“Anna, I know you were traveling this weekend,” Todd was saying now. “Were you able to put together any notes on the proposal that we could discuss now, as I’d asked, or should we table that for a future meeting?”
And there it was. Todd hadn’t even made it five minutes before his first power play of the call. At least she’d seen it coming, after he’d reminded her not once but a dozen times that all she needed to do during this call was to be present … and not make a presentation. She’d suspected he would take her inferred lack of preparation as a way to subtly remind everyone that he was not only in charge of the meeting, he was thinking ahead and ready for anything. Too bad it wasn’t going to work out exactly like that.
“Thank you, Todd,” she said, her voice easy and pleasant. Most of their Japanese counterparts could speak fluent English, but every call was recorded and translated as it happened, to ensure that nothing was left as a point of confusion between the two parties. Now, Anna knew the Japanese culture well enough to know how to answer this one. Their work ethic was prized, to be sure, but so was their commitment to family. “I took the time to create some base assumptions prior to leaving for the weekend. As I traveled to a wedding of a very dear friend, I knew I would not have time while I was there. She is like family to me.”
Though Todd didn’t say anything, she could sense his confusion over the line. That was way too much information to share on a transcontinental telephone call, but Anna had made the point she wanted: she knew how to have balance in her life, she valued family … and she had still created a brilliant presentation. “If you’ll check your email, everyone, I’m sending you all the documents to give us talking points as we move through the discussion.”
“Why didn’t you send these to us earlier so we could prepare?” Todd huffed, and Anna smiled. Right on cue, Todd.
“Because I did not want to detract from everyone’s time with their own families over the weekend,” she said smoothly. She adjusted her laptop and bent forward, peering into the screen. “We don’t have enough time to go over these in detail, but as you can see …”
A movement caught her eye: Jake opening the bathroom door of their luxury suite to let steam roll out, with his own half-clad body barely in view. Anna continued her patter, but as the call went on, her concentration began to fracture. Jake had opted to take another shower while the call had gotten started, but now he was leaning over the sink to reach something, his towel slipping lower around his hips. She’d thought she’d seen enough of the man naked to not be affected by the sheer magnificence of his body, but she was wrong. He was a walking distraction, and when he emerged from the bathroom, he saw immediately that she was watching him. Being Jake, he just watched her back. He leaned up against the wall, a smile curving his lips.
Unaccountably, Anna felt her body respond. Which was insane. There was no freaking way she could be interested in sex right now. Not while she was on the phone with an important account. And yet her breasts felt heavy, her thighs loose. She redoubled her focus on her laptop, but she was quickly running out of things to say. “Thank you, everyone.” She summed up. “I think that will get us started for our talks later this week?”
To her surprise, it wasn’t Todd who spoke, but their overseas lead for Morris-Winston International, who was located on-site in Yokomata City. A Japanese American who was several years her senior, he spoke in a crisp, elegant voice that carried clearly over the phone. “Thank you, Anna. Your documents are exceptional, and we are able to move forward much more quickly with this background material. You have been very helpful.”
Anna blushed and shifted in her chair. Opposite her, Jake raised his brows, and she gave him a thumbs-up. The meeting concluded very quickly after that, but just as Anna was about to sign off, Todd cut across the line. “Anna, I’ll be dialing you direct after this to discuss next steps. Good work, everyone!” And then the conference call ended.
Anna sagged back in her seat, already annoyed. She should just not pick up the phone when Todd called. It would serve him right.
“Why do you look pissed off?” Jake asked. “It sounded like it went well.”
“It did go well,” Anna grumbled. “It went so well that now Todd’s calling me back, no doubt to chew me out for one-upping him.”
“And you’re going to let him?” Jake asked. The surprise in his voice raised her hackles, even though she knew she was being defensive because he was striking a raw nerve. Still, that didn’t keep her from snapping back at him.
“Yes, I’m going to let him, Jake. He’s essentially my boss on this project, as sucky as that is. And so—” She broke off as her phone rang, and her irritation notched up another few levels. “So, yes. I’m going to take it.” She angrily keyed the phone on.
Jake’s annoyance flared as Anna spun her chair away from him to face the wall. “Hello, Todd,” she said, her voice cool. She’d never used that voice with him, and he hoped like hell she never would. But turning away from him in a huff only served to leave her staring into the wall mirror, helpfully positioned right above the desk. Maybe most of the people who came to this hotel didn’t use that desk for much more than putting on makeup; Jake didn’t know. Either way, though, it gave him a great view of Anna’s tight-lipped face, her eyes staring daggers at him for no good reason.
He dropped the towel, and her eyes widened. “Yes, Todd, I did all of that last week, before I left for the wedding. Do you really think I had that kind of time this weekend?” Whatever Todd’s response was, her eyes were back on Jake, and he grinned at her. So, the little prick had a problem with him monopolizing Anna’s time? He was going to have to get in line. Every minute Jake spent with Anna made him that much surer he wanted the situation to continue. Even if Anna was convinced she needed her job more than him. Even if she was wound so tight she practically hummed. All Jake knew was that he wanted Anna. And he had a fairly certain feeling that she wanted him. That was enough to convince him that he couldn’t let her go. Not yet, anyway.
Besides, it was still the weekend. Which meant she was still his.
He moved forward then and pulled Anna’s long hair off her neck, fanning it out over her back. He’d never get tired of her hair either, he thought. The wild mass of it in his hands just felt right. As he let it fall and moved his hands to her neck and shoulders, Anna tilted her head to let him get a better angle. He leaned down and kissed the curve of her neck, then grasped the back of the chair where she was sitting. Anna had put on clothes for her call, after a fashion, but at his request they were the Victoria’s Secret baby-doll nightgown and barely there thong that he’d bought her at the outlet mall earlier that day. He urged her up out of the chair as she spluttered something borderline incoherent to Todd, before recovering and glaring at his reflection. She didn’t say no, however, and she didn’t shake her head at him, even though her eyes watched him in the mirror, tracking his every movement.
So, what the hell.
Jake reached over and snagged his jeans from the floor, freeing another condom. He was going to need another box soon, and his cock perked to attention just at the thought of that. Now Anna was looking down, writing something on a notepad, and he glanced at her scrawl. It was something about Japan, so she wasn’t focused on him. Still, at the sound of foil tearing, she looked up, startled.
He laid a finger to his lips and her eyes went wide, a giggle escaping her throat that she quickly covered with a cough. Jake gestured her back to her notes and she pursed her lips to fight the grin, coughing again as he slid the condom over his shaft. “Of course, Todd,” she said, nodding furiously at whatever brilliant point the asshat was making.
Worked for him. Jake smoothed his hands down the sheer gown, loving how it didn’t even make the attempt to follow Anna’s curves. Instead, it was like cotton candy in his hands, whisper thin except for over her breasts, which were cupped in generous push-up style just begging to—
He gave in to the temptation and brought his hands around the sides of h
er body as she watched, pulling the cups out and away and her breasts fell free into his waiting hands. She watched him palm her, mesmerized, and Jake wondered if she’d ever really looked at herself sexually before. She hadn’t been a virgin, of course, but Anna seemed as if she was discovering more about her own body this weekend than she really should be, for someone already in her twenties. What sort of fools had she been dating all this time?
Fools like Todd, clearly.
That pissed him off just enough to take things to the next level. Making sure she was watching, Jake reached from behind to where the tiny strip of fabric rested between her legs. Anna’s cheeks were so flushed he thought she would have started fanning herself, except one of her hands held the phone to her ear, and the other held a pen. She was more effectively restrained than she had been in his bed.
Pulling the thin elastic of her thong aside, he tilted her ass up to give him better access, then nudged into her with the tip of his cock. She closed her eyes and sighed tightly, and then he couldn’t help it—he’d planned on teasing her, going slowly, but he was the one who needed to be inside her. He pushed in quickly, burying himself even as she held her breath, afraid to make a noise. Squawking noises came from the other end of the line.
“What?” Anna blurted out. “Of course! Of course, Todd, yes …” Jake began pushing in rhythmic thrusts, fraying a little at the edges himself just at the sight of Anna watching him in the mirror, then watching herself, then watching them both putting on a show. She wiggled and writhed and he rode her every movement, letting her explore the sensations he was evoking in her as he tweaked and worried her breasts until her nipples were bright pink and standing at attention. But when he moved to slide his hand down to where she was squirming against him, she bleated out a panicked little “No!”
Instantly a question sounded over the phone, and Jake pressed the flat of his fingers against her already sensitized mound, moving gently, but firmly and relentlessly as she sputtered out an explanation. He could tell Todd was losing his patience with Anna, and that thought made him smile in purely masculine pleasure. If only the douche bag knew what was really going on, he’d be losing a lot more than patience. But Jake hadn’t been touching Anna all weekend, learning every inch of her, to let this moment pass without making it a memory she could recall during every boring-ass meeting she’d have to take with the guy for the rest of her life. He pressed his fingers down then widened them, and grazed the spot he knew was the pinnacle of sensation for her.
Bingo. Anna’s eyes shot open wide, and she gasped at him, the phone slipping in her hand. A second later she dropped it completely, her hand flying to steady herself on the table while she arched and convulsed. Jake tried to hold fast but he couldn’t help his own climax riding on the heels of hers. There was just something about how wild she looked, how abandoned. How perfect.
“Christ!” she gasped, the first time she’d ever used that word, as he gently pulled her upright and pressed the phone back in her hand. He’d barely stepped away when she reflexively put it back to her ear, Todd’s voice now strident and confused on the phone.
“Sorry, Todd, I totally dropped off on you, completely passed out for a second.” More squawking followed, but now Anna’s voice was clear and lucid. Todd would have to be an idiot to believe this line, but Anna’s follow-up words gave him pause. “Yes, in fact, I did fall asleep. It’s now officially after midnight, remember. I’m allowed to be tired.” Her tone held just enough cross indignation that Jake found himself half-believing her. After only one year in the corporate trenches, she’d honed her ability to bullshit down to a fine edge. “Yes, I know that, too. I’ll have that to you—oh. Tomorrow may not work for me, actually. I have some commitments off-site that have come up.” There was silence, then, at least on her end of the phone. Jake felt Anna tense up, and turned to see her standing stock-still. “Todd, what are you talking about? How can that be possible?”
Jake heard the new note in Anna’s voice, the sharp, all-business demand, and clamped down hard on his own disappointment. Just like that, he felt like he was losing her. Of course, once again, he’d never had her to begin with. He felt he knew the real Anna, but really, how could he? He’d only started speaking to her a little over a week ago. Hell, this entire weekend was essentially a very well-dressed lie.
And she had a life back in Boston that wasn’t part of that lie. He could feel the conversation shift, like the momentum of a pivotal, season-changing game. Todd would talk, she would listen, and he was getting buried at the goal line.
“Well, that’s all very good, but seriously, tomorrow is a problem.” Now he did turn to look at her, but Anna wasn’t looking back anymore. She had her hand to her forehead, her eyes closed, and he could read stress, almost panic, in every line of her body. Which was saying something, considering she was seconds off of an orgasm. But whatever Todd was saying on the phone was knotting her up so tight he didn’t think anything he could do could relax her. She protested, she cajoled, and Jake could hear the tone of mockery coming over the phone. With each scathing line, though he couldn’t hear the exact words, he saw Anna shrivel in on herself, become a shadow of the laughing, vibrant woman she’d been mere moments before. All of the triumph he’d just felt was whisked away, just that quickly, and for who, for what? For some dickhead in a corporate suit who was playing Anna like a fucking puppet.
And she was letting him.
The emotion built and built, and he didn’t even try to stop it. Not this time. It was big and ugly, and by the time Anna finally hung up the phone, he was ready and willing to let her see it. Let her think he was an asshole, he didn’t fucking care. She was pissing her entire life away and if she was too dumb to see it, then let him be the one to point it out to her.
“Okay, I’m really sorry about all of that—” Anna may have said more, she may not have. Jake was already going full steam ahead.
“Are you?” he asked. “Are you really sorry about it? Because you don’t seem sorry, Anna.” He wasn’t shouting, though he wasn’t calm either. His anger had given his voice an edge he hadn’t heard before. Emotion was pouring out of him, but it seemed different this time, even as Anna blinked and backed up, her face registering shock.
“Yeah, you should back up,” he said, though he didn’t make a move toward her. Didn’t need to, his fury carrying him as far forward as he wanted to go. “You should back the fuck up and take a look at what just happened here. You sounded like a goddamned little girl on the phone just now, Anna, and I know you’re better than that. You know you’re better than that. But if you don’t ever give yourself a chance to stand up and take real charge of your life, how is anyone else going to know it?”
“What are you talking about?” Anna’s voice was louder than his—quite a bit louder. Instead of backing down, she took several steps forward, pointing a finger in his face. “You have no right to judge me, Jake. You have no right to even comment on my work or my life. You know exactly nothing about me—”
“Oh, bullshit.” Jake’s words were fast and clipped, but his anger was not escalating, it was evening out. Emotion was fueling his words, yes, but he was also finding comfort in the idea that Anna was engaging with him, duking it out, willing to go at least that far to validate the conversation and make it real.
Didn’t make him any less pissed at what she’d just said, though.
“I know more about you than your goddamned friends do,” he said. “More about you then your mom probably does. I know you were hurt, I know you were embarrassed. I know you felt betrayed by your mom, your dad, hell, even yourself. You had some shitty things happen to you and you didn’t handle it well. Well, join the fucking club, Anna. None of us handle it well. And now you’ve done more than anyone I’ve ever known to pull yourself up by the shorts and beat everyone’s expectations of you. You’re beautiful. You’re successful. You can walk right up to life and slap the shit out of it, and do whatever you damn well please. It just makes me crazy that you c
an’t see that. Can’t, or won’t.”
“I am doing whatever I damn well please, Jake,” Anna shot back. “I’m taking the opportunity the company is giving me—”
“And why is that opportunity the be-all and end-all?” he said, cutting her off. “Why not ride away with me, see what the world really has to offer, not just what a bunch of assholes say is good enough for you to experience, big enough for you to have at this point in your ‘career.’ Who gives them the right to order you around?”
“I give them the right!” She was nearly screaming again. “It’s my life! It’s everything I wanted and now I’m getting it! I’ve worked my ass off to get this far this quickly, and I have no intention of letting anyone stop me, even you. And I’m sorry if my dreams don’t seem cool enough or real enough or whatever enough to you. They’re mine and I’ll be damned if I let them—” Anna finally broke off as she registered what he was doing. He’d pulled his phone out and scrolled to the information he’d bookmarked on his screen while she was on the phone. The information he’d hoped for one sweet second he wouldn’t have to give to her, but now all of that was done. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice suddenly devoid of anything but exhaustion.
He turned his phone around to show her. “Earliest flight out of here is 7:10 A.M.,” he said flatly. “You can be at the airport at five thirty tomorrow morning, and you’ll be back in Boston by ten.”
“Jake …” Anna tried to speak, but one of the benefits of their brief time together was that he did know when she was lying. She couldn’t bullshit him. She seemed to know that, too, and she pressed her lips together, looking away. At least he could hold on to that. Besides, anything she was about to say that wasn’t bullshit would just make things worse.
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