Dana was about to respond to William but was interrupted by the advance of the second man, who had just finished introducing himself to Amy and Emily, who were blushing and giggling with each other.
The second man was equally tall and athletic, with more striking features. His skin was perfectly tan without a single freckle, mark, or blemish. His black hair was cut short against his square face, which ended with a perfectly square jaw. His fiercely blue eyes were in sharp contrast with the rest of his features and made his eyes pop out. They immediately grabbed Dana’s full attention. He moved in toward her with an unmistakable swagger that made him seem rakish. He grabbed her hand as if to kiss it.
“Alexander Price. And you are?”
The touch of Alexander’s hand sent a bolt of electricity through Dana’s body. “Dana Jacobs, SoCal Style. Pleasure to meet you.” Dana was so taken aback by Mr. Price’s striking features that barely managed to get the words out of her mouth.
“The pleasure is all mine.” Alexander gave Dana a coy smile, the kind she was not used to seeing. Ever. He lingered a moment before releasing her hand and motioned toward the back rooms of the office. “Follow me.”
Dana obeyed his order and followed him into the main offices. Amy, Emily, and William were close behind.
“Mr. Price, may we please have a look around? I’d like to figure out the best places to shoot. We’re hoping to get a view of what your ‘everyday’ is like at Price-Levy. A room with lots of natural light would be best,” Dana said.
“Certainly. I was thinking that the boardroom would probably be ideal. It’s where William and I spend most of our time. As for light, the south wall is all windows. Anyone with binoculars could look in and see anything that was going on.” He paused. “Have you ever discovered that someone was watching you?” Dana could have sworn that Mr. Price was looking her up and down at that moment.
“Um, no,” she said and blushed.
The group walked back to the boardroom. It was the perfect place to start the shoot. The gorgeous Art Deco table was the perfect backdrop for the gentlemen centerpieces. Dana asked Emily and Amy to begin setting up the equipment as she surveyed the room for the best angle.
The two interns giggled as they set up the equipment. They had both noticed Mr. Price following Dana around the room with his eyes.
Dana had picked out her shots. The men changed into their first outfits and the shoot began. Dana captured several dozen photos of them performing several ‘working’ poses at the boardroom table, including a few that had a sense of humor.
For one of the shots, Dana handed Mr. Price a notepad and pen to use as a prop. He took his time taking them from her, his hands lightly grazing hers as he pulled away.
The final shot was of the two men against the boardroom’s window wall. Dana wanted the skyscrapers and rolling hills prominently in the background of this shot. She directed the men to the corner of the room where the view was best.
“You’ve really got me backed into a corner here, Dana.” Mr. Price smiled. “Don’t get any crazy ideas, now.”
Dana blushed and laughed abruptly. She snapped another few dozen photos before calling the shoot.
“Thanks, guys.” Amy and Emily had almost finished putting everything away. This is going to look great. I’ll send you our final picks and be in touch with you throughout the editing process. We want to make sure you think the spread looks just as great as we think it does.”
“I’m sure your spread will look beautiful, Dana,” Mr. Price nearly whispered as he escorted the three women out of the office. “I’ll see you soon.”
Dana had her back turned to Mr. Price as she walked out. The shock and shiver she felt when Mr. Price brushed a lock of her hair away from her shoulder made her weak at the knees. Did that really just happen?
“Bye,” Mr. Price said.
***
Once they’d gotten out of the crowded elevator and back into the parking garage, Amy and Emily burst out laughing.
“Those guys were SO HOT,” Amy said.
“I know! I’ve never seen more beautiful men in my life.” Emily gushed. “Mr. Price was SO into you, Dana! Couldn’t you tell?”
“Yeah right,” Dana said. “No offense to myself or anything, but I don’t think Mr. Price and I are even in the same league.”
“Then why couldn’t he take his eyes off of you?” Amy chirped.
“Yeah, he was flirting with you like crazy! How could you not notice?” Emily chimed in.
“It’s not like I didn’t notice it. I just have a hard time believing it.”
“Well, you shouldn’t. Guys like what they like, and that guy clearly liked you.”
Dana blushed and shook her head. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks for your help today.”
“You’re not going to tell Graciela that we were late, are you?” Emily asked.
Feeling generous, Dana replied that she’d “let it slide this one time.”
***
Dana made sure to email the shoot photographs to the photo editor before she changed into her pajamas and relaxed in front of her TV. The routine felt a little less hopeless tonight, knowing that she was soon going to go out with Jessica.
When Access Hollywood had a particularly uninteresting story, Dana began thinking about the day. She was pleased with the photos and the ease of the shoot. She was glad that everyone at the hedge fund office was relatively nice and easy to work with. Alexander Price, though – he acted pretty strange. Dana couldn’t quite figure him out. Was he being serious when it seemed like he was flirting with her? Were Amy and Emily right? Nobody had ever acted like that to Dana before. Why would a gorgeous, incredibly rich man be the first? It just didn’t seem to make sense.
Dana reasoned that she shouldn’t worry too much more about Mr. Price’s behavior because she would probably never see him in person again.
It wouldn’t be long before she realized just how wrong she was.
***
At work the next morning, Dana received the first edits from her editor. She was mostly pleased with how they came out. After drafting a page of revision notes and sending it back, Dana was visited by Graciela’s looming presence.
“How did it go yesterday?” she asked.
“Oh, it was great. I just got the edits back from Sandy in editing and they look promising.”
“How were the gentlemen?”
“They were really polite. A little forward, but kind. They did a great job modeling, too.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Graciela smiled, tilted her head, and walked away.
Dana’s phone suddenly began vibrating. She had never received a call at work before. She looked at the screen. It couldn’t be Jessica; it was a blocked number. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted the call.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Dana.” It was a man’s voice, and it sounded familiar. “This is Alexander Price.”
Dana nearly dropped her phone. She hadn’t given Alexander her cell phone number. Amy and Emily noticed her stifle a shriek and listened in to the remainder of her conversation.
“Uh, hi,” Dana replied, nonplussed. “How did you get my number?”
“That’s not important. You left something here. Come and pick it up later.”
Dana briefly contemplated sending one of the eavesdropping interns over to pick up this ‘something’, but somehow she knew that it was something she had to do herself.
“Sure. I should be done here at 6:30.”
“Perfect. See you.”
“Bye.” Dana hung up. A look of disbelief fell over her face.
Amy and Emily laughed. “Who was THAT?” They said in unison. They didn’t seem to understand how ridiculously surreal this was.
“Nobody,” Dana replied.
“Yeah, right! Well, you sure look flustered for just getting a call from ‘nobody.’”
“Back to work, girls.” Dana’s soft cheeks continued to flush as she made an effort to return to her o
wn work.
***
Work ended and Dana made her way out to her car. What could she have left at the office yesterday? She didn’t realize she was missing anything. But couldn’t Jessica have called to tell her she’d left it behind? It seemed strange for Mr. Price to call her directly.
Dana pulled into the parking garage of the office tower, parked, and made her way toward the elevator. It shot up to the top floor and let her out into an empty and dimmed lobby. Everyone else had clearly gone home for the evening. She heard rustling coming from the back rooms. The door was ajar.
“I’m in my office,” Mr. Price yelled.
Dana walked back toward his voice, the sound of fingers tapping on computer keys lingering as she moved.
Mr. Price took a second to look up. He shut the lid of his laptop as soon as he saw Dana standing in his doorway. His gaze lingered for what felt like an hour, and Dana was beginning to feel uneasy.
“You came,” he said, sounding pleased.
“Um, yes. What did I leave behind, Mr. Price?”
Mr. Price arose from his chair and walked slowly around the perimeter of his large oak desk. “Please, call me ‘Alexander.’” He paused. “Would you be upset if I told you that I lied?”
“That depends,” Dana replied.
“Well, you didn’t really leave anything here.” Alexander took a few steps toward Dana. “I only wanted you to come by.”
Dana didn’t understand. “Why? Did you want to talk about your photos? I’ll send them to you tomorrow -”
“No,” he interrupted, taking a few more steps toward Dana. “I wanted to talk about you.”
Dana slowly turned and stepped away from Alexander as he moved closer to her. She couldn’t pinpoint the feeling she had, like a mixture of fear, curiosity, and anticipation. Her skin was tingling; her stomach was doing flips.
“M-me? What about me?”
“Has anyone ever told you how luscious your legs are?” Alexander’s hungry eyes locked onto Dana’s shapely calves peeking out from her knee-length pencil skirt.
“No.” Dana couldn’t help but feel a little flattered as she and Alexander continued their slow chase around his office.
“Has anyone ever told you how juicy your ass is?” Alexander nearly salivated as he eyed Dana’s buttocks, wrapped snugly in the fabric of her skirt.
“No, certainly not like that!” Dana couldn’t believe this was happening. Maybe Amy and Emily were right. Alexander Price – gorgeous, sexy, and impossibly rich – was flirting with her! She slowed her backward step as she felt her supple cheeks pressing into Alexander’s desk.
Alexander continued with his racy questioning, moving ever closer to Dana. “Has anyone ever told you how much they’d like to bury their face in your enormous breasts?”
“No! Nobody has ever told me anything like that.” Dana’s voice softened. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re very forward?”
Alexander smiled impishly. “Yes, I have heard that a few times. Is that a problem, Dana?” Alexander stepped closer to Dana. He was only a few inches from her now.
“No – I mean, Yes. Um –” Dana was speechless.
“No matter, Dana. I’m a billionaire. I can have whatever I want.” Alexander cupped his hand under her chin and firmly stroked her face with his thumb. Dana felt herself melting into his touch as it sent jolts of energy through her body. She heaved a large sigh, but stood frozen in place, unable to return Alexander’s touch. In her mind, a million thoughts zoomed around, turning into one big unintelligible mush of feelings and energy.
“But –” Dana was cut off by Alexander’s forceful embrace. He grabbed her waist with his free hand and pulled her into him. Dana felt a strong throbbing sensation in between her legs as he leaned in to kiss her. Alexander pried Dana’s mouth open with his tongue and aggressively swirled around inside her mouth, running his firm hands up and down her fleshy back, ever so slightly crossing the line to the top of Dana’s buttocks.
Dana found herself enjoying Alexander’s aggressiveness and relaxed into his kiss. She placed her hands on his waist, afraid to touch him as aggressively as he was touching her. She felt her panties dampen as her pussy continued to throb. Alexander moved his hands so he was barely touching her breasts. Dana leaned back and allowed him to grab them through her thin cardigan. Her nipples hardened when Alexander found them and began to rub them. He grunted and groaned as he ravaged her breasts with his hands. Dana felt his firm length poking through her skirt and rubbing against her moistened thighs, which made her even wetter.
Alexander pulled back suddenly. “That will be all,” he said. “I need to continue my work.”
Dana was shocked.
“You may go now, but don’t get the idea that this is all I want from you. You’ll hear from me again.”
Dana took a second to straighten up her outfit before walking out of Alexander’s office and heading back to her car.
Dana nearly ran a red light on her way home. She was in a complete daze, in absolute disbelief that Alexander had wanted her, and so aggressively. She hadn’t kissed anyone since high school, when she later found out that the boy who kissed her at a pep rally had done it on a dare. For so many years, nobody had wanted anything to do with her, and now an incredibly handsome, successful, domineering billionaire was horny for her? Dana couldn’t get over the absurdity of it.
Dana worried that he was just using her to fulfill his whim, so she decided not to take anything that had happened too seriously. She wondered if she ever really would see him again. She hoped so, merely so that she could experience the same waves of pleasure that washed over her when they had kissed. After that, being in the same room together would probably be enough to make her wet.
***
A few days had passed since Dana’s encounter with Alexander. She had gotten a call at work that day from Jessica, who invited her to go hang out at a bar in Venice Beach. It was Friday and Dana certainly didn’t have anything better to do, so she turned off the TV and dolled herself up for a night out. She’d had a certain spring in her step since she had kissed Alexander. She felt prettier than usual, and it showed in the bright, curve-hugging floral print dress she put on.
Driving toward the bar, Dana realized she had never been to Venice Beach before. She was able to watch the sunset over the water as she drove westward and spent a moment basking in the natural beauty of her new city. The bar Jessica had chosen was nestled against the beach. Dana was able to find some street parking a few blocks away, which gave her the chance to take a quick stroll along the Venice boardwalk. What a place, she thought. I can’t believe I’m here.
Dana approached the door of the Venice Tap Room. She saw Jessica waiting at a tall table inside, typing away on her cell phone. Dana approached her.
“Hi, Jessica.”
Jessica looked up from her phone and smiled. “Hi, Dana!” She said enthusiastically, standing to give her a quick hug. “I’m so glad that you could come and hang out.”
“It was perfect timing, really. I didn’t have any other plans.” Dana chuckled at herself. When had she ever had other plans?
“Sit down; have a drink. The beers are great here, but they also do wonderful cocktails.”
A waiter approached their table. Dana ordered a cosmopolitan and some sweet potato fries. The two women sat in silence for a minute before Dana initiated some small talk.
“I’ve never been to Venice Beach before. It’s crazy out here. It makes me wonder why I chose to move to Burbank.”
“Right? Venice is crazy! I would totally live here if I had the money. I come hang out here a lot, though. I will be honest. Burbank is kind of lame. There’s not a lot to do there and I just don’t like the vibe. Lots of artists and creative professionals hang out in Venice. It’s a great place to hang out, if that’s your thing.”
“Are you any kind of artist?” Dana asked. The waiter returned with Dana’s drink and food.
“Yeah, I’m a dancer. I’ve been pe
rforming since I was a child. I’ve been choreographing since I came to LA two years ago, but it feels like my job has forced me to treat it like a hobby instead of a career.”
Dana was silent. She didn’t exactly know what to say, having just landed her dream job.
“Price-Levy keeps me really busy. The offices are usually buzzing well into the evening, and yet I’m the only receptionist. They refuse to hire a second.”
“That seems silly,” Dana replied. “They have so much money.”
“I know! William and Alexander hiring a second receptionist would be as burdensome as me buying a bag of M&Ms, and yet they absolutely refuse! I think they’re worried that the investors would judge them for incurring another expense.
“The investors are tricky people to deal with. Such high expectations.”
“I can imagine,” Dana said. She contemplated telling Dana about what had happened with Alexander, but decided that that was probably not in her best interest. She did want to get some dirt on Alexander, though, so she switched the subject.
“Mr. Levy and Mr. Price seem like pretty strong personalities. I can’t imagine what it’s like to work for them five days a week.”
Jessica’s face lit up as if she was waiting for Dana to ask. “Oh my goodness, they certainly are interesting guys to work for. When it comes to work and business, they’re about as straightforward and professional as it gets. But if there’s some downtime in the office and there aren’t and investors or meetings, they love to chit-chat. They’re a pretty raunchy pair. They love talking about women, the crazy parties they’ve been to, the things they’ve done.”
Dana listened, wide-eyed. “Really?”
“You wouldn’t believe some of the stories I’ve heard. Sometimes, they talk about their lives really cryptically. I can only imagine that they are doing some sort of weird, kinky stuff that they just don’t want anyone to know about -- Alexander, especially. He’ll take off early because he has some event to go to, and then come in the next morning clearly exhausted and in a daze - with an impish grin on his face, like he’s just had more fun than his nervous system can handle.”
The Virgin and the Billionaires: The Complete Series Page 2