The Personal Assistant by Penny Ward Read Free Book Online

slapping against my ass, how his weighty cock felt in my hand, and renewed feelings of loss bubble in my belly.
    “Well, let me tell you about my week,” Ellie begins. “Hopefully, it will distract you from your change in life path.”
    “Hopefully,” I mumble.
    “Well, my boyfriend and I were setting up a joint email account yesterday.”
    “A joint email account? Should you do that?”
    “Oh, it’s ok. I still have my old email account, it’s just for people who want to contact both of us. Anyway, we got to the setup section where they asked to enter a password and it has to be eight characters long. So Tim enters his suggested password ‘mypenis.’ And the computer pops up a message that’s says – ‘Not long enough’!”
    We all burst into laughter. “Really?!”
    “Oh yeah!” Ellie has tears in her eyes from laughing. “I fell onto the floor, I was laughing so hard. His password ‘mypenis’ was only seven characters long – oh, I tell you, I couldn’t stop laughing!”
    Ellie’s life stories are always a cure for anyone feeling down. Not only do weird things happen to her, but she knows how to deliver a joke.
    “Alright, well how’s this then?” Ellie continues. “This one is a joke.”
    We all roll our eyes with smiles on our faces – as crazy as Ellie’s life is, her jokes can be very lame.
    “Alright, alright. Excuse me for bringing some fun to the table,” she smiles.
    “Go on then,” Jay replies. “Tell us the joke.”
    “Good. Well, a man comes home from work with a massive smile on his face. He is happier than his wife has seen in a long time. ‘What are you so happy about?’ she asks him. He just smiles and asks his wife, ‘What would you do if I won the lottery?’ She thinks about it for a while and then says, ‘I’d take half and leave your ass!’ Then the man replies, ‘Great! I won 12 bucks, here is six, now get out!’”
    We all laugh heartily. Again, it is all in the delivery.
    Once our food turns up and we begin digging in, my 'almost break down' is forgotten and the conversation has moved to Beth and her girlfriend, Louise, and their plans to get a place together.
    "About time if you ask me," I say, happy for them, "You two were made for each other."
    “Some things aren’t that easy,” Beth says. “We have had to deal with a lot of drama during our relationship so this is a really big step for us. But despite everything we’ve experienced, love gets us through.”
    I smile, “It makes me happy to hear that.”
    Maybe one day I can believe in love again.
    Maybe.
    “What are you going to do now, Emma?” Beth asks as she crunches into a prawn cracker.
    “School, I think. I would love to be a teacher,” I reply.
    “A teacher. Yes… I could see you as a teacher. Maybe younger grades?”
    “Absolutely. I couldn’t handle high school kids. No way. Dealing with all the angst and drama would be too much. And I’ve just spent three years dealing with angst and drama, so I need a break from that too.”
    “I though we weren’t going to mention him ,” Betty adds.
    I shrug, “I’ll try not to mention him again.”
    “Good. Let’s change the conversation then. Has anybody read the new Elizabeth Ward book?”
    “Ohhh… yes. Yes please,” Beth replies.
    And the conversation easily sways away from my pain and back into everything normal. Books, movies, television shows, life, work and the future.
    I smile at my table of friends.
    Truly, I feel blessed to have these people in my life.
    Everything is normal again.
    Good.
    But just has the world is starting to feel natural again, just as I am starting to forget, the doors of the restaurant swing open.
    Damn.
     

Chapter 18

 
    Caleb’s tall, broad frame stands at the doorway, the light bouncing off his perfect face.
    "Fuck," I say, then whisper, "What's he doing here?"
    Betty sees him, "Raise your menus folks."
    They all grab something to hide me, including menus and placemats, but I feel the moment