by T. N. King
“Wow,” she said, wondering what she could possibly say to impress him. Well, there was the incident she saw with the drunk and his ever threatening drumstick in her awesomely impressive world of bus riding. She almost laughed aloud, but managed to keep it in. “So, you arrived at your meeting all right?”
“Yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “A little late, but after I explained why, I think that pretty much made the sale for me. I guess I should thank you.”
Ellie smiled and glanced away as she felt her cheeks heat up, but she could feel the weight of Morgan’s stare.
“So, you work at a diner, right?” he asked, bringing her attention back towards him.
“Yeah,” she said and nodded. Nothing exciting there.
“Tell me about that.” He leaned in just a bit.
What was there to tell? She hesitated before answering, “I’m just a waitress. It’s pretty boring work.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “You’re in the service industry. You have to be skilled at selling and closing a deal, right? I mean, you have to try and upsell the customer’s order, correct?”
She furrowed her brow because she’d never thought about it like that before. “Uh, yeah, I guess. I mean, yeah, of course. I usually try to upsell, so that I can get a better tip.”
“There you go,” he said and smiled. “We’re not so different. It’s all about using the skills you have.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Ellie shrugged and wondered at the huge chasm there really was between the two of them. Couldn’t he see it? To her, it felt like this huge grand canyon of a gap. Could she even leap it? Keep up with his type of lifestyle? She sighed. What was she even saying? He wasn’t inviting her to. He was just being nice. The man had saved her life…that should be enough to offer in the way of anything. Just enjoy this meal and get as much of looking at him as you can. Then traipse on back to your life in the slums. At least, you never felt out of place there.
Morgan
Of course, he was right. She was selling herself short if she only considered herself a waitress. So many possibilities were available to her if she only realized it. But he sensed that she was timid and afraid to take risks—the complete opposite of him. God, he’d love to turn her into the strong, dominant woman that she was capable of becoming, but he’d love to completely dominate her, himself, first. He realized, however, that he would have to take things slow with her. That meant holding off on the Tahiti trip or anything else he had in mind—at least for now.
“So, I guess the diner’s closed for now?” he continued.
“Yeah,” Ellie said and nodded with a sigh.
“This upsets you, huh?”
“Well,” she began but hesitated to finish.
“Go on.”
Ellie nervously reached for her glass of water and took a sip, then she said, “I can’t really afford to take time off, like I said I would yesterday. I need to find another job, now. It’s not the funnest thing in the world.”
“Hmm. I see.” He felt like a dolt. Of course, she couldn’t afford to take a vacation. That would be his way of handling things. He sometimes forgot that not everyone had the same options he had. He made a mental note to remedy her situation. For now, he would just change the subject. “So where have you gone? Ever been out of the country?”
Her eyes brightened. “Once. With my dad. We drove up to Canada to see Niagara Falls. We stayed there the weekend. It was great.”
“Tell me about that,” he prompted.
Ellie shrugged and smiled. “I was just starting high school and so nervous about it, I’d made myself sick. He promised me that if I got better, we’d go and I’d been reading a lot of stuff on the power of mind over matter, so I convinced myself that I wasn’t choosing to go to high school since I had no say in the matter, so worrying about something that I couldn’t change was pointless. It sounds weird but it worked. I got better and my dad and I went.”
Morgan’s curiosity was definitely piqued. “And your first day at high school?”
“Was great, actually. After I accepted that I had no power in the situation, I just let it happen, so to speak. I approached it as something I had to do, so I just did it.”
“Interesting.” He now rested his elbow on the table with a fist under his chin and leaned forward as he listened to her speak with such passion about this time in her life, where she completely gave herself over. He wondered if she knew that she’d just described herself as a submissive. The fact that talking about this event was the most animated that he’d ever seen her was telling. It filled him with anticipation. Here was an innocent. A woman so held within herself. I bet she never came as hard as I could make her—he halted this kind of thinking. He needed to reign in this lust. This hadn’t happened in a long time. A woman causing him to become hard while just speaking to him.
Their eggs arrived just then and disturbed the mood. He thanked the server and waved him off, hoping to get back to the interesting conversation they were having. “So, do you do that often? Just, give in like that?” Leading question put out there, he couldn’t wait to hear the answer.
Ellie furrowed her slender brows. “I guess I do. I mean, I kind of did that coming up here.” She closed her eyes and cursed under her breath.
He focused carefully on her, amused that she’d tripped up.
“I mean, I was nervous coming here because I wasn’t sure what to expect.” She shook her head and picked up her fork. “I didn’t think you’d remember me.”
He felt the broadest grin spread across his face. “I’m harmless,” he said. “And I have an awesome memory.”
She laughed and looked up at him.
Dammit, she was cute. He caught her sweet baby blues and winked. A moment later, he asked her, “And what about after high school? Any plans for college? Did your strategy work there, too?”
Ellie looked down and pushed her food around with her fork. “Plans, yes. But—I never saw them through.” She shrugged. “Just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
Morgan sensed that she was holding back part of that story, but decided he didn’t need to hear the details. He’d gotten enough information to formulate his own strategy from her high school story. That’s what a good businessman did—gathered information before making a move. He felt confident that he’d done just that. This would be all the more interesting but he needed to tread carefully. He would build this and he had more patience than most. It took time to build something spectacular and this—Ellie, he knew would be the most beautiful thing when he finally got her where he wanted her. He smiled and picked up his fork. “Now, let’s eat, so I can show you my balcony.”
Ellie
The eggs were great, just like Morgan had promised, and she was going back up to his room with him to see Philadelphia from his balcony. She couldn’t help but pretend that she’d just accepted an illicit proposal from a handsome, rich, stranger, and was now on her way to complete the task. Fantasy was the spice of life, after all, and after this, she’d probably never see him again, so she might as well get the most out of it. She would retrieve this memory later, while she was in the shower.
After all, that was reality, hers anyway. Fantasy. She had needed it to get through the bad times, the worry. The lonely existence she’d been leading.
He opened the door and held it open for her so she stepped in, marveling once again at the exquisite luxury of his penthouse suite.
Morgan picked up a remote control that laid on the marble table in front of the plush leather sofa and clicked a button that made the rich, gold drapes part to reveal a beautiful view beyond the glass doors. “Come on,” he prompted and tilted his head towards the balcony.
Ellie set her purse down on the leather sofa and followed him out, realizing that she would probably agree to just about anything that he proposed with very little question. She knew she should second guess this attitude. It in itself was a dangerous thing. Once outside, a warm wind whipped at her long hair creating a scarf effec
t around her neck. Once she got her hair under control, she joined him at the banister and became awestruck—truly, a sight to behold.
“What do you think?”
Ellie gaped. “It’s amazing,” she said, finally. “I feel like I can see forever from up here.” She grabbed hold of the railing because she hated that feeling of falling she got every time she went up high.
“Yeah,” he agreed and placed his hands on the rail right next to hers.
For a few brief moments, all was well with the world. It felt like perfection. High up in the air, with the world at their feet. Her mind drifted a little and she was ever so conscious of his body next to hers.
Then his phone went off.
Ellie recognized the ringtone from yesterday.
Morgan glanced at her and then reached inside his pants pocket to pull the phone out. After looking at the screen he said, “Sorry, I have to take this.” He retreated to the privacy of the indoors as he answered.
Ellie stayed on the balcony and enjoyed the view. So, what was next? Would he invite her to lunch? Dinner? A trip to Tahiti? She sighed, remembering that she had promised herself she would be satisfied with breakfast and not expect anything else from this kind, sexy, stranger who’d saved her from a burning building. This was more than she could have ever hoped for. In reality, if she hadn’t braved the burning building or this building, she would not have even had this much. ‘Take the little that you’ve got,’ her dad always said. But what if it was just too little? Too far and in between. Never quite enough?
From inside, she could hear Morgan speaking in an annoyed tone into the phone. She wondered if all was well with him. Then she heard a loud goddammit! She turned to look.
He seemed agitated and had placed a hand in a fist along his hip as he spoke.
She turned back around.
“Ellie, I apologize,” he said as he came and stood next to her. “I thought I might have more time here today, but it turns out, I have to drive back to New York immediately.”
“Is everything okay?”
He shook his head. “It’s my fault, really. I never called my secretary yesterday after my meeting with the Yamato group to have her send them over the contract. I’d told them they’d have it before the close of business. They’re very particular about these kinds of things.”
Ellie nodded as she kept up with his story trying to look like she understood it.
“Anyway, they’re there now at my office signing the contract but they want me to sign it before they head back to Japan. Technically, I can sign it whenever, but it’s one of those things,” he said and waved his hand in the air.
“So, can’t you just fly there?”
Morgan grinned. “Yeah, but I drove down, so I’ll be driving back. I can be a jerk, too.” He smiled. “They can wait a few hours.”
Ellie put a hand up to her mouth and giggled.
Morgan chuckled. “So, did you drive here?” he asked her.
She laughed and shook her head. “No.”
“Well, let me get my driver to take you back home. It’s the least I can do for this huge inconvenience.”
“No,” she said. “It’s fine. I can get back alright.”
“Nonsense,” he insisted. “Come on. I’ll walk you down and see you off.”
How could she possibly say no, now?
She grabbed her purse and he held the door for her. He really did seem like the perfect guy, she thought. And now he was leaving Philly. It surprised her to feel a little pang in her chest as they rode the elevator down together. She tried to engrave him into her memory while he spoke on his phone to his driver. This would be the end of her little fantasy. Look out real and dismal world coming up at the next stop. She pushed the sentiment away. You knew this all day. So, why be a baby about it?
They stepped off of the elevator then headed out of the lobby and all the way down the sleek grey stone walk to the curb.
“My driver is parked across the street over there,” he said and pointed to a black limousine parked at the curb.
Ellie, still trying to capture every feature on his face in her memory, nodded and stepped off the curb but was immediately swooped up into Morgan’s embrace as a truck sped past, nearly hitting her.
“Whoa!” Morgan exclaimed. “You okay?”
He held her tight against his chest—so tight, that Ellie could hear his heart thump loudly in her ear. She breathed in his cologne and savored the feel of his polo over his muscular body. “Yeah,” she whispered and slowly peeled herself away from his embrace to see what happened.
“You gotta be careful,” he said and gazed down at her, still holding her close.
“Yeah,” she agreed, slightly dazed, but not from the near death experience.
She looked up at him and noticed that he blocked the sunlight behind him, which again caused a halo effect, just like it did the first time they met. Her angel. Dammit, he just had to be perfect and right before he said goodbye And…he had rescued her, again.
“Not sure if I should leave now,” he joked and offered her a smile that made the dimple appear in his cheek again.
She wished he would stay and protect her forever, but shook her head. “That’s silly. I just wasn’t paying attention. I’m sure I can get home just fine.” She gently pushed him away to prove that she could walk across a street on her own and, after looking both ways, stepped off the curb. She turned to wave goodbye at him.
Morgan waved bye back and his grin was huge. As if he felt proud, she’d gotten there without great peril.
In the limo, Ellie gave the driver the address to her apartment and slunk back in her seat. Her excitement waned. It suddenly felt like she’d been riding sky high, then plummeted back down to earth. She shook herself. I did it. Spent the morning with him. Braved that world and spent some time with a great guy. It should be enough. More than she’d gotten in years. She felt like crying for some reason but couldn’t exactly explain why.
CHAPTER FIVE
Morgan
The drive back to New York just seemed long and dull after having had such a wonderful start to his day, but Morgan felt happy to be done with the whole Yamato situation. He always felt good at the close of a deal. Then he would set his sights on the next goal. The next achievement. Somehow though, he felt a loss, like he hadn’t achieved anything. Where the hell had this feeling come from? It was foreign to him, for sure.
He arrived in time to sign the contract in front of them, apologized for his little mess-up, and drove them, himself, to the airport, so they could catch their flight back to Tokyo. He even treated them to a celebratory drink at one of the classier bars outside of the terminal. Once again, he managed to successfully, close the deal.
He wished he’d of been able to have more time to do that with Ellie. Yes, this was what he’d felt the loss of. Incredible! He never felt like this before and over a woman, no less.
Then to make matters even worse, he was planning on driving back to Philadelphia the same day and maybe inviting her out for dinner, but his personal assistant reminded him that he had an important board meeting in the morning here in New York. Then after that, there was some other event he had to attend.
He combed a hand through his hair and sighed as he drove back to his mansion in Lake Placid. It looked like it would be a few days before he could get back to Ellie. Morgan cursed himself for allowing his sudden obsession with her to mess up his usually smooth business acumen. He definitely needed to find a way to just quench his thirst for her and then rip her from his mind.
And dammit all—he still managed to forget to get that girl’s phone number—again.
Morgan arrived early to his board meeting in the conference room at Hunt Headquarters the next morning. It had been that reoccurring dream that had him up so early today. For two nights in a row, he’d had it. It had been focused on Ellie, of course. She was with him in his suite in Philly and she was dressed in a glimmering evening gown. She seemed shy, and he had to pull her out of
it. She was so dammed sweet when she smiled. He knew he wanted her and just simply told her so. Next, they were in his bedroom and he ripped that gown from her. She seemed to not really bat an eye at his roughness. She seemed to revel in it, in fact. He had her in bed and begging for it. He shoved into her and it felt like heaven. Though, he burned inside as he couldn’t get enough.
Hanging onto him, she whimpered and just the sound made him pound her all the harder. Then she was crying. Suddenly, the bed caught fire and the room was engulfed in flames. He knew he had to get her out, he got up to look for an exit, and when he turned back, the bed was gone. It had burned up in a second. There were nothing but ashes, and that photo of her dad that she’d risked her life to get was laying atop the ashes.
Morgan awoke sweating bullets. He couldn’t understand it. A wet dream that ended in fire? Was it all because he’d pulled her from a fire, saving her, only to then plan an elaborate seduction, simply to have her, use her and leave her?
He got up and headed to the shower, only he didn’t know if it would be a hot shower or cold one.
Dammit, he’d never been so conflicted when it came to seduction. What the hell was this guilt part?
Now, here he sat waiting for the members to come in. He was even more revved up to get back to her. He hoped the other members would agree with him to rush through and get it over with. It wasn’t like there was any new business to discuss. They only needed to go through the motions to satisfy the board’s monthly meeting criteria.
The sooner he got done with this, the sooner he could get back to Philadelphia. He’d already left a message with his assistant to cancel anything else he had scheduled for the next couple of days. He’d also arranged for a construction crew to start working immediately on the diner, so he had a legitimate business type excuse to go back. Yes, he’d been on that whole endeavor last night. He had people on it already.