Pulse (10 page)

I followed Rafael to the back of the store where there was a woman going over something on a table. She had her head down, so I couldn’t see her clearly. Whatever it was she was doing, her attention was focused.

“Elizabeth!” Rafael said to her.

She tilted her head up.

“Rafael!” she smiled. “Wow! It’s such a surprise to see you here.”

“I know… It’s been awhile.”

“It has…”

The two of them greeted each other warmly. He leaned in close to her and hugged her as they kissed one another on the cheek.

“I want you to meet someone,” Rafael said to her. “This is Alice. She’s one of my newest employees. An intern who’s working to become a board member. Alice, this is Elizabeth.”

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled as I shook her hand.

“Yes, nice to meet you, as well, Alice,” she smirked at me.

Elizabeth had a seemingly cold demeanor. Even when she smiled, it almost looked like she was forcing it. I felt intimidated just being in her presence. Her black hair was tied behind her head in a tight ponytail. She had these almond green eyes that stood-out on the pale skin of her face. I didn’t know quite what to think of her. All I knew was that I still didn’t understand completely what was going on.

“Elizabeth is the woman I go to when I need help with women’s fashion,” he said to me.

I thought it was strange but before I could think about it any further, Elizabeth had given me her full attention. She walked from around her table and looked me up and down. I looked closer at what she was working on so intently and saw the drawings and outlines of different outfits.

“So, what do you think?” Rafael said. “Do you think you can design something for her.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth said. “She has a remarkable figure. I can come up with something very sexy.”

“No,” Rafael said. “She needs something for business. Something formal. Comfortable and stylish. We’re discussing a lot of money, Elizabeth. I want her to look like she knows what she’s talking about. I want people to take her seriously.”

While Rafael explained what he was looking for, I stood there anxiously. Elizabeth examined me up and down while nodding her head.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said. “Something classy, elegant… for business. I’ve never had to do something like that before.”

“That’s how I knew you’d enjoy it,” Rafael smiled.

“Come with me.”

Elizabeth motioned for me to follow her through the back of the store. I turned and looked at Rafael, who was waving to me.

“I’ll be waiting out front,” he said. “I’ll take you back home as soon as she’s done.”

I nodded to him then followed Elizabeth through the back of the store. I thought it was curious but still didn’t have the nerve to speak-up and express my doubts about what exactly was going on.

Chapter 11

Elizabeth took me back to a small dressing room. It only took her a few minutes to take my measurements. Afterward, she sent me back on my way to Rafael, who was waiting at the front of the store.

“Do you see anything here you like?” he said to me.

“Everything,” I smiled. “But I don’t think there’s anything here appropriate for work in the office.”

“True. But keep this place in mind when you’re in search of a new outfit.”

“It’ll be a long time before I can afford anything here. I doubt you could find a reason to put this on the company credit card.”

“That sounds like a challenge. I’ll have to consider it. But for now, I think I’ll just take you home.”

Rafael smiled then opened the door for me. When we got back inside of his limo, I felt some relief in that he didn’t have to wait very long for me.

“How was it?” he asked me.

“Great,” I said. “Just great. Elizabeth took my measurements and said she’d have something ready for me in a few days. She’d have everything sent to my apartment. She didn’t say exactly how many outfits she was working on but—”

“But that’s not your concern, Alice. Everything is being taken care of. Remember, this is all going on the company credit card.”

“Right.”

Rafael smirked at me and I blushed in embarrassment. It was amazing the kind of effect he had on me. Just a few days ago I was playing his game without any trouble. Now that he was my boss, I found myself so bashful around him that my anxiety was beginning to take over.

“I need a drink,” I accidentally blurted out.

My nerves had gotten the best of me. I was thinking about it so much that I actually said what was on my mind. Rafael stared at me, his eyes wide.

“Would you like something to drink, Alice?”

“No, no. I didn’t mean that—”

“Then what did you mean?”

“Um, I was just… I was thinking about something, that’s all.”

“Would you care to tell me?”

Right. Like I’m really going to tell him that I’m thinking about the time he fucked me up against a wall.

I searched for the appropriate response. Something. Anything to get my mind off of what I was thinking about and change the subject.

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind a glass of water,” I said. “If you have it.”

“Of course.”

Rafael reached into the small refrigerator next to his seat. When he opened it, I saw that it was fully-stocked with several bottles of champagne. He pulled a bottle of water out then grabbed a glass from a nearby compartment. I anxiously watched him pour a glass for me.

“Thank you,” I said as I took it from him.

I quickly gulped it, hoping that it would make me relax. The water was more refreshing than I was expecting it to be. I sighed a deep breath and remembered that Rafael was still there, staring at me with a curious little grin on his face.

“How
are
you doing, Alice?” he asked me. “I hope that you’re not working yourself too hard. There’s a lot of information to go over.”

“I’m doing great,” I replied. “It couldn’t be better. It’s a lot of information but this is what I expected. I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can.”

“Good. I expect nothing less from you. I do appreciate any and all of the insight you can give me.”

“I-I don’t know how much insight I can give you. I’m just an intern and—”

“Alice, I never properly thanked you.”

“Thanked me?”

“Don’t be modest now. I’m talking about the meeting this morning. How you told me to deal with Jason David.”

“Oh… That… That was just a suggestion. I was just throwing it out there.”

“And it was better than anything I or the rest of the board could come up with. It was the right thing to say. Thank you for saying it, Alice.”

“You don’t… You already bought me a new a wardrobe. You don’t have to thank me.”

“That wardrobe is for work. It’s a business expense. I’m saying this to you now because this is my personal thanks.”

Rafael stared back at me with the same smile upon his face. I smiled back at him then took another gulp of the water I was holding. I turned my head toward the window and saw that the limo was stuck in gridlock traffic.

“I’m going to need you to speak-up more often,” he said to me.

I jerked my head back to him. I found myself unable to return his stare.

“That’s why I hired you,” he said. “When I saw what you said in your interview with Estelle, I knew that you were capable of the new and fresh ideas that we were looking for.”

“Maybe I just got lucky.”

“Maybe. But I’m willing to test that theory from now on. It’s not just me. The board has expectations of you, too. And don’t think that I’m singling you out. The other interns, Travis and Wesley, we have high expectations of them, as well.”

I nodded then took another sip of water. I sat there in the limo and tapped the glass with my fingertips. I looked back outside and the limo was barely inching along. I didn’t mind Rafael’s company. I enjoyed it. That was the problem. The silence between us was becoming awkward and filling the limo with a tension that was making it harder and harder for me to ignore.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that from you,” he said. “At least, not this soon.”

“I… I just had a feeling,” I said as I turned back to him.

“Yeah… It didn’t take very long for you to prove to me that you belong in that room. You spoke like you knew exactly what you were talking about. You commanded everybody’s ear. The way you put it was so eloquent that I almost felt stupid for not realizing it initially. You were amazing, Alice.”

“Rafael…”

I looked down at the floor of the limo, growing more and more embarrassed about what he was saying to me. He was a billionaire, for goodness sake. And here I was, sitting in his limo and trying not to wallow in all of the praise he was lavishing upon me. It all felt unreal. To think that I would leave this kind of impression on my boss so soon.

“Alice, I have to tell you something.”

“Of course.”

He paused for a moment before he continued. I narrowed my eyes slightly, curious as to what he was going to say. I never knew what to expect from him but I always found myself on the edge of my seat.

“This afternoon, after we made the deal with Jason David… I was looking at you across the boardroom. Everybody was celebrating. But you weren’t. I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“You already thanked me, sir.”

“I know. But… as good as a job you did… as much money as you saved this company… as amazing as you were this afternoon…”

He clenched his jaw. His eyes were locked upon me. He was staring at me so hard that I found myself unable to look away.

“Despite everything you did, Alice, the only thing I could think about was what you would look like with my cock between your lips.”

My heart skipped a beat. I nearly dropped the glass I was holding. The rush I felt from Rafael’s sudden bluntness surged through my body and I found myself holding my breath. He stared back at me with no expression on his face. His eyes were unblinking. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to think. My mind was blank as I waited for him to continue.

He didn’t really say that, did he?

I’d already slept with him once before. Yet the circumstances were different now. What was once dirty talk was now grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit for any other woman. But I wasn’t any other woman.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he muttered to himself. “That was… not appropriate conversation between a boss and his employee.”

“Rafael, I—”

“No, Alice. You’re better than that. I didn’t hire you because I’m so attracted to you,” he sighed. “But yet here I find myself sitting across from you with a feeling burning inside of me that I can’t ignore.”

It was foolish to think that either one of us could ignore the attraction we had. He was so ravishingly good-looking. It was the first thing I noticed every single time I looked at him. But he was right. I was only his employee. This was a business relationship.

So, why am I still staring at him? Why do I feel something crawling between my legs? Why am I having trouble thinking straight?

Rafael was staring hard at me. We were both silent but each of us were telling the other more than words could ever say. I could see the same kind of want and desire in his eyes. He looked different from the man I slept with. In his suit, I’d say it was an improvement.

“We… We’re going to be stuck in traffic for awhile,” I said as I looked at him.

“You’re right. We are.”

“…Can your driver see what’s going on back here?”

“…No.”

I swallowed. He looked back at me. For a moment, it felt like everything was frozen. Suddenly, he rushed out of his seat and pounced on me. His lips fell upon mine and the silence in the limo was replaced by heavy breathing and moans half-lost between one another’s lips. I breathed a sigh into his mouth as his tongue found its place between my teeth. Our lips smacked against one another as Rafael took a seat next to me.

He worked his head down and began caressing me with kisses upon my neck. I moaned as he cradled my breasts through my shirt. He suddenly jerked his head and hand away from me. The two of us locked our stares upon one another for a split-second. Then he quickly leaned back in his seat and I began fumbling with his belt. As I unbuckled his belt and zipped him down, Rafael untucked his shirt. My body was vibrating with anticipation. I was shaking in my seat, anxious to please him in a way that I hadn’t before.

He raised his ass up from his seat and I lowered his pants and underwear down his legs just enough for his cock to spring free. I fell to the floor of the limo and took my place between his legs. I gripped his length in my hands and slowly began to stroke him. He breathed a deep sigh as I looked up at him.

“I’m not your boss,” he whispered. “I’m not even Rafael, if you don’t want me to be. This is just between two people… two… people…”

I nodded to him and moved my mouth closer to him. I wrapped my lips around just the tip. His cock twitched in my grip and he let out another groan. I closed my eyes as I sucked on just the head, the taste of him splashing onto my tongue.

I could feel the limo moving underneath me. But we were moving at such a slow pace that I knew that we had some time before we arrived at my apartment.

That didn’t stop me from moving quickly. I didn’t want to waste any more time. I bobbed my head up and down, taking his full length into my mouth. The tip of his cock tickled the edge of my throat and I gagged just a bit. I moved my head in a manner to accommodate his size and it wasn’t long before I was moving my face back and forth in a perfect rhythm.

The back of the limo filled with the sounds of me sucking on him. I went down on him and the sloppy sound of spit smacking against my lips echoed through the small corridor we sat in. Every now and then I would take him out of so that I could catch my breath. I looked up at him and could see the approval on his face.

He’s not your boss… not right now…

Rafael began running his fingers through my hair as I continued to suck him off. My cheeks sank in and I tried my hardest to bring him pleasure. His cock would throb every time I ran my tongue along his shaft. I licked the underside of his length and could feel him getting closer.