by Fiona Riley
Lucinda reached into her purse and pulled out a small bag from the aquarium gift shop with a shy grin.
Samantha blinked and took a deep breath in before exhaling slowly and taking the bag. “What is it?”
“Just a little thank you for coming gift.”
Samantha reached into the tissue paper and pulled out a multicolored glass figurine of a sea turtle. “I love it,” she said, leaning forward to kiss Lucinda once more. “Thank you.”
Lucinda pulled Samantha into a tight hug, kissing her temple as she released her. “I’ll talk to you soon?”
Samantha nodded and bit her lip as she watched Lucinda step back, her hands dropping away slowly. “Have a good night, Luce.”
Samantha keyed into her apartment and slumped against the closed door. She let out a contented sigh as she headed to her bedroom to undress, realizing she was getting in over her head with a beautiful woman she couldn’t keep her hands or mouth off.
CHAPTER NINE
“Let me get this straight,” Andrew asked incredulously as he shrugged off his coat. “You’re trying to tell me you’re this blissfully happy and nothing happened?”
“Yes. It was fun,” Samantha replied nonchalantly as she picked a polish color from the rack. “I learned a lot about the ocean and sea mammals and I had a great time.”
“Samantha, you are many things, but a good liar is not one of them.”
She rolled her eyes and shook the polish, holding it up to the light to examine the color. She had woken up smiling this morning, and nothing seemed to shake her good mood—not the influx of angry emails from Claudette Frost, not the dog walker in the Public Garden who couldn’t wrangle the wild poodle that almost knocked her to the ground during her run, not even that slimebag at the coffee shop who always hit on her while also invading her personal space and spitting on her. Not a single thing could foul her mood as she remembered her good-night kiss and the little turtle figurine that was currently residing on her kitchen island.
The nail technician waved her over to the chair as Andrew fussed with his hair in the mirror nearby. She smiled and handed over the color, settling into the massage chair while the tech prepped the station. Andrew slumped into the seat next to her, reaching for a discarded People magazine on the shelf when her phone buzzed. She apologized to the technician and reached into her purse to shut it off, pausing as she looked at the screen. Lucinda was calling.
“Hello.” She smiled.
“Hey. How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“I’m good. How’d you sleep?”
“Um, not bad.” She turned in her chair so her back was angled toward Andrew. “Good, I guess. Good.”
“What are you up to today?”
“Well, Andrew and I are having a girls’ day, you know, manicures, pedicures, hopefully some cocktails.”
“Sounds delectable. What salon do you guys prefer? I’m always in the market for a good recommendation.”
Samantha smiled and put her feet into the warm water in front of her. “A place on Newbury Street called Perfect 10, it’s great. Andrew and I try to get here every few weeks to decompress.”
“Sounds fun. I won’t keep you. Have a great day with Andrew. Tell him I said hello.”
“Sure. Are we still on for Tuesday?”
“Absolutely, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Ahem.” Andrew cleared his throat dramatically as Samantha put her phone away. “That was her, wasn’t it?”
Samantha glared at him and rolled her eyes.
“Whatever, Sam, you were grinning like a kid at Christmas that whole phone call. What’d she say?”
“She just called to chat.”
Andrew smiled and folded the magazine on his lap, facing his friend fully as he lowered his feet into the basin below him. He flicked on the massage setting on the chair and tapped his fingers along the seam of the seat. “You really like her.”
Samantha frowned, letting his statement wash over her. “I don’t know. She’s…different.”
“Different like Adriana?” he asked quietly. “That kind of different?”
Samantha’s frown deepened and she knew she was blushing. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know.”
Andrew cocked his head to the side and settled into his chair. “Tell me about her. What’s she like?”
Samantha took a deep breath, appreciating Andrew’s nonchalance but not being fooled by his fake inattention. “She’s great. She’s smart, funny, attractive, and easy to be around. I don’t know what it is, she’s just…I don’t know.”
Andrew nodded and looked as though he was about to ask a more leading question when the receptionist from the salon stepped up to their chairs, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Excuse me”—she read from a card in front of her—“Ms. Monteiro and Mr. Stanley?”
Samantha’s eyebrows rose. Andrew shot her a confused glance before answering, “Yes?”
“This is a gift from Myrtle, she says to enjoy your day.”
“Myrtle?” Andrew scoffed. “Who the hell is Myrtle?”
Samantha chest warmed as she cleared her throat and thanked the receptionist, accepting the champagne flute with a smile.
“Why do I have a feeling this has something to do with a certain enchanting blonde?” Andrew sipped his glass, his eyes twinkling as he added, “I will say she has excellent taste.”
“Yes. She does.” Samantha beamed as she fished out her cell to fire off a quick thank-you text and then relaxed further into the pampering she had planned for today.
*
Lucinda couldn’t quite keep her attention on the stack of work on her desk. Her eyes kept tracking over to the panoramic glass windows to her right. Outside the sun shone and the view was incredible. She was thinking about Shelly White’s dance lesson tonight and her beautiful handler. She hoped Samantha might show up early. In fact, she was counting on it.
Lucinda had a meeting with Claire Moseley to discuss a new client in fifteen minutes—a new client that they had obtained through Claire’s hard work on that software campaign earlier in the month.
Claire was prompt as always and came well prepared. “This new client is a PR nightmare,” Claire reported. “Alleged sexism in the workplace.”
Lucinda tapped her pen on her desk. She loathed spinning for these kinds of clients. “We have, unfortunately, dealt with this particular problem before.”
Claire paused a moment before responding. “Yes, of course. But this client is a lesbian-owned magazine and their male editor was released from his duties after multiple infractions.”
“Claire, you have a solid plan and an excellent team. I have every faith in you.” Lucinda leaned back into her chair. “Tell me about Richard.”
“He’s been…” Claire was careful with her word choice. “Resistant.”
“By all means, feel free to elaborate.”
“He’s difficult. He’s resistant to leadership that isn’t his own. He hands in his project portions late and I think he’s sleeping with an intern.” Claire shrugged and worried her bottom lip, obviously debating what she should say next. “Not that that has any bearing on the project, but it’s sort of distracting because she hovers outside our planning meetings with coffee all the time.”
Lucinda tapped the tips of her fingers together before leaning over her tablet and pulling up a new screen. “Is that why he isn’t on this project team list?” She already knew the answer, but she wanted confirmation.
“Yes. His actions are distracting to the rest of the team and honestly I think he hates women, so this really isn’t the ideal PR position for him.”
“Fine. I agree with your decision.” Lucinda looked back up to a nervous Claire, fidgeting in her seat, the confidence she’d displayed during her presentation waning.
“Claire. You are very good at what you do. You’re an excellent executive here and you need to give yourself more credit.” Her voice was stern but calm; she wasn’t reprimanding her,
she just wanted her to step up. “I love your pitch and your team. I want you to be full chair on this—but you need to start believing in yourself, or no one will follow your lead. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I understand, thank you.” Claire sat up taller, smoothing out her blazer before standing. She reached for her papers and ran her hands through her hair nervously. Lucinda knew what she wanted to ask.
“I’ll handle Richard. I’ll make sure it’s done anonymously. Come to me if anything else like this arises. I need to know that the staff I employ are as qualified as they appear to be. We’re in the business of fixing problems, not making them. Agreed?”
“Yes, Lucinda.”
She smiled and dismissed a nodding Claire with a wave as she reached for her phone. It was time to clean house. Starting first with Richard Thomas.
Brian Edgars was in her office an hour later. He had some progress reports from the last quarter to go over before the end of the day.
“How much do you know about the internship program we do here?” Lucinda asked as she scanned through the spreadsheets in front of her.
“Not much. I know that legal uses them, and marketing used them too until you took over. Why?”
“One of them seems to be carrying on some type of relationship with our friend Richard.” Lucinda’s tone was laced with irritation. “Richard is already on thin ice. By no means should he be fraternizing with an intern.”
Brian nodded in agreement. “What do you plan to do?”
“Richard and I are having a meeting tomorrow. I met with all the executives at the end of last quarter for the quarterly review. I explained to them that we would be monitoring all of them individually and with peer evaluations on their projects in the coming months. I had Amanda pull all his accounts from the past year and collect all the self-evaluation surveys we require each team to complete before, during, and after the project is finished. So far the reading material is positively enjoyable.” She turned to the next spreadsheet. “As far as the dating-the-intern thing is concerned, I think we ought to find someone from Human Resources to address that. This should probably be monitored closely, but it’s a little out of my range.” She glanced up at Brian. “Can you look into that for me?”
“I’ll handle it. Let me know how the meeting goes tomorrow.”
Lucinda returned her attention to the spreadsheets. “Last quarter was great, Brian—these look good.”
“These are the best numbers we’ve had since the shift in management. All your hard work is paying off, Lucinda.” Brian stood and offered her a congratulatory grin. “Do whatever you need to do to keep it that way. The board supports your decisions.”
After Brian left, Lucinda pulled out her file on Richard and stuffed it into her bag. She would look at it later, between her class and her private lesson tonight if she got a chance. She was hoping she wouldn’t.
CHAPTER TEN
Samantha tapped her fingers anxiously on the door of the cab. Traffic was slow and heavy. It had been gorgeous all day, but a freak rainstorm had come out of nowhere in the last hour, making the roads miserable. She wanted to be there already. Shelly wouldn’t arrive for more than an hour, but Samantha had been hoping to catch the end of Lucinda’s class. She wanted to see how Lucinda was with the rest of her students. She glanced at her phone again to check the time and continued with her useless annoyed tapping.
She hadn’t been able to get Lucinda out of her mind all weekend. She’d spent the better part of Saturday indirectly talking about her to Andrew. She smiled as she remembered the champagne surprise that helped her relax and open up a bit. Andrew was patient and understanding, didn’t push too hard, but didn’t let her get away with any real shit either. He wanted to know all about the mysterious Lucinda Moss. She did too, but she was more interested in spending time with her to figure it all out. Which is precisely why she was contemplating getting out and walking. The studio wasn’t too far and this damn traffic was infuriating.
When the cab finally pulled up, she had to sprint through the torrential downpour in order to stave off looking like a drowned rat. She pulled open the studio door and hopped quickly inside, shaking the moisture off her coat and hair the best she could. It was quiet. The last class having obviously ended, there was only a low hum of music in the background. As Samantha walked into the room she saw Lucinda stretching on the floor by the mirrors, reading over some papers in front of her. Samantha stopped and leaned against the doorway, taking the moment to watch Lucinda’s long, lean torso extend over lithe legs. She was gorgeous, all straight lines with gentle curves and lean muscle, perfectly feminine and strong. Samantha watched as Lucinda pulled her hair loose from its tie and tousled it lightly, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders as she leaned forward once more, bringing her head to her knee. Samantha stood there for another moment or two before clearing her throat.
Lucinda smiled up at her and leaned back onto her hands, shaking her hair before scooping it back into a tight ponytail. She stood up in one graceful movement, gathering her papers as she rose.
“Am I interrupting something?” Samantha asked, only vaguely concerned, her attention drawn to the subtle dance beat playing over the speakers in the background.
“Ha, no. Just reviewing some paperwork. I have a meeting tomorrow that has been sort of burning in the back of my mind all day.” She smiled warmly, depositing her papers back into the folder and into her bag on the side of the room. “I’m glad for the distraction though.”
“Do you want me to come back later when Shelly comes? I don’t want to hinder your meeting prep.”
Lucinda sipped her bottle of water, dragging it over her bottom lip before winking and saying, “Nah. I’m good.” She dropped her bottle and stepped forward, meeting Samantha’s approach. “How are you today?” She let her hand wander to the sleeve of Samantha’s jacket, pulling at the cuff idly.
“I’m good.” Samantha let herself get lost in Lucinda’s eyes for a moment.
“Is it weird if I tell you I missed you?” Lucinda asked boldly, stepping a little closer, pulling harder at Samantha’s sleeve.
“Is it weird if I tell you the same?” Samantha wondered if the light flush in Lucinda’s cheeks was from dancing or from her being this close. Samantha hoped it was the latter.
Lucinda leaned forward, her hand sliding up Samantha’s arm to cup her face gently. “You look great,” she whispered as she pressed a quick kiss to Samantha’s cheek.
Samantha reached out and pulled Lucinda close, nuzzling her cheek before turning to capture Lucinda’s lips with her own. Kissing Lucinda Moss felt oddly like coming home.
Lucinda smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms tightly around Samantha as their lips moved slowly against each other’s. Samantha sighed quietly and melted into her embrace, her jaw loosening and opening slightly, inviting Lucinda in. Lucinda deepened the kiss and let a low moan escape her lips as Samantha slid her hand under the front of Lucinda’s shirt, playing with the skin exposed below the hem. She sucked gently on Samantha’s tongue, letting her hand slide into Samantha’s hair. Samantha broke the kiss, panting for breath as Lucinda’s lips slipped along her jaw, leaving warm openmouthed kisses along the way. A low whimper tumbled from Samantha’s pouty mouth as Lucinda sucked softly on the spot below her ear, teasing it lightly with her teeth.
“Luce…” Samantha almost growled as Lucinda’s other hand traced up her side, brushing against the curve of her breast. She flattened her palm against the warm skin under Lucinda’s shirt and scratched lightly before gently pushing her away, and Lucinda’s lips released Samantha’s neck. Lucinda looked almost hungry as Samantha stuttered, “God…fuck,” and pressed another searing kiss to Lucinda’s mouth before stepping back. “You’re trouble.”
A pleased smile formed on Lucinda’s mouth as she leaned back, trailing her finger along Samantha’s jaw before swiping it across her bottom lip. “Is that so?”
Samantha’s eyes fluttered closed at the teasi
ng contact on her kiss-plumped lip and she nodded. “Yup, big trouble.”
“You started it.”
Samantha watched Lucinda shyly for a minute before daring to engage in normal conversation. “What’s the plan today?”
“Well, I thought I might teach Shelly how to dance, but I’ve been working on something new for her. Will you humor me and try it out?”
Samantha arched an eyebrow skeptically. “Something tells me this is somehow you leading me into a trap.”
“Is that really what you think of me?” Lucinda feigned offense, dramatically placing her hand over her heart. “As sneaky?”
Lucinda led Samantha into the center of the floor and gently clasped their hands while settling her palm above Samantha’s hip, guiding her movements forward and backward in rhythm with the beat of the music.
“I noticed that Shelly does best with verbal distraction. If I engage her in a topic that she enjoys she allows the natural momentum I stir up to lead her.” Lucinda pressed her hand more firmly into Samantha’s hip, eliciting a dip in the movement that allowed her to turn them slightly. “My goal today is to talk less and touch more, to see if I can get her to relax into her natural movement. Everyone has rhythm—some people just have it hidden under binary code.”
She smiled and abruptly changed their direction, pressing her palm into Samantha’s as she increased the pace of their feet. “For instance, you have a very sensual, natural sway. When you aren’t fighting it.” She teased a blush from Samantha’s cheeks as she pulled her closer.
Samantha let out a quiet gasp as Lucinda slipped a strong leg between her own and pressed against her slightly.
