blush (Westbrook Series)
Read blush (Westbrook Series) Online
Authors: Mitzi Vaughn
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blush |
Westbrook |
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Book 1 |
Mitzi Vaughn |
Brandon |
Ugh. Today had gone on forever. She sat twelve
hours straight at her computer preparing the final projects for the prestigious
advertising campaign she had been working on. Her company put all of the final
say in her hands, but then again, they usually did. Missy had been the lead
designer for Westbrook Advertising for the last five years. She had worked
hard to get the recognition in a field struggling in today's market. Anyone
with a computer and time on their hands began calling themselves a designer.
True, she often thought of freelancing, but she loved her firm and the fast
paced environment it provided.
Missy finally decided to shut down the computer and
head home. Generally, on a Friday night she would have been heading to some
corporate event for the advertising firm or clubbing with her girlfriends.
Tonight though, she wanted to go home, take a shower, and fall into bed. The
company events became more about everyone schmoozing and talking about their
kids latest antics, and most of the girlfriends she once loved to hang out with
now had husbands and babies of their own. When her girlfriends first started
getting pregnant, she felt heartbroken and maybe even a little jealous; then
she just became numb to the feeling and moved on. She was in love with her job
and that love had proved to prohibit any and all relationships worth
mentioning. That's right; unless it was a "no attachments"
relationship, she was no good for it.
"Missy are you leaving?"
Crap
. She
figured sneaking out at 7:00pm on the night before a big presentation was
pretty farfetched. Her boss was sitting in the large conference room next to
her office. "Yes Brandon, did you need something before I go?" She
held her breath. Brandon Westbrook was new to his position. He had just taken
control of Westbrook Advertising after his mother decided to retire and travel
the Mediterranean. Brandon had the reputation of a spoiled rich kid that
would prefer to party and philander than run one of the top ad firms in New
York. Sure, he was suave and very handsome, if you like that sort of thing,
but she knew he was not ready for the demanding, meticulous life he had just
walked into. His mom knew as much too and had made Missy promise she would do
her best to help him with any obstacles he faced in the coming months. Missy
loved Brenda Westbrook. The smart, confident woman had been her mentor and
friend for seven years now. She planned on keeping the promise she made even
if it meant putting up with all the things Brandon would throw at her. If the
upcoming months were like the weeks he had been here so far...she had her work
cut out for her.
"No; go ahead. Can you come in early tomorrow
though? I would like to go over our delivery one more time." She could
see Brandon looking over the files she had just sent him. "Sure,"
she replied in a sweet tone. "Meet you here at six sharp."
Brandon had tried to make himself busy until she got
ready to leave. In the past month he had grown to love their little run ins.
Missy Duncan was not the type of woman he usually went for, but then again he didn't
have a particular type---unless you call the partying, big busted, gold digging
women he had always taken home a type. They were definitely not the kind he
would ever introduce to his mother, but they were always good for a night or
two. That more often than not was how long it took until he got bored with
them. Missy was without doubt not like that. She was taller than most women,
standing around five foot seven inches. Brandon still towered over her by five
inches. He stared at her lean curvy body and long brown hair with subtle
golden highlights. She had perfect heart-shaped lips that were a warm natural
pink. Her eyes were a deep brown with gold and green flecks of color. They
were eyes that Brandon knew he could get lost in. Her skin was pale like ivory
and it looked so smooth. He wanted to touch her---to see how soft she felt.
He shook the thought out of his mind before he did something unethical. He was
tired. He watched her leave---he loved to watch her leave. Then he closed his
laptop and headed for the door. He had plans to meet some buddies for drinks
at a new club in the meat packing district, but he was exhausted. The last
month had been trying on him. He had wanted this for so long; it was always
the plan for his mother's empire to someday be his, but actually transitioning
into CEO had been strenuous.
He was ready to head home and unwind with a game he
had DVR'd and a cold beer. As he walked into the penthouse that his mother had
bought for him when he graduated college, he put down his briefcase and made
his way to the kitchen. He then stretched out on the leather sofa and didn't
move until he woke up at 5:45 the next morning.
Shit!
He
was late.
This would not help the reputation he had around the office,
he
thought as he wrapped his tie around his neck and flew out the door.
Missy walked into the office at 5:50am with her
bagel and morning coffee. She was still worn out from yesterday, and the latte
that normally woke her up was failing to do it's job. She grabbed her
presentation boards from her desk and headed to Brandon's office.
Typical;
he's late.
Missy had one pet peeve and it was promptness. She hated to be
left waiting. Her time was important to her, not to mention sleeping in would
have been a blessing this morning. She arranged her boards and took a seat on
the sofa Brandon had added to the office when he took over. The room no longer
had the white modern decor Brenda had prided herself on adding. She constantly
told Missy the lack of color provided a blank pallet for the designs. Now it
was filled with darker, more masculine grays and cool blues. She had to admit,
it didn't look bad. It was definitely more comfortable than the stark white
that had previously surrounded the room. She also noted that Brenda's whimsical
floral smell had been replaced with the masculine smell of musk and
sandalwood. Missy picked up a picture he had on the coffee table and studied
it. It was a picture of Brandon, his sister and his mom at his college
graduation. He was an unbelievably sexy man. His thick, black waves were shorter
then, but his mysterious gaze was the same. Unlike his mom and sister who had
green eyes and delicate features, he had a strong jaw and deep brown eyes. He
was cleanly shaven in the photo. Now he kept just enough stubble on his chin
for Missy to want to sink her teeth into and rub her tongue along the prickle.
His tall straight posture exceeded that of the two ladies immensely. She
couldn't remember ever seeing a photo of her family appearing as Brandon's did
in this one. They seemed so happy, and Brenda had never appeared more proud. Missy's
mother was loving, but she had to work two jobs to support Missy, her sister,
and their lazy, drunken dad. Missy's sister had pretty much raised her. She
was the only person Missy could ever truly count on. Sure she would tease
Missy sometimes, that's what older sisters did, but Nicole had always been
loving when Missy needed her to. She held Missy the first time she had her
heart broke and then again the second time. Missy looked up to her sister, so
when Nicole was killed in a car accident Missy was lost. She believed part of
her also died that night. It took many years and many tears to regain the loss
she suffered. After that Missy's mom started drinking too, so Missy left at
sixteen and never really looked back. Sure, there was the occasional phone
call, but Missy had learned that she could only rely on herself.
"Good morning; sorry I'm late." Brandon
walked into his office holding two cups and his briefcase. "I stopped and
got us some coffee," he said with a small apologetic smile on his face.
She was about to give him an earful, but she could see that he was flustered so
she rolled her eyes and took the gift. She needed the coffee more than she
needed to tell him her thoughts on his lack of consideration. "Morning;
you ready to go over everything?" she said sharply as he unpacked his
laptop.
He looked at her with a questioning glare and she
realized she was still clinging to the photo. She quickly put it back and
looked away. He had never seen her blush before. She was always so focused
and confident, but here in this moment, she was vulnerable and shy. He didn't
know why, but this side of Missy was sexy as hell.
The presentation went flawlessly. They played off
of one another like they had been doing this job together for years. When she
decided to yin, he would yang. The large sports drink company had almost
immediately accepted each of their ideas. She knew the few details the company
chose to change were minute and could be finished in more than enough time to
reach the deadline they gave. She delegated the changes out to the appropriate
designers and web experts and packed up to head home. Brandon walked in as she
was closing the door to her office. "Leaving already?"
"Yes," Missy replied. "I am going to
go home and celebrate with a glass of wine and a gourmet microwaveable meal."
He chuckled at the thought of a microwaveable meal that
could be anything more than cardboard. "I was hoping you could join me
for a celebration drink." He knew that it was not very professional for
him to ask her out, but he told himself that this was business related and it
was okay---maybe even a motivation for their next project.
"I better not," she softly replied. She
was not going to get into anything that she would regret. With his tie now
loose and his hair slightly fingered through, she knew there were a lot of
things she would like to do to him that she would regret. Right now she
thought of him as the good looking, irresponsible, rich kid and that's the way
she needed to keep it.
As if he could read her mind he said, "Come on;
I am inviting your entire crew as a reward for their amazing job on the project."
She turned red with embarrassment. Of course he
wasn't asking her out. He can have any woman he wants. She had heard that he
constantly had the playboy model type hanging off of his arm. Hoping he
wouldn't realize what she had been considering, she uttered, "Well, I am
tired but I will go for one drink since the entire crew will be looking forward
to it."
Damn.
He
was pissed that his personal invite had turned into an office function, but it
was the only way to get her out with him. He wanted her to see him in an
environment without work and without rumors of his past. He quickly realized
the small bar they were in was not the place for her to see for herself who he
was. True; most of the rumors were fact, but he had been much younger then.
He had grown into a reliable, mature man since his partying days. He was no
longer interested in the women that threw themselves at him. To be honest, he
really didn't know what he was interested in. He only knew that he couldn't
take his eyes off of her. She made it even more difficult when she got up and
danced with some of the other women from the firm. She laughed as she swayed slowly
in the tight area the bar had allowed for a few people to move around and
dance. He could tell she wasn't that comfortable with herself. She had no
idea that she was as gorgeous as she was, and he had no idea why he was
reacting this way.
Missy was glad she decided to come. Her crew
deserved a night to relax after all of the hard work they had put into the
sports drink project. She enjoyed watching everyone laugh and dance around the
bar. She wasn't much of a dancer, but after a glass of wine she loosened up
enough to let Chloe, her closest comrade and the web design expert in her team,
drag her onto the floor for one song. She was always shy about being in front
of a crowd and tonight was no different. She could feel his eyes studying her
the whole time. Every time she tried to peek back at him, he looked down at
his drink or over to one of the guys in the office. He seemed miserable. She
knew this wasn't the fabulous partying he was used to, but she thought he could
at least fake it for her co workers.
She glared at Brandon and gave him her best
"straighten up" eyes. He only stared. He was such a pain in the
ass---so high maintenance. So why did she find herself wishing he would get up
and pull her close to him. She found her thoughts drifting to him grabbing her
waist and rocking their bodies in rhythm to the jazz music the live band was
playing. Looking into her eyes and....
What the hell was she thinking?
Okay,
she was done; it was too much wine and too much dancing. She had to get out of
this bar; it was making her crazy. She said her goodbyes and headed straight
for the door.
Of course he insisted on walking her out; he was her boss
and he wanted to make sure she was safe. Damn him.
As they walked to her car he remained silent. She started
walking briskly, hoping to reach the parking spot where she left the used sedan
she had bought when she was promoted to lead designer. When they finally
arrived at her car, she decided she couldn't hold in her aggravation any longer,
"Sorry if we are not your normal eccentric crowd, but you could at least
act like you are having a good time for the others. You invited us
here." He only groaned and looked away.
What an ass.
"What
is your problem, I thought this was your big celebration."
He stared.
Great, she thought, back to this
.
It was almost better when he looked away so she couldn't visualize her
fingers running through his wavy black hair and his lips all over her body. He
had perfect lips, the kind that would be tender and easy to suck on. She
started to lick her lips just thinking about it. She quickly grabbed her
bottom lip and bit it so he wouldn't notice that she was having inappropriate
thoughts about him. His smirk told her she hadn't stopped soon enough. Missy
blushed. "What?" she said in an irritated tone.
"What are you thinking about?" He said in
a sultry but cocky voice. He had seen that look on her face only once before,
in his office when he caught her staring at his photo. Her pink glow brought
an instant smile to his face. He had decided he loved to put that color in her
cheeks---to catch her off guard.
Missy huffed and turned to get into her car
. She
was not going to let him laugh at her. She was a strong confident woman that
could put up with an arrogant, good-looking man without behaving like a
hormonal teenager. She was Missy Duncan damn it.
She slammed her door and
sped off. In her rearview she saw him standing there with a big goofy grin on
his face.
Jerk
.