What Money Can Buy 3 - to Have & to Hold (4 page)

"Lauren Wade,
m
aster of subterfuge. Where have you been all my life? When I think of all the deals I could have made with you on my arm…"

I placed a finger on Jason's lips. "
Like they say, behind every great man and all that. And it's
mistress of subterfuge if you don't mind. Now, where's my whip?"

***

The Carlton was a beautiful hotel and so decadently expensive that I almost felt guilty having our party there. Jason, as always, had a practical answer for everything. It was tax-deductible, he insisted, as many of the people attending were business colleagues and customers or suppliers. If the taxman asked, he would put it down to entertainment expenses. I smiled to myself as I thought of him always breaking down things into those terms, yet I knew he was as excited about this evening as I was – and not just for our plans with Michael Bridges.
We had split ourselves up as intended -
Jason
had
spent
most of the
evening working the room, as
had
I, until I saw Michael near the bar.

Suddenly, my confidence wavered a little bit. I felt butterflies begin to dance in my stomach and my heart beat faster. Was I really about to go through with this? Something told me I didn't have a choice, while another part of me almost relished the challenge ahead. It was my chance to do something outrageous, to live life on the edge the way Jason had for so long. I hadn't planned on it ever being something like this, but if my rite of passage was this evening, then so be it.

A little black Marchesa dress, slashed to the thigh and
with
a plunging neckline, was all I needed to have Michael Bridges in my grasp. Okay, maybe that and the
five-
inch high Christian Louboutin heels with blood red soles, begging him to follow me as I shimmied and sashayed my way out of the throng of people. I could sense him behind me, knowing he was there without ever even catching his eye.

This was it.

As I exited the function room and headed into the hotel's plush lobby, the clicks of my heels were followed by the squeaks of his soles. I almost shuddered at the thought of him, his tasteless fashion sense and slimy demeanour. I slowly turned around to look straight at him, a creepy smile greeting my gaze. He stood with his legs apart, hands in his pockets, attempting his best
a
lpha male impersonation.
Idiot
.

"I wasn't expecting your invitation, Lauren. After what happened in your office, I didn't think you'd ever want to see me again."

He was right. "You have something I need, Michael. And I have something you want."

"And what is it you need, Miss Wade?" he asked, licking his lips.

"To not make waves with the board over Jason's departure. He wants to leave sooner rather than later, and a distraction like this could drag on for months, if not years."

He nodded his head. "Very true." I noticed his eyes darting up my body, inspecting every inch of me before settling on my cleavage. "And what do you have that I could possibly want in return?"

I slowly walked towards him, just a few steps, before standing with my hands on my hips and one long leg crossed over another. "Do I have to draw you a picture?"

His jaw dropped and a visible bulge began to form between his legs. I spun around on my heels and walked towards the elevator. As I pressed the button to call it, I heard the sound of his cheap shoes following me again.

Hook, line and sinker.

The journey from lobby to hotel suite was made in complete silence. I sensed his nervousness the whole time, his arrogance replaced slightly with fear.

Once the key card was in the lock of our suite, I knew there was no going back. The light turned green and we both entered the vast and expensive room with trepidation hanging in the air. I took a deep breath, exhaling as quietly as I could, as the door slammed behind us.

"Wow," Michael stammered, looking around the room. "
N
o expense spared, I see. At least I'll get the benefit of it, too."

I closed my eyes momentarily.
You can do this, Lauren. You can do anything.
I spun around with a sexy smile on my face. "And the benefit of me, of course. Champagne?"

"Absolutely. You're not trying to get me drunk, are you?"

Luckily, Michael was already halfway there. This would make my task even easier.

"Of course not. I still need you to be able to…
p
erform."

He walked towards me and placed his hands on my bare arms. I momentarily felt complete revulsion. "Don't you worry about that, you pretty little thing. I'm going to show you how it feels to be taken by a real man."

He lunged forward to kiss me, and I stopped him with the palm of my hand.

"Slow down, soldier. Better get that drink first, okay?"

He smiled and made his way over to the bed, watching my movements as I headed to the mini bar. I look
ed
back and flashed him a smile, moistening my lips with my tongue. I felt my ass move alluringly in the black dress that clung to it, my high heels amping up my attempt at a supermodel walk. I had been studying Christina Hendricks in "Mad Men" the night before, attempting to bring that slinky Jessica Rabbit style to my repertoire. Judging by the way he was sitting, slack-jawed on the bed with his hand too close to his crotch
for
comfort, it was working.

"Here you go," I purred, handing him his glass. "Chink chink."

"What are we celebrating?"

"Jason's departure from the company, of course," I replied, sipping at my drink. "You are going to approve
it
, aren't you?" I asked pleadingly, fluttering my eyelashes.

"I'm sure there's something I can do," he said, knocking back most of the glass. "But let's just concentrate on you and me for now, okay? Jason is not likely to come up here, is he?"

"No, he's saying his goodbyes to everyone downstairs," I smiled. "Besides, I have the key card."

I walked over to the music system opposite the bed and switched it on. Norah Jones began to play through the ceiling speakers, her delicate piano punctuating the electricity in the air. I reached back and pulled slowly at my zipper, the cool of the air conditioning hitting my back suddenly. I slowly turned around and slipped both straps off my shoulders. The dress pooled at my feet and I heard Michael audibly gasp as he caught sight of my firm, almost naked buttocks, my modesty preserved only slightly by the skimpiest of expensive French lace thongs. I slowly turned
a
round to reveal a matching bra, pushing my breasts together and up in a way I knew he would find impossible to resist. He was already like jelly by the time I locked eyes on him.

"Holy shit," he muttered. "Your body is…"

"Amazing," I replied, slowly walking towards him. "Tonight, it's yours."

His cock was clearly fully erect inside his pants, acting like a tentpole, making me both nervous and amused at the same time. He stroked at his manhood and I could already tell by the bulge he wasn't close to half the man Jason was. Still, there was a bigger picture at stake here. As much as it disgusted me, I had to go through with it.

"Stop," he ordered. "Get on your knees."

Uh-oh
. "Why?"

"Do as I say, bitch. If Jason's little slut is going to strip off and act like a whore in front of me, then you deserve to be treated like one."

I began to question what I was doing, but one look at his eyes made me realise that what I was planning was beginning to work – he just wasn't aware of it yet. I did as he asked, and sank to the plush carpeted floor.

"That's good…
n
ow get on all fours and crawl to me."

I obeyed, looking straight up at him and never losing eye contact.

"Slowly."

He had the higher ground now, looking down on me as I inched agonisingly close to him. If this had been Jason, my nipples would have been rock hard inside my bra, my panties would have been soaked with wave after wave of warm juices. But I felt nothing. No
e
motion, no arousal. I was utterly numb.

As I reached the bed, I climbed onto it and made my way up his body, arriving at his erection. I undid his belt and loosened his trousers before sliding my hands up his chest. He felt soft beneath the cotton fabric, lacking the muscle and toning that Jason had.

"I want to be inside you, Lauren. I'm going to fuck you so hard, bitch."

I ripped open his shirt, sending buttons flying across the hotel suite. His eyes were glazed, yet they never left mine.

"You haven't finished your champagne, Michael. I don't want you to waste a drop."

I picked up his glass and threw the small amount left over my breasts. Immediately and predictably, he buried his head
between
them,
fumbling in vain with my bra clasp and
licking the alcohol from my bare skin. "That's it," I groaned. "Drink it all up, like a good boy…"

Suddenly, he slumped back onto the pillow. My work here was done. Mission accomplished.

"Wakey, wakey, asshole."

Michael slowly opened his eyes, his grogginess like something out of a Laurel and Hardy movie. We had started to think he was never going to wake up, that we would be here until the next working day. But it was around 5 AM, and
six and a half
hours or so of sleep had finally come to an end.

He stared straight ahead and
bemusement
washed over his face. "What…"

"Morning, Michael. Did you have a good sleep?"

A look of confusion suddenly turned to panic and Michael sat bolt upright in the bed, pulling the sheets up over his half naked body. "What the fuck… Jason! What…
h
ow…"

"Calm down, sleepyhead. Lauren and I were wondering if we were going to have to book a room for another day. Man, you know how to snore."

I tried to stifle a giggle as I sat in the armchair to the left of the bed. Michael turned to look at me and I simply waved at him. "Remember me?"

"What's going on? Why are you here?"

"In case you hadn't noticed," Jason replied, leaning forward, “I'm paying for this suite. I think I have a right to be here, don't you? Oh, and this may be a novel concept but I have my own key card too. Just a little white lie Lauren told you."

Michael's breathing was rapid, and he swallowed hard, clearly trying to moisten his dry throat.

"I've been here the whole time, Michael. I was here last night, in that bathroom," Jason said, pointing across the room. "That was while you were calling my wife
-
to
-
be a bitch, slut and
whore
. I had promised Lauren
that
if things threatened to get out of hand I would come out of
there
and beat the living crap out of you. However, I trust her implicitly and I think you'll agree she did a sterling job."

Michael shook his head. "You mean…
s
he tricked me?"

Jason and I began to
slowly
clap.

"But… I don't remember…
h
ow did I fall asleep?"

Jason held up a champagne glass. "Have you never watched James Bond movies?"

"You…
y
ou drugged me?"
h
e asked, looking at me.

"
Don't make it sound so dramatic
," I replied. "Don't worry, it's nothing that will do you any harm in the long term. Just
fourteen
Tramadol pills and five Valium. I checked if it was safe. It said on the Internet it was, so it
must
be true."

"Shitloads of alcohol plus high-strength muscle relaxants…
w
ell, I think you know the rest," Jason smiled.

Michael's eyes began to dart between me and Jason. "What is this? What
do
you want from me?"

Jason leaned forward and scowled at his nemesis. "Come on now, Michael. I think you know exactly what we want."

"You think cornering me in a hotel suite is going to persuade me to recommend to the board that you leave? This is nothing but bullying."

Jason looked at me. "Would you call this bullying, Lauren?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I think it qualifies. Absolutely."

"Okay, Michael, call it bullying if you want but the reality is we have you, on video, attempting to screw another woman." Jason held up a video camera that had been positioned on the top of the wardrobe next to the bed. "What do you think your wife would have to say about that? By the way, how is Louise?"

Michael's face turned white. "You bastard. You've got to be kidding me."