Part 22

Mia's head was hurting. She wanted to drown herself in alcohol, a whole bottle all to herself, and she also wanted her boss. All to herself.

Since she's tired of holding her body upright in the couch, the assistant slid out of the chair and stretched out on the bed, the soft mattress underneath instantly making her eyes roll back. Her eyes were also so very tired, dropping as she kept staring at the door.

That's how Jane found her, alone and small curled up in her bed.

For a moment, her best friend just stared at her, the distant light from inside casting only one half of her face in brightness. Then she dropped down on the bed beside Mia, crossing her legs. She's quiet, waiting, and when the silence got too much, her best friend poked her. "Have you been laying in your bed all morning?"

Why does that matter?

"Maybe"

"I'll take that as a yes then"

"Last night was horrible." Mia whispered it to the room, trying not to watch Janes face for a reaction.

"I figured," Jane said softly. "With you calling me at six in the morning"

The assistant choked on a laugh. God, she's so pathetic. She tried to handle it alright but nothing seemed to be working. All the shows on the television bored her in few minutes, the mobile notifs didn't catch her attention at all. How was she supposed to kill time?

"Yeah"

That one word was followed by a stretch of thick silence. Jane sighed, poking her stomach. "I don't get why, though. Like, what happened? I thought you trusted Mrs Rossi's choice. Did you not like the guy at all?"

It was bordering on painful, Jane trying to figure out while she didn't even know the full truth. That's why Mia leaned forward, still laying on her front and interrupted. "His name is Jake...He's a great guy but Damon—"

"You mean our boss?"

Mia, red faced nodded and told her the entire story, obviously skipping the explicit details. The look on Jane's face the entire time made her nervous. Her friend was still, eyes wide as she heard the entire story.

"Wow" Jane opened and closed her mouth. "How could I not see that?! No wonder you have been less snappy these past few days"

Mia made an offended noise. "Hey!"

"I'm just stating my observation"

"Well." She rubbed her cheek against the sheets, choosing to ignore the comment. Her voice felt like a foreign being, something that originated from outside her body. "What would you have me do?"

"That's for you to figure out. I have faith in you" Jane parted her cheek as if she were talking to a child.

"You're useless"

***

A box arrived for Mia from one of the most expensive shops in New York. She was able to recognise it instantly because its Jane's favourite place to window shop. Neither of them could afford anything from that store. Its known for making intricate delicate jewellery. The box, a large, rectangle box that's shallow height, stared back at her.

Once again her friends gathered around, pestering her to quickly open it.

She opened the box. There's a tissue paper which concealed the content and then she noticed a folded piece of paper. Mia unfolded the paper and read the hand-written note.

"I had good time last night. Hope to see you again soon. Jake x"

Smiling she folded it and tucked inside the file before lifting the tissue paper. Its a charm bracelet. Mia choked on the air as she lifted the delicate silver bracelet with different shiny and trinkets.

"It's so beautiful" One of them cooed.

"Wow"

As they were all fawning over the piece of jewellery no one noticed Damon walking out of his office. Mia instantly froze as he stood in front of her, his lips twisted as he eyed the box in her hands.

"What have we here?"

Mia looked a mix of emotions as she dropped the box from her hand and pushed it aside like it scald her. At his one look the people around cowered away, pretending to be busy.

"It's a gift. From Jake" She swallowed.

"Well how nice," He dryly said. "However that doesn't pay your bills. So I suggest you start focusing on your job Miss Grace"

She glared at him but simply nodded her head.

***

Mia was thinking all that went down in the office as she walked out of her office. They had dinner to attend so she's going with Damon. As soon as she slid in, the assistant noticed the stiffness of his posture and the set frown on his face. She also didn't miss the way Damon slammed the door.

The assistant raised an eyebrow, "What's your problem?"

The CEO was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, fingers pale where they're curled around the padded material. He turned to Mia and he's glaring. "Why didn't you tell me that Jake asked you out again?"

Well, shit. "It's not that big of a deal," Mia tried to placate, face paling. "He wants to take me out again. I gave him my number."

"Oh, does he now?" Damon snorted.

From an outside perspective, anyone would assume that Damon was mad because he's jealous, but Mia knew it can't be further from the truth. The CEO had no emotions for her. Its always about his ego.

"Is that why he sent you that gift today?"

"Maybe" She licked her lips nervously.

"That's fucking great!" He hissed under his breath, angrily gripping the wheel.

She grimaced at his sudden reaction. Mia should have told her boss sooner. But then again why should she? It's her personal life. He had no say in it whatsoever. Also if he had anything to say the CEO would have said it sooner.

"It's seriously not a big deal."

"I hope so," Damon grind his teeth together, turning to face the front again. "I hope you're well aware of what you're doing, Mia."

"What are you implying?" She asked, brows furrowing as irritation festered inside her. "That I cant take my own decisions? Maybe you're right after all I did choose to sleep with you"

The car swerved at that. He abruptly stepped on the pedal and came to the stop in the corner. Damon pulled her in like he's been wanting to do since she started talking. With his one hand cupping the back of her neck and other tangled in her hair, Mia let out a moan.

All the protests on her lips died an abrupt death when he bit down on her bottom lip. Suddenly, she went limp in his hold, reaching out to grip his shoulder and sunk into him. Mia sucked in a breath and then leaned down as he swallowed her little gasp of surprise. A big hand comes up to frame her face, his thumb was achingly gentle as it rubbed over her cheekbone.

Mia let out a small startled sound, leaning up into the touch and pressing closer.

His tongue swept along her teeth, like he's trying to learn their contours, and did they start like this already, open-mouthed and desperate?

Damon didn't move, probably liking the way her fingers were digging into his skin, how she didn't yield, how she flicked out her tongue, challenging him with every dirty swipe. He smelled of vanilla and coffee, so strong that Mia felt dizzy with it.

Before she knew it, the CEO had an arm slinked around her waist, tugging her closer. She twisted her body and moved to straddle Damon, holy mother, yes, and something cluttered to the ground.

The sound echoed around which was enough to jerk back as if burned. Damon clutched at her, trying to make her stay but she pulled back.

"What—"

Mia wasn't quite certain how she got her voice to work, but she did. Except for how it's too high and thin, foreign to her own ears.

"Please don't." She exhaled and sagged back against the glass, the length of her arm still pressed along her boss's side. There was nothing she wanted more than to drag him back in, move from exploring his mouth down to his neck, his collarbones, bite along the contours of his chest. It's maybe not entirely be healthy after the way they left off things.

Mia needed to stop. She's already too involved. The assistant has certain feelings toward him too, feelings he's been trying to ignore for the past six months to no avail and it's only getting harder with every passing day. Suddenly, she felt sick and queasy. Mia screwed her eyes shut and rested her head on the window, gritting her teeth against the pain. The unhealed wound was pulsing in her chest, bleeding through her skin, tearing her apart, and there's nothing she can do about it.

As expected Damon was quiet for the entire ride and then they walked in and pretended everything was alright.

***