Evelyn"Chelsea?" Ken asks.Connor's ex.The stunning woman I met at that other party. Before meeting her, I had this weird feeling that I might be jealous if we ever crossed paths. When we did, all I could think about was how I couldn't give her a real piece of my mind because I didn't mean much to Connor then.We were faking our engagement.Then he said he was falling in love with me, and now, I feel untouchable."She's quieted down," he responds. "I doubt she'll be making any more trouble for us." He looks at me when he says us, and my heart flutters.Us.We're a real thing, and after tomorrow night, he might be my real fiancé."I can't wait," I whisper excitedly."How many reporters have you invited?" Connor asks."Three," Ken responds. "Two are more likely to cover and write articles in our favor, while the third is neutral.Connor gives him a thumbs up. "You've done well. You've earned a week off next month. Don't forget to send us an invite beforehand. Even if it's a small wedd
Evelyn"So fucking beautiful," Connor's hands unbutton my shirt, and I remove my hands from his hair so he can pull it off.My breast spills out of the demi black bra as he cups it, teasing my nipple through the fabric with his fingers.The friction does delicious things to me, and I lean back, hands on the desk, urging him to take more. When the clasps come undone, and the tip of his tongue touches my nipple, I gasp, and my shoulders shudder."Connor," I moan."I don't know why we've never done it here," he says breathlessly before doing the same to the other nipple. My head falls back, and I feel my pulse kick up a notch between my legs."I'd like to think of you, naked and wet, every time I walk into my office.""How will you concentrate?" I ask with a small laugh.He shrugs, and I feel his hand between my legs, touching me through the fabric of my pants. I shamelessly ride his hand, wordlessly begging for more.Connor kisses me as his hand undoes the zipper on my pants, and he pul
Connor"Have you seen Evelyn?" I ask Ken when I find him outside in the hall.The after-party is in full swing. The event was a success, and I'd promised to tell her something once I could get away from all the people.He shakes his head. "Nope. I'm looking for Mira, too. Her art gallery thing was supposed to have ended hours ago. If I find Evelyn, I'll let you know. Or I'll send her your way."I give him a thumbs up. "Thanks."Ken goes one way while I go the other. When I don't find her, I redirect my attention to the flower path to the right.I try calling her phone again and it makes the sound indicating that she's on another call.Who could she be talking to?Mira, maybe?Either way, I need to see her. I've waited weeks, and I can't wait for the main event to end so I could get some time alone with her.My hand goes into my pocket to make sure it's still there and I smile, patting it. The small box has everything I need, but all that's missing is the person in question.My heart i
Connor"I have to go, mom. The party isn't over yet. My boss must be wondering where I am now," Evelyn says.I turn away, blinking rapidly, and stride through one of the open doors into the hall of bright lights and a lot of chatter."Mr. Everest." I turn to see a reporter flashing a smile. "I've been looking all over for you."I put on a fake smile that irks me, but I swallow my irritation, reminding myself that my attitude will affect the articles that will come out tomorrow."Good evening," I respond."I'm with the Evening Times. Would you mind answering a few questions on the project that was unveiled this evening?""I have three minutes to spare," I inform him.His recorder goes on, and the small mic comes close to my face."Building a sophisticated piece of tech like the GloChange without word of it getting out must have taken a lot of effort. Can you tell us how you did that?"By faking an engagement with a contracted consultant and falling in love with her in the process, then
Evelyn"Miss Lockhart!"I'm accosted by a reporter as soon as I walk back into the hall, and I brace myself preparing for the barrage of questions he's about to ask.After all, this is the event everyone has been waiting for, although they didn't know that.The reporter grins as he gets closer and then stretches out his hand, which I accept."Good evening. I'm Gerald. With the Evening Times. I met your fiancé earlier, and we had quite the conversation."Oh?I cock my head, suddenly interested in the interview.Connor and I haven't seen each other all night. If you don't count the one time we bumped into each other and he was whisked away seconds later. But not before he kissed me on the cheek and said he had something to tell me later.The only reason I haven't had the chance to steal my fiancé away and kiss him in the cover of the hallway's darkness is because I've been making sure everything is going smoothly and he's been playing the perfect host.We just might be Yin and Yang if I
evelynit turns out to be harder than i thought or expected because after going round and round, there is no trace of connor anywhere. i go to the parking lot, but his car isn't there either.we came separately, but why would his car be gone? did he leave without me? maybe he had to drop someone off?scratching my head and trying to figure out which of the questions is the right one, i head back to the hall and, by a divine stroke of luck, run into ken."there's the star of the evening," he says cheerily. "everyone is talking about you."i blush. "me? i'm just the cyber person. i'm sure you heard them talking about connor, but i appreciate the flattery."he shakes his head."nope. it's you. everyone on the team has been talking about how you made sure everything went well, and i might," he smiles, "have chipped in a thing or two.""thank you. um, have you seen connor?""oh yeah. minutes ago? or an hour? i'm not so sure. he was looking for you."why isn't he around, then?i wrack my he
EvelynI don't know how she knows I'm here—my guess is that I must have drunk-dialed her—but I follow her to a corner table.Mira pulls out the chair for me to sit, and I do so. She pulls out the other one and does the same."So, do you want to talk, or do you need me to watch over you while you drink, take you home, and then talk about it in the morning."All I want to do is forget.I don't want to see Connor tomorrow and I have to ask if he meant that we're never going to be an item, if he was deceiving me all this time, if he couldn't see that I was in love with him before he broke my heart with one text message.Digging into my bag and opening the message, I thrust my phone at Mira. She looks at me with concern before taking it and seconds after, her eyes widen as her lips part slightly."What," her eyes meet mine, "is this?""I thought he was going to propose tonight," my voice breaks from the start. "One stupid reporter said that Connor," I sniff, "talked about a wedding and I a
Connoied when she said she had feelings for me."What did you do, Connor?" Ken repeats.Letting out a sigh, I tell him about the party, how I went out looking for Evelyn and found her on the phone with her mom. I narrate what I heard as best as I can to Ken, making sure to add a few phrases verbatim.He looks at me confused when I finish, shaking his head."And you didn't ask her what she meant by that?""It was pretty clear," I respond.Ken leans forward, and his posture is almost intimidating. Almost."Are you certain it was what you think? You said you heard her on the phone, talking to her mom. You had no way of knowing what was being said on the other end, did you?"I shake my head. "No. But did I have to know? If you heard Mira on the phone saying the same thing, what would you think?""The first thing I'd do is ask her why," he replies. "Her response might break me or clear things up, but it's better to know for sure than to think something that is not right."There's a knock
Felicia.It's Wednesday, and I've been on pins and needles, waiting for everything to come together.Our department has been working around the clock to get the changes to the software ready. It's come a long way from the rough draft that Carson was originally shown.The team took my ideas and ran with them. They came up with some very innovative improvements on their own. Excitement is high.I've barely seen Collins as we're working opposite shifts.I'm getting ready to grab some lunch because I'm hungry. I skipped breakfast again this morning. My stomach has been acting up. Maybe Ellen was right, and I'm coming down with something."Felicia, it's Jaxson Gibson. Would you be able to stop by my office today?""Hi, Jaxson. Yes, I was getting ready to leave for lunch in a few minutes. I could be there in about fifteen minutes if that works?""Great. I'll see you then."When I walk into Jaxson's office, I'm shown into a small conference room in the back.Jaxson comes in. "Felicia, thanks
Felicia.It's Monday, and I spent most of Sunday looking up information about ReConstruct.Collins suggested I hire Jaxson and his team to look into the company's finances and bank records. I called Jaxson from the parking lot before I entered the building, so I'm running a little late.When I enter our department I find Ellen waiting for me in my office."Uh oh, are you here with good news or bad news?""You decide. Here are the projected sales from the third-party company. They re-ran the numbers based on the new marketing and pricing plan."I carefully put down my briefcase, sit down, and only then do I pick up the file in front of me.I quickly skim through their findings. Then I look up with a beaming smile."Let's get these over to Donovan Security.""Already done."After Ellen leaves, I lean back in my chair and just sit there with a smile on my face for a few minutes until I get a text from Collins.'I bet you're smiling!' With a smiley face emoji. My response is just a row of
Collins.It's Saturday, and we make sure we're home in time for the evening news."It's on every local news channel."We watch as the station airs the entire story of how a local security guard's life was endangered because of a faulty bulletproof vest. They sing the praises of Donovan Security and how we contacted the police when we suspected the vendor. Jaxson's involvement is not mentioned; instead, they praise the police. One news station ends its segment with a brief interview with Sanders.I turn off the television with the remote and shrug, "I wonder how long it will take for this not to be news.""Like Sam said, at least it's good news,""Yeah, and Donovan Security is getting free publicity. I'd say Sanders got a raw deal, but he's loving the attention."Felicia walks over to her briefcase, pulls out a large stack of papers, and sits down on the couch."Did you bring work home, Felicia?""Kind of. These are copies of my uncle's emails.""Felicia, I think that's against the law
Collins.I pull into Shot In The Dark, "How does a burger sound?""It sounds great. I'm hungry, too. I had no idea it was getting so late."We walk into the pub and slide into a booth.Quickly, the server comes around asking for our order, "A draft beer. Cheeseburger with everything and onion rings on the side.""For you, ma'am?""The same, but fries instead of onion rings, please."While we sit sipping our beer, waiting for our dinner, I smile at Collins."I can't believe I'm even considering buying a motorcycle. I was never interested in motorcycles before.""They're fun. I especially like to ride at night. Jacksonville is beautiful after dark.""Yes, it is.""Felicia, I like the idea of you riding a Can-Am Spyder because it's safer than the standard bike. Nothing against your driving. You ride really well. But if you're new to bikes, I just think you'll be more comfortable with three wheels. I wouldn't worry as much if you were on a Spyder.""Thanks; like I said, I'll think about i
Felicia.I'm at the office bright and early the next morning.I'm standing at the reception desk with Sue when Ellen arrives."Hi. Ellen, as soon as everyone is here, I'd like to have a meeting.""Is everything okay?""Everything is just fine.""Why do you have such a smile on your face? Aren't you worried?""No, I think everything is going to work out better than just fine.""Okay, what kind of happy pill did you take last night? You left here feeling low. Now you look like you're walking on air. Oh, that smile, that's a Collins smile. Did he rock your world last night?"Sue leans in and says, "Details, we want details this time.""Okay, I'll give you details. Collins had a bubble bath waiting for me when I got home last. He put on my favorite Jazz music and left me alone to soak all my cares away. He even lit candles around the tub. He did interrupt once to put a folded towel behind my head and a glass of white wine in my hand. Dinner was delivered, I ate it in my robe that he had l
Collins."Hey, Carol. Thanks for pulling those listings.""No problem, Collins. Did you find anything you like?""Yes, I didn't realize there were so many houses available in our area.""San Marco is a popular place.""Yeah, I love the neighborhood. Is there a service or anything that I could hire to take pictures of the backyards or a list of the backyard amenities? I'm looking for a home with a nice outdoor entertainment area.""I can type that into our search. You can be as specific as you want."I rattle off my wish list of what I'd like to see in the backyard."Anything else?""No, I already told you my requirements for the inside of the house.""While I don't want to put the duplex up for sale yet if you hear of anyone who might be interested in buying it. Let me know.""Collins duplexes in your area are hard to come by. Many people like to live in one half and rent out the other. You won't have any problems selling.""I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about talking to my
Felicia.We're two weeks away from our imaging camera software launch. Our buyer hasn't approved the marketing ads we sent over more than a week ago. So, I give him a call."Henry, It's Felicia Hayford-Donovan. I was wondering when we can expect approval for the marketing ads.""Oh, hi Felicia, um. I'm not sure. Let me get with my team and I can call you back.""Henry, we're getting down to the wire. Your manufacturing company agreed to bundle our software with your security cameras. Are you backing out of our deal?""Now, Felicia. I wouldn't put it that way.""How would you put it, Henry? I need a straight answer.""Look, let's just say that I've decided to go with another Hayford's recommendation.""Another, Hayford? As in my uncle, Vince Hayford?""Listen, Felicia, I couldn't turn him down. His deal was too good. All he asked me to do was back out of this deal. So, my hands were tied. Look, I wasn't supposed to let you know that we were asked to back out. Victor wanted me to keep i
Collins.I'm sitting in my office daydreaming about Felicia and that damn Brazilian-style swimsuit. I was hard or semi-hard all day. I should be used to that by now, living with Felicia.I couldn't wait for her to take off her beach coverup and then when she did, she made too tempting of a view in that suit.By three o'clock, I was ready to call it a day.We loaded the truck and headed home. Felicia helped me unload the truck, and then we decided to cook out in the backyard. I grilled some hotdogs while Felicia made some potato salad and baked beans.After we finished, Felicia took off her black skirt. I took one look at her perfect ass and had to have her. I felt most of the day was foreplay, anyway. When she cleaned up the leftovers on the table outside and took them inside the house, I followed her.As soon as she set the food on the counter, I bent her over the nearest piece of furniture and took her from behind. While I was pounding into her, I gave her another sharp pat on her s
Felicia.Collins finds a parking space at Neptune Beach and pulls into it. Then we both hop out and start unloading the truck."I can't believe we brought all this," I see Collins pulling stuff out of the truck bed."The cooler is on wheels, so it's not that big a deal. I like having something cold to drink.""Me too. I can carry the beach umbrella."I watch Collins as he loads the beach chairs on top of the giant cooler. I grab my beach bag and the umbrella and follow him."I like this beach the best. It isn't as crowded as Jax's beach."I'm glad I'm walking behind Collins so I can watch all his glorious muscles flex as he pulls the cooler with him over the sand. He's wearing a pair of long board shorts. His chiseled chest is bare, and I'm glad I'm wearing a big floppy hat and dark sunglasses so I can stare at my husband's body as much as I want.My goodness, that man is fine. As I trudge along behind him, I glance around at the beach. There aren't that many people at this time of th