What. The. Fuck?
This is not Bella, absolutely not.
Bella is a child.
Bella is young.
Bella is my best friend’s fucking kid.
This absolutely stunningwomancannot be George’s daughter.
I can’t stop staring, she’s absolutely gorgeous.
Bella has always been a pretty girl, but that’s just it — she was a girl. Not this dark-haired, green-eyed goddess with perfect tits and a tight ass.
When the fuck did she grow-up?
I could probably count on one hand the times I’ve interacted with Bella. Spending time with family isn’t the friendship George and I have, but I wasn’t expecting this. I wasn’t expectingher.
“Hi Reed, it’s been a while. How are you?”
Well, shit.
You know you’re screwed when a woman’s voice makes you hard. I had a semi the minute I laid eyes on her, but it’s a full on hard-on now she’s opened her mouth and those husky words left her cherry red lips.
I clear my throat, hoping my voice doesn’t come out as gravely as it feels. “I’m good, Bella, you… ermm, you look great. How have you been?” She smiles at me, her perfect white teeth flashing. Is there anything about this girl that will turn me off? Does she snore?
Fuck, no, don’t think about her in your bed.
“I’m good thanks, Reed. You look good too. Do you mind if I take a seat?” She gestures to the chair in front of my desk.
“Fuck, of course. Sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners.”
A gentle knock at the door is followed by Tania walking in with two coffees.
“Here you go. Reed, your espresso and Bella, dear, your cappuccino.” We both say our thanks and she leaves us, part of me wishes shehad stayed. I’m feeling incredibly awkward around my best friend’s daughter, a feeling I am not at all familiar with.
I rack my brain, trying to figure out when I last saw her. It was before she started college, maybe three, four years ago? No wonder she looks so different.
She takes a sip of her coffee and her eyes meet mine over the rim of the cup. Her throat swallows the hot liquid and my eyes follow every movement.
“What is it you’d like me to do, Reed?”
Everything. Fucking, everything.
Fuck, I’m screwed.
Pulling my mind out of the gutter, I think over what I had planned for us today.
“I’ve got a meeting at nine-thirty a.m. with the external communications team. For now, I think if you just shadow me, take notes of any questions you may have and we can catch up at the end of each meeting.”
It’s going to take a while for us to find a rhythm we’re both comfortable with. Bella is essentially coming on board to be my number two; the plan is for her to eventually take over my job when I retire, and Beau, her brother, will take over from George. George will be retiring before me, what with him being a decade older than me, and Beau being that much older than Bella too.
“What will happen when you go to San Francisco? Do you still split your time between there and here?”
“You will be coming with me most of the time.” This just keeps getting worse — how am I meant to travel with her? None of this was an issue before she walked into my office, but now, every moment with her is going to test my restraint.
“Okay, I thought that would be the case but I wanted to check. My family has an apartment there they use for that office, so it won’t be an issue at all.”
