blush (Westbrook Series) (2 page)

Missy woke up fuming with Brandon's immature
behavior still on her mind. 
Why was she letting him get to her?  He is just
another cocky jerk who just happens to be her boss.
  She was glad it was
Saturday so she didn't have to face him before she had time to cool down.  She yawned
and decided a morning jog would be the perfect stress reliever.  She ran track
in high school; it was the one time she could forget her problems.  After she
left home she didn't have the time to run, because she was working full time to
put herself through college.  Just another thing she put aside when she had
dedicated herself to design.  She put on some of her old spandex shorts and a
tank top.  She pulled her long brown hair into a messy pony tail and stretched
a little before jogging down the stairs of her studio apartment to the sidewalk. 
She jogged to a side street by her apartment building and then onto Central
Park for a real workout.  This is why she had chosen the overpriced studio. 
She loved how close it was to her favorite part of New York.  Central Park was
the one place she could go to unwind after a long day.  She enjoyed  sitting  with
a newspaper or just walking through the park and drinking her latte.  It was usually
crowded on the weekends, but she didn't care.  She was focused.  She was going
to run until Brandon was no longer in her thoughts.

Brandon woke up giddy.  He had dreamed of her, those
slender arms around his neck and her long, muscular legs around his waist.  He
hadn't had the best evening, but after their interaction in the parking lot his
spirits seemed lifted.  He vowed the moment she drove off that he would
definitely make sure they were doing more one on one work.   He didn't want to
waste another minute.  He reached for his phone and dialed her number.  He was
going ask her to meet him at the office for some brainstorming on an upcoming
project.  They had a while before the deadline, but he wanted to jump in while
they were on a roll. 
Plus he wanted to see her again
.  It rang and
rang...no answer.  Heat rose up in his body.  He knew she had a lot of male
friends in the office.  Maybe she had met up with one of them to blow off some
steam after their conversation last night. 
Shit. 
He called again. 
Nothing. 

He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans
and a white button down shirt and ran out the door.  Brandon  pulled up to her
house just as she was coming back from her run.  Missy was still on the sidewalk
stretching out the muscles she knew would be sore from her lack of a normal exercise
routine.

He sat in his Corvette watching her. 
Damn she
looked good
.
 Of course Missy was not the kind of woman to blow off
steam with one nighters.
 He felt like an ass even having an idea like that
about her.  She stretched  her arms over her head just enough so that her
barely there tank rose above her belly button.  He slowly got out of his car
still admiring the tightness in her muscles.  "Hi!  I was in the
neighborhood and I thought we could bounce ideas off of one another for the
Mercer project."

Missy looked up and tension immediately formed back
into the pit of her stomach. 
What is he doing here...in her neighborhood? 
"Um,
you want to work on a weekend?  Don't you have something better to do?" 

"Nope," he replied with a smile on his
face.  He was examining her from head to toe.  His eyes lingered on her breast
when observing that they were still a little moist from her morning activity. 
She suddenly felt underdressed. 

"Well let me go shower and I will meet you at
the office."  She hoped that would get him out of there so she could calm
down and collect herself.  He looked mouthwatering.  His white shirt showed off
his dark tan and his hair was slightly tousled.  His dark jeans rode just below
his waist and she had to stop herself from imagining what he would look like
with nothing but them on.  She absolutely needed to calm down. 

"I'm in no hurry.  I'll wait," he stated
nonchalantly.  "You can ride in with me so we can talk on the way." 

Shit, just her luck!
 
She jumped in the shower and dressed while he made a call on his cell phone.

He was intrigued by her cozy apartment.  It was so
different than the modern meticulous person she was at work.  Her sofa was a
plush warm gray decorated with a mix of yellow, turquoise, and ivory pillows. 
She had a shaggy ivory rug on the floor and the furnishings were all natural and
repurposed.  Alone each piece was unique and beautiful, but together they
formed a harmonious cohesiveness that was outstanding.  He didn't see very many
photos of her family around, but instead just a few of Missy with what seemed
to be close friends sprinkled throughout the studio unit, which consisted of a
living room, a small kitchenette, and bed.

She stepped back into the small room and noticed he
had made himself comfortable on the couch.  He stood and gave her a once over. 
She hoped it was okay that she was dressed informal in jeans and a dressy tank
top.  If she was going to work on a Saturday she was not putting on heels and a
suit.  "Is casual okay?"

"You look perfect."  He threw her one of
his heart melting smiles and lead her out the door.   Missy had never been in
such a luxurious car.  The black 1966 Stingray convertible was much like its
owner, exciting and stunning.  She loved the wind blowing through her hair and
the music vibrating through her body.  She closed her eyes and took it all in. 
She never thought it was very practical to have a convertible in New York, but
she could see how it could be enjoyable.  She opened her eyes and looked at
Brandon.  He was studying her with longing eyes.  He looked so different in
this moment, no stress from work or being the boss---just him... relaxed and in
his element.  The wind was blowing through his hair and his sunglasses framed
his handsome face.   Missy gave him her sexiest smile right back. 
This man
could be trouble!

They pulled into the New York Yacht Club and he came
around to open her door.  "What are we doing here?  I thought we were
going to get some work done?"  She snapped letting him know she was
annoyed.  "I do not have the luxury of wasting away the day checking out
boats or whatever we are here to see."

"We are working.  Our next project is a boat
manufacturer.  We are here for research." Brandon walked toward the
boardwalk ahead not waiting for her to follow.

She quickly came behind as he stopped at a large
white yacht.  She had never been on a boat before, so she watched nervously as
he stepped onto the large vessel with ease. 

"Come on I've got you."  He held out a
hand to help her onto the yacht in front of her.

She swiftly pushed his hand away and stepped onto
the boat with only a little wobble.  She was a grown woman and didn't need any
help from him.  He smirked and kept walking.  She hated the way he laughed at
her.  When they arrived at the cabin, an older man with white hair and a white
beard sat waiting on a chair. 

"Hello folks; you guys ready for the
tour?"  He introduced himself as Rich, the captain of the yacht.  He
walked Missy and Brandon through the entire boat pointing out the things Mercer
offered that most manufacturers didn't.  He talked safety ratings, motors, and
speed.  Missy took notes and used the camera on her phone to take photos of
features she thought would make great advertising.   Rich excused himself,
telling them to make themselves comfortable and feel free to explore the boat
on their own.  Brandon went to the bar, opened a beer and poured it into a
frosty mug.  "Want a drink?"  Missy looked toward Brandon, bewildered. 
"You like white wine, right?"  He held out a long stem glass and placed
it in her hands. 

"I think we have all of the information we
need.  We should probably head back to the office and go over all of the
details," Missy babbled, still a bit confused.  Brandon strode over to her
and grabbed her hand.  He stood so close her heart skipped a beat.  "Come
on; I want to see this baby in action."  He gently pulled her out of the
cabin to the bow of the yacht where there were chairs and hors d'oeuvres waiting. 
"You hungry?  I had the chef make us a snack." 

She gawked in disbelief.  "Are you sure they
won't mind if we hang around?"  Missy asked as she sat next to him in one
of the chairs. 

"They shouldn't."  He looked deep into her
eyes as if he were searching for something.  "It's my boat." 

The yacht engines started and the boat began to move
out of its dedicated slip.  Missy looked at Brandon with surprise on her face. 
"Where are we going?"  He could tell she was a little nervous.  He
reached for the arm of her chair and put his hand over hers.  She quickly went
to pull away but it was too late.  He stopped her hand and held it under his. 
She felt butterflies in her stomach and heat all over her body from the firm
touch of his hand. 

"Don't worry sweetie; we are just going for a
ride.  My mom is in town for the weekend and when I told her we were working
she insisted we have lunch with her.  We have a little time before we are
scheduled to meet her."  She blushed at his term of endearment.  He
wondered if she even knew she was blushing.  He also wondered if she knew how
much she turned him on when she did it.  He turned his body away from her so
she didn't find out.

"Oh great.  I would love to see Brenda.  She is
such an amazing woman."  She hoped by talking about his mother and work it
would subdue the electricity she felt as he rubbed her palm with his fingers. 

Brandon smiled and added, "Yeah she has a
pretty high opinion of you too."  He loved feeling the softness of her skin
under his thumb.  He wanted to touch her arm and shoulders, bare from her tank
top.  She stood before he mustered the courage.  Brandon felt as though she had
taken something from him.  Like there was a hole he didn't even know he had,
and her touch filled it.  

"Wow I have never seen New York from this
perspective.  The view is remarkable."  Missy stared out at the city she
loved.  It looked so peaceful from the water.  She had to remind herself this
was the most populated city in the U.S., but from here it only looked tranquil
and serene. 

He agreed completely.  The view of her in awe of
where she was, was breath taking.  He knew he had given her a gift.  Brandon
had seen New York this way many times.  His mom had a boyfriend when Brandon
was younger that was an avid yachtsman.  They would take Brandon and his sister
Dayna on long vacations on the man's yacht.   Brandon always loved it because
his mom would take a break from her growing empire to spend time with he and
Dayna.  They would fish and tell stories until it was too dark for them to
see.  Then the chef would bring them ice cream to cool down after they came up
empty handed.  His mom would say, "that's why it's called fishing not
catching."  As he got older he realized his mom didn't know anything about
fishing and the reason they never caught anything was because they were using
the wrong kind of bait, but those were still the best memories of his
childhood.  Seeing Missy enjoy it for the first time brought him back to his
youth.  He now had a new favorite memory to add to his collection. 

He rose from his seat and approached her.  He had
tried so hard to stay sitting down, but he wanted to touch her again.  He
wrapped his arms around her waist and before she could object he started
filling her with stories of the sights they were taking in.  He showed her the
best view of the building they worked in, and they tried to see if they could find
the windows to their offices.  She laughed when he couldn't even remember which
side of the building his office was on.  After a lot of pointing and explaining
he finally kind of knew where it was.  She hadn't had this much fun in a long
time.  She relaxed into his embrace.  He smelled of a musky, masculine
cologne---the same amazing scent she enjoyed in his office. 
His scent
. 
Brandon was so interesting and witty, not at all what she expected of the man
she had come to know in the stories everyone at work snickered about.  Her
Brandon sweet and adoring.  He was a gentleman. 
Her Brandon.

As they pulled back into the boat slip she felt disappointed
the rendezvous was over.  On land they were back to work, he was back to being
just her boss and she was back to hiding the growing feelings she was having
for him.  Brandon held out his hand to help her out and this time she let him. 
He must have sensed her emotions because he ran his hand over her cheek and
smiled.  "Don't worry love.  The day isn't over."

She smiled and followed him as they walked to a
restaurant they passed on the way in.  It was a swanky place decorated in
antique boating and shipping memorabilia.  There were vintage pictures
displayed on a blank wall giving each piece the appearance of art in a museum. 
They followed the maître de to a quiet room in the back where his mother was
sitting at a table sipping a glass of iced tea.  When she saw them, she stood
and held out her arms.  "I am so glad we were able to meet for lunch,
darling," Brenda exclaimed as she held her son for a moment.  When she
reached for Missy, she did so with as much love as she had shown her own child. 
Missy had told Brenda about her upbringing over the seven years they worked
together.  Brenda always treated Missy with respect and still managed to slip
in as much nurturing as she could without offending Missy.  "Thank you so
much for taking a break from work to have lunch with me.  I was so happy when
Brandon told me you would be joining us."

Brandon held out the chair for his mother and then Missy,
and finally seated himself in the chair closest to Missy.   He ordered a bottle
of the white wine he had learned was Missy's favorite.  His mother smiled with
mothers intuition and looked at Missy. "Brandon tells me you paired up and
closed the sports drink deal."

"Yes Mam.  Your son was a pro in that
presentation, like he had been at it for years."  Brandon put his hand on
her thigh under the table and watched her as she turned his favorite shade of
pink.  She tried to brush him off; when she was unsuccessful she continued
nervously talking to Brenda.  "The team really pulled together on the
project."

Brandon gave her a cocky smile and turned toward his
mother to join in the conversation. "We worked so well together I decided
Missy and I will be joining on the Mercer project as well." 

By the time the food arrived they had settled into a
comfortable and interesting conversation.  Brenda told them stories of her
latest trip and showed them some of the trinkets she picked up in different
places.  She talked about a man she had met in Rome and how they had enjoyed
the rest of their vacation together.  Brandon listened and nodded as his mother
bored him to death with her latest love story.  Same story different guy.  He
would have fallen asleep if it weren't for the warmth of Missy's leg under his
touch or the way she kept crossing her legs trying to move out from under his
hand.  She kept glaring his way and hitting him under the table, but he would
just smile and move his hand higher on her thigh making her blush again.

When lunch was over, Brenda walked Missy and Brandon
out to the Corvette.  "You take care of this one for me Missy, he tends to
get himself into trouble."  Brenda hugged them both and waved goodbye.

Missy and Brandon didn't talk much on the ride back
to her apartment.  She knew as wonderful as the day was, she could not let this
happen again.  Brandon was too much of a risk in her life.  Sure, he made her
hot as hell, but he was her boss.  He was off limits and she intended to make
sure he knew it. 

When they pulled up in front of her building, she
waited for him to open her door.  She was not the type of woman who usually let
a man open the door for her, but she was going to appreciate each moment she
had with him before he left.  "Did you have a nice time?"  He broke
into her thoughts.

"Yes, but Brandon this can't happen again.  We
work together and I don't want for things to be uncomfortable at the office
when you are only interested in a fling."  Brandon felt his blood pressure
rise.  How did she know what he wanted when he didn't even know.  No doubt, he
had only been interested in sex in the past, but she was different.  He enjoyed
talking to her and listening to her tell him about her family and friends.  He
enjoyed making her smile and laugh and...
Oh shit.  What was she doing to
him?
  "What the fuck ever," he grumbled brusquely before getting
back into his car and speeding off.   He had to get this woman out of his
system.