Fuck Leo

EMERALD

My face felt swollen when I woke up. It always felt puffy when I cried, and I inevitably ended up looking like I’d got into a fight with anaphylaxis and only barely won after ten rounds.

All right, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it sure as shit felt like it.

I muttered into the crisp-smelling pillow but stopped mid-rant as last night came back to me.

I was instantly mortified. I’d had a complete breakdown on my boss’s shoulder.

No. Scratch that.

~On his lap~!

I was so exhausted afterward that I just fell asleep. I did wake up briefly when Tate took me to one of the spare rooms and tucked me in.

I remember it made me feel like I was taken care of for the first time in years, and I remember how nice it felt as I went to sleep.

“Lance is going to kill me.” I gasped as I threw the covers back.

I’d never stayed overnight at anyone’s place that wasn’t my childhood best friend, Macy, who was in London visiting her virtual lover and hopefully making it not virtual.

The fact that I didn’t tell him I wasn’t coming home probably had him seeing red, but since he knew it was a guy…

I shuddered as I looked around for my phone and found it on the nightstand. I scrambled to grab it and found that Tate had sent my brother a message last night.

Tate

This is Tate. Emerald is staying in a spare room tonight.

The shocking part was what Lance said back.

Lance

I figured she’d fall apart after today. That’s why I kicked her out. She needed you or she wouldn’t have picked up the phone.

Lance

Just keep your hands, and other body parts, to yourself and have her back by lunch.

“It’s official. The aliens have abducted my brother and replaced him with a clone.”

I shook my head and typed out a message, letting him know I was awake and okay and that he was an ass for locking me out of my own apartment, which I had graciously opened to him while he was on leave.

“Jerk.”

I dropped the phone on the bed and flopped backward, feeling like a rubber band that got pulled too much, all loose and kind of floppy. Without the tension and pressure, I felt almost normal again.

Funny thing was that I didn’t feel ~abnormal~ to begin with.

A few minutes later, my alarm went off, and I groaned. The benefit of staying at my boss’s place was that waking him up was going to be the easiest part of the morning.

The list of downsides, however, was extensive.

I had no hairbrush, no toothbrush, no clothes aside from the pajamas I was wearing when my brother essentially gift-wrapped me and handed me over (which we would be discussing, ~at length~, when I got home).

I wasn’t able to pick up the dry cleaning or the coffee, and I had no idea how to work the fancy TV that sat in the living room.

I usually watched the news to be ready for whatever ripples came through the business world, from stock market trends to the weather to a textile strike in China.

I did know there was a coffee maker in the kitchen, and I am ashamed to admit that, after seeing it, I looked up how to use it on the internet.

Provided he had coffee grounds or beans to go in it, I could make the coffee here.

I could work outside of the office easily enough, so I didn’t ~need~ to be there, although I was also responsible for keeping unscheduled and unwanted visitors from waltzing about.

I got up and stretched before making my way to the kitchen. A quick search revealed not just coffee grounds but enough ingredients to make an actual breakfast.

I did kind of need to apologize for turning into a basket case last night.

All the countless hours of cooking with Mom were finally being put to use for more than just myself, and I smiled to myself as the memories of our household kitchen came to mind.

Mom and I getting into a flour war.

Dad trying to sneak in and steal cookies that we’d made for a school bake sale.

Lance chasing me around with a lobster.

It made my heart warm up as I turned off the stove and took the last piece of breakfast sausage out of the pan just as the toaster popped.

I buttered the toast and turned to put the plate of sausage and toast on the island with the eggs I had just finished, only to find Tate sitting down, looking like he’d literally just woken up.

It scared the hell out of me, and I jumped.

“Good morning,” I said once I’d collected myself and put the food down. “I hope it’s okay that I kind of helped myself to the fridge.”

“I don’t mind,” he said, looking at the food as I made him a cup of coffee. “I kind of prefer you waking me up this way instead of the blinding light to the face.”

“Don’t get used to it. I enjoy my little jabs too much to give them up entirely.” I laughed. “I figured since I kind of made a fool of myself last night, I could stand to be nice to you this morning.”

“You didn’t make a fool of yourself, Emerald.” He looked at the coffee cup I put in front of him.

“You were human, which was a relief because I was beginning to think you might have been some kind of superior species sent to Earth to take over, one trip to the dry cleaners at a time.”

“I am superior but still human,” I said with an exaggerated smile.

“I don’t know when the last time was that someone cooked for me because they wanted to and not because I paid them to,” he said after a moment and started making a plate.

“Fair warning, it probably tastes like shit,” I lied.

“As long as it doesn’t kill me, it would be kind of a dick move not to eat it.” He shrugged and took a bite. His eyes went wide before they narrowed at me. “You are so full of shit, Emerald.”

“I had you scared for a second, though.” I laughed. “So, do you mind if I’m a little late to the office? I kind of need to go home and do something with the utter train wreck that I clearly am this morning.”

“Don’t worry about coming into the office today. I have a lock on my office for a reason,” he said as he ate.

“Just handle the phones and emails and keep my schedule updated. It’s Friday, so take the easy day and the weekend to sort things out with your mother.

“Maybe spend some time with your brother. It’s been a while since he was on leave, right?”

“Six months.” I nodded.

“I’m not as dependent on you as you think. I can manage a day, I promise.” He looked at me quickly before focusing on his coffee.

“Thanks, Tate,” I said with a small smile. “For last night, too.”

“I’m here if you need me, Emerald. It’s not like you don’t know my entire schedule months ahead of time.” He nodded. “Go home. I’ll see you on Monday. After you blind me, of course.”

“Of course. Can’t let you think one little breakdown is going to change anything.” I smiled as he finished eating and drained his coffee.

“Dale’s downstairs when you’re ready. Just leave the dishes. Lucy is coming in this morning, and she always complains she has nothing to do aside from sweeping and dusting.” He chuckled.

“Try not to wear something tragic this time. The navy suit and a white shirt is an easy choice. Nix the tie and wear the white gold Rolex and the black shoes on the third shelf,” I instructed.

“Oh, and you have a meeting with Hammond and Preston at eight.”

“Those windbags?” He grimaced as I took the dishes to the sink and rinsed them.

“Don’t worry. I made sure to schedule a rescue call with Mr. Hyatt at eight thirty.” I chuckled. “You owe him a day at the gym this weekend.”

“A whole day for a phone call?” he grumbled.

“He wanted a weekend in the Cascades.” I shrugged. “I talked him down.”

“How do you do that?” he asked and stood up, stretching his arms in front of him. “If you ever decide to go into law, I’ll gladly fire him for you.”

“If she ever went into law, I’m pretty sure the world would tremble,” Vince complained as he walked into the kitchen and eyed the food on the island.

“Leo is on his way. Pretty sure he’s got some kind of scheme going on, so I suggest being smart.”

I left the kitchen, leaving the two of them to talk about what Leo could be planning and how to avoid falling into his trap.

I went to Tate’s room to get his clothes set out for him before I left since he was going to have to deal with his brother now.

I even peeked into the dresser and found that he did, in fact, own normal clothes. I had to smile to myself as I slid the drawer shut and went back down the hall.

I stopped when I heard Leo’s voice. The last thing I needed was to be seen in my pajamas at my boss’s house when he was supposed to be getting married.

“No one is going to back you, Tate. Everyone wants money now, not at the end of the quarter.” Leo laughed.

“I’ve already spoken to the board members, and they all like the idea of selling. I mean, let’s face it, thanks to you, the company is worth billions of dollars now.

“That kind of price tag makes people see the possibilities for the future. You never really stood a chance.

“You’re so broken about relationships, I don’t think you can convince someone to stay an extra hour unless you paid them.”

I narrowed my eyes and went back into Tate’s room. I dug around and smiled triumphantly when I found the slightly wrinkled dress shirt he wore yesterday and stripped, trading my pajamas for his shirt.

I made sure to skip a buttonhole or two before messing up my hair more than it already was and rubbing my cheeks a little to make them slightly flushed.

Yeah. Fuck Leo.

I went right to the kitchen and started making some coffee before I looked toward the living room, faked surprise, and hid behind Tate.

“Um. Emerald?” Vince looked really confused.

“Sorry, Tate. I didn’t know anyone would be here yet.” I made sure to sound incredibly regretful. “I know you wanted to process my resignation with HR before anyone found out.”

“Found out?” Vince asked, even more confused. “What resignation?”

I grabbed the back of Tate’s shirt and put my face in his back.

“Are you fucking your assistant?” Leo laughed.

“Did you miss the part where she resigned?” Tate replied, putting a hand behind him to touch my back. “She’s not my assistant anymore.”

“Since when?” Vince asked. For a lawyer, he wasn’t that smart.

“Yesterday, after she went home early,” Tate said pointedly.

“You’re fucking your assistant.” Leo laughed louder.

“Actually, we’ve been seeing each other for some time now,” Tate said icily.

“We didn’t sleep together until last night,” I muttered and felt an honest blush on my cheeks.

I wasn’t blind or dead. Tate was a walking wet dream, and the idea of having sex with him was enough to make me flustered.

But right now, I was hearing the rumble of his voice through his back, which was flexed in a delicious way under my hands while he continued to hold me against him.

“That’s…news.” Vince ~finally~ caught on with a smile. “When were you planning on telling me, Tate?”

“My contract was up in two months,” I answered for him. “He said some things that were… Well, you know how he is.

“I was mad and asked him to let me out of my contract early so I could find a job somewhere else.”

“I agreed, but I’m not letting her go.” Tate looked at Vince. “She’s worth fighting for, so you better stop fucking flirting with her.”

“If you had told me before now, I wouldn’t have flirted with your woman in the first place,” Vince held up his hands.

“This is rich,” Leo snorted. “It’s pretty convenient timing, brother. Does she know you’re using her? That you’re going to throw her away when you get what you want, just like the garbage she is?”

One second, I was standing behind Tate, then all of a sudden he was tackling his brother to the floor and punching him in the face while he sat on his hips.

“Tate!” I shouted and grabbed him around the waist. “Tate, stop it!”

I knew there was no way I could have moved him if I tried, but I didn’t need to because as soon as I told him to stop, he did. No, he went almost completely still, which was terrifying.

“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that again, Leo. Brother or not, I’ll break your fucking face,” he growled in his brother’s bruised and slightly bloody face. “Get the hell out of my house.”

With a shove, Tate got up and put his arms around me, squeezing firmly as he moved us to his bedroom.

Once the door was shut, he actually growled and picked me up so he didn’t have to bend to put his face against my neck.

My legs instinctively went around him, making me blush hard enough to be thankful he couldn’t see it.

When you have a crush on someone, even knowing it’s completely juvenile, you can’t help but react like a love-struck schoolgirl when they hold you like Tate was right now.

My stomach flipped and my heart raced and, as much as I tried to fight it, arousal started a sleepy burn in my belly.

“You were supposed to take a few days, Emerald, not a few hours,” he muttered after I felt his shoulders slowly relax some. “But I’m so damn happy you didn’t.”

“Would it be too far if I told you I ’really’ hate your brother? I can not like my future in-laws, right?” I whispered.

“You can do whatever the hell you want looking like this.” He chuckled. “You look really fucking good in my shirt, by the way.”

“Oh god,” I groaned. “I’m totally wearing your three-hundred-dollar shirt.”

“You can keep it. It looks better on you anyhow.” He laughed and lowered me to the floor.

“But no more walking around in it with Vince here. Fucker is lucky you’re short enough that it looks like a dress on you or he’d be a dead man right now.”

“Um… Would it be safe for him if I might have accidentally flashed undies when I grabbed you?” I blushed and hid my face in his chest.

“Absolutely not,” he growled.

“Then, I totally didn’t.” I squeaked a little.

“Goddammit,” he hissed.

“So”—I drew it out awkwardly—“I think I just quit and told you I’d marry you. Right?”

“Ah, shit. I need a new assistant now.” He groaned, making me laugh.

“Ah, shit. I need a new job now.” I groaned, making him laugh.