“You want me to stick it in?” he asked.
“Yes. Fuck me hard, Preston,” I begged. “I want it so bad.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Mirabelle,” he said as he stared at me for a moment. “Your curves are bangin’. Your skin is so soft.” He glazed his hand over the outline of my body taking in every curve, angle, and camber.
Suddenly I felt him shove his thick, veiny prick deep inside me.
“Ah!” I called out.
“Oh, god,” he sighed as his hips moved steadily and constantly. He plugged my pussy in and out, in and out, and sucked on my nipples while he thrusted.
I loved having this gorgeous man fucking me and loving every inch of my body. It made the sex even hotter knowing we had waited until the time was right. All that tension was leading up to this moment, and I loved every minute of it. I’d never had such hot sex before.
“Mmm,” I softly moaned.
He reached up gently massaged my voluptuous breasts again.
“Fuck me back,” he whispered.
I thrusted my hips opposite of his per his request. I could feel myself getting close, but I didn’t want this to end. I wanted to go all night.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this with you again,” he whispered.
“I’m all yours now,” I whispered back as I kissed his mouth. “You can have this anytime you want.”
I loved being desired by him. It made me feel grown up and sexy, not awkward and juvenile.
An intense wave of ecstasy washed over my entire body as my pussy was going buck wild.
Preston covered my mouth with his hand once again as he knew I was going to scream.
I reached my hands down and grabbed a fistful of sheets on the side of the bed as hard as I could. My breathing was hard and labored.
As soon as I was done cumming, Preston pulled his cock out of my pussy and positioned it above my stomach. I leaned up and grabbed it with my hand and rubbed it until his white seed shot out all over my stomach. There was so much of it. I never knew a man could cum so much.
I stared him in the eyes as I took my hands and rubbed it into my skin and into my soft belly and then up onto my generous breasts.
“Oh, god,” Preston moaned. “That’s so fucking hot.”
He collapsed on top of me and kissed my mouth again. Our hot bodies were sweaty now and sticking together.
“I wish we could do this all day, every day,” I said.
“You and me both,” Preston huffed as he rolled off of me.
I climbed off the bed and redressed, my entire body on fire from what just happened.
“You have the most amazing body I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Don’t get dressed just yet. I want to look at you some more.”
I leaned over towards him and kissed his mouth once again. “You’re too good to me, Preston.”
He pulled me back onto the sheets with him and pulled me into his warm arms. “Can you promise me something, Mirabelle?”
“Yes, anything,” I said, nearly whispering. I was afraid of what he was about to ask.
“Let’s never keep secrets from each other,” he said. “One hundred percent transparency. All the time. No matter what.”
I glanced up at him, and for a second he seemed lost in thought as he stared off to the side.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” I asked him.
“There’s something you don’t know about me,” he said, with a quiver in his voice.
My heart stopped.
“I was adopted,” he said.
“Okay,” I said, drawing out my breath. “A lot of people are. That’s not really a major secret type of thing.”
“The reason I’m telling you,” he began. “Is because I have trust and abandonment issues.”
“Oh,” I said, my body paralyzed as I waited for him to elaborate.
“My mother, if you could call her that, gave me up when I was five,” he said, teeth gritted. “Five, Mirabelle. Most people are given up as infant. They grow up never knowing any other kind of life. My biological father passed when I was a baby, and my mother found comfort in working long hours at her law firm and leaving me with a nanny. Years never spending enough time with me and eventually the bond was severed. She had no attachment to me. She gave me to my father’s parents, signing over all rights.”
“Oh, god, Preston,” I said sympathetically. I wanted to hug his inner child and squeeze him tight.
“My grandparents died when I was eight,” he said. “She didn’t want me back. I grew up in the foster care system until I was eighteen, and then I was placed out on the streets. That’s when Rodney took me in and sort of informally adopted me.”
Rodney was my stepdad for a brief period of time, and I never knew much about him. I don’t think my mom really did either. It came as no surprise that we didn’t know Preston wasn’t his.
“I thought you went to Duke?” I asked.
“I did,” he said. “I got a job working in the mail room of this advertising company shortly after our parents divorced. I guess this guy, he saw something in me. Took me under his wing. Made me who I am today. He never gave up on me. Didn’t have any kids of his own so he put me through college.”
I leaned over and kissed his lips. “Everything you’ve just told me, makes me like you even more.”
“Really?” he asked, seeming surprised. “Even my trust and abandonment issues?”
“I’m not worried about that,” I said. “You can trust me, and I’ll never abandon you.”
I wanted to tell him my secret, but given what he’d just told me, it was going to have to wait.
TWENTY-FIVE
Preston emerged from the shower with dripping wet hair and a white towel around his waist. The entire room smelled like fresh body wash and mint. I’d stayed the night with him at his hotel, and we’d spend most of the night talking and making love.
“What’s the plan today?” I asked him. “You’re in town until tomorrow morning, right?”
“Right,” he said. “No plans. Just you and me.”
My heart warmed over at those words. He was here to see me and that was all he cared about.
I climbed out of bed and gathered my clothes from the floor. I was going to have to run home and shower and change. “Can you run me home, real quick?”
Preston finished getting ready and we headed down to his car.
“So,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot. “When are you coming back to the city?”
He was bringing it up again, and this time there was no way to get out of addressing it.
“June first,” I replied.
“So are you taking me up on my offer?” he asked. “Your office is still there. Untouched.”
“I’ve accepted another job offer,” I said with a wince as I waited for him to respond.
Silence.
“I know you want me to work for you,” I explained. “But I want to date you. I want to have the butterflies and the whole ‘I can’t wait to see you tonight’ stuff. If we’re together 24/7 we won’t have that. And god forbid this doesn’t work out and then we’re stuck working side by side. That would just be a hot mess all around.”
“Mirabelle,” he said, cutting me off. “I meant it when I said you were one of the most talented young professionals I’ve ever come across. Whether or not you’re dating me, I still want you on my team. No, I need you on my team. Name your price. Any salary you want. It’s yours.”
“That’s very generous,” I began. “But it’s not about money. It’s about you and me. Us.”
Preston was silent, and the only sound that filled the small car was the clicking of his turn signal as he turned towards my parents’ house.
“Is this about the whole trust and abandonment thing?” I asked carefully. “Because if it is - ”
“No,” he boomed, leaving it at that. “Where will you be working?”
“Roan and Berry,” I said.
“You
’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he seethed through his clenched teeth.
“What?” I asked, wondering why he was so upset by that.
“Fucking Carter Berry,” he said with an incredulous laugh. “Well played, Carter.”
“I’m confused. I don’t get it,” I said.
“We went to school together,” he said. “Duke. We were roommates. Same major. Went our separate ways after college and he set up shop the same year I bought Halston’s firm.”
“Okay, there are lots of advertising agencies in the city,” I said with a shrug. “What’s the big deal?”
“He’s made it his personal mission to take me and my firm down,” he said. “He’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Listen, listen,” I said, trying to calm him down as I placed my hand over his. “I won’t let that happen. You need to trust me, Preston.”
He nodded, knowing he wasn’t going to win that battle with me.
“No one can take you down,” I said, squeezing his hand. “You’re Preston freaking Woodfield. Do you even know who you are?”
He laughed.
“Seriously, you’re worrying about nothing,” I assured him. “My loyalty will always be to you. This is just a job. Nothing more.”
TWENTY-SIX
I strutted into the lower Manhattan skyscraper that housed Roan and Berry’s advertising firm bright and early that first Monday in June. My heart raced and my palms moistened, but I knew I had this. I’d proven myself at Woodfield and Halston, and I was dead set on proving myself at Roan and Berry.
“Hello,” I said with a smile to the raven-haired receptionist on the main floor. “Mirabelle Baker. Reporting for my first day of work.”
Her eyes scanned a sheet of paper on her desk until they landed on my name. “You’re to report to Mr. Berry. Fifteenth floor, office three seventeen.”
I clutched onto my Burberry bag and trekked towards the elevator bay, heels clicking lightly on the marble tiles. I rode to the fifteenth floor and found Mr. Berry’s office within seconds.
“Mirabelle!” he said, excitedly. We’d only met once before, when I’d interviewed before I left town back in May. The interview went well and he’d offered me the job the very next day, which I chalked up to the fact that I’d successfully interned for Preston Woodfield. “How are you? Come in. Have a seat.”
I took a seat across from Mr. Berry and gracefully crossed my legs.
“So you ready to hit the ground running?” he asked, enthusiastic smile across his face. His teeth were big and white and almost horse-like. “I know we’re all excited to have you on board.”
“I am,” I said. “Very excited. And ready.”
My nerves were starting to show a bit, so I took a deep breath and tried to regroup mentally.
“We’ve got a staff meeting here in about fifteen minutes,” he said, standing up from his seat and motioning towards the door. He was a rather tall man, slender. He dressed much more casually than Preston usually did, opting to wear khaki pants, boat shoes, and a navy blazer. He already seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to Preston, at least as a boss. “Why don’t you come along with me. Do you need anything? Water? Coffee? Pastries?”
“I’m good, thank you,” I said as I walked with him down the hall.
“Here we are,” he said a short minute later as he pointed towards a conference room door. “I’m going to let you get situated, but I’ll be in here in a while. The meeting doesn’t start for a bit, but feel free to get comfortable. You can sit anywhere you want.”
“Thank you,” I said with a nod as I headed inside.
The conference room was vast, and every noise was magnified as I sat my things down and got comfortable. There must have been at least thirty or forty chairs at the mile-long table, but the floor to ceiling windows provided gorgeous city views. If I looked hard enough, I could see Preston’s building from there.
I smiled as I thought of Preston. He’d picked me up from the airport the previous Friday and helped me get settled in my apartment. I’d opted to rent a furnished studio, since moving to Manhattan was super expensive. Preston offered to buy me some furniture, but I refused. I never wanted to feel like I owed him anything.
The sound of two men chatting outside the conference room began to echo and trail my way, and I couldn’t help but listen in.
“Yeah, that new girl is starting today,” one guy said. “Mirabelle something?”
“Never heard of her,” the other man said.
“Rumor has it she was poached from Woodfield,” the first guy said. “He was grooming her to be his #2 and Berry swooped in and offered her a gig here.”
“That’s freaking awesome,” the second man said. “Serves Woodfield right.”
“Yeah, Woodfield’s a fucking dick,” the first man said.
“But, shit, you’d work for him in a heartbeat if he asked you,” the second man said with a laugh.
“True.”
They both laughed.
“If this girl’s as good as they say, we could easily pass up Woodfield’s firm in rank by the end of the year,” he said. “Maybe steal a few clients of theirs? That Johnston account was pretty lucrative I heard, and she did all the footwork.”
I’d heard enough. Preston was right. Carter Berry knew exactly what he was doing when he hired me. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to quit and run out of there and go straight to Preston, but before I could react, the room began to fill with my new colleagues.
Their faces were foreign and cold and not one single person offered me a smile or even so much as said hello.
“Hurry up everyone,” Carter said as he entered in through a different door. “Settle in. We’ve got work to do.”
As various men and women took their seats and whipped out their pens and notebooks, Carter flashed a kind smile my ways. Out of everyone, he was the nicest to me, and yet he was nothing more than a traitor with ulterior motives.
“Everyone, this is Mirabelle Baker,” he said. “Our new senior account manager.”
“Welcome, Mirabelle,” the group said in a collective, forced drone.
I smiled and gave a small wave as I looked around. I didn’t know what was getting into me. Normally I was headstrong, confident, and self-assured, but all of a sudden, I felt like I didn’t know a damn thing about anything anymore.
TWENTY-SEVEN
I locked up my desk at exactly five o’clock and bolted out the door. I had to see Preston, and I knew exactly where he was. As I headed towards his building and rode the elevator to the sixth floor, my feet couldn’t carry me fast enough.
“Preston,” I said as I knocked on his door and barged in.
He spun around in his chair, pleasantly surprised to see me. “Hey, there.”
He stood up, walking over to meet me halfway and wrapped his hands around my curvy waist, leaning down to kiss me.
“How was your first day?” he asked. His face was winced as if he didn’t really want to hear the truth.
“I owe you an apology,” I said, drawing in a slow breath. “You were right.”
“Right about…?”
“Carter Berry,” I said, shaking my head. “I overheard some guys talking at work today about how he poached me from you. They were saying how they want to steal some of your clients and outrank you and…”
I stopped there. He didn’t need to hear the rest.
Preston sat back on the edge of his desk and raked his fingers through his dark hair, saying nothing.
“Talk to me,” I begged. “You’re going to be okay right? We’re going to be okay?”
He stayed mum, and I reached over to grab his hair. “I’m going to quit. I’m going to march straight into Berry’s office first thing tomorrow morning and quit.”
He pursed his lips together and nodded, as if my plan had his stamp of approval, but he still seemed too shocked to say anything.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” I said, half-whispering as I closed in on his face and k
issed his lips. “I should’ve listened to you. I thought you were just being insecure or paranoid or something.”
I kissed him some more and buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in. I could bathe in his cologne, he was so delicious.
“I always had a hunch,” he said. “And I always sort of knew. But I never had any definitive proof.”
“Well, know you know for sure,” I said. “Carter Berry’s an evil douche, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to work for someone like that.”
***
Bright and early the following morning, I did exactly what I’d promised Preston. I marched straight into Carter Berry’s office, slammed the door behind me, and approached his desk.
“Mirabelle,” he said, startled with a half-smile. “Not having a good morning?”
“Nope,” I said, one hand on my hip. “Not at all. I quit.”
I expected some sort of reaction from him. I expected him to beg me not to quit, to offer me more money, or talk me out of it. I didn’t expect him to laugh as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever seen in his entire life.
“Oh, Mirabelle,” he said, chuckling. “You’re cute. You’re really cute.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“You signed a contract, darling,” he said. “One year with a non-compete clause. I’m afraid I can’t let you out of it.”
My mouth turned dry as sand and I wanted to punch his smug little face. Then I wanted to kick myself for not reading the HR paperwork more carefully. I knew they’d mentioned a contract, but I just thought it was a standard thing that everyone signed. I didn’t know I was signing my life away…or at least the next year of it.
“Now,” he said. “Your boss is waiting for you.”
“My boss?” I asked. “I thought I reported to you?”
He smiled. “No, you report to the VP of Acquisitions, Sapphire Hart.”
“Sapphire Hart,” I said, feeling like I’d just been sucker punched in the gut.
“Yes,” he said. “She highly recommended you for this position. Actually you should thank her for getting you on here. It was her recommendations that sealed your fate.”
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