Sealing the Deal

But the best feature of this or any other of her come and get it ensembles was on her left finger. Her white gold wedding band and impressive diamond engagement ring nestled behind it.

Nothing sexier to her than admiring her rings while her hand was on a strong chest, or better yet wrapped around a nice fat cock. The times she pumped a guy as he came and some of his cum dripped onto her rings never failed to send a delicious shudder of forbidden pleasure through her.

She'd meant what she said, win or lose at this meeting she was going out and getting what she needed. Hopefully it was to continue a night of winning and she'd see the white icing destined to be on her body as being on a figurative cake.

If not, tonight's fuck would be one where she'd feel better than usual about Peter being upset. After all, it wasn't even close to what he deserved for potentially ruining this for them, and possibly their company in the process. All because even back then he couldn't man up and take what he wanted for himself.

"Damn, this place is something." Peter said as they took the long ride up to the top floor. "The carpeting in the elevator is expensive as hell."

"Some people believe in springing for the best." Jill told him pointedly. "Others settle for the rest."

"I think I got the best when it comes to women," he leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head and put her hand in his face.

"Stop schmoozing, and fair warning, this goes south, you'll be lucky if I let you so much as jerk off on my feet for the next few months." She stared daggers into him. "Best you might get is to lick someone else's cum off them."

Peter tried to match her glare, but quickly gave up and looked ahead into the mirrored wall of the elevator. Jill used the mirror to adjust her long silver earrings that ended in a pearl drop shaped topaz.

They matched the silver choker with a large turquoise over the clasp. Jill enjoyed the contrast of the elegant set versus her slutty outfit and dissolute appearance the makeup leant to her.

"Of course, he has a penthouse suite," she sighed.

"It was the one Gabrielle and Christian had. It was paid for until tomorrow, they probably left him the key." Peter explained.

"But it still is a form of intimidation and showing off," Jill pointed out.

"Right," he hefted the black leather briefcase. "Not even sure why I brought this, he's only meeting with me for payback."

"You brought it because your wife won't let you take the coward's way out." She reminded him coolly.

They exited the elevator and Peter looked at the sign indicating the direction of the four suites that took up the entire top floor. He indicated the left and Jill walked down the long corridor marveling at the plush carpet, beautiful paneling, and the expensive and tasteful art adorning the walls.

A few steps from the door to Xavier's suite, Peter took her hand. Jill resisted the urge to shake it off. It would look better for them to appear to be getting along. Peter rang the bell, and a few seconds later there was a buzz, and they heard the door click.

Peter opened it and after giving her a tight smile, stepped aside to let her enter first. Whether that was trying to look chivalrous, or make her face Xavier first, she wasn't sure, but with the door now open, she wasn't going to try and argue.

She stepped into a short corridor and waited for Peter to close the door behind her before walking through the hallway and into the suite. Jill was confronted by an enormous room populated with what looked like antique mahogany furniture.

A gorgeous glass coffee table gilded in what she was sure was real gold sat amid a long black sofa with two matching recliners opposite it. On one end was a loveseat, across from that another recliner.

A large desk sat against the wall with a leather chair in front of it, and what looked to be a 65" flat screen TV on the wall to her right. To her left were sliding doors that led out to the balcony.

The drapes were open to show off the view of the Chicago skyline, and Jill found she couldn't even guess at what this suite cost for the duration of the event. She knew Christian and Gabrielle were well to do, but this was the poshest room she'd ever been in.

"Evening, Mrs. Brennan," a smooth deep voice spoke behind her. "May I get you a drink?"

She turned to see a tall man standing behind a full sized bar with an array of liquor bottles and glasses that would shame most regular drinking establishments.

Xavier Burns was as impressive as everything else in the suite. Only visible from the waist up, Jill guessed him to be at least six three for his belt to be even with the bar itself. He wore a plain white t-shirt that stretched across a set of wide shoulders and showed off a pair of well developed biceps.

His pectorals were prominent beneath the shirt further proving his muscular build. He had his arms folded over beneath his chest and Jill took in both his thick forearms and the large powerful looking hands resting lightly just over his elbows.

The neck up was just as fine. Jill hadn't bothered checking online to see what he looked like and wasn't sure what to expect. What she didn't expect was for him to have a perfectly shaved head.

It was a look she generally didn't go for, but his features were so perfect, she found herself thinking it worked for him. Even from several feet away she could see how bright his eyes were.

Not just green, but emerald; like cat's eyes. His high cheek bones, strong jaw and dimpled chin could have landed him a career in modeling, but his lips, as full and sensual as most women made him even more beautiful.

That wasn't' a word she normally used for a man, but she'd be damned if he wasn't. But not a pretty boy by any means, the set of his jaw, his strong build and those piercing eyes gave him an air of command and aura of animal magnetism no pretty boy could ever manage.

"Yes? No?" he cocked his head and she wanted to smack herself, she'd been caught by surprise, and never answered him.

"Yes, that would be lovely," she replied. "An appletini would be great."

"Jack and coke or rum and coke." Xavier flashed her a smile as amazing as the rest of him. "Anything and coke, I can't mix drinks to save my life."

"Then Jack and coke it is," she returned his smile with one of her own, and knew that smile, and the way she made it obvious her eyes were pleased with what they saw, had an air, of 'what have we here' to it, she usually reserved for her prey of the evening.

"Coming up," he picked up the bottle of Jack Daniels, while expertly flipping a glass onto the bar, he added several dollops of the strong bourbon before removing a coke from under the bar and popping it open.

He poured precious little soda into the glass, before plucking a couple of ice cubes from somewhere under the bar and adding them. Jill had approached the bar as he made the drink, her eyes on his hands and forearms, enjoying the way the tendons moved smoothly beneath his deeply tanned skin.

She noticed his eyes dart from the glass to her as she grew closer and was pleased to see them moving from her breasts to her legs. For a moment, their gazes met, and knowing she'd seen him looking, he gave her a sly smile as if to say, "got me."

Jesus, he was something. Why was he a client whose mercy they were at, and not some stud at a bar she could throw herself at?

"Sorry, I tend to make them strong." He handed her the glass. "Is it too much?"

She took a sip, pressing her lips hard enough to the glass that when she lowered it, there was lipstick on it. She released sharp breath as the bourbon burned pleasantly down her throat and left a warm happy trail down to her stomach.

"Perfect, I like my drinks, like I do everything else, hard enough to do the job."

"I like that," he laughed, a rich throaty one that she was sure made others around him laugh as well. "But I'm not surprised you'd like a bold drink; you certainly look like a bold woman."

"No, just someone who knows what they want, and doesn't see any point pretending otherwise."

"I couldn't agree more, Mrs. Brennan," he extended his hand. "Xavier Burns, pleasure to meet you."

"Jill, please," she let him take her hand and a shiver went through her when she felt the restrained power in his large grip.

He lifted her hand and gently brushed his lips across the back of it.

"Jill it is, but only if I'm Xavier, deal?"

"You're the boss," she gave him a sultry smile and didn't try to pull away when he continued to hold her hand to his face.

"Your skin cream, Epara?"

"It is," she laughed lightly, "You know your skin cream," she took a chance with her next comment. "Or is it just women's skin you're familiar with?"

"Hmm," he nodded in approval at her remark. "I am a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to cream and women's skin," he hesitated just long enough so she knew the double entendre was intentional. "I have great olfactory recall, a good memory, and..."

He lowered his voice to a secretive whisper. "I did a campaign for them a few years back and spent a month sniffing samples of all their products," he gave her a wink and released her hand.

"No wonder it sells so well," Jill nodded. "Your reputation is well earned."

"Depends on which one we're talking about." He told her in an easy tone that told her he was no stranger to flirting.

Her eyes darted to his left hand, no wedding band. Amazing he was still single, or maybe he never wore one. Not that it mattered considering her reason for being there, but she wondered if he were a smooth harmless flirt, or did he back his smack?

"H...hey Xavier," Peter spoke behind her.

She'd been so enamored; she had forgotten he was somewhere behind her. But the second he spoke, she wanted to roll her eyes. He stammered just saying hello and she could hear the nerves in his voice.

The way Xavier's upper lip twitched fractionally before turning into a tight smile told her he'd heard it to.

"Peter, it's been a long time." He came out from behind the bar, and walked over, his hand extended.

Jill turned and watched him shake Peter's hand. It wasn't lost on her, that he didn't even offer her husband a drink, and she took two long swallows of hers to try and settle her nerves, because she already had a bad feeling about how this was going to go.

The muscles in Xavier's forearm bunched and she saw Peter wince as he squeezed his hand too hard. Seeing the two of them side by side, she couldn't believe they were the same age.

Peter had held up well over the years, but his former roommate and friend could pass for a much younger man. Jill couldn't help dropping her gaze to check out the waist down.

Xavier wore a pair of black jeans with rips in them, the kind people paid extra to come ripped no doubt, and they were as snug as the shirt. His waist was narrow in comparison to his shoulders, and she resisted the urge to suck on her lower lip at the size of the bulge between his thighs.

"I appreciate you meeting us," Peter extricated his hand from Xavier's. "How was your flight?"

"It was a flight, and its no trouble, I'm sure this will be quick."

He turned and walked to the center of the room, flopping down in one of the recliners opposite the couch. "Come on over and have a seat."

Jill glanced Peter's way and saw he already looked defeated. She wasn't sure she could blame him, but for fucks sake, couldn't he at least try to look confident? They sat on the couch, and as Peter put the brief case on the coffee table and opened it, Jill leaned back into the plush cushion.

She crossed her left leg over her right knee, giving Xavier a full view all the way to her hip. He made no attempt to hide he was following the maneuver, and as he had at the bar, he gave her a coy smile when he noticed her noticing.

"I'm sure Christian and Gabrielle filled you in on our meetings, and what they were looking for," Peter pulled out the red binder containing a copy of the campaign.

"They did," Xavier had brought his drink with him, a something and coke, and as he sipped it, his eyes met hers.

"I hope they told you how happy they were with it," Jill chimed in before sipping her own drink.

"They did say they were impressed," he smiled, giving her some hope, then quickly took it away. "But they tend to be a little impulsive and enthusiastic, that's why they pay me, to save them from them, and wasting money and time as they have so often in the past."

"I've been accused of being a lot of things, but never a waste of time," Jill kept up the flirting, then made a show of chugging the rest of her drink, before licking her lips. "Damn that went down easy."

Xavier began to speak but stopped when Peter hissed at her. "Jill, please!"

She looked his way and their eyes met, Peter's expression clearly said, "cool it!" and in a rare instance, she wondered if he were right, she might be going to far.

"Have to say you surprise me Peter." Even though he addressed him, Xavier's eyes remained on her. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"What? That I could have my own firm?"

"No, that doesn't surprise me, you did have talent, and if nothing else, you demonstrated you'd stop at nothing to get what you wanted."

He delivered the statement conversationally, but Jill felt as if he'd kicked her in the stomach. Peter was right, this meeting was nothing but a set up for Xavier to pay him back for betraying him.

"I was speaking about Jill," Xavier continued in that smooth, melodic, meant for radio voice. "You not only punched over your weight class, but I daresay you landed a flat out trophy wife."

"Jill went to school for fashion and marketing, she's a legitimate partner and contributor in our firm."

"I'm more than a pretty face is what he's saying," Jill joked to try and keep it light.

"I'm sorry if either of you feel insulted, I meant it as a compliment," he pointed to Jill. "Both to your beauty, and to Peter's being savvy enough to know he has a secret weapon at his disposal if he needs it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" For the first time Peter didn't sound nervous, instead he had that tone of indignation he often had with her.

"Simply that she's distracting and knows it. Lot of men still think with the wrong head, and I'm sure Jill can get the little one to make the big one a bit fuzzy when it comes to what they agree too."

"I know the last time we saw each other didn't end well," Peter had an edge to his voice. "But that's no reason to insult my wife."

"I don't believe she's offended," he gestured to her with his glass. "Are you insulted, Jill?"

"Not at all," she slid her heel over her knee, easing it out of the strap, and let her shoe dangle from her toes. "If you got it flaunt it," she met his gaze. "Men can do that to, but I think you know that don't you?"

"I like you, Jill," he leaned forward and put his glass on the table, his eyes lingering on her legs. "You weren't blowing smoke about being bold."

"Smoke isn't something I'd consider worth blowing."

"Now I'm really surprised, unless he's changed quite a bit, Peter never struck me as someone who could handle a woman who's so blatant in her sexuality."

"I thought we were here to talk business, not my marriage." Peter leaned over to hand Xavier the proposal.

"We'll get there," Xavier took the binder, but didn't open it. "I'm getting acquainted with your wife. Is that okay?"

"Acquainted and crude innuendos are different things."

"Huh, and here I thought I was the one with green eyes." Xavier smirked. "You know jealousy is a sign of low self-esteem, right?"

"Xavier," Peter began, but Jill cut him off before he could shoot his way out of any slim chance they might have.

"Peter doesn't like that I dress for attention, likes it less that I get it."

"This isn't the time," Peter whispered so quietly she could barely hear him.

"Understandable. I imagine seeing you're younger and so out of his league he worries about other men swooping in."

"He's right here," Peter scowled. "And he wants to talk shop."

"You're right, he has issues with me showing off and being a little flirty but know what I say?" she pushed herself from the cushion and put her glass on the table.

She made sure to lean over far enough to give him a look down her shirt and catch a glimpse of her lace teal bra.

"My body, my rules." She finished as she straightened and matched Xavier's smile with one of her own.

"I do believe my old friend is out of his league in every way. Obvious who wears the pants here."

"I prefer pants to be on the floor rather than still being worn." Jill leaned back into the sofa and cross her legs once more.

Xavier's gaze returned to her legs, and his eyes narrowed. Jill wasn't sure what had his attention until he asked.

"Are we talking about just Peter's pants?"

The anklet. Xavier knew just what it meant, at least in combination with her bold behavior. The thrill she would have normally felt at a man that hot knowing she could be had, was mixed with the place and time, would this hurt their chances?

"Enough about this," Peter had that same childish put off tone he always had with her on the subject, and she was sure if Xavier still had any doubt he'd just removed it.

"All I can say is talk about irony," Xavier muttered and this time there was no smile on his face.

He lifted the proposal and opened it. "Let's see what we have here, shall we?"

"Please do," Jill looked quickly at Peter, but he was leaning forward, his hands clasped in his lap so he wouldn't run them through his hair.

They remained silent as Xavier slowly turned each page, thoroughly reading everything. Jill knew he was taking his time on purpose to ramp up their nerves, odds are he already heard about it from his bosses.

Jill forced herself to remain still and quiet, and to not look back at Peter even though she could feel him looking her way several times.

"Hmm," Xavier looked over the last page and closed the binder. "This is good work. I like the concept; the art mockups are flashy and appealing. I can tell your wife had a hand in this, Peter, your work is always technically solid, but you lack splash, and this has a lot of that."

"Thank you," Jill beamed at him.

"I have to say this time I agree with Chris and Gabby, this is exactly the type of ad they need."

"Good to hear," Peter spoke slowly to keep his nerves in check as he pulled a manilla envelop from the briefcase. "We drew up a contract. Once you sign it, we'll call the office tomorrow and have people start working on it so by the time we get back in two days they'll have some initial..."

He trailed off when Xavier shook his head.

"Oh, I'm not signing anything, Peter."

"But you said it was just what they needed!" he protested.

"It is, and it's a shame to turn down such quality work, but I'll be telling Chris and Gabby its not what they need." He tapped the binder. "Going to take a good lie as to why, but I'll come up with something."

"I...I don't understand," Peter kept pressing. "They saw this, they know what's in it. Aren't they going to question why you turned it down?"

"I get paid for years of expertise and to do what's best for them, and I can easily convince them anything I decide is what's best for them."

"But..."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Xavier exclaimed, causing Jill to flinch at the volume and power in his voice when he raised it. "Are you really this stupid? You know damn well why I'm shooting this down!"

"Xavier, that was thirty years ago!"

"Yes, which makes this all the sweeter, I knew this day would come, Peter, and now that its here?" he laughed. "The look on your face is even better than I imagined."

"How about being professional and not personal?" Peter asked. "You know this is what they want."