. I get up ready to start the day, it's still early but I have a lot to do. I take a quick shower, put on the first formal blouse I can find and a pair of high-heeled jeans. My job is in an office, but we don't have to wear pencil skirts or anything like that, thank God, but we're still formal. In the kitchen, I prepare scrambled eggs and milk for my little one. If I let him, he'll drink milk all day long. He likes it. - Good morning. - Good morning, Jacey. - He gives me a kiss on the top of my head and goes to sit down with Sam to have breakfast. At least we try to have this meal together every day to give my little one some normality. Jacey Turner is Sam's uncle and godfather. No, he's not my brother or anything like that, but he's the brother of my son's real father, but I don't even want to think about that right now. - Are you working tonight? - I ask. - I'm going to the exhibition. Jacey is a photographer. Last month, he had another exhibition of his photos at a gallery in the city, so he always stops by on the day they're open, even though it's almost over. You know the kind of man who draws attention wherever he goes? He's very handsome, with his blond hair that makes anyone drool, but to me he's just Jacey, you know, the friend, the brother, the family. - Are you going to sleep at my house? - I don't know. - She answers, laughing. Not to mention that he's the typical player man, he's always with a different woman but never here at my house, our rule is not to bring anyone here unless it's serious, since I have my little one and it wouldn't be a great example to have a different person in the house every hour. - Come on, young man, let's take a bath. - I pick up my boy and go get him ready. He's so lazy in the morning even though he always comes to wake me up, but don't be fooled, he only does it because he's hungry because later the laziness comes back with a vengeance. I give him a bath, change him and get his backpack. Sam goes to a school near my house, I'd like to let him go to school later, but I have work, I don't love my job passionately and I could be home, but that's not going to happen. I put him in the car seat and drive the next few blocks, saying goodbye with a big kiss, making him feel embarrassed. His words, not mine. - Aunt Carol will pick you up, have a good day, love. - I give him one last kiss and watch him come in with his teacher. It always makes my heart ache just thinking about how fast he is growing up. Our daily routine always works very well. I drop him off at school, where he stays until lunchtime. Our babysitter, Carol, picks him up and spends the rest of the afternoon with him until Jacey or I arrive. She is an angel. She lives in the building next to ours and is in college. Her parents support her. Yes, she is a daddy's girl in that regard, but her personality is completely different, very simple, and my Sam loves her company, so since she would like to do something to have money that is hers and not her parents', she agreed to babysit him during the week. My life changed with the arrival of my son. I was completely alone in the world and two months away from finishing college when I found out I was pregnant. It was crazy. The luckiest thing I ever had was running into Jacey again. He was moving from Boston to New York and since I couldn't live the rest of my life in a shared apartment, I agreed to come with him. Jacey took me in and we became our own family. At first, I rented a tiny apartment that barely fit me, then before Sam arrived I moved into my friend's apartment, who took us in and, at great expense on my part, now lets me help with the expenses, but if it were up to him, he would pay for everything. It's hard to be rich. Months after Sam was born, I ended up getting a job as a secretary thanks to a good acquaintance of his family and I've been in the same place ever since. I work at an advertising company, but in the administrative area, yes, in the dreaded HR department, where you leave very happy, very sad or very angry. Not to mention that my boss is a pain in the ass, my God, he thinks he owns the whole business just because he has his signature on the hiring and firing, but he's just another employee like us. Despite his manner, I've never had any problems with him. I always behave professionally and so does he. Even though I've witnessed a lot of scandals that the guy's wife did in front of me, I pretend not to notice. It's not bad working there, but there are days when I can't stand it, and I don't even understand myself. It's too much for my brain, which already has so many other things to think about. Chapter 02 What a day! My feet are killing me and what I want most on this Friday night is to get into a warm bathtub and stay there for as long as possible, relaxing my body. In fact, I need to relax my body in another way, but this past month it's been hard to get a night off because of Jacey's exposure. Whenever I want to escape, he saves me and sta
Chapter 1 opening the front door
me: a hot night and nothing more. Unfortunately, I don't go out with coworkers because, look, there are a lot of hot men in this company, it's hard to resist. I put on my headphones and listen to some music to occupy my mind and continue nodding my head to the few coworkers who pass by me. I get in the elevator and lower my head, lost in the sound of Demi, I love her strong and impactful lyrics that reach the soul. I press the button for the ground floor and continue lost in thought, tapping my finger on my leg.
The doors open and another person enters the room, but I don't bother to look at whoever it is. Oh, but the day couldn't get any worse, could it? The damn elevator stops me out of nowhere. I try to focus all my attention on the sound in my ears to forget what's going on around me, but in less than two minutes I'm poked in the arm, making me raise my head. Good grief, wet panties, who is this man? Tall, around thirty years old, blue eyes, unruly dark hair falling over his forehead, broad shoulders beneath his neat dress shirt, and he definitely has an enviable body underneath all those clothes. I snap out of my reverie when his mouth is gesticulating. Then I remember the headphones and the gunshots so he can see that he wasn't listening. - Hi. - I say. - You've been quiet since the elevator stopped, are you crazy? - He says in his beautiful masculine voice, but I roll my eyes at the crazy one. - I'm not crazy. - I move away and lean my body against the elevator wall. - Do you want me to go crazy in these few square meters? No, I don't, so I have to keep my mind busy. - Definitely crazy. Okay, I snort and tell him that right now I can't stay calm again, so I sit on the floor even though I'm tying my hair in a messy bun. - What are you doing? - He asks. - Sitting, didn't you see? - I answer ironically, receiving a cold look from him. - Standing up is no use, we've been here for about five minutes. - They'll come and get us out. - Even so, I'm not going to stand up, if I were you I'd follow my example. - I saw him analyzing the situation and looking around. He snorted but sat down in front of me. I need to distract myself quickly. It seems that remembering my words about not freaking out, the hot stranger starts a conversation. - Do you work here? - I nod. - I've never seen you. - I laugh and he looks like he doesn't understand. - You're lucky you've never seen me, it means you haven't had to go to HR to sign your resignation yet. - He gave a beautiful smile as soon as I said it but I didn't understand why. - You're really lucky. What do you do in HR? - Secretary. - I note without taking my eyes off him, which are still focused on mine. - What's your name? - Hayley. - I say, seeing him lean over and extend his big hand to me. - David. - I feel my body shiver, I don't know if it's because of his hoarse voice when he says my name, the contact of our hands or his gaze on mine. I turn my attention to my cell phone and he sent a message to Carol saying that I'm going to be late. I explain the situation briefly and soon receive a photo of Sam lying on the couch wrapped in his blanket and watching cartoons, making me smile in love with my little one. I turn my attention to my surroundings when I jump in fright at a noise and a voice calling us. - Hi. - I shout back. - The technician is already arriving. - I snort just thinking about how long we'll still be here. I start to feel short of breath being confined in this small space and I undo the first buttons of my blouse to get some air, but instead I receive the attention of a pair of eyes. - My face is higher up. - I say, holding back a laugh, but instead of looking away, he repeats the same gesture as mine, unbuttoning his shirt, leaving a piece of his chest exposed. - My face is higher up. - Son of a bitch, you even did it on purpose, argh. - Ha ha, you're such a jokester. - I say irritably. - You're the one who started it. I'm going to die in here with this man, people. I try to focus on thinking and looking at other places other than him or I'll observe more than I need to. Noises behind the door continue constantly, making me believe that they're close to getting us out of this little cubicle, but I still feel his gaze on me, making my body catch fire. - What are you looking at so much? - I ask, smirking again. - You. - I raise an eyebrow, making a face like, are you serious. - I've seen you somewhere before. - Probably at the company, since you also work here, right? - He nodded but continued to look at me. - Do you go to Open Life? - I widen my eyes for a moment, thinking about what to answer, holy shit, I can't believe he's already seen me there. - What? - I pretend not to be interested. - I knew I'd seen you somewhere before. - I deny and he smiles even wider. Before we can continue the subject, the door opens, freeing me from this damn conversation. He extends his hand to help me get up and we get very close to each other as soon as I'm pulled from the ground, I'm so close that I can feel his breath, but I take a step back. - It was a pleasure David, goodbye. - I almost run out of the building without giving him a chance to answer. Chapter 03 My beloved and most awaited days, also known as the weekend. Oh, how I love having some free time. - Take me to the park? - Sam asks after we eat ice cream and walk through the neighborhood streets. I always try to give him the most attention on the weekend to make up for it, so I try to go out and walk with him instead of staying stuck inside the house and get some fresh air. I sit on the grass in the park that's close to our building. It's not that great, but there's a nice patch of grass where a lot of people come to spend their free time like today. My little one starts running around me, getting my attention, and I clear my mind of all distractions so I can play with him. - Now for a bath. - I say, opening the front door. - But mommy. - He still makes that begging face, this boy is my son, people. - Bath. - I say firmly and take him, still sulking, but soon the frown disappears with a few tickles. After taking a bath and smelling nice, I sit with him and Jacey on the couch to watch a cartoon on a Saturday night. - Do you want to go out tonight? - Jacey asks as soon as Sam falls asleep. - Seriously? - He nods, making me smile. - Go ahead, Sam is already asleep and you've hardly been going out because of the exposure. - I'll be back before he wakes up. - I say, getting up. - Relax. I run to the bedroom and get ready as quickly as possible. I choose a black dress, tight on the body and
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