King (35 page)

“Contact
all the execs and tell them to get back into work tomorrow, the holidays over”
he stated into the buzzer as Rebecca looked up at him sorrowfully. “Tell them
I’m sorry Jason, please” she pleaded quietly, her tears starting again. “What’s
going to happen to me?” He studied her carefully and looked across at me. “It’s
Charlotte’s reputation and professional career you jeopardised Rebecca, I think
it’s up to her” and I sighed deeply, taking in the sad green eyes of the pretty
redhead. I more than most knew how hard it could be in this business, and there
were still precious few women competing for the top accounts. If he fired her
she’d struggle to get back where she was, and it certainly wasn’t something I
wanted on my conscience. When things had gone wrong for me in the past, I had
needed a chance, we all did sometimes. “Don’t sack her Jason” I said simply as
he looked at her, his steely gaze unwavering. He was still far from happy.
“Come in tomorrow, you’re on a warning and back on the small accounts until you
prove to me I can trust you again” he glowered at her as she looked up at him
stunned. “Thank you” she all but whispered. “It’s not me you need to thank,
it’s Charlotte. Make no mistake Rebecca, I would have fired you and made sure
no other agency in London would touch you” and I gasped, realising silently that
he had that fate in store for Ian Anderson, who had risked both our careers for
his own gain. He said no more, gesturing for her to leave and waiting for the
door to close before he sat beside me, pulling me onto his lap and kissing me
deeply.

“Thank
you Jason” I whispered, unable to fully verbalise my gratitude for clearing my
name and salvaging my career. He had joined forces with Alison to investigate
the truth whilst I was lay in my bed feeling sorry for myself, envisaging him
fucking
Tamsin
Lloyd and setting me up. “I’m so sorry
for not trusting you” I whispered, burying myself against his chest, inhaling
his wonderful scent as he held me tightly, kissing the top of my head. “How
sorry?” and I could hear the little smirk I loved in his voice, a welcome
sound, rolling like velvet over my senses as I gazed up at him. “Enough for you
to paddle me” I bit my lip as he grinned, cocking his head, eyes narrowing. “I
think this is way past a paddle baby” as I gasped, wide eyed, knowing instantly
what he had in mind. “Not a whip?” I stared up at him, my voice filled with
trepidation, anticipation and a tinge of excitement as he quirked his eyebrow
at me, studying me closely. “Are you ready for it?” and I nodded. The truth was
,
I was already aroused.

Chapter
19

I
couldn’t wait to see him, I’d been over in Germany for three days, organising a
European roll out for the Mercedes campaign and my body ached for his touch as
I sat back in my seat, buckling my belt for landing. Everything had changed in
the last few months and our relationship had gone from strength to strength,
mind blowing, heart stopping sex and an unswerving trust I felt certain no one
would ever break again. I loved Jason King and he loved me. We had pitched
against each other once and I had won, teasing him mercilessly all day, and he
had returned the favour tenfold, teasing me mercilessly and deliciously all
night.

For
the most part, we tried to avoid all conflict in the boardroom and the bedroom
and it was working out well for us.
Jasmin
Lloyd had
become a friend, despite her bitch of a sister. She was close to Jason and she
was a sweet girl, fragile and damaged by a Dom who had abused his position of
trust appallingly, but slowly, she was finding her way back. Jason still
harboured guilt over being her sponsor to the scene. She had been emotionally
delicate even then, suffering with bulimia and drug addiction from her late
teens. He hadn’t spotted it, but he hadn’t been alone.
Jasmin
had covered it well, and explained that secrecy was such a huge part of
who
she was then, that he couldn’t have known. She may never
be as famous as her sister but he had secured her position as the main model
for Tristan Wright which was regular catwalk and magazine work, and she had
become part of our circle of closest friends with Katie and Robbie and Sash and
the barrister, who I know knew as Edward.

The
landing was rocky and I was grateful to be on dry land once
again,
and hopefully straight into the arms and the bed of Jason King. I had three
days to make up for and I planned on a long
long
night, sighing as I switched on my phone and saw the text.

Sorry Baby, change of plan. Big screen
debut of the Decadence ad at the Ritz. I’ve booked a car to pick you up and
take you. We are in the Prince of Wales suite and everything you need is there.
I am in a meeting, will see you at the screening. J x

I
couldn’t wait to see him, but no doubt this would also be my first encounter
with his parents and sister since the mortifying exchange we’d had in his
office weeks before, where I had poured out the details of my sexual liaison
with their son in intimate and graphic detail, and I flushed at the thought. On
the upside, we had a suite at The Ritz and that was certainly a treat, I
grinned to myself. Jason had kept the ad under wraps, and I wasn’t sure whether
they’d gone with my wild idea or not, and I was excited to find out, wondering
if models or actors could ever really capture the true exquisite intimacy I had
felt that night. I was hand luggage only and saw the driver immediately, decked
from head to toe in full traditional chauffeur regalia as I made my way to the
board that read ‘Charlotte Smith’ smiling broadly. All my earlier tiredness had
dissipated with the excitement about seeing Jason and as I stepped into the shining
black limousine, I pulled out my phone to text him back.

I can’t wait to see you and christen
The Ritz in our own inimitable style Baby x

He
had gone all out, the limousine and the Prince of Wales suite and I would make
damn sure I’d be thanking him later, I grinned to myself, stepping into the
beautiful foyer, collecting my key and making my way to the room. It was pure
indulgent luxury, traditional and elegant and I gasped as I entered. It was
evident he had missed me as much as I’d missed him, the room filled with
dramatic, romantic and extravagant bouquets of red and white roses peppered
with diamantes and it smelt absolutely divine. A long white dress was hung up,
fitted and floor length, edged with crystals and I recognised it immediately as
a Tristan Wright design. Silver crystal platform shoes were boxed underneath
and the necessary underwear, white silk and lace had been laid out on the bed
with a small box of diamond drop earrings and my heart flipped. All I had
wanted was to see his gorgeous face and twinkling blue eyes, to run my fingers
through his inky black hair and kiss those beautiful full lips and right now I
wanted it even more. He certainly knew how to ramp up the anticipation I smiled
to myself as I showered, fixing my hair and make-up, gasping at my final
reflection in the mirror. Jason King could definitely do style when he put his
mind to it, and I made a mental note to ask him to do my wardrobe shopping more
frequently.

A
member of the concierge team was waiting for me as I exited the suite. “Mr King
has asked me to accompany you to the screening Miss Smith as he has been held
up” he smiled, gesturing me into the elevator and down into the luxurious
foyer, through a large set of double doors. A small row of gold seats were
lined up in front of a stage, dominated by a huge screen. I chose the middle
one and sat, stunned when the lights dimmed almost immediately and the cinema
screen roared to life. Where were the other guests and where the hell was
Jason? He must have been running really, really late.

The
advert was spectacular, visually stunning, utterly sexual and so erotic I
wasn’t sure they’d be able to broadcast it before the watershed. They had
replayed the scene in the creative room
perfectly,
changing only the setting into shades of chocolate, creams and gold’s to
reflect the colour scheme of the product they were advertising. Against the
odds, they had turned my crazy pitch into something beautiful and sensual and I
giggled to myself, thinking every woman in the land would buy this cake to get
that moment in their lives. There were no voices, only low seductive, romantic
classical music and they had used ‘the taste of love’ as their strap line,
which gently blew across the screen on gold ribbon at the end of the commercial
as it faded, first to blackness and then to something else. It looked like a
distant silhouette moving closer and closer and my heart flipped. I grinned
broadly, recognising the familiar height and stance, the broad firm shoulders
and long muscular legs of the man I loved. As the screen rose, he appeared
before me and my heart stopped beating in my chest. He had been here all along.

Dressed
in a custom made tuxedo, tie undone and hair mussed and sexy he looked
downright delicious as I smiled broadly, running and jumping into his arms as
he picked me up and spun me around, kissing me hard on the lips and holding me
so close, I could feel his heart beating. “I missed you” I grinned before he
possessed my mouth again, expert tongue exploring me as my core exploded with
need and I wanted him in that moment more than ever, desperate to undo the
beautiful fabric and reveal the tanned, rock hard body I had been without for
the past seventy two hours. “I missed you too Baby. Do you like the
commercial?” I nodded enthusiastically. “It’s perfect Jason” I smiled as he
cupped my chin, gazing down at me, blue eyes eclipsed with deep black pools as
I shuddered deliciously against the feel of him. “It’s us Charlotte, and
there’s only one thing that would make us more perfect” the fierce blazing of
his eyes making me gasp as he bent to kiss me. “Marry me” he whispered against
my lips before brushing them gently with his own. I was stunned, silently
nodding, unable to take it in and wondering if I’d dreamt it as I pulled my
head away, giggling at the smirk that was playing around his mouth, larger than
ever and I knew I hadn’t. He took my hand, gently slipping a beautiful and
tastefully large teardrop shaped diamond ring on my finger and I gasped,
throwing my arms around him and kissing him, every drop of passion I felt in
that moment focused on his lips.

“Hold
that thought baby, we’ve got an engagement party to attend on the outside
terrace” he grinned, winking at me, as I stared at him in astonishment. “You were
a bit cocksure of yourself weren’t you” I laughed, slapping his arm playfully.
“Do you remember that night in the wine bar Charlotte, when you said you
wouldn’t sleep with me”. How could I forget? I had lost the Castle vodka pitch
and I absolutely loathed the man. “Yes I do King, and you stood there outside
and told me I would like an arrogant bastard” I laughed as he smirked broadly.
“I knew I’d marry you then Smith” he winked as my heart flipped and I pulled
him towards me. “I love you Baby”.

The
night air was balmy and warm and I was stunned as I stepped out onto the
beautiful outdoor terrace, dotted with round tables, draped in pristine white
cotton and dazzling china, the expanse of the Royal green park rolling around
us and a million twinkling candles lighting the space, the last bastion of
palace style dining in the centre of London, and filled with people I knew and
cared about. I leant into Jason, his arm firmly wrapped around my waist. Sasha
and Katie ran to hug me, whilst Robbie and Edward shook hands with Jason and
kissed my cheeks. I was totally overwhelmed, euphoric and elated, greeting
Jasmin
and Tristan Wright, almost all the staff from King
Marketing, Alison and my junior creative team and Brandon James of Castle vodka
in a whirlwind of faces and flowing champagne, and as I looked up at the
beautiful man beside me, my heart melted.

“Welcome
to the family” his mother and father enveloped me with open arms as I smiled
broadly, glad that they had realised I wasn’t the complete and utter lunatic
they had maybe once thought, and suddenly ecstatic and giddy that for the first
time in my life I was part of a family, no longer alone. I was not only
marrying Jason King, the man I adored and loved with all my heart, but into a
bloody cake dynasty and I swallowed back impending tears of joy. It just didn’t
get any better than that, and it was all I could do not to pinch myself in case
I was dreaming. “I really loved that pitch” grinned his sister as I giggled
sheepishly, taking my seat for dinner with my new family, noticing for the
first time a beautiful lady in a pale blue dress who was watching me carefully.

I
smiled brightly, her face so familiar yet I was unable to place it. “Chuckles”
she grinned and as I stared into the soft grey eyes, I exhaled in a delighted
sigh, my heart bursting with affection for the woman who unwittingly had forged
the path of my life at four years old, and the tears of joy escaped as I ran to
hug her. “Hannah
Devey
” I grinned,
overcome
with emotion as I saw Jason watching me, a soft smile playing on his mouth,
eyes filled with pride, and at that moment I knew I could never love anyone
more. She laughed at my reaction as we took our seats. “I can’t believe you
remember me” she laughed as I looked at her shaking my head in disbelief. “I
have never forgotten you or the way you defended me all those years ago. You
taught me to stick up for myself, to not let anyone treat me like dirt, and it
stayed with me” I laughed. “I can tell” she grinned, glancing around, clearly
impressed with the life I’d made. “What that teacher did to you was evil
Charlotte and it was worth getting fired for” she smiled kindly. “What are you
doing now?” I squealed
,
excited to know what had
happened to my heroine in the twenty one years since I’d last seen her. “I run
a halfway house in London for kids when they leave care, to help them get
sorted, find a job and get on their feet” she smiled. “That’s the hardest time
for a lot of them” she sighed as I nodded. “I know” I laughed gently, in
complete agreement. I had lived it, and compared to most, with an
extortionately priced rat infested shithole to call home, I’d been one of the
lucky ones.