Knowing I was going to be seeing John that evening, I put on a sheer thong to go with my garter belt and thigh highs along with a matching black bra. I put a dress I planned to change into in a bag, then put on a dress suit, my normal work clothes. Not wanting to deal with an extra pair of shoes, I put on the most comfortable pair of four-inch heels I owned and headed out.

The event went off without a hitch and I stood in the back of the room in case I was needed for anything, which was a good thing when one of the servers let me know they were running low on the champagne being served.

I went to the back where the extra stock was kept and managed to find another box of it and had one of the men help me wheel it back to the party. When I returned to my place, I spotted a familiar blonde I hadn’t noticed before. It was Mariah. I wasn’t sure what she was doing at my event, but since she seemed to know other people there, I wasn’t going to interrupt.

“So, how are you, dear?” one of the guests was asking Mariah.

“Oh, just great. I have this really amazing boyfriend who makes me feel like a million bucks. We’re keeping it on the down-low right now, though.” She glanced from one side to the other and then lowered her head toward the other woman, but not her voice. “You know, he’s dealing with his last girlfriend. He doesn’t know how to tell her it’s over since I’ve come into his life. She’s super-clingy, always texting him when he’s at work, aggravating him, bothering him when he’s so busy already.”

“Doesn’t it bother you? Knowing your man is with another woman?” the other woman asked, surprised.

“No. I mean, I get to be with him every day and some nights. He only sees her some nights when he can’t keep her at bay anymore. Trust me, when he’s with me, he makes it more than clear he’s just waiting for the right time to break it off with her.” She let out a loud sigh. “She has to know about me. I mean, he leaves smelling like me.”

“You would think…” The other woman trailed off, obviously not sure how to respond.

“Well, one day soon. He started talking about marriage, but I told him I’m not willing to even go there until he breaks it off with her,” Mariah said, shaking her head.

“Good for you. Hopefully that’ll make him move his feet a little faster,” the other woman said, nodding.

“Well, you’d think after being together for two years before he’d know how good we are together and that’d help motivate him.” She ran her hands through her hair as she shifted and lifted her eyes right to where I was. Her face flushed and she actually looked embarrassed. “Oh, Alix, how nice to see you. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I planned the event, so of course I’m here,” I answered, even though I felt like fleeing from the room. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. It only confirmed the thoughts that had kept me up the night before.

“Well, you’ll have to excuse me, I have to get back to work. I just wanted to stop in and say hi to a few old friends.” Mariah smiled at the woman next to her before winking at me and leaving.

I spent the last part of the party with my head spinning. It felt like the world was falling apart under my feet. When I returned to my desk, I sat down and put my head in my hands, fighting tears.

When my phone rang, I jumped and sniffled before answering, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Hello?”

“Precious? What’s wrong?” It was John.

“Nothing. What are you doing?” I asked, wiping my nose with a tissue. I didn’t know how to bring up the conversation I’d overheard. Who was telling the truth? Was John with Mariah and trying to find a way to break up with me? Had she been talking about another man? Why had she seemed embarrassed to find me there? It had to be John she was talking about, right? It was the only conclusion I could come up with.

“I’m between clients and needed to hear your voice,” he whispered in a husky tone. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Is Mariah seeing someone?” I blurted out the question without meaning to.

“What? I don’t know. I haven’t asked and I don’t really care whether she is or isn’t to be honest,” he answered, sounding frustrated. “Now, what does that have to do with anything?”

“I needed to know,” I sighed. I didn’t know why I’d asked. It’s not like he’d come straight out and tell me it was him if they were together behind my back.

“I wish you’d just forget she is around, baby. I’m looking for someone to replace her, okay? As soon as I find someone else, I’ll get rid of her. Now let’s talk about something else. I didn’t call to talk about her,” he groaned. “I have plans for you tonight. I’ll show you how important you are and how much you mean to me.”

“I can’t wait,” I breathed. All my emotions were at war within me. I wanted to believe him, but it was hard to understand what was going on with his ex. It was confusing and I felt like I was being yanked around. While I was shy and kept to myself most of the time, I wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on between the two of them before I called it quits. The fact that I was very likely in love with John made it that much harder to see him as a cheater and a liar, but if he was then I’d have to leave and never look back. My issues were bad enough without adding in more.

“Meet me at my office when you get off?”

“Okay,” I responded and hung up the phone. I had the rest of the afternoon to get myself together.

By the time I got off, I had managed to chalk up Mariah’s conversation to lies and changed into a tight black dress before heading over to John’s office. When I walked in, I was grateful to find the office empty. John’s door was slightly ajar and I knocked twice before pushing it further open. Lifting his head, he smiled as his eyes ran over me.

“Well, that’s the sexiest thing to walk into my office all day. Hello, beautiful.” John pushed back from his desk and patted his knee.

I walked over and sat on his thigh.

“I just have to write one more email and then I’ll be ready to go,” he said, placing one arm on either side of me as he tapped on his keyboard. It only took a moment before he turned the computer off and pulled me closer to him as he leaned back in his chair. I could feel the hard length of him against my ass. “I could bend you over my desk and fuck you right here. You are so hot in that dress.”

“Wait until you see what’s under it.” I looked over my shoulder and wiggled an eyebrow at him.

“Tease. You’re lucky I don’t fuck in the office or I really would do it. If I had you on my desk I’d get hard every time I sat here and that would get really awkward,” he laughed, and nuzzled his face into my neck. “Now what do you say to getting a tour of my place?”

“Let’s go.” I smiled and stood.

Resting a hand on my lower back, he locked up and escorted me to the hotel. It was odd being right back where I’d spent my day; then again, I wasn’t an employee, but a guest this time. As we waited for the elevator, John turned me around so I was looking at my vacant office.

“You know, I used to make extra trips to and from my apartment just so I could catch a glimpse of the beautiful woman behind that desk right there,” he whispered in my ear, his lips brushing against it as he spoke. “Then one day, she looked up and I knew she was doing something naughty while she watched me. Had me so fucking hard I almost came over to give you something so much better.”

“But you didn’t,” I whined, clearly remembering the encounter he was talking about.

“I didn’t. I fucking jacked off thinking about it three times that night, though.” He bit down on my earlobe as he rubbed his erection against my back. “Hell, I still do sometimes.”

“You masturbate?” I gasped in surprise.

“Of course,” he said as the elevator dinged with it’s arrival. He pulled me into the elevator by my hand and pushed the button for the top floor.