by Iona Rose
‘Yeah,’ I replied. ‘For a smoothie and maybe a sandwich. You?’
‘Meeting across town… will be back later in the afternoon. Stop by to see me?’
Molten heat encapsulated me from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet.
Jeremy, this time around, did not miss it. “You’re seeing someone,” he said.
I immediately put the phone away. I didn’t respond as I collected our smoothies, but he badgered me for a response until I gave in. “I am seeing someone,” I replied, and at the excitement that glinted in his eyes, I knew that he wanted details. “It's still new,” I half-lied. “I can’t talk about it yet.”
He gave me a sour look. “Can you at least say how you met?”
“In Turkey, during my vacation.”
“Oh…” His brows twitched. “He’s Turkish?”
“Nope.” I sipped the creamy blueberry and yogurt smoothie through my straw. “He is right here in Indiana.”
“Lucky girl,” he said with envy.
I couldn’t deny it.
He was absolutely right.
Despite the disappointing morning I had had, I did at this moment feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I especially felt even luckier as a little while later, I found a half hour in which I could disappear, without anyone looking for me, and took the elevator up to his floor.
* * *
Carter
Having Leah in my office, completely changed it into a different place.
From the moment she came in, it felt just a bit warmer and brighter… which was pretty amusing, given her distaste of the space.
“It’s quite dark,” she commented.
I watched her from behind my desk.
Strolling across the room, with her hand brushing the still impersonalized shelves, she turned to face me. “And it feels a bit cold. Is this how your office is, back in Minnesota? Just hardwood and pottery?”
“No.” I smiled. “It’s a bit warmer, I think.”
“How so?”
“For one, my awards are on the shelves.”
“And?” She asked, as she began to head over to me.
“The walls are grey, the furniture is white... the wood is warm.”
“Hmm, that does seem better.” Her grin was electric, and it glued my eyes to hers as she rounded my desk. She then took her seat atop it. “No pictures?” She asked.
“I don’t have anyone to frame pictures of.”
Her smile slightly faltered. “You could frame one of yourself,” she suggested.
I laughed out, leaning back into the chair. “Sure, that’s not obnoxious at all.”
“It’s not,” she refuted.
When I remained unconvinced, she added. “One of these days, I’m going to take a picture of us together. I’ll put it in a small frame so that you can maybe place it on your desk? Give you something to look at as you work.”
“Sounds great to me.”
“But you’ll have to face it toward yourself… keep it hidden. So no one sees that it’s me.”
“You don’t want anyone to know that we’re together?”
“Not exactly. I just don't want it to bring any unnecessary attention.”
I understood her concern, and nodded in acknowledgement. She stretched her hand out towards me, and my eyes instantly fluttered shut at the anticipation of her touch. When the seconds passed however, and I felt nothing, my eyes reopened. Her amusement was clear, but her gaze endearing. With a quiet laugh, she teased my hair and softly ran her hand down the side of my face.
I refused to succumb this time, to reveal just how much her touch affected me. So I controlled my breathing, and wore a casual expression.
“How has your day been so far?” she asked.
“We got sued,” I replied, and at her widened gaze, I quickly clarified, “Buddy Media. Our agency in Chicago. A Content Creator said we stole their meme. One of the teams used it in a recent campaign.”
“Wow,” her lips mouthed.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from the stark red color her mouth was in painted today. “I love it when you wear pink, but this is also beautiful. Quite provocative.”
“What?” She laughed.
“Your lipstick,” I said.
She lightly smacked me across the shoulder. “We were just talking about the lawsuit. Now you’re talking about my lipstick?”
“It’ll get sorted out.” I shrugged. “It’s just one of those fires that come up from time to time.”
Her gaze softened. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“Of course it does, but if I let every matter that comes up in a day weigh me down, I would be completely useless. So I suck it up, fix what I can, and keep moving the rest along. It’s the price of ambition.” I moved my chair till it was positioned right before her, and then began to roll her skirt up her thighs.
“Hey!” She blushed. “What are you doing?”
“You only have ten minutes left. I want to give you a little boost, to take you through the rest of the day.”
Her fit of giggles as she half-heartedly tried to fight me off was like music to my ears.
“Carter…” she complained, as she pushed my head away.
I stopped, and held her gaze. “You don’t want me to?”
Her lips parted to refuse me, but then she stopped as she noted any trace of amusement was gone from my face.
And just like that, the air changed between us.
I spread her legs apart, and placed a hand on her stomach to guide her.
She leaned backwards, her breathing heavy.
With a smile, I buried my head between her legs. My first taste of her was through her dampened, lacy, thong.
At the brief contact, she jumped. “Relax,” I said, as I pulled the scrap of lace down her legs. With my hands gripping her thighs, I pulled her to the edge of the table. I lifted her legs, and covered her cleft with my mouth. My tongue was instantly soaked with her arousal.
Her shudder was almost violent, and so was the grip that found its way to my hair. “Carter,” she breathed, her moan resounding in my ears.
I lapped her up, before my lips settled on her clit. I sucked hard on the engorged bud, and her thighs clamped shut against my head. Her body trembled in response, and for a moment, I felt her begin to push me away, as though she couldn’t contain the assault.
I dipped even lower, and shoved my tongue into her.
Chapter 29
Leah
Fifteen minutes later, I stumbled my way out of Carter’s office.
My head kept spinning and my eyes were still unfocused, so it wasn’t until my name was called did I notice the person I passed.
“Leah,” he called.
It startled me to attention. “Yes?” I turned a drowsy gaze towards the VP-Coghlan, and my heart lurched into my throat. I instantly straightened, a smile across my face. “Sir,” I responded.
He took in my appearance, and although Carter had made sure to put me together before he sent me back out, I was well aware that one didn’t need to look too hard to see I had been up to everything else but work.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“Uh…” My brain was still muddled. “He uh… Mr. Edwards asked for me. He had a few questions... to ask.”
At his gaze, I knew that unless I made some kind of sense in the seconds that were about to follow, that I would be in trouble.
Joseph however saved me. “Mr Coghlan,” he called. “CEO’s ready for you.”
I immediately nodded politely to him, and went on my way.
I didn't need to be told from then onwards, that I was screwed. I wasn't even sure of what exactly I was guilty of, besides slacking off in the middle of the workday, but with the way the VP had looked at me, something told me that things were going to go downhill for me from then on.
In our meeting with the Vita500’s Director an hour later, sure enough things began to crumble. He was far from impressed with the simple strategies that we had c
ome up with, yet he still didn't have any definite directions that could guide us on what he would possibly be satisfied with. He stormed out of the room, and we were left alone with the VP and the rest of our team.
Later that night, I leaned against Carter under the warm, soothing, cascade of the shower, as I filled him in on how the meeting had gone.
He took the soapy washcloth up and down my arms, and across my back. “So what new direction will your team be exploring now?” he asked.
“Publicity events at colleges, and sponsoring local television shows. To be honest, I don’t think he was as upset about the band and celebrities we picked, as much as he was upset that their company couldn’t afford them.”
He slipped the washcloth between my thighs, and my head fell backwards.
His lips lowered to nibble on my ears. “Call Tracy,” he said, his tone low and raspy. “So that you can work a bit more on your idea. Flesh out something substantial, and it might have the opportunity to come to light at the end of the day.”
“Hmm…” I responded, and those were the last coherent words that we were able to utter inside that stall.
“I can’t believe you got him to come.”
I turned to see that Tracy was finally joining me on the picnic bench I’d been lounging on. She sat across from me with blotches of blue, pink, and red paint on her face, while holding an ice cream cone covered with sprinkles.
I turned around to resume my appreciation of the scene before me.
We were at one of her kindergartener’s birthday parties, filled with an explosion of colors, and activities, food with children and puppies constantly running around.
“What I can’t believe,” I said, “is that he’s actually participating and interacting with the kids. Blondie over there has been more or less latched onto his leg for the past ten minutes.”
“Maggie.” Tracy laughed. “She gets attached fast. Carter may just have won himself a second wife.”
I couldn’t help the blush that burned my cheeks at her comment, but I didn’t try to acknowledge it either.
She teased me with a nudge.
I swatted her hand away.
Carter had indeed been wonderful with the kids at this party. Thus far, he seemed to be a very willing participant to the tea party between about six lovely little girls. They were seated on the tiny chairs and table that had been placed under the garden’s massive apple tree. All of them wore party hats on their heads. Carter sipped dutifully from the tiny teacups, as the girls conversed and smiled at him.
I had never seen a more adorable scene.
“He might make a great father,” Tracy said out of nowhere.
And… just like that, anxiety returned to my heart. It was the ever looming secret between us, and I didn’t know just when, and if I’d ever have the confidence to tell him.
She noticed my withdrawal and quickly asked before I completely shut her down, “You still don’t intend on telling him?”
“Not yet,” I quickly dismissed. “Where did you get that cone? I need one of those.”
“There’s a freezer by the dining table. Daisy’s mom loaded it with them.”
I rose to my feet then, ready to go in search of it, but just as I got into the house, I heard a bout of laughter coming from the adjoining dining room. I walked in and saw a handful of the women, sitting together and enjoying fruity cocktails that I didn’t think were completely void of alcohol. Although I was nervous, I realized this was the research audience I had come for, so I introduced myself as good naturedly as I could, and was invited to sit amongst them.
A few seconds later, I had a tall glass of ice tea in hand and received my first question.
“I heard that that piñata over there is yours,” one of the women said. She was a plump, curly haired woman with freckles across her face. Her smile looked kind, but her eyes were sparkling with mischief.
“Um, yeah. He is,” I replied and turned to Daisy’s mom, the host of the party. She had a more quietly amused demeanor. “Thanks for allowing us to come along,” I told her.
“No problem,” she replied. “Any friend of Tracy’s is welcome in our home. She’s done such a fantastic job with the kids.”
“Where did you two meet?” another asked.
I laid out my answer, truly enjoying their teasing until I could ask a question of my own, “Is being a mom rewarding?” I asked.
The freckled woman shook her head. “It is but honey, I would have preferred to be at a bar last night rather than baking cookies with my little Mason to bring here today.”
“Hey!” Daisy’s mom protested. “I didn’t ask you to. I told you all to just come over to relax.”
“Oh, they weren’t for your party, they’re for Daisy. Haven’t you heard that Mason has the cutest crush on her?”
The mothers all laughed.
“I’m serious,” she said. “Every time I come and pick him up, and you’re a little late, he insists on staying with Daisy until you show up. All he talks about is Daisy; what she’s doing, and what her hair smells like. So to answer your question, Leah honey, being a mom is rewarding until he gets a wife or girlfriend and then you become the other woman. So all we can do is love them and nurture them, and then leave them the hell alone.”
I saw my opening, and spoke about the Vita500, “We’re looking to present it as a pick me up for mothers.”
“Well then, that’s a better prospect than expecting a pick me up from your kids most days. Last night, after all the slaving, I drew a heart on one of the cookies and asked him who he loved the most: Mom or Daisy? Guess what the little brat said?”
“What?” the other women laughed.
“Daisy!”
The room exploded with laughter and I joined them.
“My back almost gave out right then. So honey, if I can find a ‘pick me up’ in the bottle of that Vita drink your company’s selling then yes, I would be very interested. Children are no good for that.”
“Noted,” I replied. “I brought some along, I’ll go get them and bring them over.”
“We’re waiting honey,” she replied.
I hurried away, beyond excited. I quickly found Carter to ask for his keys.
“I’ll come with you,” he said. “I need a break.”
“I thought you were having a blast with your new girlfriends,” I teased.
He gave me a sour look as he politely excused himself from the adorable little girls, much to their protests.
We headed out together, with the women saying extremely flirtations hellos to him as we walked by them to get to the front door.
“I feel like there’s a story here,” he commented. “But I don’t want to hear it right now. What I need is a kiss from you.”
Before I could protest, he dragged me away with him, and soon we found a bathroom. He shut the door and in the next moment, his tongue was in my mouth.
“Carter, I’m working,” I tried to say, but he wouldn’t let me go, and the moment his hand found his way underneath my dress to grab my sex, my knees gave out. Two of his fingers shoved into me, and all I could do was hold on to his thick biceps, as my eyes rolled back into my head.
“I would fuck you right now but we’re surrounded by children, and you get louder than all of them combined.
I smacked him on the arm at the tease. “You’re one to talk. You fucking sobbed into my neck last night.”
He grabbed my ass, pressing me to his hard on as he chuckled in response.
I loved the way his hands felt as he smoothed them up and down my body possessively, frantic with excitement. He kissed me again and I lowered to my knees. “I’m getting good material out there,” I told him as I unbuckled his belt. “If those women disperse before I can return with the drinks, you’re going to pay for it.
“Don’t worry baby,” he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “I’ll gather them again for you.”
I smiled because he didn’t know just how easy that would be for him.
<
br /> Soon, his cock sprang free and I gazed with adoration at my favorite part of his body besides his lips. I covered the thick, moist head with my mouth and soon took him all the way to the back of my throat.
Chapter 30
Carter
I watched Leah, over the course of the days that followed, as she worked hard to collate all the information she needed for the proposal.
She finished with it however, and didn’t mention it any further.
So that morning at breakfast, I brought it up. I watched her from behind the counter as she hurried out of the bedroom.
She had her heels in her hand, which she then placed on the floor, and then her purse on the couch, before hurrying over to me.
“It’s all here,” I said, before she could head to the fridge. Her lunch bag was already packed with the ham and egg sandwich she had made the previous evening, and the green smoothie that I’d whipped up for her.
“Oh wow,” she said, as she opened the small bag to see that it’d all been prepared. “Thank you, sweetheart.” She threw her hand around me, and pressed a kiss to my lips.
At the unexpected embrace, I quickly pulled my coffee cup aside, to prevent an accident. She kissed me hard, and I was sure it had been intended to be quick, but then she dipped her tongue into my mouth and lingered for a little bit before pulling away.
My vision spun.
“I’m going to need that today,” she said, as she reached behind to fumble with her skirt’s zipper.
Licking my lips, I put the mug down and placed my hands on her hips.
“Carter, no!” She immediately began to protest. “There’s no tim—” She quieted down then, when she saw that my intention was only to help her with her zipper.
I pulled it up, and stepped away.
“Thank you.” She blushed.
Damn, I loved it when she did that. So fucking adorable. “Your team’s meeting with Vita500 today?”
“Yup,” she said. “I still have some work on content strategy to round up in the office.” She raised her wrist to check her watch. “Shit, I’m late.” She started to hurry away with the lunch bag.