Illicit Affairs by Holly Dixon

Ten

Nate’s handsgrasped handfuls of Ms. Archer’s hips, his fingers itching to reach back to her plump behind and pull her forward. He hadn’t been expecting to find her here this weekend but was highly pleased when Tom had mentioned all three of his daughters were visiting. As per usual, Ava’s colourful mouth never failed to impress or amuse him, nor did her beautiful flustered face. She looked different outside of work—less sharp and filtered, her curves softer and more delicate, a type of carefree demeanour to her that he enjoyed.

“Mr. Brooks?!” Ava piped, her voice breaking from the high pitch she addressed him with. It didn’t help matters that Heather was snorting back her laughter behind them both.

Why is this fucker always around at the worst possible times?

“Ms. Archer,” Nate didn’t attempt to hide his amusement as his lips lifted into a perfect smile that dimpled his cheeks and reached the corners of his eyes. “I was just catching up with your father,” he explained as a common courtesy, his eyes dipping down to the pleasant placement of her warm palms against each of his pectorals.

Ava couldn’t help but stare up at him, her feet frozen in place, and her fingertips unwilling to move from the solid muscle beneath his fitted lilac shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves and only emphasised the power beneath the stretched and rumpled fabric.

When he eventually made a move to step back from her, she noticed the way his fingertips applied a slight amount of pressure into her sides, his thumbs pressing into her hipbones and causing a surprised gasp to leave her lips as their magnetic gaze remained on each other.

“Ah, Ava, I see you bumped into Nate!” Mr. Archer exclaimed, stepping out of his study and into the hallway where Ava sprung apart from her boss as she tried to remember the use of her tongue.

“Quite literally,” Heather quipped, passing by Ava with an impish smile on her face and receiving daggers from her elder sister.

“Nate, we were just getting dinner, why don’t you join us?” Mr. Archer beckoned generously as he staggered up to Nate and placed a hand down upon his broad shoulder.

Nate didn’t need to look at his assistant to know her expression would be horrified at the prospect of him joining their dinner party, a small amused chuff escaping his nose at the thought.

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly impose, Tom,” Nate replied, deciding to let Ms. Archer off the hook and save her any further embarrassment. However, he did intend on quizzing her as to why she would “fuck her current boss”.

“Pish-posh, you wouldn’t be imposing at all, we’ll set you a place at the table now.”

Ava felt her stomach rocket into her throat as she quickly made her way into the dining room and sat down at her usual spot at the table. This was a nightmare.

Home is meant to be a sanctuary and here the bloody devil is!

“Well, that wasn’t painful to watch,” Heather whispered next to Ava, her thin lips rolled inwards to suppress her laughter.

“Shut your mouth!” Ava hissed, elbowing her sister and uttering, “You don’t think he heard, do yo—”

“High maintenance, expensive to upkeep, and desperate to see the Italian coast,” Nate chuckled, suddenly appearing in the room alongside Mr. Archer and causing Ava’s mouth to snap shut.

“Ah yes! As are most,” Mr. Archer laughed as he took his seat at the top of the table. “But a fine beauty she is! We sailed the coast of Sicily many years ago—why Ava, you must have only been a little sprout!”

Ava sat upright, giving her father a meek smile as she downed her glass of water to quench her suddenly dry mouth. It was a pleasant but odd experience seeing Mr. Brooks dressed down and wearing dark navy jeans that clung to his strong thighs and emphasised the tightness of his bottom—he certainly had a bum that rivalled even Beckham’s. It also wasn’t lost on her, or her sisters for that matter, that Mr. Brooks’s tan leather belt matched perfectly with his brogues and designer wristwatch. Of course, a man of his stature would be effortlessly stylish as he were handsome, making it near impossible for Ava to keep her eyes off him as he took his seat directly across from her at the large table.

Ava wasglad that during the meal, the conversation was steered mostly towards Suzannah and her college work. However, Ava did find out snippets of information about the mysterious Nathaniel Brooks and how he studied law at Harvard, was an only child, and grew up just outside of the big city in a town called Southampton, confirming that her boss was from new money just like her.

“Yeah, well, Cynthia was telling me about the internship she got, you know, for work experience, so it’s something I think I should look into as well. What do you think, Daddy?” Suzannah asked, her fork moving around the peas on her plate, an annoying habit that Ava thought her little sister would grow out of after twenty-odd years.

“Absolutely, pet. Exposure to the working world is critical in any industry,” their father agreed and suddenly Ava’s head popped up as though a light bulb switched on above her.

“What about an internship at the firm? We’re always hiring data clerks!” Ava insisted, knowing their father would show his own daughter the same kindness he did to her best friend. However, as her father and Mr. Brooks exchanged a disconcerting look, Ava furrowed her brow and asked, “What?”

“That’s partly why Nate came over, bug. During the annual financial review, you’ll know we look at ways to save the business money, and as it turns out, data entry isn’t required anymore,” Mr. Archer sighed, removing his glasses with a heavy look on his face.

“What are you say—”

“What your father is trying to say, Ava,” Nate interrupted, wiping his smug mouth with a napkin, “is that it is the twenty-first century and with robotics in place these days, there is no use for a data clerk—we’re practically tossing cash down the drain.”

“Wait, you’re not telling me you’re getting rid of the data department, are you?” Ava’s attention snapped between Nate’s composed face and her father, who was now rubbing at the bridge of his nose. She felt the prickle of anger up the back of her neck like a flame held against her reddening skin.

“I was going to tell you after dinner, bug.”

“You cannot get rid of that department; Sam is in that department!” Ava scolded, her hands bundled into tight fists upon the table’s edge as her father stuttered and stumbled for words.

“It’s smart business, Ava,” Nate cut in.

“This was your doing, wasn’t it?” Ava angrily accused across the table towards her boss as her sisters sat back in their seats sending each other worried glances that Britain and America were about to start a world war.

“Hey, I’m just doing my job”—Nate raised his palms defensively—“if you’ve got a conflict of interest in this matter, we can discuss it in the office on Monday.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?!” Ava exploded at her new boss, the legs of her chair scraping loudly against the wooden floors as she suddenly stood with her fists banging down on the dinner table, rattling the china, and causing her family to jump whilst Nate remained as glacial as ever.

“Ava, calm down!” Heather gasped.

“No, I will not calm down!” Ava raged, turning her attention to her paling old man. “This is Samantha we’re talking about; she is like a daughter to you! She is not fucking expendable!” Her eyes snapped back onto Nate as he calmly got to his feet.

“Ava, you should listen to your sister, this is not a conversation for the dinner—”

“Oh, fuck off, you knob!” Ava barked, interrupting Nate as she tossed her napkin on the table and stormed out of the room before she had a chance to see the gobsmacked expression on her boss’s face.