blush (Westbrook Series) (7 page)

Missy walked around her office.  Being back in the
swing of things was so rewarding.  She was ready to get back to her life in the
fast lane.  She helped Brandon while he was at her apartment taking care of her,
but it didn't have the noise or the adrenaline. 

"Hi; you feeling okay?"  Chloe opened the
door and came in for their morning latte together.

"Yes!  It feels so good to be back.  My brain
was turning to mush." 

Chloe and Missy each sat in a tall pale pink
wingback next to the plush white shabby chic sofa.  Pink and gray pillows
accented with pearlescent beads adorned the furniture.

"Tell me all about your date."  Missy
perked up her head and waited for some juicy details.

"It was magical.  It was with this psychiatrist
I have been doing some volunteer work with at a local mission.  He is so
smart."

"And what does the intelligent doctor and hero
look like?"

"He's tall and has the most beautiful salt and
pepper gray hair.  He is very distinguished."

"Wow!  I am happy for you Chloe.  You deserve
to be happy." 

"Alright, enough about my love life.  How are
you and the boss man?"

"Chloe, he is wonderful.  I feel like I am in a
fairytale."

"Well I have never seen you happier.  Just tell
him if he hurts you, he has to answer to me!"

Missy laughed hysterically at the thought of her
tiny friend trying to take on Brandon.  Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed,
"Hey, it's not that funny.  I am a black belt you know."

"I know, I know.  You're a total badass."

Chloe rose, "And on that note, I'm headed back
to the grind stone.  My boss is a tyrant."  Chloe threw her head back and
laughed as she walked out of the room.

Missy sat back at her desk and started researching
the assignment her creative team was working on.  She knew of the snack food
company.  She had eaten their chips since she was young, but they had taken on
a new energy drink and wanted to promote it.  She couldn't wait to dive right
in.  Her team had given her a welcome back celebration.  They filled her in on
what the company wanted to achieve and the ideas each of them had concocted. 

"Alright, am I going to have to drag you to
lunch?"  Brandon popped his head into her office.  I have been in meetings
all morning with human resources and I'm starving."

"Me too.  Just let me finish the last of these
notes."

"Meet me in my office in ten.  I have a call to
make and then I will be ready."

Missy opened Brandon's office door and caught the
tail end of his conversation.  He was talking to the Westbrook Advertising
legal team leader.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes.  I will fill you in on everything over
lunch."  Brandon slipped his suit jacket off of the chair and over his
muscular arms.  He looked incredible in the custom tailored black suit with
subtle pinstripes.  Under the jacket he wore a pale gray shirt with a black and
gray striped tie. 

He caught her staring and began posing and flexing
as he finished putting on and buttoning the jacket. 

Trying hard not to giggle, she asked, "Is the bistro
across the street okay?  I want to get back and go over the notes I have
written with Chloe so she can start getting together her web promotion for the
energy drink project."

"Sure.  That sounds great.  I just have
something to discuss with you and I would rather not do it here."

They walked across the street to the popular
bistro.  It was normally very busy, but since it was well past the time the
normal lunch rush hit, they had some privacy.  Brandon chose a cozy booth in
the back of the restaurant and let Missy sit down.  Instead of sitting in the
booth across from her, he chose to slide in beside her.

"So what's going on?"  Missy quizzed
musing over the menu choices.

"Human resources wants us to go down and sign
some paperwork.  The legal team is putting it together now.  They know we are
dating and want to make sure all of the correct forms are in place."

Missy looked up a bit concerned.  "What does
the paperwork say?" 

"Just that you and I are two willing adults and
we are in a relationship outside of the office. Yada, yada, yada.  Basically
just to protect the company from any future law suits." 

"Oh!  Okay no problem."

"That's what I told them.  It won't be long and
I will be changing your name to Westbrook anyway."

"Watch out now!  You don't want it getting
around that New York's sexiest bachelor is off of the market.  Women all over
town will retreat into their homes and weep."  Missy rubbed his thigh
under the table.

"I know!  You see what you are doing to me. 
It's a disservice to all of New York."  Brandon grabbed her hand and moved
it to his growing erection.  Missy started stroking it with her palm.

"Waiter!"  Brandon called the man that had
taken their orders over to the table.  "We have decided to get those
lunches to go.  Can you wrap them up and throw in a piece of cheesecake with
strawberry sauce on the side?"

After gathering the food Brandon lead Missy to the
car and drove back to the penthouse.  He unpacked the lunch on the table only
keeping one container with him. 

"Brandon, I have work to do."

"Don't worry.  I just need to finish my
lunch."  He pulled her toward the bedroom. 

"This doesn't look like you eating lunch."

"I'm having dessert first."  He put the
container on the bed side table and turned his attention toward Missy.  She
watched him as he carefully took off his jacket and tie and neatly rolled up
his sleeves.  He reached around her waist turning her back toward his body so
that he could gently blow kisses on the back of her neck.  He unzipped her
skirt letting it fall to the ground.  Then he laid her on the bed and removed
the black stilettos she was wearing.   She closed her eyes and relaxed as he
pressed kisses up her legs and onto the small satin panties she was wearing. 
He licked and nibbled trying to get to her folds, then moved up toward the hem
of her shirt.  He lifted her top over her head kissing his way up.  When he
reached her lips, he started his way back down.  He lifted his face and she
whined in protest until she realized he was unhooking the front clasp on her satin
and lace racer back bra. 

Brandon grabbed the container on the night stand and
opened it.  She froze and inhaled as he poured the sweet sticky strawberry
sauce in a squiggly line down the cleavage of her breast, making sure to
include her nipples, and then on to her lower stomach.  He began at her mound
tonguing her clit then moving up making sure to savor every bit of the rich red
sauce.  When he reached her breast, he stopped to suck the scrumptious dessert
off of each nipple.  The heat from his mouth caused her to grind her hips into the
hard bulge in his slacks.  He knew she was on the edge, so he lifted himself
off of her and  undressed.  Just to let her calm down he took his time,
meticulously undoing each button.

She knew he was teasing her, and when she couldn't
wait any longer, she reached down and plunged a finger into her dampness,
enjoying the sticky residue the strawberry topping left behind.  Brandon
stopped.   He now knew what shock and awe truly meant.  This vision of her was
beguiling.

She loved the surprise she put on his face, his eyes
widened and his mouth fell open.  "You mess with the bull baby, you get
the horns."

He rapidly shed the rest of his suit.  Grabbing her
feet he pulled her to the edge of the bed.  He rested her feet onto his
shoulders and entered her with confidence and strength.  Missy fisted the
sheets giving into the pressure inside of her, then the release.  When she
began pulsing around him, he lifted her up and plunged into her one more time,
unleashing the pressure she caused with her show. 

"Ms. Duncan, do you have any questions about
the forms you are signing?"  She had been with the lawyers for two hours,
studying and defining each sentence in the contract. 

"No.  I think we have revised the areas that I
had concerns with."

Missy was drained, and her eyes were seeing double
because she had been staring at the small print on the endless amount of
paperwork she had just autographed.  When she was finished, she left the room
rubbing her temples, and went back to the floor her office was on.

Brandon was on a conference call with one of the
snack company executives.  Their headquarters is located in Dallas, so until
the presentation, most of the contact was by email and phone.  She laid on his
sofa,  adjusted one of the small roll pillows under her neck and closed her
eyes. 

When Missy opened her eyes, two hours had gone by. 
She scanned Brandon's office.  He was nowhere to be seen. The building was dark
and silent and all of the staff had already gone home.  She headed straight
toward the conference room to find Brandon.  As she came to the large room with
a massive table and many desk chairs, she saw Brandon and Chloe talking. 
Brandon had his back to the large wall of glass, but she could see Chloe
appeared upset. 
What had he told her to have her so disturbed? 
She had
never seen the two of them conversing in such a private manor.  Missy opened
the door and they both turned to face her.  Brandon was angry.  She could see
it all over his face.

"What's going on?"

The rage on Brandon's face turned to concern as he
walked to her and placed his hand over hers.

"Missy we need to talk to you."  Brandon
sat her down in one of the chairs, placing himself in the one next to her. 
Chloe was standing behind him, almost in tears. 

"Chloe, are you okay?" 

Chloe pulled a couple of tissues out of  a box on a
nearby table, then sat down in the chair on the other side of Missy.

Brandon held his head in his hand and rubbed his
temples.

"Okay you guys are really scaring me.  What the
hell is going on?"

Brandon started speaking, choosing his words
carefully.  "Missy, I received a call while you were asleep.  I don't know
who it was, but he told me about your attack."  Brandon had to look away
knowing if he didn't he might not be able to finish.  "He was there Missy,
he saw the whole thing.  Hell, he probably planned it.  Anyway, he told me if I
didn't come up with some money, it's going to happen again."

Missy blinked.  She couldn't move, she knew if she
did she would throw up.  She drew in a long breath and sluggishly let it out. 
"How much?"

Brandon looked up at her somewhat baffled. 
"What?"

"How much?  How much money does he want?"

"It doesn't matter Missy!  We are going to give
him the money and that's it."

Missy spoke in a whisper this time, a whisper filled
with sadness.  "How. Much."

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand."

Missy turned her gaze toward Chloe.  Chloe had tears
dropping down her face.  Then Missy turned to Brandon, "We can't pay him. 
I can't ask you to do that, and if we give into him, he will only ask for more
next time."

Chloe begged, "But Missy."

"No.  I'm not going to give into this asshole. 
No money."

Brandon dropped his head and fingered his hair. 
"So what do we do?  He said no cops."

"I have an idea."

Brandon waved when he saw Mark at a table across the
restaurant.  He was hesitant to call.  He hadn't seen Mark since the night at
the bar. 

"Hey man."  Mark stood and put one arm
around Brandon.  He turned his eyes toward Missy, "I heard about what
happened.  I am glad you are doing better."  Mark studied his feet then
added, "I am also really sorry about what happened before.  I tend to say
stupid shit sometimes."

Missy hugged him.  "No worries.  I want you to
meet my best friend Chloe."

Chloe extended a hand.  Mark gave her his most
charming smile and accepted her gesture. 

Brandon quickly broke in, "Dude focus.  We are
here because Missy is being threatened."

They sat down at the table.  Mark was surprised when
Chloe sat down next to him and moved her chair a little closer to his.

Brandon explained the whole story to Mark.  "He
said we couldn't get the police involved, but Missy thought us just hanging out
might look like a double date."

Chloe and Mark exchanged glances.  It suddenly occurred
to him why she was so enthused about being next to him.  Mark ignore the hit to
his ego and went straight into cop mode.  "Missy do you know anyone that
would want to hurt you?  Any ex-boyfriends or ex-employees you pissed
off?"

"No.  Before Brandon I hadn't dated in a
while.  I was always too dedicated to my career and we haven't had any
employees leave in a while.  Most of our staff has been at Westbrook for a long
time.  We are all like a family there.  I don't think any of them would be this
malicious."

Chloe and Brandon agreed.

"What about from your past?"

Missy exhaled, "I don't really talk to anyone
from my past other than my mom every now and then.  She is an alcoholic who is
usually in and out of rehab.  My dad left her when she started drinking and
quit taking care of him."  Missy rolled her head around trying to relieve
the tension in her neck then went on, "He is a drunk.  A very angry and
selfish drunk.  I haven't heard from him since I ran away when I was sixteen. 
He left my mom a year later and never looked back.  I heard he remarried a
woman from Jersey though."

Mark contemplated what she had just told him. 
"Alright.  I will look into it.  Let me know if you think of anyone
else."

Brandon stood and shook Mark's hand.  "Thank
you so much man.  I am so sorry for hitting you at the bar.  We've been friends
a long time and I hope I didn't ruin that."

"Never.  We are all good."

Brandon and Missy dropped Chloe back off at the Westbrook
building's parking garage and watched her get into her car.  They knew they
would have to take special precaution in every move they made.  Brandon didn't
plan on letting Missy out of his sight.  He also thought about hiring someone,
maybe a bodyguard for her.  He knew she would not approve of it, but he was
definitely going to look into it.

"Missy, I don't mind giving him the money. 
Your safety is much more important to me."

"No.  No more talk of giving him money.  We
can't let him take advantage of us."

Nothing else was said on the drive home.  The wheels
were spinning in both of their minds.  What could they do and how would they
pull it off.  Missy was glad she thought to call Mark.  She liked the side of
Mark she saw tonight.  She could tell why Brandon had become friends with him. 
The fact that tonight gave them all a chance to clear the air was nice too. 

The next morning Brandon arranged for someone to
watch Missy at all times until this ordeal was over.  The guy was ex-military. 
Brandon had worked with him before and he had always done an excellent job.  He
waited until noon and put a call into Mark to see if he had found out anything
about who might be after Missy.  When Mark returned his call, they didn't seem
that much closer.  "Her mom is out of the state in a rehab.  She's
actually doing very well from what I found out, but she hasn't left the
property.  Her dad did remarry.  He is in Chicago.  He's been in and out of
jail for possession.  The guy's got a real big meth problem.  Other than that I
couldn't dig up much.  When he called, was it on your cell or the office phone?"

"The office."

"I'm going to come over and work on your
phone.  Maybe we can get a trace on the guy.  Go have lunch and I will meet you
at your office this evening."

"Sounds great."

Missy had been trying to get some work done all
morning, but with everything going on she was having trouble keeping her head
in the game.  She was happy to get her mind off of things when Brandon came to
take her to lunch. 
Maybe a bite to eat would help. 
They headed to a
nearby sushi bar.  It was one of Missy's favorite places to eat.  She loved the
food.  The modern fusion decor was beautiful.  They had luscious green bamboo
and decadent aquariums with the most vibrant fish. 

"Mark called.  He's going to come put a device
on my phone at the office to record and trace the calls coming in.  If the guy
calls again, maybe it will help us find him."

Missy looked everywhere but at Brandon; she was
tired.  She was having difficulty turning her brain off  last night so sleep
was pretty much out of the question.  Finally she spoke, "Did he say
anything else?"

"He said your mom is in a rehab out of the
state.  Says she's doing real well."

Missy's mom had been in and out of several rehabs. 
She always did great at first, but eventually her demons always take over. 
"And?"

"And what?"

"And...I know he checked out my dad too."

"Yeah.  He is remarried and living in Chicago. 
He did some time for possession of meth.  That seems to be his drug of
choice."

Tears began to well up in Missy's eyes, "Some
family huh?  A far cry from the loving embrace of Brenda Westbrook." 

"Missy, we are your family.  You are my
family."

Missy gave him the most sincere smile that she could
muster.  "Sorry, guess I'm just having a small pity party."

"I think you are entitled to a pity party, but
I will take care of you so you only get to have a tiny one."