He found the three cards he needed and pulled them from the roller. “We fly out in the morning.”
“You already told me that.” She sat straighter in the chair and leaned over. Her see–through blouse and push–up bra didn't impress him.
“I'll confirm all the reservations and pick up my dry cleaning.” He held up his hand and indicated two of the three business cards. He held onto the third card because it was for a different temp agency.
He didn't have much time, and he knew he couldn't trust Ms. Ortiz to take care of the trip details and his packing. Plus, he didn't want her to pick up his dry cleaning and drop it off at his house while he was out with Deborah. Ms. Ortiz didn't need to know where he lived, and he certainly wasn't going to give her a key to his home and the guest security code.
He paused at the door. “It's a four–day trip.”
“Uh huh. I know.” She pointed to her phone. “It's programmed into my calendar app.”
His eyes narrowed in on her. “We'll be meeting with Carl Weston, one of the company’s founders, to discuss the upcoming year and do the yearly report for the company.”
“Ellington–Weston,” Her face lit up to what Daniel could only believe was a low watt bulb. Removing a pen from her desk, she wrote Carl Weston’s name on her hand. “I'm making a note of that.”
Deep down in his gut he knew he’d have to say his next sentence. “Please pack business appropriate clothing.”
She did a cursory glance at her outfit and then said in a mocking tone, “Of course, sir.”
The words sent a chill down his spine. Deborah said them with respect. Ms. Ortiz’s tone held only sarcasm.
He walked to the door. “And remember to turn off the lights and put the outside phone lines into nighttime mode.”
God, what else did he have to do?
That's right. He needed her phone number so he could reach her while they were in Los Angeles. “What's your number?” he asked.
She gave him what he suspected to be a seductive look—which only made her appear constipated—and rambled off her digits. At the very least, he could now contact her if needed. In fact, he hated that he had to do this, but he quickly Googled, “what to wear on a business trip,” and texted her the link. “You now have my number, as well.”
She licked her lips. “You can call me anytime, day or night, Daniel.”
He glared at her. “There will never be anything between us. My secretary will return soon, and you will be of here, with no one missing you.”
Her face hardened and she turned her back to him.
Like he cared. If he had his way, the temp agency would send someone else to attend this trip with him. Anyone but Goldilocks.
Just as he was about to pocket his phone, his Self–Made Diva app displayed the number fifty–six, showing that he was behind in the newsfeed, so he opened it and read the first notice.
His knees weakened and he thought he’d collapse to the floor.
Now there was a baby? He gulped some air and just wanted to scream. How on earth did he go from having a fake fiancée to being a fake father–to–be? The press needed to write books because this line of fantasy would sell millions.
“Is there anything else you need?”
From her? No. “Don't show up late at the airport,” he said and then he stormed out of the office.
Several of the postings contained pictures of him and Deborah out last night. There were arrows drawn, pointing to her belly. The label being “baby bump.”
She couldn't be pregnant. He assumed the articles were vicious gossip until he saw one picture where the fabric of the dress bunched around her waist.
Was she pregnant?
He walked down the hallway to the elevator, putting the phone away. People passed him in the corridor but he just kept walking. He reached the elevator before he realized it.
She hadn’t drunk last night, but had merely claimed she didn't drink alcohol. She’d also postponed a date so she could fulfill the contract he’d had her sign.
Her eagerness to sign the contract once he’d mentioned that he'd pay her now made more sense. She’d come from humble beginnings, raised a child on her own, and was now pregnant and alone once again. His Deborah needed money for the baby.
20
Deborah sat straighter in her plush auditorium box seat at the opera and listened to the aria, trying hard to stifle a yawn. Caroline was wrong. Comfortable clothing was not the way to go. She should have worn something to keep her awake, even if it meant uncomfortable shoes.
The performance of Tristan and Isolde enthralled Daniel. He’d even commented that it was one of his favorite operas. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen since the performance started. He seemed so happy, so at peace. The tension lines that normally creased his forehead were gone, as was the hardened chin and jaw he had during the day when dealing with the business. Right now, he looked comfortable.
She had to admit, she watched more of him that of the opera itself. Two people screaming in German. Not her thing, although, she could figure out the gist of the story.
The character Isolde pretended to be a handmaiden, won the heart of a brave warrior who believed her station to be beneath him, and then she married another man, whom she did care for. Two fantastic, heroic, and wealthy men fighting over one woman.
How unrealistic.
In her experience, many men still didn't want to be married. It didn’t matter if they had been dating you for years, or even after you told them there was a baby on the way.
Which explained why people enjoyed this story. It was fantasy, not real world.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Daniel leaned in and whispered. His hand gestured to the fruit and cheese platter they had ordered.
A glass of wine would complement it perfectly, and although she did enjoy a glass occasionally, she never drank in mixed company.
She shook her head. “No, thank you.” Her coffee cup was nearly empty so she reached down to pick it up. The engagement ring clanked against the porcelain mug. She was certain no one heard the noise, but she was aware of the ring every time she touched anything.
The dimness of the opera hall lights didn't allow the facets of the diamond to pick up any light and cast reflections, but she had noticed them while shopping earlier in the day, while getting ready for the evening, and in the car when the diamond had caught the last few rays of the setting sun.
She took a deep breath. She didn't want to think about the ring, or that it meant nothing between her and Daniel. She downed her remaining bit of coffee. The caffeine would keep her up all night, but she was sure this opera would have her out in no time.
“Are you drinking decaf?”
“What?” Deborah leaned in, her head mere inches from his, allowing her to smell his musky cologne even more. With this being the closest thing to a date she had been on in ages, she realized she missed going out. Perhaps the man Caroline had selected for the blind date, whoever he was, would stir her as much as Daniel did. At the very least, he could be a distraction.
Daniel nodded toward the coffee cup in her hands.
“I'm fine,” she finally said. Why the interest in what she drank? She glanced at her watch. It would soon be intermission. Now his concern made sense.
Deborah focused her attention to the opera, but she noticed Daniel oddly staring at her. His gaze sent shivers down her spine, and in all the right—or wrong depending on how you looked at it—ways, so she refocused on something else. The last thing she needed was to fantasize about her boss.
Although he did look amazing in his tux. His face held just enough scruff from the lack of a shave to drive any woman crazy, and his hair was perfectly tousled—perfect to run your hand through.
She placed the empty coffee cup down and decided to concentrate on something that would keep her attention. The boxed seat and the hall were a perfect choice.
She studied the area and took note of the height and how the layout of the ro
om below looked from this perspective. Her latest book release was out, and she needed a fresh idea for novel number three.
Her lips curled upward in a big smile. Her first book was more of a novella and not a very good one at that. But book number two was her masterpiece. She had worked on it for five years, with many revisions and second–guessing of what the ending would be.
The sales were not impressive, but the book was only her second release. She’d initially called it Loving Him, but the title sounded like a Christian's relationship with God. She’d finally settled on the name, Of Course, Sir. The book cover's image held a secretary dressed in a red gown, placing her hand on the chest of a man wearing a tuxedo. His face wasn't in view of the image, allowing readers to mentally dream up what the hero of the story looked like.
In her mind, the hero looked exactly like Daniel. In particular, the way he looked tonight. She had already planned to buy a red dress for the evening, but it wasn't until Caroline had seen this one hanging in the store that she’d insisted Deborah buy it.
Novel number two didn't contain a sexy opera scene, but perhaps novel number three might. The red velvet curtains on the wall, and the gold trim accents exuded much elegance. She enjoyed the warm, romantic glow, which the sconces and chandeliers cast across the entire auditorium. The musicians, tightly packed into the musical pit below, created a rich sound that had the walls vibrating.
But the box seat felt more intimate. It held six chairs, but they weren't tethered to the ground, allowing you to arrange them any way you'd like.
She figured Daniel had bought out the small area to give them privacy. They wouldn't need to put on a show if they were the only people up this high.
Yawning once more, she found it difficult to keep her eyes open. She leaned back in the chair, opened her eyes wide, and stared at the performance below.
That's when she felt his arm around her bare shoulders.
“Are you cold?”
Before she could answer, Daniel removed his tux jacket. She leaned forward so he could drape it around her. The scent of his cologne enveloped her. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the sudden sensation of his body warmth from the jacket.
His hand lingered on the fabric and then finally made its way up to her cheek. He caressed her face and gazed into her eyes. “I can keep you warm.”
The music suddenly stopped, and the room grew darker, giving them perfect privacy. He stared at her lips and then glanced back up to her eyes.
“I've wanted you for a long time, Deborah.”
Leaning in, he kissed her. His fingers tangled in her hair as he pulled her closer to him. He lifted her effortlessly and put her in his lap. His one free hand knocked her chair down and it tumbled to the floor.
Glancing around, she figured no one had heard the noise. It was hard to tell since the box set railing now blocked her view from everything else in the hall. Everything that is except Daniel's piercing blue eyes. They were filled with desire.
Desire for her.
The fabric of the dress caught beneath her, but only for a minute. Daniel stood and moved the other chairs, giving them the center of the floor. He then placed his hand under her bottom and scooped her to the middle of the space, laying her on the carpet.
She felt the heat pooling in her core and dripping to her panties. She was going to make love to Daniel. After all these years, he wanted her.
Her heart pounded with excitement, and the need to have him grew, especially when he pulled up the skirt of her dress, grabbed her lace panties and ripped the fabric off her. She now lay open and revealed to him.
Placing her foot atop one of the chairs, she tilted her hips in anticipation. He barely undid his pants before he lay on top of her.
There was no hesitation.
His throbbing shaft dove into her wet folds, her body wanting him and hugging him intimately as he pumped into her.
It was dirty sex. Dirty on the floor sex.
Good dirty on the floor sex.
She hoisted her legs up higher, not caring if the people down below could see her foot moving in time with the rhythmic touch that was driving her crazy.
Just as she was about to cry out, a buzzing noise woke her. She then noticed the lights flickering above her.
“It's intermission,” Daniel said. “Let's stretch our legs and get more refreshments.”
She scanned the room. The remaining four chairs remained where they had been earlier in the evening, and Daniel still wore his tux jacket. It had all been a dream.
A dream she would never forget, especially since she planned to put an opera scene in her next novel.
21
Deborah drew open the curtains of her hotel room window and let in the morning light. Her room was on the highest floor and she glanced to the parking lot below.
Had a member of the press followed her home last night? She couldn't see any camera crews or news vans below, so maybe her imagination was getting the best of her.
She needed to stop being paranoid.
The catnap during the opera had acted as a wake–up call, one she didn't care for. She didn't need to alter her relationship with her boss. It needed to remain professional, even if she had wanted to invite him into her hotel room last night.
Thank goodness she’d come to her senses. Of course, Daniel had needed to leave early for a flight this morning so there couldn't have been any festivities after the opera anyway.
Daniel would be gone for the next four days. The time apart would give her some perspective and a chance to reflect on her utter stupidity.
Last night's dress had been a mistake, one she would not make again. She lived in reality, not in one of the scenes from her books.
Caroline had insisted that she buy the red, beaded dress with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline the moment she’d seen it in the store. Caroline couldn't have known, but the outfit matched the one the heroine in Deborah’s last novel wore to an art gala with her boss where she pretended to be his date for the evening.
Deborah paused and realized she had begun pacing the room.
Had Caroline read her novel?
Thinking back, her book also contained the scene from Mas Rafs the first night. A dark, intimate room at a five–star restaurant where they dined…well, in the book, heated sex atop the table occurred. That certainly hadn’t happened with her and Daniel in real life.
She shook her head. Daniel loved Mas Rafs, which was why the restaurant had made its way into her novel. There was nothing amiss here with Caroline. After all, Deborah wrote under a pen name to hide her identity for that very reason. Caroline couldn't have known about the scenes from her book.
Crossing the room, she stretched and woke herself up. Rarely did she have any time off, and with Daniel out of town for a few days, she truly had nothing better to do than work on her next novel.
The hero was a wealthy boss, just like in her first book, but this one falls in love with his secretary. Deborah sat at the desk in the room and typed away, filling in an opera scene since the imagery remained fresh in her mind.
The dream last night had ended abruptly, but that wouldn't be the case in her book. She'd make sure the main characters ended up lying entwined together on the floor of the opera house's box seat, with the music playing on and rising to a crescendo just as the two climaxed.
She scrolled the text up on her computer to the top of the scene and slowly read it once more, editing it here and there for spicier words like, “undulate,” “throbbing,” and “desperation.”
The scene scorched the page, in all the right ways. She crossed her legs repeatedly as she read it a second and then a third time.
She mentally gave herself a high-five. This was five–out–of–five star rating of good writing.
A slight tinge of disappointment washed over her. Fantasy lived in an entirely different world, and she had never had such an explosive love making session in her life.
Daniel didn’t place his jacket on her last nigh
t, didn't hold her throughout the performance, and didn't kiss her good night—or anything else—before saying goodbye to her. Which was exactly what she’d expected.
A part of her felt disappointed to not be attending the conference in Los Angeles with him. This was the first trip since Josh had left for college that Deborah could have gone on without worrying about her son and leaving him at her sister's house for days.
It would have been her first business trip with Daniel where she didn’t have to worry about what was going on at home. But she was here instead, and Daniel was on the trip with his temporary secretary. Deborah was certain the new hire was young and attractive. Being a temp was also an added appeal for Daniel. There were no lingering goodbyes to deal with.
Just a four-day, fun-filled, five-star hotel stay with a hot, young woman eager to do whatever he wanted. The two of them were probably alone in his plane right now, maybe making it into the ‘mile high’ club.
Deborah shook her head and took in a deep breath. She needed to call Caroline and go out. Sitting in this room alone and writing sex scenes all day long while she thought of Daniel off with his young, temp secretary was going to drive her mad.
“I thought you weren’t going to attend the,” Daniel said, pausing to think of the name, “the brain surgery numb-a-thon conference I believe you called it.”
“Neurosurgery Symposium.” Ravi shifted in his seat and looked out the private Ellington-Weston plane on the tarmac. “I changed my mind since the weather is nice. Thanks for the last-minute lift.”
The flight attendant walked up the aisle of the small six-seater plane. “Mr. Ellington.” She placed a scotch on the table in front of Daniel.
Ravi caught the woman’s attention. “Honey, I’d like the same.”
The woman glared at Ravi. “Life is filled with disappointments, Ravi.” Her voice was spiked with hatred, causing Daniel to sternly look over to his employee.
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