by R. J. Dillon
“You look absolutely stunning today,” he said, still staring.
“You say that every day.”
“No, I say you look beautiful every day. Today, you’re stunning.”
“What’s up with you? You’re freaking me out. Stop it,” she said smiling.
“I just really want you this morning. My thoughts are out of control.”
“Clean it up. We have a meeting to go to,” she said.
“I can’t help it. Can’t we skip the meeting? Carter won’t mind. He’ll just go back to his office when we’re not there. How can you just sit there? I know you think about Monday,” he said. He was trying to see if she had come up with anything.
“It’s not Monday anymore. I’ve moved on. Get it together Gavin. We’re on the home stretch with these meetings. I, for one, am going to be very happy when they’re over. I’ll be able to focus on the things that both you and Adrian need me to focus on.”
If she had anything planned, she wasn’t giving out any clues. Gavin decided there wasn’t anything, and relaxed.
“You’re right,” he changed his tone. “What I’m looking forward to is the trips. It’s going to be nice to get away from New York for a while.”
“Will Adrian be going on any of these trips with us? Carter?”
“Adrian is going to be in board meetings over the next few months and Carter, if you’ll recall, had trips scheduled prior to us starting this project. He won’t be with us.” Gavin was thrilled about that.
“That’s right. I do remember that.”
“What cities do you think will make the cut?” he asked.
“I think Nashville, San Francisco, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Denver, and Los Angeles.”
Gavin nodded his head, impressed with her selections. “Those are all very good. I agree with four of those. I think Phoenix instead of Denver, and Washington DC instead of Atlanta. Want to make a wager? The loser buys dinner.”
“I’m game.”
“Adrian will be making the final decision as to which cities we’ll be travelling to. Based on your choices and mine, let’s see who gets the most right. If I win, you take me to dinner, and if you win, I take you to dinner. We’ll go tomorrow night.”
“Are you trying to go on a date?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes,” he grinned.
“Why don’t you just ask?”
“This is more fun. Besides, would you say yes if I just asked?” he asked.
“Maybe. Depends on how you ask,” she smiled.
“I thought you weren’t here to date or sleep with anyone?” he teased.
“I’m not. But I haven’t really done anything outside of work since I’ve been here. It would be nice to get out and see the city,” she said plainly.
“Well then, count on me asking in the future,” he said. He was still wondering why she hadn’t tried to get back at him yet. Maybe she had forgotten.
Later, at the afternoon meeting, they sat and talked about how the past three weeks had gone. They were very anxious to know what cities Adrian was going to pick. From what Gavin had heard, he was going to be making his decision soon after he received the notes from this meeting. They would know first thing tomorrow. Gavin again told the two of them what a great job they had done. As a reward, he told them that after tomorrow’s meeting, they could have the rest of the day off. Carter and Faith were very appreciative of this. After concluding their discussion, they all retreated to their offices for the remainder of the day.
Gavin was catching up on some paperwork when he realized how late it was. He checked to see if everyone had left for the day. As he walked down the hallway, he saw that Faith’s door was still open. He stopped in to see why she was still there.
“What are you still doing here?” he asked as he walked in.
“What are you still doing here Mr. Everyone Must Leave by Four?” she asked sarcastically.
He laughed and said, “The meetings pushed me behind on paperwork. I had a lot of things to sign off on that were high priority.”
“I was just getting ready to leave. I had to go through my emails,” she said. She was standing by her meeting table putting on lip gloss.
“Seriously? You’re still here because of your email?” Gavin asked. He thought for a moment and continued, “Unless you knew I was still here.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s no one here. We’re all by ourselves,” he said, approaching her.
She looked at him sensuously, and said, “What are you going to do about that?”
They were standing about three feet away from each other. Continuing to gaze at each other, Gavin slowly moved toward her and was just about to grab her by the waist when Faith put her hand on his chest to stop him.
Without breaking her gaze, she shook her head and said, “Don’t touch me.”
Gavin was confused, but soon realized that Faith was in control. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, so she gently stroked the exposed portion of his arms with her fingertips. She walked behind him, caressing his back. She grabbed him by the hand and led him to the couch. He laid down, and Faith gently strattled him. She removed the clip from her hair, letting it all hang down. Just seeing her with her hair down aroused him. He tried to touch her thigh and Faith caught him.
“Not yet,” she whispered.
Gavin had already removed his tie shortly before the end of the day. Faith unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his bare muscular chest. Her hands explored for a moment. She then leaned down, kissing him on his neck, moving her way down. She didn’t miss a single spot. Gavin had his eyes closed, taking in every touch. Faith began to make her way back up to his neck, then gently tugged at his ear. Their breathing was getting heavier. She kissed his cheek and stopped just short of his lips. She lingered there, just barely allowing their lips to touch. Gavin wanted to lift his head to kiss her, but she moved on just before he could. She kissed his chin, his neck, and made her way back down to his chest. Her hands were moving everywhere. She caressed the insides of his thighs, but stayed clear of his manhood.
Gavin tried to touch her again. Again, Faith stopped him. “Not yet.”
“Faith, I - ”
“Shhh,” she interrupted, putting a finger on his lips. “Don’t talk.”
Gavin could feel his body losing control with every caress, every kiss. He wanted to kiss and touch her so badly it was driving him crazy. He was clutching the couch, trying extremely hard not to grab her. When Faith could tell he had almost reached the point of no return, she turned up the heat.
She leaned in and whispered sensuously, “Qui est en contrôle maintenant? Comment mauvaise que vous me voulez?” (Who’s in control now? How bad do you want me?) As she said this, she reached down and rubbed between his legs.
He couldn’t take anymore. He let go of his hold on the couch and went to hold her. Just as he did, Faith sat straight up.
She looked at her watch and said, “Phew. It’s hot in here. Are you hot?” she asked, smiling. “I’ve got to get home.” Faith climbed off of him and walked over to the table to get her stuff.
Gavin just laid there looking at her. He couldn’t say a word.
Faith smiled and said, “Will you close my door when you leave? Have a good night.”
She was gone. As she got in the elevator, she took a deep breath and fanned herself. She knew that if Gavin had been able to touch her, she’d still be in her office.
Gavin couldn’t believe what just happened. He was aroused beyond what he had ever been. To be that close to getting what you want and not be able to have it was frustrating. He got up and went to his office to grab his keys, phone and wallet. Swiftly, he made his way to his car and drove straight to Chandler’s house.
Chandler had just gotten out of the shower when she heard a knock at the door. She put on a bathrobe, and went to the door saying, “Who could this be?”
She looked in the peephole and saw that it was Gavin. She unlocked the door, and before she could open it
herself, Gavin had nearly knocked it down.
“You didn’t call - ”
“I need you. Now,” Gavin interrupted.
She turned away slightly and said, “Okay, well let’s go to the bed - ”
“Now,” Gavin said, grabbing her. He unzipped his pants, and pulled them down enough to expose his extremely hard and throbbing erection. Since she had just gotten out of the shower, she was naked underneath her bathrobe. Gavin took her right there on the living room floor. He quickly penetrated her, thrusting hard and fast. It didn’t matter to her. She was just glad he was there. She tried to speak softly to him.
“Oh Gavin, you - ”
“Shut up,” he said under his breath, as he kept pushing.
As he neared climax, Chandler spoke again, “Gavin.”
“Faith,” he said, as he reached his orgasm. He slowed down, realizing what he just said. He had been thinking about Faith the entire time. He pulled away from Chandler and pulled up his pants. She had a disgusted look on her face.
“What the hell did you just say?” She propped herself up on her elbows.
Gavin took a deep breath in. “I’m sorry Chandler. I can’t do this anymore. I want, and need, someone else.” He stood up to leave, and looking back at her said again, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here. I have to go.” He opened the door and left.
Chandler was pissed and hurt at the same time. She didn’t want her special relationship to end like this. She knew it was coming, but had hoped she could change his mind about her before someone else came along. Right there, in the middle of the floor, she made up her mind that it would not be over until she said it was over.
First thing the next morning, Gavin took Faith her coffee, as had become their custom. He was looking forward to seeing her.
He knocked and went in, as usual. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said, handing her the coffee.
“Good morning,” she smiled. “Thank you.”
Gavin sat down and stared at her.
“You’re staring at me again.”
“Today it’s because you’re sexy.”
“Oh yeah? How was your evening?” she asked, looking forward to a good story.
“You stirred me up pretty good. My body was out of control. I had to go be with someone else.”
“Really. Tell me. Did you call out my name? Because what happened between us last night wasn’t worth it unless you did,” she said, leaning forward on her desk. She was listening intently, taking sips of her coffee.
“Actually, yes. I did.”
“Who’d you go see? Chandler?” she asked, smiling with deviousness in her eyes.
“Yes, it was Chandler,” he said. He watched her closely. Faith sat back in her chair.
“Even better,” she said, grinning widely.
Gavin’s eyes opened wide. He sat his coffee down on her desk. He thought the events through and realized that this was her plan all along.
“You knew I would go see Chandler!” he exclaimed.
“You’re damn right I did.”
“You have to be the sexiest woman I’ve ever known,” he smiled shaking his head. “You win. Damn! You win.”
Faith just smiled, pleased that her plan had worked out so well.
“I owe you dinner just for that,” he smiled.
“Deal.”
They sat silent for a moment. Gavin was still reeling from what she had done.
“Are you ready to find out if I owe you dinner twice?”
“Yes,” she smiled as she stood up.
Gavin stood up and followed her out of her office. Carter was just leaving his office and he spotted them. They were smiling and laughing as they walked together. He saw Gavin put his hand on the small of Faith’s back. His blood started to boil. Because of all of his trips and meetings with clients, he hadn’t been able to spend any time with Faith. Gavin was starting to get an edge over him. He didn’t like that one bit.
In the conference room, they all sat waiting for Adrian. Gavin kept shaking his head, while Faith just sat smiling. Carter noticed their strange behavior. He didn’t want to know, but he had to ask.
“What’s up with you two? What have you been doing?” he asked.
“Why do we have to have been doing something?” asked Faith, annoyed.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time together. Things happen,” said Carter jealously.
Just then, Adrian walked in.
“Good morning,” said Adrian.
“Good morning,” they all said.
“I would first like to say that you have all done an excellent job with this project so far. The board is very pleased with our progress. I don’t want to keep you long, I know that you’re looking forward to hearing which cities you’ll be touring.
“These are in no particular order. They are Los Angeles, Nashville, Denver, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Jacksonville.”
Faith smiled as broad as she could smile. She had guessed every single city correctly.
“Agnes is booking these trips right now, and preparing your schedules for each day. You will be gone for two weeks at a time, and back here for two weeks. This will give you a break in between trips. You’ll fly out on Friday mornings. I planned it this way so that you would have a chance to do some touring on your own prior to being inundated with meetings and conferences. You’ll return on Sunday afternoons. I expect full reports after each trip. Any questions?”
No one had any questions.
“I’ll have Agnes let you know where you’ll be going first so you can prepare. Again, great job.”
Gavin looked at Faith and shook his head again. He said, “You cheated. He told you, didn’t he?”
“Absolutely not. I’m just that good. Don’t hate,” she teased. Carter was thoroughly displeased with their flirtatious conversation.
Gavin conceded. “Alright. My treat tonight. Stop by before you leave today so we can talk about it.”
She just smiled, feeling the thrill of sweet victory as she stood to leave.
As they walked out of the conference room, Carter decided that he would have a little talk with Gavin.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked Gavin, as they were all walking.
“I’ll see you later,” Faith said to Gavin. “Carter, have a good weekend,” she said, continuing to her office.
Gavin looked at Carter. He was pretty sure what this was going to be about. “Of course.”
Carter followed Gavin into his office and closed the door behind him.
“I thought you were going to stop pursuing Faith,” he said with tight lips.
“I never said that. I merely stated that she wasn’t the only woman in the world. I don’t need your permission,” said Gavin as he stepped around his desk.
“What if I decide that I want to see her?” asked Carter.
“I think you’re forgetting one key factor.”
“What’s that?”
Gavin remained standing. “Faith has a mind of her own, and she will make the choice of whose company she’d like. That is, if there’s even a choice to be made,” he smirked.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say she’s already chosen you?” Carter was getting angry. Gavin was constantly using his looks and his money to his advantage in order to get women.
“I’m saying that I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with her, and your name hasn’t come up yet.”
“Maybe if you’d take the leash off of her, she’d have the freedom to do things with other people. You purposely kept me out of your afternoon and evening meetings. Now you’ll be taking these trips together. Of course my name hasn’t come up. You’ve got her under lock and key.”
“I assure you that Faith is anything but under lock and key. She’s free to do what she wants to do, and she does exactly that. As far as a leash goes, she’s not a dog, so please don’t refer to her that way. You might want to be damn sure you don’t mention that when she’s present. She doesn’t take too
kindly to derogatory inferences.” Gavin was getting defensive. He didn’t like what Carter was suggesting.
“I’m tired of you doing this to me, Gavin.”
“You don’t want to go there do you? Because we can have a talk about who’s done what to whom.”
Carter changed the subject quickly. He really didn’t want to go there. “Why do you always have to have the good ones?” he asked.
“Because I choose them. You, on the other hand, have a very unique taste in women. That’s exactly why I want you to stay away from Faith.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my taste.”
“On the contrary, Carter. There is. Your view of how women should be, stinks. I will not have you trying to fit Faith into some dirty little mold of yours. She deserves, and will have, better.”
“You seriously plan to give it to her, Mr. One Night Stand? Do you really think that she’s going to go for that?” asked Carter angrily.
“My plans are none of your business. All you need to do is stay away from her. It’s as simple as that.”
“I’ve already told you. I can’t do that. I don’t care what we agreed to years ago,” said Carter.
Gavin was now irate. He stepped away from his desk, looked firmly at Carter and said, “If you don’t leave Faith alone, I will have your ass out on the street so fast, your head will spin. You won’t know what hit you.”
“You can’t do that,” said Carter, challenging him.
“I can and I will. Don’t cross me, Carter. I can tell that you’ve been teetering on the edge of trouble. Your work is great when you’re here. But for the first few days that you’re back from your trips, you’re anxious and nervous. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I can tell you’ve been into something that is more than you can handle. I will not let you involve Faith in your issues.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” steamed Carter.
“I can see the signs, Carter. I’m not an idiot.”
“I’m not going to back off.”
“Go near her and your ass is mine,” Gavin said, his anger rising.
“I hate that you think you can control people because you have money and good looks,” Carter finally revealed. “I hate that you abuse your power in that way.”