“Hi Hollie! I miss you!”
“I miss you too! You should come up for a visit over your next break. B and Violet would love to see you, and we could explore the city a bit.”
“That sounds great,” she says before trailing off into a heavy silence.
“Paige, is there something wrong? Is Mom okay?” A trickle of fear enters my stomach. My mom is always a wild card. She could be at home making my sister lunch or she could be sitting in jail. Once again, I’m filled with guilt for not being in Milford to watch out for them both.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Holls. It’s just… she didn’t come home last night, but you know how that goes.” I glance at the clock. It’s three in the afternoon. It’s not like I’m surprised. There were plenty of times when I was living there that Mom would disappear for days and show up when she had come down from her high. “I hate to bother you about this, but I was wondering if you sent her some money.”
“I sent some last week. She told me she got it. What’s going on?”
When she speaks again, there’s a hiccup in her voice and I know she’s crying. “We got an eviction notice, so I was hoping she just hadn’t gotten the money to pay it yet.”
Goddamnit. There should have been more than enough money to catch up on the rent. Paige shouldn’t be the one that has to handle this. It should be my mother talking to me about getting evicted, not my sixteen-year-old sister. She needs to be thinking about her future, not surviving. What happened to the money? I hope Mom didn’t shoot it all up or give it to her boyfriend, but I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s done it before. I’m going to have to contact the building manager and send the money to him directly.
“Don’t worry about it,” I assure my baby sister. “I’ll call the building Monday morning and take care of the rent. She probably just forgot to pay it.” I hear her hiccup again on the other end of the line and I’m so pissed at my mother I want to scream. “Enough about that. Tell me how school is going. How are your classes?” I hope the change of subject calms her down a bit. She hates this as much as I do. I’ve asked Paige to leave Milford and come live with me more than once, but she doesn’t want to leave her friends and I know she’s worried about leaving Mom to her own devices. I would feel better if she was here, with someone that would actually watch after her instead of the other way around.
“Everything is going pretty good. I think my Calculus teacher hates me though.” I laugh at that. No one hates Paige.
“Not possible. You’re amazing. You’re probably just so smart she doesn’t know what to do with you.” I hear her giggle and it lifts a weight off of my chest.
“There’s also the homecoming dance coming up that my friends are all going to…” Her voice trails off and I prompt her to continue. “It’s just that I don’t have a dress. I’m hoping one of my friends can lend me one.”
The weight comes back, twice as heavy this time. She shouldn’t have to worry about not going to a dance. I never got to go to one. I didn’t have anything to wear. Prom wasn’t even an option for me because I couldn’t afford it and my boyfriend at the time was cheap as hell.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you a dress,” I reassure her.
“Oh, no! That’s not why I told you Hollie, I don’t need you to get me a dress.”
“I don’t have to do anything. Iwantto. Besides, after you wear it, maybe I can borrow it for a night out,” I tease her. She knows as well as I do that I would never fit into any dress she could wear. While I’m all curves, boobs, and ass, Paige is tall and willowy. In fact, she looks a little like those models that Archer has on his arm in photos. Ugh, can I not think about him for five minutes?
We chat for a while longer, then get off the line so we can both go about our day. I’m going to have to crunch some numbers and see how much money I can afford to give her since most of my first paycheck is already gone. I’ll also need to call the apartment manager and find out how much Mom owes and then tuck away at least one hundred bucks for Paige’s dress. With another hundred, I might be able to buy her some new shoes too. I can’t even imagine the last time she got a new pair.
I log into the banking account on my phone and sigh at the dismal number that’s staring back at me. It doesn’t look like I’ll be quitting my job any time soon. I’ll just need to control my urge to climb Archer Clarke like a tree.
Eight
archer
I’m at my desk Monday morning and my eyes feel like they have sand in them. I barely got any sleep this weekend. Unlike most nights, thoughts of Hollie weren’t the only thing that kept me from sleeping. Ever since this Santa Cruz deal has been on the table, I’ve been thinking about my parents more and more. I usually kept them in a nice, neat box in the back of my mind. Sure, I thought about them often, but notthat night.I’m dreaming about it again, which I haven’t done in about five years. Between the dreams and thoughts of my curvy little assistant, I was dogged at every turn.
When I left the office on Friday night, I was resolved to not think about that minx for the rest of the weekend. Our relationship was purely professional and would remain that way. I kept up that way of thinking until I was in the shower that night. I stroked my hard as steel cock while thinking about her little pink mouth. Her lips against mine. Her lips wrapped around my cock while she was on her knees. I let my head fall back and rest on the cold tile while she invaded my mind. When I shot my seed against the shower wall, it was the strongest orgasm I’d had in recent memory. Not that it did anything to abate my lust.
After getting out of the shower, I sat on my bed, scrolling through my contacts. I thought about calling up one of the women that previously shared my bed with no strings attached. I obviously needed a good fuck or else this girl wouldn’t have me tied in knots. Ultimately, I tossed the phone on the bed and leaned back against my headboard. That incredible orgasm that rolled all the way through my body was proof that nothing but Hollie would satisfy my needs. If I came that hard from my own hand while merely thinking about her, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to sink into her tight, wet pussy.
I filled the rest of the weekend with working out, business calls, and jerking off by myself. Maybe I could fuck her and get her out of my system. I never wanted any one woman more than a few times, anyway. However, I suspected it wouldn’t be like that with her. I worried that once I had a taste of her, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I couldn’t afford that. Not with everything I want so close within my grasp.
I picked up the coffee that Hollie left on my desk this morning and took a long drink. How was it still hot? I had showed up twenty minutes later than usual this morning, so the coffee should have been sitting here cold. Maybe she really was magical. Laughing at my flight of fancy, I took another sip from the cup. I needed to wipe the cobwebs from my brain. There is too much to do today and first on the list is talking to Richard about the article Hollie found. We need to work on a new strategy to make sure I am the most attractive buyer for The Village at Santa Cruz.
I had been worried that Hollie would bring up what almost happened Friday night. I didn’t need this girl trying to cling to me. Or worse, she could threaten to take what didn’t quite happen to HR. There were plenty of women who could see a potential payday in that evening. I was almost positive she wasn’t one of those women, but it wasn’t worth the risk.
However, as soon as I got in, it was apparent that I didn’t have to worry. She didn’t even glance up from her computer when I walked by, bidding me good morning without a glance. The easy camaraderie that we had established over dinner on Friday night was gone. That was fine. It was better than fine. It was exactly what I wanted. Then why am I so pissed off?
In the afternoon, my intercom buzzes, showing that Hollie is on the line. She’s probably going to ask what I want for lunch. It was past the normal time we ate. Thai food would hit the spot right now. When I pick up the extension, all I hear is ice in her voice. “Mr. Clarke, your girlfriend is here to see you.”
What is she talking about? Has the girl lost her mind?
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I respond immediately, feeling the unreasonable need to correct her misconception.