Sandy looks at me as she says, “I’d like to know why he wants to use a Russian facility to build the boosters when we have facilities here in the U.S. that could be used.”
I turn to Ian to allow him to answer that. “Ian?”
“They’d make us pay. I know the company has plenty of money but why pay when we can get them made for free?” he asks, raising a good point.
“The money goes into our economy, though,” Sandy retorts.
I raise my hand to stop any further arguing. “Let me talk to some people first, before we go into this. It may not be a thing we need to argue over at all. If that’s all, we can adjourn this meeting.”
With everyone nodding, I get up and take my briefcase with me to my office. Ted comes to my side as we all leave the boardroom. “Mr. Crawford, I think you should know there will be some very big names in our industry at this fundraiser. Damien Markov, the CEO of Markov Global, is in town. He’s sure to be there. You should pick his brain. His family has been in space exploration since the Russians sent Laika on Sputnik 2. He’s a natural born leader in our field.”
“I’ll make sure to introduce myself to the man. Thanks, Ted.” I leave the young man to go into my office to find Bridget leaning over my desk.
“Is the meeting over already, Mr. Crawford?” she asks me, as she straightens up and smooths out her knee length, pencil skirt.
I close the door behind me, locking it. My tie is constricting me, so I take it off after I place my briefcase of the chair next to the door. Her smile is sexy and smooth. That cherry red lipstick is about to leave glossy marks all over my desktop.
“Please remove those documents from the desk, Bridget. I have an urgent need that you, as my personal assistant, need to help me with.” I pop the button on my pants and watch her push the papers into a drawer then lean over my desk.
Her thigh is silky as I run my hand up one of them to push her skirt up. Pressing my cock to her ass, I lean over her and tie my tie around her eyes. My cock is pulsing as I push the other side of her skirt up. Moving her panties to one side, I hesitate for only a moment as I look at how creamy her ass is.
The sound of the buzzer of my intercom has me jerking my head up. “Mr. Crawford, a Mr. Markov is here and requests a meeting with you. He says it won’t take long,” the receptionist, interrupts my plans.
With a sigh, I step back, put myself away and pull my tie off Bridget’s eyes. “I guess I’ll be seeking your services another time. How about you take off for lunch now? I was going to let you go afterward, anyway. Take the rest of the day off. I have to get out of here early to get ready for the fundraiser.”
“I could go with you, Mr. Crawford,” she says as she smooths out her skirt. “If you’d like me to.”
“My dear, Bridget,” I say as I put my tie back on. “That would have pictures of us taken together. People would think we were on a date. You know I don’t date members of my staff.” I tap the button to reply to the receptionist. “I’ll send Bridget out to escort him to my office, shortly, Veronica.”
With a nod, she makes her way to the door. “I’ll bring him to you, sir.”
“Thank you,” I say then take a seat in my chair and think about stock prices, the tyranny in Afghanistan, and orphaned children, in an effort to get my cock to go back down. It’s never a good idea to meet someone for the first time with a hard-on, after all.
The things my mind conjures up help ease my situation and I find the door opening and Bridget gesturing for a tall, muscular man to enter my office. “Mr. Markov, Mr. Crawford.”
“Thank you, Bridget,” I say as I get up to shake the man’s hand. “You may go now.”
The blonde man with piercing blue eyes, the color of ice, is a large man. Only slightly smaller than myself. Our hands meet in a firm shake as we size one another up. “You must work out,” he says.
“I do and it seems you do to,” I say as I release his hand. “Have a seat, Mr. Markov.”
“Call me, Damien,” he says as he takes a seat.
I go around my desk to take mine and say, “Then you must call me, Ryker.”
“Good, I abhor formalities, Ryker. I am here because I saw a little thing on the internet about new boosters your company was testing in Cape Canaveral.”
“Wow!” I say, stunned. “That’s top secret. Did you say you saw it on the internet?” I pull out my laptop out of one of the drawers and open it. “Where might I find this?”
He pulls the computer to him and taps in something then turns it back to me and I see the same damn video that we just watched in the boardroom. “This is where I found it.”
I see the video has been up for one day and that lets me know Ian’s either leaked it or he’s been hacked. One can never tell with these things and it’s not worth the time to interrogate Ian about it. It’s out, that’s a fact.
“So, why are you here, Damien?” I ask as I put the laptop away.
“I’d like to offer my production company’s services, of course. I can offer you a great deal for us to produce them. It will only cost you information.” He taps the desk with long fingers as he eyes me.
“Russia certainly wants every tidbit of information it can get its hands on, doesn’t it?” I ask him as he sits back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I am not Russia, Ryker. I am one man with one company and I want to get to Mars just as badly as you do. It’s been my dream for a while now. I want to start a new life on a new world and your rocket boosters can help me get closer to that reality.”
Drumming my fingers on the desk, I ask, “What’s your deal, Damien?”
“We will produce your boosters in exchange for the technology that you used to make them. That means…”
I interrupt him. “I know what that means. You want to be listed on the copyright. Your company and mine will be the only two to use the boosters.”
“That’s right. So, what do you say to such an awesome deal?” he asks as he smiles, revealing very white and perfect teeth.
“I say, I have a board that has to make that decision together. I will tell you that we have an offer exactly like yours, though. And already one of our board members has expressed concern.”
“If you allow me to approach the board, I assure you, I will get their approval. I can be a very forceful man when I need to be, Ryker,” he tells me and I feel a bit like he’s threatening me.
“How long will you be in Florida, Damien?”
“Two weeks. So, let’s not waste time.” He gets up to leave, abruptly. “I have a lunch appointment. Will I see you at the fundraiser tonight?”
“I’m going,” I say as I get up to escort him out. “And I’ll talk to the engineer who invented the boosters. It is him who has been approached with the other offer.”
“Let me leave you with one thought, Ryker. If it’s my government who made the offer, you need to know this. They share their technology with all Russian companies.”
With a nod, I open the door and lead him to the elevator. “It was nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing you this evening.”
With a nod, he gets on the elevator and I find myself wondering what I should do.
What can I do?
GIA
“Yes, mother, we’re in the states. We’re in Orlando, there’s a fundraiser tonight. I’m at the spa, being pampered right now. My feet are soaking in a gooey substance and my face is covered in mud. Damien is spoiling me again.”
“Are you going to be able to come to Nebraska for a visit?” she asks.
I hem haw around, as I say, “I’m not sure. Damien said our stay is only two weeks. He’s got some new thing he really wants from another company. I foresee him spending the majority of his time here, in Orlando.”
“What about you, Gia?” she asks. “You could come for a visit on your own, couldn’t you?”
I know I can’t. Damien would never let me go. But she’d hate to hear me say that. “I’ll see. He needs my help, Mom.”
“Oh, good,” she says, enthusiastically. “It’s nice to hear he’s letting you use your brain again. You were such a talented engineer. What are you helping him with?”
“Um, well, it’s top secret,” I say as I’m not helping him do anything. He doesn’t let me. But Mom sounds so happy, I can’t let her down.
“Top secret! Wow! A Russian top secret project, how exciting for you, sweetie,” she says as I see Damien come into the spa.
“Gotta go, Mom,” I say. “I’ll talk to you later in the week.”
“You do that, Gia. We all miss you. Your sisters, your father, and I all would love to see you. It’s been a couple of years, you know.”
“I know, Mom,” I say as Damien comes my way. “I have to go. Love you.” I end the call and put my cell in the pocket of the white robe the spa puts their clients in.
“They say you have two more hours. I am going to lunch with a comrade from back home. An old school pal. You will go back to our suite when you’re finished here and put on the dress I had hung in the closet for you. I’ve instructed the woman at the front desk on how I want your hair done. Be ready by eight,” he snaps at me.
“Eight? You won’t be back from lunch until tonight?” I ask as that’s insane.
“I am catching up with my old friend, Gia. I don’t know how long that will take me. You will be fine. I’m going to take my tux with me, so I can get ready.”
“Where? Where are you going to get ready at?” I ask as he’s making no sense.
“The hotel room where I am meeting my old friend. Have no worries. I will be at the room at eight to get you. Be ready.” He spins around with nothing else and leaves me.
I watch him walk away from me. Damien is tall and built like a brick house. His light blue eyes seem to see right through a person. He’s handsome and commands respect. And he’s mine. My boyfriend of three years.
I was fresh out of MIT when I met him at a space fair in Washington. It was about the idea of going to Mars in the future. He sought me out when he found a project I had made. It was a capsule with nutrients enough to sustain a human body for three days. An invaluable thing for the long journey to the planet.
He thought I was a genius and his company bought my patent and they will be the ones who will sell the capsules when space travel begins. It’s odd to me how he thought I was so smart but once we really got together, he had me stop working and devote myself to him.
At first, I was so enthralled the magnificent man wanted me to be at his beck and call, that I gave myself to him, entirely. It was a novel, the man wanted me around him all the time. He showered me with gifts and attention.
His attention in the last year or so has been lax. He’s always on his phone. He leaves me at home on his vast estate, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, when he goes to his office. I used to go with him but he started leaving me behind and that became a trend.
He only brought me with him to the U.S. because I’m not a Russian citizen and I have to leave from time to time. I thought, by now, he’d have asked me to marry him. But that’s never been discussed between us.
I overheard him and his father talking once, in Russian, that Damien should marry a Russian woman. His father told him that he could keep me as a mistress. Damien didn’t say anything back to his father. I have no idea if that’s a thing he thinks I will allow or not.
I wouldn’t, though!
If he was to go that far then I would definitely leave him. Even though he has helped my parents, financially, since he took me with him to Russia. He’s even made sure my twin sisters and their husbands are taken care of.
He bought them homes, cars, and puts money in an account for them all. They want for nothing. If I left him, they’d lose it all. I don’t want that.
He’s not mean, abusive, or anything like that. Just neglectful. I don’t think that being neglected is a reason to end a relationship. Especially one that affects my whole family.
“Time to wash this stuff off and do your hair and makeup, Miss Flynn,” the attendant tells me.
I watch her as she pulls my feet out of the gel and wipes them off then slips on a set of thin slippers. At least once a month, Damien makes sure I’m completely pampered. He’s not neglectful in that way.
I drive an expensive car, wear expensive clothes, and have tons of jewelry. I have all the money that I want. He’s a wealthy man and has no problem spending money on me or my family. It’s his time, he’s stingy with.
But this old friend of his has managed to get an abundance of his time for some reason. I’m lucky to get ten minutes with the man before we go to bed.
He does pay attention to me in bed. He always has. Only, this last year, he’s changed. It’s pretty much wham, bam, thank you ma’am, now. No soft words, and no exciting lust-filled nights, either. Just plain old, roll over and let him hurry up, sex.
His dream of going to Mars is his reason for the change in him. He’s in a rush to get there. There is a small fact about Mars that I have a problem with. I don’t want to go, not that he’s invited me.
He’s never asked me, even once, if I wanted to go with him. I’m unsure if he just expects I will or if he doesn’t even want me to go with him. He and I haven’t talked much, lately.
He tells me what he wants and I do it. Like tonight, for instance, he has to have me at this boring fundraiser. I did tell him I’d rather not go and he said I must. He said it looks bad for him to go to such things alone.
All I know, is I’m not looking forward to staring into the crowd as he ignores me. I know it’ll happen that way. It always does.
RYKER
The place is packed as I enter the gazebo of the Central Florida Zoo. Only the wealthiest people were invited. Thanks to my grandfather, I joined that list of the elite a couple of years ago. I’m one of the youngest men here. At thirty, I’m a baby, compared to most of the people here.
When I took over my grandfather’s job as CEO of Apollo Engineering, I gained a massive amount of money as well. The responsibility is high and the anxiety I can get at times is hard to handle. Hence, my need for a personal assistant who can handle all my personal needs.
Bridget was sent to me by one of the other board members when he saw me struggling in the early days. I was a mess and he sent the woman to my office with a note that said she was my assistant and I could use her anyway I needed to. He added at the very end, even sexually.
She was fine with the arrangement and I use her about three times a week to ease my frustration level. It’s great. No commitment, no drama, no worries!
I have women I mess around with. One night stands, mostly. I don’t like getting too close to anyone. I plan on leaving this planet as soon as I can. Getting attached to someone here would be dumb.
My plan is to find someone and settle down after I reach Mars. That way, I can be part of populating that planet. It fills me with a surge of energy to think about being such a huge part of the beginning of a new place for humans to reside.
Who knows, maybe one of my kids will end up as the king of Mars? I have no idea how we’re going to rule that planet. But I like the idea of kings and queens. I’m old fashioned that way.
The gazebo is lit with white Christmas lights and I see a monkey is in a nearby cage. The zoo is special to me. They have a breeding program and plan on sending some of their animals to Mars too. It’s going to be so exciting!
“That’s Rufus,” a woman in a long white gown tells me as she walks up and hands me a flute of Champagne. “He’s one of our ideal Columbus monkeys. It’s his sperm we’re collecting and keeping for the mission to Mars. It will be some of his descendants that make Mars their home.”
“And I suppose the retrieval and storing of that sperm requires money,” I say as she nods and sips the bubbly liquid.
“Lots of it.” She slips her arm through mine. “I’m Claudette, a breeding scientist, here at the zoo. Let me show you some more of our prime animals, Mr. Crawford.”
“And
just how do you know who I am?” I ask her as this is my first function of any kind since I took on the CEO position.
She produces a pamphlet from a pocket on her dress. Along with several other wealthy men, my picture is there with my name and what company I represent. Underneath my picture is Damien Markov’s. “We were all given these to make sure you each had five-star treatment.”
“I see. And where can I find this man?” I ask as I point to Damien’s picture.
“Mr. Markov is sitting at a table over here. Come on, I’ll show you to his table.” She takes me with her, heading through the crowd. “He’s brought a woman with him. She introduced herself as Gia Flynn, so you’ll know who’s with him. I suppose you two have business dealings.”
“We might,” I say then see him sitting at a table, talking on his phone. “I’ll take it from here, Claudette. You don’t have to worry about my donation, it will be a great one.”
With a smile, she leaves me and I look back at the table to find a young woman with dark hair, held up in a loose bun with shiny tendrils falling out of it, sitting down at the table with Damien and he’s not paying one bit of attention to the rare beauty who seems to be in the middle of a spotlight.
Nursing a drink in her hand, she looks at the floor then glances around the place. She seems to be lost. And it’s a shame that she’s being ignored like that.
Her skin is a pale creamy color that her pink lips accent perfectly. I watch her take another drink and wish I were the glass that touches her sweet lips. She can’t be Damien’s date. He’s not even looking at her at all!
But why would she sit at a table with him if she isn’t here with him? Why would she be fine with being ignored? Why am I standing here when I can go talk to her?
I move one foot in front of the other and make my way across the floor, only to be stopped by Gary from Sim Corp. “Ryker, great to see you here,” he says as he shakes my hand and claps my back. “Come here, I have some men I’d like you to meet. I brought my team of engineers tonight. I know they’d love to pick that enormous brain you have.”
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 101
