Chapter Thirteen

Eliza

Apparently the Universe liked to play games with me, like it was swirling around in a ball of laughter watching my life unfold around me. I had done so much research on these companies, but what I didn’t do was look up the owner. There were a million marketing firms in the city, and I just so happened to walk into Anthony’s, and during flu season nonetheless. Had it been any other week I probably wouldn’t even have realized Anthony owned the company, especially with how thorough his employees seemed to be.

I didn’t know whether to blame fate or the flu, but somebody was definitely getting my silent cuss words at that moment. It wasn’t that I was upset to see him; it was more a shock, and I had no time to prepare myself for it. I mean, he reacted the same way when he walked in, his body freezing and his mouth hanging open. I definitely enjoyed seeing Anthony caught off guard, considering how everything and everyone in his life catered to his needs. I couldn’t imagine the man was met with very many surprises on a daily basis.

He looked so handsome standing in the doorway of the conference room, strutting across the floor in his thousand-dollar suit, perfectly pressed tie, and million-dollar smile. His slicked-back, Italian-style hair looked like someone from a magazine came over and did it for him. It was actually pretty sexy thinking about him as a mobster, a man on a mission, the guy with all the control. However, from the looks of the wasteland that the office was and the fact that he was the one handling my interview, the flu had taken control and left him without anyone to do his bidding.

Hopefully, everything had been disinfected because the last thing I needed was to take the viral plague back to the yoga studio and infect half of the Art District. My girls would string me up in the streets if I got them sick. Most of them went to great lengths with their diets, holistic remedies, and prayers to not catch the flu when it went around.

I took a deep breath and opened my notebook, pulling out my pen. I needed to get through this with as little need for distraction as possible. I could feel him staring across the table at me still chuckling under his breath. He had already told me I looked gorgeous, but I was trying to ignore his compliments. I needed a marketing firm—that was something there was no doubt on—and if he couldn’t provide me the service in a professional manner, I would go somewhere else.

As if he could read my mind he sat up straight in his chair. I could handle the smirk on his face if he was going to act professionally. I tried not to smile at the situation, but you had to admit, it was kind of humorous.

“So, Zen Studios in the Art District is looking to fill its current teachers’ schedules before doing any of the expanding you were talking about,” I said. “Winter is a killer for us, most people only making it through a few classes before canceling or just not coming back. We don’t mind those that don’t come back because you prepay for your classes, but we want to have enough people that it isn’t an issue from month to month.”

“You want to stabilize your revenue year round,” he said, looking at my notes.

“Exactly,” I said. “And then, at that point, continue to grow until we’ve reached our max capacity of classes.”

“What type of marketing do you currently do?”

“Well, the Manhattan office is definitely a good marketing tool,” I explained. “But getting people from there to the Art District is hard. Other than that, we rely on newspaper ads and flyers.”

“Gotcha,” he replied, pulling out his laptop and moving next to me at the table.

He opened it up and pulled up some files. They were templates of different generic marketing plans that included the minimal like what we did all the way up to prime-time commercial slots. The ideas were impressive.

“These are where we start,” he said, pulling up the different options. “From there we customize to what you need.”

I shook my head, looking at the options and trying to ignore the fact that I felt pulled to him like a magnet. I had to focus on the task at hand. It was what would drive my future at Zen. I had to fight to keep myself from being sucked back into his world, and it was proving harder and harder the closer he sat to me.

Luckily the meeting was only scheduled for half an hour, so we got through the different options as quickly as possible. When we were done, he handed me a packet to go over so that I could make a better decision when I got home and went through my notes. It was slightly awkward with him staring at me and me trying to avoid those deep eyes at all costs. I was trying to stay professional and keep my emotions in control, something that I, for some reason, had a really hard time doing around him. I could see him smirking from the corner of my eye, and electricity shot through my chest.

From the moment I met Anthony I thought he was handsome as hell, but sitting next to him at the table, I couldn’t believe how attracted to him I was. His cologne smelled amazing, and his muscles tensed beneath his perfectly pressed suit. I tried my best to ignore it, but it was more than difficult. Usually when I had already slept with a man, I could control those thoughts and urges, but thinking about when we slept together seemed to only make the situation worse. I could feel the heat between my legs, and every time his arm brushed against mine, my heart sped up.

Visions of his solid, muscular, tan body floated through my brain, and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, fearful that he could read what I was thinking about. I could see his plump lips moving, but I wasn’t listening to a damn thing he was saying. Instead, I was imagining those lips pressed against mine, slipping down my neck, and taking me to that place of ecstasy that he had before. I could feel the chills run down my neck, and I reached up, pretending to scratch so he wouldn’t notice.

I wondered if he was having the same thoughts as me, picturing himself unleashing that huge cock of his and giving it to me really good. I would have loved nothing more than to climb up on the giant wooden table, push everything to the floor, and have him fuck me right there, the projector flashing our writhing bodies onto the screen. There was definitely a level of passion between us that I could barely stand, and the tension was almost visible.

He cleared his throat, pulling me from the thought, and I sat up, realizing I was leaning my head on my hands and staring at him longingly. I was like a teenager with a crush, only this man I wanted to take to bed over and over again. He was sensual in everything he did from speaking with pursed lips to the way he rubbed the base of his pen against his cheek when he was thinking. I watched as he flipped through the computer screen, biting his bottom lip. I wanted to lean forward and suck that lip right into my mouth, showing him just how much I wanted him.

“Eliza?”

“Oh,” I said, shaking my head and coming back to reality. “What did you say?”

“I said that was about all we offered,” he said, chuckling. “Take home the packet and review it. We can schedule a call to see what you come up with.”

“Okay,” I said in a daze as he shut his laptop.

He stood up and buttoned his jacket, walking to the other side and glancing up at me with that sexy smirk. I looked down, my cheeks blazing red. I could feel my entire face heating up, and it was kind of ridiculous. The meeting was finished, so I gathered my things and began to place them back in my bag. Part of me wanted to take my time, not wanting to be away from Anthony, while the other part of me, the sensible side, was screaming to get out of there as fast as I possibly could. I had never been that conflicted about being around a man in my life. Anthony was definitely throwing me for a loop.

I picked up my bag and put it over my shoulder, grabbing my jacket and placing it over my arm. I stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether to bring up the card and the text, but sighed and decided it wasn’t the time for that. He stood there watching me waver back and forth in my thoughts, and I could tell he found it amusing. I walked past him, looking straight at the door, but I felt his hand grasp me by the arm. He whirled me around until I was facing him, my face slightly in shock.

He looked deep into my eyes for several moments as I stood stiffly in his hands. Quickly, he leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine and kissing me with a passion I hadn’t felt before. Slowly my muscles began to relax, feeling comfortable in his grasp. I leaned into the kiss, a slight moan escaping my throat. He held me close, the smell of his cologne wafting into my nostrils, and the feeling of his tongue sliding through my mouth creating an electric feeling between my legs. I couldn’t move, except for where he put me with his hands.

He stepped forward, bringing me in even closer, his mouth still firmly plastered against mine. I opened my eyes and looked at his face, his eyes shut and his body pushing into mine. I whimpered and closed my eyes again, leaning in further, wanting more from him than what he could give me in the conference room of his office building. His hands ran up and down my arms, and I could feel the bulge in his pants growing slowly bigger as it pressed against my stomach. I pressed up on my tiptoes, meeting him strongly with my mouth. He was so amazing, and there was nothing I could do to escape the haze that he put me in when I was around him.

He slowed his kiss down and gently pulled away, kissing my nose before leaning back. His dark eyes stared deeply into mine, and the intensity between us was rushing through me. I was breathless and had no words, so I stood there, slightly shocked from the turn of events.

“Go away with me this weekend,” he whispered, his eyes glowing with excitement and lust.

I looked at him with a dreamy stare, as if him asking me to go away with him was a normal occurrence. Once the words sank into my brain, my eyes detached and I took in a deep breath. My heart was screaming yes, but my brain was bellowing no. Not only was I gun-shy around this man, but I had responsibilities to tend to. I knew I could get my classes covered; that was not the issue. In fact, I wasn’t really sure what the issue was beyond fear. This man was stunning, and he made me feel things I had never felt before.

I just didn’t know what to say.