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  Alexander surprised me then. He reached over and picked up a piece of my hair that had fallen out of my bun and tucked it behind my ear. It was a quick, gentle touch but it seemed like such an intimate one between an employer and employee. As soon as he drew his hand back I found myself wishing that he would touch me again.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said. I almost fell out of my chair. Instead, I picked up my wine glass and drained it.

  “Thank you,” I told him, finally.

  He smiled. He was beautiful… incredibly so. “Again, I could be wrong and over-stepping but my thought would be that he said ‘a break’ instead of ‘break-up’ because he knows what a fool he would be to let you go, deep down. But don’t let him make all the decisions here, Vicki. Remember your own self-worth. If you’re not truly happy with him, then spend your ‘break’ deciding what it is that you want from him if you do take him back. Realize that by initiating this, he thinks he has the power, but he really doesn’t. Your life and your happiness are in your hands, not his.”

  I forced a smile. My head was buzzing. I really wasn’t much of a drinker and the two glasses of wine had already gone to my head. “I will. Thank you. Is that what you’ve been doing?” That was such a personal question. I wanted to take it back as soon as I asked it but Alexander didn’t seem offended. Instead he looked embarrassed.

  “No, I give great advice, but I don’t live it. What I’ve been doing, Vicki is avoiding it all. I don’t want to fight over material possessions, yet I don’t want to give this woman I was married to for five years everything I’ve worked for and amassed in my adult life. Does that seem selfish?”

  “Not at all. I personally have always had difficulty with the idea of alimony. It’s 2015 and female or not, I’m as capable of making a billion dollars as the person I decide to marry is. At least I hope I am. Lately I haven’t been feeling very proud of where I am at this stage in my life. I have always intended to do so much more. I want to give back to the community, you know? I don’t want to live in this beautiful place surrounded by beautiful landscapes and only enjoy it. I want to be a part of the solution to problems like homelessness and environmental issues. I mean… obviously I won’t do that working as a maid, but I don’t intend to do this job forever… Shoot! I mean, I love my job, it’s just…”

  He laughed. “It’s okay, Vicki. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to speak to you one on one like this, but from what I do know about you, you’re much too intelligent to be doing physical labor your entire life. I would be nothing but happy for you if a better opportunity comes along. What do you see yourself doing someday?”

  “I finished my prerequisites for the Physician’s Assistant program at UC Davis. I just took a year… or two off to save some money.”

  “Physician’s Assistant, huh? That’s admirable.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve just always liked healing things. I had a stray animal hospital in our basement when I was a kid.” I laughed at the memory of birds with broken wings and stray cats that had been in fights and needed patching up. Back then I would tell my mom I wanted to be a surgeon. She would tell me to “Marry one” instead. Gotta love my mom.

  “So why a P.A. why not a physician?”

  “Medical school is really expensive,” I said. “Plus it’s very intense. Even when I get into the P.A. program I’ll have to keep working to support myself. I can’t see myself doing that and still doing well in a medical school.”

  “I admire your drive, Vicki. It was one of the many things that Cassandra and I fought about when she lived here.” Cassandra is his wife and I had heard one or two of those fights as I kept my head down and tried to pretend I didn’t. “She doesn’t have any at all. She never wanted to work, which I was okay with at first. But I had pictured her heading up charities or at the very least having our children and caring for them. As it turned out, she had no interest in any of that at all. She informed me two years into our marriage that she wasn’t interested in being a mother. I can’t believe that I’m telling you this,” he said suddenly. I realized he remembered who he was talking to. Not thinking I shot my hand out and covered his with it.

  “That had to be hard. Please don’t worry. I will keep your confidence. I appreciate you talking to me about this so much. I know how busy you are and for you to take time out of your day like this for the likes of me…”

  He moved his hand, but he didn’t take it away. Instead, he wrapped mine up in it and looked intensely at my face as he said, “Don’t do that, Vicki. Don’t say things about yourself like that as if I’m better than you and I’m slumming by sitting here having a pleasant conversation with you. The things I just told you about Cassie… they’re not things I shared with anyone else, except my attorneys, that’s why I said I couldn’t believe I was telling you. It actually feels good to be able to talk to someone about it.”

  I smiled and nodded. He was still gripping my hand. My heart was speeding up and I was suddenly having a hard time breathing. “You can talk to me about any of it, sir. I won’t tell anyone.”

  He grinned. “I really wish you’d stop calling me sir,” he said again. “Tell me about you, Vicki. Where did you grow up?”

  “I grew up in L.A. out near Glendale.”

  “I grew up here too, in Orange County,” he said. Of course he did. I wasn’t certain of his background, but it was obvious wealth wasn’t brand new to him. He wore it so well though. I’d never seen him be haughty or arrogant about it, unlike his dear wife.

  “I spent a lot of time in Orange when I was young,” I told him. “My mother worked in a place there and I’d go out and spend time on the playground near the pier at Seal Beach or watching the sunset or eating a burger at…”

  “Ruby’s!”

  “Yes,” I said with a smile. “I loved Ruby’s.”

  “Me too, it was my favorite spot.”

  “It was not!”

  “Seriously, I used to sit at that booth in the far corner and play music on that little table jukebox and watch the sunset nearly every Friday night.”

  “I loved those jukeboxes and I loved that booth too! It was always taken. I think I only actually got to sit there once.”

  “It was probably me,” he said with a grin.

  I smiled back at him, who could help it? It was funny to imagine our lives intersecting like that as kids and us not even noticing. He was seven years older than me though. I was about twelve when I started spending a lot of time down there. He was probably already in college. Still, it was nice to know we had that in common.

  “Thank you, sir,” I said. He’d taken my mind off of Jason and I was very appreciative.

  He laughed and said, “You’re welcome… for what I’m not sure.”

  “For making me forget my problems and remember being happy on the beach. Really, it was so nice of you to take time out of your schedule for me, sir. I appreciate it.”

  He suddenly had a look in his eyes that wasn’t amusement and his voice was husky as he said, “I really wish that you’d stop calling me sir. I want to kiss you, Vicki… badly. When you call me ‘Sir’ it reminds me that I shouldn’t.”

  I was shocked, excited and scared all at the same time. I told myself to politely decline. I told myself to go back to work, and then, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was because now he was touching me. He’d let go of my hand and now his fingertips were lightly skimming along my bare arms and sending delicious shivers throughout my body that landed in the deepest part of my belly. Or maybe it was because of the intense way he was still looking into my eyes and I knew now that what I saw there was desire. Maybe it was all of it. I don’t know. But I opened my mouth and as if I were a bystander and not a participant, I heard myself say his name, “Alex.”

  That was his invitation to kiss me. I’d meant it that way. He took it for what it was. He cupped the side of my face in his hand and leaned in, placing his lips over mine. His lips were so warm, so full and so soft and when his tongue snake
d out, my own lips parted and allowed him the access he desired. His wet tongue slipped into my mouth and explored every inch of it. My breath was completely gone and I didn’t care. The kiss was so incredible; I was ready to keep doing it until I passed out. This is how kisses are supposed to be. I loved the way he rested his hand on the side of my face while he tasted my lips, and I loved the way he was demanding, but still sweet. It’s the kind of kiss that you know you’ll never forget, even if he walked out right now and I never saw him again. That was when I suddenly remembered who it was I was kissing. I pulled back and looked at him while I tried to catch my breath. This man is more than hot. He’s perfect. He’s a work of art. He’s my boss and I just kissed him. I was torn between being giddy over that thought and horrified. I felt like a stupid teenager who’d just been kissed by the football star. I was gaping at him like a fool and I know my eyes must have been as wide as saucers. What did I just do?

  CHAPTER THREE

  ALEXANDER

  I just kissed my maid. It’s not that I cared that she was my maid. She’s an extremely desirable woman. Today was not the first time I’d noticed. But talking to her today had put me over the top. She seemed really intelligent and compassionate and just so different from the spoiled, self-centered women I was used to. She was real, and about the time she got passionate about what she wanted to do with her life and none of it had anything to do with marrying a rich man and taking him for all he had. I decided that I liked her a lot. The problem wasn’t that she was a maid; I couldn’t care less about that. Who she was as a person was so much more than that. The problem was that she was a maid that I employed. I just broke all kinds of business commandments. I had honestly only started out to try and make her feel better. Now she was sitting here looking at me with a confused, stricken look and all I can think is that I really, really want to kiss her again. In fact, I was aroused to the point from that one kiss that I wanted to take it further, desperately so.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, putting her hand to her pretty lips. Her green eyes looked like saucers and I could actually see the regret there. I felt like some kind of sexually harassing slime ball all of a sudden… and she was apologizing to me.

  “Don’t be sorry, Vicki. I initiated it. I’m sorry. I just really wanted to do that and I should have stopped myself. I know I shouldn’t have. I hope you’ll forgive me.” She had tears in her eyes again. Damn it! She stood up and looked like she was about to bolt.

  “No, it’s really okay. You don’t have to apologize. I kissed you back… I should know better, how unprofessional! This whole day I’ve just been such a mess.” She was crying again and I couldn’t stand that now I was the cause of it. She was blaming herself when I was clearly the one who should have known better. I stood up too and without thinking again, I put my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. I realized as soon as her warm, soft body was molded into mine that I’d made another mistake. But God, she felt so good. It was like she was made to be in my arms. Her light blonde hair smelled so pretty and I was tempted to release the bun she had it in and wrap my fingers up in it. She was shaking against me. I put my lips to her head, just trying to calm her down and whispered against the side of her face.

  “Please don’t cry, Vicki. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She looked up at me. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and her green eyes were a mixture of sadness and something else. The something else was what I was focused on. If I was reading her right, she wanted me as badly as I wanted her. Once again, I threw caution to the wind. I was going to take this so far that if she was after a lawsuit, I was handing it to her on a silver platter. I claimed her pretty, heart shaped mouth and as I did, I released her hair from its confines. I hadn’t realized how long it was until masses of it cascaded down her shoulders and back. I didn’t hesitate to wrap my fingers through it. It felt like silk and I thought if I’d ever seen it down before, I would have kissed her a long time ago. I didn’t believe for a second that she was setting me up. I had initiated the whole thing… but even if she were, I’m afraid this would be worth it.

  The feel of her tongue in my mouth… tentative at first, but now passionate and urgent was going straight to my head. I felt her shift her hips slightly and I knew that she could feel how much I desired her. She wasn’t pulling away though, so I didn’t stop. Instead I let my lips slide down her jaw and find her supple neck. I kissed her there and found the soft piece between her neck and shoulder and took a soft bite. She moaned and I knew that if she didn’t tell me to stop now, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself. I let my hand slide down her back and cupping one arm underneath her bottom, I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. I sat her down on the bed and looked down at her. Her pretty hair was across her face and she was looking up at me, breathing hard.

  What struck me most was the intensity of her gaze. I know that women like to look at me. I’ve been ogled since I was a teenager, but I’d never been so incredibly turned on just by watching someone look at me. Just that simple look gave me an ache that I felt all the way to my core. It was more than wanting her; it was a driving need to possess her suddenly. “If you don’t tell me not to, I’m going to make love to you now.” She nodded and I took that as consent. I sat down next to her, drawing her back onto the bed with me and crushed my mouth down on hers. I did my best to undress her as we kissed, but reluctantly, I had to let her go so she could get that ridiculous uniform off. Why haven’t I ever noticed how awful those uniforms are before? It must be something Cassandra came up with in hopes that I wouldn’t mess around with the help the way she’d told me that her father used to.

  When Vicki pulled off that horrible dress, I felt my mouth go dry. She was every bit as gorgeous underneath it as I imagined she would be and then some. For all the drabness of the uniform, the underwear she wore so well underneath it was soft and lacy and silky… and hot. I reached up and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back down to me. I let my mind flicker across all of the bad things that could come out of what we were about to do… and then I tucked them away and I tasted the kind of pleasure that even I had never tasted before.

  ***

  I was twenty-five when Cassandra and I got married. Twenty-four when I committed to her and stopped having one-night stands with a different girl every week… some weeks every night. I lost count years ago of the number of women I’d been with, and if most of them walked right up to me on the street today, I wouldn’t have a clue who they were. But I knew instantly that with Vicki, it was going to be different, dangerous even. This was one woman that I would never forget and one afternoon that could fodder my fantasies for a lifetime. I felt like a man utterly starved and suddenly offered a steak. I’d had sex with someone last night and I’d already forgotten with whom. With Vicki it wasn’t just her gorgeous body, or her beautiful face; it was the sounds that she made turned me on and the looks that she got on her face and the deep, burning desire in her beautiful green eyes. By the time we were both panting and sweating and clutching tightly onto each other… I already didn’t want to let her go.

  VICTORIA

  When Alex collapsed on top of me and I got my breathing under control and I could put two thoughts together again, all I could think was, “Dear God, what have I done?” and shamelessly, “Dear God, I want to do that again.” What was in that wine? I’ve never had a one night, or afternoon, stand in my life. I’ve always been a good girl… I’ve only been with three men in my lifetime. The first was my “first love” my senior year in high school, the second was my boyfriend for two years in college and the third was Jason who I had been with since. I’m not the one night stand type. Alex is. Dear God, what is he thinking of me? I might know if I could see his face, but he’s settled into the pillow and pulled my back up against him as if we’re going to spend the rest of the day cuddled here together, as if we’re in love instead of employer and employee. Instead of billionaire and maid. He’s so warm, and his breath on my nec
k feels so good. I can’t even let my mind begin to drift back to what just happened between us because I’ll start shaking all over again. I honestly never knew that sex could be like that. Maybe it was because he was so experienced… maybe it was because our afternoon tryst was so taboo in my mind, but God it was amazing and Lord help me I really did want to do it again.

  “Are you okay?” His voice had a sexy sleepy quality to it and that coupled with the heat of his breath against my neck made me shudder. I nodded.

  “Mm hmm.” I know it wasn’t a brilliant answer, but what was I going to say? I felt him let go of me and I thought, “This is it. I have to get out of this bed naked in front of his eyes and put on that horrible dress and do the walk of shame back out to where my mop is.” Alex wasn’t ready to get up yet though and instead of letting me go, he turned me over so that I was now facing him. He put his fingers underneath my chin and tipped my face up to his. He smiled so sweetly and then he lowered his mouth down to mine and kissed me so tenderly that it honestly nearly made me cry again. If this was what one afternoon stands were like… I think I’ll have another.

  And I did… or we did and afternoon turned into evening and evening into night and I fell asleep in his arms. He was so warm and tender and even my heart was smiling when I closed my eyes.