CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AIDAN
“Aidan, if you want to maximize your bottom line, then we need to take the company off-shore.”
“I will not sack the local workforce, Jacob. We’ve had that discussion before. And who says I want to lift the bottom line, anyway? That’s your mantra.”
My business advisor removed his thick-lensed glasses and rubbed his eyes. “But, Aidan, the company is not making any profit.” He tapped his spreadsheet.
“It’s not losing either,” I said, taking a sip from my fourth cup of coffee, which was making me jumpy.
“The company only just broke even,” he countered.
I glanced down at my watch. I had another three meetings that day, and my eyes burned from lack of sleep. “Jake, now listen. Thornhill Holdings are doing well in all our other interests. Our portfolio of real estate is going through the roof, especially in New Orleans. The low-cost housing development has yielded millions in profits. The solar farms are the next part of that equation. And by using local workers, the love goes around. Don’t you get that?”
“You’re too new-age, Aidan, with this karma obsession of yours. I can see that you could make a considerable profit with Solarm. But using locally sourced materials and labor will drag up costs.”
“We’re going around in circles,” I said, not hiding my annoyance. Jacob was an astute man, who, having guided me wisely over the years, had helped make me very rich. “You know my philosophy—help those in need while making money from acquisitions that don’t cause undue pain to local communities. The biotech investments are going through the roof, as are the medical marijuana stocks you so wisely advised me to pump millions into. We’re sitting pretty, Jake. If Solarm is breaking even, then that’s a decent result.”
My phone lit up. I glanced down and smiling back at me was the angel that had stolen my senses and ability to concentrate. Her wide brown eyes were so innocent, yet so seductive. Blood charged through me again as I lost myself in that face. And those luscious tits spilling out—fuck, my cock lengthened. “Will that be all for now?” I asked.
“Sure. We’ll catch up soon.”
I watched Jake close the door behind him and took a deep breath while stretching out my arms. My next appointment with Brad, my attorney, wasn’t for another thirty minutes. I couldn’t stop looking at Clarissa’s face. Her eyes were so mesmerizing it brought it all back. I thought about how she felt in my arms with those soft voluptuous curves. The memory of being inside of her caused my cock to thicken again.
I’d broken every rule in the book. Never fuck an employee. Never fuck a virgin.
But I’d lost my head. Her beauty had drugged me. That blue gown, her grace, her voluptuous body. And to add to that impossible list, she was sensitive, intelligent, and cultivated.
I’d wanted her from the moment I saw her on the beach. Those shapely long legs, her full breasts, those succulent nipples that stretched out provocatively from her swimsuit, making my cock ache and go rock-hard in an instant.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from my phone. It was her eyes that captivated me the most—innocently sweet, yet full of desire and promise. Her black, wild hair led me to that pouting cleavage. I licked my lips, remembering how her tits had fallen all over my hands. My balls were blue from the memory.
Two weeks was way too long. I needed to hold her sooner. I ran my finger over the image of her ravishing lips. My aching cock pushed against my trousers as I relived her drenching cunt, so tight that my senses were starved of reason. And her rapturous moans when she came. I’d been somewhere no man had ever been. That did my head in on so many levels.
My obsession to have Clarissa had started the moment I saw her through the tinted glass in that tight-fitting skirt. Even her modest buttoned-up shirt had done little to hide her delectable body. And that thick black hair swept up in a messy bun, her swanlike neck, those full fleshy lips, and my God, those large brown eyes.
I transferred Clarissa’s photo onto my laptop and was about to reply to her message when my phone rang. It was Bryce. What was I to say to him? We had such a complex relationship. Had it been anybody else, I would have fucked him off ages ago.
I picked up the phone. “Bryce.” I kept my tone cold and professional.
“Aidan, look, man, umm…I’m sorry about the other night. I’d been drinking, and well, your new PA is scrumptious, even though she’s become a ballbreaker.”
“Ballbreaker?” My fists clenched.
“She set up this new system. I’m meant to report all my expenditures. It’s time-fucking-consuming and shitting me.” Bryce sounded as if he’d been drinking again—not unusual, considering he was an alcoholic.
“That was my idea, Bryce. The losses are running into the thousands at the expense of programs. I can’t talk now. I’ll be back in two weeks.”
“Are you in New York?”
“Yes.” I hoped Bryce wouldn’t offer to catch up. The last time, he’d stayed at my apartment, and I had to put up with his erratic, wild behavior.
“Why don’t I fly down? We can hang out. There’s that Jacqueline babe, remember—the one with the big tits?”
“I’ve got too much going on,” I said, keeping my tone patient despite being pissed. “And about Clarissa—I don’t want you going near her.” My voice went up a decibel.
“Why? Do you want to fuck her, or have you already?”
“Listen Bryce, I’m losing it here. You’re out of control. I know about your gambling habit and that you’re stealing from the fund.”
“You can’t get rid of me, and you know it. I get it she’s a fucking goddess…that body, those tits, those big eyes.”
“Listen, you fucker, you stay away from her. I’ve got to go.” I nearly threw my phone against the wall in frustration. I had to rid myself of this jerk.
The buzzer roused me out of my troubled state. “Mr. Thornhill, Brad Russell is here.”
“Thanks, Jane. Just give me five minutes and then send him in… oh, and can you get me some lunch?”
I put down the phone and stared at the million-dollar view of Central Park. I’d chosen the apartment, which doubled as an office and home, for its knockout view. Disinclined towards confined spaces, I needed an open view of trees and nature, which this apartment delivered. My timing had been just right for the coveted penthouse suite in Fifth Avenue. It had been love at first sight when I walked into the lobby of the 1926 building, with its marble entry and art deco designs.
What message could I send Clarissa? My stomach was a knot of nerves. Bryce had unhinged me. I took a deep breath and wrote, Thank you for the photo. It’s beautiful. You are beautiful. Aidan.
I picked up the phone. “Jane, can you make a Skype appointment with Kieren Tyler? See if he can fit me in after four today. Thanks.”
Boy, did I need a session with my psychologist. He was the only person, apart from Greta and my dad, whom I could turn to. My feelings for Clarissa would have to remain a secret from Greta for the moment. I didn’t like it. But I’d promised my aunt, after that regrettable tangle with Amy, never to mix work with pleasure.
Clarissa was something entirely different. She’d gotten to me. I’d never experienced that before. I’d never had this unquenchable desire for someone. From that first day on the beach, I was under her spell.