Pulse 3 (Pulse Series) (8 page)

Rafael took my hands in his. I felt the rough calluses on his palms unde
rneath my fingertips. He squeezed my hands softly as he stared into my eyes.

“
I
need
you, Alice. I… I can’t imagine doing this, any of this, without you.”

I was losing myself. His deep brown eyes were filled with an undeniable sincerity. To know that he ca
red so much about me almost made me lose control of all of the feelings I had for him.

I swallowed as I stared back at him and forced a smile on my face.

“If you think this is for the best…”

“
It is, Alice.”

“…
Okay.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief. For a split second, I knew that I was letting my emotions get the best of me. But Rafael was doing everything he could to convince me that I should accept this promotion. I didn
’t try to fight reason any longer. I wanted it just as much as he did.

He leaned forward and kissed me again. I reached my arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He fell on top of me once again and I lost myself in our kiss. I rolled him over onto his back and straddled him, our lips still locked t
ogether. I pulled away from him and sat on his stomach. As I looked down at him, I began to fill better about the decision I’d just made.

“
We’re really going to be working together,” I said.

“
Yes. You’ll be there to observe everything.”

“
What about your secretary? As your assistant, won’t my job be a little redundant?”

“
Tina just handles my schedule. You’ll take care of everything else. Besides, I don’t think Tina is willing to take it in the ass like you are.”

“
Oh, I think you have a better chance with her than with me.”

Before I could react, Rafael rolled me over. He wrestled me down onto the bed as I playfully struggled underneath him. He took a firm grip of my ass in his powerful grasp. Before I could protest, he enveloped my mouth with another kiss. My
moan was lost between his lips.

“
All right,” he said. “We’ll do it your way.”

“
Thank you,” I said with a giggle.

I felt his length straining inside of his underwear. While he removed his boxers, I sat up and took my bra off. Our underwear joined the messy
pile of clothes that was off to the side. Rafael spread my legs and took his place between them. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my promotion.

Chapter 9

I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit I wore was something Rafael purchased for me from Elizabeth’s boutique all those months ago. The suit still looked as good on me as it did when I first wore it. I didn’t usually put too much thought into my outfit but today was different. This morning, I wouldn’t have to report to the same cubicle I had to for the past six months. I wasn’t sorry about not getting the chance to say goodbye to it.

I stepped inside of the building and headed up to the 89th floor. It was the same floor where all of the board meetings were held. Today marked Rafael
’s official return to the board of directors. I would be there to witness it.

As I made my way to the boardroom, I remembered the first time I stepped on the floor. I remembered how nervous Wesley looked as he waited for the meeting to begin. I remembered h
aving no clue about what to expect. I remembered the first time I got to see Rafael conduct a meeting. Now I had the opportunity to experience most of those same feelings again.

Martin Green was there to greet me. He nodded his head to me then opened the door for me as the two of us made our way in. I took my first step into the room. As soon as I did, I could feel all of the eyes from the other board members shifting toward me.
They didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. I could see the look in their eyes that told me everything they were thinking. I saw resentment. I was the reason Rafael had to step down in the first place. I was the ungrateful intern who didn’t have to work to get to the position she was in. And here I was again, riding Rafael back to the top of the company.

I was uncomfortable, to say the least. But seeing Rafael there was enough to make me feel happy about the decision I
’d made. It had been such a long time since I’d seen him like this. He stood there in his suit like a man on a mission. Focus and determination exuded from him. Out of all of the time I’d spent with him these past months, he never looked more appropriate in his position as he did now.

He stoo
d at the front of the room and waited for the other board members to get settled. He motioned for me to stand next to him and I did so. Martin took his place on the other side of Rafael. When the door to the boardroom closed and everybody was in their seats, Martin began to speak.

“
We’ve had lengthy discussions about this,” he said. “Everybody in this room wants what is best for Barnett Industries. We all remember Julian and Maria. We remember how they did everything they could to run a company that was successful. But they did so with integrity.

“
Prior to his temporary leave, everybody questioned Rafael’s decision-making. We’ve all had time to think about it, including Rafael himself. There’s no doubt that his time away from the company gave him a chance to consider the magnitude of his position. We can all agree that Rafael is fully capable of doing the job he did so well before.

“
Now that his… transgressions are out in the open, we can move past it. Now we can continue the next chapter of Barnett Industries. Rafael. You are the rightful heir to this company. It’s only appropriate that you make the important decisions along with the rest of us. Welcome back, son.”

Martin shook Rafael
’s hand. The enthusiasm in Rafael’s eyes couldn’t be denied. His smile was beaming. The other board members seemed to be excited for Rafael’s return. Even though it was obvious that they didn’t always see eye-to-eye, Rafael and the board knew that they both had the best of intentions.

Martin took his seat at the head of the table.
Rafael clasped his hands together. He rubbed them as he looked down at the floor, searching for the first words to say now that he was back.

“
I… didn’t know when I was coming back,” he said. “I didn’t know if this day would ever come. But I’m here. And I’m ready to do my job to the best of my ability. That goes without saying. And I’ll do everything I can to make it clear through my actions. I know that all of you knew my parents…”

Rafael paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. He chuckled softly to himself before looking up at each and every board member.

“I’m grateful for your loyalty to them. They would be glad to know that the company they left behind is in good hands… your hands. And I’m also grateful for the opportunity to continue their legacy.

“
Your input will be more important than it ever has been as we continue to move forward. I know that we didn’t always agree on things. Maybe it’s my youth. Maybe it isn’t. But whatever it is, I will be as honest and candid with you as I can. The same goes for every other person we deal with.

“
In saying that, I want to say that my relationship with Miss Alice Pratt is paramount. At this point, she is the most important person in my life. As such, Martin and I decided that it would be in everybody’s best interests if we no longer hid that fact.

“
Alice will be by my side. She won’t make any decisions. She won’t give any input. She won’t be involved in anything directly. However, because of my relationship with her, she
will
be the face of this company. When people see Barnett Industries, I want them to know that the man running it has integrity and compassion. That is the difference. That is what will make this company what it is. Just like my parents were the face of this company years ago, I want everybody to feel comfortable when they see me and Alice.”

The board remained silent as they took in everything Rafael just said. Rafael stood there, almost defiantly, and waited for their appro
val. But the lack of an objection was all he was going to get.

The room was quiet. I looked over at Martin and he nodded to me. Rafael turned to me and smiled politely.

“You can have a seat just to the side, Alice,” he said. “Take notes. Observations. Considerations. Remember that I won’t be asking for anything official from you. But I
do
want you to see everything for yourself.”

I nodded and followed his instructions. I sat there and observed the first board meeting being held since Rafael
’s return. He quickly dived back into his work like nothing had changed. He paced back and forth in front of the room as they brought him up to speed. His demeanor was slightly different, as he was open to more suggestions from the board. At the same time, the old men were quick to shoot down any ideas he would suggest to them. There was a balance between the two of them. Rafael no longer had absolute power but he was still my boss.

I sat there and took notes on everything they said, just like I did when I first got my inte
rnship. Today’s discussion included a conversation about potential acquisitions and mergers. I was in over my head but thankfully, my input wasn’t needed.

When the meeting came to an end, the board members shuffled slowly out of the room. I stood up from m
y seat and waited for Rafael to finish conducting his affairs with Martin. Martin nodded to me as he exited the room, leaving me alone with my boyfriend.

Rafael slowly walked up to me. As the smile grew upon his face, I couldn
’t help but feel the same. He looked me up and down, his eyes examining me like we were in the bedroom. But now wasn’t the time for this.

“
How are you doing?” he asked me.

“
I’m fine,” I said as I smiled at him.

“
This isn’t boring you?”

“
I worked the past six months in data entry. At least this is something I actually studied in college.”

“
Well, the meeting is over. We won’t be having meetings very often. More often than not, I’ll be doing work inside of my office.”

“
And what about me? Will I have an office, too?”

“…
I hadn’t really considered that. You know, there
is
a lot of space in my office. Maybe I could move a desk in and you could work right next to me. Or do you want your own personal space?”

“
I’m… your personal assistant, Mr. Barnett. Either way is fine with me.”

He raised an eye
brow at me, the smirk on his face showing me that he was reading much more into my comments. He held his hand out to me and stepped to the side.

“
All right,” he said. “Let’s head back to my office and decide from there.”

Rafael and I headed out of the boar
droom and up one floor to his office. His blonde secretary was there in her usual place. She was busy scrambling around with the papers upon her desk as she took a phone call on her headset.

“
Hello, Tina,” Rafael greeted her.

“
Hello, Mr. Barnett,” she said with a smile. “It’s good to have you back, sir.”

“
Tina, you know Alice Pratt. She’s my personal assistant. Don’t worry. You’ll still retain the same duties. But make sure that she has free access in and out of my office.”

“
Of course, sir.”

Tina smiled politely at me. I did the same. I suddenly felt sheepish about stepping back into Rafael
’s office now that everybody knew what was going on between the two of us.

“
I’m not expecting anything since it’s just my first day,” Rafael said to her. “But please hold all my calls unless it’s an emergency.”

“
Of course.”

Rafael and I stepped into his office. It had been such a long time since I
’d been in it but it still felt like yesterday. The view was as amazing as it always was.

As I looked out the wind
ow to look down upon the city, Rafael made his way to his desk. Everything was still there, the only difference was the layer of dust upon it.

“
I should send someone in here to clean this,” he said.

“
I suppose I could do that, since I’m you’re new assistant.”

“
You
could
do it. But I have other things in mind for you.”

“
Is that so?” I said as I turned around and looked at him.

He walked over to me. The smile he had on his face ever since the end of the board meeting was still there. He stood right next to me
and the two of us looked down upon the city together.

“
It’s the same thing,” he said. “But it’s a little different.”

“
What’s different?”

“
This and a penthouse suite. The view from above is always nice. You can see everything. The people. The streets. The cars. Every little store and shop and business. They’re all the same. But in this office, everything just
feels
different.”