Love in the City, an erotic romance novel

by Hall, Heather

  She watched him watch her, her heart beating faster. He oozed masculine sex appeal. She wanted him to check her out, but at the same time she didn’t. He made her feel very nervous. Turned on and spooked at the same time.

  He slowly raised his gaze, looked deep into her hazel eyes. He reached out and touched her hand, stroking two of her fingers. A tentative touch. “I hope you don’t think this is too forward, but you’re very attractive, you know.”

  She didn’t know what to say, her mind was a jumbled mess, emotions spiking. She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear as she shifted in her chair. Her temperature was definitely rising. She bit her lip and looked down at where his fingers were touching her. “You too,” she replied finally, her voice the barest of whispers.

  He leaned forward, his lips curving into a hint of a sexy smile as his eyes moved again to her pendant, then her lips, and back to her eyes. “I’ve lived enough to know to speak up when something, when someone, intrigues me. And you do. Better than never knowing. Right?”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “Taking chances. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

  “Exactly,” he said, his smile widening.

  She had an almost overpowering urge to kiss him right now. But she quickly realized how crazy that would be. And she was definitely going to be late for work. “I should…” she started to say.

  “I know, duty calls,” he said. He looked at her, taking in her body language. Shy, uncertain, a little insecure. She wasn’t at all like the women he usually came into contact with. The ones who were always throwing themselves at him. Being blatant and obvious about it. This girl definitely intrigued him.

  Anabelle got up.

  He stood as well, stealing a glance at her figure as he did. “I enjoyed our coffee, even though it was brief.” He grinned, then lightly placed a hand on each of her shoulders as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

  She froze as she took in his size, his scent, the softness sensual touch of his lips on her cheek. She stopped breathing. Being that close to him thrilled her, aroused her.

  He looked at her, his gaze again going to her lips.

  She wanted him to kiss her, but was afraid if he did. She was confused.

  “Until next time,” he said, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze and then let go.

  “Next time,” she said, then reluctantly gathered up her bags.

  He stood at the table and watched her walk away.

  She turned back around as she exited. She gave him a wave.

  He waved back.

  One step towards the exciting unknown? she wondered as she headed to the office. She couldn’t believe how powerfully attracted she was to him. She had never experienced anything like it. Not even close.

  But then her thoughts turned fearful, thinking of all of the ways she could get hurt. She thought of Aaron and how she couldn’t even keep an ordinary college student, who hadn’t yet begun his career, interested in her. What chance did she have with a man like Giorgio? He’s way out of my league, a ticket to heartbreak and pain. Maybe it’s just not worth it, she thought as her insecurities swelled. She shook her head feeling completely conflicted, and walked faster away.

  Chapter 4

  Anabelle called Sarah that night. “Hi, it’s me,” she said as she flopped on her bed, feeling completely drained.

  “Hey, what’s up? I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. Work has been nuts again. More overtime.” She grabbed a cushion and held it to her stomach. Jasper jumped up next to her, settling down on her comforter.

  “Again? Is she ever going to pay you for all that overtime?”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Anabelle said. “I have to prove myself, work my way up the ladder. This is part of paying my dues.”

  Sarah scoffed. “It sounds like she’s getting free labor for Kinetic Advertising and taking advantage of someone younger than her, who’s just building their career, just because she can intimidate them.”

  “Yeah, that probably sums it up. She doesn’t even say thanks or offer to get dinner in.” Anabelle was twisting her hair with her fingers.

  “You know, I’m starting to think less that she’s making you prove yourself, and more that she’s using you and holding you down.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Maybe she’s threatened.”

  “By me? That’s ridiculous,” Anabelle said, sitting up on the bed. “I’m just a lowly worker-bee.”

  “Who works like a dog, has good ideas, and can understand and apply good marketing techniques for clients. And you’re pretty and have a nice figure. Competitive, insecure women hate all that.”

  Anabelle couldn’t help but smile at the pep talk. “I do work hard, and I know my stuff. I love this kind of work. But you’ve seen her. Raquel Sheridan is va-va-voom. A real Jessica Rabbit. Redhead and all. All polished and expensively put together and sultry. I’m more plain and a few pounds heavier than I should be,” she said, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. “And she’s a partner in the firm. She couldn’t possibly be threatened by me.”

  “You’d be surprised. Keeping you from owning your abilities and talents allows her to feel superior. Plus, you’re not plain, you’re just not flashy and in-your-face about your attractiveness.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “You know a lot of men prefer a girl who is more natural-looking and approachable. Someone like Raquel comes across as self-involved, shallow, and arrogant, not to mention a high maintenance plastic-surgery addict.” Sarah was getting herself worked up now. “She’s obviously fake. Fake boobs. Fake nails. Fake tan. Oh yeah, and her liberal use of Botox. Ugh.”

  “Have you seen the women in Manhattan? It’s a cultural norm.”

  “An even better reason not to drink that Kool-Aid. It’s poison. Be naturally beautiful and stand out by not trying to outdo everyone else in that twisted competition.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t. Couldn’t afford it if I wanted to,” Anabelle said jokingly, leaning forward and giving Jasper a scratch behind the ears.

  “Ha ha ha,” Sarah said, “you know I’d punch your lights out if you ever got any of those ideas in your head.”

  “Ditto, dear,” she replied.

  “Good. Now that we have that cleared up, you need to show your worth in the marketing world, make your talent undeniable and impossible to be ignored.”

  “But she also has teeth and knows how to use them,” she said as she now sat cross-legged on the bed. “I’m scared about crossing her. She’ll smack me down.” She bit her nails. A bad habit that crept up whenever she was especially nervous or stressed.

  “Then, you need to be sneaky about it. Outshine her. But don’t let her see you coming.”

  “I need this job though,” Anabelle said, examining her other nails. “It’s pretty cutthroat out there in the job market.”

  “You can’t let this go on forever you know,” Sarah chided her.

  “I know. Listen, there’s something else I want to tell you.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “I saw him again,” she said, waiting for a reaction.

  “Oh, do tell!”

  Anabelle relayed the encounter at Coffee Haven.

  “Wow, he’s definitely interested. He’s stalking you. How romantic!”

  “Or scary?”

  “I don’t think so, he’s not some random creep off the street. He made sure you knew who he was. He’s an established businessman in the public eye. Besides, do you get a bad vibe from him?”

  “No, just the opposite in fact. That morning I had a dream about him.” She blushed a little at the memory of it.

  “Ooh, a good dream was it?” she asked.

  “Pretty good, definitely romantic. I woke up before it went too far though.”

  “Bummer.”

  “Tell me about it. I even tried to get back to sleep to pick up where it left off, but no luck.”

&
nbsp; “Interesting. And then you bumped into him that same day? Sounds like the fates are trying to get you two together.”

  “Maybe,” she said, staring down at Jasper. “Maybe I should just stick to Jasper. He’s the only man I really feel safe with.”

  “Um, yeah, I think you’ll find a bit more fulfillment with someone like your handsome Greek suitor. You should call him.”

  “No way,” she said, shaking her head. “He can call me. Otherwise I’ll look desperate.”

  “Nonsense, he went out of his way to see you again. That took guts. And determination.”

  “I just can’t do it. I’ll wait for him to call.”

  Sarah sighed. “You know, waiting around for things to happen to you isn’t always the best approach.”

  “Says she who keeps making googly-eyes at Barry, but won’t do anything else about it.”

  “Touché,” Sarah said. “Okay, so we both need to work on going after what we want.”

  “So you do want him!”

  Sarah sidestepped the comment. “Ahem, I meant that we need to come out of our shells a bit more. That’s the New York way, right? Take a big bite out of that apple?”

  “Big bite,” Anabelle repeated, giggling. “Of a juicy, mouth-watering apple.”

  “Now you’re talking.”

  Chapter 5

  Anabelle walked into the office the next morning a little bleary-eyed and foggy-brained. She’d had trouble sleeping, wondering when or if Giorgio would call, even though it had only been one day. He was already consuming her thoughts. As a result, she was running late and hadn’t had time to stop for a coffee. Not that she expected him to be there again. She was just longing for a good, strong brew.

  Raquel came charging around the corner, her high platform heels clicking on the warm, honey-colored hardwood floors that were present throughout the Kinetic offices, except for the corner offices and conference rooms. “Good, you’re here. Come with me. We have a big day ahead of us.”

  “What’s going on?” Anabelle asked as she followed her. She dropped her bags off at her desk as they passed by. She threw her coat on top of them and hurried after her boss.

  The walls of Kinetic were adorned with abstract paintings from local artists. It was one of the ways they supported the community and got the company name in the arts sections of the indie papers when they made a purchase at an art show. Raquel always liked making a big show of things and scoring the photo-ops.

  They headed into Raquel’s frosted glass-walled corner office. It was spacious with cream-colored carpeting and accented with large abstract floral paintings. Raquel’s desk was large, sleek and modern and there was a cream-colored leather sofa and two chairs surrounding a circular glass coffee table in the center. It had a purple orchid in a cream-colored ceramic vase on it. Anabelle dreamed of one day having an impressive office like that. Having high-level client meetings of her own. Calling the shots.

  “Take a seat,” Raquel said, flipping her long, red hair over her shoulder.

  Anabelle silently obliged.

  Raquel adjusted her silk blouse and handed her a stack of files. “I need you to review these ASAP and pull out what you think are the best jobs of the bunch. Then I need you to do a search for competitor ads. Same thing, pull out the best and provide a brief synopsis of each company and their strategy for comparison purposes.”

  She inwardly groaned. “Sure thing,” she said, grabbing the files and doing her best to fake some measure of enthusiasm. “When do you need this by?”

  “1 p.m. today,” she said, lacing her fingers together.

  “Today?”

  “Yes, we received a call this morning that a potential client wants to come in to discuss ideas around a new campaign for their business. They’re meeting me here at 2:30 p.m. and I need those files and external ads shortlisted by 1 p.m., so that I can have a chance to review them.”

  “That’s pretty short notice. What’s the company?” Anabelle asked.

  “Not your concern, at least not until we land this client. It’s a big one, so I don’t want to say anything yet. Hence also the rush. You’d better get started,” Raquel said, as she stood up, clearly signaling for her to leave.

  “Right,” Anabelle said, her shoulders hunched over with the weight of the files. Raquel always kept her bigger prospects top secret until the clients came in to meet her.

  “Let me know if you finish early,” Raquel called after her. “I won’t be leaving the office today or taking any breaks.”

  A not-so-subtle hint for her to do the same or else. “Will do,” Anabelle said, not bothering to turn back. The files were heavy and she was upset. Still not even a thanks. One day, she thought, I won’t be at the mercy of someone like that. But she knew that day was a long way off from where she was now.

  Anabelle set the files down on her desk. She wouldn’t even have time to slip out for a cup of her favorite coffee. “Guess the office coffee will have to do,” she muttered to herself. She shuddered. It was literally the worst coffee she had ever tasted.

  The hours passed by as she pored over the files taking notes, assessing the ads for their overall presence, appeal, and effectiveness for the target audience. She pulled the ones aside that stood out for her and made some quick notes as to why. She then turned to her computer and researched other ads of a similar nature. Bookmarking and printing the ones she thought stood out.

  Finally, she had her shortlist. She had whittled it down from twenty-five to the ten best, out of the dozens of ads she had reviewed. She put them together in a neat folder and typed up a summary of each, its strengths, some background on the company along with the relevant target market statistics.

  Anabelle sat back, pleased with her work. She had a good eye for these things. She knew she did. She looked at the time. 12:05 p.m. She finished early. Raquel would be pleased. She gathered up her work and brought it to Raquel’s office.

  Raquel was just finishing up a phone call, when she waved her in. “Got it…No problem at all, that’s one of our specialties… Wonderful…I look forward to meeting you.” She hung up the phone. “Our 2:30 p.m. meeting is confirmed.”

  “Great. I have the information ready as requested,” she said as she handed the folder to her.

  Raquel put her Fendi reading glasses on and grabbed the folder out of her hand. Without a word, she started flipping through the pages inside. She took her time assessing the file, then snapped it closed. “This will do. Thanks.”

  Anabelle nodded and turned to leave.

  “Hang on,” Raquel said. “Since you pulled together all of this research and this meeting is on such short notice, I’d like to have you sit in on it in case any questions come up that I need you to answer.”

  “Sure, I’d be happy to,” Anabelle, excited at the prospect of being involved in a client proposal. This would be her first time. She wasn’t normally included in such important meetings.

  “Don’t get all excited,” Raquel said, pulling her reading glasses down her nose. “I don’t want you to say or do anything in the meeting unless I ask you to. I’m running the meeting and will be the spokesperson for Kinetic Advertising. Just sit by quietly in case I need something from you. Got that?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good,” she said, pushing her glasses back up. “Now go prep yourself for possible questions if they come up. If they do, I expect quick, professional answers that are on point.”

  “Yes, Ms. Sheridan,” Anabelle said, as she took her leave.

  “Close the door!”

  Anabelle did as she was asked, grumbling to herself about the rude treatment she always got. That wouldn’t be how she’d treat her staff if she ever had her own agency. She’d inspire loyalty by treating people with respect and giving them opportunities to shine. If she ever got there. She sighed, realizing how far away she was from that goal. Businesses cost a fortune to start and her savings account was rather modest.

  Oh well, she thought, no way to go but forward.
At least she might learn something in this client meeting. She couldn’t wait to see how Raquel handled a big potential account.

  Anabelle went to the kitchen and made herself some noodles in a cup. It was all she had time for. She sat at her cluttered desk, which was in an open area near some tall filing cabinets, with her lunch and stared at her colorful collection of magazine clippings of international destinations that she had posted to the short wall that surrounded the front of her desk.

  She loved the travel magazines and bought them monthly. She pored over them, clipping out pictures of places she hoped to visit one day: Paris, Vienna, Rome, Venice, Madrid, Amsterdam, Morocco, Greece, Antigua, St. Lucia, and the list went on and on…

  Anabelle sat quietly with her earphones plugged in, listening to some relaxing Caribbean music. It always lifted her spirits and made her feel happy and light. She ate her noodles while gazing at her pictures, dreaming of exotic escapes.

  Her reveries were short-lived. Raquel came up to her desk. Anabelle took out her earphones. “Yes?”

  “I just called the caterer and they won’t be able to make a delivery to us on such short notice. I need some things for our meeting this afternoon.”

  “Okay?” Anabelle said.

  “I want you to go to the Piccadilly Bakery and pick up an assortment of baked goods, some bottles of San Pellegrino and a carafe of coffee.”

  Anabelle looked at the clock. It was 12:40 p.m. “Me? I-uh…” she wasn’t too happy about being deemed the office gopher.

  “I’d hurry if I were you. They get pretty busy over there.”

  Anabelle looked down at her almost finished noodles and sighed. “Sure thing.”

  “Use your own credit card, you can expense it later,” Raquel said as she turned to walk away.

  “Can I get a cab back? That’s going to be a lot to carry.”

  Raquel turned and gave her an annoyed look. “I suppose so. Just hurry.”

  Anabelle nodded. She wolfed the last two spoonfuls of noodles down and grabbed her purse. She changed into her running shoes.