The Secret

by Maggie Cole

  The thought occurred to me that I didn’t know this guy. What if he was a crazy serial killer and I was about to walk right into his trap?

  Maybe I should tell Liv?

  No, no, NO! What am I thinking?

  I imagined myself going to Liv’s office. “Hey Liv, you know Collin, the guy who is going to bring in millions to the firm with all the pro athletes he represents. Well, so you know, I straddled him while kissing him in Tom’s car last night, and now he wants me to meet him secretly. I want you to have the address in case he’s a crazy serial killer…”

  Ok, that wasn’t happening.

  I intercommed Lilly. “I need Collin Corwin’s cell number, please.”

  She gave it to me as I punched it in my personal cell. I hit the call button. Collin answered right away.

  “Collin Corwin,” his deep, sexy voice oozed.

  “What was that all about?” I demanded to know.

  “Don’t use my own words on me, Meg. Either show up and find out or don’t. The choice is yours.” And with that, he hung up.

  Are you kidding me?

  Dumbfounded, I sat with my phone in my hand. I shouldn’t have been surprised, as Collin was known for his negotiation skills. I don’t know what I had expected him to do on that call, but I realized I wasn’t going to get any more from him. I had to either show up and find out or forget about it.

  The day dragged along until five o’clock finally hit. I usually stayed later, but I wasn’t worth much in my current state of curiosity. I decided to leave and go home.

  Should I go or not? What exactly am I getting myself into tonight?

  I left the office and hailed a cab. Once I got home, I opened a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and ran a hot bubble bath. I needed to calm my nerves and figure out what to do.

  My brain told me that I shouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing up. After all, who was I to be chasing a man?

  Men chase me; I don’t chase them.

  But my body was telling me I had to go. I sat in the hot bath, drinking my wine, and all I could think about was Collin. I could hear his deep voice, and see his creamy, caramel skin and brown eyes. And that body...

  Ugh! I had butterflies thinking about him.

  My hand was on my breast, and I began to play with my nipple until it was hard. I moved to my other breast and replicated my motions.

  I took a big sip of wine, dropped my hand over my stomach, then down to my sex. My finger pushed inside, swirling all around. Then, I pulled it out and up and started rubbing my clit in a circular motion.

  Slow at first, as I remembered exploring Collin’s tongue and sitting on him as his body had responded to mine.

  There is nothing more I want than his dick inside me.

  Imagining his naked, caramel skin, sweaty, and wrapped around my milky white body, with his massive hands doing naughty things consumed me. I pretended that my finger was his, and I started to go faster and faster, breathing harder, until I couldn’t take anymore and released.

  I was shaking in the warm water, and even though I had climaxed, I still felt lust coursing through my trembling body. Collin was all over my mind, and I couldn’t shake him. Okay, time to think about tonight, I thought. If I was going to go, I needed to flip this situation so that I had control instead of Collin.

  The only way I knew how to control a man was by using my female powers. I usually knew exactly what to do, but with Collin, I didn’t even know where to start.

  Collin wasn’t going to just drop his rule for me. If I wanted him, I was going to have to make myself so irresistible that he couldn’t say no.

  For the second time that day, I decided drastic times called for drastic measures.

  I didn’t know this man.

  I couldn’t read this man.

  But I had to have this man.

  I was going to have to do something I had never done before.

  Sitting down at my vanity, I refreshed my red curls, put on new makeup, and sprayed on Lola by Marc Jacobs.

  Grabbing my glass of Cabernet, I stepped into my closet. I opened the drawer that I saved for special occasions. In it contained my Agent Provocateur panties and bras.

  Hmm… Red? Black? Green?

  I finally settled on a new emerald green lace thong and a see-through, push-up bra. The color matched my eyes perfectly.

  Adding a pair of black thigh-high stockings and a garter belt, I slid into my pair of Prada stilettos and stepped back to admire myself in the mirror.

  Not bad, Meg. If this doesn’t do it, then the guy is gay.

  I grabbed my black trench coat.

  If you don’t try, you can’t win.

  Guess I didn’t have to worry about that—no one could say I wasn’t giving it my all with this one.

  A little thought of panic raced through my head, but I pushed it away. Collin Corwin wasn’t going to know what hit him tonight. Let him try to push me away, I thought confidently.

  I left my building and hailed a cab.

  About ten minutes later, I stood outside the address.

  Guess it’s now or never, I thought as I climbed the steps.

  I reached out to push the buzzer, but the door opened. Collin was standing there. He motioned for me to come in and nodded at me with his negotiator's face. "Meg."

  "Collin." I gave him my most challenging stare.

  He stared back at me for a bit. “Ready?”

  I glanced up at him, coyly, and in my most sultry voice responded, “I think the question is, are you ready?”

  He didn’t say anything, he just took my elbow, walked me past security, and led me into the elevator, then pushed the button for the eighteenth floor.

  I gave him my sex eyes and leaned into his chest. “So is this your secret hideaway or something?”

  He glanced down at me, said nothing, and gave me his typical mysterious face that had been making me wet since the night before.

  We exited the elevator. Collin led me to a door and paused. “If you do this right, this is your next multi-million dollar client.”

  I stared up at him, baffled. “What are you talking about?”

  “I decided if you could do that with Keri James, then you could do that with my other problem child. I need you to convince Sam Quinto that he needs to do what it takes to get his brand in order too,” Collin stated matter-of-factly.

  This is why he wanted me to come here? He thinks that I can hold power over any man as I had with Keri?

  Rage began to seep through my blood. I was about to tell Collin where to stick it when the door opened. Standing in front of me was the New York Zag’s Sam Quinto.

  “Collin, my man, come on in!” Sam took a step back to let Collin and me in and eyed me up and down. “And who is this gorgeous sexpot of a woman?”

  Collin’s jaw stiffened, I swear it did. He didn’t like Sam’s interest in me, but he was okay with pimping me out to get his deal through?

  Collin put his hand on my back and guided me in the door. As mad as I was at him, the feeling of his hand on my back jolted me.

  Shit! I had it bad.

  “Sam, this is Meg. She’s a marketing guru and is going to help you with your brand.”

  Sam sized me up further, like a tiger ready to pounce. The 6’5 pro-footballer, had broad shoulders, strong legs, and muscles bulging everywhere. His dark black skin matched his eyes, and his head was shaved bald, which was incredibly sexy on him.

  I was perplexed about what I was doing here and how this was even happening, but I wasn’t going to give Collin the satisfaction of knowing that. I stepped forward and held my hand out to Sam. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine.” Sam licked his lips.

  I felt Collin shift uncomfortably next to me. Good, he deserves it—egotistical bastard.

  We shook hands, and he offered to take my coat. My face instantly flushed as panic surged through me.

  Shit, I thought, what am I going to do?

  “I’m only
here a few minutes, I’ll keep it on,” I quickly recovered.

  Collin’s face registered surprise. I had caught him off guard.

  Finally, an emotion, I thought.

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” Sam ogled me once again.

  Collin followed my cue and told Sam, “We really can’t stay long, but I wanted you to meet Meg. I know you want to develop your brand for endorsements, and we’ve been discussing how to do that. Meg is a pro at the branding aspect. She wants to help you move forward.”

  We've been discussing how to do that? Arrogant asshole.

  I glared at Collin, kept calm on the outside, but quivered inside with anger. How dare he put me in this situation? I knew nothing about Sam’s brand and wasn’t prepared for this. For him to assume that I would do with him what I did with Keri without even knowing anything about him was absurd, cocky, and disrespectful.

  “Yeah, well, what do I need to do?” Half amused, and egotistical as hell, Sam eyed me up and down again, but didn't take me seriously.

  Awesome. I get to be with two cocky men. Great.

  I had seen Sam's type so many times. He was a lot like Keri, but I wasn’t arrogant enough to fall for the trick that Sam was exactly like Keri. I needed to get control of this situation and fast.

  I didn’t answer him for what seemed like forever. I stared into his eyes without blinking. After a few minutes of giving him the sex-goddess stare I had perfected over the years, he started to shift uncomfortably.

  I waited a few more minutes. You could hear a pin drop.

  I finally said, “You get one chance to work with me. Tell me honestly what you want, Sam, and leave the bullshit out. If you couldn’t play ball and got one wish, only one, what would it be?”

  He hesitated at first. Then, he was about to say something, but I raised my eyebrows and stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “No bullshit. Truth only.”

  Another minute passed. I continued to stare at Sam directly in the eyes. I never blinked. He blinked eighteen times. I know because I counted.

  Sam finally sighed and said, “To evolve, so I don’t end up back where I started.”

  Not breaking our eye contact, I nodded in approval and replied, “That’s good. Tuesday, ten a.m., my office. Don’t be late.”

  And with that, I turned and walked out.

  Collin

  She was a genius. I had never seen anyone do what she was able to do.

  When I saw her work her magic on Keri, I knew I had to have her help me with Sam, and I was right.

  Sam Quinto was no match for Meg. Within a few minutes, she got right to the bottom of what he wanted, and she made him stop all his bullshit.

  It wasn’t helping me get over her. If anything, it made me want her more.

  When I saw her with Keri by the elevators that morning, I had to stop myself from reaching out and kissing her. Even with Keri claiming she was his girl, I knew it wasn’t the truth.

  She didn't want Keri. She wanted me. And it wasn’t helping me shake her off.

  I knew she was smart and talented, but I had no idea how much until she took control of the meeting and turned it completely around. Until that moment, we were quickly going nowhere. Keri was his usual cocky self, and she got him to turn it off.

  Sam Quinto was the other shoe deal I was negotiating. I had never been in shoe contract negotiations at the same time for two of my clients. I had worked for months on these deals, and they would have been closed already if my two clients weren’t such arrogant children.

  Meg knew how to wrap them around her finger. I knew talent when I saw it, and that woman was incredibly talented. And it made her the sexiest woman I had ever encountered.

  I gave Sam a quick goodbye, told him not to fuck it up with Meg, or she wouldn’t represent him and left to find her. I expected her to be waiting in the lobby, but she was gone.

  3

  Meg

  The cold air slapped my hot cheeks as I rushed outside.

  I had never been angrier. What Collin had done was inappropriate and disrespectful, and I was never going to forgive him.

  But more than being angry at Collin, I was mad at myself.

  He made it clear that he didn’t want me. I didn’t listen. Probably because he was the first guy who had not wanted me back, and I should have known better.

  Well, I wouldn’t make that mistake with Collin again.

  I was about to get in my cab when Collin came running out. “Meg,” he yelled.

  I turned to look at him, not realizing that I had tears in my eyes. “Leave me alone, Collin.”

  “Meg, stop.”

  Stepping quickly into the cab, I gave my address to the cabbie and told him to go. Collin was approaching the taxi as I pulled out.

  As I wiped tears off my face, I couldn’t believe how naïve and foolish I had been. I was embarrassed and angry that I let myself walk into a situation where I had no control and no idea what I was walking into.

  The fact I was wearing nothing under my trench coat, made me realize that I had been foolish where Collin Corwin was concerned.

  How could I have gotten things so wrong?

  The cab pulled up to my apartment building, and I quickly walked inside. As I stepped into the elevator, I felt someone come in behind me. I turned to see it was Collin.

  “What are you doing here,” I snapped at him.

  “Meg, you look upset. I’ve obviously done something wrong. I'm sorry." Collin sounded genuinely apologetic.

  I sneered at him. “Really? It seems to me you got exactly what you wanted.”

  “Meg, I’m not sure what I did to upset you.” He sounded so confused.

  I started laughing, sarcastically. “You’re such an arrogant—”

  Collin stared at me with his mouth open. His eyes widened, and I saw him swallow hard.

  I looked down in horror. My trench coat belt had somehow become loose, and I stood in the elevator with my coat open, revealing my body in nothing but my lingerie.

  Collin stepped forward, said nothing, pulled my open jacket together, and tied my belt back up.

  The elevator doors opened. “What’s your apartment number?” he growled.

  “Forty-six,” I managed to get out, extremely embarrassed I had misjudged our secret meeting, and now he knew what I had initially planned.

  He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me to my door. I pulled out my key and opened the door.

  “Can I come in?” The negotiator was back.

  My humiliation had replaced the anger, and I had too many confusing thoughts going through my mind, so I didn’t say anything.

  The negotiator pleaded with me, “Please, Meg.”

  He was a jackass for what he had done to me earlier, but I still couldn’t deny my attraction for him.

  I hated myself right then for still wanting him.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I stepped back.

  He walked in and shut the door. I stood there, with my arms folded over my chest. “What do you want, Collin?”

  The negotiator left, and I saw the same desire I had seen in the car the other night for me.

  Surprise rushed through me, but I quickly knew that the control was mine to take and let’s face it, he was in my territory now, so why not torture the guy a little for payback? Collin had already seen the cards I had to deal, so what did I have to lose?

  “Meg, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you in—.”

  He stopped as I dropped my trench coat and walked over to the kitchen.

  I grabbed a wine glass and filled it with Cabernet, then walked over to Collin, who was standing in my family room and staring at me.

  Why does he have to be so gorgeous, went through my mind.

  “Go ahead, finish.” I enjoyed the little squirm I saw in him, took a long sip of wine and made sure my hair fell across my naked back in a dramatically sexy way.

  Collin cleared his throat, and never once took his eyes off me. “I honestly don’t
know why you are upset. I thought you would be happy about getting a new client.”

  I stared at him, new anger and disgust unfolding within me. “You’re seriously kidding me, right?”

  He stepped forward. “No. Tell me.”

  Disgusted, I walked over to the table near the couch and put my glass of wine down. I knew his eyes were glued to me the entire time, but I enjoyed his discomfort. Collin wasn’t going to let himself have me, so at least I’d give him a memory of what he was missing out on.

  Inhaling deeply, I tried to calm down a bit, walked back toward him, and fired, “You think it’s right to take me into a business situation I know nothing about?”

  “I didn’t see it that way,” he admitted.

  Daggers shot out of my eyes as I accused, “You think you’re better than me, don’t you?”

  His eyes turned to shock. “Meg, no!”

  I wasn’t having it. “You think I’m a piece of ass that you can use to fuck your athlete clients?”

  “Meg, what—” Collin’s eyes were wide.

  Stepping closer, I pointing my finger up at him. “You thought I would fuck Sam because I dated Keri. You assumed you could use it to your advantage to get him to do whatever I wanted for his brand.”

  “Meg—”

  Anger seeped through me, and I cut him off again. “You think I’m someone to be passed around and handed out?”

  Collin took another step, so his body was right in front of mine and grabbed me by the shoulders, “Meg, stop. You have it all wrong.”

  “Yeah, how is that?” My face grew hot; I hadn't done a very good job of staying calm.

  “If you think that I would ever want any guy to fuck you, you’re wrong,” he cried out.

  I was too hot with anger. “And why is that?”

  Before I knew what was happening, Collin swept down and put his lips to mine. His tongue quickly found mine, and the fire I felt the other night in the car was back.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered between kisses. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

  Unable to respond, I continued to melt into his kisses, as my hands found their way to his perfect ass so I could pull him closer to my almost naked body.