by Mitzi Vaughn
blush
Westbrook Series
Book 1
Mitzi Vaughn
Brandon Westbrook was a philandering player turned advertising executive. Can Missy Duncan handle New York's favorite bachelor?
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 1
Ugh. Today had gone on forever. She sat twelve hours straight at her computer preparing the final projects for the prestigious advertising campaign she had been working on. Her company put all of the final say in her hands, but then again, they usually did. Missy had been the lead designer for Westbrook Advertising for the last five years. She had worked hard to get the recognition in a field struggling in today's market. Anyone with a computer and time on their hands began calling themselves a designer. True, she often thought of freelancing, but she loved her firm and the fast paced environment it provided.
Missy finally decided to shut down the computer and head home. Generally, on a Friday night she would have been heading to some corporate event for the advertising firm or clubbing with her girlfriends. Tonight though, she wanted to go home, take a shower, and fall into bed. The company events became more about everyone schmoozing and talking about their kids latest antics, and most of the girlfriends she once loved to hang out with now had husbands and babies of their own. When her girlfriends first started getting pregnant, she felt heartbroken and maybe even a little jealous; then she just became numb to the feeling and moved on. She was in love with her job and that love had proved to prohibit any and all relationships worth mentioning. That's right; unless it was a "no attachments" relationship, she was no good for it.
"Missy are you leaving?" Crap. She figured sneaking out at 7:00pm on the night before a big presentation was pretty farfetched. Her boss was sitting in the large conference room next to her office. "Yes Brandon, did you need something before I go?" She held her breath. Brandon Westbrook was new to his position. He had just taken control of Westbrook Advertising after his mother decided to retire and travel the Mediterranean. Brandon had the reputation of a spoiled rich kid that would prefer to party and philander than run one of the top ad firms in New York. Sure, he was suave and very handsome, if you like that sort of thing, but she knew he was not ready for the demanding, meticulous life he had just walked into. His mom knew as much too and had made Missy promise she would do her best to help him with any obstacles he faced in the coming months. Missy loved Brenda Westbrook. The smart, confident woman had been her mentor and friend for seven years now. She planned on keeping the promise she made even if it meant putting up with all the things Brandon would throw at her. If the upcoming months were like the weeks he had been here so far...she had her work cut out for her.
"No; go ahead. Can you come in early tomorrow though? I would like to go over our delivery one more time." She could see Brandon looking over the files she had just sent him. "Sure," she replied in a sweet tone. "Meet you here at six sharp."
Brandon had tried to make himself busy until she got ready to leave. In the past month he had grown to love their little run ins. Missy Duncan was not the type of woman he usually went for, but then again he didn't have a particular type---unless you call the partying, big busted, gold digging women he had always taken home a type. They were definitely not the kind he would ever introduce to his mother, but they were always good for a night or two. That more often than not was how long it took until he got bored with them. Missy was without doubt not like that. She was taller than most women, standing around five foot seven inches. Brandon still towered over her by five inches. He stared at her lean curvy body and long brown hair with subtle golden highlights. She had perfect heart-shaped lips that were a warm natural pink. Her eyes were a deep brown with gold and green flecks of color. They were eyes that Brandon knew he could get lost in. Her skin was pale like ivory and it looked so smooth. He wanted to touch her---to see how soft she felt. He shook the thought out of his mind before he did something unethical. He was tired. He watched her leave---he loved to watch her leave. Then he closed his laptop and headed for the door. He had plans to meet some buddies for drinks at a new club in the meat packing district, but he was exhausted. The last month had been trying on him. He had wanted this for so long; it was always the plan for his mother's empire to someday be his, but actually transitioning into CEO had been strenuous.
He was ready to head home and unwind with a game he had DVR'd and a cold beer. As he walked into the penthouse that his mother had bought for him when he graduated college, he put down his briefcase and made his way to the kitchen. He then stretched out on the leather sofa and didn't move until he woke up at 5:45 the next morning.
Shit! He was late. This would not help the reputation he had around the office, he thought as he wrapped his tie around his neck and flew out the door.
Chapter 2
Missy walked into the office at 5:50am with her bagel and morning coffee. She was still worn out from yesterday, and the latte that normally woke her up was failing to do it's job. She grabbed her presentation boards from her desk and headed to Brandon's office. Typical; he's late. Missy had one pet peeve and it was promptness. She hated to be left waiting. Her time was important to her, not to mention sleeping in would have been a blessing this morning. She arranged her boards and took a seat on the sofa Brandon had added to the office when he took over. The room no longer had the white modern decor Brenda had prided herself on adding. She constantly told Missy the lack of color provided a blank pallet for the designs. Now it was filled with darker, more masculine grays and cool blues. She had to admit, it didn't look bad. It was definitely more comfortable than the stark white that had previously surrounded the room. She also noted that Brenda's whimsical floral smell had been replaced with the masculine smell of musk and sandalwood. Missy picked up a picture he had on the coffee table and studied it. It was a picture of Brandon, his sister and his mom at his college graduation. He was an unbelievably sexy man. His thick, black waves were shorter then, but his mysterious gaze was the same. Unlike his mom and sister who had green eyes and delicate features, he had a strong jaw and deep brown eyes. He was cleanly shaven in the photo. Now he kept just enough stubble on his chin for Missy to want to sink her teeth into and rub her tongue along the prickle. His tall straight posture exceeded that of the two ladies immensely. She couldn't remember ever seeing a photo of her family appearing as Brandon's did in this one. They seemed so happy, and Brenda had never appeared more proud. Missy's mother was loving, but she had to work two jobs to support Missy, her sister, and their lazy, drunken dad. Missy's sister had pretty much raised her. She was the only person Missy could ever truly count on. Sure she would tease Missy sometimes, that's what older sisters did, but Nicole had always been loving when Missy needed her to. She held Missy the first time she had her heart broke and then again the second time. Missy looked up to her sister, so when Nicole was killed in a car accident Missy was lost. She believed part of her also died that night. It took many years and many tears to regain the loss she suffered. After that Missy's mom started drinking too, so Missy left at sixteen and never really lo
oked back. Sure, there was the occasional phone call, but Missy had learned that she could only rely on herself.
"Good morning; sorry I'm late." Brandon walked into his office holding two cups and his briefcase. "I stopped and got us some coffee," he said with a small apologetic smile on his face. She was about to give him an earful, but she could see that he was flustered so she rolled her eyes and took the gift. She needed the coffee more than she needed to tell him her thoughts on his lack of consideration. "Morning; you ready to go over everything?" she said sharply as he unpacked his laptop.
He looked at her with a questioning glare and she realized she was still clinging to the photo. She quickly put it back and looked away. He had never seen her blush before. She was always so focused and confident, but here in this moment, she was vulnerable and shy. He didn't know why, but this side of Missy was sexy as hell.
The presentation went flawlessly. They played off of one another like they had been doing this job together for years. When she decided to yin, he would yang. The large sports drink company had almost immediately accepted each of their ideas. She knew the few details the company chose to change were minute and could be finished in more than enough time to reach the deadline they gave. She delegated the changes out to the appropriate designers and web experts and packed up to head home. Brandon walked in as she was closing the door to her office. "Leaving already?"
"Yes," Missy replied. "I am going to go home and celebrate with a glass of wine and a gourmet microwaveable meal."
He chuckled at the thought of a microwaveable meal that could be anything more than cardboard. "I was hoping you could join me for a celebration drink." He knew that it was not very professional for him to ask her out, but he told himself that this was business related and it was okay---maybe even a motivation for their next project.
"I better not," she softly replied. She was not going to get into anything that she would regret. With his tie now loose and his hair slightly fingered through, she knew there were a lot of things she would like to do to him that she would regret. Right now she thought of him as the good looking, irresponsible, rich kid and that's the way she needed to keep it.
As if he could read her mind he said, "Come on; I am inviting your entire crew as a reward for their amazing job on the project."
She turned red with embarrassment. Of course he wasn't asking her out. He can have any woman he wants. She had heard that he constantly had the playboy model type hanging off of his arm. Hoping he wouldn't realize what she had been considering, she uttered, "Well, I am tired but I will go for one drink since the entire crew will be looking forward to it."
Chapter 3
Damn. He was pissed that his personal invite had turned into an office function, but it was the only way to get her out with him. He wanted her to see him in an environment without work and without rumors of his past. He quickly realized the small bar they were in was not the place for her to see for herself who he was. True; most of the rumors were fact, but he had been much younger then. He had grown into a reliable, mature man since his partying days. He was no longer interested in the women that threw themselves at him. To be honest, he really didn't know what he was interested in. He only knew that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She made it even more difficult when she got up and danced with some of the other women from the firm. She laughed as she swayed slowly in the tight area the bar had allowed for a few people to move around and dance. He could tell she wasn't that comfortable with herself. She had no idea that she was as gorgeous as she was, and he had no idea why he was reacting this way.
Missy was glad she decided to come. Her crew deserved a night to relax after all of the hard work they had put into the sports drink project. She enjoyed watching everyone laugh and dance around the bar. She wasn't much of a dancer, but after a glass of wine she loosened up enough to let Chloe, her closest comrade and the web design expert in her team, drag her onto the floor for one song. She was always shy about being in front of a crowd and tonight was no different. She could feel his eyes studying her the whole time. Every time she tried to peek back at him, he looked down at his drink or over to one of the guys in the office. He seemed miserable. She knew this wasn't the fabulous partying he was used to, but she thought he could at least fake it for her co workers.
She glared at Brandon and gave him her best "straighten up" eyes. He only stared. He was such a pain in the ass---so high maintenance. So why did she find herself wishing he would get up and pull her close to him. She found her thoughts drifting to him grabbing her waist and rocking their bodies in rhythm to the jazz music the live band was playing. Looking into her eyes and....What the hell was she thinking? Okay, she was done; it was too much wine and too much dancing. She had to get out of this bar; it was making her crazy. She said her goodbyes and headed straight for the door. Of course he insisted on walking her out; he was her boss and he wanted to make sure she was safe. Damn him.
As they walked to her car he remained silent. She started walking briskly, hoping to reach the parking spot where she left the used sedan she had bought when she was promoted to lead designer. When they finally arrived at her car, she decided she couldn't hold in her aggravation any longer, "Sorry if we are not your normal eccentric crowd, but you could at least act like you are having a good time for the others. You invited us here." He only groaned and looked away. What an ass. "What is your problem, I thought this was your big celebration."
He stared. Great, she thought, back to this. It was almost better when he looked away so she couldn't visualize her fingers running through his wavy black hair and his lips all over her body. He had perfect lips, the kind that would be tender and easy to suck on. She started to lick her lips just thinking about it. She quickly grabbed her bottom lip and bit it so he wouldn't notice that she was having inappropriate thoughts about him. His smirk told her she hadn't stopped soon enough. Missy blushed. "What?" she said in an irritated tone.
"What are you thinking about?" He said in a sultry but cocky voice. He had seen that look on her face only once before, in his office when he caught her staring at his photo. Her pink glow brought an instant smile to his face. He had decided he loved to put that color in her cheeks---to catch her off guard.
Missy huffed and turned to get into her car. She was not going to let him laugh at her. She was a strong confident woman that could put up with an arrogant, good-looking man without behaving like a hormonal teenager. She was Missy Duncan damn it. She slammed her door and sped off. In her rearview she saw him standing there with a big goofy grin on his face. Jerk.
Chapter 4
Missy woke up fuming with Brandon's immature behavior still on her mind. Why was she letting him get to her? He is just another cocky jerk who just happens to be her boss. She was glad it was Saturday so she didn't have to face him before she had time to cool down. She yawned and decided a morning jog would be the perfect stress reliever. She ran track in high school; it was the one time she could forget her problems. After she left home she didn't have the time to run, because she was working full time to put herself through college. Just another thing she put aside when she had dedicated herself to design. She put on some of her old spandex shorts and a tank top. She pulled her long brown hair into a messy pony tail and stretched a little before jogging down the stairs of her studio apartment to the sidewalk. She jogged to a side street by her apartment building and then onto Central Park for a real workout. This is why she had chosen the overpriced studio. She loved how close it was to her favorite part of New York. Central Park was the one place she could go to unwind after a long day. She enjoyed sitting with a newspaper or just walking through the park and drinking her latte. It was usually crowded on the weekends, but she didn't care. She was focused. She was going to run until Brandon was no longer in her thoughts.
Brandon woke up giddy. He had dreamed of her, those slender arms around his neck and her long, muscular legs around his waist. He hadn't had the best evening, but after their interaction in the pa
rking lot his spirits seemed lifted. He vowed the moment she drove off that he would definitely make sure they were doing more one on one work. He didn't want to waste another minute. He reached for his phone and dialed her number. He was going ask her to meet him at the office for some brainstorming on an upcoming project. They had a while before the deadline, but he wanted to jump in while they were on a roll. Plus he wanted to see her again. It rang and rang...no answer. Heat rose up in his body. He knew she had a lot of male friends in the office. Maybe she had met up with one of them to blow off some steam after their conversation last night. Shit. He called again. Nothing.
He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt and ran out the door. Brandon pulled up to her house just as she was coming back from her run. Missy was still on the sidewalk stretching out the muscles she knew would be sore from her lack of a normal exercise routine.
He sat in his Corvette watching her. Damn she looked good. Of course Missy was not the kind of woman to blow off steam with one nighters. He felt like an ass even having an idea like that about her. She stretched her arms over her head just enough so that her barely there tank rose above her belly button. He slowly got out of his car still admiring the tightness in her muscles. "Hi! I was in the neighborhood and I thought we could bounce ideas off of one another for the Mercer project."
Missy looked up and tension immediately formed back into the pit of her stomach. What is he doing here...in her neighborhood? "Um, you want to work on a weekend? Don't you have something better to do?"
"Nope," he replied with a smile on his face. He was examining her from head to toe. His eyes lingered on her breast when observing that they were still a little moist from her morning activity. She suddenly felt underdressed.
