Being the Boss

24

Mary pressed her body into Brad's, she never really saw Brad as anything other than a friend and because of that she didn't know that he was more that goofy personality with a pretty face. As their lips continued to mold against each other, she couldn't help but notice things about Brad. He was gentle with her, never really forcing his touches, but rather letting Mary dictate the pace. His fingers danced along her spine and around her waist, occasionally wandering underneath her blouse. Even with his gentleness, masculinity slipped off him in waves. The chord of muscle in his arms that encircled Mary and the tautness of the plane of his stomach against her curves were things Mary never considered.

As his lips travelled down her neck, Mary tried to keep herself in the moment and not think about anything except for Brad, but that was proving to be difficult. Johnathan continued to creep into her mind and flashes of their encounters branded her mind.

Mary squeezed her eyes, determined to forget about him, she threw herself even more onto Brad. Cupping his face, she brought their lips together again. Although see could tell that the attraction was present between her and Brad, it was a fleeting ember compared to the inferno that Mary felt with Johnathan.

Brad tried to mumble something, but Mary wasn't paying attention. It wasn't until Brad pulled away from Mary, that his words were heard.

"That's enough for now," Brad said as he stroked back a few of Mary's disheveled hair.

Confused, Mary replied, "What do you mean? Isn't this what you want?"

Brad smiled ruefully, "This isn't real remember? Besides, I'm convinced, I'll help you with whatever you want."

Mary placed a chaste kiss on Brad's cheek, "You really are a great guy, you know that right?"

He shrugged, "You're not the first one to say that, so it must be true," he joked, moving so that Mary was no longer straddling him.

Once he had done that, Brad stood up and made his way to the door. Before he walked out, he turned to Mary and smiled, "See you Friday," he stated before walking out.

Mary smiled, everything was going the way she wanted. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she made her way to her room and drew up a bath.

After her fingers started to shrivel, Mary decided that she had enough time to soak and think about her next steps. She wrapped herself up in a plush towel and fumbled around her room to find her phone.

"Hey guess what?" Mary asked the second Agnes picked up.

"I'm not really sure, there's always something with you," Agnes replied.

Mary walked around her room, looking for her favorite pair of sweatpants, "Brad's in, Operation Turnover is officially in the green." Mary stated as she slipped her pants on.

On the other end of the line, Agnes groaned. She had tried to talk Mary out of plan, but nothing would sway her. Agnes tried to think of a way to caution Mary without enraging her, which wasn't always the easiest thing to do.

"Mary, don't you think there could be a better way to go about this? Maybe a way where other people don't get tangled up in everything?" Agnes offered, trying to get Mary too see reason.

Mary rolled her eyes, "I didn't start this, I just want to finish it."

"But like this? You shouldn't have to stoop to their level in order to give yourself a boost. Haven't you already gotten an upper hand?" Agnes reminded.

"Actually I don't, as long as the Knightly's still feel entitled to attack my company with their name and try to scare my partners away from investing then I still have a reason to fight back. The end justifies the means right?" Mary told Agnes, trying to get her friend to see things the right way. Her way.