Unthinkable (Undeniable Trilogy #1)

Unthinkable

ML PRESTON

Unthinkable

Copyright © 2015 by ML Preston

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published by

ML Preston

Cover Design by Unlimited Media Worx

Edited by Writer’s Resource Inc.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The author acknowledges the real people or places and copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction

This book contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.

Table of Contents

Epigraph

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epigraph

Forbidden

Taboo

Sinful

The attraction so wrong in the eyes of outsiders

Is absolute bliss to us.

I think I’m supposed to feel guilt and shame,

Yet I have no remorse.

This all seems preordained,

Our story written long before the fates brought us together.

I fear we’ll be found out,

But I also hope that we are.

I want to be able to shed the shackles of conformity

To expose the light of our passion

To love you openly and without fear of violent reprisal

To take your hand in mine

To ask and be accepted

To be as one.

                                 ~Robin Lee

Prologue

Graduation was amazing. They announced my name and the crowd cheered with a resounding roar. I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami and during my internship at Binnings Marketing, they offered me a position that starts Monday with a handsome salary. The happiest moment of my life so far. After the ceremony and the usual family obligations, my friends and I, known as “The Fabulous Foursome,” decided to hit up a club for an after party. I’m not a big partier, but I figured I deserved it after many years of hard work.

We went to the grand opening of a new club right on South Beach. It was the relief I needed and worth it. The music was a good blend of today’s top music from all genres. I was out on the dance floor having a blast with my girls.

Tia, a real estate and business graduate, had been my friend since our freshman year in college. Gabrielle, also a business major and now an event planner, was on schedule to go out to LA for an interview next week for a boy band launch. Lastly, there was Samantha. Samantha and I have been friends since junior high. She majored in business administration, and I was lucky because she would be working as my assistant at Binnings, at my request of course.

We decided to take a break from all the excitement and sit at our reserved booth in VIP thanks to Gabrielle.

“Are you excited for your new job, Maya,” she asked as the server brought over a bottle of champagne and four glasses.

“We didn’t order this,” I said to our server.

“No, miss. These are from that group of gentlemen over there.” She directed our attention to the three men sitting across the room with raised glasses. “Hubba, hubba,” said Tia with a grin as wide as the Atlantic. Tia was a complete tease. She was of Caribbean descent, five feet seven with a small frame, short black hair, and gray-blue eyes. Many men wanted her and who could blame them. Hell, at times I wanted her, in my mind that is, and Gabrielle did have her multiple times. She once dated a famous baseball player and he was into her, but Tia wanted to finish school and not be one of those “athlete’s wives” like on reality TV.

“I think I’ll go over there and thank them,” said Tia.

“Mmm, I’ll go with!” exclaimed Gabrielle. Gabrielle was Latina and loved men. She was busty with a small waist and long brown hair. We called her Gabrielle Rabbit as her shape reminded us of the cartoon maiden. She was smart which is why during her internship, she managed to book a few of the hottest events planned for Miami.

“Let’s all go. It would be the polite thing to do,” said Samantha, my saucy redhead. She had hazel eyes, fair skin, and ample bosom. She was medium build and was a workoutaholic. Tight and toned was her motto. She took kickboxing classes to fend off bad boys and cooking classes to impress her man… when she had one. Samantha was not much for casual dating. She wanted to be able to find the one guy to sweep her off her feet.

We all headed over to the table and introduced ourselves. Oh my, they were hotter up close,
I thought to myself. One guy stood and gently kissed our hands.

“Hello, ladies. Thank you for coming over,” he spoke. “My name is Rick, and this is Chris and Jason.”

“Hello, nice to meet you,” Tia said with enthusiasm while staring at Chris. She was always bubbly around attractive men. I looked at my girls, and they seemed to be drooling simultaneously. The guys were hot, sweltering hot, but they did not possess what I wanted. Rick was tall, broad shouldered with dark blond hair and gray eyes. I could tell Gabrielle was in total awe of him. Chris had an athletic look, stocky build, light skin with brown eyes, and a gorgeous smile. He played football at the University of Miami and told us the Panama City Pirates, the new NFL expansion team, drafted him. That was a greater cause to celebrate tonight. The other guy, Jason, had eyes only for Samantha. He couldn’t stop staring at her. He tried to engage her in a conversation, and she kept ignoring him.

“Samantha? What the hell is wrong with you? That guy is smoldering and he wants you, and you are ignoring him,” Tia said in a grumpy whisper.

“I know, but…” Her sentence was interrupted when another person joined us at the table.

“Hey, Nicholas. Glad you made it back,” Jason said. We all turned our attention to the guy now joining us and I swear my jaw dropped.

“That girl was all over you dude.” Rick chuckled.

“She was okay, but not what I was looking for.” He turned and looked directly at me. The heat from his stare incinerated me. Nicholas was tall, lean but muscular with sandy brown hair cut close, and liquid green eyes. He had an olive skin tone and a smile brighter than the lights around us.

“And who are you Ms.…” He dragged out the “s” sound, and it made my panties fall off. Not literally, but it was implied. I could not utter a word as I found myself locked in his trance.

“Hi! I’m Tia, this is Gabrielle, Samantha, and this is Amaya.”

“Pleased to meet you, ladies. Hope my boys were gracious hosts.”

“Yes, they were,” Gabrielle said with a giggle, as she stared at Rick. I rolled my eyes at her behavior.

“We just came over to thank you for the drinks. That was very kind of you,” I said.

“No problem. We saw you ladies out there on the dance floor, and we recognized you from today’s ceremonies. Amaya, you are one of the class summa cum laude, right?” I was amazed that he knew about me. I didn’t mingle at school much. Except the staff and a few other classmates, my girls were all I knew. I didn’t do many of the things most college kids do. I had goals to achieve.

“Uh, yes, I was given that honor today.” I smiled, internally giving myself praises for the accomplishment.

“In that case, congratulations.” Nicholas raised his glass to me…

Chapter 1

“Okay, darling, your time’s up.”

“Man, how long was I out?”

“You fell asleep as soon as I started plus about twenty minutes. You looked very tired today, so I let you rest.” Palo was my masseuse and I had been seeing him for about a year now. He was a great form of therapy for when I felt stressed. I come to see him, and he works out all my issues without me talking to him. Today I came in because of concerns about my job. 

Normally you would work as an analyst for a few years, however, the Binnings liked me so much that they created a junior supervisor position for me to work directly with Mr. Charles Anderson, the firm’s lead supervisor, and then a year after that, they made me a supervisor and gave me my own team. I now manage the sports marketing division with the help of Samantha. It was a huge transition and at times a stressful one.

“Thank you, Palo. See ya next week,” I said as I headed to my car.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, my cell phone rang. The caller ID announced over my Bluetooth that it was Gabrielle. “Hey, Rabbit, what are you up to?” I answered.

“Rabbit? Really Maya, I mean really? Haven’t we got past that yet?” Gabrielle was becoming annoyed at the reference to her and the cartoon.

“Nope, we have not. How may I help you?”

“Have you heard of Lynn Snyder, Miami’s most influential artist?”

“I think so,” I responded, not sure where she was going with this.

“Well, she is having a gallery opening tonight. I believe Hansen construction will be there, and I hear they are looking for marketing to appeal to the rumored new sports arena. I figured since I knew that you headed the sports division of Binnings, you might be interested.”

Gabrielle knew how to work her connections. She had scored movie premieres, awards ceremonies for college football, and parties for some of the hottest music acts.

“Interested?” Her tone hopeful.

“Sure, why not. What time shall I be there?”

“It starts promptly at midnight,” Gabrielle said quizzically.

“Midnight! Are you crazy? You know I don’t do late nights.”

“Please, please?” I kinda already said that you would be there. Lynn’s office said the marketing firm intrigued her and I told her my bestie works for them and she would love to come.” I rolled my eyes at her assumption.

“Gabrielle why would you do that?” I said, frustrated.

“Please, Maya.” The tone of her voice indicated it must be something she had to have.

“All right, fine.”

“Yes! Thank you.” 

“But you owe me,” I growled.

“Okay, I owe you. Got it! Bye, Amaya.”

“Bye, Gabrielle.”

****

I scoured through my closet to find something to wear. With all the functions we have had at the firm, I am not in short supply of party wear. I found a Michael Kors one-shoulder jersey drape dress in black. It flattered my curves, my ample bosom, and my wide hips I inherited from my mom. I paired my dress with a pair of black strappy sandals, black diamond hoop earrings with a matching tennis bracelet, a small black diamond teardrop choker, and an evening clutch. I made sure to enclose a few business cards for the potential clients along with my lip- gloss, valet key, and my phone. I do not wear makeup because it feels so heavy, but when I do, it is the bare minimum—eyeliner and lip-gloss.

The newly designed Miami Design District was where all events happened, and this was no exception. The building was two stories with floor-to-ceiling windows that greeted you when first entering the mezzanine. Although sleek with elegance, it also gave off an industrial feel with long exposed beams extending from the ground to the ceiling.

I walked around admiring the first floor, which blended into the second floor. Looking out the windows, I had an unobstructed view of I-95. Continuing to the rooftop deck, I found that Gabrielle had hired a jazz band, a local caterer serving scrumptious appetizers complete with champagne servers, and an open bar.

“Amaya!” I heard Gabrielle shrill. “Look at you so elegant.” Gabrielle always gushed over these events.

“Hi, Gabby. You did a fabulous job as usual. This is a fantastic opening.”

“Thank you. I spent months putting this together. Lynn is extremely detailed. Speaking of...”

“Gabrielle, my darling,” a medium voiced woman spoke. “Look at what you did. I am very pleased. You did a marvelous job planning the opening. This must be your friend you spoke about.”

“Yes, Ms. Lynn, this is Amaya Davis. Amaya, this is
the
Ms. Lynn Snyder, owner of LS Art Gallery.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Lynn. This gallery is beautiful. The building design is impressive and your artwork is outstanding.”

“My dear, thank you for the compliment, but I had nothing to do with the building. I let Hansen do his thing. I just paid for it. As a matter of fact, there he is. John, oh John.” Ms. Snyder was calling out to John Hansen, owner of Hansen Construction.

“Lynn, there you are. How are you doing tonight?”

“Wonderful, darling. I was telling Amaya here that you are responsible for the design of this fabulous building.” She took our hands and placed them together in handshake fashion.

“Hi, Mr. Hansen,” I spoke with a wide smile, feeling a bit on the spot. “The design of this building is beautiful. I love the clean lines, the instant billboard space from I-95—all of it just flows. It speaks elegance in volumes.”

“Are you in architecture?” he asked.

“No, sir. I am in marketing, but I love buildings.”

“Oh. Thank you, but I can’t take full credit for this.”

“You can’t? I thought Ms. Lynn said that your company was responsible,” I said, my tone puzzled

“Why yes, we are responsible, but it is my son who put this particular design together. Wait a minute you should meet him. Nicky,” Mr. Hansen called out to a young man whose back was to us as he was speaking with a few of the other party guests. However, when he turned around, and I saw that smile, I immediately became immersed in graduation night flashbacks.

No
,
I said to myself.
It can’t be.
Gabrielle slightly tapped me with the back of her hand with the implied “look” nudge.

“I see him,” I whispered to her.

He walked toward us and all of a sudden, the room temperature accelerated. It was as if he was walking in slow motion. He was wearing a black tuxedo that hugged him in all the right places, obviously tailor-made. Since I last saw him, he most definitely had filled out. His smile widened when he realized who was calling him and where he was headed.

“Ah, there’s my boy. Nick, I'd like you to meet—”

“Amaya Davis,” Nick interrupted.

“Oh, so you two know each other?” his dad asked.

“We graduated from the same college, Dad. She was a summa cum laude in our class. Hi, Gabrielle,” Nicholas quipped without dropping his gaze from me.

“Okay then. I am going to go check on the staff.” Gabrielle laughed.

“Uh, yes dear, I’ll join you,” snickered Ms. Lynn.

“See you in a few, Gabrielle,” I answered. My body seemed immobilized as if I could not turn away from him.

“Okay, Son. I think I will go find your mother. Ms. Davis, it was a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure we will see each other again.” He smiled and then walked away. Nicholas finally dropped his gaze and waved to get the attention of the servers. When the server arrived, he took two glasses of champagne from the tray.

“So, Amaya,” he said as he handed me a glass. “How have you been?” I quickly downed my glass as I felt my nerves start jumping around.

“Good, um, real good,” I answered, feeling flushed. I have never felt this way, all from being around one person. I remembered how I felt back on graduation night. The look in his eyes had hunger in them then and he had that same look tonight.

“How about you, Nicholas. How have you been? I imagine fine since you are the heir apparent to Hansen construction.” He smiled a little with a light chuckle.

“No, I didn’t take the golden route. I graduated with a bachelor's in—”

“Architecture. I remember,” I interrupted. I signaled to the server again as I found my nerves being disheveled. I downed another glass of champagne while Nicholas looked at me with a sly grin on his face.

“You may want to slow down or I may have to take you home,” Nicholas said, slowly sipping his champagne.

“I’m a little parched, that’s all.”

“Maybe we should walk over and grab you a water instead,” he said, slightly amused with my drinking skills. I took a deep breath and said, “Yes, that would be fine.” While walking to the bar, we talked a little about what we were up to now.

I, feeling a little more comfortable, started speaking in complete sentences. I told him that I was supervisor over the sports division of Binnings Marketing. He stated that he was still working with the team but mainly co-operated the company alongside his dad, who is looking forward to early retirement.

“Design has always been my passion. I like to look at things beyond the surface beauty, and I like to see them as a whole. Every straight line, every curve, the rough, and the smooth.” I found myself marveling at him as he looked to the building in which he handled designing and the reason we were both here.

“I just want to say, this building is magnificent,” I looked around until our eyes met again. Those sexy, green, bright pools of desire that always managed to entrance me. The ones that I dreamed about for the last two years. Those nights when I felt alone, I would awaken in a cold sweat haunted by the things we had done in my dreams.

“I would like to set up a meeting with you and your firm to discuss ideas to pitch to the football committee in hopes to land that new stadium.”

“Um, sure,” I said while fidgeting for my business card. I found my nerves all a bundle again thanks to the images of my dream now displaying in my mind. Then it happened; I dropped my damn cell phone. I was embarrassed and my nerves were a mess.

“Let me get it,” he said.

“Oh, no, Nicholas. I got it.” We went down for the phone at the same time and as I grabbed for the phone, he grabbed for it too and our hands touched. We looked at each other for what felt like an eternity.

“I, I got it um, Nicholas. Thank you.”

“No problem.” We stood and I handed him my business card.

“Have your assistant call to set up the time.” Nicholas smiled at me as he leaned in to hug me.

“I will do that.” He spoke quietly in my ear. I felt his breath brush against my ear and my knees weakened. Dear sweet Jesus, he smelled good.

“I think I’m going to go find Gabrielle,” I managed to say as I stumbled away from his embrace. “It was nice seeing you again.” I turned and walked away, hurriedly.

I found Gabrielle and told her about my interaction with Nicholas, that I felt like a complete stumbling fool, and was going home.

“Maya, are you attracted to him?” Gabrielle asked.

“Maybe. He’s cute, but I don’t know him,” I quipped. My friends didn’t know about the dreams I had of him. I kept that between my pillows, my B.O.B, and me. We walked over to the valet station to retrieve my car.

“Maya, go home and relax. It will be fine,” said Gabrielle. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Hugs and kisses?”

“Hugs and kisses.” That was our signature good-bye. It was our way of saying are you okay and I love you. I got into my car and looked in my rearview mirror for Gabrielle, but instead saw Nicholas looking at me, smiling hungrily.