29. Gabriella
Gabriella
One month later
“ W hy is Mr. Welsh pulling out of the coalition?” I asked Julia through the phone.
“It isn’t because of the campaign. I believe he is still working with Beta Kappa Phi.”
“He is,” I said, “with another manager.” Thank goodness. “Did he give you a reason?”
“He told me something in confidence.”
“Then I won’t ask. I know what it’s like being put on the spot.”
Julia laughed. “Is that a Damien reference?”
“Oh, you know it.”
“I do know the pressure. Van can be very persuasive. Honestly, you’ll learn about Welsh’s reasoning soon enough.”
My curiosity was piqued. “I might say I won’t tell Damien, but I probably will.”
“That’s why I want to tell you. Dwain and Darius Sinclair are partnering with a new LLC, an offshoot of Moon Medical.”
“Really?”
“They’re working on the contracts, but it seems that through the coalition, Dwain realized how lucrative Body Kindness is. It’s a different market. There is less stringent testing and no patent BS. Make a statement about not claiming results somewhere in a lengthy insert and you’re covered for liability. The healthy mind and body craze is going strong. There isn’t the work like you’re doing to get prescriptions, just infomercials to get the word out. Their new products will be in competition with Perry, and therefore, he must leave our coalition.”
“Have you told the Cades?” I asked. The CEOs of Perry and Body Kindness.
“You have access to their revenue. They’ll be fine. They have a recognizable and reputable name with Body Kindness. I can’t imagine they’ll even notice the competition.”
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll make the necessary changes in the campaign and send you a breakdown.”
“Even though this campaign was our husbands’ idea—oh, sorry, your fiancé’s .”
I chuckled, looking down at my diamond ring.
Julia went on, “…I couldn’t be happier with the headway you’ve made in a short time.”
The door to my office opened and a handsome man with a dark-blue stare entered. There was a gleam in his eyes that told me he was up to something. “Speaking of that fiancé, he just entered my office. I better go.”
“It was nice to talk to you,” Julia said before disconnecting the call.
I hung up my desk phone and scanned the man who’d awakened me this morning with his face between my legs. It was admittedly a great way to wake. Damien was dapper in his suit pants, button-up shirt, and tie. “Why do you look like the cat who just ate the canary?” I asked.
“No canary. I had some great pussy this morning.”
Shaking my head, I stood and walked around my desk. “Inappropriate, Mr. Sinclair.”
“Who were you talking to?”
“Julia Sherman. There are about to be some changes with the coalition.”
He stood straighter. “Then I should know.”
“Confidential.”
Damien’s smile simmered as he scanned me up and down.
Without a word, my nipples grew painfully hard. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
“What I can do to make you talk.”
“I’m sure you’ll get it out of me soon enough. Now, the canary look?”
He showed me the paper in his hand. “Guess what this is?”
“Your dad’s get-out-of-rehab paper?”
“No, but that should be coming soon.” He handed me the letter.
I opened it and scanned the heading. “It’s from Superior Court No. 1 Hamilton County.” My eyes widened as I looked up at Damien. “It’s the annulment.”
“It is. I’m a free man.”
“Not for long,” I said before pushing up on my toes and giving him a kiss.
Damien snaked his arm around my waist. “This time when we say our vows, I’m not letting you get out of it.”
The warmth in my cheeks was probably letting Damien know I was thinking about another time I couldn’t get out. Slowly, we’d been playing with some of the restraints Damien had mentioned over a month ago. These were the ones in his closet. And yes, I couldn’t get out of them, but I wasn’t complaining.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I was thinking that it’s been kind of hot knowing I was sleeping with a married man.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure sex will be as great now that you’re free.”
Damien pulled me closer, flattening my breasts against his chest as his other hand slid behind my neck. Our lips collided seconds before his tongue teased mine. I willingly granted him entrance. He tasted of toothpaste and my body warmed, melding against his. Soft against hard, our attraction was combustible. The more time we spent together, the less ability either one had to keep our hands off one another.
A small spark could ignite a raging wildfire.
When Damien pulled away, he lifted his eyebrows. “Not as hot?”
My cheeks rose in a smile. “I was wrong. If you were any hotter, I may end up being burned.”
“Fire play. I’ve never done that.”
“No,” I said definitely. “And we won’t.”
“I think this news is worthy of a celebration.”
I turned toward my desk. “Well, it’s after five o’clock, and I was just thinking about going home and?—”
Damien’s lips met mine.
“I love when you call our house home.”
“It’s Duchess’s fault. She’s gotten used to more space and well…she’s spoiled.”
“Spoiling pussies is my favorite thing to do. Tonight, I’m taking my fiancée out on the town and tomorrow, we can wed.”
“Oh no. After explaining the whole mess to our mothers, they made me promise a real wedding.”
Damien cupped my cheek. “You deserve the best wedding ever.”
Over an hour later, back at home, Damien was in his downstairs office, and I was upstairs, getting ready for our celebratory dinner. In the month since Duchess made her unexpected move to the big house, many of my clothes and personal items had followed.
Eventually, we’ll put the condo up for sale. I was holding onto it out of fear for what Amber may do. Remarkably, she’d kept her word and not fought the annulment. I think her reasoning was similar to her mother’s. They knew that if the whole story got out, they would be the ones who were cast in an unflattering light.
Now that the annulment had been granted, we were a step closer.
Wearing a towel, following my quick shower, I stood in the large closet—basically the size of my bedroom in the condo—deciding what to wear. I ran my fingers over the dresses that seemed to multiply while we were at work. I’d complained at first, but Damien convinced me that he did enjoy dressing me. A deep-blue dress caught my eye.
The tags were still attached.
Refusing to look at the price, I lifted the dress in front of me in the full-length mirror, thinking how spectacular his shopper was, even better than I was at getting my size right. Truthfully, I wasn’t a big shopper. If buying me clothes made Damien happy, and at the same time kept me out of the shops, it was a win-win situation.
Damien met me in the bathroom as I was applying lipstick.
“I just spoke to Julia. I think I know your confidential news.”
I met his stare in the mirror. “Moon Medical.”
Damien nodded as he stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, peering at us in the reflection. “You’re gorgeous, Ella. That dress makes your eyes shine.”
Spinning in his grasp, I undid his tie. “I saw a blue tie in the closet that will match.”
Damien’s grin grew. “Are you dressing me now?”
“Currently, I’m undressing you.” I pulled the tie from his collar. “But yes, I like dressing you, too.”
As we were about to go into the garage, I paused and opened my small purse. “I have something for you.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, celebrating your annulment.” I handed him the lace panties I’d taken off after work, not replacing them for our night out.
Damien lifted them to his nose. “Good girl. These have been worn.”
I shook my head. “I thought that in case you were going to make inappropriate demands, I’d let you know, I’m okay with them.”
He reached for my elbow. “Let’s get dinner and come back here. I have some very inappropriate suggestions.”
“Celebrate first.”
“Oh, you’ll be celebrating, I promise.”
So cocky and confident.