His Secret Desire (8 page)

“You must have some questions about what just happened at the press conference,” he said. “I want you ask me everything you want to know.”

“I guess I just don’t really understand what is going on. I mean, a few days ago I was just a temp worker. I was a nobody in this company. Then, all of a sudden, I’m at a press conference with the CEO as his personal assistant. Why do you even need me?” I asked.

“I recognized something in you, this much I already told you. But there’s more. I need you to speak for me at certain business deals. I know I’m being watched.”

Alexander Strauss was being watched. I thought about it hard.

“I need you to act on my behalf, out of the watching eyes of rivals within the company.”

“Why do you need me to act in secret if you just made a press announcement?” I asked.

“My rivals within the company can put pressure on my business partners not to do deals with me if they know who I am talking to. I needed to make that press announcement; they do know that something is happening in the company and this makes it so that it is public information. That way it’s harder to use against me. But I need you to operate for me in certain instances where I don’t want them to know what I am doing.”

I was going to be a secret weapon of Alexander Strauss against those who were seeking to destroy him. It was beginning to feel like some high stakes spy game. I couldn’t help feeling excited. I was important.

“As you probably know, my father, Maximillian Strauss, built this company from the ground up. He founded Strauss Engines. From my birth, I have been molded to inherit the company from him. Like the son of a king, I was born to take the throne. Every aspect of my life was orchestrated towards this purpose. Yet I’ve always felt more like my mother than my father. I’ve lived in my father’s shadow for the majority of my life. Even now, people coddle me because of my father and don’t tell me the truth because they fear the repercussions. Except you, of course.” He smiled when he said this.

Alexander Strauss was opening up to me. I wondered how many people he had told this all to. His trust came so quickly I almost didn’t trust it. But as he talked, I began to understand that when Alexander sees trustworthiness in someone, it is rare indeed. He confided in me because of an immediate assessment that I could be trusted.

“My mother was a doctor specializing in infectious disease. Before marrying my father, she served in Doctors Without Borders. Even after she married my father, she continued on in research to help people. To give back, Samantha. I studied mechanical engineering because I was forced to, but I managed to start a project in college to create cheap water filters to lower the incidences of cholera. I’ve always wanted to follow my mother’s footsteps but through my own passion of environmental engineering. Now, I have the opportunity to use the company that I was born to inherit to accomplish that dream. Millions will benefit. And if we’re able to commercialize the product, then perhaps it will be so sustainable financially that billions could be helped by our product.

“It could be dangerous for you Samantha, and I don’t just mean professionally,” Alexander said, pausing to let the gravity of his words sink in. My excitement faded as the reality of my physical well-being being in danger set in. “My enemies could try to hurt you to get to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. But there are people in your company who would actually use physical violence against me to hurt you? Do you think my life could be in danger?” I asked, trying not to sound scared.

“Well, not yet. You’re in no danger as of right now. But moving forward, there are things that I may ask you to do that are going to make you a vital person of interest for my rivals in the company to use. Especially if they suspect that we have any kind of intimate relationship. Even if they just think it’s strictly sex.”

The complete picture of why Alexander Strauss needed me was becoming clear. I was a nobody before, which made me perfect. But since Alexander had seen a spark in me that he believed could blossom into something very helpful to him, I could serve him well. And his rivals would have no idea as to who I was or where I came from. I was not on their radar. For now.

“I want you to consider all of this Samantha. You are going to help me as I save my father’s company from my competitors that are working outside and from within the company. I can’t let the company fall into the wrong hands. It would undo everything I have worked for. It would undo everything my father has worked for, and everything that Strauss Engines stands for and could one day accomplish.

“There is going to be an attempt at a hostile takeover. It’s inevitable. But you are the only one I can trust to help combat that. Do you want to continue your new position, aware of the dangers and responsibilities?”

Alexander Strauss looked sexier than I had ever imagined a man could look. I felt a sexual attraction for him so strong that I could almost see it in the air. I wanted so badly to do everything he asked of me.

“I want to, yes. But Alexander, I’m not sure I will be able to,” I said honestly.

“Yes, you can. You are the only one who can. You stuck to your guns when it could have meant your livelihood and even possibly your future. I know I can trust you.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“Good,” he said, a small, barely visible wave of relief going through him. “You should get some sleep. It’s a little early still, but you’re going to need it. My private jet will take you to Beijing in less than ten hours. You will be negotiating a deal with a supplier for the water filter. Take the master bedroom, my bed will be very nice for you to sleep on. I guarantee it.”

A flood of excitement and apprehension poured through me. Beijing? Negotiate a parts deal? Private jet? It all seemed too much. I worried I would never sleep again with all these new developments swimming in my head.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Alexander said, laughing.

I walked up the stairs, wishing Alexander Strauss a good night in a slight daze and undressed. I lay on his bed and wrapped myself in his sheets, breathing in the smell of him. I wished he would come up and take me in his bed, ravage me and leave me completely without a single want or desire left unfulfilled. Yet before I could even begin a fantasy or an idea of calling to him, sleep enwrapped me completely. I was exhausted, and Alexander Strauss’s bed was beyond comfortable.

Chapter Seven

When I woke up, I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. A limousine ride to a private airport where Strauss Engines keeps its corporate jet didn’t seem real to me. Alone in a private jet, I sipped on expensive white wine while I awaited a filet mignon dinner to be finished cooking. Miles up in the sky, I looked down on a world that I hardly could believe was real anymore. I was on my way to Beijing, China. Sitting in the comfy leather chair, I looked over to see the flight attendant setting up the bed that I would get to sleep on shortly. It was a sixteen hour flight, but still, I had never even heard of sleeping while flying. I took another sip of white wine and relished the experience. The flight attendant disappeared and I was all alone.

I looked down at the dossier in front of me. The files stared back up at me and I forced myself not to get overwhelmed. I read over the files at least a dozen times, but I reread them again. I wanted them to be imprinted in my brain when I went to the meeting. The terms I had to negotiate streamed in and out of my mind with every page. I finished my white wine and put down the empty glass. After I finished reading the dossier for the last time, I looked up and saw my glass was gone.

“You’re going to do well Samantha. I have complete faith in you that you will succeed,” Alexander had said. His words rang in my head.

The glass of white wine had helped calm my nerves, but I had restricted myself to one. I would not get drunk or have more than even a single glass so I was still sharp at the meeting. I needed to come off like I was confident and aware. I wanted to seem like I was razor-edged.

“When you come back, I’ll have something special waiting for you.”

I closed my eyes and longed to know what that something special was. It made me grow hot between my legs to think about what Alexander could think was special for me. I longed for him to be here right now. He could take me in his private jet while we flew to Beijing to further his company’s projected goal. Just the thought of being so high up in the air and in his arms, his throbbing cock pushing in and out of me while his eyes burned into me made me wet.

My food arrived before me and I pushed the thought of Alexander Strauss’s perfect sexuality out of my mind. I ate slowly and carefully, tasting every succulent morsel of perfectly cooked steak. I laughed out loud when I thought of my typical dinner at my house of baked chicken and microwaved broccoli. A side of brown rice and a glass of red wine from a ten dollar bottle.

“Alexander is counting on me,” I said aloud to no one. “I can do this.”

I finished my steak and looked out the window. I was beginning to feel confident.

I slept like a baby on the jet. When I woke up, the flight attendant informed me we were preparing to land. I buckled myself in my seat and drank coffee as we landed. I looked out on the tarmac and saw that a limousine was waiting for me. I hadn’t needed to do anything; the logistics of the entire trip had been set up for me beforehand. I thanked the flight-crew as I exited the private jet and walked towards the limousine.

Two men stood by the open door of the limousine. One was obviously the driver and he bowed to me courteously as I approached. The other man was a man that I had expected to be there. Before leaving Alexander’s penthouse he had informed me that while the businessmen that I was going to be negotiating with spoke perfect English, it would be wise to have a translator with me. The translator, he explained, was someone he could trust as well. I was to feel completely at ease with him.

“Welcome, Miss Dubois,” he said in perfect English. He had no accent I could discern. “I am Richard Chen.”

“Pleased to meet you Mr. Chen,” I said, shaking his hand. He held out a hand for me to enter in the limousine and I did.

“It will not be a long ride, please sit back and relax. While you may not need me, please know that I am here for anything you may. Also,” he said, lowering his voice slightly. “I am here to make sure there is no whispering in Chinese that is out of your understanding. Mr. Strauss was perfectly clear that he wants you to be privy to every single bit of information in the meeting, down to the last word.” And with this, Mr. Chen was silent for the rest of the limousine ride.

I took stock of myself. I was once again dressed to kill in business attire. Very professional, not sexy in the least, but still very feminine. I looked like I could be a CEO myself. I felt confident in my appearance. I reassured myself that if Alexander Strauss believed in me, I should believe in myself too. There was no way that he would entrust me with such an important task as acquiring necessary parts for the water filters project if he did not believe that I would be successful. I could do this.

We arrived at our destination, the Sun Industries and Manufacturing corporate offices. It was a modest building in comparison to the Strauss Engine’s building, but still large nonetheless. I walked in next to Mr. Chen and we were greeted by two security guards waiting at the entrance. We signed in at the front desk in a large lobby area and we were escorted up an elevator to the top floor. The security guards had not spoken a single word to us or even to each other. The security guards waited by the elevator doors as we walked down a short hallway to a conference room. I took a deep breath and we walked in.

Three men and one woman sat at a conference desk. Two of the men were older, early sixties, while one of the men was in his mid-thirties. His eyes were sharp and attractive. All three men rose as we entered and extended their hands. With each handshake the men would bow, and I followed suit, wanting to show them the utmost respect. The woman rose as well and walked around to greet Mr. Chen first.

“Richard, it’s always a pleasure,” the woman said.

“And you as well Joyce,” Mr. Chen said. He turned to me and whispered in my ear. “Joyce Lin. She is American. She works as a translator for Sun Industries. They apparently have the same idea as Mr. Strauss.”

The younger of the three men was Delun Sun. The older man to his right was his father, Lei Sun. The other man never gave his name. His face remained stoic the entire meeting. I never saw him blink, and even though I was moving between talking to Delun and Lei, I could have sworn that even if I had watched him the whole time, his eyes would never have moved off of me nor would they have blinked.

“Welcome to China, Miss Dubois,” Delun Sun said.

“Thank you, Mr. Sun.”

“Although I must admit that I am very unhappy that your boss could not, or perhaps would not, grace us with his presence.”

“Please, Mr. Sun,” I said, addressing Delun first and then Lei. I looked over to the unnamed third man and said nothing, but bowed my head slightly as I continued. “Accept his apology on my behalf. There are many developments which he must attend to and his time is spread very thin. I can assure you that he sends me, his best representative, in his place as a sign of his utmost respect for your company.”

I felt like a student on the first day of college. I thought of that little girl, so scared by the world and unsure as to how even speak. The transformation that took months and years before she stood up and took charge, became a leader, would have to happen again. Except this time, I did not have months and years. I had minutes, perhaps seconds. I maintained a calm demeanor and breathed in slowly, following the breath with my thoughts as it flowed in and out. I can do this, I thought. I will do this.

Lei Sun leaned over to his son and spoke rapid Chinese. It flowed so fast that at first I didn’t even think it was words but a musical tune he had sung. I had to acknowledge the beauty of their language.