The following day I found myself at Alexander Holdings Incorporated. The elevator doors opened onto the familiar floor where I was greeted by Grayson’s secretary.

“Gaby, it’s so good to see you. I’ll let him know you’re here.” I nodded and took a seat. “You know, I think it’s so amazing how you’re not even jealous.”

I didn’t know what she meant by that. “Excuse me?” I was confounded by her statement.

“Oh, you know. I don’t think I’d be nearly as comfortable as you, if I was in your situation. I guess it just takes confidence,” she chuckled lightly.

I still had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe the fact I was unemployed? I decided to play along to see if she’d give me answers. “Well, you know it wasn’t easy.”

“I’m sure. How could it be easy for your boyfriend to be working with his ex?”

It felt like someone punched me in the gut. His ex? I tried not to display my reaction. “Like I said, it wasn’t,” I forced a smile.

“But you seem to be handling it well. Oh, and the fact that you were okay with how late he was last night. I have to say I was amazed you weren’t ringing the phone off the hook. Then again if you were okay with him showing up late to the function you had the other night because he was having a business dinner with her, I shouldn’t be surprised. Now having lunch with the two of them? It’s all incredibly mature.”

Grayson chose that moment to walk out of his office. I stood turning my sights on him. One look at me and he could see the storm brewing that I was struggling to contain in front of his secretary.

“Ms. Giles, forward my calls and take your lunch,” Grayson hissed.

“Yes, sir.” She seemed startled by his demeanor. Poor woman didn’t know that she had just let the cat out of the bag. She made quick with her task all the while Grayson and I stood staring each other down; me with my heated glare and Grayson with his apologetic eyes. Ms. Giles grabbed her purse and left as quickly as possible. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Grayson began apologizing.

“Gaby, I’m so sorry.” He took a step towards me and I responded by stepping away. I couldn’t let him get closer to me. I was liable to punch him in the face with full vampiric force.

“You seem to be using that phrase a lot, Grayson.”

“I asked you here to tell you.”

“To tell me? No. You want me to meet her. Your ex. The woman you’ve been seeing without me knowing for God knows how long now,” I shouted.

He had the audacity to roll his eyes. “I haven’t been seeing her. You’re being ridiculous.” The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake.

“Ridiculous?” I spat.

“Gaby, I didn’t mean…”

“No. I’m being ridiculous. Me? The person who didn’t know her boyfriend was spending so much time with his ex.”

“I’m your fiancé.” His tone became sharp. “And I asked you here to tell you now.”

“Really, Grayson? Why didn’t you tell me last night or the night you were late to my father’s? You knew you were going to be spending time with her.”

“Because, I knew how hard it was for you just being around your father. I didn’t want to make it worse by telling you about Chloe.”

“Chloe? Really?” I fought the urge to laugh. The fight in me began to fade as I chuckled over the fact that Grayson dated a woman named Chloe. Chloe sounded like the name of the little girl you babysat for, who only ever wanted to play with her Barbies, not the name of a business woman who had dated one of New York’s most eligible bachelors.

“Well, I’m glad you find it amusing.” He took a step towards me and this time I didn’t back away. Instead, I walked into his embrace. He held me tight, cradling my head to his chest until my mirth left me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I really was trying to make it easier on you. I didn’t want you worried about her.”

I tilted my chin up to look into his smoky gray eyes. “And I have no reason to be worried?”

“None.”

“You’re not concerned that working this close together will stir up any old feelings?”

He smirked then cupped my face between his hands. “See this is the reason why I didn’t want to tell you.” He kissed me lightly on the forehead. “There is absolutely no chance of that happening. Not just because Chloe and I never really had a connection, but because no one compares to you. You, Gaby, are my future wife, my mate, my love,” his eyes dropped to the diamond necklace draped around my neck. “Only you will have my heart.”

“Forever?” I whispered.

“Forever,” he grinned.

I was quiet as we rode down the elevator. I really didn’t want to do this. Meeting his ex would make it real for me. I wasn’t ignorant. I knew that unlike myself, Grayson had been with other women before he met me. I had no illusions of his chastity, but being face to face with someone who he had kissed, touched, seen naked, was a little more than I could stomach. Now I would have a face to put with the disturbing images whenever they’d creep into my thoughts.

When the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open, Grayson studied me for a moment before leading me from the small chamber.

This floor was different from the one that housed Grayson’s office. Scattered throughout were cubicles cramped collectively. Along the walls were doors that led to conference rooms or small offices.

Grayson led me through the clusters of preassembled walls, to a desk resting just outside a door.

“Susie, tell her we’re ready for lunch,” he stated before walking away, not waiting for a response. Grayson then walked to a neighboring door. He held it open for me as I walked over the threshold. There had been no seats out there to wait in, so waiting in a conference room made sense. I stood looking out the large glass window, seeing downtown functioning like a well oiled machine, when I heard the blinds close creating a veil between us and the rest of the office.

“What are you doing?” I wondered. Before he replied, Grayson used his vampire speed and was instantly behind me. He pulled my hair back, giving him access to my neck.

“Do you really think that I’m going to let you remain in this foul mood?” He whispered his breath warm against my ear. I looked at him over my shoulder realizing I hadn’t fooled him. “Now lean back against the table, before I bend you over on it.”

I bit my lip, trying to prevent the smile that was aching to show and did as I was told. I rested my palms on the table and leaned my weight against it. Grayson’s eyes locked with mine as he dropped to his knees and slid his hand up my dress. With a cocky half grin, he pulled my panties down to my ankles, before tucking them into his pocket.

“What if someone walks in?”

“Then they’ll learn that next time, they need to knock before busting through a closed door.” He shoved my skirt up to my hips and lifted me onto the table before burying his head between my legs. I gasped with the sheer ferocity. His skilled tongue flicked and swirled over my moist, sensitive flesh. My fingers thread through his hair coaxing him closer. I opened my eyes and looked out the window before me. Out there the entire city could be watching this man bring me to the brink. I’d be lying if I said that the thought hadn’t turned me on. Gripping my hips, Grayson pulled me closer, sending me straight over the cliff I was resting on. My eyes closed as the moans of ecstasy escaped me. White stars covered the blackness behind my eye lids.

When I opened them again, Grayson was standing before me with a devilish grin on his handsome face. “Better?” He asked.

“Not quite,” I insisted, sliding off the table tugging my skirt back in place. His brow knitted, probably thinking that his mad skills hadn’t left me completely sated. They had, in a way, but not in another.

A wicked look spread across my face as I pressed my hand against his chest, forcing him to step back, until we had traded places. Running my fingers down his lean, defined muscles, they came to a stop at his belt. Making quick work of it, I unbuckled it.

“My turn,” I suggested as I dropped to my knees. I took my time freeing him, letting my hand grip and stroke his hard manhood. When I finally pulled him from the confines of his clothing, I looked up at Grayson from under my lashes. I kept my eyes locked on his as I took him into my mouth. He groaned, closing his eyes from the pleasure of it. Part of me felt giddy and for a brief moment I had forgotten where we were and why I was there. I moved my mouth up and down on him. I swirled my tongue around his tip, doing anything and everything I could to draw the moment of ecstasy out as long as I could, when suddenly the door opened.

“Grayson, here you are,” a woman uttered, not noticing that I was in front of him.

Without thinking, I released Grayson and peeked around him to see who had interrupted us. Her eyes locked on me and her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. She quickly put her back to us, but didn’t leave.

“Oh, I am so sorry. My assistant said you were ready for lunch.”

I stood and both Grayson and I tried to make ourselves less disheveled.

“It’s alright Chloe. I thought I had locked the door,” he mumbled, feeling the frustration from the lack of gratification.

“You probably did, but they don’t lock. My guess is to prevent things like this from happening.”

Once Grayson was back to his earlier perfection, he started walking around the conference table, towards the door. I quickly grabbed his arm, halting him.

“What about my panties?” I whispered, barely audible.

“Think about it as justification. We’re both left wanting something we can’t have at the moment,” he whispered back, just loud enough for only me to hear. With a quick wink, he headed towards the door. “Shall we?”

 

 

Sitting across the table from Chloe, I realized I didn’t like her. It started with her first comment from the moment we arrived at the restaurant, when she tastelessly questioned,

“So when did you become Mr. Exhibitionist? I remember a time when you didn’t even want to have sex outside of the bedroom, forget about doing it at the office.”

And just like that, I now had repulsive images of her and Grayson in the bed we shared. Now, we sat across from her listening to her babble on about her sex life and the strange places she’s had it in. I guess it was her way of trying to relieve the awkwardness of her stumbling in on us. It wasn’t working.

“What about you, Gaby?” she pried.

“What about me, what?”

Grayson had been leaning back in the booth that we sat with his arm casually draped around me. He now sat forward, joining the conversation.

“Chloe, I don’t think that that’s…” he started, but she cut him off.

“Oh come on, Grayson. We’re all friends here.” She then turned her gaze onto me. “So where are some strange places that you had sex, before Grayson?”

“Chloe?” Grayson was trying, but she just wasn’t listening.

She was leaning across the table readying herself for my answer. I wasn’t sure why she was pushing so hard.

“Nowhere,” I stated casually.

“Oh, come on. I just caught you two in the conference room.”

“Leave it alone, Chloe.” Grayson spoke firmly.

“What? Do you not know each other’s history?”

“Not that it’s really any of your business, but I am immensely familiar with her history. Now can we please change the subject?” Grayson’s words did little to sate her as she continued to press. I had finally reached my breaking point.

“Chloe!” I exclaimed, bringing her gaze to mine. “No. More. Talking.” I was forceful, feeling my influence flow from me.

“Gaby,” Grayson stated, obviously upset with my rudeness. I waved him off. I didn’t want to break the trance I had created. I still wasn’t great at influencing people, but I was getting better.

“You will be quiet the rest of lunch. You will not listen to mine and Grayson’s conversation. You will hear nothing spoken between us until we leave here. Now eat your food quietly.” I broke my eye contact with her and turned my sights to Grayson, who was staring at me with an angry bewilderment. “Oh, like you wouldn’t have done it too.”

“Gaby, she’s still a person.”

“A person who wouldn’t shut up about our sex life! Speaking of, maybe I should remove that image from her brain?”

“No, leave it.” I crinkled my brow at him not grasping why. “The sight of us together is just a little insurance to let her know that if she took this job for any other reason than work, then she’s going to be disappointed.”

“Did you set it up on purpose?”

He chuckled lightly, “No. I just saw how quickly your mood was unraveling and thought you could use a pick me up.”

“Well, after this lunch, I think I deserve another.”

“Done.”