Hired To Be Mine

Chapter 13

"...So, any more questions?" Nicole asked as she straightened the stack of papers in front of her and glanced at everyone else in the room.

Salim watched closely as everyone shook their heads in negative. He was amazed at how efficiently Nicole gave the presentation. Though his team didn't go easy on her and shot so many random questions at her - a few which he thought ridiculous - Nicole answered them all patiently and with an air of confidence. As he saw there were no more questions to torture his girlfriend, he called it off for the day.

Everyone got up from their seats and rushed back to their stations to get to work. The 'Pink october' Fashion Show and Auction was just a couple of days away and there was a lot to do. As Nicole gathered her belongings and stood up, she let out a huge breath of relief.

"You did great", Salim said as he stalked towards her with hungry eyes. He had to sit through the entire meeting with a hard on, where there were around twenty other people who were intently listening to the woman who was the reason of his agony.

Not once did he open his mouth, because he knew if he did it would either be a groan of s****l frustration or a moan of pleasure, watching her sexy ass in that ass hugging skin tight jeans and crop top.

He closed the distance between them, Nicole's eyes widened as he pressed his lips to hers in a hungry desperate kiss. She didn't hold back and kissed him with equal passion. And it dawned on him that neither was she immune to the s****l frustration as he was. He deepened the kiss by thrusting his tongue into her mouth and dominated the kiss.

Her hands snaked around his neck and fisted his hair as he bent low to savor each moment of the kiss. He pulled her closer by her waist, so close that there was no space left even for the hair to pass. Their lips collided like the ship to an iceberg and neither of them wanted to surface from the flood of passion, but unfortunately the need for oxygen overwhelmed them and they both parted their lips from each other.

"I missed you", his voice a hoarse whisper dripping with want, need and raw passion.

She chuckled lightly pulling down his head so that their foreheads touched, "You just saw me this morning",

"Yeah, but I didn't get to kiss these beautiful lips", he dropped a feather like kiss on her lips, "And I didn't get to stare at this amazing body", his hands roamed her body, keeping her close to him, "And I definitely didn't get to feel this sexy ass", his hands stopped right below her ass where he gave her a light squeeze.

She gasped loudly and pushed away from him, as her face flamed red. He smirked mischievously at her flustered face. "You... You...", she stuttered for words,

"What is it, babe? You got no words?" he asked leaning against the wooden conference table and crossed his arms against his chest,

"You are so bad", she reprimanded as if scolding a kid,

Salim just shrugged his shoulders and Nicole knew why her scoldings often went unheard and unrecognized by her kids. Because they were so weak that even a three year old wouldn't find it condemning.

She squared her shoulders and lifted up her chin, "I have work Mr. Sheikh. See you later". His amused look turned into a frown when she called him with her last name. She smirked as she turned away knowing very well that she got him.

A gasp escaped her lips and the stack of papers flew out of her hands as she felt a stinging slap on her butt cheeks. She turned around to see a narrow eyed Salim standing very close to her. Actually so close that she could feel his breath on her forehead.

She felt his hands snake around her waist and rest on top of her buttocks. "Next time, you call me by my last name, you get a nice round of spanking until that pretty little ass turns beet red", his husky voice whispered as he tapped the ass cheek where he slapped her.

Nicole's eyes widened in surprise and a little excitement. She never thought of the 'Christian Grey' version of s*x before. She sure read the book and fantasized a little, but never imagined it to actually happen with her. She could feel her arousal build up and her breath quicken.

Their lips moved on their own accord until they met with each other to satiate the salvation.

She had work. Work which was very important for her. She was going to design jewelry for the Pink october auction. She couldn't let her desire come in between her work, but what damage would an hour of pleasure could do? As the kiss deepened, she realized may be an hour wouldn't be enough, may be she needed more than that to satisfy her building passion.

"Work", she said hastily and pulled away from his vice like grip. His dark look filled with animalistic hunger, lust and passion dampened her panties. "I have work", she whispered shaking her head.

Salim let out a growl of denial as he pulled her closer by her waist, "I want you", he said stubbornly.

She smiled at him, "I want you too", she added as she placed a hand to his racing chest, "But there is a time and situation for everything. I neither believe nor do the 'act in the moment' kind of stuff. I would prefer to be loved in the closed confines of a bedroom rather in the conference room where anybody can walk in and ruin the moment. I hope you understand", she added the last words in a whisper.

Salim looked surprised. His admiration for this woman grew with each passing moment and this moment was one of those. He nodded his head in understanding and Nicole's eyes gleamed with happiness. He kissed her forehead and let her go.

He watched with a new set of feelings as the woman who was occupying his heart and soul in a very slow pace, walked out of the room.

****

The day of the fashion show arrived and Nicole was all nerves. She got up at four, not that her alarm rang at that time, but because she couldn't sleep all night with her excitement.

She giggled loudly in her room and did a little jumping and shook her hips in an attempt to happy dance. Somehow it helped her to ease her nerves a little. However her little 'Hippy dance' which she named it, didn't help her that day.

She walked into the kitchen and whipped the flour to make some pancakes. In her state of over-excitement she whipped so much of all ingredients that she could feed an entire army. She sighed and looked over the clock that hung over the wall opposite the kitchen. Half past four and she had plenty of time. She tied her hair up in a messy bun and decided to cook.

She made dozens and dozens of pancakes and piled them onto the serving dishes. When the batter was almost over and it was just five past five, she decided to make some fresh maple syrup and tomato sausages as a side dish. By the time she was done with the food preparation it was almost six o clock and she decided to run a bath.

After being soaked in the warm water for nearly forty five minutes until her skin started to turn soggy, and after drying her hair and painting her nails twice. She started to get dressed. She still had to make sure the final arrangements were perfect and would probably anticipate the drama that would unfold after the models arrived, so she wanted to look professional yet sexy.

The former look for her work-mates and the latter look was for someone really special.

She chose a sexy lingerie, a black number instead of her cotton grandma panties. She looked herself in the mirror in that semi nude state, after a long time and examined her body. She was slim, by some miracle she lost all the baby fat after her three boys were born. May be the nights she slept hungry so that she could feed her kids did that to her. Or maybe it was just her luck.

Many told her, she didn't look like a mother of three kids at all and that was exactly true, she thought as she examined her body. But the proof of her motherhood was there. The stretch marks, her saggy breasts were the beginnings of that proof.

A sense of insecurity crept her heart which she quickly shook away. Salim knew she was a mother of three demanding kids. If he wanted someone flawless and model-like then he could date someone like else. There was no scarcity of such women for a man like him. But if he wanted her then he had to accept and respect how she was. She was proud of her stretch marks which were a reminder that she carried her boys in her womb for ten months and her saggy breasts told her that though she stayed hungry and unfed for a few nights, she never let her kids feel that way ever. The boys were fed and nourished as any baby in this world should be. So, Salim be damned if he repulsed her body.

With that determination she sucked in a much needed breath and stepped into a black full sleeved dress, which had a collar around her sweetheart neckline and the dress reached above her knees. She paired her dress with black plumps. She so badly wanted to wear her silver heels, but she knew with the amount of walking she would be doing, her feet would turn blisters even before it was time for the auction.

She let her hair down in soft curls, but placed a few bobby pins and clips in case she decided to tie it up in a bun, later. As she was sure she was all set for her day ahead, she came out of her room and went to wake her kids up.

"Good morning boys", she said turning the fan off and lights on. A trick she learned to wake her kids up without startling them from sleep.

They all groaned in annoyance and pulled their duvets over their heads to shield their eyes from the light.

She giggled and slid behind Ray who was sleeping on the lower bed alone and tickled him continuously until he was a laughing mess. "Come on. Get up you three", she said as she got up from the bed and shook the pair who were a tangled mess on the upper bunk bed. She ruffled their hairs which annoyed them out of their sleep.

Three pairs of chocolate brown eyes glared at her. She giggled and "Five minutes. Out of the bed and brush your teeth", she said and walked out of the room.

The door bell rang and she smiled brightly and walked up to the door, "Ana! I was just going to ring you up", she said as she ushered her friend into the house.

"Ow... you missed me?" her blind friend gushed over as she walked beside her and linked her arms with Nicole. Ana sniffed the air, "Sweet jesus, how many pancakes did you make?" she asked chuckling slightly.

"Er.. I was a little nervous so..." she trailed off leading them to the kitchen counter where every thing was arranged.

"So you cooked for the entire Militia?" Ana laughed out loud.

"Hush up you. Help yourselves with as many servings as you want. The boys are probably dragging themselves out of the bed now, so keep an eye out on them", she said immediately glanced at her friend for any signs of hurt or flinch, when she asked her to 'keep an eye out' but surprisingly she found none. Only a amused look graced Ana's lips as she smiled at her.

"Go, I know you must be getting late. I will take care of your boys. And by the way, sexy perfume", Ana commented with a mischievous look on her face.

Nicole blushed knowing very well what that compliment was hinting at. She quickly pecked Ana's cheek and yelled a 'Bye and behave' to her kids and walked out towards the door.

****

"I want everything perfect and you know the drill", he said to the event managers team who were all dressed in suits and wearing a ear peice, which was constantly buzzing. "There will be a lot of celebrities and media representatives present in this show, and I don't any scandal to break out. Check the passes thrice before you let anyone in. Make sure all the models are sober and sane. I don't want anyone tripping on the ramp or collapsing out of exhaustion while they are modeling 'my' jewelry. And yes, make sure no one and I mean no one tries to create a scene while the show is on. I want things to be perfect and peaceful", he said sternly before all of them despersed back to their stations.

"O'Connell, where's Kelly?" he asked turning towards the 'man in black'. The latter shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'how the hell am I supposed to know?'. Salim sighed, "Would you please like to call and check on her?" he asked rather irritated and massaged his temples. Richard knew better than to argue with his boss while he was in a bad mood. So, he took his phone out and called the number, which was on his speed dial.

Salim was beyond frustrated. Apparently Eugene organized for a lot of media and press than usual. And he was a little apprehensive on how things would turn out at the auction as he was planning to take Nicole as his date. The ache between his eye brows just intensified with the numerous possibilities that flashed in his mind, on how things could go worse.

"She is here", Richard's voice bought a little comfort to his bad mood.

"Kelly. Where the hell have you been", he asked as Kelly fast walked towards the two men. She looked like she just saw a ghost and was completely out of breath like she was chased by it as well. She looked at both of them in their eyes as they glanced at her questioningly.

"Anya Khan is here", four words which shook Salim. His bad mood just turned to worse with just four words. The moment he felt like there can be nothing worse than this, Kelly dropped another bomb of seven words on him, "And she wants to meet you. Now".