Come Fly With Me (59 page)

"Stanley,
great
job,
yes,
thank
you,"
she
stood
up
abruptly.
Everyone
was
still
staring
at
her.
She
sat
back
down,
"Er...
meeting
adjourned.
Thank
you
all."

She
watched
as
they
filed
out
in
pairs,
talking
and
shaking
their
heads.
She
grimaced.
"Boy
do
I
have
to
get
things
together,"
she
said
aloud
as
she
looked
out
the
window.

"I
couldn't
agree
more,"
Alex
said.

She
whipped
her
head
back.
She
hadn't
noticed
he
had
remained
in
his
seat.

"I
didn't
see
you
were
still
there.
Why
are
you
here,
anyway,
you
aren't
even
a
board
member."

"Stanley
asked
me
to
sit
in.
Apparently,
he
thinks
I'm
a
forerunner
for
the
CEO
position,
and
he
wanted
my
thoughts
on
the
meeting.
The
more
important
question
is
do
you
think
I'm
a
forerunner?"

"Maybe,
if
it
turns
out
you're
not
a
killer;
I
would
say
you're
a
very
strong
candidate."

He
laughed
and
reached
over
and
pulled
her
out
of
the
chair
and
leaned
her
against
the
table.
He
flanked
her
on
either
side
with
his
hands
and
ran
them
sensuously
along
the
shiny
surface.
"This
fine
mahogany
would
surely
feel
warm
and
sumptuous
beneath
your
squirming
body...,"
he
whispered
in
her
ear.

"I
don't
squirm!"
she
said
indignantly.

"I
believe
you
do,
my
dear."

"Alex,
stop
it!"

"No,
absolutely
not,
surely
you
would
know
if
you
were
kissed
by
a
killer?"
His
eyes
glinted
mischievously
as
he
reached
in
to
kiss
her
long
and
deep.

She
felt
herself
swim
up
to
the
surface.
She
looked
into
his
eyes,
"I'm
not
sure..."

He
smiled.
"Then
I
deserve
a
second
chance,"
he
bent
his
head
again.

"Stop,
you
can't..."

"I
most
definitely
can."

"It's
too..."

"...decadent?
Decadence
is
my
specialty.
You
know
how
much
I
like
whipped
cream."

"...complicated."

"Ain't
nuthin'
complicated
'bout
it,
sugar.
With
you
and
me
it's
easy
as
one-two-three."

She
pushed
him
off
her
while
holding
firmly
onto
his
tie.
She
pulled
him
behind
her
toward
the
back
of
the
room.

He
splayed
her
against
the
wall
and
whispered
in
her
ear.
"Too
many
windows?"

She
shook
her
head.
"This
is
a
really
bad
idea."

"You're
right,
that's
what
makes
it
so
much
fun,"
he
breathed.
"I
won't
let
things
get
out
of
hand,"
he
promised.
"I
don't
want
our
first
time
to
be
at
the
office."
He
dropped
to
his
knees.
"Now,
where
were
we?"
his
voice
was
muffled
by
her
dress
and
her
moans
of
rapture.

****

A
few
hours
later
Allison
was
staring
out
the
office
window
once
again,
a
smug,
self-satisfied
smile
playing
about
her
lips.
I've
got
to
regain
control
of
the
situation,
she
admonished
herself.
How
did
I
allow
Alex
to
get
me
in
such
an
uncompromising
position?
In
a
conference
room?
Come
to
think
of
it,
he's
always
been
pleasing
me,
she
frowned,
and
not
the
other
way
around.
I
think
I've
just
come
across
a
master
manipulator,
in
every
sense
of
the
word.
Her
cell
phone
rang,
and
she
was
happy
to
hear
Emily's
voice
on
the
other
end.

"Ally,
I
had
to
call
you.
I
hope
I'm
not
disturbing
a
meeting
or
something,"
Emily
said.

Allison
groaned
inwardly,
her
meeting
had
gotten
disturbed
all
right,
but
she
shook
herself
back
to
attention.

"You'll
never
believe
who
wandered
in
here
off
the
street.
An
old
friend
of
yours."

Ritchie
Patrick
came
on
the
line.
"Allison,
what
a
crazy
coincidence.
Of
all
the
gin
joints
in
town,
I
walk
into
yours.
I
came
to
buy
a
painting
for
my
mother.
She
moved
into
a
new
apartment
last
month,
and
I
was
looking
for
a
housewarming
gift
for
her."

"It's
really
strange,
first
we
bump
into
each
other
in
the
morning
and
now
this,"
she
responded.

"I'd
say
it's
Kismet."

"It
sounds
like
you're
a
fan
of
old
movies,"
she
said.

"My
mother
always
felt
I
had
an
old
soul.
And
it
just
so
happens
the
client
I
was
supposed
to
take
to
the
James
Taylor
concert
at
the
Garden
tomorrow
night
came
down
with
the
flu.
Would
you
happen
to
be
a
fan?'