To The Top: An Older Alpha Male and Curvy Younger Woman Romance
Page 4
“Mr. Cramer, I—”
“Sam was very honest with me. With the client, too. Most of the ideas they liked were yours, not his. So it only seems right for you to be the point person on this campaign.”
They wanted me in charge of their biggest client. I couldn’t even think of a response. But it had been Sam’s project first.
“What about Sam? I don’t want to pull this out from under him.”
Martin waved his hand. “Sam’s got plenty of other projects to keep him busy. I’m sure he won’t mind if you take one off his plate.” He picked up his glass and raised it toward me. “You’ve earned it, Riley. Congratulations.”
Congratulations.
And an amazing contract.
And I’d only worked here for a week.
“Thank you, Mr. Cramer. I promise I won’t disappoint you.”
He laughed. “I’m not worried about that. I know you’ll do well.”
I nodded.
God, I felt silly. I needed to go unpack my office again, and maybe think about settling in more.
I walked out of Martin’s office once my whiskey was gone and headed back down the hall. I wanted to tell Sam, and thank him for sticking up for me, and apologize for how I’d acted after the meeting.
But his lights were out in his office.
He must’ve taken off early.
I sighed, looking in the window at the darkened room a moment longer. I turned and almost collided with somebody.
Sarah.
The last person I wanted to see right now.
She looked down at me. She was tall anyway, and in her heels, she towered over me.
She crossed her arms.
“Stay out of my way,” she hissed. “I don’t know what you’ve done to Sam, but he’s mine. And I always get what I want.”
I blinked. “Do you? Is that right?”
She huffed and spun on her heel, walking back into her office. Her door slammed shut.
I shook my head and went back to my own office.
As soon as today was over, I needed to get to Sam’s house.
There was a lot I needed to say.
Chapter Eleven
Sam
I’d claimed a headache and left early not long after my encounter with Riley.
There was a lot on my mind. I had to figure out a way to balance my lust for her with my work, and if Martin kept putting us in rooms together, it would never happen.
I’d come straight home from the office and worked out, then showered. In loose gym pants now, I poured myself a whiskey and sat down to look through a food delivery app. I wasn’t going to leave again tonight, not for anything.
Soon, I had ordered sushi, and sat waiting for it to arrive.
What was I going to do?
At least Martin understood. I’d talked to him a little before leaving the office. He’d seen the attraction between us the first day she’d come into my office, and he was surprisingly understanding. He’d try to keep our projects separate, so we weren’t constantly around one another, but there wasn’t much he could do about the meetings.
I’d told him that was fine. I’d just have to learn a little bit of self-control.
He’d laughed at that, and sent me off for the day.
I sighed, taking a sip of my whiskey. As I did, the doorbell buzzed.
If that was my delivery, they’d really outdone themselves this time.
I rose and hit the intercom button. “Hello?”
“Sam? It’s Sarah.”
Dammit.
“Um…hi? You need something?” I glanced at my watch. The work day was over.
I wondered if Martin had talked to Riley.
“Yeah, I just wanted to talk. Can I come in?”
I shook my head. Maybe I could finally send her away—for good. “Yeah, I’ll buzz you in. Top floor, knock on the door.”
“Okay!”
I made sure the intercom was off before I groaned loudly. She was persistent. But she was also on my last nerve.
A few minutes later, she knocked on the door. I sighed and opened it.
She was not dressed in her clothes from work.
She certainly wouldn’t have worn a backless red dress to the office, and not one so short, either.
She looked good. But I still just wasn’t into her.
She waltzed into my apartment, pushing past me.
I folded my arms across my chest. “What do you want, Sarah?”
“I told you. I just want to talk.” She looked at me with a flirty smile. “About us.”
Not this again. “There is no us, Sarah.”
“Of course there is. It’s obvious. You want me just as bad as I want you. And I think now is the right time to do something about it.”
She took a step toward me.
I rolled my eyes and moved past her, sitting back down on the couch. I picked up my glass of bourbon. “You need to leave.”
She snatched the glass out of my hand and dipped her index finger into it, swirling it around in the liquor.
She pulled it out and slid her finger between her red lips, sucking the bourbon from her finger with a moan.
It wasn’t doing anything for me.
And thank god, my doorbell buzzed again.
I got up and crossed the room. “You need to leave. Now. That should be my dinner.”
I hit the button again. “Hello?”
“Sam? Um, hi, it’s Riley.”
Shit.
And Sarah was here.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Riley. Hi. You should know I have…another visitor. But they’re leaving soon.”
“Oh. I can wait.”
“No! No, please, come up now.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a sec.”
I buzzed her in and stayed near the door. I wanted Riley here way more than I wanted Sarah.
A moment later, she knocked on the door. I opened it to let her in. She glanced past me and gasped.
I turned around.
Sarah was sprawled on my couch, her dress on the floor. She was only in a thong and a barely-there bra, her heels still on her feet.
This looked bad.
Riley stayed behind me. I could feel her hand shaking as she pressed it to my back.
I looked at Sarah. “What are you doing?”
She smiled. “Just waiting for you to come back, baby. Why? And really, you should have told the little pig to go away.”
My jaw dropped. Was she really doing this now? In front of Riley? What was her deal?
“Sarah—”
“What are you doing here?” Riley leaned around me, speaking to Sarah.
“Staking my claim. I told you, I always get what I want. Your little crush is cute, but you’re nothing. Got it?”
“Sarah!” I started, but was cut off.
“Listen, bitch.”
The words had come from Riley. She stepped around me, fury in her eyes.
She looked beautiful.
“Sam has said he doesn’t want you. Are you too stupid to get that through your skull?”
Sarah sat up, still mostly-naked. “Oh, really? What, you think he wants you instead? A fat little pig who can’t even do her own makeup?”
“I know he wants me.” Riley smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. “He fucked me in the conference room this morning, so I’m pretty sure it’s true.”
Sarah stared at us, mouth hanging open. She spluttered for a moment, then turned to me. “Sam! That’s not true, is it?”
I shrugged, too. “It was empty and nobody could see in. It was great.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Yeah.” I smiled, wrapping my arm around Riley. “Fucking serious. And seriously fucking.”
Sarah got off the couch. She bent down and picked up her dress, wiggling into it and muttering under her breath.
“Fuck you both!” she snapped. And then she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Riley and I stood in silence for a minute.
And then Riley started to laugh. “Are you for real? ‘Fucking serious and seriously fucking’?”
I laughed, too.
I was going to fall in love with her, I could already tell.
Epilogue
Riley
Three Months Later
“Are you sure, Riley?”
Martin looked so disappointed. I hated to see him like that, but I had to do what was best for me.
“I’m sure,” I said.
“What if I don’t accept this?”
I laughed quietly. “I mean…I guess you can choose not to accept it, but…either way, my last day will be two weeks from now.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I’m so sorry to see you go. Are you really sure?”
“I am. And it’s not because I’m unhappy here. I just figured out I’m really enthusiastic about something, and it’s not what we do here.”
He sighed. “Well, all right. I’m so disappointed. I thought you were gonna be in line for a partnership in a year or so.”
I smiled. I hadn’t realized he liked me so much. “That’s kind of you. But I’ll let Sam stay as a partner and I’ll do my own thing.”
Martin chuckled. “I suppose so. What is it this company does, then? That we don’t do?”
“It’s just a little smaller. It handles restaurant branding. It sounds exciting.”
“That does sound exciting.” Martin smiled. “Well, don’t be surprised if I spend the next two weeks picking your brain relentlessly. You’re brilliant, and it’s a shame to lose you.”
I laughed. “I don’t mind at all. I’m happy to do anything you’d like.”
He nodded. “And Sam, he knows? He’s all right with it?”
“He is. And I think it’ll work out well in the long run.”
Martin sighed. “Well. I guess that was my last hope for convincing you to stay with us. It’s a shame to lose you, Miss Drake.”
It was a shame to leave, but this was a better move for me. In the long run, it would be better.
It would be just as good as everything else happening in my life.
Epilogue
Sam
Two Years Later
The opening celebration was a huge success.
It hadn’t taken long for Riley to bring up the idea of opening our own firm. We were both good enough, and had enough experience between the two of us. She’d learned a lot working with the restaurant marketing company, and I’d continued my work with Martin and the others.
Except Sarah, of course. Shortly after the scene at my apartment, she’d quit and moved across the state.
Not a big loss.
And now here we were, celebrating the opening of Waters Marketing.
One name.
Because as soon as she’d suggested it, I’d known I needed to marry her.
It was only fitting that our opening was on our first wedding anniversary.
We stood together at the front of the room, holding champagne flutes. Around us were family, friends, clients.
And in the front of the crowd, Martin Cramer, toasting our happiness.
The future was looking very bright.
Scorched
Seasons of Seduction
Book 1
Chapter One
Cassie
I just wanted Dan to listen to me, but it was like talking to a brick wall.
“Look,” he said over the phone, “are you going to have the article or not?”
“I told you already. I’m taking this week off. I’m on vacation. I’m dealing with some personal stuff.” I took a sip of my Cosmo. It was a little too strong, maybe, but that was kind of the goal right now.
Get as fucked up as possible and do nothing for a week.
He sighed. I could imagine him in his office, frowning at something, probably one of the magazine awards he’d fabricated and put on his “vision board.”
“Look,” he said, “I’m sorry that you’re going through some crap or whatever, but deadlines are deadlines. If you can’t get your shit together, we’ll give the article to somebody else.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. I’m sure you can find a billion girls online that want to write about swimsuit trends.”
“Then I will,” he said. “I’ll hire one of them. If she can actually meet a deadline, maybe I’ll keep her on.”
I gave a huff of disbelief. “Whatever, Dan. Maybe you should start respecting other people, huh? See how that one works out.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
When Dan spoke again, his voice was cold. “I’m very sorry for your circumstances. But I have a magazine to run.”
The line went dead.
It took every ounce of willpower I had not to throw my phone into the pool.
If I had to suffer somewhere, at least it could be here—in a beautiful home, with an incredible pool and a view of the beach.
And a fully stocked bar.
I was trying to work, but it just…wasn’t happening. I’d taken the week off, and Dan was still up my ass.
I needed a break. A little time to myself, time to relax and process.
And I wasn’t going to do that if I had my laptop open and Dan on the phone.
So I closed my computer and took another sip of my Cosmo.
The sun was still up. It was a beautiful afternoon, and everything smelled like the salty ocean air.
And I needed to be nice to myself for a few minutes.
I sighed as I leaned back in my lounge chair, closing my eyes. The sunlight was warm, but the breeze kept me from getting sweaty.
I would’ve liked to enjoy it more.
I reached for my phone and sighed.
Social media was boring, full of people I knew being happy. Look at us at a party; look at us in Paris; look at us at a concert.
Look at me, miserable despite being in paradise.
I didn’t take a selfie for Instagram, or update my Twitter. There was no point.
The people who knew where I was could reach out if they wanted to.
But so far, nobody had.
I’d expected as much; I wasn’t really a ‘close friends’ sort of person.
I mean, I could be friendly, sure. I could be fun and entertaining and likable.
I just didn’t always click with other people.
That’s why I was here alone.
I sighed and put my phone back down in favor of the Cosmo I’d made. I’d need another soon; I wanted to be too drunk to function tonight.
Numbing myself wasn’t the smartest choice, but it was exactly what I wanted.
For a few minutes, I lay on my back, looking up at the sky. It was clear, and the few little clouds ambling by were fluffy and white. Gulls flew overhead, cawing loudly.
Under any other circumstances, this would have been nice.
But I was just sad. And lonely.
And not drunk enough.
I rose from my chair and went back inside, carrying my empty martini glass. I made another Cosmo, heavy on the vodka.
I took a sip.
Good.
Real good.
I headed back toward the pool, stopping at the door. It was pretty private up here. There were trees on two sides of the pool; the only exposed side faced the ocean, and that was on an overhang.
Nobody could stand there and look at me.
I could tan while wearing as much—or as little—as I wanted.
I put my drink down on the table beside my chair and reached up, untying the halter neck of my swimsuit. I undid the clasp of the back strap next, and draped the polka-dot top over the back of my chair.
Topless, I settled back in the chair again. I grabbed my phone and headphones, plugging them in and turning on some music. Happy synth-pop started to play in my ears.
I closed my eyes and leaned back.
Everything else about this sucked, but at least I could tan without lines.
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