She beams at me. “Thank you.”
“That said, how have you handled the audio and video?”
She nods and turns on a projector that she’d brought in. I turn to a screen.
“I used a portion of the development budget for this project to create templates there as well. The studio has agreed to package pricing, with fixed times for store and set footage. Any overage will be additional, but that’s something that can easily be worked into the purchase terms. We’ve got two options, a fifteen-second clip for web or short television and longer, thirty-second commercials for local ads.”
I cock my head to the side as she starts to explain the cost breakdown for the various offerings. Once more, they’re very favorable.
“And we’re locked in on these prices on our end?” I ask.
Harper nods again. “For the next six months. As long as footage and audio can be dragged and dropped into these templates as easily as they are on our end. But the prices are locked, and that’s how we were able to get them so low.”
I cock my head to the side. “Explain.”
“Instead of billing by the hour, they’re billing by the ad. If there’s a large overage of time, it’ll be extra, but if clients come in under time, there won’t be a reduction. Because they’re charging a set amount, they were able to come in cheaper.”
“In other words, not a ton of retakes or editing, so our scriptwriters need to have something clean and concise.”
“Exactly.”
“Show me.”
She points a remote at the projector, and a sample advertisement with some of the same brand styling as the printed matter shows on the screen behind her. Stock video plays, while a voiceover discusses the particulars of what’s included.
“You’ve double-checked the current ad-rates for the local media?” I ask once the sample commercial ends.
“Yes,” she replies. “The pricing sheets are good until next quarter, at least.”
She’s all business right now, and somehow it makes my cock perk up. I want to praise her skills while at the same time have her on her knees, thanking me for the opportunity.
“Okay. Is there anything else you want to change or add to the campaign proposal at this point?”
Harper is silent for several seconds, then shakes her head. “Not that I can think of.”
I stand and walk closer until she’s forced to look up at me.
Fuck, she’s so gorgeous.
“Prepare your materials,” I order, not realizing that I’ve used the same tone as I would when commanding one of my submissives until I’m done speaking.
Harper’s breath catches, and her pupils dilate. “Yes, sir.”
Fuck, those words from her mouth have my cock at half-mast.
I lean in, drawn to the blue in her eyes and the soft pink of her lips. “I’ll arrange a meeting with Declan and Maddox next Wednesday,” I say, my voice dropping. “You will present your proposal to them at that time.”
She nods, her eyes never leaving mine. “Okay,” she breathes.
“They’re not your bosses. They are your customers this time. You will need to sell them on this plan.”
“Yes.”
Somehow, I’m close enough that I can feel the heat of her breath across my cheeks. I reach out, and she melts into my touch as my fingers brush across her skin before plunging into the silky strands of her hair.
“We’ll meet Friday afternoon to go over your draft presentation. Can you be ready by then?”
“Friday.”
Her lips part in an invitation, and her eyelids droop in anticipation. She’s there, ready for me to take what’s mine. I gasp and step back, releasing her even as my cock protests.
Harper blinks several times as if in a daze before she clears her throat. “F-Friday. Yes. I can have a draft presentation by Friday.”
“I’ll move the meeting from morning to afternoon then,” I say, turning my back to return to the conference table. “That should give you a few extra hours to prepare. You’ll present it to me, and we can fine-tune it. We’ll run it again on Monday, and you’ll present to the three of us in one week.”
“Yes, sir.”
God, if she only knew what those two words do to me.
“I’m going to end this meeting now, and give you a chance to get started.”
“Okay,” she replies, still sounding slightly breathless.
My fingers curl into my palms as silence fills the room for several seconds, then I hear the sound of her footsteps as she walks out.
“Fuck,” I exhale. “That was damn close.”
I want her, but I know the timing is bad. The last thing she needs me introducing her to my world while she’s still stressed about her father’s health.
Too bad, my cock doesn’t agree.
Harper is absolutely stunning as she stands before the whiteboard for her practice presentation on Friday. It’s apparent that she’s considering this draft a dress rehearsal and is ready to impress a demanding client. I appreciate the initiative, but it does little to calm my libido. The top couple buttons of her white blouse are open, and the pencil skirt hugs and shows off the swell of her hips and ass.
I’m once again using the conference table as a way of hiding my erection and reminding myself every few seconds that I’m here to help her prepare to present her project to Declan and Maddox, not to get distracted.
How I’d like to be distracted by her, though, my hands caressing every inch as I grind my cock against her. I’d tease her, leaving her panting and begging before demanding that she obey. For a brief moment, my thoughts turn to pinning her against the wall, her delicate wrists held in one hand above her head while the other hand explores the velvet folds of her pussy.
Would she moan? Cry out? Would the building come running as she screamed my name?
Down boy, I order my cock as it strains against the inside of my trousers.
“Well?”
The question pulls me from my thoughts, and I see Harper staring expectantly at me.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she asks, frowning slightly and shifting, toes pointing inward.
“No!” I reply, shifting to stand before I remember my massive erection. “It was…I think we should change the order around some, but you’ve really wrapped your head around the entire initiative.”
“But, you…you didn’t say anything.”
Fuck, now I just look like an asshole.
I throw caution to the wind and stand. I walk over to where Harper is standing near a whiteboard. Her eyes noticeably drop to the prominent bulge in my pants, and she takes in a sharp breath before turning her gaze up to my face as I come nearer. She reminds me of a lost lamb, terrified to move. But the look in her eyes says she might not want to move at all.
I reach past her, hearing the tiniest sound of disappointment as I pick up a dry-erase marker. I turn to the whiteboard and draw several squares before putting the various elements of her presentation in each one. In one column is how she structured it, the other is empty except for the introduction and conclusion elements.
I turn to her, and the blue of her eyes is almost gone, a blush of arousal dusting over her cheeks.
“It’s good, Harper,” I purr. “But it can be better. Can I tell you how?”