keep herself busy, so she began to clean up her apartment, moving around bed frames and furniture. She would come up with something to replace the job she just lost, she thought over and over again and as for Scott McCall, she didn’t have to set her eyes on him again.

——-

“I need to go…. Out” Scott said to Jennifer with a frown on his face. She was supposed to spend just one night at his place, but they had enjoyed each other’s company so much that she’d stayed with him for days. They had also decided that it would help with convincing people that they were indeed in a serious relationship with each other.

Jennifer’s eyes narrowed, and she knew immediately that something was up. There was a frown on his face and she couldn’t decide if what she was seeing was sadness or anger.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “I thought you were not going to the office today?”

“I’m not” Scott replied, “I need to go see Vivian”

“Your assistant?”

“Yes”

A smile broke out on her face. “You’re going to tell her how you feel?”

Scott’s frown deepened. “What? No… I’m…. I just got an email from her. She quit her job and I… I need to talk to her.”

“Oh… Wow. Alright. What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. I just need to talk to her” Scott said. He knew he was the reason why she’d made such a hard decision. Vivian was good at her job and wouldn’t just quit. A sane person would be glad. After what had happened between them, he should be glad that was leaving, but he wasn’t. In fact, the thought of not seeing her again made his blood boil. He wasn’t going to be the reason why she would end up unemployed again. This was his fault, and he was going to try to fix it.

———–

Jennifer Bennet nabbed the slice of bread out of the toaster and spread avocado on it. She ate it leaning against the counter, alternating between sips of fresh coffee. With a glance at her wrist, she realized she didn’t have long before she had to leave Scott’s house. Since she no longer had a position at Bennet Inc, she’d scheduled a meeting with a potential client.

Suddenly losing her appetite as she thought about her situation with her brother, she dumped the remains of her breakfast. She needed to get going and return to the real world.

She was heading toward the closet to collect her wrap and dress when the front door opened. Startled, Jennifer stared as a woman who looked to be about her age entered. With wavy black hair that tumbled over her shoulders, smooth, unlined skin and a tall, slender frame wrapped in a camel cashmere coat, she was obviously too young to be the housekeeper Scott mentioned last night. But whoever she was, she must be close to Scott to have a key to his house.

But then the other woman lifted her head, and the truth slammed into Jennifer. With those heavily lashed, beautiful eyes, she had to be related to Scott. And considering her age, she was most likely his sister.

“Oh, hi,” Sara said, arching a dark eyebrow in a manner so similar to Scott’s, it confirmed her identity. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know Scott had company. I can come back.”

“No, you’re fine,” Jennifer objected, finding her voice as his sister half turned to grasp the doorknob. “Scott is not home, and I was just leaving, too. You must be Sara.” Jennifer moved forward, her hand extended. Scott’s sister stepped away from the door with a smile, her arm lifting. “My name’s Jennifer. Jennifer Bennet.”

Sara froze, except for the arm falling woodenly back to her side. “Bennet?” she repeated in a tremulous whisper. “Are you related to Bruce Bennet?”

Unease crawled through her. “Yes. Do you know him?”

Sara paled, her eyes widening. Visibly trembling fingers lifted to her lips and pressed against them. “I didn’t-no, he wouldn’t-” Her fractured sentences made little sense to Jennifer, but the woman’s obvious distress amplified the dread until it was full-out fear.

“Sara, are you okay?” she asked, risking moving closer.

Sara jerked her head from side to side, tears glistening in her eyes. “Why are you here?”

“Scott and I are…” She paused, unsure of how much to expose. “…seeing each other. Would you like to sit down? Can I get you anything?”

Again, Sara shook her head, the tears streaming down her cheeks now. Unable to stand the woman’s pain, Jennifer reached for her, wrapping her in a hug. She half expected Sara to shove her away, but instead, the woman clung to her, sobbing now.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

God. Jennifer tightened her embrace, her own eyes stinging. What kind of agony must Sara be in to cause this kind of reaction? It burrowed inside Jennifer, and she wanted to soothe it, to take it from her. Gently, she guided the crying woman to the living room and lowered them both to the couch. She continued to hold Sara, gently rocking her as her mother used to do when Jennifer ran to her in need of comfort.

She didn’t glance at her watch to see how long they sat there. If Sara needed her to remain the whole day, she would. Anything so those awful, tearing sobs would stop. Gradually, Sara calmed, and only when she went silent and the trembles eased did Jennifer slip her arms away. Her shoulders twinged, but she ignored the slight ache. She left for the bathroom. Minutes later, after a quick stop in the kitchen, she returned with a box of tissues, a warm, damp cloth and a bot-tle of water.

“Thank you,” Sarawhispered, her voice hoarse from her tears. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“Please don’t apologize. It’s okay,” Jennifer assured her. The woman’s clear air of fragility stirred a sense of protectiveness in Jennifer. “I’m a stranger to you, and you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but I’m here.

And whatever you say will stay between us.”

For several moments, Sara clutched the bottle between her hands. Though she’d wiped her face with the cloth, her eyes remained stark, her cheeks and lips pale. Jennifer waited, ready to listen if Sara chose to confide in her, ready to just sit with her if she decided not to.

“I know your brother,” Sara finally said, haltingly at first. “I met him a year ago, and we…we fell in love. Or at least I did. I don’t know if he ever did love me. But he told me so. And I believed him. I would’ve done anything for him-and I did. He asked me to keep our relationship a secret because he and Scott were business rivals, and he didn’t want any of that interfering with us. I’d heard Scott mention Bruce before and knew he had no love for him, so I agreed. Also, I figured once he saw how much we loved each other, he would come around. Especially since I became pregnant.”

Jennifer gasped, unable to contain her shock and dismay. At the sound, Sara lifted her gaze from the water bottle. The grief and unadulterated pain there shook Jennifer, and she wanted to gather the other woman in her arms again. But she didn’t, sensing Sara needed to get this out, like lacerating a festering wound so it could heal faster.

“I thought he would be happy about the news. I was overjoyed. All I dreamed about was marrying him and starting a family. We would be doing it a little out of order, but I didn’t care. But-but…”