Filthy Secret

APOLLO

“I don’t want to leave!” Jessie shouted again, throwing her hands up in the air. She wasn’t just embarrassing herself, but me too. “Apollo!” She tried to yank her arm out of my grip, but I held on tighter, my anger fueling me as I pulled her toward the exit of the hotel we were in.

Tonight was a work function, not just a social interaction. This was where I did a lot of business, rubbing elbows with people who also ran seven figure businesses. Most people thought deals were made in boardrooms or offices, but the reality was, they weren’t.

I’d made the majority of my money by creating connections with people at these events, and in one fell swoop, Jessie had put all of that at risk.

Olive wouldn’t have behaved like that.

My blood boiled in my veins as we finally made it outside where a town car was parked, ready to take us home.

“Let me go!” Jessie screamed, her voice carrying across the street. People turned to look at her, but I couldn’t even slide my gaze over to her because I was goddamn disgusted with the way she acted. She’d gotten so drunk that she could barely stand. It was clear she wasn’t used to free drinks.

Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to bring her here? She wasn’t anything special-never had been in the four months I’d known her -but having a date to these things always went down better than when I was alone. It softened the men, but also the women who I wanted to do deals with.

“Shut the fuck up,” I growled, pulling her to a stop just outside of the open back door to the car. Finally, I looked down at her. Her dress was disheveled, half of her hair falling down from the elaborate updo she’d had done on my dime, and her makeup was starting to run down her face. “Get in the goddamn car, right now.”

She opened her mouth then snapped it closed again as I pushed her toward the door. “But-”

I slammed the door behind her, not moving for several seconds as I stared at the now closed door. I needed a stiff drink and to relax, but I knew I wouldn’t get any of that tonight. Instead, I had to play babysitter to a woman old enough to know better.

Not saying a word as I rounded the back of the car and got in beside her, I stared out of the window the entire way home. It wasn’t until I’d carried her sleeping ass inside and to her room that I felt like I could breathe easy again. Or maybe that was because I was home…where Olive was.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

I didn’t want to think about it too much, not after what had happened last week. I hadn’t seen her for seven days. I’d heard her in her bedroom, listened in on a couple of conversations between her and Jessie, but every time I approached whatever room she was in, she’d disappear, almost as if she could sense me coming.

Closing the door to Jessie’s room, I then walked down the hallway, halting when I got to Olive’s closed bedroom door. It would have been so easy to walk in there and take what I wanted from her. To show her the kind of person she deserved in her life, to give her everything that her mother had failed to.

But I couldn’t…not yet anyway. I’d scare her off, I knew that, so instead of listening to the demands my body was making, I turned and walked away, heading downstairs to my home office that sat adjacent to the kitchen.

I didn’t flick the main light on, instead opting for the small lamp next to the light-brown sofa on the back wall. It was worn in all the right places, perfectly molding to your body when sitting in it.

A thumb of whiskey was in my hand in the blink of an eye, and as soon as my ass hit the seat, I let out a sigh of relief. If I was honest with myself, if Olive wasn’t here, I’d be turfing Jessie out first thing in the morning. That was what I did to any of the other women who crossed the line when it came to my business. I had a zero tolerance for that bullshit. But here I was, second guessing it because of the dark-haired girl who had captured my attention the moment she’d walked into my house.

Yanking my tie off and undoing my top three buttons, I let my head dip back, closing my eyes for just a moment to try and stave off the headache I could feel forming behind my eyes. I had too much fucking work to do over the next couple of months with a new company I was flipping. I didn’t have time for Jessie’s antics.

Footsteps had my eyes flinging open and I lifted my head, waiting to see where they were coming from and where they were heading to. The closer they got, the more my stomach rolled, nerves making an appearance for the first time since I was a pre-teen about to have my first kiss.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck was happening to me?

The footsteps slowed as they got closer, but I kept my gaze laser focused on my open office door, knowing that whoever it was would have to walk past it to get to the kitchen.

A shadow appeared a second before she did. And fuck me, she was a goddamn sight for sore eyes.

Tight sleep shorts gripped her ass like metal in a vice, and her thin tank top sculpted to her chest and stomach, showing me the outline of every dip and curve of her body. I couldn’t hold the groan in, and at the sound, she froze, her head spinning in my direction.

“Shit, sorry.” She took a step back, her eyes widening. “I was just”- she flicked her thumb over her shoulder- “getting a drink.”

My mouth was dry, so I lifted my whiskey to my lips, took a sip, then tilted the glass toward her. “I have a drink if you want some.”

She blinked and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I meant water.” I stared at her, not letting her look away from me for even a second. She’d been avoiding me, and there was no way I was going to let her get away with that. “You’ve been avoiding me,” I gritted out, placing my glass on the table next to me.

“What? I haven’t.”

“You have.” I raised a brow, daring her to lie to me again. “Why?”

She shook her head, her lips flattening into a straight line as her gaze veered off to the left, probably waiting to see if her mom would appear.

“She’s drunk and passed out,” I said, answering her silent question. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t the sigh of relief that she let out.

Olive turned her attention back to me, then the wall above my head. “It’s only a matter of time now.” I waited, giving her my silence, and seeing what else she would say. “The clock’s ticking.”

“Want to elaborate on that, Olive?”

She snapped her gaze back to my face, her slightly widening eyes giving away that she hadn’t meant to say anything, but it was too late now. “Erm…” She bit down on her bottom lip, then let the plumpness go. “I, Mom, I.” She rolled her eyes and slammed her hands on her hips. She was clearly frustrated, but I was enjoying the show she was putting on for me. My cock was rock hard, and if she’d only take a few steps closer, she would have seen that. “She never stays anywhere long. Normally a month or two and then she’s onto the next thing and we’re on the road again.”

No. The thought of Olive not being in the same house as me had my earlier anger turning to full blown rage. I couldn’t let her take Olive away, I couldn’t let her-fuck, what the hell was happening to me? I didn’t know this girl; I hadn’t even touched her yet.