by Reana Malori
Claiming Lana
by
Reana Malori
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Copyright© 2009 Claiming Lana- Reana Malori
Cover Artist: Shara Azod
Editor: Novellette Whyte
Chapter One
Walking down the hallway to Jake Bradford’s office, Lana Miller, the current Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Clearwater Publications, was pissed. Jake, the sorry excuse for a man, and Clearwater’s Chief Operating Officer, had the nerve to summon her – yes, HER – to his office for a chat about the direction of her department. She didn’t really give a shit that he was technically her boss. In reality, she reported to the CEO, but Jake was involved in most things at the company simply based on the level of his role.
Unfortunately, their relationship wasn’t very good, never had been and probably never would be. Lana had reason to believe that she was part of the issue due to her don’t fuck with me attitude. Not that she really gave a flying fuck, but she could admit that when Jake came on board as the Chief Operating Officer, she didn’t walk into the situation with grace and poise.
Jake had replaced the former COO, Ted Franklin, who had retired three months ago in order to spend more time with his grandchildren. Ted had been a wonderful person, and an even greater colleague. He encouraged the team, but didn’t criticize, and he always pushed them to be more, do more, all the while giving them support and assistance as he could. He had a corner office and all the perks that came with being a senior executive at a multi-million dollar company, but Ted had never forgotten where he came from.
Jake, on the other hand, was a damn jerk. He came in here with his cocky attitude, bad-ass looks, and almost genius level mind and shook things up all over the company. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t do some really good things, because he did. There were several people who needed to be fired and Jake had made sure those changes were handled quickly. At the end of the day, she gave him props for having high expectations, but damn, he was too tough on the people that were still here and there was no need for him to continue be an asshole three months down the road.
Making her way to his office, she glanced at her colleagues and noticed the side glances coming her way. Even they knew this meeting with Jake was about to get ugly. Their mutual dislike was becoming visible to others. There was no way to avoid each other. They were required to be around one another almost daily. Every encounter was a testament to her ability to hold it together and not cuss his ass out in front of the entire senior team.
Jake had this trademark smirk he used when he didn’t think you were living up to his high work standards. He wasn’t shy about throwing out looks of disdain either. Hell, she’d seen plenty of those when he first came on board. Their first meeting had been an exercise in restraint and she was so proud that she hadn’t told him to kiss her nicely rounded black ass.
Every word out of his mouth had dripped with venom and what appeared to be disdain. Lana wasn’t sure if it was simply his natural personality or if he’d just hated her on sight. What pissed her off more about the situation is that while he wasn’t necessarily outgoing and engaging with all of the other employees in the office, Jake seemed to have a special hatred for her.
It was actually too bad that they couldn’t get along since the man was sexy as hell. Jake was what most wet dreams were made of. If she was honest with herself, she could admit that there had been several nights of steamy dreams involving one Mr. Jacob Bradford. Lana’s imagination fashioned him as a lover with infinite expertise, even though she had no firsthand knowledge of his skills in the bedroom.
People really didn’t talk about his personal life much, simply because people were too damn nervous about word getting back to him. No one really knew about his life before Clearwater Publications, and he wasn’t all that forthcoming. There were pictures of family members in his office that gave the impression that he cared about someone other than himself, but no one knew for sure.
What she did know was that every time she saw him – when he wasn’t being an asshole – she wanted to climb up his 6’4” frame and sit on his gorgeous face. His dark brown hair was cut close and she’d never seen it long enough to hit the collar of his shirt. Although his age was probably closer to 40 years, based on the bio that was distributed when he joined the company, he looked much younger. His skin was deeply tanned and though he wore suits to work every day, she could tell his body was sculpted and taut, just the way she liked.
His hazel colored eyes were framed by long eyelashes. She’d noticed that they would turn deep topaz when he was angry or when other strong emotions took hold of him. Getting caught up in his gaze several times over the past few months, she was – unfortunately – very aware of his appeal and ability to speak volumes with just his eyes.
Lana could hope and dream that Jake would look at her differently, but knew things weren’t that simple. She tried to appear coldhearted and act as though his responses didn’t bother her, but they did. Damn, that man made her dream of another life and want things she’d never dreamed of before. Feelings she believed were dormant in her, just plain non-existent, crept to the surface after each and every encounter with the insufferable man.
There were always office rumors and the word on the street was that he preferred brunettes. Brunettes with fair, ivory colored skin. Not those with skin the color of melted chocolate. Accepting that not all men wanted to be with a black woman, she didn’t fault him for his choices. However, she knew if she had one night with him, she’d rock his world and he’d never want anyone else.
At age 32, she knew her career was right where she wanted it to be. Never one to be afraid of adventure, Lana had traveled to all parts of the country. She and her girls had partied with men all over the world. She wasn’t a prude, but she had never found the right man to make her want something more until Jake walked his fine ass in the office.
Arriving at his office door, she steeled herself for the coming confrontation that was sure to happen. Glancing at his secretary, Lana gave the woman a tight smile. Betsy Smith had been Ted’s secretary for more than 15 years and had been devastated when he retired. Not ready to hang up her notepad just yet, Betsy had agreed to stay on with Jake once he came on board. Although Betsy knew everything that happened in the office, she never told tales and that made her an asset to the company, and to whomever she supported.
“Lana, be ready for whatever he’s going to throw at you. He’s on a tear today.”
“Thanks, Betsy. I don’t know why he has to be this way. Someone needs to bring him down a peg or two.” Steeling her spine, she knew it was now or never. “I think I’ve just been nominated for the job. Thanks Betsy. If I’m not out in 30 minutes, you may want to call 911.”
“For you or for him?” Laughing, Betsy turned back to her computer and continued with her work.
Knocking on the office door, Lana didn’t wait for Jake to ask her to come in. He’d called this damn meeting, so ready or not, here she was.
Chapter Two
Jake Bradford looked up from the briefing on his desk when the knock on his door was followed quickly by someone entering his office. His annoyance ratcheted up quickly. No one walked into his office without g
oing through Betsy. Since he’d told her he wasn’t to be interrupted, someone was about to get their ass chewed. That was, until he saw who had entered his office. Lana! Damn, he couldn’t believe she came.
When he’d called her secretary and left the message for her to come and see him ASAP, he thought she’d make him wait a few days. He’d never expected her to actually comply with his request and show up at his door 20 minutes later. Shit, he wasn’t actually ready to talk with her right now, but he sure as hell could make something up.
“Lana, please come in.” Maybe this could be an opportunity for him. He would take every advantage he could get.
“Jake.” That one greeting was his warning that she wasn’t happy with him at the moment. What else was new? “What did you want to see me about?” Going to the chair in front of his desk, Lana plopped down and crossed her arms over her ample chest.
Damn, he wanted to know what she looked like in just her bra and panties. Her breasts pushing up over her arms were almost his undoing. She had no idea what she did to him. This beautiful woman with the hips made for cushioning a man, her long legs that were the perfect length to wrap around a man’s waist and pull him closer, her long dark brown hair that looked like silk, and her full luscious lips that were made for kissing, drove him to distraction every day and made him want her with a need and passion he’d never felt before.
Thinking quickly, Jake knew just the thing he could say. “Lana, we have the acquisition of Touchsoft Publications and I need your help. You’ve been with the company for more than seven years and I need your expertise. I’d appreciate your help appropriately communicating this purchase not only to our customers, but your feel about how the employees may react to all the changes.”
“Why me, Jake? I’ve never been asked for my input before.”
“Well, from what I understand, we’ve never had an acquisition this large. This will take us from 400 employees to more than 750. The changes that will take place for our company will be significant. I’d really like your knowledge and experience to make sure this goes smoothly, both internally and externally.”
Looking at her closely, Jake knew he had thrown her for a loop. The spark of anger in her eyes when she first walked into his office had given him a warning that she was looking for a fight. Well, he wasn’t giving her one today. He’d actually never wanted to fight with her, but they couldn’t help but clash at every opportunity.
When he’d first joined the company, there was some natural resentment that he was replacing Ted Franklin. On top of that, Jake had made some tough decisions and several long-term, but nonperforming employees had to be let go. It wasn’t fun and he’d never tried to make it seem as though he’d enjoyed what he’d done, but the changes had been necessary.
When he and Lana first met, he figured her dislike for him was due to those reasons. However, as time went on, he’d come to realize that it was much more, though she’d never actually told him her underlying reasons for her dislike. Jake knew he hadn’t helped the situation and had probably egged her on, but he wouldn’t apologize for that. The woman had him in knots on a regular basis and his cock was constantly hard from thinking about her or watching her walk around the office.
He freely admitted that almost every part of a woman intrigued him but when it came to Lana, ‘almost’ changed to ‘every’. Every single part of Lana made him want her more. He’d made excuses to meet with her while at the office, even to the point that she now resented those meetings. He called her office almost every day simply to hear her voice, even when she was pissed at him. Admittedly, she was pissed at him more often than not, which only made him want to egg her on more. He smiled inwardly at this thought. She was so damn sexy when she was angry with him.
The rumors around the office had it all wrong about his preferred choice in women. He didn’t have a preference for a certain type, but he could understand how assumptions were made. He was an equal opportunity lover and he'd been interested in women of all different shapes, sizes, and skin tones. Hell, beautiful was beautiful.
Lana simply put everyone else to shame. He hadn’t wanted a woman in his bed since he’d met her three months ago. She was all he ever wanted now, all he ever thought about. His goal in life was to tame this woman and make her want him as much as he wanted her.
Bringing his attention back to the conversation at hand, Jake stood up from behind his desk and walked over to where Lana was sitting.
“I think this will be good, Lana. What do you think about partnering on this?” He knew he was pushing his luck, but Jake needed to be next to her.
Lana gave him a side glance and he knew she was thinking about it. Her ambition was almost as great as his and this opportunity would get the attention of the CEO. Lana was no fool and he was banking on that. For purely selfish reasons, he knew this project would give the two of them more time to get to know each other. He wouldn’t force the issue, but he would slowly wear down her resistance to him.
“Jake, if we do this, you and I will be working very closely together on this project. I don’t even think we like each other. Is this going to work?”
Jackpot! “Of course, Lana, we’re both professionals. It may be helpful for us to get to know each other better so that we can create a stronger relationship.” Pausing and giving her a once over that he was sure she noticed, “Working relationship, that is”
Standing up and walking back to the other side of his desk, he leaned back in his chair and gave her a devastating smile. “So, with that said, how about we go to dinner tonight? It’s been a long week and unless you have plans, we could start working on our plans for the acquisition.”
Chapter Three
Lana was sure this was a bad idea, but dinner with Jake would be a perfect way to get to know him. She realized the importance of the acquisition and her role in communicating this purchase to their clients, customers, and their employees. Her momma didn’t raise no fool, so hell yeah, she was going to dinner with him.
They decided to meet in the lobby of the building and walk to the restaurant, which was housed in the hotel where Jake was staying. When he accepted the role, he’d moved from Long Island to Boston and hadn’t yet found a permanent home.
Walking into the upscale restaurant, they were told that they would have to wait 45 minutes for a table. No restaurant was worth a 45 minute wait, at least not in Lana’s book.
“So, what do you want to do? We can always reschedule.” Hoping he would say reschedule, but praying he would want to stay, Lana turned to Jake, raised an eyebrow and waited for his response.
“Well, we could always order room service. It would be a little less formal and we could relax more while we talk.”
“Your room? Are you sure about that?” Hell, she wasn’t sure herself, but she was tempted to scream “YES” at the top of her lungs. Not trusting herself at the moment, she forced her mouth to stay shut.
“Yes, but we’ll just talk about the things we would have talked about in a restaurant. It’s up to you. However, I’d say the sooner we can start getting to know each other, the better.”
Resigned to her fate, Lana knew she wasn’t getting out of this easily. She nodded her head and followed Jake as he turned towards the hotel lobby and the elevator.
******
Jake was grinning from ear to ear. He was glad that he was in front of Lana so she didn’t see the blatant expression of joy on his face. He couldn’t have planned things any better if he’d tried. Rushing her wasn’t in the cards, but he’d be damned if he and Lana didn’t make love tonight. Not sure how he would wear down her defenses, he decided he’d start with letting down his own guard and showing her how much he wanted her. How truly attracted to her he was.
When the elevator doors opened on the 14th floor, Jake placed his hand at the small of Lana’s back and steered her to the right toward his suite. “I’m down this way.” Not wanting to break the contact with her, he kept his hand on her lower back as they continued walking do
wn the hallway. Not quite hugging her, but enough pressure so that she knew he was there.
Opening the door to his hotel suite, he guided her into the sitting area and went to pick up the room service menu.
“Take a look and let me know what you want. Do you like wine? I have some Chianti that I picked up a few weeks ago.”
“That’s fine. Thank you. Do you mind if I take off my shoes? Since we’re more informal now, I don’t think I need to walk around in three-inch heels anymore.”
“No, I don’t mind. Please make yourself comfortable. Have you decided what you want to eat?”
As Jake placed the order with room service, he watched Lana walk out on the balcony and couldn’t help thinking how right this felt. This is where she belonged—with him. Being here with her felt good to him and he hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Finishing on the phone with their dinner order, he walked outside to be closer to Lana.
******
Damn, she was getting nervous. What was she doing in Jake’s hotel room at this time of night? Her attraction to him wasn’t making this any easier for her, and dammit if being in this room wasn’t giving her some very wicked thoughts. Hearing the door open and close, she turned to face Jake.
“So, how long until the food gets here?”
“Not long. They’re usually pretty quick when I order.” Walking to her side and leaning against the balcony. “So, Lana, as the saying goes, let’s get this party started. What should I know about you?”
Turning around to face him, she looked into his eyes and noticed they had turned a deep topaz color. Damn! What did that mean? Was he unhappy to have her here after all? Not one to back down, she continued facing him. Lana wasn’t giving him the power to know how much she wanted him to want her. How much she wanted to be with him.
Just once, she wanted a man such as Jake to want her so bad that nothing else mattered. To need her so much that he would give up everything he was, everything he had, to be with her. Not that she would ever ask him to do it, but knowing that he would . . . well, that alone would be enough.