Fits Like a Glove Read online

  "There's a tiny battery in the tip."

  "It's not going to electrocute me when I cum, will it?” he joked. “It's not supposed to. Okay, just the Santa and reindeer. But that won't be enough for the holiday line. Christmas is usually our biggest selling time. That and the summer."

  "Then why not have a candy-cane condom?” Guy suggested. “Dress my dick up in red and white stripes, and give it a peppermint flavor while you're at it?"

  "I love it!” Throwing her arms around his neck, she thanked him with a warm, wet kiss. As she started to pull away, Guy cuddled her back into his embrace, and the kiss deepened.

  She was lost in the power of his mouth, totally oblivious to the fact that he had laid her out on the examination table until he finally ended the kiss. A moment of sweet silence passed while he tenderly nuzzled her cheek and temple, dropping extra kisses on those places.

  "Mr. Stenson?” she managed to whisper.

  He grunted in response.

  "Thank you."

  "For what?"

  "For not telling me I'm a total idiot."

  "Nah. You're not an idiot. You're desperate. So, what ‘cha got cooking for me tomorrow night, pretty lady?"

  "It's a secret."

  "Curse you, woman. Not even a hint?"

  "Nope."

  "And no way I can, uhh, coerce you into telling me ahead of time?"

  "Nope. Company secrets."

  "Well, at least give me credit for trying,” he murmured as he crawled on top of the table and her.

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  Prick

  "Mr. Belling here to see you.” Pamela's tone was clipped, a warning sign in itself.

  Charlotte started to tell her to send the man in when the Vice Chairman burst through the door on his own. He looked ready for bear, and that was the last thing she needed. She'd gotten little restful sleep last night. Why did she have to deal with this prick today of all days?

  "Good morning, Bruce.” She tried to be pleasant, giving him one of her best smiles and hoping it would throw him off for a moment. No such luck.

  "Charlotte, I hate to be the bearer of bad news."

  "Uh-huh. Go on. I'm listening."

  He stood before her, hands on hips, and stared at her. At that moment Charlotte realized the man had never stopped seeing her as the rambunctious teenager she'd been when he'd first joined the company. To him, she was still the immature kid who thought she could take over her father's business and, with a few high and mighty ideas, revive sales and customer satisfaction.

  Well, at least he'd gotten the second half right.

  "Are you still determined to put these idiotic ideas out on the street?"

  "I'm determined to see if one of them helps our sagging sales, yes. If something doesn't catch the public's eye, I'm going to keep trying.” She stopped and took a second to contemplate whether she should say what she had been wanting to say for the past few months, ever since her father had been diagnosed. She decided to hell with it. It needed saying, and this was as good a time as any to clear the air. “I'm doing my damndest to keep this company in the black. Which is more than you've ever done, Mr. Belling."

  He blew off her remark with a snort. “There's a lot more to running this company than dressing up dicks in fur coats and antlers, little girl."

  Charlotte leaned back in daddy's chair and tried to hold onto her temper. “That's very true. Too bad I'm having to rely on my own gut instincts instead of getting the help I need from daddy's executive board. Why are you here, Bruce? What's so damn important that you want to cut down all my ideas? Have you come up with some of your own? If you have, then fine! Put them out where I can see them."

  "If I did, they wouldn't be as nonsensical as the shit you're fabricating,” he told her. “No, I have more important matters to bring to your attention. Three hours ago I attended a meeting of our stockholders. We've been offered a buyout through Ptarmigan Enterprises at seventy-nine cents on the dollar. We agreed to take it, allowing Ptarmigan to roll up fifty-one percent of our shares."

  Charlotte was on her feet before the last words were out of his mouth. “You what?"

  "We've been bought out by Ptarmigan, Charlotte. So all your work and ideas are now just fluffy little clouds in the sky."

  "You can't do that! You have no jurisdiction!” she almost shouted.

  "As Vice President, yes, I do,” Belling smiled at her. “When your father was dying, he signed over all rights to me in case he was unable to preside over the meetings in person."

  "But I'm president now,” Charlotte argued. “Those rights reverted back to me upon my father's death."

  "Only if and when I signed them back over, which I never did. I wanted first to see how you planned to manage the company. I was afraid you'd pull some stupid shit, and I was right.” He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “I'm meeting with Stan Remus and his associates tonight at nine to sign on the dotted line. And then all our worries about Skye Blue will be over."

  "You can't do that!” Charlotte repeated. Her mind was already racing, trying to find some hole in his logic. Praying he was wrong, and that there was something she could do to stop him. “Why are you doing this? Why are you acting like such a prick?"

  He chose to ignore the insult. “I've also contacted R and D, and ordered them to cease production on your prototypes. Go home, Charlotte. Take the buyout. The money will make you a millionaire a hundred times over, and you won't ever have to worry about this place again."

  While she stood there, numb with shock and unable to retaliate, he turned his back on her and left the office. As soon as the door closed behind him, Pamela hurried into the office. Charlotte gave her a tear-filled look. “Please tell me he can't do that,” she softly begged.

  "I'm afraid so. He never signed those rights back to you, and according to the company charter—"

  "Fuck the charter, Pam! This is daddy's company, not his! Call Arthur Felding. Tell him what's going on.” She tried to say more, but her throat suddenly closed up on her, and she fell into the big, plush, black leather chair. Daddy's chair.

  Pamela gave her a sympathetic look. “I'll go call Arthur, but I doubt there's little he can do."

  "He's our damn lawyer. If anyone can find a loophole, he can."

  "I'll get right on it,” Pam promised. “Oh, and anything else you need?"

  Charlotte waved her away. She needed time to think, but there was little of that to spare. Her watch told her it just past five, which meant she had less than four hours to come up with another solution. To pull another rabbit out of the hat.

  Propping her elbows on the desk, she grabbed two handsful of hair and tugged. Hard. This time the pain she felt was welcome.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Possibility

  "I'm sorry, Charlotte, but Mr. Belling is correct. He has complete autonomy to sell Skye Blue if he has the backing of the majority of shareholders."

  "But what if I don't want him to sell it? It's not his company to sell!” Charlotte pleaded into the phone.

  "Neither is it yours, and you know that. When Henry went public with the stocks, Skye Blue went public. You're simply the business manager.” The lawyer's voice sounded truly apologetic over the phone. It was almost enough to make her feel truly lousy, until he made the mistake and commented, “I'm certain Ptarmigan Enterprises will retain most of Skye Blue's employees to continue with manufacturing and distribution."

  Cold steel fused to her spine. “Most of Skye Blue's employees?” she repeated.

  "Yes, Miss Skye."

  "Including you? Did Belling promise you would remain on retainer?"

  There was a heartbeat of silence, but it was enough to prove her right.

  "Never mind, Mr. Felding. I think I've heard enough. Thank you for your advice."

  The man was spluttering when she hung up on him. Glancing up, she noticed Pam standing in the doorway between their two offices. “Assholes. Both of them."

 
"I suspected Belling might have contacted him before now,” the woman said. Cocking her head at the younger woman, Pam said, “Please don't take this wrong, Charlotte, but isn't this what you were hoping for? The buyout will save Skye Blue from filing bankruptcy."

  "But it wouldn't be Skye Blue anymore. Oh, maybe it would get to keep the name and logo, but it wouldn't be daddy's company anymore."

  "You mean you wouldn't get to see any of your marketing ideas come to fruition, is that it?” the woman commented.

  Charlotte gave her a narrow look. “Et tu, Pam?"

  "No. Never me, and you damn well know that.” Pam walked further into the office and stopped on the other side of the massive desk. “Don't you think I tried to talk your father into dragging Skye Blue into the twenty-first century? Don't you think I tried to talk him into bringing you into the company when you were winning all those awards in college? I tried to tell him that old men and baby boomers weren't buying our products. It was young men and women your age who were our biggest consumers. It was the AIDS generation. We needed to put some bling and pizzazz into our packaging. But he just..."

  "Wouldn't listen,” Charlotte finished for her with a rueful smile. “That doesn't surprise me. But why would he sign everything over to Belling?"

  "I think he did it for several reasons. He trusted Belling, but we both know Belling was your father's ‘yes’ man. Mostly, though, I think Henry did it because he trusted Belling to revert those rights back to you as soon as you took the reins.” Pam glanced at her watch. “They'll be meeting in less than two hours. What do you plan to do now?"

  "What should I do?” Charlotte asked as a tear rolled down one cheek. “Should I just give up and go home, and wake up tomorrow an outrageously rich young woman without a care in the world? Or a job to go to?"

  Pam half-grinned. “That doesn't sound like the Charlotte Skye I know."

  Sniffing, Charlotte grinned back. “You damn right it isn't. I'll be at that nine o'clock meeting whether Belling wants me there or not. I'll have a talk with whoever is in charge of Ptarmigan Enterprises. I'm a shareholder, too. I have that right."

  "It might not be enough to stop the signing,” the woman warned.

  "Maybe not,” Charlotte said, “but at least I'll be able to live with myself come morning."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Plan

  "Hey, Guy?"

  Guy closed the door behind him and went directly into the kitchen. Vic was there getting a beer from the fridge. “Want one?” his friend offered.

  "No, thanks. I need to get over to Skye Blue,” Guy declined.

  "That's what I needed to tell you. They just called to cancel your testing tonight."

  Guy froze in place. “They what?"

  "Yeah.” Vic took a swallow from the longneck. “Some woman called to say they had suspended research and development, and your services would no longer be required."

  "That was it? Did they say when I would need to go back?"

  Vic belched lightly. “Nope. Oh, but they did say you would be receiving a check some time next week.” Giving him a little salute with the bottle, Vic left the kitchen to head for the living room.

  Guy remained glued to the floor, and filled with disbelief. He believed his friend when the man claimed to have gotten a phone call. But Guy couldn't understand why the company had suddenly ceased testing. Why would Charlotte put the brakes on something she had been fighting to keep? Was she giving up on keeping the company solvent, or what?

  He gave a start. Was the phone call her way of trying to call things off between them? Had it been Charlotte calling, but resigned to pass on the information when the wrong man had answered the phone?

  It didn't ring true. Not after last night. Not after they had laid there on the examination table and talked for a good hour at least, discussing hopes and their separate current situations.

  Worse, Guy knew that he was falling in love with feisty little Charlotte Skye and her radical ideas, and thick, russet hair, and whiskey brown eyes...

  ...and those damn dimples.

  This feeling that kept him pumped up during the day was nothing like he had felt with Ramona. In fact, he now realized that he had never loved his ex. Desired her, yes. But that was lust. Worse, Ramona had known it all along. He would bet on it.

  Pivoting around, Guy strode through the living room and headed for the front door.

  "Where you headed?” Vic called out from the sofa.

  "Out."

  "Well, duh. Any place in particular?"

  "Yeah. To get some condoms."

  Before his friend could respond back, Guy was heading down the street. Phone call or no, Guy needed to hear the words coming from Charlotte. He needed to hear her personally tell him to back off, or go away, or get the fuck out of her life. Because until he did, he wouldn't believe that everything was being flushed down the toilet. Not now. Not when the company was so close to coming up with a nearly flawless plan.

  He caught a taxi two blocks down, and arrived in front of Skye Blue's offices ten minutes later. The security officer recognized him and gave him a wave to go on up.

  Mentally crossing his fingers, Guy took the elevator to the fifth floor. The receptionist was gone for the day, but he vaguely remembered the way to Charlotte's office. In no time he found the right door and let himself in.

  He could see her sitting at her desk. No, she was hunched over her desk, unaware of him entering. The thick carpet muffled his footfall. He considered clearing his throat to get her attention when she sighed loudly, sniffed, and raised her head. By the redness around her eyes, he realized she'd been crying, and for some time.

  "Guy?"

  "Hey, I got this crazy phone call telling me not to come back to work here,” he started to say, but she flew around her desk and into his arms. He could feel his trepidations melt away, now that he knew she still needed him. Still wanted him. Softly, he nuzzled her wealthy of chestnut hair. “What's going on, Charlotte? Why the sudden shutdown?"

  "It's Belling,” she managed to say, rubbing her tear-stained face against his shirt. She was shivering, but not from the cold. “He's selling the company to a rival."

  "He's what?"

  Leaning back slightly, she gave a watery giggle. “Those were my first words, too.” She explained how her father had signed over stewardship and power of attorney to the man while he took extended medical leave. A leave that ended with his untimely death.

  "Belling got an offer from Ptarmigan Enterprises to buy up a majority of stock at pennies on the dollar. He also convinced the stockholders to give him de facto rights to act as mediator. So tonight at nine, Belling is meeting with their board of directors to sign over Skye Blue to our competitor."

  "And that's his idea of preventing the company from having to file Chapter Eleven? Why can't you stop him?"

  "Because Daddy gave him that right before he died."

  "Before you took over?” Guy asked. At her nod, he added, “So why didn't he give those rights back to you?"

  "Because he didn't want to,” Charlotte replied bitterly. “Because he's a grade A prick. Because he never planned to keep Skye Blue afloat after Daddy passed on. Because he wanted me to fall flat on my face in disgrace.” She snuggled back under his chin. “I'm so glad you came tonight, Guy. I'm so happy you refused to let a phone call stop you."

  "It wasn't you who called?"

  "No. It was all Belling's doing."

  Running a hand down her back, he then lifted her face enough to where he could gaze into those whiskey colored eyes. “Since I'm no longer on the payroll, does it make it okay to openly date the company president?"

  She laughed softly, showing him those devastating dimples before he smothered them with a kiss. A minute passed, then another. Finally they broke apart long enough to catch their breath.

  "You know, it's a damn shame you can't fire Belling."

  "Nope. Can't. He was hired by the stockholders."

  "But don't you st
ill control the majority of stock?” Guy asked.

  The slender body froze in his arms. “Repeat that?"

  "If you still control the majority of stock, can't you fire Belling?” he asked. Glancing down at her, he could see a look of determination on her face. “What's churning in that head of yours?"

  "Just a sec.” She extradited herself from his embrace and walked over to the phone on her desk. “Pam? Quick question. Who hired Bruce Belling?"

  "Your father did. Why?” The woman appeared in the doorway and gave Guy a little nod of acknowledgment.

  Charlotte whirled around, setting the phone down. “So Belling wasn't appointed by the board? Or by the shareholders?"

  "No. Your father hired him. Why?"

  "Can I prove it?"

  Pam laughed. “I have his employee records in my office. I was there when Henry and Belling shook hands after Bruce signed on."

  "My dad hired him.” Grinning, Charlotte reworded her statement. “My daddy, the president of this company, hired him. He wasn't appointed by the board like he said he was."

  Pam immediately understood. So did Guy. “Where is this meeting supposed to be?"

  "At Ptarmigan Enterprises, over on Blaugher Avenue,” the assistant supplied. “What do you need for me to do, Charlotte?"

  "Get Mr. Belling's pink slip ready for me to hand deliver to him,” Charlotte laughed. Turning to Guy, she fiercely hugged him. “Thank you!"

  "For what?"

  "For coming here. For helping me get my head back on straight."

  Dipping his mouth close to her ear, Guy confessed, “Actually, I was rather hoping later tonight we could do a little more research on the next line of models."

  She squeezed him in return. “Just you wait, Mr. Stenson. You and I both may get our wish."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Pleasure

  In less than two hours, it was all over except for the yelling. Charlotte and Guy managed to arrive at the meeting before anyone had the chance to sign anything, much less sit down to begin discussing the transference of power.

  Handing Belling his pink slip, that had been time stamped earlier, was the second best feeling in the world for Charlotte. The feelings given to her by the man standing behind her came in first place.