Anna

by Harmony Raines

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Other Books By Harmony Raines

  Curves In The Family

  - Anna -

  ***

  All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  © 2014 Harmony Raines

  Silver Moon Erotica

  Kindle Edition

  Chapter One

  Anna was first into the office, as always. She had worked very hard to get to such a high position in the company. There had never been another choice, there were no breaks for curvy girls like Anna. She didn’t have the luxury of a slim figure and flirtatious looks.

  No, she had done it the old fashioned way. Hard work, and balls of steel. It made her feel proud of what she had accomplished.

  She smiled at herself, if only the people she worked with knew this side of her personality that had not come easily. Anna had worked very hard to cultivate her reputation, one that had her fellow workers quaking in their boots. It was this character trait that impressed her boss, Mr Stanhope. The old man was more than happy to take a chance on her, and the deal had paid off all around. She was one of his most loyal and trusted employees. Something she took very seriously.

  First things first, she went to make some fresh coffee. Pouring a large steaming mug full, she took it to her desk and sipped it while she went through her diary. Not that she needed to look; she always knew what she had on each day. That way she was always prepared mentally, and with all her paperwork in order.

  She had learned early on that preparation was half of the battle. Staying in front of your opponent's next move was critical. That counted for both her co-workers and her clients. There were never any surprises for Anna; she worked diligently to uncover all the things her potential clients might be hiding. Then she was ruthless in striking the best deal for the company.

  Always loyal to Mr Stanhope, even if it meant broken hearts and broken companies along the way. This was business, and if people wanted the Stanhope Corporation to lend them money they had better have a brilliant, well thought out, business plan, or she would rip them to shreds.

  She sighed. With that reputation, no wonder she never had a date, yet alone a husband. Some kind of acceptance had grown inside her; she now concentrated solely on her job. If she wanted male company in her bed it usually was the one night stand, no strings attached kind. Even that happened less and less these days. It had always been a struggle to get men in her bed. Her curvy figure often put them off, before they had a chance to get to know her. Now she considered it not worth the effort.

  Sex was not all it was cracked up to be.

  Her first appointment was at ten, which gave her a couple of hours to go over the loan application. It was for an expanding business. Although it looked good on paper, she had a niggling doubt about the whole thing. Yet she could not put her finger on it. She dug out the file and began to wade through all the research she had done about the company, and its owners.

  If she had learned one thing in her career, it was that the owners needed as much background research as the business itself. Some people were unscrupulous when it came to business, unethical even. Those were the people Anna could not stand. Her pride would not let anyone get the better of her.

  This attitude stemmed from her school years when other students expected her to be a pushover because she was not one of the popular girls. Years of teasing had made her cultivate a mask that she wore to hide her hurt. This mask was now a permanent fixture, one only her sisters saw her without.

  For a moment, Anna got lost in thought about her sisters. Her younger sister Rachel had recently become engaged. It was wonderful to see her so happy, she certainly deserved it, and her fiancé was a wonderful man who doted on her. Anna had been surprised at the feelings of jealousy that had crept into her mind when she saw them together. It was the first time for a long time that a chink in her armour had appeared. Sighing, she went back to work, her career was satisfying enough.

  Half an hour later her secretary came in to work. Janice had been with her for two years now and they had become used to each other. They worked well together, and Janice had learned very early on, what was expected of her. Never be late and always keep the coffee flowing. Anna put in far too many hours and needed something to help keep her focused.

  “Miss Carpenter, anything else you need?”

  Janice set down a fresh mug of coffee on Anna’s big desk, careful not to cover any of the papers she had arranged on it.

  “No. Thank you Janice. I have another hour or so before we move to the conference room. If you could make sure everything is ready. Tony is sitting in too, so could you remind him?”

  She knew Tony would be ready on time, he knew better than to show up at a meeting with Anna unprepared. They all did.

  “Yes, of course, I’ll get on with that right now, and I’ll remind Tony when he gets in.”

  “Thank you, Janice.” Anna said. She always tried to be polite to Janice, she knew her secretary worked very hard. And had a lot to put up with.

  “Let me know if there is anything else you need,” Janice said, picking up Anna’s original mug and leaving her boss’s office.

  Anna took a sip from her fresh coffee and went back to work.

  Fifteen minutes later Janice burst into the office in a flap, not something that happened very often. Anna looked up and saw her face, a mixture of confusion, and if Anna was not mistaken, fear.

  “Janice, is everything alright?”

  “Yes, well no...It seems there has been a mix up and your ten o'clock clients are here for their nine o'clock appointment.”

  “Excuse me?” Anna thought she must have misunderstood what Janice was trying to say.

  “I just got a call from the front desk. Apparently your diary is wrong, and the appointment was scheduled for 9 o'clock not 10.”

  Anna’s face clouded over, “And who made the appointment?”

  “I did, but I am positive I wrote down the correct time.” Janice looked as though she was about to be sick.

  Anna paused before she spoke; it always paid to think carefully before you ended up somewhere you did not want to go. She considered the years Janice had worked for her, and had never made a mistake like this. It would be out of character for her to get such a thing wrong. If she had, then she would definitely be allowed to have a second chance, everyone made mistakes sometimes. And was it even her mistake?

  “Right. Does Tony know?” Anna said, pulling the scattered papers together in order, and putting them in a folder.

  “No, I came to you first,” Janice said, nervously twisting her pen in her hand.

  At least that’s something you’ve got right today, Anna wanted to say, but bit her tongue. “Well I suggest you go and tell him and then meet me in the conference room.” Anna tried to keep her voice level; not letting her anger creep in, but one look at Janice's face told her she had not managed it.

  Anna got up from her seat and came around to put a reassuring hand on Janice's arm. “Janice, I need you to work with me here to get ready for the appointment. We will discuss
the consequences later.”

  “I’m sorry, but I honestly thought it was 10 o'clock.”

  “Right now it doesn’t matter what happened, we just have to pull ourselves together and get things done.”

  Janice nodded mutely. She may not have withstood the worst of Anna’s wrath often, but she had seen the fallout from it enough to be scared.

  Anna needed her to get moving quickly. “Now go and tell Tony, and I’ll go to the conference room to meet them. OK?”

  Janice gave a weak smile and said, “OK. Thank you, Miss Carpenter. In future I will phone and double check every appointment.” Nevertheless, her eyes held the belief that she might not have a next time to worry about.

  That was what Anna liked about Janice, she was good at adapting. Maybe she would keep her job after all.

  When Janice left, Anna took a deep breath and went over the situation. She knew she could do this, after all she had prepared for the meeting. All she had been doing was going over her notes, and, if she admitted it, looking for the missing something that was bugging her.

  No time to dwell on that now, she gathered her remaining papers and put them all in the folder, in meticulous order, and went out of her office and across to the conference room.

  Janice must have asked for help because one of the other secretaries, Anna could not remember whose, was busy pouring glasses of water and then refilling the big pitcher of cold water to be left on the large solid wood table. She looked up when Anna walked in, and then like a frightened rabbit finished her job and left the room.

  Wow, they really must find her scary, the thought caught at her, unusually, it bothered her. No man would ever come near her when anyone who knew her reputation steered well clear. Shaking her head, she walked over to her seat, and placed the folder on the desk. A quick glance around the room told her everything was in place. The computer was set up for her to use, and pens and paper were within reach if anyone needed them.

  Anna pulled her own pen from her pocket, and set her notebook down on top of her folder. Before sitting down she smoothed her hair back, checking the knot was still secure and no stray hairs had dared to escape. Then she smoothed her expensive black skirt down over her thighs and before sitting down.

  Tony came in, almost running. He paled a little when he saw Anna. Worried he would fall apart under pressure she smiled at him, now he looked worried. Did she smile so little that it unnerved people rather than setting them at their ease? She really was a piece of work.

  No. That was not entirely true; with her family, she was different, herself. Surely, a man could learn to love that version of her. Her attention had wandered, unusual for Anna, now it was drawn back to the three figures walking up the hallway.

  One was Janice, showing the clients to the conference room. Behind her were two men, one insignificant next to the other. Her heart lurched, “oh no, not now” she thought, struggling to keep her breathing calm, and her face from flushing red.

  She felt like a teenager again, faced with the football jock. Stuttering and worthless.

  Looking down she shuffled her papers around, trying to get the image out of her head. However, the thought of her in his arms, of his lips on her body, and her hands threaded through his thick dark hair lingered. This had never happened before, yet here she was, about to do business with a man that would not be out of place in the movies.

  She had to look up again as they walked in, now she found herself automatically getting out of her seat and shaking hands with them.

  “Hello, I’m Anna Carpenter.” The two men shook hands with her.

  First was the older guy, “Hello, Miss Carpenter. I’m Harold Hastings.”

  “Mr Hastings,” Anna said before turning, somewhat reluctantly to the other man.

  Close up he was even more impressive. It was not just his looks and his muscles...and, well she could go on forever. However, the thing she found most compelling was the magnetism he exuded. Anna wondered if every woman was drawn to him like this, and looking behind him to where Janice lingered, she guessed they were.

  Trying to hold herself together she held her hand out, yet nothing could have prepared her for the shock of emotion that ran through her like an electric current. She tried to pull away, yet he held her hand firmly, and if she did not know better she could swear he brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. Sensuously.

  It was the only word she could think of to describe it. Other than wrong.

  “Miss Carpenter,” he said, his voice as sensuous as his touch. “My name is Douglas Osborne, and I very much look forward to us doing business together.”

  “I bet you are buster,” Anna said to herself. Oh, yes. She had got his game. Charm her, seduce her with his voice and touch, and then expect a good deal at the end of it. Her resolve strengthened. He really was just like the popular kids at school. Thinking they could walk all over her. Well two could play at that game.

  “Mr Osborne, please sit down. There’s a lot to get through before I can offer you any kind of a deal. So we had better get started.” Her voice had taken on a particularly frosty tone, and she saw that he had noticed.

  It obviously did nothing to deter him, or shoot down his ego, because he simply smiled to himself, making Anna even more hardened to his charms. Or so she would like to believe.

  “Now, shall we begin? Perhaps it would be useful if you tell us a bit more about what you propose to do with the loan you are looking for. It’s a large amount and I would be interested to find out the finer details not shown in the written forms you submitted.”

  Anna tried to concentrate on what Mr Hastings was saying, but her attention was consumed by the closeness of Douglas Osborne. It was as if he was wearing a drug that attracted women like bees to honey. She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, forcing herself to concentrate on her job.

  “Can I stop you there, for a second, Mr Hastings? I am a little confused over your profit forecast,” Anna said after the older man had been talking for about twenty minutes.

  Mr Hastings looked at Douglas for a second, a fleeting look that might have meant nothing to everyone else in the room, but to Anna it was like a tell sign that poker players unconsciously have. This was where the discrepancy in their plan was, she knew there had to be one.

  Anna’s vision became almost tunnel like; she shuffled through her papers and found what she was looking for. Looking up she saw, a now nervous, Mr Hastings, a sideways glance at Douglas Osborne showed no such emotion. In fact, he looked even more pleased with himself and relaxed back in his seat, hands folded over his chest. Quite at home.

  Her anger began to bubble underneath her calm exterior. This guy inflamed her emotions, in so many ways. Her cool, controlled life almost seemed to be unravelling on the spot. What the hell was wrong with her?

  The best way to get back to normal was to tear their proposal to shreds, and get the pair out the building. Fast.

  “Please, Mr Hastings, if we could just go over the figures one more time.”

  “Of course,” said Mr Hastings nervously. “This is our profit to date.” He handed Anna a sheet of figures, and then passed another to Tony, who had kept very quiet through the whole meeting.

  “Thank you,” she said, placing next to the one she already had. Her mind trying to pinpoint the problem while Mr Hastings dissected them for her.

  She let him drone on, staring at the figures until they became fuzzy. Mr Hastings began to sweat a little, the tension of standing and talking like this for half an hour beginning to tell. Douglas Osborne simply sat still, cool and almost disinterested.

  “And the projected figures,” she interrupted him, knowing how that always rattle people.

  It took him several minutes to find copies. Not that he needed to, she already had them, but it was a way of putting pressure on him.

  Before they had even rested on the desk she asked, “And where have you factored in the acquisitions you outlined earlier.”

  A quick furtive glance
at Douglas Osborne again. Bingo.

  “I see Mr Osborne knows more about this than you, Mr Hastings. Perhaps you should be the one sharing the information?” She turned her glare on him, her anger at being played by this man so close to erupting.

  Douglas Osborne smiled, and sat up, his relaxed attitude disappearing. His face became intent. “Thank you, Miss Carpenter. Perhaps it would be a good idea if everyone else left the room. You and I need to talk.”

  Mr Hastings was already packing his things together, not able to get out of there quick enough.

  “I’m sorry, Mr Osborne, I don’t think you are in position to dictate what happens in this room.” Part of her was furious with him for bossing her about; the other half was scared stiff off what her body might give away if they were alone.

  What if he was going to try to persuade her to issue the loan by seducing her. Her cheeks flushed, something that did not go unnoticed by Douglas Osborne. However, he had his business head on more securely than she had, and kept control of the room.

  “Please, if you could leave Miss Carpenter and I alone. And Tony, perhaps you would be good enough to ask Miss Carpenters secretary to let Mr Stanhope know we’re ready for him?”

  Tony sat looking bewildered for a second, and then followed Mr Hastings lead and practically ran out of the conference room. Something was going on, and if Anna ended up in a foul mood, he did not want to be the one she vented her anger on.

  Anna sat in stunned silence, her boss was behind this. Whatever this was. She still could not make out what was going on. Only that she had been set up. The wrong time, the figures, they were a test, but for what? And Douglas Osborne? Was he part of that test too, to see if she could resist his charms?

  Anna got up, not wanting to be left here alone with him. For once, she felt way out of her depth, not something she was used to feeling at all. She desperately wanted to get back in control of the situation, and put Douglas in his place.

  The trouble was when she thought about the man in front of her the only place she wanted to put him was in her bed. This flustered her even more; she never let her emotions get the better of her, not here at work. This was her domain, and as she looked at the handsome man in front of her, she felt it slipping through her fingers like sand on the beach.