Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (36 page)

“You and me, we’ll never be over. You know it. I know it.”

~ Scott Patrick

lexa turns on the shower and watches the water splatter against the walls. She wanted it hot, to make her skin feel something; a state that her cold heart was not acquainted with. She was bored, and one thing was for sure, she needed something to do, and soon. She’s learned the hard way that she and boredom don’t mix well. The last time she got restless, she ended up messing around with some bartender named Joey, a supremely bad idea. He looked like he’d be up for it, but the poor guy ran away with his tail between his legs. She wanted, no needed, someone to get between her legs.

What she really needed was some excitement, a man that made her feel like Mr. One and Only. She remembered the day he propositioned her. Even though she knew it wasn’t a good idea to hook up with the boss, she couldn’t resist. Most people don’t report to possibly the hottest man on the planet, though. Scott Patrick wanted her sexually, he taught her everything she needed to know professionally, and all she had to do was not fall in love. She never stopped to think about how successful she was with that last bit.

Without Scott though, she wouldn’t be where she is today. Now, she’s the one calling the shots, heading up the new London office. At least the years she spent catering to his whims paid off. He kept his end of the bargain. Now, she just needs to find another plaything to amuse her for a while. One that will stick around. In the meantime, she would just have to take care of herself.

She steps into the steamy shower and begins washing her thick, brown hair. As the conditioner does its job, she leans back against the tiled wall and lets her hand slide down between her legs. Her fingers dip between the folds of flesh and she rubs tenderly for a moment before she turns to face a water jet. She angles it so it will hit her clit in just the right spot. Throwing her head back, she lifts a leg up and supports it on the built in shower bench. She knows it will only be a few minutes now before the built up sexual tension is released. As the water jet does its work, she closes her eyes and imagines the one person who could always make her scream.
Scotty
. She can see his face as clear as day as she brings herself to the climax she needs.

“Oh, fuck! Fuck!” She grabs the handle to the shower door and braces herself as her orgasm hits, washing over her, mimicking the water that flows down her body. She stands for a moment panting, recovering from her self-induced climax. She quickly finishes rinsing her hair and steps out of the shower.

She wants to put a little effort into her appearance today, even more than usual, since she was going to be meeting her new boss. She selects her best suit- a charcoal gray skirt and jacket with a pressed white blouse. She then lays out her favorite pair of gray platform pumps along with the silver jewelry she plans to wear. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she glides her thigh high stockings up each leg. Finally, she blow dries her hair, dusts her face in natural looking makeup, and finishes dressing. She gazes at her reflection in the mirror, admiring the rosy glow on her cheeks. Her looks are spectacular, and she knows it. How else did she get and keep Scott’s attention for so long? Certainly not her pathetic virginal skills at the time.

One last look in the mirror and she knows she achieved the look she wants—classy, professional, but sexy. Perfect.

Alexa glances down at the expensive watch on her wrist, one of many mementos she kept from the SP years, as she liked to call them. She smiles wistfully as she notes the time. When they were together, he constantly showed up with another over- the-top trinket. She loved receiving the gifts, having come from almost nothing. Now, she kept them as a reminder of how far she’d come; she could buy her own damn watch now.

Grabbing her coat and scarf, she peeks outside. Another dreary day. She longed for the sun of Southern California where she grew up, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. Even though she sometimes felt like she sold her soul to learn what she needed, she felt confident that it all paid off for her and that is really all that mattered to Alexa.

She heads out of her high-end apartment in London’s Belgravia neighborhood, an affluent area with tons of shops and restaurants. It was the perfect place to live to validate Alexa’s economic rise. Her driver, Oswald, watches the door and when he sees her, immediately jumps to attention. He knows she would be pissed off if she even waited thirty seconds for that car door to open. And no one likes a pissed off Alexa Drake.

“Morning, Miss Drake.”

“Good morning, Oswald. Do you have my coffee?”

“Yes, of course.”

It only took two days for him to figure out her routine and the coffee had to be hot and waiting. His timing to get it and then pick her up had to be perfect but he nailed it. It didn’t stop her from asking every day, like she was just waiting for him to screw up. Sometimes he wondered if she actually wanted him to so she had a reason to cuss him out. Again.

“The office, Miss Drake?”

She simply nods. He’d been driving her for over a year and never even received as much as a smile. He wondered what it took to get the coldest fish in town to warm up. Oswald took in her beauty with his eyes. Alexa Drake was one of the most stunning women he had ever seen. She was also rich, young, and successful. He couldn’t deny that she was a very generous boss as well. Driving her was a lucrative endeavor. Oswald didn’t care that she’s a complete bitch.

He closes her door and walks back around to his side. Glancing back at her, he sees that she’s already immersed in her Blackberry. He watches her for a moment before pulling out into traffic.
Fucking A, she’s a beauty
. Sipping her coffee, Alexa wrinkles her nose, staring disapprovingly at the cup for a moment. Her eyes shift up and meet Oswald’s in the rear view mirror.

“Where did you get this coffee?” she asks, accusingly.

“The same place, ma’am.”
Does she think I’m stupid? Why would I go somewhere else and break her routine?

“It’s different. Make sure tomorrow that only Leslie makes it. She’s the only one that does it right.”

Oh, now I have to have a specific person make her damn coffee?
Now might not be the best time to ask for time off but he has no choice.

“Miss Drake? My brother is coming to visit from America next week and I wondered if I could get a couple of days off to spend time with him?”

Alexa doesn’t look up and seems to ignore his request. He continues driving, glancing nervously at her reflection.

“And how am I supposed to get around town?” she finally asks, her voice cold and uncaring.

“I can arrange for another driver and I can make sure he knows how you need everything to work.”

“How many days?”

“Three, if I can.”

She sighs, clearly irritated with the request. She doesn’t like to change her routine but honestly, poor Oswald has never asked her for a thing. He’s a loyal and competent driver. The least she could do is let him have a few days off.

“That’s fine.”

Oswald’s face lights up. “Thank you, Miss Drake.”

She says nothing and glances out the window as they pull up to the massive building where she works. Patrick Collins Media, the mass media empire built by Scott and his business partner, Brett Collins, the man she would be meeting today. Alexa ran the newly created Social Media division, an area that for whatever reason, Scott felt she would excel at, and he was right.

Scott ran the print division in New York and Brett Collins ran a thriving office in Spain. Alexa is the first woman in the company given the opportunity to run an office on her own, and she would be meeting Brett for the first time today. She was curious to meet him, knowing he was also Scott’s best friend for years. Somehow their paths never crossed all this time.

She waits for Oswald to open her door. Stepping out from the car, she runs her hands over her hair to smooth it down as the chilly London air swirls it around her face.

Alexa enters the building and rings the call button for the elevator up to her office. From there, she could look out over Buckingham Palace and occasionally even get a glimpse of the Queen’s corgis running around the gardens.

As soon as the elevator doors open on her floor, she notices a hush fall over the office. It happens every day when Alexa arrives. Just once she’d liked to see how everyone behaved when she wasn’t there. Admittedly though, she gets a tiny bit of satisfaction knowing everyone fears her. She feels it is the only way to make sure her authority is never questioned. Running an office of this size and importance at twenty-seven years old left her vulnerable to rumors and power plays.

It didn’t help that the rumors were actually true. She did sleep her way to the top. She can’t remember how many nights she spent tied to Scott’s bed, how many spankings she endured, how many blow jobs granted. She would do it all again though.

Alexa’s faithful assistant, Martina, takes her coat and scarf. “Miss Drake, Mr. Patrick called. He’s on his way with Mr. Collins now. They should be here inside of thirty minutes.”

“Mr. Patrick is here?” Alexa’s voice practically trembles with the knowledge she would be seeing Scott. She didn’t know he was coming too.

“Yes, ma’am.” Martina looks over her shoulder to make sure no one is in ear shot. “Are you nervous to see him?”

Martina is the only person Alexa trusts enough to talk about her personal feelings. She’s the closest thing to a friend that Alexa has. Only Martina knows that seeing Scott is difficult for her. Especially after the last time.

“A bit, yes. I wasn’t expecting him,” Alexa says, absentmindedly chewing her nails.

“Good thing you look amazing then.” Martina smiles and hands Alexa her second cup of coffee. “I put some fresh flowers in your office to perk it up a bit. Oh, and I printed all of our client’s bio sheets for your reference. You’ll impress him, Lexi.”

“Don’t call me that in front of them, remember?” There were two people in the world allowed to call her Lexi, Scott Patrick and Martina. That’s it. And frankly, she never wanted to hear Scott call her that again. It reminded her too much of when she spent her nights in his bed. Martina wouldn’t even know of it if it weren’t for the argument she witnessed the last time Scott was in town.

“Of course. You know I wouldn’t, Miss Drake.” Martina returns to the formality she uses in front of strangers, and offers a sly smile. “Go relax and collect your thoughts for a moment before they arrive.”

“Thanks, Martina.”

Alexa sits behind her sleek, glass desk and fires up her computer. Immediately she notices a blinking email.

“
Can’t wait to see you, Alexa. SP
”

He’s already at it again.
The last time I saw him, I told him to fuck off. Now he can’t wait to see me? Fucking hell.

Scott Patrick is the only man that can bring Alexa Drake to her knees. Literally. The last thing she wanted was to fall into another cat and mouse game with Scott. She had worked hard to assert her own will; now she was the dominant one. She did the tying up, not the other way around. She knew there was no way Scott Patrick would be willing to give up his control over her. The very thought of seeing him again made her nervous.