Campaign for Love (15 page)

 

 

He looked so lost that Suzanna had an almost overpowering urge to
take
him in her arms and say, "There, there," as she cradled his head
against her bosom.

 

 

But instead Suzy broke the spell by saying, "I'd better get dressed
now. We have to get back to the office and we still haven't had
lunch."

 

 

"Fine," said Felix Morgan. "We have standard contracts ready to be
filled in and signed. May we ask you to sign one saying that we have
exclusive rights to your modeling services as long as you are our
Femme
Fatale?"

 

 

"Of course," said Suzanna. "If you'll get them ready while I'm
dressing, I'll sign them on the way out. I'll be right with you, Mr.
Pierce."

 

 

She went back into the dressing room to put on her clothes, but she
left her hair the way Bruce had arranged it and kept her make-up on.

 

 

Back in Felix's office, she sat long enough to read the contracts.
She
also asked Quentin to read them to make sure there was nothing in
them
to offend or bother Elder and Rubin.

 

 

Upon receiving his approval, she signed them. There were handshakes
all
around, Suzy thanked Bruce and they said their farewells.

 

 

Suzanna was surprised when Candy kissed her goodbye and whispered,
"Don't be afraid of your beauty, baby. It's wonderful while it
lasts.
And it won't last forever. Enjoy!"

 

 

As they walked to the elevator, Suzy could feel Quentin's eyes
boring
into her, but he remained silent. When they were seated in a taxi
once
more, hip to hip, thigh to thigh, he said, "No wonder I couldn't
keep
my hands off you-or my mind, for that matter. Even though I couldn't
see it, my body sensed it. Tell me why you've gone to all this
trouble
all this time to hide who you really are. Most women would kill for
looks like yours."

 

 

She didn't even try to deny his words. "I've already told you most
of
it. Being taken seriously for my talent in advertising, not wanting
to
have to sleep to the top. The rest was just that I was sick and
tired
of unwelcome male attention, of warding off passes, weary with
saying,
'No thank you, I'm not interested.'

 

 

"I wanted to make good in my field, and I knew I never would with my
looks standing in my way. You'd be surprised at how many executives
have their brains in their crotches."

 

 

"Not all—"

 

 

"No, but enough of them. I wonder, if I had looked like this at the
time of the Brad Sherman incident, would you have been so sure he
was
stealing my ideas, and not vice versa? But no, I'm sorry, that
wasn't
fair of me. I shouldn't have said that. You're different."

 

 

Quentin laughed uneasily. "Maybe not so different. In your case, I
had
your resume, I'd seen your work, and I was familiar with Brad's
mediocrity. When I went over your references and saw the allusion to
your not being taken seriously, I thought someone had made a
mistake,
until you smiled at me with your eyes that first day. I think I was
lost at that very moment."

 

 

"I guess you realize now that I did my best to disguise my face and
figure. I wanted people to see my work, not my looks, for which I
can
claim no credit. I wanted them to notice my mind."

 

 

They had pulled up in front of a small steak house not far from the
office.

 

 

"I forgot to ask, but would you join me for lunch? The food is quite
good here."

 

 

"I'd like it very much. They have a mixed grill I'm partial to."

 

 

He paid off the cab driver as he said, "You enjoy eating, don't
you?"

 

 

"You noticed!"

 

 

"'Yes, I did, but I've found that good cooks are usually good
eaters.
It doesn't seem to affect your figure, though."

 

 

"No, it doesn't, but then, I jog a lot and work out at the ''Y'."

 

 

"How about jogging with me some time?"

 

 

"I'd love it. I'd feel a lot safer, especially in Central Park."

 

 

The waiter had taken their order. As they sipped their vodka
martinis,
they discussed the startling developments of the day.

 

 

"Tell me," Quentin asked Suzanna, "How did Candy happen to decide on
you?"

 

 

Suzanna colored slightly as she said, "She asked me to strip, then
she
whistled. But I don't think the idea occurred to her until Bruce
said,
'I see you've found your Femme Fatale.'"

 

 

Quentin frowned. "You mean to tell me you stripped in front of him?"

 

 

"As a matter of fact, no. He didn't come in until I had the sarong
on,
and in any event, he's gay. But he spotted my looks and Candy agreed
it
was a good idea."

 

 

"Glad to hear he is gay," Quentin muttered.

 

 

She giggled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you sounded jealous."

 

 

"Lord! I do, don't I? I'm sorry. I certainly have no right."

 

 

"Let's not fight. We'll order dessert instead."

 

 

Suzanna ordered her favorite, a half cantaloupe full of vanilla ice
cream.

 

 

Quentin said, "That sounds good. I'll have the same. "

 

 

Quentin attacked his with gusto also, and soon it was time to pay
the
tab.

 

 

"I suppose it's about time to get back to the office," he said with
a
sigh.

 

 

They chatted quietly together as they walked back the rest of the
way,
and Suzanna could not help but think how wonderful it was to spend
time
with someone who obviously admired her, but wasn't all over her like
an
octopus.

 

 

Not that she would have minded in Quentin's case. But she could see
he
was on uncertain ground with her now that he had discovered her
secret.
She could not be sure if it was because he was angry with her
deception, or merely confused at his feelings for her.

 

 

After all, despite their mutual attraction, things could grow very
complicated indeed in their working relationship if they gave in to
their feelings.

 

 

She sighed as she wondered why things always had to be so hard for
her
where the opposite sex was concerned. The one man she had ever
really
liked, and he just had to be her boss. It was so unfair.

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

 

When they got back to Elder and Rubin, Sharon was at her desk in the
outer office and looked up when Suzy and Quentin entered. Sharon's
jaw
dropped as she looked at Suzy in absolute stupefaction.

 

 

Quentin kept right on walking into his office, but Suzanna stopped
to
say hello.

 

 

"Suzanna!" Sharon finally exclaimed. "You look gorgeous! What did
you
do to yourself?"

 

 

"I didn't do anything. We went to see the cosmetic client. They've
been
looking for an unknown, plain-to-average model so they could do a
'before' and 'after' campaign. Felix Morgan's assistant is Maxine
Barr.
She used to be a famous model several years ago."

 

 

"I remember her!" said Sharon. "She called herself 'Candy' Barr."

 

 

"Right," said Suzanna. "Anyway, she took some 'before' shots, and
turned their make-up man loose on me. He did all this, including my
hair, and then took 'after' shots. They want me to be their Femme
Fatale. So since Mr. Pierce had no objections, and he feels that
Elder
and Rubin won't have any, I'm their new model."

 

 

"That's marvelous!" enthused Sharon. "You're so lucky!"

 

 

"Don't I know it. Especially since I would have had to go on
location
for the account with Mr. Pierce anyway. This way, the trip will be
more
interesting, and it will about double my salary, I would think."

 

 

"And the work doesn't sound too challenging," Sharon added, with a
touch of obvious envy.

 

 

''Well, I'd better get back to work. Maybe we can have lunch
together
tomorrow," Suzy offered, hoping people were not going to start
treating
her differently now that she had come out of her cocoon.

 

 

"You bet," said Sharon. "I've missed your company."

 

 

Suzanna had to try to catch up after being away all morning. She had
work left from the day before, plus the day's accumulation.

 

 

She became so engrossed she lost all track of time. Part of her mind
was on the fact that it was time to see a doctor. She'd never used
the
pill or any birth control, but it was about time she started
worrying
about those things.

 

 

The idea of being with Quentin on location was more than she could
grasp. It was probably the worst idea of her life, longing for her
boss, but she simply could not help it. They were so suited in every
other way, maybe it was about time she learned what love was all
about.

 

 

Sharon had called in 'goodnight' some time before, and Suzy now up
at
the clock again for the first time in ages, and became aware that it
was quite late.

 

 

She didn't like to be in an office building alone at night, even
though
there was a security guard and a sign in and out desk.

 

 

She put the finishing touches on the last layout, yawned, stretched
and
prepared to leave. It was six-thirty.

 

 

As she got up to get her things, a sudden shadow in the doorway made
her jump.

 

 

It was Quentin.

 

 

"I see you fell behind a bit today," he said casually.

 

 

"Yes, I did. It's almost impossible to avoid it when you're out of
the
office that many hours."

 

 

He continued on in, and walking to her desk, picked up the work she
had
just finished.

 

 

"Great, as usual. Suzanna, you're a living wonder. "

 

 

She was behind him looking over his shoulder when he turned and
found
her only a heartbeat away. He enveloped her hungrily as her arms
reached out and held him in an impassioned embrace.

 

 

She raised her lips, parting them to receive his torrid kiss. His
lips
were soft at first, then more and more demanding. Their tongues met
and
moved in a mating dance of their own.

 

 

She pressed her body feverishly against the excited swelling she
could
feel growing against her. Her hands caressed his back and travelled
the
length of his spine until they reached his buttocks. She pulled him
toward her with all her strength.

 

 

He traced a path up her cheek with his tongue, licked her eyelids,
tickled her lashes, then wandered to each ear in turn. He thrust the
tip inside, tracing the shell-like contours until she arched herself
against him and almost cried out.

 

 

As she started to move her body unconsciously in a sensuous rhythm,
arousing him even more, she ached for something she'd never known.
She
wanted to feel his naked body close to hers.

 

 

She should have been prepared for what happened next, but she
wasn't.
It was a cruel shock when, with a show of more than superhuman
willpower, he pushed her from him once more.

 

 

"I'm sorry. It still isn't right. The timing is wrong, because if I
made love to you now you'd think it's because of the way you look, a
caterpillar into a butterfly. The place is all wrong too, my dear,
because you deserve more than a quick and shoddy office intrigue."

 

 

"Any time and place would be right for me with you, Quentin. I
think,
no, I'm sure, I'm falling for you. How could it be shoddy?"

 

 

"You don't really know that you love me," he replied.

 

 

"I know you make me feel more than I ever have in my life for a
man."

 

 

"Ah, yes, well, that might just be because your experience is so
limited. I know I have no right to ask this, but when you saw your
friend last, the one you've been close to for years, did he make
love
to you?"

 

 

She stared at him. "Are you asking me if we had sex? Are you
implying
that if I were no longer a virgin you would be perfectly willing? A
piece off a cut loaf would never be missed? Worse yet, do you think
that once my virginity is gone I'll take on all comers? How far back
in
line would you like to be, Quentin, or do you think I should pass
out
numbers?"

 

 

"Now I never said...."

 

 

She stormed away from him to start gathering her things to leave.
"You
know what you are, Quentin? You're just a male tease. But I'll tell
you
something else. I know now that my number one will be for all time.
I
can't take sex lightly. I know it will be the most meaningful
experience of my whole life.

 

 

"Mr. Years has a name. It's Jerry. I kissed him, on our date, for
the
very first time. I heard no bells, the earth didn't move the way it
does with you, but it was pleasant. I don't know what I'd have done
if
he'd pressed his advantage, but I certainly didn't feel empty and
abandoned the way I do now that you've rejected me."

 

 

"I never meant—"

 

 

"You've left me with all my defenses down. You have my head
completely
in a spin every time you even look at me, let alone touch me. You
get
me all hot and bothered, then back off. Well, I'm tired of the
dance.
So enough is enough. I won't be this available again. You don't want
me, then hands off. No more little office games."