Chapter 48

“Is that everything?” I asked again and cleared my throat. Ashlee was smoothing out her dress and gave me an unreadable stare for a long moment before finally answering.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then I should probably find my sister and see what they’re doing.”

She stared a bit longer, then finally broke eye contact and walked over to the desk to pick up the paperwork. “Yes, sir. I’ll get these filed at the office tonight.”

“Thanks,” I said and made my way to the door, emerging into the entertainment room.

“There you are!” Emily said next to the pool table.

“She was just telling me about some of your cartoon crushes,” Erin said with a little wave. “Daphne? Really?”

“What’s wrong with Daphne?” I said, walking over to them and trying to compose myself a little more. I briefly glanced over my shoulder and noticed that Ashlee hadn’t followed me out.

Erin studied me for a pregnant moment, clearly noticing that something was slightly off with me. Her brown eyes searched mine, looking for some sort of answer that would have been visible in my expression. My poker face needed some work.

Then the moment passed and she gave me a pitying smile. “It’s just so basic. Clearly, Velma is the way to go… or Shaggy if you’re so inclined.”

“Shaggy!” Emily protested with a giggle. “Not Fred?”

“Don’t tell me you’re basic too!” Erin rolled her eyes but grinned. “Of course not! Fred’s a workaholic. He’s the get-in-get-it-get-out type. He probably wouldn’t even get you to the finish line before he has to go back to work. Also basic as fuck.”

She looked back at me and nodded once in a final decision that brooked no argument. “Nope… Shaggy and Velma are the good ones.”

“You’re nuts,” Emily tittered.

“Agreed,” I said.

“Also agreed,” Ashlee called out as she slipped out of my office and shut the door behind her.

Erin craned her neck to the side to look past me and asked, “You get lost in there?”

“No,” Ashlee smiled sweetly, “I just wanted to double-check that everything was signed properly. Didn’t want to have to come back.”

“You’re leaving?” Emily asked.

“Yes,” Ashlee replied as she closed the distance between herself and the rest of us, “I have to get this stuff finalized tonight, but it was so good to meet you, Emily. We should do coffee or dinner sometime!”

“I’d like that,” Emily said, “I’ll walk you to the elevator, and we can set a date.

The pair slowly walked away from Erin and me, chattering about where to meet, and Ashlee threw a glance over her shoulder and gave me one more sweet smile before turning her attention back to my sister. I returned it half-heartedly. Then I felt my assistant approach my side.

“Everything good?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yeah,” I said.

“You sure? It looks like your pants shrunk a size in the past ten minutes.”

I looked down to see her giving me a smirk that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What’s your problem with her?”

“She’s trouble,” Erin said.

“Isn’t she your friend?”

“That’s how I know she’s trouble. For one thing, she’s the one who recommended me to Helen.”

That confused the hell out of me. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Erin shook her head and said, “Not if she knows I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“Wait…”

“Yep,” Erin said. “You saw the other two Helen had picked out for you. They would have tried to bag you in a heartbeat. Pure competition, and the princess can’t have that. Since she has her eye on you, she needs someone safe, but it can’t be some boomer who remembers the Regan era or someone who’s more beef jerky than a woman. You’re too male to go for something like that, so she suggested the only option she thought could work.”

“So she doesn’t see you as a threat?” I asked.

“She didn’t.”

“She didn’t?” I repeated. “What happened?”

“We just talked a little,” she said, leaning against the pool table. “Look, I can tell something went on in there. I told you in my interview, I need transparency. I’m not disappointed. I’m not jealous. I’m sincerely looking for your best interest.”

Erin was right. She had been nothing short of a miracle worker and my own personal angel. She deserved nothing less than complete honesty.

“We almost kissed,” I admitted. I slid my hands in my pockets and something felt off. My phone wasn’t there. I must have left it on the desk where I was signing the papers. “Come on. I need to get my phone. I’ll tell you about it.”

Erin followed me into the office while I gave her a brief recap of the entire set of events that led up to us almost kissing. I included the visit to the coffee shop where she first suggested a tryst and the bathroom where we officially met before being interrupted by Helen. Erin echoed my sentiment that it was strange how Helen never clarified the relationship between her and Ashlee.

I found my phone on the desk. Next to it was a wad of frilly pink fabric that hadn’t been there earlier. Erin picked it up gingerly between two fingers as I retrieved my phone; the small ball of fabric unfurled as she held them in front of us, revealing it to be a thong. The patch of fabric meant to cover the crotch was much darker than the rest of the garment, and there was a strong odor of arousal in the air.

“I think this confirms how she feels about you,” Erin said with another smirk.

“Have you guys…” I started to ask, then noticed a scrap of paper that had sat under my phone. Hastily scrawled across it were the words ‘look in your photos’.

“Are you asking if we’ve ever done it?” Erin said and bunched the panties up and held them to her nose. She inhaled deeply and then dropped her hand from her face. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure. She’s strictly about the dick. She’s also the jealous type.” She eyed me meaningfully, “It’s a lot to deal with.”

I unlocked my phone and opened my photos app. The first four photographs were a collection of Ashlee standing in my office. The first showed her from an upward angle as if holding my phone just above her head, her top completely undone and her tits on full display. She had breasts a little smaller than her mother’s capped with dusky brown, erect nipples. The next one showed the same scene, but at a lower angle, as if she were holding my phone near her waist. With the closer view, I could tell that there was just a hint of sag to her twenty-year-old breasts, suggesting that they were completely natural.

The next shot was taken from a slightly lower angle with her skirt hiked around her waist to reveal a pantiless crotch. A neat thatch of pubic hair demonstrated that the dark brown hair on her head was her natural color. The fourth was a closeup of her pussy with two of her fingers poised just below; they were covered in juices that still clung to the lips of her pussy, creating little strands of fluid that clung between her digits as well as the organ from which they’d secreted. I hadn’t been able to see all of her, but what I’d seen of Ashlee was astonishing, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Erin gave a low whistle of appreciation as she glanced past me at the photos, and I felt her reach around my waist and place her fingers over my rock-hard member. It reminded me of how Ashlee had fondled me only moments ago.

“She certainly is a beautiful woman,” Erin admitted. We looked at each other and a slow grin spread across her lips. “You need me to stay here tonight and take care of what she started?”

“You’d be up for it? After what happened earlier?”

Erin snorted. “My ass wouldn’t be, but the rest of me…”

She grabbed my shirt collar and pulled me toward her and delivered a searing kiss to my lips, devouring them with her own. I returned it just as enthusiastically, finally glad to get some action after being teased mercilessly by Ashlee and having that close call with Phoebe at the old apartment.

Before all this happened, my relationship with Jessica had been long-distance. There had been entire months where I wasn’t getting the physical intimacy I craved from my then-girlfriend. Now, I was constantly fucking multiple women, and my libido was getting used to the easy supply of gratification. Just a few hours ago, I’d fucked three women at the same time, and now after a little attention from a woman in distress and Ashlee’s little stunt, I felt like someone had poured lava down my urethra. I was turning into a massive horndog.

“I would love it if you could,” I said, finally breaking the kiss, “But it’s late and I think my sister is probably going to stay here for the night. I don’t know if it’s the best idea.”

“It’s a big house, Marcus,” Erin whispered. “Show her to a room far enough away, then come find me.” She kneaded my crotch with her dainty fingers. “My ass is sore, boss. I need you to kiss it, and lick it, and make it feel better.”

“Marcus?” Emily’s voice called out from just outside the door, and Erin backed off. She turned, flipped open the laptop, and started typing away.

“So now that’s taken care of, we should start looking into security, a groundskeeper, some maid services…”

“I wanted to talk to the owner about buying the building,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets to hide the bulge in my pants as much as I could.

Erin looked up. “What? Why?”

I shrugged, and movement at the door caught my eye as Emily poked her head in.

“I just like the idea of owning the entire building.”

Erin also caught sight of Emily. “Hey, girl! Is Ashlee gone?”

Emily slipped into the office. “Yeah. She seems… sweet.”

“She can be when she feels like it. Most of the time, she’s just high-maintenance,” Erin said.

“I can see that,” Emily said.

“So, what do you think of the house?” I asked, not wanting to talk about Ashlee.

“Oh my god, Marcus! It’s gorgeous! I didn’t get to see much though. Erin had to cut it short.”

I looked back at Erin, and she stared back at me and didn’t miss a beat. “I left my phone downstairs and my watch notified me that I had a message from Danni. Didn’t want to miss anything important.”

I had a feeling that wasn’t what had brought them back downstairs, but I wasn’t going to push it. Erin probably did me a favor. I needed to talk to Helen about Ashlee. I probably needed to get them to keep her away from me.

Hell… I probably needed a restraining order.

“No problem,” I said. “I know it’s getting late. Do you want to stay the night? I have some things to do, but I can give you a tour in the morning, and you’re more than welcome to stay for a while and relax.”

“I have an audition tomorrow afternoon, but nothing else. I could take the morning.” Emily said with a smile.

“Perfect!” Erin said then looked at me. “Boss, while you get her settled in, I’m going to finish up here and call it a night. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Sounds good,” I said. “See you tomorrow. Come on, Em. Let’s get you settled in.”

“Emily, it was great meeting you!” Erin followed me and hugged Emily. My sister returned it and the sentiment, then we left Erin to her own devices as my sister and I headed through the main living room, past the kitchen, and up the first flight of stairs.

“So, Erin’s really nice,” Emily said.

“Yeah,” I said, checking some of the rooms for a bedroom. I’d only toured half the apartment once, so I didn’t have everything memorized yet.

“She’s gorgeous too,” Emily continued.