Falling for Him 3 (Rachel and Peter in Love) Page 6

  I willingly surrendered to the passion he offered. Tipping my head to give him better access to the pulse point beneath my ear, and moaning in pleasure as he took my mouth once again.

  “Peter…”

  “Shush. Rachel, you smell so good. You feel so good. I’ve been such an ass.”

  I enjoyed his kiss for several more minutes before I finally pulled away, needing to regain my breath. I continued to tell him how things had transpired while he was gone. "I was so worried, but Robert convinced me, that you just needed time to think. He told me about your mother. And that you were probably at your uncle's cabin."

  He seemed confused, "Robert?"

  "Yes, but that's another story." I gave him an encouraging smile and another hug. I couldn’t keep my hands off him!

  Peter had tears in his eyes as he returned my hug. We kissed again and it felt so good. This is the man I belong to. I had missed him so much. Being in his arms. Waking up next to him each morning.

  He murmured, "I will never ever leave you again. You are my life."

  I nodded my head, deciding that we’d done enough talking for the time being. Standing from the couch, I pulled him with me down the hallway to my bedroom.

  We both undressed at the same time, watching each other with our eyes, and letting the promise of the pleasure to be found in each other’s arms build.

  Peter finished before me, helping to divest me of the rest of my clothing and then picking me up to tenderly laying me down in the center of my bed. He levered himself over me, making a place for himself between my thighs as I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders and bent my knees to give him more room.

  “God, Rachel, I missed you. I’m so sorry, baby.”

  I reached up and placed a gentle kiss upon his lips, “Stop. That’s all in the past now. Make love to me.”

  “Everything you wish.” Peter let his lips trace a pattern over my neck and chest, paying special attention to all the spots that he knew were sure to raise my desire even more. His hands molded my body, while my hands relearned all of his secrets as well.

  When we were both panting for breath, and I thought I’d die if he didn’t finish what he had started, I roughly tugged on his hips, “Peter. Now! I can’t wait any longer.”

  Peter murmured against my stomach, kissing his way back up my chest before quickly donning protection and then smoothly making us one in a single move.

  He held himself inside me for several minutes, both of us reveling in the feeling of being one with the other. When he began to move, the ride was short, but nonetheless explosive. There would be time enough later to draw things out. Right now, in this instance – we needed to fall off the edge of bliss together, safe in each other’s arms.

  I floated back down to earth, secure in the knowledge that Peter was back where he belonged – with me. No matter what happened in the future, we could weather it. We had each other, and together we would conquer life.

  Chapter 12

  The next day…

  Peter entered his office, and after giving his secretary Sally a heartfelt apology, sat down behind his desk. He proceeded to look through the notes that Rachel had left on Mr. Johnson’s file. The project had progressed nicely in his absence, and was on track for completion, in a just a few short weeks.

  Around 10 o’clock, Mr. Johnson called and asked if he could drop by and discuss a few things. Peter agreed and twenty minutes later Mr. Johnson walked in and took a seat.

  “You’re one very lucky man, you know that?” he said.

  Peter nodded, but before he could say a word, Mr. Johnson continued, “That little gal of yours is absolutely fantastic. She took every problem I threw at her, handled it, and then went even further to make sure safeguards were in place to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. She really saved your butt!”

  “She’s amazing. I agree.”

  “Well, I don’t know where you found her, but you should double her salary or someone else will snatch her away soon."

  Peter smiled to himself. It’s a good thing he doesn’t know I don’t pay her at all. She’s not even my employee! She’s the love of my life, and I’m going to make damn sure that nobody will ever snatch her away from me!

  “I’ll pass along your praise.”

  “Where is she today? I was hoping to discuss the new project with her.”

  Peter smiled again, trying to hide his unease. He couldn’t say ‘Rachel is working at her real job’. Instead he informed him, “She’s taking a much deserved day off.”

  “Good to see you’re taking care of your employees. Well, I have several more projects lined up, and I want Rachel heading them all. I’ll just leave these contracts with you. Have her give me a call in the next day or so and we’ll get the ball rolling. Glad things worked out between our companies. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

  “Glad to hear it. Don’t worry about a thing Jim; we appreciate your willingness to give us a second chance to fix the problems with the last project. I assure you, you’ll receive the best customer service from here on out.”

  Mr. Johnson left the office and Peter took a glance at the new contracts, his eyebrows going up as he spotted the figures. These were enough to cover at least 50% of the needed income for his company. For an entire year!

  Realizing that these contracts were a huge godsend, he instantly worried how to meet Mr. Johnson’s demands. Mr. Johnson wanted Rachel to manage the projects. But Rachel was not available. She worked for someone else.

  Once the client left, Peter pondered the circumstances. He needed to figure this situation out. Wouldn't it be great if we could work together?

  He toyed with different options. He and Steve had discussed the need to hire another person but had put it off after the last attempt hadn’t been a success. Steve had hired a substitute for him while he recovered from his accident. Unfortunately this employee had not performed up to expectations and they had to let him go shortly after Peter returned to work. Since then both of them had been reluctant to search for another person.

  Still, Peter wanted to focus on acquiring new clients and expanding their capabilities. In order for that to occur he needed someone to handle the day-to-day projects, and keep on top of things. Someone who made decisions when necessary. Someone who was a self-starter and had the company’s best interest at heart. Someone like Rachel.

  Taking a breath, he decided that before he even considered moving the company forward, the two partners in said company needed to reconcile. Picking up his phone, he called Steve.

  “Hello?”

  “Steve, it’s Peter.” There was a lengthy silence across the line. “You still there?”

  Peter heard Steve sigh before he answered. “Yeah. I heard you were back.”

  “You did? From whom?” Peter wondered, only a few people knew he’d returned to town.

  “Robert. I ran into him last night.”

  “Oh.” Peter struggled for where to begin his apology. “Steve…”

  “Peter…,” they spoke at the same time.

  “Sorry. Go ahead,” Peter told him.

  “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry about our fight.”

  Peter was taken aback, “You are sorry? I was….”

  “Man, I was so frustrated with your mood swings and your crazy guilt. When I came home that afternoon and told my wife that we’d been fighting, she really laid into me. She wanted me to call you right away and apologize, but my stubborn pride got in the way.”

  “Dude, I doubt it would have done any good right then. I was pretty messed up that day.”

  “Did you get your head screwed on straight yet?”

  Peter huffed out a breath. This was harder than he’d thought. Taking a breath, he forged on, “Look man, I’m sorry for how I reacted that day. This thing with Lara threw me for a loop and I let it affect every aspect of my life. And yes, I’m back.”

  “Good. I wanted to help you, but you weren’t letting anyone in. I didn’t know wh
at to do. I felt so inadequate when the clients started calling me. You know, I’m great with numbers and such, but when it comes to doing the actual programming and software manipulation – I’m at a complete loss. Here I was, a partner in a company that I couldn’t even perform the work in.”

  Steve continued; “I guess I was hoping to get a reaction out of you. I thought if I made you mad, maybe you could throw off the despair that ruled your life and get back to work. Guess my plan backfired on us both, huh?”

  Peter nodded, “Maybe. It did kind of wake me up. After you left, Jim Johnson arrived and I blew up at him. Like, I yelled at him and basically accused him of being the reason his project wasn’t coming along. I all but called the man cheap.”

  Steve laughed, “I know. Robert filled me in, he suspected that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and had you running for your uncle’s cabin. In fact, I was just going to call you when my phone rang. I don’t know where we go from here, but let’s see if there’s anything left of the company worth salvaging.”

  “I thought you talked to Robert?” Peter asked.

  “I did. He insisted I should call you. I know I screwed up…”

  “Look, Steve. No more apologies. That’s in the past now. I know why Robert wanted you to contact me.”

  “Why?”

  “While I was gone, Rachel stepped in and with Robert’s help, they managed to salvage the company.”

  “Really?” Steve sounded shocked, “Man, I had written it off. I figured I’d be hearing from a bankruptcy lawyer any day.”

  “Well, Rachel saved both of our stubborn asses. We owe her big time.” Peter informed him about Rachel taking over Mr. Johnson’s project and the new contracts he had delivered this morning.

  “That’s fantastic!”

  “Well, it is. But there’s one small problem we have to deal with.”

  “What’s that?” Steve asked.

  “Jim is insistent on Rachel handling all of his projects from here on out.”

  Steve was silent for a moment before he said, “So we hire her. We’ve been talking about hiring another person anyways.”

  Peter grinned, his happiness traveling through the phone, “I was hoping you’d say that. I’m heading over there in a few hours and I’ll see what she thinks about the idea.”

  “Great! I’m glad you’re back man. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. We have a company to get back on its feet.”

  “Yes we do. See ya.”

  Peter hung up the phone; smiling and enthused about the direction his company was headed for the first time in months. And it was all because of Rachel. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to his offer.

  Chapter 13

  I arrived home from work, changed my clothes and took care of some chores. Peter was coming over later and I couldn’t wait to see him. I was so happy that things were getting back to normal with us.

  When he rang the doorbell, I found myself almost skipping to answer it. “Hey!” I said, opening the door and hugging him.

  Peter hugged me back, pushing me inside the apartment and shutting the door. He immediately turned me so my back was against the door and kissed me senseless. Not that I minded one bit!

  After that greeting, I was more than happy to sit with him on the couch as he told me about his day. Unlike the day before, I was sitting right next to him, our thighs touching.

  “I looked over what you did on the Johnson project and I must say I’m impressed. I knew you were good, but I didn’t realize how well you could handle problems and such.”

  “Thanks. You should have seen me right after I met Mr. Johnson though. I was a nervous wreck and doubting I’d be able to meet his demands.”

  “You did fine. Better than I was doing.”

  I blushed at his praise while I secretly pumped my fist into the air. Peter thought I’d done a good job! Yay me!

  “Mr. Johnson stopped by this morning and couldn’t praise you enough for the job you did for his company. He also brought by not one contract, but five new contracts.”

  “Five?” I asked, unable to believe how well things were turning out. “Peter that’s great news. I bet Steve will be happy to hear that.”

  “He was indeed.”

  “You talked to Steve?”

  “I called him and before you ask, I did apologize. Things are fine now and we’ve decided to go ahead with our marketing and expansion plans.”

  I leaned over and hugged him; “I’m so excited for you.” Peter had talked about their plans for expanding the company often before the accident, but then those plans had been tabled. I was happy things were going so well for him now.

  “There is one little glitch I was hoping you could help me figure out.”

  Peter was asking me for advice? Wow! “Sure. I’ll try.”

  “Great! It seems that Mr. Johnson has become quite attached to your work style. In fact, the contracts are contingent on you handling them from start to finish.”

  “But, Peter, I already have a job…”

  “I know that. Believe me, it was the first thing that I thought of when he mentioned it. I’ve spoken with Steve and he’s in full agreement that we need you to come work for us.”

  “For you? But I thought…”

  “Look, the guy Steve hired to replace me while I recovered from the accident didn’t work out. We let him go shortly after I returned and haven’t replaced him yet. In order for our expansion plans to work, I need to concentrate on acquiring new clientele and the marketing aspect of the company. Steve’s forte is administration and finance. That means we need someone to serve as the main project manager over the daily operations. We need you, Rachel.”

  I was floored. Peter was offering me a job working with him. I’d get to see him every day. But he’d also be my boss and that could prove difficult for our relationship.

  “I can see the wheels turning in your head. Let me spell it out for you more clearly. What Steve and I are offering you is more of a work contract to handle the operations of our company. You’d be assigned primarily to Mr. Johnson and the new contracts. You have full say over them from start to finish. As the company grows, you also have a say in new hires and their duties.

  I’m not offering you a job so much as I’m offering you a partnership. Neither Steve nor I want you to think of us as your bosses.”

  Hearing him explain things thus, I began to relax and see a bright future for us both. “What about my current job?”

  “I think when you explain what you’ll be doing, your bosses will be happy for you. You are brilliant and deserve to be center stage, not picking up after others. What do you think?”

  I bit my lip as I battled with myself over my decision. I quickly weighed the pros and cons and the pros definitely won. Hands down. I slowly nodded my head, picking up speed when I saw the smile light up Peter’s face, “Yes. Yes, I want to work with you.”

  Chapter 14

  The next day, I arrived at work early, wanting to catch my bosses before too much time elapsed. I explained to them the opportunity that Peter and Steve had extended to me, and they were very understanding.

  “Rachel, we’ll be very sorry to see you leave us, but the opportunity you’re being given is one you can’t pass up. Realistically, it would probably take you five years here to get to that point.”

  “I’m going to miss working here. You have both been great teachers and I’ve learned a lot.”

  “You’re welcome to stop in and say ‘Hi’ anytime. And we want you to know that if for some reason things don’t work out with Peter’s company, you will always have a place here.”

  I nodded and shook both of their hands, happy that we were parting as friends and colleagues. Silicon Valley wasn’t such a big place that I could afford to make enemies.

  I offered to work out my two weeks’ notice, but they told me that since I still had vacation time coming, I could use it in lieu of working out my notice. That meant I could start working on Mr. Johnson’s projects im
mediately. Peter was going to be so happy to hear that!

  Happily I agreed and spent the rest of the morning cleaning out my desk and saying farewell to my co-workers.

  A little after lunch, I left and headed over to Peter’s office. He didn’t know I was coming, and I was hoping to surprise him.

  Sally gave me a cheeky grin and a hug as I entered carrying a small box with my office supplies. When I inquired where Peter was, she gestured to his office, offering to let me leave my box next to her desk. “Peter’s on the phone, but it should be fine if you sneak in.”

  I thanked her and quietly made my way to his office, pushing the cracked door open enough to slip inside. Peter was on the phone, with his back turned towards the office door. Quietly I walked across the floor, hoping to sneak up on him.

  “Yeah, I understand,” I heard him say to the person on the other end of the phone.

  He was quiet for a moment while the other person talked and then said, “When is she getting out?” Was he talking about Lara?

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Yes.”

  “I assume her father is picking her up?” I’m now sure he’s talking about Lara.

  Giving up the pretense of sneaking up on him, I walked heavily around his desk and gave him an innocent smile, pretending I hadn’t overheard a word.

  He looked startled to see me for only a second and then pulled me to his side and gave me a big smile, “Hey, Jake, I gotta go. Thanks for the info. Keep me informed, will ya?”

  “You too.” Peter set down the phone and then pulled me into his arms for a full hug. “What are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon?”

  I pulled away from him and struggled to keep the questions about Lara from bursting forth. “I talked with my bosses today and I’m all yours from now on. They’re letting me use the rest of my vacation time to cover my notice.”

  “That’s fantastic! Especially since Jim called this morning wanting to set up a meeting with you to get started.” Peter laughed and I joined him.