by K. J. Lewis
I open my eyes to grab my tank before moving onto my legs- “What the fuck?” I yell. Shocked and maybe a little aroused, because damn if this man isn’t delectable.
“Watch it,” he snarls, and looks none too happy to find me in here.
“I don’t think so. Who the fuck are you?” I quickly pull on my tank and grab my leggings only to realize I still have on my 5 inch heels. Great. I can imagine what I must look like in lacy underwear and five-inch fuck-me pumps rubbing my tits. I will never be taken seriously by this man again.
Gathering what little dignity I have left, I finish pulling on my leggings and place both hands on my hips in a move to take control and turn the tables on him.
“Do you make a habit of being a perv and watching women dress?”
He seems surprised by my tactic and raises a brow at me in challenge. “Really?” He cocks his head to the side. “Would we call that dressing?” The sexiest, slow smirk dances across his lips. Karma. Bitch.
“Well?” I ask not to be deterred in my line of questioning.
“I didn’t realize anyone would be in my private quarters.”
“I was told I was the only one on the plane,” my voice drifts off. “Your private quarters? I thought this was Reid Beckett’s plane.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then how is this your private quarters? Reid gives you your own room on the plane? Oh I’m sorry,” I say, just hiding my disappointment, when it finally hits me. “You’re Reid’s boyfriend? Partner? I’m sorry. Are you his husband? I never know what the preference is. Theo and Ross used partners till they were married.” I ramble like someone who wasn’t just showing her bouncing Buddhas to a perfect stranger. I tie a plaid shirt around my waist and pull my chestnut hair out of the bun holding it on top of my head. It falls long over my shoulders and down my back. I look into his eyes and am struck again by how beautiful they are and it hits me, I never felt threatened by his presence. If anyone else had walked in here I would have been screaming, kicking, and clawing them out of my space, but my guard is not up with him. Probably because he’s gay.
“So have you two always worked together? Is that how you met?”
“Who?” he asks with a dip to his brows.
“Are you practicing to be an owl?” I laugh. “You and Reid.”
“I’m…”
“There’s a call for you, sir. Theo Jacobs.” Shawn announces from the office doorway. “They’re patching it through.”
“Oh he’s calling for me,” I respond. “Thanks, Shawn. Do you mind?” I motion towards the office. “I’m Elise, by the way.”
“By all means.” He steps back, allowing me to enter. “And it’s nice to meet you, Elise.” He smiles and I detect a bit of humor in his eyes.
“Hey, babe.” I lean against the desk and look at Theo on the large screen built into the wall.
“Hey, gorgeous. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he smiles. Theo has a beautiful smile. In fact, everything about him is beautiful. He’s always had the stunning boy-next-door features that draw the looks of everyone everywhere we go. He has blond hair with smooth dark eyes that are offset by his chiseled features. His 6’2”, two-hundred-pound frame of solid muscle makes it easy to see why he is so athletic and comfortable with his body.
“So are you. I cannot wait to see you. Did you need something?”
“No, I was calling to get the take on the meeting this morning. I got an email that you decided the company should be broken up, and I heard the CEO got a little rough with you.”
“No one got rough with me. You know how it is, no one likes to be fired. Much less by a girl.” I lift myself to sit on the edge of the desk.
“What are you wearing?” Theo leans closer to his laptop.
“Don’t start. I’ve been in a suit 24/7 for six weeks. I’m not going to fly four-and-a-half hours in one. Don’t worry. I’ll be presentable tonight.”
“I’m not worried about tonight. For Christ’s sake put your shirt on if you aren’t going to wear proper undergarments.”
“Why? It’s just him, and he could care less what my marshmallows look like.” I hitch my thumb to the now occupied chair behind me.
“Sir.” Shawn answers a buzz.
“Do we have any marshmallows on board?” he smirks when I turn around. “I have a sudden craving.”
I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to Theo. I fill him in on the meeting and the numbers I came across last night before our final meeting this morning. I explain how I knew Smith was cooking the books and what lead me to suggest we advise the company be dismantled.
“I agree with you, Elise. I’d still like to get his take on the meeting.”
“Why?” I ask scooting to the side giving full view to the chair behind me. “I’m your guy. Not him. He’s Reid’s guy. The only assessment you need is mine and eventually Reid Beckett’s.”
He frowns. “I know.”
“Then don’t insult me by going to him. No offense,” I say over my shoulder.
He lifts his hands in a brief wave. “None taken.”
“So what was your take?” Theo still asks him. I’m too pissed to interrupt as he deftly breaks down the meeting. I have to give it to the guy; he’s giving me all the praise for figuring out what plenty of other people couldn’t and for how I handled the confrontation.
“Good job, Elise,” Theo says when he finishes his assessment.
I roll my eyes.
“What?” Theo asks, knowing full well what the eye roll means.
“I thought we had worked through this. You have to learn to manage people, Theo. You just sat here and told me that my and Reid’s opinion are the only ones that matter and yet you still ask him.” I point to the boyfriend.
“And?” When I don’t answer, he adds, “Have you been hitting the giggle weed?”
“Theo, I’m serious. I don’t like it and this conversation isn’t over.”
“Fine. Let’s table it until you get here. Maybe in person I’ll be able to understand what the hell you’re talking about. Six weeks apart and I’ve lost the ability to speak Elise. I don’t know what the hell is happening.”
“Fine. We land,” I look at my watch, “at three-thirty Colorado time.”
“Great. I was going to have a car waiting for you, but I’ll be there to pick you up. I’ve missed my girl.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take the car. Save you from having to make the drive to the airport twice.”
“Why would I have to make the drive twice?”
“You said you were picking Reid up tonight.”
“That was before I knew he was with you.”
“He’s not with us.”
Theo runs a frustrated hand over his face and busts out laughing. “Baby, that’s Reid.” He points to the guy behind me.
I feel a tap on my left arm. Looking down I see Reid is handing me something. It’s his driver’s license. It says “Reid Garrison Beckett.”
“You’re Reid Beckett?” I slide off the desk and turn to look at him.
“I am.”
“Why didn’t you correct me? You lead me to believe you were Reid’s boyfriend.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t. You weaved that craziness all on your own. I just didn’t course correct.”
“Oh my God, it’s official.” I look at Theo. “I need a vacation.”
“Babe.” Theo is laughing to the point of tears. “It was like watching ‘Who’s on First’.”
“So there is no boyfriend?”
Reid Beckett shakes his head.
“You saw my boobs,” I frown.
“That I most definitely did.” He smiles like a kid who’s won a prize.
“And you aren’t gay?”
“That I most definitely am not.” His eyes move to my chest and he pops a marshmallow in his mouth from the bowl that Shawn delivered moments ago.
“Elise, cover the fuck up,
” Theo bellows from the screen. “Eyes up, dickwad.”
Reid leans forward and hits a button on his desk that disconnects the video call.
“You could have told me.”
“And missed all this? I don’t think so.” He pops another marshmallow in his mouth.
Elise’s eyes watch me before her shoulders finally shrug to suggest that she can’t be bothered with it anymore. She grabs a marshmallow and my cock jumps when her plump lips wrap around it as she heads to the main door of my office.
“I’m going to eat lunch. Hungry?” She waits for my answer in what I think is an attempt at some dignity.
“Start without me. I have a call to make first.”
She nods and closes the door behind her. I reach down to adjust the hard-on I’ve sported since I walked in on her in my bedroom. Watching her massage the lotion into her skin, I nearly lost my shit. All I could do was hope she would move from her shoulders to her breast. Fuck me when she did it. I’m a business tycoon for Christ’s sake, and in mere seconds she reduced me to a 14-year-old kid who almost shot his load watching her touch herself. My cock twitches again, and I groan trying to bring my body under control.
“Get a grip, Beckett,” I tell myself in the bathroom mirror and splash some water on my face. “She’s just a girl for fuck’s sake.” But I don’t feel the conviction of my own words.
Having brought my body to heel, I head into the main cabin. Shawn is serving our meals, and I’m struck by the frustration I feel when I see Elise smiling at something he has said. They have obviously been laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It irritates me. It irritates me that I’m irritated.
“Thank you, Shawn. That will be all.” I excuse my wayward staff and take a seat across from Elise.
“You’re awfully dismissive,” she comments, buttering a roll. I think she is chastising me.
“I have staff and they have a role. I thanked him for our meal and let him know we had everything we needed.”
“You dismissed him.”
“Tomato, tom-ah-to.” I take a sip of my water.
“No. Apple, orange. We aren’t describing the same thing in two different ways, we are describing two different things.”
“Did you want me to ask him to join us?” The derision in my tone is blatant.
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” I raise a brow and make no attempt to hide my annoyance at her trying to school me on handling my own staff.
“You were short when it wasn’t necessary.”
I don’t like that she seems disappointed by me. Where did that come from?
“Eat your food, Elise.”
“I am,” she says, showing me the parts of a roll she has in each hand.
We eat in a comfortable silence. She really is beautiful. She has long, reddish-brown hair that flows freely down her back. Her skin is flawless with just a hint of olive coloring. She has round cheeks with a cute nose. She’s adorable, but it’s her eyes that elevate her to another level. Gold specks set off large, gray discs that appear to take in everything. Based on what I know about her, she is 27 like me, but she looks like she might be 22 at the most. How commanding she must be in the boardroom to be taken seriously? The thought intrigues me.
All I have heard Theo talk about other than Ross is Elise. When we were at Harvard, he would spend a fair amount of time with her at Boston College. I was surprised to learn he was gay. I really thought he and Elise were a couple. I never crossed paths with Theo when she was visiting, but several of our mutual friends did and I recall they always spoke fondly of her.
Theo and I met our freshman year. We had identical schedules our first semester of business school and were matched as study partners. It proved advantageous for both of us, and seeing as how we were studying for the same degree, we stayed study partners for the reminder of our time at Harvard. We also both rowed for Harvard all four years, albeit for separate boats.
“How did you find out that Smith was falsifying his numbers?” I offer her my carrots. I don’t like them and she has eaten all of hers.
“I made friends with the neglected kid on the finance floor. I was eating in one of the break rooms and we struck up a conversation. It became a ritual of sorts to meet up for a midday snack. I had a feeling something wasn’t right and asked him to pull the numbers for me.”
“If you are going to do that again, I’d prefer you to have someone with you. What would you have done today if I hadn’t been there?”
“I would have handled it.”
“With what? Your karate kid moves?”
“I think it was you that had your karate kid moves on display.” She takes a sip of her water. As if to placate me she gets serious. “I didn’t discover it until last night. There wasn’t time to get someone from our team there. He wasn’t going to hurt me, and if he had laid a hand on me, I would have pressed charges. But thank you for stepping in. Saved me the paperwork. What did you say to him?”
“I told him I was already going to bankrupt him by selling his company off piece by piece and did he really want to add assault to his list of problems.”
“What made you decide to merge with Theo?”
Her question catches me off guard. “How much has Theo told you?”
“Theo tells me everything,” she says, matter-of-factly.
“How long have you known Theo?”
“Since we were five. We lived two doors down from each other. He was the first friend I made when I moved in with my family.”
Her comment halts my fork full of salmon in midair. “Where did you live before you moved in with your family?”
“I was in the foster system. My mom died during childbirth, and my biological father gave me to the state when I was three.”
“Why?” I know it’s a personal question, but I can’t stop myself from asking. Why would a father give up their child after caring for them for three years?
“I asked him the same question when I was ten. He said he never wanted to be a father and he didn’t love me.”
Even though she says it like she’s spouting off a score from last night’s baseball game, I can see the flicker of pain in her eyes. Surprised by my feelings of protectiveness over someone I met only hours ago, I steer us back to a topic where she feels safer.
“So, Theo tells you everything?”
“He does. I know what the plans are with the merger and how far along you are in the process. I know you plan on announcing it this week to the rest of the team.”
“Does the team know?”
“No, they don’t. Theo felt like it was better for them to meet you in person first.”
“And will you continue to run the office in Chicago, or will you make the move to New York?”
“Ross has another year of residency in Chicago, so Theo plans to stay put and commute back and forth. I will be opening the office in New York.”
“He really does tell you everything,” I frown. He’s broken about eight privacy clauses I have built into our deal.
“Is it really that big of a deal? You haven’t told anyone on your team?”
“Other than my CFO, who happens to be my brother? No. Not yet. I told my mom because she has a soft spot for Theo and I knew she would be excited.”
“Same thing,” she shrugs. “Only I’m his best friend, and not his mom.” She motions to the last of the salmon I’ve left on my plate and spears it with her fork when I nod.
“Not really. You work for him, and you are his number one asset. It muddies the waters.”
“It shouldn’t. Theo trusts me. One-hundred percent. Don’t you have anyone on your team that you trust?”
“At that level outside of family, no.” I lean back in my chair and place my hands on my thighs. “I find in my line of work, most people have their own agendas.”
She nods her response but doesn’t say anything. I’m disappointed. I wanted to hear her thoughts.
Shawn enters and clears our pla
tes, leaving us each with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
“Thank you, Shawn, but I wouldn’t care for any.” I move to hand mine back.
“I’ll take it.” She intercepts the bowl and sets it beside hers before giving Shawn a full on smile.
“How many days has it been since you’ve eaten?” I ask and she laughs.
“I didn’t have breakfast since I was running late, and I eat more when I’m sleep deprived. Plus, you can never have too much ice cream. I don’t know how you could even send ice cream back.”
I laugh at the look of confusion on her adorable face.
“Well, I have work to do before we land.”
“Anything you need from me?” She licks the back of her spoon.
“Nope.”
“Perfect,” she purrs. “I plan on watching a movie and relaxing. What the…?” She drops her spoon and looks down like something has surprised her. I catch the wag of a tail.
“Nova, Elise. Elise, Nova.” I motion between the two of them. She turns to my Pit Bull and pats her legs. Nova lifts his front paws and I watch Elise fall in love with one glance.
“Where have you been?” She gives him a big kiss on his snout and rubs his ears. He’s in heaven.
“He’s getting up in years. He usually sleeps on a bed under my desk for the whole flight.” I look at him with his head unashamedly in her lap. Is it wrong to be jealous of a dog? “He likes you.”
“Of course he does. What’s not to like?” She runs her fingers over his head, and I swear I’ve never seen this look of bliss on his face before.
“I’m not sure I have an answer to that question.” It pleases me when I’m rewarded with a blush.
“How long have you had him?”
“I rescued him about six years ago when I was home visiting my parents. The vet said he thinks he was already a couple years old when I found him. He had been abandoned and was in bad shape. We weren’t sure if he was going to make it. But you did, didn’t you, fella?” My eyes move from Nova to Elise. She’s watching me with a tenderness I’m not accustomed to. “What?” I ask in response.