Conquest of the Heart (10 page)

“So, you know, San Francisco is considered
one of the most romantic cities in the US?”

“That has what to do with the project?” Faith
asked, not completely sure if they were done for the day.

“Well, if this city makes the cut, I might
have an opportunity to meet your needs. What better place for
something to happen between us,” he glared. Faith was not
impressed.

“You really don’t quit, do you?”

“Hey, I aim to please, and no, I won’t quit.
Not until I have you.”

Faith closed her laptop, sure now that their
meeting was over, looked at Gavin and said, “It’s not going to
happen. Give up.”

“I don’t know how to do that, especially not
when I’m determined. At least I can say that I’m getting my fix,
since you’re not cooperating. What are you doing when you go home
at night?” Gavin asked as she stood up and walked to the window.
“This problem can be resolved,” he teased.

“The problem is not with me,” she snapped.
“The problem is with you sleeping around all the time.”

“Which is my business. Like I’ve said before,
I’m only going to get worse. Everything about you, everything you
do, Faith – the way you talk, your smile, your hair, your perfume,
your resistance to me – everything about you turns me on. So, at
the end of the day, after I’ve been around you, I have to relieve
my tension. Since you won’t allow me to relieve it with you, I have
to find someone else.”

“Gavin Carlisle, you are not going to blame
this on me,” she said as she whipped around from the window and
glared at him.

“I will. You drive me wild,” he said. “You’re
like a drug that keeps me coming back for more and more. I can’t
keep myself away from you.”

“I can take care of that.” She was trying not
to get too upset. He had already called her out once.

“You won’t. The meetings we’re having are
necessary in order to move forward with the project. You’re stuck
with me for two weeks,” he boasted.

“All of our pieces can be done without help
from the other. We don’t even need to have these extra meetings,
and I think you know it.”

“Then why did you agree to it?” he asked
sarcastically. She was caught, and he knew it.

“Because I’m new, and who better to learn
from than you? You and Adrian have done fantastic things with this
company. When we’re talking business, I’m learning from one of the
greatest marketing minds there is, and I can feel the pulse of this
company. The more I work with you, the more I’ll know, and the
better I will become.”

“Oh, you can feel a pulse, alright!” He knew
this would send her overboard.

“Can you keep your mind clean for just five
minutes?”

“Almost impossible when I’m with you. It
takes a great deal of strength. I’ve had to work at it.”

“I hate that I’m an object to you.” She was
beginning to get upset.

“You’re not an object. You’re more than that.
I’ve already made that clear.” He walked over to where she’d been
standing by the window. She didn’t move away, at least not
initially.

“Faith, there’s something different about
you, and I want to get to know what that is. I’m going crazy.” He
paused for a moment. “I would stop being with other women, if you
would let me be with you. You’re the solution to my madness.”

“Really?” she darted, turning to look at him.
“Who was your solution before I came? Chandler? Did that solve your
little problem?”

“Chandler is not a solution to anything.
She’s a problem all on her own,” he said, shaking his head and
rolling his eyes.

Faith stepped away from the window, and
started to pack up her things to return to her office. She stopped,
looked at Gavin, who was still facing the window, and said,
“Sleeping with me is not going to solve your problem, Gavin. You
don’t seem to know what you really want, or what you really need.
Until you do, I’m just another ‘notch’ for you. I’d satisfy you
until the next woman came along. I have never been used by anyone
for any purpose, nor will I start.” She picked up her things and
started toward the door.

“I know what I want.” He turned to face her.
“I won’t stop until I have you.”

She stopped, looked back and said, “Thanks
for your help this afternoon,” then turned and walked out the
door.

Gavin took a deep breath in, went to his desk
and sat down. He was almost back to square one. Knowing that Faith
hadn’t had sex in a while was great information, but she seemed to
be more resistant than ever. “I’ll just have to keep wearing you
down,” he thought out loud.

Agnes heard most of their conversation. She
took a few notes and walked back to her desk. She would compile all
the things she witnessed throughout the week and report back to
Adrian. In her mind, things weren’t going so well.

Faith sat in her chair and
made a phone call. “Bonjour. Comment s’est passee ta journee? … Un
peu stressant, mais je vais passer au travers. Je ne veux pas vous
retenir longtemps. Je voulais simplement verifier po … A tres
bientot. Au revoir.” She hung up, again exhausted from meeting with
Gavin. To think, she had two more days like this.
(Hello. How was your day? A little stressful, but
I’m getting through. I just wanted to check in. Talk to you soon.
Goodbye.)

Thursday came and went with Jacksonville
having been discussed with Carter’s added piece. Faith and Gavin
met in the afternoon to build outlines and client lists for two
more cities. No project meetings were held on Friday, but Gavin and
Faith had their ad hoc meeting, which lasted majority of the day.
They stayed in for lunch, with Faith getting to eat her frozen meal
that she had wanted to eat all week, and Gavin having his lunch
delivered. Once they were finished with their work for next week’s
meetings, Gavin started in on Faith.

She once again had her back turned, and was
packing up her files and laptop. He quietly approached her and
whispered, “I want you,” again wanting to nibble at her ear, but
restraining himself. His loins were out of control.

As she stood up a little bit, annoyed by his
pestering, her hair brushed his cheek, which made him even
hotter.

Without turning around, she calmly said, “If
you want to keep your life, you’ll step away from me.”

Gavin backed up, saying, “Resistance is
futile,” smiling. “By the way, your resistance to me is hot!”

He had been with her all day, and could
hardly manage himself. He was ready to explode.

“I’m not an object, remember? Go find
Chandler.”

“I would much rather be with you.”

“So I’ve been told. More times than I care to
recall,” she said as she looked at him, struggling to keep his
composure. She was extremely fatigued, and barely had energy to
argue. “Have a good night with Chandler. It’s not happening with
me.” She started for the door, and continued, “Enjoy your
weekend.”

“How is that you haven’t had sex for who
knows how long, and are still able to resist my advances? I know it
can’t be easy. I haven’t been trying to make it easy.”

She stopped and turned around. “I know you
haven’t. I can almost guarantee you that if sex was all that I
wanted, as you do, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Has it
been a while since I’ve been touched by someone? Yes Gavin, it has.
But when I let someone touch me, it’s going to be for all of the
right reasons.”

“I can definitely touch you for all the right
reasons.” Gavin found himself getting harder the longer they
spoke.

“You’re horny, Gavin.”

“Aren’t you? Damn, woman, you’ve been doing
this to me all week.”

She smiled as kindly as she could, stepped
closer to him, looked him right in the eyes and said, “I can’t give
you what you want. Go see Chandler.”

She quickly stepped away and walked out of
his office. She was looking forward to the weekend. She could relax
and recover from a very tiring week.

Gavin stood alone for a minute, thinking
about what Faith had just said, thinking about how badly he’d
wanted to grab her and kiss her. As much as he didn’t like it, he
had to do as she suggested. He went to see Chandler.

Later that evening, Gavin and Chandler were
lying quietly on their backs after having sex, still naked. As she
rolled over on her side, Chandler broke the silence after a few
moments. “You’ve been coming to see me all week. Did you finally
come to your senses about my lovin’? I told you I was all that you
needed.” She gently began to stroke his chest.

Gavin continued to stare at the ceiling. He
sighed and said, “Chandler, I’ve never lied to you. You have to
start believing me when I tell you that there will never be
anything between us, besides what we just did. I’ve needed you all
week, because I’ve been horny all week.”

Chandler propped herself up on her elbows.
“Have you been missing me that much?”

“No, I’ve wanted someone else that much.” He
sat up and swung his legs around the side of the bed.

She crawled across the bed toward him, and
started to kiss his back, neck and shoulders, while rubbing his
chest and all that was exposed. He started to get aroused again.
“Does this have something to do with that bitch Faith?” she asked
as she reached down to stroke his manhood.

He immediately grabbed her hand and stopped
her. He stood up abruptly, walked over to get his clothes, and
said, “Don’t call her that again.”

Chandler rolled her eyes and said, “That’s
what this is about? She won’t give you any? Stop wasting your time.
I’ve never denied you.”

“That’s because you seem to think you’re
going to get something else out of this,” he said, getting
dressed.

“And she doesn’t?” She laughed and said,
“You’re kidding yourself if that’s what you think.” She was still
sitting on the bed naked. “You’re just using me to get to her,
aren’t you?”

“She’s the one who suggested I come see you.
Of course I would have come anyhow. She had me so knotted up, I had
to. I would never use you to get to her. I can get to her on my
own. I need you for release.” He sat down to put on his shoes.

“I don’t know why I put up with this
bullshit.”

He looked at her and said, “You don’t have
to. I’ve never forced you to be with me. All you have to do is say
no. Would you like for me to cease calling on you?”

Knowing he would, she quickly changed her
tone. “Oh, Gavin, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just want you to
want me, like I want you. I love you.”

He looked up at the ceiling, chuckling.
“You’re amazing.” Then, looking directly at her he said, “You don’t
love me, Chandler. You love what I can give you. You already know
where I stand on that.”

Chandler looked down, disappointed. She
wasn’t going to give up on him. She had to hold her peace and let
him have his space. However, she thought she might have a word with
Faith. She was standing in her way with Gavin.

“I’ve got to go. Do we understand each
other?” He was tired of her drama. Until he was able to break
Faith, he had to keep her somewhat satisfied. She was the only
woman who would be there whenever he had a need. It didn’t matter
what time of day or night he called. She was convenient, for
now.

She sighed and said, “Yes, I’ll see you on
Monday.”

“I’ll see myself out. Have a good weekend,”
he called back as he walked out of the bedroom and left.

CHAPTER SIX

Not long after Gavin left, Chandler continued
to lie in her bed, naked and alone. She started to reminisce about
when she first met him.

* * *

It had been a really long day at work, and
Gavin was ready to have a few drinks with his friends. He had been
promoted to Vice President of the company, which was a big
responsibility. As he gathered up his things from his desk, Carter
stopped by to check in on him.

“Are you still going tonight? Everyone will
be there, and we should see a few new faces. It’ll be fun.”

“Of course I’m going. Juliet would have a fit
if her only son didn’t come by for an office party. I just need to
go home and shower up. I’ll meet you there.”

Adrian was having a party for the C&A
employees. They were celebrating Gavin’s promotion and welcoming
newcomers who had been hired over the last 6 months.

The festivities had already begun when Gavin
arrived. He passed some colleagues hanging out in the foyer of his
parents’ home, and said hello as he sought out the most important
woman in his life.

“Mom,” he said, giving her a big hug and
kiss.

“Hi, honey. Congratulations. We knew you
could do it.”

Gavin had to work his way up in his father’s
company just like everyone else. Adrian didn’t want things handed
to him. He always thought that children raised like that were
spoiled, and never appreciated anything they had. When Gavin
started, he was determined to be on top, working diligently and
proving that he was worth every promotion he received along the
way.

“Thanks. It was tough. Adrian didn’t make it
easy.”

“Would you have expected anything less?
You’re home now, call him Dad or Father.” Juliet would never get
used to the formal relationship that the two men had developed.

“Only for you,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“I’m going to get a drink and find Carter.”

“Alright, dear. Have fun,” she said,
continuing to mingle.

Gavin found Carter among a
few male colleagues, and a host of female colleagues.
‘
Who will I choose tonight?’
he thought.

“Hey, Carter,” he said as he approached the
group. “How is everyone doing over here?”

“We’re great. Do we need to stand at
attention or something? Shouldn’t they be playing ‘Pomp and
Circumstance’?”