Deceived - Part 1 New York

Deceived

Part 1 – New
York

By Eve Carter

CPH

This book is a work of
fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products
of the writer imagination or have been used fictitiously and are
not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or
dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely
coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 Eve Carter.

Published By Carter Publishing House.

Smashwords Edition

All
rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright
reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
the copyright owner.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark
owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction,
which have been used without permission. The publication/use of
these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored
by the trademark owners.

As I stood barefoot
at the water’s edge, I barely noticed the
freezing cold water lapping at my legs. My shoes were left behind
in the loose sand. I had managed to remove them, despite my hazy
state, before embarking into the Atlantic ocean on this chilly June
evening. The dress would be ruined though, but I couldn’t care
less. Nothing really mattered much anymore.

Staring at the dark blue
velvet sky over the horizon, I furiously blinked back tears of
frustration, in an effort to arrest any further erosion of my soul.
Every perception I had believed and trusted had changed in a split
second. Paradise had been shattered into hell, desire turned into
disinclination and love into hatred. Divine heavenly pleasure was
now replaced by a dark excruciating pain, a pain so strong it could
only be eased by walking farther and farther into the black ocean.
Surely, the cold water would clear my mind, release the suffering
and ache, making it all go away.

I had been deceived. Played
like a dumb fool in this billionaire’s playground. I had taken part
in a sensual, erotic and passionate ride that was now just an
illusion, except this was not a fairytale. This was a real story
and it all began a couple of weeks ago.....

“
Miss Swanson, bring me the
file for Baroness Von Lamberg”. The sudden outburst from the
intercom jolted me from my work-a-day concentration. I quickly
gathered my wits about me and pressed down the button to answer,
“Yes Sir, I will be right there with it”.

Opening the file cabinet, I
deftly located it under L for Lamberg and grabbing the file, I
headed down the mahogany covered hallway to the office of Patrick
Collins, the Agency Account Director of Meyer and Meyer.

I can’t believe it has
been six months already, since I started working at the third
largest ad agency in New York City.
I was
so fortunate to get this assistant job, even if it is just an entry
level position. For once in my life luck was on my side and I
landed the job right after graduating with an MBA in Marketing from
Iowa State University.

Back in college, I would
lie awake at nights just dreaming about living in a big city like
New York. The constant busy pulsing from the myriad of city traffic
calms me and excites me at the same time. Maybe city life excites
me because it’s the exact opposite from my dreary life growing up
in Fairfield, Iowa. Or, maybe it appeals to my hidden alter ego, a
slightly darker facet of my psyche, which I like to think of, not
as bad or evil, just as... a little edgy.

Arriving in front of
Patrick Collins’ office, I stopped for a brief moment to straighten
my skirt and knocked on the door.

“
Come in,” he ordered. His
deep voice from behind the door compelled me to enter.

“
Here’s the Baroness’ file
that you requested, Mr. Collins,” I announced as I placed the file
on his desk. I noticed how his steel-blue eyes were scanning my
body, up and down its length. Subconsciously, I glanced down at my
cleavage, wondering if I had opened my favorite black sweater a
little too much for professional office attire, wondering if the
sparkle of the open rhinestone button, that lay glistening on the
roundness of my upper breast, was too enticing for my boss,
Mr. Collins. Maybe it was, but I liked that
thought.

“
Thank you Miss Swanson.
Will you close the door and sit down for a minute?” he
suggested.

Nervously, I shut the door
behind me and pulled out a chair.

“
Have you ever heard of
Baroness Anna Von Lamberg?” he inquired. For some
unexplainable reason my throat suddenly felt as dry as a dessert
storm. I tried to answer confidently, but his intense
stare left me feeling slightly anxious and the words came out with
a crackle.

“
No Sir, I can’t say I
have,” I replied.

“
Well, she is an eccentric
billionaire, controlling over twenty-five office and retail
buildings in Manhattan, not to mention her inheritance of one of
the largest mansions in the Hamptons. She has been a client of ours
for almost ten years now, but unfortunately only regarding her
charities. What we would really like, is to represent her billion
dollar retail empire but so far it’s been a complete dead end. You
see, she can be a little – peculiar, and quite discerning at times
which makes representing her almost impossible. What we need are
some fresh young ideas to show her that we are a cutting edge
company. And that’s where your talents come in. The Baroness will
be here this afternoon for a creative meeting and I would really
like it if you could attend,” he explained.

“
Me? I mean- sure,
that would be amazing,” I stuttered with surprise as I came to
attention and sat up a little on the edge of my chair.

“
Great,” Patrick chimed
out, satisfaction bellowing out of his voice. “I’ll see you later
then. The meeting is at four o’clock in the main conference
room.”

I took his cue as he arose
from behind the dark mahogany desk, a duplicitous smile creasing
his lips, and jumped to my feet. “Thank you Mr. Collins, thank
you.”

Inside my head I was doing
the “happy dance”. I couldn’t believe I got the chance to show off
my ideas. My heart was racing. I imagined that I was already at the
meeting delivering a marvelous oratory that astounded the entire
group. I turned to make a quick exit out the door before he had the
chance to change his mind when his words stopped me just shy of the
threshold.

“
Oh, by the way...” he
interjected.

I froze in my
tracks.
Oh no, - here it comes, the usual
request, “Go get me some coffee.”

“
Could you do me a huge
favor Miss Swanson? My niece is turning twenty-one next weekend and
I need to get her a present. Would you mind picking out something
for her?”

“
No, not at all. What is
she into...? I mean, what does she like?” I stammered.
Halfway out the door, I leaned my upper body back into his office,
holding the door open with one hand, gripping the door frame with
the other.

“
Get her an elegant dress
she can wear to the Hamptons charity ball that she will be
attending with me in two weeks,” he said decidedly.

“
Sounds great, what size is
she?” I asked, while walking back into the office getting out my
little notepad.

His eyes once again beamed
up and down my body, this time making a, not so subtle, pause at my
cleavage. “About your size I would say, except not as
voluptuous up here,” he said cunningly with a gesture of his hands
as if he were palming two large melons. “That should do. Here, take
my card,” he urged.

He stood up and leaned his
well-built upper body across the desk, his platinum credit card
extended towards me in the fingertips of his strong hand, those
steel-gray eyes piercing the air between us.

“
Get
something - well - that
even you
would wear to an A-list party,” he said with a suggestive glimmer
in his eyes, while handing me his credit card.

“
Will do, Mr.
Collins.”

Something in the smile,
something in his gaze made me feel aroused and weak in the knees at
the same time. No sooner had the emotion washed over my body when
it dissipated and I snapped out of it. No time for daydreaming now.
Today is my chance to show him and the company what I’m made of,
and besides, shopping for an expensive designer dress is fun, even
if it’s not for me.

Without another word, I
quickly accepted his bid and bolted for the door, my mind whirling
with a multitude of thoughts that ran the gamut from one extreme to
the other. Thoughts, on the one hand of projecting a professional
business woman image in the meeting, to thoughts of seductively
seducing Mr. Collins on the top of the main conference room table
in a tight fitting red dress, slit all the way up the side to
Shangri-La.

“
Oh, and be sure to be back
in time to prepare for the meeting,” he said coolly, as the door
closed behind me with a soft whoosh and a click.

Rushing down the busy
sidewalks of Manhattan towards Barney’s Department store, I kept
thinking about my big opportunity to finally show my boss that I am
more than just a secretary. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it
though. Why does he really want me in the meeting?
Ha! He has finally noticed how exceptionally
talented I am.
 I wavered.
Yea right, Chloe.
Something doesn’t add up. Sure, me being young and fitting
the targeted group of people we are looking to market towards,
makes me qualified, but it all sounded too good to be true. What is
he up to, I wondered.

My mind drifted back to
the first time I met Patrick Collins six months ago. During the
initial interview we exchanged handshakes and I felt a salacious
propulsive energy flood my body like a deluge. I literally could
have jumped his bones right then and there. I even wondered for a
moment if I would be able to keep my panties dry during work. I
burst out in a giggle at the absurd image of me walking through the
office that way.

He certainly is a very
attractive man. Rugged looking, with deep set, steel-blue
eyes, a solid square jaw, tobacco brown hair, and strong, wide
shoulders. He had an innately captivating presence and he
was
devastatingly
handsome.
Damn
!
I wouldn’t kick him out of my bed
for eating crackers in it.

At any given moment,
virility emanates from his body. He exudes a sexy, hot, yet
commanding aura normally associated with classic movie stars. Yes,
Patrick Collins was a man’s man, yet a man of contradictions. His
steel-blue eyes could be cold and mysterious one moment and hold a
gentle and exciting depth in another moment. He clearly works out
and stays in good shape.
Ohmigod! He’s
just plain hot, and he wants my input at the meeting. Woohoo!
Happy dance, happy dance.

Lost in my lusty fantasy,
I almost tripped over a crack in the pavement as I
thrust my shoulder into the revolving glass doors
of Barney’s. My mind shifted into overdrive. I only had an hour for
lunch and a tall order to fill for my own Mr. Wonderful. I didn’t
want to let him down. The thought of disappointing him twisted in
my stomach. I wanted to please him. Please him in more than
one way.

*~*~*

I was relieved to find
that the store wasn’t very busy and made a beeline to the designer
dresses. I knew the floor plan of Barney’s like the back of my
hand. If this store were a mouse maze I would have found the cheese
before the buzzer sounded.

After the tortuously
slow sales assistant shepherded me in and out of the fitting rooms
with six different dresses, I finally found the perfect
one. It was a floor length, sleeveless, black crepe, Prabal
Gurung designer gown, with a ruched, V-neck, draped bodice. It was
gorgeous. It was elegant. It was $3000.