James's POV
I've been struggling to keep my mind straight since a couple of hours now. Oliver is explaining to me the possible law suit that our company can face if I go ahead with this new real estate deal in Texas but my father has been pushing me to seal this for a week now.
Being born a Clark might seem like privilege to some, until you have to step into the shoes of responsibility and suddenly everyone expects you to know things you've never done before. Thankfully, in my case, I started preparing myself as soon as I stepped out of high school.
My eyes roam around the file in front of me as I try to come up with possible solutions I can take in order to fix this deal without having a law suit on my back that can very easily drown the company name, which wouldn't go well with board of directors.
"Get me Alex on the call, this is a clear financial issue that her and Rosy should be able to clear with the owner. The property has been empty for years now, we want to set up biodegradable machines which shouldn't be an issue. So where is this law suit coming from?" I ask, referring to my CFO and COO who actually should be taking care of this at the moment.
"The owner is insisting on a specific deal because it's family land, wants us to keep a certain portion off limits and to be honest, he's a jackass and looks down at woman so he's been taking both of them lightly." Oliver explains and I pinch the bridge of my nose.
"Asshole." I mutter under my breath, nodding as I motion for Amy to hand me the accompanying files which she sets in front of me. My eyes roam around the budgetary sheet and I nod. "Fix me a video meeting with him Monday morning."
"Right away, Sir." Amy offers me her sweet smile that has honestly started to get on my nerves now.
Two nights ago, I yelled at her to get the fuck away when she tried to hold my hand. We broke off things the night I got engaged, because I might have lots of flaws, but loyalty is one thing I stick to. Moreover, I'd really break a guy's hand if he tried to make a move on Lillian.
A huge part of me regrets whatever we shared because it has been nothing but a pain in my ass. Her annoying tactics aren't the only reason I want to reverse the situation — I absolutely despise when Lillian begins to feel insecure about our relationship because of this woman.
If there was a way I could remove the doubts that cloud her beautiful little mind, I'd do it in a heartbeat. She has taken this week adjusting to the office environment, and I personally know she's doing great. I've seen the reports she submitted because she made me sit down yesterday after dinner and had me go through them to tell her the things I think she can work upon.
That woman sometimes frets too damn much for her own good. Like she has been anxious over our test reports. We both got tested couple of days back and were supposed to get the result yesterday but there's some delay by the clinic. I know I'm clean, and so is she but her mind can go to weird places at times.
When she lays in bed by my side at nights and tells me how she's afraid of the water and has never been to a beach, I realise there's so much of the world I want to show her.
"Anything else you wanted to discuss?" Oliver asks me, cutting off my thoughts but I shake my head. "Alright then, see you later."
After he leaves, Amy still sticks around which makes me take a very pissed off breath. This woman has started to get on my nerves, and I've started considering replacing her but she really does handle my schedule well, and I don't want to go through training an assistant again.
"You have something for me?" I ask her, my eyes flicking to her from my laptop and she nods, placing another file in front of me.
"Just need your signature." She mumbles, and I skim through the document before signing it. It's the monthly report of our contract with Vince Pvt. Ltd.
I've been avoiding any excessive conversation with Amy since the clubbing night where she almost ruined my plans. Almost. Lillian has a way of making things better without even realising it. I'm not sure if it was all the dancing or the sex in the restroom which made it pretty damn good night, but it really was amazing.
"James..." Amy starts, and I look up at her. She looks nervous, I know how to read her, she's been with me since years now and I know her body language better than she does. "Listen, about the other night, I was drunk."
I glare at her, my eyes set on her face and she fumbles under my gaze as she should. The weekend I went out of town for a meeting and she accompanied me, she tried to kiss me and that's the same excuse she made back then.
"There's only so many times I can hear one statement. You should get back to work, and stick to it." I look away, focusing on the screen in front of me. "Don't give me another chance, or I won't hesitate from replacing you. Rosy's assistant quit, and she's looking for someone, I can easily suggest your name."
Her eyes widen at my response, and I'm glad because I'm fucking serious. I can't continue to mix my private and professional life if people are going to be ass about it. She looks hurt by my words but I can only care so much for a person before they start misusing it.
Without a word, she leaves the room and I wonder what would Lillian think about this conversation. That woman seems to occupy my thoughts since the day I've met her, and I think that's what annoyed me the most in the beginning — I couldn't seem to get her out of my fucking head.
There's another knock at my door and I stop typing, looking at the source. Alex enters the office and takes a seat in front of me, "Hey, I'm sorry about this Texas deal. The man's being an douche even though our offer is much greater than what he would get in the market."
"I think he's got a stick up his ass, I'll deal with him. Don't worry, I know how to handle misogynistic bastards." I assure her with a small smile and she nods, looking a little lost so I give her my attention for a minute. "All okay?"
"It's Hale." Her words don't surprise me for a second as she sighs. "He's great, but sometimes he's so casual about things that I don't know where things are. Listen, I know this is awkward with us being colleagues and everything, but you're his best bud and shit."
"And shit." I can't help but chuckle, nodding. "It's alright, Alex. You never heard this from me but the man operates well on ultimatums."
Hale's two years older than me but his emotional age is somewhat stuck in high school — he just needs a push in the right direction. She looks a little concerned by my words, "What if the ultimatum backfires?"
"Well, would you want to be with someone who can't commit even after that?" I arch an eyebrow and she seems to register my words, nodding.
"Thanks, I'll let you get back to work." She smiles at me before leaving.
Finally! I have to speak to Hale about this and knock some sense into him, or I'll let Lillian do it, she's anyway better at communicating than I am. I can't believe how well she has adjusted to my life and my only friend, it makes me feel content.
After getting some work done and making a call to Reece to pick up my suit for tonight, I glance at the clock and realise it's almost lunch time. I have a meeting after lunch with the Alfred industry's owner, to talk over the last month's turnover.
I pick up the intercom and dial the digit to Amy, "Connect me to Kevin from sales."
"Right away."
The call holds on for a minute before I hear Kevin's response. "Mr. Clark?"
"Yes, Kevin. I need a rundown of past two week's sales report by the topmost employees and the poor performers. The numbers have been dwindling a little." I tell him as I stare at the line on the graph in front of me.
"Yes, sir. Would you like me to set you up in a meeting with presentations or simply mail—"
There's a knock at the door which immediately pisses me off, my jaw clenching in response as I grit my teeth.
"Hold on." I speak into the phone as the doorknob turns and a very nervous Lillian steps in. My annoyance immediately washes away as worry takes over. "I'll have to call you back."
"Hey." She locks the door behind her, making me frown as I keep the receiver down and stare at her because in this entire week she hasn't come up here once.
"What's wrong?" I ask, not being able to hide my scowl as I stand up from the chair and move to her. Hundreds of thoughts run through my head as I take in her fumbling fingers. "Lillian, did someone say something?"
She shakes her head, "No, I'm fine. I just — shit, I shouldn't have come."
Before she can get lost in her anxious thoughts, which she tends to do a lot, I take her hand in mine, leaning a little to make our eyes connect and keep her tethered to the reality.
"Breathe." I remind her and she nods, taking a deep breath through her nose and exhaling it through her mouth. "Water?"
She nods and I take her hand to move her to the chair. Her skin is a little cold against mine so I give it a warm squeeze, handing her the glass of water. After she gulps it down, my eyes roam around her beautiful face, her long lashes blinking as she stares back at me with those worldly blue eyes.
"Our reports came." Her words make me freeze a little. Fuck. For her to be this nervous there has to be something really wrong. She can probably sense my body because she speaks up, "No, no! I haven't checked yet. I just panicked and came up here."
A sigh of relief leaves me. She must've been scared to check them alone, that's why she's up here. "It's okay. Do you want to check it together?" I offer, my hand going up to her cheeks as my eyes flicker to her lips that look as kissable as always.
She nods in response and not being able to resist, I press my lips against hers, pulling her closer. Her sigh is felt between our kiss, the fire burning through me at our proximity. This right here is a real proof as to how she frets so much over unnecessary things.
"Come." I motion for her to join me behind the desk as I take a seat and open my personal mailbox for the reports.
She stands from the chair and moves to stand by my side and I pull her to sit in my lap, startling her which makes me smirk a little. Her eyes meet mine as she shifts a little to adjust herself and my hand goes around her thighs as I give it a light squeeze and immediately feel her relax under me, her cheeks turning pink. This woman's ability to blush and her innocence always surprises me.
"You do know it's going to be fine, right? I have always taken precautions." I assure her because Lillian Clark is one woman who I can't help but feel so deeply for.
She nods and I move her hair away from her neck so I can press my lips against the nape. A very audible gasp leaves her as she shifts further into my lap, only making the blood in my body rush to my groin.
"Go ahead. Check it." I tell her, my hand moving up and down her thigh as I try to keep her nerves distracted.
She moves her fingers on laptop and opens the reports, my eyes moving with hers to read the screen and then to see her let out a huge breath of relief which makes me grin.
"Told ya." I bite on her earlobe, making her shriek a little.
"James, we're in your office." She mumbles but her body really does betray her as her breathing turns shallow.
To keep the conversation going and have her relax a little more, my hands move her skirt up, my other hand holding her by her waist as she leans back into my body. There she is, my love, always ready for something more.
"Why were you so worried?" I ask, my fingers drawing up between her legs and her eyes meet mine, her lips parted and the image of them wrapped around me this morning in bed comes to my head. Jesus!
"James." She breathes, her eyes closing as my fingers meet the fabric of her panties and I remove the barrier by pushing it aside only to have my finger tease her. "Please."
"Answer me. Why were you worried?" I ask, my lips moving to her neck as my hand on her waist moves up to unbutton her shirt.
This is what this woman does to me. She drives me absolutely crazy with desire and pushes me to the edge. A huge part of me would like to believe it's just about sex but I know the thumping of my heart as she moans my name doesn't make me fasten my pace every damn time so I can meet my closure, it's so I can hear it over and over again, to know that my name is the only one she'll be chanting like that.
Lillian Clark. The woman who has me wrapped around her tiny little finger. Who would've thought.
"I- just..." She tries to come up with words, and to help her with the process, I slide one of my fingers inside her. Her back arches a little as a moan leaves her and I can feel myself hardening against her ass. She knows I won't start moving my hand until she speaks so she glares at me which only makes me grin. "I'll have you begging tonight, don't you worry, Mr. Clark."
A loud laugh leaves me because I know she's absolutely right. "I look forward to it, Mrs. Clark."
She's becoming more confident about herself the more we get intimate. She shifts her hips in my lap and I bite back a groan which makes her smile because she knows exactly what she's doing.
"I thought if one of us had anything, the other could have it, since you know we've been careful during sex, but..." She trails off and I know exactly where her head's at.
"Well, it's a good thing we're clean then." I shift her body so I can kiss her as I push another finger and start moving my hands as a beautiful sound leaves her mouth.
She's so damn vocal about her pleasure, it always makes me harder. I continue to move my fingers inside her as I kiss her, my lips dominating hers. She tastes as sweet as I remember it to be from this morning, having missed her.
My other hand starts guiding itself inside her blouse as I find her swollen nub, the touch only making her shift more as she moans. My thumb between her legs meets her nerves, making her wither and I part ways from her mouth.
"Stay still, love." I instruct and she opens her eyes to meet mine, so many emotions but mostly her desire and lust reflecting through.
"I can't. James, more please." She begs and I smirk, kissing her as my hand picks up the pace. "More."
One of her hand travels down from my hair to between us as she palms me and a groan leaves me. "Fuck, baby. What happened to this being an office?"
"You started it." She shoots back, making me grin as I withdraw my fingers and she pouts at me. The intercom starts ringing and I curse under my breath as I start to reach for it and she shoots me a glare.
"Just a few seconds, I promise." I kiss her and she sighs. I pick up the receiver. "Yes?"
"You have a meeting in five." Amy speaks.
My eyes travel to the woman in my arms, raking down her unbuttoned blouse, her erect nipples and her skirt around her thighs. There's no way in hell I'm leaving her like this.
"Cancel it."
"It's with the board." She sounds annoyed because she knows Lillian's in here.
I bite my tongue, knowing that I really can't cancel the meeting with them. "Well, tell them I'm running fifteen minutes late."
Putting the receiver down without waiting for a response, I grab Lillian by her hips and make her stand. She bites down on her lips as she looks down on the bulge between my legs and I resist the temptation to rip her clothes off.
I stand up to remove my jacket as I lean down to kiss her again, rubbing myself against her before I part away and turn her around, my hands going to unbuckle my pants.
"I've got a meeting, but I really need you, so this is going to be faster. You tell me if you want me to stop, okay?" I whisper against her ear. "And as much as I love your sounds, we try to keep it down, good?"
She nods, her breathing picking up as her chest moves up and down. I pull out my hard erection and bend her body against the desk, my erection meeting her core as I rub myself against her, almost losing it at the direct skin contact.
Without a warning, I push myself from behind and she covers her mouth to muffle her sounds as I almost lose myself, feeling her around me for the first time without the barrier of a condom. Shit. She feels so damn good.
I start pushing myself in and out of her, my pace picking up as my hands squeeze her ass. She pushes back against my body, meeting my thrusts as I close my eyes to process the fire within me and open them to see her face sideways as she tries to quiet herself down.
"How does it feel baby?" I ask, because if I don't distract myself, I'll finish before she even has a chance of reaching her peak.
"So good! I feel—" She gets cut off by a moan. "Oh, James!"
After a while I slow my movements a little, sinking myself in her to feel the warmth as she contracts around me, making me feel every single inch of her. Slowly, almost painfully drawing out of her, I turn her around as I push her hips up on the desk and spread her legs.
Fuck! The things I wanna do to her. Her hands immediately come around my neck as she pulls me closer to kiss her and I push myself inside her, her lips parting in surprise as I continue to move my hips.
I haven't ever had sex without a condom, despite hating that latex, I've always been careful. But this woman in front of me has been worth the change, her moans turned into whimpers as I continue to move at a pace that I'm aware is driving her crazy.
A grunt escapes me as I feel myself pushing closer, and I lean forward to press my lips against her breast, taking her sensitive skin in my mouth. Her head falls back as I continue to roll my tongue, aware how close she is. I really have gotten to know her body well, how her legs around me tighten a little and her arms loosen a bit whenever she's near.
"James." She moans as I part away and she brings her face to my shoulder. I feel her teeth on the fabric of my t-shirt as she bites on it to draw out her moan as she finishes.
I continue to move as her forehead presses against my chest and I follow her lead, finishing inside her, the new adrenaline rushing through me. My eyes move down to her face and she slowly opens her eyes to look up at me, her lips parted.
My absolute favourite sight. I lean down to press a kiss against her lips as I reach for the tissue box and pull out of her.
"Don't move." I tell her.
"My clothes are going to be a disaster." She complains as I clean her, careful to keep the mess off her clothes. I look up after cleaning both of us and grin. "You're turning me into someone sex-crazed."
"I think you've always been sex-crazed, love. I just happen to have the master key to that side of yours." I smack her thighs, making her gasp. "All clean."
Her already pink cheeks turn darker as she starts buttoning her blouse and I do my pants. She slides off the desk and pushes down her skirt that has not really messed up much and turns better once she runs her hand above it.
After I'm done pulling on my jacket, I pull her closer and run a hand through her hair. She looks up at me, "How do I look?"
"Freshly fucked."
She swats my shoulder which makes me chuckle as I press a kiss on her hair. Her arms come around my torso and I wrap mine around her body, holding her closer.
"Thank you for keeping up with my stupid nerves." She mumbles and I frown a little. "I know it can't be easy."
I sigh, shaking my head as I keep my finger under her chin to make her look at me. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't know how I feel about her at all. Lillian has slowly found her way into my life, the way she holds onto her self-respect, her insane empathy for the love ones and how she manages to take care of everything at such a young age blows my mind away.
When I look back, I've been with a few women in my life, only for a physical relationship but no one has ever stood up to me like she does. Every one just gave into my ways. She calls onto my bullshit, since day one. I think that's where my attraction started — when she told me during our honeymoon that she has to know about my whereabouts whether I like it or not, about how she doesn't like me invading her personal space and so many other instances.
Since day one, this woman has infuriated me, pushed my buttons and in all the chaos, has driven me closer to herself.
"There's not much I wouldn't do for you, baby." I promise her, meaning every word. "You're my goddamn wife, I hope you realise that it's not just about unconventional marriage anymore."
She nods, kissing my jaw. "Don't you have a meeting to go to?"
Fuck! It completely slipped my mind. I nod as I part away and pick up the files from the corner of the desk. "You're very distracting, Mrs. Clark."
"Hah, if it's a competition, I think you're a fair winner, Mr. Clark."
I smirk at her words as I pick up the receiver and call Amy. "Yes, will you carry the files and set up my laptop in the conference room?"
"Sure, sir."
After keeping the receiver back, I move to unlock the door as Lillian's eyes follows my movements. I walk back to where she's leaning against the desk, "Lunch plans?" I ask, looking at the clock, well aware that my lunch hour would go in the meeting.
"Lounge room with Yash. This place is huge, by the way." She tells me.
"You should take some time out during your breaks and explore more."
There's a knock at the door before it opens and Amy steps in, pausing a little when her eyes land on Lillian who immediately scowls at her, her lower lip jutting out in a pout.
"Files?" Amy asks, grabbing my attention as I hand them over to her. "Is this all?"
I nod, my eyes moving to Lillian who continues to frown so I move to her as Amy grabs my laptop. Taking my wife's hand in mine, I rub my thumb on her knuckles and she finally looks at me. I lean down and press a lasting peck on her lips.
"Drink water. Lots of it." I remind her, winking and her cheeks turn a tinge of pink as she nods. Because of our physical activity, I've to keep reminding her to keep herself hydrated because I don't want her to fall sick.
When I move away, I notice that Amy's staring at me, a little shocked and I arch an eyebrow at her, making her shake her head at me. I've never been the one for affection, so I understand her surprise but I never felt for her either.
The meeting with the board goes smoothly as I explain to them the investment schedule for next month and Alex backs it up with our budgetary plan. I do earn a glare from my father for being late but he doesn't comment on it in front of everyone. I know I'll get an earful later.
My work goes on till an hour later than usual. After I'm done, I exit the building and Reece is waiting for me outside. She nods at me which I return as she opens the door.
When she slides in the driver's seat, I look at her, "I hope you got Mrs. Clark home safely?"
"Yes, Mr. Clark. I also handed her your suit for the night." She informs me. "At what time do you want to leave for the party, Sir?"
"In an hour, at most."
When I get home, I unlock the door and realise how coming back has become one of my favourite parts of the day.
"Lillian." I call out as I remove my jacket and move into the bedroom with her nowhere to be found. "Lil."
"In here." She calls back from closet and I make my way inside to find her standing in a strapless bra and a lacy black underwear. Fuck. Her eyes meet mine and she looks a little nervous. "I was just picking out a dress for the night."
"You know it's not that important for us to go." I recommend as I take in her breasts and ass, god, this woman is fucking perfect.
"Sometimes I wonder how did you go all this time without getting laid."
"Could say the same for you, love." I grin, making her blush. "Did Reece give you my suit?"
"Yes, right there." She points at it and I nod. "My parents aren't going to be there tonight, are they?"
I notice the disappointment in her tone as I shake my head, "No, but we can visit them tomorrow if you want."
She smiles in response as she picks out a full length cream coloured dress that seems to be completely strapless. She shows it to me and looks at me expecting a response.
"Wear whatever you want, you'll look beautiful either way. Just don't stay standing like that in front of me if you want us to leave on time."
"Well, go take a shower." She stares at me but I don't miss the way she shifts her weight on the other leg, making me smirk as I turn around.
After half an hour, I'm buttoning the white shirt with the cufflinks Lillian gifted me. That was another moment when I realised that I felt something for her more than the physical attraction, because no one had ever given me presents, especially something so thoughtful, not since my mother passed away. I remember Lillian's shocked face when I placed a kiss on her cheek after the cake-cutting that night.
I'm not sure what this warm-fuzzy feeling is, I've never claimed to be a very emotionally intelligent man even though I've always been told to work on it as someone holding a powerful position. But with her, I'm really damn trying, although the source of that motivation is a little unknown.
Her happiness. That's what I want.
"Ready?" She asks behind me and I turn around to see her looking absolutely breathtaking in the dress she showed me.
Jesus fucking Christ!
My eyes roam around her body before setting on her face and she looks so damn beautiful. I'm sure if she wasn't forced into marrying me, she would've been so damn out of my league. I nod as she takes her sweet time checking me out, a familiar look in her eyes that I haven't yet put my finger on.
The drive to the place is filled with small conversation as she tells me about her day and I speak to her about the Texas land. She scrunches her nose when she hears about the asshole and I bring her hand up to kiss it.
"You look absolutely breathtaking, love." I kiss her shoulder as we reach the hall and she blushes, my hand going around her waist. A flashing camera almost blinds my vision as I curse under my breath, "Fucking media!"
She gives me a sideway glance, looking amused and I roll my eyes as we enter further and my eyes roam around some familiar faces before landing on a particular pair of eyes, my body almost freezing as he smirks at me from distance.
The blood in my body seems to boil at his familiar face as my hand tightens into a fist, my breathing stopping from the instant rage rushing through me.
Richard fucking Lucas!
•••
i'm so grateful to everyone who reads, and it would be great if y'all can vote! it really does motivate me to write!
thank you. have a nice day. xo