On His Desk by Mia Faye

Chapter 43

AVA

It’s been an interesting week and we’ve fallen into a sort of pattern. Most times, Michael and I have dinner at his place with Paige and Elly. Paige has been friendly and I’m beginning to think I might have been paranoid and too suspicious. Maybe the woman just wants her daughter to know her dad.

It's Friday and in the afternoon, Michael goes off to meet some clients while I stay in the office. Time flies as I respond to emails. The next time I check my watch, it's five-thirty. I check my phone and find a text from Michael.

I'll meet you at home, baby. Running late.

By home I assume he means his place. I'm comfortable there now, which I imagine is what Michael intends as he really does go out of his way to ensure that I feel at home at his place as well as mine.

The one thing I haven’t done and don't intend to is to spend a night. Not while Paige and Elly are there. Mostly it's because of Elly. From what Michael tells me, Elly's routine is to wake up and go to her dad's room and snuggle with him. I'd hate to spoil her morning routine.

I get an Uber and give him Michael's address. I have my own elevator card now and I go straight up. Paige emerges smiling from the kitchen when she hears the chime of the elevator.

"Hi, I thought it might be you," she says and smiles. "I was making a cup of tea for myself, would you like some?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

I grab a magazine from the rack and idly leaf through it. Miley will get a laugh out of this when I tell her. Having tea with Michael’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter. What are we going to talk about?

"Is Elly napping?" I ask her when she returns carrying two mugs of tea. Elly is a neutral, safe topic.

'"Yes, but she'll wake up soon," Paige says.

"Thank you," I say when she places the mug on the table in front of me.

"You're welcome," she says and sits next to me on the couch but angles her body so that she's facing me. "So how are you balancing being Michael’s PA and girlfriend?" she asks with a small laugh.

My guard immediately goes up. But I haven’t been a PA for all these years for nothing. I plaster a smile on my face. "I've been fine. You know how undemanding Michael is. He's an absolute sweetheart so working for him is a breeze."

She raises a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "That's a surprise. He was rather difficult with his employees."

"Maybe they didn’t know how to handle him.”

Her facial expression changes. All the pretense at friendliness is wiped off. "You can wipe off that smug little smile from your face. You’re not going to last. I promise."

My smug little smile remains plastered on my face. "I'm not going anywhere, Paige. I'm here to stay. I love Michael and he loves me."

She lets out a laugh. “Love? Don’t be a fool. Michael doesn’t know what love is. I thought you were smart and knew enough not to fall in love with him. He’ll hurt you when he tires of you. Mark my words.”

A shiver goes through me. Her words frighten me. I don’t want to experience the pain of heartbreak again. Am I a fool for trusting Michael? For believing him when he says that he doesn’t cheat on women?

Before I can respond, the elevator chimes and we both turn our gazes to it. Moments later Michael steps out. He smiles when he sees us. I stand up when he approaches, and he pulls me into his arms and kisses me on the mouth.

At that moment, I make the decision not to tell him about my exchange of words with Paige. We'll both look petty and if I truly trust him, I have nothing to worry about.

"Elly still napping?" he asks Paige.

"Yes," she says. "Ava and I were having a girl’s talk, and I completely lost track of time."

I stare at Paige in admiration. She’s a real actress. How can she call what we were having a girl’s talk? It was more like a verbal catfight.

"No worries, I'll wake her up." Michael excuses himself to go wake Elly up.

Paige gets up and I'm relieved that she's going. Then she bends to whisper into my ear. “Do you know where Michael sleeps when he comes home?” She pauses for a beat. “My bed.”

I let out a laugh of disbelief. Paige is the adult version of the school bully. I don’t believe what she says for a second. Michael and I have talked about cheating a lot and I know his views. He’s not a cheater and he despises people who do.

A voice at the back of my head attempts to shake my trust in him, but I push it away.

Dinner is an exhausting affair. I find myself watching out for signs that there’s something going on between Michael and Paige. She touches him more than usual and then flashes me a triumphant smile.

My irrational mind is winning and visions of them tangled up in bed together form in my mind. I’ve been humiliated before and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone. By the end of the evening, I don’t know what to believe anymore and I just want to go home. Alone.

“Do you mind if I go home alone tonight?” I ask Michael.

My heart squeezes when a confused look comes over his features. Still, I don’t have the energy to deal with any more emotions tonight. What I need is to collapse in my bed and just sleep.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine, just the beginnings of a headache.” That much is true. The skin around my head feels like it’s been pulled too tightly.

“Okay,” Michael says as we go down the elevator. “I’ll come check on you first thing in the morning.”

“Not too early,” I tell him. “I want to sleep in.”

At home, I make myself a cup of coffee and carry it to bed. I try and leaf through a magazine. I see the words, but they make no sense. I can’t read and I can’t sleep.

I’m a mess. I thought I could handle Paige but she’s a pro at this. I’ve tried to dismiss her claims as the ramblings of a jealous woman. A woman who is determined to get Michael back. But the images that are running in my mind are driving me crazy.

Michael fucking Paige. Making her moan as he does me. Common sense tells me that he has no reason to do that. But the images refuse to leave my head.