Claire
After breakfast, I went back to the room to change into something more appropriate. But I realized that Amber had way too much involvement in what I was wearing over here because everything I had was too sexy. Now that I had gotten Rick to see me as a woman and not as his employee, I wasn’t quite sure if that was the way to go about it. Now I knew what would happen and I wasn’t ready for another emotion filled day like before.
I didn’t take much time to get ready, finally settling on a pencil skirt that was a bit too tight and a button-up silk blouse that was a little too tight for my bust on the top. Since Amber and I were the same size, it stood to reason that a lot of it had to do with the way she liked things to fit. While she was trying to get the attention, I think I preferred to be ignored a little more. It was all I could think of to explain why my chest was about to pop out of this shirt. What was Rick going to think?
When I knocked on his room door a little while later and I saw the darkness sweep into his eyes, it was easy to see that he liked what he saw. The need and desire was back in his dark depths and I was left looking down, unable to meet his gaze for long at all.
“You look great Claire. When I had said to step it up, you really did.”
I thanked him, but I didn’t look up at all. I just really couldn’t meet his gaze when he was looking at me like he wanted to just gobble me up. It was the last thing that I wanted.
“So are we ready?”
It was Rick’s turn to be caught with his mind other places. I knew what it was that he wanted and if I was going to be honest with myself, I wanted much of the same. But I knew better and I was going to show a little more control than that. The last thing I needed to do was get involved with a man like Rick.
“Yeah, let’s go. The first conference starts in about fifteen minutes.”
“Well we need to get there on time. I know how you feel about tardiness.”
Rick just kind of shook his head. “Do you know how many people I have fired for that?”
I hated to imagine, so I just shrugged and wondered if that was the case, why had he given me a pass? Was he fancying me even back then?
***
The conference went on for most of the day and though I had hoped that it would take my mind from the man that was next to me, there was no such luck. All I could think about was what I wanted to do to him or more specifically, what he wanted to do to me.
“Kind of boring huh?”
Rick leaned in close and I could feel his breath on me. “Yeah, it is a little boring.”
“Do you want to get out of here and find some lunch, maybe walk around and do some shopping?”
It was literally what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have any compunction about what would happen if I did. I didn’t want to get caught up in another moment like last night and I was afraid that if I did duck out of there and go with him, it was exactly what was going to happen. For a woman that had so much control in every aspect of her life, it was hard to be so out of sorts with everything. I didn’t like feeling out of control and I knew that it was because of Rick that I felt this way.
“Well aren’t you a bad influence. Didn’t you tell me how important these meetings were?”
He didn’t even try to hide his reasons and told me that he just wanted to get away with me. “We still need to have that talk Claire.”
That was what I was dreading and I told him that I was going to stay there. “You don’t have to stay of course. I will take notes and give them to you when I am done.”
Rick’s smile faded and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that he was pouting. “No, I guess I will stay. If my employee is going to stay, I guess I should as well. I don’t want you to think that I am trying to get out of work.”
I told him that it was fine, but he wasn’t going anywhere. I wish he would, but then at the same time I liked having him there next to me, even if I didn’t want to admit it and I knew that it was going to make things worse.
After the conference was over, I tried to get away from Rick, but it was like he knew what I was doing and I had to work to get away from him. He wanted to go out and I suggested that I was going to stay in and order some room service. That somehow ended with him coming over to my room and we were going to get some together. It wasn’t at all what I had in mind, but how could I refuse? He was my boss after all and I was there on his dime. If he wanted to share a meal with me, I didn’t really have a choice.
It was a while later that we were sitting on the bed with room service pizza that Rick wanted to broach the same subject that he wanted to talk about the night before. I still wasn’t ready to have that conversation and I didn’t want to have it now.
“Look Rick. I am not sure what happened last night, but we should just pretend like it didn’t happen. That would be the best way to take care of it, don’t you think?”
He started to say something and he stopped. “What if I can’t forget?”
I sighed and looked away. There was a need in his eyes that was really hard to ignore and the more I tried, the harder it was going to be. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to forget either, but I liked the idea that maybe I could. I figured as soon as this trip was over, we could go our separate ways and I wouldn’t see him that much. He had a company to run and models to date. I didn’t think I would fit into it all and it was almost a relief if I was honest with myself.
“You are going to have to Rick. It was just a kiss.”
It was more than just a kiss for me, but I had to downplay what I really felt. I didn’t think he would understand that I was drowning in need for him. It was the best kiss that I had ever had and it made me feel things that I had never felt before.
“It was more than a kiss and you know it Claire. That is why you are avoiding me.”
He didn’t come out and say that it was because I declined to see him last night when he came to my room, but I knew that was what it was. He was upset and something else, maybe shocked? I had to imagine that a man like Rick wouldn’t be told no very often, so he must not be taking it that well.
“I wouldn’t say I am avoiding you Rick. You are the only person I know here after all.”
“It’s not just here Claire, back home as well. We had a moment before and then you kind of got like you are now.”
I put the piece of pizza down and didn’t really know what to say. He wasn’t going to let it go and I didn’t know how to word it any better than it was in my head. “I just don’t think it would be a good idea Rick.”
“Why?”
“Because you are my boss and I would like to keep my job.”
“That won’t affect anything.”
I didn’t believe him and even if I did, there was the real fear that he would break my heart. I wasn’t ready for a man like him and in honesty, I didn’t know if I would ever be ready for a man like Rick. He was just too much and I didn’t fit in his lifestyle.
“I don’t like you in that way Rick. I don’t know what else to say.”
I thought for a moment that he was going to be mad at me, but instead he just kind of looked at me and grinned. It was clear that he didn’t believe me at all. I didn’t believe myself.
“Are you really going to tell me that you don’t like me in that way?”
I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say, but I knew that I didn’t want him to know how badly I wanted him. I started to get up, but he tutted me and pulled me back down, taking the plate out of my hand.
“I think we need to get this out.”
He was the only man I had ever met that was so worried about talking. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to get out of there before I made a fool of myself and then he would know full stop how much I was into him. Truthfully, I had a feeling that he already knew what he was doing to me.
When his hand moved to the side of my face to pull me towards him, my mind screamed to get away. It was calling out danger because that was all he was. He was dangerous and when his lips touched mine again, I was lost just that quickly.
His tongue pushed through my lips and there was far more insistence in this kiss. My body melted against his and I was feeling like everything was perfect. That was the problem though.
I heard a soft moan in the air and realized it was me. He had won and I pushed back from him before I lost myself for good.
“I knew that you felt something for me.”
“I do Rick, but I know how you are and I don’t want to be a part of it.”
I was feeling restless and I couldn’t stand there with him grinning at me like that anymore. I had to get up and I had to put some distance between us.
“I am going to go for a walk through the park. I will see you at the demonstration later.”
He nodded his head, but didn’t say anything. He was disappointed, but I was too. I was disappointed in myself and my lack of willpower. I should have known better and this trip was turning out to be a bigger mess than I had originally thought.
I looked down at the cleavage one of the men that passed me in the hallway was looking at and I sighed to myself. Being dressed up as my sister was not helping anything at all. I looked too much like her and now I was starting to understand what life must be like for her. I couldn’t imagine men gawking at me all day. After what it had done to Rick, I was convinced that it was the clothes that were doing it. Maybe I had let loose a little too much and I needed to rein it back in.