The Sunday Arrangement (18 page)

“Yes. I was wondering
if you would mind if I added to it?”

It was too early in
the morning for my brain to process his question. How was he going to add to my
fantasy of being recorded? I licked my lips. “Sure. Of course.”

“Good. We’ll meet at
my place then. I’ll see you tonight at nine.” He hung up the phone, and I fell
back into my Tempur-Pedic pillow. My heart pounded with anticipation. I
wondered how he was going to add to it. Unless he wanted me to wear something
specific again? Maybe he even had a videographer in mind? I cringed at that idea.
Recording a sex video was intimidating enough without the added pressure of a
third party capable of activating the zoom feature on the camera. The cellulite
on my thighs didn’t need its own close-up.

Reluctantly, I headed
to the office to finish up some last-minute things and hand off my thumb drive
to Pierce so that he could add his part. He didn’t come in to hand me his half
of our new proposal. Instead, much to my chagrin, he sent April in his place. I
wasn’t particularly pleased to see his pretty assistant, but I supposed it was
better than seeing Pierce in light of this morning’s phone call. The next time
I wanted to see him was tonight, naked and in front of the camera.

 April arrived,
dressed casually. It was the first time I’d seen her without heels. Her dark
jeans were snug on her petite frame, accentuating the curves of her ass. Her
long hair was up in a loose pony tail, and she hardly had any makeup on her
face. I hated that even when she didn’t try at all, she still looked
breathtaking.
There’s no way Pierce isn’t banging you.

“Pierce said he had a
prior commitment today. Something about a new chef at his apartment. He sent me
to get your half of the proposal,” she said. She smiled brightly, and it seemed
genuine.

“You seem awful
chipper this morning,” I said.

She blushed. “I guess
I am. Not that you’d really care . . . I just . . . I don’t know, have you ever
noticed how the curl at the front of his head always curls in a different
direction than the rest of his curls?”

I looked at her for a
moment before I tried to pretend to work. Was she really doing this right now?

She was silent,
clearly waiting for me to answer her.

“Um, I can’t say I
have.”

“I notice those
things about him. He is such a smart, good-looking man. It’s inspiring to watch
him work. Savvy businessmen are such a turn on for me, ya know?”

I did know, but I
wasn’t about to let on that I agreed with her. “I guess. I think it’s sexier when
it’s the women kicking ass and taking names in the business.”

She tugged at her hot
pink sweater. “I try to. I mean, I am his assistant, after all. It’s my job to
help him anyway I can.”

Poor thing had a very
obvious crush on him, though I didn’t really understand why she felt I should suddenly
know about it. Her affection for Pierce was as evident as her bleached hair. And
besides that, last time I checked, April and I weren’t exactly best friends.
Jealously wasn’t the start of a rock-solid relationship. I almost wanted to
tell her that I’d be screwing Pierce later, but I resisted the urge. Neither
did I have the heart to inform her she was the eye candy he used to piss his
father off.

She continued to wax
on and on about Pierce. It was as alarming as it was pathetic. I couldn’t shake
the uneasiness I felt as she suddenly opened up to me like a new spring flower.
It didn’t make any sense.

 Eventually, I couldn’t
take her constant talking any longer and politely told her she could leave.

“Oh that works out
perfectly!” she squealed. She mumbled something about a club she wanted to go
to as she put her laptop back in a polka-dot bag.

“Here’s the thumb
drive to my speech. I’ll tell Pierce tonight that—” I quickly stopped myself,
realizing I was giving away too much. April didn’t know we were seeing each
other, and she especially wasn’t aware of what we’d be doing. I intended to
keep it that way. “Uh, you tell Pierce when you see him next that he needs to
send me an e-mail with his portion so that I can review it. Once we’ve compiled
it into one proposal, I’ll have you make copies for the meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll get on
that. For now, I need to go shopping. I’m in desperate need of the perfect
outfit!”

“See you Tuesday,” I
mumbled after she exited the room. Her thinking out loud about outfits made me realize
I hadn’t thought about my own outfit for tonight’s . . . show.
What should I
wear to Pierce’s tonight?
What was the appropriate thing to wear for a porn
video? God, I  watched very little pornography. I hardly knew what the required
dress code was for the beginning moments of a heated film. The first time we
were together, we’d gone out for drinks. I had on a short black dress. The
second time we screwed, he designated what he wanted me to wear. This fantasy
night was different. I had to be intentional, especially because my outfit
would forever be saved on tape. I wanted to look perfect. I got out my phone
and called Kat.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey, it’s me. You
busy?”

“Nah. Just got done
on set with a few models. I’m bartending for some people that work for this
elite Japanese magazine that’s launching in December. Lots of cute Asian girls
around here, but shocker—they’re all drinking Miller Lite. Guess they’re
worried about their calorie intake.”

I laughed. “Sounds
like you’re in heaven then. Listen, I need some fashion advice.”

“More maid outfits?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, I’m not quite sure
I’m your gal for frilly questions, but shoot.”

I looked around to
make sure April was truly gone. I didn’t see her anywhere, which gave me the
confidence to continue my conversation. I almost had the urge to giggle at how much
my talks with Kat had changed since I arrived in Vegas, but pushed it down.
“Today is my turn with Pierce,” I said, pausing for dramatic effect. “I’m
having us make a little video.”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Who
are you? And what have you done with my best friend?”

“I know, right? I’m
like a full grown woman now with a video camera and everything.”

“Hear you roar!” she
shouted.

“Exactly. So here’s
the deal. What the hell am I supposed to wear to this shindig?”

I could hear a pop of
bubble gum over the line. “Well, it depends. Does this video have a theme? Caveman
and cavewoman? Boss and secretary? Doctor and nurse? Zombies?”

“Zombie-themed sex
tapes? Is that a thing?”

“If it’s not, it
totally should be. I’d watch it.”

I shook my head
vigorously back and forth. “Ahhh, the mental images in my head right now . . .”

“Okay, okay. So no
real theme. It’s basically just the two of you getting it on like the horny
toads you are?”

I felt my cheeks blush.
“Pretty much. There certainly won’t be any gaping wounds or pale faces.”

“Well hell, girl. It
doesn’t really matter then what you wear because you won’t be wearing it for
long! You can get away with anything.”

“Ya think?”

“Of course!” she
said. “Besides, the video is hopefully for your eyes only. Pick out something
that makes you feel sexy, or go in your birthday suit. And you and I both know
that no wrong can be found there.”

“Okay, well, I guess
that sort of helped. Thanks, friend.”

“Anytime. So, how is
Pierce doing? Is he treating you okay?”

I hesitated. I wanted
to get her input about my father’s warnings but decided against it. Before I
shared that information with her, I wanted to make sure it was actually worth talking
about. There was no point if Pierce continued with his usual, unsuspecting behavior.
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, it’s just sex. He hasn’t hurt me or anything, if that’s
what you’re asking.”

Another pop sounded
from her gum. “It’s never just sex, Lo. Surely you know that by now. Perhaps if
it only happened once, then it could fall under that category. After two times,
it will never be just sex again. It’s impossible. You become hooked on the
other person. Then feelings get involved, no matter how unwelcome they are.”

“I suppose so.”

“Don’t you watch
romance movies anymore? It’s like a recurring theme this year.”

I started packing up
my laptop and my purse. So much for getting any real work done today. The mall
would be closing early since it was Sunday, and I needed to hit the lingerie department
at Victoria’s Secret just in case anything piqued my interest. “I don’t have
time for movies, Kat. I’m either working or planning to fuck my crazy sexy
co-worker. I’ve got no time for movies with titles like
Wanderlust
or
This
Means War
.”

“I think you should probably
study up then. Get your facts straight before you go naively gallivanting into
Pierce’s arms. Feelings always get involved, Lo. Always.”

I stood up from the
conference table, bags in hand, and started to make my way to the empty parking
lot. “Pierce would never fall in love with me. He’s too into himself. So even
if I develop feelings, I know he won’t.” I secretly wondered to myself if, in
fact, I already had started liking the mysterious, well-endowed Maverick man.

“Don’t count on that,
hon. I’m getting hungry, so I’m going to let you go.”

“All right. Thanks
for the help!”

“Have fun shopping.
Bye.”

I couldn’t help but
feel that Kat was somehow annoyed with me, and I didn’t even know what I did to
piss her off. Shaking the feeling from my mind, I hopped into my black Jaguar.
I decided to go look around Fashion Show mall, even though I had only a vague
idea of what I was looking for. Something simple. Something sexy. Something
that would blow Pierce’s mind.

After an hour or so
of trying on anything and everything, I finally found something that was
absolutely perfect. Now I was sure that I’d feel sexy in my film debut with
Pierce. I hoped he would agree.

I wore the simple red
cocktail dress I picked up earlier in the day and my black and red high heels.
My hair was down in curly waves. I sprayed my favorite vanilla perfume on my
wrists and near my ears. After one final glance in the mirror, I was ready to
leave. I felt sexy; I felt prepared, and most important, I was horny.

I left my apartment
complex and hailed a nearby cab. The sun was just setting over the tall
buildings of downtown Vegas, lighting the sky in beautiful hues of purple and
pink. I wrapped my arms around myself. It was a cool evening, and I hadn’t
bothered to put on a sweater over my strapless dress. With Pierce, the less
clothing in the way, the quicker our bodies could meet. I smiled to myself as I
entered the taxi. My evening was sure to heat up very soon.

Pierce’s condo wasn’t
far from mine. As the cab driver took me to him, nerves jumbled in my stomach.
It felt odd that after all this time in Vegas, I still hadn’t seen his
apartment. I wondered if that was going to change our dynamic between the
sheets. I certainly hoped not. Our dynamic needed no changes, no fine-tuning. There
was still the issue that I had royally pissed him off the last time we really
talked, the night he hired Lucas at the casino. He seemed normal over the
phone, so I hoped it wouldn’t be an issue. Tonight, I wanted to think about
nothing other than the pleasure he was sure to give me. Not the office. Not
April. And certainly not my paranoid father.

What seemed like ages
later, the driver finally dropped me off in front of Pierce’s tall building. It
was constructed of large gray stone and reached high into the purple sky. Magnificent
arches and tall windows heralded the entrance. In such a modernized, neon city,
this complex stood out like the
Mona Lisa
in a stack of children’s
drawings. As I walked inside, I could see why Pierce had insisted on living in
this extremely expensive part of Vegas. The marble floors led to an elegant
staircase. On either side of the steps, a large glass tunnel led into the apartment
stories. I could see the elevators moving up and down within them. I’d seen a
lot of ritzy apartment complexes, but this was by far one of the nicest.

I took the elevator
up to the top floor, looking out over the rest of building through the glass as
I went up. I grinned, thinking of my rendezvous with Pierce in the elevator. This
one would definitely be a bit more . . . open. Mustering all my courage, I
tried to hone in on my sexual self. This video was sure to be a disaster if I
couldn’t summon the erotic animal Pierce had turned me into over the past two
weeks. As the door opened, I eagerly walked out of the elevator. I bumped into
a strong chest and stumbled back slightly. Two large hands reached out to steady
me.

“Easy there,” the
voice said.

I looked up to see Lucas,
Pierce’s new personal chef. “Hi, sorry . . . um . . . for running into you,” I
said, praying that I contained the surprise on my face.

He gave me a warm
smile. I caught him looking me over, and I suppressed a blush. This red dress
was the right choice after all. “Don’t worry about it. How are you?”