Chapter One
Two and a half years earlier
IN October 2007 Alice Swan was twenty-three years old, and had recently graduated summa-cum-laude from Pratt in New York. After graduation she had spent the summer in Europe. Her mother had given her the money to go on her dream summer vacation, visiting all the architectural wonders she had previously only read about. Athens, Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, she hit them all. She'd come home full of creative ideas and looking for a job where she could bring those creative ideas into fruition.
She interviewed for big firms and small firms all over the Bay Area, but couldn't land a job. She was too young, too inexperienced, too this or too that. She started wondering whether she should head back to New York and get her feet wet in the larger job market there, then return home after a few years. But her mom begged her to keep looking, to at least give it until the end of the year.
It was late October when she walked into the swank offices on the sixteenth floor for the interview at Hale Designs. Beyond excited because she had recently read an article about the firm and its genius CEO, Alice's adrenaline rush was off the charts. Just the thought that she may actually work at this cutting edge firm had her pulling out all the stops. She dressed to impress 'Alice style', which was a little outlandish but not, she hoped, too edgy for a small, cutting edge architectural firm in San Francisco. She had picked up an outfit in London that she just loved. It was a cream leather jumpsuit. It was very snug, the cut emphasized her small waist and her sleek curves with a built in utility belt which rested low on her hips. It had a zipper front that ran diagonally from just above her right breast to low on her left hip. The legs flared slightly and she paired it with stiletto heeled boots. She thought that she looked cool, like Emma Peel in the sixties show the Avengers.
But the interview was interminably long and boring and the two people who interviewed her were the two most morose characters she had ever met, Maria Blake and Jonathan Reed. She knew by the smirking glances they exchanged that they didn't think her outfit was cool and she knew that they didn't think she was a "fit" for their firm. They asked her every question they could come up with and her answers were on the money. She knew that she was aceing the interview but she also knew that she wouldn't get the job.
At the end of the longest ninety minutes of her life, she stood up and they shook her hand and told her that they would be in touch. "Yeah, right!" she thought to herself as she walked away, the dreams of that morning dashed. Glumly waiting by the elevators she perked up when a sexily handsome, thirty-something blonde hunk came to wait next to her. She knew he was eyeing her, she felt it and it made her heart skip a beat. The day didn't have to be a total loss after all. Never one to wait for an opportunity to say "hello", Alice leaned her right shoulder against the wall that separated the two elevators and looked up into his cobalt blue eyes.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like Jude Law?" she asked, almost purring.
His body turned in her direction and blue eyes surveyed her appreciatively. Taking in every curve that was visible, his tongue appeared briefly to lick his lower lip. Alice almost swooned. "A couple of times." he responded with a smile.
"Well they were wrong, you're much better looking than he is." She said. "Trust me, I've met him." Alice was not above lying for attention.
He smiled, "Really? How did you manage to meet Jude Law?" he was not taking her seriously, which was good, it meant he had a sense of humor.
"Well I spent the summer in London and I applied for a job as a nanny, and one thing led to another and before long…well, you can imagine…." She trailed off suggestively.
He started to laugh, a nice husky laugh. "I can imagine…?"
"And you have a much better laugh. He has an uptight proper kind of tight-ass laugh."
He laughed even harder.
Alice stepped closer to him and lowered her voice. "But Jude was a lot more exciting than you, he did invite me out to lunch…" Alice waited raising an eyebrow.
He checked his wrist watch. "Well, I'm heading out to meet with a client right now, but how about a drink later. Say about five o'clock?" He was near enough for her to feel his breath on her hair.
She pulled back a little. "Rats, I'm sorry, but I have a date this evening." She looked suitably regretful, pouting prettily as though she wished she didn't have that date. (In reality she didn't have a date later, but Alice made it her personal policy to never be too available when men asked for dates, even if she was free.) "Maybe some other time?" She felt a buzz in her purse, "'Scuse me?" she smiled and directed her attention to her vibrating phone to check the screen, hoping to get a call from another firm. No luck, the missed call was from her mother. Alice felt him staring as she scrolled through her messages.
The elevator pinged open and they both stepped inside. It was empty and Alice raised an eyebrow and smirked when he pressed all sixteen buttons so that they all lit up. Hiding her delighted smile, she went to one corner and he went to the other. Let the games begin.
"What's your name?" he asked her.
"Alice. Yours?"
"Jasper." he smiled. Alice thought that he had the sexiest smile she had ever seen. "Are you here on business or pleasure?" he asked. The elevator opened onto the fifteenth floor but no one came in and the doors closed again.
"Job interview. You?"
"Business. How was the interview?"
"Not good." She sighed, "Actually none of them have been good. I've been looking for two months." She laughed and shook her head, "I'm beginning to wonder who I have to sleep with to get a job in this town." The elevator doors opened onto the fourteenth floor, no one came in. The door closed again.
Jasper chuckled. "Well, that would be me. I'm San Francisco's official-sleep-with-person. Every major metropolis has one, you know."
Alice laughed louder. "You can't fool me. You're too good looking for the position. Doesn't that job usually go to the old, greasy, sweaty guy?"
"Once I get going I'm pretty sweaty." he said wickedly. Alice's heart thumped, imagining him sweaty and naked. Her eyes ran down his tall frame, undressing him mentally. She liked what she saw. The elevator opened onto the thirteenth floor and one man came in. He was on his cell phone. Jasper stepped a little closer to Alice as the doors closed again.
"Well you must be a very hard worker, to get so sweaty." She pitched her voice lower, more intimate.
"Well, I take my job very seriously. You might say that I put my all into it." The elevator opened onto the twelfth floor three people came in. Jasper slid even closer. The doors closed again.
"Do you like your job, Mr. official-sleep-with-person?" She asked as she ran her index finger down his tie to where it ended at his belt.
"Oh, I like it very much, especially when I get to ask the gorgeous young woman in the skin tight white jumpsuit about the job of her dreams." The elevator opened onto the eleventh floor. Three more people came in. Jasper moved right up next to Alice. She moved her index finger side to side above his belt buckle, slightly caressing his abdomen through his shirt.
"Well, how do you find out what the job of her dreams is if you don't take her to lunch?" Alice was looking up at him with a teasing smile, her eyes flickering back and forth from his blue eyes to his sexy mouth and back again.
"I take her for a slow ride in an elevator and I ask her." The elevator opened onto the tenth floor and one person came in. Jasper and Alice were inches away from touching. The doors closed again.
Alice smiled into his eyes and purred again. "And when do you do the 'sleep with' part, before or after?"
Jasper's smile widened as he winked, a devilish dimple creasing just to the right of his lips. "Usually that comes before, to give me an extra incentive to work on it. Then again after, when the job delivery is complete." The elevator opened to the ninth floor and four people got on. The crush of the crowd was pushing Jasper so near he was now pressing Alice into the corner.
She hooked her index finger onto his belt and tugged him even closer. Her voice was low, just above a whisper, and her warm breath tickled his lips. "Well Mr. official-sleep-with-person, I want a job as an architect at Hale Designs."
"What are your qualifications Miss Alice?" His voice was just above a whisper, low and sexy.
"Well, I graduated summa cum laude from Pratt and I have two years internship with a top flight New York architectural firm. And…" she ran her tongue over her top lip and winked, "…I'm good at what I do. Really good."
"That's hard to believe." He said and Alice raised an eyebrow. "You being really good, I mean." He put his lips to her ear, "I peg you as being very, very bad." The elevator stopped at the eighth floor and one person got on. The doors closed again.
Alice chuckled. "Well, I meant I'm very good at architectural design. I think I aced the interview but that woman frowned on my outfit, can you believe that?" she pouted. "She has no sense of style. I was trying to channel Emma Peel. Unfortunately, they were not impressed."
"Ahh. Emma Peel from The Avengers. Do you know her as well as you know Jude?" The elevator stopped at the seventh floor and no one got on. But Jasper moved in closer anyway. His thighs braced to the side of hers. The doors closed again.
Alice slipped a button through its hole and reached in and touched his navel. His muscles clenched and she let out a soft moan. "I must confess that I know Jude a little better, but Emma and I are very close."
"I'd like to meet her one day."
"If you take me to lunch, I might let her come out to play."
The elevator opened onto the sixth floor and the door opened and closed. Alice tugged his belt again and ran her tongue over her top lip again and Jasper couldn't resist. He bent down to kiss her. His lips barely touched hers, but the electric charge was instantaneous. She put her left hand at the nape of his neck and held him there to prolong the kiss. The tip of her tongue licked the edges of his lips and slid in to caress the tip of his tongue. He let her play for a few seconds then he took control and hungrily pressed his tongue into her mouth to slide against hers. Alice was a goner.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Everyone got off the elevator, except the two people who were kissing in the far right corner.
Jasper pulled his lips from hers. "Break your date tonight." he begged huskily.
Her voice was breathy but her eyes twinkled teasingly. "For a measly drink? I don't think so. I'm not giving up dinner with a handsome latin hunk for a happy hour drink with Mr. official-sleep-with-person." She softened the rejection by smiling. "No matter how good a kisser he is." She reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him again.
Jasper broke the kiss and grabbed her hand. "Okay. Let's go." He grabbed her elbow as they walked out the building and he hailed a taxi.
"Oh, are we going out to lunch after all?" Alice was elated as they slid into the backseat.
"Yes, with a client. Let me see your portfolio." He opened it and flipped through it. A look of admiration crossed his face and Alice leaned over his shoulder to look at her designs. Every time she saw them she liked them even more. "I want to see your resume." He read it quickly. "Okay. A lot is riding on this meeting, depending on how you perform with this client, you have the job."
Alice, thinking Jasper was taking his "official sleep with person" joke to new heights, found his statement very amusing. But something in his manner made her more than a little curious. She was about to ask questions when Jasper dialed someone on his cell.
"Jonathan this is Jasper. You and Maria interviewed a young lady today her name is Alice Swan. I just hired her. She starts today." he hung up. "Alice Swan, I'm Jasper Hale."
Alice's jaw fell open; then she quickly recovered and started to laugh. "Well, well, what a surprise. So you're the famous J.W. Hale, huh? "
"In the flesh." He smirked.
"Yeah, in the flesh. Your picture in that magazine didn't do you justice." She reached over and touched his belly again as she slowly rebuttoned his shirt. "Was it the cum laude or was it the come hither that got me the job?" She asked cheekily.
"All of that plus the resume and portfolio, and the kiss. Mostly the kiss." and he bent down to kiss her again. They didn't stop kissing until they arrived at Aqua.
#
That was the beginning of their affair. Alice, who had never met with a client before, learned, in the first few minutes with Jasper, how to conduct a business lunch. Jasper was smart and engaging. But he was also too honest to be insincere. He called a spade a spade and the client respected him for that honesty. Jasper introduced Alice as the newest rising star on their team. Alice held her own, charming the client. Not even one day on the job she helped seal a deal on a new office complex in Silicon Valley.
After the client left, the business lunch turned personal. She and Jasper drank a champagne toast to her new job and the new deal. All the while she had been sitting there she had wanted to touch him. She ran a hand up the sleeve of his jacket and lightly squeezed his bicep. "Tell me Mr. official-sleep-with-person, how long before you collect your fee?"
"Well, now that I have revealed my true identity, Jasper Hale superhero job getter, I'm not sure that's such a good idea." He smiled at her.
"You mean I get the job, but not the perks? That doesn't seem fair." Alice wrinkled her nose, she was not happy with this plan at all.
"Right. Well, in these, the early days of the twenty-first century, the days of sexual harassment lawsuits, it would be very unwise for me to indulge my desires with you."
Alice ran her hand along his thigh. "But you said that the kiss sealed the deal. Wouldn't it be wrong of us to turn our backs on the deal maker?" Her hand came to rest on his hip.
"What are you suggesting, Ms Swan?" He turned slightly in his seat and his knees touched hers.
"I'm suggesting that I sign a waiver or something and we get it on." Alice was direct.
"A waiver? You mean a legal and binding contract that prevents you from bringing a sexual harassment lawsuit against me and my company?" He smiled, liking the idea.
She smiled prettily in return, her green eyes sparkling. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. If you don't agree, I'll have to turn down my dream job."
"You would do that? Why?" Jasper was enchanted with this girl. He had never met anyone like her in his life.
"Because there are other jobs out there but not other Jude Laws, I mean Jasper Hales." She laughed teasingly.
They left the restaurant and hailed another cab. They walked into the law offices of Solomon, Rudolph and Duncan. Alice and Jasper met with his lawyer and the waiver was drawn up and signed.
"Well, where shall we go next?" Alice asked when they left the law office.
Jasper wrapped his arms around Alice's small waist and pulled her close to him. "How about my place?" He bent his head and kissed her.
"Yes, please." Alice breathed in agreement once he lifted his mouth from hers.
Jasper lived in San Francisco's Russian hill neighborhood. He had a large flat but Alice didn't get to see it that afternoon. He opened the door with the key and Alice reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. With their lips still connected they took off their clothes and she and Jasper tumbled naked onto the sofa. Alice hadn't had sex in over a year, not since she'd broken up with Jake, and she was eager to feel that goodness again.
Jasper kissed her deeply, his tongue was stroking hers. His fingers were playing with her nipples. He pulled his mouth away. "Alice have you been tested?"
Alice panted. She moved his hand to the throbbing nub between her thighs and moaned. "Yes, twice. A year ago and then six months ago. I'm fine. I haven't slept with anyone since. You?"
"I was tested five months ago. I'm fine. I've had sex, since but always with a condom. One partner, since then; no risky sex." He rubbed her nub and she moved her hips against his hand, grabbing him behind his neck and pulling him down for another deep, wet kiss.
He pulled his mouth from hers and gasped. "Are you on the pill?"
"No." she panted. "IUD. But I still want you to use a condom."
"I know." He kissed her lips. "I will." He kissed her lips again.
"Where is the condom for God's sake?" Alice was ready.
"I have some in the bedroom." He pulled her off the couch and slung her over his shoulder, Alice squealed. He carried her down the narrow hallway to his bedroom. He threw her on the bed and reached into the nightstand for the condoms. It was three o'clock and the autumn sun was high and bright, lighting up the bedroom. Alice feasted her eyes on his body as he stood next to the bed putting on the condom. Jasper was six-one and about one-eighty. He was slim but muscular. He was tight all over and mother nature had been very, very good to him. Alice couldn't wait. A shudder rippled down her spine as she stared at his body in anticipation of the next few minutes.
Jasper turned around to face her and he was fully erect and ready. He grabbed her ankles and pulled her almost to the edge of the bed. Alice opened her thighs in anticipation. Jasper knelt between her legs and reached down to kiss her again. Her lips opened and she moaned hungrily as their tongues met. "Ride me, hard." Alice begged.
He laughed his husky laugh, Alice bit his chin and held his swollen wand in her hand, guiding it into her, she stopped to rub the tip against her eager nub and she was ready. He sunk his body slowly into hers, lord but he was huge. Alice felt tight and eager. When he was in all the way, Alice felt her inner muscles start to quiver. As he pulled out her walls tightened around him and he moaned. She relaxed as he pushed in slowly and tightened again as he pulled out. He increased the pace and Alice's hips rose to meet his. They had the rhythm going and they picked up the speed and power. Alice heard him grunting and she heard the slick, wet sounds of their sex. He stroked her good, pushing up against her sweet spot. "Oh Jasper, that's it, right there, fuck me hard."
He reached between them and stroked her nub with his thumb and she responded with a gasp and moaned, "Oh, yeah, baby." She felt the clenching ache that comes just before the release and she started to come. She gripped the sheet in both hands as she felt the electric charge run from her nub up her body and to her brain. "Ohhhh, yeees." she groaned. "It feels sooo goood." The charge coursed back down her spine and curled her toes. "Mmmm." Her body took over, because her brain ceased to function. She shuddered inside and out, her green eyes opened and she saw Jasper's hard jaw and tight face, just before his eyes closed in similar bliss.
"Ohhhh fuuuck, babe. Your pussy is so goood." His body jerked then stilled and spasmed again, then he collapsed into her arms.
Alice spent that whole afternoon and evening in her new boss' bed. They were lovers within three hours of setting eyes on each other for the very first time.
#
"You said that you haven't had sex in over a year?" Jasper asked as he stroked her thigh.
Alice ran her hand over his golden locks. "Not since I caught my boyfriend in bed, rehearsing."
"Rehearsing?" He shook his head, "Explain."
"Well he, Jake the snake, is a struggling actor. Struggling with fidelity more than anything else. One afternoon, I let myself into his apartment to surprise him and he was with an actress, in bed, naked. He said that they were 'rehearsing' for a part in an off-Broadway play but it looked a little too realistic to me. I walked out after taking his bat and wrecking the place."
"So, why has there been no one else since then?"
"Well, for a time I decided all men were no good shit eating dogs- sorry- then before I knew it, the last semester of school was upon me and I needed to spend time really concentrating on my classes. Then I traveled this past summer throughout Europe. Plenty of chances for a fling, but I don't have one night stands, I like long term relationships. So, that's why. How about you, when was the last time you had sex?"
"Well, I've had sex more recently than that, last weekend in fact. I have a friend, Sue."
"And? What's the deal? Do you love her?"
"Well, no. She's more a friend than girlfriend. It's convenient. We've been having sex for a while."
"What's a while?" Alice was getting upset.
"Six, maybe seven months."
Alice sat up. "Hmm! So why are you in bed with me?" You fucking jerk. She almost added but bit her tongue.
He reached for the hand nearest his and kissed the palm. His beautiful blue eyes were soft. "I'm not in a committed relationship with her. Plus her kisses don't make me feel the way yours do." And he tugged her back into his arms.
"I want exclusive sex with you. I don't share." Alice whispered.
"You won't have to. I'll break it off with Sue immediately."
Alice pulled his head down to her and they made love again. She felt just a twinge of pity for Sue.
#
Jasper drove Alice home close to midnight. Alice had had sense enough to call her mom that afternoon to tell her that she had met an old friend and that she would be very late. They had made love all afternoon and evening. They ordered pizza and ate it in the bed and made love again. When they got to her home she and Jasper almost had sex in the front seat of his car, parked in the driveway of her house.
"I can't. I want to, but I can't." she whispered in his ear.
"Why not?" He had unzipped her jumpsuit down to the navel and was sucking her nipple. He was trying his best to get the damn thing off.
"I can't be sure, but I think my mother is watching us from the window." She whispered.
Jasper couldn't see a person but he saw that one of the curtains was drawn aside. "Oh shit." he hurriedly zipped up her jumpsuit and took a few deep breaths. "Do you mind if I don't come up?" He indicated his arousal.
"Yes, I do mind. She won't invite you in, it's late. But she wants to see what kind of person I'm with. If you don't walk me to the door like a gentleman, she'll never like you. And believe me you can't afford to let Renee Swan dislike you."
Jasper waited another few minutes, and then walked around to open Alice's door. He held her hand and walked her up the steps. Alice opened the door with the key and he kissed her hand. "See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow."
#
"Alice, what have you been up to?" Renee Swan was very direct. Her daughters were the two most important things in her life, bar none. She worried about them constantly. Eighteen year old Bella, culinary student, was sweet and calm. And she never gave her mother cause for worry.
But Alice was another matter entirely. From the age of sixteen, Alice has been giving her mother a difficult time. Alice was headstrong, determined and very independent. In addition to that she was so gorgeous that men literally fell over themselves to please her and give her whatever she wanted. The combination of youth, willfulness and sexual power was difficult for Renee to harness.
"Mom, I got a job. I started today. Isn't that wonderful?" Alice prevaricated as she walked to the couch.
"What kind of job keeps you out until midnight on the first day? What kind of job has a man feeling you up in a car in the driveway?" Her mother didn't believe her, and not only that, Alice realized that she had seen everything that she and Jasper had been doing in the dark car.
"Mom, stop and listen, will you? I went for an interview and met with the owner of the company and I got a job. Honestly."
"Tell me more." Renee knew that Alice was hiding something.
"Well the name of the firm is Hale Designs and it's an architectural firm specializing in artful office complexes. They want creative designs not just big concrete boxes. I think he was impressed with my education as well as with my portfolio. I'll start at the bottom rung, but there is plenty of room for advancement. I'm very excited."
Her mom was quiet, waiting. Alice waited too. The silence grew until it almost throbbed in the quiet room.
"Who was that in the car?" Renee shot at Alice.
"A friend." Alice's comeback was quick, too quick.
"What's his name?"
"Jasper."
"Never heard of him. Who is he and how did you two meet?"
Alice had not prepared for this question. "Mom, why is that important? He's a nice guy. I like him a lot and I want to keep seeing him. And he wants to keep seeing me too."
"Well, I think it's important because you won't tell me anything about him, other than a first name and that you like him." Renee waited, refusing to back down from the interrogation."So?"
"You know what mom, I need to move out of here. I had my own life when I lived in New York. No one questioned me about where I'd been or with whom and I liked it that way. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. I've been out of this house for five years, and I am a woman not a child." Alice glared.
Renee glared right back. "Well move out then. But until you do, this is my house and my rules. If you don't want to obey my rules, get your own place. You have until the end of the month." Renee got up from the chair and took a step to leave the room.
"Mom," Alice called after her, "the end of the month is nine days away! I can't get a place so quickly."
"Well you better start making some calls tomorrow, then." Renee walked to the living room door, heading for bed.
"Mom, wait." Renee turned around. Alice reluctantly filled her mom in on the details. "His name is Jasper Hale and he's the owner of the company that hired me. I met him today after I finished the interview."
"Alice!" Renee had experienced almost everything there was to experience with her daughter, but this was a shock. "You're not having sex with your new boss, are you?"
"Yes." She looked defiantly at her mother. "Why shouldn't I? Lots of people meet and date on the job."
A look of utter astonishment lit up Renee's face. "Alice! This is shocking behavior, even for you! For one, you just met a man today and you've already had sex with him. What's wrong with you? That's not how I raised you. For the other, he is your boss. Is he an idiot? He can't carry on an affair with an employee."
Alice rounded on her mother and her beautiful face was alive with excitement and haughtiness. Her eyes were flashing with fire and her nose flared in anger. Renee was transfixed, her daughter looked like a wrathful goddess. "Well, I don't care. I fell for him and I wanted him and he felt the same way and so we made love. And we'll do it again, and again. Why shouldn't we? He's not married, and neither am I." Alice picked up her hand and ticked off each finger as she spoke. "One, I signed a waiver vowing not to sue for sexual harassment. Two, he also signed an agreement not to use our personal relationship against me, no matter how it turns out. Three, he is not my direct supervisor and he won't interfere with the chain of command. Four, we will keep our relationship outside of the office, inside it will be strictly business. Five, there is no policy against dating at Hale Designs."
"You signed a waiver?" Renee zeroed in on that little nugget. She was again astonished by her older daughter.
"Yes. It was my idea. Otherwise I would not have taken the job. I want him more than I want the job. And believe me I want the job very badly." Alice's chin was firm, her jaw was set in a determined clench.
Renee stood there for a very long time, staring at her daughter, wondering how on earth she could have given birth to this unbelievably beautiful, amazing, confident, determined, yet crazy young woman. She had to hand it to her, Alice knew what she wanted and she stopped at nothing to get it. If she put all that determination into her career, Renee had no doubt that her daughter would be very, very successful.
"Why? What is it about him that made you do all that?" Renee finally asked, at a loss to figure out her daughter's rash behavior.
Alice could not answer right away. Once she and Jasper had started flirting everything else had happened so quickly that Alice had had no time to stop and wonder why she had behaved so wantonly. "I don't know, mom, maybe it's love, true love." Alice shrugged.
Renee shook her head. "No." She said quietly. "There is no maybe when it comes to true love. Just don't forget to lock up." Renee turned and went upstairs to bed.
Alice stared after her mother. All the passion and anger had just drained right out of Renee. She had looked awfully sad and tired, Alice reflected. She was pretty sure that her mom was upstairs right now crying for her father. Tears sprung to Alice's eyes. Poor Renee, widowed at the age of twenty-six, her true love gone, forever. That night Alice cried quietly into her pillow, for her mother and her father, but also for herself.