Out of the Ashes (9 page)

“Do you listen to music often?”  I say starting to scan his library.  Holy cow
, he has a little bit of everything.  Classical and big band, just what you would expect from someone so cultured, but then there is also classic rock followed by everything from club techno to rock and even some pop.

“Yes, I like to when
I’m buried in a project.” His lips turn up in a smile and his innuendo is perfectly clear.  “I find it helps me concentrate.”

I nod
, ignoring the pictures of him buried in me running through my head, knowing just want he means.  I do almost everything with ear buds stuck in my ears listening to my iPod.  He walks me over to the conference room with his hand on the small of my back guiding me.  His touch sends small shivers up my spine.  “You’ve been here before but I want to familiarize you with the rest of the room and its capabilities.  Behind you is the bar, it is fully stocked, below there is a mini sub-zero along with some storage for presentation materials, the cabinets above have the glasses and some china should we ever have a meeting that requires it.  Over here,” we walk through the rest of the seating area and around the large table, “in this cabinet is the television.  If you press the button on the pad, it will raise out of the cabinet.  Occasionally I like to watch the markets on it, sometimes I even come over here at night to watch movies on it since it is larger than the one in the apartment,” he says with a wink.  “It is fully integrated so we can hold presentations, web conferences, etc. on it.  And then of course, we have a seating area,” he starts back toward his office, our office.  “I find it is much better for getting to know our clients than sitting at that gigantic table.  More intimate,” he says almost suggestively. 

“And now we are back in the office
.  You already know this is my desk and that is your area.  The door off your area leads to a bathroom.  It is fully stocked but if there is something that you need please let Connor know and he will make sure to stock it.  We do have a company gym on the 22
nd
floor.  I use it often but I prefer to shower and change up here.  Less crowded.”  And there’s that smile again.  “Moving on, this door leads to the kitchen and is always unlocked as the emergency stairwell is just through the kitchen.  However, down here,” he walks to the other end of the kitchen to the doorway that would lead into the apartment, “we have a drop door to block off the apartment from the office should we ever have functions up here.  It is mostly always open as you see it now but I just wanted you to be aware of it and the controls for it are also on the iPad.  If you need the fridge stocked with any thing let Connor know.  There are two sub-zeros in here.  I keep this one mostly for myself,” he opens the door to reveal a very empty refrigerator, “and this one is mainly for the office.  So drinks or anything you need for lunches and such will be stored in here. Oh, I trust Connor gave you your key card for the elevator?”

“
Yes, he did,” is all I manage to squeak out as I stare into what is, for all intents and purposes, this gorgeous god’s home.  It is decorated very warmly.  Soothing tones of green accented with browns and blues.  It is really peaceful and I can see why he would enjoy staying here.  “Excellent, then let me give you a quick tour of the apartment and then we can start on what I need for tonight’s gala.  Which by the way, I see you have already started to prepare for.”  He gestures to my hair. 

“Oh yes, after getting the dress squared away; a friend of mine and his mother took me to the spa for some pampering.  So once I change
, the only things I need to do are slip the clip into my hair and touch up my makeup.  It will make things so much quicker later.”  I say with a smile realizing that now I am babbling and he’s leading me into HIS apartment. 

“Living room, no
t much to it.  Just off the living room there is a bathroom and then down the hallway are three bedrooms with another bathroom in the master and a shared one for the other two rooms.  That is it for this floor.  When we are not so pressed for time next week, I will take you around and show the other floors.”

“Perfect.  Now what do you need for this evening?”  I ask as we make our way back to his office.  He seems distracted all of a sudden and begins looking around the office and opening the closet doors. 

“I thought you said you got a dress and everything you needed this morning.  Where is it?”

             
“Oh, well…” Shit, I hope this is all okay. “The dress had to have some alterations so Marlene, from MJ Designs, said she would send everything over by 4:00 today.”  Then tentatively I add, “I hope that’s okay.  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be getting so if I have overstepped please let me know and I can reimburse the company for the dress and accompaniments.”  A small smile plays on his lips like he is holding back laughter. 

“No, no I love Marlene’s designs.  I’m glad that you went there and that she had something on such short notice that you liked.  And 4:00 is perfect.  We will likely be going straight from here to the gala.” 
Then with a wink, he adds, “And don’t worry about the cost or paying the company back your card is on my personal account, not Jacobs Enterprises.” 

His personal account, I feel my new found mantra wellin
g up in my head.  What the hell!  “Mr. Jacobs, I’m not sure that’s entirely appropriate…  I don’t think it is proper for me to spend your money.”  He gives me a quizzical look.

“Celeste, first of all, call me Ian because Mr. Jacobs just makes me feel old and you can’t be but about 4 or 5 years younger than me. 
Second, whether it’s my card or the company’s, the money is all coming from the same place.”  He drops his voice to a whisper as if someone could over hear us, “But this way I don’t have to run the purchases through accounting and can buy whatever I want.”  And the smile is back.  Damn these sexy panties, they are of no help when your boss makes you a quivering mess between your thighs.

“So now that that is settled.  Let’s get started on what I need for tonight.”

After going through a list of guests that Ian must speak with and familiarizing myself with them, their companies, their families etc. we start in on the next project he will be working on.  Jacobs Enterprises has its hands in a lot of places.  Starting out as a small ad agency in upstate New York, Thomas Jacobs, Ian’s grandfather, had built the company to include some very exclusive brands.  When Ian’s father, Robert, took over, he thought a natural co-existence with that would be working as a PR agency for various celebrities.  Because what is PR except advertising; only instead of selling a product you are selling a person, or trying to keep said person’s bad deeds out of the press.  Ian enjoyed something else all together though and was glad to be able to make his own stamp on the company when he decided to work in real estate development.  Plus the connections through the ad agency and the PR agency didn’t hurt when he’s trying to sell the properties or obtain tenants. 

His next project i
s a large estate in England.  The house is in horrible disrepair and there’s a lot of work to be done on the landscaping but he wants to turn it into a luxury country resort.  The house, if you could call it that, is a large three-story monstrosity that dates back to the late 16
th
century.  It had been updated and well maintained up until about 7 years ago when the current owner abandoned the property.  Ian’s plan starts with bringing the house up to date and adding some amenities such as en-suite bathrooms to all of the rooms and then a full service spa and athletic facilities plus indoor pool.  The grounds are expansive enough that there will be a few outdoor pools, tennis facilities and basketball courts along with more traditional English activities such as cricket and rugby.  Also on property there’s a small lake that once cleaned up and landscaped will make a lovely place for a romantic rowboat ride.  He wants it to be an escape from both the city and corporate life; a place where the only things you have to worry about are whether you are having a massage or relaxing by the pool.

Along with that project he also ha
s several others already in the works.  A set of large skyscrapers on the west coast that will be mixed use are the first thing on the list.  The buildings will contain some offices and some condos with an underground parking garage and full service amenities.  They are almost complete but since this project is so large and on the west coast, Jacobs Enterprises has partnered with another firm to oversee the work.  Ian will be going out in a couple weeks for the final inspection, ribbon cutting and after party.  Of course I’m expected to attend with him.  So booking travel is high on the priority list for next week.             

Then there
are some smaller projects, a housing development, which is still in the planning stages, in Florida and a new office complex here in New York.  The office complex is actually a redevelopment.  The area is full of large warehouses; many of which are being refurbished and given new life as something else.  A few were split up and going to be restaurants and retail space.  Another developer was working on converting some into apartments that would sell anywhere from $1 million up to $25 million for the larger units.  The grand scheme would be having a whole community where you could live, play and work.  Ian bought up the remaining space to turn into office space.  He had the commitment from several companies who were looking to move into the space once it was finished.  It would be nostalgic but at the same time, he plans to include the latest technology in all of the offices.

At 4:00 p.m. precisely, Connor escort
s Marlene into the office.  “Oh there’s my darling boy.”  She grabs his face planting a kiss on his cheek.  “You must come out for dinner soon.  Your sister has been missing you something fierce and of course, I want to see you as well.”  A little flabbergasted, I can do nothing but stand there staring at the interaction and I’m sure my mouth was hanging open the whole time.

“I’m sorry, forgive me. 
I believe you’ve already met; but Marlene, this is Celeste Brooks, my new assistant.  Celeste, this is Marlene Jacobs, my mother.”  Marlene is his mother; how did I not recognize her? I again see that brief flicker of recognition in her eyes.  Oh god no, please no.  I’m nowhere near ready to have my secrets bared for all to see.  There’s no way she can remember me though; it’s just not possible.

Oh
god, she picked out my underwear…  The woman has practically seen me naked.  Oh dear god, she picked me out a thong, garter and stockings for tonight.  She’s going to think I’m a total tramp.

Of course it all mak
es sense now.  MJ Designs…  MJ standing for Marlene Jacobs.  I feel like a fool.  Did Gavin know?  That rat, why would he do this to me?  I’m going to kill him or at the least give him a strong piece of my mind.

Marlene is leaning over whispering something to Ian; there is a smile on her face but Ian looks like he is deep in thought and slightly confused by what she is saying to him.  When Marlene spots me looking at them, she stands straight up and walks over to me with the dress bag and another bag which I assume contains the shoes and other items we will not be mentioning any time soon.  I’m sure I turn bright red when look at her and think about what’s in that box.

“Celeste, I apologize for my secrecy earlier.  I should’ve told you when you mentioned where the dress would be delivered that I was Ian’s mother but it was just too good of a surprise to pass up.”  She says with a small wink and a smile.  “But I have everything you need right here.  Also I noticed when you left that we had not picked any jewelry to go with your gown.  It does not need a necklace because of the beading on the bodice but some
stunning
earrings were definitely in order.”  Over her shoulder, she looks at Ian.  “Don’t worry, son, I charged them to your account.” 

To which he mumble
s, “I’m sure you did, mother.” 

Smiling at me, she start
s to unpack the items.  I immediately raise my hands unable to hold back a slight squeal, stopping her in her tracks before she unpacks my barely there underwear right in front of my boss.  “No, no don’t bother with that. I will take care of it later.  I will just go hang the gown and put the bag with the other, um, items in it in the bathroom as well.    Wouldn’t want this beautiful gown to wrinkle.”  With that I scoop everything up and practically run into the bathroom.  After carefully hanging the dress and storing the other bag, I make my way back into the office to see Marlene making her way into the elevator.

“I apologize for my mother.  She can be a handful at times. 
But well, what can I say?  She’s my mom.  But she does design some beautiful clothes; I can hardly wait to see what you found.”  And there’s that panty-dropping smile again.  Is he flirting with me?  I feel the blush creep into my cheeks as he continues, “How did you end up at MJ Designs this morning of all places?”

“Oh
, my roommate is a model and has worked with her in various shows though not recently.  Anyway he took me over there first; saying if I couldn’t find a gown there then I was truly a lost cause.”

His eyebrows
knit together and something like anger flashes in his eyes before he recovers himself.  “Your roommate?  Might I presume then that it was him and his mother you went to the spa with this morning?” I nod in the affirmative, my eyes becoming firmly fixed on my shoes.  “And is he the man you were at the club with last night?”  This is the first mention he has made of our, um, meeting the night before and he looks none too happy about any of it.