The Iris Branch

(Author’s note: Like the Emily branch, this will be largely told from Iris’s pov, with the occasional dip out into Joe’s pov for domain adventures)

I stood at the elevator doors, arms crossed under my breasts, watching the numbers climb with growing impatience. 9:05. Joe was late. Which was so unlike him. He was normally prompt to a fault, if you could even call it that. Still, it was only a small part of why he was so respected in the industry. His vision was the rest. He always saw what a project truly needed, even when budgets tried to strangle it. Clients left his shoots satisfied, confident… with some leaving more than a little wet.

Joe was ridiculously handsome, and somehow humbly oblivious to it. Some of the most beautiful women in the business had admitted to me; in hushed and loose conversations about how they would’ve gone home with him in a heartbeat. How they wanted to see how far he’d push their boundaries behind closed doors. Hell, during one of the resets from that iconic Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover shoot with Hanna Davis, she’d whispered to me how she’d damn near torn her bikini bottoms off completely, just to show him exactly how wet her pussy had gotten from the way he directed her. I understood the feeling all too well.

There was something in his voice when he called out poses; confident, commanding. It flowed like melted chocolate, warm and rich, and it did dangerous things to a woman. It did dangerous things to me.

I smiled as the elevator numbers finally ticked to our floor. Joe stepped out looking crisp in his suit, wearing the deep red tie Emily had bought him he loved so much. That smile of his hit me like it always did; warm and dangerously disarming; feeling my thighs press together just a little tighter.

“Iris,” he greeted, voice playful. “Always a pleasure.”

I gave him my best mock-stern look, eyebrow arched. “You’re late.”

“It’s 9:07,” he shot back with that grin that made my pulse skip. “The elevator can only go so fast.”

We walked toward his office together, passing the usual curious glances from cubicles. One of the assistants, Jessica, giggled behind us while she made a crude blowjob gesture at Joe’s back, giggling with her friend Nina. I rolled my eyes as I saw them mouth BWB. It was the nickname they’d given him. BWB… Boss With Benefits. The rumor mill had been spinning that one almost as long as we’d been at the agency. Joe and I had to be fucking. How else could we be so close?

They weren’t entirely wrong.

Before we joined the agency, before he and Emily… we had one night. One single, unforgettable night where we crossed every professional line and then some. I still remembered the way his hands felt on my skin; firm, almost worshipful. The way he’d pinned me against the wall of his old apartment, the way he’d taken his time, the way he’d made me cum so hard I saw stars. We both chose to move on. To protect what we had. To keep things clean. But some nights I still felt the ghost of his touch. Some mornings I still woke up aching, thighs slick, his name on my lips before I remembered why I couldn’t have him like that again, where I let the cold water from the shower cascade over my body as my fingers tried to replicate the feel of him inside me.

Emily knew about that night. She’d known almost from the beginning. She never judged me, if anything… she understood. Emily was… is… my best friend and we all loved each other too much to let something beautiful from the past ruin what we had now. .. what they had now. Her acceptance had only made me love her more… Still… it made the ache sharper, because now I knew she wouldn’t hate me for still wanting him.

I pushed the memory down as we reached his office door. Joe took the small gift box from my hands. “What’s this?” he asked, curious.

I smiled, feeling my eyebrow arch slightly, a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. “It belongs to your visitor. A potential client.”

He gave me that look; the one that said he knew I was hiding something; but he didn’t push. He never did, trusting me completely.

Normally I would’ve taken my seat at the desk right outside his office and waited for him to call if he needed anything. But today… today I needed to see his face when he walked in.

He turned the handle and opened the door.