13. CHARLOTTE
13
CHARLOTTE
A lex’s body was taut and muscular, his shoulders flexing as he reared up, pounding into me. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me to him as he thrust hard and fast. I cried out in ecstasy.
The muscles in his arms tightened as he moved. I gripped his biceps, feeling the power as his muscles contracted with each thrust.
His breathing was ragged, and his eyes darkened with desire. He groaned as he buried himself inside me. I arched up, meeting his movements. He leaned forward, his mouth finding mine as he kissed me passionately.
“Fuck, you’re so tight,” he said, his voice husky with arousal.
“Harder,” I gasped. “Please, fuck me harder.”
“Whatever you want, babe,” he murmured, his lips trailing down my neck. “Anything you want.”
He quickened his pace, thrusting deeper, hitting that perfect spot over and over again. I moaned as pleasure flooded through me, building with each movement.
He kissed me again, his tongue exploring my mouth, teasing and tantalizing. I clung to him, my fingers digging into his back. The sensation was almost too much, too intense, and yet I wanted more. I needed more.
My whole body tingled with electricity as the orgasm swept through me. Alex continued to move inside me, prolonging the sensation until I was sure I couldn’t take it anymore. Then, with one final thrust, he came, collapsing on top of me.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“Fuck,” he agreed.
The orgasm still rolled through my body, wave after wave of intense pleasure.
“You’re incredible,” I moaned.
“I’m not the enemy.”
“What?” I gasped.
Alex’s eyes were drowning deep and burning into my soul. My body was on fire, the orgasm stretching out so that I was a puddle of need.
I opened my eyes and moaned as my heat washed over me, my body clenching in all the right places. I gasped, arching my back, curling on the bed. The pleasure lasted a while before it slowly subsided.
I lay on the bed, drenched in sweat, my body trembling in the aftermath of my orgasm, but I ached at the same time.
It had been a dream. Nasty, delicious, toe-curling. Alex had had his way with me just the way I liked it…
I sat up in bed and ran my hand through my hair. It was a tangled mess. What the hell had that been? I’d tried so hard to forget about him, stopping myself the last couple of days from thinking about him at all. And now, I dreamed about him instead.
Damn it, what was this man doing to me? He was everything I wasn’t supposed to like. Rich, spoiled, and on the other side of this campaign.
He was not the man I was supposed to dream about.
I’m not the enemy.
He’d been so determined that I believe that. He kept saying that over and over.
You don’t know anything about the company.
He wasn’t wrong. In my mind, Blackwood Inc. was one of the yacht manufacturing giants that we were targeting because if change was going to happen at all, something had to give. But I didn’t know what Alex’s company actually did. I knew they manufactured yachts. I knew they had a shit ton of money.
I got up out of bed and walked through my apartment. In the second bedroom, which I’d turned into my office, I opened my laptop and stared at the screen. My fingers hovered over the keys while I thought about what I was looking for, and then I started typing into the search bar.
Sustainable practices in luxury yacht manufacturing
Environmental innovations in the luxury yacht industry
Reducing carbon footprint of luxury yachts
Information started coming up that I hadn’t looked at before. I researched and read until the sun came up, casting a silver light into my apartment that slowly warmed as the world woke up.
When it was a reasonable time to make calls, I picked up my phone and dialed Victoria Morgan’s number.
“Are you still in town?” I asked.
“I am,” she said. “I’ll drive back later this afternoon. Is everything alright?”
“Can we meet for breakfast or something?”
Victoria agreed, and an hour later, I met her at a local restaurant with a great breakfast menu.
Victoria Morgan was regal as always when she arrived. She wore a pleated skirt and a white blouse, her gray hair perfectly styled, and her jewelry was tasteful without being overly extravagant.
We made small talk, discussing the success of the campaign in general while we waited for our coffee and food.
“What’s on your mind?” Victoria asked when we each had our plates in front of us. I’d ordered eggs and bacon with toast. Victoria had opted for a granola and yogurt health special.
“I did a bit of research about the yacht companies I’m trying to target in this campaign, and I’m confused.”
Victoria nodded, encouraging me to keep going.
“I can’t help but notice that there’s a discrepancy between what I thought was going on at first and the reality that I’m starting to uncover.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… I found a bunch of articles and reports that highlight the efforts of certain yacht manufacturers to implement sustainable practices. They seem to be engaged in doing the right thing, aimed at reducing their environmental impact, and some are even working with organizations dedicated to ocean conservation.”
Victoria sipped her coffee. “Yes, there are those already on the right path.”
I bit off a piece of toast and chewed.
“I just… I feel stupid.”
“Why?” Victoria asked, surprised.
“Well, I thought it was simple—activists against yacht manufacturers. Black and white, right? But I’m starting to think it’s not that straightforward.”
“There are gray areas with everything, Charlotte.”
“Do you think the campaign is worthless?”
Victoria lowered her cup and studied me.
“If I thought your campaign was worthless, I wouldn’t have put money into it. I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s admirable, and we’re a long way away from being completely eco-friendly. It’s important that we keep bringing awareness to it.”
I sighed. “I just thought it was a campaign that had a beginning and an end. If I succeeded, then we win and things would change.”
“If only it were that simple. Sadly, it’s not how these things work. It’s a continuous fight to make a difference, and there’s never a point where you can say, ‘This is it, we’ve done it’.”
I pushed my bacon around on my plate, turning her words over in my mind.
“That’s pretty… awful.”
Victoria didn’t answer. She took another bite of her granola, drizzled with honey, and watched me as she chewed.
“There are just so many things in the industry that seem right. Businesses on the right path, striving to make a positive change, and people genuinely committed to environmental responsibility. I feel like what I’m doing is pointless.”
“It’s never pointless,” Victoria said sternly, but that didn’t make me feel much better. The truth was that the lines between right and wrong weren’t as sharply defined as I’d thought.
“I just think maybe I’ve been too quick to judge.”
“Charlotte, if you can learn and grow through this experience, then you’ve already won one of your battles. Don’t give up. There is merit in what you’re doing. Trust me, I’ve dedicated my life to this cause, and it still hasn’t made the biggest change, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. The more we try, the more awareness we bring, the more some people can make a change that will affect the world around us. And when it doesn’t work… that doesn’t mean we’ve failed. It just means we have to keep trying.”
I nodded slowly. I didn’t admit to Victoria that I felt a little disillusioned. I’d been so serious about my cause, but I felt like I’d gone about it all wrong, and I wasn’t sure which way to turn now.
“I don’t know how to move forward,” I admitted.
“Do you want to keep going?”
I nodded. “Of course. I just feel like I’ve passed judgement unfairly.”
“We all make mistakes,” Victoria said. “That’s what makes us human. Admitting to making those mistakes is the first step, and then pivoting to find the right way forward is the answer. What will you do differently?”
I thought about that. “I guess I’ll be more open to what they’re saying in response to my campaign. If there’s no clear-cut good guy or bad guy, then we have to hear each other out, and that should probably start with me.”
Victoria smiled. “This is why I believe in you, Charlotte. You are willing to learn, willing to admit you were wrong, and you’re going to get far when you keep at it with this kind of attitude.”
She was so proud of me, but I had a feeling I’d already made mistakes, caused trouble where it wasn’t necessary.
“Do you feel like I’ve wasted your investment?” I blurted out.
“Not at all,” Victoria said, surprised again. “I think it was probably the best investment I’ve ever made.” She smiled.
Relief flooded me, and I nodded.
We started talking about other things, and I could eat my breakfast in peace without it feeling like it turned into sand in my mouth.
I was doing something right, at least.
I was grateful I had Victoria in my life. Since my mom had left when I was just a kid, I’d felt like I’d drifted through the world, untethered, unsure about who I was and where I was headed.
When my dad had allowed a factory to be built in the small town where I’d grown up, I’d realized there were more people in the world who were out for personal gain than people who wanted to help, and I’d vowed then and there I would never be like that.
It had been simple, then. Good guys vs. bad guys. Doing wrong vs. doing right.
Mom leaving and Dad not caring about anything other than himself and his money.
As I’d grown older, I’d realized it wasn’t that simple. Wrong wasn’t only wrong; there were bits of right, too. And right wasn’t only right; we all made mistakes sometimes.
When I’d met Victoria Morgan, she’d been the one to encourage me, to tell me that what I thought about the world wasn’t wrong and that I could do more if I made my voice heard. For the first time, I’d felt like I had support, a mentor, someone to turn to.
And it was thanks to her that any of this was possible.
“Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice,” I said to Victoria when we paid for our breakfast and left the restaurant. “I appreciate your insight.”
“Of course,” Victoria said. “I’m always available when you need me. But Charlotte, you’re doing better than you think. You’re allowed to believe in yourself a little, you know.”
I smiled, and she squeezed my hand before she walked to her car.
I walked to mine, getting in behind the wheel. My mind spun with what I’d learned through the night and what Victoria had said.
I was still going to keep going with the campaign, but I had a few things I needed to change before moving forward.
And the first thing I wanted to do was pay Blackwood Inc. a visit.