Strictly Business

Chapter Six

Adrian's POV

The alarm clock sprung me out of my sleep. I had struggled to fall asleep, as I had been continually haunted by thoughts of Ella.

Yes, I knew it had been awfully out of place to make such early advances at her, but then it couldn't be helped. I felt terribly guilty, as I let my demons resurface yet again.

In spite of how hard I tried to suppress my insatiable longings, I found myself being enslaved to them time and again.

Being wealthy and powerful made it even worse, as the best of ladies were always falling head over heels for me.

Even though I'd had the best of women in San Francisco, there was something about Ella that made me feel incomplete if I didn't have her. She was special. That was the only word I could think of to describe her.

My heart was filled with anticipation, as my phone buzzed on the pillow beside me. I reached for it, hoping that it had been Ella trying to remind me about our appointment that morning.

“Hello…”

All my hopes were dashed in pieces, as I heard Lucas's voice beaming with excitement. My effervescent best friend and business partner was always keeping in touch with me at every point.

Some days it was heartwarming, but on some mornings, like this very one, it was quite annoying.

“Lucas…” I said, getting out of bed. “What's up?” Her most definitely had a reason to call me up that early.

“Nothing… just checking on you, bud,” he replied. “By the way, I was just curious to know who the pretty chick from yesterday was?”

“Who?” I asked, pretending not to know that he was speaking of Ella.

“The fact that you spent that much time with her in your office had me wondering if she was the next target…” he chuckled mischievously, as he said those words.

“Alright… that's enough. She's an artist, and she came to talk business.” I disliked it when Lucas spoke of struggle with my sexual addiction in that way. “There's nothing more to it. We'll talk when I get to the office.”

I wished I could say that there really wasn't anything more to it, as I hung up. At that point, I just hoped that she wasn't thinking of me as some perverted creep, though that was what I felt like most times.

In a moment, I got myself ready and soon hit the road. Ella's face kept popping up in my head as I drove to the office. I was determined to play it cool, and not pull off a stunt like I had done the day before.

Soon enough, I was seated impatiently in my office, seated, and waiting for that call from my secretary that Ella had come looking for me. I could barely concentrate on the paperwork before me.

Suddenly, the phone rang. I felt a flutter in my chest, as I tried to calm myself down a bit. It had to be Ella, I thought, as I slowly picked it. It had to be her.

“Yes?” I asked, holding up the phone with my palms, which were beginning to become sweaty.

“Good morning, Mr. Montgomery,” my secretary said. “It's the girl from yester—”

“Send her in,” I couldn't wait for her to finish. My mind would know no rest until my eyes were set on Ella once again. I hung up and thought through my words, as I waited for Ella to come through the door.

“Come on in,” the knock on the door was like sweet music to my ears. “I must say, Ella, you're quite—” my words were stuck on in my throat, as I feasted my eyes on her sheer natural beauty one more time.

“Good morning, Mr. Montgomery,” Ella seemed to intentionally try keeping it all formal.

Besides her dazzling facial features, my eyes were drawn to the artwork she held in her hand. It was still wrapped in paper, which had me curious to see what it was like when she expressed herself on the canvas.

She carefully placed the art work on a stand, not too far away from my desk. I stood and pulled out the chair on the other side of my desk for her to sit.

The smile on her face seemed a bit forced, as she slowly sat. But then the smile disappeared completely when I pulled up the chair right beside hers and sat, facing her.

“So, how are you doing, Ella?” I asked, trying to warm up the conversation a bit. Being that close to her made me lose grip of every single strand of my self-restraint. “I see you have something here…”

“Yes, I do, Mr. Montgomery—”

“You can call me Adrian…” I insisted, as my bodily hormones were rushing speedily. My imaginations were raptured by images of holding Ella's naked body in my arms.

“Mr. Montgomery feels much better to me,” she replied with a smile.

I was almost unaware that I was beginning to pull my seat closer to hers. The normal reaction would be to back her chair away from me.

But she sat still, although she seemed to hide signs of discomfort. I couldn't help but wonder whether that was a positive sign or not.

“Well… I worked on it all night long,” she said, motioning towards where her artwork sat on the stand. “I think you should see it.”

My hands seemed to have a mind of their own, as I impulsively held her while she tried to stand. “There might be no need for that right now…” I desperately sought for ways to make that sound a bit professional.

But unfortunately, I couldn't. I just pulled her seat toward mine, and moved towards her as well. I couldn't stare at those lips for one more moment without making them touch mine.

Just as I was about to induce the kiss, the door suddenly came open, with the last person I was expecting to see.

“You… what are you doing here?” I asked, suddenly springing to my feet. How on earth had she gotten in?