Intimate Knowledge Part 1 (6 page)

Aidan Carmichael had been warned about Stella Abbot’s legendary frosty glare, but experiencing it first hand was nothing like he’d been told.  No one mentioned those smudged chocolate brown eyes or silky, mahogany tendrils escaping from her business like twist. 

Or
those moist, kissable lips. 

From his vantage point bent on one knee, he could almost feel the famous glare bore through the back of his head.  Gathering up the papers that had flown all over the floor when he did his usual klutzy act of knocking them off her desk, his gaze strayed surreptitiously upwards.  Man - she sure had a sexy set of pins.

Behind her glare, Stella tried not to give in to her sudden inexplicable desire to run her hands through the floppy mess of slightly too long auburn hair of the man who was currently at her feet.  What was the matter with her?  He was quite irritatingly dithering around with important files he had ineptly scattered around her office floor when he reached over to introduce himself.  He reminded her of a young russet hound with his silky mop and ungainly enthusiasm.  It was really quite irksome and she suspected he actually had the audacity to be eyeing up her legs while he was down there!

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, just leave them.  I’ll sort them out later!” 

Stella couldn’t believe she had just snapped at him like that.  She was never so sharp, even when provoked, and especially not at a first meeting.  Staying in command was Stella’s specialty.  A deftly, delivered, sardonic remark was much more her style, but something about Aidan Carmichael just unbalanced her.

Perhaps it was because the reason he was here at
Choices LA
was unnerving.  Audits were never trouble-free and this particular one concerned her, as it was the first since the L.A. edition was launched.   As executive editor, she was responsible for any discrepancies.  Not that she was anticipating any.  She was always scrupulous in all matters professional, particularly finances.  But the unpleasant business with Richard just over six months ago still left a bad taste and she hadn’t quite shaken off the feeling of instability created by the whole little ‘teleroman’ that had played out during that time.

The long-limbed accountant stood up in response to her exasperated command.  As he surfaced beside her, his well over 6” rangy frame dwarfed her 5’9” figure, his body brushing against her far too intimately.  Seriously, didn’t the
guy have any sense of personal space!

Aidan stifled a smile at the renowned ice maiden’s undisguised irritation.  He knew he was being invasive, but he
couldn’t resist taking advantage of his clumsiness to get close to her.  He could tell he was disturbing what was an otherwise perfect equilibrium and he sure was enjoying it. 

Truth
be told, he was also thrown off balance by the effect she was having on him.  Expecting to be able to barely tolerate Stella Abbot, even on a professional level, he was now amazed by the overwhelming desire to sweep all the remaining files from her desk and fuck her senseless on it.  His highly improper thoughts shocked him.  Hell what was the matter with him!  His politically correct Canadian mother had raised him well.  He respected women, opening doors, paying on dates, never expecting just sex; waiting respectfully to ease into
lovemaking.
  He had never even had a one-night stand and yet here he was, small-town Kansas nice guy indecently lusting after a female colleague after only a few minutes meeting.

It felt
kinda good.

  Not that he was likely to have any chance of succeeding in his lusts.  Stella Abbot was way
,
way, way out of his league.  And his professional superior.  This was a job.  A very important job.  Now he was this close to her, he could sense an uneasiness and way back in her eyes he glimpsed an almost vulnerable chink. 

Aidan’s uncharacteristic lust
was immediately purged.  His protective and compassionate nature, particularly where women were involved, asserted itself.  Now all he wanted to do was gather her close in his arms and soothe her.  He was pretty sure he would have a better chance of satisfying his erstwhile lusts.  Somehow, he couldn’t see Stella Abbott ever allowing anyone up close and personal enough to even slightly expose her susceptibilities, never mind soothe them. 

He
wasn’t far off.  Stella was furious with herself.  What was he doing to her?   One minute she was irritated by his awkwardness, while the next she was surprised by the swift rush of desire his closeness evoked.  Most disturbing was that she feared the telling insight of those drugging, darkly lashed, deep brown eyes - or was it deep gold - it was hard to tell through his thickish glasses.  She suspected he could see past her carefully constructed walls into that small part of herself she couldn’t calm.  That part she didn’t allow anyone near.  Not even herself.  Stella shivered.  This had to stop.  She was overreacting.  A thing she told herself she was never going to do again!  Honestly, he was practically just a boy and an ungainly one at that.

She stepped back and adjusted her voice to her usual perfectly modulated tone. “No need to worry, I can sort these later.  Accidents happen.”

“Yeh, plenty!  Most people keep surfaces and areas clear around me!” Aidan grinned.

“Yes, well, I don’t imagine that will be necessary,” Stella’s tone was patronizingly dampening and she smiled her full professional smile.  The one that
didn’t reach her eyes.  Aidan began to understand the warnings.  She emanated a coldness in this mode that made him doubt her sincerity or concern for anything other than getting the job done.  But of course, it was that quality that helped make her the youngest executive editor in the
Choices
Communications group.

“Why don’t I introduce you to the team here?”

“Sure.” Aidan stepped back, automatically giving her the distance she clearly wanted.  Or was it needed?  His earlier cockiness deserting him in the face of her professional freeze out.

Stella relaxed.  Her equilibrium back in place, she led the younger man through the hallway to the writer’s offices, pointing out the communal lunchroom in the process.

“I expect you were briefed at head office about our staff?”

“Yes, three writers and a photographer.  Claire Fitzpatrick, your senior writer and the two juniors, Greg Roberts and Mary Jane Anders, have been here since the edition started last year but your photographer joined you a few months ago.  Carly
Winters.  I knew her pretty well when she was in New York.  She dated a close friend of mine for a while.  A replacement for Richard Blake, isn’t she?  He left you a bit in the lurch, quitting so abruptly.”

Stella gave him a quick sideways glance.  Was he fishing?  It
had been agreed by all parties concerned that Richard’s departure would be treated as his choice.  No one wanted to make a scandal over the whole mess and matters were settled out of court.  Richard somehow managing to blackmail John into providing a large settlement after Stella had summarily fired him.

They were lucky Julian West was so deeply happy and
totally pre-occupied in his new marriage to Claire Fitzpatrick.  He was so fiercely protective of her that he had allowed all claims over the theft of his designs by his wife’s ex-lover to be quietly and easily settled out of court and out of sight.  Probably because he satisfied his grievances over the theft and, more importantly, Richard’s advances on Claire, the old-fashioned way - with his fists; a sight Stella had rather enjoyed witnessing.  But she knew there were still internal rumors and speculations, especially in head office. 

She answered him coolly.  “Not really, we managed for quite a few months without him at the beginning and it was only a few weeks after he left before Carly joined us.  Actually,
it’s our gain.  Carly is really quite gifted.  She’s brought us a flair Richard lacked.”

Aidan nodded thoughtfully. 
Interesting.  He had heard the rumor mills, including the ones about Blake’s ability to wow women.  When he mesmerized the relatively innocent Claire, sympathies had been aroused.  The beautiful young woman was very popular in the New York office and her talent was highly respected.  The daughter of the late Liam Fitzpatrick, she was practically journalistic royalty.  She appeared to be a cool blonde, but he had spent some time with her at a few of the work social events and during the flight back to LA last year.  After a short while, her seemingly reserved demeanor gave way to light hearted flirting and a passion for eclectic discussion that was quite captivating.  He hadn’t liked to think of her with Blake.  Few in the office had and he was pretty sure John Banks had deliberately transferred her for that reason.

He was glad when he heard she made the more sensible choice of marrying her best friend only a few months later.  Although, according to all reports, it was very much a passionate love match.  Capturing the haute couture designer, who was the long-time widower of famous film star, Susanna Ainsley, was quite a feat.  It was
the
starry-eyed story of last year’s celebrity headlines, especially given Claire’s very romantic feature interview with West released the same time as they were celebrating their ‘whirlwind’ wedding.  Aidan expected his audit would show a significant spike in the magazine’s revenue present in the books after that journalistic coup.

He knew about Claire and Blake’s history, but what he really wanted to know about was Stella Abbott’s feelings.  He heard she and Blake
were an item a few years back and the consensus was that they were well matched.  Ambitious, hard and unfeeling.  He wondered.  Blake had undoubtedly proven himself a prize bastard, but now, having met Stella, Aidan wasn’t so sure that she deserved to be tarred with the same brush. 

Stella
didn’t know it, but Aidan had no need to fish.  He knew more about Blake’s payoff than she did, having issued the check as the accountant for that section of the firm’s finances.  And, unlike Stella (and probably Claire), he knew that half the funds had come from West.  Like everyone involved, Aidan had signed a gag order, so he made no mention of his knowledge.

He found himself ridiculously glad to hear that clear contemptuous note in her voice when discussing her past lover.  Her astuteness over Blake’s lack of abilities seemed to indicate that, whatever her previous involvement with him, he now
held no fascination for her.  Aidan tried hard not to feel so inordinately pleased at the thought.  She was a good seven or eight years older than him, his professional superior and absolutely
off limits
– right?

Aidan and Stella – Choices Book 2

IN PROGRESS To be released in 2014

About the
Author  - Helen Karol

Writing is my great love and I finally stopped talking about it and made time to devote to it.  I am a Canadian, currently living in England.  As an international teacher of language, literature, media and film, I have been thrilled to discover a variety of cultures and countries.  Before teaching, I was a photographer in the Canadian Air Force - until motherhood made basic training seem like a vacation!  A mother and a very,
very
young grandmother, I treasure time with my family.  When not writing I can be found watching fitness videos while eating cream cakes.

My
Choices Series
is contemporary romance with sexy scenes but not erotic romance.  I thought that I was better suited to writing non-graphic scenes, but since
that
erotic romance hit the mainstream and I bought a Kindle, I have discovered the pleasure of reading and writing about all those sexy scenes.  Erotic alpha male heroes are definitely the order of the day, especially when they know how to handle their woman.  My erotic romance series
Detective & Desires
is now available in installments.  I hope you enjoy it.  I love to hear from my readers and truly appreciate and value every rating and review!

Helen Karol x