Deceived - The Complete Series (5 page)

She texted him back.
“I’m so sorry Thomas. I got held up and am doing a presentation at two p.m. with a new client. Forgive me?”

Angela was pissed at herself as she walked back to the elevator. How could she let this complete stranger seduce her? She made it back to her office and stood at the window watching people pass on the street below. Emotions were coursing through her like a storm hitting the water. She was annoyed with this stranger Steve, but also uncontrollably attracted to him in ways she couldn’t explain. She was deep in thought when she heard her office door open.

“Are you almost ready Angela? I’ll walk down with you.” Kimberly was in the doorway. 

“Yes I have everything right here.” Angela grabbed the file and USB off her desk and followed Kimberly out of her office. They made their way down to the conference room. There was a very large cherry wood table in the center of the room with black leather chairs surrounding it. There were already six other people waiting when they arrived.

“Both partners were to be at this meeting, however something came up so we will only be presenting to Miss McAllister today.” Kimberly opened up a folder and sat down in one of the leather chairs.

“Ok,” Angela replied.

“Good afternoon everyone,” Miss McAllister said as she walked into the room with a smile.

Grazing over her memo, Angela heard the familiar voice and looked up.

“Good afternoon.” Kimberly said. “This is our new Marketing Manager Angela Black. She will be taking care of your file while I oversee things.”

“Angela. It’s so nice to see you again. I had no idea you worked here.” Ana smiled at her softly.

“Yes, I just started a little over two weeks ago,” Angela smiled. She was surprised at the same time.

Kimberly looked confused and raised an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”

“Yes we do,” Ana chuckled. “We have a mutual friend who introduced us over the weekend.”

“I see,” Kimberly said sounding a little bit annoyed. Angela wondered what that was about.

“Well I am sorry my brother couldn’t make it but we will push through without him. Let’s get on with the presentation, shall we?” Ana looked a little rushed for time.

Angela was well prepared and in her comfort zone. Marketing was her expertise and it certainly showed when the presentation was finished twenty minutes later.

“Angela, I love your ideas on the photoshoot. I think that will really capture the new drivers racing on the track. Let’s schedule this for the first week of July, just after the holiday. Once the photos have been looked at, edited and approved we can send them to print.” Ana was beaming and looking more than satisfied with Angela’s marketing angle.

“Wonderful,” Angela stood up and shook Ana’s hand giving her a warm smile. She really liked Ana. Not only was she beautiful but she also seemed witty, intelligent and spoke her mind.

As everyone was leaving the conference room, Angela was still writing down some notes when her eye caught Kimberly and Ana talking just outside the door. She sensed a tension between the two of them just in their body language. She only heard the last sentence of the conversation that Ana sniped at Kimberly before she turned around and left.

“He has already told you it’s over Kimberly. You were nothing more than a fling. Leave it at that and move on.”
Ana’s tone was harsh.

Angela looked back down at her notes and tried to pretend she wasn’t listening as Kimberly walked back into the conference room. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.” Kimberly said, looking flustered.

“No worries. I didn’t hear anything,” Angela shot her a small smile.

“I will book the shoot,” Kimberly said, changing the subject. “Once we have a date I will email you with the details. By the way, that was a great presentation, Angela. Ana really loved your ideas.” Kimberly’s words were kind but her tone cold. She was still clearly upset from her conversation with Ana as she walked out the door.

“Thank you,” Angela called out after her, hoping her boss even heard her. She wondered who they had been talking about. Whoever it was certainly made an impression on Kimberly. Enough to piss her off and not want to let go.

Chapter 6

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Angela was curled up with a glass of red wine on the over-sized sofa and looking over some notes from work. The AC was pumping at max but she was still hotter than ever in a tank top and a pair of shorts. She laid the papers down beside her, and stretched out her tanned legs. She let her eyes wander the room. They fell on a picture of Thomas, Blake and herself. She squint her eyes and took a better look. It was from the Stag and Doe, the three of them were toasting with their beer in the photo.

Even though it had been 7 months since Blake passed even simple things such as photos, certain songs or smells would make her well up suddenly and uncontrollably. The love she had for him and the pain of losing him was so overwhelming. Her eyes began to pool as she tried to focus on the great times. She let out a chuckle and wiped her eyes before the wetness could touch her cheeks.

She heard the door open and slam shut. Quickly patting her eyes dry and taking in a deep breath she watched Thomas walk down the hall. He started to pass her without saying a word. “Hey, did you get my text?” She asked as he continued on by.

A moment later she heard his bedroom door slam shut. She took the last sip of her wine and walked down the hall. Knocking, she asked, “Thomas, are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” He grunted through the other side of the door. “I’ll be out in a bit.

“Ok,” she said frowning. She went back to the living room and to her work. 

Angela finished making some notes to the marketing plan she would be doing for Ana’s company when Thomas finally entered and walked past her to the kitchen. She heard the fridge door open.

“Hey, did you get my text?” She asked waiting for a reply. “I’m really sorry I stood you up but I lost track of time and then had my two o’clock presentation to do.”

Still silence, nothing but the hum of the air conditioner and TV in the background.

Angela got up and walked into the kitchen to find Thomas leaning against the fridge taking a sip of his beer. “Are you mad at me?” She asked with her hands on her hips.

“I’m cool,” he said, not even glancing in her direction.

"Well then why are you acting like this?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Look, I just had a rough day at work, alright?” He was looking at her in a way he never had before. He brushed past her and went into the living room. She followed and watched him grab the remote from the table and turned the TV to a football channel.

“Ok,” she said, putting her hands up apologetically. “Are you hungry? There are some left overs in the fridge.”

“No, I’m good. I ate before I came home.” He was so short with her. But then his tone changed a bit and he said, “So how did your presentation go?”

“I thought you would never ask,” she said with a smile. She went over and plopped down beside him on the couch. “My new client loved it! We will be doing a photo shoot just after the Fourth of July weekend which means that once it is all finished, we will be working together on a few things. Oh and guess what? I know her, my new client I mean. When Joanne took me to that private event, well it was my new client’s private event. Her name is Ana McAllister, partner of McAllister Stock Cars. Pretty cool huh?”

“That name sounds familiar.” Thomas said looking at her. Taking a long pull of his beer, he laid his hand on her knee. “Listen, I’m sorry for acting like an ass. I was kinda pissed you stood me up for lunch and then my day just went to shit from there.” Thomas gave her a sad look.

“It’s ok. We all have bad days. I am really sorry. I had every intention of going. Speaking of the day though, something weird happened today that I wanted to ask you about.” Angela circled the ring of her glass with her finger. “At the end of the presentation when everyone was gone there was a tense conversation between Ana and Kimberly. All I heard was “He already told you it’s over” and to “let it go,” or something like that. Anyway when Ana left Kimberly was clearly pissed.” She took a sip of her wine. “You’re close with Kimberly. What was that about, do you know?” She was trying not to sound like she was prying, but she clearly was.

“I’m not sure. I know she met someone about two months ago because that is all she ever talks about. How gorgeous this guy was, how he spoils her and makes her feel like no other man. It gets old.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Maybe they are fighting over the same guy?”

“Huh.” Angela shrugged her shoulders. Turning to the football game Angela’s mind wandered back to her encounter with Steve in the storage room. It made her stomach flutter just thinking about it. She knew they would bump into each other again. He said he did business there. But what floor did he work on? How did he know she would be in the storage room? He must have watched her, she thought. Regardless, the next encounter would be cut short. Things were moving too quickly and she wasn’t ready for any of it.

“Well I think I will call it a night. I’m exhausted. See ya in the morning.” She bent over and gave Thomas a peck on the cheek.

******

Finishing his beer, Thomas turned the TV off. He turned off the lights in the living room and made his way down the hall. Just before entering the bathroom his head swung around, eyes glued to the mirror armoire in the corner of Angela’s room. Her door was open just a slit, just enough to see her reflection in the mirror.

Thomas leaned against the bathroom door knowing that she couldn’t see him. Standing there he watched her undressed. He examined her long shapely tanned legs, and let his eyes trail to her black satin panties and then to her breasts. They were covered by a black lace bra but he could see the swell of them over the lace. Licking his lower lip he watched as Angela began to slowly rub lotion on her legs. Thomas’s mouth turned up into a grin as he slid into the bathroom and closed the door behind him softly so Angela wouldn’t hear.

Chapter 7

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Angela was on the phone when there was a knock on her office door. “Come in,” she said, covering the phone receiver.

“I have a delivery for a Ms. Angela Black?” The delivery man said reading from his chart. “Yes come in.” She told him.

The delivery man walked over and laid the package on her desk. He handed her the sheet to sign. Angela signed it quickly while holding the phone receiver between her ear and shoulder. She then mouthed, “Thank you,” to the man and he left, closing the door behind him.

Hanging up the phone she looked at the package puzzled, wondering who in the world would send her something. It must be from Thomas she thought. Maybe it was his way of apologizing for his behavior last night
.
Searching for a card but not finding one, she pulled on the outer package. She ripped the outside and tore it off. Pulling the paper away fully, her eyes fell on a tall beautiful crystal vase that held over two dozen lily’s. Not just any lily, but her favorite ones, Passion fruit.

She noticed the small card that was hidden amongst the paper. As she was about to open it up, Kimberly walked in her office.

“Do you have a minute?” Kimberly asked as her eyes fell on the flowers. “Wow, those are beautiful, secret admirer, huh?” She asked with a grin on her face as she shut the door.

“I honestly have no idea who these could be from.” Angela said, still staring at the card in the envelope.

“Well open it.” Kimberly pressed her, sitting down in the plush brown chair across from Angela’s desk.

Angela opened up the envelope and her jaw almost fell on her desk. It read:

I can’t wait to taste you again. Until next time Angela.
It was signed, “S.”

Flustered she tried to shove the small card back into the envelope but her hands were shaking so badly the card slipped and fell on the desk. Kimberly leaned in and grabbed it before Angela could reach it.

Angela watched Kimberly’s hand come up and cover her mouth. She let out a little giggle. “Well, well. Sounds like someone had a great time. What does “S” stand for? Obviously you have left quite the impression on this guy.” Kimberly laughed and slid the card back towards Angela.

“Just some guy I met at a club a few weeks back,” she said, feeling her face turning crimson. “It’s nothing really. The guy is just persistent.” She realized that she was almost stuttering.

Angela sat back in her chair and threw the card in her desk drawer. Looking up at Kimberly she said, “You wanted to discuss something?”       

“Yes, actually, it’s in regards to the McAllister’s marketing plan. I will be tagging along on that photo shoot. You know, just want to make sure everything goes well. Also, I wanted to talk about the conversation that I know for a fact that you heard between myself and Ana.” Kimberly’s tone changed to a nervous one as she said, “Ana can be a nosey bitch and we tend to rub each other the wrong way if you know what I mean?”

“No worries Kimberly. I only caught the last part. It’s none of my business, really.” She smiled and watched Kimberly shift in her chair. Her boss ran a hand through her hair and looked uncomfortable.

“What is it Kimberly?” Angela asked.

“It’s just this damn guy has been driving me nuts. I have been seeing him for over two months and he is everything I have ever wanted in a man. One minute he tells me he loves me and the next he says we need to slow down and take a break.” Kimberly blurted all of that out and looked at her as though she would have a solution.

“I don’t know what to say Kimberly,” Angela told her in a sympathetic tone. “Honestly, this is not my area of expertise. I have only been with a few men before I met and married Blake. I have been out of the dating game for a long time.” She smiled softly. “But if it were me,” she went on, leaning into her desk. “I’m a pretty black and white type of girl. Either you’re in or you’re out. I hate games. Tell him how you feel and what you want. If it was meant to be it will happen. But that is just my opinion.” Angela leaned back in her chair.

“How old are you again?” Kimberly laughed, kidding.