Pulse (18 page)

I gasped as I felt him slide back inside of me. My wetness was spilling down the side of my thighs. The sound of flesh and fluid echoed through the room. My ass bounced against his hilt and was joined by the chorus of him grunting and groaning. He pulled on my hair and jerked my head up from the desk. With the rest of my body pressed against the desk, I whimpered each and every time he entered me.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed it. I couldn’t believe it was happening. He had finally given me what I wanted. For a split-second, I realized what was happening. I grinned with my mouth half-open. It was worth it. It was all worth it.

“I’m gonna…”

“Come inside of me… Mmm… Come inside of me and I’ll come… with you…”

Rafael began working himself furiously. His grip tightened on my hair. The rhythmic slapping of my ass against his body became faster. I could feel myself getting closer to the edge along with him. Just a little bit more and…

My eyes sealed shut. My body spasmed as he let out a loud groan. The feeling of him filling me up with his fluid joined the orgasm surging through my body. It spread from my stomach and pulsed through me. I gripped the edge of the other side of the desk as the climax racked my body. Blissful moans were half-caught in my throat as I held my mouth open. My mind went blank as we came together.

Slowly, the sexual energy began to dissipate. My body collapsed upon his desk. My chest continued to rise and fall as I took deep breaths. He pulled out of me and let go of the tight grip he had on my hair. I laid there, bent over in a pool of ecstasy. I tried my best to regain my composure, unable to fight the smile upon my face. I didn’t care what might happen after this. I was just glad I could finally get through to him.

I finally managed to pick myself up. When I turned around, I saw that Rafael had managed to put himself back together. The sweat was soaking through his shirt. Despite that, he looked more relaxed than I’d seen him in a long time. I leaned up against the edge of his desk and stared back at him. I grinned, hoping that he would see things my way.

“Now what?” I asked him.

He straightened his tie then ran his fingers through his hair after wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“We’ll discuss this tomorrow,” he said. “I… I have some work to do. And I still have to go over this report. I need some time to myself.”

“Very good… Mr. Barnett.”

He smirked at me. I let out a sigh of ecstasy then smiled back at him. There was nothing else to discuss and nothing else to do. The next decision was up to him.

Chapter 20

“Hey, how’s it going, Alice?”

I pressed my index finger up against my temple as I lost myself in my notes. I was working so much that I was beginning to grow numb to all of the names and numbers that I kept seeing.

“Alice?”

I tilted my head up and looked at Wesley, who was sitting in his usual place next to me.

“Are… you okay, Alice?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seem a little distracted.”

“No, I’m okay. It’s just all of the work, you know. There’s a lot to go over.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been going over all of these packets that he keeps giving us and can’t figure out what’s important.”

“It’s all important,” Travis interrupted him. “You’re going to have to go over all of it.”

“I know that. I’m just trying to prioritize, that’s all.”

While Wesley and Travis discussed their progress on their assignments, I sat there and waited for the board meeting to begin. Even though my intentions were not what he expected, Rafael actually did receive a preliminary report from me. I had listed all of the companies I thought were noteworthy and given him financial forecasts based on my estimations. The meeting and my report were still at the back of my mind though. Rafael and I still had unfinished business.

He stepped into the boardroom that morning no different than he usually did. He had an excitement and enthusiasm that was admirable for this time of the morning. I sat there in my seat and observed him. For a moment, our eyes met. I didn’t know what he was thinking but there was something there. He quickly turned his attention to all of the board members.

“Okay, everybody,” he announced. “It’s the start of the fiscal year. It looks like we’re in the clear for now but I want to get off to a good start. We have a meeting scheduled with a few people from Tokyo in a few days. I want everybody to take the time to look over these reports and learn everything you can. We want to expand even further.”

The meeting proceeded as usual with nothing out of the ordinary. After a few hours, it finally ended and I found myself back in my office with a new assignment. It wasn’t long before I saw a message pop-up on my screen.

Alice,

Please see me in my office at 3 p.m. to discuss your preliminary report.

-Rafael

I looked at the clock and sighed. It was still several hours away. The time couldn’t go by fast enough. I passed the time by reading into all of the Japanese companies we were told to but got little work done. I wasn’t happy with myself but there were too many thoughts racing in my head. I was eager to listen to what he was going to say to me.

When 3 p.m. rolled around, I couldn’t make my way up to his office fast enough. His secretary notified him and I was back at the scene of the crime. As I walked toward his desk, he was buried in his work as usual. He was flipping through a familiar-looking folder.

“Have a seat, Alice.”

I did as I was told, anxious to hear what he was going to say to me. He closed the folder and finally looked up at me.

“This… is good work, Alice.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You were staying late and working overtime for a week. You should be very pleased.”

“Thank you. I am.”

“That’s why I hired you, Alice. Because I know this is what you’re capable of. Are you sure you can maintain this pace?”

“Absolutely. I don’t have a doubt—”

“Are you sure, Alice? I don’t want to hear any empty rhetoric.”

“Rafael, I’m working hard.”

“Are you? And how much work did you get done in your office today?”

“Well…”

Rafael stared at me. I shifted my eyes to the side and considered what he said. Then it finally dawned upon me. I was distracted. I was so busy thinking about him that today was the least productive day of work I had since I was hired. I didn’t respond to him out of embarrassment but he already knew what my answer was.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it?” he said to me. “These feelings… This passion… It can consume you and distract you. Do you know what I love about having a boardroom full of old men? I don’t have to worry about temptation ever distracting me from my goals. That’s what it was like before. But now…”

I remained silent. Rafael sighed then turned his attention toward the window. He stared out at the blue sky. His eyes were calm. His face was emotionless.

“It was all so simple,” he said. “Keep the two separate. You hear people say it all the time. Don’t mix business with pleasure. I would work hard during the day and if the stress was too much, I could take it out on some woman who was just looking for a good time. Now I went and brought that woman into my office and… well, you know the rest.”

He turned and looked back at me.

“Everytime I look at you, Alice, I want nothing more than to take you right then and there. I see beautiful women every single day. You wouldn’t be any different. But the fact that you work so hard just makes me want you even more and I find myself getting even more distracted. We can’t have that any longer.”

“What are you saying?” I swallowed. “Are you… firing me?”

“…No,” he sighed again. “As easy as that would be, that wouldn’t be fair to you. I can’t put my own personal desires ahead of what’s best for this company.”

“Then what are you suggesting?”

Rafael stood up from his chair and began pacing back and forth. His head was drooped down as he stared at the ground. He made his way around his desk and sat upon the edge of it right in front of me then crossed his arms.

“Ground rules,” he said. “We can do this. But we do it my way. Understood?”

“Yes, I—”

“I’m not saying this lightly, Alice. I need to make sure you understand. You can’t just come into my office half-naked any more unless I ask you to, do you understand?”

“I understand,” I nodded. “What are your rules?”

“I can’t deny you. I can’t deny myself. But realize that this is nothing more than that. Our relationship is purely physical, is that clear?”

“Yes.”

“What I do is none of your business and what you do is none of mine. You can go out and have a relationship if you want. If you don’t want to do it any longer, that’s fine. But just like being an employee, I can end this whenever I feel like it. None of this affects your position with the company. Understood?”

I nodded.

“Since we’re playing by my rules, Alice, what I say goes. When I want it, I want it. You don’t dictate when that is. I do.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“And just to make it clear to you, I don’t want it in this office. Never again. If you pull another stunt like that, I won’t hesitate to fire you on the spot. Remember what I warned you about? I want you to be known by everybody for the quality of your work. Even me. So when we do meet, it’s not going to be in this building. When you’re here, you work. You’re a financial analyst. You’re what you put in your resume and nothing more.”

The rules seemed simple enough. Rafael had the power to dictate the rest of my future but he spared me. I didn’t know whether it was because of the work I did or his own personal desires but it didn’t matter. I was just happy he was giving this, whatever it might be, a chance. And I was excited to know that there would be another time.

“Now, get back to work,” he said. “Stay focused. How hard I fuck you or how often it happens won’t be affected by the quality of your work. But if that quality isn’t up to par, then I won’t hesitate to terminate you. You’ve already given me more than enough reason to want you out of this building and in a hotel room instead. You know that this is a big opportunity for you, Alice. Don’t throw it away like you tried to yesterday.”

He stared at me to express the seriousness of every point he was making. He was right though. I couldn’t let anything cloud my judgment. I had dreamed of getting a job like this for a long time and it wasn’t because I wanted to work for a man like him.

But I stared back at him and looked into his eyes, I could see it. I could see the desire there that made him vulnerable. The staunch businessman he always had to be was on display but there was something else inside of him. There was a pulse that let me know that he was alive. And when I realized it, I slowly began to grin. He smirked back at me and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I stood up out of my chair and began to walk out of his office.

“Alice, there’s one more thing I have to ask you.”

He called out to me and I stopped in my tracks. I turned around and he was already back in his seat.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Are you planning on going out this weekend?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You should. You deserve a chance to relax.”

“…Maybe I will.”

“There’s a new club opening in downtown. You should think about it.”

He winked at me then turned his attention back to all of the papers in front of him. I felt like I was walking on air as I made my way back to my office. My dream job had become even more perfect.

Chapter 21

I sat in the passenger seat of my friend’s convertible as we headed into downtown. The rush of the night air was blowing through my hair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the wind against my face. My lungs pushed a sigh from between my lips.

“It feels good to finally go out with you again,” Danica said to me.

“Yeah. It does feel good. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun tonight.”

“I’ll say. That’s quite an outfit you’ve got on there. Whatever happened to imagination?”

I was wearing a sheer black dress that hugged my body. The skirt was clinging to my ass and didn’t cover much else. Even with a modest pair of breasts, the top made my cleavage look like I had more than I actually had to offer.

“I finally realized men have terrible imaginations. You have to show them exactly what you have. Is that a problem?”

“No. I like it. I’m glad you finally came around and realized how much of a slut you are, Alice.”

I opened my eyes and turned to my friend. She winked at me with a smirk on her face. I began chuckling at her then shook my head. The light-hearted interaction with Danica was something that had been missing. I spent the entire week focused on work and nothing else.

I didn’t tell her what happened with Rafael. I told her that I was over him. The agreement I had with him was between us and us alone. And with all of the details and rules set, the thoughts of him no longer consumed me. His terms had been set and there was nothing else to negotiate.

The crowded club slowly came into view. The line of people waiting to get inside looked the same as it did whenever there was a new club opening. We quickly got in line with the other patrons and waited to get inside to enjoy the circus of alcohol and music. I looked around for anybody familiar, wondering if Rafael’s suggestion was anything more than that. But I didn’t worry about it. It was up to him whether he wanted it tonight.

As soon as we got into the club, Danica sank her claws into a man who looked like he had a lot to offer. His suit looked expensive and his grooming seemed adequate. Nights like these were no time for judgment though. It was about forgetting everything else and indulging in one night.

Because my friend disappeared onto the dance floor so quickly, I once again found myself standing alone at the bar. Every now and then a man would come up and talk to me but they just didn’t do it for me. There was something missing. Whatever it was, they didn’t have it. I stirred my drink with its straw and looked down at it, waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. Suddenly, I heard a voice whisper into my ear.