For four years they had enjoyed a professional relationship. He was the one constantly crossing the boundaries in order to get to know her. Yes, he had a bad reputation. In the past year he'd not had many partners because these feelings he had for Anya were not going away.
The reputation he'd gained as a ladies' man had been well earned. In the early years of his life he'd not cared about anything but making money and fucking. It was what he did, leaving a trail of women behind him in his wake. Business and sex for him came hand in hand.
Running a finger along his lip he stared down at the image of him opening this place. It was taken many years ago by a friend who had since passed. In a few weeks, Xavier would be turning forty years old. He had an empire that would be handed down to no one. Yeah, he was a guy who had everything, apart from the fact he didn't.
He didn't have anyone. No family, no more friends, not even a dog. He had no one. Business, making money, and that was all.
All of his life he'd fought for everything he ever wanted. Son to a crack whore, pulling himself out of tricky situations through foster homes, he'd done everything, hated it all, and fought every single second of every day. Right now, this very second he was earning money. Millions of dollars going from A to B then back again. Whatever he touched turned to gold.
What was once a challenge was now as simple as falling asleep.
Xavier wanted a family. He wanted a child; son or daughter, he didn't care. There were no plans for gaining a family. In the past few months he'd been going to events wondering if a past flame would be the right one for his future, but none of them were a good fit for him. They had the same hunger for power, for their place in the world. None of them fit into the role of being a mother. They may make good mothers to someone else's child, but not to his.
Anya knocked, gave him a second to decline, then walked in.
Again, it was something she always did even when he was alone. She was always considerate. When he first gave her the job, and her colleagues didn't like it, Anya hadn't done anything about it. She had taken whatever shit they wanted to dish out. He'd admired her for that. She never fought, never did anything that would be considered aggressive. Even when some of the women from his private life came into the office being all snotty, she dealt with them with kindness.
At times he found her too damn nice.
She placed a cup on his coaster.
"Is there anything else you'd like?" she asked.
To him it was a loaded question. She asked it of him every single day. Is there anything else you want? Anything I can get you? What else do you need? So many questions, and yet today, he wanted something more.
"That will be all."
She nodded and left, her full hips swinging from side to side. With the height of the summer, the office had the AC on. Anya had removed her jacket, and he got to have a good look at her rounded curves.
The more he thought about Anya, the more he learned about her, he just knew deep down to his very soul that she was the woman he was looking for. Going to his desk, he typed into his computer, pulling up her employment file. Five years ago, standing in front of the camera she'd looked so scared, terrified even. She was twenty-eight years old, with red hair, green eyes, and in her photo he saw the freckles dotting across her nose. Her red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. She never wore her hair down. It was either in a bun or a ponytail. When the company had parties, she didn't drink either.
Thinking back over the past four years, Anya hadn't relaxed. The watch she was wearing, he'd bought her last Christmas, and she hadn't wanted to take it even though they had been buying little gifts for each other since she'd become his PA.
They were just small things, pictures, books, an album or something. It was a token of memory for someone. He liked it. Then he saw a watch at a jewelry store, and he'd known he had to have it, and that it would be perfect for Anya.
Xavier didn't like going to the jewelry store, yet he'd been there, looking for a gift. He had originally planned to buy the model he was going to ditch a goodbye gift, but of course she'd ended up with a gift card instead.
Closing down Anya's file where he learned nothing new, he grabbed the file on his desk and left his office just as his appointment was about to walk through the door.
"Kurtis, good to see you. I'll be taking him to conference room two, Anya."
"Do you need me to sit in? Take notes?"
"No. I've got it from here, thank you."
She smiled and made her way toward her desk once again. He saw the work he'd given her earlier was still there, and in the next couple of hours he had several appointments.
Entering the conference room, he gestured for Kurtis to take his spot.
"Is your PA not married yet? She is a peach," Kurtis said.
"She's a star."
Taking a seat, he opened up the file, and got straight down to business. Whenever he needed some facts or statistics, he put a call through to Anya. She brought the files right away. There were no lingering smiles or chats with Kurtis.
"I tell you, man, you are one lucky guy. I've been in several meetings, and the PAs can be a damn problem."
"So can the bosses," Xavier said. "I've been to several meetings where it is clear the man is screwing the PA."
"You're not screwing yours though. What's the problem? She too fat for you?"
Xavier sat back, glaring at the guy he was about to sign a million dollar business contract with. Kurtis was the best when it came to software, and he wanted him on his team.
"I don't like you insulting my PA. In fact, I would fuck Anya if she even gave me half a chance. She's worth a hell of a lot more than a quick fuck."
"I'm sorry-"
"I don't want your apologies. You will not say something so stupid again, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
He got through the rest of the meeting without beating the shit out of the guy, even though he wanted to.
Once that meeting was done, he spent the rest of the afternoon between his office and the conference room. Anya stayed at her desk, and when six in the evening rolled around, she came to him with a stack of letters to sign.
"Thank you," she said, startling him.
"What for?" He continued to sign his name, trusting everything was in order.
"I, erm, I heard what you said to Kurtis. I appreciate your kind words. I know they weren't true, but I appreciate it all the same." She forced a smile, and he paused in his writing. Staring into her green eyes, Xavier found it hard to look away.
"What makes you think I didn't mean it?"
"It's not something I imagine you've thought about. I'm quite uncomfortable right now, so I'm going to be quiet."
He put his pen down, and stared at her.
"Is there something you'd like me to do?" she asked.
"Sit down," he said.
"Oh." She took a seat opposite him, and he noticed how she pushed her skirt down to cover her knees. "I hope I didn't cross a line. I wasn't implying sex just, I was thinking about the papers."
She kept on rambling, and he watched as her cheeks heated.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I didn't appreciate his vile words or his tone. I believe you deserve better, and, Anya, I meant every single word."
She frowned. "That can't be."
"Why not? You're a beautiful woman."
"I'm not. I'm nothing in comparison to the women you date."
Xavier smiled. "No, you're not. You're much better."
Chapter Two
Had she heard right? Anya stared at her boss. The man she had known for over four years, who never pushed the boundaries too far, was staring at her like he wanted to eat her. In that moment their relationship of employer and employee faded.
"If you would like to finish signing them, I'll mail them out tomorrow. I'll get them ready." She made her way toward the door wanting away from this uncomfortable mess. Her mother had always warned her that escape was the easiest solution in dealing with problems, and this one was a huge problem.
"Anya," he said, using that commanding tone that made her stop and turn around. He stood and rounded his desk until he was in front of it. "You're beautiful."
"Don't cross that line."
"I crossed that line months ago."
She shook her head.
"I've been crossing that line since I first met you."
"This is not happening, Mr. Leigh." She clenched her hands into fists, trying to deal with what was going on between them. Nothing should be going on. They worked together. "I appreciate your kind words."
"Screw my kind words. I said the truth." He stepped closer to her, and she took a step back. This side of Xavier she had never seen before.
"I don't understand what you're doing."
He closed the distance between them and caught her face. "I'm going to do something that I can't stop thinking about."
Before she could say anything his lips closed over hers. Releasing a gasp, she stood with her hand by her sides as he sank his fingers into her hair, pushing beneath the bun she kept locked at the base of her neck. Her hair was long, too long to spend the time brushing it. He licked along the seam of her lips, and she gasped, opening up to him. He plundered her mouth, and she met him stroke for stroke. Her tits felt heavy, her pussy slick. She wasn't a virgin. There had been men in the past few years, but none of them had stuck. She hadn't felt the need to leave her single life behind.