Mr Richard Read online

  Mr. Richard

  Kendra Roberts

  Copyright © 2020 Kendra Roberts

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electric or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Other Books by Kendra Roberts

  About the author

  Chapter 1

  Ellen

  Fear. That was the first thing I felt when I heard I got laid off indefinitely. Of course this would happen to me.

  “But please, sir, I—”

  “I’m sorry, Ellen. For now…we’re going to have to terminate your position here at the company,” said my now ex-boss, Fred.

  I wanted to reason with him, but he wasn’t going to budge on this. I was in hot water, and I needed to find a new job soon.

  “But can’t you just cut my hours?”

  “No, Ellen. This is my final statement on the matter. If you’re really pressed, go talk to HR,” he muttered.

  I was flustered. I couldn’t believe this man. I tried reasoning with HR as well, but they gave me the same old PR bullshit.

  I wondered if it was because I didn’t have “the look.” I mean I’m kind of thick and curvy, and all of the girls in the office were size 2 at best. I always felt out of place being a curvier girl, but I never thought that it would potentially affect my employment. They told me it wasn’t the case, but for some reason, I didn’t believe them.

  And it sucked.

  I cleaned out my office and then went home. I needed to find something to do in the meanwhile. Maybe I can plead with these guys to get my job back, but I doubt it. I guess I can see six months down the road.

  That’s when the job hunting began. I was the director of sales for the previous place I worked, and hopefully there was something with a similar job opening. But when I realized that I wasn’t finding a damn thing on the first couple of results pages, I ran my hands through my brown hair, pulling on the tendrils while freaking out. I didn’t know what to do at this point. I could just accept my fate and take some shitty restaurant job, but I was better than that.

  I mean I’m 25. If I was a little younger maybe, but I wanted my job back. It sucks that this happened. I looked through the listings once again, noticing one I didn’t see.

  “Needed: financial advisor for prominent investing company. Please contact Richard Holmes for more information.”

  No way. This is too good to be true. There’s gotta be some stupid catch to it. But as I perused the listing once more, I didn’t see anything. It looked legit, which was the most shocking part about it.

  I decided to think about this one. The worst that could happen was I get ghosted, right? I guess it’s worth a shot. I filled out the application and pressed send, hoping for a prayer. I had enough money to get by till the end of the month, but not much more.

  A week passed. Being at home sucked, but it was better than nothing. I finally checked my email the Friday after sending the application, expecting nothing until I saw the message.

  “No way,” I said to myself.

  I opened the email, seeing a message from Richard. I thought it would be to tell me in a nice way that I suck and didn’t get the job, but then I started screaming in excitement.

  “No way…no way. He wants an interview and is very impressed with my work. This has to be a joke. If it isn’t…then awesome,” I said to myself.

  I called up my friend, Stephanie, to tell her. She was immediately ecstatic but had her doubts.

  “Are you sure he was that excited? I wouldn’t get your hopes up. You know how those stuffy corporate CEOs can be,” she said.

  “I don’t know if he’s their CEO, but I hope he is. He was really friendly in the email,” I said.

  I just hoped he didn’t have any weird prejudices against bigger girls. I doubted it, but I also felt like I might be rushing into something too fast. They wanted an interview for Monday, so naturally I agreed.

  When Monday came, I quickly drove over to my hopeful new job. It was a huge building, probably double Fred’s place. I definitely saw some potential there as I entered the office. His records probably aren’t as messy as Fred’s either.

  When I got inside, a girl looked at me with slight surprise on her face.

  “Excuse me, who are you looking for?”

  “Um, Richard? I’m the girl who got the callback for an interview,” I explained.

  She looked me up and down, a smile on her face.

  “You’ll fit in just fine. First door on the left,” she said.

  I nodded, following her instructions. What did she mean by that? I mean, it’s not like he was some guy who liked having bigger women around. Or was he?

  I didn’t think the job would be just based on looks. At least I hoped not. I quickly got inside, sitting down at a little table and waiting for him. There was the sound of a door opening, and a beautiful man came in. He had short black hair and blue eyes like two pools that sucked me in; and for a moment, I didn’t say anything.

  He was tall and muscular, and I could see from the edge of his hands that he had some tattoos. He looked different from your average CEO, which put me off for a moment. Was this really the right place? It wasn’t a front for some drug cartel or something, right?

  “Quit looking at me like you have the wrong place. You don’t, trust me. I’m Richard Banks,” he said, extending his hand and smiling.

  I took it precariously, shaking his hand back.

  “Ellen. Ellen Jones. I was the one who sent the email,” I explained.

  “Course. Let’s get this started. I don’t want to waste either of our time,” he said, flashing me a grin.

  I could see his eyes hadn’t left my body. He was clearly interested.

  And I was too.

  Chapter 2

  Richard

  I didn’t expect to be floored by a cutie like this immediately, but here I was. I looked her up and down, seeing her curvy frame. She had large, shapely breasts that looked perfect in the suit she wore. She also wore a sleek pencil skirt that showed off her thick thighs. She had the perfect level of curviness for me, and I could already feel the hunger rising in my body.

  I sat there, trying to contain the heated needs and desire. I had to conduct the interview, but I was pretty sure of my answer. I’d be a goddamn idiot to let her go.

  “So, Ellen, tell me about yourself. Why did you apply to this job in the first place? You are way more than qualified, and it seems that you worked with Fred for a bit. He’s…a former associate of mine,” I said.

  I wasn’t going to say that Fred was a fucking snake in the grass, but that was what I wanted to tell her. I knew that changing the subject of the interview might be a bit unprofessional, so I kept quiet. But she quickly sighed before answering.

  “Sorry. My old boss he…he laid me off. Not sure why. I thought things were going well. There were some financial concerns, but I didn’t expect anything that sizable, especially since I was turning the company around,” she said.

  Her face was full of sadness, and it took everything in me not to reach out and tell her it would be okay. But I had to keep it professional.

  “Very well, I understand. I guess some places suffer from setbacks,” I said.

  “Yeah, they weren’t really the best financially. I definitely was the one taking care of the books, turning that around and all,” she explained.

  “Well, you probably did that well. I looked over the
rest of your experience and see it’s sizable. You do have a degree in accounting, something our previous financial advisor I found out didn’t have. That created one hell of a blowup once it was over,” I said.

  She laughed, and I did too. I wanted to make things easy for her.

  “Yeah, I just want a better job. I don’t want to go work for some shitty coffee shop or serve tables for eight hours a day. I’d feel like a college kid again in the worst sense of the word,” she explained.

  I didn’t want her to go back to that either. But I didn’t say anything. Instead, I simply nodded.

  “I’d rather have you on board as well. Now, are you ready to start right away? Or should we perhaps…. look into extending the hire time,” I asked.

  “Now. I need to start now—I mean, I’d love to,” she replied.

  I laughed at those words. She was so nervous; it was almost cute in a sense. I liked her a lot already.

  “Great, then we’ll get you started. You’ll be my financial advisor. Basically just balancing the books and making sure that nobody is in the red or owes me money,” I explained.

  She nodded.

  “Glad to be a part of the team,” she said.

  I reached out, extending my hand, which she quickly grabbed. We shook hands, but not without holding one another’s hand for a much longer period of time than required. I pulled my hand away, running it though my hair and grinning sheepishly.

  “Well, if you ever need anything, never hesitate to ask. I’ll be right there to help in a moment,” I said to her.

  “Great,” she offered back.

  We parted ways, and I informed Rebecca, my receptionist, to get her set up on the payroll. We agreed to let her start Monday; but when I looked at her, I knew I was definitely interested right now.

  From the moment I saw Ellen, I couldn’t believe it. Those alluring curves, that banging body. But I had to keep a professional image. After all, I was the CEO of a company. But sometimes the head cheese likes to act out a little. And I’m definitely the type to act out.

  Chapter 3

  Ellen

  I’ve never been the type to catch a man’s eye. But when I saw Richard looking at me as I stepped into that interview room, I realized that I was floored. Was there really a chance for a curvy girl like me? He said he saw me for my skills, but I know his eyes kept darting to my backside. Was this for real?

  I quickly left, flushing crimson as I made my way downstairs. The receptionist showed me a few things, then looked me dead in the eye.

  “I see your face. You like him,” she said.

  I paused, confused by her words.

  “What do you mean?” I asked Rebecca.

  “Simple. You have feelings for him. You like him,” she said with a smile.

  I blushed.

  “No way. I’m just an employee,” I said.

  “Yeah, and I’m the queen of Sheba. You have to do better than that Ellen. I’m not your competition, but I will say that he isn’t as innocent as you may think,” she warned.

  Innocent? What the hell was she talking about?

  “What you mean?”

  “He’s got his past. There’s a reason why he’s a single man and the head of a company. I will say…if you do develop an interest in him, it’s better to keep it as a fleeting thing and not something serious. If you know what’s good for you, of course,” she said.

  What the hell was she getting at? I wanted to ask, but she handed me some papers to fill out, and that’s what I did. I finished them and returned them to her. As I left the office, I felt a strange feeling of dread flow through me.

  Why did I feel this way? I mean, it’s not like this was a bad thing, right? As I finished up, I headed to my car, but not before I saw a motorcycle parked there. Who the hell drives a motorcycle to a building like this? I was curious, but then I stopped myself, headed back to my own car and drove off. I figured this would all be explained eventually.

  When Monday rolled around, I was there, bright and early for work. I got in, and even Richard was surprised at my punctuality.

  “Wow, we have a real straight-A worker here,” he said with a wink.

  “Yeah, well, didn’t want to give a bad first impression,” I remarked with a smile.

  “You’ll have to do a lot more than that, if you want the truth of it,” he said.

  I flushed, but then quickly followed him around. He showed me to my office, then got some of the little things I’d need to get started.

  “There you go. I hope you find working here to be quite fun,” he said.

  “I am excited, thanks,” I said.

  He moved back and I moved forward, but then I noticed my butt lightly grazed his hand. I turned to him, and he quickly jolted back.

  “S-sorry about that,” he said.

  I laughed.

  “I mean, it wasn’t like I disliked it or anything,” I said.

  He flashed me a grin but then walked off. I was surprised that he didn’t have some one-liner for that either. I quickly got settled in, and soon I had it all put together. Working on the books was a breath of fresh air compared to the crap I had been doing for Fred. Fred’s papers were a whole hell to go through. There was so much extra fluff, and so many wrong numbers. Come to think of it, no wonder he was going down the tubes. He was a man who ran a company poorly; and now I was here, working for a mysterious man who apparently had some skeletons in his closet.

  At the end of the day, I left the office. I noticed the motorcycle wasn’t there this time. I also noticed that Richard was gone early. Could he be the one who rode the bike? I doubted it. He didn’t seem like the type. He was such a good guy, and he didn’t really seem to be the bad boy type who would ride motorcycles. Plus, he was so perfectly-dressed. Wouldn’t he get messed up?

  A part of me grew curious about whether or not this was actually he. I wanted to learn more about Richard, and not just because he was smoking hot and super sweet towards me.

  For the rest of the week I did my job. I noticed that he was coming to the office far more than I was used to, giving me little smiles and looks, which sent shivers down my spine. I liked it, though. At the end of the week, while I was finishing up, I heard the sound of someone come toward the doorway. There was a knock, and I quickly opened it.

  “Coming!” I said.

  I suddenly came face-to-face with Richard. We took a moment to just stare at one another, and then his lips curled into a beautiful smile.

  “Hey there, Ellen. I wanted to ask if you’d like to meet me for dinner tonight. There’s this really cool opportunity and a presentation I’d like to make, and I need to talk to you about the details,” he explained.

  Judging from how close he was to me, there was so much more to here than just wanting to “talk.” I smiled, taking the offer immediately.

  “I’d love to. I have no plans tonight,” I said.

  “Great. By the way, I’m driving,” he said.

  He’s driving? I simply agreed, expecting it to be left at that, but then he looked me up and down.

  “Do you have any pants with you?” he asked.

  “In my car, yeah?” I asked. I was confused by what he wanted.

  “Put those on. Just listen,” he said.

  I had no idea what this guy was planning. I thought guys like skirts because it showed off the legs. but one look told me it all. I quickly agreed and soon, I was at my car, changing into pants. They were simple black pants, and thankfully they still fit with my outfit without looking stupid.

  As I was heading back in, Richard came out. He then stopped, pointing in the direction of the motorcycle.

  “That’s my ride,” he said.

  “Wait, seriously?” I said.

  “Yeah, I love riding a bike. I was actually in a motorcycle club for years before my dad kicked the bucket and I had to take over,” he said.

  The way he said it so nonchalantly was probably the most surprising part. I wanted to ask about it more, to learn a bit more
about what he exactly did, and what his whole shtick was, but instead I quickly followed him over to the motorcycle and got on behind him. I wrapped my arms around his toned chest, leaning into him while sighing in contentment. He turned around to put a helmet on me.

  “Hold on and relax,” he explained.

  The second part was much easier said than done, but I did as I was told. I began to relax as we drove off, going down the street toward the outside of town. When we got to a beautiful restaurant about twenty minutes away, he kicked the kickstand and smiled at me.

  “Ready to walk in?” he said.

  This looked like your normal restaurant. When we got in though, the inside was beautiful. But looks are deceiving, that’s for sure.

  “Yeah, let’s do this,” I said.

  We stepped in, and as I looked around, I was thrilled but also slightly nervous about what would happen next, and, of course, what this meant for both of us.

  Chapter 4

  Richard

  It was strange, feeling the urge to let Ellen in like this. And yet, there was something refreshing about it. A part of it came from the fact that she was incredibly attractive and feeling her soft body against my own while riding certainly encouraged me. But it wasn’t just that.

  It was something more.

  But first and foremost, I wanted her agreement before we did anything more. I needed her help. Ellen would play a critical role in the future of the company. And the fact that she used to work for Fred definitely enticed me to bring this offer.

  We went to the place I normally sat. I told the waiter to grab us some drinks and he quickly walked off. Ellen looked at me with a bit of surprise.

  “You come here often?” she inquired.

  “You could say that. I like this place. It’s quiet and pretty and far away from people. It’s good when I want to discuss business transactions,” I explained. I didn’t want it to sound like I was doing something illegal, but I definitely didn’t want others to know.

  “I see. So what is it that you want?” she asked.

  I paused. How do I tell her without making it sound bizarre? I paused, thinking about my next words and then smiled.