Chapter 3
Sasha wrapped her coat around her as she climbed out of the car in the large parking lot. She stared up at the towering building in awe! She had seen pictures of it before on the internet and in magazines, but up close it appeared more intimidating. The name of the company flashed in neon lights all around the top of the building and several of the ad campaigns they had used in the past came and went on a rotating large flat screen television replacing several of the glass panes high above her. She pulled her coat closer and secured her portfolio with the sketches she had prepared as she hurried to the glass doors that had been opened by a security guard.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, appreciating the warmth after the icy cold of outside. "I am here to see-"
"He is expecting you, Ms. Fullerton," the man said with a white smile against his dark skinned face. "Just use the private elevator and go on up."
Sasha nodded and made her way to the elevator. It stopped at the top floor and she got out staring around the circular counter with the name of the company in raised red letters above. Her footsteps were buried in thick ruby red carpeting. She took the time to look around at the now empty space indicating that the employees had gone home for the night. She stopped and stared at the life size photo of Stephan Coleman on one side of the wall and could not help but stare at him for a few minutes. He was wearing jeans and a thick black sweater that rivaled his own dark hair. His slate grey eyes made her feel uncomfortable as if he was right there in person and staring through her. His arms were folded on his chest and he was not smiling, but that did not stop him from looking so virile and sexy that she felt her heart quickening! He certainly was an incredibly handsome man! she thought as she tore her gaze away from the photo.
"Here you are." His deep voice behind her almost gave her a heart attack! "Neville said you came up a few minutes ago. I thought you were lost."
She turned around slowly to face him. "I was just looking around. This is an impressive place," she told him, striving to be casual. He was no less attractive than his photo! He was wearing faded denim jeans and a black silk shirt unbuttoned at the top.
"Thank you." He indicated for her to follow him as he moved forward. He held the door open for her and she stepped into a suite of offices that was as sumptuous as the rest of the building. He walked swiftly to another set of doors and pushed it open as he waited for her to go in. Sasha stopped and stared at the huge room in shock! There were steps leading down into the sunken area where there was a large circular desk and a very high chair stood. A long table stood to one corner with dozens of displays from the first makeup he had come out with to the very latest beauty products. Glossy photos decorated the walls and she recognized pictures of movie stars, actresses, and models as they portrayed one of his brands of beauty product. She felt as if she had stepped into a maze of wonderland! She took her time going down the steps as she looked around. "This is-" She flung her hands out and did not quite know what to say!
"Too much?" he asked with a smile.
"Amazing!" She walked over to the table and looked at the brands, picking up the tubes of lipstick and the foundations. "Nude deep," she read. "I wanted to purchase one of these but could not afford it."
"Those are the ones that I work with, but I can offer you something from the stock that I keep." He gestured for her to take a seat. "Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thanks. Do you mind if I just look around for a little bit?" she asked him.
"No, please do." He watched as she walked around the table slowly, looking at the many things displayed there. She was wearing black dress pants and a thick red sweater, with her hair loose around her shoulders. She had on the same black boots with heels to give her added height. He examined her face and saw as he had seen before that she was quite attractive, as a matter of fact very attractive! She finished wandering around and came towards his desk.
"It’s a wonder you go home. This place is quite something," she said in her usual direct manner as she placed the portfolio onto his desk.
"My mother is there," he said briefly.
"Oh, yes. How is she?"
He looked up at her for a moment, his gray eyes unreadable. "She is holding her own," he said briefly before turning his attention to what she had inside the portfolio. He got up from around his desk and came to sit on one of the several wraparound sofas in the office, indicating for her to take a seat. He studied the images in silence before he looked over at her. "These are quite good," he murmured. "I am impressed."
"Thank you." She reached over and took one of the boards from him and studied it. "This one of the eyeliners was somewhat trickier for me. I don’t use the darn thing and when I am coming up with a campaign, I like to know firsthand what I am dealing with."
His gray eyes crinkled in amusement. "So how did you pull it off?"
"My best friend Diana uses it thankfully, so she was my guinea pig." She flashed him a smile that had him staring at her! The smile crinkled her eyes and her white teeth were a startling contrast to the red of her lipstick. Her dark brown eyes lit up with the smile as if a light had been turned on in them!
"Thank goodness for that," he said slowly as he tore his gaze away from her face and looked down at the boards he had in his hands. "I am only going to make marginal changes." He tapped the board with the lipstick brands. "We do not use synthetic materials in our brands. Our researchers are very thorough and even if it takes years we want to make sure we come up with products that not only beatify but are actually good on the skin. We study all the different skin types so we know what is right for each one."
"I like that," she said slowly. "So what do you want to change?"
"These." He touched on the cut outs of the skinny models she had featured.
"I included all the different races," she said with a frown.
"But you failed to include the plus sized models."
Her eyes met his for a moment and then looked down at the board she had in her hands. "You always used skinny models," she pointed out.
"And I am changing that." Her eyes met his again. "Is that a problem for you to do?"
"No." She shook her head. "Why are you changing from your usual campaign?" she asked him.
He got to his feet. "Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?" he asked as he went over to a sliding glass cabinet built into one corner of the room.
"Sparkling water if you have it."
He came back over in a few minutes with the water and something that looked like whiskey for him. He stood there for a few minutes before he sat back down. "The world is changing and plus sized models are making a name for themselves. I want them included."
"And you figured that the fat person doing this ad campaign would be the perfect person to do it?" she asked him stiffly.
"I figured that you being a full figured woman gives you an in." His eyes met hers briefly before he put the glass to his lips and drank slowly. "You have to get comfortable in your own body."
"You think you know me?" she asked, lifting tapered brows.
"I am saying what I see," he told her. "Make the changes."
"I will." She made a notation on her pad. "Is that all?"
"You are not pleased," he said with a small smile.
"You are the boss."
"Pretend I am not and I am one of the people working with you on this campaign," he encouraged.
She stared at him and smiled reluctantly. "That’s really hard to do."
"Try," he insisted as he put his glass away. "I am one of those pesky underlings that keeps getting in your hair objecting to everything you come up with and asking too many questions. Try me."
She turned around to face him with a mischievous look on her face, her eyes dancing. "You asked for it."
"I did," he said slowly as he stared at her. "Give me everything you have."
"I am going to have to call you Stephan, it’s going to be weird calling you Mr. Coleman when I lighting into you."
"In that case, I am going to call you Sasha," he said with a smile.
"Okay, Stephan, I really think that these models are perfect to highlight this line of lipsticks. I am going to sign off on the campaign and present it to the client."
"Excuse me, Sasha, but I was actually thinking that we could use several plus sized models along with the ones we have here. As a matter of fact, how about using normal everyday women who are actually out there rushing to get to work or housewives who just want to shelve the responsibilities and go out on a night on the town with her girlfriends, a woman who has not had sex in six months because she has been too busy seeing to the kids and making sure her husband’s clothes are ready for work. She just wants to break free from all the responsibilities and remind herself that she is a woman beneath all the day to day stress. A woman who comes home after that and sees her husband looking at her and actually seeing her for the first time in years. The woman he had first fallen in love with before everything took precedence. That night of rekindling the romance and reminding them of what was." His voice tapered off as she stared at him. He had gotten carried away as he looked at her, and suddenly he was not just talking about the ad but about something deeper than that and they both felt it.
Sasha tore her eyes away from his and shifted the boards in her hands nervously, her breathing shallow. She took a deep breath and looked back at him. "I like it," she said, having to clear her throat to speak.
"You are not going to ream me out?" he asked her softly.
She shook her head. "How can I? It’s very good. You are very good."
"So you will use the plus sized models?"
"Or as you say normal women going about their daily lives," she said slowly as she looked at her watch. "It’s late-"
"I had no idea the time passed so fast." But still he sat there, his eyes on her face. "You could use yourself."
Sasha looked at him startled and then laughed. "Absolutely not."
"You would be perfect," he told her. "Think about it."
"Nothing to think about." She got to her feet and he stood with her, towering over her as he stood in front of her. She jumped as he reached out to tilt her chin up. "You have very flawless skin," he murmured as if to himself. "No need for foundation or even skin toning creams. Your skin is supple and firm and that chocolate brown complexion goes with anything." His gray eyes met hers and held for a few very long seconds. He still had his fingers on her chin as he looked down at her. He must have realized what he had done because he let go of her and stepped back. "I will see you out."
Sasha took several deep breaths before she was able to gather up her things and follow behind him. He held the doors open for her to pass and she made sure not to touch him. He followed her all the way to the elevator and when he made to step into it with her, she stopped him. "I can find my way down, thanks."
He stepped back and looked at her. "I will call you tomorrow. It was a pleasure, Sasha. We work very well together." She stared at him before punching the button with unnecessary force. His eyes never left her face as the doors started closing. Sasha expelled her breath as the doors closed and leaned back against the walls. What the hell was that? she asked herself in bewilderment. Taking a deep breath, she put it from her mind with determination and went on her way.
*****
Stephan walked slowly back to his office and closed the doors behind him. He went back to the cabinet and poured himself another drink, finishing it in one gulp. He had almost passed his place back there and he had no idea what had happened. He had felt something and he knew she had felt it too. She was a vibrant attractive woman who had a passion for her craft but that was no reason for him to feel anything for her. Worse, she was not comfortable in her own skin and he had picked up on that almost immediately the first time he saw her. He put the glass away and wandered over to the sofa where he sat back down and leaned his head back he closed his eyes. He needed to get on home. He wanted to see his mother and chat with her before going over to his suite but he needed a minute. He saw her smile, that flash of lights in her dark brown eyes, and the whiteness of her teeth against her lips. He had been with women because they were the source of the business he was in and he found them fascinating. He had bedded quite a few of them and some of them had parted amiably. He had never been interested in any one of them for long enough to form a lasting relationship. He had been too busy building his company, but he felt something different for this woman he had just met! He smiled grimly as he got to his feet. Somehow he knew that it was going to be very interesting!
******
Sasha stared at herself in the full length mirror for a full couple of minutes examining every nuance of her body. She had come home a few minutes ago and after drinking an insipid tasting cleansing tea and nothing else, she had come into her bedroom and stripped right there and was now looking at herself in the mirror. She examined herself critically as she lifted her arms and shook them. The good thing about her being so big was that her body was still supple and not loose. She planted her hands on her waist and turned sideways. With an impatient sigh, she reached for her robe and went into the bathroom where she set the bath. She had told herself that she was not going to think about what had happened and what she had felt in that incredibly beautiful office of Skin Deep! They had been caught up in the moment and that was all there was to it! Stephan Coleman was an incredibly attractive man and a powerful one at that. He had been looking at her from the perspective of the business part of it. There was no way she was stupid enough to think anything more than that. The man had been seen with the most beautiful women in the industry and he was still single. She was nowhere as beautiful as they were and she was only an account executive at a reasonable size company. She was merely an employee there; she did not even own the damned place! She stepped into the bath and sank down, closing her eyes as the scented water covered her with its warmth. Her mother had not raised a fool. She was a smart woman and was very good at what she did. It had been nothing!
*****
"Mother, you are still up!" Stephan said in genuine delight as he made his way into her room. It was almost ten and he had come home expecting her to be fast asleep. But instead he found her sitting in one of the easy chairs with a book in her hands and looking so much better. "You are not sleepy?" He nodded to the nurse as he pulled up a chair next to her.
"I slept for most of the day and I feel rejuvenated. That new medication that Julian prescribed has me feeling like my old self." She touched his cheek briefly as he leaned in to kiss her. "You are especially late tonight, darling."
"I apologize." He clasped her hand in his. "I had to go over something with someone who is handing the campaign for the new line of beauty products. I had no idea the time had passed so much."
"You always get carried away when you are working," she said fondly. "Tell me about this ad campaign."
"Are you sure I am not going to bore you?" he asked her teasingly.
"Even if I am, I will hide it," she told him with a smile.
He laughed softly at that and began telling her about it. She listened attentively for a moment and then responded. "This person doing the campaign, you like her."
Stephan stared at his mother for a moment. He had forgotten how sharp her senses were when it came to him! "She is very interesting," he admitted. "Very forthright. I find it very refreshing."
His mother nodded. "Maybe one day I will meet her," she said casually.
"Mother, you are matchmaking," he said with a smile. "I am not interested in anything like that right now."
"You should be." She took her other hand and placed it over his. "I love that you enjoy your company, but all of what you have accomplished means nothing if you do not have someone to share it with. You spend so much time at the company and when you come home you go into your suite and you are all alone."
"I have you," he reminded her.
"You are not going to have me for long and besides, darling, I am merely your mother."
"The most important woman in the world as far as I am concerned," he told her as he brought one thin hand to his lips.
"I like that, darling, but I want most of all for you to find someone you can talk to and be with and love."
"Maybe one day," he told her. "Now what were you reading?"
*****
Sasha felt the sneeze through every part of her body and it brought on a headache that left her entire body throbbing. She groaned as she tried to get out of bed. "No! No! No!" she cried as she slowly put her legs one at a time over the bed and into her fuzzy slippers. She could not be sick! She does not get sick! She sneezed again and closed her eyes as the throbbing became more intense. She was working on the biggest account of her career and this was not the time for her to be sneezing and running a damn temperature! She stumbled off the bed and rushed into the bathroom to dig through her supplies of cold medicines until she came up with the DayQuil. She uncapped the bottle and took a generous swig of it almost finishing the bottle and then not quite satisfied she emptied four flu tablets into her hands and swallowed them before drinking some water. If that did not do the trick then she was going to do whatever it took. She simply could not be sick. It was Thursday and she had to go in. She had to put off feeling sick until Saturday even though she had tons of laundry to take care of and she had promised the pastor she would come and help with the soup kitchen! With a determined squaring of her shoulders, she stumbled into the kitchen to get herself some tea.