Title: Lessons of
the Past
Author: Chloe
Maxx
Release Date: Nov
9, 2015
Find on Goodreads
They
say karma is a bitch.
And I'd agree--I had
lived it.
I had an affair with a married
man...who also happened to be my professor. I couldn't stop it,
couldn't control it. The only problem was that, I, of course, wanted
more, and he couldn't give it to
me.
Life moved on, I thought
I'd moved on, but karma came back and destroyed it
all.
My husband fell in love with
his secretary, and I was left trying to figure out if love was even
real.
I wanted to believe it was. I
was almost positive I never stopped loving the one man I couldn't have.
But...what if I could have him? What if he wasn't as off-limits as I
had thought?
Yes, karma is definitely a
bitch. A vengeful bitch.
A month ago, I was happily
married...well, I was married. Caleb and I had what everyone wanted on the
outside: good jobs, a beautiful home, even a cute little dog named Buster. But
on the inside, we were just existing together, not actually living and enjoying
life as a couple.
When I walked in on Caleb
fucking his secretary on his desk, I couldn’t really be angry. It had
apparently been going on for six months and I had been none the wiser. I guess
that’s what happens when you say “I love you” and
you aren’t actually in love, if love
even exists.
I
had once thought I was in love with someone, but maybe it was just lust. I had
been ready to give him every little part of me, but he couldn’t
reciprocate. He had been married during our relationship and never intended to
divorce his wife. I should have guarded my heart better, never acted on my
feelings for him, but I had. I hadn’t thought, just felt, and it left
me shattered.
That’s why karma was
such a bitch.
You
fuck someone’s husband and someone will eventually fuck yours. Or, at
least, that was my case.
Trudging
into work, I gripped my coffee in one hand and typed out an email with the
other, using my phone. Work usually started as soon as I woke up and followed
me home each night. It worked well for me, during my marriage, and now, during
my separation. I loved the fact that I was always
busy.
Setting my coffee down on my
desk, I rolled my eyes and smiled as I heard,
“Alex!”
I took a deep breath and walked
into my boss’s office. “Yes, Mr.
Bradford?”
He greeted me with a warm,
genuine smile. “As you know, I have a meeting all morning. Around
ten, could you go down to Raymond and Raymond on the twelfth floor and pick up
some documents for me? I told them to be expecting you. I hope that’s
okay since it’s of a personal nature.”
“That’s
fine. Anything you need before the meeting? Coffee?” I asked. Mr.
Bradford was a good guy, and easy to work for considering most of the
executives were complete assholes. He had allowed me extra time off while I was
visiting with my lawyer about my impending divorce and seemed to actually care
about me as a person.
“Coffee would be
great. Thank you.”
I nodded and exited his office.
“Alex! You have to come with us this
weekend,”
Jessica yelled from her
cubicle. “You’re one of us now.” She
grinned.
I
smiled back. “Nothing is final, so not yet,” I said,
stopping in front of her. As was their ritual, Jessica and a few other single
girls from the office went out every Friday night for drinks, but the thought
of clubbing sounded awful. Jessica had been asking me for the last two weeks to
come with them—since she found out about my divorce—but all
I wanted to do was eat popcorn and ice cream while watching
Netflix.
“Is the asshole
making it difficult?”
Jessica and I had been friends
for a couple years, so I didn’t mind elaborating on my divorce.
“No, not really. He feels bad about the situation.” I
sighed. “He still cares about me, and I still care about him, but
I’m really not that upset. He loves her, and I think that’s
great that she makes him happy. Obviously, I couldn’t do
that.”
Jessica nodded.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it still
hurts.”
I sighed. “Yeah, it
still does.” But it wasn’t necessarily Caleb and the
divorce. Or his affair. I couldn’t exactly blame him for falling for
someone who would actually love him back. I was more upset about the mess
I’d made out of my life. It hurt so much when I actually thought
about where I was, and where I thought I should be. At twenty-six, I was
getting divorced and living with my sister—it wasn’t what I
had planned for my life at
all.
“Jessica!”
boomed from the office behind her. She rolled her eyes and stood.
“Well, you’re still coming this weekend. It’s
just drinks and some innocent
flirting.”
I
nodded, but it was more so Jessica would stop asking, and headed toward the
breakroom as she went into her boss’s office. Pushing the door open,
I found Mason Smith leaning against the counter, sipping coffee.
His eyes lifted to meet mine.
“Morning, Alex. How are you?”
“Good, thanks.
You?” I asked, walking toward the coffee pot. Mason was a very
attractive man with dark green eyes and light brown hair that always looked
like he had just crawled out of
bed.
“I can’t
complain. I mean, I’m standing here talking to you.” He
smirked.
I couldn’t help the
small giggle that bubbled out. “That’s slick. Does that
usually work with the ladies?” Mason wasn’t a whore by any
means, but I was positive he didn’t spend many nights
alone.
“Sometimes. Did it
work now?”
Shaking my head and pouring the
coffee, I replied, “No. Sorry. But it could just be my current
mood.”
“Yeah,
I heard. I’m
sorry.”
I paused, setting the carafe
down. I hated knowing my marital problems were now office gossip. It was one
thing for me to tell my friends, but it was another for every single co-worker
to know.
“That’s
okay.” I hurried and filled the mug, placing the pot back in
place.
Mason
stepped closer and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “For what
it’s worth, he’s really stupid. Anyone who would do that to
you isn’t worth keeping anyway.”
I nodded, picked up the mug,
and exited the breakroom, almost running.
After delivering Mr.
Bradford’s coffee, I sat down in my chair and got busy. I checked my
voicemail first, then began going through the paperwork sitting on my
desk.
I finished off my java, then
looked at my watch. It was nine fifty-five. After saving all my work and
logging off my computer, I strolled to the elevator, lost in thought, and went
down to the twelfth floor where Raymond and Raymond was
located.
I walked up to the
receptionist’s desk and greeted the older lady. “Hi, Holly.
Mr. Bradford asked me to pick up some paperwork for
him.”
“Hi, Alex,”
she greeted, knowing me for the last couple years, and because Raymond and
Raymond was handling my divorce. “Let me go grab it. Just a
minute.”
“No
problem,” I answered. I backed up to a chair and sank down with a
sigh. I was so tired and drained, I felt like I could nap for two days straight
if I was given the
opportunity.
“Here
you go, Alex,” Holly announced as she walked back to her
desk.
“Thanks,” I
said, taking the sealed envelope. “You wouldn’t happen to
know if Mr. Crawford has a date for me or anything?” I questioned,
regarding my divorce.
She smiled sweetly.
“I can certainly call back to his office and
ask.”
“Thanks. That would
be great.”
She picked up her phone and
connected to Mr. Crawford. After a minute, she set the phone back in its place.
“He doesn’t, I’m
sorry.”
“That’s
okay.” I got up. “I better get back to work. Have a great
day.”
“You, too,”
she said as I let the door swing shut behind
me.
Pressing
the down button on the outside panel for the elevator, I heard,
“Alexandria? Is that you?” The voice was familiar, raspy. I
froze as my heart stopped, then accelerated. The open floor plan suddenly felt
too small, claustrophobic, the walls caving
in.
Slowly, I turned, coming face
to face with the man I thought I had once loved. The man who ripped my heart
out and walked all over it.
“Javier.”
“Oh my
God,” he said, coming closer, and I took a step back. He still looked
sexy as hell, maybe a little older, tired. “How are
you?”
My body began to tremble and my
sex clenched a little. “I’m great.” I hated that
my body was reacting to his closeness. I needed to get away from him. Fast. The
elevator arrived and the doors slid open. “I have to go, but it was
great seeing you,” I said, stepping inside and turning to face him.
He was so damn sexy.
Chloe Maxx was born and raised
in rural Oklahoma. She now resides in a small town not far from where she grew
up with her husband and two boys. She loves being outdoors, the salty smell of
the ocean, relaxing ocean waves, caffeine, and reading any book that has a
little romance.
Lessons of the Past is Chloe’s
debut erotic romance.
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