Maid For You - A Cinderella Love Story (13 page)

“So, you brought some papers?” I pick up my water glass, placing my lips to it in a bid to start a neutral conversation.

“Yes, your father and I were in a meeting this afternoon. I thought it would be easier if I brought them to you rather than having his secretary email them across.”

I nod, rolling my bottom lip between my teeth. “Thank you.” The file is just out of reach. “May I?”

His large tanned hand covers mine and I feel a jolt of electricity at the contact. I cut my eyes to his in question.

“Let’s just enjoy dinner first. I’ll brief you on the contents afterwards.”

His expression is so sincere that I can’t refuse him. I pull my hand away, unsure what to say. Goddammit, I’m nervous. There’s so much to say and what feels like a country between us.

Just then, the waitress arrives with our drinks - a crisp white wine for me and a glass of red for him.

We simultaneously pick up our glasses. I’m just about to sip mine when he holds my eyes intensely, tipping his glass to mine.

“To new beginnings, Ava.”

J
ax

“
I
feel
like there’s an elephant in the room. We need to talk, Ava. About what happened six years ago.”

I watch her across the table as she delicately sips her wine. Her beauty steals my breath and I’m having a hard time concentrating in her presence. I know that if I hope to stand any chance in hell with her, I need to make the past right.

Her expression hardens and she places her glass back down. “There isn’t anything to say.”

When I saw her earlier, a vision in her black outfit and flowing hair, a sudden spark of jealousy coursed through my system. The thought of her looking that beautiful for another guy had me feeling sick. I had to make my wrongs right.

“Kit, er, Ava, we can’t just act like nothing happened. I don’t know about you, but what went down six years ago has never left me.” I sit back in my chair, swishing around my wine.

“It affected you? Really. Wow, I’m sorry…I feel so bad now.” Her lips flatten and she looks away.

“Ava, I-”

“What do you want to talk about, Jax?” Her eyes flash at me and she leans forward. “About the fact that you totally betrayed and rejected me, even though I was set up by your mother?”

I suck in a breath. “There was more to it…I barely even speak to my mother now.”

She fiddles with her napkin and takes a deep breath. “What do you mean there was more to it?”

“She set you up…and threatened me.” I pause and take a large gulp of wine. “If I’d come after you, she was going to fire Gaby.”

Her eyes widen. “What? Are you serious?”

“Like I said, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes. I’m sorry you got caught up in our family politics. Please just know that I never meant to hurt you.”

Looking away, she appears to be considering the implications of what I’d just revealed. “The past is the past, Jax. We should have never got involved in the first place…it was just some silly fun over the summer.” She takes a drink of her wine, and I hope to God she’s bluffing. “A huge mistake.”

My jaw tenses and I study the menu.

“Anyway, can we just not talk about the past anymore? How about while I’m here and we’re working together, we call a truce?”

I force a smile on my face. Better this way than the total hate she was projecting at the start. “Sure, sounds good. Tell me about yourself.”

“What’s there to tell, Jax? You pretty much know everything about me.”

I shrug. She wasn’t making this easy. “Okay, how was Columbia?”

“How was Harvard?” she shoots back, grinning.

I laugh. She had kept tabs on me, too, even though I knew she’d never admit to it.

“You first?” I raise an eyebrow and she lightly flicks her long hair over her shoulders. She wore it much straighter these days - it suited her, but I missed her tumbling waves, too.

“Okay… Well, Columbia was incredible. Everything I could have dreamed of…and more.” She smiles into her glass, clearly reflecting on her time there. “I met my best friend, Lauren, on the first day - we’ve been through a lot over the years and now we share an apartment together.”

“Nice. You guys are both in marketing?”

“Yeah, that’s right, though she’s more print advertising. In fact, we’re starting our own agency together this summer. Anyway…so, Harvard?” I sense her closing up and I try to think of something to keep her going.

“Harvard was…Harvard.” I run a hand though my hair. “It was a post qualification but yeah, had an awesome time, met some great people. Overall, it shaped me in good time to practice at my father’s firm.”

She chews her lip, looking away, and I sense she wants to ask me something. I wait patiently. Finally, she meets my eyes.

“Did…did you go traveling?”

“Most definitely. After all that shit with my mother went down, I went back and finished my degree and then took off for six months to the Far East.”

She nods, a small smile playing on her lips. “I’m glad you followed your dream…”

We’re interrupted as our server comes to take our order. Once she’s gone, I settle back into my seat. I really want to tell her the truth about everything that happened, but I’m hesitant to ruin the mood.

“How about you? Any traveling after Columbia?”

“A little. Not as ambitious as yours, though.” She smiles, and I want nothing more than to draw her into my arms and soak up that radiant look of happiness on her face. “Lauren and I went backpacking around Europe for a couple of months. Had a lot of fun, especially the wine tasting. We also got to spend some time in the London office, which was a great experience...”

We’re quiet for a minute and sip our drinks. There’s so much I want to ask her.

“So…I remember you have a sister…you guys see each other often?”

My face relaxes at the mention of her name. “Yes, Alicia. She’s now married with two kids, lives in New York, too.”

“Are you still close?”

I smile. “Yeah, we’re still close. I try and get out to visit and likewise, she brings the kids over often. They’re four – twins.”

“Twins. Wow, she must have her hands full.”

“That’s for sure. Half of the house is covered in pink girl stuff – for Lila, and the other half’s covered in Lego and action men, for Luke.”

She laughs. “Sounds fun.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. I’ve been pretty wrapped up in work lately-”

“Making a name for yourself,” she interrupts, smiling.

“Yeah, it’s been a busy couple of years…”

Our food arrives and we move onto more neutral subjects. It’s excruciatingly frustrating sitting opposite her and knowing that she isn’t my date, nor would I be able to take her to my bed tonight and enjoy her beautiful body. My cock strains at the thought and I shift in my seat, groaning internally. She’s fully unaware of the impact she has on me - I’ll be in need of least a couple of ice-cold showers tonight.

She replaces her fork on her plate and dabs the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “I appreciate you looking out for Gaby over the last six years, helping her set up Merry Maids and everything.”

“It’s the least I could do. I’m trying to persuade her to expand the franchise, but she’s not too convinced yet.”

She nods and her mouth lifts at the corners. “I’m so happy that she’s finally getting married to Roberto.”

“Me too…they kept that quiet for some time, huh?

“Yeah…I presume you’re attending the wedding next month?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I wink at her but she looks away.

After our plates are cleared, she picks up the folder, returning to her formal tone.

“So, the initial meeting’s tomorrow, huh?” She flicks through the document, and I bring her up to speed with the meeting notes from earlier.

“Starts at ten in the morning. In attendance will be the street artist - Carlo, his lawyer, and the representative from Fletcher Clothing.”

“Fine. I guess I better read up on this tonight.” She gestures for the bill and informs the server to put it on her tab. I interrupt and pull out my card, but she shakes her head.

“No thank you, Jax.” A stiff smile. “I’ll take care of it.”

“No.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said
no.
” Before she can protest further, I hand my card over and the waitress scuttles off.

Once I’ve settled the bill, we weave our way out of the restaurant and turn to face each other inside the lobby.

She gives me a small smile. “Thanks for dinner. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”

“You’re welcome.” I move closer, invading her space, and I can see her chest heaving against her top. She may deny it, but she’s just as affected as I am.

Leaning down, I inhale her scent and place a light kiss on her cheek, lingering for a second longer than necessary.

“Sleep well.”

T
he following morning
, things are heating up in the boardroom. The street artist, Carlo, is a mouthy son of a bitch, saying that Fletcher used his art, which he claims is copyrighted. As I predicted, he is just here for the money, not in the least bit bothered about the actual campaign.

I tune him out to take a look around the table while he rants in the background. Ava, in a sharp pantsuit, is seated next to her father. On the opposite side is Carlo and his lawyer, who, frankly, looks like he’s about to shit himself in my presence. The representative from Fletcher doesn’t gave a damn about the lawsuit - all she’s here for is to ensure that their ad continues to run.

I’ve heard enough - the asshole is giving me a headache. “Look, Carlo, I agree. The best way to resolve this is to settle with you on a sum of money for the usage of your artwork to feature in the on-going campaign.” His face lights up with a smile and I hold my palm up.
Schmuck
. “However, we are way off from what you’re demanding.”

I write on some paper the amount we are prepared to pay and slide it across the table to his lawyer. The room falls silent.

Carlo’s eyes bulge out of his head. He crumples up the offer and throws it to the floor, standing abruptly from his chair.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Do you seriously think I’m going to settle for this?” His face contorts in anger as he glares at me.

Before I can respond, Ava stands up and faces him, placing her hands on the table.

“Calm down, Carlo. For God’s sake, you’ve broken the law in the first place by vandalizing buildings with your art. And now you want money for it?” She crosses her arms, staring him down.

I don’t like the way he’s looking at her, a smirk playing on his lips as he blatantly takes his time to stare at her up and down. My jaw clenches and I’m two seconds away from throwing a punch in his face if he doesn’t quit. Screw the case.

“Listen,
senorita.
It’s art because it’s what we know.” He gestures with his hands, getting all agitated once again. “We can’t afford your fancy art schools, so we do it on the street – it’s a form of our expression. We’re true artists, the real deal, and we ain’t sellin’ out to no corporate America.” He spits the words out like poison.

“What?” Ava throws her hands into the air. “So, you give it freely to the city and for people to enjoy, but you want a cut of the funds if someone benefits from it? Seems like you’re selling out to me. Goddamn hypocrite.”

“Sit down, Ava.” My voice is calm but laced with steel as I regain control of the meeting. Ava turns to me, a look of surprise on her face at my command.

“What, are you actually suggesting that he has a point?” Her face flushes red as she glares at me.

Carter clears his throat in the background.

Shit, she’s a spitfire.

I want to clear the room and take her on the desk right now, to show her who was boss around here. I’d like to rip that fancy cream blouse she’s wearing and take her breasts into my mouth until she’s begging for more.

The fuck?
She’s turning me on in her anger.

“I’m not suggesting that at all. I’d like to suggest we take a recess for a couple days to calm down.” I look at Carlo and his lawyer.

“Let me set you straight. We’re willing to compromise, but we are not meeting your expectations. May I advise you take a good look at the sum we’ve proposed and come back to us with a sensible counter-offer?”

His lawyer nods in agreement. Carlo looks at Ava, smirking and licking his lips suggestively as he stands and walks out of the room. The room soon clears and Carter dashes off to make a couple of calls.

Ava and I are left together. She’s still worked up, frowning and looking away into the distance with her arms crossed. I walk over to the door and click the lock into place.

“What’s going on?”

I walk over to her.

“What is your problem with me? Why did you call me out in the meeting, asking why I was taking his side?”

The words fly out of her mouth. “Because you did. Because you
always
do. Take someone else’s side.”

She stands up, pushes back her chair, and walks over to the window.

I walk up behind her, speaking the words softly into her ear. “Kitten, why are you so bitter and hateful towards me? Even after I told you the truth…”

I feel her tremble against my words. Placing my hands on her upper arms, I lean into her, inhaling her scent, knowing that I’ll never be able to get enough of it. Of her. She consumes me.

She shrugs my hands off and turns around. We’re inches from each other. It would be so easy to dip my head and capture her lips.

“I told you not to call me that. And as for
why?
You haven’t proven yourself worthy of anything else.”

The words cut straight to my chest and I inhale sharply.

“Then goddammit, let me try.” Unable to contain my feelings any longer, I crush her lips to mine, desperate for a taste of her, wanting to kiss away her pain. She tries to resist but quickly softens against me and we deepen our kiss, pulling, biting, tongues dueling as if we can’t get enough of each other. She bites my lip, hard, and I pull away in surprise, a smile playing on my lips.

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that, Miss Cortes.”

Her face is flushed, lust written all over her, and I pulled her towards me again, kissing her with an intensity I haven’t ever experienced before. Unable to stop myself, I run my hand up her waist until I find the soft underside of her breast. She moans into my mouth, giving me the signal to continue and I softly cup her, feeling her erect nipple through the silk of her blouse. Frustrated with the lack of skin contact, I roughly pull at her blouse until I manage to get under to her soft skin. Trailing my hands up, I register a growl escaping at the back of my throat as I finally make contact with her beautiful, full breasts.

I roll her nipples around my thumb and forefinger and once again, she moans in pleasure as I continue my assault on her mouth at the same time. Backing her up and not losing contact, I walk her towards the conference table, stopping when the back of her legs bump against it.

Pulling away, our chests heaving, I look into her wild eyes.

“Do you know how long you have tormented me for, Ava?” Giving one final tug on her nipple, I lower my hand, pecking her lightly on her lips. My hand finds the button to her pants and I work it, sliding my hand inside and cursing in pleasure at the exquisite feel of her silk panties.