AN: Hi guys. First of all, thanks for encouraging words from WEINWPG. Here is the next chapter. Jasper might be a tad horny after the last one
Alice didnt left the apartment on Sunday. She continued the Big Bang Theory marathon Bella had started the night before, enjoying her bonding time with her room mate. They talked about Bellas family and had take out from the praised Indian restaurant. It was tasty indeed.
Monday came earlier then expected. But thats what youve got being part of the establishment, isnt it. Furthermore Alice had one more week to prove her boss that he didnt make a mistake.
So, she went to work, cups with coffee and mate in one hand, blackberry in the other. Just like every day of the last week. She even decided to wear ballerina flats today because she had still blisters from dancing in her killer boots.
But something did change when she entered her bosss office. She chirped her greetings but when she looked up, she was met with a set of dark eyes. She knew that look. She had seen it many times before. It was lust. Besides from that, Jasper looked terrible, as if he hadnt slept in days. With dark purple rings under his eyes, dry lips and sunken in cheeks.
"You had a nice weekend, Miss Touilliez?" his voice was hoarse.
Cautiously she walked up to his desk and placed the two cups "Yes, very relaxing. Ive binge-watched The Big Bang Theory with my room mate."
"Sure you did" he laughed about a private joke.
Standing so close, Alice could see just how tired Jasper looked. She touched his cheek worried "Didnt you sleep at all? You look horrible? Dont know if Nike would like that Pete Doherty look on you" she tried to lighten the mood.
Jasper stood there frozen by her touch. He forced himself not to move, dont trusting himself not to pull her in and kissing her, if he moved even a little.
She excused herself and went to her desk. He only allowed himself to breath when she left. He didnt know, what got into him, that got him so obsessive. Maybe it was the faint hope, that she could match or even tame his beast with her own demons. When she was out of sight, he looked over the two now familiar cups. Without hesitation he took the mate and gulped it down in one big swig.
With the caffeine in his veins and a fresh cleaned face he looked nearly back to normal, when the representatives of Nike arrived for the presentation. And having Alice around kind of calmed him down when at the same time it aroused him from time to time.
Alice had the presentation well prepared. She pretended, to not notice his glances. She smiled for the clients and showered them with compliments and little accommodations, while Jasper told the facts about the project. They left very pleased and signed the deal without further requests.
Alice bid them farewell and smiled, ready for a high five from her boss. "Wasnt that amazing? I mean, it went very smooth, didnt it?"
He agreed nodding and grunting, still looking hungry at her.
Thats it she thought. His stares didnt make her uncomfortable. If anything they made her curious, tempted. "Back off already. Im sure youre well hung and ladies all over the city are drooling over your good looks, Adonis, but if youre hoping for some Monica Lewinsky legacy sex, youre wrong. Im not fooling around with you within my testing period giving you a good reason to set me back to the streets till the end of the week. Not happening Mister!" she was fuming. Standing in front him, he towered at least two heads above her.
"What about after your testing period then?" he was clearly in denial.
Alice laughed "For real? Youre unbelievable" she turned around and went to the door, still feeling save enough with him to turn her back at him.
"Adonis yeah? So you are tempted?" he was more asking for his sanity than to change her mind. It couldnt be all one way, could it. He was never a creep before. He didnt like it.
"Of course I am. Youve all I need for good wet dream, Jasper, plus youre quiet my type. But did you listen to anything I told you right now? Its not happening. I need this job. And dont you dare forcing me into something."
That woke him up, his eyes cleared visibly "I would never" he stammered. "Im sorry, I dont know what..."
She couldnt stand seeing him with this sad puppy dog eyes, so she interrupted him before he could elaborate his excuse.
"Dont. Its okay. No harm done. So be a good boy, go to the bathroom, jack off and get your shit together for the 2 o clock meeting." she told him bluntly.
His mood lit up "Do I get some motivation for that?" he grinned playfully.
She shook her head. How could things go from super-professional to foreplay within merely a week. But she was letting him his fun, pulling up her skirt and showing him her suspenders and black lace hotpants underneath. He rewarded her with a big goofy grin.
He might or might not followed her advice afterwards, but no matter what, he felt more like himself and in control, when the second meeting of the day began. It too went down smoothly due to Alice good preparation for it. He was used to swoon clients and was back to his old charm now.
After a long day Alice came home, Bella as usual already waiting for her. She set this routine of cooking them dinner. A habit she picked up from living with her dad, but let go when it was only her to nourish, because cooking for one person either means throwing a lot of stuff away and she wasnt raised like that, or eating the same meal for a week.
Bella told her everything about her day even bits of gossip about the colleagues Alice met yet, but noticed that Alice was unusually quiet today. "What is, Ali? Bad day?"
Alice was in deep thoughts, chewing some carrot. "You cant say that. Actually it went really well. The two meetings I organized, went perfect. Nike even signed the deal." Then she frowned. "So if Im not jumping my bosss bones by the end of the week, they have no reason to not hire me" she concluded.
Bella nearly choked on a potato.
"Im sorry. I know youre a good girl. Ill filter my choice of words next time." she gave her a cheeky smile.
Bellas breathing was back to normal when she retorted "We both know you wont. But what about being all professional?"
"Go, tell him! He was all about frivolous glances and a dirty mind today."
Being a sheriffs daughter kicked in "Did he harass you or something?"
Alice laughed "No, relax. As I said, the worst that could happen, is me failing in my attempt of being a good girl, choosing again fun over the job. But I take it as a challenge."
Bella couldnt even imagine her boss flirting with her. It seamed like a horrible image. But on the other hand her boss was 45, bald and over-weighted. "Thats the spirit then, I guess?" it came out as a question.
"And more of your well-known pep talk, Bells."
The next day Alice went for a boring and absolutely modest outfit. All gray, no curves with white ballet flats again. She was late though. Choosing this look took longer than expected. So she got a coffee from the kitchen and placed it on Jaspers desk before telling him his schedule for the day.
He looked up from his papers, eyeing her unusual plane-jane look and his coffee "Whats with my mate today?"
"Oh, come on. You dont even like it. Drink your coffee and be ready for Mr. Mason. He has the data from the first quarter."
"Why so jumpy?"
"I overslept, okay" she lied. But the truth was even more embarrassing.
"Did I haunt you in your dreams? Naked version of me that is." he asked cockily.
"You wish" she stuck out her tongue out childishly.
When she organized the next day she got an instant headache. Miss José, Jaspers fiancee was scheduled for lunch. She would come here and she would hate Alice immediately, if she would catch just one glimpse of their cat and mouse game. She will have to go for very ugly to go under this womans radar. Even if Jasper was planning on hiring her permanently, his fiancee wouldnt like the idea as soon as she see them interact. Damn her life.
But at least she was on time on Wednesday. Which wasnt that hard, because she was wearing no make up at all and her hair was laying flat on her head. So thats were she had saved a lot of time. Choosing her outfit was like preparing for a costume party: she wore a rosé woolen pullover hanging lose on her, hiding her figure like she intended and beige plaid trousers with a pleat at the front. To add more to this granny charm she wear her mothers pearls around her neck, which were lovely but a tad too classic for most of her outfits.
She was placing a pile of paperwork along with the two daily cups on Jaspers desk, who wasnt in yet. She arranged the files in order of priority when he rushed through the door. She jumped a little and looked at him. Both laughed at their appearance.
"Under normal circumstances I would ask you, if thats some twisted role play youre up to, but I take it, you are expecting Miss José as well?"
"We would need some props for that role play, like a car park? Elderly maiden teacher seduced by car sales man." she could picture it though.
"Its a good thing, there are only phone conferences in the morning, right? You brought an extra outfit for the 2K meeting?"
Alice paled visibly and no make up could hide that fact now "No, I didnt."
"Alice! They develop video games. You cant walk in there like a granny. Where did you even get those clothes. Wouldnt have thought you own something like that." he chided her, for putting her fear of his fiancee before the actual work for today.
"Combined differently they can be cute. Dont worry, okay. Ill figure something out. Just start working on these. There are still a couple of hours to clear this mess", she pointed at her self.
She knew, for a complete make over she would need more time than the lunch break could cover. But she had already some options in her head.
She was working on the 2K exposé, when the elevator opened. She looked up with what she hoped looked like a genuine friendly smile and welcomed Maria José.
Maria was a beautiful Latina, all with shiny black hair, styled like Jacky Kennedy and a perfect olive skin. She was wearing pastel colours, which suited her, but Alice disliked them in general. Funny was, she was wearing classic pearls too. But too much of them. She had a necklace, three armbands, earrings and a ring. Oh yeah, a ring. She wasnt only wearing a pearl ring. No, there was of course her engagement ring as well. A big diamond ring. It was pretentious. It wasnt like Jasper at all. But she didnt know him that well, did she? Maybe it was like him. Just like it was like him to flirt with his secretary and go to a gentlemans club every night. She had figured out about the Courtenay quickly, after she found credit card billls and when she was looking through the phone call history. She wasnt spying on Jasper or something. Their desk top phones were connected and Alice needed the phone number from a client, who called the last week and didnt left any information, how to get back to him. She didnt mind of course. It was his life and his sexuality. She would miss the hunt, if the prey was paid and laid down from the beginning, but that was his business. It was just this double life he was living, CEO with a trophy wife by day and player by night. But maybe you had to split up your personality like this. Her former lifestyle lead to loosing her position as the righteous heir to her familys business. So maybe Jasper was doing better then her. It was the feeling, that his fiancee didnt have any clue to whom she was engaged to, that left a bitter taste in her mouth. She might have known him once, but Alice seriously doubt, that she would know of his recent nightlife activities.
But just when Alice wanted to pity Maria, the other woman showed her true colors. She looked at Alice from above, although she was merely half a head taller than her. Without returning the greetings or further introduction she sneered "I want to speak to my husband, now!"
Alice also liked to live years ahead in her daydreams, so she didnt corrected her for Jasper was only her fiance "Of course, Miss José. Right this way, please. Mr. Whitlock is awaiting you."
She lead the other woman into Jaspers office and was spectator to the most awkward encounter of two supposed lovers ever.
"Maria, how kind of you to come by" she kissed him on the cheek, he hugged her stiffly.
"That would be all, Miss Touilliez" he didnt dare to look at Alice. Even in her granny outfit. His thoughts would travel to how she looked beneath it and the images from last Saturday had yet to leave his dreams.
"Jasper, Ive missed you so much. Why dont you call more often?" she chided.
"Busy, busy, busy. You know Im a workaholic." he tried to evade.
"And youve got a new secretary. She is ugly as fuck. I mean, she looks like a scarecrow. I always thought you need some representative in front of your door." Maria didnt even change her facial expression when she dissed the other woman.
"Yeah, I told her that this morning. But she promised to do better in the future."
"What happened to Lola?" she asked with shallow interest.
"You mean, Lynn? She got pregnant and decided to become a full time mom after her marriage." Bad course of conversation. Jasper mentally face-palmed himself.
Marias face lit up "What a wonderful idea. I always thought women shouldnt need to work."
"You werent thinking that way, when we met." he mumbled.
But loud enough for Maria to hear "What was that?"
But Jasper didnt back down "You were mastering in engineering, Maria. Youre smarter than those friend of yours, which by the way are busier with drinking champagne in the morning than nursing their children. That's what a nanny is good for, isnt it?"
"You wouldnt even make me a baby, so why discuss how to raise one. Maybe you cant. You never took those herbal mixtures I gave you." Maria had tried so hard to get pregnant over the last year.
"Im not infertile, Maria. But you know what? Actually Im glad, I didnt score yet. This way I would never get rid of you, would I?"
Alice heard the screaming through the door and took this as her lead to leave this place as quick as possible. She would prefer to neither encounter a bitchy Maria, nor an upset Jasper. And she needed every minute she got, to change her style.
When she came back, it was nearly time for the meeting, so she hadnt have the time to look, how Jasper was holding up. At least she managed to finish the exposé before and hoped Jasper had found the time to go through it. She set up the conference room just in time, when 2K arrived. They were 3 guys around 30, all very casual styled and she visibly relaxed when she noticed two of them wearing baseball caps.
Because here was, what she looked right now: She found a blue-purple leggings with a psychodelic space motive on it and combined it with her granny pullover, so that her butt was merely covered by the woolen fabric. To spice up her hair situation she made two little pigtails which showed under a My little Pony base cap, she wore backwards. She was lucky that she could wear the Kids stuff, because a Kids clothing store was all she could find in the short amount of time. Her simple ballerina flats matched the leggings although she she was tempted to buy those blinky-light sneakers, too.
She greeted the guests and offered them beverages and snacks, which she had to collect from the kitchen. A few moments later Jasper entered the room and excused himself for the little delay. He had washed his hair off the gel and some wet curls were hanging in his face. He pushed them back annoyed. His mood was icy but he tried to stay calm and friendly to the clients.
When Alice came back to the room, all hands full with sodas and snacks – theyre wasnt one tray left in the kitchen and she refused to walk twice – Jasper burst with laughter. She looked hilarious but adorable at the same time. He quickly stood up to help her with the cargo.
Still laughing, he whispered "I guess thats better than before. You look cute."
It was good he had time to go through the exposé before, because these people wanted things differently. They would need to get some famous YouTubers on boat. Because more then billboard advertisement they wanted online presence. Alice had listed some of the high-ranked lets-players, which they would have to win over. They felt their marketing in good hands with Whitlock Inc. and wanted them to visit their Studios next time. Pleased they bid their farewells, not without one of them giving Alice his private number and a cheeky smile.
When the elevator door closed she turned around, the little piece of paper in her hands "He hit on me during an official meeting. Can you believe that?"
"I bet hes not often in the company of women. He had to take the chance. What disturbed me more is the fact, that you look like jail-bait in your Hello-Kitty stuff." he chuckled.
"Im not. I look totally hip. Go look through all the festival bloggers. And its My little pony, not Hello kitty." she tried to stand up to him but without her heals she was even shorter and Jasper towered over her looking very amused.
"My bad" he bend down to her, his hands secured in his pockets. He was still not trusting himself not to pick her up and suck her tongue in his mouth.
He visited the Courtenay every damn day of that week. Interestingly he chose girls with short black hair every time. They couldnt quite quench his thirst, but it helped him not to burst.
Please let me know what you think. Still no beta. me
