Power Play: A Black & White Collection Story Read online

  Reed slowly sank into the chair at his back. Tried to wrap his head around the words his uncle was saying. He’d hired the young upstart. Did Brian think Reed wasn’t capable of landing the big deals on his own?

  “As you are aware, there are three big bids looming in our future. I want you and Frankie to work together on them.”

  Reed closed his eyes, wished there was some way to turn back the last few minutes. Hell, he wished there was a way to turn back the last year. He’d been at odds trying to second guess every decision his uncle had made lately. He felt like he was standing on a crumbling foundation and he couldn’t figure out what the hell he’d done wrong.

  “No,” he said at last, looking his uncle in the eye.

  Brian reared back, confusion on his face. “No? No what?”

  “No, I’m not working with Frankie Carlyle. I’m perfectly capable of landing those bids on my own. Either you believe in me or you don’t, Brian.”

  His words seemed to take some of the wind out of his uncle’s sails. Unfortunately, Brian wasn’t a man who stayed down for long.

  “You will work with Frankie and it will be a true collaboration. I won’t be drawn into your pissing contests. It’s time you learned to play nice with others in the sandbox.”

  Reed stood quickly, overturning the chair on which he sat, his temper at the breaking point. “Play nice?”

  “Excuse me,” said a female voice from the doorway. “Your secretary is away from her desk, Brian, so I thought I’d let you know I was here for our appointment.”

  Reed turned, ready to eviscerate the woman for interrupting their conversation. His words froze on his lips when he spotted Francesca standing in the doorway.

  “You,” he whispered.

  He watched her gaze travel from his uncle to him, her eyes widening with shock.

  Brian stood and walked across the room, quickly taking her hand. “Frankie. Reed and I were just talking about you.”

  “Frankie?” Reed was aware he sounded like a moron, but his lips, his face had gone numb.

  “You’re Reed Donovan?” Her astonished tone clued him in to two facts. Number one, she’d heard his name, knew of his reputation. Number two, she hadn’t known who he was last night.

  He nodded, quickly scrambling to get his wits back. He’d been losing the battle against his uncle and there was no way he was going to give up any more ground in Frankie’s presence.

  Besides, he thought, attempting—and failing—to hide his wolfish grin, this changed everything. Frankie Carlyle was a woman. A woman he’d fucked against the back wall of Carter’s bar last night.

  “Brian was just filling me in on the next three bids, the ones we’ll be working on together.”

  His uncle’s head jerked toward him, obviously surprised by his sudden change of heart. Brian narrowed his eyes, but Reed merely smiled innocently. For once, he knew something his uncle didn’t. He held the upper hand suddenly and he relished the position. “Isn’t that right, Brian?”

  His uncle nodded slowly, suspicion covering his face. “Do you two know each other?”

  Frankie shook her head quickly and Reed was thankful for her secretiveness, appreciated the fact she understood they needed to keep their prior acquaintance confidential.

  Reed walked forward and reached out his hand to her. “Only by reputation. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carlyle.”

  He stressed the Ms. and watched her stand up straighter. She recovered quickly. Frankie took his hand and he was impressed by the strength of her grip, the steadiness of her hand.

  “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Donovan. I’ve admired your work for quite some time.”

  He smiled magnanimously, the entire façade an act for Brian’s benefit. “Mr. Donovan is Brian’s title. I’m just Reed. So, Frankie? That must be short for—?”

  She narrowed her eyes briefly. “Francesca.”

  “Pretty name.”

  She smirked. “Named after my grandmother.”

  Brian moved forward, giving Frankie a firm handshake as well. “Welcome to The Donovan Group, Frankie. I can’t tell you how happy I was to be able to lure you away from that blasted Wilkerson Team. Your talents were wasted there.”

  Frankie laughed lightly and Reed had to do a quick adjustment to his pants at the sound of it. Clearly one night in her body wasn’t going to be enough. However, he could tell by the set of her shoulders, the shrewd look in her face, she wouldn’t be an easy mark. He could already imagine her arguments against resuming any sort of affair. Needless to say, she’d try to take the high ground, plead professionalism.

  Pity for her, he wasn’t going to make refusal that easy.

  Though her attention was focused solely on Brian, Reed would bet his entire retirement fund on the fact that she was perfectly aware of every breath he was taking, every slight movement he made. He adjusted his pants discreetly once more for her benefit. Sure enough, she flushed slightly.

  “You made an offer that was hard to refuse.”

  “I made an offer that was impossible to refuse.”

  She nodded in agreement.

  “So, I was explaining to Reed how excited I am about this new partnership. His former partner has cleared out, so you’ll be moving into the office next to Reed’s.”

  Reed took a step closer. “The offices open to a main reception area where we’ll share a secretary, but they are also joined together with an inside door. Makes collaborating quite easy.”

  He stressed the word collaborating, but Frankie never flinched.

  “Wonderful,” she replied.

  “Why don’t you take Frankie down to the office, Reed? Show her around. Explain the ropes to her.”

  Reed considered exactly what sort of ropes he’d like to show Ms. Frankie Carlyle. There were some silken ones in his bedroom he’d be more than happy to—

  “I’d like that,” she said, interrupting his wayward thoughts. “I have several boxes in my car I need to have retrieved.”

  “Give a word to the man at the security desk in the lobby,” Brian said. “He can help you with those.”

  She preceded Reed out of the office. Reed had nearly made his own escape when Brian caught his upper arm and held him back.

  He turned to face his uncle, not surprised to see the annoyance and frustration on Brian’s face. His uncle clearly suspected something was up and he didn’t like not knowing what.

  “Frankie’s a very lovely woman,” Brian said in a low voice.

  Reed nodded.

  “I expect you to maintain a professional distance, Reed. You will behave like the gentleman you were raised to be.”

  Reed swallowed the bark of laughter that threatened to explode from his chest with that statement. He’d watched his womanizing uncle’s ways since the crib. Brian wasn’t setting the bar very high.

  “Of course, Uncle.”

  Brian’s eyes narrowed at Reed’s use of his familial title, one Reed rarely used. Unwilling to give Brian time to regroup, Reed shook off the man’s grasp and left the office. Frankie was waiting for him by the elevator.

  “The Donovan Group rents out this floor and the one beneath it,” he said smoothly as they entered the elevator. He could feel his uncle’s gaze slicing through his back, had no doubt the man was hanging on his every word.

  He turned and smiled as the doors slid closed.

  “You!” Frankie turned toward him angrily and he chuckled at her haughty tone.

  “Yes,” he said. “Me. Small world, eh?”

  Her hand flew out and slapped the stop button on the elevator. “Before we go any farther, I want you to answer one question for me. Did you know who I was last night in the bar?”

  He shook his head, her question perfectly valid in light of this morning’s surprising turn of events. “No, Francesca. I didn’t know who you were.”

  She sighed and he could see she believed him. “I didn’t know who you were either.”

  He grinned. “I know.”

  Sh
e closed her eyes and he could detect the slightest trace of dark circles beneath her eyes. Had she spent her night tossing and turning like he had? Had she relived the memory of their time together until she had no choice but to find relief at her own hand? He’d jacked off twice to the image of her wrapping her legs around his waist. Both times, he’d closed his eyes and come as he remembered her bent forward against the brick wall.

  Or were the circles indicative of regret? He certainly hadn’t regretted their brief affair. Had she?

  “Francesca,” he began.

  “Frankie, please.” She opened her eyes. “My friends call me Frankie.”

  He smiled at her kind gesture. “Frankie. I hope you aren’t regretting what happened last night.”

  She shook her head. “Until about fifteen minutes ago, last night was on the very short list of things I thought I’d never regret.”

  He enjoyed her candor, though he disliked seeing such a wonderful memory besmirched. “And then you walked into Brian’s office.”

  “There are over eight million people living in New York City. How in the hell did I manage to pick you out of the crowd?”

  He laughed. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m the one who picked you up.”

  “Nope, hate to disappoint you, but I was about five seconds away from approaching your table when you walked over to the bar. Last night was going to happen regardless of your lame pick-up lines.”

  He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and crossed his arms over his chest. He was enjoying this easy banter. “There’s nothing lame about pick-up lines that get you laid, sweetheart.”

  “You aren’t paying attention, Reed. I’d decided long before you came over to that bar that I was going to issue my invitation. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t have cared if you’d opened your mouth and spoken in Pig Latin.”

  “Ah. Oo-yay av-hay ice-nay its-tay.”

  She looked down with a mischievous grin, then unbuttoned the top button on her blouse. She studied her breasts for just a moment, before refastening and grinning. “You’re right. My tits are very nice.”

  His cock moved from mild interest to full-blown infatuation at her teasing words. The longer they spoke, the more enthralled he was becoming with her.

  “By the way, I’m not giving up this job.”

  Her change of subject caught him off-guard. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

  “Last night was a one-night deal. We both knew that going in. I’d like to suggest we put it behind us.”

  Her response was the one he’d been waiting for. He hit the button to their floor, letting the silence between them build. He knew she wanted to finish the conversation, but the elevator doors slid open before she could say more.

  “Jessica,” he said, leading her over to the woman seated in the reception area. “I’d like you to meet Mitchell’s replacement. This is Frankie Carlyle.”

  The two women exchanged handshakes and pleasantries as Reed allowed the seed of an idea take root in his brain. When he’d seen Frankie in Brian’s office, all he could think about was seducing her again. Now that he’d spoken to her, taken stock of her character, he decided mere seduction wasn’t going to be enough.

  “If you’ll follow me this way, Frankie, I’ll show you your office.” She followed and he waited as she studied the new space she would be calling home for ten to twelve hours a day.

  “Very nice.”

  He pointed out her private bathroom and then led her to the door on the opposite wall that connected to his office. She stepped over the threshold and again, he watched as she quickly assessed everything. She had a sharp mind and he wondered what she saw when she looked at his office.

  “Did you decorate this office yourself?”

  He nodded.

  “You’re certainly putting it all out there, aren’t you?”

  He frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  “This office screams of masculinity and power.” She pointed at his dark oak desk. “Couldn’t find a larger desk? Brian’s wasn’t even this big.”

  He grinned. “Big man, big desk.” He wiggled his eyebrows to accentuate just what he considered big and she scoffed.

  “Don’t forget, babe. I took the tour last night. You could’ve downsized a bit.”

  He grinned at her taunt. “I didn’t hear you complaining when I was pounding inside your body. If I’m not mistaken, you were begging for more.”

  “I don’t beg.”

  He took a step closer. Moved her two steps back until her thighs hit his too-large desk. “I could make you beg.”

  He expected her to launch into a million arguments about why she wouldn’t continue their affair. Instead, she reached down and pressed firmly against his erection. The unexpected touch caught him off-guard.

  “You’d be the one begging.”

  “Is that a dare?” he said, raising his hands to engulf her hips, pulling her lower body against him.

  “No, it’s the truth.” As she spoke, she began to rub his cock through his pants. “You want to put your cock inside me again. Say it. Maybe if you ask real nice, I’ll even let you.”

  Her words were tough and sexy as shit. He reached up and tweaked her nipple through her blouse and bra. If he had one regret about the previous night, it was that he hadn’t taken the time to enjoy her tits. They were large, firm, the perfect size for his hands. “Such nice, hard nipples. I bet you want me to suck on them, don’t you? You want me to strip that shirt off, yank that bra down and take you in my mouth. All you have to do is say please.”

  She moved her hand from his cock, using her hands to lift herself onto his desk. Before he could process her motions, she had her skirt hiked up to mid-thigh and she was pulling his lower body toward her with her legs as they wrapped around his waist. She kept applying pressure until he could feel the heat of her pussy against his clad cock. “I bet you dreamed about fucking me all night, didn’t you, Reed? Bet you imagined how much you wanted to pound inside me some more. My pussy’s hot and wet and ready. All you have to do is beg for it.”

  He grasped her hands, pulling them behind her, holding them at the small of her back with one hand. Her eyes darkened with arousal and he could sense how much the idea of being captured turned her on. He reached between them with his other hand, dragged it along her silk panties. She wasn’t lying about being wet. The material was more than damp. “Ask for my fingers, Frankie. Ask me to put them inside you. Beg for two, three of them to fuck you hard. Beg me.”

  Their faces were close now, both of them gasping for breath. Somewhere along the line this game had gotten out of control. Her set, though pained, face proved she’d never say the words and even though his cock was reading him the riot act, he knew he wouldn’t either. He recognized the moment she came to the same realization.

  Her legs loosened around his hips, then lowered back to the floor. He released his grip on her hands, swallowing heavily when she slowly rose and pushed her skirt back down.

  The silence hovered in the air for only a few moments before she cleared her throat. “It would seem we are evenly matched.”

  For once in his life, he had to agree. Carter had warned him last night. Told him approaching Francesca was sheer stupidity. He’d done it anyway. And now he was facing years of his life, sitting in an office next door to the one woman on the planet who could drive him insane with sexual frustration.

  Just desserts for years of being a player? Maybe. Carter would call it karma. He walked around to his desk chair and tried not to wince as he sat down with the world’s largest erection fighting the rough material of his slacks for release.

  She dropped into the chair across from him and he tried not to show his annoyance at how quickly she’d managed to compose herself. Then he noticed her turgid nipples through her blouse and watched her squirm. He hid his smile behind his hand. At least, she was suffering too.

  He looked at the files on his desk and thought perhaps now was a good time for diversion. “As Brian s
aid in his office, there are three big clients looking for marketing representation. The Golf Connection, an online golf catalog, will be listening to our presentation early next week. That’s the one we need to focus on immediately. After that, we have two weeks before we need to have an ad campaign created for Simply Lovely, a chain of boutiques that cater to women. Finally, at the beginning of next month, we’re bidding to represent Wedded Bliss, a new wedding chapel, that’s sort of an all-in-one deal. They take care of the flowers, clothing, reception, even help make the honeymoon arrangements.”

  “Fantastic. The Walmart of weddings. Whatever happened to planning your own damn special day?”

  Reed shrugged. “Today’s couple obviously doesn’t have the time. As senior partner in this team, I’ve already sketched out our approach for each bid.”

  “What do you mean our approach?”

  “I mean, I have the angles ready to roll. All I need you to do is start to put together the materials together for the—”

  “Excuse me. By angles, you mean…?” She gestured with her hand for him to fill in the blanks.

  He sighed. He knew this was going to happen. This is why his partnership with Mitchell worked. Regardless of his attraction to Frankie, she needed to understand her role in the company. In this arena, he would call the shots. “I mean I’ve already decided the details of our campaign pitch. I need you to help me create the presentation.”

  “Forgive me, Reed, but I think Brian specifically said we would be working together on these pitches as partners. What you’ve described sounds more like you intend for me to be your personal assistant.”

  “I don’t think there’s any denying that in this area I’m simply more experienced than you. Why don’t we play it this way for the first few bids and then maybe, somewhere down the line, when you’re ready, we’ll talk about—”

  “Ready?” She rose angrily from the chair and he was reminded of his own actions in Brian’s office. “I was offered this job by your uncle because I’m ready now. In case you failed to notice, I’m the one who landed the last two bids for The Wilkerson Team because you couldn’t bring it.”