Titles in the Naughty at Noon Series
Unspoken Desires
Found at Sea
Lesson for the Teacher
Leaving Home
Copyright © 2013 by Serenity Starr
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America
By Starr Ignition Systems, LLC, Houston, Texas
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition published March 13, 2013
Cover art and jacket design © 2013, Serenity Starr
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Author.
About the Author
Serenity Starr is a writer who has at least as much sex drive as she has brains, and her IQ is measured at 153. She loves to weave tales of romance, suspense, and passion.
About the Series
The Naughty at Noon series is aimed to satisfy that need for escape at lunchtime. Each story is just short enough to be able to read during your lunch break.
Even if you’re having a cold sandwich, you can still have a Hot Lunch with Serenity Starr. And since it’s on your Kindle, no one will know what you are reading…Just try one – you’ll be back for more tomorrow.
This one’s for my dentist’s office manager, Susan
Unspoken Desires
Rachel Forrester sat and gazed absently out the coffee shop window.
It was a typical rainy spring day in New York City, and Rachel was playing hooky from work. Or, as she thought of it, taking a well-deserved break from her hectic job to clear her head and get her thoughts in order. She’d called her assistant this morning, saying she would be late due to an emergency and would be in as soon as possible. Thank goodness her position allowed her a little leeway every so often, with no questions asked.
I must be wrong, she thought to herself as she stirred her now-cold coffee. I must be missing something.
Could she really be questioning one of the most upstanding, well-thought-of men in New York society?
Rachel’s high-powered job at a top New York ad agency had seemed like a dream eight years ago when she first landed it. Working for the Randall Agency was one of the top marketing jobs in the city, and she was thrilled when she got an interview; ecstatic and disbelieving when she got the call that the position was hers if she wanted it. I’m so young! she’d thought to herself at the time…but this is what she’d wanted. What she’d signed up for. She had big dreams, and the Randall Agency was going to help her fulfill them.
Eric Randall himself hadn’t taken long to notice her; Rachel was stunningly beautiful and smart to boot. Her dark hair and green eyes created a striking combination and drew admiring glances wherever she went. At the Randall agency, Rachel didn’t even have to prove she was smart, as she often had in other situations throughout her young adult life. Being beautiful had its advantages and disadvantages, but it didn’t count at Randall. There was no time for fluff. It was assumed she was hired because she was smart and she was expected to do her job – and do it well. When Eric Randall, the charismatic founder and visionary behind the Agency, had taken her under his wing, she had been so honored that she followed his orders and instructions without question. She was in awe of his ideas, his power, and his enigmatic presence. All his staff seemed to cower just a little when he walked into a room, and Rachel had to admit she felt a little of that power rub off on her when she was beside him. She liked it. A lot. Truth be told, it actually turned her on a little bit, although until now she hadn’t really put her finger on it so succinctly. In fact, she’d been so busy working 16-18 hour days for the past eight years she’d barely had time for a love life…No wonder I’m getting turned on by random things, she thought, grinning to herself sheepishly.
Just then, a man passing by the coffee shop caught Rachel’s eye and brought her out of her reverie. Something about the way he moved sparked a familiar feeling in her and she blushed. He was dressed as a waiter or perhaps an errand boy…why was she even noticing him? What a snob I’ve become, she chastised herself. But his gait as he walked had a confident masculinity to it, all the more attractive because he didn’t seem to be aware of the attention he attracted. Now that Rachel was looking, she saw she wasn’t the only one glancing his way in appreciation.
Shaking her head to clear it, Rachel couldn’t help but become aware of the warm feeling spreading from below her navel.
What am I, 14? She laughed to herself, embarrassed. Still, it felt good to remember she had female parts, didn’t it?...
Time to get back to the office. Sighing as she realized that she hadn’t come to any new conclusions, Rachel wrapped her scarf around her neck and donned her raincoat, heading out into the drizzle. Her mind whirled with thoughts about work; conversation snippets, along with assumptions she was trying not to make. Could her mentor really be doing something illegal? Could the man whom she had revered and admired be a very different man than the world assumed?
The conversation she’d overheard last night as she was leaving after a long, grueling day was still playing in her mind, confusing her each time she recalled the words she’d heard her boss say.
“Bob, do whatever you want with the money. What do I care? Like I need another yacht. Those kids are goners anyway…”
Rachel had frozen outside Eric’s office in the darkened hallway, hoping her reflection didn’t show in the walled glass exterior. Afraid to even breathe, she pressed up against the wall and tried to calm her thoughts.
Normally as she left late in the evening, her heels clicking on the slate floors in the hall would announce her passing, and she’d often pop her head in and say goodnight to her boss. Today, however, her feet had hurt from an exceptionally busy schedule and she’d taken her shoes off. She almost dropped them as she listened, while at the same time trying not to listen, and feeling guilty for eavesdropping on her boss.
“Well, you know how the old saying goes…it’s lonely at the top,” Eric was saying to his unknown associate. He let out a spirited laugh, reminding Rachel of how he’d always seemed so open and trustworthy because of his sense of humor and easy-going friendliness. “You can’t expect any of the monkeys to understand…that’s why we get the big bucks!” he said with another knowing chuckle.
She could picture him smoking his cigar and smiling his infamous, enigmatic smile…a classic Eric Randall mannerism she’d always found endearing and, truth be told, enticing.
I must be taking something out of context, Rachel had thought to herself, listening to her heart beat in her ears. Kids…?
The only kids she could think of were the Wish Granted Foundation kids that the Randall Agency raised funds for every year. These children were facing life-threatening illnesses, and their stories pulled at Rachel’s heart. This year’s upcoming Gala had been one of Rachel’s key projects; she had poured endless hours of effort and passion into planning a spectacular event so that a record-breaking amount of money would be raised to help those kids.
Outside Eric’s partially open office door, Rachel had taken a deep breath and tiptoed past, wondering why she was feeling so guilty. She practically ran to the elevator, silently thanking God that there was no ‘ding!’ when it opened, and hitting the Close button about ten times as she willed it to hurry up.
Down the hall, she’d thought she heard her boss call out, “Rac
hel, is that you?...” just as the elevator door had hissed quietly closed.
Coming out of the rain, Rachel smoothed her wavy dark hair as she entered the lobby to her building.
“Morning, Ms. Forrester,” the doorman greeted her, as he did every morning. He tipped his hat and gave her a smile, as always making her feel great. Maybe there are real gentlemen left in this world, she thought to herself, and then was surprised at the thought. Up until last night, she had thought Eric Randall was the most honorable man on the planet…but now she felt unsure, a feeling she was very uncomfortable with.
As she exited the elevator into the Randall Agency foyer, Rachel was assaulted by the hustle and bustle of her busy office and it gave her comfort. She loved it here. It was her domain.
She decided to put her thoughts and questions about Eric Randall away for the day; she was a consummate professional with a morning’s worth of work to catch up on. Indeed, as she entered her office and hung up her damp coat and scarf, Rachel could see the pile of paperwork had already grown in her absence this morning. Setting her mind for work, she stretched tall for a moment, took a deep breath, and sat down in her leather chair. Noticing that her stretch had loosened her silk blouse, she took a moment to tuck it back into her skirt.
Rachel heard a small cough and looked up to see the new intern standing at her office door. “Coffee, Ms. Forrester?” he said with a grin.
He held a hot, steaming coffee mug in one hand and was running the other through his thick, black hair. With a powerful and unexpected rush of clarity, she realized what had seemed so familiar about the man passing the coffee shop earlier this morning; he reminded her of this intern. How long had he been standing there? And had he always been this handsome?
Every morning for the past two months, this man had been bringing her coffee; and she’d been too busy to even notice or acknowledge him. Interns came and went at the Agency constantly, and Rachel certainly didn’t have the time to get to know them. She didn’t even know the name of this kid…but then again, looking at him now; she noticed he wasn’t a kid at all. He’s in his mid-thirties, she guessed, awfully old for an intern. And he was gazing at her with a smoldering look in his dark brown eyes that made her catch her breath.
Rachel smiled and reached for the coffee. No doubt she was misinterpreting the look in his eyes – most interns were either petrified or miserable. This kind of brazen confidence was unheard of…and unsettling. Yet he had obviously had a subtle, unconscious effect on her, if she was seeing glimpses of him in random strangers.
“Thanks,…?” she said questioningly, waiting for him to tell her his name.
“Michael,” he said, and gave her a smile that sent a wave of heat through her body.
“Well, thank you, Michael,” she stammered, and immediately forced herself to dig into the pile of papers on her desk.
When she next looked up, he was gone.
Rachel was a busy woman…of that no one had any doubt. If she barely noticed the people around her, it was perfectly understandable. The evening of the Wish Granted Foundation Gala was approaching, and Rachel was performing a delicate balancing act. As always, she was expected to attend to her major accounts – important clients to the Agency, both expecting and deserving of the best service and her full attention – as well as fulfilling her additional responsibility as Gala organizer. Well, I did take this on myself, she thought wryly.
She didn’t even have time to acknowledge to herself – or enjoy – the little zip of sensual energy that coursed through her each morning now when Michael brought her fresh, piping hot coffee. He always said the same simple thing; “Coffee, Ms. Forrester?”
She just buried her head in her work and the days seemed to slip by. The Wish Granted Foundation was a very worthy cause, and the more Rachel learned about how their fundraising money would help the children in need, the more passionate she became about making it a huge success.
In fact, the deeper Rachel got into planning the Gala event, the more she realized that she wanted her work to make a difference in the world. As much as she knew her clients’ ads were important to them, the overall theme of the campaigns she created seemed to be all about consumerism. The Randall Agency gave lip service to doing good works, but ultimately it was all about the money, she knew. Was there a way to blend good, altruistic corporate intentions with quality products and top-notch advertising, and still make a profit?
The only example Rachel could think of was one of their major competitors, Welland Enterprises. The founder, Philip Welland, was legendary in advertising for his earth-friendly capitalism…sort of like the Richard Branson of advertising, she mused. He was wildly successful and known for being a passionate advocate of many worthy causes. His company only took on corporate clients willing to work within their ethical framework, and their ads were very recognizable: they made the viewer feel good, to want to BE and DO good. The products they represented promoted sustainability, new eco-friendly ideas, and consumerism with a conscience. In fact, they were holding their own Charity Gala on the very same evening as the Randall Agency’s Gala.
All Rachel had cared about until recently was that the Randall Gala was better. She had been always so busy applying herself single-mindedly to her own career that she had only viewed competing companies as enemies to be beaten. Every month their company meetings focused on the black and white numbers – who was beating whom in the ratings, the dollars, the new client roster?
Only as she began working on this Gala had Rachel opened her eyes and her heart and thought about her work meaning something more…about contributing to issues bigger than those in her immediate sphere.
And then there was the issue of men. Who had time? Rachel hadn’t even had time to think about her love life, in longer than she cared to remember. The only reason it crossed her mind lately was that more and more she found herself drawn inexplicably to the new intern. There was something about him, about the way he looked at her when he brought her morning coffee, that made her feel more feminine and desirable than she’d ever felt before. How did he do that?
Lately he’d been taking an interest in her work, asking pointed questions – intelligent questions, it had to be said – and for some reason, the interruption didn’t annoy her as it usually would. Michael’s genuine interest in her seemed to reach into her deepest recesses, blurring the lines between work and personal feelings. She found herself willingly sharing her thoughts, especially since she was feeling them out for herself as her philosophy was evolving. Michael somehow listened actively, seeming fascinated and intrigued by everything she said, which in turn made him more intriguing. This wasn’t just an attempt at casual flirting; it was flattering and thought-provoking, and altogether new to her. His eyes as he listened to her seemed to penetrate her professional barriers and speak to her soul. Even though she buried herself in her work each day after their morning conversations, Rachel found herself spending her late evenings thinking about Michael. What would it be like to know him outside of work? What might she accomplish with such a passionate, intelligent, and curious man at her side? What would it be like to kiss him, to feel the heat of his touch?
With each new morning, it was becoming both more enjoyable and more challenging to go to work…and just work.
The week of the Gala marked another special occasion in Rachel’s life; she would be turning 30 on Thursday. Friday night’s Gala offered a perfect opportunity to celebrate, and her milestone birthday was the ideal time to reflect on what she really wanted out of life. After all the soul-searching she had done lately, things seemed to be coming to a head in this one momentous week. She needed to determine once and for all whether or not Eric Randall was the upstanding mentor she had been led to believe he was, or if there was something improper going on. Not only did she want to know for professional reasons, she had growing personal misgivings about working for a man – or a company – with questionable ethics, if that was the case. The more she thought about it, the more she rea
lized she needed to figure things out once and for all, and make some decisions of her own.
Rachel was thinking about these issues as she made her way into work on Thursday morning, the day of her birthday. Distracted by her whirling thoughts, she barely noticed when she snagged her nylons on the briefcase of a passerby. Only when she sat down in her office did she realize that a gaping hole had now grown in her stockings. Keeping them on would be more unprofessional then wearing none for a couple of hours, she decided, so she removed them and tossed them in the trash can under her desk. She’d have to go out and quickly grab another pair at lunch.
The morning went by without incident until just around noon. As she was planning to wrap up and run out for her replacement nylons, Rachel heard a small cough at her door. Looking up, she saw Michael standing there with a mischievous smile on his handsome face. “You’re needed down in the boardroom,” he said. Must be a birthday surprise, Rachel thought to herself. So much for my lunch plans.
Resigned, but happy to spend a few minutes with Michael, Rachel stood and headed for her door. “Wait,” said Michael. “You need to be blindfolded.”
Seeing nothing suitable nearby, he reached tentatively for the silk scarf around her neck. “Turn around,” he said as he gently pulled it off. Surprising herself, Rachel acquiesced.
Michael moved in close behind her, reaching to position the scarf securely around her eyes. The scent of his aftershave enveloped her, intoxicating her. For just a moment, she felt his breath in her ear and she thought she might lose all sense of decorum and turn around and kiss him. She fought to keep her hands from creeping back and touching him as she felt the warmth of his body so close behind hers. She wondered if he was feeling the same thing or if she was only imagining the sparks of energy flowing between them.
Unspoken Desires (Naughty at Noon - Rachel and Michael Book One) Page 1