by Katie Dowe
She rode the elevator up and went first to Amelia’s office. It was early barely seven thirty, but she knew the woman got there ahead of the others. She pushed the doors open and Amelia looked up, a surprised look on her face.
“My dear!” she murmured. “You look stunning! Special occasion?”
“No, just felt like dressing up. I have a number of things to sort out with you. I will just go and put away my things and come back.”
“Of course.”
She was in the middle of wrapping up with Amelia when he sauntered in at around ten.
“Good morning,” he murmured and she barely acknowledged him.
“I will send you the rest of the stuff by email, Amelia. I have confirmed your luncheon appointment with the Mayor for one this afternoon.”
“Thanks, my dear.”
Debbie gathered up the file she had been using and her iPad and without a word she swept past Alexander without looking at him.
“What have you done this time?” his mother asked him.
“You know women,” he said with a small shrug feeling as if she had punched him in the stomach. Christ she looked good!
“No, I don’t, so why don’t you tell me?”
“I will go and make it right,” he told her and left.
He stopped sharply as he came to her doorway and saw her with Phillip from accounts. The man was sitting close to her on the sofa and she was laughing at something he said. He wanted to murder him!
She looked up and saw him and her expression cooled. “Yes, Mr. Costa?”
“I need to speak to you a minute,” he responded.
“We are in the middle of something right now.”
“It’s okay, Debbie, I can come back. Mr. Costa.” Phillip gathered up his laptop and retreated hastily.
Debbie got up and went around her desk. “You have my attention.”
“What the hell are you playing at?” he asked her as he came in and closed the door behind him.
“I have no idea what you mean.” She leaned back and looked at him in amusement. “Is it something work related?”
“You know damned well it’s not!” he said tightly as he came and leaned against her desk. “I get it. You are mad but that does not mean-”
“I am not mad. And if you are referring to last night, it is forgotten. We had our fun in the sack and it was very good. You are a decent lover, I give you that. But we need to move on, we are not suited.”
He stared at her as if she had taken leave of her senses. “You are dumping me?”
“Dumping is such a juvenile word,” she said silkily as she turned back to her desk. “I just think the thing we had has run its course and we should just deal with each other on a business level from now on.”
“You don’t mean that! You are upset-”
“Mr. Costa, I would appreciate you leaving now. I have a ton of work to do.” Her eyes met his dark ones and for a moment she wavered at the look on his handsome face but she was saving herself heartache which she knew was sure. She had for a moment delved into the fantasy that maybe they could be a couple but she had seen his track record and knew his reputation. Besides she was far from being his type!
He leaned off the desk and his lips curled in derision. “Suit yourself,” he told her coldly and turned to leave. She started to heave a sigh of relief but he turned at the door. “I don’t give second chances.”
“Duly noted,” she said with a regal nod of her head that would have made a queen proud. “Please close the door on your way out.” With him standing there, she pressed the intercom. “Phillip, could you please come back to the office?”
She winced a little as the door slammed shut and leaned back her head against the chair, her breathing rapid. She had done it, she thought giddily. Then why did she feel so hollow inside?
*****
Alexander locked himself in his office and strode to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a drink. He did not need her, he thought as he put the drink to his lips and swallowed. He could get any woman he wanted. He was Prince Alexander Angelo Costa and he certainly could do without a woman who was employed by his mother! So why did he feel as if a sharp knife was twisting into his heart?
Chapter 6
It was agonizing working in such close proximity to her! She ignored him totally or whenever she addressed him she would do so very formally as if she was talking to any of the others employed to the company. She did not stay late again but would leave whenever the others were leaving. He had seen her having lunch with the rest of the employees in the staff and noticed that she was sitting with Phillip and they appeared to be very chummy. He missed her! Christ, it felt as if a hole had been punched into his heart! He had been spending a great deal of his evenings at the club to try and forget about her but it was not bloody working! He had found himself driving past her apartment building late at nights to see if he could spot Phillip coming out of the apartment. Damn her, he thought savagely. She had turned his life upside down and gone on with hers!
“Alexander, could you please focus, darling! I have been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes. What’s going on with you?” his mother asked him impatiently. They were in her office finalizing the launch of the product software in December. His heart was not in it and he had no idea how his mother did it while his father was still missing!
“How do you manage all this while you have not heard anything from him? Or have you?” he asked her suddenly as he got to his feet and strode to the window and stared out at the bleak landscape, his expression mirroring the weather.
“I have not heard from him,” she told him quietly, putting away the report she had been reading. “It has to stay that way until your uncle is no longer in the picture. They have formed an army and have been searching for your father, but your aunt, Alexander, is working on turning things around. You know how she loves her brother. They cannot afford for him to become visible and I have to have faith that I will see him again one day.”
He turned to look at her and admired her for her strength. “You have never been with anyone else.”
His mother smiled. “I love him,” she said simply. “And I am prepared to wait for him forever.”
He felt strange hearing her say it. He opened his mouth to say something else when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she called.
Debbie came in and glanced over at him briefly before looking at Amelia. “We have a bit of a problem. You have that benefit tonight and it has clashed with your usual visit to the hospital. What do you want to do?”
“Why don’t you and Alexander go?” Amelia suggested.
“I am afraid I can’t”
“I would love to,” he said softly, causing her to look at him.
“Good,” Amelia said briskly. “I will send the car for you, my dear, and send over an outfit for you. It’s a formal affair and the press will be there in droves. The cancer benefit the other day netted quite a sum of money and now the wives are tackling starving children around the world.”
Debbie wanted to snap at her and told her that she was not hers to send wherever she wanted to go but she kept her peace. “Of course.” With a nod, she retreated.
“I have a feeling that she did not want to go,” Amelia said.
“I am sure she did.”
*****
Debbie could not help but admire the deceptively simple dress that had been sent to her. It was of the softest shade of candy apple red and was made like a sheath that covered the front of her from neck to ankles but dipped treacherously in the back almost to her taut buttocks. It glided over her skin with a satiny feeling that made her skin heat up! She stared at herself in the mirror. She had never worn anything so outrageous before and realized that her nipples were visible in the light material. She worried her lip for a moment and then with a shrug went to do something with her hair. She had been furious that Amelia had paired her with Alexander but she knew how to give men the cold shoulder. S
he had learned a lot in the past.
The car picked her up at approximately twenty minutes to eight and she sat in the back, enjoying the view and the flute of champagne she had poured. It was November and the place had a bleak look about it that indicated that winter was near. She finished drinking the minute the car pulled to a stop and smiled as the driver helped her out. She lifted the hem of the dress and made her way inside the hotel. A girl hurried over to take her coat and guided her into the large elegant ballroom where the function was being held. There were a few people milling around and she found herself looking to see if Alexander was there. He was not and she sighed in relief.
“Hi there.” She turned to face the person who had spoken.
“Hi.” She smiled at the attractive looking man who seemed very familiar.
“Heath Lodge.” He extended a hand to her. “We met at the last function. I am a cousin to Bradley Wellington.”
“Nice to meet you again,” she said with a smile. He had deep green eyes and a gentle smile.
“How about a drink?” he suggested.
“Why not?” He took her arm and led her over to a vacant table.
He had signalled for a waiter and they were busy talking when Alexander came into the room. His eyes zeroed in on them and he stiffened. With long strides he walked over to the table and stood there. “I had no idea you had gotten here already.” He rudely ignored the man sitting opposite her.
“Mr. Costa.” She nodded regally. “I got here a few minutes ago and Heath here kept me company. You do know each other right?”
“Of course,” Heath said warmly unaware of the tension in the air. “Alexander, how are you?”
“I have been better,” he said coolly. “Would you mind giving us a moment?”
“I will see you later, Heath.” She allowed her hand to linger on his arm before he left.
She leaned back and sipped her wine as he sat in the seat Heath had vacated. “You were very rude to him,” she said mildly.
“I wanted to smash his face in,” Alexander told her harshly. The dress she was wearing or not wearing was indecent! He could see her nipples through the material and the sight of them reminded him that he had not had her for the past two weeks!
“For having a drink with me?” She looked at him and shook her head. “We had sex a couple of times, honey, it does not mean that we own each other.”
“What are you trying to prove?” he asked her softly.
“Nothing. I am just here trying to make the best of a very bad situation. Ha! The guest speaker is on.” Without saying anything else to him, she got to her feet and made her way across the room, unaware of the admiring gazes she was getting. He sat there and grabbed a flute of champagne turning it to his head and drinking his fill, his insides roiling as he stared after her. Heath had joined her and she looked up at him and smiled. He wanted to smash something. He had thought that he could come here with her tonight and they would go back to her apartment and be with each other! He signaled to the waiter for another and got up to go further into the room. A smiling brunette in a short sapphire dress came alongside him and he decided that two could play the same game!
“Ladies and gentlemen. We need your attention please!” Leesa Wellington touched the glass with a fork and had them looking at her. She was wearing a stunning magenta dress that looked great on her. “We are here to steal money from your pockets.” She stopped as the laughter sounded. “In all seriousness, my friends, there are children who believe it or not are finding it hard to put food in their bellies and I am not even going to go outside this great country of ours. There are orphanages and group homes all over the country where people have inadequate food to eat. We waste food. I can speak for my children who even though they are on the way of being adults waste a lot of food and I see it and remind them that somewhere out there children are underfed. Winter is coming up now and we need to fix some of the wrongs. The other wives and I do these things because we have been blessed with wealth and we want to bless others as well. I am going to ask you to dig deep inside your pockets or clutches and come up with something substantial to alleviate the hunger of our children!”
Debbie enjoyed herself in spite of being forced to attend and she found herself deeply moved by what they were doing. “Love the dress,” Carrie Copeland told her with a smile as she passed her.
“A Romano’s,” she told her.
“I recognized it.”
“Where do I sign up?”
“Pardon?”
“This drive for the children. I love what you guys are doing.”
“Thanks. There is a committee that handles that sort of thing. Leesa and Kelly and I think Kelsey handles it. We form different committees. I am into the cancer and abused children.”
“Is that what you do?”
“It is a full-time job,” Carrie said with a smile. “A few of the wives actually work at their husband’s companies.”
“I think it is very commendable.”
“Thank you.” She waved and went on to talk to some other people.
“How about a dance?” Heath asked her softly as he came beside her.
“Excellent idea,” she said with a laugh as she went into his arms.
Alexander watched them. He was with Emma but he was watching her. He had his hand on the small of her back which was naked and he was touching her. He inhaled sharply to get rid of the burning anger and jealousy. With a snarl that had the brunette looking up at him, he brought her closer to him and his arms tightened around her body but Debbie was not even noticing him. How dared she treat him like this? He waited for the dance to be over and let the girl go. He smiled grimly. He was the one taking her home tonight. He had dismissed the driver and he could not help but be satisfied as he visualized her reaction!
She had told Heath that she had a ride to go home and had taken his number promising to call him soon. She took her jacket and headed outside to wait on the car. She was there for a few minutes when Alexander drove up in a black BMW this time. “Get in,” he told her imperiously.
“Go away.”
“I dismissed the car so you don’t have a choice.”
She bristled with anger at that. “I can take a cab.”
He opened his door and came towards her. “Get in or so help me God I will bundle you and put you in myself,” he told her grimly. They stood there staring at each other for a moment before with a practiced shrug she got in.
He moved away from the curb swiftly and they traveled the rest of the way without conversation. She looked at his profile sideways. He had worn charcoal grey to the function and she admired his chiselled profile. He was much too handsome for any woman’s peace of mind.
He pulled up at her apartment building and she got out swiftly. To her consternation he got out with her. “Goodnight,” she muttered as she made her way to the entrance.
“Not a chance,” he told her coldly as he followed her up.
She stayed away from him when they were in the elevator.
She turned to him as they reached the door of her apartment. “You may leave now. I will be okay.”
“I am not leaving.”
“I am asking you to.”
“Ask all you want but I am staying,” he told her with a grim smile. “Open the door, Debbie.”
“I am tired and I need to rest-“
“All the more reason for you to open the door.”
She bit off a sigh and did as she was told. He slammed it shut behind them and spun her around to face him. “Did you give him your number?”
“None of your business.” Her heart tripped inside her chest.
“He was touching you. Did you give him invitation to taste you?”
“What I have belongs to me and I am free to do with it as I please.”
“Is that so?” His tone was silky as he brought her closer to him. She tried to push him away, but he did not budge. Without another word, he heaved her over his shoulder and walked purposefully towards the b
edroom with her pounding on his back. He dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed causing her to bounce up a little. “I want you to leave.”
“Or else?” He was shrugging out of his jacket and loosening his tie.
She came up onto her elbow. “You need to leave.”
“You need to stop saying that.” He had taken off his pants and his shoes. His erection was obvious in the soft white boxers he had on. He climbed over her and to her shocked surprise he ripped the dress off her exposing her bare breasts. “That dress-”
“I will buy you a dozen,” he told her huskily as he bent his head to capture her nipple. Debbie fragmented! Her body arched towards his as his tongue swirled around her flesh. Heat gathered inside her and she cried out as his fingers found her wet warmth. He put one finger inside her and then another as he worked his way into her slowly at first and then urgently. She lifted her hips to meet the thrusts, burying her fingers into his thick dark hair! He stopped suddenly and hurriedly took off the rest of his clothes, pulling the dress down and throwing it the floor before climbing over her. He took his rigid penis into the palm of his hand and guided it inside her. He did not move but braced himself on his hands and stared down at her as her tightness wrapped around her. His dark handsome face was intense as he lowered himself to her and wrapping her legs around his waist he thrust into her rapidly!
*****
He was gone when she woke up the next morning, exhausted and feeling as if every bone in her body had melted. He had made love to her three times and she cringed as she remembered how she had begged him to take her when he had used his tongue inside her ruthlessly. He was good! She had to hand it to him. He was more than good; he was unbelievably good and could turn her into liquid at one touch. With a groan, she turned over and looked at the clock realizing that she had half an hour to take a shower and get dressed for work! She hurriedly got off the bed and went to the bathroom. She had meetings early this morning and a number of things to take care of. Damn him!
*****
She stayed away from him for her peace of mind. She was kept busy all morning anyway so it was not hard for her to do so. She could feel him staring at her whenever they were in a room together but she ignored him. She had spoken to herself again and reflected that he was very good in bed so maybe she should let whatever it was between them take its course. But she knew that was not a very good idea.
