Free Office Hours by Sam Crescent Page B

arms. To be truly loved by another person. She knew deep down in her soul that she loved him. Loved him unlike any other person. Antonio didn’t hold a candle to the power of her feelings for that man stood below. She would do anything for him, be anything.
    She folded her arms over her breasts trying to lock in her beating heart.
    She turned as her door opened. “Hey, Sweetheart.” Linda let herself in. Anya smiled, pleased to see another friendly face.
    “All the other couples have gone, just you and Nathan left,” Linda informed her.
    “I guess that is what Nathan is talking about down there.” Anya pointed out of her window.
    “Are you two just work colleagues?” Linda asked, coming to stand next to her, knowing Anya had been watching him.
    She must think I’m some sort of horrid stalker—be careful of your bunny rabbits, kiddies.
    “Yes, I’m his personal assistant.”
    “Nothing more…personal?”
    Anya smiled. “No. I don’t believe in mixing business and pleasure. I’m sure you can understand, as a woman yourself.”
    “Yes, times may have changed so that women can work in competitive fields, but there are some who are willing to use woman-ness to their advantage.” Chuckling, Anya queried, “‘Woman-ness’?”
    “You may not mix business with pleasure, and I’ve only known Nathan for a short time, but I can already see a change in him, and if you ask me it’s the change of a man in love. This weekend has changed you both. I can see it. Nathan is in love with you and, unless I’m very much mistaken, you’re in love with him too.” Her first instinct was to deny it but then, needing another woman to understand her pain, she nodded, tears springing to her eyes as her heart danced a riot in her chest. “How can anybody live with this kind of pain?” she croaked out.
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    “At least talk to him. My dear, he loves you.”
    “And if you’re wrong? What do I do then?”
    Linda took her in her arms, holding her to her chest, comforting her as a mother would a child.
    “You’re a beautiful, bright, intelligent woman. If he doesn’t see that, then he’s not worth it.”
    Linda comforted her for some time, until Nathan knocked on the door and escorted her down to her car that would take her home.
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Chapter Five
    Monday Morning
    Anya couldn’t keep her eyes off the numbers of the lift as they lit up, each one taking her closer to her floor.
    When she’d got home last night, she had immediately called to terminate her pleasure weekend membership, tearing up the tickets she kept locked in her safe at home. But questions, anxieties rioted around her brain, scaring her. What if this weekend had just been a fling? A one-time only affair? Could she bear to go through it all again, through the pain, the heartache if it turned out to be a one-time only deal?
    She couldn’t think like that. She was Anya King. Anya King didn’t feel those emotions.
    She knew better.
    Her bravado lasted several seconds, until the ping of the lift alerted her to the fact she was finally at her floor.
    Head held high, she smiled at everyone, greeting the people who acknowledged her but heading straight for her desk.
    Calm, think calm.
    Nothing seemed out of place and, with the shaking at a minimum, she started up her computer to check through her emails.
    Nathan could see her through the glass, her glorious red hair tied back in that horrid bun. His heart raced—he felt like a kid in a sweet shop when she’d walked into the office.
    The simple white blouse and knee-length black skirt did nothing for his raging cock. He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable without destroying his view of the delectable Miss King. Remembering the way her legs had fitted snugly around his waist as he ploughed into her, he wanted her again—forever. He didn’t want to think about life without her. She completed him. Everything had happened so fast, from being rescued