Smokescreen

by Ahren Sanders

  The Hurst & McCoy project is going to make or break me. Mr. Barnes helped me prepare my final RFP with advice on the legal aspects. He’s the one who told me that setting up a non-profit group would not only benefit the local community, but also provide tax relief.

  “Do you think we should ask Daddy about getting one of his attorneys on retainer for the non-profit set up?” Laci asks.

  “No, I think we should wait. Maxwell McCoy told me today he’s an international attorney. Let me see what kind of resources he provides. I didn’t fully work in the cost of a legal team on the proposal. That was a subject I was going to bring up when we got to the miscellaneous items. But I never got the chance to talk about it.” I sigh.

  “You know we could have covered this all at the office if you would have come back today.”

  “I just learned I was going to be presenting to the executive team at Hurst & McCoy. What would you have done?”

  “Retail therapy.”

  “Good guess.”

  “Tell me what you got.”

  “Nothing really remarkable, but it helped keep my mind occupied.”

  We talk a few more minutes and make plans to meet at her parents’ house tomorrow night. I decide to work from home tomorrow morning. When we hang up, I get another glass of wine and turn on the TV. I try to enjoy the lusciousness of Alex O‘Loughlin, but my mind keeps going back to Maxwell McCoy. A tingling sensation runs through me remembering the intensity when our eyes met. The way my heart started racing and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Suddenly, I grow hot. What the hell is wrong with me? He’s practically going to be my boss, which means he’s off limits. Right?

  Maxwell is waiting for me in the lobby at his lawyer’s office. The sight of him in the charcoal grey suit makes my mouth water. The jacket practically stretches against his broad, muscular build. His eyes rake over me and a grin spreads on his face. When I look down, I laugh. We match.

  “Did you call my housekeeper to see what I was wearing this morning?” he jokes.

  “Sure did, Mr. McCoy.” I smile back.

  “Max. Please call me Max.” We shake hands and he ushers me to a conference room.

  I didn’t notice a receptionist up front, but there’s a lanky blonde setting up drinks when we walk in. She bends over the table so far her dress slips and shows the top of her thigh highs. She licks her lips seductively at Max. He doesn’t even look her way. His hand goes to the small of my back as he pulls out my chair.

  Hair rises on the back of my neck, and my stomach flurries from his touch. He sits next to me and slides a folder over.

  “Thank you, Stacy. You can tell Chris we’re here.” He dismisses the blonde with a cold and impassive tone. Her face falls but she still sashays out the door.

  “I think you may have hurt her feelings,” I tease.

  “She’s blatantly unprofessional. I’ve told Chris that for years, but he doesn’t listen.”

  “Who’s Chris?”

  “My best friend and also my personal lawyer.”

  I open my mouth to ask why we are meeting with his personal lawyer, but a man walks into the room. He comes to me with his hand stretched.

  “You must be Stella Sullivan. I’m Chris White.” He shakes my hand then turns to Max. They embrace quickly and then Chris goes to the other side of the table.

  “Stella, I’ve brought contracts for you to review that have been drawn up by the corporate team at Hurst & McCoy. Those are standard business contracts and Chris can cover those briefly. But I asked you here because we will meet as much as possible outside the office.”

  “Why?” I ask surprised.

  He motions to Chris, who pushes a paper over the table to me. I glance at it and notice it’s a strict non-disclosure agreement. It’s standard and I have no objections to signing it. Both men watch me expectantly and Max hands over a pen.

  Once I sign, Max visibly relaxes and sits back.

  “Stella, everything you said yesterday in the meeting is true and then some. I wasn’t kidding when I said Brian hadn’t seen the numbers. The only person who has seen the true profit and loss statement is my CFO and me. He pulled every JOS account off the company financial server and moved it to a private and protected one. The reason we did this was because the rumors in the office are bad enough. Employees are nervous and scared. We’ve already received five resignations. Handling the situation in South America is hard enough; a crumbling workforce would cripple us. That’s one reason we hired you to help. I didn’t want my current marketing and PR group involved. The fewer employees know, the better.

  “You’re going to be privy to the financials and the employees of the factories. I want this to be a re-birth. When we get done with cleaning up this mess, Hurst & McCoy will look like the Fortune 100 Company it is.”

  “Wow, this is so much more than what was put in the proposal,” I breathe out but welcome the tingling of excitement. This is the type of project I’ve dreamed about. I love the sound of it. I also love the sound of “when we get done.”

  “You still up for the challenge?”

  “Of course!”

  His smile melts me and when his hand covers mine, I feel it again. The connection between us the first time our eyes met. The room goes still and heat rises from his touch. It’s as if we are the only people in the room. My heart beat speeds when our eyes lock. He must feel it too, because he jerks back a little.

  “Max, I think you need to tell her the rest,” Chris states.

  “One reason I chose your firm is because of your ideas about helping the community. I’ve always thought we should put efforts into the surrounding areas. It was as if you read my mind when you mentioned it. None of the other companies seemed to care but your compassion was evident. The board may be resistant. That’s why we’re going to the executive team first. I’m going to work closely with you because it’s important to me.”

  “Not that I’m opposed, but why is this one project mean so much.”

  “I was pushed into this position three years ago when my dad died of a heart attack. Edward Hurst is a bastard.” He doesn’t say anything else, but the hand that covers mine squeezes tight.

  Chris watches with a soft expression.

  “Okay,” I say and smile at both men.

  “How soon can we get started?” Max asks.

  “I’m meeting with my lawyer tonight and if there are no problems, I’ll have the papers back and signed tomorrow.”

  “Perfect, I’ll have my assistant, Dana, call you and arrange a meeting.”

  I nod and look between the two men to see if we’re done. Chris sits back and crosses his arms with a smile on his face.

  “Great, now that business is out of the way. Tell me your grand plan to bring JOS out of the shithole.”

  This is not a date, I keep repeating in my head. It’s purely business. My palms still sweat with anticipation as I wait for Max to walk through the restaurant door.

  When Dana called and asked me to meet Max for dinner tonight, I was dazed. I knew he wanted to work outside of his office, but didn’t expect to do dinner meetings. I agreed and instantly regretted it. The need to remain professional is imperative and both times I’ve been around this man, my resolve starts to slip. I can’t put my finger on what is so different about him, but my pulse races and my nerves start to tingle. There’s a tinge of electricity that moves through me, exciting my body. He’s not only extremely attractive, but also kind. Nothing like the hard, businessman Laci told me about.

  He breezes through the door looking around. When his eyes land on mine, he smiles widely and walks over.

  “Sorry I’m late, I got held up at the office.”

  “I’ve only been here a little bit.”

  “Come, let’s get started.” His hand moves to my back and he leads me to the hostess.

  We get a booth in the back, which is a little intimate for a business dinner. He orders a scotch and looks at me. I take his lead and get a glass of wine. Once the wai
ter leaves, I pull out some folders, ready to talk.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting my notes.”

  “Tonight, we aren’t talking about business.”

  “We aren’t?” I ask confused.

  “No, tonight we get to know each other.” He winks at me and sends my heart racing.

  “Okay, but let me give you this.” I hand him the folders with all the signed contracts.

  He looks through briefly and then back up to me. “Start by telling me about yourself.”

  The waiter brings our drinks and we order. When he walks away, Max looks back at me, expectantly.

  “Simple story really. Been in Atlanta most of my life. My dad moved us here when my sister and I were young to take a position as a senior engineer with a contracting company. I left town for six years to attend University of Georgia, but came back after I received my MBA. I worked a few internships that led to a full time position and then decided two years ago to open my own firm. My best friend, Laci, works with me.”

  “Hmm, that explains why there is only one employee form in this file.”

  “Yes, just the two of us. I’ve thought about hiring a part-time employee, but don’t want to ruin the dynamics. Laci and I are tight and bringing another person in the mix could be a bad idea. Not to mention, Laci is a bit wild.”

  “Wild how?”

  “She speaks before she thinks. Says inappropriate things a lot. She marches to the beat of her own drum, but I love her.”

  “Sounds interesting, I can’t wait to meet her.”

  I nod my head in agreement but personally freak out. Laci will hone in on my attraction and embarrass the shit out of me.

  “That’s all great to know, but tell me about you. Stella Sullivan the woman, not the business owner.” His voice softens a little and his fingers brush across my hand on the table. The slight contact causes my breath to hitch again. It seems to happen a lot around this man. He must hear it because his lips twitch with a slight grin.

  “What would you like to know? There’s not too much to tell.”

  “What about a husband?”

  “No husband.”

  “Are you seeing anyone?” His voice is strong and intense.

  Suddenly, my throat goes dry and I sip my wine. “No.”

  He sits back and sips his scotch. “What about you? Tell me about the Maxwell McCoy. You seem a little young to be the president of a company like Hurst & McCoy.”

  “It’s definitely not where I saw myself at the age of thirty-three. I went to Georgia Tech for my undergraduate degree then attended Yale for my law degree. I traveled a few years doing international work for a company based out of Connecticut. I only came home after my dad died and my family needed me.”

  “Wow.”

  “I have two younger brothers, but they weren’t ready to step up and take Dad’s place. Edward Hurst sure as hell wasn’t president material. Also my dad made arrangements with the board before he died to appoint me president if I agreed. So, I didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t watch the business he built go down. My mom had a really hard time after Dad’s death too. It was better that I was close.”

  “That’s so selfless.” My heart melts at his confession.

  The waiter arrives with our food and the conversation takes a less serious tone. We talk about our siblings and families. I explain how close I am to the whole Barnes family and Max is surprised to learn Marshall Barnes is my lawyer and Laci’s dad. He knows him through business connections.

  Watching him closely, I decide everything he does is sexy. The way his Adam’s apple bobbles when he drinks, the way he wraps his mouth around the fork, the way he laughs through the conversation. Suddenly my body gets hot.

  My mind unexpectedly swarms with sexy thoughts of the man in front of me. He never mentions a girlfriend or wife, and I’m too afraid to ask. I mean really, it’s none of my business.

  “Stella?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Are you okay? You look lost?”

  Need to think of a quick save. “Yes, sorry, my mind drifted. I was thinking of a very important question.”

  “And that is …”

  “Are you a Yellow Jackets fan?”

  He stares at me with a blank look and then starts laughing. His laugh is rich and loud and his whole body shakes. The noise causes a few people to look over but he continues. I can’t help but giggle along with him.

  “I am indeed a Yellow Jacket fan, seeing as I went to Georgia Tech. But I am also a Bulldog fan since both my brothers attended UGA.”

  “How’s that possible? They’re like mortal enemies.”

  “Not really.”

  “I guess I can’t say anything because when my dad retired, he taught engineering at GT for a while. We went to some of the games.”

  “Good to know you’re a football girl.” He winks at me.

  “Absolutely, I had no choice.”

  “You surprised me with that. It felt good to laugh.”

  His expression is filled with amusement.

  “Mr. McCoy, I think I’ll continue surprise you.”

  “There is no doubt, Stella, and I look forward to it.” The tone of his voice changes and his look makes me wonder if we’re talking about the same thing.

  Dinner was torture. Sitting so close and not being able to touch her drove me crazy. The minute she spoke, my dick got hard and stayed that way. She licked her plump, perfect lips several times, which caused my balls to actually throb. Mentally I pictured running my tongue over every inch of them, nipping until she whimpered. It wasn’t lost on me when her eyes glazed over and she zoned out for a second. I could only hope it was thoughts of me that put that starry look on her face. When she giggled, the sound flowed through my whole body with a sense of peace. I wanted to do was pull her across the table and slam my mouth to hers.

  I felt the attraction the minute she walked into my boardroom, but tonight it was more. Getting to know her, listening to her talk, watching her expressions, all of it intrigued me. Relief washed over me when she confirmed she was single. I decided right then to continue my pursuit. Chris gave me shit when I explained the intensity of our first meeting, but after he met her, he saw it too. When he told me to go after her or he would, my mind was made up. Business or not, I want to know more about her. In just the short amount of time I’ve spent with her, she’s turned me inside out. Her drive and devotion is refreshing. Everything about her screams sincerity. I’ve watched her closely, paying attention to her expressions and energy. It makes me happy to know that every time I touch her, she reacts. When I dragged my fingers across her hand and her breathing changed, my pulse started racing. There’s a definite connection between us.

  She’s an exquisite woman. In my life, it’s rare to find genuine people. I already knew most of the stuff she told me about herself because of the background check I ran. Trust is uncommon in my position. Hell, I can only count six people I trust. My gut told me Stella was legitimate, but it was smart to be sure she wasn’t a mole being paid to help bring the company down. Also, I’d made a stupid decision before using my dick, and am still paying for it.

  I didn’t exactly want to create the reputation that surrounds me, but there was no choice. It took time, three years to be exact, but I finally had set a plan in motion to gain back the company my dad died trying to save.

  Edward Hurst is responsible for the death of my father. The actual cause may have been a heart attack, but it was the betrayal and deceit that caused it. He thinks he has me by the balls, but he’s got another thing coming.

  This JOS situation finally has the board listening to me. I wasn’t kidding when I told Stella this would be a lot of work. But in the end, it will be worth it. I’ll finally have the company out from under Edward Hurst and be rid of him forever.

  “Laci!” I scream from my office trying to find my notes. Max will be here in a few minutes and I want to finalize some things before presenting them.


  “They’re in the top left drawer,” she answers, walking in. I look at her and regret my outfit choice this morning. She’s wearing a pale blue jersey dress with silver accents. Her blonde hair is pulled up in a high ponytail and hangs in waves. The blue of her eyes stands out against the fabric. One look at her and Max will probably never look at me again.

  “You look beautiful, Lace.”

  “So do you.”

  My black pants suit has nothing on her. I wish I could run home and change before Max arrives.

  “You seem a bit flustered, Stella Bella.”

  “I am. Every time I think about Maxwell McCoy, my body tingles. My common sense knows it’s a strictly business relationship, but someone needs to tell my body that.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with mixing business with pleasure.”

  “There is in this situation. I want my work to speak for itself. There should be no reason to let people think I got the job because I’m screwing the president of the company.”

  “I can understand that, but be discreet.”

  “Laci, seriously? Why would he even take a second glance at me? You saw the women he dates on the internet. One was a super model. And I’m not even sure he’s single.”

  “First of all, you’re gorgeous Stella. You’ve always been blinded at your own beauty. You let me do some digging to find out if he’s single and I’ll get back to you. But don’t close the door on the possibility of a ‘Stellax’ yet.”

  “For the love of God, please tell me you did not just say that. ‘Stellax,’ Laci, that’s the worst name combo ever.”

  “Yeah, it sounds terrible out loud, but you get my drift.”

  “Am I interrupting?” a male voice startles us and we both turn to find Max in the doorway. My jaw drops at the sight. He’s not in the standard business suit but a midnight blue sweater and grey slacks. The sweater is tight across his chest and his arms bulge under the material. His hair is messy and unruly as if he’s been running his hands through it. The blue of his eyes is much more defined. A fluttering moves through my body and I involuntarily move my hand to my stomach. The air in the room changes and suddenly it’s very warm.