Conquest of the Heart

by R. J. Dillon

  As she stood up a little bit, annoyed by his pestering, her hair brushed his cheek, which made him even hotter.

  Without turning around, she calmly said, “If you want to keep your life, you’ll step away from me.”

  Gavin backed up, saying, “Resistance is futile,” smiling. “By the way, your resistance to me is hot!”

  He had been with her all day, and could hardly manage himself. He was ready to explode.

  “I’m not an object, remember? Go find Chandler.”

  “I would much rather be with you.”

  “So I’ve been told. More times than I care to recall,” she said as she looked at him, struggling to keep his composure. She was extremely fatigued, and barely had energy to argue. “Have a good night with Chandler. It’s not happening with me.” She started for the door, and continued, “Enjoy your weekend.”

  “How is that you haven’t had sex for who knows how long, and are still able to resist my advances? I know it can’t be easy. I haven’t been trying to make it easy.”

  She stopped and turned around. “I know you haven’t. I can almost guarantee you that if sex was all that I wanted, as you do, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Has it been a while since I’ve been touched by someone? Yes Gavin, it has. But when I let someone touch me, it’s going to be for all of the right reasons.”

  “I can definitely touch you for all the right reasons.” Gavin found himself getting harder the longer they spoke.

  “You’re horny, Gavin.”

  “Aren’t you? Damn, woman, you’ve been doing this to me all week.”

  She smiled as kindly as she could, stepped closer to him, looked him right in the eyes and said, “I can’t give you what you want. Go see Chandler.”

  She quickly stepped away and walked out of his office. She was looking forward to the weekend. She could relax and recover from a very tiring week.

  Gavin stood alone for a minute, thinking about what Faith had just said, thinking about how badly he’d wanted to grab her and kiss her. As much as he didn’t like it, he had to do as she suggested. He went to see Chandler.

  Later that evening, Gavin and Chandler were lying quietly on their backs after having sex, still naked. As she rolled over on her side, Chandler broke the silence after a few moments. “You’ve been coming to see me all week. Did you finally come to your senses about my lovin’? I told you I was all that you needed.” She gently began to stroke his chest.

  Gavin continued to stare at the ceiling. He sighed and said, “Chandler, I’ve never lied to you. You have to start believing me when I tell you that there will never be anything between us, besides what we just did. I’ve needed you all week, because I’ve been horny all week.”

  Chandler propped herself up on her elbows. “Have you been missing me that much?”

  “No, I’ve wanted someone else that much.” He sat up and swung his legs around the side of the bed.

  She crawled across the bed toward him, and started to kiss his back, neck and shoulders, while rubbing his chest and all that was exposed. He started to get aroused again. “Does this have something to do with that bitch Faith?” she asked as she reached down to stroke his manhood.

  He immediately grabbed her hand and stopped her. He stood up abruptly, walked over to get his clothes, and said, “Don’t call her that again.”

  Chandler rolled her eyes and said, “That’s what this is about? She won’t give you any? Stop wasting your time. I’ve never denied you.”

  “That’s because you seem to think you’re going to get something else out of this,” he said, getting dressed.

  “And she doesn’t?” She laughed and said, “You’re kidding yourself if that’s what you think.” She was still sitting on the bed naked. “You’re just using me to get to her, aren’t you?”

  “She’s the one who suggested I come see you. Of course I would have come anyhow. She had me so knotted up, I had to. I would never use you to get to her. I can get to her on my own. I need you for release.” He sat down to put on his shoes.

  “I don’t know why I put up with this bullshit.”

  He looked at her and said, “You don’t have to. I’ve never forced you to be with me. All you have to do is say no. Would you like for me to cease calling on you?”

  Knowing he would, she quickly changed her tone. “Oh, Gavin, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just want you to want me, like I want you. I love you.”

  He looked up at the ceiling, chuckling. “You’re amazing.” Then, looking directly at her he said, “You don’t love me, Chandler. You love what I can give you. You already know where I stand on that.”

  Chandler looked down, disappointed. She wasn’t going to give up on him. She had to hold her peace and let him have his space. However, she thought she might have a word with Faith. She was standing in her way with Gavin.

  “I’ve got to go. Do we understand each other?” He was tired of her drama. Until he was able to break Faith, he had to keep her somewhat satisfied. She was the only woman who would be there whenever he had a need. It didn’t matter what time of day or night he called. She was convenient, for now.

  She sighed and said, “Yes, I’ll see you on Monday.”

  “I’ll see myself out. Have a good weekend,” he called back as he walked out of the bedroom and left.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Not long after Gavin left, Chandler continued to lie in her bed, naked and alone. She started to reminisce about when she first met him.

  * * *

  It had been a really long day at work, and Gavin was ready to have a few drinks with his friends. He had been promoted to Vice President of the company, which was a big responsibility. As he gathered up his things from his desk, Carter stopped by to check in on him.

  “Are you still going tonight? Everyone will be there, and we should see a few new faces. It’ll be fun.”

  “Of course I’m going. Juliet would have a fit if her only son didn’t come by for an office party. I just need to go home and shower up. I’ll meet you there.”

  Adrian was having a party for the C&A employees. They were celebrating Gavin’s promotion and welcoming newcomers who had been hired over the last 6 months.

  The festivities had already begun when Gavin arrived. He passed some colleagues hanging out in the foyer of his parents’ home, and said hello as he sought out the most important woman in his life.

  “Mom,” he said, giving her a big hug and kiss.

  “Hi, honey. Congratulations. We knew you could do it.”

  Gavin had to work his way up in his father’s company just like everyone else. Adrian didn’t want things handed to him. He always thought that children raised like that were spoiled, and never appreciated anything they had. When Gavin started, he was determined to be on top, working diligently and proving that he was worth every promotion he received along the way.

  “Thanks. It was tough. Adrian didn’t make it easy.”

  “Would you have expected anything less? You’re home now, call him Dad or Father.” Juliet would never get used to the formal relationship that the two men had developed.

  “Only for you,” he said, kissing her cheek. “I’m going to get a drink and find Carter.”

  “Alright, dear. Have fun,” she said, continuing to mingle.

  Gavin found Carter among a few male colleagues, and a host of female colleagues. ‘Who will I choose tonight?’ he thought.

  “Hey, Carter,” he said as he approached the group. “How is everyone doing over here?”

  “We’re great. Do we need to stand at attention or something? Shouldn’t they be playing ‘Pomp and Circumstance’?”

  “Well, I didn’t graduate, and I’m not a military general or anything. This position hasn’t changed me, even though I’ll be more involved than ever before. No, no special treatment is necessary,” he said smiling and taking a sip of his drink.

  Every single woman in the group was hanging on every word he said. It was uncanny.

  “Okay.
Hey, you don’t know everyone here.” From left to right, Carter began to introduce the people Gavin didn’t know. They raised their drinks to each other with each introduction. “To my immediate left is Donovan, there’s Michele, Lauren, Jim, Christopher, Shannon, Tracey, and last but not least, Chandler.”

  Chandler had been waiting a long time to meet Gavin. She knew of his reputation to choose specific women to meet his needs, and she wanted to be a part of that elite group. The opportunity just never presented itself in the office. She knew there was still a lot of time left in the evening, so when she could get him alone, she’d talk to him.

  “It’s nice to meet you all. Is everyone having a good time?” They answered yes, and nodded their heads.

  “Good,” said Gavin. “I’m sure there’s going to be a few surprises as the night goes on, so stay tuned.”

  Carter pulled him to the side and said, “Hey, did you see anyone of interest for you in the group? Chandler looks like a good choice.”

  Gavin shook his head, “No. She’s not my type. She’s your type,” he said pointing at Carter with his drink hand.

  “I’m thinking she’s more interested in you. She didn’t look at me once.”

  “You know I’m not into that kind of woman, Carter.” They were walking alone together across the yard.

  “Oh, that’s right. You like classy whores.”

  “I don’t like whores at all. I’m offended that you think that of me. I like classy women. If, and only if, our feelings are mutual about sleeping together, then I’m all over it. If not, then we part ways. It’s that simple.”

  “Sorry. I was just kidding.”

  “I don’t joke about that, okay? I’m not into things like that, and never will be.” He patted Carter on the back and said, “Hey, enough serious talk. Let’s go have a good time.”

  Carter nodded his head as they turned back to join the rest of the party.

  Adrian proposed a toast, briefly recognized Gavin’s accomplishments, and welcomed the newcomers to the family. Gavin didn’t want a big deal being made of his promotion, which Adrian appreciated. Afterwards, Gavin wanted to spend some time alone, and went to sit in the lounge chairs that overlooked the ocean. His time was short lived, as Chandler had been waiting for this moment all night.

  “Hi, Gavin,” she said, sitting in the other chair.

  “Hi.” He looked over. “Chandler, right?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you remembered,” she said, smiling a sultry smile.

  “So, what do you do for the company?”

  “I’m one of the marketers.”

  “Oh, okay. Are you one of the new members to the family?”

  “I am. I started six months ago exactly.” Chandler was wearing a very short skirt, and an extremely low cut blouse. She hoped Gavin was looking, although it was kind of hard not to be.

  “What are your thoughts about the company? Do you like working for us?” Gavin liked to ask this question. He had yet, even among the women he chose to be with, to get an intelligent answer.

  “It’s good. I’m still getting used to everything, but everyone seems really nice.” Wrong answer.

  Gavin rolled his eyes. “I’m glad things are going well for you.”

  “How’s your new role going? You’ve done a lot in the past few years from what I’ve heard. It shocks me that you had to work for it.” ‘Here we go,’ he thought.

  “Chandler, what do you really want?”

  “You mean, like in life, or in the next five years?” she asked, confused.

  “No.” He kept his eyes ahead of him, watching the waves. “What do you want from me?”

  Since Gavin’s lifestyle was not a secret, he was often approached by women who were willing to please him whenever he wanted. He always turned them down. He liked to be the pursuer.

  “I guess I don’t understand.”

  ‘Now she thinks I’m stupid,’ he thought again. ‘Bad idea.’

  “You’ve been watching me all night. You’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get me alone. So I’ll ask you again? What do you want from me?”

  She sat silent for a moment, shuffled her feet, and poked her lips out as she tried to think of the best way to say it. “I was wondering if I could perhaps be one of your ‘go to’ women?”

  “So you want to sleep with me?”

  “I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say,” she said, looking directly at him now.

  “You’re not my type. I’m sorry. Maybe you can talk to - ”

  “I can do things for you that your other women won’t do,” she interrupted. ‘He has to say yes,’ she thought.

  Gavin was somewhat interested now. “Like what?”

  “I can be available to you whenever you need me to be. Day or night. That way things are convenient for you at all times. I would be exclusively yours so you don’t have to concern yourself with STD’s.”

  “Well the last part is not something I’m worried about because I’m always protected, and I’m very picky about my women. The women I sleep with don’t sleep around and I never sleep with prostitutes. Ever.”

  “I knew that. I’m sorry if I implied that you did. The thing is, I’ve been waiting for you to approach me, and well, you haven’t.”

  “Like I said, you’re not my type. I don’t like to be approached.” He paused. “But what you said about being easily accessible intrigues me. Give me your number. If it becomes necessary for me to call on you, I will.”

  Chandler fumbled around in her purse and found a business card. “This has my cell phone number on it. It’s on all the time.”

  “Thanks. I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll call, okay? I don’t want to get your hopes up. But, you never know.”

  “That’s all I can ask, right?” Chandler stood up, smiled and said, “Nice to finally meet you, Gavin.”

  She walked away, excited that she at least had her foot in the door. If she could get him to fall in love with her, she would be sitting pretty financially.

  Gavin just sat quietly, flipping the card in his hands.

  Chandler waited patiently, and Gavin called on her a month later. She had become his ‘go to’ girl.

  * * *

  Monday morning, Chandler made a point to get to work early. She didn’t want to wait until the end of the day to speak with Faith about Gavin.

  She logged on to the network, checked her email and her schedule. Faith usually came in around seven, so she was watching the clock obsessively. She distracted herself by performing more menial tasks to get ready for the day. Before she knew it, it was time. “Let’s go get this over with,” she said aloud.

  She walked away from her desk and began to stroll down the hallway towards the executive offices. Gavin and Carter’s office doors were still closed, the rooms vacant for now. She continued down the hallway, reaching her destination. Faith’s door was open.

  Faith had come in early again to work on the outlines. This week was going to be extremely busy with project meetings both in the morning and afternoon. She was going to be working at least three nights this week.

  Chandler knocked on her door. When Faith looked up, she showed no emotion, and spoke very coldly.

  “What is it Chandler?” she asked, sitting back in her chair.

  “I need to talk to you about Gavin,” Chandler said as she walked into the office.

  She was about to sit down when Faith said, “Don’t sit. I can’t imagine this conversation lasting very long.”

  “If that’s the way you’d like it, okay. I’ll stand. Is this the way you treat all of your guests?”

  “You’re not a guest. What do you want?” Faith asked, practically snarling. This was not how she wanted to start her morning.

  “I want you to leave Gavin alone.”

  “Before you come into this office thinking you can tell me what to do, you need to have your facts straight. It’s Gavin you need to be talking to.”

  “Oh, I’ve talked to Gavin. Seems you’re messing w
ith his head, making him want you. He gets all riled up and is a complete mess when he comes to see me. You need to stop playing games with him,” she said sternly.

  “Sounds like a personal problem. I’m only going to tell you this once more. Don’t tell me what to do. You don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re not careful, this will be the last conversation you have as an employee of C&A.” Faith held her composure, and continued to look at her, emotionless. Not an ounce of anger showed on her face, though she was raging inside.

  “He’s mine. You will never have him.”

  “Right, because I’m just a ‘notch’ as you called it. Well, if that’s the case, when he’s all done with me, he’ll come running back to you, and this conversation was never necessary.” She stared at Chandler, waiting for her to leave because that was her cue.

  And leave she did. She didn’t have anything else to say, nor could she. She just turned around and walked out Faith’s office.

  Faith waited a moment before she allowed her anger to show. She stood up and paced back and forth in front of her window. She pinched her lips, frowning as she went along. “Humph. Femme stupide. Elle a beaucoup de nerf. Eloignez-vous de Gavin mon cul.” (Stupid woman. She has a lot of nerve. Stay away from Gavin, my ass.) At that moment, Gavin appeared at her door. He heard her speaking, but this time, she wasn’t on the phone. He looked and no one was there. She continued to pace, with her hands balled up into fists.

  She continued cussing Chandler out, “Dites-moi quoi faire. Je tire ton cul si vous ne quittez pas me deranger. Ne sais meme pas ce que voul parlez. Vous avez besoin a l’esprit de votre propre entreprise.” (Tell me what to do. I’ll kick your ass if you don’t stop bothering me. Don’t even know what you’re talking about. You need to mind your own business.) She stopped, faced the window, and crossed her arms, still unaware that Gavin was there.

  ‘It’s one thing for you to speak in French, but to be angry and speaking it? I’m going to have to go back home,’ Gavin thought. He figured he’d better let her know he was there, or he would have to jump her right in her office.