CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

PAYTON

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I would’ve liked afew more days between Friday night and today when I have to see Knox again.

Two thousand should do.

I’m not even sure that would be enough to erase what happened between us. Not that I want to forget it, per se.

I just don’t know quite what it means.

Or what it was.

Aside from incredibly erotic. Knox Montgomery has the most beautiful cock I’ve ever seen in my life. Watching him come all over himself while his eyes were glued to my body was beyond words.

And if you have to ask if I dug out my vibrator and relieved myself the moment I reached my bedroom, then what can I say?

Yes.

About four times since the elevators closed, and I last saw his face.

How the hell am I going to look him in the eye today and not play all of it over and over in my head?

Good girl, run them through your juices.

Oh, god.

We’re presenting them with a first draft concept of the campaign. After their feedback, we will fine-tune it and then begin to finalize and implement it over the coming weeks.

The timing of this is so fast it makes my mind boggle. But at least it takes some of my mind off Friday.

Not really.

The boardroom fills with senior members of the team. Michael, Michaela... Knox.

Shit.

My eyes dip and I turn away.

Alexandra is here with me today, along with Karen and Cory.

“Good morning,” Knox says, and his voice sends shivers through my body.

“Morning, Knox,” Alexandra says.

“Hello, Mr. Montgomery,” Karen says so chirpily that I almost fall over. I frown, confused at her odd behavior, and she shoots me a glare before continuing her set-up.

Cory chuckles silently.

“Payton,” Knox says, watching me.

“Hi, morning.” I swallow and it physically hurts.

Our eyes lock for a short but dense moment and immediately I feel my body react and become aroused.

Fuck yourself, baby.

“Good weekend?” he asks me.

Is he fucking with me?

He has to be kidding.

Well then...

“Yes. Action-packed. You?”

“Very stimulating,” Knox replies and slowly drinks from his coffee mug.

Jesus, Payton. Press in again, faster. Deeper.

Damn him.

“Well, I hope you’ve recovered.” My eyes accidentally drop to his groin, then snap back to his. “And enjoy what we have to show you.”

“No doubt.” He quirks his brow. “I have every reason to believe you’ll present me with a wide range of options.”

Damn him.

“Okay, let’s get started.” Cody claps his hands as the presentation appears on the screen. “We are excited to show you our draft creatives for the Verity Co. Spring/Summer Collection launch 2024.”

Alexandra takes the lead, talking about our creative process and who contributed to our pitch. Then she hands it back over to Cody and me.

Karen leans against the wall and glares.

I glare back until she turns the lights down.

“Shame murder is illegal,” Cody mutters.

I click the clicker and the first slide appears.

“First, I’d like to say the StoryCraft team absolutely loves the new collection, and that led to a very exciting brainstorming session.” I smile, averting my eyes from Knox.

Not quickly enough. His dark simmering gaze makes me catch my breath.

“From Paris to the eighties we looked at how fashion embraced the pastels in the past,” Cody says.

“And how Verity Co. has used that same feminine softness and blended it with modern independence,” I add.

Knox rubs his hand over his mouth.

Shit, what does that mean?

Now I’ve shifted into business mode, and I need him to be okay with these ideas. We don’t have time to go back to the drawing board.

“First, let’s look at the fundamentals. We’re obviously doing a fashion show and we’ll talk theme in a moment, and we have put together a media comms plan and a list of key celebrity influencers we believe Verity Co. should engage with on Instagram and TikTok.”

“Which we will do for you,” I add, glancing at Alexandra, who nods. “And a heavy social media campaign.”

We step through the timelines of those strategies and answer a few questions along the way. Knox remains silent, sitting at the head of the table at the other end.

I wish he would give us an indication of what he thinks. I bet he’d be a great poker player.

“Along with that, we recommend doing a few spring and summer sponsorships at events such as Coachella, where your audience hangs out,” Cody shares. “Get into goodie bags, that kind of thing.”

I watch Knox nod and feel stupidly happy because that was one of my ideas.

But then again, it was one nod.

“While your customer base is high-end wealthy customers, you also have part of your collection selling in department stores where people are willing to mortgage their homes to buy one of your purses or a pair of sunglasses.”

“He’s joking,” Alexandra deadpans Cody.

Knox and Cody grin at one another.

Because he’s not.

“What we want to do is create a sense of FOMO for those who see the influencers’ posts or any of our digital marketing and send their personal shoppers off to buy the entire range, while also appealing to those with a smaller budget to stretch this year. We want them to select a shirt, or skirt when they may not have before,” I add.

“Smart. So grabbing market share from a base we haven’t tapped into,” Knox says.

“Exactly.” I nod. “Without compromising the existing one.”

“I like it. Continue,” he says, a sparkle in his eye catches my attention and I lose my concentration.

“You want me to do this bit?” Cody whispers.

Shit.

We practiced this presentation over and over, so I’ve thrown him.

“Ah, right, yes, so.” Shit. “We have a couple of creative concepts to present. The first is an American summer vibe.”

Cody takes over. “We’ll throw back to the nineteen sixties for the fashion show with our models walking down the runway in their pastel bathing suits with parasols. But the music will keep the audience in the present where we are writing our own future. Think Taylor Swift’s ‘Bejeweled’ and ‘Cruel Summer.’”

“All this while the audience sips on a mini bottle of Cristal champagne and nibbles on macarons made by Parisienne Chef Julian Dubois,” I add, referring to the celebrity chef admired by the rich and famous.

I’d never heard of him until last week.

But Knox and Michael are nodding, so that’s all that matters.

“Not just any macarons.” I wink at the team. “They’ll be baby blue, powder pink, and dusky yellow.”

Meredith chuckles.

Excellent!

We’ve got their attention and excitement starts to bubble up in the room.

We run through a number of other themes, including one which is a lot less playful and focuses more on luxury. I think Knox is more likely to go with that, but I could be wrong.

“Any questions? Thoughts?” Alexandra asks, stepping forward to take the lead.

I move to the side and rest my hip against a spare chair. When I glance down the table, Knox is watching me.

“Guys?” Knox drags his eyes away from me when he notices the room looking at him. “I want to hear what you all think first.”

Michael shares, and overall he was impressed. Meredith has a couple of questions about implementation and timing.

Then we’re all watching Knox again.

Fuck yourself, baby.

I can’t get the vision out of my head. The way he held his large cock in his hand and confidentially stroked it while instructing me to touch my body. Or how he was losing control while I fucked myself with my own hand.

Me.

Knox Montgomery.

Why does he want me?

I know that limo moment was private, but I’m still not sure if anyone saw him pull me off the dance floor.

I’m not okay because I want to fuck you. I want to rip this fucking dress off you and slam my cock inside you. I want to watch your wet mouth gape as I make you come.

I chew my bottom lip as I stare at the boardroom table.

“Payton?” Knox asks.

“Hmm?” I reply, my eyes darting up to his.

Lord, he knows.

He knows I’m thinking about Friday night.

But his face gives away nothing. At least not to anyone else. But I can see the fire flickering in those steely blue irises as he waits for my answer.

“Can you blend the first two options? I want to see more luxury with the pool idea. Then we can use the theming across all the creatives. Get me a tagline to go with it.”

“Of course.” I nod. “I’ve been working on a few that I can run through with you later.”

Knox suddenly drags his eyes from mine and stands. “I’ll leave you with the team. Good work.”

He makes his way around the table, nodding at Alexandra, and brushes past me. The heat of his body wraps around me in an erotic embrace, and I have to physically force myself to stay where I am.

As I stand, listening to the team around me talking, I realize something which makes my stomach drop.

Working with Knox for another two years is going to be impossible.

We crossed a line on Friday night despite not touching one another or having sex. If Alexandra picks up on it, I could lose my job.

Knox may ask for me to be replaced.

It’s clear the chemistry is still alive between us—for me it’s even more powerful—and given this can never happen, it’s unlikely he will want me around.

The only way I can save my job is by making it clear I’m not interested nor a problem for him. Plus, I am determined to prove to my father I can do this, and not laden myself with debt that will impact my future.

As far as I’m concerned, going forward, Knox Montgomery is just the client.