Celtic
A/N: Here we are with another chapter. Your guys' reviews and support of this fic make me happy. So just some housekeeping. The genre classification of this story is humor. The tropes and cliches in this fic are its way of making fun of itself. It is not serious; it is fiction. Things in this story would be highly inappropriate for any boss/employee relationship, so just enjoy the humor. Thank you so much to LaMomo, SassyNoles, DawnBreaker8, Littleashes17, Maplestlye, and 2 brown eyes. Also, I am amazed and grateful for Mel C and her Beta skills. Let's see how things are going.
The rest of the week was much the same every day. Wake up the kids, get them dressed, have breakfast all together, then Edward would either go into work or go into his home office, and I'd take the kids to school. Luckily for me on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday he went into work. I had gotten really curious about why he was taking showers so often. It was a thing that continued over the course of the week, and I was kind of concerned for Edward.
A Google search of "why would someone shower excessively?" brought up several different theories. One was that he had OCD, but he had no other symptoms of that. Another suggested he may have a disorder that caused him to have over oily skin, but I had seen the man's naked chest and face, so I ruled that out right away. Then I found something that could be a lead. It said that people who spent a lot of time in the shower could be lonely. That was incredibly sad but it did make sense; it would explain his mood swings too. That was totally a thing for people with depression. I vowed to maybe try and spend more time with him instead of running off to my room immediately after dinner. The problem was I was always tongue-tied or shy around him.
I shook my head and pushed it to the back of my mind. I would try. That was all I could do. I didn't want him to be lonely, and though I still talked to Rose and Alice daily, it wouldn't hurt to have another friend, right?
Friday brought with it a new little surprise. I was driving the kids to school when my phone rang with an unknown number. I had my phone connected to Bluetooth in the car. I hit the answer button.
"Hello?"
"Is this Bella Swan?" a melodic voice filled with friendly professionalism asked.
"Grandma!" Sophie exclaimed.
I felt the blood drain from my face. Edward had told me that the kids were being taken care of by his mom and brother before he hired me, so I was curious and terrified as to why she would be calling me. How did she get my number?
"Sophie, darling," Edward's mom said, every ounce of professionalism gone. Her voice was warm and you could tell by her tone that she adored Sophie.
"I'm sorry, yes this is Bella."
"Hello, I'm so sorry we have to meet over the phone but Edward is very busy. My name is Esme; I'm his mother. I'm going to be picking the kids up from school and keeping them over the weekend. I know this is so last minute, but is there any way that I can come pick up their clothes later? Edward said he was going to pack them a bag, but then he has work to do. I hate interrupting him when he's working from home."
"Absolutely. If he hasn't gotten around to packing their clothes, then I will do that when I get home. Are they just staying until Sunday?"
"No, I will be taking them to school on Monday and bringing them back after Archer gets out of school."
I looked in the rearview mirror and both kids looked happy and smiling. Sophie was about ready to bounce out of her seat. I smiled back at them and bid them farewell as did Esme, telling them she would see them after school. We talked for a few more minutes and she told me she would come get their clothes when she picked Archer up from school.
I got home and knew immediately that Edward was still home working because his office door was open and he was talking heatedly on the phone to someone. I decided to give him some space, so I searched for a bag that had their clothes in it.
I couldn't find one, so I assumed he hadn't had the time to pack. I grabbed the stool from the kitchen. Even with the assistance, I still wasn't getting enough height, my fingers barely grazing the duffel I was trying to pull out of the closet. I felt a hard warm body press into me and saw Edward reach for it easily. He pulled away from me and I turned to take the bag from him.
"Sorry, I've been putting out fires all morning; I didn't have time to get their stuff together."
"It's fine, I don't mind. Your mom called me to let me know what was going on."
"Shit, I'm sorry. I told her not to use your number unless it was an emergency, just because you haven't even met in person."
"It's fine. I'm sure she just couldn't reach you because you've been slammed. She seems really nice."
He nodded and sighed, taking a drink from a water bottle he was holding.
I noted the tightness in his face, his rigid shoulders, the wariness in his eyes. "Are you okay? You seem really stressed."
"Yeah, I am. But I'll be fine. Part of the job sometimes."
"Well, how about we de-stress tonight. We can order Chinese and watch some movies?"
"Don't you have plans with your friends to do whatever young girls do on weekends?" He took another drink, and I took a second to watch his Adam's apple bob.
"Never been a huge party girl, Edward. Plus, I've kinda sworn off men for the time being, so I have no interest in fending off assholes all night."
"I'm sure you get hit on often," he said with sincerity.
"Always by the wrong guys. They're always either married or couldn't find a clit even if you drew them a map."
Edward's eyes widened and he choked on the water he was drinking. I slapped him on the back and he shook his head, causing me to stop. I mentally berated myself; it was easy to talk to him, so I kept telling him things most people wouldn't tell their bosses. I hope he didn't take it the wrong way and fire me for sexual harassment.
"Sorry, I shouldn't be talking to you about this stuff. Just forget I said anything." I rushed up the stairs to go get clothes ready for the kids.
I grabbed three pairs of pajamas and three outfits for each of them. Archer was a lot easier to choose for, but Sophie dressed girly and she had clothes that were sweet but also fashionable. I did my best to guess what she would be comfortable in. As I was folding the items up nicely and putting them in the bag, I felt Edward come stand behind me, the heat from his body and his smell taking over my senses. He grabbed my wrist gently and I turned to face him, my eyes still downcast. Gently grabbing my chin to tilt my head back, he forced me to look at him.
"Why do you always look down?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I feel like I'm always making a fool out of myself when I'm around you; it makes me feel out of sorts."
"You're not. I find it endearing. Thank you for the invitation tonight. I would actually enjoy de-stressing," he finished, giving me that half smile again.
"Okay, but just one thing."
"What's that?"
I picked up the full duffel bag from the bed and hefted it over my shoulder. I faced him again. "I get to pick the movie," I said, shooting him my own charming smile and walking out of the room.
His chuckle followed me down the hall as I descended the stairs.
Edward eventually went back to his office, and I tried to distract myself before Edward's mom came over by watching TV, but really I was bored. I had been doing such a good job of keeping everything tidy that even the maid didn't have a lot to do when she came over; it was easy to stay on top of things. Archer and Sophie made messes with their toys, but Edward made them clean everything up before they went to bed.
The doorbell rang and then I heard small feet thumping on the hardwood and got up to meet the kids in the entryway. I caught Sophie and picked her up then gave Archer a hug. "Hey, how was school?" I asked them and they both launched into a story about their day. I paid attention to them, but I did notice a beautiful older woman walk in behind them. She had caramel colored hair, the same green eyes as Edward, and a soft small on her lips.
"We're gonna play Clue and Sorry with Papa this weekend. He already promised," Archer said.
"That's what they call their grandfather," the woman who I assumed was Esme said.
"That sounds so fun. I bet you're gonna have the best time this weekend. I didn't pack any of your stuffies, so if you want to have one at Grandma's, you better go get one." Sophie and Archer nodded and ran off to their bedrooms. "We talked over the phone, but I'm Bella." I put my hand out for her to shake.
She smiled and shook my hand. "Yes, I'm Esme. It's nice to meet you face to face. They talked about you the whole way here. Forgive me, but I didn't know you were so young."
"Oh, yeah. I graduated from college about eight months ago, but I worked in childcare for five years and babysat in high school."
"What did you go to college for?"
"Early childhood education, Mom. I did check her credentials," Edward said, making me jump. This guy had a habit of just popping up out of thin air. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She patted his cheek affectionately and shrugged. She wasn't embarrassed that she was looking out for her grandkids, and I respected her even more in that instance.
Sophie's feet pounding down the stairs could be heard. She caught sight of her dad and started running. "Daddy." Archer hurried his steps as well.
Edward caught her perfectly, lifting her and kissing her cheek. "I'm gonna miss you this weekend, princess."
He called her princess often and Archer champ. They absolutely glowed when he called them that, and it always melted my heart to see how much he loved his kids, and not only that, but they knew their daddy loved them just as much as they did him.
Sophie said she would miss him too and gave him hugs and kisses. Edward put her down and handed his mom their duffel bag. He crouched down to Archer and they did some handshake routine they always did before they gave each other hugs.
Once all our farewells were said, and the kids and Edward exchanged I love yous, they left. Edward and I stared at each other awkwardly. He said he was done with work. I told him that I was leaving to go to the store because we had to have movie snacks and if he would call in the takeout order, I could grab it on the way home. He agreed, and I left to go get the supplies for tonight.
When I arrived back home, I didn't see Edward anywhere. After depositing the food and snacks, I headed upstairs and heard the shower running again. For the love of all that's holy, this was the third shower he had taken today. I heard him get up and take one at five this morning, then another after he ran into me with my more revealing pajamas, before I could change, and now. I remembered my Google search and hoped he wasn't thinking of offing himself. I crept into his room, finding the door to the bathroom slightly open. His breathing sounded hard, causing me to worry, before he let out a strangled moan. I hurried my footsteps, remaining quiet, as I made my way to the bathroom. Through the steam in the room, I could see his side profile behind the glass walls of the shower. Swift movement caught my eye, drawing my attention downward.
All of a sudden, I understood why he was moaning. He was stroking his hand up and down the length of his impressive cock. I don't ever remember thinking a dick was pretty, but this was definitely a work of art. The large flared tip, the veins running down the smooth skin, and it was hard and slightly curved upward. It was thick and long, but not so big that it made me cringe to think about putting that inside me. I was brought back to reality at that thought; my hand was starting to drift down my torso to my panties and it was almost automatic. This was a very bad thing—I was watching my boss jack off without his knowledge, and I almost touched myself. Before I could moan or call attention to myself, I used all my willpower and turned from the scene in front of me.
I rushed out of his room and into mine, closing the door. I was too keyed up so I pulled out my clit sucker sex toy and turned that thing on high, ready to get myself off to relieve the throb that had started between my legs. I tried to stay quiet as I felt my orgasm build, but when I shattered in minutes, I couldn't keep it in, so I screamed and moaned into a pillow. I put my toy away after washing it and my hands. I righted my clothes and then went back downstairs to wait for Edward, wondering how I was going to play it cool, knowing what he was hiding under his clothes.
Edward always wore nice dress pants when working from home, or a full suit with tie when he went into the office. When he wasn't working, he usually wore khakis or jeans, so imagine my surprise when he came downstairs and he was wearing sweats. He had paired them with a short sleeve t-shirt, which was also a rarity for him. He gave me a small smile and we started to unpack the takeout I had brought home.
"Well, I feel overdressed," I said as we started to dig into the food.
"Then go change. I won't judge you for wearing pajamas," he said, after he swallowed what he was eating.
"What I wear to bed would be highly inappropriate to just lounge around in." Seeing him jacking off in the shower was too, but we aren't thinking about that, I told myself. It looked like he was having a hard time swallowing, and I wondered if maybe he was getting sick. He had the issue with water earlier. "I'll go get changed. I'll be back in a minute and you better not have eaten all the potstickers."
He chuckled and I headed to change into my new yoga pants I got. They were black and said beautiful disaster on them with a pretty rose. I put on a fitted t-shirt and changed my choker to one of my favorites. It was stretchy black material and the decoration on it was an open metal heart with dragon wings on each side of the heart. This one had a clasp on it like a regular necklace. I was having a hard time getting it latched, so I gave up and went downstairs to see if Edward would help me. He already knew that I wore them and why, so I imagined he would help me.
I carried the choker downstairs and walked over to him. "Will you help me with the clasp on my necklace? I can't get it to latch?"
He looked at me like he was unsure for a minute, but then he patted the seat next to him. After handing him the necklace, I sat down and turned away from him, pulling my hair over my neck so it wouldn't be in the way. The choker came into view as he placed it against my neck, and then I felt him getting the ribbon straight before securing the clasp. He brushed the back of my neck with his finger, and I involuntarily reacted to his touch by shivering in pleasure. If a simple touch like that felt so good, combined with his delicious looking dick, then I was in a lot of trouble.
He looked like he was breathing a little heavier, and I had to hope that maybe I was affecting him as much. I doubted I did—he was over ten years older than me and saw me as a young girl. This put him in a different league than me; he was probably into women his own age. I had no idea though, because I knew nothing about his ex. I pushed the thoughts out of my head and pulled up the first movie we were going to watch.
It was an action movie with plenty of fight and chase scenes, without much of a love story. We talked a little bit here and there during the movie, but other than that we just enjoyed the companionship. When the first movie was over, we were done with eating, so Edward helped me clean up. I put the containers with food still in them in the fridge, while Edward threw the empty ones away. Taking a couple bowls out of the cabinet, I emptied the candy, pretzels, and popcorn into them. I put them on the glass table in front of where we were sitting so we could get to them while watching the movie.
The second movie was one we picked together. It was actually a kid movie that we wanted to see. We still watched it with no shame even though there were no kids here for us to blame our choice on. I started to sing along to the songs once I could predict what they were going to say and I bumped into Edward trying to get him to show his playful side. He chuckled at me and just shook his head. When he sang the last two songs with me, I cheered in victory.
Before we turned the last movie on, we both took a bathroom break because we were watching a scary movie, and while they didn't always freak me out, I announced we would be watching it with the lights off. Therefore, if one of us had to go to the bathroom, both of us would go. He laughed out loud at that and agreed halfheartedly. Luckily the movie wasn't too scary and I was able to stay in my own seat.
By the time all the movies were over, it was past midnight and I was tired but the movies had keyed me up. Edward and I just traded stories about our childhood. He had parents that had been married over thirty-five years; he had his brother, Emmett, who was five years younger than him. He grew up in the same house that his parents currently lived in and I realized that his childhood was so different from mine.
I told him again about my mom leaving when I was five, about how my dad, being a gruff cop, had no idea how to take care of a little girl and growing up with him as my dad, and that Rose and Alice's moms were my surrogate mothers. I was an only child, but again Rose and Alice were my sisters; we grew up together and every important thing I could remember in my life, they were always there.
"I'm glad that you had surrogate mothers to fill the void your mom left. I worry about Sophie and Archer because while my mom and dad are amazing, it isn't a replacement for their mom."
"Is it too personal to ask what happened with their mom?"
He raked his hand through his hair and shot me a weary look. "No, but I just worry that you will look at me differently if I tell you what happened."
"You've been nothing but kind to me, welcoming me into your house and trusting me with your children. I doubt I could think poorly of you."
"Okay. I was with their mom, Angela, for about a year. She fell in love with me, but I was a little more resistant. We had sex once, and she got pregnant. It was a complete accident. We both weren't in a place where we wanted to have a family, but I did the right thing and we got married. We were completely miserable, but we never let Archer know. He was loved and never knew about our problems. We tried to have a regular sex life, but we weren't compatible—sexually."
He sighed and I wondered what he meant by that, but I knew now wasn't the time to interrupt. He looked so distraught, so I grabbed his hand and squeezed it in reassurance. He looked down at our intertwined hands and he squeezed mine back.
"Anyway, we decided that having another kid might help us bond more together, but it was a hard pregnancy and Angie was sick a lot during it, then she had postpartum depression. She didn't bond with Sophie at all, and I ended up taking care of Sophie pretty much by myself. About two years after Sophie was born, Angela wanted a divorce and she wanted to completely sign her parental rights over. She didn't want any money; she just wanted to disappear completely from my life. She also wanted me to be out of hers, with no reminders of me. It was a very fast process, because there was nothing to contest. Six months later, we were both single and she was out of my life. Sophie doesn't remember her much, but Archer does. We had some nannies after that and they never worked out; most of them were there for the money and/or me. I was stupid not checking the references as thoroughly as I did with yours. I hired a string of girls who just wanted to play house with a 'rich attractive man.'"
"That's horrible. So, that's why you went through the staffing agency?" I asked. He nodded and I knew it was probably a big mistake, but I gave him a hug, wrapping both arms around his shoulders. I was surprised when he responded by winding his arms around my waist and pulling me closer into him. His head dropped to my shoulder. "I care about your kids a lot, Edward. I'm so sorry you all had to go through that. I'm not here for the money or to play house. You are attractive, but I care about Sophie and Archer, and I think you're kinda awesome too."
I pulled away minutely and he raised his head. "I know. I see you and my kids together. They adore you and I can tell you really care. I'm really glad that you applied for this job and I found you, Bella."
I smiled at him, and before I could do something stupid like kiss him, I pulled farther away from him, and we disentangled ourselves from each other. We talked a little more about favorite colors, bands, pet peeves, and childhood moments. We went to bed shortly after that. I stripped down to my underwear and put the tank top I usually wore to bed on. As I lay there, I won't lie, but I thought about his cock. When I fell asleep, in my dreams, it was slamming into me, bringing me higher and higher, leaving me well and truly fucked.
A/N: So, how do we feel? Bella is starting to get it. She isn't naïve. With her past she wouldn't be, but to her, though she is attracted to Edward, he is her boss, and she is struggling with the separation. Let me know your thoughts, leave a review. If you want to get teasers and general shenanigans, join my Facebook group Cullenlvr83 fics. Teasers start next week!