The Miami Millionaire (5 page)

“Victoria Pembrose.”  She answered trying to sound totally professional and not like every fibre of her body was shaking.

“Victoria, it’s Jake.  What a pleasant surprise, I am hoping that you’ve changed your mind about dinner.”

“Thank you for calling me back Jake but I’m sorry to say no, I am still not available for dinner.”  Victoria blushed surprised at how direct he was.

“Then I am confused.  What can I do for you?”  Jake had been surprised to hear a message from Victoria, he hadn’t expected her to call him even though he had been hoping she would.

“I have something I need to talk to you about.  It is purely business and I hope you will give me five minutes of your time.”  Victoria cringed as she talked, she knew there were probably about a hundred if not more people who wanted five minutes of Jake Cumberland’s time before he left London, so what made her think that he was going to give her some of those precious minutes?

“Oh, I see.  Business huh?”  Jake said disappointed, he had hoped it would be more than a business call but either way Victoria had his attention.

“Yes.  I know you are a really busy man but just five minutes, please.” 

“Okay, I’m staying at The Savoy.  I’m assuming you know where that is.”

“Yes, my office isn’t far from there.”

“Alright, our London offices aren’t ready yet so we set up a temporary office in my suite.  I’ll be free about six o’clock tonight.  If you want to come then, I will leave your name with the front desk so they know to expect you.”

“Thank you, that will be great.  I will be there at six o’clock.”  Victoria said not quite believing Jake Cumberland had agreed to see her.  She looked at the clock again, she had to get a move on now and walked out the office door with a spring in her step.

Victoria walked up to Mark’s office expecting to see him sitting behind his desk through the large glass office window which adorned the interior hallways of the modern building.  But he was nowhere to be seen.  The receptionist had told her Mark was in his office, and she had even sent her through just like she always did, ever since Victoria had started dropping by for the odd lunch over the last few years.  But today something felt strange, a little different, and Victoria couldn’t put her finger on what it was. 

Victoria walked further down the hall to the set of office cubicles outside the glass offices and looked for Mark’s secretary, but she wasn’t there either.  Turning to the other secretaries who seemed to be hard at work, or at least not acknowledging her standing there, Victoria asked if either of them knew where Mark was, but they both shook their heads.

“Or Francesca?  Where is she?”  She asked thinking they surely must know where their other team member was. 

But again they shook their head and carried on working.

“Okay well I will just leave a message in Mark’s office for him.”  She said as she walked into his office, grabbed a pen and rummaged around in his top drawer for a pad or plain piece of paper.  Just as she was scribbling on a piece of paper she heard a familiar voice coming from down the hall and she smiled putting the pen and paper down.  As Victoria looked up through the glass she saw Mark walking back towards his office with his secretary Francesca.  For a moment she stood and watched.  Just then Mark saw Victoria standing waiting for him in his office and motioned for Francesca to go back to her desk.  He quickened his pace and soon he was inside his glass office smiling, and kissing Victoria briefly on her lips.

“Well honey this is a surprise.  You should have called me before coming.”

“Why?  I wanted to surprise you, where would the fun be in that?”

“Well you certainly did.  Here, let’s go and get a coffee around the corner.”  Mark said pulling at her hand leading her towards the door.

“But you have just come back in!  And why were you and Francesca out at the same time?  That’s not good for your clients, she is supposed to be taking your messages when you are not in your office.”

“Yes I was just telling her the very same thing.”  Mark said seriously, “I slipped out for lunch and I bumped into her coming back into the building.  She had just been to get a coffee, but she shouldn’t have gone while I was out, and she knows that now - I spoke to her about it when we were in the lift coming back up.  She won’t be doing that again.”

Victoria nodded as she looked across at Francesca who was sending her dagger-like looks through the glass.  She assumed Francesca was annoyed for being told off by Mark, but it didn’t really matter to Victoria, she had never liked Francesca and she was sure Francesca didn’t like her either, which wasn’t ideal considering she was her fiancé’s secretary.

“Yes let’s get that coffee.  I haven’t had lunch yet so can we go somewhere to get some food as well?”  Victoria said quite relieved to get away from Francesca’s glare.

“Sorry honey, I’ve already eaten and I can only be quick anyway, I’m expecting clients to come in soon.”

A little disappointed Victoria agreed, she wished she had called ahead, she knew how busy he always was.

“Talking of clients, Mr Churchill told me he wants me to get the Creative Technology Holdings UK media account.”  Victoria said as she walked with Mark out of his office and along the hallway back to the lift.

“Wow, that’s quite something.”  Mark sounded impressed.

“Not really.  He saw the media footage from the fete yesterday and he seems to think I can talk Mr Cumberland into giving him the account, which is preposterous.  And, as if that isn’t bad enough, he’s made it perfectly clear that my job is hanging on this happening.”

“Ah yes, you and Mr Cumberland.  I saw the photos, the two of you look very cosy, in fact a little too cosy.”  Mark said as the lift doors closed and they were alone in the lift as it descended through the floors.

“Well that’s why I came to have lunch with you.  You know how photographs can be misleading, I just wanted to check you weren’t upset about anything.  He was just being friendly, I think he’s generally a very friendly guy and you know I would never do anything disrespectful to you.”  Victoria said quickly to reassure Mark that nothing untoward had taken place.  Luckily the photographs hadn’t shown Jake holding her hand when he refused to let it go, he had managed to hide it firmly behind her back whilst the photographs were being taken, but there were the odd ones with his arm around her. Victoria didn’t think those photographs looked too bad, people had their arms around each other in friendly poses all the time!

“Yes well I wasn’t best pleased, but I know what it’s like to have to grin and bear it with a client.  Besides I hear that Jake Cumberland is Mr Sleaze and chases after every skirt he can, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised if he was chasing after you too.”

Victoria wasn’t sure how to take that.  She was sure Mark didn’t mean it to sound like she wasn’t anything worth being chased after, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit hurt.  Okay so she wasn’t the typical tall skinny model with abs to die for, but she thought she looked good, and her curves were in all the right places.  “Oh I don’t think he was chasing after me.  It wasn’t like that at all.” 
‘Jake, Mr Sleeze?’
  Victoria thought, she couldn’t imagine Jake being sleazy at all.  Okay from the few press cuttings she had time to look at this morning he did seem to be a bit of a ladies’ man.  But sleazy?  No, she highly doubted he was that.

“Yeah well either way just watch it with him and remember you’re mine, okay.”  Mark said with a wink as the lift doors opened. 

Victoria cringed, she couldn’t stand it when Mark referred to her as being “his”.  She knew he didn’t mean it literally, and he was just trying to show her how much he loved her, but she didn’t like being referred to as an object to be owned - she was very much her own person and not an object.

They started to walk towards the building’s exit but Victoria realised Mark had stopped just outside the lift door, he was looking at the ringing phone in his hand.

“Look Victoria I’m really sorry but it’s a client.  I need to go upstairs and call him back - I’m going to need his file to talk to him.  We’re going to have to give that coffee a miss, I’ll see you back at home tonight okay?  I might be late though.”  Mark said as he turned around and walked back into the lift.

Victoria watched as the lift doors closed obscuring Mark as he went back up to his office.  She sighed, well at least he wasn’t upset about the photos and that was the main thing. 

Victoria turned around and walked out of Mark’s office building and set off to get herself some lunch and a cappuccino before heading to Borough Market for her first business purchase. She was excited about that, she loved buying gifts and she had a feeling she knew exactly what Jake Cumberland would like.

The Savoy hotel was everything Victoria remembered it to be; traditional, classy and extortionately expensive.  She didn’t make a habit of going to the famous hotel on The Strand, but she had in the past been fortunate enough to be invited to the odd party or for a drink there. Now, standing in the lift as it rose slowly up through the floors Victoria’s stomach was doing a record number of somersaults.  The concierge had already phoned through to Jake’s suite and sent Victoria straight on up saying someone would meet her from the lift. 

The lift stopped and quickly Victoria took a look at herself in the lift mirror; her smart black work suit fitted sleekly across the curves of her breasts and hips, and her lilac shirt peeked through to soften the effect.  She pulled her ponytail tighter making sure there were no loose strands hanging down and quickly straightened her simple square diamond stud earrings.  She smiled at herself, perfect – that was just how she wanted to look, professional and spotless.  As the lift door opened she picked up the expensive paper shopping bag by her black high-heeled feet and walked out.

“Good evening Miss Pembrose, Mr Cumberland is expecting you.”  A young pretty blonde haired woman said in a strong American accent as she waited to take Victoria inside through a large set of heavy wooden double doors.  “I’m Andrea, Mr Cumberland’s personal assistant.  Take a seat and he will be with you in just a minute.” 

“Thank you.”  Victoria said following the woman through into a large living room and taking a seat on the over-sized stuffed sofa.  She let her eyes wander around the room taking in the antique wooden desk where the blonde personal assistant was now sitting with her laptop and the selection of expensive chairs in the room.  Victoria looked past a dark wooden closed door, and then another, until she reached the bright window and she marvelled in the stunning view across the river Thames and the London Eye.

“It is beautiful isn’t it?”  A deep American accent said making Victoria jump. 

She hadn’t heard Jake come into the room, but she could see one of the previously closed doors was now wide open and Jake was heading her way.    

Jake had been standing in the doorway for a moment looking at the impeccably dressed business woman with her red hair pulled back into a perfect long ponytail secured high on top of her head emphasising her long slim neck.   He had heard her voice from inside his bedroom and opened the door expecting to find the casually dressed and crazy red haired woman of yesterday, but what he saw totally stopped him in his tracks!  Jake’s eyes travelled down across her dark fitting suit jacket noting how it curved in at her waist and out again across her hips and bottom, and then further down to where her straight skirt stopped just above her knees teasingly revealing her shapely legs and calves, and finally to her high heeled shoes.  Wow, he was taken aback!  Jake was used to seeing business women every day of the week, but Victoria in a business suit was something else!  Somehow she made a simple two-piece formal jacket and skirt look like a sexy outfit, calling for him to peel it off, slowly revealing something dynamite inside.  He wondered if this was her intention when she dressed this morning, was this some kind of strategy and did she want to tease every sense of his body?  Because if she did then she had totally succeeded.  Jake swallowed hard to regain control of his senses and walked into the room.

Victoria pulled her eyes away from the river view and hesitated for a moment expecting to see Jake in a suit like yesterday, but once again he had surprised her - instead of a smart business suit he was dressed casually in a pair of light coloured chinos and a green shirt open at his neck, no tie.

“Mr Cumberland, thank you very much for sparing me a few minutes of your time.” Victoria finally found her voice and stood up extending her hand in greeting.

“Call me Jake.”  He said as he closed the distance between them and shook her hand reminding himself how warm, soft and inviting it was, just like yesterday.

“Okay then, thank you Jake.”  She took her seat again as he sat down on the sofa across from her with just a small coffee table between them.  “I hope you don’t mind but I bought you a little gift.  I hope you like it.”  Victoria picked up the paper shopping bag from the floor and put it on the coffee table pushing it across towards Jake.

Jake looked at Victoria and took the expensive looking paper bag.  He liked this, he was always given plenty of presents from strangers but he was much more excited about this one.