STEP BY STEP by Clarissa Black Read Free Book Online Page A

announced their separation, and my father and I
moved out of their house. It was the last time I’d ever seen Mirabelle, and I
pretended not to notice the tears streaming down her face as we hauled boxes
out to the moving van.

 
    Without warning, Mirabelle pulled away.
Her eyes both scared and wanting at the same time. I’d seen that look once
before…

 
    “I-I’m tired,” she stammered as she paced
backwards towards the door. “I haven’t slept in days. I-I should go.”

 
 
 

 
 
ELEVEN

 
 
 
    MIRABELLE

 
 
 
    I nearly tripped on my own feet as I
stumbled out of his office, my lips still warm from his kiss. I hadn’t seen it
coming, which was odd for me. Normally I see everything coming from a mile
away. Not that. I’d seen Preston look at me before, but he looked at me
differently just then.

 
    Part of me wondered if he remembered the
kiss we shared that night when he came home drunk from a party. I kissed him. I
figured he wouldn’t remember. He was drunk after all. But he kissed me back,
whether or not he realized it in his drunken stupor.

 
    I’d never seen such hunger in a man’s
eyes until that moment, kissing in his office. His need to kiss me was almost
animalistic, and in a moment of sheer weakness I kissed him back. I couldn’t
believe I’d done that.

 
    My cheeks burned hot as I gathered my
things and tried to get out of the office as quickly as I could. Monica’s words
from earlier about not blurring lines echoed through my head. Was that what he
did to Sapphire Hart? Did he kiss her the way he kissed me? Did he keep her
close? Control her? Give her impossibly high expectations and then kick her to
the curb the moment she couldn’t satisfy his needs any longer?

 
    I threw my purse over my shoulder and
locked up my office, my heels clicking towards the elevator and my mind
desperately hoping I wouldn’t run into him on my way out.

 
    Why
did I have to kiss him back? I kicked myself, repeatedly, as the elevator carried me down to the main floor.
I’d been kissed before, but never like that. The thought of his hands on my
body while his lips pressed hungrily against mine sent a jolt of electricity
through my body. His kiss lit me on fire, whether or not I chose to accept
that.

 
    There was something about being desired
by someone like Preston that set my soul on fire. He was undeniably attractive,
as much as I tried to ignore that, and impossibly rich. He was one of the most
powerful advertising executives in the country. He could have anything he
wanted. He could have anyone he wanted. And he chose me.

 
    ***

 
    “Good morning, Mirabelle,” Ruthie said
the following day as I scurried into my office. I hoped to go unnoticed. I
wasn’t ready to look Preston in the eye just yet. I went to bed thinking about
that kiss, and much to my dismay, I woke up thinking about it too. I could
practically still feel it.

 
    I plopped down at my desk chair and fired
up my computer, thankful and relieved for not running into him. I couldn’t
concentrate that morning, and I could barely dress myself.   My pink blouse was slightly wrinkled,
and my pants were a size too tight, which was evidenced by the way they clung
to my behind a little too much. At least I’d taken the time to slip on my
single diamond pendant. It dipped to a point just above my cleavage as if it
were almost an invitation to stare at my chest. My grandmother, who’d gifted it
to me before she passed, would be rolling in her grave if she saw how low my
blouse was that day. I couldn’t help it. Being well-endowed in the chest department left very little options for conservative clothing.

 
    The phone on my desk began to ring,
startling the coffee cup I’d held up to my lips out of my hands. Hot coffee
spilled down my pink blouse, leaving a disgusting trail of brown liquid.

 
    “Hello,” I said into the receiver,
exasperated.

 
    “Mirabelle.” It was him .
Of course it