Yearning Devotion (16 page)

“Yes, we will.”

Gwen took a deep breath, ran her
hands over her business skirt. Her hands were still slightly shaky, but the
more time that past the better they got. It had been three days since she’d
gotten the phone call. She needed to go down to Human Resources to fill out the
paperwork for her position at MHKR. She was trying to carry on with her normal
activities and not think about the man that may or may not be out there right
now watching her. She had talked to Cole every night and they texted multiple
times during the day. Their relationship was finally becoming a normal dating
relationship so she had decided to keep the phone call from him. She had
convinced herself that the brother had been bluffing because she hadn’t received
any further calls since the missed call, messages or had anything unusual or
out of place happen. So there was no use getting Cole going over something that
very possibly was nothing. She just wanted to enjoy her life that she’d worked
so hard for and the man that she finally had in her life who was willing to
accept her for the person that she was.

She slipped on 3 inch stiletto
heels that matched the black skirt and jacket she had on. She’d paired the
business suit with a baby pink silk tank top and a pearl necklace and earrings.
Her hair was loose down her back, half pulled back from her face.

She grabbed her little black purse.
It was bigger than her normal clutch purses that she favored. But this one
could hold more, like mace. Locking the door to the apartment, she made her way
to the street. She took a cab ride down to the office.

“I’m Rebecca.” The friendly voice
that had extended the job offer to her belonged to a lovely brunette with friendly
brown eyes. She couldn’t have been taller than 5’2” so she was tiny compared to
Gwen in heels. “How very nice to meet you. Let’s get started with all this
boring paperwork then I’ll take you on a tour and show you where your office is.”

“Ok. Thanks.” Gwen smiled at her.
Over the next hour she filled out all the necessary paperwork. Rebecca had been
working on the computer across the hall from the table that Gwen was sitting
at. When Gwen stood in the doorway with the stack of paperwork, Rebecca pushed
back from the desk. She took the stack of papers and slid it into a file folder
before placing it to the desk.

“You ready for some fun? This is my
favorite part of hiring someone new. I’ll show you all the sections of the
business and then I’ll show you where you will need to show up on Monday.”
Rebecca seemed a little more excited than Gwen expected from a Human Resource
person. “Sorry, I’m not creative at all but I love the inner workings of
design. Plus, I’m behind this desk all day and it’s nice to walk around for a
bit. Plus, I get to peek in on what everyone is doing.”

“I bet! I don’t know how you sit
behind a desk and do paperwork all day.” Gwen laughed. She didn’t think she
could do it. She followed as Rebecca walked to the bank of elevators. She
pushed the up button. They were on the first floor so the only thing lower was
the parking garage. Rebecca gestured at Gwen’s feet.

“I like your shoes. I don’t think I
could even walk in heels that tall. You make it look easy.” Rebecca said
looking at her own flat ballet type slip on shoes.

“Lots of practice. I started to
wear them because they make your legs look good. Now I feel awkward if I wear
flat shoes.” Gwen laughed as she rocked up onto her toes. She looked up as the
doors of the elevator dinged and slid open. Her eyes first saw a shiny pair of
dress shoes before gliding up a pair of dark grey slacks with hands tucked into
the pockets. A black dress shirt was tucked in and a black, white and grey tie
drew her eyes up to a pair of very familiar broad shoulders. She just raised an
eye brow as her eyes met those striking green eyes. He’d been leaning against
the back of the elevator but he pushed to stand at his full height, crossing
his arms across his chest when Rebecca ushered her into the elevator.

“Ah, uh, I suppose no better time
to meet the boss.” Rebecca cleared her throat. “Gwen, this is Mr. Cressley. He
is the owner and CEO of MHKR. Mr. Cressley, this is Gwen. She is our newest
employee.” Rebecca made unnecessary introductions, not that she knew it. She
pushed a button on the wall and the doors slid shut.

“We have met. I interviewed her
last week when Bethany was ill but thank you for the introduction.” Cole’s
voice was the cooler tone that he used with Gwen when he had interviewed her.

“I was unaware, Sir. I am just
giving her the tour before showing her where she’ll be working.” Rebecca
lowered her eyes. Gwen looked from the girl to Cole.

“It is nice to see you again Mr. Cressley.”
Gwen held out her hand. Cole’s eyes ran up her body slowly and when they met
hers, it sent a shiver of anticipation through her. He took her hand in both of
his, giving it a squeeze.

“Yes, it is.” Cole’s voice warmed.
Gwen mouthed ‘I want you’ to him before slowly licking her lips. He tilted his
head just slightly at her mouthed words. The corner of his mouth lifted
slightly. The doors slid open on the third floor.

“Have a good day, sir.” Rebecca gestured
for Gwen to step out. Gwen stepped just over the threshold before turning to
look at Cole.

“Yes, have a good day. Sir.” Gwen
smiled at him. He crossed his arms again and nodded with a smile tugging at the
corner of his mouth. The doors closed as Gwen turned back to follow Rebecca
down the hall. “Is he always like that?”

“Yes. Mr. Cressley isn’t always the
friendliest person. But he knows his stuff for sure. Plus, he is a very
generous employer. He treats his employees very well. We get bonus checks and
huge company parties are thrown at lavish locations multiple times a year.”
Rebecca shrugged. “I’ve worked here for four years now and it’s been a great
four years. I can’t think of a better place to work.”

“Even if the boss man is mean?”
Gwen asked. Rebecca’s eyes snapped to her.

“Oh, not mean. Just… I guess you
could say, he is short. He is a very busy man and he expects things to be done
right the first time and for you to know what you are doing. I’ve never seen
him yell or even raise his voice with anyone. I don’t think anyone has.”
Rebecca opened a door and ushered Gwen in. Inside was a huge open room. There were
rows and rows of material bundles. “This is the material room. We have more in
other rooms if there is something specific that you are looking for and can’t
find but this is the biggest and most used. Also, each designer is allotted
funds to purchase other fabric if you should decide to.”

“Yes, I’m actually quite familiar
with this room.” Gwen smiled at her. She remembered a few times when she’d been
so frustrated trying to find the right material she thought would go good with
Victoria’s designs not so long ago. “Remember I was an assistant. Speaking of,
will I have my own assistant?”

“You sure will. I think we have
someone who would work perfectly with you and it was decided that she be your
first assistant. Of course if the two of you don’t get a long, we can always
find someone new to fill the position.” Rebecca said as they went back down the
hallway. Gwen followed her to other floors in the building and through other
locations she would be visiting in the process of designing clothes.
Eventually, she pressed the button for the 25
^th
floor. “Now I will
show you to your space.”

Gwen took note that she was on the
same floor that she’d been on when she worked for Victoria. There were over 10
floors of space for designers in this building alone. There were 30 floors in
the building and every one of them was designated for something in the fashion
industry. There was even a weight room for those who wanted to keep in shape
before or after work. They also had a couple nutritionists on staff to help
anyone that wanted help to keep with the fashion lifestyle. Rebecca led her to
a large wooden door that had her name on a placard to the side of it.

“And this is your space.” Rebecca
said as a large smile spread across her face. She opened the door to reveal an open
room with large tables, bare mannequins and a table with pencils, scissors and
other various supplies she might need. Gwen looked at it all a bit in awe.

“Wow. Okay. I… yeah.” Gwen didn’t
have words for what she felt. A dream turned into reality. Something she’d
worked so hard for. At times, she didn’t think it would ever happen for her. It
was here, right in front of her. Her own design studio.

“Everything you should need to get
started is here.” Rebecca stood, hand still on the door knob. “There will be a
meeting Monday morning to introduce you to the other designers. They will lay
out the upcoming shows and you will find out your first deadline.”

“Okay. 9am, right?” Gwen figured
the schedule would be about the same. They would have a monthly check in with
the Vice President of the Design department. Her hands itched to sit down at
one of the stations and start drawing but she would wait until Monday. She had
plenty of time to work, not to mention she had plenty of unused sketches at
home. She was excited to find out when her first show with MHKR would be and to
get everything started.

“That’s correct. I forget you’ve
worked with us before.” Rebecca smiled. “Let’s head back down and get all your
keys and passes settled before I let you get to your last Friday free from
work.”

Gwen touched the placard with her
name on it while Rebecca locked the door. Once at the elevators, she pressed
the down arrow. She turned back to Gwen.

“Do you have any questions?”
Rebecca said as the doors slid open. Gwen almost laughed when she saw Cole
standing in the elevator again. Rebecca coughed, clearly surprised. Gwen
smirked and stepped into the elevator turning her back to him as Rebecca pushed
the button for the first floor that was already illuminated.

“I don’t have any right now. But if
I think of any questions, I’ll be sure to contact you.” Gwen pushed her hair
over her shoulder as she looked at Rebecca. She was standing with her back to
the side of the elevator so she could see Gwen and Cole. She cleared her throat
and nodded to Gwen. “So any plans for the weekend?”

“Um. I was planning on hunting down
a new pair of shoes.” Rebecca flicked her eyes from Gwen to Cole as she spoke
softly to Gwen.

“Shoes. Now that is something I do
love.” Gwen laughed. She kicked out one foot so it resting on just the thin
heel. “I have more shoes than most people would consider normal.”

“I love to look at shoes, but
actual shopping just isn’t nearly as fun for me. I have such a hard time
finding flats that are cute and not extremely expensive.” Rebecca gave Gwen a
half smile. “It’s funny because I have no problem spending money on clothes but
how much shoes can cost makes me cringe.”

“I can see that. I remember when I
was younger not having any money to spend on shoes so now I guess I go a bit
crazy making sure I’ll never have to worry about that again.” Gwen cringed as
that personal tidbit left her lips but it was getting easier to share details
of her life. But it also brought to her mind the call she’d received which sent
a shiver down her spine. She wiped her sweaty palms on the side of her dress
and looked up to see how many floors she’d be trapped in this awkward
situation. She turned back to look at Cole. “Any plans for you, sir?”

“Nothing concrete yet.” He smiled
at her but the smile slipped off his face when he caught Rebecca looking at
him. “Was thinking of taking my girlfriend out of town to get away for a bit.”

“Oh?” Gwen looked down at the floor
and took a breath. “Must be a very lucky woman to have snagged a man like you.”

“Hm. I think she’s pretty special
myself.” Cole nearly reached out for her, but caught himself. He turned his
attention to Rebecca. “Where would you want to go if you could go anywhere?”

“Um, I think Duck, North Carolina
is pretty. My last boyfriend took me there for a weekend and it was pretty
fantastic.” Rebecca shrugged. “But that was years ago.”

“Duck? Really? That’s the name?
I’ve never heard of it.” Gwen laughed.  

“I actually own a property there.
It is remarkable.” Cole said coolly as his finger tapped against the railing
along the wall of the elevator behind him.

Finally the elevator stopped at the
first floor. Gwen watched as Rebecca visibly relaxed and stepped off. Gwen
couldn’t help herself. She moved a bit closer to Cole so she had to look up at
him.

“It was nice to see you sexy.” Gwen
spoke softly so that Rebecca didn’t overhear. To her surprise, he looked over
her and spoke to Rebecca.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to
speak privately with Ms. Black for a moment. She’ll meet you back in your
office when I am through speaking to her.” Cole said pushing the close button
on the elevator. Rebecca’s eyes widened but she nodded and turned to leave as
the doors slid shut. Cole pressed the top floor button and swiped something
from his pocket over a monitor on the wall. “Now we will have a few moments of
privacy.”

“Is there something you need to
speak to me about? Privately?” Gwen leaned back against the side of the
elevator. Cole moved quickly and had her pressed to the side of the elevator
before she could blink.

“Yes. I think there is.” He said
before pressing his lips to hers as he palmed the back of her head and her hip,
pulling her to him even as he was pressing her against the side of the
elevator. His lips parted and he tilted his head to kiss her deeper. He pulled
back from her after a moment. “I hope you like your office. I personally made
sure everything was ready for your arrival this morning.”

“It’s wonderful. Thank you.” Gwen
smiled up at him. He was so tall and she loved that she had to look up to see his
face. She ran her hands up his arms and over his shoulders to link her hands
behind his neck. “Have you really just been riding the elevator waiting to
catch me?”

“Absolutely not. I had my assistant
let me know when you were heading to the elevator. She’s been following your
movements since you first arrived. I had to know that your first visit here
went well.” He smiled softly at her and shrugged.

“Did you now? Here I thought at
least once had been a coincidence.” Gwen leaned up to give him a quick kiss. “I
must admit I like the possibility of randomly running into you when I’m at
work.”

“Yes. I think I rather enjoy the
idea myself.” He slipped his hand to her lower back and pulled her against his
rigid erection. “Although this will be a bit awkward to deal with.”

Gwen bit her lip looking up into
his eyes. "Want to make a fantasy of mine happen?” She gave him sexy eyes as
she bunched her knee length skirt up until she could slip her hands under it.
She hooked her thumbs in either side and pulled them down off her hips, they
fell to the floor on their own. She lifted them with one of her heels and
bunched it in her hand before shoving them into one of Cole’s pockets. “You’ll
have to make it quick though.” She gently bit his lip before turning in his
arms to rub her ass against his erection. She pulled her skirt up over her ass
revealing that she was wearing thigh high stockings, causing Cole to groan.

Cole looked at her with a look of
amusement on his face, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I see I'm not
the only one turned on." With her hands on the rail along the side, she
circled her hips against him.

"Just fuck me. We don't have
much time." Gwen groaned as she looked up at the numbers on the elevator
signaling they had 20 floors before they reached the top. Cole quickly unzipped
his slacks and pulled his thick cock out. He aligned his hips and pressed slowly
into her, holding onto her hips as he slowly filled her. He pulled back slowly
before slamming deep in her, hard. He quickly started moving faster and harder.
Reaching up to grab her breast, he pulled her to a standing position, still
sliding in and out of her, hard and fast. He pulled her face back so that he
could kiss her. Still holding one breast in his hand, his other hand slipped
between her legs and played with her clit, which had her knees weakening and a
cry slipping from her lips.

"Oh, Cole." Gwen moaned.
She reached back behind her with her hands and grabbed tightly to feel his ass
flexing as he pushed in and out of her. Her face pressed to the side of the
elevator as he continued to push her quickly towards her release. Her hands
moved to hold onto his neck when she felt it coming. She was rocking her hips to
meet his thrusts. Her release was right there. She could feel it. Just as her
body stiffened and her release hit her, the elevator dinged. Cole slapped his
hand out and hit the lobby button and the elevator started moving the other
direction.

“Shit. That was close. The doors
almost opened.” Cole growled in her ear. He was still moving in her, slower
now. “But now we have more time.” He quickly resumed his fast and hard pace as
he played with her clit. Gwen moaned as his hand slid from her breast up her
neck to make her turn her head and he could kiss her again. His hand was
cupping the side of her face as his tongue slipped in her mouth. Gwen gasped
and moaned into the kiss as another orgasm rushed over her. Cole kept pounding
into her until her orgasm was done. As soon as she relaxed against him, he put
his hand against the wall, his other hand wrapped around her waist as his own
orgasm caught him. He threw his head back and groaned loudly. Gwen actually
felt her feet leave the ground for a moment when he tensed around her waist. He
rested his chin on her head, breathing hard for a minute. “God, every time I
think it can’t get any better with you, it does.”

They both took a moment to catch
their breath. Cole pulled from her body and tucked himself back in his pants
before pulling her skirt back over her hips. She turned and he pulled her into
his arms. He ran his nose up the side of her neck before leaning back to look
into her eyes. “Even without this. I really do like the idea that I will get to
see you every day even though you bring out a different side of me than I’m
used to dealing with. You make me a different man. I’ve never cared to make
someone happy. I’ve never felt this squeezing in my chest when I think I’ve upset
someone like I get with you. When you smile at me or because of something I’ve
done, it makes my entire day better.”

“I feel the same way.” Gwen smiled
at him as she cupped the side of his face. “Trust me, I’m the worst about
expressing what I feel with the right words. I always seem to screw it up, but
I want to try for you. I want to try to be a better person than I have been in
the past because I want you to be proud to say that you are with me. I want to
be worthy of everything you have to give. I know that I’m not but I want to try.”

“Just so you know, this won’t be
happening again. I’m putting you on restrictions. No sex until we’ve had 3
normal dates.” Cole asked as he gripped the back of her neck and ran his thumb
back and forth over her skin.  “Can I take you to dinner tonight?”

“Yea, I’d like that. And we’ll see
if you can keep your hands off me. I’m not gonna take it easy on you because I
love when you touch me.” She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly. His hand on
her neck tightened, holding her to him as he tilted his head. He bit down on
her lip and pulled back a bit before releasing it.

“I’ll pick you up at seven?”  He
asked before stepping back. Gwen reached up and adjusted his tie just a bit. “You
are so incredibly beautiful.” He reached out and brushed her cheek softly
before they separated from each other a normal distance.

“Yea, 7 sounds great.” She tried
not to blush. Here she’d just had sex with him and he was still calling her
beautiful. She smiled as the elevator bell dinged and slid open on the first
floor.  Gwen stepped out of the elevator as two men in suits stepped on and
greeted Cole. She smiled as the two men engaged him in a conversation about
work. But he locked eyes with her for a moment before the doors closed.