Betrayed (Dark Desires 2)

“Good. What would you say has been your one major finding?” he asked, sitting back in his chair. Belle gulped before answering. She noticed how broad his shoulders were, he didn’t have his suit jacket on and she could see the muscles rippling under his thin white shirt.

“I would say that teenagers will only subscribe to magazines if they get free samples of products with each copy. Otherwise, they just have the internet for everything,” Belle replied, and tried to match his eyes with a confident gaze.

A soft smile was grazing Devon’s face. He looked handsome, with rugged features, in the bright light of the room. Belle wondered if she had ever seen eyes as blue as that before.

“You’re picking up fast,” he said finally, and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief. She had prepared herself for an onslaught of complaints. She smiled at that, and he smiled too. Despite how intimidated she was in her surroundings, she couldn’t help but admire how comfortable he had managed to make her feel.

“You’re not from New York, are you?” he asked and she was slightly taken aback by that question. Belle cleared her throat and lifted her chin in the air.

“I’m from Little Canada, Minnesota,” she replied and Devon Rymer’s eyes narrowed.

“Where did you go to school?” he asked.

“Minnesota State, Mankato,” Belle said and now he nodded his head.

“Are you living by yourself in New York? Ms Freedman,” he continued.

Belle shook her head and tried to force a smile on her face.

“No, I live with my boyfriend, and please Sir, call me Belle,” she replied and felt her cheeks burn up. Across from her, Devon Rymer’s features darkened and he clenched his jaw tightly. Again, she wondered what exactly he was thinking and if she had done something to displease him.

Devon

He couldn’t control the rush of jealousy he felt the moment he heard the words escape Belle’s beautifully luscious chocolate brown lips. She had a boyfriend! What was he thinking? How could he just presume that she was single? Then the thought struck him, that she was an employee at his agency. He was her boss. There was a code of conduct he had to maintain. Devon cleared his throat and picked up a pen from the desk.

“Okay, Belle. I hope you’re setting into New York nicely,” he said and she seemed to buy what he was saying. Devon was worried that she would be able to see right through him. That somehow she would know what was on his mind. Till that instance, when she told him she had a boyfriend, Devon hadn’t officially acknowledged to himself that he was interested in her as more than just an employee.

“It’s a lovely city. I can’t say that it’s easy, but I’m having a lot of fun here,” she said cheerfully and tucked in a few loose strands of her brown hair behind her small ears.

Every movement she made filled Devon with tension. He realized that he was growing more conscious of her body, of her presence, by the second.

“New York is tough, but you seem like someone who’ll make it,” he replied and Belle nodded and smiled. She seemed like the kind of person who looked at everything in life with positivity. She could brighten up a room by just walking into it. Her boyfriend was very lucky, Devon thought to himself and stood up with a jerk.

“Well, thank you for coming in to see me, Belle,” he said and stuck out his hand to her. She looked surprised for a few seconds, like she didn’t expect the meeting to end so suddenly. Then she half stood up and reached for his hand and gave it a tight firm shake. Again, Devon was pleasantly surprised by the strength in her arms.

When she drew her hand away, she straightened herself up and was looking at him curiously.

“I was worried there for a bit, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me because I’d done something wrong,” she said and he laughed too, forcing himself to do so.

“No, of course you haven’t. I just wanted to check in on you because you looked quite nervous in the elevator earlier,” he replied and Belle licked her lips. She remained standing where she was, with her hands clasped together and she looked around the office.

“This is a wonderful office, you have a lovely view,” she said and he wondered if she was stalling. If like him, she too wanted to keep talking. He tried to push that thought out of his mind. She had a boyfriend, Devon had to remind himself of that again.

“Thank you, Belle. I like to keep it simple,” he said and she fixed her large brown eyes on him again. Devon could see her perfectly shaped pert breasts rising and falling under her white shirt, and he felt a movement in his pants.

“Hope you have a good first day, thank you again for coming in,” he said quickly and sat back down. He didn’t want her to remain in his office and make it any worse. Devon was certain now that it was more than just curiosity in an interesting person. He was attracted to her sexually, and he wanted to avoid feeling that way as much as possible.

Belle nodded, thanked him and then walked out of the office. At the door, before she left, she threw him a quick grateful look and then she was gone.

Devon sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, and let out a huge sigh. Inviting her to a private meeting was a bad idea, he told himself. He should have just left it at that in the morning. There was no reason for him to interact personally with an intern.

He was annoyed with himself because he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought this through. Belle was a young, vibrant, beautiful and intelligent young woman. What were the chances that she didn’t already have a boyfriend? Besides, she didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would be interested in the things most women in New York were interested in. She wouldn’t be interested in Devon’s money or his power. And he felt like he was too old for her.

Frustrated, and at the edge of his seat, Devon picked up his personal cell phone and dialed a number. One he had been dialing less often in the past couple of months. On the third ring, she answered the phone.

“Alisha,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Devon, ah, Devon…I haven’t heard from you in a long time,” Alisha’s voice sounded groggy. He got the feeling that she had just woken up from her sleep. Devon had known Alisha for the past six years and he knew she was a late riser. A social butterfly, and with all her daddy’s money to spend, Alisha would have been up till the wee hours of the morning entertaining guests.