Dirty Flirting [Part One]_A Forbidden Romance Read online

  Copyright 2017 © Ava Alise

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, establishments, or organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to give a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Dirty Flirting is intended for 18+ older, and for mature audiences only.

  Editing and Formatting by Masque of the Red Pen

  Cover Design by Raglan’s Designs

  Why in the hell didn’t she tell me?

  “WHY IN THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!” I ask.

  Renee falls heavily onto the couch as I close the front door of our flat.

  “You know…” she shrugs and grabs a bottle of pain killers from the coffee table “...it’s embarrassing... Bad enough he cheated on me, then to add in the fact that it was with a guy.” She slumps back on the couch. I look at her full of question and watch as she takes a large drink of water, swallowing the pills.

  I'm about to let the questions flow, but I choke when I notice the pain dancing in her expression. Tom is such a jackass and, regardless of all the juicy details, she shouldn't have to relive this shit on my account. She quickly grabs the remote and squints at the TV. Her foot taps as she blows out a hard breath and runs her fingers through her toffee colored hair, anxiously trying not to cry. The need to hug her clinches my chest as tears begin to pool in her honey brown eyes and roll down her face.

  "Sweetie..." I bring my hand to rest on hers, easing her death grip on the remote.

  "Tom is losing out on the best person in the world. The very best!" She sniffles and nods. "This will pass, and you will see that you are better off." I give her a warm smile before hugging her.

  She bites her bottom lip and continues to nod, causing her silent tears to splash from her chin and on to her gray sweater.

  "Thank you," she says, blowing out a shaky breath.

  "... And I hope his balls fall off," I add.

  She forces a chuckle. "I'm done crying over him, I really am, but I just wasn't prepared to see Marco again."

  "Well. You gave him hell. Good slap by the way. Ten points." I smile.

  Once Renee realized the asshole we were meeting was the very guy her dick of a boyfriend cheated on her with, she immediately stormed out of the coffee shop. He quickly brushed past me and followed behind her. Once outside, he pulled her to the side and began frantically apologizing. I watched as the look in her eyes went from ‘I-can't-believe-this-shit’ to ‘I'm-about-to-lose-my-shit’ pretty quickly, and I desperately tried to decode his rushed words. Eventually, I was able to put the pieces together, but by the time understanding resonated, he was holding his face and she was stomping down the street.

  "I can't believe he had the nerve to ask me to take Tom back," she says.

  "Yea, that was totally unexpected." I say.

  Her eyes glaze over as she shakes her head. "We were all friends, and Marco’s fiancée, Lillian, and I really bonded. Every now and then, the four of us would all hang out, we’d watch a game or go out for dinner. Then Tom started pushing me to hang out with Lillian alone, claiming she needed more girlfriends. That's why we started going shopping on Sundays." I nod remembering all the bags she’d bring home Sunday evenings.

  She wipes tears from her chin and continues. "This day in particular, she wasn't feeling great so we cut our shopping trip short. When we got back to the apartment building, she went home and asked me to send Marco home. The guys were supposed to be watching football. I walked in, found an empty living room and Marco getting ass banged in the kitchen." My eyes widen, and I swallow hard.

  "Damn," I say.

  She shrugs. "Just couldn't bring myself to tell you... I mean, who wants to be known as the girl who turned her boyfriend gay?”

  “What?! Babe, that’s not a thing,” I say, with a creased brow.

  “I know that, of course, but it’s a big ego killer, ya know? I will now, and forever, be known as 'Renee, the girl whose cooch makes men never want a cooch again.'”

  My phone rings in the distance and I stand, laughing. “That's so not a thing,” I repeat in a sing-song tune and follow the sound my buzzing phone.

  "I don't know," she says, defeated.

  “People are who they are. You can’t turn them into something they’re not.” I chuckle and spot my phone on the kitchen counter. “He was either already bisexual and didn't know it, which is doubtful, or he didn't tell you. Either way, I’m really sorry you had to go through that.” I give her a sad smile and grab my phone.

  As I cycle through my missed texts, I notice one from the huge mistake named Rob I made last night.

  Fucking waste.

  ROB: Kelsa. Last night… damn, I can’t wait to see you again.

  Ugh. Sorry, I most definitely will not be seeing you again. Renee catches the disgusted look on my face and frowns.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Rob, the guy I hooked up with last night.”

  “Aww,” she says, “that bad?”

  “It was awful.” I fall onto the couch next to her as the teal blue rug, the one she insisted we buy, rolls under my feet. “He fumbled… drooled.” My face turns sour.

  “What do you mean he drooled?!” She laughs.

  “His kisses were so wet and gross. I had to pretend I had the sniffles so he wouldn’t kiss me again.”

  “Oh god, Kelsa!” Renee says, throwing her head back in hysterics.

  “I should have just pulled out Purple Paul and told his ass to kick rocks.” I shake off the memory of his nasty kiss and imagine how he would have reacted if I had, indeed, pulled out Purple Paul, my vibrator. He probably wouldn’t know what the hell to do with that either.

  Yuck.

  “So, did you kick him out?”

  “No.” I smile. “His mouth wasn’t a complete loss.”

  She nods. “Nice.”

  This makes the third hookup in a row that has turned to shit. Don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t just hook up with anybody. I have to be enticed, interested. If this was just a guy from the bar or something, I wouldn’t have had any expectations. Rob is a guy I’ve sort of known for a while, we ride the train together in the morning for work. He’s charming and built like a damn statue, with the sexiest ass I’ve ever seen.

  Damn hot.

  We had been in this fucking insane flirty dance for months, but I would never agree to hang out with him. My fear was, if it didn’t work out, I still would have to see him every day. Well, as luck would have it, the company I worked for, Martin Corp, did a merger with EDG Marketing last month and we changed locations. For the next three weeks, Martin Corp’s twenty-three employees will be learning to do things ‘The EDG Way’. Since this will all take place at EDG, this gave me all the room I wanted to take sexy Rob, and his perfect ass, up on his date offer because that meant… new train. We caught a movie, had dinner and drinks; it started off great. His arms were strong as we danced, and the way he touched me had me aching to climb up his body. I was convinced I had finally found someone to end this horrible fucking spell of bad hookups.r />
  Clearly, I was wrong.

  I open Rob’s text, respond with some crap about having a full load this week, blowing him off. Renee hits play on the remote, and we spend the rest of our Sunday binge watching the first season of The Walking Dead.

  The next two weeks seem to move in slow motion. Having to sit through endless training meetings and piles of paper work at EDG has me basically running out of the building each day. The only good thing is drooling Rob has finally backed off.

  I prefer to keep my hookups simple, with clean exits and no bullshit. Past experiences have taught me to be upfront about this with the guys I date. This way there are no surprises, and hopefully, no hurt feelings when things dissolve. Love is powerful, and I believe in it whole heartedly, but it's not something I'm ready to jump into anytime soon. It can turn the most sane person crazy, and make even the good guys turn ugly. I grew up close to Tybee Beach, Georgia with my parents, twin brother, Cameron, and our younger brother, Chris. Our parents are amazing and have always shown us a good example of true love. Personally though, I have never been in love and, despite my parents’ TV like romance, the thought kind of terrifies me. Being that open and vulnerable to something that powerful is daunting, especially when you don't know which end you'll come out on. Love can be beautiful, but it can also make you want to blow your head off.

  I tighten the belt of my trench coat and step off the train and onto the platform as I head back to EDG for the final week of training. The cold air bites my flesh the moment I make it above ground. Everything is alive, even in the frigid air; it’s what I love the most about New York City.

  I fall in line with the crowds of people making their way to work, with cups of steaming coffee and napkin covered bagels. My heels knock against the cold ground with a steady rhythm, and just as make it to the lobby of EDG, the first snowflake falls.

  The building is warm, and in contrast to the freezing temperatures outside, feels like heaven. Sunlight bleeds through the large windows and bounces off the soft yellow walls, making the room appear brighter. A long cream rug lies in front of a large receptionist’s desk where a smiling receptionist stands waiting to greet me. EDG’s logo is placed right above her with the company name, Edging Direct Global Marketing, in a bold font. I wave a quick hello and make my way down the hall.

  “Hi, Kelsa,” Mila says with a smile as I enter a large conference room. Steven, the flop sweat wielding manager from EDG Human Resource department, is standing at the head of the large table in front of a flat screen. At the end of the table, four manila envelopes lie next to each other in a neat row. Standing next to Steven is Patrick Marsh, one of EGD’s Chief Marketing Managers. I slide into the leather office chair closest to Mila, and frown because I was hoping we heard the last of Steven’s long ass speeches on Friday.

  “Fuck,” I mouth silently so only Mila could see. She looks from Steven and back, then snorts. I reach down and grab my laptop whilst the room begins to fill with thuds and chatter, as the other employees enter and get situated at the table. My computer powers on, and I immediately receive a private message from Mila.

  Mila Davis: I guess we get Steven for another week.

  Kelsa Preston: God. Just shoot me already!

  Mila Davis: Haha. Doesn’t he remind you of the monotone guy from the Clear Eyes commercials?

  Kelsa Preston: YES! It’s so horrible. I swear if he starts talking about his cat again today, I’m going to throw my laptop at his head. I swear!

  She snorts again, and Steven clears his throat preparing to speak.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Steven says. “Last week we covered many topics that will affect you as employees during this merger.”

  My eyes move from Steven to my other colleagues, as I notice the annoyance grow on their faces.

  “Fortunately, we are done with my portion, so I am handing over the remainder of your training to Mr. Marsh as you receive your detailed job placements.”

  He steps aside, and Mr. Marsh takes his place at the front of the room. I smile just as a new message materializes from Mila.

  Mila Davis: Ha! There is a God.

  Kelsa Preston: Yes.

  Mila Davis: Oooo, looks like lover boy is running late today.

  My eyes move from the screen over to the empty chair Drexel Adams sat in yesterday, then to the walking piece of man candy making his way to said chair.

  He seats himself and begins getting situated in our meeting. His eyes swipe in my direction after he opens his laptop, and he smiles. This, of course, causes butterflies to attack my insides. I don't usually get thrown by men but, for some reason, Drexel is different, and it annoys the hell out of me that I can't control my responses to him. I tug at my black blazer, push my blonde hair behind my ear, and straighten myself.

  Drex and I have known each other for a while, and have worked closely together many times, assisting in presentations with some of Martin’s top executives. We’d work hard to absorb as much information as possible and there have even been a few times that our input helped to land the deal. I smile back then type a response to Mila.

  Kelsa Preston: He could be running any damn way he wants as long as he continues to look that yummy.

  Mila chuckles, and she reaches in her bag for a pen. Her long black hair covers her face as she tilts, causing her to have to brush it aside. Mila is the only person besides Renee who knows about my annoying crush. Drexel's looks screams sultry. His sandy brown hair, intense green eyes, broad shoulders and hard body is what does it for most of the women at the office. For me, I mean, fuck yeah he’s hot, but his strong business mind has driven him to a crazy sexy height in my eyes. It may also be the fact that he’s totally off-limits. Classic case of wanting what you can’t have.

  With all the time we've spent together, Drex and I have become friends pretty quickly. Well, we aren't friends in the traditional sense, and even though he doesn't know about my stupid crush, it's no secret that we are attracted to each other. The great thing is we both share a practical mindset and agree that ‘work relations' are a horrible idea. Besides some harmless flirting, we never cross any lines we can't back out of.

  Mr. Marsh stands tall and addresses us carefully. “Here at EDG we do things differently than some. I realize the type of accounts you’re most familiar with are a limited to branding and digital marketing. At EDG, we handle diverse types of accounts with varying budgets. We assign teams in different areas of marketing to handle the various needs of each client so that we are providing the best and most responsive experience. All of you know which area you will be placed in, and we will determine the details of each of your positions this week. Each department has teams of talented executives, assistants and researchers who will connect with clients and prepare presentations. The team in which you’re placed to work is in direct connection to the types and sizes of accounts you will be working with. That being said, as the newest members of our company, we’d like to give everyone an equal opportunity to show us your best. We want everyone to break into groups, and depending on your interested area of marketing, you will be assigned a ‘faux’ client and will be expected to work together to create a presentation for said client by Monday morning. A member of the EDG team will sit in on each group’s meetings to evaluate everyone in the group throughout this process. After all pitches are presented, you will get your assignment. Good luck.”

  Mila smiles brightly. "This is awesome," she says. "Finally, a true opportunity to prove my worth."

  "You're right." I beam.

  This could be huge. During the merger, my worries had been that all of my efforts at Martin's would be lost. I was one of the top employees at my level there, but EDG is a mega corp. I was so afraid I'd become just another name on a file and stuffed away in a cubicle, but this is my chance; it's everyone’s chance. Scanning the faces of my co-workers, I can almost feel the excitement as it passes from person to person. Finally, my eyes stop on Drexel's, and the butterflies begin to dance again. I already
know we'll be working together. He bleeds advertising just as I do. Holding his gaze this time, I return his smile, silently preparing myself for everything this week has in store.

  "My Shear Ecstasy... Let us take you to pleasure," Carl says, reading the assignment to our small group. Drexel and I ended up in a group of six. The conference room we are using is a mini version of the one we just left.

  "It's a sheep skin condom company. We have to come up with an advertising strategy to help them break into the urban markets." He reaches down and retrieves a box from the floor that contains many of the company's popular items.

  A load of confidence floods through me. I know this space. A few of the client meetings that Drexel and I have assisted on have been in sex related industries. Multiple sex toys and BDSM product companies have come to Martin’s for help. But sitting in a room full of dildos and blindfolds can cause an innocent attraction between co-workers to smolder into something close to torture, no matter how professional the environment. We had to get used to pitching some crazy sexual ideas to each other and having sex-themed conversations. Drex is sinfully flirty, and he gets a kick out of making me blush. With his dirty mouth and my stubbornness, we turned our banter into something like a game early on, but it's now full out war. There is only one rule to this game: the dirtier the better. If you get flustered, you lose.

  A smirk plays on his lips after Carl finishes presenting the details of our assignment. We spend the next few hours pitching ideas on ways to bring brand awareness to the company and their products.

  At noon, we break for lunch. I agreed to meet up with Mila, but since her group isn't breaking for another fifteen minutes, I hang back while everyone leaves. Drexel notices and slides in next to me.

  "Come have lunch with me, Kels," he says, watching the last of our group members leave the room.

  "Can't, I'm meeting Mila in a bit."

  He nods, and his eyes fall to the scattered paperwork lying on the table. "So, condoms again?" he asks.

  "I know, right." I try hard to ignore how great he smells and these stupid butterflies.