New York Rain

“I believe the speedo did, at one point, touch one hundred and forty miles per hour.”

“Oh my! You are crazy, Brenton Huxley! But I really, really appreciate the ride.”

Brenton smiled again. His smile made his already handsome face even more striking, with his perfect white teeth that seemed to glow in the gentle light of the inside of the sports car.

“I'm just happy that I got to see you again,” he said.

Suddenly though, it seemed that he regretted saying that, and his expression became at once cool and flat.

“It was the least I could do, as a responsible and decent man,” he added.

Jade didn't know how to take this. For a few moments, it had seemed that they had been reveling in one another's company, yet all of a sudden he had abruptly switched this off, and become the same cold, distant man she had met earlier in the afternoon. The same cool, uncaring man who had simply rejected her proposal without reason, crushing so many of her hopes for the future.

Well, two can play that game. I don't want to give you the satisfaction of thinking that I owe you anything, or knowing how badly I'm attracted to you.

Jade made sure that she steeled her own expression over, and she spoke in as cool and flat a tone as she could manage.

“Well, I'm glad that you've had a chance to exercise your civic duties as a responsible citizen,” she said as she got out of the car. “Well done, sir.”

“Wait, Jade-” he began, suddenly looking as if he regretted what he had said.

It was too late. She had already shut the car door behind her, and had started walking up to the entrance of her building.

You're not getting any more satisfaction from me.

“Jade!”

She couldn't help herself; she had to turn around and look at him one last time. It may be the last time she ever laid eyes on him, she thought with a sharp pang of sudden sadness.

He was standing outside of his car, with his hands in his suit pockets. The night breeze was rippling through his blonde hair, and his face was starkly shadowed under the harsh light of the street lamps.

“I made a mistake earlier. I've changed my mind. I want to work with you on that Chinese solar idea.”

Jade stopped dead in her tracks, frozen with shock.

“I'll get my secretary to call you in the morning,” he said as he climbed back into the car. “Keep your schedule open.”

Jade stood stock-still, staring at the red supercar as it sped away, too stunned to move or say anything. It was only after a minute or two of standing in the silence of the night that what he had said truly hit home.

No way. No way! I got it! I GOT IT! And furthermore... Did I get him too?

She shook her head and beamed out an ear-to-ear grin at the empty street, and then, on heels light with joy, she danced up into the entrance of her building.

CHAPTER 5

Brenton took off his reading glasses and stared at Jade for a while. She didn't know that he was looking at her, as she was busy on her laptop, typing away furiously at the keys with determined fingers. He allowed himself to drink in her good looks, and to feast upon the exquisite curves of her body. He liked the way she dressed; she was a fan of formal attire, it seemed; it was their second meeting now, and both times she had worn a business suit. They had been different suits every time, of course, but each suit had been finely tailored to fit her curvy form exactly.

She had a fantastic body, and he couldn't stop fantasizing about it. Many of his peers were into girls like his secretary, Claire – skinny white girls with long legs and flowing, silky blonde hair. Brenton had had his moments with Claire, to be sure, but she wasn't his type, and he preferred, even though his blood ran hot through his veins, to keep business and pleasure separate.

That though was proving hard to achieve here, working with Jade. It was easier with Claire, because while she was most white guys' type, she wasn't Brenton's. No.

His type was right in front of him, typing away at her laptop, seeming oblivious to his wandering, probing eyes as they roved all over her curves.

And curves they were; just how he liked them. The model look was almost a turn-off for him, in fact. Skin and bones were simply not attractive in his eyes. No, he liked women like Jade. Not that she carried much weight herself; she was slim around the waist, and her limbs were shapely and light, but she had full, round curves in all the right places. He stared hungrily at the curve of her hips, her breasts, and her especially round buttocks, pressing so tightly against her tight skirt as she sat and typed. He chewed slowly on the end of his Visconti pen as he stared at her – dropping the pen abruptly as she looked up from her computer and caught him staring. He felt a blush reddening his cheeks – an unusual feeling for an alpha like Brenton, as he rarely felt embarrassed.