by J. S. Cooper
"Oh, hell no." I laughed. "Why would I do any of those things?"
"I don't know." He looked disappointed. "Maybe because you enjoy nature?"
"Nature's okay, but hiking is hard, especially when you have to climb mountains and shit. I'm not made for that. I'm from Florida. It's flat in Florida."
"Yeah, but it's not pretty."
"Have you ever been to the beaches? They're gorgeous. St. Pete Beach and Siesta Key and Miami Beach and..."
"I've seen them." He shrugged. "I prefer the mountains myself. And a lake." He looked wistful again. "But it is what it is." I stared at him for a few seconds and thought back to what he'd said in his office earlier.
"Oh, is that it?" I said out loud, staring at him.
"Is what it?" He frowned.
"You don't like the city, do you?"
"What makes you say I don't like the city?" He shook his head.
"You would rather live in the mountains. So you are Yeti. You're like a mountain man, a Neanderthal, a..."
"Not quite, Marcia." He shook his head. His eyes were keen on my face. "You are astute, though. Yeah, I do like the mountains." He nodded. "I always thought I'd end up living in Montana or Colorado or Wyoming. Shit, I'd even live in North California if I had to."
"So then why are you in New York City?"
"Because this is where my company is headquartered and this is where I have to be for now."
"Okay."
"But I try to get away as often as possible. I just love to climb mountains. In another life, maybe I would've opened a cabin somewhere and had a little ski resort."
"You could still do that if you wanted to. I mean..."
"No, it's not possible." He shook his head. "But it is what it is. I enjoy my job. I enjoy making money and I enjoy brokering deals. I guess we can't always have everything in life."
"But if you don't like the city, why live here? I mean, don't you have enough money?"
"What's enough?" he said. "So you really like New York City then, huh?"
"It's amazing. I nodded. "I never really thought I'd live in the city. I grew up in a small town in Florida and, well, it just seemed like a pipe dream, you know? But one day I said to myself, 'I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it for me and my best friend, Susie.' You met her that night at the bar. Well, we moved here together and we've been here six months. And I still pinch myself every morning that I wake up."
"So you're fresh in town." He grinned and nodded. "I guess you grew up watching Sex and the City and shows like that, huh?"
"Maybe. I mean, Carrie's okay, but I wouldn't necessarily want the experience she had."
"I hope not." He laughed.
"You've seen Sex and the City?"
"Some people call me Mr. Big." He winked.
"Oh my gosh. Really, Finn?"
"What? Like the character, though they could be referring to other things as well."
"You're too much. You know that, right Finn Winchester?"
"Yeah, I do." He nodded. "Also, Marcia?"
"Yeah?" I said looking at him, nervously wondering what he was going to say.
"Welcome to Winchester Enterprises."
"Thank you," I said softly. "That means a lot."
"You're welcome," he said. "Now prove to me that I made the right decision keeping you on after I found out what a big liar you are. I really, really don't want to have to fire you next week and then have you storming into my office shouting that I'm an asshole and an ass licker."
"What?" I blinked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He winked and laughed. "You'll see."
Seventeen
All I could think about was a retort in my mind, but I kept my lips shut. I knew he was trying to rile me up. I knew he wanted to get into some sort of back and forth with me, but I wasn't going to let him do it. Though, the image of him licking my ass made me blush. No one had ever licked my ass, and I wasn't sure I ever wanted anyone to do it. I mean, I'd heard that people enjoyed it, but I just couldn't see how. I certainly wasn't interested in licking his ass.
"Cat got your tongue?" he said, and I stared at him.
"No, I was just thinking about something."
"Something good, or..."
"No, I was just thinking about the sort of linens we are hoping to supply to Hilton."
"Oh," he nodded. "Back to work, I guess."
"Well, that's why we're headed there, correct?"
"Correct," he nodded, his lips twitching. "So, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I said, "as long as it's not about my ass." I smiled at him sweetly.
"Hmm, don't worry, Marcia, I don't have any questions about your ass today," he laughed.
"Okay, so what's your question then?"
"When you said you were president of marketing, was that because you hoped to be president of marketing and you're really interested in marketing or..."
"Oh, we're going to go back to that again, are we?"
"I'm just curious. I'd like to know where you see your career going."
"Wow. We're talking about career trajectory on my first official date? I don't know if I should be super happy or..."
"Or what? Is there anything other than happy to be?"
"I guess not. Initially I applied for the president of marketing position." I made a face. "And I wasn't qualified, and so my name was not even put forward by the agency," I laughed slightly. "I know, ridiculous, right? But I guess you have to dream big if you want to make it."
"That's a good attitude to have. So, instead you decided to become a temp?"
"Well, it's not like I had much of a choice. The temp agency said to me, "We are not going to put your name forward for the president of marketing because your resume doesn't reflect the skills needed or the work history, but Winchester Enterprises is looking for temps and your degree gets you in the door for that.""
"Okay, so you have no marketing experience or..."
"I mean I have plenty of marketing experience. I am on Facebook. I'm on Instagram. I even started a TikTok account recently, and do you know how hard it is to make yourself look good on TikTok and stand out?
"Tik what?" he said.
"You cannot be kidding me. You've never heard of TikTok?"
"I can't say that I have."
"Have you been living under a rock?"
"No, but I've been in the mountains," he shrugged. "And trust me, no one on Everest was talking about TikTok or snapping selfies."
"No one took a selfie on the top of Mount Everest?"
"Okay," he smirked and then smiled his long drawn out lazy smile, that made me think of Sunday mornings in bed. "Maybe one or two, but that's because it was Mount Everest and we certainly weren't posting it to Instagram immediately."
"Yeah, I get that. Most probably when you got to the hotel, you did though."
"The hotel?" He started laughing. "You really have no clue, do you?"
"I guess there's no hotel on Mount Everest?"
"No, my dear. There's not."
"So anyway," I said, "No, I don't really have any experience marketing for a big corporation or a company. And if I'm 100% honest, I don't really want to be a president of marketing in my life. That's not where I see my life going. I mean, I would love to make the money the president of marketing was going to make, because that would help pay a lot of bills." I realized that I was rambling. I looked at him for a few seconds. "Sorry, I should stop."
"No, it's fine. I like hearing you talk."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"Well, okay then." I really didn't know what to say to that. It was a compliment. I could see it from the way he was smiling at me, but it made me feel uncomfortable. It made me feel like he was seeing me as a woman and not his employee, and the last thing I needed to feel was an attraction to him again. That would make everything far too complicated.
"Anyway, if I'm honest, I actually want to be a documentary filmmaker and that's where I see my career going."
>
"You want to be a documentary filmmaker at Winchester Enterprises or...?"
"No, I don't want to be a documentary filmmaker at Winchester Enterprises." I rolled my eyes. "Do you even make documentary films?"
"No, but I wasn't sure if you knew that or..."
"I'm just saying my career goal, where I see myself in 10 years is most probably accepting an Academy Award for a Best Documentary Filmmaker."
"Oh, really? An Academy Award?"
"Well, I mean, I don't know about an Academy Award, but it would be nice."
"And you see yourself still in New York?"
"I don't know," I shrugged. "I mean, I'd like to get married and have kids one day, and I don't know that New York City is the best place to raise kids, especially if you don't have a lot of money, which I don't and..."
"What about your husband? What if he has a lot of money?"
"Knowing my luck, he'll be some broke artist and he won't."
"Oh, so you like artists then?"
I shrugged. I mean I'm open to lots of different guys. I don't really see myself with a Wall Street type. I mean, it would be nice to be wined and dined but..." I paused. "Sorry, you must think I just really ramble on and on."
"No, I think this is the first time you've ever really let me in and actually had a real conversation with me as opposed to just shutting me down."
"I mean I wasn't shutting you down because of you. I just..." I sighed. "You just rubbed me up the wrong way."
"Oh? What was it I did?"
"You're just too good looking and self confident. And I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, because how can a guy be too good looking and self-confident? But my ex was like you and..."
"Oh, your ex was a handsome billionaire?"
"No," I laughed. "He was broke as hell, but he was very handsome and he played me and he broke my heart and I was a fool, and I told myself I would never let that happen again."
"Ah, so he did break your heart."
"Kind of," I said. "I mean, it was complicated."
"I see. Aren't relationships usually complicated?"
"They don't have to be," I said. "I mean, all my relationships have been complicated and made me feel like shit, but I'm hoping that one day I'll meets someone who doesn't, you know?"
"I know," he said softly. "Sometimes you need to go through the crappy relationships though to really appreciate a good one."
"Wow. Words of wisdom from Finn Winchester. Now I know why you're a billionaire. Is the self-help book coming soon?"
"Maybe," his lips twitched. "If it is, would you help me promote it and market it?"
"I could definitely do that," I grinned back at him.
"Maybe you could even make TikRock video."
"TikTok," I said.
"Isn't that what I said?" He looked at me confused.
"No, you said TikRock. It's TikTok."
"Well, yeah, you can help me make one of them."
"Yeah, sure," I said. "Are we nearly there?"
"Nearly," he said.
"Should we go over the plans or..."
"We don't have to. We'll have more than enough time when we get to the Hilton to discuss business related items. I like getting to know you."
"Why? I'm your employee. I'm..."
"You're unique, Marcia Lucas. You're very, very unique." There was something in the way that he said the words that made me just look at him. The air was fraught with tension and I could feel my heart racing. I stared at his lips, and I could see that he was staring at mine. I wanted him to lean over and kiss me. I wanted to run my hands through his hair and see if it was as silky as it looked. I wanted to taste his lips and see if he was as good a kisser as I thought he would be.
I groaned inwardly. These were not the thoughts that I should be having about my new boss.
"So, Marcia."
"Yeah?"
"Tell me something," he said.
"Sure." I swallowed hard as he shifted his weight and leaned closer to me. This was it. He was going to kiss me. He was going to make me forget my name.
"What are you doing next weekend?" he said softly. I stared at him, not knowing what to say.
"Next weekend?" I mumbled.
"Yeah." He leaned even closer to me. I felt his hand on my thigh and almost closed my eyes. This was it. He was going to kiss me.
"Um, I don't know yet, but..."
"Well, I was thinking," he said softly, his lips coming closer to mine.
"Yeah?" I swallowed hard.
"I was thinking if you're free, then perhaps we..." He ran his fingers up my leg and I licked my lips nervously. This was it.
"I don't know that this is a good idea." I stumbled over my words as I reached my hand up to touch his shoulder. My fingers played with his hair and I leaned forward. My words were not in sequence with my movements, but I didn't care. "What is it, Finn?" I said, as I went to press my lips against his. I shifted my body and put my hand on his thigh, squeezing, feeling his tense muscle, warm and hot underneath me. I ran my hands up his shirt and then my fingers ran across his jawline, waiting, ready. I knew it was a bad idea, but...
"I was just going to say, I have a meeting next week in Northern California, and I was wondering if you would be free to come. We'd have to stay the weekend." His eyes laughed at me as we sat there and I realized I had nearly made a huge fool of myself. He was teasing me, taunting me. He hadn't been about to kiss me, but I knew he had acted like this deliberately. I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me.
"So, what do you say?" he said, licking his lips. Our faces were so close that I could feel his breath against mine, and I suddenly realized I still had my hand on his chest and my other hand in his hair. I sat back abruptly and shook my head.
"I'll have to check." I looked out of the window, my face bright red. I felt embarrassed. I could hear him chuckling next to me.
"You could have done it, you know," he said softly.
"Done what?" I said, turning to look at him.
"You could have kissed me. I know you wanted to. Don't worry, I wouldn't have held it against you. Maybe, just maybe, I wanted it too."
Eighteen
"Mr. Winchester. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Abigail." A tall, slinky redhead held out her hand as we entered the Hilton hotel and I pressed my lips together. It was very obvious to me that this lady was flirting with Finn and from the smile on his face; he seemed to realize it as well.
"Hi, Abigail. Great to finally meet you. This is my assistant, Ms. Lucas."
Oh, so now I was Ms. Lucas. What happened to Marcia I wanted to glare at him and say something, but I knew that wasn't professional. "Hello. Nice to meet you, Abigail."
"You too," she said dismissively. "So Finn, I can call you that, right?" She batted her long eyelashes at him and I rolled my eyes. I bet they were fake. They almost looked like spiders legs. So trashy.
"Of course, Abigail. We're old friends now. We've been speaking for what? A couple of weeks now."
"Yes, we have. I have to say I really admire the fact that you are the one that's been in communication with me. So often I find that executive teams at corporations are the ones that make these calls, never the CEO."
"I'm a very hands-on type of businessman. I like to think that's why Winchester Enterprises is so successful."
"Well, you certainly are successful," she giggled. "So the plan for the day is we'll start at the penthouse and then we'll go down to some of our executive level suites and then our standard kings and our standard doubles. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." He looked at me. "Did you get all that in your notebook, Ms. Lucas?"
"No, should I have?" I stared at him and he shook his head. He looked over at Abigail.
"She's new, so please bear with her."
"What does me being new have to do with me writing down the fact that we're checking out some random rooms?"
"Really, Ms. Lucas?" I chewed on my lower lip and pulled out my notebook and pen.
"Good to hear that. I'm glad to know that you're willing to do whatever I tell you to do."
"That's not exactly what I said."
"Well, now," Abigail said, interrupting us. "Would you like some coffee or some tea, Mr. Winchester?"
"No, I'm fine. Thanks."
"I wouldn't mind," I responded to Abigail, but she cut me off. Now, I really hated the bitch.
"Oh, also Mr. Winchester, I hope you don't mind, but I have set up lunch for us. I only have a reservation for two though and I can't really change it. Do you think your assistant would be able to make her way back to the office by herself?"
"I'm right here and yeah, I can."
"She'll be fine. I'll just have the driver take her back to the office."
"I can get by myself. I can get there by myself," I said.
"Well, not with those heels, right? Didn't you say your feet hurt when you walked in them for too long?" I pressed my lips together and looked at Abigail. She was smirking.
"Okay, well, this way." She led us down a hallway to what appeared to be a private elevator. "This is the service elevator. Not for the maids and room service to use, but the executives." She smiled. "If you'd like to use the other elevator," she stared at me and I stared back at her. Was this bitch joking?
"No, she'll stay with me," Finn said, and I was grateful for one second. If he would've told me to use the other elevator, I would've left the hotel. I would have gone home and never looked back because if he would've thought that was okay, there was no way I would've been able to continue working for him.
"So what exactly are you in need of?" I said staring at Abigail.
"Oh, excuse me, dear?" She said looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you speaking to me?"
"You look like you're the only Abigail in this elevator." I wasn't sure why I was being so snooty. Actually, that was a lie. I didn't like Abigail. I didn't like how she was treating me and I certainly didn't like how she was looking at Finn like she wanted to put her hands all over him and do things to him that no one else should be doing other than me. I almost gasped as I thought of that. "He's not yours, Marcia," I thought to myself. That's when I knew I was in trouble.
