18. Cameron
Iwasn’t used to so much good news all at once.
I took a few minutes at the start of the day to survey the response to the latest antics with Felicity in the quiet of my office. After navigating the fallout from my father’s mistakes for far too long, the shift to nonstop positivity in everything associated with the Veritique brand was a shock to my system. Instead of doom scrolling through the news, I found myself looking forward to what the public had to say about Veritique, and more specifically, CamLicity. Because they were eating us up.
I obviously knew that romance was the cornerstone of our family business. There were too many love stories to count that included a Veritique ring. But standing in personally as a focal point for it had not been on my agenda. I’d expected to chafe against the campaign’s ridiculousness, but instead I found myself eager to see what we were going to get up to next. Felicity transformed what should’ve been an exercise in my ability to tolerate publicity bullshit into an adventure.
A very sexy adventure.
I placed my phone down on my desk and swiveled my chair to look out at the skyline. The woman had injected herself into my bloodstream. Even when I wasn’t consciously thinking about her, she was right there, somehow. Any time there was a lull in my day my mind automatically went to her on her knees in front of me, or face down on my bed…I shifted to adjust my growing hardness, because I couldn’t let fantasy Felicity throw me off track again.
Focus on the work. The mantra had always kept me on track, so I turned to my laptop to dive into my day. Only a hundred and fifty new emails in the past twenty-four hours. I got ready to dive in but paused when I saw the OneDrive “Memories of this day” message.
There was only one period in my life when I took a lot of photos, and it wasn’t a timeframe I liked revisiting, so I don’t know why I clicked it open. I knew what would be waiting for me inside.
Sure enough, it was an image of me with Carolina. She was beaming with her head resting on my shoulder, squinting at the camera in the bright sunlight.
Fuck. As I studied the photo, I realized that the “Memory of this day” was a major one. Carolina and I were in Central Park. Today was the anniversary of the day I’d proposed to her.
Sparks of tension flared up behind my eyes. I’d moved past the pain of the relationship, but I certainly didn’t want reminders of it. I wished I could warn the guy in the photo that everything was going to turn to shit just a few months later.
I didn’t even hesitate to delete the picture. Maybe I could draft Daniel into wiping my photo stream clean of Carolina to prevent reminders like this from popping up? No sense dwelling in the past. Hell, no sense even remembering the part that had her name on it.
“Cameron?” Alessandra’s voice rang out from the doorway. “I hate to interrupt, but everyone is waiting for you in the conference room.”
I stood up quickly, angry at myself for letting the past derail my present.
“I’m on my way.”
When I walked into the room, everyone started clapping and cheering for me. Had I forgotten my own birthday? What the hell was going on?
I glanced at the whiteboard and saw a slide that read, “Celebrating Five Million Followers.”
“There he is!” Lucy shouted over the noise. “One half of the most powerful couple on the internet!” She turned to scan the room. “Felicity! Get up there.”
Felicity stood up and smiled shyly at everyone as she made her way to where I was standing. How was it possible that she looked even more beautiful than the last time I’d seen her? She was in a soft purple dress my personal shopper had selected, and all I could imagine was ripping it off her body.
“Hey,” she said quietly when she reached me. “I guess we’re doing pretty good work together.”
“I guess so,” I said, throwing my arm around her and giving her a friendly side-hug. Even that little bit of contact was enough to trigger X-rated thoughts.
I needed to get a grip.
We all took our seats with Felicity right beside me instead of at the far end of the table.
Sandrine stood up. “Okay, folks, let’s kick off this meeting by celebrating how incredible our CamLicity campaign has been! Major thanks to Lucy for coming up with it.”
The influencer was uncharacteristically modest as everyone clapped for her. “I take zero credit,” she yelled over the noise. “It’s all because of those two.”
“Our social media growth is breaking records, folks. We didn’t think we’d crack five million for months, yet here we are,” Sandrine said, gesturing to the whiteboard, which was now flashing metrics and comments from followers. “The attention is wonderful, but what’s even better are our sales milestones. Monique is here to give us a quick snapshot. But I’m sure you already know the latest numbers, Cameron,” she hastened to add.
I nodded like I was on top of it and silently beat myself up for not checking them first thing this morning. What was happening to me?
Monique stood up, grinning. “I have three words: record breaking sales.”
The room broke into applause again.
“We’re not even in peak season, yet we’re seeing numbers that rival our holiday sales,” she continued.
Monique went on to explain how the CamLicity campaign was directly impacting our growth, pointing to parallels between what we were posting and what people were buying. Engagement rings were hot sellers, of course, but even the pieces Felicity had casually worn during our moments together were taking off. The Trésor bracelet she had on in the Junior’s cheesecake photo was now on backorder.
“All that to say,” Monique turned to us as she wrapped up. “Never stop doing what you’re doing, you two. And I hope I get an invitation to the wedding.”
Everyone laughed at the impossibility of it. I chuckled along as a nagging thought started to take root. Exactly how was this charade going to end?
I shook my head. It wasn’t the time to worry about it. I needed to stay in the now, the incredibly positive, record-breaking, heart-stopping now.
“Thanks, Monique,” Sandrine said as she took over the meeting. “Okay, now let’s dig into our projections and how the campaign can factor in?—”
“Excuse me, Sandrine,” I said, standing.
The room went quiet. I was usually more of an observer in marketing meetings, and I could see the stricken looks on people’s faces as they wondered what bombshell I was about to drop.
“We’ve all been working hard,” I said. “I’m so proud of this team, and I think I need to show you how much I appreciate your efforts. That’s why as of noon today, we’re taking the afternoon off for a team building event.”
I watched as my employees glanced at one another, raising eyebrows and looking confused and a little apprehensive. I couldn’t blame them. Back when my father was in charge, team building events usually included physical challenges in the woods while being barked at by some grumpy former military dude.
“At the Black Door Spa,” I added.
The whoop that went up in the room could probably be heard throughout the entire building. Felicity grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
“They’re closing down the spa just for us, which means you can take advantage of all of their services. The saunas, pool, massage therapists, aestheticians, hair stylists, nail technicians, and chef will all be at your service for the afternoon. I’ll have a private van service ready to pick everyone up out front at noon.”
Of course, I hadn’t planned for any of it, but I knew Daniel could pull it together within the hour. Everyone had a price, even if it meant Black Door was going to be disappointing their roster of already scheduled clients for the day. I’d make sure to pay for their rescheduled services and upgrades as well, so I doubted they’d kick up too much of a stink.
Felicity joined me on the walk back to my office.
“I can’t believe you did that! I’m in shock.”
I glanced at her, frowning. “And why is that?”
She realized she’d accidentally insulted me. “On a workday, I mean. It’s just so nice.”
“Are you saying I’m not normally nice to my employees?” I picked up my pace, enjoying a little sparring with her.
She laughed and sighed at the same time, almost jogging to keep up with me. “Nope, we’re not doing this. You’re trying to bait me, but I’m resisting!”
We both paused outside my door, and I grasped her shoulders to pull her closer to me. I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Good girl, you’re learning.” I released her with a gentle push.
Felicity swatted me on the chest. “Don’t treat me like Boris.”
“Excuse me?” I widened my eyes at her. “You just hit me,” I said in a low voice. “I think I need to take you into my office and give you a paddling for insubordination. Bend you over my desk and teach you a lesson.”
She bit her lip and looked up at me through her lashes. “Ooh, was I a bad girl?”
“Very.”
Anyone looking at us down the long hallway would assume we were discussing business.
“Oh, but you can’t spank me, because I…um…forgot to wear underwear today,” she pouted. “My poor bottom would turn all pink.”
I stifled a groan as my cock started to stiffen. I opened my office door and stepped aside. “I need to see you. Now.”
She gave me an evil smirk. “Well, that’s a shame, because I have some work to finish up before we leave at noon.” She glanced down the hall to make sure no one was near and reached out to press her hand to the front of my pants. She curled her fingers against my swollen length, and I had to fight to keep from dragging her into my office. “Maybe, if you’re lucky, we can, ahem, reconvene at the spa?”
“Felicity,” I turned her name into a command. “You’re killing me.”
“I know, it’s so much fun,” she giggled, moving her hand up and down my dick. She raised onto her toes to whisper in my ear. “And I’m soaking wet because of it.”
She whirled away right as I reached out to grab her, wagging her finger at me.
“I’ll be worth the wait, I promise you. Picture it…you, me, a couples massage, and then who knows what might happen next!”
Oh, I knew exactly what I was going to do to her.
As expected, Daniel had pulled off a miracle. The spa employees were lined up and waiting for us when we arrived, ready to treat my team to a well-deserved day of relaxation.
Lucy flitted over to me as everyone dispersed. “Hi, Mr. CamLicity! I hate to ask you this…”
“What now?” I sighed.
“Don’t hate me, but this is a perfect opportunity for more coverage,” she gestured around the beautiful spa. “Obviously, we can’t get ‘in the wild’ stuff here, but maybe Felicity can post some cute BTS content?”
“Did I hear my name?” Felicity walked over to us.
Lucy gave her an appeasing smile. “I’m so sorry to keep you in work-mode, but would you mind posting some behind-the-scenes spa content today? You have such a great eye.”
“I’m already on it,” she held up her phone and pointed across the room. “The plant wall is calling my name.”
We glanced toward the lush living wall of greenery a few feet from where we were standing.
“Perfect. What have you got on today?” Lucy stepped closer to examine Felicity’s jewelry.
“Sandrine keeps me frosted,” she laughed, tilting her head and holding up her hands. “I’m wearing the platinum Solana diamond earrings, the platinum Love Toggle necklace, and the Infinitas diamond tennis bracelet.”
“No ring?” Lucy asked, grasping Felicity’s hand.
Felicity shook her head. “Cameron and I feel like it’ll be a bigger reveal to keep my fingers naked, to emphasize I’m waiting for an engagement ring.”
She glanced over at me and widened her eyes. I cleared my throat at her word choice. Oh, she was definitely going to be naked soon.
“Yes, perfect!” Lucy cheered. “So what are we thinking for today’s posts?”
“Plant wall,” Felicity listed off, “Champagne toast, and then maybe us holding hands between the massage tables?”
Lucy wrinkled her nose. “Can we amp up the sexy a little? I’m picturing both of you in robes, with Cameron behind you, kissing your bare shoulder. So the focus is on you, smiling and gorgeous in your Veritique jewelry, with Cameron looking like he can’t keep his hands off you. Maybe in the steam bath, for even more ambiance? You can both be a little sweaty, which will make people wonder what you’ve been up to. Super sexy stuff!”
“Okay, we’ll figure it out,” I said, making it clear we were done talking. “Why don’t we get started, Felicity?”
I could tell by her wicked little smile that I was in for trouble. We changed into our robes quickly and met in the already hot steam room.
“Are you ready to manufacture some sexy content?” Felicity asked in a low voice.
She inched her robe down to reveal the top of her shoulder, and just that hint of skin was enough to get me going.
“There’s nothing manufactured about the way you make my body feel,” I rumbled, reaching out to pull her closer to me.
We kissed hungrily, and Felicity took my hand and moved it between her legs. She let out a sigh as I started caressing her.
“I’ve been thinking about this all morning,” she whispered in my ear.
“I think about this all the damn time,” I said as I loosened the front of her robe to dive between her breasts.
Her breath caught as I took her nipple into my mouth.
“Did you…did you lock the door?” she gasped as I made love to her with my mouth and hand.
“It doesn’t lock,” I murmured in between kisses and licks. “You just need to be quick.”
“Cameron!”
She made a halfhearted attempt to pull away, but I increased the pressure of the little circles I was making on her soft nub, and she stopped pretending she wanted to be anywhere other than in my arms.
“Someone might…” her voice faded as she arched against my hand. “Oh my god, don’t stop.”
I caught her mouth with mine, swallowing her little gasps and moans as she got closer to unraveling. My dick was so hard it was barely contained by the robe.
“Oh, Cameron,” she moaned, and her entire body shuddered. I played at the slickness between her legs as she threw her head back and let the orgasm take over.
The second she was lucid again, she pulled the robe up over her ass and bent over the bench. “Take me, Cameron O’Connor,” she said, giving me a heavy-lidded stare over her shoulder.
“Fuck,” I exclaimed, wanting to beat myself up. “No condom! It’s in my pants in the locker.”
She whirled around dropped to her knees in front of me. “No problem. But you have to be fast, got it?”
Felicity gave me a “payback’s a bitch” look as she placed a kiss on the tip of my dick.
“Maybe we should wait?—”
Felicity parted her lips and took my full length into her mouth, and I had to reach for the wall behind me to stabilize myself. There was no way I could stop her as she ran her tongue along my dick.
I was powerless, and she knew it.
“I’m still going to find a way…” I panted as Felicity placed her hand on my heavy balls. “I’m still going to find a way to fuck you.”
She finally pulled her mouth off me. “Oh, I know you are.”
I wound my fingers into her hair and surrendered to the sweetness of her lips and tongue, knowing that once I got my hands on a condom, I was still going to find a hidden-away spot in the spa so I could fuck her and make her come again and again.