Deceived - Part 1 New York (4 page)

“
It’s cold,” she sniffed
and pushed it aside.

I wasn’t even ruffled. I
had anticipated as much. I sweetly smiled at her and then at
Patrick with a nod. He gave me a probing look and sweeping up the
coffee cup in one hand, I promptly dropped it in the trash with a
punctuated thud.

With an apologetic look in
his eyes Patrick said, “I’m sorry Chloe, we’ve just about wrapped
everything up here this afternoon. If you would please, take
these notes and type them up for me, I think we’re about out
of time here today. It’s getting late and the Baroness and I should
head out for the business dinner at Scalini's.”

“
Certainly Mr. Collins,
I’ll type it up for you so you will have it by tomorrow.” I said
calmly.

The Baroness arose from her
seat, obviously having had her fill of tedious business talk for
the day. She was notorious for dismissing people and true to form,
she waved away her assistant and her lawyer. As she spun her
gossamer around Patrick, her two assistants scurried out the door
in fear of getting caught in its sticky threads. With only the
three of us left in the room, the Baroness’ demeanor changed toward
Patrick. She was all over him like white on rice. I felt like
vomiting at the seductive syrupy sweet tone in her voice, so I
decided this was a good time to leave. One second longer and I may
have scratched her eyes out.

“
Oh, Chloe, one more thing
before you go. Can you make reservations for the Baroness and I at
Scalini's? Ask for the private side room, would you
please?”

Shit! The web was
spun.

Back in my office, I
finished typing up the notes from the meeting and walked down the
dark halls to deliver them to Patrick’s office. Everyone had gone
home, except me, there as usual, working late. Entering his office
I paused for a moment to put the papers on his desk. His chair was
swiveled in my direction, as if an open invitation appeared. My
fingers traced an imaginary design over the black leather of his
throne. I sat down in the soft expensive leather of his chair. It
smelled faintly of his cologne. As I leaned back, my thoughts
triggered old emotions. The disappointment of the meeting still
haunted me. I couldn’t get the image of the Baroness flirting with
Patrick out of my mind. Flirting was putting it mildly, she was
aggressively attacking. A wave of apprehension swept through me. My
mind was a crazy mixture of hope and fear. Hope, which sprang from
the way Patrick had kissed me earlier and fear, which erupted from
the fact that the Baroness could ruin what Patrick and I had
started together.

Lost in a daydream, I
couldn’t help but wonder if he, at the moment of the kiss, could
smell the musk of my wetness wafting up from between my thighs. His
panty-dropping kiss had kept me wet for hours.

With feelings of great
annoyance, I was jerked out of my reverie by the buzzing of a
cellphone on the desk. I reached out my arm, exuding an audible
“
Argh!”
as I
snatched it up.
Damn! Patrick forgot his
phone.
He must have been in such a hurry
to get to the restaurant that he left his phone behind.

A mischievous plan began to
take form in my mind as I sat there staring at Patrick’s cell phone
in my hand. I grabbed my coat and dashed out of the
office.

Once on the street level, I
hurriedly attempted to hail a cab.

“
Taxi!” I
yelled loudly. I was impatiently hopping from foot to foot, my
pulse throbbing from nervous tension.
If I’m gonna go through with this, I’d better just do it
before I chicken out.

But as usual when you
really need a cab, it’s almost impossible to get their attention.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one obliging cab
driver noticed the desperate look that was plastered on my face and
pulled over. I dropped down into the back seat of the
cab.

“
Where to Miss?” he
inquired in a gruff voice.

“
Scalini’s at Duane Street
and step on it.” I could see the raised eyebrow look of the
husky cab driver in the reflection of the rearview
mirror.

“
Yes Ma'am.” Something
cautioned him not to ask any further questions.

The traffic wasn’t bad, so
I took a deep breath and tried to relax to no avail, as there was a
lingering tenseness in my body. I chewed on my lip nervously as the
cab driver careened around corners and zigzagged his way down the
streets. Fifteen minutes later he pulled up in front of Scalini’s.
The meter showed $11.50. I handed him three five dollar bills and
jumped out of the cab.

As I stood in the front
lobby of the restaurant, a wave of nausea turned my stomach into
knots. I was getting cold feet. Suddenly the idea of interrupting
their business dinner, just to get Patrick’s attention, no longer
seemed like such a great idea. But this wasn’t just about getting
his attention, I reminded myself, this was about blocking the
Baroness’ attack on Patrick. I couldn’t let her stop me from my
true mission. Fear and uncertainty gripped at my thoughts. My
determination faltered briefly, but my resolve surfaced again when
I remembered how sweet his lips had tasted when we kissed and how
secure I felt in his embrace. The mere thought of the passion was
more than enough to magically dissolve any doubt that had raised
its ugly head.
Play to your opponent’s
weakness Chloe, play to her weakness.

A gorgeous dark Italian
looking host greeted me at the reservation desk.

“
Good evening Miss. Welcome
to Scalini Fedeli. Could I have your name for the
reservation?”

“
I’m just here to meet my
boss, Mr. Patrick Collins” I replied nervously.

“
Oh yes, Mr. Collins...” He
glanced at the seating plan. “Right this way Miss.” The handsome
young man swiftly guided me around the elegant main dining tables
into the secluded side room.

“
Chloe,” Patrick exclaimed,
clearly surprised. “What are you doing here?” He stood up, greeting
me with one arm outstretched and the other one holding his napkin.
It was obvious that I had interrupted the Baroness’ ploy for
Patrick’s attention. Her expression was one of pained intolerance
and her lips puckered with annoyance. She didn’t even attempt to
hide her distaste at seeing me.

“
You forgot your iPhone at
the office and it kept ringing, so I thought you might need it,” I
explained as I handed over the cellphone. A deep chill ran down my
spine, as I felt eyes of steel burning into me from across the
table, where the baroness was sitting.

“
If my head wasn’t attached
I’d forget that too. Thank you so much Chloe,” Patrick
beamed.

‘
Oh, no problem. It was
nothing.” I said with the most seductive smile in my
arsenal.

“
Well, seeing that you came
all the way down here let me at least offer you a drink.” His eyes
swept the room with a searching glance. “Tony, we need another
chair here. Would you bring one for Miss Swanson?” he said with a
wave of his hand.

“
Certainly, Mr. Collins,”
Tony replied.

Perturbed with my decision
to stay for a drink, the Baroness’ eyes flashed me a cold glance,
so I welcomed Patrick’s offer and a couple of minutes later, a
perfectly crafted Gray Goose vodka Cosmopolitan was sitting in
front of me. Feeling a little unnerved under the Baroness’ razor-
sharp scrutiny, I downed half my drink in one gulp.

So far the plan had worked
like a charm. I had interrupted the Baroness’ attempts to steal my
prince and the ball was now back in my court.

“
Tell me Chloe, how long
have you worked for Patrick?” the baroness asked
pryingly.

“
Oh - only about six
months,” I replied not quite sure where she was going with
this.

“
And
you’ve already been promoted?” she insinuated. “You must be really
good at what you do?” her tongue was heavy with sarcasm. “And what
exactly is it you,
do
,
so
well?” The contemptuous tone in her voice angered me, but I
wasn’t about to let her get to me for a second time in one day. I
was holding my tongue, hoping she would back off but the baroness
kept going, twisting that knife even deeper.

Patrick must have sensed
that an argument was about to erupt, like a steaming volcano, and
before I had the chance to speak, he quickly
interrupted.

“
I'm considering Chloe as
my new apprentice and she is showing very, very promising results.”
He gently laid his hand on my forearm, “In fact, I don’t think it
will be long before I’ll have to look for a new assistant, as Chloe
will be moving up in the firm.”

Touché Bitch!
My gorgeous Patrick came to my rescue with
perfect timing. His admiration of me made me smile. I had never
learned how to accept a compliment graciously and like an idiot, I
blushed flipping my hair with my free hand in a subconsciously
flirtatious gesture. The Baroness clenched her mouth tighter and
flopped back in her chair with a look of resignation on her face.
However, I didn’t believe for a minute that she had given up and I
could feel the cold between us turning to ice.

The second Gray Goose
Cosmo was almost emptied and I was starting to feel the effects of
the alcohol. A little voice in my head warned, “
You better slow down”
, but today I
wasn’t listening. I was suffering from acute alcohol induced
deafness. The pressure of the Baroness’ interrogation strategies
crushed me like a vice grip. Due to my alcoholic stupor, my
temporary deafness was also coupled with blindness-to-reason. I
convinced myself, as most drunks will agree, that inebriation is a
sure fire method to better withstand abusive attacks from conniving
bitches. So, I ordered another drink and added, “Make it a double,
Tony,” reeling back in my chair.

Patrick turned with a wink
and gave me one of his beautiful smiles. Meanwhile the venomous
vixen geared up for her next onslaught.

“
So sweetie, any boyfriend
back in..... where is it you come from again?” the Baroness
chided.

“
Iowa. And no, I don’t have
a boyfriend. I’m absolutely, one hundred percent single”, I said
firmly while shifting my gaze towards Patrick.

“
Oh yes, Iowa. “Cow
country,” right? That’s so wonderful dear,” she said placatingly.
“It really suits you well. I can see so much of that “cowgirl”
shape... well...cowgirl type in you. Were you husky as a child, or
just a tomboy....? Well, never mind. I suppose it doesn’t matter
really, there’s always liposuction. “

My eyes widened with
indignation. Well, at least they tried to widen but my “Bette Davis
eyes” had now turned into “Gray Goose eyes,” reduced to sleepy
little slits, half closed from the effects of the alcohol.
Damn Bitch!
I
struggled to keep the words from leaping out of
my mouth. I wanted to launch a barrage of clever admonishments at
her but instead I just forced a sarcastic smile.
Shit! I gotta pee.

My eyes focused on Patrick
with heavy desire as he chatted with the Baroness, parlaying bits
of information back and forth, in between sips of their drinks. I
watched his mouth forming the words and longed for those luscious
lips of his to drive me wild again with delight.

The booze had really kicked
in by now and I felt a little light-headed as I stood up from the
table.

“
Excuse me, I need to go
powder my nose,” I said with as much control as I could muster.
Patrick, being the eternal gentleman that he was, stood up and
acknowledged my exit. I floated away towards the restroom sign in
the corner, distracted by thoughts of Patrick kissing me all over
my body, not caring that the Baroness’ evil glare was following my
every move.

Moments later, I
impatiently turned the lock inside one of the restroom stalls and
was finally able to take a deep breath of relief, being away from
the Baroness’ critical interrogation. I couldn’t help but think
that maybe I was way in over my head here. How will I be able to
compete with this worldly woman? She has everything. She is
undoubtedly extremely sexy, she is beyond stinking-rich and she has
something that Patrick really wants; a big fat contract.

The alcohol made me quite
dizzy so I leaned up against the inside of the stall. With my back
against the wall, I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, still
thinking about Patrick. My pulse quickened, as I remembered the
sensuousness of his skin next to mine, the way it had felt when the
warmth of his lips pressed against my neck. A hot little tingle
erupted in the sweet spot between my thighs. My eyes rolled back in
my head a little and my hand raced down my stomach towards my
crotch. With one hand clutched to my breast and the other sticking
to the wetness in my panties, my imagination launched a recap of
Patrick and I, back at the office in the little file room where I
tried on the dress. The mere thought of taking my clothes off in
his private space, catapulted yet another surge of warm wonderful
tingles all the way down and I had to touch myself. The flashback
of our intense kiss was making me so hot.