"Yes, I told her you were busy, but she strode into your office and insisted on waiting until you returned. Shall I have security remove her?"
The glint in Angela's eyes told me she was dying to do just that. Damn her and her jealousy. I needed to make it clear to Chet Charleston that there was no animosity between me and my cover model or the scandal would be all over the television before the end of the day.
"No, of course not. I invited Miss Brandt here to discuss arrangements for the launch party tomorrow. I'll be escorting her myself."
"As her date?" Angela was fiercely angry, but I didn't care. We'd made no commitments to each other, and she'd gone out of her way to make Kayla look bad to the reporter and make it clear that she and I had been intimate. Well, I wasn't going to let some office assistant with an over-willingness to spread her legs dictate my image to the press.
"Yes, as my date," I stated matter-of-factly. Then I turned to Chet and shook hands with him and then each of his crew in turn. "Thank you for the interview. Make sure my assistant gives you special press passes to the launch party on Friday. It's going to be one hell of a bash. Unfortunately, she won't be there. Only executives, investors, and special guests, no support staff. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with our newest cover-model. She's going to be the next big star — trust me. She's got what it takes to make it all the way to the top."
I could feel Angela's eyes burning into my back like lasers as I walked away from the conference room to my office, but they were nothing compared to the ones shooting at me from Kayla's blue eyes.
She was sitting in a chair across from my desk and when I came in, she stood. She looked incredible. She was wearing an ice-blue dress the exact shade as her incredible eyes.
Unlike Angela's overt sexuality, this dress was simple, made of soft, flowing cotton that billowed around her like the petals of a spring flower. The scoop neck flattered the curves of her neck and shoulders, and hugged the sides of her full breasts, gently squeezing them together to form a perfect nest of cleavage that I was dying to kiss. The skirt came down just above her knees, showing off just the right amount of her shapely legs and making me wonder what she had on underneath. Gold strappy sandals completed the outfit and complimented the delicate gold hoops that hung from her ears and the gold bangle bracelet on her dainty wrist. She'd left her blonde hair down long so it fell over her shoulders in gentle waves with a single, blue barrette pinning it back on each side.
She was the perfect picture of girl-next-door innocence, but her nipples were straining through the bodice of her dress and there was no panty line visible on her skirt, giving me dirty imaginings of a naughty side just under the surface of her pure exterior. Instantly, I became aroused as I imagined the devilish delights I could show her if only she'd let me — maybe here, maybe at home, or maybe even at the launch party.
As I locked my office door, however, I could feel the rage from her filling the room like a heavy toxin and I knew whatever she had come for, it wasn't going to be fun.
Chapter Fifteen
Kayla
"It's about time," I snapped at him the moment he walked through his office door and closed it behind him with the soft click of a lock.
"I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you just call me back on the phone?" Ethan said evenly, although I could tell from the stiffening of his spine that I had taken him aback with harsh greeting. I didn't mean to come on so strong right when he walked through the door, but I couldn't let him know how much I missed him or how hurt I was that he didn't miss me.
I'd had a whole scene planned out in my mind of how it would be when we saw each other again. I would be cool and s
ophisticatedly beautiful, showing him just how much I didn't need him. He would fall to pieces at my feet and I would leave, victorious in my superiority. But then, the moment he walked through the door, my body turned to jelly. He was so damn handsome, and his cologne was intoxicating. I was just thankful I'd taken the time to put on my new dress before I came over.
Ethan's eyes dilated when he saw me, and I knew from the bulge in his trousers that I had him right where I wanted him. I just hadn’t anticipated the reaction my own body would have to seeing him in return.
One look at his hands and mouth and I could remember what it felt like to have them all over my naked body and my white, cotton panties instantly became moist. So, I snapped at him like a little brat. Too late now to play it cool; the best I could go for now was bitchy.
Flipping my hair back off my shoulder, I spoke to him in my best condescending tone. "I didn't feel like it. I knew I would be in the neighborhood this afternoon, so I thought I'd just stop by then. If I had known you would keep me waiting this long, I would have skipped talking to you in person and just left a message with your assistant."
"I'm sorry you were kept waiting. I didn't find out you were here until just now. Keith could have given you the instructions for the party, or Angela. I'm glad you waited, though; I wanted to talk to you about the party before we get there."
"There's nothing to talk about. I can't go to the launch party. I wanted to tell you in person. Now that I have, goodbye."
I needed to get out of there as fast as possible, before my bitchy facade crumpled into dust and my true feelings for him were laid bare. It was so good just to be in the same room with him. He'd taken a seat by my side and we were close now, I could have reached out and taken his hand if I'd the courage.
"What do you mean you can't go?" Ethan was taken aback by my announcement the way I had known he would be. Only, I didn't feel smug about it like I thought it would. It was obvious that he wasn't just disappointed on a business level; he was truly hurt on an emotional level and it touched me.
I listened as he ranted, pacing the room frantically until I could finally get in a word edgewise.
"I'm sorry, Ethan, but I don't think it's right that I go after what happened the last time we saw each other. I was hired to do a modeling job and I did it. Yes, I ended up going to your place that night and staying over, but it was just that once, and we haven't spoken to each other since. What would people think if we attended a party together?"
"Is that what this is about?" His eyes grew wide and then narrowed sharply as realization dawned on him. "You're worried everyone will find out we had sex and think that you slept your way into the modeling job. I promise, you have nothing to fear. One had nothing to do with the other."
"I know that, but it's an easy conclusion for people to come to. I want it made clear that I am not just some flavor of the month who comes in, models a bit, fucks a bit, smiles a bit at the launch party, and then gets cast off into the garbage when the next month starts and the whole cycle begins again."
"I would never do that to you."
"Oh, wouldn't you? You never called after that night, and I've been waiting for a month."
"I didn't think you wanted me to. You were the one who snuck out while I was sleeping. I thought about calling you a thousand times, but an exit like that made it pretty clear that you wanted nothing more to do with me, so I gave you your space. I figured if you wanted to see me again, you'd call me, and if not, I didn't want to be the sicko stalker you accused me of being."