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CHAPTER 12. A painful memory
Andrew looked at his sons, who looked quite excited. “Nick, Layla, if you don't mind, I'd like to be able to talk to my sons for a moment,” he asked his hosts politely, and they promptly left. Andrew sat down across from Richard and Elliot, his boys, even though they were in their late twenties, and held up his hands. “What do you think?” he asked. “We should steal her from the Bennets,” said Elliot. “What for? We don't have a design studio. We're distributors,” his brother reminded him. “Well, we could have a company of our own. Everyone starts with something and that girl... is an excellent designer,” Elliot replied. “That's right, but we should ask her if she has more of that. That collection alone is not enough to launch a good lingerie line, we need more,” added Richard. “Dad, would you ask her? I get the impression you're the only one Nick respects enough not to choke on the spot.” The three of them laughed knowingly. “Yeah, I think there's a weird vibe between Nick and
CHAPTER 13. Well justified jealousy
Putting aside the incident of Mr. Davies, who had left her office a little nervous, Valeria felt that the rest had gone perfectly. Layla was delighted, and had invited her and Oli for a drink afterwards to discuss Oli’s move to the Production department. Valeria was ready to leave when a girl from the Economy department put twelve colored folders on her desk. “Miss Williams?” she asked. “Yes, it's me.” “Our CEO sent you this. It's the specifications for the materials you used in your collection and he needs you to set a budget for tomorrow.” Valeria looked at that mountain of folders. It would take her a couple of hours to come up with an acceptable budget, but she could do it. She'd end up scratching the clock, though. “Okay, thanks,” she mumbled as she opened one, but before the girl could leave, she stopped her. “Wait, please. These are not the materials I used in my collection.” The girl wrinkled her brow. “Are you sure? Those are the ones our CEO requested.” “Yes, I'm pre
CHAPTER 14. A chastity belt
He could have made a thousand excuses for what he was doing, but the truth was that that woman made him desperate. She drove him crazy; he wanted to spank her ten times for the simple fact of breathing, let alone for taking off her clothes in front of others. He tangled his fingers in her hair and forced her head back against him. He invaded her mouth with desperation as if kissing her was the worst of punishments and yet he could not avoid it. He played with Valeria's tongue. He felt her eager and as desperate as he was. His hands gripped her hips as Valeria's arms went around his neck. His kisses trailed down the soft line of her jaw, down her throat. He heard her moan in pleasure and smiled inwardly, for just that sound was the one he wanted to rip out of her. He closed his hands over her buttocks, like claws, and pulled her closer to the edge of the table, against him, as that fierce erection made contact with her sex and was evident above his clothes. He could feel the heat gus
CHAPTER 15. A dangerous threat
Valeria left Alice at her desk at school and kissed her head before leaving, earning a smile from her. She arranged her hair and went out to hail a cab just as she had planned. Luckily, she was on time. Mr. Davies had given her the address to a restaurant where they would meet at nine in the morning, and Valeria had plenty of time to get there. Already in the cab she made sure that her clothes were discreet and elegant, no fancy corsets. The purpose of the pieces was fulfilled and it was important that Mr. Davies saw her as a designer; she did not want any misunderstandings. At nine o'clock she entered the restaurant and was told that Mr. Davies was already waiting for her. The magnate greeted her courteously and the conversation ran smoothly from there. Andrew modified some important points in the concepts of the collections, always explaining to Valeria what he was looking for. “It's not just about design, they also have to be apt to sell well, and I think with these adjustments
CHAPTER 16. A man willing to help
Nick held back the urge to punch Andrew Davies full in the face, but they had just signed the company's most important contracts in several years, so he stopped himself. “I'm not so sure I'll let Valeria go,” Nick replied. “Well, that's not entirely up to you, is it? We'll see what happens in the next few months,” Andrew smiled before saying goodbye. He watched him go to Valeria's office and give her a tentative and very brief hug that made him fume to the roots of his hair. He hadn't finished leaving when Nick was already bursting into Valeria's cubicle like a lion fresh out of the cage, not caring that people were watching. “What was that about you not being easy with the first guy who passed you by?” Nick hissed, slapping his palms on her desk, causing her to raise her head. “What was that about you not being jealous of me?” she replied, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “Don't change the subject, Valeria! What was all that hugging about?” he demanded. Valeria closed her eyes
CHAPTER 17. A surprising discovery
Nick looked around. The apartment didn't have a speck of dust in it, and he made sure that the lady who usually cleaned used odorless products. He took a bath before leaving and didn't put on any perfume. He took the van out that day, which was well cleaned, and drove to Valeria's apartment after telling her by text message that he was on his way to pick them up. He had no idea why he was so nervous, but he reached the third floor climbing the steps two at a time, and when the door opened, he had to swallow dry to avoid saying something stupid. Valeria was wearing a strappy dress, floor-length, and so soft it looked like it would fly off in the first breeze. Her hair was loose and a very thin headband held it up. “Hello,” he said. “I'm here.” “Hello,” Valeria smiled briefly and called Alice. The little girl arrived next to them with a rather calm expression. “Baby, this is Nick. Nick, this is Alice.” He waved his hand in greeting because he knew she didn't like to be touched. “N
CHAPTER 18. A dinner interrupted
All the stupid things he had said, the way he had prejudged Valeria, the way he had used Alice and Alice's father to annoy her... Christ, it was almost better to open a hole in the ground and throw himself in rather than face Valeria now that he knew the truth! “Do you like my sister?” Alice asked point-blank. “Eh? What?” “Do you like my sister?” Alice was already doubting his intelligence when Nick seemed to wake up. “Yes,” he admitted, “I like your sister, but I don't think I've been very nice to her.” “I know that. She's cried more since she went to work at your company than she has in the entire last year,” Alice blurted out. Wow, no filter! Nick thought, but he got a knot in his stomach just thinking about it. “I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to make her cry,” Nick muttered. “I know that too. You're just like me,” said the girl, going back to her ice cream. “Oh, yeah? How's that?” “You’re emotionally atrophied,” said Alice, and Nick winced in annoyance. “Hey, who to
CHAPTER 19. A possessive confession
Valeria responded to the greeting respectfully, then focused entirely on Alice while the woman talked to Nick as if she were talking to Zeus on Olympus. She found it funny that Nick didn't want to introduce her as his ex, though she definitely looked like the type of woman he liked. But if the CEO of Bennet Designs was expecting to encounter a fit of jealousy on her part, he soon realized that Valeria wasn't even paying attention to him, so he cut the conversation short and said goodbye to Miranda. Only Valeria, who was facing her when he sat down, could see the gesture of contempt and displeasure Miranda Jones made in her direction—well disguised, of course—but finally she couldn't quite hide the fact that she felt her territory had been invaded. They returned to the apartment after nine o'clock. Valeria thanked them both and sent Alice off to get her things to leave. “Wait... what do you mean you're leaving?” Nick protested. The weekend had been too short for him. Was it really Su