Lesbian Romance: Collection: Her Obsession (LGBT Multicultural Romance) (Paranormal Historical Short Story Collection) Read online

  © Copyright 2015 by Lovy Books - All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Her Obsession

  Lesbian Romance Collection

  Lovy Books

  Table of Contents

  Her Desires

  About the Story

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Book 2

  About the Story

  Chapter One

  Book 3

  About the Story

  Chapter One

  Her Desires

  Lesbian Paranormal Romance

  About the Story

  Stricken by an illness that left her deaf and mute from a young age, Fay Griffin has lived a quiet life just trying to make it through every day. That is, until she stumbles upon the job — and love of a lifetime.

  Fay and her new best friend Emma begin learning about each other, their similar lives and mysterious new ability they discover that helps them communicate. When they begin to fall in love, everything else seems to fall into place.

  But when they discover their workplace may have some hidden secrets that could change everything, Fay and Emma must put their heads together and save their jobs — and each other.

  Chapter One

  Fay Griffin walked. She weaved in and out of the people in the mall, ignoring everyone else — she was her own island in a sea of people. Nobody around noticed her, in her denim jacket and oversized headphones, tuning out the world in every way possible. All she wanted to do was buy a few things on her own and leave, browsing through rack after rack of summer clothing on sale in a peaceful mood.

  Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and she jumped. Turning, she saw a man in his late 50s with salt-and-pepper hair and a silver goatee standing behind her, holding a summer dress she had picked out. She saw his lips move; looking down she realized she had dropped it and he was trying to get her attention.

  “Thank you,” she signed, as she usually did in these situations, hoping he would understand she couldn’t hear him. Too often she was accosted by people thinking she was rude for not responding to them, when in reality she couldn’t.

  Fay had very few memories of what it was like to be able to speak and hear, having lost both abilities when she contracted meningitis at the age of four. Twenty years later, she was swift and fluent in American Sign Language and she’d developed skills in reading and writing that made communicating with sighted and hearing people that much easier. Still, there were always people who didn’t understand. This man probably would become confused and defensive like all the others before him, thinking she was purposely ignoring him.

  But to her surprise, he signed back to her, “You’re welcome. I thought you might want to know.”

  She smiled. “You know sign language! This never happens to me!”

  He nodded. “Yes, I do, and it’s nice to meet someone else who does. I can always use the practice.” He held out his hand to Fay to shake. “My name is Michael Greyfell. You know, I actually oversee a department in the Health and Safety Agency to give people like yourselves a place to work. You seem like you’d be great at it.”

  Fay couldn’t help but laugh in her head. You just met me; you don’t know anything about me. But to Michael she signed, “That sounds interesting. I will look into it. I don’t get a lot of opportunities like this.”

  “You should,” he signed, and reached into his coat pocket for his business card. “There, that’s my contact information if you’re inclined to shoot me an email.” Fay took the card and found a pen to scribble her email address for him too. The two shook hands and parted ways — this time with Fay carrying the dress and everything else she had come into the store for.

  When she got home, she set Michael’s business card on the desk next to her computer. She thought about sending him an email right then and there, but decided instead to sleep on it. She was doing fine on disability allowance and had little need for a job. The income certainly wouldn’t hurt and it would enliven her out of a routine of monotony from not having a lot of things to do.

  Fay had a great family, supportive friends, and plenty of opportunity for exploration and growth. She never let her disabilities stand in the way of anything she wanted to achieve. But she had been coming to the realization lately that many of her childhood dreams just weren’t feasible anymore — things like becoming an English teacher. But she’d managed to adapt to skills instead, becoming an adept writer, editor and book reviewer on her own time. Fay was proud of the business she’d built on her own, with nothing more than a computer and reading and writing skills.

  Throughout school, Fay had always been a bit of an outcast because of her being deaf and mute. Her parents insisted on keeping her in normal classes and not in gifted and talented classes like others with her situation. She bolstered her regular education with plenty of reading and writing, which became her preferred method of communication, even though she knew sign language. She was proud of herself for being able to function as normally as possible in a society which often judged deaf people before realizing they were like anyone else.

  In the middle of her thoughts, her phone buzzed with a notification. It was an email from Michael. That was fast, Fay thought. “Hello Fay,” the email read, “it was great to meet you this afternoon, and I appreciate being able to get in touch. I just wanted to inform you that there is an opening for an interview for an intern with the Health and Safety Agency that I mentioned on Tuesday if you are interested. I really think you would have a great shot at it; your skills far surpass many of the other applicants I’ve seen. I’ve set aside the time for you, if you’d like. Best, Michael Greyfell.”

  Fay still didn’t think much of it. She was flattered, but she decided to call it a night anyway. She put her phone on her nightstand, the light from the email slowly fading as she drifted off to sleep.

  In the morning, the email was the first thing she saw when she looked at her phone, and on a whim, she replied saying that she would be there. What the hell, she thought, I have nothing to lose.

  Chapter Two

  When the interview came on the following Tuesday, Fay wasn’t nervous at all, just intrigued. She arrived twenty minutes early to the towering Health and Safety Agency, a Greek-modeled building with Doric columns lining the front entrance and security guards glaring at her as she removed her metal jewelry and put her bags through the metal detector. It was as imposing as any other federal government building Fay had ever visited and with good reason — the entire health, food and agriculture commerce p
rograms were housed in this building. The interview itself was no less intense: a panel of three older gentlemen — including Michael, the only one who smiled at her the whole interview — who asked her a series of difficult questions. What are your political and religious affiliations? Have you ever donated money to a political or social cause? Can you work efficiently in an isolated setting? How many family members do you have and are you close to them? Can you read lips? Fay was taken aback by some of the questions, and she left the interview confused and discouraged about why Michael had said she would be a good fit for the position when she was stumped at half the questions and was even less sure now of what the position entailed.

  But by some miracle, a week later, Michael called her back with the good news: she was hired, and she would start immediately. The first several days of her new job as an intern were hectic, as Fay navigated the confusing office layout and met the other employees. Michael explained that she would be serving in that position for a few weeks until the agency could place her in a more specific area better suited to her skills. And that time flew by.

  Now, just over two months after her first day at the HSA, she was scheduled to have a meeting with the Nick Stephens, the director of the entire agency. Fay was nervous. She’d never officially met Mr. Stephens and only seen him in passing as he walked purposefully from office to office. She was thankful that Michael would be there to translate for them; she felt much more comfortable knowing he would be present.

  Speak of the devil; just a few minutes before her meeting, Michael happened to stop by, towing a young, tall man behind him.

  “Hi Fay,” he signed. “I’ll be back over here to get you in a few minutes, but I wanted to introduce you to the new intern, Charles.” Fay nodded politely and shook his hand. “He’s like you and we’re hoping you two will be able to help boost our disability program. We’re honored to have you both here.”

  “Charles Montgomery Livingston III,” he signed, introducing himself, while standing up tall and puffing out his chest slightly. “You can call me Chip. I take after my dad in both his name and his talents.” Fay looked surprised; she never would have said something like that on the first day of her new job. She had more tact than that. In fact, on her first day, she was more nervous than excited, but this new guy seemed to want to show his dominance already. Fay was put off.

  “Right,” she signed, “it’s nice to meet you, too. It’s always nice to meet another deaf person.”

  “I know, especially at a place like this. Most people like us I’ve met can’t hold any jobs. I hope everyone can keep up with me!” Chip smiled, but he wasn’t joking.

  “Yes. Well, I’ll see you around.” Fay turned around and pretended to busy herself at her desk to end the conversation. She watched Michael take him back to his desk at the other end of the cubicles, scowling at the nerve of this guy. What an asshole! she thought. So cocky. I can’t stand it.

  Michael returned a few minutes later to take her in to meet Mr. Stephens. His office was exactly as Fay pictured it: a corner view of the streets below, lined with bookcases, elegant paintings and a massive, imposing desk. The room smelled of sweet cedar wood and a hint of pipe tobacco. She inhaled, pleased by the combination. Mr. Stephens was standing behind his mahogany desk. He was tall and stocky, with an immaculate part in his hair and a massive watch on his wrist. His suit was crisp and clean and when he stood taller upon their entrance, his entire frame expanded. Fay saw his lips move on an imposing jaw, but couldn’t tell what he was saying; she waited for Michael to translate for him.

  “Nick says he is impressed with your performance lately,” Michael told her, “how efficient you’ve been with your delivery responsibilities and coordinating communication with the other departments. He likes that and would like to reward you.”

  Fay looked across the vast desk at Mr. Stephens, who was smiling incessantly at her.

  “He would like to offer you the position of deputy administrative assistant on his staff. Is that something you would be interested in?”

  Fay couldn’t control herself. She stood up, put her hands over her mouth and nodded excitedly. “Yes. Oh, yes, thank you, sir, thank you so much.” She reached across the desk and shook his hand; Michael and Mr. Stephens couldn’t help but laugh, seeing her excitement.

  Mr. Stephens spoke again and Michael waited for his lips to stop moving one more time. Then he led her out of the office. “Excellent,” he signed. “We’ll get your space set up immediately and we’ll have you moved to your new location tomorrow. It’s a little bit isolated, but I think it’s better for you in the long run.” He led her to her new workspace, much closer to the Mr. Stephens’s office than where she currently sat with the other cubicle workers. Her job enabled her to traverse the entire floor of employees, so she was familiar with the area, but she never had the chance to have her own desk and somewhere to call home while she was at work. But now, as Michael indicated where she’d be sitting, her heartbeat increased in excitement as she saw she would have her own space — still just a desk, but in an office that connected with the Mr. Stephens’s executive assistant. From now on, she would be just two steps away from the man in charge of the entire agency.

  Fay couldn’t resist running her fingers along the desk in glee. Michael watched her with equal amusement, seeing her thrill at being promoted.

  “Whose place was this before me?” she signed curiously. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she rushed on.

  “Not at all,” Michael replied. “We had another young lady like yourself here for quite a while, but she had to quit out of, ah, some kind of family problems. And there’s been a vacancy ever since, for about four months.” He smiled. “So we’re very glad to have you here now.”

  “Thank you so much,” she signed, grinning.

  Just then, a young woman rushed past where the two were conversing, a stack of papers in her hand and a purpose in her mind. Michael held out his hand to catch her attention as she passed by, but she didn’t even look up at the two people standing in her way; instead, she walked on blindly to wherever her destination was. Fay watched her walk away, her long, blond hair cascading down her back.

  “She’ll be back,” Michael signed. “That’s Emma Day. She’s your new supervisor. She’s my assistant; she works to coordinate the disability program and the communication among all of disabled workers here.” Fay and Michael stood around chatting for a couple minutes, their hands expressing themselves excitedly.

  Then Emma turned around the corner back to her office. Fay was immediately struck by her appearance. She had a soft, gentle face with high cheekbones and a rosy expression matched by a pair of bright blue eyes. As she approached Michael and this new stranger, Emma’s lips curled into a smile. Fay was smitten. Oh wow, she thought, she’s beautiful.

  The young woman suddenly paused for a moment and looked around distractedly, as though she had forgotten something — but then she approached Michael and Fay for introductions. Fay eagerly reached out her hand to make this woman’s acquaintance, rapt as she was by her beauty. When their skin touched each others, a quick spark of fire — excitement? Tension? Fay wasn’t sure what it was — surged through her. They both locked eyes for a split second, surprised. Michael, who hadn’t thought anything of their physical connection, did his duty to inform everyone of their new professional relationships and then left to go back to his office. Both women stood there politely, making small talk with their hands, but Fay was now far too distracted by her thoughts and the beauty of the woman who stood in front of her. The shape of her lips, the curve of her body and the flawlessness of her skin fascinated her. You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, she thought.

  They locked eyes, and Fay felt her face getting hot. Emma grinned too. And then, as Fay watched Emma’s hands move, she heard a breath of awe come floating through her head, an airy wow that echoed in her mind. Distracted, Fay shook her head quickly and signed, “I’m sorry, I missed that last part, what?”
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  Emma looked confused. “Nothing,” she signed. “Er, I don’t remember. Anyway, I’m just excited to have you on board.” They shook hands again — this time without a spark — and retreated back to their respective desks.

  Chapter Three

  The next day, Fay went back to her old desk instinctively before standing up, embarrassed, and heading closer to Mr. Stephens’s office, where her new desk was. Emma greeted her with a smile. Wow, those soft lips! The glint of her eyes! Fay thought when she arrived.

  “Good morning, Fay!” she signed. “It’s good to have you here with me. We’ll get you settled in so you can start working.” She showed Fay her computer and the documents already waiting for her on the desk. “You’ll be working as the administrative assistant to Mr. Stephens’s assistant, so scheduling, coordinating, interoffice communication, that sort of thing. I’m technically in charge of you, though, since I run the disability program, so you can come to me with any questions. Does that all make sense?” Fay nodded. “Great. And while we wait for the computer to install your information, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

  Fay shrugged and began her usual story of how she contracted meningitis, describing the loss of both her hearing and her voice and how she learned to adapt to it. Fay described learning sign language and mastering her reading and writing skills for the best way to communicate. But in the middle of her narrative, Emma stopped her and leaned down closer to her. “Actually,” she signed, “we’re not supposed to do this here, but would you want to go out for coffee tonight?”

  Fay was surprised. “What do you mean? We can’t get coffee? That sounds fun.”

  “They don’t want us to be talking to each other. Didn’t you sign the non-disclosure agreement when you started? The nature of this place, I guess; they don’t want people to know more than they have to. It’s really strict, but I guess it makes sense.”