Ana’s POV

    I stretched after waking up. I felt rxed and happy. Charlie was insatiablest night. He let me sleep in until nine, and then woke me up. He told me to take my time getting ready; he wasn’t concerned if we arrived there by ten or not. He knew that she would be waiting as long as it took. He then opened the curtains over the backyard, and before I could ask what he was up to, he got rid of his lounge pants and climbed back onto the bed with me. The look in his eyes was clear, and I was happy to oblige.

    He took his time, bringing me close to an o****m, before moving to kiss me somewhere else. I would have been frustrated, but it felt so good, I couldn’t say a word about it. He paid close attention to my n*****s. They were puckered and tight, wanting more attention as he went lower. When he ran a finger across my slit, I was wet and ready for him. He smiled down at me and teased my entrance with the head of his c**k. Rubbing it back and forth, making sure to push as he rubbed against my clit.

    He enjoyed my mewling; my response was music to his ears. I knew it got him going, and when he finally slid into me, I couldn’t help the loud moan that escaped. I was blissfully happy; each time we were together was better than thest. Charlie was everything to me. Despite knowing that he didn’t want to see, let alone speak, to Samantha. He was going to do it. He wanted me in the room with him, so I could see her and recognize her if she ever tried to approach me again.

    He was so protective of me. I reached up to cup his cheek, rubbing my hand across his stubble. I loved how sexy he looked. I enjoyed feeling his stubble against me. He was going slow this morning. He was taking his time and making sure that I enjoyed our time together. He kissed me, but this one wasn’t full of passion like it normally was. This kiss was full of promise. A promise of a future together so wonderful that tears sprang to my eyes. A silent deration that he would do what was needed to ensure that we stayed together, forever.

    We showered together before getting dressed. I got dressed in my closet, like he asked, as the curtains hadn’t been put back into ce. Charlie was driving today, but he would be driving my car. We made good time getting to hispany, but we were ten minuteste for his meeting. We headed for the conference room, and the atmosphere was tense upon our arrival. Mark looked happy to see him, and then grinned when he saw me right behind Charlie.

    As soon as the door opened, I heard a shrill woman’s voice cut through the room. “Finally! Why are youte, Charlie? You set the appointment, yet youck professionalism. You are starting this whole thing off on the wrong foot. I might just have to go with anotherpany.” The woman snapped out.

    “That would actually be for the best, Samantha. I can’t ept the job,” Charlie answered.

    “You haven’t even asked me why I needed help,” she sputtered out. Changing gears after she saw that he wasn’t going to agree to help her.

    “Because it doesn’t matter. You show up here, with a bodyguard, wanting another bodyguard. So either he is horrible at his job, or you think bodyguards are just like paid escorts. We’re not escorts here. You can’t use us like interchangeable boyfriends. I won’t put my men in that position. I won’t put myself in that position, either,” Charlie’s tone was sharp and direct. He sat down in a chair and pulled me into hisp. Pulling me into his chest, like he needed myfort to get through this meeting.

    Everyone in the room got the message. It let her know that he knew she was sleeping with her bodyguard, and that no one here would be stepping in to work with her. The look of shock and then anger spread across her face. The moment she focused on me, she immediately attacked.

    “Why is she even here? Are you joined at the hip now or something? This is supposed to be a professional meeting between us. Not essible to the public. Where is the discretion? I don’t want my business stered all over the ce. She’s not a member of thispany. There is no reason for her to be here. Or are you just scared to be alone with me, Charlie? Do you still think about all the time we spent together? I remember it, and I miss it. No one has been able to live up to your level since you ended our engagement. Aren’t you willing to do this one little thing for me? For old times’ sake?” she asked with a pout.

    “You mean since I found out who you actually were? A slut who is willing to sleep with anyone to get what she wants. No, I moved on a long time ago. You are a distant memory, and a bad one at that. I don’t want to dwell on anything rted to you. Analise is my wife. We were out running a few errands on our first day back. Don’t think that I care about or want you, Samantha. Any thoughts I have of you are always bad ones. I wanted you to see that I’ve moved on, and more importantly, I wanted my wife to see you, too. So she knows who you are, as she already knows how devious you are. Go back and tell Holden, nice try. He’s going to have to work much harder than this pathetic attempt to try to break us apart,” Charlie told her.

    She was caught by surprise, so she couldn’t keep her expression nk. Her bodyguard did a much better job of it than she did, but even he flinched. I guess they thought that we wouldn’t know why they were there. I had a long list of people who would love nothing more than to tear me down and try to hurt me again. They wanted to tear Charlie and me apart. I knew he loved me, no, much more than that, he adored me. He would never do anything to intentionally hurt me.

    “I don’t even know who that is,” she blustered.

    “I don’t have time to y your little game, Samantha. You have no reason for additional security; you already have him. You have no business that requires your presence in this city, I checked. You came here with the intention of trying toe between my wife and me. Let me assure you that it will never happen. I don’t feel anything for you, other than revulsion at the fact that I slept with you. I thought I cared for you, but I know better now that I met Ana. She came with me, because my half of the business is now split between us. So she is one of the owners now, along with Mark and me. I will keep no secrets from her. You are wasting all of our time now. I will have the receptionist show you out,” Charlie instructed.

    He picked up his phone and called her right in front of all of us, asking her to show them out. He gave them no face at all, and she had been shocked into silence. She red at him before finally getting up out of her chair. Her bodyguard was trailing behind her, with what could be noted as a small smile on his face. He liked the fact that she wasn’t able to force Charlie into doing anything.

    “If you ever want another job,e back here, and we will test you out. Our men are never forced into doing things against their will or against their moralpass. We always have room for a qualified new employee,” Mark told him, before passing a card to him as he walked towards the door.

    “Thanks,” he replied before nodding at Mark and exiting the door. Her heels made a great deal of noise as she hurried across the lobby. She couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

    “Did you have to be so mean?” I teased with augh. “She really thought she was going to hurt you, and got hurt instead. She is not going to be happy about what just happened.”

    “Yes, I did, and she deserved it. She’s just like Tiffany Vaughn. She doesn’t care who she hurts. She came here to try to tear us apart. She forgot that I was the one who cut her loose, not the other way around. I’m pretty sure Holden is behind it, but I’m going to keep my guard up. I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” Charlie replied, holding me tight.

    “I didn’t know that you were giving me partial ownership in thepany. But you really don’t have to do that,” I replied as I leaned down to kiss him.

    “I’m going to head out now. You two really need to get a room, preferably one at home,” Mark said with augh as he walked out.

    “He’s right. Let’s go see Rodney, and then we can grab some lunch. I will grab us some coffee, and we can drop by Fashion Forward so you can catch up on your meetings. Then we can go home early. I want to spend some time alone with my wife. We can pick up something from Benvenuto for dinner on the way home,” I offered.

    “They don’t have take-out, Charlie,” I reminded him.

    “They do when your grandmother owns the restaurant. Just leave it to me,” he replied.

    I was pleased that he had rejected Samantha so quickly. She was a beautiful woman. I could see why he would have been interested in her. She had a shapely figure. I have to admit that seeing her made me a little concerned. But Charlie’s eye never wavered. Even on the few asions when I talked him into leaving our room, his eyes never strayed to any of the beautiful women in Italy. He acted as if I were the only woman he wanted, and with each passing day, my confidence grew.

    His attentiveness and his actions were wearing me down. I had brought down all the walls around my heart. He was firmly lodged there now. I realized that with Holden, it was just a childhood crush. With Roger, I wanted a gentle soul to nurture me. Maybe I expected too much. He was weak, and I was now aware of that. He always let his mother be between us. I’m d that I dodged that marriage. I would have suffered my whole life with Joyce as my mother-inw.

    But with Charlie, I can be my true self. He never judges me. He sees me, and none of my rtionships have been like this before, not with anyone. I snuggled deeper into Charlie’s chest and let out the breath I’d been holding inside. I’d been worried. Even with Charlie’s warning that he knew this was aplete setup. I still had that nagging worry that he would turn his back on me after he saw her. They had been engaged. I was worried that some residual emotions might still be there.

    I was d that he was with me because I thought this was going to be the worst part of my day. But I was dead wrong about that.