by Amy Brent
However, as Charlie went to reach for her second drink I could tell she wasn’t used to consuming this much alcohol. A drink like this was sweet and hid the presence of the alcohol very well, but it was a very strong drink, nonetheless. Charlie went from being polite and slightly flushed in the cheeks, to her forehead being prickled with sweat and her ankles rolling slightly in her heels.
I needed to get her out of here before that second drink hit her system, otherwise she’d make an ass out of herself.
“Having fun?” I asked.
“Wow, these drinks are a little strong, huh?” she asked.
“A bit,” I said, chuckling. “Why don’t I walk you back to your suite? You’ve done quite enough for this company today, and I’d hate for you to break your ankle in those heels of yours.”
“I’m quite graceful, thank you,” she said.
Just then, she took a step forward and rolled her ankle. I caught her, and took the drink from her hand, and luckily everyone else was too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice. I stood her back up on her feet while her cheeks tinted with embarrassment. That’s was when I saw her nod her head and sigh.
“I think going back to my room might be a good idea,” she said.
“Here, let me walk you back. These guys won’t even notice I’m gone,” I said.
After a few beats of a pause, she nodded her head in agreement, feeling the effects of the drinks now.
“Lead the way, Mr. James,” she said.
Chapter 6
Charlie
I leaned against L’s strong form as we stumbled to my hotel suite. His body was so warm and his muscles were thick against my cheek, and I couldn’t help but press myself into him as we rode up the elevator. His arm was strong around my waist with his fingertips playing in the dip of my body, and I drew in a deep, long breath to commit his scent to memory.
“You alright, Charlie?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ll get some rest and be fine,” I said.
The elevator doors parted and the alcohol just kept sinking in. The more we walked the hazier my mind got, and by the time we were finally standing outside my door I could hardly move my legs. I didn’t know what the fuck they’d put in those drinks, but I was glad L had suggested heading back to my hotel room.
And that he decided to come with me.
I turned my gaze up to his and he looked down at me with those smoky blue eyes. His hair was dark and his jawline was so chiseled, I swore to myself I could sharpen a butcher knife against his smile. The sharp shadows of the dimly lit hallway played cheekily upon his face, and before I knew it I had risen up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his ear.
“I think you’re so sexy,” I said, whispering.
I felt him tense, his grip on my waist tightening at my words, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. My body was pressed firmly against his side and I could feel him leaning his lips into my ear, so I took a moment to let him before I nuzzled him with my nose.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you again like I did in that sauna,” I said, becoming more brazen and bold by the second. The way his body trembled against mine told me nasty thoughts were swirling around in his head, too. Maybe I should have given him a little peek of what I had going on underneath my towel after he had shared with me the sight of his beautiful cock. I mean, it would have only been fair in that scenario.
I could give him a peek now, if he wanted.
I pulled the keycard from the back of my pants and unlocked my hotel suite door. I felt his hand open the latch, the door creaking open just as his eyes turned to meet mine, and then I decided to go for it. His breath was hot on my lips and I could smell the slight hint of cloudberries, and the warmth of his body was beckoning to me in a way no other man’s ever had.
It didn’t hurt that I knew he was packing some serious cock underneath those slacks.
I pressed my lips against his and felt him immediately give into me. His mouth mashed into mine while his foot jutted out, keeping the door open while his hand flew to my hair. He raked his fingers in my locks, moaning at how soft my hair was, but when I swiped my tongue along his lips to beg entrance I felt him pause.
I stumbled as he pulled away, my lips still puckered in search of him. Where there was once warmth there was now the cool sting of rejection, and for a moment I wondered if I had misread the kiss. I could have sworn he’d leaned into it. I could’ve sworn—even in my alcoholic haze—the look he was giving me was nothing short of what I wanted from him. He must have thought I was an idiot if he believed I didn’t see the way he’d been staring at my tits all day, and there was a small part of me that became angry with him.
Angry at the fact that maybe he was pulling away because he wasn’t the one that initiated the kiss.
Misogynistic bastard.
“Charlie, I’m first and foremost your boss,” he began, as I fluttered my eyes open. “You are a beautiful woman, there’s no doubt about that, and sharp as a tack to boot.”
“Why do I feel a very unattractive ‘but’ coming on?” I asked.
“I set the policy as strict as I did in my business to make it a purely professional environment. Things get messed up and very complicated so quickly with interoffice romances, and I can’t go on an international business trip and become a hypocrite.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” I said. All of a sudden, I felt like an idiot. I was standing in the hallway with nipples poking through my bra that I knew my boss could see and the idea began to sober me up.
“Let me help you to your bed,” he said.
He plucked the keycard from my fingertips and opened the door for me again. His hand hit the small of my back, teasing a touch I would never feel again as he led me to the only open door in the suite. I kicked my shoes off and didn’t bother taking off my clothes before I tumbled into bed, and that warm touch on my back was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.
“Get some rest,” he said.
I was disappointed, but it was short lived. I passed out cold—not even remembering him shutting my bedroom door—and when I woke up I was nothing short of embarrassed. My actions toward my handsome boss had been nothing short of something Sheila would have probably tried to pull, and I owed him a sincere apology.
Once I got over this crushing embarrassment.
We had the final meeting today with all the investors officially signing their end of the paperwork, and I found I couldn’t look L in the eye. I sat at one end of the table while he sat at the head, and I didn’t look up from my black folder unless absolutely necessary. If someone asked me a question, I pretended I was searching for the answer, and all the while I could feel L’s gaze boring a hole into the top of my head.
Then, it came time for me to give the presentation, and it meant I’d have to look over at L several times in order to ensure the investors saw we were on the same page.
“Alright, boys. Now, I know you’re all probably wondering about our sales over the past decade, but something tells me you don’t give a shit about those.”
The men in the room chuckled and I watched L settle back into his seat, his fingertips trying to cover the smirk that was rising on his cheeks.
“What you’re all here for is this.”
I pressed a button and the blueprints L had put in the file he sent to me had suddenly come to life. I saw his eyes widen slightly as those beautiful smoky blues bounced around the screen, and I pulled up the three design blueprints L was still choosing between.
“These are the three designs for the luxury hotel in the Bahamas. Now, I know the two biggest questions are ‘what makes this one different?’ and ‘what kind of money will it make me?’ So, now is the time to pay attention.”
I flipped to the first slide and showed them all the things that today’s luxury hotels provide.
“Here are the columns of two of our main competitors. As you can see, they are all-inclusive resorts with all the accoutrements, if you will. Spas, salons, bars, p
ools, lazy rivers, internet, hotel suites in one-two-and-three bedroom styles, California-king sized bed, the works. They sell packages that they discount during the year, where you can come, pay one massive upfront fee that will run even the average vacationer into the thousands of dollars, and then they never have to leave the hotel. Sounds nice, right?”
“I’d do it,” someone said.
“Oh, honey. We’d all do it if we could,” I said, winking. “But, there are still many things that people complain about that are never fixed.”
The next slide scrolled through complaint after complaint that had been filed over the years from our competitors. Everything from terrible towels to not having packages that included room service to individual room service being so damn expensive to not having packages where they could tailor-make their stay.
“You see the dates on all these complaints?” I asked.
“They span over years,” an investor said.
“Exactly, and since they won’t fix it, we will.”
I continued on through my presentation and showed them all we would fix. I walked them through the three main design plans of each blueprint, showed them the cost breakdown of everything and how ‘fixing’ the complaints would only cost us another $4,000 each year, which we would more than make back by offering the ability for the average vacationer to build a vacation at a luxury resort they could afford.
And all the while, L had his stare locked onto me.
“So, which blueprint are we going with?” someone asked.
“Well, with permission from Mr. James, I have an idea for that,” I said.
“And what would this surprise idea be, Miss Simpson?” he asked.
“I’m glad you asked that, handsome,” I said, winking. “What I was thinking is this—since all three of these setups have been vetted by the fire department and the proper safety and security channels, I figured we could have the investors take a vote.”
“A vote?” he asked.
“A vote. It would show us where our investors lean in terms of design, and it would help you make your overall final decision.”
“I like her,” someone murmured.
“She is a spitfire,” L said.
“So, what do you think?” I asked him.
“I think… that everyone sitting at this table—including you, Miss Simpson—should write down which design layout they enjoy the most and hand it to me before you leave. The blueprints are in the folders sitting in front of you.”
They had been so entranced with my presentation that none of them had even opened the folders in front of them. The last-minute questions and the ironing out of the details took almost three solid hours, but by the time everyone was satisfied and had cast their vote on which blueprint layout they enjoyed, all eighteen investors that agreed to meet signed their end of the paperwork. As far as financial weeks went, this was going to be the most lucrative of the entire year, and when I locked gazes with L, his bright smiled warmed my heart.
He was fucking proud of himself, and he should have been.
“Gentleman, it’s been a pleasure,” he said. “I promise your money will be put to good use, and I will have this paperwork faxed over, notarized, and immediately put into our system. Gentleman, welcome to the world of luxury.”
“Mr. James, if you royally fuck up and this woman quits, you send her my way,” one investor said.
“And if she royally fucks up and you fire her, send her my way anyway,” another one said.
“Gentleman, gentleman. There’s plenty enough to go around if you’re willing to pay up,” I said, winking.
“And she’s a shark!” someone else exclaimed. “Be still my beating heart.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at their remarks as everyone slowly trickled out of the room. It took them another hour to exit, with everyone wanting to talk to L before they parted left, and it gave me time to sit down and catch my breath. My feet were killing me and my hands were still shaking from the adrenaline rush. I so hoped that I had impressed my boss enough to keep me, despite my less-than-professional attack last night.
“You were fantastic,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “Listen, about last night—”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said.
“You know, the incident at my—”
“Charlie, I can assure you I remember no such thing,” he said. I realized then that he was giving me an out. My presentation had impressed him so much that he was willing to completely erase what had happened last night, and my heart leapt for joy at the fact that I hadn’t just lost my job.
“Then forgive my faulty memory,” I said.
“Forgiven, though you should get that checked out when we get home,” he said, grinning. “Now, what are your plans for dinner?”
“Room service and pajamas. You?” I asked.
“Asking the initiator of my success out for a celebratory dinner,” he said.
“Ah, and what should the initiator of such a wonderful monetary success say to this invitation?” I asked.
“I would hope she would say ‘hell yes’ and save the pajamas for another time,” he said.
“I suppose room service could wait,” I said.
“Perfect.”
Chapter 7
Ellison
I wanted to take her somewhere that I thought would impress her. There was a traditional gourmet Finnish restaurant up the way that I directed the limo driver to, but honestly think of anything but how beautiful Charlie looked and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The bright red top she wore accented her deep green eyes, and holy fuck, her curves looked amazing in the pants she was wearing, the high waist style was beautiful on her. Her thighs called to me as we sat side-by-side in the limo, and I watched her as she watched the snow, still fascinated by it.
“Enjoying Finland?” I asked.
“The snow is beautiful. I think I might come back sometime, and maybe get snowed in,” she said.
“Make sure you get a fire going,” I said.
“And maybe a good book. Oh! And a blanket,” she added.
“Sounds comfortable,” I said.
Just like my thick dick sinking into her slick pussy.
I shook the thought from my mind and redirected myself to the task at hand. She was my fucking employee and I couldn’t keep doing this to myself. I took Mike out all the time whenever we won over shit like this. The celebratory dinner was a tradition in the business world, and nothing more.
But holy hell, Mike didn’t have the kinds of curves she did. Or a vagina, but that’s beside the point.
I figured this place would impress her. After all, every woman wanted to be wined and dined, right? But, the moment we walked into the place, I saw Charlie crinkle her nose at the atmosphere.
“You alright?” I asked.
“I’ll need a flashlight to get through this place,” she said.
I smirked at her comment as the hostess seated us. She found us a table for two in back, with dancing candlelight on the dinner table and a silk cloth that draped to the floor. The window beside us was tinted with snow gathering along the outside sill, and Charlie lost herself once again in the falling snow.
That is, until the waiter showed up at the table.
“Good evening, Mr. James. I hear it has been a wonderful day for you. Might I interest you in our wine list?”
“Thank you very much,” I said. “Charlie, is there any specific type of wine you enjoy? Maybe the Chateau Ste Michelle, or maybe a nice Château Margaux?”
“I don’t know, you choose, I’m a boxed Franzia kinda gal,” she said.
I snickered and almost spat out my water as I watched the waiter turn up his nose.
“Was that, um—what did you call it?—boxed wine?” the waiter asked.
“It is! The red if you’ve got it,” she said, smiling.
“We don’t carry ‘boxed wine’ here, madam,” the waiter said.
“Then the
‘Chatty Snail’ wine or whatever you called it is fine,” she said.
I brought the wine list to my lips and started laughing into it. Her eyes were sparkling with the frustration she was pulling from the waiter, and I realized then and there that I’d pay whatever thousands of dollars I needed to just to listen to her have a go at that man again. Her wit was astounding and she wasn’t trying to hide the fact that she knew nothing about places like this, and it was incredibly refreshing to be with a woman who, for once, didn’t know shit about this type of lifestyle.
She shrugged when the waiter huffed away, and I doubled over laughing when she called after him.
“And bring me a flashlight when you can! I think your lights are broken in here!”
“Charlie, you’ve never been in a restaurant like this, have you?” I asked, after I was done laughing.
“Nope, and I don’t get why people want to come. The wine is too expensive, I can’t see the menu in front of my face, the candles are a fire hazard, I have three too many forks and one too many spoons, and they never give me enough food. Have you seen this body? It takes work to upkeep these curves.”
I had seen her body, and it was luscious at every twist and turn. Her eyes sparkled while she looked around the room, and I watched her while she took in her surroundings. She was just uncomfortable enough for me to know this wasn’t her scene, but she was courteous enough to not make us get up and walk out.