A Very Corporate Affair book 3 (The Corporate series) (6 page)

"I'll come with you for that instead then, support you on that day."

"I thought I'd do it after my holiday. The first Saturday after I get back."

"I'll keep that day free."

"Ok." I stretched, and yawned. "I'm gonna have to send you home, I'm shattered."

"Oh.....I thought I was staying the night. I want to cuddle you, make you feel cherished."

"Smooth, very smooth."

He looked a little affronted. "I mean it, I want to hold you, cuddle you, feel your skin next to mine. I've missed you horribly you know. I know you think I'm a big brute, but I'm not a cold or unfeeling person."

Some unknown emotion flashed over his eyes. I thought about it for a moment, I wanted him to stay, I'd missed him like crazy, but on the other hand we hadn't really resolved anything. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"We talk at the weekend, and you listen without getting cross."

"It's a deal." He helped me to my feet, and wrapped his arms round me, before kissing my lips ever-so-softly. I pulled away, and locked the front door, before he followed me into my bedroom. He stripped off quickly, and slid into bed, holding his arms open for me.

Laying naked next to him again felt wonderful, as if it was where I belonged. His strong hands caressed my back, while he pressed tiny kisses over my face and neck. I stroked his warm skin, feeling the firm muscles of his sculpted arms. His kisses moved to my lips, soft and chaste at first, changing to deeper, and needier. His tongue flicked across mine, igniting my libido. I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh.
What woman would waste that?

I encouraged him to move on top of me, pulling him into position. He seemed a little reluctant at first, until I tugged him slightly, giving my permission. My legs had fallen open shamelessly, and I was wet and ready, turned on by his lush kisses and heady close proximity. He gently fed his cock into me, and paused, closing his eyes, as if he was trying to savour the sensation of being inside me.

After a heartbeat, he began to move slowly, continuing to kiss me, as he slid in and out at a leisurely pace. Tonight was about making love, rebuilding our connection. Keeping his rhythm, he moved his attention to my breasts, lapping and sucking at each nipple in turn, making me arch off the bed. As I called out at my climax, he kissed me, swallowing my cries of pleasure.

As my orgasm subsided, he pressed deep into me and let go. I felt him twitching, as he remained in place, kissing me, and sucking on my bottom lip. "You, my darling girl, are exquisite. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," I said, "I was so scared I'd never see you again." He pulled out of me, and lay beside me, nuzzling my neck.

"This is nice, I like cuddling you. You always smell so lovely."

"Spose I dipped out on the duty free perfume this trip?"

He chuckled, "sadly you did. I'll make it up to you though." He wrapped his arm around me, and soon enough, his breathing became deeper and slower. I lay awake for a while, revelling in the feeling of his arms round me, and his body pressed against mine.

Chapter 4

I decided to skip the gym next morning. It didn't seem fair to boot Ivan out of bed at half five, throw a slice of toast at him, and send him on his way before six. I wasn't entirely sure what the correct etiquettes were when it came to boyfriends staying over, but I was certain he wouldn't be too impressed at me racing out the door at ten to six.  I padded out to the kitchen, and made us both drinks, taking them back to the bedroom. I set his down on the bedside table beside him, and waited for the aroma to wake him up.

He looked the picture of male beauty while he was asleep. He had one hand tucked under his face, which looked relaxed and serene. His hair was tousled and messy, his dark curls flopping over his forehead. The total effect was slightly spoilt by a bit of drool at the corner of his full, sensual mouth, so I prodded him awake. I didn't want him dribbling on my pillow.

"Morning baby, there's some coffee for you there. Sleep well?"

"Good thanks, you get up early don't you? It's only quarter to six. Do I have to get out of your way?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not going to the gym. Thought it'd be a bit rude to wake you up and boot you out. Would you like some toast?"

"No, it's too early to eat. I'll get something a bit later. I'm meeting Lassiter in Smollenskis for breakfast." Ivan sat up, and took a sip of his coffee. "Gives me time to make love to you again," he said, taking my hand, and guiding it under the covers to feel his erection.

An hour later, I made us fresh coffees, after the first ones were left to get stone cold. Ivan sat at the island to drink his, while I made myself some toast. "Paul's doing some executive search for me. I wish you'd change your mind about the non exec positions, at the very least, the Conde Nast one."

I thought about it. "I'd still sit on the Conde Nast board. I don't know why you don't approach some of their board to sit on Retinski, or even merge the two into one, it would kill two birds with one stone. They're well versed in heading up a vast multinational, plus you'd get to integrate the two companies far more effectively than having two boards."

He stared at me for a moment. "You are a bloody genius at times. That's actually a brilliant idea. Would you be prepared to be a part of something like that?" I thought about it, it would almost certainly mean delivering the Conde Nast work for Pearson Hardwick, give me all the kudos of a major non exec position on my CV, and a combined 'super board' was unlikely to be quite as heavily influenced by the Russian contingent. Plus, of course, Oscar would be there.

"Yes, I'd sit on a board like that." Ivan looked delighted.

"How's your schedule today?"

"No meetings planned. I'll be helping the others out I should think, as most of my current projects have either completed, or are in progress."

"Good. I'm booking you today. We can sound out some of the directors of Conde Nast, and draw up a planned super board. Structure it the way we want. I want to look at cost savings that can be gained by fully merging Conde Nast and Retinski."

"I'd keep the names separate, but that's easy to do. Set up a huge umbrella company, and list all the others as subsidiaries, feeding revenue through to the parent company. I did a similar set up for Paul Lassiter's firm. Should save a fortune in both tax and admin."

"Sounds like a plan. Can you be ready by ten to eight? I want you to join me at this meeting with Paul, then we can head over to Vogue house. I'll need to book you Monday as well, for meetings with the American directors. I'll pull them over here this weekend."

"Ok." I cleared away our cups, and made sure everything was immaculate, ready for James. Ivan left to get ready at his own apartment, and I jumped into the shower.

He picked me up at ten to eight, and we drove over to Smollenskis. Paul was already there, sitting in a private booth, to one side of the restaurant. Ivan ordered our breakfasts, and I sat and listened while he outlined some of our plans to Paul, asking him to source an international finance director with particular expertise in Russian finance. Paul listened intently, before also suggesting looking at the Conde Nast board first, and aside from the finance director, using his company to fill any gaps. It was going to become a vast multinational company, so he advised Ivan to put at least twenty on the new board, listing out the areas of expertise that would need to be covered. I recorded the conversation on my iPhone, so I could make notes later. There was way too much information to memorise.

After my second latte, I excused myself to go to the ladies. I left my bag with Ivan, and tried not to take too long, as I didn't want to hold up the conversation. When I returned, Paul seemed to be looking at me rather strangely. I smiled back, and noticed he didn't seem to want to look me in the eye. Intrigued, I decided to listen to the recording I'd been making, as soon as possible. We finished our meeting, and Paul shook my hand. "Nice to see you again Elle, you be careful now."

"And you. Hopefully see you again soon." He nodded, still avoiding my puzzled gaze. My phone had been partially hidden by my bag, so I shoved it in, and trotted along behind Ivan, surreptitiously switching off the recording. We headed over to Vogue house, where the British directors were waiting for us.

I watched Ivan command the boardroom. He was confident and powerful, as he outlined his plans to form a closer integration between his companies. The other directors sat up a bit straighter at the prospect of joining a super board to oversee the management of a vast and varied conglomerate.

I observed the other directors, making copious notes, and watching the way they interacted with each other. Ivan asked each of them to submit a detailed CV to him, listing their areas of expertise and experience, so that he could make his choices. The directors not chosen for the umbrella company would remain in control of the operations of the Conde Nast brand, with extra areas of responsibility, and extra money to go with it. All in all, Ivan was dangling some juicy carrots. I could almost see the people round the table salivating at the prospect of promotion and higher pay and perks.

We headed back to Canary Wharf for a quick lunch, before Ivan had to return to his own office to organise the American directors meeting on Monday. "I'll zip up to my office, and do some research on the correct structure for this umbrella organisation." In truth, I was itching to listen to the recording to find out what had unnerved Paul Lassiter so much.

"Ok, can you come up to Retinski about threeish? We can discuss the other directors, form a clearer idea where we're going with this."

"Sure." He pecked my cheek before I got out of the lift at my floor. I went straight to my office, declining Laura's offer of a cup of tea. I closed the door, got my phone out of my bag and pressed 'play'.

I made notes up until the point at which I went to the ladies.

"I'm just going to the ladies, watch my bag please Ivan."

"Sure."

Pause.

"So you and her an item now?"

"She thinks so."

"You hate Golding that much?"

"Jammy bastard gets everything he wants. I enjoy rubbing his nose in the fact that I'm fucking her, and he isn't. I'll keep her out of his reach until he gets bored."

"What if he doesn't get bored?"

"He will. She's nothing that special. Bit prissy and Miss Perfect if you ask me. Not sure why Golding's so dopey over her."

"He thinks a lot of her. You still seeing that actress? I've forgotten her name."

"Penny Harrison? Yeah. She's one dirty bitch I tell you. Thankfully, lawyer girl isn't too clingy, and I get plenty of time to go over to Penny's place. Makes it easier to put up with the uptight and vanilla I'm getting at home these days.

Laughter.

"Maybe Elle'll get bored with you, if she's only getting vanilla."

"Nah. She's ecstatic just to be getting a bit of Russian sizemeat. She won't go anywhere."

"Shh, she's coming back."

Pause, chair scraping noise.

"That's better, now, where were we?"

I paused the recording, and sat trying to take it all in. I felt sick with the sheer humiliation of it. I pulled  myself together, and emailed it to my work address, to make sure I didn't lose it, and pondered what to do for the best. I quickly googled Penny Harrison, and found out she was a model, turned actress, who had appeared on a couple of TV dramas. I clicked on images, and dozens of pictures of a sultry, brunette beauty filled the screen. She reminded me a little of Dascha. Straightaway, I was transported back to being the little, dowdy, brown mouse. Hearing the two of them laughing at me, and my lack of sexual experience, cut me to the quick, but rather than crumble, I made the decision not to cry over Ivan yet again, I'd cried over that man way too much. I'd move on, with my head held high. If I ever felt like wavering, I'd listen to that recording again.

I was jolted out of my reverie by my phone ringing. It was Paul. "Hi Elle, forgot to ask, did you get those books on reading body language?"
Where's he going with this?

"Yes I did. Very interesting reads thanks. We should discuss them sometime."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you record all of our conversation this morning?" I remained silent. "So you did then. Have you listened to it?"

"Yes I have."

"I'm sorry. You needed to know."

"You did that on purpose didn't you? Drew that information out of him, knowing I was recording so I could make notes later."

"Like I said, you needed to know. Choices should always be informed ones." With that, he cut the call.
Now what do I do?
I glanced up at the clock. It was only two. I still had another hour before I needed to be at the Retinski offices. I called Oscar.

"Hi Oscar, got a bit of an issue, and I'd like some advice. Are you free now?"

"Not right now, I'm at the Lords. Is it urgent, or can it wait till later?"

"It can wait. Are you going to Sussex tonight?"

"No, in the morning. I'll be at a function here until about ten tonight."

"Ok, is it alright if I pop down in the morning?"

"Sure. Not too early though. I'll see you tomorrow."

I said my goodbyes, and ended the call. I made the decision to say and do nothing. I wasn't seeing Ivan that evening, due to James' return, and could probably avoid him all weekend if needed. It didn't solve the problem, but it did push it down the road for me to deal with another time.

I concentrated on getting the information ready for setting up the umbrella company, sending it up to the slimy ratbag's email address. I headed up at five to three, plastering my professional smile onto my face. Galina showed me into Ivan's office, where he was staring intently at something on his screen.