Wicked Proposal Read online

  "Sorry to scoop you outta there like that, but I've been trying to get an appointment with Mark for the last month. And it was just dumb luck that someone had cancelled when I called today. He said we could come up if we made it quick."

  I could feel the color drain from my face as if someone had pulled a plug. Mark? The CEO? Why in the hell were we going to see him? I tried to avoid upper management like the death plague it was, not go out of my way to be in the same room with them. A hundred questions flew around in my mind, but I decided to ask him the most reasonable one.

  "Jake, have you lost your mind?"

  He laughed so hard I was pretty much sold on the answer being yes.

  "Not hardly." He said as he wiped at his eyes.

  He put his hands on my shoulders and looked down into my eyes. My pulse froze for a second before lurching like a racehorse as I processed the warmth of his hands traveled through the thin material of my dress. He was so hot and funny and just...wonderful. God, why did all the good men have to have loose screws? I didn't exactly have a screwdriver to fix them.

  "Sophia, you know how we talked about you traveling on the road with me?"

  I didn't need the mirrored panels of the elevator to point out how much I resembled a fish as I closed and opened my mouth a few times.

  "Oh, sure. You mean that time it was brought up in that hypothetical conversation we had three hours ago?" I couldn't help laughing even though my hands started to feel clammy at the serious note in his voice.

  He waved that a side with a tilt of his head and continued on like I hadn't spoken. "Well, that's what we're going up to pitch to Mark."

  The fact that he wanted to pursue time alone with me made warmth spread through me like honey in the sun. No matter how much my libido liked the idea though, it just wasn't realistic. I had to stop him before he embarrassed both of us.

  "Come on, Jake. Why in god's name would he even consider something like that?"

  The elevator lurched to a stop and the button flashed off, signaling we'd arrived at our floor. Mark dropped his hands from my shoulders just before the gold elevator doors receded into the wall. I didn't like how my shoulders felt cold without his touch.

  Bright bolts of cloth were everywhere in the cold, cinderblock room. They leaned bundled in rows against the wall, propped against mannequin stands, and unraveled over long tables where designers cut and sliced them. The designers with their hair having long ago came out of neat styles and pencils jammed behind their ears were clearly frazzled as they poured over what I'm sure they hoped would be the next big piece.

  I had a bad feeling the key to Jake's plan was on this floor.

  Right about then we caught the eye of a short man who wore his spiked hair like an accessory. His eager wave was returned by Jake.

  As we picked our way through the craziness of the floor to the little man, I spoke low under my breath to Jake.

  "What's going on? What does a designer have to do with me going on the road with you?" Our footsteps marched in a professional clip across the dyed cement floor as we got closer to the eager designer. "And you better explain, quickly."

  "Simon has been working on some custom pieces for us to show Mark. He's specifically made them to be particularly flattering to your...assets." He spoke through the smile on his face like we weren't having a crazy conversation about him having someone design lingerie for me.

  Floored. Is the best way to describe my reaction. There were so many things going through my head, I didn't know how to even form the questions for everything. I decided on one topic that had me the most shocked and worried.

  "Why would he need to make them flattering for my...'assets'?"

  "Because we're going to pitch to Mark that we should be an outside sales team. I will be there to carry the bulk of the pitch. You are there to convince the buyers of how the line appeals to women, as well as to be an on-site...model." He said the last almost under his breath.

  We only sold one type of product at Wicked Intentions, Inc, and it wasn't something people wore outside the bedroom. I could only gape at him in utter shock a second before the little man was on us.

  "Isn't this the most exciting thing you've ever heard?" he said, with a two-foot wide smile on his face.

  His question was directed at me, so I plastered what I hoped was a convincing smile on my own face. "Oh, yeah. Sure is. The most exciting thing ever. In fact, I was just telling Jake how crazy exciting I thought this was."

  I made sure to put the emphasis on "crazy" so Jake could know exactly what I thought of this ridiculous idea. I was in no way model material. My hips were too wide and my breasts too big.

  With movements that spoke of too much time at the table, Simon reached under the table and grabbed two pieces of lingerie from a rather abused-looking bin under the black table.

  He looked around like he was about to commit grand theft before stuffing them into my hands. "Here, take these."

  His eyes roamed over the room, never resting on one person for long.

  The tips of his blond hair brushed Jake's sleeve as he leaned over to whisper in a loud voice. "I worked on the designs at home. You can never be too careful here. You never know what the little snake around here is going to snap them up." He straightened up and spoke more loudly. "I'm not stupid. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what's happening when my shit shows up on someone else's work."

  That took me by surprise. You always hear of theft, but never in a million years would I have imagined something like that going on at the company I worked for.

  Even though he wasn't talking to me, I couldn't help but saying, "No kidding, huh? That's messed up."

  "You don't know the half of it."

  He stood straighter as a tall man with chestnut hair came over. The man's smile was easy and his eyes kind. There was a quiet magnetism about him that made me want to talk to him over coffee.

  "How goes it, Simon?" the man said with a friendly hand on Simon's shoulder.

  "Hey, Nick! Good!" He switched his attention to me too fast and with such obvious feigned nonchalance that I had to fight not to roll my eyes. He pointed to a door in the corner of the room. "You can change over there, sweetheart."

  I couldn't help but think how lucky he was he didn't have to rely on his acting skills for a career as Jake and I made our way to the room he had pointed out. But the closer we came to the room less I was thinking about him, and the more was thinking about the situation Jake had put me in. I wanted to punch him. He couldn't possibly think this was going to work. I had zero sales experience. This was going to go worse than I could imagine.

  We walked into the room, and I turned to him. Anger at him and my impending humiliation bubbled inside me.

  "Just what kind of shit do you think you're trying to pull here?" I imagined the look on Mark's face when he saw me take me clothes off. Considering all the model thin women he saw all day, the best I could hope for was he wouldn't laugh. The thought just made me madder. "Forget that. Just what do you think you're doing being such a controlling, manipulative...ass?"

  Ok, maybe that was a bit harsh, but I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn't think it would be a big deal to strip down into your undies in front of people as a career change. Unless you were a whore-turned-stripper, that is. Not to mention that maybe it might be nice to have a conversation about the project to make sure I was on board before doing something rash, like oh, say making an appointment with the CEO of the company.

  "Look, I know it may seem like that, but that's not how it is at all. Hear me out."

  "Oh yeah. Go ahead. Feel free to tell me how it's not what I think."

  I could tell from his expression that he was getting mad too. Good. Let him. He wasn't the one who was going to have to take his clothes off in front of his boss. He wasn't the one wasting their time when there were a million reports that had to be done. After this whole charade, I was going to be the one who was still going to have to make up all that extra work. I'd p
robably have to stay late and miss Dancing With the Stars. And what was he missing out on? An hour of prep work. Yeah, let him get mad.

  I could see the vein jump in his neck as he tried to control his temper. "Don't get high and mighty with me, Sophia. I'm trying to do you a favor."

  "Yeah, well I didn't ask for any favors." I threw the lingerie down in anger. It hit the tiled floor with a tinny clatter.

  His eyes darkened and his expression grew still. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I'd gone too far. I backed up a little as he reached down and swiped the pieces off the floor.

  He shook them at me. Straps flapped about his muscular forearm.

  "That's right. You didn't ask for any favors, did you? You never ask for anything. In the year I've known you, came to you every week, and laid shit reports on your desk, you've always accepted them without question. And you knew they were shit reports too." He started advancing on me; a distinct predatory walk as he came towards me. I backed up more.

  "Always accepting of the bullshit. Never complaining. Never asking of anything from anyone. But I know. I know your secret."

  Secret? My back hit the wall and there was no where else to go as he came within inches from touching me. He couldn't know how I felt about him, did he? My breath came out in shallow rasps in panic.

  His scent enveloped me. A slight bite of cinnamon and a whisper of musk. He moved closer, so close that I could taste his breath on mine- a hint of mint, like he had recently crushed a mint between those perfect teeth. Teeth that stood inches from my lips, bared in an almost feral smile. He just stood there, breathing those labored breaths of anger and looking down through slitted eyes into my wide ones. I had never seen Jake like this. It was almost hostile. Vicious. Hot.

  I had to work to focus on what he was saying. The desire to lean forward those barest of inches made my skin burn. Raw need swirled around us like a tangible thing. I found myself swaying on my feet, and he put a hand on my upper arm to steady me. Instead of his touch grounding me, it fueled the desire scorching my insides. I would've given anything for him to pull me in his arms. I bit my lip in an effort not to whimper. He spoke in hushed tones, the words a breath against my lips.

  "You hate your job. You're miserable. Everyday...you don't have to say it out loud. I just know. You keep on pushing through the bitterness. And nobody knows. But I know. I know, Sophia." His expression softened and he reached up a hand to move a strand of hair behind my ear. "Let me help you. Take a chance. Believe that you could be happy."

  The tenderness of the moment combined with the realization that he not only got it but actually cared and wanted to help me pulled me away from my desire. It let me think.

  Maybe there was more to this than he was saying. Maybe things weren't as great as I thought they were for him. Maybe his sales numbers were declining. If that was the case, this ludicrous idea would certainly make more sense. Maybe he was just trying to help us both. Maybe he needed me as much as I needed him.

  He reached down and took my hand. With a touch so tender it stole my breath, he uncurled my fingers. A cool air fanned out across my heated palm before he placed the lingerie there.

  He was right, of course. It would be stupid to sit here and deny what he was saying. I was miserable. Every day this place ate away at me. Little by little. I felt like I was on a Ferris wheel of insanity, doing the same thing every day. My heart warmed at the thought that not only did Jake see that, but he truly wanted to help me fix it.

  "You could have mentioned something sooner and let me at least get used to the idea, you know." I chided him with a soft smile.

  He had the decency to look sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had planned on having an actual conversation about all this with you, but this came a little out of nowhere with Mark's sudden opening. You can only imagine how hard it is to get an appointment with him."

  "Yeah, I so don't want to imagine that. In fact, I'd die a happy person if I never had to make an appointment with Mark."

  I gathered my courage, as well as the lingerie, up into my hands more fully as I looked around for a place to change. I spotted a make-shift curtain, obviously made from discarded material, hanging to the left of a leather sofa. I stalked to it with purpose. Now I just had to get the hard part over with, parading around in my undies in front of my boss. Not to mention Jake. A shiver of anticipation ran over me. I don't know what was wrong with me. It's not as if being in undies meant we were going to be doing the nasty. No matter how desperately I wished for that to be the case.

  It was surprisingly dark behind the curtain, and I was happy to see someone before me had left a small desk lamp on the cement floor. I plugged it in and the light blazed back at me from the unshaded bulb. I stared down at the lingerie in my hand. Which one? The pink striped pin-strip one seemed to wink at me. Might as well start with that one. I'd always been a sucker for pink.

  Having decided on one to start with, I dropped them onto the duct taped, leather bench and went about disposing of my clothes. First I slipped off my patent leather pumps. I had just rested my foot on the bench and was about to roll off my thigh highs when I heard Jake clear his throat.

  "No, leave those on," Jake's voice was rough from the other side of curtain.

  My heart jumped into my throat, and I froze. Holy crap, he could see me? How was that even possible? I looked up, my first reaction being to look for a mirror, but after not finding one there, I crooked a suspicious eyebrow at the silky floral curtain. Then it dawned on me that the light in the corner was brighter than the light on the other side of the curtain, no doubt creating a silhouette against the flimsy curtain. My stomach did a little flip. I was essentially giving him a striptease. I about died. My instincts screamed to turn off the light and hide, but that would just make things worse, especially since we both knew he'd already seen. Besides, why not torture him a little like he tortured me every time he came into my office? I wondered what he would do if the shoe was on the other foot, if it was him torn by lust. It was anyone's guess. It could be nothing. Or it could be...amazing.

  I swallowed in an attempt to try to talk past the desire growing thick in my throat.

  "Ummm, ok." With deliberate movements, I moved from the top of my thigh-highs to the belt of my wrap dress. "So detail the exact plan for me."

  I undid the belt and dropped it to the floor.

  He cleared his throat, but his voice came out raspy still. "The plan?"

  I pulled the dress down over my shoulders, and let it fall to the floor. I could feel the tension in the room coil.

  "Yeah, you know. What should I say when we get in front of Mark?" I unhooked the front clasp on my bra and slid it off.

  There was a long pause that at first made me wonder if he had left the room. I was about to peek around the curtain to see if he was still there when he spoke again.

  "Well, I think we should treat it as if it were a real call. The strategy is for us to be a traveling sales team. I spin the advantages of the business side. Then you step in and use your love of the line. Make sure to play up the fact that you know all those women will feel the same way when they put on our lingerie..."

  His voice trailed off as I pulled my panties down to my ankles. There was no question that me getting undressed like this was having an effect on him. Little thrills of pleasure skittered through me. He was turned on. I could feel it from all the way on this side of the curtain, hear it in his voice.

  That I was the one turning him on like this made me so hot that my head spun a little from the rush of desire.

  To test the waters, I sat down on the bench and kicked my panties off with pointed toes. I heard a little gasp as it left my foot. The sound spoke to the heat building between my thighs. I felt a little wetness dampen the inside of my thighs. Yeah, this had back-fired big time. I didn't know how I planned on walking out there and facing him after this. Not without doing something embarrassing like throwing myself at him, that is.

  It wasn't easy to maintain a
normal tone as I continued our conversation and pulled on the waiting lingerie. "Ok, so where does the model part come in?"

  "Well, most of the customers I call on are older, and they don't understand how hot our line can be because it's more youthful and spunky than they're used to. So you will model it for them and help them see how sexy it is."

  I couldn't help but laugh. "And there isn't a question that seeing it on me may have the opposite effect on them?"

  I finished snapping on the white sleeve-cuffs and looked at myself in a mirror that hung on a nail hammered into the brick wall. Pink satin pinstripes stood out against black piping. It looked like a sleeveless business suit, complete with separate white cuffs that had pink rhinestone buttons. Not taking into account the cuffs, the outfit was a one piece. Compared to some of the other pieces I owned, it looked downright conservative. That made me feel a little better.

  The piece had high-cut legs and a plunging neckline. The neckline went so low it was only due to the piece's impeccable design that my breasts didn't come popping out. I turned from side to side and assessed the back. I was surprised how the bottom curved around my ass yet stayed nice and snug. Ok, nice. But was it enough? Doubt spread a chill across my skin. I gave myself a quick mental pep-talk and stepped out from behind the curtain.

  Jake sucked in a breath so loud I could almost feel the intake of air from where I was standing.

  "Do you like it?" I asked, knowing I sounded needy but unable to help it.

  A look of approval flared in his eyes. The intensity of it sent need clawing through me. I felt the pull to go to him, but uncertainty stopped me. What if he turned me down? I don't think I could take that after wanting this for so long. Despite my insecurities though, I could feel the need in the room. It was as thick as wet clay.

  I didn't know what to say, so I just started talking. "I- I could try on the other one, if you think--"