“So you break your promise!” Tallia exclaimed as if that could solve all of their problems.
“I’ve tried that too. Phillip simply states all of the reasons why we should marry, move forward with our plans.” She shook her head as if she were still confused. “I go into his office and state my case. I start to explain how we’re just good friends. The man spins around all of my arguments so, by the end of our conversation, I’m convinced that we’re the perfect couple as well.” She sighed and looked down at her drink. “Seriously ladies, the man can argue just about anything and make sense.”
“You’re not a stupid person, Lil,” Jane declared firmly. “You should go back to him and tell him that you’re not in love with him and that he’s in love with Marie.”
“I’ve tried to do that! But he seems to know when I’m about to argue on Marie’s behalf and stops me! It’s crazy! Then I walk out of his office thinking that I’d just misunderstood their relationship. He swears up and down that they are simply business associates and he’d never impose on his assistant in an inappropriate manner. She’s a valuable employee and I shouldn’t even contemplate that he would act so incorrectly,” she mocked, lowering her voice as if she were imitating Phillip.
The three of them laughed, but when the laughter died down, they turned serious once again. “Okay, so what are you going to do?”
Lillian rubbed her forehead. “I’m going to marry Phillip.”
“But you’re in love with George and Phillip is in love with Marie.”
Lillian gasped and pulled back, her face turning bright red. “I’m not in love with George! I can’t stand the man! He irritates me and makes me feel irrelevant.”
Tallia, Jane, and Becca waited, watching their friend.
Lillian stared at her friends, desperately trying to hide the pounding of her heart as she denied the possibility that George was…that she might…it was absolutely ridiculous. Lillian shook her head. “Nope. George definitely isn’t the man for me.”
Chapter 2
Lillian stepped out of the elevator and turned to the right, fully prepared to head into her own office, but then she hesitated. Della was sitting outside of George’s office, already working diligently on…whatever it was that Della worked on. The woman never seemed to be still, always working. When others might chitchat in the kitchen while getting coffee, Della simply passed by in the hallway, giving the chatters a dour look. The woman never idled. In fact, George’s assistant had a coffee maker behind her desk so that she wouldn’t have to waste precious time walking to the kitchen for coffee.
Lillian hesitated for a long moment, not sure if she wanted to follow through on the thought that just popped into her head. It was a bad idea, she told herself. Really bad! How many times had she tried to fight her impetuous nature? Too many times.
But there was that one time when she’d had a thought and…well, that had turned out perfectly!
So biting the bullet, she spun around and, instead of walking into her own office, she stepped over to Della’s desk. “Is he in?”
Della’s hands immediately lifted from the keyboard and she looked up at Lillian, but the expression on the other woman’s face was definitely not friendly.
The woman in her mid-forties pressed her lips together and lifted the phone receiver with obvious reluctance. “I’ll check to see if he can see you.”
Lillian stared at the woman for a defiant moment, then decided she wasn’t going to be intimidated by the annoying woman.
“I’ll just find out for myself,” she said and walked around Della’s desk. Bursting into the office, it briefly occurred to her that she might find George doing something…weird. Or with another woman.
That thought occurred to her too late and, thankfully, George was simply working at his desk.
Della was furious with Lillian bursting in unannounced and stood right behind Lillian, fuming. “I tried to call you, sir,” she apologized.
George put down his pen and leaned back his chair. “Since Ms. Sousier is our boss, Della, I don’t think it is a problem if she wants to interrupt my day.”
Lillian gritted her teeth at his not-so-subtle admonition and continued walking into George’s office.
“Did you have something you needed to discuss with me?” he asked.
Both of them glared at each other, ignoring the office door closing with an angry snick. “I wanted to talk to you about…” she sighed and sank down in the chair.
There were so many things she wanted to say, to ask. The questions her friends had suggested this morning popped into her mind and wouldn’t leave. Was George interested in her? Was his anger simply a mask for his jealousy? The idea sent excitement spiraling through her whole body. She didn’t like George but…yeah, she’d love it if he were pining for her. Especially after all the grief he’d given her over the past several months.
But instead of asking the questions she really wanted to know, she found herself asking the one that probably revealed a bit too much of her own feelings. “Why weren’t you at the party last night?” she demanded, forgetting whatever irrelevant excuse had popped into her mind as a justifiable reason to speak with him.
George stood up and walked around the desk, anger building as he thought about the weekend coming up. “Maybe because I don’t want to be a witness to a sham marriage,” he snapped, trying not to look at her legs. They were encased in some sort of shiny stockings this morning and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from letting his eyes roam over every delectable inch of her.
The off-white dress skimmed along her curves, making her look achingly lovely. He thought that most blondes stayed away from white or off-white because the lack of color made them look too pale. But Lillian could pull it off. In fact, she looked stunning, almost ethereal. He wanted to pull her into his arms just to see if she was real.
Then the diamond on her hand glinted in the late evening sunlight streaming into his office through the window and he mentally shut that thought down. Lillian was getting married in less than a week. She was off limits. Practically married. Even if she was marrying the biggest ass this side of the Mississippi, he still needed to steer clear of her.
Even if the angry sparkle in her eyes sent arousal shooting through his body, tightening every part of his anatomy.
“My future marriage won’t be a sham,” she argued, huffing just a bit. George loved it when she did that. It was so…so Marilyn Monroe!
“Right,” he replied, turning away from her so that he couldn’t see the cute dimples that appeared on her soft, pale cheeks when she did that thing with her lips.
“You’re such a jerk!” she spat, stomping over to him. “Why can’t you just…do what everyone else does and wish me good luck?!”
George spun around just in time to see her hand come up, about to smack his shoulder but he grabbed her wrist, holding her arm out to the side. “Why would I do that?” he asked, his voice soft and low.
She stared at him and those damn lips of hers opened and closed. Her eyes, her pretty, blue eyes that were far more intelligent than she’d let on, looked at him with…desire? No, he was only imagining that.
“Because…” she whispered, her mouth softening.
The moment stretched out. It had been a long time since he’d touched her even casually. Months ago, before she’d announced her engagement to The Ass, he’d touched her a few times, amazed at how soft her skin felt under his fingers. But that time was over. He’d waited too long and lost his chance.
Back then, he’d fallen head over heels in love with Lillian, amazed at her spirit and her soft, southern charm. She had a wicked sense of humor and a way of looking at life that had intrigued him. It was no wonder he’d fallen so hard for the beauty. But he’d held off on acting on the growing attraction between them, thinking that she might assume he was only after her for her money. He’d been building their friendship, forming connections with her before making his move.
Then she’d come in with tha
t damn diamond engagement ring on her finger and…well, he’d been livid. He suspected that he’d said some things that day that he should apologize for, but every time he saw her, that damn diamond glinted at him. Mocking him.
But now…now she was staring at him with that look in her eyes. It seemed as if she was feeling the same things, the same frustration and the same desperate need he felt every time he looked at her. Silence. The tension increased and those powder blue eyes dilated. Her lips fell open as he watched and every subtle nuance of her arousal caused his own body to react. He was always semi-aroused whenever she walked into a room but with all of those signs, his body viciously moved from semi to fully aroused.
He moved closer. So did she. George looked into her blue eyes, wanting to kiss her. Everything inside of him wanted to kiss her, to feel those soft lips moving under his mouth, devour her and taste her. He wanted to…
“Because why, Lillian?” he demanded, his voice husky.
Her lips opened and closed slightly, as if she were having trouble finding the words. “Because that’s what you should do. It’s what polite society expects of us.” Her blue eyes lowered, looking at his mouth and George accepted that he was only a man. Only human. If he was going out, he should do it spectacularly. She was only engaged right now. She was signing over the hedge fund to another man as soon as she married. That meant he was out of a job. That meant…he wouldn’t see her again after this weekend.
Deciding that he had nothing to lose and…hell, he wanted just a taste of Lillian before she married The Ass and George had to disappear, he slid one hand around her waist, pulling her closer. Closer. With every millimeter, he waited for her to pull back, to give him a signal that he was wrong. But she didn’t pull back. No resistance at all. In fact, he felt her moving on her own, coming closer. He felt her sweet breath against his skin, watching her carefully, waiting for any indication that she didn’t want this kiss just as intensely as he did.
He held still, trying to resist the pull of her soft lips and even softer body. He knew this was wrong. But he couldn’t pull away. He couldn’t stop the need that was surging inside of him.
“You need to pull away, Lillian,” he whispered in warning even as his hand slid around her back, pulling her flush against his increasingly aroused body.
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
Then she tilted her head. George wanted to think he could have pulled back, come to his senses and done the right thing. Right up until her beautiful head tilted to the side. Then he was lost. His lips touched hers tentatively at first, but when her lips moved under his, he couldn’t hold back. All of the lust, desire and need he’d felt for this woman over the past several months hit him hard and he pulled her against him, his hands lifting her up so that he could deepen the kiss. Then her tongue touched his and he pulled her up into his arms, setting her down on his desk as he ravaged her mouth, devouring her just as he’d longed to do. Every time she came into his office, her mouth had entranced him, caused him to lose focus. Now, he was doing it again, but it was one hundred times better, because she was kissing him back, her body shifting against his and he….
Pulling back, he stared down at her, shocked by what he’d just done. He’d violated every principal he stood by, and most likely insulted her as well.
But she didn’t look insulted, he thought. Her lips were swollen, her hair mussed, almost as if someone had just tangled his fingers through her hair. Oh.
Very carefully, he untangled his fingers and helped her stand up, turning his eyes away when she pushed the dress down over her thighs. But not before he saw the delicate lace at the tops of her thighs! Oh hell, she was wearing stockings! The shiny material covering her legs was hard enough to resist when he’d just assumed the woman was wearing panty hose but…the lace tops…that meant she was wearing a garter belt as well. Or were they thigh highs? He wasn’t sure, but his fingers curled into fists to stop himself from lifting her right back up onto his desk, pushing the material of her dress back up and investigating.
“Sorry about that,” he cleared his throat when his voice sounded too gruff.
Turning away, he tried to give her a bit of privacy to tug her clothes back into place. George took several deep breaths, trying to get his lust back under control. It was hard because he could still smell her pretty perfume. Still feel her lips and taste her. He was still thinking about the way her soft breasts had felt against his chest.
When he heard her sniff slightly, George spun back around, afraid he’d insulted her so badly that she was crying. But she was looking stiff and indignant once again. Unfortunately for his pounding libido, he now knew exactly how to get that stiff, prissy look off her lovely, delicate face. He now knew exactly how she felt in his arms, how her body melted against his, pressing all of those amazing curves in all of the right places against him.
Damn! She was getting married in less than a week! What the hell had he been thinking?
He knew exactly what he’d been thinking, he thought and pulled oxygen into his lungs. She would be gone. Gone and away from him forever. He’d never see Lillian again after this week. She’d be off on her honeymoon and that ass, Phillip, would be tasting her kisses next week while George finished packing up his office and heading to…He wasn’t sure which job offer he was going to take, actually. Every night, he spoke to another investment firm and listened to another offer, each one more lucrative than the last.
He didn’t want money, he thought. He had plenty already. Hell, he could retire right now and never need another dime. He knew how to invest his money and was a wealthy man.
Except he didn’t have the one thing he really wanted.
Lillian.
She was completely out of his reach and he hated the thought of another man touching her, receiving all of her attention. Another man would come home every night to her smiles and her laughter. Another man would have her in his bed, her slender limbs holding him during the night.
“I…” she stammered and George turned around, not sure what to say.
“That shouldn’t have happened. I apologize, Lillian.”
Lillian stared at the man she’d admired so thoroughly from the first moment she’d met him. Was her admiration just confusion for something more? George had tried to teach her investing and strategy and his patience was amazing. It had only been in the last six months that he’d gotten nasty with her. And now…now he was…he’d just kissed her and…
He’d apologized!
Her face flamed with color and she did what she always did as soon as George started in on her. She quickly retreated behind the manners that her mother had drilled into her ever since birth. “Yes. Well, it was nothing,” she murmured and waved it aside even though her stomach felt almost sick at the idea of Phillip kissing her like that. She’d liked it with George. Loved it, actually. And it took every ounce of her control not to beg him to kiss her like that again.
Turning on her heel, she fumbled for her purse, found it on the floor, and bent down to pick it up. When she stood again, she clenched her purse in her fingers, not sure what to do now. Her etiquette lessons hadn’t prepared her for lusting towards a man like this. Etiquette lessons were a bit more genteel and didn’t account for lust. “I’d better…go.”
Without another word, she walked out of his office and, trying to look like she wasn’t dying inside. She walked into her own office, closed the door, and leaned against it. With her eyes closed, she fought to control the tears that wanted to stream out of her eyes. She couldn’t lose it! Not yet! She had to get through this day. Just one hour, she promised. In one hour, she’d be able to leave her office without anyone thinking she was flighty. She’d just say…she’d say something about her bridesmaids being in town and seeing the sites of New Orleans.
Yes, that sounded good.
Almost collapsing into her chair, she needed to lose herself in something, get her mind off what had just happened in George’s office. Working on hedge fund issues ha
d never helped her, so Lillian grabbed her sketchpad and started drawing. Losing herself in the designs, she sketched out one dress after another, the lines and details of each idea soothing her wounded heart.
It wasn’t until someone burst into her office that she realized how much time had passed. It was dark outside now and…
“I thought you’d left,” George said as he stood just inside the door to her office and glared at her.
Stiffly, she stood up and glared right back, angry about…everything. She was angry about being stupid enough to believe a marriage to Phillip, a friend, would work. She was angry that she hadn’t realized that before now and she was angry with George for kissing her and showing her what she would be missing for the rest of her life. She was furious about a lot of things, and sketching all afternoon had helped her make sense of all of it. So now the man who had made her crazy and destroyed all of her illusions stood just inside her office doorway, acting like he was king of the hill and his attitude infuriated her even further. “You were wrong. Get out.”
Of course, he didn’t leave. Not George! He was tall, strong, and arrogant. And he slammed the door shut as he moved deeper into her office.
“You need to sign some forms,” he told her and slapped the papers down on her desk.
She glanced at them, realized that her sketchpad was still open and closed it hastily, setting it off to the side. “What’s this?” she asked angrily, scanning the papers and trying to determine what the legal gibberish meant.
“Read it. It’s self-explanatory!”
She lifted her head and glared at him. “I am reading it. I don’t understand it. If you want my signature, you’re going to have to explain it to me!” She wasn’t reading it and both of them knew it. She was just too angry to read anything right now.
He glared right back at her and she could see the mental debate he was having in his mind. He was going to come back with something snide, a few pithy words that would put her in her place. She’d cringe and get even angrier and he’d still win the argument. He always won the argument! Just once, she’d love to come up with some succinct comment that would knock him off his game.
Doing the Right Thing Page 2