The Millionaire's Masquerade (Erotic Romance Novella) by Amelia Calhan Page A
Authors: Amelia Calhan
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door policy except for when he was engaged in meetings or phone calls. She guessed he was on a personal call from the way he guffawed every few seconds and from the way he fiddled with his pen. He always fiddled with his pen when he flirted on the phone.
Meg yanked out the bottom drawer of her L-shaped desk and continued to dump her accumulated junk into the boxes without concern. Amongst the contents was a long-forgotten vent brush. She grabbed it and tore the bristles through her hair, taking her anger out on her freshly dyed follicles, not caring if she ripped her hair from its roots.
Aidan glanced up from where he scribbled on his doodle pad, and when he caught her gaze, his brow furrowed and he swiveled his chair until he faced the window. Her cheeks heated to radioactive levels, and she gripped the handle of the brush and wrenched it through her hair, sending stray strands flying. She grabbed a raw elastic band from her pen holder then secured a bun at the nape of her neck.
"Knock, knock." Ellory, her willowy friend and coworker, leaned against Meg's desk with crossed arms.
"Sorry, didn't see you. I was busy packing."
"Sure you were." Ellory nodded toward Aidan's office with a grin. "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Meg removed the torn hair from the brush and watched as it floated into the trashcan. "About what?
"Oh, I see, you're playing dumb." Ellory clucked her tongue. "About the six-two piece of meat you've spent the last two years drooling over."
Meg glared at her friend and whispered, "Keep your voice down. How I feel about
him
is between you and me."
"Right, because no one else notices your puppy dog eyes whenever he walks past. Sometimes I think you're going to have a big 'ol orgasm when he talks to you."
"I'm not
that
obvious."
Ellory raised both eyebrows and snorted. "Whatever, babydoll."
"If you're done harassing me, I need to finish packing up my things." She wasn't in the mood to defend her inability to be a sexually liberated woman who made the first move.
"Just wanted to let you know we're going to O'Reilly's after work for mojitos and Christmas karaoke. You in?"
"As awesome as that sounds, I have to paint my studio tomorrow and unpack boxes. I can't have a late night." Shelly, being a
screw 'em and leave 'em
kind of woman, wouldn't understand the only thing Meg wanted to do was to go home, eat cookies, chips, and candy, and get all teen-angsty about her unrequited love for Aidan.
"What? But who's gonna sing
All I Want for Christmas
with me? It's a tradition."
"We did it once. Hardly a tradition." Meg scowled and heaved out a fake sigh. "I suppose one mojito won't hurt. Two at the most. Maybe three. But seriously, I can't get wasted. I've a million and one things to do this weekend."
"And what would the two of you be whispering about?" The smooth Northern Irish lilt in Aidan's voice did all manner of peculiar things to Meg's insides. He sat on the edge of her desk with his jacket draped over one arm and his laptop bag laying over his crotch. Oh, to be that bag.
Ellory gave Meg a discreet wink. "We're going to O'Reilly's for drinks after work, and since it's Meg's last day, we were hoping you'd join us."
He cleared his throat and shifted as if uncomfortable at being asked. "Sorry. Can't. Meeting Alex Testani to discuss funds. Put tonight on the office tab."
"Will do, boss." Ellory sashayed off with a wicked smile.
Aidan's beautiful dark-brown eyes engulfed Meg, trapping her in a lust haze. The way he gazed at her made her ultra-conscious and she curled a stray strand of hair around her finger. Desire and hope pricked her skin. Could this be it? Could this be her "why, Ms. Jones, you're beautiful" moment?
"Thanks a million for your hard work, Meghan. We'll miss you, so we will."
Nope, it wasn't. To him, she was nothing more than Meghan, his ever-faithful assistant. Despite her sniveling heart, she fought to keep her expression neutral. "And thank you, Mr. Forrester. Being under
Meg yanked out the bottom drawer of her L-shaped desk and continued to dump her accumulated junk into the boxes without concern. Amongst the contents was a long-forgotten vent brush. She grabbed it and tore the bristles through her hair, taking her anger out on her freshly dyed follicles, not caring if she ripped her hair from its roots.
Aidan glanced up from where he scribbled on his doodle pad, and when he caught her gaze, his brow furrowed and he swiveled his chair until he faced the window. Her cheeks heated to radioactive levels, and she gripped the handle of the brush and wrenched it through her hair, sending stray strands flying. She grabbed a raw elastic band from her pen holder then secured a bun at the nape of her neck.
"Knock, knock." Ellory, her willowy friend and coworker, leaned against Meg's desk with crossed arms.
"Sorry, didn't see you. I was busy packing."
"Sure you were." Ellory nodded toward Aidan's office with a grin. "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Meg removed the torn hair from the brush and watched as it floated into the trashcan. "About what?
"Oh, I see, you're playing dumb." Ellory clucked her tongue. "About the six-two piece of meat you've spent the last two years drooling over."
Meg glared at her friend and whispered, "Keep your voice down. How I feel about
him
is between you and me."
"Right, because no one else notices your puppy dog eyes whenever he walks past. Sometimes I think you're going to have a big 'ol orgasm when he talks to you."
"I'm not
that
obvious."
Ellory raised both eyebrows and snorted. "Whatever, babydoll."
"If you're done harassing me, I need to finish packing up my things." She wasn't in the mood to defend her inability to be a sexually liberated woman who made the first move.
"Just wanted to let you know we're going to O'Reilly's after work for mojitos and Christmas karaoke. You in?"
"As awesome as that sounds, I have to paint my studio tomorrow and unpack boxes. I can't have a late night." Shelly, being a
screw 'em and leave 'em
kind of woman, wouldn't understand the only thing Meg wanted to do was to go home, eat cookies, chips, and candy, and get all teen-angsty about her unrequited love for Aidan.
"What? But who's gonna sing
All I Want for Christmas
with me? It's a tradition."
"We did it once. Hardly a tradition." Meg scowled and heaved out a fake sigh. "I suppose one mojito won't hurt. Two at the most. Maybe three. But seriously, I can't get wasted. I've a million and one things to do this weekend."
"And what would the two of you be whispering about?" The smooth Northern Irish lilt in Aidan's voice did all manner of peculiar things to Meg's insides. He sat on the edge of her desk with his jacket draped over one arm and his laptop bag laying over his crotch. Oh, to be that bag.
Ellory gave Meg a discreet wink. "We're going to O'Reilly's for drinks after work, and since it's Meg's last day, we were hoping you'd join us."
He cleared his throat and shifted as if uncomfortable at being asked. "Sorry. Can't. Meeting Alex Testani to discuss funds. Put tonight on the office tab."
"Will do, boss." Ellory sashayed off with a wicked smile.
Aidan's beautiful dark-brown eyes engulfed Meg, trapping her in a lust haze. The way he gazed at her made her ultra-conscious and she curled a stray strand of hair around her finger. Desire and hope pricked her skin. Could this be it? Could this be her "why, Ms. Jones, you're beautiful" moment?
"Thanks a million for your hard work, Meghan. We'll miss you, so we will."
Nope, it wasn't. To him, she was nothing more than Meghan, his ever-faithful assistant. Despite her sniveling heart, she fought to keep her expression neutral. "And thank you, Mr. Forrester. Being under