Story One: The Secret in the Wall
*Stella*
Stella Winston looked herself over one last time in the mirror, smiled, and exited the bathroom. She walked to her desk and sat down. She normally didn’t care much about how she looked at work — but today was different. Anna — one of her co-workers and friend — set her up on a date tonight. Stella wasn’t usually into blind dates, but she had been so bored lately that any kind of date would be fun.
Unless he turned out to be a complete jerk.
“Stella, my office. Now.”
Stella looked up when she heard her boss call her name. ‘What now?’ she wondered as she stood up from her desk.
When she entered her boss’s office, he looked up from his desk with an odd expression on his face. It wasn’t the first time she had seen that look.
“So, what are your plans for tonight?”
“Excuse me?” she asked, staring at him.
Her nights were her business, not his.
“You seem to be preening yourself today. What plans do you have?”
‘Preening myself?’ she wondered, confused.
She had never been one to preen herself. Memories of checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror flooded her mind, and she almost groaned. But how did he know she was doing that? Had one of her co-workers seen her in the bathroom while coming or going?
But who would turn her in like that? Especially to Mr. Valasco.
“Well?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Well, what, sir?”
“What are your plans for tonight?” he practically growled at her.
This is none of his business. What she does in her free time is none of his concern.
“Do I need to keep you overnight, Miss Winston?”
“No, sir. My personal life is none of your concern.”
Mr. Valasco jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing as he glared at her. “I am your boss,” he said, his voice deep and angry. “What you do is my business, especially when it distracts you from your work.”
Stella took a step back. She had never seen Mr. Valasco so angry before. But why would he be angry, and how did he know she had been preening herself? Not that she would call it preening — she had only checked herself in the mirror to make sure she still looked good. She had just one more hour of work before heading to the restaurant for a dinner date.
Well, to be exact — a blind date.
“Answer my question, Stella,” her boss ordered.
Stella sighed and said, “I wasn’t preening myself, sir. I was simply checking my reflection in the mirror. Women do that.”
How in the world did he know she was checking herself in the mirror anyway?
“I am going to need you to work tonight,” Mr. Valasco said as he sat back down in his seat.
Stella stared at him wide-eyed. ‘Seriously? He’s going to make me work a night shift?’
“Sir, I —”
“Enough,” he said, waving his hand at her. “Go back to your desk. I will see you later tonight.”
Stella turned away from her boss and headed for the door.
“Don’t spend so much time preening yourself,” he said as she left the office.
Stella stood outside the boss’s door, her eyes wide with shock.
“What happened?” Anna asked as she walked up to her.
Stella turned to Anna and told her everything she had just gone through with their boss.
Anna growled and said, “You’re not missing out on this date; it took me a week to get my brother to agree to it.”
“Your brother?” Stella asked, staring at Anna.
Anna chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s not my brother you’re meeting tonight; it’s a friend of his.”
Stella sighed with relief; she didn’t want to date her co-worker’s brother, especially since she and Anna have become good friends.
Even if it’s only one date.
“Come on,” Anna said, taking hold of Stella’s hand. “I will take the shift for you. That way, you can go on the date and be happy.”
Stella chuckled as Anna led her to their desks, which were right next to each other.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Stella sat at the table where the waitress had seated her for her blind date. She had already been waiting for fifteen minutes, but there was no sign of her date. Maybe she should have worked tonight instead of sitting here, waiting for someone who, it seemed, was never going to show.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and the waitress asked her to either place an order or leave.
Great, rub it in that she was abandoned — how kind of her.
Stella ordered and waited for her food. If he wasn’t going to show, she might as well take the time to eat a decent meal, even if it cost her more than she could afford.
Fifteen minutes later, her food arrived, but her date was still missing.
Stella ate her dinner, paid her bill, and headed out the door to the parking lot.
“Well, that was fun,” she mumbled as she headed to her car.
A squeal made Stella turn just in time to watch a car swerve toward her.
“Look out!” someone shouted.
Stella grunted as a large body tackled her to the asphalt. The squealing tires faded into silence as the car sped away.
“Stupid, idiot,” the man who had tackled Stella said as he moved off her.
“Gee, thanks,” Stella grumbled.
The man looked at her and grinned. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
She looked up at him, and her heart skipped a beat. He was so handsome and strong. Well, she knew he was strong — she had felt his muscles when he tackled her.
“Sorry about that,” he said, offering her his hand.
She took it, and he helped her to her feet.
“Thank you for the rescue,” she said, her eyes still fixed on his face. He had such beautiful blue eyes; she could get lost in them.
“You should really watch out more,” he said, still smiling.
She nodded. “Sorry, I had some things on my mind; I didn’t even think —” Stella stopped talking when her phone started ringing.
“You get that,” he said, motioning toward her purse. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
She nodded and pulled her phone from her purse. After pressing the answer button, she looked up — and he was gone.
Stella sighed and turned to the voice on her phone. “Hey, Stell. Sorry I didn’t call sooner. Mr. Valasco had me working my butt off for the past two hours. I guess it’s punishment for taking your place tonight.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with him,” Stella said, frowning.
Anna chuckled. “No worries. I just wanted to let you know that your date is going to be late. He received a call and couldn’t avoid it.”
Stella grunted. “It’s too late,” she said, walking toward her car again. “I already ate, and I’m going home.”
“Dang it,” Anna grunted.
“Sorry, Ann, but I waited, and they told me to either order or leave.”
Anna cursed and said, “I’m going to write a bad review for that restaurant.”
Stella chuckled. “Sure, okay. I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Okay, I’ll try this again next weekend,” Anna promised.
Stella shook her head as she got into her car. “No, I would rather not go through this again.”
“I swear, Stell, it was an emergency.”
“Everything is an emergency,” Stella said. She sighed as she started her car. “I appreciate you thinking of me, Ann, but I’m not into blind dates. I only agreed to this because you worked so hard to set it up, and I’ve been incredibly bored lately. Thank you for thinking of me, but I’m done with dating. I told you that a long time ago.”
“Stella, don’t let that jerk ruin your life.”
Stella sighed as she pulled out of the parking lot. She knew Anna wasn’t referring to the blind date who had missed their date tonight. She was talking about Stella’s ex — the man she once believed she would spend the rest of her life with. The man who broke her heart and shattered it into pieces. The man who promised her the world and gave her nothing but jelly.
The man who cheated on her with her best … ex-best friend.
“I gotta go, Anna. I’m driving, and I don’t want to get pulled over.”
Stella hung up without waiting for Anna’s response. She sighed and tossed her phone onto the passenger seat, next to her purse.
She drove home and went straight to her bedroom as soon as she entered her apartment. She changed into her nightclothes, checked the door to ensure that she had locked it, used the bathroom, and then went to bed.
That night, she did not dream about the usual nonsense.
She dreamed of the handsome man who had saved her life. When she woke the next morning, she felt happier than she had in a long time.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
“Miss Winston, my office, now!”
Stella looked up as Mr. Valasco hollered at her. She sighed and stood up.
“Don’t let him bully you,” Anna whispered from her desk.
Stella nodded and headed to their boss’s office.
“I told you last Friday that you were going to work overtime, not Anna,” Mr. Valasco said the moment she entered his office.
“I had plans, sir; I couldn’t get out of them. Anna offered to cover for me.”
“You said you had nothing planned,” Mr. Valasco said, eyeing her closely.
Stella shook her head. “No, sir. I said that it was none of your concern.”
“How dare you!” Mr. Valasco said, jumping to his feet.
“Sir,” Valasco’s secretary said as she opened the office door that led to her space.
“Sherry, what is it?” Mr. Valasco ordered, turning to her.
“Mr. Tantino will be here in five minutes.”
“Damn it,” Mr. Valasco cursed.
‘Mr. Tantino,’ Stella thought — the owner of the company they all worked for.
“Miss Winston, get back to work,” Valasco ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Stella nodded and left the boss’s office.
“What’s going on?” Anna asked as Stella returned to her desk.
“Mr. Tantino is going to be here soon,” Stella whispered.
“Shit,” Anna said, looking around them. “I hear he and Mr. Valasco have been best friends since junior high.”
“Yeah, that’s why he gets away with so much,” Tenya said, turning to them from her desk in front of Anna.
“I hear they were both expelled from school for harassing a girl,” Betty said, stopping at Stella’s desk.
Stella sighed. No wonder only women worked for the company.
“Get back to work,” Anna whispered. “None of us can afford to lose our jobs.”
Tenya and Betty nodded and returned to their desks.
“What did Mr. Valasco want?” Anna whispered.
“To chew me out for letting you take my double shift.”
Anna snorted. “He shouldn’t have given us permission to do so last year.”
Stella smiled. When she was talking to their boss, she had planned to tell him pretty much the same thing, but then Sherry entered and interrupted them.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Stella set her bag on the counter and washed her hands. She noticed something shining in the mirror and glanced behind her. There was nothing there. She shrugged and turned back to the mirror.
“Hey, there, Stella.”
Stella turned and smiled. “Good morning, Hilly.”
Hillory chuckled and walked into one of the stalls. “Did you see the big, big boss today?”
“I did, but I didn’t speak with him,” Stella remarked.
“Sherry said that they laughed a lot; she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she did hear your name mentioned.”
“Why my name?” Stella asked, annoyed.
“I don’t know.”
Stella rolled her eyes and went back to rubbing lotion on her elbows. Her skin cracked too easily when the weather was hot — as it had been over the past couple of days.
“Are you okay?” Hillory asked as she stood at the sink to the left of Stella.
“I’m fine,” Stella grumbled, rubbing the lotion into her skin.
“Too dry of weather, huh?”
Stella nodded.
“Well, don’t stay in here forever; you know Mr. Valasco will chew you out for being in the bathroom for too long.”
“Yeah,” Stella said.
“You know, I would like to know how he knows what I’m doing in here when I’m in here.”
Stella turned to Hillory and asked, “He knows what you’re doing in here?”
“Well, he knew I was in here plucking nose hairs last week. He told me how disgusting that was and said to never do it again.”
Stella’s mouth fell open. “How did he know you were doing that?”
Hillory shrugged. “No clue. Maybe someone came in, saw me doing it, and ran to him.”
“Maybe,” Stella whispered.
“See you at lunch,” Hillory said, smiling. She waved, then left the bathroom.
Stella took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. ‘There had to be something going on here. Either he has spies, or —’ Stella’s thoughts stopped dead in their tracks.
“Or he’s watching us,” she whispered.
The strange light in the mirror caught her attention again. She looked at the spot on the mirror, then turned and looked at the wall. She turned back to the sink, packed up her lotion, and headed out of the bathroom.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Stella stepped into the police station and looked around. She wasn’t sure if she was right, but her gut kept telling her she was.
“Can I help you?”
Stella looked at the officer behind the counter and nodded. “I need some information on what’s legal and what’s not legal.”
The officer stared at her as if she were crazy.
Stella shook her head; even to her, that sounded stupid.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she stepped closer to the desk. “I worded it wrong. You see, I would like to know what I can turn in to the police and what I cannot —”
“Ma’am, if you don’t understand the law, please wait over —”
“No, please, I do understand the law, but how do I report it —”
“Please take a seat over there,” the officer said, pointing to the other side of the room.
Stella sighed and walked over to the area the officer was pointing to. Why couldn’t she get her brain to function properly?
“There you are.”
Stella looked up and smiled when she saw Anna.
“Why aren’t you talking to one of the officers?”
“He told me to sit down over here. I had trouble saying what needed to be said.”
Anna sat down next to her with a heavy sigh. “Do you really think he’s watching us?”
Stella shrugged. “Won’t know until we find it.”
Anna nodded.
Anna was the only one of the six of them who had stayed after work, so she was the only person Stella confided in about her suspicions.
What if they lose their jobs?
“Miss, can I help you with something?”
Stella looked up and found a different officer standing before her, a serious expression on his face.
“I was told that you don’t understand the laws. Did you break one?”
Stella grunted and stood up from the chair. “No, I didn’t break any laws, sir. I was having trouble figuring out how to ask the question. You see, I think our boss is watching us.”
The police officer smirked and said, “It’s their job to watch employees.”
“Not in the bathroom, it isn’t,” Anna said, standing beside Stella.
The officer looked at both of them, then turned and nodded to another officer. He looked back at them and said, “Please follow me.”
Stella and Anna followed the officer to a room at the back of the station. He told them to sit and assured them that someone would be with them shortly.
Stella and Anna sat in the room for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably only five minutes. Another officer joined them and placed a notebook on the table. He introduced himself, then asked what was happening, who was watching them, and where.
Stella explained everything to the officer, and when she finished, the officer looked at her in disbelief.
“Peter Valasco is a good man; I highly doubt he would have a camera in the women’s bathroom.”
Stella and Anna exchanged glances before turning to the officer.
“Then how does he know what we do in there?” Anna asked.
“He probably asked one of the ladies to inform him, probably his secretary. Their relationship runs deep, so I’ve heard.”
Stella held back a laugh. Sherry and Mr. Valasco in a deep relationship? Maybe on a cold day in hell.
Sherry hated their boss with a passion; she only tolerated him because she was a single mother and needed the money.
“So, you know our boss,” Anna said.
“Everyone knows the Tantino family and Peter Valasco. They’re good men; they donate to the police station every year.”
‘So that’s why they like them,’ Stella thought, wanting desperately to yell at the man for taking their boss’s side just because they donated money to the police station every year.
That does not make him innocent.
“So, you won’t do anything for us?” Anna asked.
The officer shook his head. “Without proof, there’s nothing we can do.”
Stella took a deep breath and exhaled. “Fine,” she said as she stood up. “Come on, Anna. We’ll find the proof they need.”
Anna stood up, and they walked to the door.
“I doubt you will,” the officer said as they left the room.
“Do you think the cops helped him set it up?” Anna asked.
Stella shook her head and said, “I doubt it. I think they just don’t want to lose the donations.”
Anna huffed. “Maybe Alec can help us.”
Stella looked at Anna. “The man you set me up with last week?”
Anna smiled and said, “The one and only.”
Stella shook her head. “How can he help us?”
“Alec is more than just a cop, Stella; he’s a detective.”
Stella stopped and turned to Anna. “You never mentioned that.”
Anna chuckled. “Whoops, sorry. That’s why he was late for your date — he’d gotten a call about a case he’d been working on.”
“Dang,” Stella whispered. “If you had told me that, I would have waited longer for him.”
“That’s okay. He said he’s willing to give it another try if you are.”
Stella chuckled and said, “I’ll think about it.”
If she were honest with herself, the only man she had thought about was the handsome, strong man who had saved her life last Friday. Every night, she dreamed about him, and every morning, she woke up happy.
“Hello? Earth to Stella,” Anna said, waving her hand in front of Stella’s face.
Stella shook her head and looked at her friend. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something. So, what do we do now?”
“We contact Alec and tell him what’s going on, including what the officer said about Mr. Valasco and Mr. Tantino. Then he will know how to proceed from there.”
Stella nodded, and they left the police station.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Stella looked at the glow in the mirror again and groaned. Why couldn’t they find the darn camera, yet she could see a light in the mirror? When she turned it in, she was told the light was coming from the ceiling. But how was that possible? The light wasn’t anywhere near the mirror.
“You okay?”
Stella turned and smiled at Anna. “I would be better if more people were on our side, and not the men’s.”
Anna sighed. “Sherry is talking about quitting.”
“What happened?” Stella asked, completely shocked.
“Mr. Valasco told her that she couldn’t have this weekend off. He said that there’s too much to do.”
“But this weekend is her son’s birthday,” Stella almost squealed.
“Yeah,” Anna said with a sigh.
“This is getting ridiculous.”
Anna nodded. She looked at the mirror and sucked in a shocked breath. “You weren’t kidding about the reflection.”
Stella nodded. “They said that it’s the lighting, but the lighting isn’t close enough for the mirror to detect it.”
Anna sighed. “But there is no camera in the wall.”
“That’s it,” Stella said, looking at the wall behind them. “It’s in the wall.”
“I hope it doesn’t have a mic,” Anna whispered.
Stella turned to Anna, leaned forward, and kissed her on the cheek.
Anna looked at her, stunned, and Stella whispered, “Smile for the camera. No one else is in here; if he says something about that kiss, we’ll know he was watching.”
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
“Miss Winston, please come to my office.”
Stella stood up from her seat and smiled at Anna. “It’s time to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Anna chuckled as she watched Stella walk to the boss’s office.
“Sit,” Mr. Valasco said, pointing to the chair across from his desk.
Stella sat in the chair and waited.
“You do know that sexual relations are not allowed between co-workers, right?”
Stella nodded.
“Then why were you and Anna kissing in the bathroom?”
Stella sighed. ‘Yep, he’s watching.’
“And how do you know what we were doing in the bathroom?” she asked.
He didn’t speak for a moment, then said, “Betty told me. She saw you two going at it in the bathroom.”
Stella wanted to laugh. He knew they weren’t “going at it”; it was just a simple kiss on the cheek. But to save himself, he lied. She also knew that Betty would never tell him anything like that, even if she did witness it.
“Well, I’m sorry to say, but we didn’t go at it. I kissed her on the cheek to thank her for setting me up on the blind date last week. I will be seeing him again this week. Besides, I know Betty wasn’t in the bathroom.”
“She was in one of the stalls,” he lied again.
Stella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then said, “Mr. Valasco, we didn’t do anything sexual or against the rules. It was just a simple kiss on the cheek, nothing more.”
“Fine,” Mr. Valasco said. “You may go now.”
Stella stood up and left the office. She needed to turn this over to the police now that she had proof he was watching them.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Stella entered the police station for the second time that week. Perhaps now someone would listen to her. She approached the counter and told the officer that she wanted to speak with someone about their boss breaking the law.
Of course, the same officer spoke with her. She told him everything, yet he still did not believe her. And told her that it wasn’t enough proof.
“Maybe Betty was in the bathroom with you and saw you making out.”
Stella almost hit the cop for that part.
As Stella was leaving the station, someone entered, holding the arm of a man in handcuffs.
“You,” she whispered as she watched the officer pass by her.
“Hi,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Me neither,” she whispered.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, shoving the arrested man toward an officer.
The officer took the man and led him away.
“I came to report my boss breaking the law, but no one believes me.”
“What is your boss doing?” he asked.
Stella told the man everything. She thought she would never see her handsome rescuer again. Yet here he was, a police officer, attentively listening to her story.
“That does sound like something Peter Valasco would do.”
“Do you know him?” Stella asked.
Was he going to side with her boss as well?
“My sister is the girl they tried to rape and got kicked out of school for.”
“Oh,” Stella said, covering her mouth with her hand.
“I would like to help you,” he said, watching her closely.
“Thank you so much,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“I’m Detective Petratelli, by the way,” he said with a smile, holding out his hand to her.
“Miss Winston,” she said, shaking his hand.
Well, if he’s going to introduce himself by his last name, then she will do the same.
“It’s good to meet you, Miss Winston. I have plans for tonight. How about we meet up tomorrow and make plans to uncover your boss’s bull crap.”
Stella smiled and nodded. “I have plans tonight, too. Tomorrow sounds great.”
“Meet you here tomorrow around one?” he asked.
She nodded. “Sounds good.”
“See you then,” he said, then turned and headed toward the back of the station.
Wow, her savior is a detective. Tonight, she planned to find a way to tell her blind date that this would be the last time.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
*Alec*
Alec Petratelli watched the woman leave the police station and smiled. He hadn’t thought he would ever see her again, but when he saw her leaving the station with that sad look on her face, he knew he had to put a hold on questioning his suspect.
“You okay, man?” his partner asked, stepping into the hallway.
Alec smiled and said, “I just saw the girl again.”
“The pretty girl you saved last Friday?”
Alec nodded.
“Damn, what are you going to do about tonight?”
“I will figure it out later; let’s question the dirtbag first.”
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Alec glanced at his watch for the hundredth time. Dang, what’s taking her so long?
“I guess she’s getting back at me,” he grumbled.
“You.”
He recognized that voice — too familiar, too ... He looked up, and there she was.
“Miss Winston.”
“Detective,” she said, a broad smile spreading across her face.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, watching her closely.
“Meeting my blind date, you?”
“Same.”
She looked at the chair beside him, then at him, and said, “I was told he would be at this table.”
Alec’s body started to tremble as laughter welled up inside him. “Stella?” he asked.
She grinned and nodded, then said, “Alec, I take it.”
Laughter poured from both of them.
“Sit,” he said, motioning toward the chair.
She did as he said and smiled. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
“To think we could have spent the entire week together if we had only known.”
She chuckled, and they talked, ordered dinner, talked some more while they ate, and got to know each other.
When they reached their cars, Alec stopped her and pinned her against hers.
“I like you,” he said, smiling at her beautiful face.
She smiled back and said, “I like you, too.”
“How about we do this again, but this time without friends setting us up?”
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Deal.”
He leaned forward and gently kissed her. When she moaned, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
“Well, I guess we don’t have to meet up at the station,” Alec said with a smile as he walked into Stella’s kitchen.
Stella smiled and placed a plate on the counter. He looked at it and grinned.
“For me?” he asked.
She nodded. He walked over to her, kissed her on the cheek, then picked up the plate and walked to the table.
“Would you like some orange juice?” she asked as she dished up her own plate.
“Would love some,” he said as he sat at the table. “I thought we could talk more about your boss, and my nemesis.”
She nodded and sat down beside him. They ate their breakfast, then discussed what was going on at work.
Alec held back his cursing and growling as he listened. The bastard was going to get it this time.
“I’m a detective, so I can play at this another way,” he said, watching her.
She looked at him, and he smiled.
She returned the smile and asked, “How so?”
“I will go to work with you on Monday, and we can catch him in the act.”
She held back a chuckle as she speared a piece of sausage with her fork.
“Eat up,” Alec said, grinning. “I would like to go for round six.”
She smirked and started eating faster. He has finally found his match.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
“What are you doing here?”
Alec turned and smiled when he saw Anna, his best friend’s little sister.
“I’m here on business.”
“Business, or to see Stella?”
He chuckled and replied, “Both.”
She nodded. “I told you she was perfect for you.”
“That she is.”
“Hello,” Stella said as she walked up to them.
“Hello, sweetling,” Alec said, pulling her into his arms.
“Today is the day,” Stella said with a bright smile.
“Yes, it is,” Alec said with a grin. “My partner is in the outer office, waiting for the signal.”
“Do I give him the go-ahead, or are you going to?” Anna asked with a grin.
Alec chuckled. Anna has had the hots for his partner for years now. But the guy was too stupid to realize that she was perfect for him.
“Let’s get this shitcan on the road,” Stella said, pulling out of Alec’s arms. “I will meet you in the bathroom in an hour,” she told him, then winked and walked away.
“You two are so perfect for each other. I told you I’m good at setting people up.”
Alec looked at her. Yeah, she had said as much. Too bad she couldn’t do the same for herself.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
“Alec?”
Alec smiled when he heard Stella’s voice. He stepped out of the stall and walked straight to her.
“I missed you,” he said once she was in his arms.
“I missed you, too,” she said with a bright smile.
They had spent the entire weekend together. And to be honest, this was the fastest and best relationship he had ever had.
“What do we do?” she whispered.
He turned and pinned her against the wall, then whispered in her ear, “We will pretend to have sex against the wall, and when your boss calls you into the office to discuss it, that will give me enough proof to tear down this wall.”
“Did you make sure no one else was in here?” she whispered back.
He chuckled and said, “I came in here ten minutes before you arrived. I’m pretty sure no one else is in here.”
She chuckled, and he kissed her gently as he pressed his body against hers.
“Move with me,” he whispered against her neck.
She started moving her body to his rhythm — which made him want to actually take her right here, right now — but he couldn’t.
This was a trap, not a rendezvous.
He placed his hand over her mouth to make it look as if he were silencing her. She giggled against his hand, and he smirked. It was a good thing they had plans for tonight; he would go nuts if he had to wait days before being with her again.
When it was long enough to be a real sexual event, he pressed himself against her, just as he would if he were releasing himself. She groaned when she felt his arousal, and he grunted in response. Being close to her made him hard; imagine the sensation of his body pressing against hers, whether real or fake.
They separated and pretended to straighten their clothes. Luckily, she had worn a skirt today. Wearing the skirt made it so the jerk wouldn’t see her with her pants off. It also made it easier to do pretty much anything — if they were really doing something.
“Go out there as if nothing happened,” he said, looking into her eyes.
She nodded. He kissed her lips gently, and then she left the bathroom.
He heard Anna’s voice and smiled. He had asked Anna to watch the bathroom and ensure that no one entered.
He stepped out of the bathroom and made his way to his partner without being seen.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
Alec and his partner stood off to the side, where no one could see them, as they listened for Mr. Valasco to call Stella into his office.
“Stella, office, now!”
Alec and his partner approached the office door as Stella closed it behind her. Well, she didn’t fully close it; she left it ajar so they could hear everything.
“I can’t believe you did this,” Peter Valasco said with a growl.
“Did what, sir?” Stella asked, her voice sounding completely and totally innocent.
“You screwed around in the bathroom!” Mr. Valasco yelled.
“But how would you know that?” Stella asked, still sounding innocent.
“Sherry heard you and that man. Who is he — your boyfriend?”
“Well, yes, I do have a boyfriend, but I haven’t seen Sherry all day.”
Alec grinned. The fact that she admitted to having a boyfriend filled his heart with emotions he hadn’t experienced in many years.
“I saw her ten minutes ago; she told me she caught you —”
“I never said anything of the sort.”
‘That must be Sherry,’ Alec thought as he listened.
“Sherry,” Stella said.
“So, have you changed your mind about quitting?” Valasco asked.
“No,” said Sherry. “I heard you telling Stella lies, and I wanted to say that I never saw anything, and I wouldn’t have told Mr. Valasco if I had.”
“You lying —”
“I think I’ve heard enough,” Alec said as he stepped into the office.
“Who the hell —” Valasco stopped talking and stared at Alec. “You’re the man from the bathroom.”
“And how would you know that if you hadn’t seen me?” Alec asked with a grin. They’ve got him.
“I … I…”
“Exactly,” Alec’s partner said, stepping forward and holding up the recorder.
They have recorded everything, and this man will not get away with it.
“Do it,” Alec said into his portable radio. The men waiting for his command will be thrilled to tear down that damn wall to find the camera.
Stella walked over to Alec and wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly and felt her body shiver. Was she crying? When he heard the sound, he knew it wasn’t tears — she was laughing.
They finally caught her boss red-handed, and her boyfriend was going to make sure he paid.
⋆⊱༻𖥸༺⊰⋆
-Two Years Later-
*Stella*
Stella sat on the swing on her back porch, gently rocking her six-month-old baby girl. The past two years had been the best of her life.
After convicting Peter Valasco for installing a camera in the women’s bathroom and sexually harassing his employees, the authorities turned their attention to Mr. Tantino. It turned out that all of Tantino’s offices had cameras in the women’s bathrooms.
Soon after, things became serious between Stella and Alec. They married a year later and had their baby girl six months ago.
It took her forever, but last year, Anna finally got Alec’s partner to notice her, and they started dating. It didn’t take them long to fall in love.
“Hello, sweetling.”
Stella smiled as she looked up at her husband.
“Is our angel asleep?”
Stella nodded, and he sat on the swing beside her. He placed his arm over the back of the swing and started pushing it with his feet.
“You know, you and Miss Angel here are the best things that have ever happened to me.”
She looked at him and said, “Ditto.”
He smiled and leaned forward, kissing her gently.
“I love you.”
She sighed and whispered, “I love you, too.”
