Professional Pleasure: I Can Have it All

By Tia Love

Brandon Sims has it all. The brain that produces million-dollar ideas, the charming personality to get what he wants, and the looks to seduce any willing bachelorette. According to his mother, the only thing that's missing is a wife and kids, and the more time he spends with his personal assistant, Calliope, the more he agrees with her. Calliope represents everything he wants in a woman – educated, ambitious, and so damn sexy. The easiest thing for him to do would be to marry the woman of his dreams, but the hard part is convincing Calliope to cross the solid boundaries she's set up to see that she is that woman.

Calliope Matthews has given ten years of her life to Brandon as his personal assistant and never once expressed her true feelings for the man who's the hottest thing in her city, Together, they make a formidable team in the business world, and Calliope knows they could be just as impressive in other positions, but she isn't interested in becoming another notch on the infamous playboy's belt. Now, after a string of bad dates and on the cusp of making a crucial reproductive decision, she's considering the cost of telling him everything and changing their relationship from professional to personal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tia Love
• Release date: Mar 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781734757002

Tia Love

Tia Love is a self-published Black romance author and the creative mind behind Penned by Love Publications. She lives in Milwaukee, WI with her husband, two sons, and their dog. When she's not writing love stories or thinking about writing love stories, she's creating original content for her website and blog at www.pennedbylove.com. By day, she works as an advocate in the nonprofit sector, and by night, she dreams of unique characters and stories to keep her readers happy. Tia specializes in crafting narratives with strong Black female leads who get the love they desire and deserve every time.

Book preview

Chapter One

Alright, it looks like we’re all done here." Calliope Matthews heard the snap of latex gloves being removed and sat up on the exam table. Her gynecologist, Dr. Butala, a short and balding Indian man, stood up from his seat, where he’d been sitting to execute her basic fertility exam.

That’s it? She asked. She expected the appointment to last longer and had blocked off an hour and a half of her morning schedule specifically for this. She removed her legs from the uncomfortable stirrups and pulled the hospital gown over her knees.

That’s it. We should have results at the latest by Friday, but I anticipate them coming in by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call you, yeah? He said in the regular, pleasant tone that she’d grown accustomed to in the last few years. It didn’t reveal anything about what he did or didn’t find during the exam; he was good at both calming down and ramping up any anxiety she might feel. And she was absolutely anxious about the results.

This was the beginning of her journey to motherhood. Knowing that this all ended with a tiny human in her arms to love and raise sent her heart soaring. To say she was emotional was an understatement.

Thank you, Dr. Butala; I look forward to your call. A glance at her Apple Watch let her know that she'd been in the doctor's office for less than an hour, so she had more than enough time to make her stops before getting to the office.

Have a great day, Calliope.

As soon as he left the room, she hopped off the exam table and dressed. She grabbed her handbag and shoes and slipped out of the room into the bathroom next door. Using the floor- length mirror, she checked to make sure everything was in its place.

The cream dress pants were the perfect contrast to the emerald green blouse and dark cherry-colored pumps she'd chosen for the day. February in Seattle was just as gloomy as any other day, but with a temperature in the mid-50s, it was a good day to wear light colors.

Allowing her eyes to travel down her body, she stopped on her midsection and placed her hands over it. It was flat and toned right now, thanks to a regular workout that included yoga and pilates. It was the highlight of her voluptuous, hourglass shape, but hopefully, it would grow bigger in a few months-full of life.

The thought of her body's natural shape shifting to build life didn't bother her the way it did for a lot of women she knew. She'd had this shape for thirty-two years, and for the most part, it only invited trouble and distraction in the form of bad men. Using it to serve a higher purpose, to give her the son or daughter she dreamed of, made the reality of what happens to a woman's body during pregnancy irrelevant.

Her watch buzzed at her wrist, taking her out of her head and alerting her to a text message. She looked at it to see a text from her boss, Brandon Sims.

B.S.: Stop at Starbucks before you come in.

And that was the end of her private thoughts and fantasies for the day. She applied a clear lip gloss, tucked a few loose strands of hair into her low bun, and walked out of the office to get into her car. She made her first stop at Rose’s Tailoring, a small but neat shop that Brandon commissioned for his custom suits and tailoring needs.

The owner, Rose, was swift with her hands and creative with her designs. Calliope had stumbled across the shop five years ago in a rush to find a last-minute tailor to fix a button on one of Brandon’s sports coats. She walked in expecting a quick sewing job and got that and a genuine friendship with the quirky owner and founder, Rose McCain.

Please tell me you’re done with Brandon’s tuxedo for tonight, Calliope said, walking over to the counter, where Rose was scribbling something on a pad of paper. Without looking up, Rose pointed to a garment bag behind her.

I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that, Callie, She said. Good, the last thing we need today is a wardrobe malfunction. Calliope walked behind the counter, and before grabbing the bag off the rack, she unzipped it to glance at the tux. It was a richly-pigmented midnight blue, and when she ran her fingers over the fabric, it felt soft and luxurious. Precisely the way Brandon liked his things.

He’s going to look so damn good in that, Rose said, finally putting her pencil down and turning to face her friend. I think I outdid myself this time. The pride in her voice could not be mistaken.

Girl, you say that every time, Calliope replied with a smile as she zipped the garment bag and took it down from the rack.

And literally every time I outdo myself.

Calliope walked back around to the front of the counter and handed Rose a black credit card.

Yeah, yeah. Are you still coming over later?

Calliope didn’t have sisters, so Rose was her go-to when it came to hair, makeup, clothes, and gossip. Calliope would provide wine and snacks, and Rose would show up to make sure every hair and fiber were in the right place. Tonight, with Payout, her boss’ tech company, hosting its annual fundraising gala, everything had to be perfect, including her.

I’ll be there after I close up here around three, Rose said. She processed the payment and then handed a receipt along with the credit card back to Calliope. I don’t know, Callie, tonight might be the night you finally fall for your fine ass boss.

Calliope rolled her eyes at her friend’s possible millionth attempt at beating this dead horse. Brandon was fine, quite possibly one of the finest men she’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Still, he was her boss. Her salary and general respect for the company he founded stopped her from crossing any boundaries with him.

Bye, Rose, I’ll see you later, she said, completely sidestepping her comment.

Rose’s shop was just a ten-minute drive from downtown Seattle, where the high-rise that Payout rented office space in was located. Calliope stopped at a Starbucks on the corner to grab Brandon’s venti Dark Roast. Across from Starbucks was Piedmont Plaza, the site of two imposing, modern skyscrapers. The south tower housed the offices of the only job she’d had in the ten years since she moved from Chicago to Seattle.

It felt more like home than Chicago ever would. Her hometown was just a reminder of everything she wanted to leave behind after graduating from Columbia University with her Communications degree. She didn’t know what awaited her when she applied for the job as a personal assistant to the founder and CEO of a small tech startup halfway across the country. But she knew the starting salary would help her get secure and adjusted in a place that was far away from her demons. She figured she could use the job as a stepping stone to launch her into something else.

Payout was a small company when she started. She handled simple tasks for Brandon like taking his suits to the dry cleaners, sorting his mail, and managing his calendar. Over the years, the company grew to be something neither of them predicted it would be.

Now she was the well-paid personal assistant to one of the most successful and charitable tech multi-millionaires in Seattle. With company growth came job growth. She handled everything for Brandon now, from managing his calendar and travel arrangements to overseeing and creating reports, research, and presentations. It was a job she was exceptional at that she really enjoyed, except when scheduling dates and buying gifts for Brandon’s revolving door of fans.

Before she could get on the elevator to get to the 25th floor, she stopped at the newspaper stand in the lobby. Brandon loved going over the news while drinking his morning coffee.

Let me get the Times and the Business Journal, she said, shifting the things in her hand so she could dig some dollars out of her purse. It was a juggling act she was used to, so she had the cash out in a matter of seconds to hand to the stand owner. While finishing the transaction, her eyes landed on something that made her blood boil instantly.

Hanging on the stand’s side panel was a copy of one of Seattle’s messiest tabloids, The Daily Witness. On the front cover, underneath the bold headline, SEATTLE’S OWN CINDERELLA STORY FINALLY UNFOLDS, was a picture of Calliope and Brandon standing together in the VIP section of a popular