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Chapter Ten
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2024-10-29 19:42:56She preferred the glitz-and-glamour facade of the jewelry world over the sweaty, athletic image of his company. It was just as well she wasn’t bright enough to have done any research. If she had, she would have known that Damon's company’s earnings far exceeded those of their family's jewelry business. And it had only taken him a few years to accomplish it.
His mother wouldn’t believe it but Damon was grateful to Sam for being a selfish pinhead. Sam wanted Grace becausese Damon had her. Thanks to that deep need for one-upmanship, Damon had narrowly escaped a huge mistake. But it didn’t mean he wanted to spend quality time with his spoiled, self-indulgent cousin. He’d agreed, however, and now he needed a date.
With a shake of his head, he began scrolling through the contacts on his phone. He had narrowed his options to three women, when the solution came to him.
It was brilliant, really. He w
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“You can’t have it both ways, Grace. Either I was serious about you or you were an accessory,” he drawled.“Which is it?” She flushed angrily. “I only meant that you haven’t dated any woman more than once since I broke things off with you.”He made an exaggerated expression of surprise. “You flatter me. I had no idea you were so interested in who I date. I would have thought my brother kept you too occupied to monitor my love life.”“Bring your date, Damon. But you know and I know she isn’t me. She’ll never be me. Don’t think you’ll take anything away from my wedding day.” Grace hissed.With that she stalked out of his office, leaving Damon to shake his head. He really ought to call his cousin and thank him profusely. He had dodged a bullet.He sank into his chair and opened his day planner. Maggie kept meticulous records of all appointments for just such rare occasions that
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Twelve
“I only have forty-five minutes,” he continued. “We’re two blocks apart. Shall we meet in the middle? Our choices are French, Italian or good ole American.”“I’m up for anything,” she said faintly.She propped the phone between her shoulder and her ear and began frantically digging for her notes on his account. She stuffed everything into a folder and reached for her bag.“Great. Shall we meet in say five minutes? I’ll start out now.”“Sure, meet you there.” She replied.He hung up and for a moment she stood there like a moron, the phone still stuck to her ear. Then removed it from her ear, took in a deep steadying breath and declared battle.She could do this in her sleep. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she all but jogged out of her office and down the hallway.She passed Trevor Williams, Standard Gate's CFO, who held up a finger and opened his mouth to say s
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Thirteen
Worry knotted her stomach. Tagging along to a family wedding seemed entirely too personal even if the purpose was solely business. Not to mention it was hard enough to battle her attraction for him in a business setting. But something as intimate as a wedding?“How long would we be…..away?” she asked.The question came out more as a squeak than a concise, professional query. She sounded like a scared little girl facing the big bad wolf. Oh, but Damon made such a yummy wolf.It was all she could do not to put her head on the table and bang a few times. Focus, Wendy focus.“We’d fly out Thursday evening. Rehearsal and dinner on Friday, wedding Saturday with reception to follow and since it will likely go well into the night, we’d return Sunday.” he replied.It would only require one missed day of work. No one but Ev
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Fourteen
There was nothing gaudy about any of the furnishings. It looked very masculine.It even smelled masculine. Leather and suede. Earth tones.Beyond the three rows of seats, there was a small sitting area with a couch and one chair with a coffee table and a television. To her left between the seats and the cockpit was a small galley area complete with a steward. The older man smiled at her and welcomed her on board.She saw that Debbie was already seated and had made herself comfortable.As she and Damon took their seats beside each other, the steward introduced himself as Bill and asked her if she wanted a drink.She glanced at Damon then back at Bill. “Do you have wine?” she said.Bill smiled. “But of course. Mr. Paige keeps the airplane stocked with all the necessities.” he replied.She’d agree that wine was very necessary.A few moments later, Bi
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Behind her, a grim faced older gentleman flanked by a younger woman and a man who looked slightly younger than Damon, walked slower but with no less purpose in their direction.To her surprise, Damon took her left hand in his and held it close to his side. He fumbled with her fingers even as he looked up with a welcoming smile. It looked completely forced to Wendy, but the woman didn’t seem put off.Debbie went past them.The woman, who Wendy recognized as Damon and Debbie's mother, threw her arms around Debbie. "Oh sweetheart, you are here!" the woman said."Yes mom, we are here" Debbie replied, smiling and hugging her mother tightly, then she moved to hug her father too.The woman threw her arms around Damon, and still, he didn’t let go of Wendy's hand. He returned her embrace with his free arm and said, “Hello, Mom. I told you I was co
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Wendy smiled. “It’s all right. Truly. It is one of those things women like to know. Men are so thick when it comes to these things, but if any awkwardness can be avoided, I would like to know.” She said.And she could go straight to hell for lying, too. She’d just make sure Damon got there first for his role in this debacle.“It’s all in the past. Rest assured.” Martha said.“Naturally,” Wendy said drily.“Damon and Grace were engaged. It was a long engagement. The truth of the matter is, I’m just not sure how much of Damon's affections were engaged. Grace and Sam fell in love, and well, it’s obvious to anyone that those two were meant for each other. Damon didn’t take it well, though, and if I hadn’t begged him to come to the wedding, I have no doubt he wouldn’t be here.”Wendy nodded, understanding now why he and Debbie didn't want to attend the wedding in the first place.
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“I have had it with people trying to make me do things that I don't want to do. That's the reason why I left my dad's company. It's the reason why I came here. But you don't care about that, do you? As long as you get what you want. But listen to me, I'm not going to let you use me to lie to your mother because your fiancée humiliated you by dumping you for your cousin. Here’s another thing you should know. Crap happens. It happens all the time. Get over it.”Damon's hands closed over her shoulders. She tried to flinch away, but he held tight. There was honest regret in his eyes, but there was also determination. Stubborn determination.“Sit down, Wendy,” he ordered in a low voice.She gaped at him.“Please.” he said.It was the please that did it. Or maybe it was how tired and resigned he sounded.Or maybe it was the bleak light that entered his eyes. Or maybe she was just a flami
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He blinked and then looked a little sheepish. “Okay, I get it. I’m an immature, egotistical man. The male ego is obviously a fragile creature. I think we can agree on that. Yes, it occurred to me to get a little of mine back on her by showing up with a gorgeous, stunning woman. Sue me. I even hatched the whole engagement scheme complete with the ring because I figured it was the best way to get them all off my back.” Damon said.Her shoulders shook and she closed her eyes. The man was nothing if not honest.She had to give him that much.“Wendy, look at me, please.” he said.His entreating tone had her turning once more to stare into those intense dark eyes. He looked earnest, and he looked…..worried.“I didn’t do any of this to hurt you, I swear. I thought if I just came out and asked you to do me this favor, you’d have never agreed to come with me, even with the promise of listening to your
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"Oh, Damon" Wendy said, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too. I never stopped. I always will"Damon smiled and wiped a tear that had fallen with his finger. "Don't cry, honey" he said, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. And it makes what I'm going to say next so much easier"Wendy laughed and wiped her cheek with her palm. "Oh.... There's more?" she asked.He nodded. "Hell yeah" he replied, then his hand moved to stomach and he cupped it. "You remember when I found out about the baby and I asked you to move in with me?" he asked."Yes" she replied softly."At first I didn't like that you said no, it pissed me off in fact, but I realized that it was a crappy thing to say. We are having a baby, Red. You, me and that tiny human growing inside of you. And we love each other, so if we are going to do this, I want us to do it right, so...... "
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Six
“You are so beautiful,” Damon drawled, then gave a small cough. “Red, i have missed you so damn much, so much that I stayed up at night thinking about you. It was never just about sex for me".Wendy smiled up at him, tracing lines on his chest with the tip of her finger. "I have missed you too. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Damon. I didn't mean to push you away like that. I cared but I was just so worried about what people thought so much, that I didn't know I was torturing myself, and hurting you too, but now.... With the baby, I don't care so much anymore. My priorities has changed all of a sudden"He laughed—and it sounded so good. To see him relaxed, smiling, was like glimpsing somehow a different man, and all she knew was that she wanted more of this. He ran his hand over her warm, naked body and she squirmed with pleasure, couldn’t believe she was lying naked in his arms in the middle of the day and feeling only beautiful.
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“Don’t hold onto those thoughts, Red, just let them go.” And she tried, really tried to just relax as his hand cupped her bottom and lifted her enough to slip off the shorts and knickers in one. But the movement erased what had been achieved, embarrassment flooding in as her flesh was exposed, her knees lifting instinctively and her hand moving down in a futile attempt to cover herself. Wanting to hide her body from his gaze. It had been a while since they'd been this way together.“Don’t fight,” he ordered, but he was soothing her with his words. “Don’t think about that anything else, just think about this.” His hand hovered over her stomach until she caught her breath.She wanted the contact again and he was very gently tracing tiny endless circles around the little hill of her abdomen as his lips dusted her cheeks. Oh, how much she'd missed him. He was kissing away the salty tears that were spilling from her eyes with his other hand around
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Four
The sun blocked out as he hovered over her, her eyes still closed as she blissfully attuned to the feel of his lips lightly on hers until it wasn’t enough. He was waiting for her bidding, she instinctively knew that. She could smell the bitter orange and bergamot undertones of his cologne, his breath mingling with hers, and after seconds that seemed to drag for ever she gave him her consent with her mouth, pressed her own lips into his. The greeting was acknowledged by the reward of his cool tongue parting her lips, slipping inside, and that delicious taste of him, the intimate feel of his mouth inside hers, his tongue languorously capturing hers, playing a slow teasing game, long strokes that made her want more, countered by a tiny feather-light stroke on the tip of her tongue and then a gentle sucking as he dragged her deeper into him. And it was the most erotic of kisses yet the most frustrating, because still nowhere else did he touch her. Only their mouths were touching only the
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She turned abruptly away, terrified he’d read the naked lust in her eyes. She took a long drink from her water bottle then, blowing her fringe skywards and trying to keep her voice normal, determined not to make a fool of herself again, to be absolutely sure she wasn’t misreading things, she said, “You should try meditating if you want to be relaxed.”“It wouldn’t work,” Damon dismissed.“It won’t if that’s your attitude...” She could feel the atmosphere sizzling between them, knew that if she said what was on her mind then she’d be crossing a line, playing the most dangerous of dangerous games. “Try it,” she breathed, her eyes daring him to join her. “Why don’t you lie back and try it now?”“Now?” Damon checked, a dangerous warning glint in his eyes, which she heeded, but it only excited her more.“Now,” Wendy affirmed. “Just lie back.”“Then what?” Damon's impatient voice demanded instruction as,
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy Two
Absolutely the last person she was expecting to see at this hour as she thought she wouldn't be back from work so early. He was dressed in his inevitable dark suit, but there was a slightly more relaxed stance to him. He held a brown paper bag in one hand and he didn’t look in his usual rush—his usually perfectly knotted tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone. But his dark eyes were shielded with sunglasses making his closed expression even more unreadable if that were possible.“You’ve done a lot of work. I can see.” he said.“It’s getting there.” She nodded. “And if I keep going at full speed, I could still be done with this by early next week.”He didn’t say a word, he didn’t have to. Just a tiny questioning lift of his eyebrow from behind his dark glasses was enough for Wendy.“I am allowed to take a break,” Wendy retorted.“I didn’t say anything!” he said, but she could see
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy One
His mouth brushed her cheek, sweeping along her cheekbone till she could feel his breath warm on the shell of her ear then moving back, back to her waiting lips, slowly, deliberately until only a whisper separated them, till his mouth was so close to hers that she was giddy with expectation, filled with want —deep, burning want, a want that suffused her, a want she had never, even in their most intimate moments, experienced, and he hadn’t even kissed her. Her breath was coming in short, unyielding gasps, his chest so close to hers that if she breathed any deeper their bodies would touch.It was the pregnancy, she thought. Everything seemed to be heightened.She was torn between want and dread, her body longing to arch towards his, her nipples stretching like buds to the sun, his hand still on the wall behind her head, and all she wanted was his touch.As if in answer, his mouth found hers, the weight of his body pushing her do
THE CEO'S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT Chapter Seventy
Damon smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel better, your plan worked out fine"Wendy smiled back and withdrew her hand slowly from his, missing the feeling instantly, "I should go now" she said, trying to unlock her car. "Did you bring your car""Yes, but I will follow you home"Wendy grinned at got into her car, and she could see him through the mirror as she drove home. "---------------“Home!” she said, when they were at her place and both got out of their cars.He didn't leave then, but followed her up.“Should you be climbing the stairs everyday? Now that you are... You know.”She laughed."I'm not paralyzed Damon" she said, "Besides, it's good exercise"They were at her front door now. “I know what I said before, but thank you for coming, Damon. It’s been, er...pleasant. I mean... Having
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"You really have to ask? Damon, for the past weeks all we have done is fight. We simply can't stand each other. We can't agree about a single thing, and now you think all that is just going to magically go away because we are having a baby together? Even you have to admit that that's ridiculous ""I honestly don't think it is. I think we can work through things and find a way to make it work""Well I don't" Wendy replied, rolling her eyes, "And you can't just come in here and expect me turn my life around just because you said so. Have you ever considered the fact that I might have my own plan? No you don't. You think that all of your idea is gold and I'm just supposed to agree with whatever you say"Damon didn't want to fight or argue with her, especially not in this room, so he took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm sorry I didn't ask you first. I just wanted to be helpful not piss you off" he said. "What are your plans?"
