Dreams and Desires

Chapter. 10 Desires and Dilemmas

Surprised, I blinked. "Excuse me?" His stare was intense, It felt as if his entire focus was on me This made me appreciate Mark even more, as he had endured that gaze for an entire hour. Wilson's chair was placed parallel to the table, facing me directly. His right arm rested on the smooth wooden surface, his long, elegant fingers gently moving along it. I caught a glimpse of his wrist at the end of his cuff, and for some strange reason, that small patch of golden skin with its light dusting of dark hair captivated my attention. He was simply so... masculine. "Which of Mark's suggested concepts do you prefer?" he askedagain. "I think they're all brilliant."

His handsome face remained impassive when he said, "I'll clear the room to get your honest opinion, if that's what it takes."

My fingers clenched the chair's armrests. "I just gave you my honest opinion, Mr. Wilson. But if you must know, I think the idea of 'sexy luxury on a budget' will appeal to the largest audience. However, I lack-"

"I agree." Wilson stood and buttoned his jacket. "You have a direction, Mr. Garrity. We'll revisit this next week."

I sat there for a moment, taken aback by how swiftly everything had unfolded. Then I glanced at Mark, who seemed torn between sheer delight and bewilderment.

 Rising to my feet, I led the way to the door. I was hyperaware of Wilson walking beside me. The way he moved, with animal grace and arrogant economy, was a major turn-on. Ugh what am I thinking...

 Wilson came with us all the way to the elevators. He said a few things to Mark about sports, I was too nervous to care about the small talk. When the elevator arrived, I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped in with Mark."A moment, Florence." Wilson said smoothly, holding me back with a hand at my elbow. 

"She'll be right down." he told Mark, as the elevator doors closed on my boss's astonished face.Wilson said nothing until the elevator was on its way down, then he pushed the call button again and asked, "Are you sleeping withanyone?" The question was asked so casually, it took me a second to process what he'd just said. 

 I inhaled sharply. "Why is that any business of yours?" 

He looked at me and I saw what I'd seen the first time we'd met tremendous power and steely control. Both of which had me taking an involuntary step back. Again. At least I didn't fall this time, I was making progress. 

"Because I want to fuck you, Florence. I need to know what's standing in my way, if anything." The sudden ache between my thighs had me reaching for the wall to maintain my balance. He reached out to steady me, but I held him at bay with an uplifted hand. "Maybe I'm just not interested, Mr. Wilson" A ghost of a smile touched his lips and made him impossibly more handsome. Dear God... 

The ding that signaled the approaching elevator made me jump, I was strung so tight. I'd never been so aroused. Never been so scorchingly attracted to another human being. And never been so offended by a person.

I stepped into the elevator and faced him. He smiled. "Until next time, Florence."The doors closed and I sagged into the brass handrail, trying to regain my bearings. I'd barely pulled myself together when the doors opened and revealed Mark pacing in the waiting area on our floor.

"Jesus, Florence," Mark muttered, coming to an abrupt halt. "What the hell was that?"

"I have no freakin' clue." I exhaled in a rush, wishing I could share the confusing, irritating exchange I'd had with Wilson, but well aware that my boss wasn't the appropriate outlet. 

"Who cares? You know he's going to give you the account."A grin chased away his frown. "I'm thinking he might."

"As my roommate always says, you should celebrate. Should I make dinner reservations for you and Steven?"

 "Why not? Pure Food and Wine at seven, if they can squeeze us in. If not, surprise us."We'd barely returned to Mark's office when he was pounced on by the executives Michael Waters, the CEO and president, and Christine Field and Walter Leaman, the executive chairman and vice chairman.I skirted the four of them as quietly as possible and slid into my cubicle. 

I called Pure Food and Wine and begged for a table for two. After some serious groveling and pleading, the hostess finally caved.I left a message on Mark's voice mail: "It's definitely your lucky day. You're booked for dinner at seven. Have fun!"

Then I clocked out, eager to get home. 

"He said what?" Emma sat on the opposite end of our white sectional sofa and shook her head."I know, right?" I enjoyed another sip of my wine. It was a crisp and nicely chilled sauvignon blanc I'd picked up on the walk home. "That was my reaction, too."

"So?"

I tucked my legs beneath me on the couch and leaned into the corner. "So what?" 

"You know what, Florence." Grabbing her netbook off the coffee table, Emma propped it on her crossed legs. "Are you going to tap that or what?" 

"I don't even know him. I don't even know his first name and he threw that curveball at me." 

"He knew yours." She started typing on her keyboard. "And what about the thing with the vodka? Asking for your boss in particular?"The hand I was running through my loose hair stilled. "Mark is very talented. If Wilson has any sort of business sense at all, he'd pick up on that and exploit it." 

"I'd say he knows business." Emma spun her netbook around and showed me the home page of Wilson's Industries, which boasted an awesome photo of the Crossfire. "That's his building, Florence. Harry Wilson owns it."Damn it. My eyes closed. Harry Wilson. I thought the name suited him. It was very elegant as the man himself.

"He has people to handle marketing for his subsidiaries." 

"Stop talking, Emma" 

"He's hot, rich, and wants to jump your bones. What's the problem?" Emma said. 

I looked at her. "It's going to be awkward running into him all the time. I'm hoping to hang on to my job for a long while. I really need it. I really like Mark also. He's totally involved me in the process and I've learned so much from him already."

"Remember what Dr. Travis says about calculated risks? When your shrink tells you to take some, you should take some. You can deal with it. You and Wilson are both adults." she turned her attention back to her Internet search. "Wow. Did you know he doesn't turn thirty for over 5 years? He's young think of the stamina." 

"Think of the rudeness. I'm offended by how he just threw it out there. I hate feeling like a vagina with legs." Emma paused and looked up at me, her eyes softening with sympathy. 

"I'm sorry, baby girl. You're so strong, so much stronger than I am."I looked away because I didn't want to talk about what we'd been through in our pasts. "It's not like I wanted him to ask me out on a date. But there has to be a better way to tell a woman you want to take her to bed."

 "You're right. He's an arrogant douche. Let him lust after you until his balls turn blue. Son of a gun." 

That made me smile. Emma could always do that. "I doubt that man has ever had blue balls in his life, but it's a fun fantasy." 

She shut her netbook with a decisive snap. "What should we do tonight?""I was thinking I'd like to go check out that Krav Maga studio in Brooklyn." I'd done a little research after meeting Parker Smith during my workout at Equinox, and as the week passed, the thought of having that kind of raw, physical outlet for stress seemed more and more ideal.I knew it wouldn't be anything close to banging the hell out of Harry Wilson, but I suspected it would be a lot less dangerous to my health.