Playing with Power - Book 5: New Adult Office Romance (18 page)

“What a shit head...”

“Oh, I haven’t even started.”

After regaling her with the events back in Lake George, Lauren told her all about the meeting they’d arranged with Parker in the office. When she sheepishly told her the part about whacking him across the jaw, Ali cheered so loudly her neighbor banged on the wall. It felt almost therapeutic to spell out everything. With the dust settling, Lauren was able to piece together all the events and start to make sense of everything.

When Parker had left the office that day, he’d apparently headed straight to his apartment and attempted to delete all trace of the financial activity they’d exposed. The next day, CCTV cameras caught him leaving his yacht carrying two large duffel bags. Moments later, his boat was fully engulfed in flames that quickly spread to the neighboring vessels. He then had the locks changed on the StyleSpur offices before deciding it was time to leave town.

“They found his Porche wrapped around a tree just outside of Stamford. The police apparently picked him up, drunk, high, and extremely belligerent.”

“Sounds like Parker,” Ali nodded. “Talk about a complete meltdown.”

“Well, when we finally got into the office yesterday morning, there was a message from his father waiting for me. After a brief conversation, I think we managed to work out a deal where MyBFC would eventually come to absorb StyleSpur.”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Ali shouted. Her neighbor banged on the wall again. “Oh fuck off, you old bag!” she yelled as she banged back. “This is huge.”

“He’s putting a temporary CEO in place until things can be finalized, but then I take over. I think he just sees it as a way to recoup his losses, you know? He’s put so much money into that company and after talking with Landon, I think he realizes this is pretty much his only choice.”

“So everyone gets to keep their jobs?”

“Everyone keeps their jobs,” Lauren said with a sigh of relief. None of it had sunk in yet. It was like it’d all happened to someone else and she’d just been witness to the unfolding.

“And you’re leaving next week?” Faith said with a pout.

“And I’m leaving next week.”

“Damnit, I was hoping I’d hallucinated that or something. I’m pretty sure I drank to forget that fact last night. I blame you for this hangover.”

“You can’t hold me entirely responsible. You were pretty drunk when you got there,” Lauren giggled. “You sure you don’t want to tell me what you were up to?”

“There’s no way in hell I’m wasting a minute of our time together on that shit, no way.” Ali placed her coffee on the floor and crawled into the papasan chair, interlacing her limbs around Lauren as the bamboo creaked beneath them. “Besides, you aren’t allowed to leave,” she said as she hugged Lauren.

Lauren sniffed back a few tears. “You know Llama, you could come with me.”

“You offering me a job?”

“No, but someplace to stay...”

Ali scowled. “I thought you and loverboy were going to live together.”

Lauren shrugged. “At first maybe, until I find a place of my own. I’m gonna be spending so much time with him at work and everything. I want to make sure we have clear divisions in our relationship. I’m afraid if we work together, those lines are going to blur.” She thought of Nick with a pang of regret. “I’m not going to make the same mistakes.”

“You’re serious? We’ve never lived together. I don’t know if you know this, but I can be kind of a slob.”

She looked around Ali’s apartment and snorted. “Nope, never noticed. So are you interested, roomie? Wanna try to make it out west with me?”

“Oh my God, I love you!” she cried pulling her into a bear hug. The papasan chair rocked and out they toppled, rolling on the wooden floor in a laughing pile.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lauren said rubbing the back of her head.

16.

Seven weeks later...

Landon buried his face in her hair, his breath hot on her neck. He pressed his hard cock against her ass and purred her name.

“We have exactly fifteen minutes before we need to be up and getting ready to go.”

Lauren smiled to herself and groaned.
Can’t let him have it so easily all the time,
she thought. “Oh good, fifteen minutes more in bed. I’m so tired,” she said pulling the comforter over her head.

His lips found her earlobe, sending goosebumps across her body. “Are you sure you want to go back to sleep?” His hand glided over her bare skin, down her side and across the curve of her hip. Digging his fingers into her flesh, he pulled her close as he once again nestled his dick against her ass.

With a loud yawn, she reached for his hand and pulled it down between her legs.
I have no control when it comes to this man.
His fingers slid over her bare lips, still swollen and sensitive from their lovemaking the night before. Delving between, he moaned quietly as he found her growing wet.

“I promise, I’ll be quick,” his whispered into her ear.

“You really know what a girl wants,” she giggled, rolling to face him.

He kissed her while continuing to massage her below, his tongue and fingers probing and teasing. After nearly two months of constant sex, Landon knew how to play her body like an instrument. Within no time, she was flushed and pulling him on top of her. His cock slipped inside like it was returning home, their bodies moving and shifting in unison.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, clinging to his back as he thrust inside. Half awake, Lauren was able to push aside all of the stress from work, moving, and the holidays. Her entire world shrank to what was happening between those silken sheets. The way her pussy stretched and ached with him inside. The delicate strength of his hands as he cupped her breasts. She focused on the sound of his breath, the low groans that came from both of their throats.

“I want to try something,” he said suddenly. “Put your legs together, like this.” Lauren obliged, unsure what he was going for. It was one of many great surprises she’d recently learned about Landon. He was adventurous in bed, always eager to try new things and bring her pleasure.

Spreading her thighs just wide enough to allow him entry, Landon placed his legs on either side and gently began to thrust. Instantly, she felt the difference. What the position lacked in depth, it more than made up for in sensation. The head of his cock teased the first few inches of her entrance while his body pressed nicely against her clit. Landon smiled as he saw her reaction.

“That good, huh?”

With rosy cheeks, Lauren nodded. “Fuck Landon, I’m already close.”

He growled and increased his pace, chest and arms muscles straining as he held himself above her. Almost without warning, a powerful orgasm whipped through her body. Only partially filled, her pussy contracted strongly around his cock, pulling a curse from his gritted teeth. Moments later, Landon shuddered and erupted inside her. Lauren felt a smaller orgasm pulse, the combination of his coming and the continued pressure on her clit triggered a rare multiple. He collapsed on top of her, cock only slipping out as he softened.

“You wreck me whenever you say my name like that,” he said breathlessly.

“Well, you have my permission to do that move whenever you want,” she grinned back. “Do I have enough time for a shower?”

Landon lifted his head and squinted at the clock across the room. “If you’re quick and there’s no traffic.”

“Oh don’t be dramatic. We aren’t cutting it
that
close.” She poked him in the side. “Come on, you’re heavy.”

“That’s nice,” he said rolling onto his side. “If everything you’re telling me about Christmas at your house is right, I’m gonna come back even heavier.”

Lauren walked naked to the dresser, pulling out the clothes she planned to wear on the plane. “Guaranteed. Mom’s already said she’s going to fatten you up. I think Dad even said something about tofu eating California hippies.”

“I eat meat!”

“Expect to prove it,” she replied with a wink. “Hungarians put meat in everything. I’ll be super quick, I promise.”

As the hot water beat down on her shoulders and neck, Lauren laughed to herself.
If Landon is the love of my life, this shower comes a close second.
She forced herself to hurry, knowing he wouldn’t calm down until they were through security. Just as she finished running shea butter conditioner through her dark hair, Landon shouted her name.

“I can’t hear you. Come in here.”

He whipped the bathroom door open with such force it sucked much of the steamy hot air out. “Hey! It’s freezing in here now. I’m gonna have to take longer now that I’m all chilled,” she joked.

“Wren, you’re Christmas present came early.” Her stomach dropped and she rolled her eyes.

Wiping the steam from the glass door so she could see him, she pouted. “We said we weren’t going to do anything for Christmas this year. You promised you wouldn’t buy me—” He stepped into the shower, face filled with excitement. “What? What is it?”

“We got in.”

“You mean...”

“We got into Ignite.”

Lauren’s mouth fell open. She studied his face to make sure he wasn’t just messing with her. Another surprise about Landon was his love of practical jokes. “You aren’t fucking with me?” He shook his head. “Holy shit...we got into the incubator,” she whispered. She let out a loud whoop and jumped, nearly slipping in excitement. “We got into the incubator!”

He grinned widely at her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “You know what this means, right? Like, nearly all the companies that come out of Ignite have made insane amounts of money.”

“I know,” she smiled.

“But we’ve got a metric shit ton of work ahead of us to get there.”

“I know.” She closed her eyes and tilted her face to the water.

“Your parents are going to flip out. Ali is going to have a meltdown.”

She cleared the water from her eyes and flicked it at him. “They don’t even know what an incubator is.”

He grew serious and pulled her close, his deep brown eyes intent on hers. “No, but they’ll understand your success. You’ve done something really special here, Wren. Your life, their lives, just changed forever. I’m so, so proud of you.”

Squeezing him tightly, face pressed against his chest, she hoped the shower would mask her tears. After a moment, she said, “They aren’t going to be too impressed if we miss our flight. Go on. We can talk about all this on the way.”

Landon stepped out and caught her eye. “I love you.”

With a laugh, she shook her head. “I love you, too.”

As she toweled off, she wiped a spot clear of fog on the mirror. Even when she met her reflection, she still couldn’t believe all this had happened to her. She was still the same Lauren, right? The same girl from MIT who grew up in the middle of nowhere. She gazed into her eyes, waiting for the answer.
Of course I am,
she thought.
I just reached a little higher than anyone expected, including myself.

Just as she was about to turn around to dress, she paused. With her index finger, she quickly scrawled a message in the steam.

“Wren, we really gotta go. The car is here!”

“Coming,” she replied. She read the message one last time with a smile before switching off the light.

I did it. I did it for them. I did it for our future.

January 24th

I think I might as well give up on journaling consistently, huh? I managed to find a calm moment to myself and felt the urge to open this up and write.

Where do I start?

Parker refuses to go away. We’ve actually taken to calling him herpes because it’s apparently impossible to get rid of him. The last two months have seen Charlie Sheen-level meltdowns. He’s throwing accusations at me right and left, blogging AND vlogging his ridiculous rants, all in an effort to grab whatever media attention he can. Worst part is, I can’t even respond because we’re in the middle of suing him for defamation, slander, and a bunch of other stuff. Even his father wants him to go away quietly but it’s not happening. Such a train wreck.

Anyway, enough about him. Christmas was amazing! We landed right before a huge storm hit and got over a foot of snow during the night. Landon was such a kid. He’d bought all new winter clothes before we left and jumped into it the second we woke up. We made snowmen, had snowball fights...I don’t think I’ve had that much fun since I was little. All Christmas day we just ate and drank and slept, lounging around in our new pajamas and stoking the fire. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Damon and Faith are taking things slow but she sounds so happy. I’ve made her managing director of StyleSpur, a long overdue promotion. I haven’t heard much from Damon, but he did send a present just before we arrived...a copy of
The Art of War.
Although I’ll miss New York, I’m glad I get to speak to them all the time.

I just moved into my new apartment last week and Ali is flying in tomorrow. I’m staring at a pile of her boxes as I write this. The place is substantially smaller than Landon’s but I can’t wait to make it our own. We’re only a few blocks away, but I think the distance will be good for now. Everything happened so quickly between us, I want to make sure we take our time moving forward. As for us...it’s amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better partner, both in business and in life.