The Fool
Book 2 – Carter Series
Taylor K Scott
Bea
Love is patient, love is kind…love never fails.
I guess I’m the exception to the rule; the fool who got it wrong.
I once survived falling in love but only just. Alas, surviving love is how I came to be working under the great Nathaniel Carter. Also known as, ‘the popular boy with a heart’. At least, that’s what he was always rumored to be. Having worked under him for the past eighteen months, I can safely say, that rumor was a lie.
Nathaniel Carter doesn’t have a heart, not with me anyway. With me, he’s nothing more than another bully with an inexplicable grudge.
I’ll survive him though; after all, I’ve survived bullies before.
Nate
Party-boy, player…the fool?
Whatever, those days are behind me. I am a responsible adult now, a manager working at my brother’s company. People respect me. At least, most of them do.
Beatrice Summers might be my PA, but she certainly doesn’t have a very high opinion of me. I tried, to begin with, but no more. If Miss Summers is determined to paint me as the asshole boss, then the asshole boss is who she’ll get.
And the fact that I fantasize about her at the end of every day? Well, that’s just an inconvenient habit leftover from my young and foolish days.
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Sample:
Half an hour later, and the glare off incident is firmly behind me. The music is pumping, James is swinging me about the floor, and every now and then, I catch Lily having a good time, even if it is on her future husband’s lap. At first, I felt a pang of jealousy when I saw how besotted they were together, but now I am beginning to realize that if what they have is something I want, then maybe I should take a chance on someone and begin to trust again. I’ve just got to be more careful about who I trust my heart with this time.
As if the universe is listening into my private thoughts, the music slows and I notice Thor sauntering my way, and with a wicked grin plastered all over his handsome face. A mixture of nervous anticipation and nausea runs through me, and my wiggling slows down into virtually nothing the closer he gets to me.
“I think I’m going to go and get another drink,” James whispers inside of my ear, with the sound of a smug smile in his voice. He kisses my cheek, so I turn to try and grab his hand, but he slips away before I can even touch him.
“James!” I whisper shout with urgency, but his back continues walking away toward the bar, purposefully ignoring my desperate pleas to not leave me here alone.
With no other option to hand, I turn away from Thor and begin swaying my hips to the music. I try to lose myself to the beat and ignore the fact that a Nordic god is marching this way, as well as the sad realization that I haven’t been close to a man since Dean. It doesn’t stop me from jumping when I suddenly feel warm hands beginning to snake around my hips, and it certainly doesn’t stop me from gasping when he begins swaying with me from behind. Intimacy like this, with anyone, feels a little weird after all this time, but I let it happen because it also feels nice, like I’m finally beginning to move on.
“I was hoping you would still be here,” he whispers inside my ear, “I’ve been watching you all night. Do you know how hard it is trying to hide an erection when you’re serving drinks?”
I emit a burst of laughter at the same time as he takes hold of my hand and spins me around to face him. I’m then pulled in close so he can prove that what he just said about his ‘problem’ is true. I think I had forgotten what one of these felt like, but now that I’m here, I may as well throw caution to the wind and enjoy myself. Throwing my hands around his neck and moving in close, I expose my neck and indulge in the sensation of him delivering little kisses over my skin. My eyes fall closed when his kisses become a little less chaste, and a little more hot and passionate.
As he moves up toward my jaw, getting closer to my own lips, I open my eyes, only to discover Nathaniel Carter slow dancing with a woman only a few feet away from us. The two of them are dancing close, looking almost identical to Thor and me. Nathaniel’s dark green eyes look straight into mine as we continue dancing with our partners. He maintains his eye contact even when he moves his hand down her back to caress and cup one of her ass cheeks. I try to look away, but for reasons unknown to me, I can’t. In fact, I don’t even feel Thor’s hands on me anymore, just Nathaniel’s intense stare. He smiles at me before moving down to kiss his partner’s neck with his open mouth, the whole time looking at me, taunting me with his brand of arrogance.
I begin to feel prickly heat spreading out over my neck, my hands are clammy, and my pulse is speeding up, along with my breathing. My discomfort only intensifies when I watch him tongue-kissing her, but still with his devious eyes on mine. The corner of his lips kicks up as my mouth drops open in shock when he suddenly lifts her leg up to wrap around his thigh. His hand caresses her exposed flesh as he moves up closer toward her ass. Why is he still watching me when he’s giving this woman foreplay in the middle of the dancefloor? What is he trying to achieve? Intimidation, lust, humiliation? Whatever it is, it’s making me feel all kinds of messed up; I don’t know whether to feel turned on or just scared, but I think I feel both.
Without warning, Thor turns us round so I am facing in the other direction, and no longer able to see Nathaniel. The sudden change has me feeling faint, so much so, I break away from his embrace.
“I’m really sorry…I’ve got to go,” I blurt out and begin to move away from him, but he catches hold of my hand before I can escape.
“Where are you going? What’s wrong?” Poor Thor seems genuinely concerned and I begin to curse myself for letting Nathaniel Carter get the better of me.
“Nothing, you’re amazing, but I…I’ve just got to go,” I fluster, this time managing to pull away from his grip. Trying not to see his disappointment, I walk off the dance floor as quickly as I can without looking like some sort of messed up Cinderella.
“Hey, babe, what’s wrong?” James asks when he catches hold of me at the edge of the dance floor. I hardly know how to answer him; I feel so ridiculous over what just happened between my bully of a boss and me, not to mention the insanely attractive guy who I just left hanging on the dance floor.
“I need to go, James, I’m not feeling…but I’ll see you at Lily’s wedding, thanks for everything…I’ve just got to…get out of here!”
I can’t help but take a glance in Nathaniel’s direction, only to find him still standing where he was, hands in his pockets, legs apart, looking very much the alpha in his expensive clothes – dark jeans, dark shirt, dark jacket, dark everything, just like him. His expression is no different from before as he stares at me with a sardonic and menacing grin all over his face.
I just about manage to turn away and look at James, but from the expression on his face, I know he’s correctly guessed as to what’s happened. Shame takes over me again, and he pulls me in for a hug, no doubt glaring at Nathaniel from over my shoulder.
“Ok, baby, I got you,” he whispers. His kindness is the final push for my tears to run over my cheeks, revealing just how much I’ve let Nathaniel get to me.
“I’ll get Lily to send my number. Bea, call me if you need me,” he says before kissing my forehead with so much warmth behind it, I want to evaporate into a puddle on the floor. He seems to see this in me, so walks me toward the exit where there is a line of cabs already waiting. “I will see you next week because if you let him stop you from going, I will come and drag your ass there myself.”
“I will, thank you so much, James,” I reassure him with a sniff, knowing I need to leave soon, for the hard and ugly crying is just a moment away from exploding out of me. “Tell the others I threw up or something and I’ll see them on Lily’s big day.”
Taylor K. Scott 