Strictly Business Read online

  Strictly Business

  By Aubrianna Hunter

  Edited, Produced, and Published by Writer’s Edge Publishing 2013

  All rights reserved.

  © 2013 by Aubrianna Hunter.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Other Books by Aubrianna Hunter

  Hidden Depths

  Strictly Business

  You Can’t Go Home Again

  Siochain

  Beyond The Mask

  Beyond The Flesh

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Jessica stepped out of the shower and onto the rug, grabbing her towel and quickly drying herself off. She spared a glance at the clock she kept on her bathroom counter. Good, plenty of time. She bent down to wrap the towel around her hair. As she stood up straight, she looked at herself in the mirror. Typical girl thing, checking for flaws. She wondered if she would start to see more soon. She would be thirty in less than six months. Wasn’t that when everyone said your body started to go to hell?

  For now at least, she saw what she always saw. Fair skin, long legs, at least long for her height. She was only five-four after all. Her hips curved out, always wider than she would’ve liked, topped by a tiny waist. Way too small for the rest of her. Her boobs, on the other hand, were always too large. She had the hourglass shape every woman wanted, just too much of it. She turned backwards, looking over her shoulder. Her butt was still tight and firm, thanks in large part to her workouts five days a week. Even with the exercise, she was carrying about five pounds she would like to get rid of. She knew she was fit and toned, she worked at it. She was not thin, not in the classically elegant way her family was. Her family members were all built like runway models. Even her sister Chantel, who had a slight problem with alcohol lately, maintained that elegant, lithe appearance. Her family was all GQ and runway models. Jessica was Penthouse.

  She took a deep breath and sighed. Her face wasn’t really any better. She had very sharp elegant features, very similar to that of her family. Her mother called it ‘breeding’. Sharp and elegant except for her mouth and her eyes. Her lips were always red and slightly puffy, like she’d just been thoroughly kissed. And her eyes, well, her eyes were a problem. They were silver. Not blue, like most of her family, not even light blue. Nor the green that ran through her father’s side. Her doctor called them gray, as did her driver’s license, but the God’s honest truth was silver. No one in her family knew where they had come from, and it had always been an unspoken problem between her parents. Not to mention, they were just weird looking. Since her face looked more like her mother’s, there wasn’t much of her father in her appearance. She did get his hair color, which was dark brown, all but black, but that was it. And her hair was curly, not straight like his was. Speaking of hair, she pulled hers out of the towel and tried to pat it dry a little more. She knew it would take an hour to dry, and she needed time to put it up before she left for work.

  Her hair was her one vanity. She knew that for practical purposes she should cut it, but she loved it long. So, it hung down almost to her waist in long, silky black waves. She always pinned it up into an extremely tight bun before work, but she just couldn’t bear to cut it off. She ran her brush through it, luxuriating in the feel of her damp silky hair swirling around her bare shoulders, arms, and even across her breasts.

  While it was still down, drying, she headed to the bathroom sink to put in her contacts. She didn’t need them to see, her vision was perfect, as was all of her family’s. That was the one thing she definitely had in common with them. But she chose to wear brown colored contacts. She was never without them unless she was home alone. She had been told her whole life that her eyes drew too much attention. As she got older and filled in, along with the dark hair, her mother had encouraged her to try to hide some of her more startling characteristics. Since then she’d always tried to play down her eyes, and her figure.

  Once the contacts were in, she headed to her room to get dressed. She reached into her lingerie drawer and smiled. If her hair was her vanity, then her little secret was her lingerie. She always wore lacy, silky, very sexy panties and bras. And they always matched. She just loved the feel of the silk and lace against her skin. She had always been a little too sensual to please her mother. Always reveled in touch, textures, tastes. Even little things like playing in the mud. That was just not something a Wythe did! But Jessica had loved it, sneaking away whenever she could to the trees just beyond the stables. She’d loved to feel the wet Virginia clay squishing through her fingers. Yet another way she had been too different for her family.

  With her sassy red underwear in place, Jess reached into her closet and pulled out a very boring, somewhat boxy gray suit. Slacks today. Then she pulled out a black shell blouse and the matching black pumps. They were low heeled and simple. She completed the outfit with the plain silver necklace and hoop earrings. Nothing too fancy.

  Her closet was a treasure. It was huge, bigger than either of the guest rooms in her house. She’d had it customized inside so there was a place for everything. Her wardrobe was divided into parts. She had her business suits, all very bland and dull. Nothing particularly attractive. They were all high quality, designed to scream success, while detracting from her figure. All in neutral colors. Then there was the casual country club section. The clothing she needed to wear whenever she saw her family. Mostly in pastels and very girly. She always tried for elegant, but with her body it was tough to pull off, so she usually ended up with simple pants suits and a few sheath dresses. They tended to hide her curves a little bit. Her mother gave her less grief over those outfits. She was always telling Jessica to be careful. That, due to her curves, she had a tendency to look ‘loose’. The funny part was that Jessica was anything but loose. In fact, she might be the only twenty-nine year old virgin left in the United States.

  There was also a section in her closet for her very casual clothes. This was the type of thing she wore around the house, and also what she needed when she was out on a construction site. Yes, next to the country club attire, she did own flannel and construction boots!

  The next section was evening gowns, formal wear, etc; her closet was a weird jumble of things, that somehow represented her life perfectly.

  She took stock of her suit in the full length mirror and headed to the bathroom to do her hair. She braided the top then twisted the whole thing into a severe bun. She applied her makeup, which was minimal. Some light concealer, mascara, brown eye shadow, and a peach lip gloss. She looked at the over
all finished product, decided she would pass muster and headed downstairs for coffee.

  Jessica’s appearance was not the only thing that didn’t fit with her family. Her family was old Virginia money. There had been a family member at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and they’d been in Virginia ever since. There were Governors, Congressmen, Senators etc in her family as far back as she could remember. Her father, Jonathan Wythe, was currently gearing up to run for Governor. He also owned about half the state in property. Her mother, Sharon Smith Wythe, was a debutante. She had gone to college, a finishing school in Switzerland. Then she’d come home and had been engaged to Jess’s father within a year. That was what was expected in her family. College, only to say you were well educated, and then marriage to another prominent family. It seems silly in modern times, but it was essentially one step up from arranged marriages.

  Sometimes you got lucky, like Jessica’s sister Dana. She had just turned twenty-seven and was blissfully wed to Jason Sinclair and expecting their first child, a boy, in four months. Jessica was truly happy for her sister.

  Other times, you ended up like her older sister. She married her college sweetheart, David Darnell, another prominent family from South Carolina. She still had no children, David cheated on her with multiple mistresses, and Chantel had developed a bit of a drinking problem. Her parents were considering sending her away ‘on vacation’ to dry her out. She was completely miserable, and unable to leave him. Wythes do not divorce.

  Jessica had taken her own road. She had gone to college and pursued her Master’s Degree in architecture. She was now one of the most successful and requested architects at her firm, Brundel and Schein. She’d moved to Austin, Texas for two reasons. One was to work with this firm. They were one of the top design firms in the nation, getting business from all over the country. She designed and built a lot of large office structures, always trying to make them attractive as well as functional, and she had earned a reputation for excellence. Most of the men she worked with hated her, although they all respected her as well. She had a reputation for being an ice bitch, and when it came to work, she was. She was shooting to be the youngest partner their firm had ever had. Hopefully within this next year.

  The second reason was to be nearer her friends.

  Her two best friends in the world were Cindy Shepard, an interior designer, and Mike Jacobson. Mike was also the only construction foreman Jess would use. He was the same age as her, from a middle class working family in Dallas. They should have absolutely nothing in common, but he just seemed to ‘get’ her. She’d met him and Cindy both in college. The three had been friends ever since.

  She had always been comfortable around Mike, even though he flirted with her shamelessly. They’d tried dating for a few weeks one time, but it had been incredibly awkward. She thought he felt the same way, because they’d had no problem going back to being friends afterward. They were each other’s standby dates for major events and work functions. The type of functions where you needed an escort, but you didn’t want to bring your latest fling. Or at least, his latest fling. Jess didn’t do flings.

  Cindy was just shy of a sister, and really Jess was closer to her than she was to either of her sisters. She was everything Jess wasn’t. Tall, lithe, blonde and a little bit crazy. She was living, breathing color. Vibrant. And Jess loved her. Whereas Jess avoided relationships, Cindy went through men at the same rate most women bought shoes. She loved men, all of them, although Jess didn’t think Cindy had ever truly been in love. Usually, she left a string of broken hearts behind her.

  Jess, on the other hand, wasn’t even in any relationship, much to her mother’s chagrin. She had no interest in getting married, in giving up her career and giving someone else control of her life. She also, foolishly, hoped for Love. The Love with a capital L! She wanted someone to literally sweep her off her feet, or it wasn’t worth the trouble. That was why she was a virgin at her advanced age. She’d been too busy, trying to make her place in the world, away from her family. And now, she just felt like it should be more. She did regret that she might never have children, but luckily her sister was working on that for her. She would get to be the greatest aunt in the world!

  As she grabbed her purse and headed out the door for work, she smiled. Life was good. And the meeting she had this morning might just make it better. She was meeting with Mr. Brundel about a new, very promising, personal residence for a very wealthy Wyoming rancher.

  Chapter 2

  Jake Morgenstern hung up the phone in his office. Apparently Jess Wythe was the number one architect at Brundel and Schein. And he would be here tomorrow. Usually Jake just lived like any other rancher in Texas, but every now and then he enjoyed some of the privileges money provided. He had called the architectural firm two days ago, requested their best architect as soon as possible. He’d been meaning to do it for years, but had never gotten around to it. A few days ago Marsha, his long time cook/housekeeper/second mother had come to him and informed him that if he did not get her a better kitchen and more space, she would quit. He didn’t really believe that, but he was unwilling to take that chance.

  She was right, anyway. The main house had been his family’s home for three generations. His granddaddy had built it for them when he had married his grandma. It was too small, and hadn’t ever really been renovated. It was long overdue. But he couldn’t just let it go. So he needed a good architect, someone who could fix up the current house, without taking away the important stuff, like the feel of a home that it’d always had.

  While he was at it, he figured he may as well build a new main house. Bigger, newer, more modern. But it needed to have that same homey feel that this one had. And, it needed to somehow fit in. He hated all these new fancy, ostentatious homes that the local landowners were putting up. They all screamed ‘we have more money than sense’! He didn’t want that, not for Morgenstern. Their ranch had always had money, always flourished, even during economic struggles. He knew some of that was old family oil money, but the ranch itself had always profited, especially since he had taken over. There were some benefits to being a workaholic with no family.

  His parents, Slade and Catherine Morgenstern, had retired early, about four years ago, and left the ranch and all its daily running to Jake. They were happily touring Europe and lazing around on their boat down in Florida. He was thrilled for them, also thrilled with the trust his family placed in him. He’d only been twenty-nine and handed the reins to the biggest cattle ranch in the United States. It had also come at the perfect time. Sometimes he wondered if that’s why his parents had left; to give him something to take his mind off of his disastrous marriage.

  His parents had been happily married for almost thirty years when he’d met Karen. She had seemed like the perfect wife for him. The yin to his yang. So, within six months of meeting her, he proposed. She said yes and they were married a couple of months later. His parents had never liked her, no one had really, but he just figured they couldn’t see what he saw in her. He should’ve listened to them. It turns out they saw something he didn’t. Karen had never wanted him, just his money. It only took him a year to wise up to her crap and then he’d divorced her. That was four years ago.

  Thinking about his parents reminded Jake why he needed this house built ASAP. His parents would be here in about five months, for their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. He was planning a party, a huge party for the entire ranch. Hell, the whole town really. Thirty-five years was something to celebrate, and he wanted to do it in the new house. So, this architect had better be good, and fast.

  Jake got up and headed outside. He needed to go check with Ben, make sure everything was getting done. He knew it was. Nobody was more trustworthy than Ben was. He’d been handling the running of this ranch for over twenty years. And his son George was being groomed to take his place when Ben retired. But Jake liked to keep his fingers in things. Liked to know what was going on down to the last detail. He usually left all the sma
ll decisions to Ben, respecting his opinion. But he still wanted to know what was what. He also needed to arrange for a car to pick up that architect tomorrow. Maybe he ought to go see Marsha first and get that taken care of.

  Making a U-turn Jake headed back into the kitchen.

  “Marsha, hey beautiful, what is that delicious smell?” He leaned over and kissed the housekeeper on her cheek.

  “Jake, don’t you try to butter me up with all that flattery nonsense. I know better’n that. What is it you want, boy?” Marsha still called him ‘boy’, had since he’d been a boy. She also never put up with his crap, or ‘nonsense’, as she liked to call it. She never had a bad word to say about anyone and still managed to run this house, the kids in and around it, with an iron fist.

  “I don’t want anything. Just couldn’t stay away from this smell. What have you got bakin’ in there? It truly smells like heaven.” Jake couldn’t resist giving her a cheeky grin.

  “Uh huh. It’s just biscuits for dinner, but you already knew that. Now, tell me true, why’d you come into my kitchen in the middle of the day? Just to pester me?” She smiled when she said it.

  “Well, since you asked…”

  Marsha laughed a little. “I figured.”

  “Actually, I can make the call, I just need to know who we use for pick up in town. Don’t we have a car service we use sometimes? I got an architect comin’ in tomorrow morning and I need someone to pick him up at the airport, bring him out here.”

  “We don’t hire anybody for that. That company went out of business a while ago. Go talk to Ben, he’ll send George to do it. Now, you get on out of here until dinner time. I’ll ring the bell like always.” She shooed him away, smiling at his back.