Her Best Friend's Baby by Teona Bell Page A

dismiss.
    “You broke up with Jenna Slutty, I mean Hutty?”
    Leith glared at her.
    Zaierra shrugged. “Come on. You have to admit her name does rhyme with slutty, and her character…”
    “Okay, you’ve made it clear from the start what you thought of her.”
    “And you made it just as clear you wanted her for her looks. You let her wrap you around her little finger and play with your emotions. I don’t know how many times I had to resist kicking her ass for the way she treated you, but if you say you’re done, that’s good enough for me.”
    He ran a towel over his skin and wrapped it around his waist. Only then did she let her gaze travel lower to his abs. Mercy . They were toned to perfection, ripped, and hard. She knew just how hard because she’d teased him about washing clothes on them and used the excuse to run her fingers over his body. Leith had done the same with her. Not her abs because she fought with a pouch and extra weight around the hips and thighs, but just like he did last night, he liked to jump on her and tickle her until she cried uncle.
    “Yeah, I’m finished being manipulated. Jenna liked to make everything a big production.”
    “Only when you controlled the money too much.”
    He had been on the way to the door and stopped to look back at her. “What was that?”
    She smiled. “Nothing.”
    Leith eyed her with suspicion, but he didn’t push. He left the bathroom, and she took her time with her shower and getting her hair together. By the time she walked into her room, Leith had vacated it and left his yummy male scent behind. Quiet prevailed in the apartment, and she moved to the kitchen to find a breakfast plate and coffee waiting. A note from Leith told her he’d see her later, and she sat down to eat. While she chewed her bacon, she considered whether she’d talk to Leith about her idea. Now that they were both free, it might work. The question was, would he agree and could she handle it if he did.
     
    * * * *
     
    Zaierra made her way around the conference table handing out drinks. A couple of the other assistants distributed lunch selections. Zaierra noticed how Cammie, Leith’s assistant, leaned over him a lot more than the others, showing off her cleavage as if she thought that would get his attention. She couldn’t know Leith would never go there, not where his buddy had been. Cammie dated one of the other execs a couple years before, but it didn’t work out. Everyone said mixing it up in the office was against policy. No one followed the edict, not even the big boss, who everyone suspected of having a thing with the CFO.
    When she left the conference room, Zaierra returned to her desk to get some other work done. Cammie darted up not five minutes later, interrupting her flow. “Zai, I need you to cover my phone really quick, please. I’ll owe you one.”
    Zaierra frowned. “Why? Where are you going?”
    Cammie widened her eyes, and Zaierra got it.
    “Okay, sure, but hurry up. I’ve got two other lines including my own, and I have to get this order in along with a million other tasks.”
    Cammie thanked her and jetted from the area. The light on Zaierra’s phone lit up when it rang, and she knew Cammie had transferred Leith’s calls. The world seemed determined to disturb her when it rang again. She sighed and stabbed the button to answer. “Good afternoon, Leith Stone’s office.”
    “I’d like to speak to Leith, please.”
    Zaierra gritted her teeth. She recognized the skank of an ex-girlfriend right off, but apparently, Jenna didn’t pick up her voice or she wouldn’t have added please on the end of her sentence.
    “I’m sorry, he’s in a meeting for the rest of the day. May I put you into his voicemail?”
    The grumble of annoyance came through loud and clear. “This is an emergency. Go in and get him.”
    Zaierra grinned. “Leith requested all calls be held. I’ll put you into his voicemail.”
    Before Jenna could say another word, Zaierra