Jerry
Springer than something from must-see-TV.”
“So much for a simple night of pleasure.”
“No kidding.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
This time it was Lena’s turn to choke on her coffee. “Are
you kidding? I snuck out of there as quickly as I could, and I assume he’s
smart enough to know I want to leave the night as a memory. Nothing more.”
“Are you certain? I mean, if the sex was incredible, maybe
it would be worth it to see him again.”
“Completely certain. As certain as I am that I need to
concentrate on finalizing things for the Jaffe account or the trip on Wednesday
will be a waste of time and money none of us can afford.”
“But…”
“No buts, Michelle. Until the company is back on its feet, I
don’t want to think about men or sex.”
For the next two days, Lena kept her focus where it needed
to be—on work. If her thoughts as she drifted to sleep were of a well-built,
gray-eyed man who knew exactly where to touch her, she chalked it up to
exhaustion and either ignored it, or used her favorite vibrator to help her
relax. She tried not to dwell on the fact her fantasies all featured Daniel,
and it was his name on her lips during her solo orgasms.
On the nights she didn’t masturbate to thoughts of him, she
dreamed about him. One night she woke drenched, tangled in the sheets, her
pulse racing. In her dream he was licking her until she came then forced her to
come that way a second time before he fucked her passionately. He was tireless
and insatiable, and his desire made her feel the same way.
It was maddening. She needed to forget him. If time could
make bad memories fade away, she assumed—hoped—it would do the same for good
ones.
Chapter Five
“Welcome back,” Michelle said as she walked into Lena’s
office before Lena had her coat off.
“Thanks. It’s good to be back to the familiar.” Returning
after travel was always hectic. Lena would have preferred to have her first
hour alone, but clearly it wasn’t an option as Michelle sat down and made
herself comfortable.
“I know you don’t love business trips, but from your last
email it sounded as if everything went smoothly.”
“Very. I’m glad Gary was there. We made a good pair
presenting the work the teams created. Jaffe was so pleased he took us to
dinner with a colleague of his on our last night. I think we have a good shot
at a new account with them.” Lena sank into her chair and sipped at the
cinnamon coffee she brought from her favorite café. Under her desk she traded
her commuting flat shoes for one of the three pairs of black pumps she kept at
work. As she turned on her computer she looked over at Michelle. Her friend had
a familiar ask-me-before-I-burst look on her face. “Okay, spill it. What’s on
your mind this morning? New man? New apartment? New flavor of Ben & Jerry’s?”
She knew it could be anything.
“Well,” Michelle said, dragging the word out, “I have a
surprise for you.”
Lena cringed. “I hate surprises.”
“No you don’t. You love them.”
“ You love them. I dread them.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well, never mind. I have one for you
anyway. You and Gary may have landed a new account, but if it comes in within
the next month you’ll need to hand it to someone else to lead, because you’re
going to be point person on a different one instead.”
“There’s a new account in the company?”
“There may be.”
“That’s wonderful news.” During the trip Lena worked to keep
the undercurrent of desperation out of her presentation and meetings, but she
couldn’t completely forget jobs were on the line if she didn’t do hers well.
“So, tell me about the client.”
“I got us a meeting in just over two weeks with Golden
Cosmetics. We’re the last agency they’re looking at.”
“You’re kidding. That’s amazingly wonderful,” Lena said.
They had not had success breaking into the more fashionable and glamorous
markets, which usually gave
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