by Claire Adams
It did kind of worry me that he had a black eye, though. I wondered how on earth he had gotten himself punched in the eye in the first place, but I decided it wasn’t my place to ask him about it. I certainly wasn’t going to be the kind of girl that got in his way of doing business or was a nag to him.
For the time being, I was going to be the demure girl that I thought Chase and most men wanted. I didn’t want to ruin things by asking a ton of questions or not showing my appreciation for him bringing me over to America. It would be easier for us if I was just the quiet, shy girl.
On the drive to his house, I continued to hold the flowers he gave me, and I couldn’t stop smelling them. I had never received fresh flowers before, and their smell was overwhelmingly perfect. The sweet aroma filled my nostrils, and I wanted to smell them more and more.
I noticed Chase watching me, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. He squeezed my hand and just smiled back and continued to watch me, as I alternated between smelling the flowers and looking out my window in awe.
“Everything is so big,” I said as I looked at the city of Atlanta.
“That’s what she said,” Chase said and then chuckled.
I didn’t know what he meant right away, but I suspected it had some sort of sexual undertone by the way he looked at me.
Instantly, I turned bright red and looked back out the window. Everything felt so new and wonderful. The city was beautiful, Chase was handsome, and I couldn’t have felt more comfortable around him. Things seemed to be working out pretty damn well, and that made me a little nervous. Nothing in my life ever went smoothly – there were always bumps in the road. I just couldn’t anticipate the next bump for me.
Chase squeezed my knee and just laughed as he watched me in awe of the city. He still seemed to be snickering over the joke he made, but I didn’t understand it.
“I’m sorry. That was inappropriate,” he said quietly.
“Well, I don’t know what it means, so it’s not that inappropriate,” I smiled and turned back toward him.
The way he looked at me was like nothing I had ever experienced. His eyes intently drilled into mine, and I felt like I could actually melt right there in front of him. The desire he had for me was obvious, and it made me feel so good.
Sexual tension. That’s what it was. There was a feeling that floated in the air of the car as we drove to Chase’s house. It was sexual tension. Our bodies had such great chemistry that being that close to each other was just too much for us. The connection between us was strong and our bodies wanted to touch each other. We couldn’t stop it, although we continued to try and be appropriate.
I reached over, put my hand on his leg, and laid my head on his shoulder. It felt normal, natural – it felt like that was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Chase grabbed my hand from his leg and held it in his. He wrapped his other arm around my shoulder and pulled me in tight against him. It felt like we had known each other for years, not as if we had only met online and talked for a few hours.
“We are getting close to my house; I hope you’re not too tired. I’ll give you a tour.”
“I’m awake enough for a tour, for sure.”
I sat up and looked out as we pulled into his home. It was beautiful, like the homes I saw on television. The excitement continued to build when we got to the front door and Chase came around and opened my door.
Everything felt like a fairytale. It all felt so abnormal for me, and I wanted to just pinch myself so I knew it was real. Ana’s idea to join an online dating site had sure turned everything in my life upside down.
Chase was the perfect gentleman as he opened the front door and held my hand while he walked me through his home. Room by room, he showed me where everything was, and I didn’t hear a single word of it. My mind was occupied thinking about him and how I wanted to kiss him again.
It seemed so forward and unusual for me, but my body wanted him. My body ached for him. Having my hand in his distracted me from everything. I couldn’t stop thinking about what his hands would feel like on my body.
Just having his hand in mine wasn’t enough, and I desperately needed more. I felt an unstoppable desire to have his hands running up and down my naked back, to feel them as they traced over my perky nipple. I couldn’t stop my mind from thinking about all the naughty things I wanted to do with him. His hands were just one of many thoughts that rushed through my head as we walked around his house.
I had not planned to want Chase so badly. In fact, I wouldn’t have even thought of wanting to kiss him until I got to know him more. But the urges that my body was having were more than I could handle.
As he showed me his bedroom, I lost control and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed him again, this time with such passion that I couldn’t stop myself.
Our mouths opened and our tongues moved together. His hands reached down and grabbed my ass and before I knew what was going on, he had me lifted up and pinned against the wall with my legs wrapped around him.
Urgently, we took each other in, as the sexual tension between us exploded.
Chapter 9
Chase
I felt the urge to fuck Jordan the second I saw her in the airport, so the ride to my house was as close to torture as I had been in a very long time. I wasn’t use to having to resist my urge to fuck a woman. Typically, if I had the urge, I just went for it. But, I wanted to be a gentleman with her. I didn’t want to scare her away. She was sweet and beautiful and more than I had ever had with a woman before.
When she put her hand on my leg, I felt my cock get hard, and I wanted to pull her into my lap and fuck her right there. But I knew I couldn’t do that. She wasn’t the type of girl who I wanted to just fuck and then leave. I had to behave myself, so I could try and build something more.
In the car, I held her close to me purely to prevent her from seeing just how rock hard my cock had got. If she had looked over at my pants, I know she would have been surprised at the level of my excitement for her.
Then, when I opened the door to my bedroom and she hopped up into my arms, I was as close to heaven as I had been in a very long time. The moment was sweet, yet I felt a passion from Jordan that surprised me. She wanted me just as badly as I wanted her.
Never had I refused a woman who threw herself at me so openly, but I didn’t want to just fuck her and then run off to work and leave her in my place all day. We really didn’t know each other that well yet, and I wanted her to feel comfortable in my home. I wanted to take her on a real date and get to know her more.
Then, the thought hit me.
Maybe she was throwing herself at me because she thought that was required for me flying her out to America.
I felt like a slime ball for not thinking about that sooner, and I put her back on the ground and kissed her lips gently. We didn’t know each other well enough yet for me to be able to tell what she was thinking. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to do anything with me.
“Let’s pick this up later when I get back from work,” I said sweetly.
Jordan looked embarrassed by her display of affection, and I didn’t want her to feel that way. But I still couldn’t tell if she was doing it out of obligation or if she just felt the urge to kiss me.
I grabbed her hand and walked her to the spare bedroom.
“I set this room up for you so you could have your own space. We can go on a date tomorrow and get to know each other more.”
“Why not tonight?” she asked with a smile.
“I’ll have to work late tonight and you should rest. The jet lag will hit pretty bad if you don’t get some sleep.”
“So, I have to sleep in this room?” she asked with a sly grin on her face.
“You don’t want to sleep in there?” I asked.
The way she looked at me made me think she didn’t feel obliged at all – the way Jordan looked at me was like she wanted to devour me and eat me up right there. I loved it because that’s exactly what I want
ed to do to her.
I wanted to throw her down on the bed and rip her clothes off, to taste her delicious juices on my tongue, and hear her moans of pleasure as I made her cum. I wanted that more than anything, but I was trying to not be a total ass and, instead, trying to be a gentleman for her. It wasn’t working all that well, though, because all I could picture was her naked on the bed with her legs spread open, waiting for me.
“I’ll sleep here,” she said and looked away from me.
It was as if she was trying to be a shy and demure girl, but fighting with who she really was. Every now and again, the passion and energy left her eyes and she looked down and away from me. It was a different Jordan when she did that.
“We can talk about it more when I get home. But for now, there’s a private shower and the fridge is full of food. Help yourself and I’ll be back at the end of my day.”
“Okay,” she said as she walked toward me. “I’m glad fate brought us together,” she said as she stood only a foot away from me and looked into my eyes.
The energy between us was palpable, and I had to put my hands into my pockets to avoid reaching out and grabbing her. Everything in my body just wanted to touch her. But I had to leave. I had to get back to work.
“Jordan, you don’t even know how happy I am to have you here.”
“Now, go do your work. I’ll be fine,” she said as she pushed me away from her.
The touch of her hands on my chest was intense and I leaned in and kissed her cheek. It was all I could do to avoid taking her right there. But I was trying to be a new man. I was trying to be a man my father could be proud of. I couldn’t ruin what it was that I had going with Jordan.
“All right. I have put my phone number on the counter and there is a cell phone for you there. Feel free to use it to call your family or friends, as well.”
“Okay.”
I looked back at her one last time as I made my way out of the room and back to work. I had been gone for two hours, and I really didn’t want people to start to doubt the new persona I was putting across at the office. Hard work and showing up every single day was my goal and I was doing a pretty good job of it so far. I just had to keep it up and really get more involved in the meetings at work.
***
I was finally being looked at as someone who knew what he was talking about. It was hard for me to get over the reputation I had with everyone from not showing up to work very much, but I had been consistent for the last week or so, and that was starting to help. I knew it wasn’t enough to change my father’s mind, but it was enough for the time being.
I didn’t get that surprised look from people when I showed up to my office each day and I even got invited to some of the meetings we had. It might have been out of pity for me that I was invited, but all the same, I was happy to be getting back involved.
It was a process that was going to take longer than two weeks and I knew that. I had to make some more progress right away. I intended to take over my father’s company, and I intended to pay back Jose Escabar, and I intended to try and build a real relationship with Jordan. Now, the trick was going to be getting my intentions to turn into reality.
The meeting we were having that day was about how to save money. I had some big ideas that I thought were really going to wow everyone, if my father didn’t shoot them down when I started to talk.
Historically, when I came up with ideas in meetings, my father thought they were too out of the ordinary or not feasible. I had done my research for this meeting, though, and I was prepared to put up a strong fight for my argument. My father, as well as the other members of his executive team, liked hard numbers. I was prepared to give them the numbers they wanted to see along with my proposal.
I walked into the meeting with my power suit on and my briefcase in my hand. This was my moment. I was ready to shine. It was time to forget about the past and move forward. These executives were going to start seeing just how fucking useful I was to the company.
“Hello, Chase It’s nice to have you join us today,” my father said sarcastically as I entered the boardroom.
I wasn’t about to let his comment throw me off, though. We were talking about saving money throughout our entire company, and I knew exactly how to make it happen. I had done a research paper in school about the cost saving analysis of companies that started to use natural lighting throughout the day. Most companies saw an average of 25% reduction in their energy costs by simply adding skylights to their warehouses and work floors.
I analyzed all 72 of our facilities and came up with an estimated $54 million dollars a year that we could save by simply switching to use more natural lighting. It was an easy change that we could have all our offices retrofitted for within a year and it could make a huge difference in our bottom line. Now, I just had to articulate that change to the board members and my father.
For the majority of the meeting, I sat quietly and let the elders discuss ways they thought we could save money. Some of them were pretty good, but nothing that would save us nearly as much as my plan.
It was important for me to wait for just the right moment to discuss my ideas. I couldn’t jump in right away and seem too eager. I wanted everyone else to be done with their ideas first. When my father had heard all of their ideas and didn’t like any of them, then I could sweep in with my great idea and wow them all.
“Chase,” my father said, “do you have anything you’d like to contribute?”
He said it sarcastically, and I knew he didn’t expect for me to have an answer. The look in his eyes said that he thought I was going to say no. He wanted me to be responsible, but my father didn’t actually expect that I would make the changes he asked me to make.
“Yes, thanks for asking,” I said as I opened my briefcase and pulled out some handouts.
I walked around the room and handed out a one-page summary of my proposal to each member of our executive team. The look of shock on my father’s face was perfect, as I handed him his copy of my proposal, and the other executives in the room were equally as shocked.
“I have analyzed our warehouses and other office buildings. It is clear that we could retrofit all our facilities to use more natural lighting. This is a similar process that the Wal-Mart brand was able to integrate, and it helped them save almost a billion dollars a year. Of course, we don’t have as many buildings as that giant does.”
I stayed silent for a minute as everyone looked through my handout. It was nice to see a couple of the guys talking back and forth and nodding, like they thought my plan was a good one. But the person I wanted to hear from most was my father. I watched him as he looked at the proposal and seemed very unimpressed.
“How much money can we really save if we have to do this much work to each of the buildings?”
“I’m glad you asked that,” I said as I grabbed a second piece of paper just for my father. “This paper outlines exactly how much the retrofitting will cost to complete and a reasonable time frame to get the work done. As you will see, it is going to cost almost six million dollars to upgrade all facilities.”
“Chase, come on now. We are talking about saving money and you want us to agree to spend six million dollars on skylights!” my father said.
His voice boomed through the room, and it took everything I had to keep my face professional, as well as my voice. Everyone who had thought the idea was a good one suddenly seemed on my father’s side and shook their heads back and forth to say no to the plan.
“Please take a look at the bottom of the first page I handed out to see the amount of projected savings.”
“Fifty-four million!” one of the finance guys yelled out. “That’s insane.”
“I know it is a lot of money. But that is only twenty percent of our current energy budget. If we used the same numbers as Wal-Mart, the savings would be even more. I underestimated to be safe.”
Suddenly, my father was paying attention to the numbers and my idea. Everyone in the room was payin
g attention at that point – $54 million dollars was a hard number to ignore. My father talked with his finance Vice President next to him and they continued to talk while the rest of us sat quietly and observed.
“If these numbers are right and this is actually possible, this will change a lot for our company, Chase,” my father said.
“I really think this is the wave of the future. Using clean energy and natural resources has helped to save a lot of money for companies over the years. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here; we are just using the natural resources around us.”
“I like it, Chase. Great presentation. I’ll have some guys get started on further research and see if this is something that we could implement.”
It certainly wasn’t the praise that I had hoped for, but I was confident whomever he had researching the plan would come to the same conclusion I did. And, despite his lukewarm reception to my idea, at the end of the meeting, I felt like he genuinely liked it.
We all shook hands with each other and I left to go back to my office. The meeting had gone past six o’clock, and I wanted to get back to my house and to Jordan as soon as I could.
“Chase,” I heard my father call from the boardroom. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I walked back to my father and sat down next to him in the boardroom. We had never sat down at work before, and I liked it. I liked the look in his eye. It was much better than the disappointed look that he normally had when we talked.
“What’s up, Dad?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I have heard some great things about you at work this week. Keep up the good work. And this proposal is really good. Even if we don’t decide to use it, I want you to know I appreciate you putting this kind of effort forward.”
“Thanks, Dad. I did a lot of research. I know your guys might have some questions, please have them come talk to me. I would be happy to work with them and share some resources I came across.”