Second Chance Romance

"The decorations look beautiful, Cassy," Mark said, making me grin at him.

"I know they are. I've got excellent taste," I winked at him, earning a chuckle from our small group.

The gold, black and red decorations I'd picked for our company's annual fundraiser looked as elegant as they did classy. Everything starting from the black and gold chairs and tables, the red flowers serving as the centerpieces and the strategically placed gold chandeliers hanging from the off-white ceiling of the hall gave the entire place an almost ethereal glow. I silently thanked the organizers once more who'd helped bring my vision to life so beautifully.

"If only the same could be said for your taste in men," Judith said, pulling my gaze away from the ornate decorations around us to her chubby face.

I raised a brow at her words. Just because I'd shared a few failed dating attempts with her over the past two and a half years that we'd been working for the same company, did not mean she could go around throwing it at my face in public like that. Too bad, she seemed to have forgotten she'd shared her fair share of failed relationships with me after one too many glasses of wine as well. "At least the men I choose to go out with don't leave the restaurant in the middle of the date on the pretense of going to the washroom," I shot back, earning a collective gasp from the people in our small gathering.

Judith's already pink cheeks turned a shade darker as she glared at me.

I simply blew her a kiss. "Don't dish it out if you can't take it, Judy," I sing-songed before excusing myself from the group who was now busy trying to extract more information from a rather flustered Judith.

As I made my way around the party, checking to see if everyone was enjoying themselves, I came to a stop at the edge of the hall, my gaze falling upon our CEO, Tristan Harrison.

Dressed in a tailored to perfection black suit that fit his well-sculpted body like a second skin, the guy looked delicious enough to eat. But it wasn't just his chiseled features or lean, muscular build that drew you to him—though, they were definitely a plus—it was the way he held himself, with an air of quiet confidence, that did you in.

He commanded every room he was present in like he was born to do it. Ever since he took over as the company's CEO after his father retired roughly six months back, I'd seen the man convince people to do things they'd never otherwise consider doing firsthand. Being his personal secretary, I'd had the privilege of watching him work his magic on more than a few occasions and boy, had I been impressed.

Even now, as he stood in a circle with some of the most influential men in the city who had, no doubt, spent millions on the auction that had just taken place, he stood out in the best way possible. They seemed to hang on to every word he was saying, completely enraptured.

Suddenly, as if sensing that I was staring at him, he looked up, making eye contact with me. Quickly covering up my deer-caught-in-headlights look, I gave him a smile. Apparently, he took that as an invitation to come to me because before I knew it, he had excused himself from the group of men he had been conversing with and was making his way toward me, never once breaking eye contact.

I couldn't bring myself to look away either. And how could I, when he was looking at me as if I was the only woman in the room? Those stormy green bedroom eyes of his were every girl's wet dream, and I'd be the first to admit that they had starred in my fantasies on one too many lonely nights.

Not that I was going to tell him that. No matter how attracted I felt to the guy, I knew my boundaries when it came to my boss. Besides, he was a womanizer through and through, and it'd do me well to stay away from the likes of him anyway, or at least that was what I kept telling myself whenever my mind strayed too far away.

"You've done a great job, Cassy," he told me, his deep voice washing over my senses.

I grinned at him, mentally sighing in relief at his words. Even though I'd helped organize the event twice before already, I'd been nervous about how things would turn out this time around given that this was the first time I was organizing it with him as the CEO. He had told me to do things like I did each year when his dad was the CEO, and that he trusted my judgment, but it was still good to know he'd liked it all.

"Thank you, Mr Harrison."

He tutted at me. "What am I going to have to do to make you call me Tristan? Mr Harrison makes me feel too old."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "It's called professionalism, Mr Harrison," I said to him, my tone light and teasing, like it usually was when talking to him. He was a great employer, chill enough that we enjoyed the occasional banter when we weren't drowning in work.

"Yeah? Well, seems like I'd have to see you sometime in a setting that's not professional, then," he said, his tone just as teasing, though his words had me raising my brows in surprise. Sure, our back and forth included a bit of flirting here and there but he had never been so direct before.

I didn't try and put a stop to it. "Not sure you'll be able to handle seeing me outside a setting that's not professional," I said, adding a playful wink for good measure.

He raised a brow at my words, his lips pulling up into a devilish smirk, one that hit me right in my lower belly. "I have a lot more self-control than you give me credit for, Cassy."

I couldn't help but smirk as well. "Doesn't seem like it, given the parade of women going in and out of your life every other week."

His smirk deepened. "Why don't you try me?"

My brows raised of their own accord. What was happening tonight? Where was all this bold, in-your-face flirting coming from? Had he had too much to drink?

But no, I'd been eyeing him almost the entire night, and he hadn't really had more than a glass or two of wine. Besides, from what I knew, he was responsible enough to not drink himself to oblivion at a public event.

Then, what was he playing at here?

Should I back down or let whatever this was go on?

You shouldn't want this to go on. He's your boss, Cassy. It's not right. A voice at the back of my head whispered like it usually did when I was straying too far from what was right.

For once, I ignored that voice. Deciding that I'd take this little charade as far as I could, I replied, "You want me to?"

"Wouldn't ask if I didn't," he murmured, his voice low. The fact that I could hear him even though he was speaking so low made me realize for the first time how close we were standing, so much so that his leathery scent was all I could smell, he was all I could smell, see, feel. His forest green eyes had darkened a shade and the way he was looking at me, like a lion ready to spring, made me feel hot all over.

"Come on," he said, and in a daze, I followed behind him until we were alone in a storage room a few steps behind where we had been standing.

It wasn't until he had closed the door and pushed me up against it with his hands around my waist that I realized what was happening.

"What were you saying?" He murmured, his voice still low and impossibly hot, going straight to my core. I clenched my thighs together.

When I didn't say anything, too flustered to form a coherent sentence, or thought, for that matter, he moved in closer, "Something about me not having control? Well," he paused, and I felt more than saw him smirk against the skin of my neck before he continued, "You're the one who seems like they've lost all control right now."

His words felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been splashed upon me and the world tilted into sharp focus, the lust-induced haze all but gone.

He's your boss, for God's sake. Pull yourself together, Cassy, right this instant. The voice in my head was back. And this time, I heard it, loud and clear.

I shook my head, lightly pushing him off. "You're my boss, Mr Harrison. This is not right," I said, even as the words left a sour taste in my mouth. A relationship between a boss and his secretary was a scandal waiting to happen, one I couldn't possibly get myself involved in. It would definitely end with me losing my job and I could not afford that, not when I had a little girl back home to take care of.

Tristan pulled back at once. His eyes held an emotion I couldn't quite place. There was disappointment mixed with something else, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Cassy-" he began, but before he could say anything else, I shook my head.

"Let's just chalk this up to a lapse in judgment and get back to the party," I told him, even though it was the last thing I wanted.

For a second, I thought he was going to protest, but then he simply nodded and left the room, leaving me a confused, flustered mess inside.

With the events of last night still fresh in my mind, it was rather difficult to concentrate on work. What I was dreading now was going into Mr. Harrison's office a few feet away and briefing him on his schedule like I did each morning.

After composing myself enough, I'd walked out of the storage room last night with my head held high, tactfully avoiding looking at, or talking to Mr. Harrison the entire night. Even when all the office members had gathered at the end of the night and he had congratulated us all on a job well done, I'd maintained my distance with a polite smile in place the entire time until he had finally left.

Now, as I gathered my nerves and finally got up from my seat, the same polite smile was plastered onto my face, that was until the click-clack of heels coming from the direction of the elevators made me stop in my tracks.

A blonde clad in a pink bodycon dress, with her hair and makeup beautifully done, was approaching my desk. It took me a moment, but I was able to place her as Sasha Sinclair, a model who had been invited to the event last night, and my smile fell a little before I forced it back on.

"Good morning, ma'am. How can I help you?" I asked, taking a seat behind my desk again. I had gone through Mr Harrison's schedule moments ago and he definitely did not have a meeting with her today. Though I had my doubts that she'd had one with him last night. An ugly feeling began to swirl in the pit of my stomach but I pushed it down, concentrating on the woman in front of me instead.

"I have to meet Tristan," she said, her tone nasally.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but unless you have an appointment, I can not let you go inside."

"I was with him last night, but he left before I could talk to him this morning. I just need to have a quick chat and then I'll be out."

The ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach swished around at her words, burning my insides up. It took me a moment but I knew what I was feeling was a mix of anger, and something else equally ugly. I didn't try to figure it out, focusing on the anger instead, anger directed at none other than my boss, Tristan Harrison.

Last night, he had been trying to get me into bed with him and when that had failed, he had picked up the next available woman as if I'd been nothing. As if what had happened between us had been nothing to him. How dare he treat me like that? Like someone so...so...

Replaceable? A voice at the back of my head supplied oh-so-helpfully.

Before I could shoot back something snarky at my inner voice, Sasha banged her hand on my table, making my attention snap toward her. "Excuse me, miss? I said I need to go inside."

I cleared my throat. "Like I said, I can not let you go inside unless you have an appointment. Why don't you try calling him? If he calls here and tells me to let you in, I will happily do so," I told her, nodding towards the portable landline we used for communication within the office building.

She rolled her eyes, making a show of taking her phone out and dialing him. I half wished he wouldn't pick up so I'd at least have the satisfaction of seeing security drag her out of there, but judging by the way her face lit up, he probably had.

"Baby," she all but whined down the line, managing to smirk at me while doing so. I simply rolled my eyes in response even as anger rose anew within me. "This woman outside your office isn't letting me come see you."

Mr Harrison said something that had her haughty look disappearing, her full lips turning down into a frown.

"But I came all the way here and—" she began before shutting up, her frown deepening some more.

"Yeah, well, fine. If a meeting is more important than me, then maybe you don't deserve me," she all but spat down the line before pivoting on her heel and leaving.

As satisfied as it made me feel that he had sent her off, it still did nothing to curb the anger I'd been feeling.

Determined to give him a piece of my mind, I got up from my desk and made my way towards his office. Knocking once, I let myself in.

"Sasha Sinclair was here to see you. Without an appointment. On the claim that you had been with her last night," I declared, foregoing all pleasantries and staring straight at him. And damn it, but the man looked as delicious as he always did, if a little tired, dressed in one of his suits like he always was.

He sighed. "I know. I just sent her off. I don't know why these women think they have the right to control my life after spending a night together."

If I was angry before, I was positively livid now. Did this man have any shame at all? How could he so openly accept he'd spent the night with another woman when he had asked me the same merely hours ago?

"So, you admit that you were with her last night?" I managed to ask, just to be clear.

"Not that it is any of your business but, yeah. She asked me to come to her place after the party, and I did," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders as if it were nothing.

"And you don't see anything wrong with that? Especially when it was mere hours after you were trying to get into some other woman's pants, namely me?" I asked, my words laced with every bit of the indignation I felt.

Much to my ever-rising indignation, he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers, observing me with those unnerving forest-green eyes of his. Then, after what felt like an eternity, even though it was only a few seconds, in a voice so calm that it'd put a monk to shame, he said, "You have absolutely no right to be angry at me when either of us hadn't committed anything to each other. Besides, if my memory serves me right, and I know it does, you were the one who had turned me down."

I scoffed. "So, what happened between us meant nothing to you?"

An emotion crossed his features for a moment but it was gone before I could figure out what it was, replaced by a mask of cool indifference, which irked me even more. He took a breath before letting it out slowly. "Do not come in here trying to put what happened all on me. The night would've ended very differently if it were up to me."

"Yeah? And what about the morning after? Would it have been me walking in here like that woman just did and you refusing to even look at me, let alone have an actual conversation?"

Mr Harrison let out a sharp laugh before shaking his head, though there was nothing funny about his laugh, or the situation at hand. "You drive me crazy sometimes, Cassy. What do you want from me? Last night, you turned me down. Moments ago you were angry that I'd spent the night with some other woman and now, you're asking me what the morning after would've been like had we spent the night together. What does all this mean?"

Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. What exactly did it mean? What did I want? Why was I getting so worked up over all this? I had turned him down last night. He could do whatever he wanted. So, why was I so angry over it? Because I thought I'd be different? It was childish of me to think I'd be the one to turn the bad boy into a good one. That he'd suddenly drop everything just to be with me.

Besides, even if he had done any of that, this was not a relationship I could afford to be in. If it ever came out that I was romantically involved with my boss, I'd definitely lose my job and that was not something I could live with. Not only would my only source of income be gone, with which I supported myself and my daughter, but it would also ruin my reputation. And no other company would hire me after a scandal that big.

I shook my head. "Nothing. You're right," I said, even as words left a bitter taste in my mouth. "I have no right to be angry at how you spent your night after I turned you down. I'm your secretary and that's all I wish to be."

"Cassy," he said, getting up and rounding his large table before coming towards me, the emotion on his face unrecognizable again. He gently tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his gaze tender as he looked down at me. "You have no idea—" he began, but the opening of the door behind us had us both snapping apart and looking at the said door, on the other side of which stood his best friend, Liam Johnson, a huffing, panting mess.

"Your dad," Liam said, before gulping in a huge lungful of air. "He has had a heart attack. He's being taken to the hospital as we speak. We need to go. Now."

I never got to know what I had no idea about because then the three of us were rushing towards the elevator in an instant, eager to get to the hospital as soon as possible, and praying that his father would make it through this.