by Mia Ford
Tina looked at the both of us and I think she recognized something, but she just couldn’t make the connection. I gave her the warmest smile that I could muster and then we were walking together to the conference room with everybody including Lillian waiting for his arrival.
One look at me and she turned into a volcano that was about to spew lava all over the place. Her lip curled, but she remained poised and composed even though she was now motioning for Susan to come forward. They exchanged some words and Susan slipped by me no doubt going to retrieve an armed escort for me out of the building.
“This is just a casual meeting to inform you that your contracts are in jeopardy. We have to discuss new terms. I’m afraid that we can no longer do business with you without a sizable increase in compensation. I have been in touch with others and I’m using their proxy to inform you that five more contracts need to be negotiated in good faith.” Lillian was dressed in a dark pantsuit. It was a very classic look with hair slicked back and wearing suspenders.
“If you’re through posturing, I think that it would be a good idea for you to have the room cleared. There’s something that we need to discuss and I doubt very seriously that you want any one of them to know your business.” She was expecting him to be floored by this revelation, but he wasn’t showing that losing the contracts meant that much to him. It probably felt like a knife in his back, but he remained composed through the entire ordeal.
I was expecting her to say that whatever we needed to say could be said in front of the board. Instead, she looked at the smug look on Marshall’s face and decided that it was in her best interest to convene this meeting. She dismissed everyone and they left without putting up a fuss or complaining in the very least.
Once the door was closed, she stood with her hands firmly planted on the table. “I don’t know what the meaning of this is, but I can assure you that you’re not going to get away with it. It’s obvious to me that you two are working together. You have less than a minute before Susan returns. I’m going to make sure that your bodies are never found.” She looked like she had all the cards and then Marshall very casually put the briefcase on the table and opened it.
“I think that you should take a look at these.” He dropped the file folder as thick as his wrist on the table. She opened it with a cocked eyebrow and began to go over the marked details of those guys playing her for a fool. “I have it on good authority that your business would suffer if this were to get out. I have my hand on the send button for an e-mail that is going to circulate amongst journalists and business CEOs alike.” It did pull her back on your heels, but she wasn’t about to stand for this.
“Go ahead and do what you need to do. It won’t matter. The both of you will be gone shortly never to be heard from again. My business might suffer, but I will rise above it like I always do. You are foolish to think that I was going to give into your demands. I’m sure that your one and only demand is for me to leave the both of you alone. That is the one thing that I can’t do. I can’t stand betrayal in any form. I hope that you have made your peace.” She really did want us both gone. I think that her main focus was Marshall, but that was before I decided to jump into bed with him literally and figuratively.
The door opened and we were all expecting to see Susan return with armed guards to take us into their custody. Instead, Julia looking a little disheveled with her eyes bloodshot from being drugged out of her mind walked in and took center stage.
“That same e-mail that will give you a black eye also contains my affidavit about you imprisoning me against my will in an institution for the criminally insane.” She was wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater. “I can have you imprisoned, but unlike me, you’ll have no way to escape.” The color in Lillian’s cheeks vanished and she was left with this ghostlike appearance. “I have statements from the doctors and they were most anxious to throw you under the bus. I think that I can be reasonably sure that you won’t be able to survive hard time. This won’t be some cushy little Sunday school prison where you are treated like royalty. You can make all of this go away by signing the document at the back of all of those pages in front of you. Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to step down. All we want is for you to be responsible for our well-being. If something were to happen to us, then your company will revert to a proxy of our choosing. I’m thinking about having it sold and the profits given to various charities.” Julia looked like she had gone through the wringer.
With Marshall’s influence and money, it didn’t take all that much to get her released into our custody and care. She was angry, understandably so, but she didn’t think that her testimony would hold up in court. She didn’t want to take the chance of being grilled mercilessly on the stand until she broke down in hysterics.
“I’ll sign your damn paper. You won’t have anything to worry about when it comes to me. This does not concern the contracts. That is something that is separate from all of this.” I thought that Marshall was going to put up more of a fight, but he was happy just to get that paper signed and have our lives back.
The door opened and there was a buzz of activity outside in the hallway. Susan was in handcuffs and the police came in and read Lillian her rights. “I thought that you said that all I had to do was sign the paper and all three of you would leave me alone.” She was confused, but she was about to learn that she had to learn to listen.
Julia wanted to be the one to break the news. “I said that I wouldn’t press charges, but I said nothing about the doctors that you bribed. They weren’t exactly happy with the way that you used your influence. They decided that you had to be called in for your actions. I’m not going to testify, but I don’t have to. They already have my affidavit and that is a matter of public record.” I thought for sure that she was going to scream bloody murder, but she stayed perfectly calm and let them lead her away in shackles. It didn’t take much to learn that Susan was responsible for having Julia drugged. We just had to wait until the police could arrive with a warrant for her arrest.
Everybody filed out and business was closed for the day. It left me and Marshall in the conference room looking at each other and then at the table. “I’m sure that she will get off on some kind of technicality or maybe pay for Susan to take the rap for the both of them. In the meantime, I think that we should leave a lasting impression on the very table that she conducts business.” I jumped up and grabbed him by his tie, pulling at his belt and then dragging his zipper down until I was able to reach into those black silk shorts for what I was after.
“I like the way that you…THINK.” His voice raised an octave as I wrapped my hand around his length. “I think that can be arranged. I don’t think that I have ever been as excited about defiling a piece of office furniture.” I lifted my skirt slowly letting him see a hint of thigh until he was witnessing the fact that I wasn’t wearing panties. I had shaved with the lips looking puffy and quite inviting.
“I would say that we have to make this quick, but I’m not sure that we know the meaning of that word.” I squeezed the head, pulling him into position and letting him feel his sausage being ground into a hole that seemed too small for something of his unique size. I stretched open with my body responding in kind to that invading force between my legs.
He pulled me toward him abruptly and began to make sharp thrusts that had that table groaning in response to my ass polishing the top of that table.
“I know who you are… Shelly or should I say… Oh, my god…. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to…I don’t know what I…excuse me” Tina had figured it out, but now seeing us going after each other in the boardroom had made her back away from the door and run like her skirt was on fire.
“I can always count on you to do something that’s going to shock others. I would never ask for you to quit your job.” He didn’t have to ask me and I was already unemployed. I had given my resignation. I told my boss that if he had a problem with that that he should talk to Marshall.
We crawled over t
he table. We were in the middle of it with both of our bodies slamming repeatedly against each other in a cacophony of sexual sounds that was not exactly the kind of sound that you would hear from a boardroom.
We were sprawled on top of it. He lifted himself one last time and buried it. “Marry me…Oh, god… MARRY ME.” I thought that he had just gotten a little carried away, but then the feeling that he was stirring in me was going to give the very answer that he wanted to hear.
“Yes… Yes… Yes… Yes…YESSSSSSSS.” I wasn’t sure if I was responding to his marriage proposal or if I was just going along for the ride with an orgasm of my own. It was a little from column A and a little from column B. He was so happy that he gave me an early wedding gift.
He kept up with the demand and he stayed the course for almost a full hour before he finally gave me my just desserts. I only had to pull down my skirt and he had to pull up his pants. He reached into a pocket and presented me with a gorgeous diamond ring. I leaped into his arms, kissing him passionately and I think that he took my orgasmic cry as confirmation.
“With you by my side, Gillian, there is nobody including Lillian that is going to stop us.” I liked that we were united and that we were a force to be reckoned with. He was my centerpiece and I had the perfect place to put him…right in my bed in my embrace. I was looking forward to spending my life with him. I had this feeling that it wasn’t going to be boring. I was still going to work with those that wanted to know the truth. That was how I met Marshall.
The marriage was scheduled for a year from that date. With Lillian taking a plea deal of six months, it gave Marshall the opening that he needed to swoop in and buy her building out from underneath her with the board’s approval. We had even sent an invitation to her in jail.
It stated that her presence was requested for our nuptials that were going to take place right in that very same boardroom.” I could almost hear her screaming from her cell and it gave me a sense of satisfaction. I wanted to be there to present it to her myself, but I thought that might have been a little below the belt.
I thought that my heart was frozen, but Marshall had somehow thawed the ice surrounding my heart. I was ready to love again and I could say the same thing for him. He was no longer caught in a never-ending line of sex partners. I’m sure that he was going to mention spicing things up, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
Office Romance Collection
BOOK 1: OFFICE ROMANCE
Blurb
Belle Freedman is a wide-eyed enthusiastic small-town girl, who has just landed an internship at the biggest ad agency on the East Coast. Her new boyfriend, Jesse, has followed her to New York so that they can chase their dreams together…to make it big in the Big Apple. Belle believes she has it all, a kind boyfriend and a brand new job.
When she has a chance encounter with a stranger on the elevator, things begin to start changing in her world. Devon Rymer is not only one of the partners at the ad agency, but he is also well into his forties, single and the hottest man Belle has ever laid eyes on. Suddenly, the world she thought was perfect, doesn’t seem so perfect any more.
Belle wants Devon. He is irresistibly handsome and strong, but she has a boyfriend, and a job to keep.
Belle
Belle stood staring at herself in the full length mirror at the corner of their studio apartment. She had spent hours laboring over the right look. First day at the new job. She had butterflies in her stomach and she drew in a deep breath to steady herself. Behind her, Jesse, her boyfriend, was flipping pancakes in the section of the apartment that they called the “kitchen”.
Through the reflection in the mirror, Belle could see Jesse at the stove. His longish blond hair was ruffled and he was still in his boxer shorts with no shirt on. Belle watched him in silence for a few moments. His slender pale frame, the concave shape of his stomach…she had always thought he was the “cutest” boy ever since she’d known him. And now he was her boyfriend!
“How do I look?” Bell asked, flipping around to face him. Jesse looked up and fixed his eyes on her with a bored expression. He was always grumpy in the mornings, that was something that Belle recently discovered about him, ever since they started living together.
“You look great. Stop fretting,” he said and started stacking the pancakes on two plates. Belle tried to be in a cheerful mood, even though the nervousness was wrecking her on the inside. She didn’t want Jesse to feel worse than he already did about his own situation.
She had been offered a position, even if that was as an intern, but it was a job nonetheless. Jesse was yet to find a job or internship of any kind. They had already been in New York for over three months and it was going to get harder and harder to pay the bills if he didn’t find some kind of employment soon. Belle’s meager internship stipend wouldn’t even cover the rent they were paying.
She walked over to the small table beside the stove where Jesse had started setting their breakfast. Belle took a chair and he took the one across from her. She could see that he hadn’t shaved in days, and she had lost track of how many times she had tried to politely suggest that he take a shower.
“What are you going to do with your day?” she asked, digging a fork into the pancakes. She heard Jesse take in a deep breath and looked up at him. He looked offended that she had asked him that.
“If you’re trying to subtly hint that I should go out there and look for a job, I’m going to do that any way. You don’t have to mother me,” he snapped at her and she fell silent.
“I was just making conversation. You don’t have to do anything,” she mumbled, already kicking herself that she had even bothered to ask.
Jesse’s mood swings were unpredictable. Some mornings he woke up feeling energetic and excited about going hunting for jobs, and on other days he was grumpy and touchy about it. Belle was hoping that he would feel inspired today so that he could uplift her mood too for her first day.
They ate their pancakes in relative silence for a few more minutes.
“Well, have a great first day,” Jesse said suddenly and stood up. Taking his half finished pancakes, he shoved the remains into the bin beside the stove.
“What’s wrong?” Belle asked, stopping her chewing.
“Nothing. I’m going back to bed for a few hours. It’s only eight,” Jesse said distractedly. Belle gulped, trying to control her heart from racing out of her chest. She wished she could do something to ease his frustration. She watched as Jesse crossed the room and fell on to the mattress on the floor and rolled over to his side.
He hadn’t even offered her a kiss goodbye or a hug. She finished her food in silence, throwing nervous glances at the man she had a crush on for so long. She wasn’t sure if she had done something to upset him, or what she could do to make him feel better. For now, she was getting late for work so she stood up from the chair.
“I’m off, Jesse. Hope you have a nice day. I love you,” Belle said as she grabbed her purse off the floor near the door. Jesse made no movement, but had his face pressed into his pillow. She heard a muffled goodbye and opened the door.
She closed the door gently behind her and took the steps two at a time as she rushed outside. This was too much to handle. Her first day at a job and also Jesse’s mood swings. She wasn’t sure what bothered her more.
Jesse had been her middle school crush, back in their hometown. They went to the same State college, and her feelings for him returned. It wasn’t until the last year, when they happened to bump into each other at a house party, that they actually started talking and went on a few official dates. When Belle told him that she was moving to New York, Jesse declared that he loved her and would move with her.
So they had officially been a couple for no more than three months, since they moved to New York. No more dates at restaurants, or going for movies or sharing milkshakes. Real life and real responsibilities had come tumbling down on them, when they were least prepared for it. While Belle had a plan for her professional
life, Jesse had none and so the hunt had begun and he kept hitting a brick wall.
All the romance that should have existed in a young relationship, between two twenty-two year olds never made an appearance. He was too upset about finding a job, and every day ended with him falling into bed exhausted and uninspired. Belle gulped as she hurried down the busy New York streets towards the subway. Starkly aware that tonight wasn’t going to be the night either, when Jesse might make a move and be the first guy to make love to her.
Belle
Bell looked up at the forty storied building and licked her lips nervously. She had only been here once before, when she came in for the interview. It was exciting for her to be working there, but at the same time she wasn’t sure what her first day was going to be like. She had been hired to intern with the marketing team at the advertising agency, and she had no prior experience in it. The only reason she had even been hired, Belle assumed, was because of her professional and cheerful personality. The interviewer seemed to like her go-getter and proactive attitude.
Belle pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the lobby. She knew that Rymer & Mills had their offices across five of the top floors, so she went straight for the elevators. Her heels clicked against the marble floors loudly as she walked, and Belle began to wonder if she was even dressed appropriately. She pressed the elevator button and stood with her hands clasped together in front of the double doors.
She caught a faint reflection of herself in the polished steel doors. She had picked out a gray professional looking pencil skirt that reached her knees and accentuated the curves of her hips. She’d tucked in a white shirt neatly on top and picked out a pair of high black stilettos to complete the look. She had spent a considerable amount of time on her hair, to achieve the perfect fishtail braid and now she was happy with the way it lay on her shoulder, just about reaching the top of her breasts. For her lips she had chosen a chocolate brown color to match her coffee brown eyes.