Temptation (The Temptation Series) (3 page)

“Miss Taylor if you wouldn’t
mind following me, I’d like to get better acquainted and discuss my
expectations of you as C.A. of my Hotel. Lucy if you wouldn’t mind showing Ms
Summers around first.” He then directed Samantha to one of the mahogany, wooden
panelled doors to the right of Lucinda’s desk. He looked back at me and gave me
‘that smirk’.
How dare he, the arrogance of this man.
How dare he
look at me like that in front of his wife and child to be.
I was mortified
beyond belief. Raising her eyebrow and displaying a similar smirk, Lucinda
looked directly into my eyes

“Very well Ms Summers, if
you’d like to come with me.” She almost looked amused as she said it, I was
horrified, somehow I felt she knew I’d been day dreaming of her husband on and
off since sharing my hot chocolate with him. We entered a large conference room
to the left of Lucinda’s desk.

“As you would be aware Ms
Summers, Mr Clark is the CEO of Clark Incorporated and owner of City Towers
Entertainment Complex. He resides here in the Penthouse which also houses his
personal office, the rest of Clark Incorporated’s offices are situated on
levels 7 and 8. Most of his personal meetings are conducted here in his
personal office, however, the direct running of Clark Incorporated takes place
on levels 7 and 8.” We walked through the conference room to another door and
into another foyer, Lucinda pointed to a door to my right.

“Mr Clark’s personal office
is through there.” I wanted X-ray vision, if I squinted hard enough I might
just see what is going on in there and if he was obnoxiously flirting with
Samantha as well. My blood started to boil so I looked away.

“Just through here is a kitchenette
and off to your left is a bathroom.” This Penthouse floor really was
impressive, and I’d only bared witness to the offices here, I wonder what his
personal residence was like? What his bedroom was like?
Stop it Alexis,
again enough of the perverse imaginings that are completely irrelevant to what
you are doing here.

“Alexis, are you finished
scrutinizing the kitchenette?” Lucinda was standing in the doorway impatiently
waiting for me to leave the room.

“Yes, sorry,” I quickly scuttled
out and back into the foyer. There was a table in the middle of the foyer and
on it was a large vase of beautiful lemon coloured roses, they were immaculate
and smelt fabulous. I love roses, I have many rose bushes in my garden at home
and loved the array of colours my garden displayed in Spring. Lucinda pointed
directly ahead to a large door which was locked by security card.

“That is Mr Clark’s private
residence.” The awe I was feeling must have betrayed me.

“It’s pretty impressive isn’t
it? All of this I mean.”

“Oh yes, this is an exquisite
complex. I’m thrilled and fortunate to be working here.” She smiled.

“Yes Clark Incorporated is a
wonderful company to be a part of and Mr Clark is a brilliant employer.” I
found it funny how she kept referring to him as ‘Mr Clark’ and ‘Employer’. We
took a seat on an elegant day lounge which was against the wall outside the
door to Mr Clark’s office.

“I hope I’m not being intrusive,
but when are you due?” I thought this could be seen as brazen or rude, or
simply none of my business but I was genuinely interested in her answer. She
smiled and naturally caressed her very full belly.

“I’m 34 weeks along.”

“That’s wonderful, you and Mr
Clark must be very excited. Is this your first child?” I can’t believe I just
said that, and by the strange look on Lucinda’s face I was sure I had
overstepped the mark.

“Oh never mind, I’m terribly
sorry, I’m being intrusive.” I looked down at my feet in horror.

“Oh no that’s quite alright. Yes
this is my first child and yes Mr Clark is thrilled, thrilled that in the
coming weeks he will be an Uncle.”
What? Uncle? Yes she did say Uncle. Oh,
Uncle, of course
. I was so relieved and stupid, how could I have been so
wrong? I’d doubted this wonderful man who did not fire me for covering him in
hot chocolate and who comes across as being kind and caring despite him being
utterly rich.

“You thought we were married
didn’t you?” I put my hand to my head and peaked through my open fingers.

“Yes I did, you can’t really
blame me, you share the same surname and obviously share a special bond.”

“We do.” The look of
admiration was plastered all over her face, it was very sweet but I felt I was
intruding into their special relationship so a change in subject was needed.

“You know, speaking from
experience, you are about to embark on a crazy wonderful rollercoaster that is
Motherhood.”

“You have children?”

“Yes two, Nate is 9 and
Charlotte is 6, they are adorable but I guess I’m biased. I love them to
pieces, but gone are the days of solely using my brain to decide what we will
eat three times a day and whether to dust, mop or vacuum or all of the above.” I
was starting to ramble, I tend to do that when discussing my kids. They had
pretty much been my life in its entirety for the past 9 years.

“That sounds lovely, I’m
looking forward to using my brain to decide what brand of nappies to use and to
breastfeed or not to breastfeed.” We both laughed, I really liked Lucinda,
especially now that she was no longer Mrs Clark. The door to Mr Clark’s office
opened and Samantha strolled out looking like she had received a lecture on
professionalism and stature,
hhhmm interesting.

“Alexis, Mr Clark will speak
to you now.” Then she stood by the day lounge Lucinda and I were comfortably
sitting on. I stood up and brushed my hands down the stunning dress I was
wearing, I think I might sleep in it tonight, surely there’s nothing wrong with
that! I turned to Lucinda and offered her a hand, she gracefully accepted and
thanked me.

“It was a pleasure meeting
you Miss Clark and good luck in the coming weeks.” I entered Mr Clark’s office,
closing the door behind me and already chills were prickling my spine.

CHAPTER
THREE

Mr Clark had his back to me
as I walked into his office, he was behind his desk looking out of the floor to
ceiling window at the view of Port Phillip Bay. He appeared to be lost in
thought, with one hand in his pocket and the other on his chin. I studied his
arse which looked very nice in his Versace suit, he definitely worked out or
was blessed with not only wealth but good genes. I’d guess he was maybe 6 foot
5 and that hair was just luscious, I am partial to blonde men, my husband is
tall, dark and very handsome but there was something about blonde men that made
me clench my thighs together and this particular dark, blonde man had me
clenching like never before. He turned around, his stare had me worried.

“Alexis take a seat.” He
gestured to the cream coloured leather lounge setting in the middle of his
office. On the coffee table was what looked like a strong black and a hot white
chocolate topped with a marshmallow.

“You never got to drink the
one you bought this morning, so I took it upon myself to get you a
replacement.” His tone was very stern, I smiled nervously.
No, I didn’t get
to drink it this morning Bryce, but I would’ve been more than happy to lick it
off you.
Alexis you devil, get a grip.

“No, I didn’t, I opted for
this new dress instead!” He analysed my little black Versace number.

“Hhmm.”He groaned, it was
almost a primal sounding noise which made me shift in my seat.

“In all seriousness though,
thank you for the dress and thank you for replacing my drink, it was very
thoughtful of you. Technically I should be getting you a replacement for the
one you never got to order.”

“I wasn’t going to have a
drink Alexis.” I screwed up my face.

“Oh, perhaps you are a muffin
type of man then?” I took a sip of my drink,
mmm yummy, they really are very
naughty these choccis.

“No, not a muffin man. I
wasn’t there for anything that morning. In fact, I noticed you walking briskly
through the Casino and out to Gloria Jeans and thought I’d introduce myself,
before you started your shift. You see Ms Summers, I make it a priority to know
every single tiny detail there is to know about my staff.” And there it was,
‘that smirk’.

“Every single tiny detail,
really? Well I’m not sure if that is impressive or creepy.” He laughed and I
felt his initial rigidness wear away.

“So Alexis, how has your
morning been so far?” He picked up his coffee, his lips were full and the way
he put them over the rim of his cup made my nipples tingle, I imagined him
putting those lips on me.
Seriously Alexis?
You’ve been out of the
house one day, one day and you have pretty much undressed this man in your head
and now you want to do naughty things with him.

“Well apart from spilling my
drink on my Boss, it’s been great. I’ve enjoyed seeing this beautiful Hotel
from behind the scenes, I’ve always loved City Towers, I stayed here once
before with my husband, although he wasn’t my husband at the time.” Mr Clark
raised his eyebrows and took another sip.

“So how was it?”

“The tour has been great, the
staff are lovely and….”

“No, not the tour, the time
you stayed with Rick?” I was momentarily stunned, he said ‘Rick’; he knew my
husband’s name. Then again he did say he made it a priority to know ‘Every tiny
detail’. I decided this time it was impressive investigatory skills rather than
creepy, so I smirked back at him. This seemed to amuse him, he really was quite
cheeky, I liked this about him. He was a man with immense power and authority and
here he was being very playful and cheeky with me. I thought I’d play along,
why not? It’s just harmless fun.

“So, you have done some
creepy research.” I would never have talked to any of my previous employers
like this nor flirt my arse off like I was doing now, but I honestly couldn’t
help myself, it was though he was drawing this naughty little minx version of
Alexis out of me.

“It was wonderful, the room
was sophisticated and the view breathtaking. However, we didn’t really leave
the room all that much.”
I cannot believe I just said that, I was on a roll,
but could I keep it up?
Quickly Alexis, say something else suggestive or
give him a flirtatious smirk, or something.
I couldn’t do it; instead I
blushed bright red and looked down.
Oh my God I am so out of my league.
This sexy masculine man had me in knots and I could not keep up.

“I’m glad it served its
purpose Alexis. I built this hotel with beauty and romance in mind, I want it
to be enjoyed, whether it is down in the Casino or within the Suite walls.” I
was still looking down at the cup in my hands, I was morbidly embarrassed by my
offering of too much information.

There was a knock at the door
and Lucinda walked in followed by a food and beverage attendant with a trolley.
Lucinda kindly ushered the young man to the coffee table in front of Mr Clark
and I, he very carefully placed the Cloche down and removed the lid. It was a
platter of fruit and some tasty morsels.

“Thank you Sebastian that
will be all.” Sebastian kindly nodded to Mr Clark and promptly pushed the
trolley back out of the room with Lucinda following.

“I don’t know about you
Alexis but it is lunchtime and I like to eat my meals when they are due and as
we are not done yet would you please join me for lunch?”

“Oh yes, this looks wonderful,
thank you.” It really did look wonderful, the fruit platter was divine and it
seemed to only contain fruits that I could eat. Having Fructose Malabsorption
definitely has its limitations but this platter was perfectly stacked with
Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries and Bananas, the Cantaloupe and Orange
segments were cut into flowers, they were gorgeous. It dawned on me that this
was no co-incidence. I glanced up at Bryce and yes he was ‘smirking’.

“Let me guess, more creepy
research?”

“It’s what I do Ms Summers.”
He then reached for a strawberry and popped it into his mouth, I smiled and
followed suit.

“So what other creepy
research have you done?”

“Just the stock standard. You
have been married to Rick Summers for 12 years. You have two children, Nate
nine and Charlotte six. You live in Attwood and have done so for 10 years. You
were born in Victoria to Maryann and Graeme Blaxlo, who now live on 70 acres
near Shepparton and you are 1 of 3 children. You are Fructose Intolerant, love
Cars, Football and World Landmarks. You also have a soft spot for frogs and
hate spiders. Shall I go on?” I was literally shocked.
How the fuck did he
know so much about me?
I didn’t know what to feel, I couldn’t speak and
kept shaking my head. At this point I also realised my mouth was open and I
must have resembled one of those carnival clowns, the ones with the big mouths
you put balls in, I suddenly lost my appetite and felt very uncomfortable.

“Alexis, you look a little
pale. What you need to understand is, I am a very resourceful man that happens
to take great pride and ownership in my assets, and in order to do so, I need
to protect them. I need to be able to trust who I let into my company and most
importantly who represents it.” I was still speechless and processing the
enormity that was this man.