by Lucy Gage
“Rick. He's a good guy. You'll like Liam. Not that you'll know he's there unless someone is bothering you.”
“How do you know all that? Is this a regular thing?”
“Sorry,” Becky said in her slightly Midwestern twang. “I know Rick from high school. I actually dated Rob in middle school. Rick's company handles security whenever we have high profile guests at the museum. Liam is his go-to guy when he needs discretion.”
“And he needs discretion with me?”
“Oh, hon, he doesn't want you to feel like you're being watched all the time, but he's concerned. Rob doesn't date much, and since you're not a performer with your own security, he just wants to make sure the paps leave you alone.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“You have no idea. Let's get started. Liam will be here in a bit and we'll take a break then. Meanwhile, we've got a lot to do in the next few days.”
The gala took place first, so they got engrossed in the details for that. There were a lot of items Emily had to handle for the publicity, including interviews with prominent guests. Becky explained the itinerary for the next several days. Emily's schedule was jam packed daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. She might have to arrive early just to stay on top of it all.
At precisely 10 a.m., Liam arrived at her desk. He introduced himself and then Becky ushered him to a conference room, where he would spend his time while she worked until her lunch appointment.
She wasn't sure what she had expected – a guy in a suit looking like Tommy Lee Jones from Men in Black, maybe? But Liam was about as average a guy as you could get: medium height, medium build, medium brown hair, unremarkable in every way. He was probably in his mid-30's, maybe a little older or younger, and he wore jeans and a sweater under the parka he removed before he shook her hand.
If he had approached her on the street, she would have believed he was just a regular guy. In fact, if pressed, she might have a hard time picking him out of a crowd if she really needed him. Although, she suspected that if she truly needed him, he would be there before she knew his services were required.
The morning passed so quickly, without a schedule and Becky as guide, Em might have worked through lunch. But at 11:45, Becky reminded Emily that her lunch appointment was scheduled to pick her up in fifteen minutes.
“Pick me up?”
“Your lunch date is with one of our biggest patrons. You didn't think he would just have you meet him, did you?”
“I guess I had no idea. So, who is it?”
“He said he'd meet you officially when he arrived. He called a few minutes ago to say he was running a little behind. He has your cell number, so he'll call you when he's a few minutes out. You remember where you came in this morning?” Em nodded. “Go down to meet him there in ten minutes.”
The sudden anxiety gnawed at Emily for the ten minutes she had to wait. It was impossible to get anything done. She hoped that she wouldn't screw up this meeting. It might make or break how her performance of her duties was perceived by Marcus.
Becky popped her head into the office as Em was putting on her wool trench. “Your lunch meeting has been extended to two hours. Sorry, I forgot to mention that before. We'll make it up on the other end.”
Emily nodded. She had eagerly anticipated a nice dinner and evening with Rob, but that looked less and less likely. Em had so much to get done she hadn't been sure if she would leave at 7 p.m. before. Now, it was all but assured that she wouldn't leave before 8 p.m..
She hoped the lunch wasn't insanely boring and that the patron wasn't some stodgy old man who resented having to meet with her at all. Or worse, some young socialite who was jealous after seeing the video on YouTube this morning.
She waited at the door, as instructed, and her phone rang. She looked at the ID, expecting to see a number she didn't recognize, but instead, she read Rob's cell. She answered because she wanted to talk to him, but she knew she didn't have much time before her lunch appointment called.
“Hi.”
“Hi, yourself. Are you heading to lunch?”
“I am. I shouldn't stay on here long. My lunch date is supposed to call when he's near.”
“Lunch date, huh? Should I be jealous?”
Flattered, she huffed a little laugh at the idea. “I doubt it. I'm sure it's just some old, rich guy. I have no idea why he extended lunch an hour, but that's what I was told.”
“Oh, that's too bad. Does it mean you won't be able to meet me for dinner?”
“I don't know yet. I doubt I'll be done before 8 p.m., if you can wait that long.”
“For you? I'll wait as long as you need.”
Emily was touched. “You're sweet.”
“I'm selfish. I want to see you again. Soon.”
Her phone beeped call waiting. She didn't have time to look at the number. “I've got to go, that's probably him. I'll call you later?”
“I can't wait.”
She clicked over to the other line. She answered and the voice on the other end said, “The car will be there in one minute. Wait at the door.” Then they hung up.
The voice sounded familiar. Was it someone famous? If so, Em couldn't place who it was. She walked to the door and waited. Seconds later, a limo pulled up to the curb. Out stepped a face she knew: Mo.
He walked to the museum door and opened it for her, then gestured for Em to get in the car, whose door he had opened already. She thought it was weird, but Mo was a limo driver, and he could have been driving anyone around.
Or maybe he had a twin, since this guy said nothing to her. It seemed odd, but then, stranger things had happened, even in the last 24 hours.
When she got inside the limo, she almost fainted. It was Rob sitting across from her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, confused.
“Taking you to lunch.”
“Rob, I have an appointment with a museum patron. I'd love to have lunch with you, but I can't.”
“Well, since I'm your lunch appointment, I hope you'll reconsider.” He smiled. It was very mischievous.
Em raised her brows. “Wait, you're my lunch date?”
His grin was huge. “I am. Surprised?”
She laughed. “Yes. Pleasantly. Why didn't you say something this morning?”
“I didn't want to interrupt your day.
Emily laughed. “You keep surprising me.”
“Right back at you. So, we have to actually talk about museum business during this lunch, at least part of the time. We have reservations at Park on First, which is where I would have taken Andrew. We'll put in an appearance there and talk about the event. Then, I thought we could go for a drive. I want to show you something.”
“You're the boss,” she said, winking.
“Good. Then come over here and sit next to me. I want to kiss you.”
“I don't know, that might be construed as harassment. You are in a position of power.”
“Are you saying you don't want to kiss me?”
She moved to sit next to him. “I didn't say that.” They leaned in at the same time, hands on faces and in hair, lips meeting, tongues saying hello.
“Hi,” Emily sighed. God, did she love kissing him.
He nuzzled her neck, breathed in her scent. “Hi. How is it that I could miss you in just a few short hours?”
That made Emily smile. “The feeling is mutual. Sorry we were interrupted this morning. You took away my stress, but I didn't get to do the same for you. Thanks, by the way.”
“No thanks necessary. It was my pleasure. Truly.”
“Oh, I don't know, I think the pleasure was most definitely mine.” She kissed him again. The car rolled to a stop. “Just when I was hoping for a redo...”
“Yes, well, we'll have to wait until later for that. I'm glad I'm wearing my wool coat. I need something to cover me for the next couple minutes. So, before we go inside, this lunch was supposed to be with Andrew and we won't have any privacy. As much as I'm going to want to touch you, we
have to keep this completely professional. Which means we're not hot for each other, we're just two people talking about museum business. Okay?”
“Got it. Don't project my lust,” she teased.
“Stop talking like that or else I'm going to be very embarrassed when I have to hand my coat to the attendant.” He kissed her quickly. “I'm glad you don't wear a ton of makeup. You still look flawless, even though I did my best to mess up your hair and face. You'll get out first. Mo will walk you inside. I'll be a couple minutes behind you.”
“Where's Liam?”
“Probably eating lunch somewhere near the museum. He gets a couple free hours paid while you're with me, since Rick is here. He'll be at the office when you get back and he'll make sure you get back to the hotel.”
Rob knocked on the divider.
Seconds later, Mo opened the limo door and Emily stepped out, glad she was wearing pants because there were a ton of photographers. Mo put his hand lightly on her back and guided her to the door of the restaurant. He stepped inside with her and whispered in her ear, “Just tell the Maître d' you're meeting Mr. Deacon. He'll seat you. Rob will be here in a few minutes.” He turned around and walked back out to the limo, getting in the driver's side. The car pulled away from the curb.
Em did as she was instructed. Her coat was taken and she was seated at a table in full view of the entire restaurant. Rob hadn't been kidding when he said there would be no privacy.
She sat waiting for Rob to arrive, trying to ignore her nerves. Which made no sense, given that he had seen her naked that morning. Why should she be nervous about this when she had no trouble letting him take off all her clothes? She bit her lip. She had to stop thinking about that or else she'd want to touch him at lunch.
Just then, he arrived.
“Miss Ward, so nice of you to join me,” he said as he sat down. “I trust things are going well with the gala plans?”
Emily confirmed that things were going very well and proceeded to tell him about the work she had done that morning. A lot of it was glamourized party planning, but there were a few items that utilized her skills.
The waiter took their order. She let Rob order for her, since she had no idea what was good and it seemed like a waste to examine the menu when she hoped for a lot more alone time with him before their lunch was through.
Once the waiter brought their drinks, Rob spoke quietly, so that only she could hear him, with his hand slightly covering his mouth.
“You might want to stop thinking about this morning while we're here unless you want people to know. It was all over your face when I got to the table.” He smirked.
“Keep smiling at me like that,” she said quietly, with a fake smile plastered to her face, “and I won't be able to stop thinking about it.” She pretended to laugh. Then, louder, “I'm sure there's plenty more we need to discuss. What was on your agenda for lunch?”
They got back into the swing of discussing the gala, the opening, the interviews. It helped her forget, for a bit, that this wasn't just a business lunch. That it was, in some ways, a real lunch date.
Soon their food arrived and, as delicious as it all was, she had a hard time forgetting the secondary part of this situation. Because, first and foremost, she was eating lunch with a museum patron as part of her job. But in the back of her mind was the fact that this man across from her was doing things to her she couldn't explain. It was impossible not to think about him, and she barely knew him. Emily's brain processed a jumble of emotions.
“You're doing it again,” Rob said through his hand.
“I can't help it,” she said under her breath. “When can we get out of here?”
Rob gestured for the waiter. “We're done here. Can you see that Miss Ward gets to her car? I've got a phone call to make.” He smiled at her. “Thank you, Miss Ward. It was great to meet you. I'm sure I'll see you at the gala and the opening.”
He shook her hand and squeezed it, ever so slightly.
A jolt of need shot through her and she struggled for composure. “It was nice to meet you, too, Mr. Deacon. Thank you for lunch.”
The waiter escorted her back to the lobby, where her coat was retrieved. Moments later, Mo opened the restaurant door and helped her into the limo. The door closed and he got in front. The divider lowered and Rick sat alongside Mo.
“We'll drive around the block and pick up Rob. Sit over here so that no one can see you when I open the door.”
She moved closer to where he was sitting. “Why all the cloak and dagger? Is this because of the video?”
“In part. Rob likes to keep his business deals separate from his personal life if he can. It's not that those people don't read the rags or hear the gossip, but they pretend they don't. He keeps up the pretense that he's just a regular businessman with that crowd and they all do the same. That's why you went to Park on First. It's the place for power lunches. Most of the people in there probably haven't seen the video yet, it's not real news to them, but by the time the gala happens and you walk in on his arm, they'll all know something. Better to let them all assume that you hit it off at lunch, even if there's video that says otherwise. No one really cares. It's just politics.”
Emily was dumbfounded. “How do you all stand it? This is crazy.”
“You get used to it after a while. It becomes the new normal. And then we spend time as a family and we forget about all the stupid stuff. We'll be back at the restaurant in a second. I'm going to put up the divider. Just stay on this side, okay?”
Em nodded.
Moments later, Rob slid into the seat across from her. He smiled and she melted. That grin got her every single time.
After a minute or so, when they were in traffic and away from the throng of photographers, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap for a kiss.
“Hi,” he breathed. “I don't know if I could have sat there one minute longer without kissing you.”
“Well, you don't have to wait any longer. Are you going to tell me where we're going?”
“Nope. It's a surprise. But I will tell you it's going to take at least fifteen minutes to get there. What do you think we could do in those fifteen minutes?” His eyes said that he needed longer than that to do what he really wanted, but he'd settle for less.
She kissed him. Just the idea of touching him again had her excited. It was so foreign to Old Emily that the spark still shocked her each time. But then her inner harlot gained control and it all seemed so natural.
“I think we can find something to occupy our time,” she said. She straddled him and pressed her pelvis toward his own. He groaned and began to unbutton her shirt as he devoured her mouth. When her shirt was open, he lifted her breast out of her camisole and sucked on it. She let her head fall back in pleasure, arching her back and pushing her center toward the erection she knew looked as impressive as it felt.
She had an overwhelming desire to take him in her mouth, to give him some pleasure, since he had made hers so delectable that morning. Which in itself was a shock, since she had rarely done that for Josh. Don't think too hard, the harlot said. Just do it.
Emily pushed away, much as she was loath to stop him from tasting her breasts, and she leaned him back onto the seat. She undid his belt and his pants as he stared at her with her breasts hanging out. He teased her nipples and she shook her head. “It's your turn,” she said, as she pulled out his member and took him in her mouth.
He was big. That was the first thing she noted. She hadn't done this often for Josh, and she never thought of Josh as being too small, but Rob was bigger. Noticeably bigger. It was all she could do to fit half of him in her mouth before it was hitting the back of her throat. He was running his fingers through her hair, guiding her along. He arched his hips toward her and moaned. So sexy.
“Emily, if you don't...want a...mouthful...you should...stop,” Rob warned.
But she couldn't stop, despite the fact that she had never wanted to do this for Josh. She felt him tense, knew it w
as coming soon, and could hear him muffle his groans as the rush of warm fluid shot into her mouth. Instinctively, she swallowed until it subsided, then licked the tip and he shuddered.
He lay there, panting, for a couple of minutes as she adjusted her breasts back in her shirt and began to button it.
“Holy mother of God,” he said. “Your ex is an idiot if he let you walk away.” He adjusted himself back into his boxers and refastened his pants.
She huffed a laugh. “He didn't let me go until he saw a video of me kissing you. Besides, I didn't do that for him.” She averted her eyes, embarrassed.
Rob turned her face back toward him. “You never...?”
She blushed. “Not often, and I never swallowed.”
“Really?” She shook her head. “You...you didn't have to do it for me, either, you know.”
“I wanted to do it for you,” she whispered.
“Really,” he breathed. She nodded and swallowed hard. “I don't think thank you is enough, then.”
He kissed her again. “You are...you are just...I don't know. I cannot believe,” he swallowed and shook his head. “I just...I don't even know what to say.”
She must have looked confused, because he said, “No. I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm just...I am falling for you, Emily. So, so hard. I don't think I've ever felt like this.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the admission that he was falling for her. Bad heart. “I bet you say that to all the girls who blow your mind.”
“I've never had a girl blow my mind before. Not until you.”
It was her turn to be shocked. “You mean that?”
“More than you can know. I have felt a...connection to you, since the moment you yelled at me for bumping into you outside the toy store. And the longer I know you, the more intense it gets. To have this chemistry with you on top of all that, it's almost too much. I want to touch you every chance I get. It was killing me to sit across from you at lunch and not touch you.”
Emily was relieved. “So, it's not just me, then?”
“No. It is most definitely not just you.” He kissed her and the car rolled to a stop. They had been so engrossed in what they were discussing that she hadn't even noticed where they were going. “We're here.”
