Authors: Ashleigh Royce
I’d never been inside the Waldorf Astoria, but I knew it was an extremely ornate display of Art Nouveau between the late 1890s to the 1910s. Rich gold repetitious concentric circles adorned door lintels as fluid, natural curves of flowers and wiry flowers of various shapes filled every space. The movement of Art Nouveau was at it’s best in the display at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
As our car pulled up to the front, Rebecca let go of my hand, which had been wrapped around hers since we left her apartment.
“I don’t want to let go, but we need to remain professional here.”
I nodded my understanding.
The sinewy patterns were alive with feeling as you walked through the enormous hotel, as if being embraced by the décor into a world reminiscent of a time when people lived much above the means of the average, blue-collar worker. Far from being the first to arrive, you would have thought us royalty as everyone flocked to Rebecca to ensure she knew that they were in attendance. Even the waiters hovered, asking what she needed. I was quickly pushed to the recesses of the room as she was passed forward from one publisher to the next, then on to the authors and wealthy benefactors. I found myself near the bar and opted to get myself a drink. At least it would look like I had a purpose if I had a glass in my hand. I decided to get one for Rebecca as well, but I wasn’t sure what she drank. Steering clear of alcohol, I asked for a ginger ale with a lime. That way it would look like a cocktail without the buzzing effects.
Wandering through the sea of people
, that had miraculously grew in number since our arrival, I searched for Rebecca. I spied her talking with Gail Cranston. The thought hit me that I was watching the most renowned editor, for the largest publishing house, in the country, talking to the biggest literary agent, my boss and now lover. I admired how the fabric hugged Rebecca’s curves, the curves I had just had the pleasure of experiencing and now wanted more. My insides buzzed with excitement and I hoped the evening would continue the way it began.
I set my sights on the two women, but before I was close enough for
them to catch my eye, a somewhat assertive man in a tuxedo intercepted the ladies. He was every bit a cliché: tall, dark, handsome, and judging from his fancy attire and the attitude he wore as a cloak, wealthy.
I slowed my pace and watched, as Rebecca seemed to be charmed by this new gentleman. My self-conscious criticized every way I wasn’t like this stranger. Rebecca looked in my direction and smiled when she saw me. That was my
cue to approach. I sidled up next to her.
“I thought you might like something to drink.” I handed her the ginger ale.
Her smile widened. “How thoughtful.” She turned toward Gail Cranston. “Gail, you remember Alex.” With my free hand, I took hers and gave a polite little bow in her direction. I hoped I was as charming as Mr. Mysterious. Rebecca seemed pleased with my approach. She turned toward the man. “Alex, I’d like to introduce you to Donovan Richards.” I stood up tall and offered my hand, which he shook with a firm grip. His greying temples gave him a look of authority, but I could see that he was a man driven to succeed, no matter the consequences.
“Mr. Richards, your reputation precedes you.” Let him wonder what that means.
He let out a hearty, fake laugh. If I didn’t dislike him before, I certainly did after hearing that sinister chuckle.
“So you’re Rebecca’s new sidekick
?” The condescension in his voice was thick.
“Yes.”
I didn’t want to say much to him.
He gave a snicker. “Well then, maybe you can talk some sense into her.” He focused his attention on her. “I’ve been trying to get her to merge with me to become the largest, and most successful literary agency in the world.
” He lifted Rebecca’s hand to his lips. Rebecca’s brow furrowed and she looked from him to me. I’m not sure if it was anger or jealousy that welled up inside of me, but I knew I didn’t like him touching her.
“We all know that’s not going to happen, Donovan.” She pulled her hand
away. Gail remained stoic next to Rebecca. I remembered her comments about Donovan during our lunch. She didn’t care for the man and his bullshit either.
A young man, maybe twenty-two, approached our group. His suit looked too big for him, as if he borrowed it from his dad.
He seemed out of sorts. I knew how he felt. He whispered something into Donovan’s ear and then stepped back, waiting for instruction.
“If you’ll excuse me, one of my top authors is here. I must go say hello.” With his attention on
Gail Cranston first, he said, “Gail, it was lovely to see you.” His attention shifted toward me. “Alex, good luck to you in your new role.” He turned to Rebecca. “Just give it some more thought. You know we’d be perfect together.” He swiveled on one foot and followed the young man away from our group.
Gail Cranston
kept her eye on him as he left. “It’s amazing that man can get his pants on with the size of his balls.”
Rebecca laughed. “He only
thinks
he has a big set.” She looked at Gail. “Mine are much bigger.” The two women laughed. I sipped my drink in order to hide my smile.
Rebecca took me around the room and introduced me to various people: editors, publishers, independent book printers, competitive agents, non-competitive agents.
By the night’s end, my head was crammed with names and faces, trying to remember what I already knew about them and everything new she told me about each one.
The evening weather was beautiful
so we waited for our car on the street, in front of the lavish hotel. The full moon shone between the skyscrapers. Rebecca looked radiant in its light. Her pale skin gave off a glow. My heart thumped in my chest. Was I falling for her? It was just last week that I had agreed with everyone that she was a ruthless taskmaster. A slight breeze danced through the curls that fell around her face. She shuttered. I moved closer to her and handed her my suit jacket, just as I had done after the dinner we had a few days earlier, but now it was that I wanted to protect her rather than it being an act of chivalry. She smiled as she covered the goose pimples that covered her exposed skin.
Heavy air lingered between us. I wanted so badly to kiss her, but I knew she wou
ldn’t approve of my being so close with so many people around us who’d use it against her. Our car arrived and I helped her in. When I closed the door, she gave the driver the address and waited until we pulled far enough away from the hotel so that we couldn’t see it through the back window. Turning toward me, she needed no words. Her eyes told me what she was thinking. It was what I was thinking, too. Her hands slid the fabric of her dress up her hips. Then she swung her leg over my lap and straddled me. Her lips were an inch from mine. I reached out with my mouth and connected with hers. Their warmth and softness sent ripples through my core. My hands found her waist. The driver’s eyes appeared in the rearview mirror then he quickly averted his glance. Rebecca rocked her hips so that she rubbed against my growing erection.
Moving my hands, I positioned one down under her behind. The other slid to the front of her dress. I skimmed down the fabric until I reached the hem, then backtracked up underneath, gliding over her leg. When I reached the damp panel
of lace between her thighs, I slipped a finger under the elastic of her panties. Stroking her clitoris with my thumb, her hips gyrated in synchronicity with my circular motion. A small gasp escaped her.
Again the driver peeked in his mirror. I glared at him and he refocused on the road.
Back and forth she moved against me. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to hold back until the end of the car ride. As if she read my mind, she slid me sideways until I was lying across the backseat of the cab. Her hands made fast work to undo my belt and unbuttoned my waistband. A slow tug of my fly revealed the hard-on that was barely contained within my briefs. She lifted then lowered the elastic band enough to expose my hardened length. As the cab stopped for a red light, she lowered her head and took me into her mouth. My heart pounded and I got lost in the sensation of being in her mouth, of being in the cab, in the middle of Manhattan. It was thrilling.
The warmth of her
mixed with the internal explosions I was experiencing and the constant glances from the cabbie made it exciting. The taxi resumed when the light changed. As the cab jerked and bucked through the pot-holed streets of Manhattan, Rebecca bobbed and licked every inch of me. I gripped the edge of the seat with my right hand and meshed my left into my own hair, trying to harness the sensations I was feeling. However, by the time we reached Union Square, I could hold back no longer. My hips thrust upward as I stilled and released into her mouth. She waited until I was done to lift my briefs back into place and sat up. She searched through her purse for a tissue and a mint, as I closed my pants and sat up next to her, on the side opposite from where I started. I fought to regain a normal breathing pattern. By the time I could speak without panting, we had arrived at Rebecca’s building.
She paid the taxi cab driver. “This will cover his ride home,” she said. She exited the car and leaned in to give me a kiss before closing the door.
She passed the mint into my mouth. I opened the window. “I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you for a perfect night.” Speechless, I watched as she walked into her building, leaving me in the taxi.
When I knew she was safely inside, I gave the cabbie my address. He looked into the mirror and smiled. “Anything you want, boss.
You’re my new hero.”
The next morning, I woke up with the smell of her perfume on me. I was reluctant to shower. As the water ran down my body, I thought of the memorable cab ride from the night before. Did I dream it all from the time I went to Rebecca’s apartment until I went to sleep? New stirrings tingled inside me. My body wouldn’t let me think of anything but her. The fragrance of her hair, the softness of her skin, the way her lips felt against mine, how she handled me over and over. Memories of how wonderful it felt to be inside her flashed through my head. Remembering the water flowing over her body in her shower. The way the fullness of her breasts looked in her cocktail dress made my breath heave. The rush I felt when she told that jackass Richards off. And, the surprise of her command of me in the cab, taking what she wanted as I surrendered. With one last stroke, I found release. It mingled with the shower water as it circled the drain.
Making a conscious effort to put my clothing together
better, I chose a light grey shirt and paired it with a red, white and black tie. Black shoes finished off at the bottom of black dress slacks. I wrote myself a note and used the magnet on the refrigerator to remind myself that I’d have to go clothes shopping over the weekend.
With coffee in hand, I walked into the office and greeted Rose. “How was the fancy party last night?”
“It was… interesting,” I offered a suggestive smile, now knowing how Rose knew that Rebecca wanted me, on multiple levels.
Rose
picked up on my hidden meaning. She smiled in return as she took her cup from the cardboard tray.
I walked into the office. Rebecca was already on the phone. My heart rate increased when I saw her. I wanted so badly to pull her close to me and kiss her, but I stopped in front of her desk.
“I told you, I’m not interested, Donovan. I’m quite happy on my own. In fact, I’m doing pretty well without a partner.” She smiled when she saw me. “Well, I appreciate your persistence… Yes, I’ll let you know if I’ve changed my mind. Thanks for the call.” When she hung up, she said, “Pompous ass” to the telephone.
I handed her a cup of coffee. “Thank you. Good morning.” She took a small sip of the steaming liquid. I watched
her lips pucker. A flash of how those lips created magic on my body just hours before caused a pull between my legs. I wished I were a cup of coffee. “Did you sleep well?” The edge in her voice sent a ripple through me.
“I did.” I walked up next
to her and leaned over her chair. Her body tensed with my closeness in the office. My lips brushed her ear, “But I missed you.” I put a light kiss on her hair and then tucked the lock behind her ear, before walking to my desk. I picked up a stack of submissions that I had read. Taking the seat in front of Rebecca’s desk I began what had become our ritual for discussing potential clients. She watched me with amused marvel as I donned my business persona.
“Well,” there was a playful lilt in her voice. “I think you should request more of the paranormal fantasy and the erotic novel.
Gail told me last night that she wants to expand her company’s production of those genres.”
With our regular business concluded, I stood to return to my desk. “By the way,” she said. I turned to look at her. “You look positively yummy today.”
There was that playful word again. Feelings from my morning shower returned. I needed to sit at my desk before she noticed. One side of my mouth lifted. I hoped it conveyed what I was thinking.
Three hours worth of reading through submissions went by before I got up to stretch. Rebecca had just ended her millionth phone call. She stretched
, too.
“I’m going downstairs to get
some lunch from the deli. Want something?” I asked.
“What are you getting?”
“I think just a sandwich.”
“Okay. Get me one
.”
I went to the deli and had Marty make me two of his specials.
With lunch bag in hand I met up with Lindsey and Katie getting out of the elevator just as I was going back to the office. “Hey, what’s going on?” I asked.
Lindsey filled me in
on what I was missing in the other part of the office, telling me what the other agents were working on. Katie remained quiet. I turned toward her. “So how are you settling in?”
“Just fine.” Her curt answer wasn’t what I expected.
I returned my attention to Lindsey. “How’s Connor?”
She chuckled. “He’s perfect.
Thanks again for introducing us.”
I didn’t have to ask any more. I knew they had hit it off. I said goodbye to Lindsey and Katie when the elevator
doors opened, they turned to go into the coffee shop in the lobby of the building.
When I walked
by Rose’s desk, she stopped me before I went in to Rebecca. “Preston Price is in there.” She rolled her eyes. I laughed.
“Should I wait out here?”
“I’ll ring in and see what she wants you to do.” Rose dialed Rebecca’s extension. She whispered into the phone, “Do you want Alex to come in? He has your lunch?” She listened. “Okay. Thank you.” She hung up and looked at me. “She said to go in.”
Even though I had the approval to
enter, I knocked lightly on the door to announce it, just in case they were talking about something I wasn’t supposed to have knowledge of. Preston Price was sitting in the seat I normally took. I walked over and handed Rebecca her sandwich.
“Thank you,” she said, putting it down on the side of her desk.
I turned toward Mr. Price and dusted off my fake agent act. “Mr. Price, how wonderful it is to see you again. Had I known you were coming, I would have waited to pick up lunch. Would you care for half of my sandwich?”
The pretentious author
giggled. He looked at Rebecca. “You are certainly training him the right way, Rebecca. He’s quite charming.” He resumed his glance at me. “I do appreciate your offer, Mr. Ryan. And although you look rather… delicious, I have lunch arrangements in just a bit. I only stopped by to tell Rebecca that I should have the latest revision to you by the end of the week. I’ve been very diligent about keeping up with the deadlines you’ve been setting for me.” With that, he rose out of the chair. I stepped back to allow him to pass.
Rebecca stood
, too. She walked around her desk to escort him to the door. “I’m glad to hear that we’re on track, Preston. As soon as I look over the corrected manuscript, I’ll call Gail. Maybe we can get this out on the shelves by the holidays.”
Preston got to the door and turned. “Imagine thinking of Christmas now, in June.” He let out another
giggle. Once he was out and in the elevator, Rebecca closed her office door. She turned toward me. Our faces were inches apart. “You’re wonderful. You played him like a piano, stroking all of his keys.” She kissed me, but it was quick. I wanted more, but knew we were not in the right place for that.
“
I’d like to stroke your keys. What are you doing after work today?” My hope was that I could spend some time with her to figure out what we had.
“I have to meet a client for dinner. I’d invite you along but he’s a bit odd about meeting new people.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I understand. I don’t have to shadow you on every appointment. I just thought we could talk, you know, get to know each other better.”
She rested her hand on my cheek. Her skin was soft. I inhaled the scent of her hand cream. The phone rang and interrupted the moment.
“Yes, Rose?” Rebecca listened. “Okay, put him through.” She hung up and waited for Rose to patch the call through. Her dragon-lady persona returned as she asserted herself toward the caller. I sat at my desk took a bite of my sandwich while I read the next manuscript in line for me to decide its fate with Stratford Literary. I didn’t hear Rebecca end her call or notice her in front of my computer monitor.
“You’re very sexy when you do that.”
“What? Read a manuscript?”
“Yes.” Her voice was seductive, playful.
I put the story down and gave her my full attention. I stood and moved closer. She pressed against me. The heat radiated from her body through our clothes. It charged me. In return, I pulled her hips toward me. We fit together perfectly, everything connecting in the right way, as if we were made for each other.
“I see you’ve been thinking about me.” Her voice was barely a whisper. It
caused my spine to tingle.
Suddenly, my breathing was rapid. I couldn’t think clearly. My mouth betrayed me. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. I even thought about you in the shower this morning.”
Her eyes sparkled. “You did?” she whispered. Her lips were a hair away from mine. They pulled like a magnet. I was intoxicated.
I nodded slowly,
hoping it would control my panting. One of her arms snaked around my neck as the other hand smoothed down my tie. It continued past the tip until she stopped on my crotch. I closed my eyes hoping to hold off, but she palmed my bulge and squeezed slightly. My mouth opened and a low moan escaped.
She
needed me. I couldn’t think of anything but the truth. Her fingers moved quickly. “What did you think about regarding me this morning in the shower?”
“I… I thought about how soft and curvy you are.”
“What else?” Her hand moved infinitesimally faster, as did my breathing. Her warm hand stroked my length.
“How good you smell, and…” The rubbing got harder. So did I.
“Oh…” I closed my eyes. Flashes of her at her apartment… on the bed, in the shower…
“And?”
“And… how wonderful you feel.” I was so close. I couldn’t make a comprehensible thought. Rebecca backed me against the wall. She pulled open my pants, by-passed my briefs, and took me into her hand. When she grabbed me, I let out a gasp. With slow up and down movements, she jerked me. My head was fuzzy. All I could think about was the sensation.
“What did you do about it?” Her breath
caressed my ear. It drove me to a higher level.
“I… I… I came.” And then I exploded in her hand.
Good thing the deli gives lots of napkins when you order lunch from them. They proved to be useful. Just as we finished cleaning up, Rose buzzed in with another call for Rebecca. Plucking a short, sweet, chaste kiss, before she walked to her desk, taking the call as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. I sat in my chair bewildered by what had just happened, and feeling very, very happy. And very, very guilty.
Before I knew it, Rose knocked on the door to wish us a good evening. She was going home. “Don’t forget your dinner meeting at six-thirty,” she reminded Rebecca.
“Thanks, Rose. Get home safely,” Rebecca returned without looking up from her paper work.
I walked to
ward the men’s room and noticed that the office was empty. Everyone had left for the day. My watch registered five forty-five. I half expected tumbleweeds to be rolling in the aisles between the desks.
A thought to reciprocate
Rebecca’s earlier expression of desire crossed my mind now that the threat of someone walking in on us was dissolved, but when I walked back into the office, she had a fresh coat of lipstick on and her purse in her hand. “Don’t forget to lock up when you leave.”
“Wait!”
She stopped and looked at me.
“When can I see you?”
“You see me every day,” she said.
“I mean privately. I want to be with you. Get to know you.”
She was at a loss. “I don’t know.”
“What about tonight, after your meeting?” I looked at her, silently pleading.
“I’m not sure what time I’ll be finished.”
“Can you call me when you’re done? I can be anywhere you tell me to be, at whatever time you tell me to be there.”
The lines in her face softened. She realized I wanted more than just a quickie in the office, or the cab, or her shower. She smiled. “Of course.” She placed a gentle kiss on my lips and stroked the side of my face. Then she walked out of the door.