Temptation (The Temptation Series) (5 page)

“
No, he’s not back yet Sir.”

“Let him know, I’ll be there
shortly.”

“Yes I will pass it on for
you, thank you, Goodbye.”
Far out, he was pushy.
Then it dawned on me,
the name Gareth Clark, yes he was Vice President of Clark Incorporated, I’d
seen it written down somewhere.

I walked around the desk to
put the phone in its cradle, as I finished scribbling my note about Gareth, I
looked up, and there in his sweat stained glory was Bryce. His hair was damp,
he had on a loose tank, shorts and a towel tossed over his shoulders. His
biceps were simply mouth-watering, and those legs! I could imagine having those
wrapped around me in a hot steamy bath.
Alexis, I think you just drooled on
yourself!

“Ms Summers, like a duck in water!”
He looked so incredibly delicious, I could barely answer him.

“Yes, so I am. Sorry, Lucinda
needed the ladies room desperately.” He strutted past me and sat his arse on
Lucinda’s desk, I could smell the remnants of his workout, I was blushing and
he knew it.

“You know Alexis, Lucinda
will go on Maternity Leave any day now and I will need a replacement, she is a
hard act to follow but I think you could handle it with a bit of training.” He
got up and walked towards his office.

“Meet me here for lunch at
noon and we’ll discuss the finer points.” Before I could object he had shut the
door behind him.
Shit is he serious? Work as his personal assistant?
What
would that mean for my Concierge Attendant Traineeship?
There were too many
questions floating around in my head. Lucinda waddled back in.

“Thanks Alexis, my bladder
was at the brink of bursting. Are you ok? You look a bit flushed!”

“I think Mr Clark just
offered me your job.” She smiled.

“Well someone has to do it,
he has knocked back all the applicants I have shown him so far. So he likes you
Hey? Great! No more pointless searching for applicants that were doomed before
they had even begun.” Lucinda’s phone buzzed, she hit speaker.

“Yes Bryce?”

“Block out lunch from noon
till 2pm for me please and schedule training for Alexis to start as of
tomorrow, I’m sure she has filled you in, Alexis what would you like for
lunch?”

“Oh, so I get a choice in
regards to lunch but the job, that’s been decided for me yeah?” I was laughing
but I was still a little shell shocked.

“On second thoughts Lucy,
order Alexis a Grilled Calamari Salad and an English Breakfast Tea.” He hung up
and I just stared at Lucinda in amazement, she laughed and shrugged her
shoulders.

“Do I get a say in this?” It
was a reasonable question I thought.

“When it comes to my brother
Alexis, no I don’t think you do, he always gets what he wants.” She smiled and
handed me the brief.

“I guess I’ll see you at
midday then.” She put her hands on my shoulders and spun me around gently
pushing me towards the elevator.

“You’re going to love my job
Alexis.” The doors opened and a tall, light brown haired, man in a grey suit
stepped out, he seemed agitated but smiled and politely said ‘good morning’. He
held the elevator doors open for me.

“Gareth, this is Alexis
she’ll be taking over from me when I have the baby.”
Oh I am, am I?

“Alexis, always nice to put a
face to a name.”

“Likewise Mr Clark.”

“Please call me Gareth.” Gareth
Clark was not only V.P. of Clark Incorporated but also Bryce and Alexis’
cousin. I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for Hotel Reception,
I nodded to Gareth and he removed his hand to allow the doors to close. I was
still shocked at Mr Clark’s proposal, or demand I should say. Working as his P.A.
was a great opportunity and would look fabulous on my Resume, but I had studied
to be a Concierge Attendant and after only one day I really had enjoyed it. I
had to call Rick, I pressed level 2 and dialled his number. I got out of the
elevator and opened the door to the sun deck as Rick answered his phone.

“Hi Babe, it’s me.”

“What’s up? You haven’t spilt
another drink have you?”

“Ha ha very funny, no quite
the opposite actually, I‘ve just been given a promotion…I think?”

“Promotion, what do you
mean?”

“Mr Clark has asked me to
take over from his sister Lucinda as his P.A. when she goes on Maternity Leave
in a couple of weeks.” There was silence on the other end.

“You still there?”

“Yeah, so what does that
mean?”

“I don’t know, we are having
a meeting over lunch to discuss the nitty gritty. So what do you think?”

“Is it more money?”

“Is everything about money
for you? I’d assume so, but it would be longer hours too, I think. Look I will
see what he says at lunch and talk to you about it tonight.”

“Ok Babe, talk to you
tonight. If it’s more money, go for it.”

“Great help you are, see ya.”
Well, he didn’t help much, It’s always about the money for him. I decided I
would hear Mr Clark out at lunch and then make my decision, but something was
telling me the decision had already been made for me.

The next couple of hours were
spent reviewing a list of upcoming VIP guests and events that were planned in
the Tower and Yarra Function Rooms for the next month.  Midday rolled around
quite fast and I found myself rehearsing my questions for Mr Clark in my head.
I’ll
need to start no later than 8:30am and finish no later than 6:00pm. I’ll need leniency
over school holidays. I’ll need an entire Versace wardrobe. I’ll need a key card
to your private residence. I’ll need an extensive pay rise and I’ll need to
watch you work out in the mornings. As IF Alexis.

I stepped out of the elevator
and Lucinda beamed at me.

“Hi Alexis, he’s waiting for
you.” She had a ridiculous smile on her face, I rolled my eyes at her and
entered Bryce’s office. The sexual tension and electricity that hit me as I
entered his space was beyond belief, could I handle this day in and day out?

He was already sitting at the
conference table in the far corner of his rather large office. Lunch had been
set out on the table, I walked towards it and the smell was delicious, there
was a Cloche in front of a seat which I assumed was for me.

“Please sit Alexis.” He
really did take my breath away, his vivid blue eyes were so alluring and I felt
myself transfixed after only seconds of looking at him. He removed the Cloche
and to his word was a delectable looking Calamari Salad.

I picked up a fork, stabbed a
piece of Calamari and Rocket and shook my head, before I could accuse him of
abusing his powers in the field of research, he laughed.

“It’s what I do Ms Summers.”

“What if I said, I was
allergic to seafood?”

“I know mouth-to-mouth, you’d
be fine.” Just the sheer mention of mouth-to-mouth made my lady bits stir. I
raised my eyebrows at him and slowly took a bite, his stare was equally
challenging. I think he wanted me to stop breathing, just so he could prove his
statement. After I had swallowed he removed his Cloche and cut a nice big slice
of T-Bone. He paused. 

“It’s ok, go ahead, I know
mouth-to-mouth too.”

“Well in that case Ms Summers,
I’ll order Satay next time.”

I laughed, I hoped he did.
Oh
no you don’t, you little tramp.

“So Alexis, I want you, I
don’t want anyone else. What is it going to take?” I pretty much spat the
tomato and bean shoot back onto the plate.

“I’m sorry?”
Oh that was
classy Alexis.
He seemed amused with my disgusting display of table
manners.

“I want you to be my P.A. I
won’t take no for an answer, Alexis. What is it going to take for you to say
yes?” I thought back to my questions.

“I trained very hard to be a
Concierge Attendant; I was starting to like my career change.”

“If you want your position
back, it’s yours when Lucy returns.”

“Ok, my children always come
first, what hours do you require of me?”

“7am to 6pm.”

I counter offered, “8:30 to
6pm”

“Deal, what else?” He was
definitely keen.

“What is the Salary?” This
was going pretty well so far.

“What do you want it to be?” Again,
I nearly spat the food I just had placed into my mouth, I really didn’t know
what to say.  In the past if I’d been in a sticky situation I would fake it
until I made it. I bit down on the empty fork and looked directly at him, he
fidgeted in his seat, then broke my gaze and reached for a glass of water. Did
I just unearth the infamous Bryce Clark? It was in that moment that I decided I
would work for this man for free if need be. There was just something about our
chemistry that drew me to him, deep down I knew this could spell trouble for
me, but I didn’t care, or at least I didn’t think I did.

“Yes. I’ll be your P.A.” He
looked up and smiled.

“Good.” He got up from his
seat and went across to his desk and picked up the phone.

“Lucy can you let Michelle in
please.”

The door opened and a
stunning dark haired Amazonian Goddess walked in pushing a garment rack full of
clothing, she carried herself impeccably and seemed to be just as fond of
Bryce’s blue eyes as I was.

“Michelle, thank you, as
usual you are a treasure.” He was very charismatic and knew just what to say to
a woman. 

“You’re welcome Mr Clark.” She
didn’t seem to want to leave, but got the inkling after Bryce had returned to
the conference table, Michelle sullenly said thank you and left the room. I
glanced at the rack and noticed the silk mesh dress I’d fantasised about this
morning and next to it approximately ten other garment bags and the Versace I
had left with Dry Cleaning. My mouth dropped, I turned to Bryce.

“All yours Ms Summers, think
of it as an addition to your salary, which you still need to propose.” I got up
and went to the rack, it not only contained the clothing but matching shoes and
bags.

“This really is too much, Mr
Clark.” I was starting to go red with embarrassment.

“Alexis, it’s non-negotiable.”
He got up and stood on the other side of the rack.

“Now, Lucy will begin your
training straight away and I will need your salary figure by the end of the
day, or I will decide for you. I have spoken to Ms Maroney and she has found
another C.A. to fill your place and Alexis when you speak to me please call me Bryce.”
He held out his hand, I grabbed it and went to shake it, but he turned my hand
and put it to his mouth. He gently kissed the top of my hand.

“Thank you.” He said and in
that moment I realised this man had feelings for me.

CHAPTER
FIVE

My hand was still tingling, I
looked at myself in the bathroom mirror.
You
are imaging this Alexis? No, no you're not. You're 35 and have a pretty good
idea when someone is coming on to you.
 
I
fixed my hair and patted my cheeks with some water.
 
Maybe he is just a very
flirtatious guy?
 
I kept
trying to justify his actions but the more I thought about it the surer I
became. Agreeing to be his P.A. was inevitable; I'm well and truly drawn to
this man, I will need to tread carefully especially if he is so brazen with his
flirting and especially because I am enjoying it immensely. I stepped back from
the mirror and pressed my dress down. Taking a deep breath I gave myself a
quick pep talk.
 
Get a grip
Alexis, you can handle this, it's just harmless chemistry
. I exited the
bathroom and headed back to Lucinda.

"So, where to start? Ok, I'm
not going to bore you with instructions on how to meet and greet, answer phones
or take messages etc, you already know how to do all this. I think what is most
important is to educate you on who is my brother, Bryce Edward Clark, and we
can do that by invading his privacy, follow me." She gave me a highly
wicked grin, forwarded all calls to her mobile and headed through the
Conference Room Door. The door to Bryce's Private Residence opened when she
swiped her card through the security scanner. The décor was very different in
his private quarters to what he had in his office. Instead of the cream,
mahogany and gold colour scheme, the palette in here was very masculine. Greys,
whites, blacks and deep blues, what really drew my eyesight though, were the
windows. The quantity of glass was incredible, it was very open plan which made
the view, the star attraction and rightly so. As you walk in you automatically
step down into a lowered living area with white leather sofas and stunning black
and deep blue silk drapes, with silver sheers.

"Wow, this is just gorgeous,
he has great taste."

"Yes he does, he knows what
he likes."

"Oh, of course, he has a
Piano." I scoffed at the black grand piano near the opening to the balcony.

"Can he play?"

"Yes we both can, but he
prefers the guitar."
Of
course he does, sexy rock god!