Mr big, p.12
Mr. Big, page 12
“Nothing, angel,” he soothes, smiling as he kisses me again.
“Hey, what happened to no secrets?”
He sighs. “There’s a mutiny going on in my boardroom right now.”
“What?! As in, they’re trying to kick you out?” He nods, and I scowl angrily. “Well screw them. You’ve got a majority and can fight them anyways, right?” He’s silent for a second, and my heart skips. “Wait, right?”
“Yes and no,” he growls. “Yes, I’ve got a majority, but if they can sway ninety-percent of the rest of the major shareholders and board members, they can force a vote of no confidence and remove me.”
“That’s bullshit!”
Damien smiles as he kisses me again. “It is what it is.”
“No! Damien, you have to fight this. When are they voting?”
“Right now.”
My jaw almost hits the ground. “What the heck are you doing here, then?”
“Getting you back,” he growls as his hands tighten around my waist. “Liv, my empire has been my entire life. But now, I’ve found something better. I’ve found something that makes me tick and makes my heart beat faster like running Rook Holdings never did. I found you, angel. And that’s all I need.”
My face grows hot as he leans down to kiss me again. I get lost in the kiss, until I’m moaning into him and grinding my body to his. But suddenly, I pull away and shake my head.
“No, Damien. You can’t just walk away.”
“Believe me, I can. I can walk away and spend the rest of my life on a beach with you wanting for absolutely nothing. Liv, I have enough money for ten lifetimes.”
“But you built this. You, Damien. Your empire is your baby. You can’t just let them take it! Damien, I’d be in love with you if you had all the money in the world or if you didn’t have a single penny. But you’d be crazy to walk away from… what?”
He’s grinning at me, and my cheeks redden as his eyes hold mine.
“You love me, huh?”
I smile, blushing deeply as I nod. “Maybe.”
He laughs. “Just a maybe? Because angel, I’m head over heels in love with you.”
“Okay, you got me,” I whisper. “I’m crazy in love with you.”
He leans down, and my whole body tingles as the kiss buzzes through me like a current. But then I slowly pull away and look up into his gorgeous green eyes.
“You have to fight,” I whisper. “You can’t just walk away from your company. I know you say you can, but it’ll haunt you forever if you do. I know you, Damien,” I say softly as I take his hands in mine. “And you’re a fighter.”
“Liv, the vote is happening right now. With the whole Luxe thing, it’s a done deal.”
My face falls. “Oh my God, is that what triggered this?! Me failing?”
He scowls. “Absolutely not. It was me shutting down the shoot after buying the company without telling them. The Luxe people are pissed that I scuttled the campaign, and the rogue members of the board are using that.”
“Well, give them the shots we took!”
“Of you?”
I blush, but I nod quickly. “Yes!”
“Not a chance. Liv, you don’t want to be up on billboards in Times Square.”
He’s completely right, but right now, I know I’ll do anything. For him, I’d put everything on the line, even if it means putting my butt in lingerie up on a billboard for a million strangers to gawk at.
“Yeah, but I’ll do it.”
“No, you won’t,” he growls. “And besides…” he grunts as he pulls close to me, and I gasp as I feel his thick bulge press into me. “That view is for my eyes and my eyes only, from now on,” he growls darkly. There’s a possessiveness to his voice that sends a tingle through my skin, and I can feel my panties growing wet.
“But it could sway the Luxe people on the board! That could help!”
“We’re not doing it, Liv,” he grunts. “I’m not making you do that for me. I’d rather just wear the fucking lingerie myself, if it’d help.” He shakes his head. “And in any case, there’s no time to—”
“Uh, I think I have an idea.” Okay, it’s a crazy, crazy idea. But it’s the kind of crazy that might just work. It’s bold, and it might even blow up in our faces and make it even worse. But really, what do we have to lose? I look up at him and grin. “I need three hours, a camera crew, and your Malibu house.”
He frowns. “For?”
“Trust me, okay?” I grin as I lean up to kiss him softly. “Can you stall the vote?”
“Hunter and my second in command, Martin, are there right now trying to.”
“Okay, good. The longer they can stall and drag things out, the better. We’re going to need all the time we can get. I’m going to call Pascal and my team. You just make sure Hunter and Martin can buy us time, and then go to your house and get ready.”
Damien frowns in confusion. “Get ready for what?”
I just giggle as I kiss him again, excitement rushing through me. It’s insane, but we actually might just pull this off.
“I hope you’re not feeling shy.”
18
Olivia
My heart is racing as Damien and I run in a mad dash down the hall to his boardroom. His strong hand holds mine tightly, and I can feel his pulse racing as fast as mine. I glance at him, and he does the same to me, and we both start laughing. Excitement and nervousness tingle through me, and it feels like I’m high on adrenaline as we race towards the big double doors.
The idea really was insane, and I’ve only had two hours to pull it off. But I think we actually have something. Pascal jumped at the chance, especially when I told him my idea. And between Cassie and I, we managed to herd most of the crew from our first shoot together to meet at Damien’s lavish beach house for the shoot. No supermodel. No me. But we did have last year’s “sexiest man alive” on hand.
So, Damien was our model. No, he wasn’t squeezing into thongs or anything weird like that. But, Damien shirtless, oiled up, and giving the camera his best “bedroom eyes” while he manhandled panties and bras? Well if that doesn’t sell a product, I honestly don’t know what will.
And the shoot went absolutely amazing. After all, Damien was a model in his previous life, and between him pulling out all the stops and Pascal being super into the concept, it all came together into something I don’t think has ever been done before. There are shots of a smoldering-eyed Damien growling at the camera with a pair of lace panties in his teeth. Another one of him clutching a thong in his fist, his muscles bulging as he lewdly sniffs them. My favorite might be the one where he’s tearing another thong in half with every single muscle in his perfect body rippling and hard.
It’s daring, and provocative, and it might be a big flop. But my gut says we have something big, and it might just be enough to save his company. If we can sway the Luxe people on the board to hold off on the vote, we can stop the takeover.
“You ready?” I glance at him as we stop breathlessly outside the doors to the board room.
Damien grins. “Hell yes. And Liv, whatever happens in there, what you just pulled off was fucking incredible.” He chuckles. “Hell, it was actually pretty fun to get back in front of a camera.”
“Well you’re pretty freaking good at it. You could have been selling mud and I’d want some after seeing that shoot.”
He chuckles. “Well, let’s see if the board agrees. You’re a little biased, you know.”
“Um, yeah I am,” I whisper in a husky tone. I step into him, and I gasp as his hands move over me. We hold on tightly to one another as our lips come together, and I moan as I feel his cock growing hard against me. Needless to say, after two hours of watching this man grind all over a bed flexing his muscles and giving off pure sex vibes, I want him. Badly.
“Fuck do I want to tear these clothes off and fuck you right here,” he grunts, as if reading my mind. I whimper as I kiss him. But then I pull back and wag a finger at him.
“Later, mister,” I tease, even though I want him so, so badly right now. “First, how about we go save your company.”
“Yeah but after that,” Damien growls. I gasp as his hand slides around to cup my ass firmly. “After that, you’re mine.”
The boardroom is silent as the presentation comes to an end. It’s rough, I know. I mean we only had so much time, and my designer literally threw together a presentation in the car ride over here, with the most basically edited shots possible. But, it’s something. Now I just hope I’m not the only one who thinks it’s crazy enough to work.
“So, there’s no chick?”
As it turns out, the advertising lead at Luxe, an older guy named Franklin, is an old-school, slightly out of touch and more than slightly misogynistic prick. At a women’s lingerie company. Go freaking figure. He frowns, and he looks confused.
“I mean, that’s the point of these things, right? Get a hot broad up there who can fill out a D-cup? Shit, who doesn’t want that?”
“Women?”
Every eye in the room swivels to me. Behind Franklin, the rest of his team who’s actually mostly women, start to grin.
“Excuse me?” Franklin mutters. He knows I’m the production lead for this campaign, but I can tell he doesn’t like it. Because, you know, I’ve got tits.
“You asked who didn’t want to see that in a lingerie ad, and the answer is women.” He starts to roll his eyes, but I push on. I mean what do I have to lose at this point? “Sir, that’s not just my opinion as a woman, that’s hard data from consumer polls your own company ran.”
Franklin looks surprised, but one of the women sitting behind him passes him a binder.
“Women see lingerie ads all the time with the products being worn by professional models with bodies we’ll never have. Every woman in this room, and every woman out there on the streets who’s a potential Luxe customer has at one point not bought something sexy because all she saw were unrealistic proportions and body type.”
The women in the room all nod, and Franklin looks around and actually looks intrigued. “Really.”
“Really. Look, sex sells, and beautiful people sell products. I’m not going to lie to you about that. You want someone sexy selling your lingerie, no question. But, what if instead of a female model that will mostly inspire jealousy and body frustration, you get this instead? A hot guy literally tearing the panties up?”
Franklin frowns again. “Now, look, Mr. Rook, I know we’re your company now and all, but I’ve been doin’ this a while. You’re on those pictures destroying the product! How the hell is that supposed to make it sell? I mean, what woman is going to want to buy a g-string when you’re up there ripping it with your teeth like a sex-crazed animal?”
There’s a rumble of laughter around the room, and suddenly, one of the women on Damien’s board puts her hand up and shrugs. “Uh, me?”
“Same,” another woman in a business suit who’s easily twice Damien’s age laughs as she raises hers too. “Respectfully, Mr. Rook.”
Damien chuckles. “No problem, Rebecca.”
Slowly, almost every other woman in the room raises their hand, until Franklin just starts to nod. “Well, shit. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.” He turns back to me and looks at me appraisingly. “Miss, you might be on to something big here.”
“And you’re going to be on something big as soon as we get the hell out of here,” Damien murmurs into my ear. I tremble with desire, and a throb of arousal pulses through my core.
Across the conference table, a guy named Carson who Damien’s already told me is the ringleader behind the mutiny, shakes his head. “This stunt is too little too late, Rook. You’ve been reckless, and the entire board is done with it. So are the shareholders.” He nods at a video screen mosaic where some of the larger investors in the company are video-chatting in. “Franklin, you’ve made it clear you and the rest of Luxe aren’t happy with this man just halting your entire marketing campaign on a whim. So, enough with the side-shows. Damien, you can parade around in women’s panties all you want on your own time. The rest of us have a company to run. Let’s vote and get this over with.”
My heart skips, and I turn to look at Damien. But he’s calm and collected, and all he does is take my hand in his. “So be it.”
Suddenly, Franklin clears his throat. “We can vote, but I’m changing mine.”
“What?!” Carson sputters.
“You’re right, we weren’t thrilled with how things shook out before. But this young lady has blown it out of the water. I can speak for all of us at Luxe when I say we vote to keep Mr. Rook exactly where he is as head of this company.”
“Same here, actually.” An older, distinguished looking man on one of the video screens nods in agreement. “Sorry, Carson. My confidence is in Damien, so long as he lets us in on plans in the future, perhaps before making ten-figure purchases, Damien?”
Damien chuckles and nods his head. “You’ll be the first one I’ll consult, Ed.”
“I also vote for Damien,” Rebecca says loudly. A murmur begins to rumble through the room, and I watch as Carson’s face turns bright red.
“Well, enough of this bullshit. We’re voting. All voting members in favor of removing Mr. Rook from this board and taking charge of this company, raise your hands.”
There are a few that go up along with Carson’s, but it’s pretty easy to see it’s a far cry from the ninety-percent Damien’s told me they need to remove his majority stake. In fact, it looks a lot more like ten percent. Carson looks both furious and terrified as the hands all slowly go back down.
“And those in favor of keeping things as they are?” Damien’s friend Hunter who is sitting across the table from us, winks at Damien. A bunch of hands both in the room and on the video screens go up, and when I look at him, Damien grins.
“Motion resolved,” Hunter mutters, smiling at Carson. “And I have a new vote.”
Carson glares at him. “For?”
“For your removal from this table,” Hunter growls. Carson’s face turns white. “All in favor?” Most of the hands go up, and Hunter smiles.
“That’s not ninety-percent!” Carson sputters.
“Well, in your case, we just need a majority.”
“Goodbye, Carson,” Damien says tersely with a smile on his face. The other man glowers as he stands and glares at the rest of the room.
“Backstabbing fuckers.”
“Pot kettle black,” Damien mutters. “You’re out of the building in five minutes or I’ll be calling security.”
Carson turns white as he turns and dashes from the room. Damien grins and squeezes my hand before he steps to the head of the table. “So, Franklin, you’re good with the concept?”
“I am, Damien.”
“Excellent. And does anyone else have anything we should vote on?” Everyone shakes their head, and he smiles. “Then in that case, I promised the new creative head for Luminous a little beach vacation for her efforts. And I believe she has a plane to catch.”
A huge smile spreads over my face as Damien turns to me. “I’ll give you a ride to that plane, Ms. Knowles. Meeting adjourned.”
We’re barely out the door before I gasp as he scoops me into his arms. I giggle as our lips come together, and I kiss him passionately as he carries me into the elevator.
“Creative head?”
“Yeah, congrats on the promotion, by the way.”
I grin as I hug him around the neck, kissing him until the elevator doors open. Damien carries me out, right through the lobby of the building to his waiting Mustang, engine running. He sets me down next to it, and his arms slide around me as he pulls me close.
“Ready for the beach?”
“I feel like ‘private Caribbean island’ sort of goes outside the realm of ‘beach.’”
Damien laughs. “Is that a yes?”
“That would be a hell yes,” I giggle.
“Good, because we’re going for the next month. I figured you could use some R&R before you start your new position.”
I laugh. “A month? Damien, I packed for like four days.”
“Didn’t we already cover that you won’t be needing clothes while we’re there?” I feel my cheeks burn with heat. Damien pulls me tight against him, and I gasp as he tilts my head up and holds my gaze. “I love you, Olivia,” he growls quietly. “Always and forever.”
“I love you, too,” I whisper back.
His lips find mine, and I find everything I’ve ever wanted in his.
Epilogue
Damien
I groan as she slides next to me, her smooth, slick, sun-kissed skin rubbing against mine. My arms circle her and pull her against me until that sweet, perfect little peach of an ass is pressed right against me. Instantly, my cock begins to swell and harden as it nestles between the firm, tight globes of her ass. Now this is paradise, I think as I gaze out over the acres of empty white sand and the crystal-clear water beyond it.
I bought this island in a rare splurge, but it always felt empty when I visited alone. I never brought any women here, and the one time I brought Hunter, he just seemed bored. And alone, being here just felt like a bad version of Robinson Crusoe. But with Olivia here, it’s perfection. That perfect little ass grinding on my thickening dick doesn’t really hurt things much either, if we’re being honest.
It’s been seven months since our Hail Mary of a play to save my empire. No, we haven’t been down here ever since having debaucherous deserted island sex for seven months, as tempting a thought as that is. But that first trip here after she helped me save it all ended up being more like two months. Two months of heaven with my own personal angel. But eventually, we did have to go back. You know how it goes. There were companies to run, new positions to start. Proposals to make…
Actually, we didn’t have to come home for that last one. I proposed to Liv after roughly a week on our fantasy island. Some women would want flashy and grandiose. A ring in the flute glass of the most expensive vintage champagne at the priciest, most exclusive restaurant. The top of the Eiffel Tower or something like that. But not Olivia. That stuff never interested her. And honestly, with the way I came from nothing, it didn’t appeal to me either.
