The Claiming of Sadie Graves (17 page)

I walk to the office, with Edgar by my side. He’s following me like a shadow, after last night, and I can’t say I’m bothered by it. In fact, I feel safe. Comforted, even.

I step into the business office and greet the owner, Mr. Sui, with a
wave. He’s excited to see me and I write him a check right away. We agree on delivery dates, specs and the order itself, and everything is confirmed before I leave. I’m relieved to get this deal put to bed.

Sal calls out to me from
the cab of his truck when Edgar and I step out of the front door of the building. “Sadie!” he yells.

I laugh. “Yes!”

“Natalia says she wants you to come over for spaghetti next week, if you can get away before Christmas, okay?”

“That sounds great! I’ll call you?”

“Super.”

The big diesel engine
roars and he pulls off into light traffic.

Edgar and I get back into the limo and head back to Manhattan, to Sutton Shield. It’s getting close to lunchtime by now, and my stomach is getting a little growly.
I text Lucas.

DO YOU THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY FOR LUNCH? Sadie

I wait only a few seconds before he responds.

CAN YOU BRING SOMETHING BACK FOR BOTH OF US? WE HAVE WORK TO DO THIS AFTERNOON. IT WOULD SAVE TIME. LUCAS

Hmm. Okay.
There’s a deli near his building, so I decide I’ll skip over there and grab a couple of sandwiches, and maybe some soup. I have Edgar drop me directly at the front door of the sandwich shop, and I walk back with a paper bag in my arms.

When I get to Sutton Shield’s offices, I survey the building for the first time. It’s pretty tall; fifteen or twenty stories, I guess. The
first two stories of the façade are marble, and they glisten in the sun. The glass on the windows and doors is spotlessly clean. I step inside, to polished granite floors, tailored modern furniture, and a huge spray of beautiful flowers atop a sculptured wood concierge desk. I tell the receptionist my name, and that I’m here to see Lucas. She says I’m expected, and helps me to the elevator. I take it to the nineteenth floor, and check the marquee to see which direction I’m supposed to go next.

Aha.
I turn right, and come down a hall to an open, glass fronted bay. Lucas’ name is etched in the glass, right at eye level.  There’s very pretty brunette at a desk near me, and I step toward her. She looks up and a big smile spreads across her face. “You must be Sadie Graves. I’m Louella, Mr. Sutton’s personal assistant. I’ve been waiting for you.” 

She presses a button on her desk phone. “Mr. Sutton, Miss Graves is here.” She stands and comes around to help me with the bag of food. Lucas throws open the door of his office, and walks out quickly to greet me. “Hi there” he says, his eyes crinkling a little around the edges. “Are you starving?”

“It’s been a trying day, already. Yes!” I suddenly wish I’d brought an extra sandwich for Louella. And maybe there are other staffers I could’ve considered. But she pipes up quickly, “Now that Miss Graves is here, I think I’ll pop out for lunch, so you two can talk. Is that okay, Mr. Sutton?”

Lucas nods. “That’s fine, Lou. I’ll see you when you get back.”

He looks at me conspiratorially, and winks. “Alone at last!”

We walk into his office, which is furnished in all black cabinetry with green glass accents. There’s artwork everywhere, most of it modern. Once the door is closed it’s completely private; only the PA’s area is open
. I like the masculinity of his space. It’s so different from mine, at the atelier. I look around, lost in thought, until he brings me back to reality by touching my arm. “Hey.”

I shake my head, focusing my eyes on him.

“Let’s eat something, and then let’s take a tour of the building. Sound good?”

“Sure” I smile.

We open up the bag, and he decides on the turkey sandwich while I have the chicken salad. There are two small containers of tomato soup, and they’re still hot. I brought plain potato ships, too. The whole thing isn’t all that healthy, but what the heck. We sit in the two chairs facing his desk, and eat in companionable silence.

“So” he sighs when he’s finished eating, “how does it feel to be Sutton Shield’s hot new designer?”
I laugh at the thought. “I’m not really sure, I guess. How should I be reacting right now?”

“You should be sitting on my lap, telling me how much you can’t wait to work in the same building as me every day.” He laughs, and pulls me out of my chair and onto his l
ap. I don’t resist. I throw my legs over the side of the chair, and cuddle into his chest.

“I’m a little overwhelmed
, I admit.” I look up into his eyes. Being this close to him makes me involuntarily lick my lips. His eyes drop to my mouth, and he lunges forward to kiss me so quickly my eyes pop open wide. My heart literally goes from resting to pounding.
God. He has such an effect on me.

Sitting on his lap, I feel that I’m having a similar effect on him.

“Mmmm. Sadie. I don’t know if I can wait until tonight to have you. Let me up. I’m going to lock the door.” I stand up, and he’s back next to me within seconds. He kisses me again, and moves me backward, across the room, to a low leather sofa; never breaking contact. He’s unbuttoning my pants while we’re moving, and touching me all over. When the backs of my knees touch the couch, he pushes me back and I sit down hard. But it doesn’t hurt. He pulls my pants down, and off, leaving my suede boots on. And then he removes my panties. He rubs one finger over my sex, and I moan softly, wanting more. He smiles, undoes his own pants, and sits down beside me.

“Come here, baby” he says softly, swinging one of my legs over him. Now I’m naked from the waist down, and he’s still dressed – except his pants are open
, his underwear pushed out of the way. I look down. He has his cock in his hand, and he’s getting ready to enter me from below.  “Wait” he whispers. He uses his free hand to push down the neckline of my tank top under my breasts, so they are naked and pushed up. My nipples are sticking straight out, right on level with his mouth. He groans. “Fuck, you’re sexy.” He grabs my hips, impales my sex with his cock, and takes one elongated nipple into his mouth; all at the same time
. I feel like I’m going to combust
. He moves me with both hands, up and down on his shaft.

Once we have a rhythm, he uses his fingers to rub my clit, and his mouth is busy, sucking and pulling at each nipple in turn. He takes an index finger and wets it with my own lubrication, and then softly inserts it into my backside. I stiffen. “Just relax Sadie. Just feel it.” I exhale, and
he pushes that finger in and out of me in time with the thrusts of his cock. My nipple disappears deep into his mouth. His thrusts start to pick up speed and the pressure of his finger is now tied, somehow, to both my nipples and my sex. It’s like they are all one thing. I’m moaning loudly now and I could care less. Lucas is keening, his face reddening. I feel a wave of the most intense pleasure I’ve ever felt. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod; I come with a shout and he keeps pounding into me, prolonging my orgasm. He stops, repositions me and enters me from behind. His penis is so big I’m shuddering with the aftershocks of satisfaction, my sex dripping wet. He slides in and out of me, whispering how beautiful I look between my legs, and how much he loves my body, and how he thinks about this all the time. He murmurs in my ear until he cries out with his own climax.

When we emerge from his office an hour later,
Louella is absent from her desk
. Whew. Thank goodness.
I’ve put myself back together well enough that you might not know I spent part of the afternoon on Lucas Sutton’s sofa. And of course, he looks relaxed. Happier. We visit all the floors of the building, and Lucas chooses a bay for me on the tenth floor. There’s a bright, airy workspace there that will hold several drafting tables, desks and storage pieces. There’s even room for sewing machines or other equipment. He suggests I start thinking about hiring my own team, and that I should try to have people in place by the middle of January. I ask him if he knows anyone who might be an ideal candidate, and he suggests that I talk to Jenny, and a few other people working in the industry.

Then he takes me around to all the business offices, announces the deal with Anna’s studio, and introduces me. I meet so many people I’m confused; it will take me forever to remember them all. But everyone is nice, and genuinely congratulatory. We stop by Bain’s office late in the afternoon, but he isn’t in. Lucas asks his PA to tell him we stopped by, and she promises she will.

We take the elevator back to Lucas’ office, bid Louella goodbye, and head downstairs to the limo, and Lucas’ apartment. When we are both safely in the car, he pulls me close to him and holds me, breathing deep into my hair.

“Oh, wait. Sadie, I forgot to give you something” he says, suddenly remembering. He reaches into his coat and pulls out an envelope. “This is for you. It’s a sign-on bonus for joining Sutton Shield. I know you haven’t signed a contract yet, but my father had this check cut for you yesterday, before we ever had a meeting with Anna. It’s yours.”

I take the envelope and smile. “Was I that foregone a conclusion?” I laugh, and he grins back at me. “Thank you, Lucas. That was so thoughtful. I appreciate this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see how everything turns out.” I tuck the packet into my handbag and turn back to him.

“Um, I think you should open it.”

I raise my eyebrows, and turn back to retrieve the paper. When I open it and look at the dollar amount, I almost faint.

“Lucas! I can’t accept this! That’s
three, almost four years of salary, combined into one check. I mean, seriously.” The printed check amount is $175,000.00.

“Baby, it’s a bonus. You’re going to make a tremendous amount of money for Anna, and for the company. You’ll also earn a good salary and a commission on orders. That’s my dad’s way of saying, ‘Welcome aboard’.”

I look at the check, and visualize my current checking account balance - $632.19. I always know what it is; down to the penny. That’s another one of my idiosyncrasies. I look at the check, and then back at Lucas, wide-eyed.

“I think we need to celebrate.
Really.”

And so we go to the apartment on 66
th
street, order sushi delivery and share a bottle of really good red wine. And then we build a fire in the fireplace, and make love in front of it. Neither one of us is in any hurry. It’s the most intimate experience of my life, and for me (
hey, if for no one else
) it’s full of meaning. Sometime during all that, when his head is turned, I whisper to Lucas that he’s the most important person in my life. But no sound leaves my lips. I can’t be that vulnerable yet. It’s too soon.

We
get into his bed around midnight, and the last thing I remember is his arm coming across my waist; the front of his knees grazing the backs of mine.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Wonderful”

Annie Lennox,
Bare

The next day is almost a blur. I
wake up, a little disoriented at being in a bed other than my own. Lucas is already up and he groans a little and pulls me softly to him. He’s warm. Really warm. I look at him out of the corner of my eye, appreciatively.
God, he’s beautiful in the morning
. He sleeps naked, so his golden skin is in contrast to the pale sheets. His hair’s messed up, a little. He’s just…pretty. I wonder what my dad will think about him. Will they get along?

My dad.

Jiminy cricket.

I mentally kick myself. I promised to call him and let him know what happened yesterday, and then with the meeting and the fabric delivery, and the
you know what
…good Lord. I flat forgot. I promise myself I’ll call him as soon as Lucas is out of earshot, and tell him everything
.

Well, almost everything.

I hustle to the bathroom, which is nothing short of ginormous.
It must be sort of lonely, living in a place this large alone,
I think. But then I mentally correct myself on that count, too. Lucas has plenty of female company. He was married for a while, too. My chest hurts a little when I imagine him and Sidney picking this apartment out together.
I can see them walking through it, ticking off their likes and dislikes. He kisses her when they decide to take it.
I have a Hollywood image of them, and it may not be fair. But he must have loved her deeply, to have married her. It must have stung to lose her. I think back to meeting her, and being compared to her in looks.

I have to stop thinking about that, or I’ll get depressed. 

And so I do. Mostly.

Lucas joins me in the shower with a huge grin on his face. He starts by acting lascivious, rubbing me with his privates and touching me all over, but he’s so playful and laughing I know he’s only joking. He shampoos my hair and I wash his back, the jets of water keeping both of us warm in the walk-in shower.  When my hair is rinsed out
and he’s shaved and clean, he pauses and pulls me against his hard frame. Water courses over us. He leans over to my mouth and kisses me solemnly, suddenly serious. “I like waking up with you, Sadie Graves.”