Samantha stalked closer to Lucinda, and that familiar tightening in her stomach occurred, like so many times before, intensifying when she slipped her hand under Lucinda’s shirt and caressed her side. “Just consider it.” Samantha’s mouth was dangerously close to Lucinda’s ear now.
“I can’t consider anything when you are clearly trying to influence my decision.” Lucinda turned her head and captured Samantha’s lips with hers. She halted Samantha’s venturing hand at the level of her ribs and gently pulled it out from under her shirt.
“You’re no fun.” Samantha’s mock pout turned to a soft moan when Lucinda’s tongue slipped into her mouth.
Lucinda pulled back and looked at Samantha, her eyebrow raised in challenge.
“I take it back—you’re the most fun. Keep kissing me.” Samantha slid her hands into Lucinda’s long blond hair and pulled her closer again. “How much time do we have before your meeting with Claire?”
Lucinda groaned as Samantha’s hand dropped from her hair to gently run across the seam of her crotch, pressing in as it glided up and down in a taunt. “Not enough. And you didn’t lock the door this time.”
Samantha sighed. “I hate it when you are so damn logical and right. Mostly the right part, though.”
Lucinda held her close and kissed her long and slow, savoring the taste of her tongue and lips while they still had a moment to themselves. “That’s why you’re marrying me, though, because I’m so damn logical and—”
“And hot.” Samantha winked. “Don’t get it twisted.”
Lucinda laughed and ran her thumb over the engagement ring on Samantha’s finger. Samantha had proposed first, but Lucinda made sure to surprise her as well, eager to show her appreciation to her persuasive bride-to-be with a custom-designed cushion-cut diamond with pavé band. “Yes, dear.”
“That’s what I thought.” Samantha purred into one final kiss before she stepped back and leaned against Lucinda’s desk.
“So.” Lucinda tried to quiet the buzzing feeling originating from her pants as she settled into her chair. Samantha was still close enough for her to stroke up and down the exposed skin of her thigh, selfishly prolonging the stimulated sensation. “You were saying?”
Samantha closed her eyes as Lucinda slid her fingers along the hem of Samantha’s dress, toying with the fabric a little. “Well, that makes it very hard to concentrate.”
“Funny. I had a very similar thing happen to me just a few moments—”
Samantha slapped Lucinda’s hands away from her thigh. Her finger on Lucinda’s lips silenced her teasing. “Hands to yourself, Moss.”
Lucinda nipped at the finger on her lips and held up her hands in surrender.
“Anyway”—Samantha rolled her eyes—“I think it’s a great idea. You’ve been talking about increasing the number of classes offered by the studio and updating some of the facilities. Not to mention purchasing that adjoining building and expanding like you’ve always dreamed.”
“I’m listening.” Lucinda reclined in her chair, clasping her hands at her lap to keep them from wandering back to the smooth skin of Samantha’s thigh. It occurred to her that the shortness of Samantha’s dress paired with those thigh-high boots was a little provocative for a workday. “Did you work today?”
“What? This morning, yes. But I went shopping.” Her eyes followed Lucinda’s gaze to her boots. “The boots are new.”
“I noticed.”
“And I may have hiked up my dress a bit while you were distracted on the phone to convince you to agree,” Samantha admitted shamelessly.
“I noticed that as well.”
“What do you think?”
“About the boots? And the amount of thigh you’re showing? I approve.”
Samantha laughed and shook her dark hair, leaning in to Lucinda again, her voice low as she momentarily glanced down at Lucinda’s crotch. “I can practically taste the approval from here. I meant, more specifically, what do you think about the fundraiser?”
Lucinda let her head fall against the back of her chair in a dramatic fashion. “You’re going to force this issue until you win, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Samantha smiled brightly and leaned back against the desk, putting some space between them. She held up three fingers and gave Lucinda a solemn nod. “But I promise to make up for all the teasing later, Scout’s honor.”
Lucinda warily eyed the hand Samantha held in front of her. “Promise?”
“Of course.” Samantha nodded as she slowly counted out each figure dramatically before making a suggestive hand gesture. “At least three times…maybe all at once.”
Lucinda was a moment away from being a puddle and she knew Samantha knew it by the triumphant gleam in her eyes. “Fine.”
“Yay.” Samantha smiled. “How’s Tuesday the fifteenth shaping up for you?”
Lucinda nudged Samantha’s hip off her desk calendar and flipped ahead to the date in question. “There’s a hip-hop dance class that I can shift to Thursday night without much difficulty. But I’d have to make sure I could get the specs for the plan in place from Elijah before then.”
Samantha nodded, looking very serious. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I talked to him earlier and he said he could have the preliminary drawings to you by the start of next week.”
“Why am I not surprised that you already talked to him?” Lucinda mused as she reclined into her chair again, admiring the way Samantha’s chest looked as she leaned back on her hands against Lucinda’s desk.
“Because you know how resourceful I am.” She blinked flirtatiously.
Lucinda’s phone lit up with a call from her admin. Lucinda pressed the speaker button and replied, “Yes, Amanda.”
“Claire is here for your one o’clock meeting, shall I send her in?”
“Just a second, I’ll come get her.” She disconnected the call and looked back up at Samantha. “Looks like we’ll have to continue this discussion another time.”
“No way, Luce. I have some planning to do and need to make some calls this afternoon before I, uh, prep for tonight’s date night.”
Lucinda smiled. “It’s Thursday, isn’t it?”
“Best day of the week,” Samantha replied with a nod.
“Okay, what else?”
“I know we talked about Shelly a little bit last night, but I had an idea.”
“Go on.”
“Since our little powwow at your dance lesson with her on Tuesday, I’ve been brainstorming with Andrew, and I’d like to pepper a few dating prospects for Shelly into the attendees of the fundraiser.”
“You want to do what? I thought things didn’t work out with Abby and Sasha.” Lucinda was confused.
“They didn’t—well, I’m not so convinced about the Sasha thing, we’ll revisit that. You know, maybe we should talk about this later—Claire is waiting.”
“Oh.” Lucinda had almost forgotten. “Okay, fine. Start whatever ball you need to be rolling and we can iron out the details later.”
“I’m five steps ahead of you, love. No worries.” Samantha gave Lucinda a quick peck on the lips and walked toward Lucinda’s office door, adjusting her dress a little before opening it. She paused with her hand on the door handle and looked back at Lucinda with a mischievous glance. “Those windows are awfully reflective today, aren’t they?”
Lucinda’s office had two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, one of Lucinda’s favorite things about her office. Today was sunny and clear, no clouds obstructing the view, and Lucinda had fully opened and pulled back the blinds prior to Samantha’s arrival. She’d considered closing them when their conversation heated up. Before Lucinda had a chance to question what Samantha meant by that statement, Samantha was opening the door and greeting Claire.
“Hey, Claire, I was just leaving.”
“Hey, Samantha.” Claire smiled and reciprocated Samantha’s one-armed hug. “What are you doing here?”
Ever since Claire had taken the lead on Samantha’s PR incident a few months ago, seeing it to a smooth conclusion, Lucinda had noticed a warmth between them. She knew Samantha was grateful for Claire’s hard work and her discretion with the matter. It had been one of the weightier reasons she had pushed the board to promote Claire on an accelerated path. She had been pleased with Claire’s performance for months before the Perfect Match controversy arose, but her skillful coordination of the crisis plan with such short notice was impressive. It had cemented Lucinda’s original plans. She’d still had to convince the board, but that wasn’t too hard in the end. Her original decision to hire Claire had been the right one; Claire was shaping up to be a fantastic executive.
“Oh, you know, just discussing a little business. Oh, I almost forgot my purse.” Samantha glanced back at Lucinda and made a subtle nod toward the windows as she turned and bent down to pick up her purse from the floor. Lucinda saw it then, the reflection of Claire clearly checking out Samantha’s ass as she crouched forward, definitely longer than was necessary. Suddenly, Samantha’s convenient arrival before Claire’s scheduled meeting made a lot of sense.
“Samantha.” Lucinda’s tone dripped with warning.
Samantha stood, slipping her purse strap onto her shoulder as she raised an eyebrow at Lucinda in defiance. “Oh, Lucy, right. Good idea. Claire, here, sit. Sit. What are you up to on the fifteenth?”
Claire looked between them with a laugh, confusion on her face. “Of next month? Nothing, to my knowledge. What day is it?”
“A Tuesday.” Samantha stood near the window, a perfect smile innocently plastered on her face. Lucinda was too captivated by the preparation this must have taken to be mad. Yet.
“Tuesdays are usually open,” Claire provided easily.
“Is there another day that is usually filled?” Samantha was prying and Lucinda knew it.
“Wednesdays I play softball with my brother, unless you need me to be available.” She glanced over to Lucinda.
“Softball? You don’t say.” Samantha stepped forward and leaned against the front of Lucinda’s desk, glancing back to add, “She plays softball, Luce.”
“Do you play, too?” Claire looked up at Lucinda, her expression friendly. Lucinda stifled a cringe. This was like leading a lamb to the slaughter.
“No, sorry, Claire, I don’t.” Lucinda supplied with a sigh. “Samantha, you were just leaving, right?”
“Right. Absolutely.” Samantha stood and took one step toward the door before turning and sitting abruptly in the chair across from Claire. “Before I go, though…”
“Shit.” Lucinda cursed under her breath as Samantha leaned in and placed a hand on Claire’s forearm.
“I was just talking to Lucinda about hosting a fundraiser at her dance studio for some of Boston’s most successful businessmen and women to help her expansion program get off the ground. I have quite a few clients eager to help support the arts. Anyway, I’ll be hosting a little mixer and auction at the studio on the fifteenth and I’d like you to attend. You know, to rub elbows with some of Boston’s financial elite. It’d be a great opportunity for you to expand your client portfolio. Not to mention a great way for Clear View to do a little promotion as well.”
“Oh, wow. Sure, that sounds great.” Claire smiled and leaned forward.
“Great.” Samantha stood and clapped her hands once in enthusiasm. “Lucinda will get you all of the information. Won’t you, Luce?”
Lucinda used all her strength to keep her face blank, her eyes locked on Samantha’s. “You don’t have to, Claire, it’s not required.”
“It sounds like a great idea. I’ve been hoping to branch out and bring in some of my own clients now that the dust has settled around Richard’s departure. I’m in if you’re okay with it.”
“Claire deserves a chance to build up her portfolio and have some free drinks at a fun event, don’t you think? Think of all that hard work and those long hours she’s been putting in, Luce.”
Lucinda forced a smile. She would talk about this with Samantha later. Devious little minx. “Absolutely. It’ll be great.”
“Well, glad we all agree. I’ll see myself out. ’Bye, ladies.” And just like that Samantha walked out of Lucinda’s office with a casual wave and disappeared behind the closing door, effectively ending the conversation.