Train Me Daddy

“This is how you greet all your old college acquaintances?” she said. That dignified prideful tone of her voice was gone now and she seemed more embarrassed than anything else.

“Not really, just you,” I said shrugging my shoulders. I’d wanted to do that for a very long time. Kiss Beverley. And she tasted even more delicious than I’d imagined. I should have done this a long time ago, I thought.

I walked away from her, deciding to put some distance between us. I didn’t want her to think that I was forcing myself on her. She was quiet for some time as I walked back to my chair.

“Will you think about my offer, Beverley?” I said, and sat back down.

She remained standing near the door, glaring at me with her mouth slightly open. Her arms had fallen back into place and I could see that she had her fists curled up. I could sense that she wanted to break something. Was she mad because her body had given away and how turned on she was by that kiss?

“There is nothing to think about, Grant. I do not want to work for you,” she snarled.

“Not for me Beverley but work with me,” I replied calmly.

Beverley took in a sharp breath and straightened her shoulders. I could see that she was trying to calm herself and even her breath.

“It’s the same thing. I don’t want to be professionally associated with you,” she said and I arched an eyebrow at her.

“Or personally. I don’t want to be associated with you at all,” she said quickly and I allowed a small laugh to escape my lips.

“Alright, Beverley. I’m only trying to help you and your product. For old times’ sake and also because I genuinely believe you’re brilliant and I want to work with you,” I said and swiveled my chair away from her to face the desk again. I could sense her eyes on me, watching me like a hawk. She was thinking.

“Well, I don’t want to work with you,” she snapped and I nodded my head and flipped open the file in front of me.

“You mentioned that already, but in case you change your mind; I’m still open to the idea,” I said while reading the papers and not looking at her. She was still standing there and I could sense her fuming. The one skill I had developed in the corporate world was to keep my calm and allow the negotiation to take time. There was no rush. If anyone should have been in a hurry, it would have to be Beverley. But I knew her too, as much as she thought I didn’t, I knew that I need to give her time. She was in shock and I was aware that I shouldn’t be pressing her too much at that moment. So, I decided to be calm instead and give her time to think about what had just happened.

As much as I wanted to turn back to her, look at her, watch her body move…I didn’t. While she on the other hand; remained standing where she was and after some time turned around in a huff. I didn’t raise my head to look at her as she opened the door, but a smile lingered on my face. Beverley hadn’t changed at all.

Only when she had slammed the door shut behind her and I heard her heels clicking the marble floor outside as she walked away, did I look up. Her perfume was still lingering in the air in the room and I took in a deep breath of it.

Beverley still managed to recharge my batteries. I couldn’t stop smiling. As much as she pushed me away, I wanted her. Because deep down inside, I knew she wanted me too. Even in college, I caught her staring at me. She’d watch me silently from the bleachers when I played basketball and every time I looked at her, she would turn her face away.

All this while, she had simply assumed that I wasn’t interested in her. It was easy for her to confuse my true interests, because she wasn’t naive. She saw me with other girls. The stereotypical girls a guy like me should have been dating. And it was definitely my fault that I’d never made a move. But, Beverley was unreachable in college. She never gave me a chance to get to know her. Her one and only aim in college was to win and defeat me in the process. But now I finally had my chance.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss as I gathered the file together and made my way out of the meeting room. Claire, my personal assistant found me as I shut the door behind me.

“How’d it go? Ms. Wade didn’t seem very pleased,” Claire said as I handed the file over to her.

“She’ll come around,” I told Claire with a smile as I walked away from her and towards my own office. In fact, I couldn’t stop smiling all day. Kissing Beverley had been the single best thing that had happened to me the whole week. A college fantasy had come true and now I knew what I had always suspected…that she was the only woman who could set me on fire. Nobody else even came close.

Chapter 7

Beverley

That kiss had overtaken my mind, and I hadn’t spent a single moment since then without thinking about it. In college, if I wasn’t studying; which was all the time, I was fantasizing about Grant. He was handsome, smart and smooth as velvet. He got all the girls and even now, after we were out in the real world, nothing had really changed. Grant Jennings had become one of the hottest guys in the country. Good looks, intelligent mind and money were all a winning combo. I knew exactly how other women felt about him, and I knew I didn’t stand a chance.

But why had he kissed me? I couldn’t deny the thought that he had kissed me just because he could. Because he was just another one of those entitled jocks who assumed he could have any woman he wanted. But a small part of me couldn’t help but wonder if he kissed me because he wanted to kiss me, and not just any woman.

Then there was also the business about selling my company. He was crazy to think that not only would I sell my company to him, but that I’d actually go and work with him too. Especially after this! After he’d kissed me! The best plan of action would be to simply ignore him. Move away from Silicon Valley and try and start a new life somewhere else!

I stood up from my chair with a jerk and paced the floor of my office. I had to be going mad to entertain the thought of running away from San Fransisco because of one kiss! One kiss that didn’t mean anything to him. But it meant a whole deal to me. I’d spent so long fantasizing about Grant, that this kiss was capable of completely breaking me.

A sudden knock on my office door snapped me out of my thoughts. Sasha stuck his head in.

“I’m gonna head out. It’s nearly eight,” he said and I nodded my head. He didn’t leave. He could see that I was working up over something. Without me inviting him in, Sasha stepped into my office and shut the door behind him. Sasha had been my first hire. Even though we weren’t exactly friends, I had known him for four years now and he was one of the handful of people I actually knew well in San Fransisco. Clearly, he believed we were friends because he walked up close to me and I stopped my pacing, in surprise.

“Bev,” he said in a soft kindly voice.

“Sasha?” I said, confused by his behavior.