“What’s on your mind?”
“You,” I blurted. I immediately blushed, knowing that sounded rather suggestive. “I mean…um…I was wondering where we’ll be staying?”
Marshall cocked his eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth crinkled into a small smile. “I’ve gotten us two rooms at the Venetian, one of my favorite places to stay in Vegas.”
“I’ve heard it’s beautiful, but I’ve never stayed there myself,” I replied.
“Well,” Marshall said, his blue eyes staring intensely into mine. “Get used to it. We’ll be there for a few days, and I want you to be comfortable.”
* * *
Moments later, I was standing just behind Marshall as he talked to the hotel clerk, which was a good thing because I didn’t want Marshall to see the expression I had on my face. The clerk informed him that they’d overbooked and the two rooms were no longer available, but they’d given him the VIP suite—one room, which we could share. Could I stay in the same room with him and not be tempted to explore more than legal documents? I wasn’t so sure.
Marshall turned to me, looking at me with a whimsical expression. “Ms. Rowland, will you be comfortable sharing quarters with me? The suite is rather spacious—no closed quarters.”
That sounded like a challenge. “We’ll just make it work,” I replied. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of showing him that I was the least bit nervous, despite my stomach doing flips inside of me.
We went to the elevators and once inside, placed a card in the slot, showing that we were going up to a level that was not for a majority of the guests. It made me feel like I was a famous person. For some reason, I kept thinking of the more intimate side of Marshall, the one that he’d shown me last night when he fed me, and that made me forget that he was a guy who was larger than life to a great many people. To me, he was just the guy that I had internal debates about in regards to wanting to have a sexual tryst with him or just remain business associates. At that moment, I didn’t have too much faith that I’d be able to even mutter a weak “no” if he made a move on me. Hopefully my confused state of mind about wanting him and not wanting him, wasn’t visible to the man himself, who seemed to read my mind so easily.
Marshall opened up the door to the suite and my jaw dropped. I’d never seen anything like it and it was absolutely amazing. The walls were a light golden tone with huge windows that overlooked the Vegas strip and provided a view of downtown Vegas in the distance too. I walked over to the window and looked down, seeing people on the sidewalks below who looked so tiny you could barely make out any details about them.
I realized that I was staring out the window and afraid to even turn around. I sensed that Marshall was behind me and my mind immediately jumped to conclusions that he was already making a move. What was I going to do? Should I? Could I handle it? The questions didn’t stop.
“It is a rather lovely view, isn’t it, Becca?”
“Sure is.”
“Would you like to see our bedroom?”
I gulped. I knew I might as well get it over with. After all, we were going to have seven nights of sharing that room together coming up. “Sure. It can’t be much more spectacular than this casual area though.”
“We shall see,” Marshall said, pressing his hand on my lower back. It sent a jolt through me that made my toes tingle and the hairs on my arm stand on end. In other words, it was arousing despite being a simple gesture on his part. I wondered if he knew that his touch did that? If he did he was certainly at no shortage of power for getting women to succumb to his will because I was about ready to turn around and pounce on him.
The bedroom was equally impressive to the casual area of the suite, showing a giant king sized bed lined with cream and golden sheets and blankets. I leaned over to touch them, and felt how they were so soft to the touch. I knew they were Egyptian cotton and I bet they were at least 1500 thread count. I ran my hands over them, wanting to put my cheeks to it to rub against. I just may have to set up my work station in that bed for this entire week and camp out there.
I’d paused at the bed, not really sure what to say. I was in awe and while I’d had a fairly privileged childhood, I’d never stayed in a place like this. My dad was more practical and that had rubbed off on me to a certain extent. Marshall grabbed my hand and said, “Here, I’ll show you the bathroom.”
The bathroom was equally wow! There were two showers next to each other, his and hers I guessed, but they were made of glass so there would never be a way to take a shower in privacy if more than one person was in the suite. I guessed friends didn’t stay in the VIP suite. Images of Marshall walking out to greet me just yesterday with that towel wrapped loosely around his waist flooded my thoughts. I hoped I’d get to see that again because the pure sexiness of that towel wrapped so loosely, appearing like it was about to fall off, was tempting; especially since I knew what a humongous package he had underneath it.
I knew I was acting peculiarly odd and I had to snap out of it. I turned to Marshall. “This suite is absolutely stunning. I’ve never seen anything quite so amazing and beautiful.”
“It looks better with you in it,” Marshall said. I blushed a bit at the compliment, but thanked him.
There was a knock on the door and a voice called out that it was the porter with the luggage. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was not easy to be alone with a man like Marshall. In fact, it was too tempting. There was only one other man who’d ever tempted me that way and it was Brandon, but he’d never evoked emotional responses in me the way Marshall did and we hadn’t even done anything—technically. I couldn’t lie that he’d been on my mind in some very delightfully compromising positions the past few days. A vivid sexual daydream was rather easy to have when you knew what every muscular curve of a man looked like from his strong broad shoulders down to his enormous engorged member. Calm down…you’re overheating.
“Well, as much as I’d like to stay and entertain you I must be off to the convention and make sure my marketing team is setting everything up for Foothill Studios the way I’ve ordered it to be,” Marshall said.
“Sounds good. I’ll get right to work so I can give you an update when you get back later tonight.”
“I might be very long. Don’t wait up if you get tired. You have plenty of time to work…and whatnot.”
I didn’t know what the whatnot was, but I was definitely intrigued.
Chapter 8
The table in the casual area of the suite easily fit my lap top and all the documents that were brought along for me to review. I am not sure why they were not scanned and in a folder that could be viewed online, but such wasn’t the case. People had always said that Hugh Henley had been quirky and marched to a different beat so it must have been him. Marshall was organized, efficient, and made the most out of his time. It was easy to tell that.
After about six hours of working diligently on everything in front of me, I was interrupted by a knock on the door, saying that room service had arrived. It was a pleasant surprise and one that reminded me that I was indeed hungry. I looked over at the clock and it was 6 p.m.
I opened the door and there was a man with a cart that contained a vase of beautiful flowers, a bottle of red wine, and several plates of food. It smelled fantastic and the way it wafted into the room made me instantly hungry.
The room service attendant whose name tag stated Anthony, began to tell me what I was going to be enjoying that evening. I would be drinking a Harmonique 2002 Pinot Noir, which was the perfect accompaniment to the grilled fresh water salmon, homemade bread loaf with dill and herb whipped butter, plus the mixed vegetable blend. For desert, there was a platter of chocolate covered strawberries; each hand dipped just minutes earlier and all delightful with the wine.
The feast before me was one made for a queen and I was looking forward to playing the role of queen. I tried to tip room service, but he politely declined, telling me that Mr. Kent had already taken care of him quite well. Then just lik
e that, he was gone and I was preparing to eat about as great a meal as I’d ever had by myself. I decided to take a break from work while I enjoyed it, not wanting to miss any part of the delectable combination that it was promised to be.
As if on cue, after one bite I received a text from Marshall, asking if I was enjoying the meal. I said that I was and offered to save a glass of the wine and strawberries for him when he returned. He told me that he’d be back well after midnight though, making my heart sink a bit. Even though I didn’t know what was going to happen I enjoyed the thought of seeing how I’d respond if it did. Maybe he was keeping his distance from me too, not wanting to be distracted by me. I could tell by the way he looked at me and responded that he was interested, but also somewhat resistant. Did he wonder about the same things I did? We both clearly had relationship hesitations, but mine were certainly for a different reason. Brandon had really broken my heart and wore down my joy for a long time after the unexpected dump. I doubted that Marshall’s heart had ever been truly broken, although I remembered a time when Sophia said that a woman did break his heart badly, only to try to get back together with him after he came into his fortune.
It was time for me to stop relaxing from a full stomach and get back to the paperwork for Marshall’s merger. I was reviewing some information that really didn’t add up for this merger. They seemed to be looking at purchasing a company that was interested in similar type films as what Foothill Studios was. That wasn’t logical to me and it made me speculate just how involved Marshall’s father had been in the merger idea before he passed away. His signature wasn’t on anything and the people that had been making the shots were primarily executives that worked under him. They were all there now, but I didn’t know what their involvement was at this point or if they’d simply been told to step aside for Marshall to handle the entire matter.
From my perspective, the merger was not a sound idea at this point and the more I reviewed, the more I believed that to definitely be the case. There were too many unanswered questions, including ones about the executives. What would they have to gain by the merger? From the looks of the documents in front of me they wouldn’t gain a thing, which made their desire to make the merger happen suspect at best. I needed to find out what their intentions were.
I was typing notes into my laptop as fast as my mind could process them, ensuring that I had everything documented that I wanted to point out to Marshall. I couldn’t wait for him to get back to the hotel and it was disappointing that he wouldn’t be back so late. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was 10:00. I decided to take a shower and then enjoy another glass of wine before falling asleep.
The shower didn’t disappoint and enjoying the glass of wine in the soft luxury of those Egyptian cotton sheets was like relaxing on a cloud. I set the timer on the television and drifted off to sleep long before it went off. I had on my tank top and pajama bottoms. Since I hadn’t known we were going to be sharing a room I was thankful that I hadn’t packed anything skimpier or anything frumpier either.
I must have been sleeping soundly because I woke up and saw that it was 4 a.m. I turned around and saw Marshall in the giant bed, very close to me. It was almost like he was spooning me, but had stopped just short of touching me. If I moved any more he might wake up and I chose that moment to just watch him sleep. I hoped that Marshall wouldn’t wake up with me watching him, but I couldn’t help myself. He seemed like such a different man as he slept there. He almost looked like an angel or a small innocent child. There were no signs of his punctual and dictatorial side, just evidence of an amazingly beautiful person who had a calm and serene look up on his face. His full lips were slightly separated and I could see his chest breathing in and out in the gentlest way.
Eventually I turned back around and faded back off into sleep. I didn’t want to fall asleep looking at Marshall because if he woke up he’d be able to look at me too and somehow that made me uncomfortable. I wondered what I looked like when I was sleeping. Would I look as peaceful as Marshall? Was the reason why he slept so peacefully because he was able to work out his aggressions during the day? Whatever it was, I found myself drawn to this beautiful complex man more and more.
Chapter 9
Morning came and I had woken up to find that Marshall had already gotten up. I could hear the shower running and it made me instantly drift off into thoughts that were definitely not geared toward work. I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Marshall as in-depth as I would have liked to about the studio either. I’d hoped that I’d get that chance this morning.
I got dressed, deciding I’d shower later and went out into the living room of the suite, where I saw that breakfast had already been delivered. Marshall didn’t skip a beat and neither did the service at the Venetian. I’m sure he was a well appreciated client there. Instantly feeling hungry, I sat down and started to sip on some orange juice and within a few minutes Marshall came out. He was still wearing a towel around his waist and I couldn’t help but hope it would fall right off of him. No such luck.
“Good morning, Becca. I trust you slept well,” Marshall said.
“I must have. I didn’t even hear you come in or feel you slide into bed. I guess all the travel, work, and that great wine that had come with my dinner caught up with me.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad I didn’t disturb you. Sadly, I must admit that on occasion I tend to mumble in my sleep.”
“That’s not a big deal.”
“I just don’t like it,” Marshall said. I couldn’t help but wonder why it was a big deal to him, but I shrugged it off.
“I was hoping that I could go over some information about the merger with you that I’ve discovered. Do you have some time this morning before you head off?”
“Sorry, won’t work now. Maybe later. Today is pitch day, where people set up appointments to pitch their screenplays to certain studios.”
“Hopefully you hear some good ones.”
“I sure hope so. I get so sick of that shit that’s all trend—vampire apocalypse, zombies, fairy tale retellings, etc. It’s so blasé. Even when I was an actor I always longed for something different. I’m hoping to provide those things as a studio owner to actors that I didn’t have.”
“A worthy goal. We’ll do that later then,” I said.
“Excellent. Now I must get dressed so I can be out of here in ten. I’ll make sure you’re well-tended to.”
And with that, Marshall went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready, walked back out, and then gave me a casual wave goodbye.
I sighed. I knew I was here to work, but I was eager to experience a little bit of the great view that was just outside that big glorious window. I knew that I had to get that notion out of my mind because there was still a lot to uncover and I still had a hunch that there was something very suspicious about the merger. I’d do whatever it took to protect Marshall from a bad investment at all costs. It was the right thing to do as an attorney and as a friend. Are we friends? I don’t even know what I’d call it, truth be told.
The task at hand was very hard for me to achieve that morning. I was having a hard time working and staying focused. I was so very distracted and I couldn’t deny it any longer. I was horny and needed relief. All the thoughts about sex and if I’d do it with Marshall or not if given the opportunity was driving me crazy with need. I never felt so turned on just thinking of a man. After some long minutes trying to get any work done, but not succeeding, I was desperate. I snuck away into the bathroom, deciding to take a shower and give myself some much needed relief so I could focus on the task at hand.
Standing in the glass shower, pleasuring myself was kind of a sensual experience in itself, and I closed my eyes, fantasizing about Marshall walking in on me and watching me pleasure myself. I could see the look on his face. It was one of amusement, excitement, and anticipation, like I was his own little peep show in that glass shower case. My fingers knew the exact spots to reach to give me pleasure and I pr
essed my back against the glass, enjoying the hot steaming water cascading down my front side as I moaned gently, giving me the sexual release that my body had been craving.
After the shower I found myself quickly getting absorbed into work again, just to be surprised by Marshall showing up with some lunch for us to eat. Apparently his days’ worth of meetings were taking place in a room he rented at the Venetian. It was a pleasant surprise and I was eager for the break so I could share some more of the information I’d been finding out about the merger.
The problem was that as soon as I started to talk about it Marshall began to cut my food and then feed me. It was an instant distraction that made my thoughts jump from talk of a business merger to thoughts of a more intimate sort of merger. I had to admit that I’d thought Marshall would have made a move by this time and it had me edgy. The more he teased me and did the little gestures that were so kind and sweet, the more I wanted him. Maybe that was his game. I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t complain. It was working on me, and I was having a hard time fighting my overwhelming attraction to him.
I was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans today, knowing that it would be rather foolish to get all dressed up just to sit in the hotel room all day. When Marshall came to stand behind me and give me another one of his famous sensual shoulder massages I nearly slid right off my chair. It felt that amazing.
“You seem so tense, Becca. You have to make sure you take care of yourself and stretch out. It’ll help you feel better and think better,” Marshall said. I couldn’t respond because I was in bliss from his strong fingers giving me the massage.
Then Marshall’s hands traveled to the front side of my shoulders and I could feel his fingertips graze my cleavage, instantly making me get goose bumps on my skin. His touch was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. It was so soft, but it radiated such intensity that I was almost overwhelmed by it.
Movie Merger (Bad Boys Billionaire Bachelors Club #2) Page 4
